Investors to move focus from Europe to US economy

Encouraging news from Europe helped catch fire on stock prices in October. This week, investors will shift their focus to U.S. economic data, which might temper their exuberance.

Three events this week will command attention: the U.S. jobs report for October, the Federal Reserve's policy meeting and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's quarterly news conference.

A report Thursday showed that the U.S. economy expanded at a solid 2.5 annual rate in the July-September quarter. That helped ease concerns that another recession might be nearing. Yet the news may have also raised unrealistic expectations about the economy. Investors could end up disappointed.

Eric Green, chief U.S. economist at TD Securities said, “There’s a big difference between avoiding recession and stronger growth". "The economic data will be OK, but it's not going to be a catalyst to move stocks up" significantly.

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Heavy Snowstorm hits US – killing at least nine

An unusual snowstorm has hit the US East Coast, with some areas of Massachusetts seeing more than 27in (68cm) of snow.

The authorities stated that at least nine people have died in snow-related accidents. More than three million homes have lost their electricity supply from Maryland to Massachusetts - some residents may be without power for several days.

The snowfall eased on Sunday, as the storm headed north from Maine. It had worsened as it moved north, with states of emergency declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.

Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Worcester, Massachusetts. Trees collected more snowfall as they have not yet shed leaves. A National Weather Service (NWS) statement said, “Nantucket in Massachusetts experienced wind speeds of 69mph (111km/h)”.

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Samsung overtakes Apple as No. 1 Smartphone Seller

Samsung Electronics Co. overtook Apple Inc. (AAPL) in the last quarter to become the world’s largest smart phone vendor along with a widening technology and legal battle between the two companies.

Samsung shipped 27.8 million smart phones in the last quarter, taking 23.8 percent of the market, Milton Keynes, U.K. - based Strategy Analytics said in an e-mailed statement today. Apple’s 17.1 million shipments, comprising 14.6 percent of the market, pushed the Cupertino, California-based company to second place. Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) maintained its third position, according to the statement.

Apple, which released its iPhone 4S this month, held the top spot for only one quarter after dislodging Espoo, Finland- based Nokia earlier this year. Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, has turned to Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android software to boost sales of its Galaxy smart phones and tablet computers.

“Samsung’s rise has been driven by a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution,” Strategy Analytics wrote. “Samsung has demonstrated that it is possible, at least in the short term, to differentiate and grow by using the Android ecosystem.”

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U.S. economy picks up speed to 2.5 %

U.S. economic growth picked up speed to 2.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, reduction of recession, but experts held that the economy was confronted with a slew of domestic and international challenges.

The growth rate of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the June-September period was the best quarterly performance since the start of this year, a welcome relief for the world's largest economy, which was on the edge of a double-dip recession for the first half of the year.

The growth speed was in line with economists' expectations and was a big acceleration from the revised 1.3 percent growth rate in the second quarter.

Katharine Abraham, a senior White House economist, said "We are, nonetheless, at a fragile moment in the world economy, and cannot afford to do anything to undermine our economic recovery," on Thursday in a White House blog article.

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Australia displayed the world's largest gold coin

Australia has exposed the world's largest gold coin, weighing in at a huge 1,000kg.The Perth Mint produced it in time for Queen Elizabeth's visit to the city in Western Australia for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.

The coin has a kangaroo on one side and the Queen's profile on the other. It is nearly 80cm in diameter and 12cm thick. Perth Mint CEO Ed Harbuz said making it was "an incredible challenge, one which few other mints would even consider".

The Australian coin is five times heavier than the world's previous largest gold coin, made by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Mr Harbuz said, “We thought well, we'd better make it so much bigger that it'll stay the biggest coin in the world for a long time".

Australia's coin is 99.99% pure and has a nominal value of A$1,000,000 ($1,061,000; £663,000). The gold itself is valued more than A$50m.

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U.S. Ending the War in Iraq

The Barack Obama of 2011 and the Barack Obama of 2008 don't constantly see eye to eye. In general the presidential vision has overruled the candidate's. But in the case of the complete withdrawal of American troops from Iraq by the end of this year, candidate Obama prevailed over the president.

President Obama wanted to stay longer -- as recently as a few weeks ago was asking the Iraqi government to allow 10,000, then 3,000 troops to remain past New Year's Eve.

