BERLIN (Reuters) ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use an upcoming visit to China this week to encourage Beijing to reduce its imports of Iranian oil, a German government source said on Tuesday.
The European Union will implement an embargo on Iranian oil by July as it tightens sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.
(Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski)
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Turmeric and curcumin have been highlighted as powerful anti-cancer substances in the past, but research has now shed even more light on the amazing ability of both turmeric and curcumin to actually block cancer growth.
This is due to the unique ability of a main component in turmeric that is actually able to block an enzyme that promotes the spread of head and neck cancer.
Researchers at UCLA found that curcumin ? the primary component in turmeric also responsible for its color ? exhibited these cancer-blocking properties during a study involving 21 participants suffering from head and neck cancers. The subjects were given two chewable curcumin tablets containing 1,000 miligrams of the substance each. After administering the chewable curcumin tablets, an independent lab in Maryland was in charge of evaluating the results.
What the lab found was that the enzymes in the patients? mouths responsible for promoting cancer spread and growth were inhibited by the curcumin supplementation. As a result, the curcumin intake halted the spread of the malignant cells.?Curcumin has previously been found to reduce tumors by 81% in similarly shocking research, which also gives credence to the natural anti-cancer benefits of turmeric and curcumin intake.
Utilized as a spice in traditional dishes, many cultures have already fully recognized the powerful health-promoting aspects of turmeric.
Perhaps the best part about turmeric is the fact that it is very cheap compared to highly ineffective cancer drugs that have actually been shown to worsen tumors conditions and kill patients.
As more health professionals begin to realize the attributes of turmeric and curcumin, it is very possible that it could become as popular and widespread ? if not more so? than super-nutrient vitamin D.
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Source: http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/turmeric-curcumin-naturally-block.html
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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) ? Former presidential hopeful Herman Cain is backing Newt Gingrich's White House bid.
Cain endorsed Gingrich Saturday, just days before Florida's primary, at a Republican fundraiser.
Gingrich was also slated to speak to the group later Saturday night.
Gingrich, a former House of Representatives speaker, is in a fierce fight for Tuesday's Florida's Republican primary with Mitt Romney.
Cain, a favorite of the conservative tea party movement and a former pizza executive, left the race before the first nominating contests facing accusations of unwanted sexual advances. He remains popular, however, and would be a late boost for Gingrich.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia ? The final goal in the game that put the U.S. women's soccer team into the Olympics was scored by Alex Morgan, the super-sub who made her name at last year's World Cup.
That's the same Alex Morgan who wasn't a sub at all in the Americans' previous game, leading to an interesting moment in a meeting with coach Pia Sundhage.
The formality is that the U.S. beat Costa Rica 3-0 Friday night to earn a ticket to London. The game was quite a bit more suspenseful than expected, with the Americans overcoming some early sloppiness and waiting until deep into the second half to put the game away.
The real fun now begins over the next six months as Sundhage figures out how best to use the best, deepest roster of women soccer players in the world. For instance, the newest hot-off-the-presses talent is Sidney Leroux, who got the call instead of Morgan in the second half of the big win over Mexico three days earlier.
"I asked her how she felt when Sidney Leroux came in the game and she didn't," Sundhage said. "I wanted an honest answer. She said `I don't think you want that answer.' Great. That tells a little about how badly she wants to play."
Morgan felt she got her point across.
"We both laughed," Morgan said. "And she said `That's all I need to know.' ... But that's the great thing with Pia. She lets you feel you can be honest with her. She lets you feel very comfortable around her."
Morgan's goal in the 89th minute made the score 34-0 ? the margin by which the Americans have outscored their opponents at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament. The only one that wasn't as lopsided as the score was Friday's London-or-bust semifinal.
"There were moments where I think Costa Rica were outplaying us, and it just shows you how important it was to all of us," forward Abby Wambach said. "Nobody wanted to make that mistake. And luckily we didn't."
Tobin Heath scored in the 16th minute to give U.S. all the offense it needed, and Carli Lloyd (72nd) and Morgan (89th) provided the insurance.
But the top-ranked Americans were certainly not as crisp as they were when they were drawing criticism for running up the score. Bad passes led to giveaways in the first half, forcing goalkeeper Hope Solo to work harder than she has all tournament.
Then again, so much was on the line that some jitters were understandable.
"We know that sometimes under big game circumstances players can get a little tight," Wambach said. "And you've just kind of got to deal with it. ... It was almost as if we scored that goal and nobody wanted to get stuck into a tackle. We were kind of playing a little bit soft, and we fixed that in the second half."
Costa Rica is ranked No. 41 in the world, has never qualified for an Olympics or a World Cup and has never scored on the U.S. in eight meetings. Las Ticas proved to be scrappy opponents, however, occasionally frustrating the Americans with physical play and just missing on two solid scoring chances in the first half in the London-or-bust match. As the possibility of an upset lingered deep into the second half, the plucky team in red gained the rousing support of the Canadian fans at BC Place.
