2013年12月3日星期二

Yahoo! News: India Top Stories - Reuters

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: India Top Stories - Reuters


The images of 2013

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Our photos of the year picks: Conflict, politics, jubilation, disaster. Pandas too.


Man survives 3 days at bottom of Atlantic

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:20 PM PST

In this image made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, Harrison Odjegba Okene looks in awe as a rescue diver surfaces into the air pocket which has kept Okene alive for nearly three days, recorded by the diver's headcam video the full impact of the miraculous encounter becomes plain the see. Okene was working as a cook aboard a tugboat in the Atlantic Ocean off the Nigerian coast in June 2013, when a heavy swell caused the vessel to capsize and his boat sank to the sea bed, where his 11 colleagues drowned, but Okene was able to find an air pocket inside the sunken ship where he survived for nearly three days before being found by a group of South African rescue divers. A video made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, was filmed while the South African crew searched his vessel and found Okene alive before being given water and oxygen and then led to safety and to a decompression chamber for his recovery. (AP Photo/DCN Diving)LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Entombed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in an upended tugboat for three days, Harrison Odjegba Okene begged God for a miracle.


Ill. Legislature OKs fix for $100B pension crisis

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:52 PM PST

Illinois Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, front left, and Illinois Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, right, talk while attending a Pension Committe hearing at the Illinois State Capitol Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Legislature approved a historic plan Tuesday to eliminate the state's $100 billion pension shortfall, a long-delayed decision proponents described as critical to repairing the state's deeply troubled finances but that faces the immediate threat of a legal challenge from labor unions.


US vet detained in NKorea oversaw guerrilla group

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:37 PM PST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An 85-year-old U.S. veteran being held in North Korea spent his war years there in one of the Army's first special forces unit, helping a clandestine group of Korean partisans who were fighting and spying well behind enemy lines.

Ukraine mass protests resume after gov't wins vote

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 12:27 PM PST

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine appeared mired in a political standoff Tuesday, as massive protest rallies showed no sign of letting up and the government warned of its capability for force after a failed attempt to take it down.

Asian nations dominate international test

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:01 PM PST

Graphic shows scores for PISA test for U.S. and other nations; 3c x 4 inches; 146 mm x 101 mm;WASHINGTON (AP) — American students once again lag behind many of their Asian and European peers on a global exam, a continuing trend that often is blamed on child poverty and a diverse population in U.S. schools.


Billy Joel plans Madison Square Garden residency

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:19 PM PST

Billy Joel speaks at a news conference at Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013 in New York. The icon announced he will perform a residency at the famed NYC venue once a month for as many months as New Yorkers demand. He is set to perform sold out shows on Jan. 27, Feb. 3, March 21 and April 28. He will also perform on his 65th birthday, which is May 9. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)NEW YORK (AP) — Billy Joel will perform once a month at Madison Square Garden — as long as the fans will have him.


Syrian refugees face another harsh winter in camp

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:24 PM PST

ZAATARI CAMP, Jordan (AP) — Cranes are lifting trailers into place and tents are being packed away as international aid workers rush to winterize a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan — trying to avoid a repeat of last year when three days of torrential rain turned the massive site into a muddy swamp.

Nigerian man survives 3 days at bottom of Atlantic

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 03:26 PM PST

In this image made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, Harrison Odjegba Okene looks in awe as a rescue diver surfaces into the air pocket which has kept Okene alive for nearly three days, recorded by the diver's headcam video the full impact of the miraculous encounter becomes plain the see. Okene was working as a cook aboard a tugboat in the Atlantic Ocean off the Nigerian coast in June 2013, when a heavy swell caused the vessel to capsize and his boat sank to the sea bed, where his 11 colleagues drowned, but Okene was able to find an air pocket inside the sunken ship where he survived for nearly three days before being found by a group of South African rescue divers. A video made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, was filmed while the South African crew searched his vessel and found Okene alive before being given water and oxygen and then led to safety and to a decompression chamber for his recovery. (AP Photo/DCN Diving)LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — About 100 feet down, on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, divers had already pulled four bodies out of the sunken tugboat. Then a hand appeared on a TV screen monitoring the recovery.


Audit: Health care subsidies vulnerable to fraud

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:28 PM PST

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the new health care law, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. The president said his signature health care law "is working and will work into the future." Obama said the benefits of the law have "gotten lost" in recent months as attention focused on the widespread problems that crippled the website where people can sign up for health insurance. On stage with the president are Americans the White House says have gained as a result of the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — Government subsidies to help Americans buy insurance under the health care overhaul may be vulnerable to fraud, a Treasury Department watchdog warned on Tuesday in the latest indication that troubles are far from over for President Barack Obama's signature legislation.


