UN in Syria talks offer, warns against war crimes

DAMASCUS: The UN chief and his Syria envoy said Saturday they are prepared to broker peace talks between the regime and opposition, as Damascus ally Iran said Bashar al-Assad would stand again for president in 2014.A joint statement by Ban Ki-moon and Lakhdar Brahimi said the UN would "be prepared to facilitate a dialogue between a strong and representative delegation from the opposition...

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IBM's Watson: Now for 'Top Chef'?

Watson in his "Jeopardy" days.(Credit:IBM/YouTube; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)Great chefs are crazy.There are many kinds of crazy. Some of these culinarians rant, rave, and spit fire and brimstone. Some pore over their ingredients like scientists: quiet, brooding, and deeply serious.All believe they can create their own particular gastronomic dreams, ones nobody else can copy. Especially...

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Recovery attempt weighed for man's body in sinkhole

SEFFNER, Fla. Engineers worked gingerly Saturday to find out more about a slowly growing sinkhole that swallowed a Florida man in his bedroom, believing the entire house could eventually succumb to the unstable ground. It could be days before officials decide whether they will attempt to recover Jeff Bush's body, and they were still trying Saturday to determine the extent of the sinkhole network...

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Abandoned Baby's Tooth Used in Search for Parents

Authorities are using the bottom tooth of the week-old infant abandoned in a plastic bag outside an apartment complex in Cypress, Texas, as a clue in the search for her parents.The newborn's early tooth, seen in just one of 2,000 births, is a unique genetic trait that may prove to be a link to her family history, according to investigators.The baby, named Chloe by rescuers, weighed...

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Al-Qaeda's top leader in Mali killed in fighting

PARIS: Al-Qaeda's top commander in Mali has been killed, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno said Friday, in what would be one of the most significant blows to the rebels in the seven-week French-led intervention against Islamist insurgents.Several newspapers in Abou Zeid's native Algeria had reported his death and Washington had described the reports as "very credible".Deby said Abou Zeid,...

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Man feared dead in 100-foot sinkhole near Tampa

Last Updated 1:15 p.m. ET SEFFNER, Fla. A man was missing and feared dead early Friday after a large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of a house near Tampa. His brother says the man screamed for help before he disappeared. The 36-year-old man's brother, Jeremy Bush, told rescue crews he heard a loud crash around 11 p.m. Thursday, then heard his brother screaming for help. "When he got there,...

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Obama, Congress Fail to Avert Sequester Cuts

President Obama and congressional leaders today failed to reach a breakthrough to avert a sweeping package of automatic spending cuts, setting into motion $85 billion of across-the-board belt-tightening that neither had wanted to see.Obama met for just over an hour at the White House today with Republican leaders House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell...

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Turkish PM's Zionism comments "objectionable": Kerry

ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday criticized a comment by Turkey's prime minister likening Zionism to crimes against humanity, as the disagreement cast a shadow over talks between the NATO allies. Kerry, on his first trip to a Muslim nation since taking office, met Turkish leaders for talks meant to focus on the civil war in neighboring Syria and bilateral...

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Benedict XVI steps down as pope

VATICAN CITY: Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign in over 700 years on Thursday, waving a last goodbye to a tearful crowd of faithful and telling them he would be "a simple pilgrim" on life's last journey.Swiss Guards wielding halberds shut the giant wooden doors of his new temporary residence, the Castel Gandolfo near Rome, and left their posts after completing their mission...

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Kick a Soccket soccer ball, power an LED lamp

You'll get a kick out of energy generation with Soccket.(Credit:Uncharted Play)Portable generators just got a lot more fun with the introduction of the Soccket, an energy-harnessing soccer ball raising funds on Kickstarter. Kick the ball around, play, and have a good time. When you're done, connect an LED lamp into a port built into the ball, and light up your night.Playing with the Soccket for 30...

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