United's Boeing 787s back in skies
17 hours 48 min ago - AFP

United's Boeing 787s back in skies

United Airlines resumed Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights Monday after the advanced plane was globally grounded four months ago due to overheated battery incidents.United, the only US carrier that owns the high-tech jetliner, relaunched 787 passenger ...
European failure Mourinho's legacy in Madrid
18 hours 2 min ago - AFP

European failure Mourinho's legacy in Madrid

Jose Mourinho's three-year reign in charge of Real Madrid was finally brought to an end on Monday when it was announced that the Portuguese will leave the club at the end of the season.Just as in his spells in charge at Chelsea and Inter, Mourinho's ...
Hong Kong launches plan to tackle waste crisis
18 hours 29 min ago - AFP

Hong Kong launches plan to tackle waste crisis

Hong Kong on Monday launched a ten-year plan to reduce waste by 40 percent per person as part of efforts to catch up with other leading Asian cities and avert a looming environmental crisis.With a population of more than 7 million, the city ...
Garden gnomes invade Chelsea Flower Show
18 hours 32 min ago - AFP

Garden gnomes invade Chelsea Flower Show

Garden gnomes invaded Chelsea Flower Show on Monday as the prestigous horticultural event relaxed a ban on the diminutive ornaments to raise cash for charity.Musician Elton John and Downtown Abbey actress Dame Maggie Smith are among celebrities who ...
Star Wars hero Skywalker's pants under the hammer
18 hours 47 min ago - AFP

Star Wars hero Skywalker's pants under the hammer

The pants worn by actor Mark Hamill in the first Oscar-winning "Star Wars" film are being sold at auction and could go for up to $100,000, auctioneers announced Monday.The young Jedi Knight wore the sand-colored regular Levi's pants throughout the ...
US Open door opens for Thongchai
18 hours 58 min ago - AFP

US Open door opens for Thongchai

Thongchai Jaidee's disappointment in losing out in the final of the Volvo World Match-Play Championship has been eased knowing he will qualify for next month's US Open in Pennsylvania.Jaidee was at Varna Airport in Bulgaria early Monday when he ...
Guan's dream run will continue at Memorial
19 hours 5 min ago - AFP

Guan's dream run will continue at Memorial

Chinese schoolboy Guan Tianlang, the youngest player in Masters history, will continue his dream run in US PGA events by playing in next week's Memorial tournament, organizers said Monday.The 14-year-old prodigy won the low amateur's Silver Cup last ...
Impossible to predict outcome in China's bird flu outbreak: WHO
19 hours 15 min ago - AFP

Impossible to predict outcome in China's bird flu outbreak: WHO

It is impossible to predict the evolution of China's human H7N9 bird flu outbreak as researchers are still trying to understand the source of human transmission, the head of the World Health Organisation said Monday.According to the latest official ...
Roma hit with fan ban over racist abuse
19 hours 22 min ago - AFP

Roma hit with fan ban over racist abuse

Roma will play their next league game without fans in the Olympic Stadium's 'Curva Sud' for their role in targeting AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli with racist abuse last week, officials said Monday.Balotelli was among several Milan players ...
Dove 'Sketches' most-watched online ad: Unilever
19 hours 49 min ago - AFP

Dove 'Sketches' most-watched online ad: Unilever

Unilever claimed bragging rights Monday to the most-watched Internet commercial of all time -- a three-minute study of women's self-perception that stars a forensic artist.The Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant said its "Dove Real Beauty Sketches" ...
US denounces waves against Muslims, Jews
20 hours 2 min ago - AFP

US denounces waves against Muslims, Jews

The United States on Monday denounced what it called a rising tide of both anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiment around the world as it urged all nations to ensure freedom of religion.In a wide-ranging annual report on religious freedom, the State ...
Tunisia Femen activist arrested for 'immoral gestures'
20 hours 17 min ago - AFP

Tunisia Femen activist arrested for 'immoral gestures'

A young Tunisian activist who sparked controversy in March by posting topless pictures of herself online has been arrested for allegedly making "immoral gestures," the interior ministry said on Monday."The young girl was placed under arrest ...
Nigeria says it has retaken five Islamist strongholds
20 hours 32 min ago - AFP

Nigeria says it has retaken five Islamist strongholds

Nigeria's military said Monday it had re-established control in five remote areas of the northeast where Islamist insurgents had seized territory, as it pressed on with a sweeping offensive against Boko Haram militants.The military has "secured the ...
Hezbollah fighters killed in battle for Syria's Qusayr
20 hours 34 min ago - AFP

