This And That

Ovechkin's late PP goal gives Caps 3-2 win Alex Ovechkin's power-play goal with 7:27 remaining snapped a tie and gave the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers that squared the Eastern Conference semifinal series 1-1 on Monday night. more info...

Female Panda Recovering After Artificial Insemination The "black-and-white rock star" of the Smithsonian's National Zoo, female panda Mei Xiang, is recovering tonight (April 30) after being artificially inseminated with up to 800 million sperm. more info... Wade's 25 carries Heat past NY, 104-94 As the Miami Heat expected, the New York Knicks were much improved in Game 2. more info... Sega's Toylet Turns Urinals Into Gaming Systems [VIDEO] A new video game system from Sega takes playing video games while you're in the bathroom to a whole new level. Called Toylet, the urinal-mounted game system not only has you play games while you're in the bathroom, it's powered by urine. more info...

Police tap teen in theft of chef's Lamborghini A celebrity chef's Lamborghini sports car has been recovered from a teenager's storage container a little more than a year after it was reported stolen from a San Francisco exotic car dealership. more info... Occupy movement's May Day turnout seen as test for its future NEW YORK (Reuters) - Occupy Wall Street vows a day of demonstrations in New York and across the United States on Tuesday, in a crucial test of its staying power some eight months after emerging as a movement against corporate greed and economic inequality. The "99 Percent" populist movement, which began as a 24-hour encampment in lower Manhattan last fall and spread to cities across the country, will join organized labor for a day of May 1 protests, in what it has called a "day without the 99 percent. ... more info...

UK lawmakers to give verdict on Murdochs LONDON (Reuters) - Newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch and his son James will be in the firing line on Tuesday when a British parliamentary committee issues its verdict on a phone-hacking scandal that has made the family name politically toxic. Committee members have said they were obstructed and put under surveillance by Murdoch's News Corp during their five year investigation into the hacking of the phones of celebrities, murder victims, politicians and soldiers for newspaper stories. ... more info... 'Crocodile Dundee' star Paul Hogan ends tax battle "Crocodile Dundee" star Paul Hogan has resolved his seven-year battle with Australian tax authorities over alleged unpaid taxes dating back to his first international hit movie in the 1980s. more info... US coach sees tough draw for Olympics US Olympic basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said his reigning O...

Water Floats on Oil, Defying Conventional Wisdom Water can float on oil, suggest new findings defying conventional wisdom that could have important applications in cleaning up oil spills that endanger seashores and fisheries, researchers say. more info... Dougherty gang sentenced in Colorado for police shootout DENVER (Reuters) - Three Florida siblings who pleaded guilty to shooting at police while trying to elude them following a multistate crime spree last year were sentenced on Monday to lengthy prison terms by a Colorado judge. Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, and her brothers Dylan Stanley Dougherty, 27, and Ryan Edward Dougherty, 22, appeared together in Huerfano County District Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to felony assault and menacing charges. ... more info... Judge: Golden Globes broadcast deal with NBC valid A federal judge ruled Monday that producers of the Golden Globe Awards acted properly w...

Houston QB Keenum to join Texans Overlooked again, Case Keenum will start his NFL career close to where he proved his skeptics wrong in college. more info...

Just Show Me: How to create a photo journal on your iPad using iPhoto Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you some tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to build a photo journal on your iPad using iPhoto. Collect … Continue reading → more info...

World Trade Center now tallest in NYC, with asterisk NEW YORK (Reuters) - One World Trade Center, being built at the site of the fallen twin towers, surpassed the Empire State Building on Monday as the tallest building in New York. Construction crews set in place a steel horizontal beam at a height of about 1,270 feet, topping by about 20 feet (six meters) the rooftop of the observation deck of the Empire State Building, which stands about 3 miles to the north in Midtown Manhattan. Including the antenna tower, however, the iconic Empire State Building is still higher. ... more info...

Why Are Pollen Allergies So Common? You can't get more natural than plants. Humans have been around them for our entire evolutionary history. So why are roughly 20 percent of Americans allergic to pollen, as if this plant sperm powder were some sort of toxic foreign substance? more info... Barnes & Noble and the e-reader competition Barnes & Noble Inc. makes a variety of Nooks with black-and-white screens, dedicated to reading, and the Nook Color and Nook Tablet, which add color screens, third-party applications and Internet browsing to the mix. more info...

