VIDEO: Oscar nominees gather for lunch

VIDEO: Oscar nominees gather for lunch

VIDEO: Oscar nominees gather for lunch

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:11 PM PST

The traditional Academy Awards Nominees luncheon has been held in Hollywood, with more than 160 Oscar contenders including Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain and 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis.

Bangladesh official gets life for war crimes

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:36 PM PST

Abdul Kader Mullah, senior Jamaat-e-Islami party leader, jailed for life for crimes against humanity during 1971 war.

'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt' Bigger Than Skyrim, 30 Times The Size Of 'The Witcher 2'

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:53 PM PST

'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt' has been revealed, and while details are scant, CD Projekt RED's next-gen RPG already looks amazing.

Mexico: gas leak caused state oil company blast

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:17 PM PST

An employee culls through debris searching for office documents amid the rubble left from an office building explosion, in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. A Thursday blast collapsed the lower floors of the Mexican state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, headquarters, crushing at least 33 people beneath tons of rubble and injuring 121. A Pemex spokesman said the floors hit by the explosion housed administrative offices. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY (AP) — A gas buildup ignited by an electrical spark or other heat source caused the blast that killed 37 people and wounded dozens of others last week at the state oil company's headquarters, Mexico's attorney general said.

Iran arrests former Tehran prosecutor

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:31 PM PST

Saeed Mortazavi's arrest "possibly" in connection with allegations of torture, semi-official Fars agency reports.

VIDEO: Boy rescued as US kidnapper dies

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:09 PM PST

A kidnapper in the US state of Alabama has died after police raided his bunker, saving a five-year-old boy held captive inside for six days.

'Al-Qaeda fighters' arrested in northern Mali

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:42 PM PST

Malian forces capture eight suspected al-Qaeda-linked fighters, as French jets target fuel depots near Algerian border.

Strike over war crimes trial hits Bangladesh

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:57 PM PST

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The verdict against a top leader of Bangladesh's largest Islamic party was being read Tuesday as the group enforced a general strike to protest his prosecution and others on charges of crimes against humanity during the nation's 1971 independence war.

What Would Happen If America Got Free, 'Nationwide' WiFi? Google Wins, Carriers Lose

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:51 PM PST

If you're seeking an example of economic disruption, look no further than the Federal Trade Commission's designs for Wi-Fi networks that cover large swathes of the United States. A proposal pending before an FCC panel aims to make access to the Internet and phone calls free and easy for millions of people across the United States. There's a big if here. Having already run the political gauntlet for years, the proposal would face a logistical nightmare if approved.

Pro-Ahmadinejad former Iranian prosecutor arrested

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:25 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - A former Iranian prosecutor linked to the deaths of anti-government protesters and at the center of a power struggle between the country's president and parliamentary speaker has been arrested, the Tehran prosecutor's office said. No reason was given for the arrest of Saeed Mortazavi, who has played a central role in stamping out dissent following the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, and been described by Human Rights Watch as a "serial human rights abuser". ...

Pro-Ahmadinejad former Iranian prosecutor arrested

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:25 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - A former Iranian prosecutor linked to the deaths of anti-government protesters and at the center of a power struggle between the country's president and parliamentary speaker has been arrested, the Tehran prosecutor's office said.

Golf's Hottest Club of 2013 - Now On Sale

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:59 PM PST

When Dustin Johnson kicked off the 2013 PGA Tour season by winning its first event in Hawaii last month, he was using the hottest driver in the game. Now you can too.

How to Guestimate Housing Direct Contribution to GDP Growth

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:55 PM PST

I am still seeing a lot of arguments similar to the one implicit in this chart That is, since housing has declined as a percentage of GDP, it is no longer a strong contributor to GDP growth. I am sure most readers can tick off all of the knock-on effects to a stronger housing, from higher truck sales to larger Mortgage Equity Withdrawal. However, the point I want to make is purely mathematical. A sector's fraction of GDP does not give you a lot of immediate insight into the  contribution it makes to GDP growth. What matters is the absolute change in the size of the sector. In 2011 housing was 2.5% of GDP. If it doubled in absolute size over the next year it would directly contribute just under 2.5 percentage points to GDP growth. If growth from the rest of the economy added up to a disappointing 2%, then the direct contribution from housing would put growth for the entire year at a strong 4.5%. That's without any knock-on effects, multipliers, etc. So what does the absolute change in housing look like now? We can do a rough and ready similar to what the BEA does in its advanced GDP report and look at the absolute change in starts quarter-over-quarter. By that measure housing direct contribution is higher than its been anytime since roughly 2003 and indeed significantly higher than in 2005. That's because even though housing was a much larger fraction of GDP in 2005, it wasn't growing strongly, and of course a sector has to grow in order to contribute to economic growth. As the data continue to come, the BEA switches to value put in place. That gives a milder reading and a more elevated reading at the very begining of 2005. This is due to inertia both in the way the data is estimated and in the actual construction process. However, even here the contribution is strong growing, and given current starts, likely to eclipse the peak set during the first half of the 2000s.

