Yen ticks up in Asia after easing-sparked tumble

TOKYO: The yen edged higher in Asian trade on Tuesday after tumbling on speculation that the Bank of Japan would launch more easing measures in the face of political demands for policy action.The dollar bought 84.74 yen in Tokyo morning trade, a shade lower than 84.82 yen in New York Monday afternoon, after climbing to 85 yen, a level last breached in April 2011.The euro fetched 111.69...

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Zelizer: Six political lessons of 2012

2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The year in pictures2012: The...

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Dueling trackers keeping tabs on Santa

Updated 7:58 p.m. Eastern PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. Volunteers at a U.S. Air Force base monitoring Santa Claus' progress around the world were on track to answer a record number of calls Monday from children wanting to know everything from Saint Nick's age to how reindeer fly. Oh, and when are the presents coming? Phones were ringing nonstop at Peterson Air Force Base, headquarters of the...

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Newtown Christmas: 'We Know They'll Feel Loved'

People drawn to Newtown to share in its mourning brought cards and handmade snowflakes to town Monday while residents prepared to observe Christmas less than two weeks after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school.On Christmas Eve, residents said they would light luminaries outside their homes in memory of the victims. Tiny empty Christmas stockings...

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New Scientist 2012 holiday quiz

Continue reading page |1 |2 THIS was the year we held our breath in almost unbearable anticipation while we waited to see whether physicists at the Large Hadron Collider would finally get a clear view of the Higgs boson, so tantalisingly hinted at last December. Going a bit blue, we held on through March when one of the...

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Antarctic ice sheet warming faster than thought: study

PARIS: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, whose melt may be responsible for 10 percent of the sea-level rise caused by climate change, is warming twice as quickly as previously thought, a study said Sunday.A re-analysis of temperature records from 1958 to 2010 revealed an increase of 2.4 degrees Celsius (36.3 degrees Fahrenheit) over the period -- three times the average global rise.The increase...

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Indian PM calls for peace amid outrage over gang rape

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: India's prime minister says the public anger is "genuine and justified"NEW: Authorities are working to "ensure security and safety" for women, he saysFor a second day, protesters are blasted with water cannons in New Delhi Police say a woman was gang-raped and badly beaten on a busNew Delhi (CNN) -- India's prime minister called for calm Sunday after clashes erupted between police...

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Sen. Michael Crapo arrested on DUI in Virginia

Sen. Michael Crapo, R.-Idaho, was arrested in Virginia early Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence, Alexandria police say. Police spokesman Craig T. Fifer said an officer was on routine patrol when he saw Sen. Crapo's vehicle run a red light. It was stopped at Hume Avenue and Mount Vernon at 12:45 a.m. Crapo then underwent several field sobriety tests, which he failed, Fifer...

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Get 'em While You Can? Gun Sales Soar

The National Rifle Association may still get its way and defeat the lawmakers calling for a ban on the sale of assault ridles, but some gun store owners say it seems their customers aren't taking any chances."We have never seen anything like this," said Larry Hyatt, who owns a gun shop in Charlotte, N.C. "We have the Christmas business, the hunting season business, and now we...

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Today on New Scientist: 21 December 2012

Cadaver stem cells offer new hope of life after death Stem cells can be extracted from bone marrow five days after death to be used in life-saving treatmentsApple's patents under fire at US patent office The tech firm is skating on thin ice with some of the patents that won it a $1 billion settlement against SamsungHimalayan dam-building threatens endemic species The world's highest mountains...

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