MoD extends maintenance contracts

2 December 2012 Last updated at 08:47 ETFive contracts to maintain naval support ships have been extended by the Ministry of Defence.It says the extensions, which are worth a total of about £349m, are likely to safeguard about 800 jobs.The GMB trade union welcomed the news, saying “shipyard workers are just as important as the armed forces”.The contracts, given to five British companies, cover the...

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Egypt’s Mursi calls referendum as Islamists march

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt‘s President Mohamed Mursi called a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution on Saturday as at least 200,000 Islamists demonstrated in Cairo to back him after opposition fury over his newly expanded powers.Speaking after receiving the final draft of the constitution from the Islamist-dominated assembly, Mursi urged a national dialogue as the country nears the end of the...

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“Walking Dead” midseason finale preview: attack of the bloodthirsty killers, aka our heroes

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – (Spoiler warning: Don’t read this if you don’t want to know what happened this season on “The Walking Dead” or in the comics. We’re also giving some general details about Sunday’s midseason finale.)As eventful as this season of “The Walking Dead” has been, they’re just getting to the best stuff.Showrunner Glen Mazzara tells TheWrap that Sunday’s midseason finale will include...

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Psychiatrists OK vast changes to diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — For the first time in almost two decades the nation’s psychiatrists are changing the guidebook they use to diagnose mental disorders. Among the most controversial proposed changes: Dropping certain familiar terms like Asperger‘s disorder and dyslexia and calling frequent, severe temper tantrums a mental illness.The board of trustees for the American Psychiatric Association voted Saturday...

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PM says Greek pension funds won’t join debt buy-back

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek pension funds will not take part in a debt buy-back that is a key part of the country’s international bailout, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in a newspaper interview.Greece must conduct the deal by December 13, before it receives more than 30 billion euros ($ 39 billion) in bailout payments from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund.Athens has said...

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Oliver Stone, Benicio del Toro visit Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Benicio Del Toro didn’t wait long to collect on a favor that Oliver Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, “Savages”, released this year.The favor? A trip to Del Toro‘s native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn’t visited since the early 1960s.“I told him, you owe me one,” Del Toro said with a smile as he recalled the conversation during...

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Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen get Billboard honors

NEW YORK (AP) — Billboard named Katy Perry its woman of the year, but the pop star thought her year was 2011.Perry was interviewed by Jon Stewart at Billboard’s Women in Music event Friday in New York City. The singer said she thought her moment had passed. Perry released “Teenage Dream” in 2010, and it sparked five No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts that spilled over to 2011. This year, she rereleased...

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Awareness of HIV Risk Has Dropped Among Gay Men Even As Infection Rates Rise

More than 30 years after the dawn of the HIV epidemic, the significance of the infection and awareness for how it’s transmitted has dropped precipitously among young people, especially among gay men, according to new data from the federal government.National statistics for 2010 show that more than one-quarter of all new HIV infections are among youths ages 13 to 24. Of the estimated 47,500 new infections...

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S&P 500 posts second week of gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 wrapped up its second positive week in a row on Friday, although it ended the day flat as politicians remain at odds about how to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 3.22 points, or 0.02 percent, to finish unofficially at 13,025.04. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.SPX>...

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Noisy city: Cacophony in Caracas sparks complaints

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — This metropolis of 6 million people may be one of the world’s most intense, overwhelming cities, with tremendous levels of crime, traffic and social strife. The sounds of Caracas‘ streets live up to its reputation.Stand on any downtown corner, and the cacophony can be overpowering: Deafening horns blast from oncoming buses, traffic police shrilly blow their whistles and sirens...

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