Ex-governor in North Korea with Google chief; seeks American's release

SEOUL (Reuters) - Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt began a controversial private mission to North Korea on Monday that will include an effort to secure the release of an imprisoned American. The trip comes after North Korea carried out a long-range rocket test last month and as, according to satellite imagery, the reclusive state continues...

Read More..

Hagel draws fire as Obama's Pentagon pick

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama named Chuck Hagel on Monday to lead the Pentagon, setting up an ugly confirmation battle as Republican opponents said he was too hard on Israel and too soft on Iran.Obama's choice of John Brennan to replace scandal-tainted David Petraeus as CIA chief was seen as more straightforward despite the counter-terrorism czar's defense of "enhanced interrogation...

Read More..

Better drive safe, wife's watching

NEW DELHI: Drivers of Andhra Pradesh's 23,000 public transport buses are a lot more responsible now, a transformation that has happened in the past six months. That's because buses they're assigned to have photographs of their children and wife stuck on the dashboard. This step coupled with random mandatory breath analyser tests, have had a salutary effect and accidents are significantly down. Also,...

Read More..

Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer."There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer...

Read More..

Activists wary as India rushes to justice after gang rape

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - It's no surprise the Indian street wants faster, harsher justice for sexual crimes after a horrific gang rape that rocked the nation, but some activists worry the government will trample fundamental rights in its rush to be in tune with popular rage. Last month's rape of a physiotherapy student on a moving bus and her death on December 28 in hospital triggered a...

Read More..

Korean sports star's suicide echoes death of actress-wife

SEOUL: Police confirmed Monday that a former baseball star and ex-husband of a top South Korean actress, whose 2008 suicide shocked the country, took his own life over the weekend.Cho Sung-Min, a former pitcher for Japanese baseball team Yomiuri Giants, was found dead early Sunday with a belt around his neck by his girlfriend in the bathroom of her Seoul apartment."The autopsy result showed...

Read More..

Pak soldier killed, India says fired in retaliation

SRINAGAR: Pakistani troops violated ceasefire on Sunday by firing mortar shells towards Indian army posts at Hajipir area in Uri sector near the Line of Control. "They started firing mortar shells towards our posts in Uri sector around 3.15am," an army spokesman said. He said that some shells landed close to civilian habitation though no damage was done. The spokesman added that Indian troops responded...

Read More..

Your medical chart could include exercise minutes

CHICAGO (AP) — Roll up a sleeve for the blood pressure cuff. Stick out a wrist for the pulse-taking. Lift your tongue for the thermometer. Report how many minutes you are active or getting exercise.Wait, what?If the last item isn't part of the usual drill at your doctor's office, a movement is afoot to change that. One recent national survey indicated only a third of Americans said their doctors asked...

Read More..

Venezuela lawmakers elect Chavez ally as Assembly chief

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan lawmakers re-elected a staunch ally of Hugo Chavez to head the National Assembly on Saturday, putting him in line to be caretaker president if the socialist leader does not recover from cancer surgery. By choosing the incumbent, Diosdado Cabello, the "Chavista"-dominated legislature cemented the combative ex-soldier's position as the third most powerful...

Read More..

ECB to ring in New Year with rates on hold

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank will usher in 2013 with steady interest rates at its first policy meeting this year to keep up the pressure on governments to solve the debt crisis, analysts predict.With ECB interest rates currently at record lows and its latest anti-crisis weapon ready and primed for action, central bank chief Mario Draghi will not pass up the opportunity to insist...

Read More..