"We put together three great games in group play," said Solo, who played despite a slightly pulled right quadriceps that had been bothering her all week. "You can't play four, five, six. Not every team is going to play perfectly every single game, but we got the job done."
The U.S. will be the two-time defending champions in London, having taken gold in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. It will be the third straight Olympics in which the Americans will be trying to make amends for World Cup disappointment from the previous year. They finished second at last year's World Cup in Germany, losing to Japan in the final.
The victory also puts the Americans into the tournament final Sunday, a bragging-rights-only game against Canada, a 3-1 winner over Mexico in the second semifinal.
Sundhage's team arrived in Canada with a bit of apprehension. The Americans, having become somewhat complacent from years of uncontested success in the region, were stunned in a World Cup qualifier by host Mexico in November 2010, forcing them into a home-and-away playoff with Italy just to get for the World Cup. Also, the format for Olympic qualifying is such that everything hinges on one game ? the do-or-die semifinals ? regardless of how a team performs in the rest of the tournament.
Determined to take nothing for granted, the Americans had been full throttle for every game. They set a U.S. team record for goals in a game in a 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic, then nearly matched the feat in a 13-0 rout of Guatemala. Then came a 4-0 win in the much-anticipated rematch with Mexico to set up the semifinal against Costa Rica.
And even though the vital game didn't go quite as planned, the outcome was all that mattered.
"We," Sundhage said, smiling, "are going to London."
__
Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
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The Republicans have narrowed down the candidates campaigning for their party's nomination to just four: Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. While they continue the quest to add delegates for the fall convention, talk has begun about possible running mates.
Here is a short list of interesting prospects for the second slot on the ballot this November:
* Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman -- The former governor and ambassador to China immediately endorsed Romney after withdrawing from the race in South Carolina. The Boston Globe reported that a senior Romney campaign advisor has been suggesting Huntsman as a running mate for Romney all month. With extensive foreign policy experience, a warm relationship with Chinese leaders and executive experience as a former governor, Huntsman is likely on many short lists. But Huntsman also is a Mormon, making a pairing with Romney unworkable for many Republicans.
* Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- He may have had a dismal showing in his own candidacy for the GOP nomination, but Perry remains a popular governor of a large state with lots of electoral votes. Still, Scripps Howard News reported that Perry is an unlikely choice of any of the remaining candidates because of his poor showing on the campaign trail. His endorsement of Gingrich makes him a geographical long-shot should the former speaker win the nomination.
* Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan -- The Wisconsin Republican is the current chairman of the House Budget Committee and universally considered by most Republicans to be an authority on the federal budget. Ryan shot down speculation last summer about a presidential run this year, but didn't close the door on vice president. The Journal Times reported that Ryan could still seek re-election for his House seat while campaigning as the running mate of a presidential candidate. His budget knowledge would make him a central player as a GOP administration tackles deficits and spending priorities.
* Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell -- The term-limited conservative governor on Wednesday told WDBJ in Richmond that his current focus is on working with the General Assembly during its short session and helping Romney campaign. He has been mentioned as a vice presidential contender for years. Virginia was a safe Republican state until President Barack Obama won it in 2008.
* Florida Sen. Marco Rubio -- While the first-term senator from Florida is an unlikely pick, he remains on the short list of potential running mates because of his connections in a must-win state flush with Hispanic voters. Reuters reported that Rubio has endured many financial problems that could create vetting problems, but none is dissimilar to many experienced by many Americans in recent years.
Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.
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CHICAGO -- In most interviews Phil Davis comes off as a reserved young man. He's not out to ruffle any feathers, but those of us who've had a chance to speak to him repeatedly always knew there was a potential media darling behind that conservative facade.
In the lead-up to Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 card, Rashad Evans has brought out the beast in Davis and the former UFC light heavyweight hasn't reacted too well.
It started last week when Evans flipped out on Davis calling him a "boy." Yesterday during the UFC on Fox 2 prefight press conference, Evans shook his head, appeared annoyed and even looked flustered on several occasions.
As the banter began, Evans tried to play it cool.
"For the most part, I've got nothing against Phil, but you we've got a fight so I've got a lot against him right now. It's personal, but not really PERSONAL personal," said Evans, who had heated prefight words with previous opponents like Tito Ortiz and Quinton Jackson.
Evans got irked when the issue of college wrestling came up. Phil Davis, a more accomplished NCAA star at Penn State than Evans was at Michigan State, laughed when someone asked if his opponent could beat him in a straight wrestling match. Evans kept saying "your technique is trash."
