Obama Confident Immigration Reform Will Pass

President Barack Obama expressed confidence on Wednesday that he would sign comprehensive immigration reform into law by the end of this year.In an interview with Univision's Maria Elena Salinas, Obama explained that significant details of a bill still must be worked out by lawmakers, including the structure of a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented...

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French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds

DOUENTZA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops seized the airport in Mali's northern town of Kidal, the last urban stronghold held by Islamist insurgents, as they moved to wrap up the first phase of a military operation to wrest northern Mali from rebel hands. France has deployed some 4,500 troops in a three-week ground and air offensive to break the Islamist rebels' 10-month grip on...

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Research links acute malnutrition to gut microbes

WASHINGTON: A dearth of calories may not be the only reason some children face acute malnutrition, according to a new study out this week that says the microbes living in our guts may also be to blame.Within hunger-stricken communities, not all children fare the same. Some develop acute malnutrition, while others, even their brothers and sisters, may stay healthy.And some children respond...

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Discoms to allow repayment of arrears in instalments

CHANDIGARH: In a bid to increase the case recovery of electricity bills, the Haryana power distribution corporations have decided to allow payment of arrears in installments.Till now, the distribution companies were resorting to civil or legal recoveries after disconnection in case the arrears of bills crossed three billing cycles.Chairman and managing director of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam...

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Sex to burn calories? Authors expose obesity myths

Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking.Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting...

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Jodi Arias Borrowed Gas Cans Before Killing Ex

Accused murderer Jodi Arias borrowed two five-gallon gas cans from a former boyfriend the day before she drove to Arizona to kill another ex, Travis Alexander, according to testimony in Arias' murder trial today.In cross examination, prosecutors also forced Arias' former live-in boyfriend Darryl Brewer to describe his sex life with Arias as "pretty aggressive."Brewer, 52, dated...

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Sixty-five people executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible. Assad's forces and rebels have been battling in Syria's commercial...

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Tibetans in India launch drive against China

NEW DELHI: The Tibetan government-in-exile in India on Tuesday announced plans for a four-day campaign to bring global pressure on China in a bid to end a string of self-immolations in their Himalayan homeland.Penpa Tsering, speaker of the exiled Tibetan parliament based in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, said the drive would include rallies and meetings and begin in New Delhi...

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Harbhajan Singh to produce Punjabi movies

JALANDHAR: Cricketer Harbhajan Singh (Bhajji) has moved on to film production and would start with Punjabi movies. He revealed this on Tuesday and said that he has started a production house named " Bhajji and Madan Production" which would be producing two Punjabi films initially."Work on the first movie would start around April or May. We are doing a lot of spade work and we also plan to call in...

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Soldier with new arms determined to be independent

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of round-the-clock medical care, Brendan Marrocco insisted on rolling his own wheelchair into a news conference using his new transplanted arms. Then he brushed his hair to one side.Such simple tasks would go unnoticed in most patients. But for Marrocco, who lost all four limbs while serving in Iraq, these little actions demonstrate how far he's come only six weeks after...

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