5-Star Linebacker Reuben Foster Verbally Commits to Alabama -- After Getting Auburn Tattoo

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:55 PM PST

High school athletes give a verbal promise to attend a college and then back out for another school time and time again. It's almost a given that head coaches can't breathe a sigh of relief until they have a promise in ink from their future players.

The 20 Youngest Power African Women

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:54 PM PST

Microsoft And China's Huawei Want To Power One Million New African Businesses By 2016

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:54 PM PST

Microsoft and Huawei are introducing the Huawei 4Afrika, a full-functionality Windows Phone 8, preloaded with select applications designed for Africa.

Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:54 PM PST

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013) is a new book co-authored by management legend, A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble [PG] and Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. The book uses P&G as full-length case study on strategy. I talked with Roger recently about his new book.

Two killed, four injured in Ecuador pro-government rally

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:42 PM PST

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa greets indigneous Indian supporters during a political rally in ZumbahuaQUITO (Reuters) - Two supporters of Ecuador's president Rafael Correa were killed on Monday and four more suffered stab wounds during a campaign rally almost two weeks before a presidential election that the leftist leader is expected to win comfortably. "Crazy person stabs seven AP people while they were waiting for the President. Two have been killed," Correa said in his Twitter account, referring to supporters of the ruling Alianza Pais political movement, known as AP. ...

Official: Gas leak caused Mexico oil company blast

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:57 PM PST

An employee culls through debris searching for office documents amid the rubble left from an office building explosion, in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. A Thursday blast collapsed the lower floors of the Mexican state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, headquarters, crushing at least 33 people beneath tons of rubble and injuring 121. A Pemex spokesman said the floors hit by the explosion housed administrative offices. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY (AP) — A gas buildup under a building in the headquarters of Mexico's state oil company caused a blast that killed 37 people and wounded dozens, the attorney-general said Monday, ending days of near-total silence by authorities about the petroleum giant's worst disaster in more than a decade.

The World in 2033: Big Thinkers And Futurists Share Their Thoughts

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:36 PM PST

Put yourself back in 1993.  Could you have predicted the success of the web, tablets and smartphones, privatized space travel, the rise of terrorism, or the myriad of small changes that impact how you live today? To do that going forward and to predict our world in 2033, you need the voices of the smartest minds on the planet to spot trends in their areas of discipline and give us insight into where we are heading.  Interviewed, and quoted directly for this piece are just such a group of visionaries, leaders, and big thinkers like: Ray Kurzweil on Technology Robert Kaplan on Global Conflict Khan Academy on Education Virgin Galactic on Space Travel Oliver Bussmann on The Global Workforce John Allen on Religion Dr. Gene Robinson on Global Climate, and Bonus insights from an aspiring leader Whether you just read your favorite author, research your area of interest, download the supplemental deck, or view them all together, you will see that these visionaries agree on two things: there will be change - sometime dramatic change - in our future, and there is  . . . hope. On Technology: Ray Kurzweil "20 years from now, biotechnology – reprogramming biology as an information process – will be in a mature phase.  We will routinely turn off genes that promote disease and aging such as the fat insulin receptor gene that tells the fat cells to hold onto excess fat.  We will be able to add genes that protect us from diseases such as cancer and heart disease.  Major killers such as these will be under control.  We will be growing new organs from stem cells that are created from our own skin cells.  We will be able to rejuvenate our organs in place by gradually replacing aging cells that contain genetic errors and short telomeres with cells containing our own DNA but without errors and with extended telomeres.  Overall we will be adding more than a year every year to your own remaining life expectancy, which will represent a turning point in life extension.
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Sri Lankan Leader Seems to Reject Greater Autonomy for Tamils

Sri Lankan Leader Seems to Reject Greater Autonomy for Tamils

Sri Lankan Leader Seems to Reject Greater Autonomy for Tamils

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:40 PM PST

President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised for years to support greater political autonomy for the country's Tamil ethnic minority in the wake of a bloody civil war.

Bin Laden city to build fun park

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:38 PM PST

The Pakistani city where Osama Bin Laden was found and killed is building an amusement park in a bid to boost tourism, officials say.

Bin Laden city to build fun park

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:38 PM PST

The Pakistani city where Osama Bin Laden was found and killed is building an amusement park in a bid to boost tourism, officials say.

VIDEO: Dylan Hall: Thai internet sensation

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:02 AM PST

Three-year-old Dylan Hall became an internet sensation in Thailand after his parents posted a video of him on YouTube reciting the Thai alphabet.

