China may consider ending its decade-long ban on video game consoles

Shares of Sony (SNE) and Nintendo (NTDOY) surged on Monday following a report from China’s official newspaper that claimed the country is considering the lift of a decade-long ban on video game consoles. An unnamed source told the China Daily newspaper that the Ministry of Culture is “reviewing the policy,” and has conducted surveys and held discussions with other ministries on the possibility of...

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Barbara Walters Has Chicken Pox

TV Watch 01/28/2013 at 12:40 PM EST Barbara Walters Mark VonHolden/DMIPhoto.com/FilmMagic While much of Hollywood is suffering from the flu, Barbara Walters has come down with the chicken pox.The View host was hospitalized after injuring her head in a fall during...

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Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

The first soldier to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore.His father says Brendan Marrocco (muh-ROCK-oh) had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Marrocco is 26 and lives in New York City. He was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009.He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel...

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S&P 500 dips after rally, but Apple lifts Nasdaq

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Standard & Poor's 500 edged lower on Monday as a four-week rally stalled, while a rebound in Apple shares helped buoy the Nasdaq. Caterpillar shares helped cap losses in the Dow industrials after the heavy equipment maker's outlook eased investors' fears about an economic slowdown in China. Caterpillar's shares rose 2.1 percent to $97.61. The...

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India Ink: At Literature Festival, Yearning for Bollywood Past

Nostalgia for classic Bollywood cinema reigned at the Jaipur Literature Festival, which celebrated 100 years of Indian cinema with several sessions featuring veteran actors and writers, who offered critiques of contemporary Indian film-making.In the session titled “Bollywood and National Narrative,” Javed Akhtar, the Indian poet and lyricist who scripted several popular Hindi films in the 1970s and...

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Siemens picks banks for two disposals: sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Siemens AG has picked banks to organize the sale of two units as part of its efforts to streamline operations and stay competitive in a weak global economy, people familiar with the matter said.Goldman Sachs Group Inc will advise the German conglomerate on the sale of its Water Technologies units, while Rothschild will oversee the divestment of its smaller security products arm,...

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Predict the SAG Award Winners!

Facebook Tweet Facebook Tweet Take our nominees poll, and download a printable ballot here Pollscompleted: ...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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Scandal-hit Monte Paschi seeks new investor to revive bank

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena is seeking a financial investor to help revive the ailing lender and will remove a current cap on voting rights to help raise 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), its chairman said. "I would like to have a long-term financial investor," Alessandro Profumo told Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore in an interview published on Sunday....

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The Lede Blog: Fire at a Nightclub in Southern Brazil

Victims of the fire are attended by medics. An intense fire ripped through a nightclub crowded with university students in southern Brazil early on Sunday morning, leaving behind a scene of horror with bodies piled in the club’s bathrooms and outside on the street.At least 245 people were killed, police officials said.As my colleague, Simon Romero reports, a flare from a live band’s pyrotechnic show...

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