Football: Late-show Juventus go 10 points clear

ROME: Juventus needed two goals in stoppage time to seal a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Cagliari on Friday and move 10 points clear at the top of Serie A.Cagliari, just a point above the relegation zone, went ahead after 16 minutes through a Mauricio Pinilla penalty awarded after Arturo Vidal had chopped down Marco Sau in the box.In a contentious game, Cagliari played the last 30 minutes...

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Supreme Court orders to jail convicts on bail ignored for 4 years

NEW DELHI: Here is why people are increasingly getting frustrated by the absence of deterrent effect of law on criminals — the authorities ignored for four years a Supreme Court order directing immediate arrest of convicts, who were on bail, in a murder case to serve out the 10-year imprisonment sentence. In a startling case, the Supreme Court in May 2008 dismissed the appeal of one Sambu Rai, who...

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The Healing Power of Dogs

One boy confided in the gentle-faced golden retriever about exactly what happened in his classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School that day—which his parents said was more than he'd been able to share with them. A little girl who hadn't spoken since the shootings finally started talking to her mother again after petting one of the "comfort dogs." Groups of teenagers began to open up and...

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Critics Slam NRA's Call for Armed School Guards

Gun control advocates slammed the National Rifle Association today for its proposal to create a force of armed security guards at schools across the country as a response to the Connecticut school shooting."It is beyond belief that following the Newtown tragedy, the National Rifle Association's leaders want to fill our communities with guns and arm more Americans," Sen. Frank...

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Boehner urges Senate to vote on Plan B; Democrats reject GOP-only tax bill

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) called on Senate leaders Thursday to schedule a vote on his plan to extend tax cuts on income up to $1 million — known as Plan B — if it passes the House later in the day. But Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) pledged that the Democratic-controlled chamber would not vote on Plan B even if Boehner could muster the Republican votes...

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Football: We must remain focused: Duric

BANGKOK: Thanks to Baihakki Khaizan's late strike sealing a 3-1 win for Singapore over Thailand in the first leg of the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup final on December 19, it now appears that the Lions have one hand firmly on the trophy.But forward Aleksandar Duric has declared that there is absolutely no room for thoughts like that in the Singapore camp.The 22-man squad arrived...

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Customs books seven diesel smuggling cases since 2009

NEW DELHI: After gold, it's diesel that is increasingly being smuggled into the country. Multiple cases of diesel smuggling from West Asian nations have come to the notice of the finance ministry, and the government has asked Customs and Coast Guard to enhance surveillance along the western coast. Most of the cases have been detected along Maharashtra and Gujarat coastline. Customs authorities have...

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Detecting Rabid Bats Before They Bite

A picture is worth a thousand words—or in the case of bats, a rabies diagnosis. A new study reveals that rabid bats have cooler faces compared to uninfected colony-mates. And researchers are hopeful that thermal scans of bat faces could improve rabies surveillance in wild colonies, preventing outbreaks that introduce infections into other animals—including humans.Bats are a major reservoir...

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Manhunt Heats Up for Two Escaped Bank Robbers

The manhunt for two bank robbers who escaped from a downtown Chicago prison this week intensified overnight, with police chasing multiple leads as new footage shows the men getting into a taxi minutes after their brazen escape.Investigators say surveillance cameras captured Joseph "Jose" Banks, 37, and Kenneth Conley, 38, getting into a taxi minutes after their early Tuesday...

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Qantas-Emirates alliance gets conditional approval

SYDNEY: Australia's competition watchdog on Thursday gave its draft approval to a global alliance between struggling carrier Qantas and Dubai-based Emirates, but only for five years initially.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the benefits, which will see the carriers coordinating ticket prices and flight schedules, would likely outweigh reduced competition...

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