News Headlines (123) 12 January 2013

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by SonyXperia

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Xperia™ Z - The precision engineered Full HD smartphone from Sony. CES 2013. Published on Jan 7, 2013 :: With a razor sharp and super bright 5" Full HD Reality Display, Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, a 13 megapixel camera with Exmor RS™ for mobile - the world's first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones and a sleek design that resists both water and dust, Xperia Z combines the best of Sony in a smartphone. A screen so immersive you can get lost in it, images so real you feel like you're there, and a camera that lets you capture the moment whenever and wherever it occurs.  || ► Xperia™ Z - The best of Sony in a smartphone. CES 2013.  Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Meet Xperia Z, the precision engineered Full HD smartphone designed with careful attention to every corner, piece and pixel. Discover more about its 5-inch Full HD screen, 13MP camera with Exmor RS™ - the world's first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones, ability to resist water and dust, and other astonishing features. Xperia Z, experience the best of Sony in a smartphone



► Is Pregnancy After Weight-Loss Surgery Safe? - Jan 10, 2013

► Daniel Day-Lewis up for Best Actor as Lincoln leads Oscar 2013 nominations with 12 nods || 'Lincoln' Leads Academy Award Nominations





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Obama Nominates Lew to Lead Treasury.  Published on Jan 10, 2013 :: President Barack Obama is nominating Jack Lew for the post of treasury secretary, pointing to his past work of balancing budgets during the Clinton administration. (Jan. 10)  || ► Obama Jokes Lew's Signature Nearly Cost Him. Published on Jan 10, 2013 :: President Barack Obama is joking that Jack Lew's nomination as treasury secretary nearly fell through because of Lew's loopy signature. Lew's nomination means a new signature will be added to the dollar bill. (Jan. 10)



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AP Top Stories. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Here's the latest news for: Friday Jan. 11th. Obama, Karzai to meet; Theater shooting suspect to be arraigned; Biden to meet video game reps; Miss DC: Breast surgery will save my life.  || ► Biden on Gun Control: 'No Silver Bullet'. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Vice President Joe Biden says he's interested in technology that would keep a gun from being fired by anyone other than the person who bought it. Biden commented Friday as he met with representatives from the video game industry. (Jan. 11)



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Raw: Clinton, Karzai Meet in Washington. Published on Jan 10, 2013 :: Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton before they were to be joined for dinner by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. (Jan. 10) || ► Obama: Afghan War Coming to an End. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai say in a statement that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan is expected to shift to a support role later this spring, a few months earlier than expected. (Jan. 11)


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FAA to Launch Comprehensive Review of Boeing 787. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: The Federal Aviation Administration is undertaking a comprehensive review of the critical systems of Boeing's 787s, the aircraft maker's newest and most technologically advanced plane, after a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week. (Jan. 11)  || ► Review of 787 Dreamliner a 'Good Move'. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: The FAA stepped in Friday to assure the public that Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner" is safe to fly. The AP spoke with Kevin Hiatt, Flight Safety Foundation CEO & President, who says mechanical issues with new aircrafts are not uncommon. (Jan. 11)

► Student tells teacher: 'I don't want to shoot you' - By TRACIE CONE | Associated Press (VIDEO) 

► White House: Obama not backing down from assault weapons ban

► Best of CES: Which items made the biggest splash in Vegas? - By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News 

► FAA to conduct comprehensive review of Boeing 787, but officials say plane is safe - By Joan Lowy And Joshua Freed, The Associated Press :

► 'Smacked by the flu': Communities, families offer glimpse into outbreak

► U.S., Russia talks on Syria end without breakthrough 

► Fate of Syria's Assad complicates international peace efforts - UN envoy Brahimi implied President Assad might not have a role in a future government, while Russia says only Syrians can make that call. Meanwhile, rebels said they took control of a key military base. By Ariel Zirulnick | Christian Science Monitor  

► Al-Qaida presence in Mali, Yemen and Afghanistan - By The Associated Press 

► Obama, Karzai agree to speed military transition - By JULIE PACE and ROBERT BURNS :

► Afghanistan: The challenge of 'good' vs 'bad' militias - Gunmen in northern Afghanistan want the Karzai government to make their local unit an official part of the security force that will take over after US withdraws. By Scott Peterson | Christian Science Monitor  

► Lack of deal with Iran on nuclear talks alarms Russia - By Steve Gutterman and Fredrik Dahl  

► In Venezuela, humor not stymied by Chavez's crisis - By VIVIAN SEQUERA  || Venezuela's Maduro to visit Chavez again in Cuba