But the president ultimately had no choice but to stick to candidate Obama's plan -- thanks, of all things, to an agreement signed by George W. Bush.

What makes this turn of events even more improbable is that Bush initially intended the agreement to do precisely the opposite: to lock the next president into staying in Iraq indefinitely. But back in 2008, Iraqi government officials -- fed up with a seemingly endless U.S. occupation and emboldened by candidate Obama's vow to withdraw most combat troops within 16 months -- insisted on setting a deadline for departure.

"Bush didn't want the date certain for withdrawal at the time; that was forced by the Iraqis," said Daniel Serwer, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

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Wall Street clashes - 'Unequal' Income in US

Income inequity in the US has sharply increased in recent decades; a bipartisan analysis has revealed. The Congressional Budget Office said income had trebled for the richest 1% between 1979 and 2007.

Meanwhile, a major poll give you an idea about anxiety for the future is high, with a majority saying the US is "on the wrong track". The findings emerged as police used tear gas and mass arrests to force Occupy Wall Street protesters out of their camps in Atlanta and Oakland.

Some 50 people were arrested in Atlanta and 85 were held overnight in Oakland, California.

After clashes in Oakland on Tuesday that left an Iraq war veteran in a critical condition, Mayor Jean Quan held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that the plaza would be open to protesting but not to camping.Ms Quan said Oakland supported the protesters' goals, but had to act when a small number of them threw rocks, paint and bottles at the police.

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Spectrum is the solution to American jobs

Spectrum could help boost the U.S. economy. Spectrum is the invisible infrastructure that is used to transmit everything from radio and cell phone signals to the Wi-Fi network in your home. Making more of it available could help boost the U.S. economy.

As Congress convenes to consider President Obama's American Jobs Act, there is one proposal that super committee members should not ignore that would reduce our national debt, ignite job creation and strengthen America's global competitiveness: voluntary incentive auctions.

Participation in these auctions would be completely voluntary, and current license holders would receive a share of the proceeds in return for making their spectrum available for more efficient uses like mobile broadband innovation. Voluntary incentive auctions could net the federal government upwards of $30 billion, much of which could be used to reduce the shortage. Consumer benefits of re purposing spectrum to new uses are even greater, at an astounding $300 billion.

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Committee of MPs criticizes UK Treasury

A committee of MPs has criticized the UK Treasury's conclusion to increase a levy on the oil and gas industry calling it an "opportunistic raid".

The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report said the way in which the £2bn hike was announced may have undermined investor confidence.

The MPs suggested the UK government should now attempt to do more to restore industry confidence.

The SNP's Mike Weir said the committee was correct to criticize the move.

The report said: "If the government is serious about maximizing production from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), it needs to consider the long-term impact of changes to the tax regime on investment.

"The evidence on the impact of 2006 increase in the supplementary tax charge on oil and gas production in the North Sea is inconclusive, but there is a clear need to sustain investor confidence by avoiding surprises, such as the further increase announced in the 2011 Budget.

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Moderate Islamist party wins the election

Moderate Islamist party wins the election in Tunisia (Africa). The EU observer charge gave elections in Tunisia a clean bill of health.

Tunisia's moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, is claiming victory in Sunday's elections, the first free poll of the Arab Spring.

Official results are expected on Tuesday, but provisional results suggest that Ennahda will win most votes while falling short of a majority. Its main rival, the secular centre-left PDP party, has admitted defeat. International observers praised the conduct of the vote as free and fair.

Former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown nine months ago after mass demonstrations - he had been in power for 23 years. However, unlike its eastern neighbor Libya, Tunisia's transition from authoritarian rule has been largely peaceful.

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US National Hurricane Centre – Hurricane forms in Caribbean

The US National Hurricane Centre has found a new storm Rina formed in the western Caribbean. The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Rina is heading towards Belize and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Rina has been formed in the western Caribbean, threatening to bring heavy rain and powerful winds to southern Mexico and Central America.

A Nicaraguan navy vessel that was evacuating coastal residents has gone missing with 27 people on board. Much of Central America is already water logged after intense downpours that killed around 100 people.

At 1800GMT the NHC said Rina was a category one storm with sustained winds of 120km/h (75 mph). It was centered 310km (195 miles) southwest of Gran Cayman island and was expected to develop into a major hurricane as it moved slowly towards the mainland.

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India is close to wiping out polio

India has "never been closer" to wiping out polio, India's health minister has stated as he marked World Polio Day.

There have been no new cases for more than nine months, making it the longest polio-free period ever since the global eradication campaign was launched.

The only case reported this year was in the state of West Bengal in January. There were 39 cases reported over a similar period in 2010.

India is one of only four countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

The virus is also prevalent in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

"We are close to our goal but are not taking any chances," Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Monday.

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United States ambassador pulled out of Syria

The US has lugged out its ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, diplomatic officials say. Mr Ford angered Syrian authorities by cultivating links with activists involved in rising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

He is said to have left Damascus over the weekend, reportedly because of security concerns. Last month, Mr Ford and colleagues were pelted with eggs and tomatoes when visiting an opposition figure.

An official at the US embassy in Damascus refused to prove the Associated Press the reason for Mr Ford being pulled back, but stressed he had not been formally recalled. Mr Ford drew the wrath of Syrian officials when he visited the restive city of Hama in July along with his French counterpart.

In September, he was among a crowd of mainly Western diplomats who paid condolences to the family of a human rights activist allegedly killed under torture. He was then briefly trapped in his office by pro-Assad demonstrators after visiting an opposition figure and being pelted with eggs and tomatoes.

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Argentina's Cristina Fernandez celebrates landslide election victory

Cristina Fernandez celebrates for wining landslide election victory.Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has won a landslide election victory.

With votes counted from 75% of polling stations, Ms Fernandez has won 53% of vote, a sufficient amount to secure re-election in the first round. Her closest challenger - the socialist Hermes Binner - had just 17%.

In a victory speech, Ms Fernandez said she wanted to keep changing history, as thousands chanted and waved flags in Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo.

"Count on me to continue pursuing the project," she said, watched by supporters on a huge TV screen. "All I want is to keep collaborating ... to keep Argentina growing."

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217 people dead - Turkey 7.2 magnitude earthquake

On Sunday Turkey's eastern Van region was hit by 7.2 magnitude quake. Rescue teams are desperately searching for people trapped beneath rubble after a strong earthquake hit Turkey's eastern Van region on Sunday.

More than 200 people died and 1,000 were injured in the 7.2 magnitude quake, many of them in the town of Ercis, where dozens of buildings fell.

Tens of thousands have been sleeping outside in freezing conditions. The death toll is expected to rise in the coming hours. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been visiting the area.Turkey is particularly in danger to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines.

Two earthquakes in 1999 with a magnitude of more than 7 killed almost 20,000 people in densely populated parts of the north-west of the country. The earthquake struck at 13:41 (10:41 GMT) at a depth of 20km (12.4 miles), with its epicentre 16km north-east of Van in eastern Turkey, the US Geological Survey said.

It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, also centered north of Van, including two of magnitude 5.6 soon after the quake and one of 6.0 late on Sunday.

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Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Expired

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud has died. The crown prince was King Abdullah's half brother and first in line to the Saudi throne. He was also minister of defence and aviation.

He was in his eighties and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004. He is thought to have died at a New York hospital.

Prince Sultan had been on a visit to the US for medical tests, and he had an operation in New York in July.

The royal court confirmed the death in a statement carried by SPA, the state news agency:

"With deep sorrow and sadness the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz mourns the death of his brother and his Crown Prince Sultan... who died at dawn this morning Saturday outside the kingdom following an illness."

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Barack Obama: All U.S. troops will be pulled out of Iraq

U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a complete withdrawal from the country, almost after nine years the invasion under President George W Bush. About 39,000 US troops remain in Iraq, down from a peak of 165,000 in 2008. He has announced that, “All U.S. troops will be pulled out of Iraq by the end of the year”.

The US and Iraq were in "full agreement" on how to move forward, Mr Obama said, adding: "The US leaves Iraq with our heads held high."

"That is how America's military efforts in Iraq will end."

According to the Department of Defense, there have been 4,408 American military deaths in Iraq ever since March 2003. Mr Obama spoke at the White House following a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

He promised assistance and "a strong and enduring partnership" with Iraqi government. The US declared the end of its combat mission in Iraq in 2010. The deadline for complete troop withdrawal by end of 2011 was set during former President George W Bush's term in office.

However, the issue of a full pullout had been the subject of an ongoing debate. Iraqi leaders had wanted 5,000 US troops to remain in a training capacity. But those trainers would not have received immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.

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Libya plans top secret burial for Muammar Gaddafi

Libyan authorities are planning secret burial for expel leader Col Muammar Gaddafi following his capture and death, the BBC understands.

Though, it appears there may be a delay in his burial, which under Islamic tradition should take place as soon as possible.

Oil minister Ali Tarhouni told Reuters that Col Gaddafi's body may be kept "for a few days".

NATO is expected to declare an end to its Libya campaign in the coming hours. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the death of Col Gaddafi meant Nato's military intervention in Libya had reached its conclusion."Clearly the operation is coming to its end," he told reporters.

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the Nato function would end "subject to a few transitory measures in the week to come".

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Spanish PM Zapatero hailed end to violence

Spain's Prime Minister Zapatero has hailed the end of Basque separatist group Eta's armed battle as a "victory for democracy, law and reason".

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the 800 victims of Eta's 40-year struggle would be remembered forever and that the "terror" should never happen again.

On Thursday, Eta stated that "definitive cessation" to bombings and shootings.

Politicians have previously rejected such announcements, with Eta having broken ceasefires before.

But correspondents say this time appears to be different, with Thursday's move the latest step in what Eta has called its transition to peaceful methods.

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Public down on U.S. economy

The extreme temper that settled over the U.S. during the summer has eased slightly, but Americans stay gloomy about the economy and more than half say President Barack Obama does not inspire confidence about a recovery.

A sizable majority — more than 7 in 10 — believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and, in a new high, 43 percent explain the nation's economy as "very poor," according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. Among those surveyed, less than 40 percent say Obama's proposed remedies for high unemployment would increase jobs significantly.

The pessimism is not a good sign for the nation's recovery hopes and presents a more urgent challenge for Obama as he mounts his re-election bid.

About 4 in 10 think unemployment will rise in the coming year; just 23 percent expect it to decrease. And few expect the government to be able to help. Only 41 percent say the government can do much to create jobs, and less than 40 percent say the main part of Obama's jobs proposal would increase employment significantly.

What's more, expectations for the coming year have not improved, with 41 percent believing the economy will remain the same, 27 percent saying it will get worse and 30 percent saying it will improve.

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Global Warming 'confirmed' by US scientific group

The Earth's surface in truth is getting warmer, a new study by a US scientific group set up in the wake of the "Climategate" affair has concluded.

The Berkeley Earth Project has used latest methods and some new data, but finds the same warming trend seen by groups such as the UK Met Office and NASA.

The project received funds from sources that back organizations lobbying against action on climate change.

"Climategate", in 2009, involved claims global warming had been exaggerated.

Emails of University of East Anglia (UEA) climate scientists were hacked, posted online and used by critics to allege
manipulation of climate change data.

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US and North Korea meets in Geneva - Nuclear Issue

U.S and North Korean officials are to assemble next week in Geneva to try to revive stalled international talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear program. A state department spokesman in Washington said the talks in Switzerland would be "a continuation of the exploratory meetings".

The six-party talks broke down in April 2009, just before Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test. The US representative for North Korea is to step down after the Geneva talks.

Washington said on Wednesday that Stephen Bosworth would be replaced by Glyn Davies, the current US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). U.S. and North Korean negotiators last met in July in New York.
The six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program also include South Korea, Japan, Russia and China.

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Astronomer captures picture of forming planet

Astronomers have captured the first direct snap shot of a planet being born. Adam Kraus, of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, said the planet is being formed out of dust and gas circling a 2-milion-year-old star about 450 light years from Earth.

The planet itself, based on scientific models of how planets form, is calculated approximately to have started taking shape about 50,000 to 100,000 years ago.

Called LkCa 15 b, it's the youngest planet ever observed. The previous record holder was about five times older.

Kraus and his colleague, Michael Ireland from Macquarie University and the Australian Astronomical Observatory, used Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea to find the planet.

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Viasat-1 'super-satellite' launched in Orbit

One of the most powerful satellites (Viasat-1) ever built has been put in orbit by a Russian Proton rocket.

The Viasat-1 spacecraft will carry broadband services to customers in the US and Canada. With a total data throughput of some 140 Gbps, the satellite has more capacity than all other communication satellites over North America combined.

