Jamaica to abolish slavery-era flogging law

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica is preparing to abolish a slavery-era law allowing flogging and whipping as means of punishing prisoners, the Caribbean country’s justice ministry said Thursday.The ministry said the punishment hasn’t been ordered by a court since 2004 but the statutes remain in the island’s penal code. It was administered with strokes...

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Why David Geffen is getting the “American Masters” treatment

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – David Geffen is not a singer. Nor is he a movie star. Nor is he a writer.Thus he would seem an odd subject for “American Masters,” a series devoted to artists ranging from Willa Cather to Woody Allen. Yet series creator Susan Lacy claims that the mogul has had a profound impact on American...

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New Global Fund head targets killer diseases with cash

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (TrustLaw) – The Global Fund‘s new executive director, Mark Dybul, said he will move quickly to raise fresh money and release funding to combat the killer diseases AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.New scientific research shows that these diseases can be contained and his mission will be to achieve that in partnership with hard-hit countries,...

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MPs raise doubts over bank sales

16 November 2012 Last updated at 02:14 ETA parliamentary committee has said the Treasury’s sale of Northern Rock in 2011 was “fortunate”, and Lloyds and RBS may not be sold “for many years”. A Public Accounts Committee report noted that while the Rock’s sale was “well-handled”, taxpayers were still set to lose £2bn on...

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Canada’s Carney says rate hikes “less imminent”

TORONTO (Reuters) – Interest rate hikes have become less imminent than the Bank of Canada once expected, although rates are still likely to rise, central bank Governor Mark Carney said in an interview published on Saturday.“Over time, rates are likely to increase somewhat, but over time, so a less imminent timing relative to our expectation,” Carney said...

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RIM offers free voice calls over Wi-Fi with BBM

TORONTO (AP) — BlackBerry users will be able to make free voice calls over a Wi-Fi network using the popular BBM messaging service.Research In Motion Ltd. announced Wednesday that it’s adding the feature to BBM. Users will be able to switch back and forth from a text chat to a voice call. A split-screen option will let them talk and text at the same time. The...

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Billy Joel, Rihanna fight Pandora over compensation

(Reuters) – Some of music’s most notable names including Billy Joel, Rihanna and Missy Elliott have signed an open letter to Pandora Media Inc opposing the online music company‘s push to change how artists are compensated.Pandora is currently lobbying lawmakers in U.S. Congress to pass the “Internet Radio Fairness Act,” which would change regulation of...

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Merck KGaA lifts outlook on drugs, screen chemicals

DARMSTADT, Germany (Reuters) – Merck KGaA lifted its 2012 outlook on Thursday and beat expectations for third-quarter results as it capitalized on its strong position in the market for chemicals for flat screens.Family-controlled Merck, which traces its roots to a 17th century pharmacy, now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation...

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France avoids recession; GDP up 0.2 pct in Q3

PARIS (AP) — France‘s economy narrowly avoided a recession, growing slightly in the third quarter, according to official statistic released Thursday.The French economy hasn’t recorded growth since the third quarter of last year and had been widely expected to start its slide into recession in the third quarter — technically defined as two consecutive quarters...

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Beating tax cheats key to Italy’s recovery plan

ROME (AP) — Good plumbers may be worth their weight in gold, but when one was spotted zipping around in a bright red Ferrari, Italian tax police were fast on his trail.Stamping out entrenched tax evasion is crucial to Premier Mario Monti‘s quest to keep Italy from succumbing to the European debt crisis, and it is critical to fellow eurozone members in...

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Rolling Stones add fifth date to anniversary tour

LONDON (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones have added a fifth date to their 50th anniversary tour later this year, the band announced on its website.In between two shows at London‘s O2 Arena starting on November 25 and two more at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ opening on December 13 the veteran quartet will play the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on...

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Merck scraps combination diabetes drug

(Reuters) – Merck & Co no longer plans to develop a drug to treat type 2 diabetes that would have combined its largest selling diabetes drug, Januvia, with a generic version of Pfizer Inc‘s cholesterol drug Lipitor.Merck, one of the country’s largest drugmakers, said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it decided to stop clinical development of the...

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China rails against protectionism at party congress

BEIJING (Reuters) – China‘s top trade and investment officials are railing against what they call a rising tide of global protectionism that blocks its major companies from expanding overseas and further integrating into the global economy.The officials, speaking on the sidelines of a week-long Communist Party Congress, said protectionism was emerging...

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General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend

PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an...

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Lakers intrigued by chance to play for D’Antoni

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Pau Gasol got home from the game and read about it on Twitter, while Dwight Howard got a midnight message on his BlackBerry. They shared most Los Angeles Lakers fans’ mix of surprise, trepidation and anticipation.Just when everybody thought the Lakers were getting back together with Phil Jackson, they switched course in the middle...

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‘Sesame Street’ Elmo puppeteer takes leave amid sex scandal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The puppeteer and voice behind the character Elmo on “Sesame Street” has taken a leave of absence from the children’s television show following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy, producers said on Monday.New York-based Sesame Workshop said in a statement that its own inquiry concluded that the...

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Mushroom Poisonings Spike as 2 Die

The accidental deaths of two California women from mushroom poisoning comes at a time of mounting reports of poisoning from wild toadstools across the county, according to a prominent liver specialist.The two elderly women died after a caregiver at their senior care facility inadvertently served them a meal with poison mushrooms picked on the Loomis, Calif.,...

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Thompson takes helm at NYTimes, faces stiff challenges

(Reuters) – Mark Thompson reported to work as the New York Times Co chief executive on Monday, confronting challenges ranging from making the publisher less dependent on advertising to trimming costs and figuring out what to do with its pile of cash.Thompson is also dealing with questions pertaining to a series of scandals at the BBC, where he served as...

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Clarke’s 218 puts Australia on front foot

BRISBANE (Reuters) – Australia captain Michael Clarke scored a brilliant unbeaten double century to give the hosts a remarkable 37-run first innings lead on the fourth day of the first test against South Africa on Monday.Supported first by a maiden century from opener Ed Cowan in a record stand of 259, and then by Mike Hussey‘s 86 not out, Clarke’s 218...

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China’s Alibaba Group Q2 net profit doubles: SEC filing

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China‘s Alibaba Group more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71 percent for the period, proving the country’s largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector.Yahoo Inc which sold a partial stake in Alibaba back to the privately-owned group in September, still holds 24 percent of...

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BBC head says broadcaster must reform or die

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain‘s BBC could be doomed unless it makes radical changes, the head of its governing trust said, after its director general quit to take the blame for the airing of false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten said on Sunday confidence had to be restored if the publicly funded corporation...

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