Italy's centre-left rules out grand coalition: paper

Italy's centre-left rules out grand coalition: paper


Italy's centre-left rules out grand coalition: paper

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 10:59 PM PST

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's centre-left will not form a grand coalition with Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right group after inconclusive parliamentary elections earlier this week, its leader Pier Luigi Bersani said in an interview on Friday.

IRS Expands Independent Contractor Amnesty

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 10:20 PM PST

Every company with employees and independent contractors knows the IRS and other agencies can reclassify independent contractors. The IRS prefers employees. After all, IRS statistics show that contractors don't always pay their taxes. The IRS gets taxes quicker and more reliably via withholding. What's more, withholding includes payroll taxes, while self-employment tax—which independent contractors are supposed to pay—is notoriously under-collected.

VIDEO: Newtown dad weeps at hearing

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:14 PM PST

Neil Heslin, the father of a boy slain in a mass school shooting in December, has broken down in tears at a US Senate hearing on a proposed assault weapons ban.

VIDEO: 'Baby Doc' Duvalier appears in court

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 06:24 PM PST

Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has appeared in court for a hearing to determine if he can be charged with crimes against humanity.

VIDEO: Mexicans offered gifts for guns

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 03:03 PM PST

The people of Mexico City are being given the option to exchange their guns for presents or cash, in a government attempt to curb gun-related crimes.

Malaysia raids Sabah village to end standoff

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 10:53 PM PST

At least 10 reportedly killed in clashes on Malaysian island, occupied by armed clan from Philippines.

After Death Your Facebook Account May Become the Subject of a Lawsuit

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:59 PM PST

In a new article in the Pepperdine University LawReview entitled What Happens to Our Facebook Accounts When We Die?: Probate versus Policy and the Fate of Social-Media Assets Postmortem (free download available here),* Kristina Sherry explores what happens to our digital lives when our real lives end.

China moves ahead with North Korea trade zone despite nuclear test

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:38 PM PST

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un leaves after attending a photo session with participants of a meeting of officials guiding party lectures for the whole armyHONG KONG (Reuters) - China appears to be pressing ahead with plans to invest in a North Korean free trade zone in a sign that its recent nuclear test has not soured its economic ties with its only major ally. While Beijing has not made clear whether the test would disrupt its investment plans for the Rason economic zone, an official at the zone's joint management office told Reuters that all previously announced Chinese projects for the zone remain on track, including a power line from China to ease acute electricity shortages there. ...


Recent Cyber Attacks

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 09:21 PM PST

Security Experts Warn State Governments Face Losing Battle With Hackers

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 09:21 PM PST

The email sent to several thousand of state employees in early February looked official. It featured the state logo and a familiar warning that email access was about to be cut off because the employee's inbox was too full. The email invited employees to click on a link to solve the problem. If an employee clicked, a screen popped up asking for more data, including the employee's name, login and password.

3 Things Investors Want From You

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 09:01 PM PST

Stephanie Burns is the founder and CEO of Chic CEO - a free resource for female entrepreneurs. You can follow her on Twitter at @StephanieABurns or Chic CEO at @ChicCEO.

New York Philharmonic Revives 'Carousel,' With TV Broadcast In April

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:47 PM PST

Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical, Carousel, is getting a mini-revival this week by the New York Philharmonic, a production that will be broadcast April 26 on PBS' Live from Lincoln Center .

Violence erupts at Malaysian standoff, armed group says 10 dead

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 10:42 PM PST

Former Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III prays inside his residence at Maharlika village, Taguig city, south of ManilaMANILA (Reuters) - A standoff in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah erupted in violence on Friday, with a spokesman for a group of armed Filipinos occupying a village there saying 10 members of the group had been killed when police raided their camp. But the Malaysian home minister denied that police had fired a shot and the Philippine government said it had received no reports of casualties among the group, who are followers of the Sultanate of Sulu, in the southern Philippines. ...


9 Recommendations To Continue California's Clean Energy Boom

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:58 PM PST

California is the nation's largest solar market. Consumers have installed more than 140,000 solar energy systems, with a generating capacity of 1.5 gigawatts, in the state to date, according to Vote Solar, a San Francisco-based non-profit. Despite the success, and because of its solar potential, most observers believe California can do even better.

Magnificent Machines: 8 Fast And Sexy Cars To Debut At The 2013 Geneva Motor Show

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:56 PM PST

Sports cars and luxury cars are undergoing a metamorphosis, and this dynamic will be on display at the Geneva Motor Show.

A Pop Phone For The Kids: Japanese Blog Says $330 Plastic iPhone Is In The Works

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:56 PM PST

The Japanese tech blog Macotakara is reporting a rumored "cheaper" iPhone made out of polycarbonate plastic in a variety of colors to be priced at $330. The most interesting thing about the rumor to me was Macotakara's headline (badly translated by Google as, "The cheaper version iPhone, iPhone for POP instead of iPhone cheap?") which contrasts the goal of the new product as being "pop" instead of "cheap."

