Australia says Somali-linked militants planned suicide attack on army base

MELBOURNE, Australia — A handful of extremists with ties to an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia planned to storm one of Australia’s largest military bases and launch a fight to the death with troops, police said Tuesday.

Drug company Novartis: Activists steal ashes of CEO’s mother, torch his hunting lodge

BERN, Switzerland — Drug maker Novartis AG said Tuesday that animal rights activists have stolen the ashes of its CEO’s mother and set fire to his Austrian hunting lodge.

Bill Clinton meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for ‘wide-ranging’ talks: state media

SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Bill Clinton met Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on the first day of a surprise mission to Pyongyang to negotiate the release of two Americans, holding “exhaustive” talks on a wide range of topics, state-run media said.

American on trial with Myanmar’s Suu Kyi hospitalized for seizures; verdict due next week

YANGON, Myanmar — An American facing up to five years in jail for entering the house of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been hospitalized after suffering seizures, a week before a court is expected to issue a verdict in his case.

Excerpts from PM’s reply to parliament debate

NEW DELHI - Excerpts from Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs reply in the Lok Sabha Wednesday to the debate on India-Pakistan issues and the government’s foreign policy initiatives:

Two Western senators take baton in advancing Obama’s health care overhaul

WASHINGTON — If there is a chance for health care overhaul it most likely exists in the politically charged space between a marathon runner from Montana and a former amateur boxer from Nevada, two Senate Democrats who occasionally sound like Republicans.

Taiwanese and Chinese leaders exchange direct messages for first time in 60 years

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese and Chinese leaders have directly exchanged messages for the first time in 60 years amid warming ties.

Man disowns his lost-and-found son after tiff over spoils

SYDNEY - A British teenager who survived 12 days lost in the Australian wilderness was disowned by his father over the division of spoils from an exclusive contract they negotiated for telling their harrowing story on television, news reports said Sunday.

U of South Florida students told to resume activities after report of gunman prompted lockdown

TAMPA, Fla. — Students and staff at the University of South Florida were told to stay indoors Friday after a man called police to say he was on campus with a gun, but authorities never found him and no shots were fired.

Widow of lynched Haryana man deposes against husband

NARWANA - The wife of a young man who was lynched by a village mob in Haryana’s Jind district, Friday deposed against her dead husband saying that he had tricked her into eloping with him and getting married. Her parents and relatives have been booked by police for the murder.

Rahul bars youngsters with criminal record from party

NEW DELHI - Determined to recruit more and more youngsters into the youth wing of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi has a clear message for aspirants. Your image should be clean and no member having criminal background is allowed to contest organisational elections.

Bernanke defends Fed’s ability to take on supercop role, unwind stimulus to prevent inflation

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke ran into skepticism Tuesday from lawmakers wary of expanding the Fed’s duties to police big financial companies. They argued that the Fed failed to spot problems that led to the financial crisis in the first place.

Prosecutors file 189 legal actions in nationwide sweep of loan modification consultants

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors nationwide filed 189 legal actions Wednesday against loan modification consultants accused of bilking homeowners who are desperate to make their mortgage payments more affordable.

Central bank will aim at 9 percent growth: Governor

MUMBAI - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao has expressed optimism that India will soon return to a high economic growth of 9 percent, even as he ruled out the spectre of deflation in the country, when low inflation is accompanied by low industrial output.

Police say Conn. woman safe, husband taken away in ambulance after hours-long standoff

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. — An advertising executive who snatched his ex-wife from a parking lot, held her hostage for hours during a standoff with police and then refused to leave their burning home was taken away in an ambulance early Wednesday, authorities said.

SKorea says North Korea has fired 5 missiles off eastern coast; report says they are Scud-type

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired five ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Saturday, South Korea said, a violation of U.N. resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day.

Michael Jackson’s mother files for guardianship of the singer’s 3 children

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s mother is caring for the singer’s three children and asked the court Monday to declare her their guardian.

Asia markets gains as Fed says recession easing while inflation, interest rates to stay low

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets advanced Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said the world’s largest economy is shrinking at a slower pace and scotched fears of an inflation threat, underpinning investor hopes for recovery.

