Election underscores Ghana’s democratic reputation

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Voters in Ghana selected their next president Friday in a ballot expected to mark the sixth transparent election in this West African nation, known as a beacon of democracy in a tumultuous region.Proud of their democratic heritage, residents of this balmy, seaside capital trudged to the polls more than four hours before the sun was even up, standing inches apart in queues that...

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Red Hat divulgará los resultados del tercer trimestre del año fiscal 2013 a través de un webcast

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), proveedor líder mundial de soluciones de código abierto, analizará los resultados del tercer trimestre del año fiscal 2013 el jueves, 20 de diciembre de 2012, a partir de las 5:00 p. m., hora del Este.Se puede acceder a un webcast en vivo en la página de Relaciones con los Inversores de Red Hat en http://investors.redhat.com y la reproducción se encontrará disponible...

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Singer James Taylor suggested for lead role in “Lincoln”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Singer-songwriter James Taylor says he doesn’t see the resemblance, but he was pitched – without success – to play the role of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in the new film.Taylor told a packed audience at the National Press Club on Friday that Oscar-winning musician John Williams – who composed the soundtrack for “Lincoln” – had pushed for Taylor to play the lead role in Steven...

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Supreme Court: Both sides in gay marriage debate voice optimism

Both sides of the contentious debate over same-sex marriage in America are expressing optimism over the news Friday that the US Supreme Court has agreed to take up two potential landmark gay rights cases.The high court announced it would hear arguments in a case testing the constitutionality of California’s Prop. 8 ban on same-sex marriage.It also said it would hear the case of an elderly New York...

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Ghana election, test of democratic reputation

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Voters in Ghana were selecting their next president and a 275-seat parliament in elections Friday, solidifying the West African nation‘s reputation as a beacon of democracy in the region.Some 14 million people are expected to turn out. President John Dramani Mahama, in office for only five months, is running against seven contenders. A former vice president, Mahama became president...

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H&R Block, Zynga, Akamai are big market movers

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market:NYSEH&R Block Inc., up 89 cents at $ 18.26The tax preparer’s quarterly loss narrows, helped by cost cuts. It thinks earnings will grow in the upcoming U.S. tax season.SAIC Inc., down 41 cents at $ 11.26The defense contractor’s quarterly earnings fall short of Wall Street...

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“Star Trek Into Darkness” trailer sports a very vengeful Benedict Cumberbatch

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Benedict Cumberbatch carries a galactic grudge in the new trailer for “Star Trek Into Darkness.”The first look at what’s next for Capt. Kirk and crew is an explosion-rich one, but the best special effect on display in the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel is Cumberbatch‘s Shakespearean-infused threats of global devastation.“You think your world is safe,” he says in a voice dripping...

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Brazil government denies media reports of 2010 mad cow case

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil‘s Agriculture Ministry said on Friday that the country had registered no cases of mad cow disease, denying reports on some local media websites that said the disease had cropped up in the southern state of Parana two years ago.In a statement on its website, the ministry said a cow that died in Parana in 2010 had tested positive for prions, the proteins believed to cause...

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Strong quake hits off Japan near Fukushima

TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered a one-meter tsunami in an area devastated by last year's Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports of deaths or serious damage. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and thousands of coastal residents were ordered to...

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South Africa military plane crashes in mountains

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African military aircraft on an unknown mission to an area near the village where former President Nelson Mandela lives crashed in a mountain range, officials said Thursday. It was unclear whether there were any survivors.The Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, had taken off from Pretoria’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, said Brig. Gen. Xolani...

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“Zero Dark Thirty” wins best film award a second time

NEW YORK (Reuters) – “Zero Dark Thirty,” filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow‘s action thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, was named best film of 2012 on Wednesday by the National Board of Review – the second accolade for the movie in one week.Bigelow was named best director and Jessica Chastain, who plays the starring role of a young CIA officer pursuing bin Laden, was named best actress by the NBR.Bradley...

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Samsung files redacted copy of Apple-HTC deal in U.S. court

(Reuters) – Lawyers for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd filed a redacted copy of a 10-year patent licensing agreement between Apple Inc and Taiwan’s HTC Corp in a U.S. court late on Wednesday following a judge’s order.The Korean electronics company had earlier filed a motion to compel Apple — with which it is waging a bitter legal battle over mobile patents across several countries — to reveal details...

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Kate leaves hospital after morning sickness

LONDON (Reuters) – Prince William‘s pregnant wife Kate left the King Edward VII hospital in central London on Thursday where she had spent four days being treated for acute morning sickness.Accompanied by her husband, Kate, 30, appeared at the steps of the hospital smiling and holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. Neither she nor William spoke to waiting reporters before being driven way.Kate, who...

