Britain to provide France with logistical support in Mali

LONDON: Britain will provide France with logistical military assistance during its intervention in Mali, but will not deploy any personnel in a combat role, the prime minister's office said Saturday."The Prime Minister has agreed that the UK will provide logistical military assistance to help transport foreign troops and equipment quickly to Mali," David Cameron's office said in a statement."We...

Read More..

Scientist: Hawking is 'brain in a vat'

The generally accepted form of wishing someone a happy birthday is to sing to the lucky person. Or perhaps buy him or her a gift.A less accepted form is to compare the birthday person to Darth Vader and suggest he or she is merely a "brain in a vat."Still, Helene Mialet, a UC Berkeley anthropologist of science, chose the path slightly less trodden.Writing in Wired, she offered that perhaps Hawking...

Read More..

Haiti quietly marks 3rd anniversary of quake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti President Michel Martelly urged Haitians to recall the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in a devastating earthquake three years ago, marking the disaster's anniversary Saturday with a simple ceremony.Martelly also thanked other countries and international organizations for their help after the Jan. 12, 2010 disaster."Haitian people, hand in hand, we remember...

Read More..

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,...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Euro adds more gains on dollar

NEW YORK: The euro surged for a second day Friday, adding 0.7 US cents to Thursday's two cent gain, pushed by what one analyst said was short covering and sustained by poor US trade data.The European currency traded roughly around the break-even line of $1.3261 but then took a leap to the $1.3350 levels the morning opening -- just 15 minutes before US trade data for November showed a wider-than-expected...

Read More..

John McAfee brings his `Where's Waldo' act to Portland

A photo of software founder of John McAfee on Dec. 12, 2012. McAfee was released from detention in Guatemala and was scheduled to fly to the U.S.(Credit:CBS News) Last time we checked, John McAfee was on the lam from -- well, whoever it was that he said was after him in Belize. But the former software mogul, who was deported to the United States after fleeing to Guatemala, has decided to pitch his...

Read More..

Budget deficit set to hit $1 trillion for fifth straight year

WASHINGTON The U.S. annual budget deficit is on track to reach $1 trillion for a fifth straight year, though government revenue jumped last month as people paid some taxes early to avoid higher rates in 2013.The Treasury Department said Friday that the federal deficit grew just $260 million in December. But for the first three months of the budget year, the deficit widened to $292 billion.In December,...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

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,...

Read More..

American Express cuts 5,400 jobs

American Express said Thursday it would lay off 8.5 per cent of its workforce in 2013, in an effort to contain operating expenses and adapt to customers moving to online and mobile platforms.The bank said it would eliminate 5,400 jobs, though some of those will be offset by new positions, for a net cut of 4-6 per cent of the 63,500-strong workforce.The layoffs will span different staff...

Read More..

NASA says massive spiral galaxy is 5 times size of Milky Way

Composite image of the giant barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 (Credit:NASA) Most of the big news this week came out of Las Vegas where gadget geeks gathered for the Consumer Electronics Show. But now for some mind-blowing stuff, courtesy of NASA: An international team of astronomers has determined that a stellar system called NGC 6872 is more than five times the size of our Milky Way galaxy and thus...

Read More..

Student shot at Calif. high school by classmate

Updated at 4:14 p.m. ET TAFT, Calif. A 16-year-old student armed with a shotgun walked into class in a rural California high school on Thursday and shot one student, fired at another but missed, and then was talked into surrendering by a teacher and another staff member, officials said. The teen victim was in critical but stable condition, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told a press conference....

Read More..

Biden Hints at Executive Order on Gun Control

Vice President Biden, meeting today with outside groups on gun safety, told reporters he has already started putting together a list of recommendations that he plans to issue next Tuesday.He has suggested the administration would be ready to take executive action on the issue, which would not require votes from Congress. That prospect has raised alarm bells for gun rights advocates.Biden...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Football: Ronaldo hat-trick fires Madrid into quarter-finals

MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo responded to missing out on the Ballon d'Or by hitting a stunning hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 4-0 to reach the Spanish Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of their last-16 tie, Portuguese star Ronaldo hit two early openers before settling the tie with three minutes remaining to calm his team's nerves after Sergio Ramos...

