Volkswagen says net profit up 40% in 2012

FRANKFURT: Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car manufacturer, said on Friday that its net profit zoomed ahead by more the 40 percent last year on higher vehicle sales.VW said in a statement its net profit soared by 40.9 percent to a record 21.7 billion euros ($28.6 billion) in 2012 as revenues rose by 20.9 percent to 192.7 billion euros and deliveries to customers were up 12.2 percent at 9.276...

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Suriyanelli gang-rape case: Victim lodges complaint against Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien

KOTTAYAM: In a new twist to Suriyanelli gang-rape case, the victim on Friday lodged a police complaint insisting that Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien be made an accused. The complaint lodged at Chingavanam police station also sought that Dharmarajan, an absconding convict who had jumped bail in the case and was arrested recently from Karnataka, and two other people — Unnikrishnan and Jamal,...

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Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case

Oscar Pistorius was granted bail today in a South African court, meaning he can be released from jail for the six to eight months before his trial for the allegedly premeditated killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.Magistrate Desmond Nair, in reading his lengthy decision, said, "The issue before me is whether this accused, being who is and the assets he has [here], would...

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Group releases list of 90 medical ‘don’ts’

Don’t use feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia. Don’t use drugs to aggressively treat diabetes in those older than 65. Don’t automati­cally use imaging technology for minor head injuries in children and headaches in adults. And don’t give antacids to babies with reflux. Those are among the 90 medical “don’ts” on a list being released Thursday by a coalition of doctor and consumer...

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International standard schools face shutdown after Indonesia court ruling

JAKARTA: Ten years ago, Indonesia set up international standard schools with the aim of producing globally-competitive students.But some say the project was a failure... and the Constitutional Court has recently called for the schools to be disbanded, as they are now considered to be discriminatory.Students in one of the classes are learning Chemistry... not in Bahasa Indonesia, but in...

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Chopper deal, Kurien controversy to dominate Parliament

NEW DELHI: The VVIP chopper deal and P J Kurien controversy are expected to dominate proceedings in Parliament tomorrow, practically the first working day of the budget session after the President's address today. The opposition is united in plans to flag the Italian chopper deal issue in both Houses tomorrow but disruption is unlikely with the government already making it clear that it was ready...

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NASA's Mars Rover Makes Successful First Drill

For the first time ever, people have drilled into a rock on Mars, collecting the powdered remains from the hole for analysis.Images sent back from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Wednesday confirmed that the precious sample is being held by the rover's scoop, and will soon be delivered to two miniature chemical labs to undergo an unprecedented analysis. (Related: "Mars Rover Curiosity...

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Lead Pistorius Cop Facing Attempted Murder Charge

Hilton Botha, the detective at the center of the Oscar Pistorius murder case, is facing his own attempted murder charges in connection with a 2011 shooting in which he and other police officers allegedly fired a gun at passengers in a vehicle.Botha is scheduled to appear in court in May on seven counts of attempted murder in connection to the October 2011 incident in which he...

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Annabel Pennefather named Chef de Mission for SEA Games in Myanmar

SINGAPORE: Miss Annabel Pennefather has been named Chef de Mission for the Singapore contingent at this year's SEA Games in Myanmar.This will be her fifth time as Chef de Mission to Singapore's contingent.Previously, she filled that role at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and most recently, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in...

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Kurien writes to RS members on rape charges

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien has written to members of the House, saying three police inquiries and two judicial processes have cleared him in the 17-year-old Suryanelli rape case. Kurien, who is under attack since the victim demanded recently that he be made an accused in the case, has attached an elaborate note on the sequence of...

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