Xu Liangying, 92, Scientist and Democracy Advocate

Xu Liangying, a scientist and an advocate of democracy in China who was renowned for translating the works of Albert Einstein while banished to the countryside for denouncing Mao Zedong’s purge of intellectuals, died on Monday in Beijing. He was 92. His son Xu Chenggang confirmed the death. In a life that spanned many of the convulsions of 20th-century China, Mr. Xu evolved from an...

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BSkyB to offer sports channels online for daily fee

LONDON (Reuters) – BSkyB will offer its popular sports channels online for a daily fee, seeking new customers to offset slowing growth at its core pay-TV service amid sluggish consumer spending.Sky, Britain’s dominant pay-TV group which provides fixed-line telephony, TV and broadband to 10.7 million households, has adapted its strategy during the economic downturn after years of chasing new subscribers...

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Steven Tyler Auditions in Drag for American Idol

TV Watch American Idol By Steve Helling 01/31/2013 at 10:35 PM EST Steven Tyler sings before the AFC Championship NFL football game, Jan, 22, 2012 Elise Amendola/AP Former judge Steven Tyler made a surprise cameo on American Idol Thursday night – dressed as a woman....

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Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

NEW YORK (AP) — Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died in January. The illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health officials on Thursday...

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Asian shares off highs, Fed's stance underpins markets

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares took a breather from recent rallies on Thursday though sentiment was underpinned by the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to retain its stimulus policy and on signs of stabilization in the euro zone. Positive economic reports from Asia failed to lift markets as investors continued to assess regional earnings results and ahead of key data such as China's official...

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World Briefing | Asia: Factory Owners Arrested in Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi police have arrested two owners of a factory that caught fire last week, resulting in the deaths of seven workers, in the latest blaze to strike the country’s garment export industry. Late Tuesday night, the police arrested Sharif Ahmed, chairman of Smart Export Garments, and his colleague, M. D. Zakir Ahmed. The Smart Export factory was manufacturing clothing for several European...

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RIM rebrands as BlackBerry; launches nifty new devices

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd on Wednesday unveiled the long-delayed line of smartphones it hopes will put it on the comeback trail, but it disappointed investors by saying U.S. sales of its all-new BlackBerry 10 devices will not start until March, sending its share price tumbling 12 percent.Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also announced that RIM was abandoning the name it has used since...

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Jason London Suffered 'Brutal Attack' While Being Arrested: Rep

By Maggie Coughlan and Ken Lee 01/30/2013 at 08:30 PM EST After being arrested following a bar fight in Scottsdale, Ariz., over the weekend, Jason London insists the incident isn't what it seems."The details of the events leading up to the incident are still being worked out with the help of many eyewitness...

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Sex to burn calories? Authors expose obesity myths

Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking.Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting...

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Chesapeake CEO McClendon steps down after year of tumult

(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Tuesday that Aubrey McClendon will step down as chief executive after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations triggered civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer. News of the executive's plan to depart on April 1 boosted the company's shares by 9 percent. The stock has made a partial recovery...

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