Bobcats: Coach Paul Silas not returning next year The Charlotte Bobcats have announced that coach Paul Silas won't be back following the worst season in NBA history. more info... EPA region head resigns after crucifixion comment WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A regional Environmental Protection Agency chief based in Dallas resigned on Monday after a 2010 comment surfaced in which he compared his enforcement of energy companies with crucifixion. Al Armendariz, who was the chief of EPA's Region 6 office, sent a letter of resignation to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson late on Sunday, which she accepted on Monday. "I have come to the conclusion that my continued service will distract you and the agency from its important work," Armendariz said in the letter. ... more info...

Judge releases Jennifer Hudson's sister's 911 call Moments after finding her mother's body, the sister of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson sobs as she pleads for help in a disturbing 911 recording released to the news media Monday. more info... Taps and Rhythms Replace Keyboard Shortcuts From swipes to pinches to whole-body gestures, every new device seems to bring new ways to enter information. Here's an idea researchers think can replace keyboard shortcuts, such as Cntl+C for copying text. Computer scientists at the Université Paris-Sud in France wrote a program that lets users tap Morse code-like rhythms onto a laptop's touchpad, and showed people remembered rhythmic sequences as well as keyboard shortcuts. ... more info... Ohio to return wild animals to family that allowed panic escape COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Five wild animals will soon be returned to the widow of a man who releas...

Top Obama aide offers legal defense of drone strikes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deadly U.S. campaign of drone strikes against al Qaeda is fully legal under international law, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism chief insisted on Monday in the most extensive justification of a controversial tactic that has eliminated some of the most-wanted militants. Speaking on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan, the White House aide, John Brennan, said the U.S. administration holds itself to a "rigorous" review process in deciding on drone targets in Afghanistan and elsewhere. ... more info...

The Recession's Bright Side? Work-Life Balance Striking a balance between your work life and your personal life may have become a bit easier in the past few years, new research finds.  The research found that in the past seven years, many employers have allowed workers greater flexibility regarding when and where they work.  more info... EU chief Barroso to snub Euro 2012 in Ukraine The chief of the European Union's head office says he will not go to Ukraine during the European soccer championships in June unless there is a swift improvement in the human rights situation there. more info...

Greek anti-bailout leftist wins over austerity-weary voters VOLOS, Greece (Reuters) - Alexis Tsipras says Greece's political elite are bluffing when they say harsh austerity cuts are required to keep the country in the euro zone. And he wants Greek voters to call them on it. With Greece due to vote on May 6, the young leader of the Left Coalition party is urging Greeks to vote out austerity - and the two pro-bailout parties imposing it - arguing Europe cannot afford to kick Greece out of the monetary union. "It's a pseudo-dilemma, a fabricated myth, that our future in the euro is at risk. ... more info... This App Will Have Your Favorite Site Swarming With Cats Need we say more? The KittyCat Hijack app from Canadian cat food brand Temptations will have your favorite websites swarming with felines within minutes. more info...

What If LinkedIn Was Invented in the ’80s? [VIDEO] If you thought job hunting was difficult today, imagine how painful the process would've been in the past, without the Internet. more info... Olympics: Residents may get missiles on rooftops Some London residents are getting troops and surface-to-air missiles on their rooftops for the Summer Olympics. more info...

Clippers stun Grizzlies, Lakers and Spurs win in NBA The Los Angeles Clippers stormed back from a 27-point second-half deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-98 in the first game of their NBA Western Conference first-round series. more info... Russia says U.N. resolution on Sudan, South Sudan is not sanctions threat MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Sudan and South Sudan does not amount to a threat of sanctions if the two countries fail to comply with demands to stop hostilities. "There are no sanctions there," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists at a joint news conference with visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti. "There is not even a threat of sanctions." But Lavrov said the draft resolution mentioned the possibility of further steps, including "economic measures", under Article 41 of the U.N. ... more info...

7 films added to Cannes festival lineup A documentary about the world's waste and a musical about an Australian aboriginal singing group are among seven films added to the lineup of the Cannes Film Festival. more info... Pepsi partners with Twitter for online concerts PepsiCo Inc. is tweeting to a new generation of music lovers. more info... Yahoo to double Olympics presence in London Yahoo plans to double its Olympics presence this summer as it aims to be the Games' top website for the fourth straight year. more info...

