Is China easing up on local media?

A protester calls for greater media freedom outside the headquarters of Nanfang Media Group in Guangzhou on Jan. 9.STORY HIGHLIGHTSYoung: Handling of Southern Weekly row demonstrated tolerant side of new leadershipTraditional, newer media can serve as tools for achieving goals in China's modernizationThe fight against corruption in China is at the top of the list for incoming leader, Xi JinpingYoung:...

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'Very happy' Bush the elder leaves hospital

WASHINGTON: Former US president George H.W. Bush was released from hospital on Monday following more than two months of treatment for bronchitis, a bacterial infection and a persistent cough."Mr Bush has improved to the point that he will not need any special medication when he goes home, but he will continue physical therapy," said physician Amy Mynderse.Bush, at 88 the oldest surviving...

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Oscar's message: Reality bites

STORY HIGHLIGHTSA.S. Hamrah: Oscar-nominated films deal in disaster, trauma, upheaval, ruined livesHe says filmmakers this year depict consequences of exposure to violenceHe says "Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Lincoln" show grim events; "Les Mis" shows miseryFilms also long, adding to ordeal, he says. Filmmakers' message: Deal with itEditor's note: A.S. Hamrah is film critic at n+1, a print magazine...

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AP: Armstrong gives tearful apology to Livestrong

AUSTIN, Texas Lance Armstrong apologized to the staff at his Livestrong cancer foundation before heading to an interview with Oprah Winfrey, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussion was private. Play VideoAnti-doping chief: Armstrong bullied witnesses 38 PhotosLance Armstrong Stripped last year of...

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Lance Armstrong Apologizes to Livestrong Staff

Lance Armstrong apologized today to the Livestrong staff ahead of his interview with Oprah Winfrey, a foundation official said.The disgraced cyclist gathered with about 100 Livestrong Foundation staffers at their Austin, Texas, headquarters for a meeting that included social workers who deal directly with patients as part of the group's mission to support cancer victims.Armstrong's...

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Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos

The United States and the sorry state of its political and budgetary process will be the center of attention at Davos, writes QuestSTORY HIGHLIGHTSQuest: Davos is a chance to see where the political and economic landmines are in 2013Quest: People will be speculating about how dysfunctional the U.S. political process has becomeQuest: Davos has been consumed by eurozone sovereign debt crises for three...

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France pounds Islamist strongholds in northern Mali

BAMAKO: French jets pounded the Islamist strongholds of Gao and Kidal in northern Mali on Sunday, forcing insurgents to flee on the third day of a game-changing intervention that has been met with relief by the population and spurred the region into action."Stopping the terrorists -- it's done," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. "Today we started taking care of the terrorists'...

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Making job stress worth enduring

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta swears in reenlisting troops in Turkey. A survey found that military jobs tend to be the most stressful. STORY HIGHLIGHTSMarci Alboher: Annual list of most stressful jobs drew attentionShe says the right issue is whether job rewards compensate for stressPeople who take on stressful jobs that help others report satisfaction, she saysEditor's note: Marci Alboher, is a...

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McChrystal: I regret not finishing the job in Afghanistan

(CBS News) Amid news that the White House is pushing for a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said today on "Face the Nation" he regrets that he didn't get to finish the job there. "I have regrets that some of the things I was responsible for, I didn't finish," he said, referring to his forced resignation in 2010 over a Rolling Stone article that...

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Thousands Protest in Moscow Against Adoption Ban

Jan 13, 2013 10:37am KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty ImagesMOSCOW — Thousands of Russians took to the streets on Sunday to protest Russia’s new ban on adoptions to the United States.In what organizers called the “March Against Scoundrels” they paraded down a tree-lined boulevard in central Moscow chanting “Hands off our children” and “Russia will be free.” They also...

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