Then Davis was asked about missing the opportunity to face Evans back in August in Philadelphia. Davis quickly pointed out that he didn't get to fight in front of his friends and family from nearby Harrisburg, Pa. Evans took issue with the fact that Davis didn't say he was sad to lose out on the opportunity to fight him. Davis fired back, "Nobody heard me say that!"
Evans snapped again when Davis explained his understanding of what the result of a win could be, a possible title shot against Jon Jones.
"The winner of this fight will fight for the title, but in the event that I hit him too hard and break my hand ... it might lead to somebody else getting the title shot first," said Davis.
"You don't punch nobody hard. Phil can't hit. Phil punches with his hands open and everything," Evans said. "He couldn't bust a grape. You look like Arsenio Hall."
Davis laughed.
"Give him a hand y'all. Give him a hand," said Davis.
That opened the door for a female fan to ask Davis whether he looked more like Hall or NBA star Dwight Howard? Davis handled it gracefully as he done throughout the lead-up to Saturday's tilt. We'll see if his poise remains intact in the fight. Either way, this week showed he'll be a valuable asset on main cards for years to come in the UFC.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/round-1-war-words-phil-davis-10-8-154948395.html
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Fire up your brand new LG Spectrum tonight and you'll likely see a wee update waiting for you. The mere 10.09-megabyte update takes you to software version VS920ZV4 and does the following:
Awesome. We like Netflix. But the fact that it takes an update on the phone is a bit ridiculous, no? At least it's a small update. And quick. But we digress.
More: LG Spectrum update PDF; LG Spectrum forums
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Lu_uon0p6C0/story01.htm
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CHICAGO -- "Chael's nuts."
UFC president Dana White started off the press conference with the statement that everyone in MMA has thought, but not said. Sonnen, who walked out with a UFC championship belt and the words, "Undisputed, undefeated!" flowing from his mouth, showed again he is the best promoter in MMA.
White barely had to say anything to promote Saturday's bouts on Fox, because the Sonnen Show took center stage. His opponent on Saturday, Michael Bisping, tried to keep up with Sonnen, but his attempts were futile.
He explained where he picked up the belt ... kind of.
"Well, for those of you who can't see, this is the championship belt that I took from Anderson Silva. In this country, possession is nine tenths of the law. Finders keepers, losers weepers. If he wants it back, he knows where he can find it."
"I think you can get it on eBay for $29.99!" Bisping said.
Sonnen even broke into rhyme.
"You're looking at the reflection of perfection. You're looking at the man who gets all your attention. You're looking at the man with the biggest arm. At the man, with the greatest charm, the man in Chicago who will do harm to the guy three doors down."
White, standing between Sonnen and Bisping, couldn't help but smile as Sonnen spit out rhyme after rhyme. He was particularly happy as Sonnen added the time and station of the fights to each exclamation.
"Whatcha gonna do, when you know who? Howya gonna deal, with the man of steel? How ya gonna react to Sonnen's attack? Tune in on the 28th! 8 p.m. Eastern Time! You'll find out who the real champion is."
If Sonnen keeps the act up -- and there's no reason to believe he won't -- White won't have to work to promote a single Sonnen card. Why would he, when the "champ" does the work for him?
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Consumers like using social media to communicate with companies, but they're less confident about using Facebook as a shopping arena. A new study of active Internet users by ThreatMetrix found that 53 percent distrust Facebook storefronts and another 23 percent are unsure about these storefronts' security from fraud. In contrast, 51 percent felt Google did a better job than Facebook at protecting them from fraud.
Although buying directly from Facebook storefronts is a relatively new form of shopping, 20 percent of customers have already made a purchase this way. (In comparison, 32 percent have bought from a company's website after viewing its Facebook page.)
Why it matters to your business: That 20 percent figure indicates to me that customers are ready to embrace shopping directly on Facebook, but their concerns about its safety show that there are still some security hurdles to overcome. I can relate, because while I'm an avid online shopper, the idea of shopping on Facebook makes me a bit nervous. If you have a storefront on Facebook, make sure your security and privacy policies are clear and easy to find. You need to make customers feel that they're protected by the exact same security on Facebook as they would on your website.
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Associated Press Sports
updated 11:35 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2012
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -Police say a footballer who played five times for South Africa was stabbed to death in a nightclub.
Jeffrey Ntuka was killed in the early hours of Saturday.
Michael Hughes, a representative of Ntuka's agent, Stella Africa, told football website Kickoff.com the player was killed in the central South African town of Kroonstad.
The 26-year-old defender had been in the squad of local giants Kaizer Chiefs for two years but was without a club this season after his contract with Supersport United expired.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsGetty Images??Clint Dempsey became the first American to score a hat trick in England's Premier League, helping Fulham rally from a halftime deficit to rout Newcastle 5-2 Saturday.
Getty ImagesAbby Wambach and Clint Dempsey are voted top players by the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46081918/ns/sports-soccer/
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Russell Brand is entering Justin Timberlake territory at Us Weekly apparently.
