Clinton Pledges to 'De-Escalate' Gaza Conflict

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would seek to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza" today during a closed-door meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.Clinton, who flew to Israel today, appeared with Netanyahu ahead of their 4 p.m. ET meeting to discuss a possible ceasefire to the fighting between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza.The meeting...

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Moody's warns on Italy's banks

WASHINGTON: Rating agency Moody's warned Monday that Italy's banks face worsening conditions over the coming year with asset quality declining, low profitability, and poor access to markets for funds.With their capital levels low and vulnerable and Italy's economy still expected to contract through next year, Moody's said, the outlook for Italian banks "remains negative" and at risk of...

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Guj Parsis being cremated as vultures dwindle

VADODARA: When Dara Hakim, 89, a former Indian Navy deep-sea diver and prominent member of Vadodara's Parsi community passed away recently, his family chose cremation for his last rites. Though he did not leave any specific instructions, his wife Roda Hakim arranged for a cremation instead of the traditional Tower of Silence. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, the best way to dispose of a body is...

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Cuba's Oil Quest to Continue, Despite Deepwater Disappointment

An unusual high-tech oil-drilling rig that's been at work off the coast of Cuba departed last week, headed for either Africa or Brazil. With it went the island nation's best hope, at least in the short term, for reaping a share of the energy treasure beneath the sea that separates it from its longtime ideological foe.For many Floridians, especially in the Cuban-American community, it was...

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Serial Killer Targeting Middle Eastern Men in NY?

New York detectives are searching for four potential witnesses to the killing of a Brooklyn shop owner, the latest in a trio of murders in which all three victims were of Middle Eastern descent and all appear to have been shot by the same .22 caliber gun.New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today that the department will ask the FBI for a profiler to help identify...

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Political comeback kids slated to take seats again in the House

Rick Nolan defeated Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.) this month by nine points, and with the full support of his wife, Mary, the 68-year-old Democrat is returning to Washington after being gone for 32 years. “I think she was tired of me getting up in the morning at 5 and watching ‘Morning Joe’ and getting upset,” Nolan said. “She wanted me to go talk about it to somebody else. She said, ‘It’s...

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Football: Australian clubs line up to lure Beckham

SYDNEY: Australian football clubs are queuing up to bring former England captain David Beckham to the country's A-League in January, despite the 37-year-old denying a deal is in the offing.Perth Glory has "put its hat in the ring" and is readying a bid, wealthy owner Tony Sage told Monday's The Australian."Signing David Beckham would be up there... the number one thing other than my decision...

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Direct recruitment to Narcotics Control Bureau causes promotion hurdle

NEW DELHI: The government's decision to grant the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) its own cadre for better functioning has ironically started hurting the agency. Two years ago, the government decided on 80:20 ratio for cadre and deputation recruitment in the country's premier anti-drug agency. Sources, however, said the rule was not thought out well and in its present form, will deprive a majority...

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Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. This isn't the first time Chelonoidis...

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Officials: Israeli Strike Kills 11 Civilians in Gaza

An Israeli missile ripped through a two-story home in a residential area of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, including four young children and an 81-year-old woman, in the single deadliest attack of Israel's offensive against Islamic militants.The bloodshed was likely to raise pressure on Israel to end the fighting, even as it pledged to intensify the offensive...

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