Italy lifts ban on Novartis flu vaccine

ROME (Reuters) – Italy lifted a ban on Novartis‘s flu vaccines on Friday after accepting the drugmaker had shown they posed no risk to safety.The company said it hoped to quickly resume regular supplies around the European Union. Italy banned the sale of anti-influenza vaccines produced by Novartis on October 24, pending...

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On Twitter, pope to get different type of followers

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict already has 1.2 billion “followers” in the standard sense of the word but he soon will have another type when he enters what for any 85 year old is the brave new world of Twitter.Vatican officials say the pontiff, who is known not to love computers and still writes most of his speeches by hand, will have his own handle...

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Assad says will live and die in Syria

DOHA (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad said he would “live and die” in Syria and warned that any Western invasion to topple him would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East and beyond.Assad’s defiant remarks coincided with a landmark meeting in Qatar on Thursday of Syria’s fractious opposition to hammer out an agreement on a new umbrella...

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Boehner: GOP has 'some work to do'

House Speaker John Boehner (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)Reflecting on this week's election, in which Democratic President Barack Obama won re-election and Democrats made gains in Congress, House Speaker John Boehner said the GOP has "some work to do" in how it presents the party's ideas."It's clear that as a political party we've got some work to do," Boehner, an Ohio Republican, told reporters during...

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‘NBA 2K13′ tops video games titles in October

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. retail sales of new video game hardware, software and accessories fell 25 percent in October, marking the 11th straight month of declining sales for physical game products, according to a report from NPD Group.Many gamers are waiting for big holiday releases such as Activision‘s “Call of Duty: Black Ops II.” NPD...

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FDA reviewing Merck’s experimental insomnia drug

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) — Drugmaker Merck & Co. says the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its experimental insomnia medication, suvorexant (SOO’vor-eks-ant).The drug minimizes the morning grogginess common with many sleep aids. It could become a big seller for the Whitehouse Station, N.J., company. If...

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UK PM warns of witch-hunt against gays in pedophile scandal

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Thursday that speculation about the identity of an unidentified member of his ruling Conservative party accused of sexually abusing children could turn into a witch-hunt against gay people.Cameron, who leads a troubled two-party coalition, ordered an investigation this week after a victim...

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Ghana building collapse traps dozens, kills 1

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A five-story shopping center built earlier this year in a bustling suburb of Ghana‘s capital collapsed Wednesday, killing at least one person and leaving several dozen people trapped in the rubble, authorities and eyewitnesses said.Rescue crews used cranes to try and remove debris from the top of the building amid fears that machinery...

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Gabrielle Giffords faces shooter in court

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The man who pleaded guilty to a deadly Arizona shooting rampage that also wounded then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords came face to face with his victims Thursday, with one scolding him and saying his parents and community had failed him."We've been told about your demons, about the illness that skewed your thinking," said Susan Hileman, at times visibly shaking, to Jared Lee...

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Exclusive: Google Ventures beefs up fund size to $300 million a year

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