At least 16 die in Egyptian clashes over death sentences

PORT SAID/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 16 people died in a rampage by protesters angry at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, amid a wave of bloody unrest posing a challenge for Egypt's new Islamist rulers. Armored vehicles and military police were deployed on the streets of Port Said after the violence in the Mediterranean city on Saturday. The state news...

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French-led troops seize airport in Mali Islamist bastion

BAMAKO: French-led forces Saturday wrested control of the airport at the Islamist stronghold of Gao, 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) northeast of the Mali capital Bamako, a security source said."Malian and French security forces have secured the airport of Gao and the Wanbary bridge. The two strategic points are under their control," the Malian source said.The airport is located about six...

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Review: While "jOBS" fawns over subject, film falls flat

Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs in "jOBS."(Credit:Five Star Feature Films)PARK CITY, UTAH--The eagerly awaited biopic "jOBS" opens in 2001, when Apple's iconic co-founder arrives at Town Hall on Apple's Cupertino campus with good news. A secret team, Steve Jobs tells his employees, has built a product that will revolutionize the way everyone listens to music. Before he can even show them the iPod, the...

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Notre Dame president defends handling of Te'o case

SOUTH BEND, Ind. Top administrators at Notre Dame decided within hours of hearing about the Manti Te'o dead girlfriend hoax that it did not involve a crime and within two days had concluded there was no NCAA violation, according to a letter sent by the university president to board of trustee members on Friday. The Rev. John Jenkins told trustees that despite "the unrelenting scrutiny of hundreds...

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WH, Senators to Begin Push on Immigration Reform

The White House and a bipartisan group of senators next week plan to begin their efforts to push for comprehensive immigration reform.President Barack Obama will make an announcement on immigration during a Tuesday trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, the White House said on Friday. The Senate group is expected make their plans public around the same time, the Associated Press reported.See...

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North Korea threatens war with South over U.N. sanctions

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea threatened to attack rival South Korea if Seoul joined a new round of tightened U.N. sanctions, as Washington unveiled more of its own economic restrictions following Pyongyang's rocket launch last month. In a third straight day of fiery rhetoric, the North directed its verbal onslaught at its neighbor on Friday, saying: "'Sanctions' mean a war and a declaration...

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SAF starts Care Fund for severely disabled servicemen

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces has started a Care Fund for severely disabled servicemen.Members of the public can contribute to the fund to show their support.Through donations, the fund has amassed a million dollars in public contributions.Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen revealed this as he gave an update on injured servicemen Jason Chee in a Facebook post.Mr Chee, who lost his limbs...

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Crave giveaway: Big bag of CES 2013 swag, the sequel

This week's giveaway: A messenger bag that charges gadgets, and comes with a whole lot in it.(Credit:James Martin/CNET)Congrats to Brent P. of Brookfield, Mass., for winning last week's prize, a bag of swag collected by CNET staffers on the CES 2013 show floor. And now, for part 2 of our awesome-stuff-from-CES giveaway... This week's winner also gets a bag of swag. But not just any bag, a Powerbag...

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Battery expert: "I would not fly in a Dreamliner"

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - Investigators say they still don't know what caused batteries to burn in two Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and until they figure that out and how to fix the problem, none of the planes will be allowed to fly. More than any other plane, the Dreamliner relies on lithium ion batteries to help power its advanced electrical system. They're lighter and more powerful than older battery...

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It's Official: Women Will Serve in Combat

Women will soon be able to serve in combat, as things officially changed with the stroke of a pen today at the Pentagon.At a joint news conference, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Charman Gen. Martin Dempsey signed a memorandum rolling back a 1994 directive prohibiting women from doing so."They serve, they're wounded, and they die right next to each...

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North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North...

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13 bids for Yishun mixed commercial & residential site tender

SINGAPORE: The tender for a mixed commercial and residential site at Yishun Ring Road/Yishun Avenue 9 has attracted 13 bids.According to the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the highest bid of S$212.1 million was submitted by CEL Property - subsidiary of Singapore-listed Chip Eng Seng Corporation.This translates into about S$8,551 per square metre of gross floor area.The second highest...

