Hollywood tops Chinese film market in 2012, first time in four years

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China‘s 2012 box office was dominated by foreign films for the first time in four years as a deal cemented earlier this year saw more Hollywood film screened on the mainland, squeezing out domestic competition.China’s box office receipts are expected to reach 16.8 billion yuan ($ 2.7 billion) in 2012 and about 8 billion yuan ($ 1.28 billion), or slightly less than half the receipts,...

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FDA new drug approvals hit 16-year high in 2012

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. regulators approved 39 new drugs in 2012, the most in 16 years, suggesting that pharmaceutical makers are poised for growth after losing billions of dollars in recent years to generic drug makers because of patent expirations.There were eight approvals in December alone, including a new treatment from Johnson & Johnson called Sirturo for drug-resistant tuberculosis...

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Insight: How Colombian drug traffickers used HSBC to launder money

(Reuters) – When several Colombian men were indicted in January 2010 on money-laundering charges, the case in Brooklyn federal court drew little attention.It looked like a bust of another nexus of drug traffickers and money launderers, with mainly small-time operatives paying the price for their crimes.One of the men was Julio Chaparro, a 48-year-old father of four who owned three factories that made...

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Pope marks end of difficult year, notes God’s good

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of a difficult year Monday by saying that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.Benedict celebrated New Year’s Eve with a vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He appeared tired during the service and used a cane afterward — an indication that the busy Christmas season...

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Ms. Mac: ‘Cute, Awkwardly Dressed’

Designer: PabloDeLaRocha.com, BlueStacksShe has freckles, a normal-sized head, wears t-shirts and jeans. She is also “awkwardly dressed” and “pretty cute.” She is the average female Mac user, according to an infographic complied and released by software start-up BlueStacks.The company, which makes software that allows Android apps to run on computers, just released a new version of its Mac app. Install...

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UK “X Factor” winner regains top chart spot

LONDON (Reuters) – James Arthur, winner of this year’s British version of the “X Factor” TV talent show, saw his debut single climb back to number one in the British pop charts on Sunday.Arthur’s “Impossible” shot straight to the top earlier this month but was overtaken last week by a tribute song to the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”,...

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Every school needs a doctor, pediatricians say

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Despite no federal or uniform state requirements to do so, all school districts should have a doctor to oversee school health services, according to a policy statement from a group of American pediatricians.“Our hope is that a policy statement like this will start to get people talking,” said Dr. Cynthia Devore, a co-author of the statement from the American Academy of...

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Behind the Bidding War For a Gene Sequencing Firm

In June, Complete Genomics (GNOM), the struggling maker of the world’s most accurate gene-sequencing machine, put itself up for sale. Nothing happened initially. Analysts predicted the company would soon need to wind down operations.Cut to December. A pair of genomics superpowers, China’s BGI and San Diego-based Illumina (ILMN), have suddenly made competing bids to buy Complete, and politicians and...

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Pakistan militants kill 41 in mass execution, attack on Shi’ites

PESHWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani militants, who have escalated attacks in recent weeks, killed at least 41 people in two separate incidents, officials said on Sunday, challenging assertions that military offensives have broken the back of hardline Islamist groups.The United States has long pressured nuclear-armed ally Pakistan to crack down harder on both homegrown militants groups such as...

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Top Comments: The Problems with Facebook, Windows and Apple

The Problem with Windows 8In the op-ed “The Problem with Windows 8″ Mashable editor Pete Pachal elaborated on the problems he has with Windows 8. Reader Xuanlong pointed out that Windows 8 had a tough act to follow in Windows 7, and that Windows 8 represents a necessary risk for Microsoft.Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Apple Spares Samsung Galaxy S III Mini From Patent Infringement...

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