Fed lowers growth, inflation forecasts
6 hours 22 min ago - AFP

Fed lowers growth, inflation forecasts

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday trimmed its growth forecast for 2013 slightly and slashed its inflation outlook, suggesting it saw little threat to prices from its ongoing easy-money program.The economy was expected to grow at an annual rate of ...
Cheers, sobriety meet Obama call to action in Berlin
6 hours 24 min ago - AFP

Cheers, sobriety meet Obama call to action in Berlin

Under a blazing sun and waving German and US flags, a crowd in Berlin cheered a call by US President Barack Obama on Wednesday for more transatlantic cooperation, but with a whiff of disappointment in recent American leadership.Anticipation ran high ...
Iceland kills first fin whales in controversial hunt
6 hours 26 min ago - AFP

Iceland kills first fin whales in controversial hunt

Icelandic whalers have killed the first two fin whales of the season after resuming their controversial commercial hunt earlier this week, whaling officials said Wednesday.One fin whale was brought to port late Tuesday, and another one killed early ...
Microsoft offers bounties for novel hacker tactics
6 hours 30 min ago - AFP

Microsoft offers bounties for novel hacker tactics

Microsoft on Wednesday posted bounties of up to $100,000 for "truly novel" ways to hack the latest version of its Windows software for powering computers."For the first time ever, Microsoft is offering direct cash payouts in exchange for reporting ...
Doctors reap in billions as Cuba's top export
6 hours 36 min ago - AFP

Doctors reap in billions as Cuba's top export

Cuba is out to boost its top export, an ever-more critical pillar of its economy.
Plane rentals, an increasingly luring option for airliners
6 hours 42 min ago - AFP

Plane rentals, an increasingly luring option for airliners

Companies that rent out planes placed nearly half of the orders announced so far at the Paris Air Show as airlines look to them to increase and modernise their fleets with minimal risk.From air show to air show, Gecas, ILFC, ALC and others have ...
Sexually transmitted HPV declines in US teens
6 hours 49 min ago - AFP

Sexually transmitted HPV declines in US teens

The number of US girls with the sexually transmitted disease HPV has dropped by about half even though relatively few youths are getting the vaccine, research showed on Wednesday.Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection ...
Yemeni kidnap 11 soldiers to swap for relative
6 hours 50 min ago - AFP

Yemeni kidnap 11 soldiers to swap for relative

Yemeni tribesmen have kidnapped 11 soldiers, including two officers, and are demanding the release of a relative convicted of murder, tribal sources said on Wednesday.Members of the Al-Marakisha tribe, in the southern province of Abyan, kidnapped ...
Swiss parliament rejects deal to expose US tax-dodgers
6 hours 59 min ago - AFP

Swiss parliament rejects deal to expose US tax-dodgers

Swiss lawmakers rejected Wednesday a deal proposed by Washington to expose American tax dodgers and halt a raft of US lawsuits provided that Swiss banks that helped stash the cash pay massive fines.The Alpine country's lower house, or National ...
North Korea says willing to rejoin nuclear talks: China
7 hours 33 sec ago - AFP

North Korea says willing to rejoin nuclear talks: China

North Korea expressed willingness Wednesday to rejoin long-stalled nuclear talks, China's foreign ministry announced, the second time in a month Pyongyang has told Beijing it is ready for such dialogue.North Korean first vice foreign minister Kim ...
France hit by weather chaos, floods claim two victims
7 hours 3 min ago - AFP

France hit by weather chaos, floods claim two victims

Flash floods in southwestern France claimed two elderly victims in the space of 24 hours as unseasonal storms caused havoc across huge swaths of the country on Wednesday.Flights into Paris were disrupted as the French capital sweltered in conditions ...
Warming spike: Stalagmites show permafrost peril
7 hours 7 min ago - AFP

Warming spike: Stalagmites show permafrost peril

Areas of permafrost could start to thaw within decades, freeing long-stored greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, according to a study released on Wednesday that measured ancient stalagmites in a Siberian cave.Continuous permafrost -- land that is ...
Iceland holds 'informal' talks over possible Snowden asylum
7 hours 10 min ago - AFP

Iceland holds 'informal' talks over possible Snowden asylum

Iceland said Wednesday it has held informal talks with an intermediary of US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden who reportedly may want to seek political asylum there."A representative of his has, to my knowledge...
Kerry off on mega Mideast, Asia tour
7 hours 12 min ago - AFP