No matter how little evidence they may have, they're convinced Russell is a bad dude. Whenever Katy Perry gets around to writing material for her third album, the tabloid erroneously claims, she's got plenty of dark, painful memories to draw from!
The reason for that? Russell is (allegedly) penning a book about her!
Despite public denials from a rep, the British comic plans to cover all the nitty-gritty, sometimes ugly details of their failed 14-month marriage ... Us claims.
"Katy is insulted and feels betrayed that Russell has treated her so poorly," a pal to the "Firework" singer, 27, tells Us. "She will never forgive him. Ever."
For the record, Katy says no one speaks for her.
Although Perry is supposedly "in panic mode" regarding her ex's memoir plans, she's back to work on her ongoing concert tour, commercial shoots and more.
She's taking pains to "limiting interactions" with Brand, another source says of Katy. "He's being so atrocious that she feels like she never knew him."
FYI, he's really not, as far as we can tell.
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/why-katy-perry-cant-ever-forgive-russell-brand/
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Serena Williams of the US serves to Hungary's Greta Arn during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serena Williams of the US serves to Hungary's Greta Arn during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serena Williams of the US makes a backhand return to Hungary's Greta Arn during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves to France's Nicholas Mahut during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a forehand return to France's Nicholas Mahut during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic hits a forehand return to France's Nicholas Mahut during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/John Donegan)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Serena Williams was so dominant in her 6-1, 6-1 third-round win over Greta Arn at the Australian Open that there's probably only one shot she'll remember more than most.
At 5-0 and a point from winning the first set, Williams lined up in the ideal position for an overhead but then completely shanked it, spraying the ball wide. She screamed and put a hand over her face.
"It was an awkward smash. Then she missed one and I felt a little better," Williams said. "I felt like, 'Am I losing my mind out here?'
"Everyone sometimes hits a shot that's a little bit insane ? you just got to allow yourself to get over it."
The 92nd-ranked Arn saved another set point before holding serve for the first time. Williams responded by winning the next five games before Arn held again. The match ended in 59 minutes Saturday, on consecutive double-faults by the Hungarian.
"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," said Williams, who has won her last 17 matches at Melbourne Park. "I'm just trying to play through it. A little rusty ? just trying to play through my rust."
Williams has won the Australian Open five times, including back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. She didn't get to defend her title last year due to injury.
She badly sprained her left ankle in a warmup tournament at Brisbane two weeks ago, casting doubt again on her participation at Melbourne, but the 13-time major winner has shown no signs of being restricted in her first three matches ? she has only conceded 11 games.
Next up she faces Ekaterina Makarova, who beat fellow Russian and seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva earlier Saturday.
Williams is the only American left in the singles at the Australian Open after Vania King lost earlier to former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic ? the last U.S. man exited the tournament Friday when John Isner lost in five sets to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
"I'm definitely going to keep representing the flag and doing the best I can," Williams said.
Novak Djokovic won the last Australian title at the beginning of a 41-match unbeaten run and finished 2011 with the No. 1-ranking after winning three of the four major titles.
Against a Frenchman with a reputation for playing long matches, Djokovic wasn't exactly generous with his time.
Djokovic ensured Nicolas Mahut had a 30th birthday he won't quickly forget, routing him 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 14 minutes. Mahut lost the longest match in Grand Slam history over 11 hours, 5 minutes against Isner at Wimbledon in 2010.
Mahut was slowed by a left leg injury, but continued the match because the previous matches on Rod Laver Arena were over so quickly.
Djokovic commended him: "I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it."
Djokovic has won 24 straight sets at the Australian Open, and has lost 10 games in his first three matches this time.
"I always played well in Australia. This is the only Grand Slam I won twice," he said. "The conditions are great. They're very suitable to my style of the game, day and night. I'm really looking forward to next week."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost the 2008 final here to Djokovic, beat Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Like Djokovic, No. 4-ranked Andy Murray was also up against a French opponent and had no trouble advancing in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 over Michael Llodra.
In all six Frenchmen reached the third round, but only two of them advanced. Tsonga wasted hardly any time becoming the first of them to move into the round of 16 and will next play Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne in the Open era with a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
Richard Gasquet, the fourth highest-ranked Frenchman at No. 18, knocked out ninth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. He will play fifth-seeded David Ferrer, who lost the first four games against Juan Ignacio Chela before recovering to win 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.
In the biggest upset of the day, No. 92-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan held off an ailing Gael Monfils, seeded 14th, 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4.
On the women's side, two Wimbledon winners ? Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova ? advanced, but two top 10 players went out.
Zvonareva was beaten 7-6 (7), 6-1 by Makerova and No. 9 Marion Bartoli lost 6-3, 6-3 to Zheng Jie of China, a former Australian Open semifinalist.
