UPDATE 2-NFL-Redskins and Vikings complete playoff picture

* Redskins top Cowboys to win NFC East* Vikings upend Packers to set up rematch* Super Bowl champs Giants eliminated (Adds Cowboys-Redskins)Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Washington Redskins completed the National Football League playoff puzzle by beating the Dallas Cowboys 28-18 on Sunday to bring down the curtain on the regular season and set up an intriguing wildcard playoff matchup.With the victory the...

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NFL-Brief profiles of 12 playoffs teams

Dec 30 (Reuters) - Brief profiles of the 12 teams that qualified for the National Football League playoffs, which begin with Saturday's wildcard round. American Football Conference (AFC) DENVER BRONCOS Founded: 1960 Home field: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado Head coach: John Fox Starting quarterback: Peyton Manning Super Bowl titles: Two 2012 regular season record: 13-3 How...

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UPDATE 2-NFL-Redskins beat the Cowboys to claim the NFC East

* Washington claims final playoff spot* Rookie Morris rushes for 200 yards, three TDs* Redskins to host Seahawks next Sunday (Adds details, quotes)LANDOVER, Maryland, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The Washington Redskins defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28-18 on Sunday to claim the NFC East crown for the first time since 1999 and deny their bitter rivals a spot in the postseason.Rookie running back Alfred Morris...

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NFL-Final-game loss sinks Cowboys' playoff pursuit

LANDOVER, Maryland, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A heartbreaking loss ended another Dallas Cowboys' season on Sunday, the third year in a row the storied franchise has missed the playoffs."We have a big challenge ahead of us," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after Dallas lost to the Washington Redskins 28-18 and squandered their chance to win the NFC East."One of my jobs is to basically evaluate, analyze and...

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Final-game loss sinks Cowboys' playoff pursuit

LANDOVER, Maryland (Reuters) - A heartbreaking loss ended another Dallas Cowboys' season on Sunday, the third year in a row the storied franchise has missed the playoffs."We have a big challenge ahead of us," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after Dallas lost to the Washington Redskins 28-18 and squandered their chance to win the NFC East."One of my jobs is to basically evaluate, analyze and make decisions...

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Unprecedented east Jerusalem building in pipeline

Israel is planning its biggest construction surge in east Jerusalem in decades in a move that critics argue would cement its grip on the contested territory, further complicate any prospects for peace with the Palestinians, and badly rattle Israel's already rocky relations with the rest of the world. With more than 9,000 apartments in various stages of planning and construction, Prime Minister Benjamin...

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Egypt's Mubarak moved to army hospital on health concerns

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian strongman ousted last year after 30 years in power, was moved to an army hospital from a prison hospital on Thursday following a fall that raised fresh concerns about his fragile health. Mubarak, 84, was forced out in a 2011 uprising and sentenced to life in prison in June of this year for his role in killing protesters during the revolt. He was admitted to a prison hospital...

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Secret UK files lift lid on Thatcher-Reagan Falklands contacts

Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote an emotional letter to U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1982 Falklands War calling him the "only person" who could understand her position, formerly secret documents showed on Friday. Newly declassified files from 1982 lift the lid on contacts between the two leaders over the crisis and reveal the extent of the pressure Thatcher felt...

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Japan voters back new PM cabinet, economy top priority

More than half of Japanese voters support new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet, media surveys published on Friday showed, with the country's stagnant economy topping the list of problems voters want the hawkish new leader to tackle. Abe took office on Wednesday, after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) landslide election victory this month, promising to revive the world's third-biggest...

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Thatcher papers: 'worst moment' of her life

She called it, simply, the worst moment of her life. It came in March 1982 during the days before the Falklands War, after Argentina established an unauthorized presence on Britain's South Georgia island amid talk of a possible invasion of the Falklands, long held by Britain. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher realized there was little that Britain could do immediately to establish firm control of the...

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