C. African Republic leader faces rebel threat

DAMARA, Central African Republic (AP) — More than 30 truckloads of troops from Chad line the two-lane highway just outside of Damara, supporting Central African Republic government forces who want to block a new rebel coalition from reaching the capital.In a display of force, the turbaned fighters hold their rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons they threaten to use if the rebels seeking to...

Read More..

Microsoft acquires start-up id8: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp bought start-up id8 Group R2 Studios Inc as it looks to expand further in technology focused on the home and entertainment, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.id8 Group R2 Studios was started in 2011 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Blake Krikorian. It recently launched a Google Android application to allow users to control home...

Read More..

Putin grants Depardieu Russian citizenship

MOSCOW (AP) — Gerard Depardieu, the French actor who has been sparring with his native country over taxes, has been granted Russian citizenship.A brief announcement on the Kremlin website said President Vladimir Putin signed the citizenship grant on Thursday.Depardieu is angered by French President Francois Hollande‘s attempt to raise taxes on the mega-rich to 75 percent. Russia has a flat income...

Read More..

Get Fit for 2013: Trainer Harley Pasternak Answers ‘GMA’ Viewers’ Questions

It’s a new year and many people have made resolutions to get fit.Celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak ( @harleypasternak) has trained celebrities including Rihanna and Katy Perry and this morning he appeared on “Good Morning America” to show specific exercise moves to get you an all-star body.Work the Body PartsFor Great LegsDo sumo squats. You have to stand with your legs wide apart and toes turned...

Read More..

Starbucks to open first outlet in Vietnam in early February

(Reuters) – Starbucks Corp said it will set up its first outlet in Vietnam early next month as the U.S. chain continues to expand in fast-growing Asian markets.Starbucks said it will partner with Hong Kong‘s Maxim’s Group to open its first store in Ho Chi Minh City and reiterated that Asia continues to be a significant growth driver for the company.“Vietnam is one of the most dynamic and exciting...

Read More..

Israeli-Palestinian clashes erupt in West Bank

TAMOUN, West Bank (AP) — An arrest raid by undercover Israeli soldiers disguised as vegetable vendors ignited rare clashes in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, residents said, leaving at 10 Palestinians wounded.Israeli army raids into Palestinian areas to seize activists and militants are fairly common. The raids are normally coordinated with Palestinian security forces, and suspects are usually...

Read More..

Barack Obama’s AMA is Reddit’s Top Post of 2012

Do you remember that Barack Obama AMA on Reddit this past August? The one that started with “Hi, I’m Barack Obama, President of the United States. Ask me anything.”That was Reddit’s top post of 2012 with 5,598,171 page views. Reddit compiled a list of it’s top posts of the year we just said farewell to.[More from Mashable: This Is 2012 Summed Up in One Image]The site also handed out some “best of”...

Read More..

LA photographer killed while shooting Bieber’s car

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police say a paparazzo was hit by a car and killed after taking photos of Justin Bieber‘s white Ferrari on a Los Angeles street.Los Angeles police Officer James Stoughton says the photographer, who was not identified, died at a hospital shortly after the crash Tuesday evening. Stoughton says Bieber was not in the Ferrari at the time.The sports car was parked on the side of Sepulveda...

Read More..

Women Lose Half Their Weight: How They Did It

At 25 years old and 288 pounds, Ashley Donahoo was depressed.“I was unhappy with my job, I was unhappy with the direction my life was going, and I had a hard time enjoying the little things that my kids wanted to do,” the 27-year-old mother of two from Pace, Fla., said. “My health was failing. My doctor told me that he didn’t think I was going to make it to 30 if I kept on [this way]. … It kept getting...

Read More..

Stock index futures surge on fiscal deal

PARIS (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday after lawmakers passed a bill preventing huge tax hikes and spending cuts that had threatened to push the economy into recession.Futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.7 percent, Dow Jones futures were up 1.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 1.3 percent at 1103 GMT.The House of Representatives voted for a bill...

Read More..

UPDATE 7-Tennis-Auckland Classic women’s singles round 1 results

Jan 1 (Infostrada Sports) – Results from the Auckland Classic Women’s Singles Round 1 matches on Tuesday2-Julia Goerges (Germany) beat Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 6-3 6-4Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) beat Stephanie Dubois (Canada) 6-2 6-11-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat Greta Arn (Hungary) 6-2 6-28-Mona Barthel (Germany) beat Grace Min (U.S.) 6-1 6-36-Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) beat Lara...

