M'sian police to investigate rally participants' violation of terms

KUALA LUMPUR: Police will carry out investigations on participants who violated the three conditions agreed to by the rally organiser, Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad said. The three conditions prohibit the participants from bringing children below the age of 15 and waving placards and banners with seditious words; and compel the organiser to ensure that no more than 30,000...

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From iPad toilets to alien apps, CES brims with oddities

The completely self-explanatory iPotty for iPad. (Credit:Amanda Kooser/CNET)LAS VEGAS--CES is a bizarre proposition: thousands of people trying to digest news from thousands of exhibitors sandwiched between casinos and punctuated by taxi rides narrated by the I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter voice of Steve Wynn. And there are random bursts of heavy metal music. Add to that ginormous booths, loud booths,...

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France: Hostage dead in Somalia rescue attempt

PARIS A French commando raid to free an intelligence agent held captive for three years ended in the deaths of the hostage and a French soldier, the French military said Saturday. But the man's Islamist kidnappers said the hostage was alive and that a French soldier had been captured as well. Confusion surrounded early reports of the botched rescue of the agent, known by his code-name Denis Allex....

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan said. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business...

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Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama's determination to wind down a long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground...

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"Tsunami" of property cooling measures, say analysts

SINGAPORE: Property analysts have described the latest set of government measures as the "tsunami" of property cooling measures, as it affects public and private housing, executive condominiums, and industrial properties.Some say, the additional stamp duty will hit investors wanting to own a second or subsequent property. Mr Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex, said: "Such a drastic move will...

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Firefox 19 betas: built-in PDF viewing, broader Android reach

Adobe Systems' Flash Player plug-in has been under attack in Web development circles for years, but now Adobe's Reader software is becoming more of a target in the war against plug-ins.Mozilla released the with its own built-in PDF reader, called PDF.js, which uses the browser's own JavaScript engine to decode the Adobe-created but industry-standard document format.The Portable Document Format for...

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Costa Concordia survivors talk life 1 year later

(CBS News) This weekend marks one year since the Costa Concordia disaster off the tiny island of Giglio, Italy. The cruise liner ran aground and capsized while sailing too close to land, and 32 people were killed. Complete coverage: Italian cruise disaster In the year since the Costa Concordia ran aground, the more than 4,000 survivors have looked to move on in various ways. However, CBS News spoke...

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Teen to Hero Teacher: 'I Don't Want to Shoot You'

A California teacher'sbrave conversation with a 16-year-old gunman who had opened fire on his classroom bullies allowed 28 other students to quickly escape what could have been a massacre.Science teacher Ryan Heber calmly confronted the teenager after he shot and critically wounded a classmate, whom authorities say had bullied the boy for more than year at Taft Union High School."I...

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Syria rebels seize base as envoy holds talks

BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Rebels seized control of one of Syria's largest helicopter bases on Friday, opposition sources said, in their first capture of a military airfield used by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Fighting raged across the country as international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi sought a political solution to Syria's civil war, meeting senior U.S. and Russian officials in...

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"Lincoln", "Life of Pi" lead Oscar nominations

  LOS ANGELES: Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" earned the most Oscar nominations with 12, ahead of Lee Ang's "Life of Pi," with 11 nods, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday.Both movies are nominated for the coveted best film prize, along with "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Les Miserables," which each earned eight nominations, and Ben Affleck's political...

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Nexus 7 dock to go on sale this month for $39.99

Nexus 7 owners will finally be able to pick up a dock for their tablet made by Asus.Citing a "reliable source," The Verge says that Asus will offer the dock in the U.S. within the next two weeks at a price tag of $39.99.Backing up on that claim is a product page for the dock from Manhattan retailer B&H. The page shows the price of the dock and gives an expected delivery date of January 16. Fellow...

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Junior Seau had brain disease at time of suicide

Junior Seau, one of the NFL's best and fiercest players for nearly two decades, had a degenerative brain disease when he committed suicide last May, the National Institutes of Health told The Associated Press on Thursday. Results of an NIH study of Seau's brain revealed abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The NIH, based in Bethesda, Maryland, conducted a study...

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Oscar Nominations 2013: Full List

"Lincoln" is leading the way to the 2013 Oscars. This morning, the bio pic about the 16th president picked up 12 Academy Award nominations, including best director for Steven Spielberg and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis.Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" followed close behind with 11 nominations. "Les Miserables" and "Silver Linings Playbook" tied for third place, with eight nominations each.The...

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NATO official says more missiles launched in Syria

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A short-range ballistic missile was fired inside Syria on Wednesday, following similar launches last week, a NATO official said on Thursday. The official condemned as "reckless" the missile launches, which U.S. officials called an escalation of the 21-month-old Syrian civil war when their use was first spotted last month. "The use of such indiscriminate...

