EBay’s double tax base prompts calls for investigation

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and Germany may have missed out on a combined $ 1 billion in sales tax since online marketplace eBay picked a tiny Luxembourg office as its base for EU sales, a shift that lawmakers say should now be investigated.EBay’s nomination of Luxembourg unit eBay Europe Sarl – with a staff of nine – as its provider of services to EU clients allows it to charge customers in Europe...

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Dr. Andrew Moore Performs Life-Changing Surgeries for Free

Heroes Among Us By Jennifer Wren 12/01/2012 at 09:40 AM EST Dr. Andrew Moore (center, in scrubs) with staff members, from left: Shirley Ramsey, Barry Bussell and Tony Reyes John Chiasson When an increasing number of his patients couldn't pay for their life-saving...

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South Africa makes progress in HIV/AIDS fight

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In the early 90s when South Africa's Themba Lethu clinic could only treat HIV/AIDS patients for opportunistic diseases, many would come in on wheelchairs and keep coming to the health center until they died.Two decades later the clinic is the biggest ARV (anti-retroviral) treatment center in the country and sees between 600 to 800 patients a day from all over southern Africa. Those...

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General Assembly Grants Palestine Upgraded Status in U.N.

Damon Winter/The New York TimesThe Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, center, was congratulated by Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. More Photos »UNITED NATIONS — More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to upgrade Palestine to a nonmember observer state of the United Nations, a triumph for Palestinian diplomacy and a sharp rebuke to the United States and Israel. But...

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Katie Holmes Plants Her Stake on Broadway - and Succeeds

By Tom Gliatto 11/30/2012 at 09:45 AM EST Katie Holmes and Norbert Leo Butz at the curtain call of Dead Accounts on opening night Andrew H. Walker/Getty     You'll want to know what sort of performance Katie Holmes gives in Theresa Rebeck's...

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Ukraine fights spreading HIV epidemic

BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — Andrei Mandrykin, an inmate at Prison No. 85 outside Kiev, has HIV. He looks ghostly and much older than his 35 years. But Mandrykin is better off than tens of thousands of his countrymen, because is he receiving treatment amid what the World Health Organization says is the worst AIDS epidemic in Europe.Ahead of World AIDS Day on Saturday, international organizations have urged...

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Wall Street opens flat, Obama to speak on "cliff"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street opened flat on Friday, amid caution ahead of a statement from President Obama on the progress of budget talks in Washington that have fueled volatility and nervousness in the financial markets. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 5.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to 13,027.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 0.51 points,...

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Hacking Report Criticizes Murdoch Newspaper and British Press Standards

LONDON — The leader of a major inquiry into the standards of British newspapers triggered by the phone hacking scandal offered an excoriating critique of the press as a whole on Thursday, saying it displayed “significant and reckless disregard for accuracy,” and urged the press to form an independent regulator to be underpinned by law. Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesLord Justice Sir Brian Leveson...

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Jude Law: I'm Okay Not Being 'That Young Pretty Thing' Anymore

Stylewatch Style News Now 11/29/2012 at 09:15 AM ET Courtesy T, The New York Times Style MagazineWhile most people dread getting older, Jude Law is actually thrilled about it. And not for any reason you’d expect.“In a weird way, it’s kind of a relief to think, ‘Oh, I know I’m not that young sort of pretty...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons...

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Wall Street climbs at open on "cliff" deal hope

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in early trading on Thursday on optimism that Congress was progressing toward a fiscal agreement in Washington that would avert a possible recession. Market participants are focused on discussions in Congress over avoiding big spending cuts and tax hikes, known as the "fiscal cliff," beginning in January. Still, equities may retreat, as they did Tuesday,...

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News Analysis: Sunni Leaders Gaining Clout in Mideast

Mohammed Saber/European Pressphoto AgencyA Palestinian woman in Gaza City on Tuesday walked amid the rubble left from eight days of fighting that ended in a cease-fire. RAMALLAH, West Bank — For years, the United States and its Middle East allies were challenged by the rising might of the so-called Shiite crescent, a political and ideological alliance backed by Iran that linked regional actors deeply...

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Angus T. Jones's Video Surprises Two and a Half Men Set

By Mike Fleeman 11/28/2012 at 08:35 AM EST After the Charlie Sheen tiger blood debacle, it would seem that nothing could shock the cast and crew of Two and a Half Men anymore.Then came the Angus T. Jones video."This came as a surprise to most people. This isn't who he grew up as," a source on the show tells...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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Wall Street opens lower on "cliff" worry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened lower on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for a third consecutive decline, as investors remained on edge given the lack of details on U.S. budget, or so-called fiscal cliff, talks. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 53.22 points, or 0.41 percent, to 12,824.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dropped 7.44...

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Russian Court Convicts Martial Arts Fighter in Student’s Death

MOSCOW — In a case that has drawn renewed attention to ethnic tensions in Russia, a Moscow judge on Tuesday convicted the world champion mixed martial arts fighter, Rasul Mirzayev, of negligently causing the death of a Russian college student during a fight outside a nightclub in August 2011. Mr. Mirzayev, 26, was born in Dagestan and is one of tens of thousands of immigrants from the North...

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The Voice Singers Tackle Risky Songs

TV Watch The Voice By Julia Haskins 11/27/2012 at 09:30 AM EST From left: Cassadee Pope, Terry McDermott, Dez Duron, host Carson Daly, Cody Belew, Nicholas David, Trevin Hunte, Melanie Martinez and Amanda Brown Tyler Golden/NBC With the competition as fierce as...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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Market opens down on "fiscal cliff" caution

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened slightly lower on as worry over the threat to the economy posed by the "fiscal cliff" offset optimism from a deal to ease Greece's debt burden. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 33.02 points, or 0.25 percent, to 12,934.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> shed 2.58 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,403.71. The Nasdaq Composite...

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As Rebels Gain, Congo Again Slips Into Chaos

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — The lights are out in most of Goma. There is little water. The prison is an empty, garbage-strewn wasteland with its rusty front gate swinging wide open and a three-foot hole punched through the back wall, letting loose 1,200 killers, rapists, rogue soldiers and other criminals. Now, rebel fighters are going house to house arresting people, many of whom...

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Facebook not so fun with a click from boss or mum

LONDON (Reuters) – Posting pictures of yourself plastered at a party and talking trash online with your Facebook friends may be more stress than it’s worth now that your boss and mum want to see it all.A survey from Edinburgh Business School released on Monday showed Facebook users are anxious that all those self-published sins may be coming home to roost with more than half of employers claiming...

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Prince Charles Is Impatient to Be King - Or Is He Joking?

By Andrea Billups 11/26/2012 at 08:45 AM EST Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth Indigo/Getty; Abaca Is the man who would be king tired of waiting his turn?Speculation reigned in Great Britain this weekend after Prince Charles spoke of his "impatience" at an event to promote his 64th birthday...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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Wall Street opens lower on Greece, fiscal cliff

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 51-year-old man. Three years ago, my first and only marriage ended after 20 years. Over the past two years, I have been in a wonderful relationship with a very bright woman, "Toni," who told me she had been married twice before.A year ago, her job required that she move out of state, but we have successfully maintained the long-distance relationship with frequent visits and daily...

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White House Presses for Drone Rule Book

WASHINGTON — Facing the possibility that President Obama might not win a second term, his administration accelerated work in the weeks before the election to develop explicit rules for the targeted killing of terrorists by unmanned drones, so that a new president would inherit clear standards and procedures, according to two administration officials. The matter may have lost some urgency...

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