Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges that he detains mothers who can't pay their bills.Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running. Now, a New York-based group filed a lawsuit this month in hopes of forcing Pumwani to stop the practice.Two mothers who live...

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Stock futures edge up with effort to break "cliff" deadlock

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day skid, as U.S. President Barack Obama returned to Washington to restart negotiations over the "fiscal cliff." Obama cut short a Christmas holiday in Hawaii to fly back to the capital and make another push for a deal between Democrats and Republicans to head off devastating...

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IHT Rendezvous: IHT Quick Read: Dec. 26

NEWS The Tea Party might not be over, but it’s increasingly clear that the U.S. election last month significantly weakened the movement, which had nearly captured control of the Republican Party through a potent combination of populism and fury. Trip Gabriel reports.As Russia’s middle class becomes a force in commerce, G.M., Ford, Volkswagen and other automakers have been expanding, or plan to expand,...

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Giada De Laurentiis: My Daughter Still Believes in Santa

Courtesy Giada De LaurentiisThe tree’s done. The stockings are hung. Giada De Laurentiis and her family — husband Todd Thompson and their daughter Jade Marie — are officially ready to host the holidays.“Christmas Eve is the big tradition in an Italian family. It’s when my entire family gets together,” the newest face of Clairol tells PEOPLE exclusively.“This year, for the first time, it will be held...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Stock futures edge higher ahead of "cliff" talk resumption

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 may stem its worst two-day drop since mid-November, ahead of the resumption of "fiscal cliff" negotiations. U.S. President Barack Obama is cutting short his Hawaiian holiday to leave for Washington on Wednesday to address the unfinished negotiations with Congress. Obama is due to...

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Pope Prays for Freedom in China and Peace in Syria

Alessandro Bianchi/ReutersPope Benedict XVI blessed the crowd during his "Urbi et Orbi" address fin St. Peter's Square in Vatican. ROME — Speaking from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI called on Tuesday for religious freedom in China and peace for the “defenseless” in Syria in his annual Christmas Day message. “May peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded...

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Mundie, one of Gates’ successors, to retire from Microsoft

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Craig Mundie, one of two Microsoft Corp executives who took over Bill Gates‘ role at the company, has relinquished control of Microsoft’s large research organization and is to retire from the company in 2014.Mundie is taking on a new role as a senior adviser to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, according to a memo circulated internally earlier this month but only made public on Monday.Eric...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Yen on defensive on U.S. fiscal worry, helps Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - Uncertainty over whether U.S. lawmakers will strike a deal by an end-of-year deadline to avert a severe fiscal retrenchment undermined the yen and bolstered Japanese shares on Tuesday in low volume, with many participants away on Christmas holiday. The dollar rose to a 20-month high of 84.965 yen early on Tuesday in Asia, as Japanese markets caught up with global investors...

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