Read More..

Startup to bring touchless gesture control tech to iOS

PointGrab's touchless gesture control technology is coming to iOS next month.(Credit:PointGrab)LAS VEGAS--Touchless gesture control may soon be possible on Apple's iOS devices, thanks to a startup that will be releasing a software development kit enabling the technology.For some time, the Israeli company PointGrab has been making its technology -- which allows users to control activity on screen with...

Read More..

Obama to nominate Jack Lew to Treasury Secretary

Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew, seen here walking with President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, is a leading candidate to succeed Tim Geithner as U.S. Treasury Secretary. / AP Photo/Charles Dharapak President Obama is set to nominate Jack Lew to be the next Treasury Secretary, CBS News has confirmed. The announcement could...

Read More..

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,...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Judge reduces possible sentence for WikiLeaks suspect

FORT MEADE: A US judge on Tuesday reduced the potential sentence for WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning by 112 days because of his harsh treatment at a military jail, where he was held in isolation despite advice from psychiatrists.Judge Denise Lind said the US Army private's detention conditions were "excessive" and at times illegal, going beyond what was needed to ensure his safety and...

Read More..

Seagate embraces SSHDs, phasing out 7,200rpm laptop HDDs

Seagate's SSHD showcased at CES 2013.(Credit:Dong Ngo)LAS VEGAS--You might want to stockpile Seagate 7,200rpm laptop hard drives now. Soon they will be no more.Or maybe you shouldn't. From what I've witnessed at CES 2013, what Seagate plans to replace them with is going to be much better. That's the company's third generation of hybrid drive, a type of drive that's now being referred to across the...

Read More..

Father of slain Tulsa twins: "My life's gone"

TULSA, Okla. Four women were found shot dead inside an apartment in south Tulsa on Monday afternoon, with a three-year-old boy as the only survivor, CBS affiliate KOTV Tulsa reported. Now a father is coming to grips with losing his twin daughters, whom police identified as Rebeika Powell, 23, and Kayetie Melchor, 23, as among the four victims. "My life's gone. My kids are gone," said Larry Powell....

Read More..

James Holmes' Elaborate Booby Trap Plan Revealed

A gasoline-soaked carpet, loud music and a remote control car were part of an elaborate plan by accused Aurora gunman James Holmes' to trick someone into triggering a blast that would destroy his apartment and lure police to the explosion while he shot up a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., according to court testimony today.FBI agent Garrett Gumbinner told a Colorado court about...

Read More..

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,...

Read More..

US Dollar falls ahead of ECB meeting

NEW YORK: The US dollar retreated Monday against the euro and other major currencies as financial markets girded for a meeting later this week of the European Central Bank.The euro was valued at US$1.3115 dollars at 22H00 GMT Monday, up from Friday's value of US$1.3067 at the same time.The US dollar was also lower against the Japanese yen, trading at 87.89 Monday instead of the 88.15 level...

Read More..

Cisco adds 'cloud DVR' to video offering for cable companies

Cisco Systems unveils new functionality for its Videoscape platform that allows cable operators and other TV providers to deliver TV Everywhere.(Credit:CNET/Sarah Tew)Cisco Systems is adding new capabilities to its video software platform for TV service providers. The new functionality, unveiled at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show Monday, will allow cable operators and other TV...

Read More..

Newtown seen as factor in Ala. teen's bomb plot

PHENIX CITY, Ala. An Alabama teenager teen who described himself as a white supremacist made journal entries about a plot to bomb classmates three days after the Newtown school massacre and began building small homemade explosives, a sheriff said Monday. Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor told The Associated Press that he believed the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary was a factor because the first...

Read More..

Accused Shooter Was 'Relaxed' After Massacre

Two veteran police officers broke down on the stand today during a preliminary hearing for accused movie theater gunman James Holmes, with one officer choking up when he described finding the body of a 6-year-old girl inside the theater.Sgt. Gerald Jonsgaard needed a moment to compose himself as he described finding the little girl, Veronica Moser Sullivan, in the blood splattered...

Read More..

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...

Read More..