Hezbollah fighters killed in battle for Syria's Qusayr

A Syrian government assault on the rebel bastion of Qusayr raged into a second day Monday, with at least 28 members of Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah reported killed as they fought alongside the army.As official media reported that the army was ...
Armani, D&G struck off Milan fashion week roster
20 hours 36 min ago - AFP

Armani, D&G struck off Milan fashion week roster

Top Italian designers Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana can no longer be on the official programme of Milan Fashion Week because they are not due-paying members of the national fashion chamber, the head of the association said Monday."If they want ...
Carlos Slim company to buy US mobile phone firm
20 hours 57 min ago - AFP

Carlos Slim company to buy US mobile phone firm

Mexican phone giant America Movil, owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, announced Monday that its US unit reached a deal to acquire US mobile phone company Start Wireless Group.The price of the transaction was not revealed but a statement said Tracfone ...
Aging Yahoo! faces new Tumblr generation
20 hours 58 min ago - AFP

Aging Yahoo! faces new Tumblr generation

Yahoo! is just under two decades old and already showing signs of age. Tumblr, the cool blogging platform, represents a new generation.This split marks both a challenge and an opportunity for the firms, after the announcement that Yahoo!
Five dead in botched Israel bank robbery
21 hours 22 min ago - AFP

Five dead in botched Israel bank robbery

Four people were killed and three others wounded in a botched bank heist in southern Israel which ended when a robber who had held a hostage shot himself dead, police said."The woman hostage walked out of the bank after the robber shot and killed ...
Israel rejects France 2 findings on Dura affair
21 hours 25 min ago - AFP

Israel rejects France 2 findings on Dura affair

Israel has said that a France 2 television report seen worldwide on the death of a Palestinian child in 2000 was "baseless", following an analysis of the raw footage, drawing an angry reaction Monday from the boy's father.The report, bolstering the ...
Messi: I can only play for Barca
21 hours 25 min ago - AFP

Messi: I can only play for Barca

Argentine football star Lionel Messi said Monday he could not play for any team other than Barcelona, where he has been since the age of 13."I cannot play with any team other than Barcelona," he told reporters in Qatar, where he took part in a ...
Radical cleric Abu Qatada denied bail in Britain
21 hours 29 min ago - AFP

Radical cleric Abu Qatada denied bail in Britain

Jordanian terror suspect Abu Qatada was on Monday denied bail in his latest skirmish with British authorities, who have been trying to deport him for a decade.The cleric has been in and out of British prisons since 2002 as he fights successive ...
Pistorius rules out running in 2013
21 hours 33 min ago - AFP

Pistorius rules out running in 2013

Murder-accused South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius will not race this season, his agent said Monday, weeks before the Paralympian's return to court.The decision means Pistorius will miss out on the August 10-18 World Athletics Championships in ...
Iraq PM insists some fake bomb detectors work
21 hours 36 min ago - AFP

Iraq PM insists some fake bomb detectors work

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki insisted on Monday that some of the fake bomb detectors Iraq bought are actually functional, despite overwhelming evidence that none of them work."The best device in the world does not detect (explosives) more than 60 ...
Japanese thriller gets biggest boos in Cannes race
21 hours 37 min ago - AFP

Japanese thriller gets biggest boos in Cannes race

A blood-soaked vengeance tale from Japan drew the biggest boos in the race for the Cannes Film Festival's top prize Monday, with critics savaging a "risible" parade of cliches.Controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike unveiled "Shield of Straw" ...
Russia foils terror attack on Moscow
21 hours 41 min ago - AFP

Russia foils terror attack on Moscow

Russian security services said Monday they had foiled a terror attack on Moscow, killing two of the plotters and arresting another."Our forceful actions prevented an attempted act of terror in the capital," the National Anti-Terror Committee said in ...
Cheers for Palestinian film of love and betrayal
21 hours 42 min ago - AFP

Cheers for Palestinian film of love and betrayal

The tensions of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation exploded onto the screen at Cannes on Monday, where a tale of love and betrayal won a five-minute standing ovation."Omar" is the new work by Hany Abu-Assad, who shot to prominence in 2006 ...
Finnish start-up launches smartphone to rival giants
21 hours 45 min ago - AFP