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Malaysian opposition to rally for poll reforms

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's opposition on Wednesday received rare permission to hold a weekend political rally in a historic stadium, ahead of hotly anticipated elections due within months.Opposition organisers say the gathering on Saturday at the 30,000-seater Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in the capital Kuala Lumpur, will focus on continued widespread criticism of a voting system...

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LinkedIn reaches 200 million members

LinkedIn has reached an important milestone.The professional social network today announced that it now has over 200 million members across more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Those members are speaking 19 languages."I'd like to thank each of you for helping build the LinkedIn network into what it is today," LinkedIn senior vice president of products and user experience, Deep...

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Ferry hits NYC pier while docking, injuring dozens

Updated at 10:02 a.m. ET NEW YORK Police and fire officials say 30 to 50 people were injured when a ferry from New Jersey struck a dock during rush hour in lower Manhattan. CBS New York station WCBS-TV reports the Seastreak Wall Street catamaran ferry from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., banged into the mooring as it arrived. Officials say one person is in critical condition with head injuries. Some...

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Hospitals Flooded With Flu Patients

U.S. emergency rooms have been overwhelmed with flu patients, turning away some of them and others with non-life-threatening conditions for lack of space.Forty-one states are battling widespread influenza outbreaks, including Illinois, where six people -- all older than 50 -- have died, according to the state's Department of Public Health.At least 18 children in the country...

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Historic old Jeddah awaits life-saving restoration

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - In the heart of Saudi Arabia's sprawling Red Sea port city of Jeddah, centuries-old buildings tilt and buckle above the historic district's narrow alleys, withering away in the absence of decisive action to protect them. The seventh-century historic district, with its mud and coral town houses adorned with ornate wooden balconies, holds the only remnants...

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India says two soldiers killed in clash with Pakistan troops

SRINAGAR, India: Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers on Tuesday near the tense disputed border between the nuclear-armed neighbours in Kashmir and one of the bodies was badly mutilated, the Indian army said.The firefight broke out at about noon on Tuesday (0630 GMT) after an Indian patrol discovered Pakistani troops about half a kilometre (1,600 feet) inside Indian territory, an...

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Tablet shipments to outshine notebooks this year, says report

Tablets will edge out notebooks in global shipments this year, according to a report out yesterday from NPD DisplaySearch.Tablet shipments are expected to surpass 240 million, while notebooks shipments will reach around 207 million. For the first time ever, tablets will grab more than 50 percent of the annual market share this year, up from around 38 percent last year and 26 percent in 2011.Growth...

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Feds issue warning on Fisher-Price infant sleepers

WASHINGTON The government is warning consumers to inspect Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'N Play Sleepers due to risk of exposure to mold for infants who use them.The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday that its warning applies to 800,000 infant recliner seats, called sleepers, that were sold at stores nationwide and online since September 2009, with prices ranging between $50 and $85. The...

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Giffords, Kelly Say 'Enough' to Gun Violence

After she was gravely wounded by gunfire two years ago in Tucson, Ariz., former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, imagined a life out of the public eye, where she would continue therapy surrounded by the friends, family and the Arizona desert she loves so much.Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly Speak Exclusively to Diane SawyerBut after the slaughter of 20 first-graders...

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Tunisia frees man held over attack on U.S. consulate in Libya

Tunis (Reuters) - Tunisia has freed, for lack of evidence, a Tunisian man who had been suspected of involvement in an Islamist militant attack in Libya last year in which the U.S. ambassador was killed, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Ali Harzi was one of two Tunisians named in October by the Daily Beast website as having been detained in Turkey over the violence in which Christopher Stevens,...

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Boom expected in mobile app industry

SINGAPORE: The rising use of mobile applications has been a boon for the industry.The mobile appplication industry recorded a 68 per cent rise in global sales last year, from US$8.5 billion to US$14.3 billion. With the growing shipment of tablets and smartphones, experts say sales growth may increase by almost four times by 2017.Cooliris, a photo sharing and browsing application, has become...

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Dropbox rolls out Windows 8 app

Dropbox for Windows 8.(Credit:Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)Dropbox users running Windows 8 or Windows RT can now access their online files right from the Start screen.The new and free Dropbox app for Windows 8 displays tiles for all of the folders and files stored in your online account. The app offers the usual touch-friendly approach, so you can swipe and tap your way around the screen to view...

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Shell oil-drilling ship under tow again

ANCHORAGE, Alaska A Shell oil-drilling ship that ran aground near a remote Alaska island is under tow again.The Unified Command for the operation in Anchorage says the Kulluk is being towed at about 5 mph to shelter in Kodiak Island's Kiliuda Bay. Officials won't estimate its arrival because of weather conditions early Monday — winds of about 18 mph and 15-foot ocean swells.There's a salvage crew...

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Hagel Nomination Stirs Bipartisan Opposition

Two weeks before his inauguration, and with more "fiscal cliffs" on the horizon, President Obama is embracing a showdown with Congress over his pick to lead the Pentagon in his second term.Obama will nominate former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense at a formal White House announcement later today, administration officials said.The president will...

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