B&N, Microsoft team up on Nook, college businesses Barnes & Noble Inc. and Microsoft Corp. say they are teaming up to create a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will house the digital and college businesses of the bookseller and include a Nook application for Windows 8. more info... Secretive Blue Origin Project Pins Spaceflight Hopes on Reusable Rockets Blue Origin wants to fly under the radar all the way into space. more info...

China censors squelch web searches in activist case Chinese censors Monday blocked web searches of a host of terms related to blind activist Chen Guangcheng, from his name to "Shawshank Redemption", the prison-break film being compared to his case. more info... E! Entertainment network plans refurbishing The Kardashians' television neighborhood is getting a refurbishing. more info...

Hon Hai drops; poor end of the iPad value chain TAIPEI (Reuters) - Shares in Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd took a beating on Monday after lackluster quarterly profits, in sharp contrast to the booming fortunes of its main client, Apple Inc, highlighting one of the main downsides of life as a maker of others' high-end products. Hon Hai's first-quarter net profit - up 3.6 percent to T$14.92 billion ($509.2 million) - was well below the previous quarter and missed analysts' forecasts by more than a third, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data. ... more info... Boko Haram kills four in Nigeria church attack: police MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram killed four people in an attack on a Sunday church service in the northeast town of Maiduguri, police said on Monday, adding to the death toll from a separate shooting in the country's second largest city Kano. Gunmen killed at least 15 people an...

Clemens perjury trial resumes after 5-day break The Roger Clemens perjury trial is resuming after a five-day break. The prosecution's first witness, congressional staffer Phil Barnett, will return to the stand Monday after beginning his testimony last Tuesday. more info... China security chief down but not out after blind dissident's escape BEIJING (Reuters) - Strike two against China's once invulnerable domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang. An audacious escape by blind dissident Chen Guangcheng is the second uproar this year to hit Zhou, who has expanded China's policing apparatus into a vast, costly and - now for all the world to see - a flawed tool of Communist Party control. But even one of the biggest domestic security embarrassments in more than a decade is unlikely to knock him out before a party congress late this year that will appoint successors to him and other retiring leaders, said several experts. ... ...

Clippers' lose Butler to broken hand for 4-6 weeks (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Clippers enjoyed a stunning come-from-behind victory over Memphis in the first round of the NBA playoffs on Sunday but it came at a high price as forward Caron Butler suffered a broken left hand and could miss 4-6 weeks. more info... Two bombs detonate in Idlib, north Syria: state news BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's state news agency said two bombs had detonated on Monday in the central districts of Idlib city, near the Turkish border, and blamed what it said were terrorists. "Terrorist bombings in Hanano Square and Carlton Street in Idlib and news of casualties," a SANA newsflash said. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes) more info...

Actelion's macitentan meets goal in study ZURICH (Reuters) - Europe's biggest biotech company, Actelion, said on Monday its big drug hope macitentan met its goal in a key late-stage trial, giving a much-needed boost to the company's pipeline. Actelion is banking on the on heart and lung drug to cut its dependence on its main product, Tracleer, which accounts for around 90 percent of group sales and is facing growing competition from Gilead's rival drug, Letairis. ... more info... Exclusive: China mulls guarantees for ships carrying Iran oil BEIJING (Reuters) - China is considering sovereign guarantees for its ships to enable the world's second-biggest oil consumer to continue importing Iranian crude after new EU sanctions come into effect in July, the head of China's shipowners' association said. Tough new European Union sanctions aimed at stopping Iran's oil exports to Europe also ban EU insurers and reinsure...

Social gifting: the new buzzword in e-commerce * Sweden's Wrapp, other startups, win venture-cap backing * Nascent industry carries big growth potential -investors * Retailers like potential sales boost, low marketing cost (Reuters) - Last year, the buzzword in e-commerce was Groupon Inc and its myriad of competitors that offered daily online coupons to entice shoppers in a down economy. Now, the latest fashion in retail is social gifting, where people get together on Facebook to buy each other gifts. Start-ups such as Sweden-based Wrapp, which is launching its U.S. ... more info...

