Chinese Interior Designer Gold Mantis Forges Alliance With HBA After Buying 70% Stake

Chinese Interior Designer Gold Mantis Forges Alliance With HBA After Buying 70% Stake


Chinese Interior Designer Gold Mantis Forges Alliance With HBA After Buying 70% Stake

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 05:54 PM PST

Suzhou Gold Mantis, the Chinese interior design leader whose CEO Ni Lin made the cover of Forbes Asia in September, has formally forged a strategic alliance with Hirsch Bedner Associates after completing the purchase of a 70% stake in the California-based company at the end of last month for $75 [...]

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez not in coma, brother says

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 08:33 PM PST

A Venezuelan man holds a picture of Venezuela's President Chavez during a mass to pray for his recovery at a church in HavanaCARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's cancer-stricken president, Hugo Chavez, is recovering in Cuba and is not in a coma as some have rumored a month after surgery, his brother, Adan Chavez, said after a visit to Havana. The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen or heard from since his December 11 cancer surgery - his fourth such operation after the disease was detected in his pelvic area in mid-2011 - leaving Venezuela in a state of suspense. ...


VIDEO: Costa Concordia 'out by September'

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 09:00 PM PST

The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in Italy will be removed by September at the latest, officials overseeing the work have said.

World's oldest woman dies at 115

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 09:44 PM PST

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese official says a woman in his town near Tokyo who became world's oldest living female just last month has died at 115.

Air pollution in Beijing goes off the index

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:53 PM PST

A man flies a kite near electricity pylons on a hazy day in Beijing Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013. Air pollution levels in China's notoriously dirty capital were at dangerous levels Saturday, with cloudy skies blocking out visibility and warnings issued for people to remain indoors. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)BEIJING (AP) — People refused to venture outdoors and buildings disappeared into Beijing's murky skyline on Sunday as the capital's air quality went off the index.


VIDEO: Nepal bus crash 'leaves 29 dead'

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 08:56 PM PST

Police in Nepal say 29 people have died after a bus veered off a mountain road and crashed.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez not in coma, brother says

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 08:33 PM PST

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's cancer-stricken president, Hugo Chavez, is recovering in Cuba and is not in a coma as some have rumored a month after surgery, his brother, Adan Chavez, said after a visit to Havana.

Health Tracking Gizmos For The New Year

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 03:41 PM PST

The most popular New Year's Resolution is to get healthy or to lose weight.  Here are some ways to do just that with technology. Fitbit One.  Wow - I really like this device.  I have used this for the past couple weeks week and it is great.  This little device is smaller [...]

Israel evacuates Palestinians from tent outpost in West Bank

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 07:59 PM PST

Israeli border police remove a Palestinian from an outpost of tents in an area known as E1, near JerusalemE1, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli security forces evacuated about 100 Palestinians early on Sunday from an outpost of tents pitched in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel has earmarked for a new settlement. Israel's Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Palestinian outpost, built in the geographically sensitive area known as E1, could remain for six days while the issue of the removal of the tents was being discussed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the meantime, ordered those gathered there to be evacuated. ...


Why The Java Bug Is A Big Deal

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 03:17 PM PST

A security flaw in the Java programming language might have a significant negative impact on business.

Planets Outside Of Our Solar System

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:53 PM PST

Astronomers Find The Largest Known Spiral Galaxy

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:53 PM PST

Based on information from the GALEX program, astronomers have crowned spiral galaxy NGC 6872 the largest known galaxy in the universe.

LEGO Unveils Its Next Generation Robot

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:16 PM PST

LEGO has unveiled the third generation of its popular Mindstorms robot, which boasts new features in both its hardware and software.

Flu emergency declared in New York

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 07:07 PM PST

New York's governor makes the announcement as some 20,000 cases have been confirmed in the state alone this season.

Lenin’s tomb should stay in Red Square, Putin says

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 06:44 PM PST

MOSCOW — Vladimir Lenin's embalmed body has been on display in Red Square since 1924. Now another influential Vladi­mir has made clear that Lenin's tomb isn't going anywhere else.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently found time in his busy schedule — which lately has included banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children and giving Russian citizenship to French actor Gerard Depardieu — to compare Lenin's polished granite mausoleum to the relics of saints on display in Orthodox monasteries.

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Palestinian protesters evicted from West Bank site

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 09:55 PM PST

Palestinian activists place Palestinian flags in the new 'outpost ' of Bab al-Shams (Gate of the Sun) in an area known as E1, near Jerusalem, Saturday, Jan 12, 2013. Palestinian activists pitched tents in the West Bank on Friday to protest Israeli plans to build a large Jewish settlement on a key route through the territory. The E-1 settlement would block east Jerusalem from its West Bank hinterland — both territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian protesters who pitched tents at a strategic West Bank site to protest plans to build a Jewish housing project there were evicted early Sunday, police said.


Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 06:20 PM PST

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict.

Italian consul in Benghazi shot at in car but unhurt

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 06:19 PM PST

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - An Italian consul came under fire in his car in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday but was unhurt, Italy said, four months after the U.S. ambassador was killed in an attack on the U.S. mission in the city.

Israel evacuates Palestinians from tent outpost in West Bank

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:14 PM PST

E1, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli security forces evacuated about 100 Palestinians early on Sunday from an outpost of tents pitched in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel has earmarked for a new settlement.

France bombs Mali rebels, African states ready troops

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 06:21 PM PST

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French aircraft pounded Islamist rebels in Mali for a second day on Saturday and neighboring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in an international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaeda expanding their power base.

Azerbaijan police break up protest against violence in army

Azerbaijan police break up protest against violence in army


Azerbaijan police break up protest against violence in army

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 01:04 PM PST

BAKU (Reuters) - Police in Azerbaijan detained several young opposition activists on Saturday who protested in Baku against violence in the military, the first such demonstration in the oil-rich country.

Two Men. One Sky. The Silent Realization of a Purer Form of Flight

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:22 PM PST

Lofted nearly 8,000 feet by the hot air rising from the earth, two hang gliders raced in tight pursuit of the most prized feat in this high adrenaline niche sport: farthest ever flown.

News Analysis: America’s Productivity Climbs, but Wages Stagnate

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 09:06 AM PST

The debt-ceiling debate is unlikely to alter one major factor contributing to income inequality: stagnant wages.

Web activist Aaron Swartz dies

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:54 PM PST

Aaron Swartz, a celebrated internet freedom activist and early developer of the website Reddit, hangs himself at the age of 26.

Explosives thrown at Cairo protesters, tents on fire

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:58 AM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Unknown attackers threw petrol bombs at tents housing protesters outside the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo on Saturday, witnesses said.

Rebels in Myanmar Claim They Shot Down Government Helicopter

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:10 PM PST

Ethnic Kachin rebels battling Myanmar's army said they shot down a government helicopter, but the army denied the claim, saying on Saturday that engine failure caused the crash.

'Dangerous' pollution levels choke Beijing

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:41 PM PST

Pollution reading shown on website of US embassy in Chinese capital shows level of poor air quality off the index.

'Dangerous' pollution levels choke Beijing

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:41 PM PST

Pollution reading shown on website of US embassy in Chinese capital shows level of poor air quality off the index.

Malaysia opposition holds mass election rally

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 04:40 AM PST

Anwar Ibrahim's three-party alliance taps into anti-government sentiment ahead of key general elections in March.

Hugo Chavez not in coma: brother

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:46 AM PST

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez is recovering in Cuba and is not in a coma as some have rumored a month after surgery, his brother, Adan Chavez, said after a visit to Havana.

Italian consul in Benghazi shot at in car but unhurt

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:48 AM PST

TRIPOLI/ROME (Reuters) - An Italian consul came under fire in his car in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday but was unhurt, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

Talks fail to quell Pakistan Shia protests

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:39 AM PST

Demonstrators to continue protests over lack of security as talks between officials and Shia leaders end inconclusively.

Slovenian coalition party asks premier to resign

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:02 AM PST

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - A junior coalition party threatened on Saturday to quit the conservative government of financially troubled Slovenia unless Prime Minister Janez Jansa resigned over corruption allegations.

City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.

Aaron Swartz, Internet Activist, Dies at 26

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:55 AM PST

As a precocious teenager Mr. Swartz helped create RSS, a now ubiquitous format, and later became known for his efforts to make many Internet files available free online.

Israel seeks to remove Palestinian tent outpost in West Bank

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:44 PM PST

E1, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he was seeking court approval to remove an outpost of Palestinian tents pitched in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel has earmarked for a new settlement.

Turkey wants France to explain contacts with Kurd leader

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:54 AM PST

ISTANBUL/PARIS (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded on Saturday that French President Francois Hollande explain why he had met one of three Kurdish militants shot dead in Paris this week.

Erdogan queries Hollande links with dead Kurd

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:42 AM PST

Turkish PM calls on French president to clarify acknowledged meetings with one of the Kurdish activists shot in Paris.

