Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict. Some 60,000 Syrians have been killed during the 21-month-old revolt and world powers are divided over how to stop the escalating bloodshed. Government aircraft bombed...

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Football: Everton waste chance to boost top-four bid

LIVERPOOL: Everton wasted a chance to boost their challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League as Swansea held on for a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.David Moyes' fifth-placed side would have moved within one point of fourth-placed Tottenham with a victory, but the visitors delivered a composed display to frustrate the Toffees in front of Spain coach Vicente del Bosque,...

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A headphone amp and USB digital-to-analog converter for just $99 each

The Schiit Magni and Modi (left) and Schiit Asgard (right).(Credit:Steve Guttenberg/CNET)Schiit Audio's very first product, the Asgard headphone amplifier, left me shaken and stirred back in 2010. It sold for $249, looked and sounded amazing, and to top things off, it was made in the U.S. -- not just assembled here. Most of the Asgard's parts are sourced from U.S. companies. The Asgard is still in...

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France ups terror threat level after Mali strike

Last Updated 1:13 p.m. ET PARIS The French president says the country will raise its domestic terror threat level after military action in Mali and Somalia, promising to increase protection at public buildings and transportation networks.President Francois Hollande said Saturday he had ordered increased security after the French military operations in the two African countries against Islamist forces.France...

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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. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...

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Obama: U.S. forces to move to Afghan support role in spring

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods may guarantee packed galleries but even the oil-rich Qataris cannot afford the former world number one's appearance fee for the only European Tour event in the Gulf state. The American's involvement at the Jan. 23-26 Qatar Masters would cost a whopping $3 million, said Qatar Golf Association president Hassan al Nuaimi. "Tiger Woods demands $3 million just for an appearance,...

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Mali hits back at Islamists with French, African backing

BAMAKO: Mali on Friday declared a state of emergency and unleashed an offensive against Islamists who control the north of the country with military backing from France, Nigeria and Senegal.President Francois Hollande confirmed in Paris that French forces were involved in an attack aimed at repelling Al-Qaeda-linked radicals who have triggered international alarm with a push south towards...

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Math wins the Mobile App Showdown at CES 2013

The team at Vision Objects were proud of the victory for MyScript Calculator.(Credit:Photo by Jason Parker/CNET)LAS VEGAS--Every year at CES, the Mobile Apps Showdown pits dozens of downloads against one another to see which mobile app emerges as the best. This year's event was the biggest yet, and based on the excitement we saw at the event, we think it will only continue to grow.Here's how it works:...

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Judge delays James Holmes arraignment to March

Last Updated 12:11 p.m. ET CENTENNIAL, Colo. A judge on Friday delayed the arraignment of the man charged with the Colorado theater shooting until March.District Judge William Sylvester ruled Thursday night that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with charges alleging that James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 others at a suburban Denver movie theater on July 20.Play...

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James Holmes Told to 'Rot in Hell' By Victim's Dad

The father of a young woman allegedly slain by James Holmes in the Aurora movie theater massacre yelled "Rot in hell, Holmes" during a court hearing today.The outburst by Steve Hernandez prompted judge William Sylvester to have an off-the-record conference with prosecutors and defense attorneys. Sylvester then reconvened court to address the issue while armed court deputies...

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Twin explosions kill 56 in Pakistani city of Quetta: police

(Reuters) - Twin explosions killed at least 56 people in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Thursday evening, a police official said, hours after a bombing in Quetta's market killed 11. The death toll in the latest blasts could rise, according to Deputy Inspector of Police Hamid Shakil. The first explosion, in a snooker hall, appeared to be a suicide bombing, local residents...

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Venezuela stages inauguration rally without Chavez

CARACAS: With cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez hospitalised in Cuba, tens of thousands of flag-waving Venezuelans filled the streets of Caracas on Thursday to inaugurate his new term without him.Bands played patriotic anthems from street-side stages as citizens clad in the red of Chavez's leftist movement poured out of buses to make their way on foot toward the Miraflores presidential...

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Apple's Schiller: A cheaper iPhone? Um, no

"Read my lips..."(Credit:James Martin/CNET)LAS VEGAS -- I had always fancied that when CES comes along, Apple's devious PR people sit around and wonder which little rumor to toss out, just to turn the heads of those who gawp here.Of course, there's no proof that this week's hearty rumor -- that Apple will produce a cheaper iPhone -- came from Cupertino, but the leak seemed timed with a stroke of mischief...

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Locals: Trapped whales freed with sea ice shift

Updated at 11:01 a.m. ET MONTREAL About a dozen killer whales that were trapped under sea ice appeared to be free after the ice shifted, a leader of a northern Canada village said Thursday. The animals' predicament in the frigid waters of Hudson Bay made international headlines, and locals had been planning a rescue operation with chainsaws and drills. 5 PhotosKiller whales trapped in Quebec ice...

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Whales Trapped Under Sea Ice Free Themselves

The killer whales trapped under ice near a remote Quebec village reached safety today after the floes shifted on Hudson Bay, according to the mayor's office in Inukjuak.Water opened up around the area where the orcas had been coming up for air and the winds seemed to have shifted overnight, creating a passageway to the open water six miles away."Two men were sent to check on...