Spain scraps health benefits for illegal immigrants Spain takes pride in its universal health care but Europe's debt crisis has spurred tough budget cuts that will bring sometimes life-saving treatment for illegal immigrants to an abrupt end. more info...

Coyotes beat Predators 5-3 to go up 2-0 in series Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata and Antoine Vermette each had a goal and an assist, and the Phoenix Coyotes avoided their usual overtime theatrics, beating the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series. more info...

U.S. eyes testy China talks, Chen backer expects Chinese decision WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States faces a tense week in China as high-level talks on trade and global hot spots like Iran and North Korea open in the shadow of a blind Chinese activist's bold escape from house arrest to seek U.S. protection in Beijing. The trip to Beijing would have been challenging for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner even without a human rights dispute over Chen Guangcheng, who a U.S.-based group says is hiding in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. ... more info... Golf-PGA Tour breakthrough gives Dufner early wedding gift April 29 (Reuters) - American Jason Dufner gave himself awell-timed early wedding gift by clinching his first PGA Tourtitle in a playoff with Ernie Els at the New Orleans Classic inAvondale, Louisiana, on Sunday. Just six days before his marriage to girlfriend Amanda Boyd,Dufner ended a winles...

Smith leads Hawks past Celtics 83-74; Rondo tossed Josh Smith scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, leading the Atlanta Hawks to an 83-74 victory over Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs Sunday night, the final minute turning ugly when Celtics star Rajon Rondo was ejected for bumping an official. more info... Top U.N. truce monitor in Syria, attack on Central Bank BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Norwegian general charged with overseeing a shaky U.N.-brokered truce in Syria arrived in Damascus on Sunday, boosting a monitor mission that activists say has helped ease the violence in the city of Homs, hotbed of a 13-month uprising. In the capital, militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at the Central Bank building, causing slight damage, and wounded four police when they attacked their patrol, state television reported. Activists in Damascus reported explosions and gunfire. ... more info...

Golf Bitter-sweet week for 'Big Easy' Els in New Orleans April 29 (Reuters) - Ernie Els was happy to savour the positives after ending a bitter-sweet week with a playoff defeat at the New Orleans Classic in Avondale, Louisiana, on Sunday. In pursuit of his first PGA Tour title in two years, Els lost to American Jason Dufner on the second extra hole at the TPC Louisiana after narrowly missing a six-foot birdie putt for victory on the previous hole. However, the smooth-swinging South African was delighted to challenge for the title, having started the final round two shots off the pace before closing with a flawless five-under-par 67. ... more info...

Neuwirth, Ricci in madcap and sexy 'Midsummer' "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" more info... Yacht debris, bodies found off US-Mexico coast Authorities have identified two of the three sailors found dead off the shore of Southern California and Mexico after their racing yacht apparently collided with a larger vessel. more info... Podbay iPhone app feels a little too simple Podbay feels more like a concept than an actual app. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing might just depend on your perspective. It seems like any app released at this point, generations past the first iPhone, is expected to come packed with specific features “or else.” Apps without Facebook or Twitter connectivity are shunned. Apps lacking some sort of multimedia component are mocked. more info...

Greece opens detention camp for immigrants as election looms ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece opened its first purpose-built detention centre for illegal migrants on Sunday in Athens, a week before a national election where illegal immigration has emerged as a key issue. About 130,000 immigrants cross the country's porous sea and land borders every year, the vast majority via Turkey, and the authorities are forced to release those who are arrested because of a lack of permanent housing. With Greece in its fifth year of recession and worries over rising crime levels, illegal immigration has become a major issue in the run up of the May 6 election. ... more info...

Bynum's triple-double leads Lakers past Nuggets Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, Andrew Bynum posted the Lakers' first playoff triple-double in 21 years with an NBA postseason record-tying 10 blocked shots, and Los Angeles thoroughly controlled the tempo in a playoff-opening 103-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. more info...

Libya's Gaddafi-era oil chief found floating dead in Danube VIENNA (Reuters) - Libya's former top oil industry official, Shokri Ghanem, has been found floating dead in the River Danube in Austria, police said on Sunday. Ghanem, 69, had been chairman of Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) before defecting last year several months after opponents of Muammar Gaddafi had risen up against the Libyan leader and begun a rebellion. As NOC chairman since 2006, Ghanem helped steer Libya's oil policy and held the high-profile job of representing Libya at OPEC meetings, often visiting Vienna for meetings in that role. ... more info... Nokia in advanced talks to sell luxury Vertu unit: FT LONDON (Reuters) - Cellphone maker Nokia is in advanced talks to sell its UK subsidiary Vertu to private equity group Permira , the Financial Times reported. Nokia, which last week had its credit rating cut to "junk" status by ra...