Kerry off on mega Mideast, Asia tour

US Secretary of State John Kerry leaves Friday on a 12-day trip during which he will return to the Middle East, hold high-level talks in Southeast Asia and make his first visit to India.At the start of his seven-nation tour, Kerry will head first ...
Apple TV adds HBO Go, WatchESPN to line up
7 hours 18 min ago - AFP

Apple TV adds HBO Go, WatchESPN to line up

Apple on Wednesday added HBO GO and WatchESPN to the line-up of programming available on its Apple TV devices that stream shows from the Internet to living room screens."HBO GO and WatchESPN are some of the most popular iOS apps and are sure to be ...
Lebanon cleric threatens 'military' action against Hezbollah
7 hours 20 min ago - AFP

Lebanon cleric threatens 'military' action against Hezbollah

A controversial Salafist sheikh threatened on Wednesday to find a "military" solution to alleged Hezbollah safehouses in a southern Lebanese town, a day after clashes involving his supporters left one person dead.Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir is known for ...
Veteran Els gives Rose advice on coping with stardom
7 hours 22 min ago - AFP

Veteran Els gives Rose advice on coping with stardom

Dual US Open winner Ernie Els has offered Justin Rose, and golf's newest US Open champion, some timely advice ahead of next month's British Open.Rose became the first England-born player in 43-years to lift the US Open trophy last Sunday at ...
Britain's William and Kate do not know sex of royal baby
7 hours 25 min ago - AFP

Britain's William and Kate do not know sex of royal baby

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine do not know the sex of their baby, which is expected in mid-July and should be born by natural delivery, palace sources said Wednesday.The baby, which will be third in line to the throne, will be born ...
Obama vows US 'will do more' to battle climate change
7 hours 36 min ago - AFP

Obama vows US 'will do more' to battle climate change

President Barack Obama on Wednesday pledged that the United States "will do more" to tackle the threat of climate change and said the world must do likewise before it is too late."Our generation must move towards a global compact to confront a ...
India's Tata Motors revamps 'world's cheapest car'
7 hours 54 min ago - AFP

India's Tata Motors revamps 'world's cheapest car'

India's top automaker Tata Motors unveiled a new version of what was once billed as the world's cheapest car Wednesday, in a bid to reverse a slump in sales.The jellybean-shaped Nano, which sold for around $2,200 when its first edition went on the ...
EU fines drugs firms 150 mn euros for delaying cheap generics
7 hours 56 min ago - AFP

EU fines drugs firms 150 mn euros for delaying cheap generics

The EU executive on Wednesday imposed hefty fines of around 150 million euros on pharmaceutical firms including Denmark's Lundbeck for colluding to delay the sale a decade ago of a cheap generic version of a widely sold anti-depressant.Lundbeck was ...
Qatar says Taliban office not for 'Islamic Emirate'
7 hours 57 min ago - AFP

Qatar says Taliban office not for 'Islamic Emirate'

The Taliban office opened in Doha to facilitate peace talks does not carry the name of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," as it appeared earlier, Qatar said on Wednesday.Afghan President Hamid Karzai denounced as a provocation the use of the ...
New Zealand emerges as guinea pig for global tech firms
8 hours 13 min ago - AFP

New Zealand emerges as guinea pig for global tech firms

When Google chose New Zealand to unveil secret plans for a balloon-driven wi-fi network last weekend, it cemented the country's reputation as a test bed for global tech companies looking to trial their latest innovations, industry experts say.They ...
Miss Algeria contest resumes after 10 years
8 hours 13 min ago - AFP

Miss Algeria contest resumes after 10 years

After an absence of 10 years, the Miss Algeria beauty contest is to resume on Friday in the western city of Oran, organisers said.A total of 20 women aged between 18 and 26 have been carefully selected from Algeria's main cities to line up for the ...
Israel to export 'only 40% of natural gas finds'
8 hours 19 min ago - AFP

Israel to export 'only 40% of natural gas finds'

Israel is to export only 40 percent of the natural gas it extracts from newly discovered gas fields off its Mediterranean coast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday."The State of Israel will receive 60 percent of the gas produced ...
Li Na in Eastbourne quarter-finals
8 hours 36 min ago - AFP

Li Na in Eastbourne quarter-finals

China's Li Na reached the quarter-finals of the ATP-WTA Eastbourne International on Wednesday without hitting a ball while men's top seed Milos Raonic was upset for the second straight week on grass.Li, the second seed at Devonshire Park, got the ...
Jolie says Syria crisis 'worst', calls for more aid
8 hours 42 min ago - AFP

