Roche’s Avastin misses key data point in brain cancer study

ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Roche’s cancer drug Avastin failed to make a statistically significant difference to survival rates of patients with a common form of brain cancer in a late-stage study, the company said on Saturday.The Phase III AVAglio study presented at the Society for Neuro-Oncology congress in Washington on Saturday showed Avastin,...

Read More..

Polish deputy PM to resign after losing party election

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak said he would resign from the government after unexpectedly losing a battle for the leadership of the junior coalition partner on Saturday, but there was no threat to the stability of the coalition.Janusz Piechocinski, a 52-year-old member of parliament who beat Pawlak by 547 to 530 votes...

Read More..

Israel hits Hamas buildings, shoots down Tel Aviv-bound rocket

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza, and the “Iron Dome” defense system shot down a Tel Aviv-bound rocket on Saturday as Israel geared up for a possible ground invasion.Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip, said Israeli missiles wrecked the office building of Prime Minister Ismail...

Read More..

Wii U Will Launch With 24 Games This Sunday

Assassin’s Creed IIIA version of the latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga, a week after it was released on other console.Click here to view this gallery. [More from Mashable: Xbox Live Celebrates 10 Years of Connecting Gamers]Nintendo’s newest console is out this Sunday, and there are already people lining up...

Read More..

Liam Neeson in negotiations for crime thriller “The All Nighter”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Liam Neeson is in negotiations to star in the crime thriller “The All Nighter (AKA Run All Night)” a person familiar with the situation has told TheWrap.The story follows an aging hit man who, in order to protect his wife and son, must take on his former boss in a single night. He then winds up on the run from the mob and the...

Read More..

Five Republican governors reject state-run health markets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five Republican governors rejected on Friday a major provision of President Barack Obama‘s healthcare reform law that calls on states to set up online health insurance markets where consumers can purchase private coverage at federally subsidized rates.That makes it likely that the federal government will establish its own markets,...

Read More..

Retailer Comet to close 30 stores

16 November 2012 Last updated at 19:00 ETThe insolvent electrical chain Comet is preparing to close about 30 stores by the end of November, the BBC has learned. Comet appointed administrators earlier this month, putting 6,611 jobs at risk.The remaining 206 or so outlets are expected to continue trading over the Christmas...

Read More..

Israel moves on reservists after rockets target cities

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli ministers were on Friday asked to endorse the call-up of up to 75,000 reservists after Palestinian militants nearly hit Jerusalem with a rocket for the first time in decades and fired at Tel Aviv for a second day.The rocket attacks were a challenge to Israel‘s Gaza offensive and came just hours after Egypt‘s prime minister,...

Read More..

TV, movie features on new Wii U delayed until Dec.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the entertainment features on Nintendo’s new Wii U won’t be available when the game machine goes on sale Sunday.Nintendo didn’t give a reason for the delay in Friday’s news release. In a statement, the company said it wanted the service “to be the best possible experience for all consumers.” Nintendo said it was still working to...

Read More..

New Variety owner Jay Penske slashes one-quarter staff

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Jay Penske, the new owner of Variety, laid off nearly a quarter of the company’s staff on Thursday.Between 20 and 25 employees from the struggling Hollywood trade’s circulation, database and conference departments were laid off. The editorial staff was not affected. Variety had about 120 employees before Thursday’s cuts. “Without...

Read More..

U.S. gives states another month to meet health exchange deadline

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Thursday gave states an extra month to say whether they plan to operate their own health insurance exchanges, after governors asked for more time in light of the November 6 election, which ensured the survival of Obama’s healthcare overhaul.For the second time in six days, U.S. Health and Human Services...

Read More..

BP agrees to record criminal penalties for U.S. oil spill

NEW ORLEANS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – BP Plc will pay $ 4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which caused the worst U.S. offshore oil spill ever.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called the deal a “critical step forward” but was adamant that it did not end the criminal investigation of the 2010...

Read More..

France urges Mali to step up talks with rebels

PARIS (AP) — France‘s president called Thursday for stepped-up talks between Mali’s government and any leaders from its breakaway north “who reject terrorism,” even as African nations geared up for a possible military operation against Islamic extremists there.President Francois Hollande‘s comments suggested a growing openness to dialogue with the extremists,...

Read More..

Sina’s profit beats on Weibo; co forecasts weak 4th-quarter revenue

(Reuters) – Chinese internet company Sina Corp eked out a profit in the third quarter that beat analysts’ estimates as strong advertising sales on its microblogging platform offset weaker website advertising but it forecast current-quarter revenue below expectations.Shares of the company fell 6 percent to $ 49.72 in extended trading. They closed at $...

Read More..

French mayor ends hunger strike after crisis aid

PARIS (Reuters) – A French mayor who went on hunger strike a week ago to demand emergency aid for his town ended his protest on Thursday and packed up the tent he had been sleeping in outside parliament after the government met his demands.“I regret that things came to that but it was necessary,” Stephane Gatignon, mayor of Sevran, a poor town on the outskirts...

Read More..

First Person: Key to Quitting Smoking — for Me at Least — Was Self-Hypnosis

Nov. 15 marks this year’s Great American Smokeout, when organizations across the country encourage smokers to quit the habit. Yahoo asked former smokers to offer to advice to those trying to stop smoking.FIRST PERSON | Why I ever started smoking cigarettes in the first place, I’ll never know. Maybe it was peer pressure, maybe I thought it was cool or maybe...

Read More..

Chinese Communist Party to unveil new leadership

BEIJING (Reuters) – China‘s ruling Communist Party unveils a new leadership line-up on Thursday to steer the world’s second-largest economy for the next five years, with Vice President Xi Jinping taking over from outgoing President Hu Jintao as party chief.The new members of the Politburo Standing Committee – the innermost circle of power in China’s authoritarian...

Read More..

Egypt recalls envoy to Israel after Gaza strike

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed the military commander of Gaza‘s ruling Hamas.In a statement read on state TV late Wednesday, spokesman Yasser Ali said that President Mohammed Morsi recalled the ambassador and asked the Arab League‘s Secretary General to convene an emergency ministerial meeting...

Read More..

Android 4.2 For Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus Now Available

When Google’s Nexus 10 tablet was unveiled recently, it was running Android 4.2, a new version which adds several features. That version is coming to your Nexus 7 or Galaxy Nexus device as well. Here’s what Android 4.2 brings, where to get it, and which Nexus devices are missing out.​New features in Android 4.2 Mashable’s...

Read More..

NBC names new “Today” show chiefs

(Reuters) – Comcast‘s NBC has appointed two executives to take charge of the “Today” show, a day after the television network announced that longtime producer Jim Bell would be leaving to take a larger role in the sports division.Don Nash, a broadcast producer who has worked on NBC’s morning show for 23 years, will become the executive producer, reporting...

Read More..

Black patients fare worse with kidney cancer: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – White patients with the most common form of kidney cancer, called renal cell carcinoma, are slightly more likely to survive the disease than black patients, according to a large new study.The researchers looked at nearly 40,000 cases and found that black patients tend to start out with more favorable types of renal carcinomas,...

Read More..

Best Buy CEO sets goals; Wall Street begs for more details

(Reuters) – Best Buy Co Inc hopes to triple its operating margins over time, the company said on Tuesday, though investors and analysts were left wanting for details on how – and how soon – the new chief executive would turn around the world’s largest consumer electronics chain.The aggressive new targets come as Best Buy faces cut-throat competition from...

Read More..

General investigated for emails to Petraeus friend

PERTH, Australia (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an...

Read More..