Jan
11

Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama's determination to wind down a long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground...
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Native leaders meet with Canadian PM amid protests

OTTAWA: Indigenous Canadians marched on the capital and other major cities threatening to bring the economy "to its knees" as their leaders met with officials to try to resolve a row over extreme poverty on reserves.As many as 500 aboriginals protested in freezing rain outside parliament in Ottawa in support of a hunger strike by a northern Ontario chief. Hundreds more held rallies in...
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The 2013 TVs of CES are bigger and smarter, but what about the picture?

I expect great things out of the Panasonic ZT60 plasma.(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)Will flat-panel TV picture quality get even better in 2013?I'm guessing "Yes" in the case of the Best of CES nominee Panasonic TC-PZT60 and the re-engineered Samsung UNF8500, very likely the two best-performing TVs of 2013 under $10,000.But those two are hardly the TV hardware poster children of the 2013 Consumer Electronics...
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Pa. VA hospital knew of bacteria problem before death

(CBS News) There's been an outbreak other than the flu at the VA Hospital in Pittsburgh. It raises the question: What do patients have the right to know? The bacterium that causes the respiratory illness known as Legionnaires' disease was found in the hospital's water system. The hospital and government officials knew about the outbreak but not the patients who were admitted there. In November,...
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Obama Promises Faster Transition in Afghanistan

President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that most U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end this spring, signaling a quickening troop drawdown that will bring the decade-long war to a close at the end of 2014."Our troops will continue to fight alongside Afghans when needed, but let me say it as plainly as I can: Starting this spring, our troops will...
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Jan
10

U.S., Afghanistan discuss "last chapter" in war aims: Panetta

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed on Thursday the "last chapter" in building a sovereign Afghanistan that can provide its own security, including the nature of U.S. involvement after combat troops withdraw in 2014. Panetta said he and Karzai made "very good progress" on the issues they discussed, but he declined to say...
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Fiji's military ruler drops draft constitution

SUVA: Fiji's military government has announced it will dump a draft constitution prepared by an academic panel and prepare its own version, a move New Zealand labelled a "backward step" for the Pacific nation.Military leaders in the coup-plagued island state commissioned a panel led by Kenyan academic Yash Ghai to draw up a constitution last year but took issue with some recommendations...
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Uh-oh, Windows RT. Samsung's got second thoughts

Samsung's Ativ Tab runs Windows RT, shown here with the mandatory new Metro interface by Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics UK, at a press conference at IFA.(Credit:Stephen Shankland/CNET) LAS VEGAS--Microsoft launched Windows RT with grand ambitions only a few months ago, but CNET has learned the operating system is facing yet another setback. This time it's Samsung having second...
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Student shot at Calif. high school by classmate

Updated at 5:48 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....
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Jodi Arias: 'No Jury Will Convict Me' for Murder

The jury in the Jodi Arias murder trial watched a television interview today in which Arias said "no jury will convict me" for killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.Arias added that she could never imagine committing such a violent act as killing Alexander. "I understand all the evidence is really compelling," she said in the interview. "In a nutshell, two people came in...
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