Jolie says Syria crisis 'worst', calls for more aid

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie urged the international community to boost aid to Syrian refugees hit by what she called "the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century," a UNHCR statement said Wednesday.Jolie, who is UNHCR special envoy for ...
British court quashes sanctions on Iranian bank
8 hours 50 min ago - AFP

British court quashes sanctions on Iranian bank

Britain's Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed government sanctions that had been imposed on Bank Mellat, Iran's largest private bank, due to its alleged links to Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.The judges found the 2009 Treasury directive was ...
8 hours 55 min ago - AFP

Brazilians block stadium ahead of Mexico match

More than 500 people blocked access to a stadium where Brazil was to play Mexico on Wednesday to demand government spend more on health and education and less on the World Cup."Brazil, we are going to wake up, a professor is worth more than Neymar," ...
Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to jail for tax evasion
9 hours 15 min ago - AFP

Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to jail for tax evasion

An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced fashion house duo Dolce and Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of around one billion euros ($1.33 billion), according to media reports.Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were found ...
Experts to re-examine DNA clues in fresh Knox appeal
9 hours 16 min ago - AFP

Experts to re-examine DNA clues in fresh Knox appeal

Contradictions and illogical conclusions in the ruling that freed US student Amanda Knox from jail mean DNA evidence will be re-examined from scratch and witnesses may be re-heard, her lawyer said Tuesday."We were very surprised, we took it very ...
Bayern expect thousands as Guardiola starts work
9 hours 40 min ago - AFP

Bayern expect thousands as Guardiola starts work

Champions League winners Bayern Munich are catering for up to 25,000 fans to watch Pep Guardiola's first two training sessions next week as the hype around the arrival of the ex-Barcelona coach builds.Guardiola, 42, will give his first press ...
Limited US arms to Syria unlikely to harm Israel: experts
9 hours 45 min ago - AFP

Limited US arms to Syria unlikely to harm Israel: experts

US plans to arm Syrian rebels have raised fears in Israel that the weapons could fall into the wrong hands, but analysts played down the threat -- provided no big guns are involved.Washington said last week that it would provide Syria's rebels with ...
Kuznetsova out of Wimbledon
9 hours 51 min ago - AFP

Kuznetsova out of Wimbledon

Former French Open and US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has withdrawn from Wimbledon because of an abdominal strain, the All England Club announced on Wednesday.Kuznetsova, a quarter-finalist in 2003, 2005, 2007, was to have been the 26th seed ...
Manny Ramirez quits Taiwan's EDA Rhinos
9 hours 57 min ago - AFP

Manny Ramirez quits Taiwan's EDA Rhinos

American baseball legend Manny Ramirez quit Taiwan's EDA Rhinos Wednesday, breaking local fans' hearts just three-months after joining the team despite being the highest paid player in the league's history.The 12-time All-Star had boosted attendance ...
Three dead after falling into Dutch manure silo: police
9 hours 57 min ago - AFP

Three dead after falling into Dutch manure silo: police

Three farmworkers died on Wednesday after falling into a manure silo in the northern Netherlands, with a survivor flown to hospital in a critical condition, police said."Three men died and a fourth has been taken to hospital in a critical ...
Cyprus not seeking to renegotiate bailout: govt
10 hours 4 min ago - AFP

Cyprus not seeking to renegotiate bailout: govt

Cyprus denied on Wednesday that it is trying to wriggle out of bailout commitments after President Nicos Anastasiades wrote a letter to international lenders criticising the terms of the deal.
Mandela's 95th birthday plans to go ahead
10 hours 6 min ago - AFP

Mandela's 95th birthday plans to go ahead

Nelson Mandela's foundation has vowed to press ahead with upcoming 95th birthday celebrations, as the global peace icon underwent a 12th day in hospital Wednesday for a recurring lung infection.
South Africa change three for Samoa
10 hours 14 min ago - AFP

South Africa change three for Samoa

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer named a team with three changes on Wednesday for a June 22 four-nation tournament final against Samoa in Pretoria.Lock Flip van der Merwe replaces Juandre Kruger while flanks Francois Louw and Willem Alberts come in ...
Alcatel-Lucent reveals radical strategy shift
10 hours 23 min ago - AFP

Alcatel-Lucent reveals radical strategy shift

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent announced a radical new strategy on Wednesday to climb out of years of crisis with cost cutting, asset sales and a restructuring of debt.The group is to specialise in supplying the booming market for Internet ...
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