Fourth-seeded Sharapova routed Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 to continue her fantastic start to the tournament. The 2008 Australian champion has only dropped five games in three rounds and next plays No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, who beat two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Sharapova and Petra Kvitova are among the four women who can claim the No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament. They could play each other in the semifinals, although Kvitova insisted she hasn't looked that far ahead.
"I don't know who lost and who win," the Wimbledon champion said. "No, really, for me doesn't care."
Kvitova reached the round of 16 when Maria Kirilenko retired with a left thigh injury while trailing 6-0, 1-0 after 38 minutes.
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(Reuters) ? Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open for equities on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 down 0.02 to 0.2 percent.
General Electric Co's (GE.N) fourth-quarter results will show whether the largest U.S. conglomerate's sizable emerging-markets footprint is offsetting weakness in Europe. Analysts on average expect GE to report profit of 38 cents per share, excluding one-time items, on $40.03 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
A strong outlook from IBM (IBM.N) and decent results from Intel Corp (INTC.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) late on Thursday suggested corporate decision makers were shaking off nervousness about economic growth and boosting spending on technology.
Intel shares listed in Frankfurt (INTC.F) were up 1.1 percent, IBM (IBM.F) rose 2.3 percent and Microsoft (MSFT.F) climbed 1.9 percent.
Google Inc's (GOOG.O) quarterly results on Thursday fell short of Wall Street's heightened expectations for the crucial holiday shopping period, wiping 9 percent off its shares.
National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases at 1500 GMT existing home sales for December. Economists forecast a 4.65 million annual rate in December, versus 4.42 million annual rate in November.
Economic Cycle Research Institute releases at 1530 GMT its weekly index of economic activity for January 13. In the prior week the index read 121.2.
General Motors Co (GM.N) regained its title as the world's top-selling automaker from Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) in 2011, but the U.S. company faces a challenge to stay on top this year as Toyota rebuilds its disaster-struck business.
China's factory activity likely fell for a third successive month in January, suggesting Beijing's pro-growth policies will remain in place despite early signs that the downward drift is slowing, a survey of purchasing managers showed on Friday.
Greece and its private bondholders resume debt swap talks on Friday amid signs they are inching closer to a long-awaited deal needed to prevent a chaotic default by Athens.
Shares in Intuitive Surgical (ISRG.O) were down 2.3 percent after the bell on Thursday following the company's results announcement. Baidu (BIDU.O) was down 2.1 percent.
European shares (.FTEU3) were down 0.3 percent on Friday morning, with miners hit by the China factory survey.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 45.03 points, or 0.36 percent, to end at 12,623.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) gained 6.46 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,314.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) climbed 18.62 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,788.33.
(Reporting by Atul Prakash)
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Scotland Yard and the Royal marines teamed up in a show of strength against terrorists who might target the Olympics, practiced high speed drills using helicopters and boats on the River Thames.
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Updated at 9:35 a.m. ET:
Reuters reports that two British soldiers have been arrested for "inappropriate behavior" in Afghanistan, according to the British Ministry of Defence.
Reuters adds:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a statement that the government in Kabul was "deeply disturbed" by reports of abuse, and said their alleged behavior was "immoral."
The alleged incident comes just a week after a video emerged showing U.S. Marines urinating on corpses, believed to be dead Taliban fighters, that caused outrage across Afghanistan.
"The government of Afghanistan is immensely disgusted by the rise in recent incidents of immoral nature among foreign soldiers that clearly undermine public confidence and the Afghan people's cooperation with foreign troops," Karzai's office said.
The Royal Military Police have launched an investigation into allegations against the two soldiers, a ministry spokesman said, but declined comment on the nature of the allegations.
"Two service personnel have been arrested, interviewed under caution and released," the spokesman said, adding that the ministry took any such allegations extremely seriously.
Published at 7 a.m. ET:
Two UK soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been arrested after they allegedly encouraged two children to touch them inappropriately through their clothes, a British newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The Sun reported that Prime Minister David Cameron was "deeply shocked" in the wake of claims that the pair, a sergeant and a private, filmed the separate incidents involving a boy and girl aged around 10.? The two then reportedly showed the footage to other servicemen, the newspaper reported.
Defense officials who informed Cameron of the allegations told him that the pair had been arrested, The Sun reported.
The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense said it was taking the allegations "extremely seriously."
"We are aware that an allegation has been made concerning alleged inappropriate behaviour by two servicemen in Afghanistan. The Royal Military Police (Special Investigations Branch) has launched an investigation into this," it said in a statement to msnbc.com. "It would be inappropriate to comment further while an investigation is ongoing."
The allegations come just days after the American military was hit by video showing Marines urinating on Taliban corpses.?
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The median amount of time it's taking for unemployed people to find new jobs is about 21 weeks.