Rio indigenous on eviction alert

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:56 AM PST

Police in Rio de Janeiro encircle a building next to the Maracana football stadium to evict a community that settled in the former Indigenous Museum.

Pakistan's latest political 'drone'

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:45 AM PST

Unease over role of man urging 'long march' on Islamabad

VIDEO: Winter misery for Kabul camp refugees

VIDEO: Winter misery for Kabul camp refugees


VIDEO: Winter misery for Kabul camp refugees

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:10 AM PST

Thousands of displaced people living in camps in and around the Afghan capital Kabul face a difficult winter, with freezing conditions a key concern.

VIDEO: Australia on alert as fires rage

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:15 AM PST

Firefighters in the Australian state of New South Wales are continuing to battle more than a hundred fires - while emergency teams in several other states also face challenging conditions.

VIDEO: Search for China landslide survivors

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:07 AM PST

Rescue teams in China are continuing to search for survivors of a landslide that buried homes in China's southern Yunnan province.

Applicants can raise loans from other financial institutions

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:14 AM PST

Applicants for the Skim Rumah Mesra Rakyat under the auspices of Syarikat Perumahan Nasional Bhd (SPNB) can obtain loans from CIMB Bank, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and Bank Rakyat Bhd beginning this year.

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Slim headband gadget trains your brain

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:14 AM PST

While a slew of new fitness and health trackers are making their debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one of the more unusual devices takes a different approach: it monitors your brainwaves and transmits the readings to your smartphone.

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Apple denies cut-price iPhone rumors

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:12 AM PST

As stories of an upcoming launch of a new, more affordable iPhone mount, Apple's Senior Vice President of Marketing moves to quash rumors.

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Nooh Gadut: those who allow use of word 'Allah' in Bible can be considered apostates

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:01 AM PST

Johor Islamic Religious Council Adviser Datuk Nooh Gadut today said those who allow the abuse of the word 'Allah' can be considered as apostates and should repent immediately.

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No reason to change government says Muhyiddin

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:39 PM PST

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin emphasised that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has brought peace and prosperity for all Malaysians.

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Selangor govt should stop blaming others over water crisis - Najib

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:32 PM PST

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today took to task the Selangor government for blaming others over the water crisis in the Klang Valley.

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Murakami diary app gives iCal a literary look

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:29 PM PST

The "Murakami Diary" launches just in time to mark Haruki Murakami's birthday, the paperback edition of his latest novel "1Q84," and the very pressing need for a more literary makeover of iOS's calendar app iCal in 2013.

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Is this the future of the connected car?

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:12 PM PST

Harman the audio and infotainment company believes the next step for in-car connectivity and entertainment will revolve around gesture controls and head-up displays for increased safety and minimum distraction.

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Java software said to put computers in peril

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:10 PM PST

The US Department of Homeland Security warned Thursday that a flaw in Java software is so dangerous that people should stop using it.

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iHealth introduces smart glucose meter

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:09 PM PST

iHealth, maker of a high-tech suite of data-crunching health trackers, has just added a new device to its impressive lineup: a wireless blood glucometer, giving diabetics an easier way to track their blood glucose on the go.

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French unions, employers agree changes to labour laws

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:03 PM PST

French President Francois Hollande led a chorus of approval after unions and employers reached a deal on reforms to the country's complex labour laws after more than three months of talks.

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Philippine leader keeps gun despite outcry

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 10:32 PM PST

Philippine President Benigno Aquino may continue to carry a gun despite an impending ban on bearing firearms in the run-up to polls, an election official said Saturday.

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Jackie Chan calls US 'most corrupt' country in the world

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 09:13 PM PST

Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan has once again provoked criticism, this time from an American blogger, after suggesting on Chinese television that the US is the "most corrupt" country in the world.

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Nineteen children among 46 dead in China landslide

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 09:08 PM PST

A desperate search for three people missing in a landslide in southwestern China ended on Saturday when their bodies were pulled from the mud, taking the final death toll to 46 -- many of them children.

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Modern art light shines at Gucci museum in Florence

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 08:57 PM PST

The new Gucci Museum in Florence opened its latest show this month -- a selection of US artist Cindy Sherman's early works -- in a setting where mediaeval architecture meets fashion history.

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Italy shipwreck victims' families arrive on island for anniversary

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 08:43 PM PST

Families of Italy's cruise shipwreck victims returned to the site of the disaster on Saturday as preparations got underway for a commemoration ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the fatal crash.

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Nepal bus crash kills 29: police

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 08:41 PM PST

At least 29 people were killed and 12 injured when a bus veered off a narrow mountain road in thick fog in western Nepal on Saturday, a police officer said.

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