SIEM REAP, Cambodia Pit, only two and with just one eye, needed only 11 minutes before he detected a deadly mine buried in a Cambodian field, work that humans with metal detectors could have taken up to five days to investigate. But Pit is not human. He is par... More »
TORONTO When Courtney Donovan arrived for her Pan American Games roller figure skating short program and saw people in the stands an hour before the competition she was sure they were lost. It was an understandable reaction for an athlete who has spent her ent... More »
LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) – “Minions” ruled the weekend box office, racking up a massive $115.2 million in North America, for the second biggest animated film opening in history. The Universal and Illumination Entertainment spin-off to “Despicable Me” just mi... More »
LOS ANGELES Superhero movies made the biggest splash at San Diego’s Comic-Con this year, but the convention’s 130,000 comic book and pop culture fans were also treated to a smorgasbord of experiences, surprises and scares. As the 35th Comic-Con wrapped up its ... More »
SAN DIEGO The largest gathering of celebrity superheroes came together on stage with Marvel creator Stan Lee at San Diego’s Comic-Con on Saturday, as Fox harnessed star power for its films, “Fantastic Four,” “Deadpool” and “X-Men.” Fox presented its panel of u... More »
LONDON Britain’s government will ask the BBC’s competitors to scrutinize the broadcaster’s remit and scale, the government said on Sunday, after years of controversy over how it has been funded. The BBC [TBBC.UL], the world’s largest broadcaster, has long been... More »
PHOENIX Boasting of his rising poll numbers, real estate mogul Donald Trump on Saturday railed against his rivals in the 2016 presidential race and criticized companies such as Macy’s that cut ties with him over his inflammatory comments about Mexican immigran... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday scored a key endorsement from a large teachers union at a time when her chief rival is picking up support from organized labor. By backing Clinton, the American Federation of Teachers, wh... More »
NEW YORK/CHICAGO When Donald Trump described Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug smugglers last month, Latinos took to social media to express their outrage and urge businesses to sever ties with the billionaire presidential candidate. In short order, more ... More »
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO U.S. government antitrust regulators are looking into claims about whether Apple’s treatment of rival streaming music apps is illegal under antitrust law, according to three industry sources. Apple recently launched a new music streami... More »
SAN DIEGO, Calif. Fans hoping to get a glimpse of what HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has in store for its anticipated next season were left in dark at San Diego’s Comic-Con on Friday, as the cast kept tight-lipped on the fate of their characters. “Our cast here, the... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Ellen Pao resigned as acting chief executive of Reddit Friday in the latest sign of turmoil at the site, recently roiled by the firing of a popular employee and ongoing tensions over the limits of free speech on its social-news platform. Reddit c... More »
WASHINGTON White House state dinners are not normally known for centerpieces made of brussels sprouts, green smoothies and eating with your fingers. But when your guests are 55 students who won a nationwide healthy recipe contest, it is a fitting feast to prom... More »
CARACAS Origami-like boats made from Venezuela’s rapidly depreciating bolivar bills sit on the cash register of a small fruit and vegetable store in Caracas. Cashier Marisol Garcia makes the bolivar boats to illustrate roaring inflation and the currency’s tumb... More »
PARIS An attempt by Airbus to make history by crossing the English Channel in an electric plane ended in wounded pride on Friday after a French pilot claimed to have beaten it by hours. In a further twist, a Slovenian businessman said he might have beaten both... More »
(Editor’s Note: Please be advised that paragraph 2 contains language that some readers may find offensive) By Ben Klayman More »
NEW YORK “Go Set a Watchman,” the much-anticipated second novel by “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee, is the most pre-ordered print title on Amazon.com since the last book in the “Harry Potter” series, Amazon said on Thursday. The online retailer said ... More »
WASHINGTON Global warming is shrinking the terrain where bumblebees live in North America and Europe, with these vital pollinators departing the southernmost and hottest parts of their ranges while failing to move north into cooler climes, scientists say. Thei... More »
DETROIT Barclay Oudersluys had competed in triathlons and ultramarathons but he wanted to do something bigger, so the Michigan native took a cue from his favorite movie. Inspired by Forrest Gump, the simple but well-intentioned man played by actor Tom Hanks in... More »
WASHINGTON Giant pandas eat vegetables even though their bodies are better equipped to eat meat. So how do these black-and-white bears from the remote, misty mountains of central China survive on a diet almost exclusively of a low-nutrient food like bamboo? Sc... More »
