Organ donations fall in Germany after scandal

BERLIN (AP) — Organ donations have dropped sharply in Germany following a scandal over alleged corruption at several transplant clinics.The German Foundation for Organ Transplantation says the number of organs donated fell almost 13 percent to 3,917 last year, the lowest figure in a decade.Several German clinics are being investigated over allegations that doctors manipulated waiting lists to help...

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Cops Break Down as They Describe Aurora Horror

Two veteran police officers broke down on the stand today during a preliminary hearing for accused movie theater gunman James Holmes, with one officer choking up when he described finding the body of a 6-year-old girl inside the theater.Sgt. Gerald Jonsgaard needed a moment to compose himself as he described finding the little girl, Veronica Moser Sullivan, in the blood splattered...

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Five accused in India rape case charged in court

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Five men accused of raping and murdering an Indian student were read the charges in a near-empty courtroom on Monday after the judge cleared out lawyers for bickering over whether the men deserved a defense. The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died two weeks after being gang-raped and beaten on a moving bus in New Delhi, then thrown bleeding onto the street. Protests...

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US Dollar falls ahead of ECB meeting

NEW YORK: The US dollar retreated Monday against the euro and other major currencies as financial markets girded for a meeting later this week of the European Central Bank.The euro was valued at US$1.3115 dollars at 22H00 GMT Monday, up from Friday's value of US$1.3067 at the same time.The US dollar was also lower against the Japanese yen, trading at 87.89 Monday instead of the 88.15 level...

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Abu Jundal's bail plea dismissed

NEW DELHI: A trial court has dismissed the bail plea of LeT terrorist and 26/11 Mumbai attack key handler Abu Jundal, arrested for his alleged role in conspiring to launch terror strikes across the country. It also gave NIA up to 180 days time to complete its probe into the case. In an in court proceeding, District Judge (DJ) I S Mehta allowed the application of National Investigation Agency (NIA),...

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Your medical chart could include exercise minutes

CHICAGO (AP) — Roll up a sleeve for the blood pressure cuff. Stick out a wrist for the pulse-taking. Lift your tongue for the thermometer. Report how many minutes you are active or getting exercise.Wait, what?If the last item isn't part of the usual drill at your doctor's office, a movement is afoot to change that. One recent national survey indicated only a third of Americans said their doctors asked...

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Hagel to Be Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

Jan 6, 2013 4:52pm (Junko Kimura/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama will nominate former senator Chuck Hagel to be his next Secretary of Defense tomorrow.Senior officials within the administration and Capitol Hill confirmed the pick to ABC News today after the Nebraska Republican had emerged as a frontrunner among potential candidates several weeks ago.Hagel,...

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Assad "peace plan" greeted with scorn by foes

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected peace talks with his enemies on Sunday in a defiant speech that his opponents described as a renewed declaration of war. Although the speech was billed as the unveiling of a new peace plan, Assad offered no concessions and even appeared to harden many of his positions. He rallied Syrians for "a war to defend the nation" and...

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Golf: Play underway at wind-whipped Kapalua

MAUI: The US PGA Tour tried again to get the 2013 season underway Sunday, with players teeing off in the first-round of the Tournament of Champions after another four-hour weather delay.After weather disrupted play on Friday and cancelled all action on Saturday, organisers of the season-opening event had hoped to start fresh with two rounds on Sunday and finish a tournament reduced to...

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Aadhaar must deliver all subsidy perks: Montek

NEW DELHI: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, wants to deliver all welfare and subsidy benefits through Aadhaar-based cash transfer scheme, which is touted as UPA's "game-changer" for 2014 parliamentary polls. Ahluwalia said that it would be left to the discretion of state governments to implement it as was done for FDI in multi-brand retail. However, he maintained...

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