Here?s the good news: Employers are hiring more workers than they are firing these days, a welcome turnaround from the darkest days of the Great Recession.
Here?s the bad news: If you are among those unlucky enough to lose your job now, you'd better prepare for a long job search.
The median duration of unemployment was 21 weeks or about five months as of December. That means half of all unemployed workers had been without a job for more than five months.
That?s actually an improvement from mid-2010, when the median duration of unemployment peaked at 25 weeks. But it?s still nearly three times what it was before the recession began and much higher than in previous tough job markets.
The main problem: There just aren?t enough jobs to go around.
Last year the economy added an average of about 137,000 jobs a month. While that?s better than when the economy was shedding jobs, it wasn?t nearly enough to absorb the millions of unemployed and new workers entering the market, said Sylvia Allegretto, an economist with the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley.
?That rate of job growth is simply not fast enough to really soak up all those who are unemployed and underemployed, and those who have left the labor market and will be coming back to the labor market,? Allegretto said.
?
Allegretto doesn?t expect the situation to improve?much soon for the long-term unemployed.
That?s partly because there are still 13 million people who are unemployed and seeking work. It?s also because there are many other Americans out there who may have stopped looking for a job because the market was so bad, and will start looking again if the market improves.
Those excruciatingly long job searches are an especially big problem for older workers. The median duration of unemployment for 20- to 24-year-olds was 16.3 weeks in December, compared with 31.4 weeks for 55- to 64-year-olds.
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Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) wipes his face during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) wipes his face during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade cheers from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat defeated the Spurs 120-98. Wade did not play due to a sprained right ankle. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra puts his hand to his head during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
MIAMI (AP) ? LeBron James was sent home from Miami's game-day shootaround practice to rest Thursday morning, and the Heat say he will be a game-time decision for that night's matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Meanwhile, the Lakers ? and James' former coach ? fully expect him to play.
"When you talk about great players like him, those guys even though they're sick or a little injured or whatever, they find a way to perform at a high level," Lakers coach Mike Brown, one of James' former coaches with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said Thursday afternoon. "I don't think it's any different for LeBron."
James has been battling flu-like symptoms for much of this week. He said it affected him in the early minutes of Miami's game against San Antonio on Tuesday, a contest where he started slowly and still finished with 33 points, 17 of those in a huge third-quarter run as the Heat turned a 14-point halftime deficit into a 22-point win.
James said he was feeling better Wednesday, though some symptoms apparently reappeared Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra indicated James was sent home only as a precaution.
"He's feeling under the weather still," Spoelstra said.
Miami will be without guard Dwyane Wade, whose sprained right ankle will keep him sidelined for the second straight game. It's the fifth game Wade will miss in Miami's first 14 this season because of injury, the first three of those caused by a sore left foot.
"The show still goes on," Heat forward Chris Bosh said. "We're still going to expect to win."
Whether James plays or not, the Heat plan to use Shane Battier and James Jones defensively on Lakers star Kobe Bryant, at least some of the time.
"It's always a luxury having such great players on your team," Bosh said. "But sometimes they're out. This is why we made moves this season, was to be a deeper team."
Associated PressMOSCOW (Reuters) ? Mikhail Prokhorov, a super-rich tycoon challenging Vladimir Putin for Russia's presidency in March, said his country faced the danger of violent revolution if it did not break conservative resistance and move quickly to democracy.
Prokhorov, a billionaire bachelor long seen more as playboy than politician, told The Freeland File on reuters.com Russians had shaken off a post-Soviet apathy and were now 'just crazy about politics'. He denied accusations he was a Kremlin tool, let into the race to split the opposition and lend democratic legitimacy to a vote Putin seems almost certain to win.
Putin is seeking to return to the Kremlin and rule until at least 2018, but protests against alleged fraud in a December 4 parliamentary vote have exposed growing discontent with the system he has dominated for 12 years.
"What worked before does not work now. Look in the streets. People are not happy," Prokhorov, 46, said in the interview beneath the windowed dome that soars above his spacious office on a central Moscow boulevard close to the Kremlin.
"It is time to change," said Prokhorov, ranked by Forbes magazine as Russia's third-richest person, with an $18 billion metals-to-banking empire that includes the New Jersey Nets basketball team in the United States.
"Stability at any price is no longer acceptable for Russians."
But Prokhorov made clear he considers revolution equally unacceptable for a country with grim memories of a century of hardship, war and upheaval starting with Vladimir Lenin's 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, instead calling for "very fast evolution".
"I am against any revolution, because I know the history of Russia. Every time we have revolution, it was a very bloody period," he said.
The son of a Soviet sports official, Prokhorov has a basketball player's 204-cm (6-foot-8) frame, a narrow face and a head of short-cut hair graying around the edges. In a dark suit and blue shirt that looked modest for a
Russian tycoon, he sat straight and spoke in English.