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'jOBS' biopic starring Ashton Kutcher to hit theaters April 19

Ashton Kutcher as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. (Credit:Sundance )The Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher will open in theaters on April 19, the movie's distributor announced today.The indie film, which is set to debut Friday at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Firday, covers Jobs' life during the years 1971 through 2000 -- a time frame that includes the founding of Apple, as...

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Romney to be honored Friday at D.C. luncheon

Mitt Romney will make it to Washington, D.C. for inauguration week after all. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee and his wife Ann are scheduled to attend a luncheon in their honor Friday at Washington's J.W. Marriott hotel, National Journal reported this afternoon. The reception will be hosted by two of Romney's biggest campaign fundraisers: Virginia philanthropist Catherine Reynolds and hotel...

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Pentagon to Allow Women in Combat

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will lift a longstanding ban on women serving in combat, according to senior defense officials.The services have until this May to come up with a plan to implement the change, according to a Defense Department official.That means the changes could come into effect as early as May, though the services will have until January 2016 to complete the...

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Cameron promises Britons straight choice on EU exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised on Wednesday to give Britons a referendum choice on whether to stay in the European Union or leave if he wins an election in 2015, placing a question mark over Britain's membership for years. Cameron ended months of speculation by announcing in a speech the plan for a vote sometime between 2015 and the end of 2017, shrugging off...

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Smaller terror groups drive threat in Indonesia

JAKARTA: With all the major suspects involved in the 2002 Bali bombings killed or imprisoned, smaller groups with more local aims are driving the terrorist threat in Indonesia.Experts highlighted this, as part of discussions into the changing pattern of terrorism, at a forum in Jakarta.Indonesian security forces have so far arrested almost 800 people on suspicion of militancy and sentenced...

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Google's Native Client reaches ARM-based Chromebooks

Google has finished a version of its Native Client programming technology that extends beyond mainstream x86 PC processors into the world of ARM chips.Native Client, or NaCl for short, is designed to let programmers easily adapt the C or C++ software they've written for native software so that it can run as a part of Web apps, too. It's designed for high performance, but it's also got security mechanisms...

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Netanyahu likely clings to job in Israel election

JERUSALEM Israel's parliamentary election ended Wednesday in a stunning deadlock between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc and center-left rivals, forcing the badly weakened Israeli leader to scramble to cobble together a coalition of parties from both camps, despite dramatically different views on Mideast peacemaking and other polarizing issues. Israeli media said that with 99.8...

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Al Qaeda Commander Killed for the 3rd Time

The second in command of al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate was reportedly killed in an airstrike in Yemen in December, according to a news report by Arabic television network Al Arabiya, the third time the former Guantanamo detainee has been reported dead since 2010.According to the report, Said al-Shihri died last month after sustaining severe injuries from a joint U.S.-Yemeni airstrike...

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Israel goes to polls, set to re-elect Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election that is expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term, opening the way for a showdown with Iran and bolstering opponents of Palestinian statehood. However, Netanyahu's own Likud party, running alongside the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, looks set to have fewer seats than in the previous...

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Taxi drivers in S. Korea threaten to go on strike

SEOUL : Taxi drivers in South Korea are threatening to go on a partial strike from January 30.It is in protest against a government decision to block legislation that would give them subsidies for public transport.The so-called "Taxi Bill" was passed in Parliament earlier this month, but was vetoed by President Lee Myung-bak and will go back to Parliament for another vote.If Parliament...

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North Korea lets foreigners bring in cell phones

North Korea's army.(Credit:CBS/Randy Schmidt)North Korea is easing some of strict cell phone rules -- now, visitors can bring their own mobile devices into the country, according to the Associated Press. While this may seem like a minor move on the part of the North Korean government, it is actually a big step for one of the most closed-off countries in the world. Despite the ease in regulations,...

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Obama looks to past to set course for future

News Analysis President Obama is a student of history - it was no coincidence that he formally announced his run to become the first African-American president back in 2007 at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln delivered his "house divided" speech in 1858 - and his inaugural address today drew an unmistakable line between the nation's past and its prospects for...

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