The Sequester in Plain English

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:54 PM PST

The "sequester" about to go into effect requires the federal government to cut spending by $85 billion this fiscal year. This will, the President tells us, result in drastic cuts in essential services, like air traffic control, meat inspections, and aircraft carrier deployments. Air traffic will be delayed, meat will disappear from supermarket shelves, and national defense will be endangered. Criminal illegal aliens will be released onto the streets.

Land Rover Experiments With Making Its Defender 110 An Electric Vehicle

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:52 PM PST

Off-roading could be the next frontier for electric vehicles.

Sotomayor Reminisces About Her Youth And First Day On Supreme Court

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:46 PM PST

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's new memoir, My Beloved World, was written, she says, to answer people's questions about her life before her appointment and to inspire others to follow their dreams.

Grand Central Terminal Celebrates Centennial With 'Grand By Design' Exhibit

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 08:43 PM PST

Travelers passing through Grand Central Terminal in New York City might want to leave some extra time to catch a special exhibit, up through March 15, celebrating its centennial.

UK deputy PM pressured in vote, anti-EU party surges

UK deputy PM pressured in vote, anti-EU party surges


UK deputy PM pressured in vote, anti-EU party surges

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 01:15 PM PST

EASTLEIGH, England (Reuters) - Residents of an English town that hardly anyone outside Britain has heard of cast their votes on Thursday in an election that could help determine the political fate of the country's deputy prime minister and, ultimately, its government.

Haringey Journal : Give Us Our Banksy Mural Back, Londoners Say

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 01:07 PM PST

A work by the graffiti artist Banksy that appeared on a wall in Haringey, a borough of London, was ripped out, appearing next in an art auction in Miami.

U.S. to Urge Justices to End California Gay Marriage Ban

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:59 PM PST

The Obama administration had been thought likely to stay out of a Supreme Court challenge to a voter-passed amendment blocking gays from marriage, but it has chosen to support a broad claim on their right to wed.

Exclusive: China plans bond overhaul to fund $6 trillion urbanization - sources

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 01:17 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans major bond market reform to raise the money the ruling Communist Party needs for a 40 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) urbanization program to buoy economic growth and close a chasm between the country's urban rich and rural poor.

Israel, Turkey row over Zionism deepens rift between ex-allies

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 01:09 PM PST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's prime minister accused his Turkish counterpart on Thursday of making "dark and false" statements by calling Zionism a crime against humanity - comments likely to hit efforts to repair ties between the two former allies.

Argentina Approves Deal With Iran

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:18 AM PST

Argentina's Congress passed controversial legislation that will create a "Truth Commission" with Iran to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.

Lithuanian Leader Affirms Euro's Appeal

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:53 AM PST

The newly installed prime minister, Algirdas Butkevicius, said the euro hasn't lost its appeal for the small Baltic nation despite the economic woes besetting Europe's common currency bloc, and he hoped his country would adopt it by the start of 2015.

S Africa police hit by 'dragging video'

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:48 PM PST

President Zuma calls treatment of Mozambican taxi driver, found found dead in detention, "horrific and disturbing".

Somalia's president wants partial amnesty for boy pirates

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:51 PM PST

Somalia's president intends to offer partial amnesty to boys involved with pirate groups, a move designed to curb attacks on shipping off the Horn of Africa, his office says.

Poll: Only half of Americans believe U.S. is world's top military power

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:04 PM PST

Nearly half of all Americans don't believe the U.S. is the world's leading military power, the most that have felt that way since 1999, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll asked 1,015 adults whether they believed the U.S. was the world's military leader, or one of several. Only 50 percent said it was number one.

Read full article >>

Death blaze covert recordings played

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:53 AM PST

Covert hotel recordings of three people accused of killing six children in a house fire have been played to a court.

Fujitsu makes 'smart walking stick'

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:08 PM PST

A walking stick designed for old people - with built in GPS and a heart monitor - is demonstrated at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Hydrogen's energy promise improves

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:05 PM PST

A new process for extracting hydrogen from a liquid fuel could sweep aside one obstacle to a "hydrogen economy".

With Iowa Swabian Hall, a Farmer’s Quest for Perfect Pig

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 10:12 AM PST

Carl Edgar Blake II is trying to breed the perfect pig — fatty, meaty and flavorful — in hopes of transforming an industry. The early reviews have been promising.

Haringey Journal : Give Us Our Bansky Mural Back, Londoners Say

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:47 AM PST

A work by the graffiti artist Banksy that appeared on a wall in Haringey, a borough of London, was ripped out, appearing next in an art auction in Miami.

Dow Nears Record as Investors Find Reasons to Buy

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:25 PM PST

Stocks traded higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average inching toward a record high.

Call to lift ban on rhino horn trade

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:44 AM PST

Humanely shaving the horns of live rhinos and legalising the trade could save the species say scientists.

Cyprus president says committed to stability, swift bailout

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:44 AM PST

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's new President Nicos Anastasiades vowed on Thursday to work for a swift conclusion of a bailout for the cash-starved island, ruling out debt or deposit "haircuts" for the Mediterranean nation threatened with a financial meltdown.

