Rugby-England add flyhalf Burns to squad for All Blacks’ test

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) – England called up uncapped Gloucester flyhalf Freddie Burns on Tuesday to their squad for Saturday’s test against New Zealand in place of the injured Toby Flood.Flood sustained ligament damage to a big toe during the 16-15 loss to South Africa at Twickenham last Saturday.Owen Farrell, whose last start was in the first test in South Africa this year, is set to replace Flood...

Read More..

Privacy groups ask Facebook to withdraw proposed policy changes

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Two privacy advocacy groups urged Facebook Inc on Monday to withdraw proposed changes to its terms of service that would allow the company to share user data with recently acquired photo-application Instagram, eliminate a user voting system and loosen email restrictions within the social network.The changes, which Facebook unveiled on Wednesday, raise privacy risks for users...

Read More..

Nobel winner and organ transplant pioneer Joseph Murray dies at 93

(Reuters) – Dr. Joseph Murray, the surgeon who carried out the first successful kidney transplant and later won a Nobel Prize for his work in medicine and physiology, died on Monday in Boston at the age of 93.Murray died after suffering a stroke last Thursday, Brigham and Women’s Hospital spokesman Tom Langford said.Murray and his team completed the first human organ transplant in 1954, taking a kidney...

Read More..

Asian shares, euro rise on Greek debt deal

TOKYO (Reuters) – The euro hit a one-month high and Asian shares climbed for a seventh consecutive day on Tuesday while commodities rose and the dollar eased after a deal on new debt targets for Greece and a political agreement on disbursing the next installment of aid.After 12 hours of talks at their third meeting in as many weeks, Greece’s international lenders agreed on a package of measures to...

Read More..

Dog days in Cuba: from shih tzus to schnauzers

HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban capital has played host to political summits and art festivals, ballet tributes and international baseball competitions. Now dog lovers are getting their chance to take center stage.Hundreds of people from all over Cuba and several other countries came to a scruffy field near Revolution Plaza this past week to preen and fuss over the shih tzus, beagles, schnauzers and cocker...

Read More..

Nokia imaging chief to quit

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia‘s long-time imaging chief Damian Dinning has decided to leave the loss-making cellphone maker at the end of this month, the company said in a statement.The strong imaging capabilities of the new Lumia smartphone models are a key sales argument for the former market leader, which has been burning through cash while losing share in both high-end smartphones and cheaper handsets.Nokia’s...

Read More..

“Rise of the Guardians” Barrier-Breaker: The First African-American to Direct a CG Animation Film

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Peter Ramsey didn’t just have the pressure of making his feature directing debut on an $ 145 million tentpole film, he also had to deal with the expectations that came with being a barrier-breaker.By sliding behind the camera on DreamWorks Animation‘s “Rise of the Guardians” Ramsey made history as the first African-American to helm a major CG animated film.“Rise of the...

Read More..

GlaxoSmithKline has no plans to delist Indian arm – executive

MUMBAI (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline Plc has no plans to delist its Indian consumer products arm GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd, David Redfern, chief strategy officer at Britain’s biggest drugmaker, said on Monday.GSK said earlier it planned to buy up to an additional 31.8 percent stake in the Indian unit for 52.2 billion rupees ($ 939 million).The company has been expanding into both emerging...

Read More..

The Man With a China Growth Plan

China’s premier-elect, Li Keqiang, ran a province of 93 million people that endured three deadly fire disasters and an HIV blood scandal on his watch. His run of bad luck as Governor of Henan from 1998 to 2004 earned him the nickname Three-Fires Li in the foreign press. Beijing’s Communist officialdom, however, has high hopes for Li, an award-winning economist for his work on urbanization, in his...

Read More..

Israel successfully tests missile defense system

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel successfully tested its newest missile defense system Sunday, the military said, a step toward making the third leg of what Israel calls its “multilayer missile defense” operational.The “David’s Sling” system is designed to stop mid-range missiles. It successfully passed its test, shooting down its first missile in a drill Sunday in southern Israel, the military said.The system...

Read More..