IRA supergrass 'not abandoned'

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:50 AM PST

The case of an IRA informer who said he was abandoned by MI5 is rejected by a tribunal which considers complaints against the security services.

Former FBI official questioned on role in abuse of intelligence-gathering tools

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST

A senior Republican lawmaker is probing allegations that the former general counsel of the FBI bore greater responsibility for abuses of surveillance authorities than previously known.

The former official, Valerie E. Caproni, left the FBI in 2011 and has been nominated by President Obama to a be a judge in the Southern District of New York.

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State Department strains to avoid Israeli-Palestinian textbook dispute

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:09 PM PST

WASHINGTON State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland did rhetorical backflips Monday to avoid taking any position on a new U.S.-funded study that faulted both Palestinian and Israeli textbooks as misleading and one-sided.

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India protesters decry new rape law

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:21 PM PST

Activists say legalisation passed in the wake of fatal gang-rape does not go far enough.

FBI examines US death in Turkey

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:20 PM PST

The FBI is helping Turkish authorities investigate how a mother-of-two from New York died in Istanbul, a US congressman has said.

Brazilian Congress elects leaders probed for corruption

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:59 PM PST

BRASILIA (Reuters) - In a country that has taken big strides toward greater transparency in government in recent years, the Brazilian Congress is out of step.

South Sudan fails to withdraw troops from Sudan border

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:52 PM PST

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's army said there were no orders to withdraw from the border with Sudan to set up a buffer zone by a deadline on Monday, despite the government saying last month it had begun pulling back its troops.

In Minneapolis, Obama Presses Case for Tougher Gun Laws

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:06 PM PST

President Obama cited the city's successful gun violence prevention efforts, even as evidence mounted that expanded background checks on sales may emerge as a compromise.

High-Level Feud Bares Tensions in Iran

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:49 AM PST

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated a political fight with Iran's most influential political family by disclosing secret film recordings of what he purported were fraudulent business deals.

US 'will sue' Standard & Poor's

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:58 PM PST

Credit agency Standard & Poor's says it is to be sued by the US government over its rating of mortgage bonds before the financial crisis.

Colombian ELN rebels capture two thought to be German citizens

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:36 PM PST

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) said on Monday they have captured two men believed to be from Germany, the second time in a month the armed group has seized foreigners.

Three decades on, survivors of worst Pemex blast still want answers

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:21 PM PST

SAN JUAN IXHUATEPEC, Mexico (Reuters) - As Mexico waits for news of what caused a deadly blast at the headquarters of state oil giant Pemex last week, survivors of the worst explosion in the company's history three decades ago still wonder what exactly happened then and what became of their friends.

Kerry takes the helm at State, signaling early push on peace in Middle East

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:18 PM PST

New Secretary of State John F. Kerry is signaling an early push to rekindle Middle East peace talks, making lengthy telephone calls to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders even before starting work at the State Department on Monday.

Read full article >>

U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa defined by a decade of missteps

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:17 PM PST

The U.S. military was closely tracking a one-eyed bandit across the Sahara in 2003 when it confronted a hard choice that is still reverberating a decade later. Should it try to kill or capture the target, an Algerian jihadist named Mokhtar Belmokhtar, or let him go?

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'Zero Dark Thirty' a hit in Pakistan, despite being seen as 'a pack of lies'

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:59 AM PST

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — "Zero Dark Thirty," the Oscar-nominated film about the CIA's 10-year hunt for Osama bin Laden, stirred great umbrage in the Distict with its implication that the brutal interrogation technique known as waterboarding was key to locating the al-Qaeda chief, who hid out in Pakistan for years.

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Preacher on trial in daughter's slaying

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:31 AM PST

Outrage is mounting in Saudi Arabia about the case of a 5-year-old girl who died after allegedly being beaten and tortured by her father, who activists say is an Islamist preacher.
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Covert Islamisation Part 2: What the bishops found out

Covert Islamisation Part 2: What the bishops found out

Covert Islamisation Part 2: What the bishops found out

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:00 AM PST

By BOB TEOH

In Part 1, the Catholic Church in Sabah has exposed a covert ploy to convert under-aged students to Islam in Labuan and complained that non-Muslim students at the Labuan Matriculation College between 17 and 18 years old, "are constantly subjected to various forms of harassment, ridicule and pressure to change their religion."

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Up to 37.5 per cent rebates, discounts on expressways during CNY

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:39 AM PST

Motorists using 24 expressways during the Chinese New Year will enjoy toll rebates and discounts of between five and 37.5 per cent.

