West African army chiefs to approve Mali troops plan

BAMAKO (Reuters) - West African defense chiefs will on Tuesday approve plans to speed up the deployment of African troops against Islamist rebels in northern Mali, with some regional soldiers seen arriving next week. France has already poured hundreds of troops into Mali and carried out days of air strikes in a vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance that combines al...

Read More..

Islamists guerrillas flee French air strikes in Mali

BAMAKO: French air strikes forced Islamist guerrillas to flee towns in northern Mali and Paris secured new international support for military action as the militants struck back, seizing a small western town.The Islamists said they had made a "tactical retreat" from Timbuktu and other key towns where they have imposed a brutal version of Islamic law for nearly 10 months.But they struck...

Read More..

Can't stop eating? Pump will suck your stomach contents

Meet the "apparatus for treating obesity by extracting food." That's what Dean Kamen's stomach pump is called in a recently granted U.S. patent, and it looks a lot less fun than Kamen's most famous invention, the Segway. The good part is you can eat anything you like. The bad part is you have to get a tube put into your stomach and then suck the food out with a gadget called the AspireAssist. Kamen...

Read More..

Newtown group aims to prevent violent tragedies

Updated 8:01 p.m. ETNEWTOWN, Conn. Nicole Hockley says she still finds herself reaching for her son's hand or expecting him to crawl into bed with her for a hug before school. "It's so hard to believe he's gone," said Hockley, whose son Dylan was among the 20 first-graders and six adults killed by a gunman a month ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She was among several parents to speak Monday...

Read More..

Arias Denied Guilt Despite Sex Photos, DNA

A defiant Jodi Arias insisted she was innocent of killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander even after a detective told her that he had nude photos of them together on the day he died."Are you sure it's me? Because I was not there," Arias is heard saying in the police interrogation tape played for the Arizona jury today.When Detective Esteban Flores tells Arias she is seen in...

Read More..

France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north. The attacks on Islamist positions near the ancient desert trading town of Timbuktu and Gao, the largest city in the north, marked...

Read More..

Benjamin Pwee joins DPP leadership as acting secretary-general

SINGAPORE: Opposition politician Benjamin Pwee has joined the leadership of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)as acting secretary-general.He was co-opted into the Central Executive Committee (CEC) at a closed-door meeting on Sunday, while six other independents were officially accepted as party members and cadres.The DPP's secretary-general, Mr Seow Khee Leng, went on leave from the...

Read More..

Oracle releases software update to fix Java vulnerability

Oracle released an emergency software update today to fix a security vulnerability in its Java software that could allow attackers to break into computers.The update, which is available on Oracle's Web site, fixes a critical vulnerability in Oracle's Java 7 that could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code. The attack can be induced if someone visits a Web site that's been...

Read More..

Stars of film, TV step out at Golden Globes Awards

Stars from film and television stepped out Sunday for the 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Fey, clad in a sparkling blue gown, and Poehler, clad in red, walked out on stage together to open the show. 72 PhotosGolden Globes 2013 red carpetThe women, both nominees in the comedic TV actress category, joked about Lena Dunham's nudity on "Girls," Ricky Gervais'...

Read More..

Golden Globes Live Blog: Moore, 'Game Change' Win

The women of the night. Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/AP Photo.8:48 p.m. ET: Adele scoops up the Globe for best original song for the latest Bond theme, “Skyfall.” Her reaction: “Oh my God! … Honestly, I came for a night out, with my friend Ida, we’re new mums … I literally came for a night out.”8:44 p.m. ET: “Life of Pi” wins for best original score … but J-Lo’s nude dress steals the spotlight....

Read More..