NEW YORK Which would you prefer: Naked pictures of yourself circulating on the Internet or a breach of your financial data? According to a new survey from Mastercard, 62 percent of Millennials would rather have their nude photos leaked online than have their f... More »
ATHENS With banks shut and the economy seizing up, some Greek newspapers like the Empros daily on the island of Lesvos are running out of paper and could be forced to stop sales altogether until the banks open again. The island’s biggest selling newssheet, Emp... More »
MILAN British mobile phone giant Vodafone has reached an agreement with Mediaset to offer pay-TV content of the Italian broadcaster to its customers in the southern European country, the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. The offer, which bun... More »
NEW YORK From rubber-soled footwear in the 1830s to a spike running shoe in the 1860s and luxury creations by designers Christian Louboutin and Prada, a new exhibit traces the history of sneakers from their humble beginnings to iconic status. “The Rise of Snea... More »
WASHINGTON It’s not every day a dinosaur gets named after you, so Canadian fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda celebrated in a unique way. “I got a new tattoo of my dinosaur recently to show it off. It is pretty exciting for me,” said Sloboda, who first spotted the fo... More »
AMIENS, France After a three-year hiatus live coverage of the Tour de France is again being broadcast on public television in Germany and is enjoying increased attention buoyed by the success of their riders. German TV has had a troubled relationship with the ... More »
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian police raided the office of troubled state investment fund 1MDB on Wednesday, following a report that claimed investigators looking into the firm found nearly $700 million had been transferred to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank account... More »
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. Authorities conducted a day-long search inside the Indiana home of Subway sandwich chain pitchman Jared Fogle on Tuesday, two months after the executive director of Fogle’s foundation was arrested on federal child pornography charges. As autho... More »
GUATEMALA CITY Guatemala’s forensic authority declared on Tuesday that ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt is mentally unfit to be tried again on genocide charges, two years after a historic conviction of the former strongman was thrown out on a technicality. The Na... More »
LONDON Andy Murray goes to the dogs, or more precisely the puppies, in a video released on Tuesday which shows him playing at Wimbledon with five cocker spaniels being trained to become sniffer dogs. The six-week-old puppies are being raised by the Metropolita... More »
SYDNEY Nick Kyrgios has accused Olympic great Dawn Fraser of being a “blatant racist” after she said tennis players should “go back to where their parents came from” if they did not set a better example to Australian youth. The former champion swimmer, after i... More »
ATHENS Euclid Tsakalotos, the mild-tempered professor who was appointed as Greece’s new finance minister on Monday, is a clear change in style from his combative predecessor Yanis Varoufakis. The 55-year-old Tsakalotos studied at prestigious private London sch... More »
SAN FRANCISCO When it comes to dashboard displays that are more like smart phones, two things are clear: Customers want them, and automakers are intent on supplying them. But are they really a good idea? Car companies answer with an emphatic yes. They say outs... More »
LONDON Governments around the world should increase taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to save lives and generate funds for stronger health services, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. In a report entitled “The Global Tobacco Epid... More »
TOKYO Sakari Momoi, who was recognized as the world’s oldest man and credited healthy eating and getting plenty of sleep for his longevity, has died at the age of 112, Japanese media said on Tuesday. Momoi was born in an area of Fukushima hit hard by the tsuna... More »
MONTREUX, Switzerland Pop star Lady Gaga and crooner Tony Bennett brought a mix of Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and even Edith Piaf to a sell-out crowd spanning generations at the Montreux Jazz Festival on Monday night. Legendary producer Quincy ... More »
LOS ANGELES Comedian Bill Cosby testified in 2005 that he had obtained Quaaludes with the intent of giving the sedatives to young women in order to have sex with them, according to court documents unsealed on Monday. Cosby, 77, made the admission during testim... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Reddit Chief Executive Ellen Pao on Monday issued an apology to users of the popular social news platform over the way the company handled the dismissal of a well-liked employee last week, a move that drew widespread outrage from users. The site’... More »
LOS ANGELES The “happiest place on Earth” will keep a special tax exemption in Anaheim, California, for 30 more years if the City Council approves the Walt Disney Co’s plan for a $1 billion-plus expansion of its theme park complex in the city. The five-member ... More »
