Syria rebels seize base as envoy holds talks

BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Rebels seized control of one of Syria's largest helicopter bases on Friday, opposition sources said, in their first capture of a military airfield used by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Fighting raged across the country as international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi sought a political solution to Syria's civil war, meeting senior U.S. and Russian officials in...

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Chinese shipping companies switching to RMB for transactions

SINGAPORE: More Chinese shipping companies are asking for renminbi (RMB) to be used as the settlement currency for shipping freight rates.The shipping sector is seeing growing usage of the Chinese currency.To help Chinese shippers manage their exposure, major shipping broker, Freight Investor Services, has even launched a freight derivative in Chinese Yuan last month.A forward freight...

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We only fired back, India tells Pak as LoC remains tense

JAMMU/NEW DELHI: Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts in Jammu and Kashmir again on Friday, leading to an exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani army across the Line of Control (LoC).Army sources said Pakistan opened fire at posts close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Krishna Ghati sector, around 250 km from here, in the afternoon."The Army offered a calibrated response to silence Pakistani...

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Lung cancer scans backed for older, heavy smokers

The American Cancer Society says there now is enough evidence to recommend screening certain older, heavy smokers for lung cancer.The society is releasing new guidelines Friday for annual CT lung scans. But they are only recommended for people ages 55 to 74 who have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years or the equivalent, such as two packs a day for 15 years. Research shows that screening...

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Teen to Hero Teacher: 'I Don't Want to Shoot You'

A California teacher'sbrave conversation with a 16-year-old gunman who had opened fire on his classroom bullies allowed 28 other students to quickly escape what could have been a massacre.Science teacher Ryan Heber calmly confronted the teenager after he shot and critically wounded a classmate, whom authorities say had bullied the boy for more than year at Taft Union High School."I...

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Syria denounces peace envoy who hinted Assad must go

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria denounced international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi as "flagrantly biased" on Thursday, casting doubt on how long the U.N.-Arab League mediator can pursue his peace mission. The Syrian Foreign Ministry was responding to remarks by Brahimi a day earlier in which he ruled out a role for President Bashar al-Assad in a transitional government and effectively called for...

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Football: Adebayor included as Africa Cup squads named

JOHANNESBURG: Emmanuel Adebayor will play at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after he was included in Togo's squad as the 16 sides finalised their 23-man squads.Mahamadou Diarra will meanwhile miss the tournament, and a late-minute change left Brown Ideye thrilled and Nigeria team-mate Raheem Lawal devastated.It was all part of the drama ahead of the January 19-February 10 tournament that...

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Cold wave claims 23 more lives in north India

NEW DELHI: At least 23 people lost their lives due to cold wave in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand even as temperature in parts of north India soared, a trend that weatherman said will persist. People in the national capital today woke up to a pleasant morning as the minimum temperature rose more than a degree from yesterday to settle at 5.8 degrees Celsius. Delhi has been witnessing cold wave conditions...

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Retooling Pap test to spot more kinds of cancer

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, doctors have lamented that there's no Pap test for deadly ovarian cancer. Wednesday, scientists reported encouraging signs that one day, there might be.Researchers are trying to retool the Pap, a test for cervical cancer that millions of women get, so that it could spot early signs of other gynecologic cancers, too.How? It turns out that cells can flake off of tumors in...

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Oscar Nominations 2013: Full List

"Lincoln" is leading the way to the 2013 Oscars. This morning, the biopic about the 16th president picked up 12 Academy Award nominations, including best director for Steven Spielberg and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis.Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" followed close behind with 11 nominations. "Les Miserables" and "Silver Linings Playbook" tied for third place, with eight nominations...

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