Twin explosions strike southern Syrian city

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria‘s state-run news agency says two large explosions have struck the southern city of Daraa, causing multiple casualties and heavy material damage.SANA did not immediately give further information or say what the target of Saturday’s explosions was. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...

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China derides U.S. “Cold War mentality” towards telecoms firm Huawei

BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States is exhibiting a “Cold War mentality” with its fears that Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei poses a security risk because of its ties to the Communist Party, China‘s commerce minister said on Saturday.The U.S. House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee warned last month that Beijing could...

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“Carrie Diaries” Gets January Premiere Date

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – The 1980s-set “Sex and the City” prequel “The Carrie Diaries” will debut on the CW on Monday, January 14, the network announced.“90210,” meanwhile, will move to its new 9 p.m. timeslot. And most CW shows will return from holiday break during that week. “The Carrie Diaries,” one of the CW’s most-anticipated...

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Marijuana possession cases in Washington state going up in smoke

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Prosecutors in Washington state‘s two most populous counties plan to dismiss scores of misdemeanor marijuana possession cases following passage of a landmark voter initiative earlier this week to legalize pot for adult recreational use.Washington and Colorado became the first U.S. states to remove criminal sanctions for personal possession...

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Genius: The Nickelback Story

There are people out there who love Nickelback. And if they pay enough and get close enough to the stage at a concert, Chad Kroeger, the band’s lead singer, rewards them by throwing beers at them, which is what’s happening on a Saturday night at the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, Ind. Kroeger is yelling, “Who’s thirsty?” The crowd is roaring in appreciation....

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Assad says will live and die in Syria

DOHA (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad said he would “live and die” in Syria and warned that any Western invasion to topple him would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East and beyond.Assad’s defiant remarks coincided with a landmark meeting in Qatar on Thursday of Syria’s fractious opposition to hammer out an agreement on a new umbrella...

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Exclusive: SEC left computers vulnerable to cyber attacks – sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Staffers at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission failed to encrypt some of their computers containing highly sensitive information from stock exchanges, leaving the data vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to people familiar with the matter.While the computers were unprotected, there was no evidence that hacking or spying...

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Roger Waters plays with band of wounded veterans

NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Waters honored wounded veterans in New York by performing with them at the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit, Thursday night.The founding member of Pink Floyd took to the stage of the Beacon Theater with 14 wounded soldiers he met recently at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He rehearsed with them at the hospital,...

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Malaria vaccine disappoints in African babies trial

LONDON (Reuters) – A GlaxoSmithKline experimental malaria vaccine touted as a new weapon in the fight to eradicate the deadly disease proved only 30 percent effective when given to African babies in a crucial clinical trial.The surprisingly poor result leaves uncertain whether the vaccine will have a useful role to play in fighting the mosquito-borne disease...

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HSBC to probe ‘criminal’ accounts

9 November 2012 Last updated at 04:23 ETHSBC bank says it is looking into allegations that criminals have used offshore accounts at its Jersey operation for money laundering. The bank issued a statement after the Daily Telegraph newspaper said it was at the centre of a major investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.HSBC...

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Ghana building collapse traps dozens, kills 1

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A five-story shopping center built earlier this year in a bustling suburb of Ghana‘s capital collapsed Wednesday, killing at least one person and leaving several dozen people trapped in the rubble, authorities and eyewitnesses said.Rescue crews used cranes to try and remove debris from the top of the building amid fears that machinery...

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BlackBerry 10 maker dismisses ‘dead on arrival’ comment about new device

OTTAWA – Research In Motion turned to core supporters Wednesday in Ottawa, hoping to upsell its new BlackBerry 10 operating system as the company’s shares fell after a biting report from a securities analyst.The company (TSX:RIM) invited federal politicians and their staff to a sneak preview of the yet-to-be-released devices, an event that RIM’s Canadian...

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“Ode to Joy” for Royal Philharmonic Society’s 200th

LONDON (Reuters) – The British music society that commissioned Beethoven to write his Ninth Symphony and its “Ode to Joy” announced on Wednesday it will celebrate the society’s 2013 bicentenary by showing off its manuscript of the work on both sides of the Atlantic.The Royal Philharmonic Society, founded in London in January, 1813, also will sponsor performances...

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Climate change threatens sweet smell of morning coffee

LONDON (Reuters) – Rising temperatures due to climate change could mean wild arabica coffee is extinct in 70 years, posing a risk to the genetic sustainability of one of the world’s basic commodities, scientists said.Although commercial coffee growers would still be able to cultivate crops in plantations designed with the right conditions, experts say...

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DIY homes ‘should be made easier’

7 November 2012 Last updated at 19:06 ETBy Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News Homeowners should not consider it a “pie in the sky dream” to build their own property, according to the new housing minister.Mark Prisk told mortgage lenders that self-built homes should be considered as one way to boost the...

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Canada firms to capitalize on nuclear trade with India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Canadian firms will be able to export uranium and nuclear reactors to India for the first time in almost four decades under an agreement between the two nations, their prime ministers said, but more work is needed to implement the deal.Once implemented, the agreement will end a ban on nuclear cooperation Canada imposed in 1976 after...

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Election over but final Florida results still not in

MIAMI (Reuters) – Americans gave President Barack Obama a second term in office, but it still wasn’t clear early on Wednesday whether the president won the key battleground state of Florida.The vote in the state, which introduced the terms “hanging chads” and “butterfly ballots” to the masses in its historic 2000 presidential election, was too close to...

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Major markets flat on Obama win

7 November 2012 Last updated at 03:31 ETContinue reading the main story Major share markets were little changed after US President Barack Obama won a second term in office.The UK’s main share index, the FTSE 100 rose by just 16 points in early trading, while Japan’s Nikkei ended down by two points.The US dollar fell...

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Cautious reformers tipped for new China leadership

BEIJING (Reuters) – China‘s ruling Communist Party will this month unveil its new top leadership team, expected to again be an all-male cast of politicians whose instincts are to move cautiously on reform.Sources close to the leadership say 10 main candidates are vying for seven seats on the party’s next Politburo Standing Committee, the peak decision-making...

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