Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

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Australian DJs Behind Prank Call Under Fire

An outpouring of anger is being directed today at the two Australian radio hosts after the death of a nurse who was caught in the DJs' prank call to hospital where Kate Middleton was treated earlier this week.Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital - the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank in a letter...

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Egyptian military urges dialogue to avert "catastrophe"

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military said on Saturday only dialogue could avert "catastrophe", stepping into a crisis pitting an Islamist president against opponents of his drive to reshape a nation in turmoil since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow. An army statement, which state radio and television interrupted their programs to read out, told feuding factions that a solution to the upheaval...

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Life & works of local literary icon on exhibit

SINGAPORE: An exhibition that features the life and works of local literary icon Dr Muhammad Ariff Ahmad was launched at the National Library Building on Saturday."Sumbangsih MAS: Muhammad Ariff Ahmad" also showcases his writings that are displayed for the first time, including an unpublished manuscript.The well-respected Malay language and cultural luminary turned 88 two days ago.This...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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November Unemployment Falls to 7.7 Percent

The economy generated 146,000 new jobs in November and unemployment fell to 7.7 percent, better than economists expected, despite worries that superstorm Sandy and the looming fiscal cliff would dampen hiring.There are still 12 million people unemployed in the country, but the Labor Department said Sandy did not "substantively impact" employment.The Labor Department's Bureau of...

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Yachting: Stamm takes lead in Vendee Globe

PARIS: Switzerland's Bernard Stamm has taken the lead for the first time in the solo, round-the-world Vendee Globe race ahead of France's Francois Gabart, Jean-Pierre Dick and Armel Le Cleac'h, organisers said on Friday.Stamm took pole position in the southern Indian Ocean after Le Cleac'h, who had held the lead for much of the last 18 days, paid the price for trying to cut off an anticyclone...

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Cauvery water dispute tribunal award to be notified by December-end

NEW DELHI: After nearly six years, the final award of the Cauvery water dispute tribunal will be notified by the end of this month, states sharing the disputed Cauvery river waters were informed today. At a meeting of the Cauvery monitoring committee (CMC) , secretary water resources D V Singh — who chairs the panel — told representatives of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry that steps...

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans...

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Cliffhanger: Can They Get to 'Yes'?

There are all sorts of theories floating around Washington about what kind of deficit reduction deal Democrats and Republicans eventually cut and when and how they get there.And, nearing the end of a week when little progress appears to have been made, one thing is certain: Americans are worried about the consequences of going over the fiscal cliff.According to a new Quinnipiac...

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Military halts clashes as political crisis grips Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Republican Guard restored order around the presidential palace on Thursday after fierce overnight clashes killed seven people, but passions ran high in a struggle over the country's future. The Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, criticized by his opponents for his silence in the last few days, was due to address the nation later in the day, state television said....

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OUE sets deadline for F&N takeover offer

SINGAPORE: A consortium led by property group Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) has set a deadline for its takeover offer of conglomerate Fraser and Neave (F&N).Its S$13.1 billion offer for F&N will close on 3 January.OUE is controlled by Lippo Group, a major Indonesian conglomerate that was founded by tycoon Mochtar Riady. Mr Mochtar is father of OUE's executive chairman Stephen...

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BJP is bigger evil than Cong and JD(S): Yeddyurappa

BANGALORE: A week after snapping his four decade old association with BJP, former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa came down heavily on BJP, calling it 'a bigger evil' than Congress and JD(S). "BJP is a bigger evil than Congress or JDS. So I have decided not to return to my previous party under any circumstance" Yeddyurappa said. However, he said he cannot forget the party as it has given him everything...

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Longer tamoxifen use cuts breast cancer deaths

Breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen can cut their chances of having the disease come back or kill them if they stay on the pills for 10 years instead of five years as doctors recommend now, a major study finds.The results could change treatment, especially for younger women. The findings are a surprise because earlier research suggested that taking the hormone-blocking drug for longer...

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Majority Back Clinton for Presidential Bid in 2016

Kevin Lamarque/AP PhotoCarried by a new high in personal popularity and broad approval of her work as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton closes out her diplomatic career with majority support as a candidate for president in 2016.Fifty-seven percent in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they’d back a run by Clinton to succeed Barack Obama, vs. 37 percent opposed. That includes a broad...

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Confrontation between rival protesters looms in Egypt crisis

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for a rally backing President Mohamed Mursi outside his palace on Wednesday and leftists planned a counter-demonstration, raising fears of clashes in a crisis over a disputed push for a new constitution. Mursi returned to work at his compound a day after it came under siege from opposition protesters furious at his drive to ratify a...

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AA to introduce new advanced defensive driving course

SINGAPORE: The Automobile Association of Singapore (AA) plans to introduce a new advanced defensive driving course, as part of its continuing efforts to promote safe driving and safer roads. Speaking at the AA's 105th charity gala dinner held at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore, AA president Bernard Tay said that the association will be working with the authorities on the curriculum.No...

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CBI likely to file FIR in offshore mining case

NEW DELHI: CBI is likely to register a case in connection with alleged irregularities in the country's first-ever attempt of offshore mining to explore untapped mineral wealth worth thousands of crores in the sea bed. The agency, which had registered a preliminary inquiry in September, found enough material to proceed with regular case against some of the beneficiary companies and government officials...

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Fossil fuel subsidies in focus at climate talks

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump."Thank God that our country is an oil producer and the price of gasoline is one of the lowest," al-Kubaisi said, filling up his Toyota Land Cruiser at a gas station in Doha. "God has given us a blessing."To those looking for a global response to climate...

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Insiders Reveal 2012 Election Secrets

Pete Souza/White HouseThe 2012 election cycle came full circle last week when representatives from the Obama and Romney campaigns, as well as top advisers to many of the GOP primary candidates and several influential outside groups, gathered at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for a 2012 debrief — finally answering some of the lingering questions about the race.On neutral ground in Cambridge,...

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NATO warns Syria not to use chemical weapons

BEIRUT (Reuters) - NATO told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday that any use of chemical weapons in his fight against encroaching rebel forces would be met by an immediate international response. The warning from NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen came as Syrian forces bombarded rebel districts near Damascus in a sustained counter-attack to stem rebel gains around Assad's...

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