Thunder strike down "crumbling" Lakers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With Kevin Durant in cruise control, the Oklahoma City Thunder overpowered the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers in a 116-101 win on Friday, inflicting a rare sixth straight defeat on the home team.Sharp-shooting forward Durant scored a season-high 42 points and guard Russell Westbrook weighed in with 27 and 10 assists as the Thunder drew level with the Los Angeles Clippers at...

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Hill injury adds to mounting Lakers woes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As if a sixth defeat on the bounce was not bad enough, the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers faced further gloom on Friday with the news that back-up forward Jordan Hill will likely miss the rest of the season.Hill, the most impressive bench player for the Lakers in a surprisingly below-par campaign, sat out the 116-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a left hip injury.The...

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Lakers star Kobe Bryant and wife reconcile, won't divorce

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have reconciled and are no longer planning to divorce, the couple said in separate posts on social media sites.Bryant, widely considered one of the greatest players ever in the National Basketball Association, and his wife filed for divorce in December 2011 after 10 years of marriage.But they had been seen out together...

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Iran confiscates over a ton of narcotics a day

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's media are reporting that police confiscate over a ton of narcotics a day from smugglers.Gen. Ali Moayedi, head of Iran's anti-narcotics police, is quoted by newspapers Sunday as saying that some 30 drug smugglers and addicts are identified and arrested every hour in Iran. He said over 200,000 were detained in the past nine months alone.Iran lies on a major drug route between...

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Influential Israeli rabbi released from hospital

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli religious party says its powerful spiritual leader has been released from hospital after a minor stroke, easing concerns his health could affect the party's fortunes ahead of Jan. 22 elections.Yakov Betzalel, who is spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 92, was at home with his family and would resume his daily routine later Sunday.Yosef...

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Syrian army advances in strategic Damascus suburb

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops advanced in a strategic suburb of Damascus and bombarded other areas around the capital Saturday in a push to secure President Bashar Assad's seat of power as rebels make gains in the north.A government official said regime forces had taken much of Daraya, an area on the edge of a major military air base just south of the capital, after nearly two months of heavy...

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Ex-baseball star Lenny Dykstra sentenced in bankruptcy fraud case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lenny Dykstra, the 1980s World Series hero who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bankruptcy fraud, was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.The 49-year-old former ballplayer - who is already serving time in state prison for grand theft auto, lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon - was also ordered...

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Giants agree deal to keep playoff hero Scutaro

(Reuters) - National League Championship Series MVP Marco Scutaro has agreed a $20 million three-year deal to stay with the San Francisco Giants, the World Series winners said on Tuesday.The 37-year-old second baseman was acquired by San Francisco in a mid-season trade with Colorado and he paid great dividends down the stretch as the Giants claimed their second World Series in three years.Scutaro...

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Reds land Korean Choo in trade with Indians, D-Backs

(Reuters) - The Cincinnati Reds acquired South Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo from the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday in a three-team trade that involved nine players.The 30-year-old Choo, entering the final year of his contract, declined to sign an extension with the Indians and will now give the Reds a potential lead-off hitter who batted .283 with 16 home runs last season."He fills the one big...

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Star stock analyst Mahaney to lead Internet coverage at RBC

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mark Mahaney, a top-rated Internet stock analyst who was fired from Citigroup in October after one of his staffers improperly shared research with a news website, has been hired by RBC Capital Markets.Mahaney will oversee coverage of the Internet sector for RBC, the firm announced on Monday. RBC did not state which companies Mahaney will cover. He will be based in San Francisco.Rated...

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Lawyers in Ohio football rape case want trial moved

(Reuters) - Attorneys for two Ohio teenage football players accused of raping a 16-year-old student have asked that the trial be moved because potential witnesses are afraid to come forward in defense of the boys, one of the lawyers said on Monday.Walter Madison, the attorney for one of the accused rapists, Ma'lik Richmon, said social media efforts to bring the alleged rape into the national spotlight...

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Audit of Canada native band casts cloud on protest movement

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian native band that successfully pressured the prime minister to hold a special meeting on aboriginal grievances cannot account for millions of dollars in federal funding, according to an audit that critics say was leaked to discredit a growing protest movement.Angry native activists, fed up with poor living conditions they blame on decades of neglect from Ottawa, have...

