AFP
Skiers: Stiegler out for season with broken leg
American skier Resi Stiegler is out for the Olympic season after breaking two bones in her left leg in a crash in giant slalom training, the US Ski Team said Friday.Stiegler, a 2006 Olympian, had surgery to repair her broken tibia and femur."This ...
AFP
Injured Beckham expects to play MLS Cup final
England midfielder David Beckham has a bone bruise in his right ankle, but he still expects to play for his US club Los Angeles Galaxy in the Major League Soccer championship match Sunday.Beckham said Friday he will need a pain-killing injection in ...
AFP
Astronaut counts down to daughter's birth
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik entered an unusual space countdown on Friday as he waited onboard the International Space Station for the birth of his daughter back on Earth.The 42-year-old Marine and his five Atlantis crew members eagerly listened for
AFP
Hershey Trust backs bid for Cadbury: report
A charitable trust controlling US chocolate maker Hershey is backing a bid of 17 billion dollars for Britain's Cadbury, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.The Journal, citing several people familiar with the matter, said the Hershey Trust is ...
AFP
Marseille edge PSG
A first-half goal from Gabriel Heinze vaulted Marseille back into the French title race on Friday, securing a 1-0 win at the Stade Velodrome over Paris St Germain.Heinze, playing against one of his former clubs, nodded in after 25 minutes to settle ...
AFP
Barnes & Noble sells out of new e-reader
US bookstore giant Barnes & Noble said Friday it had sold out of its new electronic book reader, the "Nook," and the next shipments would not be available until after the holidays."Nook continues to be the fastest-selling product at Barnes & Noble, ...
AFP
Britney's ex-boyfriend jailed for leaving accident
A former boyfriend of pop star Britney Spears was sentenced to 45 days in prison on Friday for fleeing the scene of an accident earlier this year.Adnan Ghalib, 37, a photographer who befriended Spears, was also ordered to complete a 52-week anger ...
AFP
Leader of Sears Tower plot sentenced to 13 years
A US federal judge sentenced the leader of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago to 13 years in prison Friday, far less than the 70 years sought by prosecutors.Narcile Batiste, 35, was the fifth member of a gang to be sentenced to lighter ...
AFP
Home hope Rochette leads short programme
Canada's world silver medallist Joannie Rochette skated to the top of the women's leaderboard at Skate Canada on Friday with a flawless short programme that earned a personal best score of 70.0.In other early action at the sixth and final stop in ...
AFP
Amazon countries to hold climate talks
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is calling a meeting of eight Amazon countries next week to forge a common stand ahead of next month's key climate talks, officials said Friday.The leaders are set to be joined by French President ...
AFP
Oil prices wobble on recovery concerns
Oil prices remained depressed Friday amid a strengthening dollar and concerns over sustainable economic recovery.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, dropped 74 cents to end the week at 76.72 dollars after slumping by ...
AFP
Protesters demand Albania vote recount
Thousands of opposition supporters on Friday began a weekend of protests accusing Prime Minister Sali Berisha's government of electoral fraud and demanding a recount of ballots cast in June polls."This protest, which will last for three days, is ...
AFP
'Twilight' sequel scores monster box office opening
The hotly anticipated sequel to vampire romance "Twilight" scored a monster hit at the North American box office on Friday, shattering previous records for midnight openings, reports said.Entertainment industry reports citing Summit Entertainment ...
AFP
Poland restricts gambling outside casinos
Poland's parliament on Friday adopted a law that confines gambling to casinos and phases out the slot machines currently in many Polish cafes, clubs, shops and service stations."Barring any surprises, I hope the president will be able to affix his ...
AFP
First Air France A380 reaches New York
The world's largest airliner, an Air France A380, touched down in New York on Friday after completing the superjumbo jet's first Atlantic crossing from Europe to the United States.The Airbus plane, carrying 538 passengers, left Paris earlier in the ...
AFP
US sees fall in swine flu rate
US officials Friday said infections from A(H1N1) virus had slowed in the United States this week, raising hopes the early roll-out of vaccines may be bringing the disease under control."We are beginning to see some decline in influenza activity ...
AFP
Albi shock Perpignan in Top 14
Bottom-placed Albi pulled off the upset of the Top 14 season so far with a nail-biting 24-23 victory over league leaders Perpignan on Friday.Albi spent the final eight minutes with 14 men after replacement Yogane Correa was yellow-carded for an ...
AFP
Henry offers replay after FIFA rules it out
A replay of the controversial World Cup play-off between France and the Republic of Ireland is out of the question, the French Football Federation (FFF) said Friday, even as skipper Thierry Henry said he would back the idea following his handball ...
AFP
US newspaper ad revenue down nearly 28 percent
US newspaper advertising revenue fell by nearly 28 percent in the third quarter, continuing a slide which has led to layoffs, bankruptcies and the closure of several dailies.Print and online advertising revenue declined to 6.4 billion dollars in the
AFP
Strong Asia presence at Saint Laurent auction
Buyers from Asia purchased all but one of the top 10 priciest items at the sale of the last belongings of late couturier Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge, Christie's said Friday.As the four-day sale wound up, the auction house said ...