NATO seeks clarity on troops in Afghanistan

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 12:42 PM PST

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves upon his arrival in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Kerry traveled to Belgium to attend the annual meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)BRUSSELS (AP) — World diplomats issued a stern warning Tuesday to Afghan leaders in a new effort to help secure the war-torn nation's future with thousands of foreign forces after 2014. But officials backed off earlier U.S. threats to withdraw all troops if Afghan President Hamid Karzai doesn't agree to the offer before the end of the year.


NYC train derailment airs queries about technology

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:14 AM PST

In this photo taken on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013, Metro North Railroad engineer William Rockefeller is wheeled on a stretcher away from the area where the commuter train he was operating derailed in the Bronx borough of New York. The National Transportation Safety Board reported Monday that the train Rockefeller was driving was going 82 mph around a 30-mph curve when it derailed killing four people and injuring more than 60. (AP Photo/Robert Stolarik)YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) — The revelation that a New York City commuter train derailed while barreling around a sharp curve at nearly three times the speed limit is fueling questions about whether automated crash-avoidance technology could have prevented the carnage.


Sharp rise in Europeans fighting in Syria

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:29 AM PST

A 21-year-old from Denmark poses for a photo as he sits on top of a Soviet-made anti-aircraft gun in May 2013 at a training camp inside Syria near Idlib and Aleppo. The Dane, who did not want to be named, spent a bit more than a month in Syria and was turned back the third time he tried to travel there. He is part of a new wave of Europeans is heading to Syria, their ranks soaring in the past six months as tales of easy living and glorious martyrdom draw them to the rebellion against Bashar Assad. The western Europe-based rebels, mostly young men, are being recruited by new networks that arrange travel and comfortable lodging in the heart of rebel territory, and foster a militant form of Islam that Western security officials fear will add to the terror threat when the fighters return home. (AP Photo)COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A new wave of Europeans is heading to Syria, their ranks soaring in the past six months as tales of easy living and glorious martyrdom draw them to the rebellion against Bashar Assad.


Man survives 60 hours at bottom of Atlantic

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:38 AM PST

In this image made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, Harrison Odjegba Okene looks in awe as a rescue diver surfaces into the air pocket which has kept Okene alive for nearly three days, recorded by the diver's headcam video the full impact of the miraculous encounter becomes plain the see. Okene was working as a cook aboard a tugboat in the Atlantic Ocean off the Nigerian coast in June 2013, when a heavy swell caused the vessel to capsize and his boat sank to the sea bed, where his 11 colleagues drowned, but Okene was able to find an air pocket inside the sunken ship where he survived for nearly three days before being found by a group of South African rescue divers. A video made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, was filmed while the South African crew searched his vessel and found Okene alive before being given water and oxygen and then led to safety and to a decompression chamber for his recovery. (AP Photo/DCN Diving)LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Entombed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in an upended tugboat and dressed only in boxer shorts, Harrison Odjegba Okene begged God for a miracle.


How the TSA is nickel-and-diming travelers

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:04 AM PST

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2010 file photo, TSA officer Robert Howard signals an airline passenger forward at a security check-point at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Wash. John Pistole, The head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says he's dropping a proposal that would have let airline passengers carry small knives, souvenir bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes. The proposal had drawn fierce opposition from lawmakers, airlines and others who said it would place passengers and crews at risk. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)Congress votes to redirect all that money left behind at security checkpoints.


Next Obamacare headache: Surge in signups, insurers say

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 03:56 PM PST

A man looks over the Affordable Care Act signup page on the HealthCare.gov website in New York in this photo illustrationBy Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. insurers fear that a surge in enrollments on the revamped government-run healthcare website could create more problems for insurance companies already struggling with error-filled applications for coverage three weeks before a sign-up deadline. In what could become the next major headache for President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy, a group representing leading U.S. insurers said on Tuesday that technology fixes that will enable millions of people to sign on to HealthCare.gov have not fully addressed faulty data that the site has been sending these companies about their new enrollees. The problems include enrollment forms with erroneous personal information and duplicate or missing applications. The warning coincided with an effort by Obama to win back support for the healthcare overhaul after the website's disastrous October 1 debut sent his job approval ratings plummeting and threatened to damage fellow Democrats in next year's congressional elections.


Lawsuit seeks 'legal personhood' for chimpanzees

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:38 PM PST

Chimpanzees enjoy the sun at sanctuary in GaenserndorfBy Bernard Vaughan and Daniel Wiessner NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. animal rights group on Monday filed what it said is the first lawsuit seeking to establish the "legal personhood" of chimpanzees. The non-profit Nonhuman Rights Project asked a New York state court to declare a 26-year-old chimp named Tommy "a cognitively complex autonomous legal person with the fundamental legal right not to be imprisoned. ...