► Wildfires ravage Australia - Record temperatures across southern Australia cooled at the end of the week, reducing the danger from scores of raging wildfires but likely bringing only a brief reprieve from the summer's extreme heat and fire risk. (PHOTOS)

► Adventures in Bison: My Presidential Inaugural Lunch Experiment 




► Can you understand what he's saying? Boontling: A Lost American Language - 2 days 13 hours ago, Yahoo! Viewfinder. The residents of Boonville, CA are trying to save their local language, known as 'Boontling', which is more than 150 years old. (VIDEO)



► Report: Lance to admit doping in Oprah interview

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Armstrong to Admit Doping in Oprah Interview. Published on Jan 12, 2013 by AssociatedPress :: Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. (Jan. 12)





► The most diverse cities and neighborhoods in America




► Artist Recreates Famous Van Gogh Self-Portrait as Modern Day Photograph  

► 12 January 2013  - Early Afghan combat handover agreed

US troops in Afghanistan will end "most" combat operations and switch to a support role this spring, President Obama and his Afghan counterpart say.
* Obama: Troops have new mission - VIDEO
* Meet Afghan troops facing Taliban

► Bushfires rage on in Australia

Australian firefighters are continuing to tackle more than 100 bushfires, which the government says have been exacerbated by climate change.
* Can the body cope with 50C?
* Australia heat sparks chart change - VIDEO
* Fires: Worst yet to come - VIDEO
    * In pictures: Australia wildfires

► 11 January 2013  - Galaxy crash sparks large spiral

► 11 January 2013  - US festival snap picks up best satellite image

► 12 January 2013 - French hostage and soldiers die in raid in Somalia

► 12 January 2013 - Searching Lake Garda for WWII missing - By Alan Johnston BBC News, Italy  

► 11 January 2013 - Dreamliner plane review ordered by US regulators

► 12 January 2013 - Porn companies sue to overturn Los Angeles condom law 

► 11 January 2013 - TEDxSanaa: When TED came to Yemen

► Best science and technology pictures of the week

► Abu Dhabi takes on the art world 

► The high-low split of gambling cities

► Exclusive sneak peek: The Gallery at MGM Grand Detroit 

► 12 January 2013  - Afghan children succumb to harsh winter weather - By Bilal Sarwary BBC News, Camp Qambar  

► Cuba's new travel rules sees rush to passport office. 12 January 2013  - Long queues have been forming outside passport offices in Cuba this week. Many Cubans are eagerly anticipating a new law that comes into effect on Monday that will lift long-running restrictions on travelling abroad. The new migration and travel policy eliminates the need for an exit visa and allows many Cubans once barred from returning to the island to visit. Beth McLeod reports. (VIDEO) ||  NEWS -  27 December 2012 Cuba town battles to preserve British West Indian ways By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Baragua 

► 12 January 2013 - Haiti quake: Why isn't aid money going to Haitians? By Lucy Rodgers BBC News 

► Deer rescued from icy lake in Colorado. 11 January 2013  - A mule deer has been rescued by wildlife workers after getting stranded on an icy lake in Golden, Colorado. Rescue workers said the deer was dragged to safety and said the animal was "in good shape." David Eades reports. (VIDEO) ||  more NEWS

► 10 things we didn't know last week

► Why has norovirus been so bad this winter? 11 January 2013  - A new strain of norovirus may be the reason for the sharp rise in cases of the vomiting bug this winter. The Health Protection Agency has done tests which show there is a new variant called Sydney 2012 which has become the dominant strain in England and Wales. It spreads quickly because people are less immune to it. More than a million people are thought to have had norovirus since the summer, that is 63% higher than this time last year. Dr Paul Cleary is from the Health Protection Agency. (VIDEO)

* Q&A: Norovirus
* New norovirus strain 'dominant'
* Ward closed after virus outbreak

► 11 January 2013  - Week in pictures: 5-11 January 2013 

► 11 January 2013  - Qatar Direct: in pictures 

► 11 January 2013  - Africa in pictures: 4-10 January

► Formal ceasefire signed in Central African Republic. 11 January 2013  - Rebels fighting the government in the Central African Republic have signed a formal ceasefire following talks in Gabon. The rebels and president agreed to the formation of a unity government, which will reportedly be formed on Saturday. The Seleka rebel alliance took control of northern and eastern CAR in a four-week offensive starting on 10 December. Laeila Adjovi reports. (VIDEO) || NEWS - Central African Republic ceasefire signed 

► 27 November 2012 - Viewpoint: How tribalism stunts African democracy - By Calestous Juma International development professor at Harvard University  

► Shoebill chick attacking its sibling caught on film. 8 January 2013  - Aggressive bullying between bizarre-looking shoebill chicks has been filmed by a BBC crew for the first time. Wildlife filmmakers were surprised to witness an older chick attacking its younger sibling while their mother was foraging away from the nest. The encounter was captured at Bangweulu wetlands, near Kasanka, in northern Zambia for the BBC One series Africa. The birds are rare subjects for study because their swamp breeding grounds are very difficult to access. The footage can be seen on BBC One's Africa series at 2100 GMT on Wednesday 9 January. (VIDEO) 

► 11 January 2013 - Synthetic farm virus built in lab - By Helen Briggs BBC News. A synthetic version of the Schmallenberg virus has been made in the laboratory by Scottish scientists. 