Read More..

Unreleased ‘BlackBerry X10′ QWERTY phone appears again in new photos

Title Post: Unreleased ‘BlackBerry X10′ QWERTY phone appears again in new photosRating: 100%based on 99998 ratings.5 user reviews.Author: Fluser SeoLinkThanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comm...

Read More..

Concern over Oscar voting extends deadline

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Growing concern that problems with the new electronic Oscar voting system could lead to record-low turnout has prompted the motion picture academy to extend the deadline for members to vote for Oscar nominations.But next week’s highly anticipated announcements looming, the extension is only for a day, until Friday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday any...

Read More..

Clinton receiving blood thinners to dissolve clot

WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors treating Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for a blood clot in her head said blood thinners are being used to dissolve the clot and they are confident she will make a full recovery.Clinton didn’t suffer a stroke or neurological damage from the clot that formed after she suffered a concussion during a fainting spell at her home in early December, doctors said in a...

Read More..

US Senate approves key tax deal

1 January 2013 Last updated at 05:47 ETPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. President Obama said a larger deal could be accomplished “in several steps”The US Senate has approved a deal to avert general tax hikes and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff”.The bill, which raises taxes for the wealthy, came after lengthy talks between Vice-President Joe Biden and Senate Republicans.The...

Read More..

Canadian job creation seen sharply lower in December

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada‘s job market is expected to slow markedly in December to reflect the sluggish economy and employers’ fears about the U.S. fiscal crisis following outsized gains of over 50,000 jobs in two of the previous three months.The median forecast in a Reuters poll is for the economy to add just 5,000 jobs in the month, with forecasts ranging from a loss of 20,000 positions to a gain...

Read More..

Top 5 Kids Apps: Best Games

1. Bugs and BubblesAges 3-up Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars Why we like it: Fun, fast and good for building emerging math skills, Bugs and Bubbles contains 18 leveled sorting, classification games set in Uncle Bob’s Bubble Factory. The goal is to collect stickers by harvesting bubbles, requiring kids to apply skills of counting, sorting and remembering patterns in an elegant fashion. Need to know:...

Read More..

Kanye West, Kim Kardashian expecting 1st child

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A kid for Kimye: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are expecting their first child.The rapper announced at a concert Sunday night that his girlfriend is pregnant. He told the crowd of more than 5,000 at Revel Resort‘s Ovation Hall in song form: “Now you having my baby.”The crowd roared. And so did people on the Internet.The news instantly went viral on Twitter and Facebook,...

Read More..

Recess ‘Crucial’ for Kids, Pediatricians’ Group Says

Kids aren’t getting enough recess at school, the country’s top pediatricians‘ group said in a new policy statement released Monday.The statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics is the latest salvo in the long-running debate over how much of a young child’s time at school should be devoted to academics — and how much should go to free, unstructured playtime.The authors of the policy statement...

Read More..

US ‘fiscal cliff’ talks go to wire

31 December 2012 Last updated at 03:27 ETUS Congressional leaders have one more day to stop steep tax rises and spending cuts, known as the “fiscal cliff”, after talks ended with no deal.Senators will continue to seek a compromise deal on Monday to send to the House of Representatives.Failure to reach agreement by 1 January could push the US back into recession.President Barack Obama has blamed Republicans...

Read More..

Suspected US drone kills 3 al-Qaida men in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Three al-Qaida militants were killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike in southern Yemen, Yemeni security officials said, the fourth such attack this week and a sign attacks from unmanned aircraft are on the upswing in the country.The officials said the three men were hit as they were riding in a Land Cruiser in el-Manaseh village on the outskirts of Radda in Bayda province. Dozens...

Read More..

Hot spots draw believers, but not doomsday

As the sun rose from time zone to time zone across the world on Friday, there was still no sign of the world’s end — but that didn’t stop those convinced that a 5,125-year Mayan calendar predicts the apocalypse from gathering at some of the world’s purported survival hot spots.Many of the esoterically inclined expected a new age of consciousness — others wanted a party. But, in some places said to...

Read More..