Bulls GM Forman backs Thibodeau after Rose injured Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman is backing coach Tom Thibodeau, saying he had no problem with the decision to stick with Derrick Rose late in the playoff opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. more info... Trial of baseball ace Clemens set to resume Monday WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The perjury trial of former ace pitcher Roger Clemens over alleged steroid use is set to resume on Monday with a witness expected to detail why congressional lawmakers wanted to question him. more info... Egypt's Brotherhood says army plans cabinet reshuffle CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday the ruling generals planned to reshuffle the government in an apparent attempt to defuse a political feud overshadowing a presidential election campaign that gets under way on Monday. The Brotherhood has pushed for more say in the government for months since...

Three killed, one missing in latest California yacht accident LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - At least three sailors were killed and one was missing after a yacht racing from California to Mexico apparently collided with a much larger ship, officials said on Sunday. The Coast Guard said a helicopter joined the search for the fourth sailor an hour after dawn on Sunday. "Right now, we're continuing our search and trying to find the person," said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 3rd Class Seth Johnson. It was the third racing major accident in the waters off California in recent weeks, and the second to result in fatalities. ... more info... Fledgling artist Erika Flowers plays NO Jazz Fest Most of those listening to Erika Flowers at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival hadn't heard of her. But by the end of her set, they were asking where they could hear more. more info... Ex-oil chief who tried to refo...

Van plunges into NY's Bronx Zoo, killing seven NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seven people, including three children, were killed on Sunday when a van crashed through a highway guardrail and plunged more than 100 feet into New York's Bronx Zoo, police said. The van was traveling on the Bronx River Parkway when it lost control, hit the highway median and crossed four lanes of traffic before smashing through the guardrail, officials said. The vehicle landed in a train yard below that is used by the zoo to store its monorail trains, police said. The names and exact ages of the victims were not disclosed. ... more info... Pall to sell blood collection assets to Haemonetics (Reuters) - Pall Corp said on Sunday it agreed to sell some of its blood collection, filtration and processing product lines to Haemonetics Corp for about $550 million. Under terms of the agreement, about $535 million will be paid upon closing at the start of Pall's fiscal y...

Will Power wins 3rd straight Sao Paulo 300 Will Power won IndyCar's Sao Paulo 300 for the third straight time on Sunday. more info... European MP says stopped from entering Bahrain DUBAI (Reuters) - A European Union member of parliament with a diplomatic passport said she was prevented from entering Bahrain on Sunday in an application of visa rules imposed while the government grapples with a pro-democracy movement. Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European Parliament's foreign affairs and human rights committees, said she was held at Manama airport for over seven hours when she tried to enter the Gulf Arab state during a stopover on the way to Libya. "I've been ... ... more info...

Analysis: Obama falls short of meteoric expectations abroad WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was not just U.S. Democratic voters who were looking forward to "hope and change" when Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. president. Around the world, many anticipated the United States would behave very differently under the new leader. They wanted to hear less about Americans swaggering and throwing their weight around. Some, perhaps, wanted more talk of U.S.-style freedom and democracy, but not if it meant Washington imposing its will. Few dispute that Obama's election brought with it a noticeable change in tone. ... more info...

French journalist missing after Colombia FARC battle BOGOTA (Reuters) - A French journalist reporting alongside Colombian security forces tracking drug-funded rebels disappeared on Saturday after a gun battle with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that killed three soldiers and a police official, the Defense Ministry said. Romeo Langlois, a freelance reporter for French news channel France 24, was caught in a firefight with the rebels, known as FARC, as police and military sought to dismantle drug laboratories in the jungles of Caqueta in southern Colombia. ... more info... Cameron's Historic Deep-Sea Dive Debuts on National TV Barely a month after filmmaker James Cameron piloted a newfangled submersible to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, audiences can get an inside look at the historic expedition that for the first time sent a lone human to the deepest place on Earth. more info...