► 10 January 2013 - Road scheme protesters 'to lose' -  By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst  

► 12 January 2013  - Searching for lost kingdoms. The jungles, high plains and mountain ranges of South America are full of secrets, and the search for the ancient civilisations which inhabited them continually throws up surprises. In a new television series for BBC 4, Lost Kingdoms of South America, archaeologist and Americas curator at the British Museum Dr Jago Cooper explores mountain citadels and sprawling stone ruins to learn about the peoples who lived in them long before the arrival of the Incas and Spanish conquistadors. 

► Today's African Proverb :: "The shadow of a stick cannot protect you from the sun" - A Swahili proverb sent by Abdul Ally, Moose Jaw, Canada

► Syria Hysteria: 'West paints post-Assad pic fueling chemical arms fears'. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Painting a picture of a post-Assad Syria, Washington has voiced concern over how it can secure the country's chemical weapons stockpiles in case the regime falls while under attack. Some experts warn that this is only a new pretext for meddling. (VIDEO)  || NEWS - Post-Assad plans: US focuses on Syrian chemical arms 

► Legalize DDoS? Anonymous lobby White House for right to digitally protest. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Is temporarily slowing down a website a legal form of protest? Current US law says it isn't, but hacktivists want the White House to make changes that would force the government to reconsider their witch-hunt against alleged computer criminals. (VIDEO)  || NEWS - Demanding the right to digitally protest: Hacktivists petition the White House to legalize DDoS 

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Gitmo-go-round: Torture & drones 'new normal' for America. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: The notorious US detention facility at Guantanamo bay in Cuba marks its 11th anniversary, despite president Obama's four-year old promise to shut the camp. While human rights groups are calling for freedom for those cleared for release and for a fair trial for others, polls show the majority of Americans have moved on. And as RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports, public opinion in the US relies more on fiction, than fact. (VIDEO)


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The Truthseeker: Schools, Guns & Drugs (E6). Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Sandy Hook's real bond to Columbine, Big Pharma's horrific studies laid bare for the first time and a peek into the village of eternity. Seek truth from facts with psych med victims, the man who unearthed the industry's deadly find, Irving Kirsch, US government whistleblower Allen Jones, the world's top happiness Professor Andrew Oswald, and Tracey Lawson, author of A Year in the Village of Eternity.

(Shortcuts, instantaneous and practical to prevent all of this happens on my baby: move away from you, America! Well, ... Think of this condition dahling, .... more than a thousand nights we've tried to have a baby .... and can you imagine that one day, some day, in an instant our baby (and I see a big possibility here) will be dead simply because he's shot by crazy people wandering in all cities in this country, for example? )

► Journalists targeted in Greece bombings

► Indigenous Occupy: Canadian grassroots native movement on rise

► United States ill-prepared for skyrocketing cyberattacks against critical infrastructure

► Billion-dollar US nuclear sub comes off worst in Strait of Hormuz collision with 'fishing boat'

► Extra space: Largest known spiral galaxy identified by accident

► 2013: Year of redeeming the Russia-US reset? 

What? Reset? ehehhee ...  Moscow and Washington should develop their relations, not to "reset" it. They do not need to reset anything or press the Reset button or Reload button, but think about how their respective strategies to develop their relationship. Although the Obama administration has been trying to build up both some advantages based on the "reset policy", including strategic arms reduction and bilateral agreements on visa and adoption, but European missile defense shield remains a major problem in Russia-US relations. Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called missile defense system at the Lisbon summit in Europe November 2010. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia supports the joint system with full-scale interoperability. (Well, well, at least, you must admit there is something satisfying of their relationship, Cisca...., at least with the work done in recent years, especially with the signing of the arms reduction agreement, the new START between Russia and the United States which came into force in February 2012., right?)