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Venezuela court endorses Chavez inauguration delay

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's top court endorsed the postponement of Hugo Chavez's inauguration this week and ruled on Wednesday that the cancer-stricken president remained the South American OPEC nation's leader. The 58-year-old socialist has not been seen in public nor heard from in almost a month following surgery in Cuba. The government says he is in a delicate condition and cannot...

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Banking sector became 'too arrogant' and must change: UBS

LONDON: The banking sector "needs to change" after it became "too arrogant" in the run-up to the infamous Libor rate-rigging scandal, the head of the investment bank division of Swiss lender UBS told British lawmakers here on Wednesday."We all got probably too arrogant, too self-convinced that things were correct the way they were. I think the industry needs to change," Andrea Orcel told...

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Google removes Maps redirect for Windows Phone

As it said it would, Google has removed a redirect that prevented Windows Phone users from accessing Google Maps via the mobile version of Internet Explorer and that instead sent them to Google.com.The redirect generated headlines last week, with various news outlets suggesting that it was not about poor functionality on the part of mobile IE (as Google maintained) but was more about competitive...

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Holmes posed playfully with gun before shootings

CENTENNIAL, Colo. The hearing to determine whether the suspected gunman in last year's Colorado theater shooting ended Wednesday with one last detail from police: James Holmes used a cell phone to take self-portraits the night of the attack, sticking out his tongue, smiling and posing with a Glock pistol The defense decided not to call witnesses to talk about Holmes' mental health. They are expected...

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Holmes Took Disturbing Photos Before Massacre

Hours before James Holmes allegedly carried out a massacre at a Colorado movie theater he took a series of menacing self-portraits with his dyed orange hair curling out of from under a black skull cap and his eyes covered with black contacts.A prosecutor told the court after the photographs were shown that Holmes had a "depravity of human heart."Those haunting photographs,...

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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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Cricket: 'Passionate' Warne sorry for T20 bust-up

SYDNEY: Australian bowling great Shane Warne apologised Tuesday for the foul-mouthed Twenty20 confrontation that earned him a ban and a fine, and said he hoped he had not tarnished his legacy in the sport.Warne admitted he had gone too far in his on-field row with West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels in Australia's Big Bash League but defended his right to show "emotion and passion"."I'm...

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Qualcomm and Wilocity roll Wi-Fi and WiGig into one chip and demo first Tri-band consumer products

LAS VEGAS--Your laptop might already have dual-band Wi-Fi, but how about Tri-band for a change?Qualcomm and Wilocity today announced at CES 2013 the first Tri-band reference design that combines Wireless-N (802.11n), 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and 802.11ad (also known as WiGig) in one single networking product.The new chip is based on the Qualcomm VIVE 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip, which was launched just a few days...

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Concordia capt. "painted worse than bin Laden"

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Costa Concordia disaster, in which 32 people were killed when the cruise ship ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio, the captain of the ship told an Italian newspaper that he "was painted worse than bin Laden." 82 PhotosLuxury cruise ship runs agroundFrancesco Schettino said in an interview with the Turin newspaper La Stampa that he is tormented by...

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Jodi Arias: Who Is the Admitted Killer?

Jodi Arias is a woman that many can't keep their eyes off of--a soft-spoken, small-framed 32-year-old who last year won a jailhouse Christmas caroling contest. But she is also an admitted killer who is now on trial in Arizona for the 2008 murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.Sitting in a Maricopa County court, Arias, whose trial resumes today, cries every time prosecutors...

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Five accused in India rape case charged in court

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Five men accused of raping and murdering an Indian student were read the charges in a near-empty courtroom on Monday after the judge cleared out lawyers for bickering over whether the men deserved a defense. The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died two weeks after being gang-raped and beaten on a moving bus in New Delhi, then thrown bleeding onto the street. Protests...

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Britain: Commentator rapped over Suarez 'cheat' claim

LONDON: A British television commentator who labelled Luis Suarez "a cheat" following his controversial goal in Liverpool's FA Cup win at Mansfield on Sunday, has been spoken to by his employer.Jon Champion, an experienced football broadcaster, made his views clear while working for satellite station ESPN who were carrying live coverage of the match between Premier League side Liverpool...

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Panasonic's E series LCDs are feature-rich

LAS VEGAS--In 2013, Panasonic is releasing its largest line of LCDs yet, with seven different series to choose from. While the WT60 and DT60 sit at the high end, it's the three types of E series that make up the bulk of the company's offering.The E's are comprised of the 50-inch and 60-inch ET60; the E60 in four sizes (42-, 50-, 58-, and 65-inch screens); and the entry-level EM60 at 39 inches and...

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Indonesia to ban women straddling motorbikes

Lhokseumawe, Indonesia Authorities in Indonesia's Aceh province are pressing ahead with a proposed Islamic law that would ban female passengers from straddling motorbikes despite reported opposition from the central government. Aceh introduced a version of Shariah, or Islamic law, in 2009, after it gained autonomy from the government in a 2005 peace deal to end a long-running separatist war there....

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Accused Shooter Was 'Relaxed' After Massacre

Accused movie theater gunman James Holmes was "relaxed" and "detached" when police confronted him just moments after he had allegedly killed 12 people and wounded dozens more in the Aurora, Colo., massacre, a police officer testified today.A preliminary hearing for Holmes began today in Colorado, with victims and families present. One family member likened attending the hearing...

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