AFP
Chile airports resume operations after major strike
Chilean airports resumed normal activity on Friday, after some 2,000 airport workers launched a country-wide strike that caused flight delays, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation said."The strike caused a slowdown of security checks for ...
AFP
Judge dismisses Miley Cyrus 'slant eyes' suit
A Los Angeles judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against Miley Cyrus which accused the teen icon of discriminating against Asians after she was photographed making "slant eyes."Lucie Kim sued the "Hannah Montana" star in February after a photo ...
AFP
CERN atom-smasher restarts after 14-month breakdown: official
The world's biggest atom-smasher, shut down after its inauguration in September 2008 amid technical faults, restarted on Friday, a spokesman for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said.    "The first tests of injecting ...
AFP
Child abuse may shorten cell lifeline: study
Beaten or sexually abused children are more likely to show accelerated ageing of cells later in life, a condition linked to higher rates of cancer and heart disease, according to a study released Friday.Investigators found that the natural process ...
AFP
IAAF keep mum on Semenya
World athletics' governing body, the IAAF, held their silence over South Africa's gender row 800m world champion Caster Semenya during the first day of their annual congress here on Friday.The IAAF refused to be drawn on statements made by South ...
AFP
Boeing starts work on second Dreamliner assembly site
US aerospace giant Boeing broke ground Friday for the second assembly plant for its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft scheduled for its first test flight by the end of the year.The facility at North Charleston, South Carolina also will have the capability
AFP
Sun shines on golf's growth in China's Hainan
It's chilly and wet back home in Sichuan province, but Chen Ming cheerfully tees off in shorts on a sunny palm-lined golf course on China's southern Hainan island."The weather here is very good for playing golf -- there's the sun, the sand and the ...
AFP
Mandela and wife voted 'heroes' by world's children
Former South African president Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel have been voted Decade Child Rights Heroes by 7.1 million children, the World's Children's Prize foundation said Friday."The 7,136,222 voting children have elected Graca Machel ...
AFP
UN blasts Iran's human rights violations
A UN panel on Friday blasted Iran for "serious, ongoing and recurring" human rights violations, including violence against protesters after the disputed June presidential elections.Members of the United Nations human rights committee adopted the ...
AFP
Permafrost thaw threatens Russia oil and gas complex: study
Thawing permafrost caused by global warming is costing Russian energy firms billions of dollars annually in damage control and shrinking Russia's territory, Greenpeace warned in a new study Friday.According to the report by the environmental ...
AFP
FIFA ban Iraq from international football
World football's governing body FIFA on Friday announced its decision to suspend the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) until further notice "because of government interference"."In accordance with FIFA statutes, the clubs and representative teams of ...
AFP
Mussolini's blood and brain up for sale on eBay
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's blood and brain went on sale Friday for 15,000 euros (22,000 dollars) on online auction website eBay, before the company pulled the ad posted by an anonymous seller."No bid was made during the brief time the ...
AFP
New German foreign minister on first Moscow visit
Germany's new Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle emphasised strong relations with Russia during his first visit to Moscow Friday, but remained discreet on human rights issues."Russia is the most important strategic partner for us, beyond the eastern
AFP
Kosovo PM's party drops threat of quit coalition
Kosovo's main ruling party withdrew on Friday its threat to split from its junior coalition partner in the first such rift since Pristina proclaimed independence in 2008.The clash between Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's party and its junior ...
AFP
Mutation found in swine flu virus in Norway: WHO
The World Health Organisation said Friday that a mutation had been found in samples of the swine flu virus taken following the first two deaths from the pandemic in Norway."The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has informed WHO of a mutation ...
AFP
I.Coast coach confident in 'Group of Death'
Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halilhodzic brimmed with confidence here Friday despite having to face fellow World Cup qualifiers Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso in the African Nations Cup 'Group of Death'."It?s a difficult group but we are arriving as ...
AFP
Honduras regime seeks to disarm citizens ahead of polls
The Honduran de facto regime on Friday ordered citizens to turn in their weapons in a bid to avert violence around disputed presidential elections to be held at the end of the month.Ousted President Manuel Zelaya has called on his supporters to ...
AFP
Crisis fallout still in 'first half': forum
The impact of the global financial crisis is still in its "first half," but there is only a brief opportunity to bring tough reforms, the World Economic Forum warned on Friday."It is still too early for people to pat themselves on the back and say ...
AFP
Turkey scraps nuclear power plant tender
Turkey on Friday scrapped a 2008 tender won by a Russian-led consortium to build the country's first nuclear power plant -- a process that had been under threat of being invalidated by a court decision.In a brief statement, the state-run electricity
AFP
New budget to save Greek economy: prime minister
The Greek socialist government tabled a budget on Friday to cut the public deficit to 9.1 percent of output and save the country's economy from the "emergency room," Prime Minister George Papandreou said."We undertook the responsibility to take the ...
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