Brahimi says he has Syria plan all world powers may back

CAIRO: International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned Sunday that the Syrian war was worsening "by the day" as he announced a peace plan he believed could find support from world powers, including key Syria ally Russia.Brahimi's comments came as Russia despatched a third warship to its naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus in readiness for a possible evacuation of its nationals and as Turkish...

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Instagram said to lose millions of daily users -- but did they?

AppData reported a decline in Instagram traffic.(Credit:AppData)The number of people using Instagram daily reportedly declined sharply over Christmas, just a week after a flap over the Facebook-owned company's revised terms of service led to widespread user outrage.As first reported by the New York Post, analytics firm AppData recorded a nearly 25 percent drop in the number of daily active Instagram...

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East, Gulf Coast port strike averted, for now

Last Updated 12:15 p.m. ET NEW YORK The union for longshoremen along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico has agreed to extend its contract for 30 days, averting a possible strike that could have crippled operations at ports that handle about 40 percent of all U.S. container cargo, a federal mediator announced Friday.The extension came after the union and an alliance of port operators and shipping lines...

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Did the Exodus of Moses Really Happen?

In the Bible, he is called Moses. In the Koran, he is the prophet Musa.Religious scholars have long questioned whether of the story of a prophet leading God's chosen people in a great exodus out of Egypt and the freedom it brought them afterwards was real, but the similarities between a pharaoh's ancient hymn and a psalm of David might hold the link to his existence.Tune in...

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Syria opposition leader rejects Moscow invitation

ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leader has rejected an invitation from Russia for peace talks, dealing another blow to international hopes that diplomacy can be resurrected to end a 21-month civil war. Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's main international protector, said on Friday it had sent an invitation for a visit to Moaz Alkhatib, whose six-week-old...

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China tightens Internet rules

BEIJING: China has approved new rules that require Internet users nationwide to provide real-name identification, state media reported on Friday, as the government increases its already tight online grip.The National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature, adopted the measures at a meeting on Friday, the official Xinhua news agency and other media said.According to Xinhua,...

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Christmas 2012 sees record iOS and Android activations, app downloads

More stockings were stuffed withAndroid and iOS devices this Christmas than ever before, according to new data released today. And new device owners spent much of December 25 downloading apps for their new toys. The analytics firm Flurry said device activations soared from their daily December average of 4 million to 17.4 million on Christmas Day, a 332 percent increase. And it's more than double...

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Former President Bush stays in ICU, fever lingers

(CBS News) Former President George H.W. Bush remains in the intensive care unit of Houston's Methodist Hospital on Thursday, after battling a bronchitis-like cough and fever for over a month. Doctors say his condition is improving since he suffered a setback on Christmas Day but also say they are having trouble keeping the former president's fever under control. He was reportedly put on a liquid...

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Putin Will Sign Ban on Adoptions to United States

Activists protest against a bill banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children in St.Petersburg, Russia, Dec. 26, 2012. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP PhotoMOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will sign a controversial ban on adoptions to the United States, defying domestic and international criticism that the move is playing politics with the lives of orphans.The ban was added last week to...

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Syria envoy calls for political change to end conflict

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international envoy seeking a solution to Syria's 21-month-old conflict said on Thursday political change was needed to end the violence which has killed 44,000 people, and called for a transitional government to rule until elections. Speaking in Damascus at the end of a five-day trip during which he met President Bashar al-Assad, Lakhdar Brahimi did not spell out...

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