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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Chen Guang-who? Chinese official claims ignorance of blind activist

BEIJING (Reuters) – Despite causing a huge diplomatic incident between the world’s two largest economies earlier this year, the Chinese official in charge of the hometown of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng said on Friday that he has no idea who he was.Chen, one of China’s most prominent human rights advocates, slipped away from under the noses of...

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States given more time to work on health exchanges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration gave states extra time to work toward setting up new health insurance exchanges on Friday, days after President Barack Obama‘s re-election ensured the survival of his healthcare reform law.The move is seen as a concession to dozens of states that delayed compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable...

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IAG reveals 4,500 Iberia job cuts

9 November 2012 Last updated at 06:19 ETBritish Airways-owner IAG has announced 4,500 job cuts at Iberia as part of a widely anticipated restructuring of the Spanish carrier. Iberia is cutting its 156-strong fleet by 25 aircraft, and reducing 15% of its network capacity, with the airline focusing on the most profitable...

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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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Mark Wahlberg to star in next ‘Transformers’ movie

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Wahlberg, roll out.“Transformers” director Michael Bay says the 41-year-old actor will star in the franchise’s fourth film. Bay called Wahlberg the “perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers‘ legacy” in a post on his blog Thursday. He previously squashed rumors that...

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Achilles Had Only 2 Heels

Recently, I came across the headline “Scientists Find Achilles’ Heel of Cancer Cells”, describing the discovery of a histone deactylase (HDAC11) as a novel target for cancer therapies. I was irritated by the metaphor of Achilles’ heel, because it implied that this was the lone vulnerability of cancer. I was also embarrassed by the fact that I used the...

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Bank hands QE income to Treasury

9 November 2012 Last updated at 09:18 ETThe Bank of England has said it will give the Treasury the interest it earns on certain government debts it holds. The Bank owns £375bn in gilts due to its quantitative easing (QE) policy of buying up debt to boost the economy.The transfer will cut the government’s borrowing needs...

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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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Harvard Students Send First Burger Into Space

One burger has gone where no burger has gone before: the edge of space.Five Harvard students, sponsored by a local burger restaurant, spent about 30 hours total over two weekends sending the first burger toward the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The students, juniors Renzo Lucioni, Nuseir Yassin, Daniel Broudy, Jamie...

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Rihanna a rock star on Victoria’s Secret catwalk

NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna rocked lingerie at Wednesday night’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York, providing the highlight of the live-music soundtrack and holding her own on the catwalk with some of the world’s top models.And those models even had props, including Adriana Lima‘s ringmaster wand, Doutzen Kroes‘ body cage and several pairs of the...

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Canada top court rules against Pfizer in Viagra patent case

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Bank refrains from new stimulus

8 November 2012 Last updated at 07:49 ETThe Bank of England has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme, which has injected £375bn into the UK financial system. Under QE, the Bank creates money and uses it to buy government bonds to try to stimulate the economy.The Bank’s Monetary Policy...

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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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Foxconn’s Gou says tough to cope with iPhone demand

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group said on Wednesday the company’s flagship Hon Hai unit is finding it difficult to cope with the massive demand for Apple Inc‘s iPhones.“It’s not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand,” Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou told reporters after a business forum. However,...

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MTV Launches Fundraiser for “Jersey Shore” Site Ravaged by Sandy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Jersey Shore” might be wrapping up its run, but the spirit of goodwill and humanity that the MTV reality hit has inspired will carry on.MTV will air a one-hour fundraising special to help out Seaside Heights, N.J., the site where Snooki and her fellow orange-hued revelers played out most of their televised shenanigans, and...

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Pfizer returns EU selling rights on Auxilium hand-disorder drug

(Reuters) – Auxilium Inc ended a marketing deal for its hand-disorder drug with Pfizer Inc, regaining the rights to sell the drug in Europe, and pushed up its 2012 revenue forecast to reflect deferred revenue from the termination of the deal.Pfizer, which had the right to negotiate marketing other Xiaflex indications in the European Union, will return...

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The Next Four Years: Obama’s Steady, Slo-Mo Recovery

President Barack Obama promises to use his second term to boost the U.S. economy. The opposite is more like it: A strengthening economy will boost the president’s second term. The likelihood of continued job growth will increase tax revenue, which will make it easier to shrink the budget deficit while keeping taxes low and preserving essential spending....

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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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News Summary: IDC says Apple tablet share drops

HEADING DOWN: Apple‘s share of the market for tablet computers fell to 50 percent in the third quarter as the iPad faced more competition.STILL UP: In the July-September period, Apple shipped 14 million devices, up 26 percent from a year ago. But its share fell because the overall tablet market grew by 50 percent. FACTORS:...

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Springsteen, Jay-Z put the pop in Obama rally

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Someone has to introduce the president.On Monday, the final day of the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama, however, didn’t bring along an opening act. He brought along two main acts. Bruce Springsteen. Jay-Z. Theirs wasn’t an introduction, it was pop culture moment.The Boss was spending...

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Three states to vote on legalizing recreational pot

(Reuters) – Voters in three western U.S. states go to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could spur a showdown with the federal government, with polls showing legalization ahead in Washington and Colorado.If voters approve the measures, the states could become the first in the country to legalize...

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