Tehran residents shout ‘God is Great’ from rooftops in defiance of Iran’s supreme leader

TEHRAN, Iran — Tehran residents are climbing to their roofs and crying “God is Great!” in open defiance of Iran’s supreme leader.

Chinese telecom regulators intensify crackdown on spams

BEIJING - In the wake of Chinese mobile users complaining that they are getting up to 641 million junk texts a day, Chinese telecom regulators have intensified their crackdown on spam short messages.

Dalai Lama rejects Tibetan PM’s offer to quit

DHARAMSALA - Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has rejected the offer of Samdhong Rinpoche, Tibetan prime minister-in-exile to step down from the post.

Christie, Corzine win NJ primaries, will go head-to-head in November gov’s race

TRENTON, N.J. — Moderate Christopher J. Christie walked to victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday, fending off challenges from two more conservative rivals and setting up a long-anticipated November matchup with the unpopular incumbent Democrat.

There was no spark between Rihanna and me: LaBeouf

LONDON - Actor Shia Labeouf says he had dated singer Rihanna once but they failed to hit it off because they ‘weren’t passionate about each other’.

With Mavs owner Cuban taking night off, security guards at Nuggets’ arena can breathe easy

The thing to like most about Game 5 between Dallas and Denver is that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban won’t be at it. If nothing else, that improves the chances they’ll play basketball instead of celebrity smackdown.

Obama says unemployment system should be a stepping stone to future work, not a safety net

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants unemployment insurance to become a stepping stone for future work by making it easier to enroll in school or job training. Whether he succeeds will depend on the willingness of states and colleges to change the rules.

Person familiar with decision: Bob Melvin out as Arizona Diamondbacks manager

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks fired Bob Melvin on Thursday, hoping a new manager will be able to get the most out of their talented core of young players.

Group of dissident Chrysler lenders reveals identities of 9 members

NEW YORK — The names of nine dissident Chrysler debt holders were disclosed Wednesday, but a number of others chose to avoid the spotlight first put on them a week ago when President Barack Obama publicly chastised them for not supporting his plan for the automaker.

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Hindus & Jews ask for adequate compensation for savagely burnt Sikh immigrant in Italy
 
Hindus and Jews have demanded adequate compensation by Italian government for Indian immigrant who was reportedly brutally beaten, insulted and set on fire with petrol while asleep in Nettuno, south of Rome.
 
Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement in Nevada, said that despite their appeal, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had not reportedly yet visited the victim Navtej Singh Sidhu in the Rome hospital. Berlusconi was missing an important opportunity to send a strong message against the xenophobia, they added.
 
This requested Berlusconi visit would have also shown a sense of solidarity of Italian government with marginalized groups like immigrants, minorities, and Roma, who reportedly continually faced human rights violations in Italy, Zed and Rabbi Freirich argued.
 
The two religious leaders pointed out that Italy needed to do deep introspection of her heart and be kind to immigrants, minorities, and Roma people as xenophobic tendencies were not in tune with this great country of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto, Verdi, Fellini, and longstanding history and traditions of tolerance. Italy should make wholehearted efforts to make sure this kind of incident did not happen in the future, Zed and Rabbi Freirich stressed.
 
Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further urged the Italian government to improve its human rights record and come up with a more compassionate immigration policy. The reportedly continual social discrimination and victimization of Roma should also be dealt with emergently and they should be treated humanely. Culture of exclusion, intolerance and rejection should come to a halt.
 
Zed thanked the Indian community in Italy and others for outpouring their support to the victim.

Billionaire Warren Buffett says US government is taking right steps to help economy

OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett spent Saturday praising the decisions U.S. officials made to right the economy in the midst of a “financial hurricane” and defending the ones he made to help his company navigate the storm.

Clinton flies into Beirut on unannounced visit ahead of key vote

BEIRUT — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Sunday with Lebanon’s president on a stop in Beirut ahead of a critical election that could see a pro-U.S. government ousted by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies.