Jamaica to abolish slavery-era flogging law

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica is preparing to abolish a slavery-era law allowing flogging and whipping as means of punishing prisoners, the Caribbean country’s justice ministry said Thursday.The ministry said the punishment hasn’t been ordered by a court since 2004 but the statutes remain in the island’s penal code. It was administered with strokes...

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Analysis: New Microsoft mantra after Sinofsky – teamwork

SEATTLE/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The sudden departure of powerful Windows boss Steven Sinofsky this week is the first step in a plan by CEO Steve Ballmer to remodel Microsoft Corp as a much more integrated operation in an attempt to take on Apple Inc and Google Inc at their own game.After nearly 13 years at the helm of the world’s largest software maker,...

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“Gangnam Style” song channels New Yorkers’ power woes

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Move over Psy. The next hot thing – at least on Long Island, New York – is a music video parodying the South Korean rapper and dancer’s blockbuster hit, “Gangnam Style.”While the locally produced “LIPA Style” may not attract millions of YouTube views, it’s channeling the frustration of thousands of disgruntled New Yorkers, many of...

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Rising obesity strains Europe’s shrinking health budgets

LONDON (Reuters) – More than half of Europeans are obese or overweight, adding significant pressure to healthcare costs at a time when spending is being cut by governments, the OECD and European Commission said on Friday.On average across the European Union, health spending per capita rose by 4.6 percent a year in real terms between 2000 and 2009, but...

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Israel holding fire during Egypt premier's visit to Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel offered to suspend its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday during a brief visit by Egypt's premier there if militants refrain from firing rockets at Israel, an official said, but the Palestinians unleashed a fresh salvo.An official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader was responding to an Egyptian request.Gaza militants stepped up their barrages...

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Canada’s Carney says rate hikes “less imminent”

TORONTO (Reuters) – Interest rate hikes have become less imminent than the Bank of Canada once expected, although rates are still likely to rise, central bank Governor Mark Carney said in an interview published on Saturday.“Over time, rates are likely to increase somewhat, but over time, so a less imminent timing relative to our expectation,” Carney said...

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RIM to offer free voice calls over Wi-Fi with BBM

TORONTO (AP) — BlackBerry users will soon be able to make free voice calls over a Wi-Fi network using the popular BBM messaging service.Research In Motion Ltd. announced Wednesday that it’s adding the feature to BBM. Users will be able to switch back and forth from a text chat to a voice call. A split-screen option will let them talk and text at the same...

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Jon Bon Jovi’s daughter arrested after suspected drug overdose

(Reuters) – Rock star Jon Bon Jovi‘s daughter was arrested in New York state on Wednesday on drug possession charges following a suspected heroin overdose, local police said.Stephanie Bongiovi, 19, was found unresponsive in a dormitory room at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York from an alleged overdose and taken to a local medical facility, according...

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Congress, Obama face dynamite in “fiscal cliff”: CEOs

BOSTON (Reuters) – Corporate America is raising the volume of its plea that the U.S. government avert a year-end “fiscal cliff” that could send the nation back into recession, but chief executives aren’t pushing the panic button just yet.With a heated election season in the rear-view mirror, executives are calling on the White House and congressional leaders...

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Sources: BP to pay record fine for Gulf Coast disaster

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BP Plc is expected to pay a record U.S. criminal penalty and plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster through a plea deal reached with the Department of Justice (DoJ) that may be announced as soon as Thursday, according to sources familiar with discussions. Three sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said...

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