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US pending home sales jump to nearly a 6-year high

WASHINGTON (AP) — An index measuring the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in October jumped to nearly its highest level in almost six years. Steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates have made home buying more attractive.The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October. Excluding...

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US home sales jump to highest level in 3 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes jumped to their highest level in three years last month, bolstered by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates.The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales rose 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in November. That's up from 4.76 million in October.Previously occupied home sales are on track...

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US home sales surge to highest level in 3 years

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes jumped to their highest level in three years last month, bolstered by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates. The report was the latest sign of a sustained recovery in the housing market.The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales rose 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in November. That's...

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RG3 to have surgery on torn right knee ligament

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Griffin III is having surgery Wednesday on a torn ligament in his right knee — and to see if there's a second ligament that also needs to be repaired.Baylor coach Art Briles confirmed to USA Today and The Associated Press on Tuesday night that the Washington Redskins rookie has a torn lateral collateral ligament. He said the surgery also will determine whether Griffin has...

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Cowboys defensive coordinator Ryan not returning

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired Tuesday after his injury-depleted unit struggled in a pair of season-ending losses that kept the Cowboys out of the playoffs for a third straight year.Ryan was let go a day after running backs coach Skip Peete was fired, and less than a week after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said things were going to get "uncomfortable" at team...

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Timberwolves overcome lost Love to clip Hawks

(Reuters) - The Minnesota Timberwolves coped with the absence of head coach Rick Adelman and All Star forward Kevin Love to beat Atlanta 108-103 on Tuesday, ending a near seven-year winless run against the Hawks.Timberwolves coach Adelman missed the game for personal reasons, while Love is out indefinitely after reinjuring his right hand last week, but the home team still had enough beat the Hawks...

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FedEx: cost plan can counter sluggish growth

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx is more pessimistic about the U.S. economy than it was three months ago, but more assured of its own ability to grow earnings.The world's second-largest package delivery company lowered its economic forecast for the U.S., saying that there remains a lot of uncertainty for the company and the country.Its forecast for the current quarter, which incorporates the critical holiday...

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FedEx says it can grow by cutting costs

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx may be pessimistic about the U.S. economy, but it's confident about growing its earnings.The world's second-largest package delivery company, a bellwether for economic health because of the vast number and kinds of shipments it handles, lowered its economic forecast for the U.S., saying there remains a lot of uncertainty for the country.FedEx maintained its earnings forecast...

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Burundi tea earnings rise 27 pct in November on high prices

UJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's tea export revenues rose 27 percent in November from the same month last year thanks to a stronger regional market, a tea board official said on Thursday.The state-run tea board (OTB) said it collected $1.80 million from the sale of 589,907 kg, up from $1.42 million earned in November 2011 from the export of 563,140 kg."Supplies of the commodity in the region were low...

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Violence in Syria rages ahead of Assad speech

Fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces raged across the country hours before President Bashar Assad is expected to address the nation on Sunday in his first public appearance in two months, activists said.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels fighting to topple the Assad regime have clashed with troops in the southern province of Daraa, the birthplace of the...

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Syrian president says he is fighting jihadists

 Syrian President Bashar Assad says his country is being subjected to an unprecedented attack and says the conflict can only be solved through a popular movement.Assad spoke Sunday in a rare speech addressing the nation, his first since June.As in previous speeches, he said his forces were fighting groups of "murderous criminals" and jihadi elements and denied there was an uprising against his...

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Assad outlines new Syria peace initiative

 Syrian President Bashar Assad has outlined a new peace initiative that includes a national reconciliation conference and a new constitution.Assad, however, says the initiative can only take roots after regional and Western countries stop funding what he called militant extremists fighting to overthrow him.Assad spoke Sunday in a rare speech addressing the nation, his first since June.As in previous...

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Jefferies results beat estimates on higher fixed-income revenue

(Reuters) - Jefferies Group Inc reported a higher-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit as the investment bank benefited from higher earnings from its fixed-income unit, and said its business expansion in Asia has started delivering.The midsized investment bank has been expanding in China and India and recently poached bankers from the Royal Bank of Scotland to expand its business in China.Jefferies...

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Oracle 2Q earnings rise 18 pct as tech spending up

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Oracle says its latest quarterly earnings rose 18 percent as companies splurged on more software and other technology toward the end of the year.The results announced Tuesday are an improvement from Oracle's previous quarter, when the company's revenue dipped slightly from a year earlier.The latest quarter spanned September through November. That makes Oracle the first technology...

