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/ 31 January 2006

Eye to eye, in search of a soulmate

”The eyes are the window of the soul.” For New York’s partying singles, that’s the new credo for a good time and possibly a new partner. In a dimly-lit Manhattan bar, with soft music filling the background, 60 men and women sit in pairs gazing intently and silently into each other’s eyes for a long, quiet three minutes, before switching to the next person.

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/ 30 January 2006

Letting go of Tiger’s tail

Nobody ever hangs on long enough to beat Tiger Woods. Some guys peel off early, some in the middle of a round, and a tough few, like Jose Maria Olazabal at the Buick Invitational, only when their fingernails are pulled all the way back. But they all let go of Tiger’s tail, eventually.

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/ 30 January 2006

Hollywood actors snub Brokeback Mountain

Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reese Witherspoon and the drama Crash stole top honours at Sunday’s Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, dealing a blow to Oscar favourite Brokeback Mountain. Witherspoon won best actress for her role as singer June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, while Hoffman was named best actor for his portrayal of United States author Truman Capote.

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/ 27 January 2006

Bumpy road ahead for Ford, General Motors

After having posted multibillion-dollar losses and announced plans to lay off thousands of workers this week, General Motors and the Ford Motor Company have said they are on the road to recovery. Neither, however, would forecast how long it would take to return their struggling North American units to profitability.

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/ 27 January 2006

‘Quartet’ urges Palestinians to renounce violence

The diplomatic "quartet" seeking Middle East peace on Thursday urged the militant group Hamas, shock winners in the Palestinian elections, to renounce violence and accept Israel’s right to exist. Without naming Hamas, the quartet reiterated its view "that there is a fundamental contradiction between armed group and militia activities and the building of a democratic state.

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/ 26 January 2006

Psychotherapist fought for gay rights

Betty Berzon, a psychotherapist and author who championed gay rights after struggling for more than half her life with her own sexuality, has died. She was 78. Berzon died at her San Fernando Valley home early on Tuesday, said her long-time partner Teresa DeCrescenzo. Berzon had battled breast cancer for many years, she said.

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/ 26 January 2006

‘He had something very rare — class’

When Fayard Nicholas danced, his body knew instinctively what to do — whether it was tap, ballet or his signature, high-in-the-air full split. Teamed with his brother, Harold, Nicholas moved with a natural grace and athleticism that inspired generations of dancers, from Fred Astaire to Maurice and Gregory Hines to Savion Glover.

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/ 24 January 2006

BlackBerry users worry after US court rejects appeal

Millions of United States BlackBerry users can now turn their attention back to a federal court where the fate of the popular wireless e-mail device may be decided.
After the Supreme Court chose on Monday not to intervene in the case, the resolution of the long-running battle over patents for the handheld device is up to a district judge.

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/ 23 January 2006

Subway riders caught pants down

A comedy stunt in which scores of people rode the New York subway in their underwear ended with the arrest of eight panty-proud participants, police said on Monday. A police spokesperson said all had been released after being issued summonses for ”disorderly conduct”.

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/ 21 January 2006

Oil prices approach $69 a barrel

Oil prices charged toward a barrel on Friday in a rally that mainly reflected fears of a possible loss of supply from Iran, which is in a diplomatic stand-off with the West over its nuclear ambitions. Labour unrest in oil-rich Nigeria and new threats from al-Qaeda contributed to traders’ jitters.

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/ 21 January 2006

Google in legal stand-off with US government

A legal stand-off between the United States Justice Department and internet search giant Google has added fuel to an already heated debate over the government’s right of access to potentially personal data. Google has decided to oppose a government subpoena to turn over records on millions of its users’ search queries.

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/ 20 January 2006

Soul pioneer Pickett dies of heart attack

Wilson Pickett, the soul pioneer best known for the fiery hits Mustang Sally and In The Midnight Hour, died of a heart attack in a Reston, Virginia, hospital, his management company said. He was 64. Pickett died on Thursday after having suffered from health problems for the past year, said Chris Tuthill of the management company Talent Source.

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/ 19 January 2006

Disney in talks to buy Pixar

Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Company is in discussions to buy Pixar animation studios in a transaction that would make Pixar chairperson and CEO Steve Jobs the largest individual shareholder in Disney, The Wall Street Journal reports on Friday.

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/ 19 January 2006

US calls off Eritrea mediation mission

A United States mission to resolve a territorial dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea will be shortened because Eritrean authorities refused to accept the envoy, the US State Department said on Wednesday. ”They are not facilitating her travel to Eritrea so she is not going to the boundary region” on the Eritrean side, said department spokesperson Julie Reside.

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/ 19 January 2006

Amazon plans webcast series to draw customers

Amazon.com plans to broadcast on its website an original show hosted by Bill Maher and featuring performers and authors touting new releases — which will be for sale at the online retailer. The webcast series is the first offering in what the company says is a plan to add more original programming to its website.

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/ 18 January 2006

Edward Hall, pioneer in solid-fuel technology, dead at 91

Colonel Edward Hall, who as director of the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile programme helped develop America’s solid-fuel rocket technology, putting the United States decades ahead of other superpowers, has died. He was 91. Hall died on Sunday at Torrance Memorial Medical Centre, said his daughter, Sheila Hall. The cause of death was not immediately known.

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/ 18 January 2006

US may soon salute Mrs President

Americans are getting used to the idea of being led by a female president, with political observers dreaming of a showdown between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Senator Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election. If polls and a television show about a woman president are any indication, Americans appear willing to elect their first woman president.

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/ 13 January 2006

Beach Boys file lawsuit over missing memorabilia

The Beach Boys are suing two men for -million, claiming they stole a trove of photos, recordings and other band memorabilia from a warehouse with the intent of putting the items up for auction. The lawsuit names three defendants — Allan Gaba, the owner of a North Hollywood, California warehouse, his friend, Roy Sciacca, and Gem Systems, a company Sciacca was involved in.

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/ 11 January 2006

US mogul plays Trump card for rich golf showdown

Donald Trump will sponsor a one million-dollar golf showdown next May in the Grenadines, a 100-player event open to both men and women who are not members of the most elite global golf tours. Trump announced the Trump Million Dollar Invitational in new York on Tuesday, unveiling plans for the richest tournament ever staged outside the PGA and LPGA tours.