BMW to pare back car discounts in Germany: magazine

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW will cut back on sales discounts in Germany and focus on maintaining profit margins rather than market share, Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer told German weekly WirtschaftsWoche."We have decided that this year in Germany we will not defend market share at any price, and that profitability must come first," Reithofer told the magazine.The volume of discounts will therefore...

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SAP CEO says China to become as important as U.S.: paper

 German business software maker SAP sees potential for one million new customers in China, five times the number it currently has world-wide, German weekly paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said."China will be as important for us as the United States," SAP's co-Chief Executive Jim Hagemann Snabe told the paper, according to an advance extract.Snabe said SAP wants to open the Chinese...

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Depardieu flies to Russia, may receive passport

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman says French actor Gerard Depardieu has flown to Sochi, where he is likely to meet with Putin and receive a Russian passport.Putin on Thursday approved the actor's application for Russian citizenship, causing a scandal in France, where Depardieu has been fighting a proposed 75 percent income tax on the superrich.Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov...

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Composición de un grupo de usuarios OpenNMS independiente; conferencia prevista para marzo 2013

Un grupo de usuarios OpenNMS ha creado la OpenNMS Foundation Europe como organización sin ánimo de lucro para promover la gestión de red en general y la plataforma de gestión de red OpenNMS en particular."La OpenNMS Foundation Europe acoge a todos aquellos usuarios de OpenNMS dentro de la comunidad OpenNMS, no solo a aquellos que contribuyen al código. Hemos integrado con éxito a aquellos que contribuyen...

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US designates Syria's Jabhat al-Nusra front a 'terrorist' group at lightning speed

The US State Department designated the Jabhat al-Nusra militia fighting Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria a foreign terrorist organization Monday.The speed with which the US government moved to designate a fairly new group that has never attacked US interests and is engaged in fighting a regime that successive administrations have demonized is evidence of the strange bedfellows and overlapping...

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Campaña en Facebook contra diputado costarricense gana premio internacional

San José, 11 dic (EFE).- Una campaña en la red social Facebook en contra de la designación del diputado cristiano Justo Orozco como presidente de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Congreso en Costa Rica, por sus posiciones en contra de la homosexualidad, ganó el premio Access Innovation Prize 2012.La agencia costarricense de publicidad en línea BigWebNoise, creadora de la campaña, en la que participaron...

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Samsung Galaxy Muse is like an iPod Shuffle that Syncs with Your Phone

In perhaps the most awkwardly titled tech press release ever, Samsung Mobile announced the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy Muse, a device which appears to have nothing to do with "CORRECTING and REPLACING and ADDING MULTIMEDIA" but everything to do with being a music player crossed with a smartphone accessory.​Say goodbye to iTunes?While most handheld music players (and smartphone or tablets with...

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Facebook, Google tell the government to stop granting patents for abstract ideas

Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG) and six other tech companies have petitioned the courts to begin rejecting lawsuits that are based on patents for vague concepts rather than specific applications, TechCrunch reported. The agreement, which was cosigned by Zynga (ZNGA), Dell (DELL), Intuit (INTU), Homeaway (AWAY), Rackspace (RAX), and Red Hat (RHT), notes the only thing these abstract patents do is increase...

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INTERVIEW-Golf-Poulter seeks final piece in major puzzle

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Still feeling a little giddy after a barn-storming finish to his 2012 campaign, Ian Poulter is itching to plug the only hole in his otherwise glittering career resume by winning a major championship.The fashion-conscious Englishman, widely regarded as one of the best putters in the game, has achieved virtually everything else in professional golf and says landing one of the four...

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No. 1 Duke tops Davidson 67-50 to remain unbeaten

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — It was supposed to be Seth Curry's homecoming — then Ryan Kelly stole the show.Kelly scored 18 points to help top-ranked Duke remain unbeaten with a 67-50 victory over Davidson on Wednesday night.Quinn Cook scored 15 points and Mason Plumlee scored eight of his 10 in the second half for the Blue Devils (13-0), who are one of only four undefeated teams remaining in Division I....

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No. 7 Orange beat Rutgers 78-53; Boeheim gets 903

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Jim Boeheim achieved another milestone in his impressive career at Syracuse, and yet passing Bob Knight for second place all-time on the victory list almost seemed like an afterthought."I'm proud to be able to do that. I'm happy to get it done," Boeheim said after his seventh-ranked Orange had defeated Rutgers 78-53 on Wednesday night for his 903rd victory, one more than Knight...

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Poulter seeks final piece in major puzzle

 Still feeling a little giddy after a barn-storming finish to his 2012 campaign, Ian Poulter is itching to plug the only hole in his otherwise glittering career resume by winning a major championship.The fashion-conscious Englishman, widely regarded as one of the best putters in the game, has achieved virtually everything else in professional golf and says landing one of the four majors would...

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Source: Bills to interview Oregon's Chip Kelly

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Oregon coach Chip Kelly won't have much time to rest after the Fiesta Bowl.On Friday, Kelly has an interview scheduled with the Buffalo Bills for their coaching vacancy, a person familiar with the coach's plans confirmed late Wednesday night.The interview will take place in Arizona, a day after the fifth-ranked Ducks play Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. The person spoke on the...

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About 25 arrested in Moscow New Year's Eve protest

 About 25 people reportedly have been arrested in Moscow on New Year's Eve for trying to hold an unsanctioned protest.The gathering at Triumphalnaya Square in central Moscow on Monday attracted 50 to 100 people.Among those arrested was prominent radical writer Eduard Limonov; the Interfax news agency cited activists as saying about 25 people were taken into custody.For about two years, activists...

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Pope marks end of difficult year, notes God's good

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of a difficult year Monday by saying that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.Benedict celebrated New Year's Eve with a vespers service in St. Peter's Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He appeared tired during the service and used a cane afterward — an indication that the busy Christmas season...

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Pope convinced of peace in 2013 despite world woes

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday he is convinced that peace will prevail in 2013, despite the inequality, terrorism and "unregulated financial capitalism" that afflict the world today.Benedict celebrated a New Year's Day Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the church's world day of peace. His target audience was in the front pews: diplomats accredited to the Holy See, who next week...

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France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year's Eve

Hundreds of empty, parked cars go up in flames in France each New Year's Eve, set afire by young revelers, a much lamented tradition that remained intact this year with 1,193 vehicles burned, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday.His announcement was the first time in three years that such figures have been released. The conservative government of former President Nicolas Sarkozy had decided...

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Trade, tax, transparency on June G8 meet agenda - UK

Trade, tax compliance and promoting greater transparency will be the main focus of the next meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight major economies in June, Britain said on Wednesday as it assumed the group's rotating presidency.Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the group's seven other member nations - the United States, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Canada and Germany - would join Britain...

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