Finnish start-up launches smartphone to rival giants

A group of ex-Nokia employees who quit over the company's decision to abandon the planned MeeGo operating system in favour of Windows presented their own smartphone on Monday, hoping to rival the sector's giants.The Jolla smartphone, which is ...
All-star crime thriller flops at Cannes
21 hours 46 min ago - AFP

All-star crime thriller flops at Cannes

Oscar winner Marion Cotillard and her partner, French actor and director Guillaume Canet, teamed up for the all-star "Blood Ties" premiering Monday in Cannes but faced audiences' stony silence after high hopes for the picture.The film features one ...
St Leger winner Encke tests positive for steroids
21 hours 56 min ago - AFP

St Leger winner Encke tests positive for steroids

The 2012 St Leger winner Encke is among seven horses to test positive for anabolic steroids as the investigation widened into doping involving Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation.The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) revealed on Monday that they ...
Lions coach Gatland rules out Wilkinson call
22 hours 10 min ago - AFP

Lions coach Gatland rules out Wilkinson call

British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland on Monday insisted he won't ask Jonny Wilkinson to join the forthcoming tour to Australia unless his squad is hit by injuries.Wilkinson was crowned European player of the year on Sunday to cap a ...
Syria pharmaceutical production slashed by war
22 hours 11 min ago - AFP

Syria pharmaceutical production slashed by war

Syria's pharmaceutical industry once catered to 90 percent of the population's needs, but a shortage of foreign currency has brought production to a near halt, a pro-regime daily reported on Monday.The central bank previously provided local ...
Two tourists killed in Turkey hot-air balloon collision
22 hours 13 min ago - AFP

Two tourists killed in Turkey hot-air balloon collision

Two Brazilian tourists died Monday and 23 other people were hurt after two hot-air balloons collided in a beauty spot in central Turkey, officials said.The accident occurred over Cappadocia's sculpted rock formations when one balloon collided with ...
Syria's Raqa opposition chief kidnapped: NGO
22 hours 18 min ago - AFP

Syria's Raqa opposition chief kidnapped: NGO

An opposition leader, rights activist and longtime dissident in Syria's rebel-held city of Raqa has been abducted, a watchdog said Monday."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has learnt of the abduction by an armed group of lawyer, human rights ...
Napoli president in London to meet Benitez: reports
22 hours 18 min ago - AFP

Napoli president in London to meet Benitez: reports

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis was in London Monday to meet Rafael Benitez in a bid to lure Chelsea's Spanish manager to the Serie A club, according to reports in Italy.Napoli's runner-up place to Juventus was confirmed when the season ended ...
Syrian opposition meets in Madrid over conflict
22 hours 20 min ago - AFP

Syrian opposition meets in Madrid over conflict

Branches of the divided Syrian opposition held talks in Madrid on Monday seeking to harmonise their approach to the country's bloody civil war, their Spanish government hosts said.The talks included Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, who resigned last week as ...
22 hours 29 min ago - AFP

Qatar emir slams 'international inaction' over Syria

The emir of Qatar, a strong supporter of the Syrian rebels, on Monday slammed what he called inaction by the international community over the conflict there, lamenting the failure to reach a political solution."It is no longer acceptable that ...
Swift wins big, Bieber booed at Billboard awards
22 hours 31 min ago - AFP

Swift wins big, Bieber booed at Billboard awards

Pop diva Taylor Swift took home an armful of trophies, and Justin Bieber confronted a chorus of boos at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday.Swift, 23, in a figure-hugging blue Zuhair Murad mini-dress, collected eight awards including top artist, ...
Life after Fergie begins as Moyes arrives
22 hours 38 min ago - AFP

Life after Fergie begins as Moyes arrives

David Moyes started the post-Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United on Monday as the Premier League champions' new boss arrived at the club's training ground for the first time.United are under new management for the first time since 1986 following ...
UK astronaut 'Major Tim' to join space station crew
22 hours 41 min ago - AFP

UK astronaut 'Major Tim' to join space station crew

A former army helicopter pilot was on Monday named as the first "home-grown" British astronaut to head to the International Space Station.Major Tim Peake, 41, will fly out to the ISS in November 2015 as part of a six-man crew, becoming the first ...
Philippines approves three new wind farms
22 hours 50 min ago - AFP

Philippines approves three new wind farms

The Philippines has approved three wind farm projects that will generate 208 megawatts, enough to power more than 40,000 middle-class homes, an energy official said on Monday.The wind projects will be the first to benefit from an incentive scheme ...
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