Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Australian DJs Behind Prank Call Under Fire

An outpouring of anger is being directed today at the two Australian radio hosts after the death of a nurse who was caught in the DJs' prank call to hospital where Kate Middleton was treated earlier this week.Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital - the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank in a letter...

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Egypt struggle seen costing Mursi, even if he wins

CAIRO (Reuters) - The crisis unleashed by President Mohamed Mursi's bid to wrap up Egypt's transition on his own terms has eroded his nation's faith in their nascent democracy and will complicate the already unenviable task of government. His effort to drive through a constitution against the wishes of major sections of society, including a Christian minority, has damaged prospects for...

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Kate hospital hoax call staffer in found dead

LONDON: A staff member at a hospital which treated Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine was found dead in a suspected suicide Friday, days after being duped by a hoax call from an Australian radio station, reports said.British police confirmed that they were investigating the "unexplained death" of a woman whose body was discovered at a property near the King Edward VII hospital in...

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India asks Nepal to prevent terror groups from using its soil for infiltration

NEW DELHI: With several former militants from Jammu & Kashmir recently using Nepal to enter India from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), New Delhi has asked Kathmandu to strengthen its screening process since intelligence inputs suggest that ISI-backed terror groups are trying to push active terrorists in the guise of ex-ultras. In the recently concluded meet between the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB)...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Missing Woman Survived on Tomatoes and Snow

The woman who was stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains survived for six days by eating tomatoes and snow until she was found by her brother, who was part of a team searching for her and her boyfriend.Paula Lane, 46, was rescued Wednesday. Her boyfriend, Roderick Clifton, died.He had left her to find help after their Jeep got stuck in the snow as they drove from Clifton's...

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Military halts clashes as political crisis grips Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Republican Guard restored order around the presidential palace on Thursday after fierce overnight clashes killed seven people, but passions ran high in a struggle over the country's future. The Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, criticized by his opponents for his silence in the last few days, was due to address the nation later in the day, state television said....

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All 13 Singaporeans on board stranded Indonesian ferry safe

SINGAPORE: All 13 Singaporeans on board a Singapore-Tanjong Pinang ferry which ran aground off Lobam island on Wednesday night are safe.Ferry operator Sindo Ferry and Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency, BASARNAS, gave this update in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia.Of the 97 passengers, one Indonesian lady is still in hospital for medical attention.The ferry, MV Sindo 31, left...

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Dhindsa’ election as IOA vice president hailed

SANGRUR: The controversies surrounding the elections of Indian Olympic association(IOA) in the wake of International Olympic committee(IOC) directing against it, the election of Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa as IOA vice president is being hailed in Punjab.Dhindsa was elected as vice president in the election meeting held at New Delhi on Wednesday. Parminder' father and former...

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