Beijing’s S. China Sea rivals protest passport map

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has enraged several neighbors with a few dashes on a map, printed in its newly revised passports that show it staking its claim on the entire South China Sea and even Taiwan.Inside the passports, an outline of China printed in the upper left corner includes Taiwan and the sea, hemmed in by the dashes. The change highlights China’s longstanding claim on the South China Sea...

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Country singer Kristofferson looks to end of road

GENEVA (Reuters) – Kris Kristofferson — Oxford scholar, athlete, U.S. Army helicopter pilot, country music composer, one-time roustabout, film actor, singer, lover of women, three times a husband and father of eight — seems ready to meet his maker.At least, that was the clear impression he left with an audience of middle-aged-and-upwards fans at a concert in Geneva this week, a message underscored...

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Four new cases of SARS-like virus found in Saudi, Qatar

LONDON (Reuters) – A new virus from the same family as SARS which sparked a global alert in September has now killed two people in Saudi Arabia, and total cases there and in Qatar have reached six, the World Health Organisation said.The U.N. health agency issued an international alert in late September saying a virus previously unknown in humans had infected a Qatari man who had recently been in Saudi...

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EU budget talks end without deal

23 November 2012 Last updated at 16:35 ETThe Brussels summit has ended without agreement on the 27-strong union’s next seven-year budget.A BBC correspondent says another meeting will have to be called to sort out the difficulties but it is unclear how differences will be resolved.European Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said he was confident a deal would be reached early next year.Hours of talks failed...

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Gaza ceasefire holds but mistrust runs deep

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm on Thursday with scenes of joy among the ruins in Gaza over what Palestinians hailed as a victory, and both sides saying their fingers were still on the trigger.In the sudden calm, Palestinians who had been under Israeli bombs for eight days poured into Gaza streets for a celebratory...

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Do drunks have to go to the ER?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – With the help of a checklist, ambulance workers may be able to safely reroute drunk patients to detoxification centers instead of emergency rooms, according to a new study.Researchers in Colorado found no serious medical problems were reported after 138 people were sent to a detox center to sleep it off, instead of to an ER. In...

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Serious About Free Markets? Prove It

On Friday the Republican Study Committee, a policy shop for congressional Republicans, published a memo on how to fix copyright law. By Saturday afternoon the group’s executive director had pulled the memo, which had evidently failed to approach the subject with “all facts and viewpoints in hand.” This is Washington’s way of saying that an interest group...

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Ivory Coast: New prime minister named

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — President Alassane Ouattara has tapped Foreign Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan to serve as prime minister in a new government one week after the surprise dissolution of cabinet.The appointment of Duncan, a member of the PDCI party of former President Henri Konan Bedie, was announced at a press conference Wednesday by Amadou Gon...

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In “Middle of Nowhere,” Cast Found Black Characters Beyond the Stereotypes

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – When the black actors in “Middle of Nowhere” read the film’s script, they were shocked to find they could actually relate to the characters.Director Ava DuVernay‘s depiction of a Compton woman struggling while her husband is incarcerated resonated with her cast of actors. Before joining the...

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Actelion says lung drug macitentan submitted in Europe

ZURICH (Reuters) – Actelion has submitted heart and lung drug macitentan to European health regulators, the second major step for the drug the Swiss group is positioning as a viable successor to its current top seller.“The European Medicines Agency will now start the formal review process,” Actelion said on Thursday. It plans to sell the drug under the...

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Why Can’t India Feed Its People?

It was 1958, my father was still a child, and India was running out of food. That year’s wheat crop had slumped by 15 percent, the rice harvest by 12 percent, and prices in the markets were soaring. Far from his village in eastern India, ships loaded with wheat were steaming toward the country, part of Dwight Eisenhower’s plan to sell surplus...

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Ivory Coast: New prime minister named

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — President Alassane Ouattara has tapped Foreign Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan to serve as prime minister in a new government one week after the surprise dissolution of cabinet.The appointment of Duncan, a member of the PDCI party of former President Henri Konan Bedie, was announced at a press conference Wednesday by Amadou Gon...

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NJ jury convicts NY man in iPad data breach case

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a man of illegally gaining access to AT&T‘s servers and stealing more than 120,000 email addresses of iPad users including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and film mogul Harvey Weinstein.Andrew Auernheimer, of New York, was convicted of identity theft and conspiracy to gain unauthorized access...

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Singer Fiona Apple cancels tour dates to be with ailing dog

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Grammy award-winning singer Fiona Apple said in a handwritten letter posted on her website on Tuesday that she has canceled upcoming tour dates in North and South America to be with her ailing dog.Apple, who vowed to make up the concerts, called off three shows in Brazil between November 27 and 30, a Buenos Aires festival appearance...

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AP Exclusive: Syrian rebels seize base, arms trove

BASE OF THE 46TH REGIMENT, Syria (AP) — After a nearly two-month siege, Syrian rebels overwhelmed a large military base in the north of the country and made off with tanks, armored vehicles and truckloads of munitions that rebel leaders say will give them a boost in the fight against President Bashar Assad‘s army.The rebel capture of the base of the Syrian...

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BlackBerry maker wins vote of confidence ahead of BB10

TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd, for months enveloped by a wave of negative sentiment, got a boost on Tuesday when one of its most influential critics raised his rating on the stock ahead of the launch of RIM’s make-or-break new line of BlackBerry 10 devices.The upgrade by Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek pushed RIM’s share price into...

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One Direction’s 2nd CD hits No. 1, sells 540,000

NEW YORK (AP) — One Direction‘s “Take Me Home” is the taking the boys to the top of the charts — and to new heights.The group’s sophomore album has sold 540,000 in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s the year’s third-highest debut behind Taylor Swift‘s “Red,” which sold 1.2 million units its first week earlier this month, and Mumford &...

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