TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan's two biggest airlines replaced below-par lithium-ion batteries on their Boeing Co 787 Dreamliners in the months before separate incidents led to the technologically advanced air craft being grounded worldwide due to battery problems. … Iran Zoroastrians celebrate ancient feast of fire
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Followers of Iran’s minority Zoroastrian religion gathered after sunset to mark Sadeh -- an ancient mid-winter feast dating to Iran’s pre-Islamic past that is also drawing new interest from Muslims.
Brazil police: Flare meant for outdoor use started nightclub fire in which 234 died
SANTA MARIA, Brazil – Penny-pinching by a band known for its onstage pyrotechnic displays may have cost more than 230 people their lives at a nightclub in southern Brazil, according to a police inspector leading the investigation into this weekend’s deadly blaze.
Playmaker Kobe leads Lakers past late-rallying Hornets 111-106 for their 3rd straight win
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Dwight Howard scored 24 points, Kobe Bryant had 14 points and 11 assists in another pass-first performance, and the Los Angeles Lakers hung on to beat the New Orleans Hornets 111-106 Tuesday night for their first three-game winning streak in five weeks.
'Dazed and Confused' actor Jason London arrested after Arizona bar fight
PHOENIX – Authorities say actor Jason London has been arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct after an Arizona bar fight.
Google's North Korea map shows streets and parks as well as gulags; Mapping is ongoing
SEOUL, South Korea – Google Inc.’s map with more details of North Korea has gone live.
Scottish independence leader won't be seen in public with Marois
EDINBURGH, Scotland – Scotland’s independence leader has quietly spurned an offer of help from a counterpart -- Quebec Premier Pauline Marois.
US regulator asks Boeing for full battery history
TOKYO (AP) -- U.S. transport safety regulators have asked Boeing Co. to provide a full operating history of the lithium-ion batteries used in its grounded 787 Dreamliners. 
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- Military personnel headed to flood-ravaged northeast Australia on Wednesday to help clean up the sludgy aftermath of floods that damaged thousands of homes and businesses and left some communities short of power, food and water. 
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's nearly 2-year-old reformist government has abolished a ban on public gatherings of more than five people that was ordered in 1988 on the day a military junta took power after crushing nationwide pro-democracy protests. 
SANTA MARIA, Br azil (Reuters) – Cities across Brazil are cracking down on nightclubs to ensure that they comply with fire regulations after a weekend blaze destroyed a club in the southern university town of Santa Maria, killing 235 people. The fire was Brazil's deadliest in half a century and the tragedy resonated across the country, with many people demanding those responsible be prosecuted and that the government tighten up on safety. … 
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian carmaker Fiat-Chrysler is likely to miss its d ebt target when it reports 2012 earnings on Wednesday, making it harder to pay for an ambitious expansion and boost its stake in U.S. affiliate Chrysler. As Fiat's management moves to increase spending, analysts are keeping a close watch on the debt for signs that its money-losing European operations are straining the group's finances. Fiat's share price has outperformed rivals like Volkswagen and Peugeot in the past 30 days, driven partly by hopes that Fiat will buy more Chrysler shares beyond its 58. … 
SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) -- The young law student sat alone in a pew, clutching a shirt on which she'd written the names of friends she'd lost in a weekend nightclub fire in this Brazilian college town. 
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- With North Korea appearing set to detonate an atomic device, the U.N. agency that detected two previous tests says it is prepared to confirm an explosion when it takes place. But experts say it might be difficult to establish whether the blast is nuclear in nature. 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc shares hit a record on Tuesday after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, fueled by the growth of higher-margin businesses during the fierc ely competitive holiday quarter. The world's largest Internet retailer said that its cloud computing services, video content sales and its aggressive expansion in e-books helped increase profitability. … 
(Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Tuesday that Aubrey McClendon w ill step down as chief executive after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations triggered civil and criminal probes of second-largest U.S. natural-gas producer. News of the executive's plan to depart on April 1 sent the company's shares up 8 percent. The stock has recovered in recent months after losing almost half its value last spring when a Reuters report opened the company and its co-founder up to intense scrutiny. … 
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- With North Korea set to detonate an atomic device the U.N. agency that detected previous tests says it is better position than ever to confirm an explosion when it takes place. 
AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Royal Philips Electronics NV Tuesday said it will sell the entertainment division which contains many of the consumer products for which it is best known, such as audio and video equipment, to Funai Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan for EUR150 million ($20 2 million) plus licensing fees. 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – There is a new twist in the London Whale trading scandal that cost JPMorgan Chase $6.2 billion in trading losses last year. Some of the firm's own traders bet against the very derivatives positions placed by its chief investment office, said three people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations, which launched an inquiry into the trading loss last fall, is looking into the how different divisions of the bank wound up on opposite sides of the same trade, said one of the people familiar with the matter. … 
HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia law dictating where hobbyists can make their own wine and beer has uncorked a torrent of condemnation among observers who say the provincial government is picking on the little guy. 
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate has confirmed Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the next secretary of state. 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Blind Chinese a ctivist Chen Guangcheng urged the United States on Tuesday not to let business concerns prevent it from pressing China over human rights, saying America must never "offer the smallest compromise" on its principles. Chen is a self-taught legal advocate whose escape from house arrest last April and subsequent refuge in the U.S. Embassy XXX embarrassed China and led to a diplomatic tussle that ended with him leaving China to study in New York. … 
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- A military judge was deciding on Tuesday how much access defense lawyers should have to a secret section of the Guantanamo Bay prison where five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks have been held in near-total secrecy for more than six years. 
LONDON (Reuters) – British novelist Hilary Man tel added to her groaning trophy cabinet on Tuesday, picking up the Costa Book Award 2012 for "Bring Up the Bodies," her historical novel about the life and court of Henry VIII and his chief minister Thomas Cromwell. The acclaimed bestseller has already won the Man Booker prize for fiction, making Mantel the first Briton and first woman to win that coveted award twice. The 60-year-old also won the Booker Prize in 2009 for "Wolf Hall," the first instalment in what will be a trilogy. … 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc shares jumped almost 7 percent on Tuesday after the world's largest Internet retailer reported quarterly results. The company said fourth-quarter revenue jumped 22 percent to $21.27 bil lion as it grabbed a big share of online spending during the crucial holiday period. The Seattle-based company also reported net income of $97 million, or 21 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared with $177 million, or 38 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. … 
CHENNAI, India (Reuters) – The eight Indian crew members on board the MV Amina had no inkling they were trapped on the frontline of the West's economic war against Iran. All experienced seamen, they joined the Iranian-flagged cargo ship last year. Within months, they were caught up in a fight to prevent the ship fleeing to international waters to escape port arrest in Sri Lanka. Having disobeyed the captain's orders to weigh anchor, their courage turned to fear. … 
KUWAIT CITY (AP) -- International aid officials are framing their latest gathering on Syria's humanitarian crises in terms not seen in the region since the height of the Iraq war: Refugee numbers possibly swelling toward 1 million, more than double that number in need of help inside the country and political policymaking among Bashar Assad's foes torn between the battlefie ld strategies and the civilian costs. 
(Reuters) – Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Tuesday it was combining its global data and index businesses as the trans-Atlantic exchange operator continues to reposition itself to be a bigger player in technology services, a move aimed at boosting non-transaction-based rev enues. John Jacobs will head the new global information services unit, which Nasdaq said will enable it to increase sales through a clearer focus on new product development. Jacobs was formerly Nasdaq's head of indexing and chief marketing officer. … 
CAIRO (AP) -- Looters broke into a Nile-side luxury hotel in the Egyptian capital early Tuesday, taking advantage of clashes in the streets outside to trash shops and the lobby before police and demonstrators alerted via social media drove them out, a hotel spokeswoman said. 
