Report: Karzai open to Taliban setting up office in Turkey

(CNN) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday it is better to welcome the opening of the Taliban office in Turkey, the country's news agency run by the state, adding that such a development could help in the peace talks in the war-torn country.

Karzai made his comments during a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and President Asif Ali Zardari, in the wake of the meeting of three leaders in the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul.

The Afghan president acknowledged that there had been discussions about the Taliban officials put in place in Turkey, "in order to facilitate reconciliation and integration," according to Anatolia, the Turkish news agency.

"If Turkey can be kind to provide such a place and we, the Government of Afghanistan will be pleased and happy to see that facilitate (in) Turkey," said Karzai.

The President referred to an article published earlier this week in the Daily Telegraph, which the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salam weak and said that the presence of the Taliban set up an office in a neutral country could help bring peace.

Poor - who served time in the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and is now living openly in Kabul - has pointed out that a country like the United Arab Emirates ", which is not interested in interfering in Afghanistan, such as Pakistan or China," will be a good choice.

While not an official representative of the Taliban, the former ambassador to attend a meeting in October involving political figures of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Farooq Wardak, Minister of Education in Afghanistan, and then said that Kabul was ready to enter into a "new phase" in building bridges and making peace with the Taliban.

Microsoft Is Said to Announce Version of Windows for ARM Chips at CES Show

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, will announce a version of its Windows operating system that runs on ARM Holdings Plc technology for the first time, two people familiar with Microsoft’s plans said.

The new product will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Microsoft’s plans are confidential. The software would be tailored for battery-powered devices, such as tablet computers and other handhelds, the people said.

The operating system would give Microsoft another way to attack the market for tablets and phones, where it’s lost ground to Apple Inc. and Google Inc. ARM chips -- made by Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. -- are used in most smartphones, as well as Apple’s best-selling iPad.

The new software will also work on Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. processors -- the chips that power current personal-computer versions of Windows. ARM sells the rights to use its technology and chip designs.

Bill Cox, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment. Charlene Marini, a California- based spokeswoman for Cambridge, England-based ARM, said the company doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation. Intel’s Tom Beermann also declined to comment.

LTE Will Crush WiMAX. Eventually! [Infographic]

WiMAX might have gotten a head start when it comes to the next generation wireless broadband sweepstakes, but the technology is beginning to feel the heat from its rival, Long Term Evolution aka LTE. New data from research firm Telegeography shows that by 2015, LTE will have seven times as many users as WiMAX.

That trend has many early WiMAX backers worried, and even Clearwire isn’t immune to the idea of experimenting with a new flavor of LTE. Telegeography says that by the end of 2010 there will 11 million WiMAX subscribers around the world. But going is to get a lot tougher for WiMAX. In next two years, LTE networks would be launched by carriers in 55 countries and that should jumpstart the growth for LTE-related services. In comparison, WiMAX is going to be relegated to fixed and nomadic applications, instead of being a mainstream mobile offering, Telegeography argues.

LTE, which launched in late 2009, will take about six years to garner about three percent of the total wireless market, Telegeography posits. A lot of that has to do with the availability of phones that support LTE and other devices that can leverage the wireless broadband technology.

"While TeleGeography predicts that WiMAX subscriber growth will continue apace, by the end of 2015 LTE subscribers will outnumber WiMAX subscribers by a factor of more than seven to one. “If you forget all the past hype about WiMAX and focus just on the next five years, it actually has a bright future” said TeleGeography’s Pete Bell. ‘You can expect to see WiMAX achieving average annual growth in excess of 30 percent over that period. Within the next 24 months LTE networks will have been launched by major cellular service providers in some 55 countries, with most other countries following suit over the subsequent three years, he added.

Gulf oil spill voted top news story of 2010

NEW YORK (AP) -- The massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, triggered by a deadly blast at a rig used by BP, was the top news story of 2010, followed by the divisive health care overhaul, according to The Associated Press' annual poll of editors and news directors.

The oil spill received 54 first-place votes out of 180 ballots cast for the top 10 stories. The health care bill was next, with 30 first-place votes. The U.S. election was third.

In fourth place was the U.S. economy, which had been voted the top story of 2009.

Here are 2010's top 10 stories, in order:

GULF OIL DISASTER: The April 20 explosion at a BP-leased rig killed 11 workers and unleashed a deep-sea spill that ultimately spewed at least 170 million gallons of crude into the Gulf. Consequences included devastation for fishing and tourism industries, a huge and costly cleanup effort, a management change at BP, and creation of a $20 billion fund to pay for damages.

HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL: After bitter political wrangling, President Barack Obama was able to sign into law one of his major campaign promises - a $1 trillion health care overhaul intended to expand coverage to more Americans. But Republicans used public misgivings about parts of the plan as a springboard for election gains, and the overhaul faced a welter of lawsuits challenging its constitutionality.

US ELECTIONS: President Obama called it a "shellacking" - an election in which the Republicans surged to a majority in the House of Representatives, and gained more governor's offices and legislative majorities. The Democrats were able to hang on to their edge in the Senate, leaving the U.S. with at least two years of divided government.

US ECONOMY: Economists said the deepest recession since the Great Depression was over, and consumers began to spend more as the year neared a close. But the unemployment rate stayed well above 9 percent, and home prices were weighed down by foreclosures and sluggish demand.

HAITI EARTHQUAKE: Already the Western Hemisphere's most destitute nation, Haiti was shattered by an earthquake on Jan. 12 that killed at least 230,000 and left millions homeless. Crucial reconstruction projects were slow to get started; disease and political instability added to the woes.

TEA PARTY MOVEMENT: Though it lacked the trappings of traditional political organizations, the tea party movement had a profound impact on the 2010 election, influencing the stances of Republican leaders and enabling some maverick challengers to oust GOP establishment candidates in the primaries.

Muslim woman reports attack near Ohio mosque

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A Muslim group says a woman reported being attacked with pepper spray outside an Ohio mosque and that the attacker told her to leave the country.

Columbus police Sgt. Richard Weiner (WY'-nur) says officers interviewed the woman Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the FBI says it will likely open a civil rights investigation. FBI spokesman Mike Brooks says the results would be turned over to prosecutors for possible charges.

The Columbus chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, says a mosque security camera recorded the assault.

The group says someone followed the woman to the mosque Monday, harassed her and then attacked her with pepper spray. CAIR says the attacker also threatened to kill her and told her to leave the country.