Obama salutes entertainers taking a Washington bow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Music legend Led Zeppelin was recognized on Sunday alongside entertainers from stage and screen for their contributions to the arts and American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors, lifetime achievement awards for performing artists.The eclectic tribute in Washington, alternated between solemn veneration and lighthearted roasting of honorees Academy Award-winning actor Dustin...

Read More..

Clinton in Prague to lobby for Westinghouse nuclear bid

PRAGUE (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will seek to convince Czech leaders of the advantages of picking U.S. firm Westinghouse over a Russian rival as the contractor for a $ 10 billion nuclear reactor project in meetings in Prague on Monday.U.S. officials traveling with Clinton to Prague said the Temelin nuclear power project could bring as many as 9,000 jobs to the United States...

Read More..

UN net regulation talks kick off

2 December 2012 Last updated at 20:43 ETBy Leo Kelion Technology reporterA UN agency is trying to calm fears that the internet could be damaged by a conference it is hosting.Government regulators from 193 countries are in Dubai to revise a wide-ranging communications treaty.Google has warned the event threatened the “open internet”, while the EU said the current system worked, adding: “If it ain’t...

Read More..

Egypt’s anti-Morsi rebellion of judges is complete

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s rebellion of the judges against President Mohammed Morsi became complete on Sunday with the country’s highest court declaring an open-ended strike on the day it was supposed to rule on the legitimacy of two key assemblies controlled by allies of the Islamist leader.The strike by the Supreme Constitutional Court and opposition plans to march on the presidential palace on Tuesday...

Read More..

Microsoft updates Android Xbox SmartGlass app for 7-inch tablets

While Nintendo (NTDOY) has chosen to create second-screen experiences with the new Wii U GamePad, Microsoft’s (MSFT) strategy for the Xbox 360 involves bringing your own devices (BYOD) with the Xbox SmartGlass app for Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. One of the more frustrating things initially about the Xbox SmartGlass app was that it wasn’t natively compatible with 7-inch...

Read More..

Asperger’s dropped from revised diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — The now familiar term “Asperger‘s disorder” is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But “dyslexia” and other learning disorders remain.The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation’s psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.Full details...

Read More..

Yahoo ‘ordered to pay $2.7bn’

30 November 2012 Last updated at 17:36 ETInternet group Yahoo says it has been ordered to pay $ 2.7bn (£1.68bn) by a Mexican court.The reported ruling follows a lawsuit stemming from allegations of breach of contract and lost profits related to a yellow pages listing service.Yahoo said it “believes the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit and will vigorously pursue all appeals”.The lawsuit had been...

Read More..

Egypt’s Mursi calls referendum as Islamists march

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt‘s President Mohamed Mursi called a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution on Saturday as at least 200,000 Islamists demonstrated in Cairo to back him after opposition fury over his newly expanded powers.Speaking after receiving the final draft of the constitution from the Islamist-dominated assembly, Mursi urged a national dialogue as the country nears the end of the...

Read More..

“Guardians of the Galaxy” director sorry for blog post seen as sexist, homophobic

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – James Gunn, the man entrusted with steering Marvel‘s “Guardians of the Galaxy” to the big screen, apologized publicly for a 2011 blog post that was criticized as sexist and homophobic.Gunn, who is best known for directing the 2006 horror-comedy “Slither,” found himself under fire this week after reports about a blog post titled “The 50 Superheroes You Most Want to Have...

Read More..

Obama aides seek to counter Republican charges on ‘fiscal cliff’

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration sought to counter Republican charges on Friday that President Barack Obama‘s plan to avoid a year-end “fiscal cliff” is light on spending cuts and too reliant on tax increases.Administration officials said the overall plan, offered to Republicans on Thursday and quickly rejected by them, would achieve $ 4.5 trillion in savings to the government. This...

Read More..