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Egyptian army orders protesters out of palace area

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Republican Guard has ordered protesters supporting and opposing President Mohammed Morsi to leave the area around the presidential palace that has been the site of fierce clashes.The guard, an elite army unit, gave protesters on both sides until 3 p.m. (1300 GMT, 8 a.m. EDT) to clear the vicinity.At least five people were killed in fighting between Islamist supporters of Morsi...

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Sri Lanka see backlash from Aussie ‘wounded soldiers’

(Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has warned his team to be wary of a backlash from Australia in their three-test series after the hosts were stung by their series defeat to South Africa earlier this week.Australia’s hopes of snatching the Proteas’ top test ranking ended in a crushing 309-run defeat in the third and final test in Perth on Monday, but Jayawardene took little comfort...

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Habla el hombre que definió qué significa ser un hacker

“Soy un hacker.” La frase la pronuncia, sin titubeos, Pekka Himanen, un finlandés de 39 años que publicó, en 2001, La ética del hacker y el espíritu de la era de la información , un libro fundacional en su análisis de lo que significa la tecnología moderna en nuestra sociedad, y la influencia que tendrán los hackers en la sociedad futura.La entrevista está por comenzar. El punto de encuentro es un...

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French men not producing as much sperm

(Reuters Health) – When it comes to sperm counts, French men aren’t what they used to be, according to a new study.Researchers found that between 1989 and 2005, the number of sperm in one milliliter of the average 35-year-old Frenchman’s semen fell from about 74 million to about 50 million – a decrease of roughly 32 percent.“That’s certainly within the normal range, but if you think about it, if there...

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Philippines death toll climbs, hundreds still missing after typhoon

NEW BATAAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Blocked roads and severed communications in the southern Philippines frustrated rescuers on Wednesday as teams searched for hundreds of people missing after the strongest typhoon this year killed at least 283 people. Typhoon Bopha, with central winds of 120 kph (75 mph) and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph), battered beach resorts and dive spots on Palawan...

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Officials: NATO to decide on missiles for Turkey

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are expected to approve Turkey‘s request for Patriot anti-missile systems to bolster its defense against possible strikes from neighboring Syria.NATO foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels. Parliaments in both nations must approve the deployment, which would also involve several hundred soldiers.Ankara, which has been highly supportive...

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“Boardwalk Empire” creator on legalizing drugs and making Nucky likeable again

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – The prohibition drama “Boardwalk Empire” wrapped its spectacular third season Sunday night just weeks after the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana.To “Boardwalk” creator Terence Winter, who has immersed himself in the history of prohibition to research his gangster epic, the votes feel like a move in the right direction.“It’s great. I think they...

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Student group to go to court over Facebook privacy policy

VIENNA (Reuters) – An Austrian student group plans to go to court in a bid to make Facebook Inc, the world’s biggest social network, do more to protect the privacy of its hundreds of millions of members.Campaign group europe-v-facebook, which has been lobbying for better data protection by Facebook for over a year, said on Tuesday it planned to go to court to appeal against decisions by the data protection...

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Soccer-Paraguayan player dies of viral infection in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Paraguayan soccer player Diego Mendieta, who played for Indonesian club Persis Solo last year, has died of a viral infection, local media reported.The 32-year-old striker died late on Monday in a hospital in Solo, Central Java, the Jakarta Globe reported.The paper said Mendieta had wanted to return home but had been unable to do so as the club owed him four months’ wages...

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Does the GOP need a religious retreat?

(Photo by Brandon Thibodeaux/Getty Images)It's no surprise that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio took heat for an interview he gave to GQ magazine this month: Departing from scientific consensus, the rising Republican star refused to state whether the Earth is billions of years old or a few thousand, as many fundamentalist Christians believe.What no one expected was the rebuke from televangelist and longtime...

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Gunmen assassinate peasant leader in Paraguay

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Gunmen murdered one of the surviving leaders of a peasant movement whose land dispute with a powerful politician prompted the end of Fernando Lugo‘s presidency last June.Vidal Vega, 48, was hit four times early Saturday by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report...

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Holiday fitness gifts trend from high-tech to basic

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Looking for the perfect holiday present for a fitness fan? Gift offerings this year range from apps that can store a run in the country to be viewed later to gadgets so sophisticated they measure quality of sleep as well as calories burned.There is also the revival of the humble foam roller, which experts say, like old-time push-ups, squats and planks, has never been more popular.Anita...

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