Viasat-1 left Earth from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The lift-off for its carrier Proton rocket occurred at 00:48 local time (18:48 GMT Thursday). The flight was declared a success just over nine hours later.

Viasat-1 will be moved to a geosynchronous position at 115 degrees West, and should become fully operational in 2012 after a period of testing.The satellite carries the name of San Diego-based space technology supplier Viasat, but will be pressed into service for its satellite broadband division, Wildblue Communications.

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Clinton in Afghanistan to Encourage President Hamid Karzai

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan to cheer President Hamid Karzai to continue hard work to reconcile with the Taliban.

Mr Karzai has expressed frustration at the process after the assassinations of several key Afghan leaders.

US officials say Mrs Clinton also wants to convince Afghans that Washington is committed to a long-term relationship with their country.

The US is planning to withdraw troops and hand over security to the Afghans."She wants to signal US support for a secure and stable Afghanistan," US official told journalists travelling to Afghanistan with Mrs Clinton.
Her visit to Afghanistan was not announced until she arrived in Kabul late on Wednesday.

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Study discovers Link Between swine flu virus and Stillbirth

The 2009 H1N1 flu virus appears to have created a much greater threat to unborn babies than other types of seasonal flu.

Babies born to mothers who contracted the swine flu virus faced a much greater risk of being stillborn, according to a new study. Baby deaths among women infected with the 2009 strain of the virus were five times higher than normal. There was also a greater risk of premature births when compared to mothers who had not caught the virus.

Health workers say the findings reinforce the message that all pregnant women should get immunised against flu. The study was carried out by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the Oxford University and it examined the cases of every pregnant woman in the UK who was admitted to hospital while suffering from flu.

In 256 mothers infected with the H1N1 flu virus between September 2009 and January 2010, seven of the babies were stillborn and three died shortly after birth. That is the equivalent of 39 babies in 1,000 dying, before or shortly after birth, compared to 7 in 1,000 in mothers not infected with the virus.
Babies born to mothers who contracted the swine flu virus faced a much greater risk of being stillborn, according to a new study. Baby deaths among women infected with the 2009 strain of the virus were five times higher than normal. There was also a greater risk of premature births when compared to mothers who had not caught the virus.

Health workers say the findings reinforce the message that all pregnant women should get immunised against flu. The study was carried out by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the Oxford University and it examined the cases of every pregnant woman in the UK who was admitted to hospital while suffering from flu.

In 256 mothers infected with the H1N1 flu virus between September 2009 and January 2010, seven of the babies were stillborn and three died shortly after birth. That is the equivalent of 39 babies in 1,000 dying, before or shortly after birth, compared to 7 in 1,000 in mothers not infected with the virus.

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The U.S. Economy Will keep on Growing

John M. Mason believes that the United States economy is recovering and will continue to recover. He also said that “financial crises are protracted affairs.”

John M. Mason writes on current monetary and financial events. He is an entrepreneur and a writer. Current projects include a new banking institution, an Internet company, a private equity fund, two depository institutions and a community redevelopment fund. He formerly was on the faculty of the Finance Department, Wharton School, and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mason has been President and CEO of two publicly traded financial institutions and the executive vice president and CFO of a third.

Why don’t I believe that there will be a “double dip” recession, a 1937-38 depression like the one following the 1929-33 Great Depression?
In the case of the 1930s, there were policy errors committed that resulted in the 1937-38 depression: the most prominent one being the effort of the Federal Reserve to eliminate all the excess reserves being held by the commercial banks at that time so that the Fed would have more “control” over the money markets.

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Using Internet may be changing brains

Researchers have put forward a report that using internet may change people’s brain. Social network sites may be changing people's brains as well as their social life, research suggests.

Brain scans show a direct link between the number of Facebook friends a person has and the size of certain parts of their brain.

It's not clear whether using social networks boosts grey matter or if those with certain brain structures are good at making friends, say researchers.

The regions involved have roles in social interaction, memory and autism.The work, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, looked at 3-D brain scans of 125 university students from London.

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President Barack Obama: U.S. economy is weak

President Barack Obama said before the last day of his jobs bill bus tour that,” the U.S. economy is weak and "we're still going through difficult circumstances".