The Caucus: For Michelle Obama, a Second-Term Agenda Focused on Children

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 01:07 PM PST

Michelle Obama said that whatever work she would do in the second agenda would likely build on her efforts to help children, possibly internationally

Army Private Admits Giving Military Files to WikiLeaks

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 11:05 AM PST

Pfc. Bradley Manning confessed in open court on Thursday, saying that he wanted the information to become public "to make the world a better place."

No comparison between pharaoh and BN: observers

No comparison between pharaoh and BN: observers


No comparison between pharaoh and BN: observers

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:39 AM PST

The move by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to equate the Barisan Nasional (BN) aid to the people, with that of a handout by a 'pharaoh' (title given to kings of ancient Egypt), has been denounced as highly unbecoming of a religious leader.

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Samsung named top device maker at Mobile World Congress

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:29 AM PST

At this year's GSMA Global Mobile Awards, announced at the Mobile World Congress Wednesday, Samsung cleaned up, scooping five awards in total though there was also good news for Nokia and Asus.

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Study on static civil servant salary presented to govt

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:57 PM PST

A study on the static salary of civil servants has been presented to the government for consideration by the Cabinet Salary Committee.

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New top diplomats in China signal focus on US, Japan, North Korea

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 12:26 AM PST

BEIJING, Feb 28 — China is signalling that it is keen to get on top of troubled ties with the United States, Japan and North Korea with the likely appointment of two officials with deep experience of these countries to its top diplomatic posts. Current Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, ambassador to Washington from 2001-2005 and a polished English ...


France's Hollande to raise human rights in Russia

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:51 PM PST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande will raise concerns about Russia's human rights record with Vladimir Putin on Thursday but he sought to play down differences that might undermine trade ties.


Indonesia finance minister says not being pushed out of job

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:37 PM PST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's finance minister denied on Thursday that he was being pushed out his job, dismissing speculation that he was being shifted to the post of central bank governor because he had crossed swords with politically powerful businessmen.


VIDEO: Ex-president Gbabgo to answer charges

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:54 PM PST

Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of the Ivory Coast, made history when he became the first former head of state to face charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

VIDEO: Newtown dad weeps at hearing

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:14 PM PST

Neil Heslin, the father of a boy slain in a mass school shooting in December, has broken down in tears at a US Senate hearing on a proposed assault weapons ban.

VIDEO: Kampusch attends 3,096 Days premiere

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:28 PM PST

Natascha Kampusch has attended some of the first screenings of a film based on her kidnap ordeal

Yemen kidnappers free Swiss woman after Qatari mediation

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:18 PM PST

DOHA, Feb 28 – A Swiss woman held hostage for nearly a year in Yemen has been freed by her kidnappers and flown to Doha following mediation by Qatar, the Qatari state news agency QNA reported today. Armed tribesmen had kidnapped the teacher in the western Yemeni port city of Hudaida in March last year to press their government to free jailed ...


Japan robot suit gets global safety certificate

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:22 PM PST

A robot suit that can help the elderly or disabled get around was given its global safety certificate in Japan on Wednesday, paving the way for its worldwide rollout.

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Adobe releases Photoshop Touch app for Android, OS smartphones

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:20 PM PST

Photoshop maker Adobe has released Photoshop Touch for Android and OS smartphones.

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Instagram hits 100 million users

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:18 PM PST

Photo editing and sharing service Instagram reached 100 million monthly active users on Tuesday, despite many threatening to leave the site after a change of the service agreement in December.

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Cat café and public toilet sandwich shop hit London

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:11 PM PST

From a public toilet turned sandwich shop to a cat café for feline lovers, Londoners are getting an interesting mix of choices for getting their caffeine and animal fix.

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New car prices falling since last year: Mustapa

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 11:10 PM PST

Prices of new cars have started to drop by RM2,200 to RM17,000 since last year, depending on the models, said Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

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Is it all about interests?

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:58 PM PST

Pre-election analyses and polls are just a component part of democratic electoral process. You can either believe them or not. Some take them as a reference while some just ignore them. There is really no need to over interpret and being emotionally driven by them.

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Hearing of Husam's suit against blogger postponed to Monday

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:57 PM PST

The High Court today postponed to Monday the hearing of the RM5-million suit filed by PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa against a blogger for posting three articles which allegedly defamed him.

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Chinese businesses upbeat over outlook

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:31 PM PST

The Chinese business community is optimistic over the economic outlook from 2013 to 2015 on the back of a better 2012 second half (H2) performance.

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"Dangerous" air quality in northern China

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:27 PM PST

The air quality in Beijing and nearby regions hit dangerous levels Thursday, China's Xinhua news agency quoted Beijing's environmental authorities as saying.

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VIDEO: Australia finds largest meth haul

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:51 PM PST

Australian police say they have made their largest-ever seizure of the drug methamphetamine hidden in a shipment from southern China