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Steve Jobs funeral held in private: reports

A private funeral for Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder who died Wednesday, was reportedly taking place Friday. 

Bali marijuana arrest of Australian teen invokes memories of Corby, Bali Nine

The arrest in Bali of an Australian teenager, 14, after he allegedly bought a small quantity of marijuana has caused a collective intake of breath Down Under.
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Balinese guards stop tourists from leaving a hotel in Bali's world-famous Kuta beach district as the Indonesian holiday island shut down for a day of silence to mark Nyepi, the Hindu new year on March 5, 2011. (Sonny Tumbelaka /AFP/Getty Images)
The arrest in Bali of an Australian teenager, 14, after he allegedly bought a small quantity of marijuana has caused a collective intake of breath Down Under.
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Steve Jobs tribute makes a cyber celebrity out of Hong Kong teen

A tribute to Apple founder Steve Jobs has turned a Hong Kong student into an internet sensation. Steve Jobs tribute makes a cyber celebrity out of Hong Kong teen
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The tribute to Steve Jobs by Hong Kong design student Jonathan Mak, which became an internet hit. (Screengrab)
A tribute to Apple founder Steve Jobs has turned a Hong Kong student into an internet sensation.
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Fans and tech industry icons mourn death of Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs

Political and business leaders, including the biggest names in the technology industry, have paid tribute to Steve Jobs.

Think before you Facebook, Kim Jong Il

The Facebook page of Kim Jong Il's exiled eldest son allows a rare glimpse into a dysfunctional regime.
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North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il looks out of a car window after meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Aug. 24, 2011. (Dmitry Astakhov/AFP/Getty Images)

Years from now, it may be considered the eyes of the soul.

But in the meantime, we'll have to make do with Facebook simply giving us a glimpse of Kim Jong Il's dysfunctional reign in North Korea.

Over the weekend, South Korean media caught wind of Kim Jong Nam's Facebook page. Jong-nam is Kim Jong Il's eldest son, who has been living in exile in China for the last decade.

More: Rocking out to North Korea

On a Facebook page belonging to one "Kim Chol" — which is the pseudonym Jong Nam has repeatedy used for hotel reservations around Asia — the North Korean leader's eldest son "expresses bitterness at being passed over as successor to the North Korean throne and posts insults of his half brother Jong Un," according to the Chosun Ibo.

Jong Nam isn't on the best of terms with Kim Jong Il, or his half-brother Kim Jong Un, who appears to be their father's heir apparent.

He is reportedly not Facebook friends with either one — though it is unclear whether they were at one point Facebook friends and have since been un-friended.

More: North Korean kindergarten no joke

According to the report, Jong-nam's fall from grace was a long time in the making:

He was first in line to succeed his father and told children of high-ranking officials in the North in the late 1990s that he would implement reforms if he succeeded his father. This comment apparently became a problem when Kim senior got wind of it. But that was not the end of Jong-nam's blunders. In 2001 he was caught trying to enter Japan on a forged Dominican passport to visit Disneyland Tokyo. This put him out of favor with his father, and he has since been living in virtual exile in Beijing and Macau.

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Third day of Wall Street protests

Sarah Palin took cocaine and cheated on Todd, book claims (VIDEO)

Sarah Palin snorted cocaine, hooked up with NBA player Glen Rice and cheated on her husband Todd, according to media reports citing excerpts from a new unauthorized biography of the former Alaska governor.
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Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin pauses as she speaks during the Tea Party of America's "Restoring America" event at the Indianola Balloon Festival Grounds on Sept. 3, 2011 in Indianola, Iowa. (Justin Sullivan/AFP/Getty Images)
Sarah Palin snorted cocaine, hooked up with NBA player Glen Rice and cheated on her husband Todd, according to excerpts from a new unauthorized biography of the former Alaska governor.
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US ambassador voices critique via Facebook

US Ambassador Robert Ford in Syria has yet again faced his critics and voiced his own criticism on Facebook
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US ambassador in Syria Robert Ford on a guided government tour. Later the ambassador went to Hama without Syrian minders, which caused a furious reaction from the Syrian regime. (LOUAI BESHARA/Staff/AFP/Getty Images)

“For the second time in three days,” Huffington Post writes, “America's most free-range diplomat has taken to the Internet to deliver a direct message to the people of the country where he is serving.

U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, who has made a name for himself in recent weeks for his risky visits to remote cities where a popular anti-government uprising has grown violent and deadly, posted a message on Facebook late Thursday in response to critical comments from a message he posted earlier in the week.

"While reviewing recent posts I found several thoughtful comments by persons who are strongly critical of American policy," Ford's note began. "I respect that they asked hard questions, and they deserve answers."

Ford then proceeded to address several of the complaints his earlier posts had drawn, including warnings that American efforts to unseat president Bashar al-Assad could endanger Christian minorities in the country, and concerns about whether America might deploy airstrikes:

Mujtaba Xr warns me that I will face being killed if I continue my criticism of the repression in Syria. I take his post to be a perfectly good example of the kind of intolerance that has provoked such discontent in Syria. Remember that I am one of the few international observers here on the ground; if only the Syrian government would allow international media to move around the country freely like we did in Iraq!

It was a rare and dramatic departure from the normally lofty speech of diplomats and ambassadors, and it wasn't the first time Ford has done so.

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Yahoo shares rise after CEO Carol Bartz fired

“I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board,” Carol Bartz wrote.

Cameron proposes social media ban

The British government has been criticized for raising the idea of censoring social media sites in the wake of the recent riots. Prime Minister David Cameron, with the support of the opposing Labour party, is demanding restrictions on sites that transmit messages pertaining to violence.
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