Public political consciousness is on the rise after years of apathy. The Soviet mentality is fading as a generation of Russians who "don't know who Lenin was" grows up, he said. The country was finally ripe for change.
"We now have all the pieces in place to move very fast to being a real democracy," Prokhorov said.
But he suggested there was a mounting battle in the ruling elite between liberals like himself and conservatives "ready to pay any price" to maintain the status quo. Russia, he said, could face a bloody revolution if opponents of reform prevail.
"If there are no changes in Russia, from day to day this risk will increase," Prokhorov said. "Because 15, 20 percent of the population, the most active ones living in the big cities, want to live in a democratic country."
PUTIN'S PUPPET?
Prokhorov cast himself as the candidate for the upwardly mobile Russians who, wearing white ribbons or clutching white carnations in a symbol of protest, turned out in force last month for the biggest opposition rallies of Putin's rule.
"I think the era of 'managed democracy' is over," Prokhorov said. "I am in the habit of being very active, and I feel that it is time for politics."
He said that feeling was sweeping Russia, with debate over the future heard "in the kitchens, on the streets, in the elite -- everywhere. Now we are just crazy about politics... Just half a year ago, nobody had any interest in it."
He said he had proved he was his own man in September when he quit after a brief stint leading Right Cause, widely seen as a party controlled by the Kremlin to win liberal support.
Many opposition politicians, however, suspect Putin is using him to shunt middle-class anger into a safe channel in the presidential vote and to blunt opposition in its aftermath.
Russia's third richest man trod carefully around Putin.
Prokhorov distanced himself from the prime minister by saying they had not met since April and that his "first act" if elected would be to free Khodorkovsky, the jailed former oil tycoon Kremlin critics say was singled out for punishment by Putin during his 2000-2008 presidency.
Prokhorov said he had no evidence that corruption, one of Russia's biggest problems, reached to the top.
"I am a very practical man, and I like to have evidence."
He voiced one of the key demands aired at the street protests, calling for a new parliamentary election after reforms to let more parties seek seats in the State Duma, Russia's lower house, and run in other votes.
If he wins the presidency, he said, he would dissolve the Duma elected December 4 and hold a new vote in December 2012.
Prokhorov's fun-loving party image took a sour turn in 2007 when French police detained him on suspicion of arranging prostitutes for guests at the Alpine ski resort of Courchevel. He denied any wrongdoing and was later cleared.
His riches and reputation are a hurdle in a country where millions see the 'oligarchs' as a criminal class whose wealth comes from corruption and misplaced government largesse.
Prokhorov, who attended the biggest rally in Moscow, on December 24, but did not address the crowd, offered measured praise for some of the street protest leaders.
But he echoed Putin's assessment that opposition leaders were disorganized, though in nicer terms than those employed by Putin, who likened them to chattering monkeys from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.
"They know how to bring people out onto the street, but then what? They have no position, no program," he said. A veteran of boardroom battles and business negotiations, he suggested his own brand of politics is more practical and productive.
Prokhorov made clear he intended to use the campaign to carve out a lasting, leading role in Russian politics as a liberal leader.
"My goal is to win, but I have a long-term strategy and a short-term strategy," he said.
"For the short-term strategy, I want to address all my ideas to the audience, and I want to receive maximum support from this presidential election. It will be a great platform to make a political party."
And while he is challenging Putin, he did not rule out becoming Putin's prime minister -- if the 59-year-old leader shifts course and moves close enough to his vision of the future.
"If we have 80 percent or 90 percent the same program or we are on the same page, it's possible."
SHIFTING GROUND
Putin and Medvedev have taken steps to appease protesters and blunt public anger triggered by their announcement in September that they would swap jobs in a deal they said predated Medvedev's ascent to the presidency in 2008.
They have promised to register political parties long barred from ballots and to restore popular elections of regional governors, albeit with candidates ultimately endorsed by the Kremlin. But they have rejected calls for a new parliamentary vote.
Though his popularity may have fallen since the elections, Putin as yet sees no clear rival in the ranks of liberal, communist or nationalist politicians.
Prokhorov said it was unclear whether Putin was capable of defusing growing discontent.
"It depends. He is smart, he is a very good politician, and as far as I know, a politician needs to react to what is going on in the world and what is going on in the country," he said.
"But he is my opponent for the time being, I have another view about what we need for Russia," Prokhorov said. "We will see who's right."
The very idea of Russia's third richest man running for president is a sign the ground is shifting beneath Putin's feet.
Prokhorov and other 'oligarchs' who built flashy fortunes on assets snapped up in Russia's scandal-tainted post-Soviet privatization drive were all but barred from politics as the ex-KGB officer tightened control after becoming president in 2000.