(Reuters) – A U.S. judge has accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay $4.5 billion in penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The April 2010 explosion on a rig in t he Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers. The mile-deep Macondo oil well then spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf over 87 days, fouling shorelines from Texas to Florida. "The judge has accepted the plea," a court official said on Tuesday. … 
CARACAS (Reuters) – Hugo Chavez is upbeat about recovering from cancer and confident in his medical team, his No. 2 said on Tuesday in the latest message from the Venezuelan leader's sickbed in Cuba. "He told us with great strength: 'I am very optimistic, I trust completely in the treatments I am undergoing, I will beat this again. I'm holding onto Christ and life,'" Vice President Nicolas Maduro said of Chavez's words to him on a recent visit. … 
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Two months after President Enrique Pena Nieto took office promising to reduce violent crime, the killings linked to Mexico's drug cartels continue unabated. 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Just over a month ago, Boeing was flying high. Its airplane factories were humming and speeding up production. Its defense business had just been restructured to deal with dwindling budgets in the United States and Europe. The company was confident enough to increase its dividend and resume buying back shares. Perhaps best of all, Boeing was shortly to reclaim the title of world's biggest plane maker, snatching back an honor that its arch rival Airbus had held for a decade. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – An Italian man known as the "Devil's Advocate" went on trial in London on Tuesday accused of posing as a lawyer to defraud 10 sets of victims of a total of almost one million pounds. Giovanni Di Stefano, 57, denies 25 offences of deception, fraud, money laundering and forgery allegedly committed between 2004 and 2012. Lawyer David Aaronberg, opening the case for the prosecution at Southwark Crown Court, said Di Stefano had no legal qualifications but had built a reputation as a lawyer willing to take on cases considered unwinnable or too difficult to defend. … 
(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc and Eli Lilly and Co both reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as they weathered generic competition for once top-selling products through deals, cost cutting and strong sales of newer products. The U.S. drugmakers also issued 2013 forecasts on Tuesday that passed muster with investors, sending shares of both companies up about 3 percent. Excluding special items, Pfizer earned 47 cents per share, topping analysts' average expectations by 3 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. But global sales for the largest U.S. drugmaker fell 7 percent to $15. … 
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chuck Hagel, the likely next secretary of defense, would be the first to enter the Pentagon as a public advocate for sharply reducing the number of U.S. nuclear weapons, possibly without equivalent cuts by Russia. He supports an international movement called Global Zero that favors eliminating all nuclear weapons. 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea's missile tests and menacing rhetoric have disappointed U.S. expectations that young leader Kim Jong-un would be different than his father but Washington still hopes to persuade Pyongyang to change course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday. "With a new young leader we all expected something different," Clinton said in a town hall-style session put together by the State Department and broadcast worldwide. "We expected him to focus on improving the lives of the North Korea people, not just the elite, but everyone. … 
BEIRUT (AP) -- The bodies of at least 65 men, many of them with their hands bound behind their back, were found on the muddy banks of a small river Tuesday in the northern city of Aleppo, activists said. 
MADRID (Reuters) – Global tourism is proving resilient in the face o f an economic slowdown, with tourist numbers growing at close to pre-crisis levels in 2012 and expected to increase by almost as much this year, the UN World Tourism Organisation said on Tuesday. Europe held onto its position as the world's most-visited region in 2012 but the Asia-Pacific is catching up, recording the biggest increase in tourists in 2012 and expecting another strong performance this year. … 
LONDON (AP) -- A genetic variant commonly found in Chinese people may help explai n why some got seriously ill with swine flu, a discovery scientists say could help pinpoint why flu viruses hit some populations particularly hard and change how they are treated. 
ISTANBUL (AP) -- The husband of a New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul was interviewed by police Tuesday in hopes of helping the search. 
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany's Greens are on a roll a fter a big jump in their support in a regional election this month confirmed the growing mainstream appeal of a party once seen as a fringe leftist movement but which now poses a challenge to Angela Merkel. Worryingly for the conservative Chancellor ahead of a federal election in September, support for the Greens is spreading from the cities to rural areas once dominated by her Christian Democrats. In Lower Saxony on Jan 20. … 
RAVEN NA, Italy (Reuters) – Italian Coast Guard divers searching for a missing American F-16 and its pilot were focusing on Tuesday on waters where a fishing boat found debris believed to belong to the jet, a Coast Guard official said. The debris, including fragments of carbon steel, was found floating in the northern Adriatic overnight, Rear Admiral Francesco Saverio Ferrara said. The U.S. Air Force said in a statement on Tuesday it was thought to be wreckage from the missing aircraft. … 
DOUENTZA/GAO, Mali (Reuters) – French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday, uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and France said it would look to hand over longer-term security operations to African troops. French and Malian troops retook the two Saharan towns in northern Mali virtually unopposed at the weekend after an 18-day French-led offensive that has pushed back the al Qaeda-allied militants into hideouts in the deserts and mountains. …