Romanians take to streets in austerity winter
By Sam Cage and Radu Marinas Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:26am EST BUCHAREST, Jan 27 – In December 1989, art student Titi Amzar risked his life to join the demonstrations in University Square that brought down reviled communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Now 43, Amzar is back on the square demanding much the same thing – [...]
Broken schools breed South Africa’s "lost generation"
By Jon Herskovitz and Lisa Laventure JOHANNESBURG | Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:23am EST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The first blow to Martha Netshiozwe’s future came when her parents died of AIDS. The second came when she ran out of money and had to drop out of a South African high school. Netshiozwe, 23, is a [...]
Costa Concordia dilemma: salvage, cut, or sink?
By Gilbert Kreijger AMSTERDAM | Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:54am EST AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Twice the size of the Titanic and three times the length of a soccer pitch, the cruise ship Costa Concordia conjures up superlatives even as a wreck. Fitted out with sumptuous spas, enormous ballrooms and a Formula 1 race car simulator [...]
The big lessons from celebrity estate wars
By Amy Feldman NEW YORK | Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:33pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) – Philanthropist Brooke Astor. The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. There are a few celebrities who, in death, at least in certain circles, have become as known for the litigation over their estates as for how they lived their lives. While [...]
French breast implant boss arrested
Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:17pm EST MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – Jean-Claude Mas, the Frenchman who sparked a global health scare by selling substandard breast implants, was arrested on Thursday as Marseille prosecutors build a case against him for manslaughter. In the first arrests since the two-year-old scandal made headlines worldwide in December, Mas and a [...]