Judge OKs Detroit's bankruptcy defense

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:53 PM PST

Judge: Detroit can use bankruptcy to confront debtThat's a defeat for unions and retirees, who can now expect pension cuts.


12 dead in CAR; UN considers move

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:48 PM PST

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICMore Central African Republic killings; UN Security Council to vote on more troops.


Supreme Court takes up frequent flier rights

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:00 AM PST

Rabbi Ginsberg smiles as he talks to reporters about his case following arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in WashingtonWho has the final say when it comes to frequent flier membership and privileges? Are airlines the judge, jury and executioner? Or do travelers have some rights? The Supreme Court is addressing those questions in a case that may have far-reaching implications for commercial air travelers.


A Thanksgiving to remember? Auto sales jump over holiday weekend

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:22 PM PST

FILE - In this March 27, 2013 file photo, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited is presented at the New York International Auto Show, in New York's Javits Center. Chrysler on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013 said its November U.S. sales rose a surprising 16 percent, a sign that the auto industry will beat strong numbers from a year ago. The company sold more than 10,000 Cherokees in the small crossover SUV's first full month on the market. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)DETROIT (AP) — Americans proved last month that they're head over heels about small sport utility vehicles. They also wanted to buy more than just video game consoles and big-screen TVs on Black Friday.


WWII-era Japanese sub discovered off Hawaii coast

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:35 AM PST

Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory photo shows a light from a research submarine illuminating the deck of a submerged World War Ii-era Japanese mega-submarine the I-400 discovered off the coast of OahuBy Suzanne Roig HONOLULU (Reuters) - Scientists plumbing the Pacific Ocean off the Hawaii coast have discovered a World War Two era Japanese submarine, a technological marvel that had been preparing to attack the Panama Canal before being scuttled by U.S. forces. The 400-foot (122-meter) "Sen-Toku" class vessel — among the largest pre-nuclear submarines ever built - was found in August off the southwest coast of Oahu and had been missing since 1946, scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa said. The I-400 and its sister ship, the I-401, which was found off Oahu in 2005, were able to travel one and a half times around the world without refueling and could hold up to three folding-wing bombers that could be launched minutes after resurfacing, the scientists said. "We came upon this as we were looking for other targets ... It is like watching a shark at rest," said Jim Delgado, a researcher aboard the Pisces V deep-diving submersible which traveled to the wreckage.


Seahawks fans cause quite the ruckus—and a minor earthquake

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:46 AM PST

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett runs the ball in for a touchdown during the 1st quarter at CenturyLink Field in SeattleCelebrations by Seattle football fans in a Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints were so thunderous that they registered as minor earthquakes on a nearby seismometer, a state university professor said. The most intense rumble came after Seahawks' defensive end Michael Bennett recovered a fumble by New Orleans' quarterback Drew Brees in the first quarter and ran it back for a touchdown, said John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington. The cheering and foot-stamping at CenturyLink Field was picked up by a seismometer used by the network, which monitors ground motion in Washington and Oregon.


Can a TV really be worth $40,000? Read the reviews

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:25 AM PST

Samsung's $40,000 TVWho would pay $40,000 for an HD television? That's what some Amazon users are wondering about Samsung's 85-inch, "4K Ultra HD 120Hz 3D Smart LED TV," which the website is offering at the discounted price of $39,997.99.


Obama targets young voters

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST

President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at a World AIDS Day event, Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)He wants to talk to college and business leaders about making college more accessible.


Source: Driver in fatal New York train crash 'lost focus'

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 03:38 PM PST

Still image of heavy cranes lifting a derailed Metro-North train car back onto the tracks in New YorkBy Chris Francescani , Mark Hosenball and Curtis Skinner (Reuters) - The driver of a New York commuter train that derailed on Sunday, killing four people, told investigators he was "in a daze" shortly before the crash, sources said, and officials lamented his train lacked technology that could have prevented the accident. The seven-car Metro-North train was traveling at 82 miles per hour, nearly three times the 30-mph (48-kph) speed limit for the curved section of track where it crashed, investigators have said. The driver, William Rockefeller, 46, applied the brakes five seconds before it derailed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cautioned that its investigation would continue for weeks, if not months, and it was far from reaching a conclusion on the cause.


Federal gun charges decline despite Obama executive action

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:23 AM PST

Gun prosecutionsFigures show how ineffectual the president's executive action was, at least in the short term.


Judge clears Detroit for bankruptcy proceedings

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:14 AM PST

Detroit city workers and supporters protest outside the federal courthouse in Detroit while awaiting the bankruptcy decision, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. A judge is expected to announce Tuesday if the city is to become the biggest city in U.S. history to enter bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)DETROIT (AP) — A judge ruled Tuesday that Detroit is eligible to shed billions of dollars of its long-running debt, including the pensions of thousands of workers and retirees, in a much-anticipated decision that shifts the city's epic bankruptcy case into a new and delicate phase.