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Myanmar starts peace talks with top Kachin leaders in China

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:10 AM PST

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's government started talks with top commanders of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) rebel group in China on Monday to try to rescue a faltering peace process and end one of the country's bloodiest ethnic conflicts.

Syrian opposition chief under fire for talks with Assad allies

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 10:07 PM PST

MUNICH, Feb 4 – Syria's opposition leader flew back to his Cairo headquarters from Germany yesterday to explain to skeptical allies his decision to talk with President Bashar al-Assad's main backers Russia and Iran. The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, and US Vice-President Joe Biden, portrayed Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz ...

Three bodies found at blast site, toll reaches 36

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 10:01 PM PST

MEXICO CITY, Feb 4 – Mexican rescue workers found three more bodies over the weekend amid the rubble of a deadly blast that tore through state oil firm Pemex's main office complex, the government said, as search efforts appeared to near a close. The death toll from Thursday's explosion stands at 36, Pemex said via Twitter. Rescue workers had been ...

Malala has successful skull surgery

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 08:55 PM PST

LONDON, Feb 4 – A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education has undergone successful surgery at a British hospital to reconstruct her skull and help restore lost hearing. A team of doctors carried out a five-hour operation on Saturday on 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in October and brought ...

Man stripped and beaten blames Egyptian police

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 08:21 PM PST

CAIRO, Feb 4 – A man who was beaten and dragged naked across the ground during a demonstration on Friday told the public prosecution that Egyptian riot police were responsible for the incident, reversing an earlier statement in which he blamed demonstrators. A video of Hamada Saber, 48, being beaten with truncheons by helmeted police has ...

Fidel Castro votes, chats in Cuban election

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 08:13 PM PST

HAVANA, Feb 4 – Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro voted in Cuba's general election yesterday and chatted with well wishers and Cuban reporters in Havana for more than an hour, in his first extended public appearance since 2010. Castro had voted from his home in three previous elections since taking ill in 2006 and ceding power to his brother Raul ...

Obama urges Boy Scouts to end gay ban

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 06:52 PM PST

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 – President Barack Obama yesterday encouraged the Boy Scouts of America to end its ban on gay members and leaders, days before the group is expected to vote on the controversial and long-standing rule. In an interview with CBS, anchor Scott Pelley asked the president if he believed scouting should be open to gays. "Yes," Obama ...

Deadly Pemex blast tests Mexico’s new president

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 06:18 PM PST

MEXICO CITY, Feb 4 – A deadly blast at Mexican state oil firm Pemex's headquarters is the first key test of new President Pena Nieto's promise that his party has broken with a past of shady cover-ups, and if handled properly, could help him overhaul the lumbering giant. The disaster on Thursday struck two months into Pena Nieto's presidency, just ...

Analysis - At last EU has Cyprus leverage, but will it use it?

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 10:54 PM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - For the first time since Cyprus joined the European Union nearly a decade ago, its partners have financial leverage to press for a settlement of the island's almost 40-year division.

Vietnam hands down long jail terms in subversion case - TV

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 10:47 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A court in Vietnam has sentenced a man to life in prison and given jail terms of up to 17 years to other defendants after they were found guilty of subversive activities, state-run Vietnam Television said on Monday.

Selangor govt fails to set aside suit by 711 water consumers

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:02 AM PST

The High Court here today rejected with costs the application by the Selangor government and Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to set aside a suit filed by 711 water consumers in the state.

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Sungai Air Tawar rep not to contest in next election

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:02 AM PST

Sungai Air Tawar assemblyman Datuk Raja Ideris Raja Ahmad said today he would decline to be fielded for the sixth time in the next general election.

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Blood on the tracks at Malaysia's first 'zombie run'

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:46 PM PST

Malaysians smeared with fake blood roamed a jungle range on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur Saturday in the Southeast Asian's country's first "zombie run".

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US winter almost over: Phil the groundhog

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:42 PM PST

It's official, at least according to America's most celebrated groundhog: spring is around the corner.

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Suu Kyi enchanted by Harry Potter books

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:42 PM PST

Democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi revealed her love of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books as she waxed lyrical about her favourite reads at Myanmar's first international literary festival on Saturday.

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Tokyo zoo stages 'zebra escape'

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:41 PM PST

About 60 staff at a Tokyo zoo chased around a keeper dressed as a zebra on Friday in a drill to simulate one of the park's animal inhabitants making a break for freedom.

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Vienna museum to welcome art buffs in the buff

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:40 PM PST

Vienna's Leopold Museum said Friday that visitors are welcome to strip off at a special nudist night later this month and admire its popular "Nude Men" exhibition as nature intended.

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Solar smartphone to debut at Mobile World Congress

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:38 PM PST

French company Wysips will present an entirely functional smartphone with a solar component beneath the screen that provides it with enough energy to ensure the phone is permanently charged.

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