AP Interview: Jackson, cast discuss ‘The Hobbit’

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Many fans are eagerly anticipating a return to the fictional world of Middle-earth with next week’s general release of the first movie in “The Hobbit” trilogy. Director Peter Jackson and the film’s stars speak to The Associated Press about making “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey“:— Jackson on shooting at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24: “We’ve seen...

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Strong quake hits off Japan near Fukushima disaster zone

TOKYO (Reuters) – A strong quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered a one-meter tsunami in an area devastated by last year’s Fukushima disaster, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious damage.The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the U.S. Geological Survey said, adding that there was no risk of a widespread tsunami.The...

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Euro falls on grim economic outlook, U.S. data eyed

LONDON (Reuters) – The bleak outlook for the European economy knocked the euro and stalled gains the region’s share markets on Friday, as investors waited to see if nonfarm payrolls data in the United States might affect its monetary policy plans.A day after the European Central Bank cut its forecasts for growth across the 17-nation euro area next year, Germany’s Bundesbank said there was a chance...

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South Africa military plane crashes in mountains

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African military aircraft on an unknown mission to an area near the village where former President Nelson Mandela lives crashed in a mountain range, officials said Thursday. It was unclear whether there were any survivors.The Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, had taken off from Pretoria’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, said Brig. Gen. Xolani...

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Male artists lead 2013 Grammy nominations

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – Male artists led the nominations announced on Wednesday for the 2013 Grammys, as fun., Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys landed six nods each for music’s biggest awards.The nominations for New York-based indie-pop band fun. – made up of Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff – included the four main categories...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington‘s law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Standard Chartered sees $330 million settlement on Iran

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Standard Chartered expects to pay $ 330 million to settle a case with U.S. regulators who accused the Asia-focused bank of failing to comply with sanctions against Iran, further denting profit growth this year.The settlement will be on top of the $ 340 million it paid to New York’s Department of Financial Services in the third quarter, which pushed its before-tax profit growth...

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Sri Lanka see backlash from Aussie ‘wounded soldiers’

(Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has warned his team to be wary of a backlash from Australia in their three-test series after the hosts were stung by their series defeat to South Africa earlier this week.Australia’s hopes of snatching the Proteas’ top test ranking ended in a crushing 309-run defeat in the third and final test in Perth on Monday, but Jayawardene took little comfort...

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Facebook just realized it made a horrible mistake

Facebook (FB) announced on Tuesday that it will begin opening Facebook Messenger to consumers who do not have a Facebook account, starting in countries like India and South Africa, and later rolling out the service in the United States and Europe. This is a belated acknowledgement of a staggering strategic mistake Facebook made two years ago. That is when the messaging app competition was still...

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Ex-”Malcolm in the Middle” star Muniz, 26, suffers mini-stroke

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former “Malcolm in the Middle” child star Frankie Muniz said on Tuesday he had suffered a mini-stroke, at the age of 26.“I was in the hospital last Friday. I suffered a ‘Mini Stroke‘, which was not fun at all. Have to start taking care of my body! Getting old!,” Muniz said on Twitter.Muniz put his acting career on hold six years ago to race cars for a living, and earlier this...

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