Khamenei rebuffs U.S. offer of direct talks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday slapped down an offer of direct talks made by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden this week, saying they would not solve the problem between them. "Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with America, however, negotiations will not solve the problem," Khamenei said in a speech to officials and members of...

Read More..

BlackBerry wants developers ready for the Q10, releases new developer phone with QWERTY keyboard

BlackBerry (BBRY) hasn’t yet announced launch details for its second BlackBerry 10 smartphone, the QWERTY-equipped BlackBerry Q10, but it still wants to make sure that developers are ready for the new phone once it becomes available. Apropos, the vendor on Tuesday announced a new “Dev Alpha C” developer handset that features a QWERTY keyboard and the same display dimensions as the upcoming BlackBerry...

Read More..

Kelly Clarkson Dishes on Her Dream Wedding

By Michelle Tauber 02/06/2013 at 08:00 AM EST She had never been in love before. Then, a few years ago, Kelly Clarkson finally figured out why, she says."I was dating skinny jeans and I needed Wranglers," the singer, 30, tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. So when she fell hard for music manager Brandon...

Read More..

Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until...

Read More..

Stock futures edge higher with earnings in focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, adding to the benchmark S&P 500's rally of more than 1 percent a day earlier, buoyed by solid corporate earnings and an optimistic outlook from Disney. Walt Disney Co beat estimates for quarterly adjusted earnings and said it expected the next few quarters to be better due to a stronger lineup of movies and rising attendance...

Read More..

Tunisian opposition politician shot dead, protests erupt

Tunis (Reuters) - A Tunisian opposition politician was shot dead on Wednesday, sending thousands of protesters onto the streets of the capital and in Sidi Bouzid, the epicenter of uprisings that swept the Arab world and Tunisia's president from power. Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who said the identity of the attacker was not known, condemned the killing of Shokri Belaid outside his Tunis...

Read More..

Kenya tracks Facebook, Twitter for election “hate speech”

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Every day, Kagonya Awori and her tech-savvy team trawl through Facebook and Twitter for warning signs that Kenya‘s elections in March may unleash the same ethnic violence that took the country to the brink of civil war five years ago.Sifting through blogs and social media sites, the group of six search for hate speech and inflammatory postings – or any early indications that inter-tribal...

Read More..

Eva Longoria Reveals Valentine's Day (and Upcoming Birthday!) Plans

Caught in the Act 02/05/2013 at 06:00 AM EST Eva Longoria Denise Truscello/WireImage Eva Longoria already knows what she'll be doing on Valentine's Day.The actress visited the new restaurant and nightclub, She by Morton's, in Las Vegas – in which she is a part...

Read More..

Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the...

Read More..

Stock futures indicate rebound from recent sell-off

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures advanced on Tuesday retracing ground lost the prior day, indicating that Wall Street would rebound off its worst daily session since November. Major averages dropped about 1 percent on Monday, pressured by renewed worries over the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. While the day's decline pushed the S&P 500 into negative territory for February,...

Read More..