Italian PM Monti in Brussels to meet ambassador (AP)

ROME ? The purpose of Italian Premier Mario Monti's unannounced trip to Brussels on Thursday was to meet the country's ambassador to the European Union, a government official said.

Monti, who still has an apartment in the Belgian capital from his time as a European commissioner, made a stopover in Brussels to discuss European issues with the Italian ambassador, said the official, who declined to be named in line with the government's briefing policy.

The Italian premier is headed to Paris on Friday to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, ahead of a visit to German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week and British Prime Minister David Cameron the week after.

Monti's trip to Brussels, which was leaked to the press Thursday afternoon, triggered speculation about potential talks with EU officials on how to stop Italy from being engulfed in Europe's worsening debt crisis. But spokespeople for high-level European officials, including European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, quickly denied that any meetings were foreseen.

Italy has found itself in financial trouble in recent months, with investors growing increasingly reluctant to lend the highly-indebted country more money. Its long-standing prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was forced to resign late last year amid the worsening economic situation, making room for a caretaker government under Monti.

The country also had to accept much closer supervision of its fiscal policy from the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, as Monti pushed pension reforms, new taxes and spending cuts through parliament. He is still struggling to get union to agree to far-reaching labor reforms.

Italy is the eurozone's third-largest economy, and with a debt load of around 120 percent of economic output it is seen as too big to be bailed out. Concerns over Italy and the currency union as a whole weighed on the euro Thursday, with the single currency tumbling 1.1 percent to $1.279.

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Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120105/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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Reddit co-founder speaks about SOPA/PIPA (Americablog)

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Elizabeth Banks: Our Surrogate Is "Still in Our Lives" (omg!)

Elizabeth Banks surprised fans last March when she announced the arrival of her son Felix, born via surrogate. But according to the 37-year-old Hunger Games star, her family's new addition was a long time coming.

PHOTOS: Celebs who welcomed children through surrogacy

"It was a womb issue for me. Embryos wouldn't implant," Banks tells the February issue of Lucky. "It's a big leap, inviting this person into your life to do this amazing, important thing for you. And it's hard losing that kind of control. But our surrogate is so extraordinary, and she's still in our lives. She like an auntie."

PHOTOS: See the Hunger Games cast in costume

Banks, who fell "madly in love" with husband Max Handelman at age 18, hopes her son maintains his sense of wonder and adventure as he grows up.

"My plan is that when Felix is 15, we'll go skydiving together," she says. "I mean, the guy is fierce and fearless, and I'm hoping he stays that way. Because I want to be that mom. The one who takes her kid skydiving."

VIDEO: Watch The Hunger Games trailer

Until then, Banks is focusing on her acting career -- which includes a role in the highly-anticipated Hunger Games trilogy and a new TV show, Dave's Dead.

"It's a buddy comedy," Banks says of Dave's Dead. "It's basically Two and a Half Men but if Charlie Sheen were dead and constantly in a different body."

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Macedonia mourns former president Gligorov

(AP)? SKOPJE, Macedonia ? Macedonians marked a national day of mourning Tuesday for Kiro Gligorov, their first democratically elected president and the man who shepherded the tiny Balkan nation through a bloodless secession from the former Yugoslavia.

Gligorov, who narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 1995, was buried Tuesday in his family's grave in the capital of Skopje. About 100 people took part in the private, non-religious ceremony.

Macedonian flags flew at half-staff, sporting events were canceled and public radio suspended normal programing and was playing only classical music.

The former president, 94, died Jan. 1 in his sleep at his home in Skopje and his death was announced the following day.

To many Macedonians, Gligorov came to be considered the "father of the nation."

"He was a wise and experienced politician, an iconic figure of the father of the nation. We have a respectful and dignified first president whose peaceful policy was recognized and fully respected by world leaders," said retired lawyer Metodija Nikolovski.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Gligorov as "patriot and true statesman," while Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski paid tribute to the former president's historic role in the country's independence.

"Kiro Gligorov will be remembered as a man and politician who had serious merit and contributions to the liberation and the creation, development and international recognition of Macedonia," Gruevski said in condolences to Gligorov's family.

Gligorov became president of Macedonia in January 1991 when it was still a Yugoslav republic. He led his countrymen through a referendum in which they voted for independence, and the territory of 2.1 million people became the only republic to secede from Yugoslavia without a war.

"The life of Kiro Gligorov is the history of the Macedonian state," current President Gjorge Ivanov said during a special parliamentary session. "The Macedonian people are proud of him."

Gligorov served two consecutive presidential terms, leading the nation from January 1991 to November 1999.

He narrowly survived an assassination attempt that cost him an eye in October 1995, when a bomb targeted his car as he headed to work. The bombing killed his driver and a bystander and left him with severe head injuries. Gligorov emerged from a roughly four-month hospital stay with deep facial scars.

No suspects were ever arrested, and the investigation has made little headway since then.

The early period of Gligorov's presidency was overshadowed by a bitter dispute with southern neighbor Greece over the newly independent nation's name ? a dispute that continues to this day. Athens objects to the use of the name "Macedonia," saying it implied territorial ambitions on its own northern province of the same name.

Gligorov also faced domestic unrest, with the republic's large ethnic Albanian minority pressing for greater cultural and political autonomy.

"Macedonia is all we have," he used to say.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsGamecore/~3/FV2hGMGEiuU/

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The Hotel at Auburn University hosting New Year's Party

AUBURN, AL - Say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 in style with an evening at The Hotel at Auburn University that includes an exceptional chef-prepared dinner, live music and a special New Year?s Eve overnight package.

Guests may choose to attend all events or one. The evening will begin with a five-course dinner in Ariccia. Reservations for dinner begin as early as 5:30 p.m. to allow plenty of time to dine before midnight. The price of dinner is $75 per person and includes a champagne toast at midnight in Piccolo.?

After dinner, guests are invited to Piccolo for a party featuring music by a jazz quartet starting at 9 p.m.

Once the celebration ends, take the elevator home and enjoy a night in one of the hotel?s luxurious rooms. For $99, revelers will receive a room for the night and breakfast for two in Ariccia the next morning.

To make reservations for any of the New Year?s Eve?events, please call Allison Duke at (334) 321-3181

Source: http://opelika.wtvm.com/news/business/49416-hotel-auburn-university-hosting-new-years-party

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Kim Jong Un named 'supreme leader' of North Korea's military

North Korea hailed Kim Jong Il's son as 'supreme leader' of the 1.2-million strong military, ramping up its campaign to install the young man as the nation's next leader even as the mourning for his father continued a week after his death, The Daily Mail reported.

Kim Jong Un made a third visit Saturday to the palace where his father's body is lying in state ? this time as 'supreme leader of the revolutionary armed forces' and accompanied by North Korea's top military brass, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The new title and public show of support from the military leadership sent a strong signal that the nation will maintain Kim Jong Il's 'military first' policy for the time being.

Earlier Saturday, the newspaper Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, urged Kim Jong Un to accept the top military post: 'Comrade Kim Jong Un, please assume the supreme commandership, as wished by the people.'

Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and was unveiled in September 2010 as his father's choice as successor, will be the third-generation Kim to rule the nation of 24 million.

Kim Jong Un was promoted to four-star general and appointed a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party.

He had been expected to assume a number of other key posts while being groomed to succeed his father.

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Source: http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2011/12/29/korea/

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