Chen Guang-who? Chinese official claims ignorance of blind activist

BEIJING (Reuters) – Despite causing a huge diplomatic incident between the world’s two largest economies earlier this year, the Chinese official in charge of the hometown of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng said on Friday that he has no idea who he was.Chen, one of China’s most prominent human rights advocates, slipped away from under the noses of...

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States given more time to work on health exchanges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration gave states extra time to work toward setting up new health insurance exchanges on Friday, days after President Barack Obama‘s re-election ensured the survival of his healthcare reform law.The move is seen as a concession to dozens of states that delayed compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable...

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Chevron appeals against freeze

9 November 2012 Last updated at 19:55 ETTwo Argentine subsidiaries of the oil company Chevron have appealed against a court order freezing up to $ 19bn (£11.9bn) of their assets. A judge issued the order as part of an environmental damages claim in Ecuador.Chevron has been ordered to pay $ 19bn for polluting land in...

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Twin explosions strike southern Syrian city

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria‘s state-run news agency says two large explosions have struck the southern city of Daraa, causing multiple casualties and heavy material damage.SANA did not immediately give further information or say what the target of Saturday’s explosions was. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...

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Justice Department antitrust chief Wayland to step down next week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The acting head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Joseph Wayland, will step down as of November 16, a department spokeswoman said on Thursday.No one has been named to be the acting assistant attorney general for antitrust, said the spokeswoman, Gina Talamona. The position has...

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Mark Wahlberg to star in next ‘Transformers’ movie

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Wahlberg, roll out.“Transformers” director Michael Bay says the 41-year-old actor will star in the franchise’s fourth film. Bay called Wahlberg the “perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers‘ legacy” in a post on his blog Thursday. He previously squashed rumors that...

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Achilles Had Only 2 Heels

Recently, I came across the headline “Scientists Find Achilles’ Heel of Cancer Cells”, describing the discovery of a histone deactylase (HDAC11) as a novel target for cancer therapies. I was irritated by the metaphor of Achilles’ heel, because it implied that this was the lone vulnerability of cancer. I was also embarrassed by the fact that I used the...

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Bank hands QE income to Treasury

9 November 2012 Last updated at 09:18 ETThe Bank of England has said it will give the Treasury the interest it earns on certain government debts it holds. The Bank owns £375bn in gilts due to its quantitative easing (QE) policy of buying up debt to boost the economy.The transfer will cut the government’s borrowing needs...

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Assad says will live and die in Syria

DOHA (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad said he would “live and die” in Syria and warned that any Western invasion to topple him would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East and beyond.Assad’s defiant remarks coincided with a landmark meeting in Qatar on Thursday of Syria’s fractious opposition to hammer out an agreement on a new umbrella...

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Icahn says has mulled Netflix takeover, no decision made

(Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds an almost 10 percent stake in Netflix, said on Thursday he has considered a hostile takeover bid for Netflix, but it was uncertain he stood a chance of acquiring the Internet streaming service.Asked by TV network CNBC whether he would “go hostile” on Netflix, Icahn said, “The thought had certainly entered...

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Rihanna a rock star on Victoria’s Secret catwalk

NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna rocked lingerie at Wednesday night’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York, providing the highlight of the live-music soundtrack and holding her own on the catwalk with some of the world’s top models.And those models even had props, including Adriana Lima‘s ringmaster wand, Doutzen Kroes‘ body cage and several pairs of the...

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Canada top court rules against Pfizer in Viagra patent case

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Bank refrains from new stimulus

8 November 2012 Last updated at 07:49 ETThe Bank of England has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme, which has injected £375bn into the UK financial system. Under QE, the Bank creates money and uses it to buy government bonds to try to stimulate the economy.The Bank’s Monetary Policy...

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Ghana building collapse traps dozens, kills 1

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A five-story shopping center built earlier this year in a bustling suburb of Ghana‘s capital collapsed Wednesday, killing at least one person and leaving several dozen people trapped in the rubble, authorities and eyewitnesses said.Rescue crews used cranes to try and remove debris from the top of the building amid fears that machinery...

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DoubleLine’s Gundlach says Apple may drop to $425/share: CNBC

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple shares could come under further selling pressure and drop to $ 425 a share over the next year on lack of innovation, said Jeffrey Gundlach, chief investment officer and chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital LP.Gundlach, who recommended betting against Apple in mid-May at the Ira Sohn Investment Conference in New York,...

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MTV Launches Fundraiser for “Jersey Shore” Site Ravaged by Sandy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Jersey Shore” might be wrapping up its run, but the spirit of goodwill and humanity that the MTV reality hit has inspired will carry on.MTV will air a one-hour fundraising special to help out Seaside Heights, N.J., the site where Snooki and her fellow orange-hued revelers played out most of their televised shenanigans, and...

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Pfizer returns EU selling rights on Auxilium hand-disorder drug

(Reuters) – Auxilium Inc ended a marketing deal for its hand-disorder drug with Pfizer Inc, regaining the rights to sell the drug in Europe, and pushed up its 2012 revenue forecast to reflect deferred revenue from the termination of the deal.Pfizer, which had the right to negotiate marketing other Xiaflex indications in the European Union, will return...

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The Next Four Years: Obama’s Steady, Slo-Mo Recovery

President Barack Obama promises to use his second term to boost the U.S. economy. The opposite is more like it: A strengthening economy will boost the president’s second term. The likelihood of continued job growth will increase tax revenue, which will make it easier to shrink the budget deficit while keeping taxes low and preserving essential spending....

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Canada firms to capitalize on nuclear trade with India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Canadian firms will be able to export uranium and nuclear reactors to India for the first time in almost four decades under an agreement between the two nations, their prime ministers said, but more work is needed to implement the deal.Once implemented, the agreement will end a ban on nuclear cooperation Canada imposed in 1976 after...

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VICTORY TWEET

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Springsteen, Jay-Z put the pop in Obama rally

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Someone has to introduce the president.On Monday, the final day of the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama, however, didn’t bring along an opening act. He brought along two main acts. Bruce Springsteen. Jay-Z. Theirs wasn’t an introduction, it was pop culture moment.The Boss was spending...

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Three states to vote on legalizing recreational pot

(Reuters) – Voters in three western U.S. states go to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could spur a showdown with the federal government, with polls showing legalization ahead in Washington and Colorado.If voters approve the measures, the states could become the first in the country to legalize...

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The Polls Shift Toward Obama

Anxious poll watchers didn’t have to wait until 1 p.m. Monday to get the results of Gallup’s obsessively followed daily presidential tracking poll. That’s because Bloomberg Businessweek‘s Ira Boudway got ahold of them and published them early. The story they tell is the same one being reflected in other tracking polls: late movement toward President Obama.In...

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Cautious reformers tipped for new China leadership

BEIJING (Reuters) – China‘s ruling Communist Party will this month unveil its new top leadership team, expected to again be an all-male cast of politicians whose instincts are to move cautiously on reform.Sources close to the leadership say 10 main candidates are vying for seven seats on the party’s next Politburo Standing Committee, the peak decision-making...

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