2013's most-searched news stories

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The Boston bombing and Obamacare were big, but they weren't number 1.


Aggressive new HIV strain moves faster than previous viruses

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Democratic strategist: On Obamacare, good intentions aren’t enough

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:05 AM PST

Republicans Hope to Find Enough Obamacare Horror Stories to Win in 2014Former Clinton adviser says the problem-ridden program could damage the Democratic Party.


Biden: U.S. 'deeply concerned' with China's moves in East China Sea

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 03:08 AM PST

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prior to their talks at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Biden, who is on the first leg of his three-nation Asian tour, met Abe, whose government is pressing the U.S. to more actively take Japan's side in an escalating dispute over China's new air defense zone above a set of contested islands in the East China Sea. (AP Photo/Toru Yamanaka, Pool)The vice president said that the Chinese air zone raises risk of accidents.


North Korean leader's uncle ousted in major shakeup: Report

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:15 AM PST

File photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with his uncle Jang Song-thaek in PyongyangBy Jack Kim and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have dismissed a powerful uncle, a man key to his rise to power, from his posts, South Korean lawmakers said on Tuesday, a move that could help consolidate his power base with a younger guard of aides. Jang Song Thaek was likely sacked as vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission and as a department head of the ruling Workers' Party, lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae said, citing a senior South Korean official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Analysts who watch the North's power structure say Jang's removal would not have been possible without the approval of the third Kim to rule in the family dynasty. Choe Ryong Hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, has been the most prominent figure to accompany Kim at public events and is a reminder of the state's political roots in military power.


How to Preserve Historic Moon Landing Sites for Posterity

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:11 AM PST

How to Preserve Historic Moon Landing Sites for PosterityOn Sunday (Dec. 1), China launched a spacecraft designed to land safely on the lunar surface, and some private companies hope to stage launches to the moon as well. If industry and other nations aren't careful, the uptick in lunar traffic might disturb the landing sites from the Apollo era, as well as Russia's landing sites on the lunar surface. In order to protect the United States' lunar heritage, U.S. legislators have recently proposed a "moon bill" that would qualify the Apollo landing sites as a national park. the United States, Russia and 126 other nations have ratified the treaty.


Shaken, stirred or straight up? U.S. toasts repeal of Prohibition

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 03:06 AM PST

By Leslie Gevirtz NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many Americans this week will toast the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, a 14-year ban on the sale and production of alcoholic beverages that turned booze-smuggling thugs into celebrities and otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals. While the cocktail has been around since early 19th century, the combinations of spirits, sugars, water and bitters really started pouring into shakers during Prohibition. In the 1920s, there were 15,000 speakeasies in Detroit, "Great Gatsby" author F. Scott Fitzgerald favored Gin Rickeys and politicians and the famous hid out at New York's "21 Club" with its secret wine cellar and disappearing bar. "The whole Prohibition cocktail thing was to cover up the poor quality of the alcohol," said John McCarthy, a bartender at New York's Bathtub Gin lounge.

Is Obama already a lame-duck president?

Posted: 02 Dec 2013 04:59 PM PST

U.S. President Obama talks about the Affordable Care Act at the White House in WashingtonThe "L word" – as in "lame," followed by "duck" – is already creeping into the conversation on President Obama's second-term woes. The disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov, followed by the flap over canceled policies and other effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), means Mr. Obama will spend the rest of his presidency trying to prove the law can or will work. That distracts from efforts toward new accomplishments, be it immigration reform or a long-term budget deal or climate change. And in perhaps the final sign that Obama may be sliding toward lame-duckery, political media have been obsessed by the 2016 presidential race almost since the moment Obama was reelected.


Officials: Walker crash not part of street race

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:20 AM PST

Marjan Bauman, right, and her daughter Alexandra Bauman join others at the site of the auto crash that took the life of actor Paul Walker and another man, in the small community of Valencia, Calif., Monday, Dec. 2, 2013. The neighborhood where "Fast & Furious" star Walker died in the one-car crash is known to attract street racers, according to law enforcement officials. Walker and his friend and fellow fast-car enthusiast Roger Rodas died Saturday when the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT they were traveling in smashed into a light pole and tree. The two had taken what was expected to be a brief drive away from a charity fundraiser at Rodas' custom car shop in the Southern California community of Valencia, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)LOS ANGELES (AP) — While the neighborhood where "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker died in a fiery crash is known to attract street racers, law enforcement officials do not believe the Porsche he and a friend were riding in had been racing another car.


Obama tries to move past website woes

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:14 AM PST

President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at a World AIDS Day event, Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)The administration wants to refocus attention on broader benefits of its health care law.


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