Exterminator Charged in Pa. Doctor's Murder

An exterminator named Joseph Smith was arrested and charged today in the strangling and burning death of Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti.Smith, 36, had been sent to Ketunuti's home on a service call where the two got into "some kind of argument" in Ketunuti's basement on Monday, Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia police department said this morning."At her home...

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First Russia bans US adoptions. Are English words next?

With anti-foreign sentiments riding high in Russia this political season, the flamboyant leader of the Duma's ultranationalist wing, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, is proposing a dramatic new measure to curb outside influence: a ban on about 100 English words that are allegedly subverting the Russian language."We want to minimize the usage of foreign words when they have ready Russian substitutes at hand,"...

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Japan presses Algeria for answers as toll hits nine

ALGIERS: A senior Japanese official met Algeria's prime minister on Wednesday to press for an explanation of the gas plant siege, as Tokyo confirmed the deaths of two more nationals, taking its toll to nine.Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shunichi Suzuki arrived aboard a government jet that is to repatriate the bodies of those known to have been killed in the hostage crisis, along with the...

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Tamil Nadu bans screening of 'Vishwaroopam'

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday evening banned the screening of Kamal Hassan's " Vishwaroopam" following strong protests from various Muslim organizations over alleged depiction of their community in a negative light. Official sources said the state government has asked the respective district collectors to invoke necessary legal provisions to maintain law and order. The ban came...

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Sickening fog settles over Salt Lake City area

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of Utah doctors is declaring a health emergency over the Salt Lake City area's lingering air pollution problem.Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment planned to deliver a petition Wednesday demanding immediate action by elected officials.The group wants Gov. Gary Herbert and mayors of northern Utah cities to cut the pollution.The doctors suggest lowering highway speed...

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Clinton Says Budget Cuts Undermine Security

An energized Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood her ground today, telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she has overseen plans to secure diplomatic outposts around the world while cuts in State Department funding undermine those efforts.Citing a report by the department's Accountability Review Board on the security failures that led to the deaths of four...

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Israel goes to polls, set to re-elect Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election that is expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term, opening the way for a showdown with Iran and bolstering opponents of Palestinian statehood. However, Netanyahu's own Likud party, running alongside the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, looks set to win fewer seats than in the previous...

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SGX's Q2 net profit rises 17% to S$76m

SINGAPORE : Rising interest in derivatives trading helped lift earnings for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last quarter. Asia's second-largest bourse operator reported a 17 per cent on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to S$76 million.It also attracted a large number of new bond listings in the same quarter.Derivatives trading has been the star performer in SGX.Over the October to December...

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I'm opting out of race for BJP chief to save party: Gadkari

NEW DELHI: BJP president Nitin Gadkari today said he is opting out of the race for the top organizational post for a second time as he does not want the charges of financial impropriety levelled against him to adversely affect the party's interest. In a written statement, Gadkari said "I have committed no wrong or any impropriety either directly or indirectly. Yet, the UPA government has been making...

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Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws

NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home...

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