► Russia may ban all foreign adoptions 

► 'Guantanamo creates deep wounds' – former detainees

► Unchartered waters: Japan and China scramble fighter jets in island dispute

► Palestinians erect 'tent city' to protest Israeli settlements in West Bank

► Russian communists offer Depardieu party membership

► Sergey Fedorov could return to ice rink 

(Hmmm ..... if at first glance you are not sure what you feel when you see someone's face, then look at the second glance.

Yes, and at second glance, this guy is mediocre for me.)

► Van Gogh given facelift by fun-loving photographer 



Voici que la saison décline,
L'ombre grandit, l'azur décroît,
Le vent fraîchit sur la colline,
L’oiseau frissonne, l’herbe a froid.

Août contre septembre lutte ;
L'océan n'a plus d’alcyon ;
Chaque jour perd une minute,
Chaque aurore pleure un rayon.

La mouche, comme prise au piège,
Est immobile à mon plafond ;
Et comme un blanc flocon de neige,
Petit à petit, l'été fond.

Victor Hugo - Dernière gerbe

Je ne sais pas ce que je pense en ce moment, bon sang! Peut-être que vous, bon sang!

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Inside Story - The 'genocide' of India's daughters. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: India has a problem of genocide proportions -- rampant female foeticide and infanticide. How can the country change its patriarchal mindset and ensure that related laws are properly enforced? Guests: Mitu Khurana, Suhas Chakma, Sadanand Dhume.



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101 East - Risky Business. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: Some of the world's largest energy giants are moving into eastern Australia and investing billions of dollars to exploit coal seam gas reserves so vast they could rewrite the world's energy map. Despite generating massive amounts of revenue and creating thousands of new jobs, they are being met by a groundswell of public protest and a rising chorus of concern about the long-term impacts of coal seam gas extraction on the nation's health, environment and land. Coal seam gas has the potential to make Australia an energy superpower, but at what price?



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Inside Story Americas - Uncertainty looms over Venezuela. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: As Hugo Chavez's inauguration for another term as president has been postponed, how does his illness impact the country? So what does Hugo Chavez's illness means for Venezuela's future? Is the ruling creating deeper political divisions in Venezuela? And what would happen to Venezuela after Hugo Chavez? Inside Story Americas is joined by guests: Mark Weisbrot, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research; Juan Carlos Hidalgo, a Latin America policy analyst at the Cato institute; and Daniel Hellinger, a professor of political science at Webster University and author of a number of books on Venezuela.



► Inside Story - The plight of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Published on Jan 11, 2013 :: The beheading of Rizana Nafeek , a young Sri Lankan domestic worker in Saudi Arabia, continues to stir anger in her home country and beyond. The case once again highlights the plight of thousands of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Human rights groups say access to adequate translation and legal assistance is limited or non-existent, and they raised concerns about the fairness of Nafeek's trial. So, what is being done to address the plight of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia? Who is to blame for their situation? And what will it take to improve the conditions for domestic workers in Saudi Arabia? (VIDEO)

► Inside Story Americas - Can Afghanistan make it on its own? Published on Jan 12, 2013 :: We discuss US-Afghan relations as Obama seeks to hasten the withdrawal of troops after a decade long war on Al-Qaeda. We also look at the increased testing for performance enhancing drugs in the US' Major League Baseball. (VIDEO)

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Talk to Al Jazeera - Noam Chomsky: The responsibility of privilege. Published on Jan 12, 2013 :: Linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky remains as vigorous as ever at the age of 84. His popularity - or notoriety as some would say - endures because he is still criticising politicians, business leaders and other powerful figures for not acting in the public's best interest. At the heart of Chomsky's work is examining the ways elites use their power to control millions of people, and pushing the public to resist. In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, Noam Chomsky sits down with Rosiland Jordan to talk about the two main tracks of his life: research and political activism.

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► B O O K  -  Jacket Copy -Books, authors and all things bookish

* Lebowski lovers: The Dude and the Zen Master riff in L.A.
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► CES 2013 

* Samsung takes the spotlight
* MPowerd's solar lamp is collapsible, waterproof 
* Sharing content from phone to TV and beyond
* Sharp shows off 8K TV, waits for content

► FRAMEWORK - Pictures in the News | January 11, 2013 - Posted By: Marc Martin 

Suchit-Garh, India — Indian Border Security Force troops patrol along the border with Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region.

A PICTURE TODAY

The handout photo taken on January 9, 2013, and posted by Perth Weather Live shows a towering red dust storm over the ocean ahead of the cyclone approaching Onslow on the West Australian coast. Tug boat worker Brett Martin, who captured the fearsome pictures 25 nautical miles from the town of Onslow, reported conditions were glassy and flat before the storm hit late on January 9. AFP PHOTO / Brett MARTIN / Perth Weather Live