Peru’s capital highly vulnerable to major quake

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn’t get back up. Minutes later, a 50-foot (15-meter) wall of Pacific Ocean crashed into the adjacent port of Callao, killing all but 200 of its 5,000 inhabitants. Bodies washed ashore for weeks.Plenty of earthquakes have shaken Peru‘s capital in the 266 years since that fateful...

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Orlando Bloom’s Legolas returns to Middle Earth in 2014′s “There and Back Again”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Legolas was a fan favorite in Peter Jackson‘s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but J.R.R. Tolkien enthusiasts won’t see the warrior Elf return to Middle Earth until 2014 when “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” hits theaters.Entertainment Weekly published the first image of Orlando Bloom reprising his role and he looks pretty much the same, with the exception of his very blue...

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How one startup is overhauling Android to make it enterprise-ready

The common misconception that Android isn’t secure enough for the business world or government employees is about to change. A Boston-based startup called Optio Labs has created a custom version of Google’s (GOOG) mobile operating system that can control what can and cannot be accessed depending on location, network or running apps. The technology can even allow a phone to display sensitive company...

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On the edge of the “cliff,” U.S. cities like Charleston

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – For 37 years straight, Joseph P. Riley Jr. has sat behind the mayor’s desk here, shaping this city and its budget.On a recent afternoon, Riley, 69, reached for a draft copy of next year’s spending plan and wondered aloud about what might get cut should politicians in Washington fail to find an agreement this month, unleashing $ 600 billion worth of spending reductions...

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S.Africa’s rand firms with emerging market currencies

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa‘s rand firmed slightly against the dollar on Friday as positive U.S. jobs numbers boosted the currencies of several emerging market countries on the hopes they would benefit from a more buoyant American economy.The rand was 0.29 percent firmer at 8.6577 against the dollar at 1619 GMT from New York’s Thursday close of 8.6850.“The good jobs numbers fundamentally...

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Egyptian opposition to shun Mursi’s national dialogue

CAIRO (Reuters) – President Mohamed Mursi was expected to press ahead on Saturday with talks on ways to end Egypt‘s worst crisis since he took office even though the country’s main opposition leaders have vowed to stay away.Cairo and other cities have been rocked by violent protests since November 22, when Mursi promulgated a decree awarding himself sweeping powers that put him above the law.The upheaval...

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“Gangnam Style” singer Psy apologizes for past anti-U.S. songs

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The South Korean pop singer behind the viral smash hit “Gangnam Style” apologized on Friday for past concerts featuring anti-American lyrics, ahead of a holiday performance to be attended by U.S. President Barack Obama and his family.Psy issued the apology after reports surfaced in the United States on Friday about his participation in two performances critical of the U.S....

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Big-data analytics company Cloudera raises $65 million

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Cloudera, a distributor of software that helps companies analyze big data, said it has raised $ 65 million in new funding.The company is part of a growing group of businesses that help dig into the vast trove of data created by digital sources such as sensors, posts to the Internet, pictures and videos.The field caught investor attention when Splunk, another data analytics...

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Roche breast cancer drug extends overall survival

ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss pharma group Roche‘s drug Perjeta significantly extended the lives of women with an aggressive and incurable form of breast cancer compared to a placebo, according to new data from a late-stage study presented on Saturday.The detailed data presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium found that the risk of death was reduced by 34 percent in women treated with a combination...

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Euro falls on grim economic outlook, U.S. data eyed

LONDON (Reuters) – The bleak outlook for the European economy knocked the euro and stalled gains the region’s share markets on Friday, as investors waited to see if nonfarm payrolls data in the United States might affect its monetary policy plans.A day after the European Central Bank cut its forecasts for growth across the 17-nation euro area next year, Germany’s Bundesbank said there was a chance...

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