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Oracle sees third-quarter profit of 64 to 68 cents per share

BOSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker, said it expects to report non-GAAP earnings per share of 64 cents to 68 cents in its fiscal third quarter.Oracle forecast that third-quarter new software sales and cloud subscriptions sales will rise 3 percent to 13 percent from a year earlier.The company said its sees third-quarter hardware products sales flat to down 10 percent from...

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Syrian forces bombard rebel areas near capital

 Syrian government warplanes and artillery pounded restive suburbs of Damascus on Friday and anti-regime activists said a car bomb targeted an intelligence building north of the capital.Fighting in Syria's civil war has flared in areas around Damascus as rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad try to push into the city itself. The rebel advances in the suburbs threaten the government's...

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Leaders of Sudan, South Sudan start talks to defuse tension

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan met late on Friday to try to defuse hostility that has simmered since the south broke away in 2011 and restart cross-border oil flows to rescue their crumbling economies.No details emerged as Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan's Salva Kiir met in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn who is trying to mediate...

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Italy's Monti unveils alliance, rules out minister role

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Friday unveiled the alliance he will lead into February's parliamentary election and said he was unlikely to agree to serve as a minister in another premier's cabinet after the vote.The 69-year-old former European commissioner, who replaced Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister in November 2011 when Italy was scrambling to avert a financial crisis,...

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Chile: Couple dies defending home amid protests

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — An elderly couple whose family's vast landholdings have long been targeted by Mapuche Indians in southern Chile were killed in an arson attack early Friday while trying to defend their home. The president quickly flew to the scene and announced new security measures, including the application of Chile's tough anti-terrorism law and the creation of a special police anti-terror...

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Syria blames "terrorists" for deadly petrol station blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said on Friday a car bomb at a crowded petrol station in Damascus was set off by "terrorists", a term it uses for rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad.The blast on Thursday night killed 11 people and wounded 40 at a station packed with Syrians queuing for fuel, which has become scarce in the 21-month insurgency against Assad, in the second petrol station attack...

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RIM shares jump in Toronto, rebound from sharp decline

 Shares of Research In Motion Ltd jumped nearly 10 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday, following similar gains in New York on Wednesday, in a rebound from last week's sharp decline.Last Friday, the volatile stock plunged more than 20 percent after the company said on an earnings conference call that it was rolling out a new fee structure for its services segment, which some investors...

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A surprisingly good vintage as market logs gains

NEW YORK (AP) — If you'd told investors what was going to happen in 2012 — U.S. economic growth at stall speed, an intensifying European debt crisis, a slowdown in China, fiscal deadlock in Washington, decelerating corporate earnings growth — and asked how the stock market would perform, few would have predicted a good year.But that's just what they got.The Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard...

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Stocks surge after last-minute budget deal reached

Stocks are opening sharply higher on Wall Street after lawmakers averted sweeping cuts in government spending and with a last-minute budget deal.The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 232 points to 13,336 shortly after the opening bell Tuesday, the first trading day of 2013. That's a gain of 1.8 percent.The Standard & Poor's 500 index shot up 29 points, or 2 percent, to 1,455. The Nasdaq composite...

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'Fiscal cliff' deal sends markets shooting higher

 The "fiscal cliff" compromise, for all its chaos and controversy, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year.All the major U.S. stock indexes swelled by at least 2 percent. For the Dow Jones industrial average, up 263 points soon after the market opened, it was the biggest surge in six months.Stocks around the world also leapt higher....

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Nigerian stocks continue gains, up 1.5 pct on banks

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian stocks rose 1.5 percent on Wednesday in thin trade, led by heavy weight banks, adding to optimism that a surge in share prices last year will continue into 2013.The index of Nigeria's top-10 banks on Wednesday gained 3.5 percent to help lift the all-share index up 424 points to 28,502 points by 1404 GMT.Sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest index crossed a 28,000 point psychological...

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UN says more than 60,000 dead in Syrian civil war

The United Nations gave a grim new count Wednesday of the human cost of Syria's civil war, saying the death toll has exceeded 60,000 in 21 months — far higher than recent estimates by anti-regime activists.The day's events illustrated the escalating violence that has made recent months the deadliest of the conflict: As rebels pressed a strategy of attacking airports and pushing the fight closer to...

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