After landslide, Abe says Japan has difficult road

TOKYO (AP) — After leading his conservative party to a landslide victory that will bring it back to power after a three-year hiatus, Shinzo Abe stressed Monday that the road ahead will not be easy as he tries to revive Japan‘s sputtering economy and bolster its national security amid deteriorating relations with China.The Liberal Democratic Party, which led Japan for most of the post-World War II...

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Iran media: Son of ex-president released on bail

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media say the son of influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been released on bail.Several papers, including the pro-reform Etemad daily, say Mahdi Hashemi was released late Sunday and immediately went to his father’s home.Authorities arrested the younger Hashemi in late September, a day after he returned to Iran from Britain.He is held on charges of fomenting...

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Auction of Greta Garbo’s dresses, caps fetches $1.6 million

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A two-day sale of clothing, jewelry and other memorabilia belonging to reclusive movie star Greta Garbo fetched $ 1.6 million, more than three times the original estimate, according to Julien’s Auctions.Garbo’s Louis Vuitton streamer trunk, which sold for $ 37,500, was among the top sellers in the auction of 800 items which began on Friday, along with three leather driving...

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Kat Von D Accepts DJ Deadmau5′s Marriage Proposal — Via Twitter

Saturday was just another crazy day in the love life of Kat Von D – you know, marriage proposals via Tweet, etc.After a two-month hot and heavy romance with Canadian DJ Deadmau5 (followed by a November breakup), the pair is not only back together, they’re engaged — and it all went down on Twitter.PLAY IT NOW: Meet The Six Little McGhees“I can’t wait for Christmas so…. Katherine Von Drachenberg, will...

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Keep thimerosal in vaccines: pediatricians

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A mercury-containing preservative should not be banned as an ingredient in vaccines, U.S. pediatricians said Monday, in a move that may be controversial.In its statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorsed calls from a World Health Organization (WHO) committee that the preservative, thimerosal, not be considered a hazardous source of mercury that could be...

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Greek economy may start to grow in 2014, minister says

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s economy, expected to slump for a sixth straight year in 2013, may begin to recover in 2014, the country’s finance minister said on Saturday.“I believe that after the second half of 2013 we will be able to see growth, with positive rates of change in GDP on a quarterly basis or month-by-month,” Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told Imerisia newspaper on Saturday.Wage cuts...

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Nigeria governor, 5 others die in helicopter crash

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A navy helicopter crashed Saturday in the country’s oil-rich southern delta, killing a state governor and five other people, in the latest air disaster to hit Africa’s most populous nation, officials said.Nigeria‘s ruling party said in a statement that the governor of the central Nigerian state of Kaduna, Patrick Yakowa, died in the helicopter crash in Bayelsa state in the Niger...

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Greta Garbo’s dresses, caps fetch high prices at auction

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An auction of film legend Greta Garbo‘s belongings got off to a roaring start on Friday, with her clothing, jewelry and other memorabilia fetching more than ten times pre-sale estimates in many cases.Bidding was brisk and high as more than 800 items belonging to the reclusive Swedish actress, including the bed she slept in, went up for sale over two days at Julien’s Auctions...

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Tumblr Users Flock to Mashable Comment Thread

Tumblr Is DownWhen Tumblr went down Wednesday evening, users flocked to Mashable to express their rage and disbelief.Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Mysterious Package Addressed to Indiana Jones Arrives at UChicago]Where were you the day that Tumblr went down? Whether you were at home, at work or on the move, it’s possible that you somehow ended up on Mashable. That was the case...

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Absent Chavez dominates Venezuelan state elections

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelans vote on Sunday in state elections that will define the future of opposition leader Henrique Capriles and test political forces ahead of a possible new presidential vote if Hugo Chavez is incapacitated by cancer.The vote for 23 state governorships, of which the opposition controls seven, has been overshadowed by the president’s battle to recover from cancer surgery in...

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