Khodorkovsky, who broke an unwritten compact with the Kremlin by funding opposition parties, was jailed in 2003 and is due to remain behind bars until late 2016, his Yukos oil empire long ago carved up and sold off into state hands.
Prokhorov's riches are rooted in Norilsk Nickel, a former Soviet slave labor operation and now world's largest nickel miner, which he and Vladimir Potanin bought at a knock-down price in the 1990s.
Already a billionaire, he sold his stake to Potanin before the 2008 market crash. He kept his hand in an array of investments and was a stranger to politics until his brief stint as Right Cause leader last year.
Prokhorov dismissed the notion that his personal and business history made him vulnerable to control by the Kremlin.
"I have a great biography -- it's very transparent," said Prokhorov.
"I am a fighter and I am ready to fight, for my ideas and for my country," he said.
(Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Douglas Busvine)
Saad el-Katatni, secretary general for the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, right, attends a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. El-Katatni, secretary general of the influential Muslim Brotherhood political arm, has been selected Monday by a number of Islamist and liberal parties to hold the post when the parliament convenes on Jan. 23. (AP Photo/Mohammed Abu Zaid)
Saad el-Katatni, secretary general for the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, right, attends a press conference in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. El-Katatni, secretary general of the influential Muslim Brotherhood political arm, has been selected Monday by a number of Islamist and liberal parties to hold the post when the parliament convenes on Jan. 23. (AP Photo/Mohammed Abu Zaid)
CAIRO (AP) ? Top parties in Egypt's incoming parliament have agreed to select an Islamist politician as house speaker for the first time in decades, party leaders said Monday.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the big winner in the first election since the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak last February, said it joined several other parties in backing Saad el-Katatni, the secretary-general of the Brotherhood's own party.
The main function of the new parliament is to pick a 100-person commission to draw up a new constitution for Egypt, while preparations take place for presidential elections scheduled for June.
The selection of el-Katatni showed the power of the Islamists to influence that process.
The Muslim Brotherhood-led alliance won more than 45 percent of the 498 parliament seats. A more radical Islamist movement won another 25 percent. The two are not seen likely to join forces on many issues because of their religious differences.
On Monday, Brotherhood leaders met with heads of other parties to try to reach wide agreement over the choice of a speaker.
Mohammed Morsi, the Brotherhood party's leader, said the meeting was meant to give assurances that there would be no "exclusions, no polarization and no conflict. Instead there will be national consensus" in parliament.
Mohammed Abouel Ghar, head of secular Egyptian Social Democratic Party, which emerged from the popular uprising, said, "We agreed to have consensus on selection of the heads of subcommittees. Even the small parties and those with only one seat will not be excluded."
Parties like his that represent reformers and activists at the center of the movement that toppled Mubarak failed to parlay that success into voting strength, splitting into several factions and winning less than a quarter of the seats in parliament.
Besides choosing the constitutional commission, the powers of the incoming parliament are limited.
The parliament, set to convene Jan. 23, cannot form a government or request a vote of no confidence, according to an interim charter that transferred Mubarak's powers to the head of the ruling military council.
On Monday, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch group urged the new parliament to urgently reform laws used to curb freedoms and repress rights.
The group said that the parliament's top priority should be to revise laws that limit association and assembly, allow indefinite detention without charge and shield the police force from accountability.
"Egypt's stalled transition can be revived only if the new parliament dismantles Egypt's repressive legal framework, the toolbox the government has relied on for decades to silence journalists, punish political opponents, and stifle civil society," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
"Egypt's new political parties need to live up to the promises of the Egyptian uprising by ensuring that no government can ever again trample on the rights of the Egyptian people," she said.
According to Human Rights Watch, the ruling military has relied on existing laws to arrest protesters and journalists and to try more than 12,000 civilians before military courts.
___
Associated Press writer Hadeel Al-Shalchi contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? U.S. homelessness fell 1 percent nationwide from 2009 to 2011 despite the sluggish economy but the figure threatens to rise as the federal government cuts spending, according to a study released on Wednesday.
The number of homeless people in the United States fell to 636,017 last year from 643,067 in 2009, the National Alliance to End Homelessness said in its report.
The decline was likely due to the $1.5 billion in federal spending aimed at preventing homelessness, said the Alliance, which groups public, private and non-profit organizations.
Despite the drop, the effects of the economy on homelessness are increasing "and are expected to continue to do so over the next few years," the Alliance said.
Federal assistance has run out in many communities. Debt and deficit reduction efforts have started to shrink aid, it said.
The biggest decrease in homelessness was among veterans, with the number falling 11 percent to 67,495 in 2011 from 75,609 in 2009, the Alliance said.
Although the homeless population fell nationally, it rose in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
The number of poor households that spent more than half of incomes on rent rose 6 percent to 6.2 million, the report said.
(Reporting By Ian Simpson; Editing by Daniel Trotta)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/us_nm/us_homelessness
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