AP Interview: Jackson, cast discuss ‘The Hobbit’

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Many fans are eagerly anticipating a return to the fictional world of Middle-earth with next week’s general release of the first movie in “The Hobbit” trilogy. Director Peter Jackson and the film’s stars speak to The Associated Press about making “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey“:— Jackson on shooting at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24: “We’ve seen...

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WiLan sues Apple, HTC, Sierra Wireless

(Reuters) – Canadian patent licensing company WiLan Inc filed patent lawsuits against Apple Inc, HTC Corp and Sierra Wireless Inc‘s U.S. unit.The company filed three suits claiming infringement of its fourth-generation LTE wireless technologies against all three companies in a federal court in Florida.The other two suits, related to 3G HSPA handset products, were filed against Apple and Sierra in...

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Men more likely to die of cancer: study

(Reuters) – Not only are men more likely than women to be diagnosed with cancer, men who get it have a higher chance of dying from the disease, according to a U.S. study.In an analysis of cases of all but sex-specific cancers such as prostate and ovarian cancer, for example, men were more likely than women to die in each of the past ten years, said researchers, whose findings appeared in The Journal...

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Standard Chartered sees $330 million settlement on Iran

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Standard Chartered expects to pay $ 330 million to settle a case with U.S. regulators who accused the Asia-focused bank of failing to comply with sanctions against Iran, further denting profit growth this year.The settlement will be on top of the $ 340 million it paid to New York’s Department of Financial Services in the third quarter, which pushed its before-tax profit growth...

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South Africa military plane crashes in mountains

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African military aircraft on an unknown mission to an area near the village where former President Nelson Mandela lives crashed in a mountain range, officials said Thursday. It was unclear whether there were any survivors.The Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, had taken off from Pretoria’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, said Brig. Gen. Xolani...

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Male artists lead 2013 Grammy nominations

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – Male artists led the nominations announced on Wednesday for the 2013 Grammys, as fun., Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys landed six nods each for music’s biggest awards.The nominations for New York-based indie-pop band fun. – made up of Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff – included the four main categories...

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Guatemala detains McAfee, to expel him to Belize

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemalan police arrested U.S. software guru John McAfee on Wednesday for illegally entering the country and said it would seek to expel him to neighboring Belize, which he fled after being sought for questioning over his neighbor’s murder.McAfee, who had been in hiding for three weeks, crossed into Guatemala with his 20-year-old girlfriend to evade authorities in Belize...

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Sanctions, government blamed for Iran’s drugs shortage

DUBAI/ZURICH (Reuters) – Doctors in Iran are trying to fend off a creeping health care crisis caused by medicine shortages, due in part to Western economic sanctions but exacerbated by government mismanagement and abuse of the system.Government hospitals and pharmacies report a widespread lack of drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, blood disorders and other serious conditions. Iranian media...

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Fracking in the U.K.: Britain Looks to Boost Shale Gas

Could a European shale-gas revolution start in Britain? While efforts to drill gas from shale deposits have stalled on the Continent, the British government could soon give the go-ahead to drilling and provide tax breaks to encourage it.Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, scheduled to unveil a new government energy plan on Dec. 5, has said he wants to ensure that “Britain is not left behind”...

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Sri Lanka see backlash from Aussie ‘wounded soldiers’

(Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has warned his team to be wary of a backlash from Australia in their three-test series after the hosts were stung by their series defeat to South Africa earlier this week.Australia’s hopes of snatching the Proteas’ top test ranking ended in a crushing 309-run defeat in the third and final test in Perth on Monday, but Jayawardene took little comfort...

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