Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

Read More..

Algeria ends desert siege with 23 hostages dead

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - Algerian troops ended a siege by Islamist militants at a gas plant in the Sahara desert where 23 hostages died, with a final assault which killed all the remaining hostage-takers. Believed to be among the 32 dead militants was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a Nigerien close to al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, presumed mastermind...

Read More..

Hundreds stranded as Scoot flights delayed

SINGAPORE: Hundreds of passengers were stranded after their flights on the budget airline Scoot were delayed.Callers to the MediaCorp News hotline said flights from Singapore to Bangkok in Thailand and back, and flights from Singapore to Tianjin in China were affected.One caller reported that more than 300 passengers were stuck at Changi Airport after their scheduled flight TZ88 to Tianjin...

Read More..

Memorial service honors Swartz as activist, individual

Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the main threads running through today's memorial service in New York City for tech activist Aaron Swartz was a call to action.That call arose again and again from varied speakers, and was sounded as one of the final notes of the observance when master of ceremonies Ben Wikler, a political campaigner and friend of Swartz's, announced that the service had come to an...

Read More..

ESPN interviewing Te'o about dead girlfriend hoax

Updated 11:45 PM ET SOUTH BEND, Ind. Manti Te'o gave an interview to ESPN in which the network says he answered questions about the dead girlfriend hoax that exposed the feel-good story of the college football season as a bizarre fabrication, and left many wondering if Notre Dame's Heisman Trophy runner-up participated in the scam. ESPN announced Friday night it was interviewing the All-American...

Read More..

Armstrong Tearful Over Telling Kids Truth

Lance Armstrong, 41, began to cry today as he described finding out his son Luke, 13, was publicly defending him from accusations that he doped during his cycling career.Armstrong said that he knew, at that moment, that he would have to publicly admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs and having oxygen-boosting blood transfusions when competing in the Tour de France. He...

Read More..

Foreigners still trapped in Sahara hostage crisis

ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - More than 20 foreigners were captive or missing inside a desert gas plant on Saturday, nearly two days after the Algerian army launched an assault to free them that saw many hostages killed. The standoff between the Algerian army and al Qaeda-linked gunmen - one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades - entered its fourth day, having...

Read More..

Koh Poh Koon has character, conviction & commitment: PM Lee

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said PAP candidate Dr Koh Poh Koon can make a contribution not just in Punggol East but nationally.He said when Dr Koh is ready and judged ready, Mr Lee will be appointing him to a suitable political office. "I think he (Dr Poh) can make a contribution not just in Punggol East but broadly, nationally. When he is ready, and I judge that he is ready,...

Read More..

Crave Ep. 105: How to clip your nails in space

This week on Crave, we're back with a look at all the Cravey stuff we spotted at CES 2013. Plus, Canadian astronaut Christopher Hadfield teaches us the safest way to clip our nails in outer space, and the Hal 9000 computer replica from Think Geek refuses to cooperate. January 18, 2013 8:05 PM PST ...

Read More..

Manti Te'o kept girlfriend myth alive after revelation

SOUTH BEND, Ind. Not once but twice after he supposedly discovered his online girlfriend of three years never even existed, Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te'o perpetuated the heartbreaking story about her death. 13 PhotosManti Te'oAn Associated Press review of news coverage found that the Heisman Trophy runner-up talked about his doomed love in a Web interview on Dec. 8 and again in...

Read More..

Lance Armstrong Admits to Doping

Lance Armstrong, formerly cycling's most decorated champion and considered one of America's greatest athletes, confessed to cheating for at least a decade, admitting on Thursday that he owed all seven of his Tour de France titles and the millions of dollars in endorsements that followed to his use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs.After years of denying that he had taken...

Read More..

Algeria ends desert siege, but dozens killed

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian forces stormed a desert gas complex to free hundreds of hostages but 30, including several Westerners, were killed in the assault along with at least 11 of their Islamist captors, an Algerian security source told Reuters. Western leaders whose compatriots were being held did little to disguise their irritation at being kept in the dark by Algeria before the...

Read More..

Some children outgrow autism: study

WASHINGTON: Some children diagnosed as autistic at a young age see their symptoms completely disappear when they get older, new research shows.The small-scale study -- published in the "Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry" -- included 34 subjects who were diagnosed very early on with the disorder but who, by ages 18 to 21, no longer exhibited any signs of it.Unlike when they were...

Read More..

Anonymous launches attack on Mexico's Defense Department

Anonymous has set its sights on Mexico's Department of Defense. The group's Mexican legion has claimed responsibility for waging a distributed-denial-of-service attack on the government site, rendering it inoperable for several hours yesterday, according to the Associated Press. During the attack, the group posted a statement on the media section of the government's Web site. The statement claimed...

Read More..

Manti Te'o says he's the victim of "girlfriend" hoax

Updated 11:20 p.m. ET SOUTH BEND, Ind. Notre Dame said a story that star Manti Te'o's girlfriend had died of leukemia — a loss he said inspired him all season and helped him lead the Irish to the BCS title game — turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the linebacker. 13 PhotosManti Te'oNotre Dame Fighting Irish Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick held a press conference late Wednesday...

Read More..

FAA Grounds Boeing 787 Dreamliners

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets until their U.S. operator proves that batteries on the planes are safe.United is the only U.S. carrier flying the Boeing 787s, which have been touted as the planes of the future. However, several operated by overseas airlines have run into recent trouble, the latest because of a feared...

Read More..

Sahara hostage siege turns Mali war global

ALGIERS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Islamist fighters have opened an international front in Mali's civil war by taking dozens of Western hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert just as French troops launched an offensive against rebels in neighboring Mali. Nearly 24 hours after gunmen stormed the natural gas pumping site and workers' housing before dawn on Wednesday, little was certain...

Read More..

Japan Dreamliners must remain grounded: govt

TOKYO: All Boeing Dreamliners operating in Japan must remain grounded until their batteries are confirmed to be safe, the government said Thursday, following a similar order in the US."Following the FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) decision, Boeing 787s will not be allowed to fly until their battery safety is assured," said Hiroshi Kajiyama, Japan's vice transport minister, adding...

Read More..

YouTube said to be investing more cash in Vevo

Word has it that YouTube is looking to throw some cash in the direction of the music video site Vevo, according to AllThingsD. If these rumors are true, it shows that YouTube is increasingly moving toward the content market. YouTube already owns a small stake in Vevo but is reportedly looking to up that investment, according to AllThingsD. If indeed the video giant does partner with Vevo, the way...

Read More..

House passes $50.7 billion Sandy relief bill

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2012, file photo, a man walks with his dog to a National Guard vehicle after leaving his flooded home at the Metropolitan Trailer Park in Moonachie, N.J., in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The storm drove New York and New Jersey residents from their homes, destroyed belongings and forced them to find shelter for themselves - and for their pets, said owners, who recounted tales...

Read More..