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Bollywood bad boy Dutt held in 'terrorist' jail cell

Agence France-PresseMay 18, 2013 07:15

Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt, who is in jail for arms possession, is being held in a cell built for militants where he cannot see daylight and wants to be transferred, a report said Saturday. Dutt, 53, surrendered on Thursday to serve out the remaining three-and-a-half years of a five-year term in a case linked to deadly 1993 Mumbai bombings. Dutt's lawyer, Rizwan Merchant, has demanded the transfer of the actor whom he said was being kept in the cell once occupied by Mumbai attacks gunman Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, according to the Indian Express daily newspaper.

Obama agenda seems to be weathering IRS targeting of conservative groups, other controversies

The Canadian PressMay 18, 2013 04:01

WASHINGTON - Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office. "Absolutely not," Steven Miller, the recently resigned acting head of the Internal Revenue Service, responded Friday when asked if he had any contact with the White House about targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special treatment.

Brazilian bishops decry same-sex marriage decision

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 22:31

Brazilian bishops are criticizing a recent decision that gives a de facto green light to same-sex marriage just two months before a visit to the predominantly Catholic country by Pope Francis. On Tuesday, the National Council of Justice (NCJ), a panel which oversees the South American state's legal system and is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, said government offices that issue marriage licenses had no standing to reject gay couples.

US lawmakers lay into IRS as tax boss apologizes

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 15:31

The head of the scandal-plagued IRS apologized to Congress Friday for "foolish mistakes" made by the federal tax agency in targeting conservative groups but insisted the action was not politically motivated. Amid swirling controversy buffeting the US capital, lawmakers hammered Steven Miller, who offered his resignation as demanded by President Barack Obama, over abuse at the agency that Democrats and Republicans alike criticized as outrageous and unacceptable.

SNC-Lavalin says former executive's illegal actions justify firing

The Canadian PressMay 17, 2013 14:01

MONTREAL - SNC-Lavalin says it was justified in firing a former executive last year because it claims he acted illegally to help smuggle the son of Libya dictator Moammar Gadhafi to Mexico. The engineering giant is defending itself against a nearly $1 million wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by former controller Stephane Roy. In a 16-page statement of defence filed in Quebec Superior Court, SNC-Lavalin said Roy and former executive Riadh Ben Aissa plotted to help Saadi Gadhafi and his family to flee Libya without its knowledge.

Trying to shake off a bad mood? Turn on a happy song

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 06:46

Music can affect how you feel, and now a new study finds that listening to a happy song to boost your mood can help you do just that.

Supreme Court upholds acquittal of mom who left newborn baby in Walmart toilet

The Canadian PressMay 17, 2013 04:46

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the acquittal of a Saskatchewan woman who gave birth in a Walmart bathroom stall and left the newborn in a toilet. In a 5-2 split decision, the court ruled in favour of April Halkett, who was found not guilty in June 2009 of abandoning the baby boy two years earlier in the store in Prince Albert, Sask. Halkett testified at trial that she didn't know she was pregnant and left the store because she thought the child was dead. A store manager later pulled the baby from the toilet and he survived.

Court bans on wild animals, child performers force struggling Indian circuses to adapt or die

The Canadian PressMay 17, 2013 03:45

MUMBAI, India - In the early morning heat and dust, daily practice at the Rambo Circus is in full swing. A trapeze creaks as two performers perfect their throws. A Colombian daredevil shouts to his colleagues scrambling atop a giant set of spinning wheels called the Ring of Death.

Japan PM pledges to slash red tape for growth

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 02:15

Japan's premier said Friday he would slash red tape in a bid to boost corporate investment as he seeks to capitalise on the feel-good mood of a soaraway stock market and a plunging yen. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set out broadbrush outlines of the third of his "three arrows" of a plan dubbed "Abenomics", which is intended to turn around years of deflation in the world's third-largest economy. The first two "arrows" -- a colossal government spending plan and aggressive monetary easing -- have fuelled optimism in an economy that has struggled for two decades.

Australian gets 45 years for Indian student's murder

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 01:15

An Australian man who raped and strangled his Indian student neighbour and threw her body into a canal in a suitcase was jailed Friday for 45 years for the "horrifying" murder. Daniel Stani-Reginald, 21, had plotted to rape and murder a woman for years before choosing Tosha Thakkar, a 24-year-old accounting student who lived in an adjoining room at his Sydney boarding house, the Supreme Court heard.