GSK bid undervalues Human Genome, investor says LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline's $2.6 billion offer for Human Genome Sciences undervalues the biotech company, according to Taube Hodson Stonex, a leading investor in the U.S. group. "The price that's been offered, although it is a big premium to where the shares were trading, is not high enough," said Mark Evans, a fund manager at Taube, which is the sixth largest investor in Human Genome with a 5.6 percent stake. GSK, Britain's biggest drugmaker, says its $13 a share offer is "full and fair" and it is the only obvious owner for the U.S. ... more info...

Hidden Secondhand Smoke Risk Revealed People who live in apartment buildings, especially those with children, breathe in tobacco smoke even if no one in their own household smokes, a new study shows. more info... Brotherhood on back foot on eve of Egypt campaign CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's chances of winning the Egyptian presidency have been damaged by the decision of a hardline Islamist movement to back its main rival in a race that heats up on Monday with the start of official campaigning. The historic democratic election to decide who replaces fallen autocrat Hosni Mubarak has become a political struggle between Islamists who were oppressed by the deposed president, politicians who at some point were part of his government and liberals and leftists seen with little chance of winning. ... more info... Three killed in latest California yacht racing accident (Reuters) - Three sailors were kill...

Pirates Party's rapid rise upsets German landscape NEUMUENSTER, Germany (Reuters) - With some sporting pirate garb and black beards in light-hearted tribute to their name, Germany's internet-savvy Pirates party gathered this weekend to chart a course that may yet take them to the national parliament. The party aroused a mixture of rye amusement and angry derision when it stormed onto the political scene last year garnering 8.9 percent of vote in Berlin's city assembly. Since then, however, it has staked a claim to third place in the party pecking order, garnering 11 to 13 percent in opinion polls. ... more info...

Secondhand Smoke Permeates Many Apartment Buildings: Study SUNDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- A new survey of American apartment dwellers reveals that upwards of a third of nonsmoking residents sniff the stench of secondhand smoke in their building's public spaces, while almost half smell it within their own homes. more info... French journalist missing after Colombia FARC gun battle BOGOTA (Reuters) - A French journalist reporting alongside Colombian security forces tracking drug-funded rebels disappeared on Saturday after a gun battle with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Defense Ministry said. Romeo Langlois, who local media said is a reporter for French news channel France 24, was caught in a firefight with the rebels, known as FARC, as police and military sought to dismantle drug laboratories in the jungles of Caqueta, southern Colombia. ... more info...

British Red Cross doctor kidnapped in Pakistan found beheaded QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - The beheaded body of a kidnapped British doctor working for the International Committee of the Red Cross was found dumped by the roadside on Sunday in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta, police and Red Cross officials said. Khalil Rasjed Dale, 60, was kidnapped by suspected militants on Jan 5 while on his way home from work. "The ICRC condemns in the strongest possible terms this barbaric act," ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord said in a statement. "All of us at the ICRC and at the British Red Cross share the grief and outrage of Khalil's family and friends. ... more info... Analysis: Even in emerging markets, Nokia's star is fading NEW DELHI/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia phones once took pride of place in Manish Khatri's Mumbai store, but now models made by Samsung Electronics get the limelight. He has nothing against No...

Gunmen kill 15 in attack in Nigeria's Kano KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 15 people and wounded many more when they attacked a lecture theatre used by Christian worshippers in Nigeria's second largest city of Kano on Sunday, a university worker told Reuters. The man, who asked not to be named, said he saw 15 bodies being carried from the site and many more being treated for injuries. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds in bomb and gun attacks this year, some of which have targeted churches. ... more info... Greeks old and young united in disdain for ruling parties MARATHON, Greece (Reuters) - Georgios Pasayannis was a Greek civil servant for 40 years, and the 73-year-old pensioner voted faithfully for New Democracy throughout, confident his future was safe in the hands of the conservative party. Now he says he will never cast his ballot again for ...

Al-Qaida in Yemen says it frees captured soldiers Al-Qaida in Yemen says it has released 73 soldiers captured by its fighters during battles with government forces in the south of the country. more info... Colombian troops killed, French journalist missing A French journalist was missing early Sunday along with five Colombian security force members following combat with leftist rebels that claimed the lives of three soldiers and a police officer, Colombia's Defense Ministry said. more info...