IMF loan to Egypt delayed as crisis deepens

CAIRO (Reuters) - A vital $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan to Egypt will be delayed until next month, its finance minister said on Tuesday, intensifying the political crisis gripping the Arab world's most populous nation. As rival factions gathered in Cairo and Alexandria for a new round of demonstrations, Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said said the delay in the loan agreement...

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Taiwan's HTC unveils new rival to iPhone 5

TAIPEI - Taiwan's HTC on Tuesday unveiled a new smartphone boasting a higher resolution display than the iPhone 5 just days before Apple's latest handset goes on sale on the island.The HTC Butterfly features a 5-inch screen with a pixel density of 440 ppi (pixels per inch) and full 1080p HD resolution, compared to the iPhone 5's 4-inch screen at 326 ppi at a lower resolution."We are confident...

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CAPF men will now get more time with family

NEW DELHI: Faced with high attrition rate and suicides in paramilitary forces arising out of work-related stress and alienation from family, the home ministry has given its nod to a proposal to have more camps off the border and troubled areas so that personnel can have regular peace postings and be closer to their families.The proposal sent by the Border Security Force(BSF), has not only asked for...

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Royal Hoax: DJs 'Shattered' After Nurse's Suicide

The two Australian radio DJs who prank-called the London hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated last week said they were "shattered" and "gutted" after the nurse who answered their call apparently killed herself.Shock jocks Mel Greig, 30, and Michael Christian, 25, cried as they spoke to Australia's Channel 9 overnight in their first public interview since Jacintha...

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Egypt army gets temporary power to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's government has temporarily given the military the authority to arrest civilians to help safeguard a constitutional referendum planned for Saturday, the official gazette said. The order, gazetted late on Sunday, said the military would support police and liaise with them to protect "vital institutions" until the referendum result is declared. The...

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US, UK shareholders 'now to pay if bank fails'

LONDON: British and US banking regulators proposed on Monday a joint strategy to ensure that the bankruptcy of big banks won't spark a chain reaction of contagion throughout markets.The two bodies, acting on behalf of the two largest financial centres in the world, stressed that under the proposals, shareholders and not taxpayers would bear the full costs, and top managers would be sacked.At...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

Shreya Roy Chowdhury, TNN Dec 8, 2012, 06.12AM ISTMUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the...

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Colorado Springs Doctor Rescued from Taliban

Dec 9, 2012 6:34am ABCThe American doctor rescued from the Taliban in Afghanistan Saturday by U.S. Special Operations Forces is the medical adviser for a Colorado Springs NGO, his employer confirmed today.Dr. Dilip Joseph and two colleagues were kidnapped by a group of armed men while returning from a visit to a rural medical clinic in eastern Kabul Province, according...

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Egypt's Mursi scraps decree, fails to appease opponents

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's president scrapped a decree that gave him extra powers and ignited violent protests, but irate opponents said on Sunday he had deepened the conflict by pressing on with a vote on a constitution shaped by Islamists. President Mohamed Mursi and his Islamist partisans have insisted the referendum go ahead on December 15 to seal a democratic transition that began...

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