"I guarantee it's going to be a close election because the economy is not where it wants to be," Obama told the ABC News program "Nightline" on Day 2 of his three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia to drum up support for his $447 billion American Jobs Act -- now broken into its component parts after the Senate defeated the overall bill Oct. 11 by refusing to let it come up for a vote.

Obama said, "and even though I believe all the choices we've made have been the right ones, we're still going through difficult circumstances”.

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North Korea holds discussion with US on war remains

North Korea and the Unites States are holding talks on restarting attempts to recover the remains of US troops killed during the Korean War, after a six-year halt.

Co-operation on the issue stalled in 2005 amid increasing tension over Pyongyang's nuclear goals.

But North Korea said last month it would restart talks, and officials are now meeting in the Thai capital, Bangkok. The move comes amid some signs the two sides are looking to re-engage.

On Monday South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that U.S. and North Korean negotiators would meet in Geneva next week to discuss reviving stalled international talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program.

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U.S. Economic Report: Industrial production shows gains in September

Factory output rose for a third straight month in September, a sign the U.S. economy is still rising slowly.

Manufacturers made more airplanes, trucks and home electronics to meet increasing demand. Output at U.S. factories increased 0.4% in September after gaining 0.3% in August, the Federal Reserve said Monday. Production of business equipment rose 1%, third straight increase of 1% or more. Transit tools and information processing equipment drove the gain.

Auto output increased for a third month, home electronics production for a fifth. Overall industrial production, which includes mines and utilities, edged up 0.2%. It was unchanged in August. Utility output fell sharply as weather moderated, while mines continued to produce more. Industrial production has increased 12.8% since June 2009. It remains 5.8% below its recent peak, in September 2007.

The rise in factory output, the largest component of industrial production, is the latest signal that the economy is recovering from its summer slump. The government has also said hiring increased slightly in September and retail sales grew by the most in seven months.

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General Electric Co Chief Jeffrey Immelt: US economy needs more confidence, drive

The General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt says US economy needs more confidence. The head of the largest US business and a top adviser to the Obama administration on jobs and the economy said he believed the nation was not trying hard enough to compete with global rivals including China.

"This focus that globalization brings is good for us ... If I thought we'd tried our best as a country and still had the kind of trade deficits we have today, I'd be depressed," Immelt told a Thomson Reuters Newsmaker event in New York on Monday.

"We're not trying that hard," he added. "We haven't really tried as hard as we can to compete, educate, and sell our products around the world and I think we can do better."

The nation's economic malaise, now in its third year, has left many average Americans angry and frustrated with the system, Immelt acknowledged, saying that people in power need to empathize with their problems.

Immelt said "unemployment is 9.1 percent. Underemployment is much higher than that, particularly among young people that don't have a college degree". "It is natural to assume that people are angry and I think we have to be empathetic and understand that people are not feeling great."

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refuses Saudi plot claims

Iran's president has said US claims of a plot to assassinate a Saudi ambassador are as fake as its allegations were about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said,” the US had hoped to make people forget about its "internal economic problems".

In an appearance on al-Jazeera he also said the US was looking for an excuse to toughen sanctions against Iran.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile asked the UN Security Council to look into what it called a "heinous conspiracy".

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he had passed correspondence about the affair to the Security Council.

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Obama uses Martin Luther King’s Speech

US President Barack Obama dedicated the new Martin Luther King memorial on the National Mall on Sunday, using the occasion to attack Republican obstructionism as he girds for a blooming 2012 reelection battle.

America's first black president paid tribute to the giants of the civil rights movement as well as its foot-soldiers, saying the gleaming granite memorial in the heart of the capital was for one and all.

Obama said, “in this place, he will stand for all time, among monuments to those who fathered this nation and those who defended it".

He also said, “A black preacher with no official rank or title who somehow gave voice to our deepest dreams and our most lasting ideals, a man who stirred our conscience and thereby helped make our union more perfect”.

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Central America floods and landslides - 80 dead

The Officials says,” the number of people killed by a week of torrential rains, triggering floods and landslides across Central America, has reached at least 80”.

El Salvador is the worst-affected, with 32 people killed, mostly buried in their houses by mudslides. The number of dead in Guatemala has risen to 28, while the total rose to 13 in Honduras, and eight people have died in Nicaragua. Rain generated by a tropical depression continues to fall across the region.

International highways have been washed out, villages isolated and thousands of families have lost homes and crops. The United Nations has classified Central America as one of the parts of the world most affected by climate change. The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have been affected by the flooding.

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Briton Dan Wheldon dies in Car race in Las Vegas

British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon has died following a huge accident at the Las Vegas Indy 300.

The Buckinghamshire-born star, 33, was one of 15 drivers involved in a crash at the second corner on lap 13 of the season-ending race.

Wheldon, who began IndyCar racing in 2002, was series champion in 2005 and won the Indy 500 in 2005 and 2011.

Lewis Hamilton, 2008 Formula 1 world champion, said: "This is a tragic loss at such a young age."

He added: "He was an extremely talented driver. As a British guy, who not only went over to the States but who twice won the Indy 500, he was an inspirational guy and someone that every racing driver looked up to with respect and admiration.

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UN Gulf Co-operation Council emergency meet on Syria

The Gulf States have called for an emergency Arab foreign ministers' meeting on the rising bloodshed in Syria as Damascus shows no let-up in its deadly crackdown on protests.

The United Nations has said the death toll in seven months of protests in Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad has reached 3,000.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said at least 187 children were among the dead and that 100 people had died in the past 10 days alone.

The UN also says hundreds of Syrians have been arrested. Ms Pillay warned that Syria's "ruthless repression" threatened "full-blown civil war".

The government in Damascus blames armed "terrorist gangs" for the trouble, and says 1,100 members of the security forces have been killed.

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Bold action on jobs needed now: Obama aide Sperling

The case for bold action to put Americans back to work is overwhelming, a top White House adviser said on Thursday, and opponents are turning their backs on the millions of the country's long-term unemployed..

Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, said opponents of the bill were "turning a blind eye" to those who have been out of work for six months or more, roughly 45 percent of the 14 million Americans without jobs.

"There is no question that the best thing for our economy right now is to get a large, bold, demand injection through the American jobs act now," Sperling said at the Financial Times' View from the Top conference in New York.

The Senate defeated President Barack Obama's $447 billion job-creation plan earlier this week but the White House says it will keep pushing Congress to do more to help boost hiring.

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Google Third Quarter Results - Large rise in profits with 40 million Users

Google has announced the third quarter results; the report says Google has made a large rise in profits in the three months to September. The search engine said net income in the third quarter surged 26% to $2.73bn (£1.74bn), up from $2.17bn in the same period last year.

Google reported quarterly revenues of $US9.72 billion which the company said was an increase of 33% compared with the third quarter of 2010, with net income of $US2.73 billion compared with $US2.17 billion in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of about 26%.

Google said its revenues were calculated consistent with normally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), without withholding traffic acquisition costs, the portion of revenues shared with Google's partners, which were $US2.21 billion, or 24% of advertising revenues,Google said.

Google chief executive Larry Page said the company had had a great quarter. “Google+ is now open to everyone and we just passed the 40 million user mark. People are flocking into Google+ at an incredible rate and we are just getting started!"

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New Zealand oil spill -Country's Worst Environmental Disaster

Heavy oil spill and strong winds hit the vessel for a second day on Wednesday, sending empty containers dropping off the ship, which is leaning at around 18 degrees, into the heaving seas. About 50 seabirds have died and group of naturalists have scrubbed and treated 20 more for oil pollution.

The captain was charged with "operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk". The 775ft (236m) Rena ran aground on a graphed reef off the North Island port of Tauranga a week ago. Officials say the fuel oil leaking from the ship has caused the country's worst environmental disaster in decades.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ), which is managing the emergency response, said about 70 containers had fallen off the Rena after more bad weather overnight shifted the vessel into a heavy list. The ship is carrying 11 containers of hazardous materials, MNZ said, including ferrosilicon which is flammable upon contact with water.

MNZ said the hazardous materials containers were not among those that had fallen overboard. But New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said stress fractures had been found on the Rena. He said "we can't rule out the risk of the ship breaking up, that's certainly being monitored".

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U.S. ponders how to pressure Iran

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration plans to force charges that Iran plotted to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States into a new global campaign to isolate the Islamic republic.

U.S. officials stated that the administration will lobby for the imposition of new international sanctions as well as for individual nations to increase their own penalties against Iran based on charges that Iranian agents tried to recruit a purported member of a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi envoy on American soil.

The Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated in an associated press interview, "this really, in the minds of many diplomats and government officials, crosses a line that Iran needs to be held to account for”. She also said she and President Barack Obama want to "enlist more countries in working together against what is becoming a clearer and clearer threat" from Iran.

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Senate GOP poised to scuttle Obama's jobs plan

President Barack Obama's jobs bill, facing a serious test in the Senate, appears likely to fail because Republicans oppose its spending components and its tax supplement on millionaires obama has been waging a campaign style effort to rally public hold behind the $447 billion measure, which was expected to be the subject of a Senate vote Tuesday.

The plan combines payroll tax cuts for workers and businesses with $175 billion in expenditure on roads, school repairs and other infrastructure, as well as unemployment support and help to local governments to avoid layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers.

The key elements of the jobs package reprise parts of Obama's $800 billion-plus 2009 stimulus determine and a Social Security payroll tax cut enacted last year unlike the notorious stimulus bill, the jobs measure would be financed by a 5.6 percent surcharge on income more than $1 million, raising more than $450 billion over a decade.

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SPIN METER: Obama disconnects rhetoric, reality

In President Barack Obama's sales pitch for his jobs bill, there are two version of actuality the one in his speeches and the one really unfolding in Washington when Obama accuse Republicans of standing in the way of his nearly $450 billion plan, he ignore the fact that his own party has struggled to unite following the proposal.

When the president says Republicans haven't explain what they oppose in the plan, he skips over the fact that Republicans who control the House really have done that in detail and when he calls on Congress to "pass this bill now," he slides past the point that Democrats organize the Senate and were never prepared to move immediately, given other priorities senators are predictable to vote Tuesday on opening debate on the bill, a month after the president unveil it with a call for its immediate passage.

To be sure, Obama is not the only one attractive in rhetorical excesses but he is the president, and as such, his constant remarks on the bill draw the most concentration and scrutiny the disconnect between what Obama says about his jobs bill and what stands as the following reality flow from his broader aim to rally the public following his cause and get Congress to act, or, if not, to pin blame on Republicans.

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US employers likely added few jobs in September

The U.S. economy will likely show its fifth straight month of slight or no job making when the Government Issue its September employment report Friday another weak month would underscore the slowness of the economy and the risk of another recession.

Economists predict that employers added just 56,000 net jobs in September that isn't enough even to keep pace with people growth or minor the unemployment rate the rate is expected to remain at 9.1 percent for a third straight month, according to a survey of economists by FactSet.

The faltering economy has led many employers to decrease hiring the economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.9 percent in the first six months of the year since then, Europe's debt crisis and stock market decline have sensitive fears that the economy will move violently to grow enough to avoid a recession.

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Steve Jobs Dies: Apple Chief Created Personal Computer, iPad, iPod, iPhone

Steve Jobs, the mastermind at the back Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said Jobs was 56 Jobs died "peacefully" surrounded by family members, his family said in a declaration neither Jobs' family nor Apple exposed where Jobs died or from what cause, though in recent years he had fought a form of pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant.

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," read a declaration by Apple's board of directors, "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the foundation of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives the world is infinitely better because of Steve his furthermost love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his strange gifts."

The homepage of Apple's website switch to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, "Steve Jobs 1955-2011", "Apple has lost a visionary and original genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," the text read, "Those of us who have been providential enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor steve leaves at the back a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

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Knox leaves Italy to head home to US

Amanda Knox headed home to the United States a free woman Tuesday, the morning after an Italian appeals court radically overturned the American student's certainty of sexually assaulting and brutally slaying her British roommate.

The Italy-US Foundation, which has championed Knox's cause, said she deceased shortly after noon (1000 GMT) from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on the way to London, from where she will catch a between flight to the United States the 24-year-old Knox, who is returning to Seattle, arrived at the airport in a Mercedes with darkened windows and waited for board inside a confidential waiting area, out of public view.

Back in Perugia, the family of slain British student Meredith Kercher remain stunned by the verdict and searching for answers,"It was a bit of a shock," said Stephanie Kercher, the wounded older sister, It's very upsetting Lyle Kercher, a brother, said the family is still trying to appreciate how a decision that "was so certain two years ago has been so radically overturned."

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