Chavez battling savere lung infection

Chavez battling 'severe'lung infection UPDATED: Jan 4, 2013 07:01 GMT Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is battling a"severe" lung infection that has caused respiratory failure, a top official said. Chavez, 58, has been hospitalized in Cuba since undergoing cancer surgery more than three weeks ago. He is following a strict treatment regimen for"respiratory insufficiency" caused by the infection, Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a televised statement Thursday night. The information minister did not provide details about the treatment or prognosis. How Venezuela is coping with uncertain times "It is something quite serious in many cases," said Dr. Elmer Huerta, an oncologist and past president of the American Cancer Society. Chavez is likely on artificial respiration and receiving high does of antibiotics, Huerta told CNN en Español. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Chavez's immune system is already weakened from cancer, he said. While officials have previously mentioned the respiratory infection and described Chavez's health situation as delicate, Thursday night's statement was notably different from past government announcements, Huerta said. "Of the 20-some statementsthey have given, this is the first one that really mentions key medical words," he said. The phrases "severe lung infection" and "respiratory insufficiency," he said, "say a lot about the delicacy of President Chavez at the moment."

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A man who allegely lived with girlfriend corpse in apartment convicted of murder

Man who allegedly lived with girlfriend's corpse in apartment convicted of murder Jan 03, 2013 12:00 AM EST A Stockton man prosecutors say lived with his girlfriend's rotting corpse for several months has been convicted of murder. Sacramento television station CBS-13 reports that San Joaquin County jurors on Wednesday found Devon Epps guilty of murder, as wellas murder by torture, rape and other charges. Epps was arrested after an apartment manager found thebadly decomposed body of 35-year-old Veronica Jones in a bathtub of the apartmentwhen he went to evict Epps in December 2011. At the time, Jones had been missing for six months. The 37-year-old Epps is dueback in court on Thursday for the sanity phase of the trial. Prosecutors say a judge ordered a mental evaluation for Epps the first time he appeared in court because of his behavior.

Mubarak dictated response to protests in Cairo

Mubarak Dictated Response to Protests in Cairo, Report Says CAIRO - Sitting in his palace in early 2011, as protests against him consumed Egypt,President Hosni Mubarak watched live video feeds of the demonstrations in TahrirSquare and the brutal response by his security forces, who used clubs, teargas and live ammunition against civilians, according to a commission investigatingdeaths during the 18-day revolt and its aftermath.

U.S drone strike kills pakistani top millitant

U.S. Drone Strike Kills aTop Pakistani Militant ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An American drone strike killed a top Pakistani militant commander in a northwestern tribal region, security officials said on Thursday. The death of Maulvi Nazir was seen as a serious blow to Taliban fighters who attack United States and allied forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The drone strike took place Wednesday night and targeted Mr. Nazir's vehicle in the Angoor Adda area in South Waziristan. Five otherpeople were also killed, including one of his key aides, officials said.