LOS ANGELES Comedian Bill Cosby testified in 2005 to obtaining Quaaludes with the intent of giving the sedatives to young women to have sex, according to court documents unsealed on Monday. Cosby, 77, made the admission during his testimony in a civil case bro... More »
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A new app designed to educate young people about female genital mutilation (FGM) was launched in Britain on Tuesday amid a government crackdown on people who take girls abroad to undergo the practice during the summer holi... More »
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Religious groups are an under-used health resource that could help achieve universal healthcare and accelerate the medical response to disease outbreaks, health experts said on Tuesday. Faith-based organizations such as th... More »
CHARLESTON, S.C. South Carolina lawmakers took a step on Monday toward removing the Confederate battle flag that flies at the state house in Columbia, long denounced as a symbol of slavery by critics. A bill to banish the flag from a Civil War memorial on the ... More »
MUNICH/FRANKFURT German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and German publishing house Axel Springer have reignited talks for a merger, seeking to consolidate their push into digital media, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Axel Springer, the publis... More »
WASHINGTON After days of outrage, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday that some of his criticism of Mexico has been distorted but stuck to his stance that many illegal immigrants coming across the Mexican border are criminals.A new st... More »
NEW YORK A Bronx, New York clothing designer suing Jay Z for royalties from the Roc-A-Fella Records logo is seeking the recusal of a federal judge overseeing the $7 million lawsuit. In a Monday court filing, plaintiff Dwayne Walker said U.S. Magistrate Judge R... More »
LA PAZ A Bolivian avant-garde restaurant hopes this week to serve a well-known non-paying customer and receive a holy seal of approval for its new creation: a quinoa-based communion wafer. Chefs at the restaurant, Gustu, in La Paz expect Pope Francis to receiv... More »
NEW YORK The world’s oldest living person, the daughter of sharecroppers and granddaughter of slaves, celebrated her 116th birthday on Monday in New York. Susannah Mushatt Jones marked the occasion privately with family but a public celebration is planned for ... More »
NEW YORK Greece’s sound rejection of a bailout at a referendum on Sunday increased the chances it may leave the euro zone, but Athens and its creditors could still reach a deal, said a top strategist for BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager. “It do... More »
CHICAGO The Grateful Dead gave what they say will be their last group performance on Sunday, playing to some 70,000 singing, dancing and tearful fans in Chicago’s Soldier Field. The four surviving members of the band ended their 50-year-run this weekend with t... More »
FRANKFURT The euro may be facing an existential crisis but the giant 14-metre sculpture of the euro symbol that towers over downtown Frankfurt, home of the European Central Bank, was still getting its biggest makeover in 13 years on Monday. Considered an eyeso... More »
DENVER Republican 2016 presidential hopefuls Scott Walker and Rick Santorum are suggesting a potentially controversial way to boost Americans’ job prospects: admit fewer legal immigrants into the United States. The notion, absent from presidential politics for... More »
ZURICH Tunisia has filed an objection to HSBC’s agreement to pay 40 million Swiss francs ($43 million) to settle a money laundering investigation at its Swiss private bank, a lawyer representing the North African country said on Monday. After four months of in... More »
LONDON The sun was out for double-Grammy-award-winning U.S. rapper Kendrick Lamar this weekend as he performed an energetic set of his hits to an enraptured young North London crowd. On stage at the Wireless festival on Saturday, less than a week after winnin... More »
ZURICH Tunisia has filed an objection to HSBC’s agreement to pay 40 million Swiss francs ($42.5 million) to settle a money laundering investigation at its Swiss private bank, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday. After four months of inquiries Ge... More »
ZURICH Greece has proposed a tax amnesty in an effort to collect revenue on billions of euros that its citizens are believed to have quietly stashed in Swiss bank accounts, the NZZ am Sonntag paper reported. The plan, which still needs Greek parliamentary appr... More »
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Inside Out” delivered the firepower at the five-day holiday weekend box office as it finished in first ahead of “Jurassic World” and new entries “Terminator: Genisys” and “Magic Mike XXL.” In a tight race, Disney-Pixar’s animated c... More »
LONDON British finance minister George Osborne plans to launch a 650 million pound raid on the BBC to help cover the country’s benefits bill, forcing the corporation to meet the cost of free television licences for the over-75s, the Sunday Times said. It quote... More »
LONDON A restored World War Two Spitfire which was shot down over northern France in 1940 is expected to raise about $3 million for charity when it goes up for auction in London next week. The wreckage of the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1A was recovered in... More »
PARIS French media group Vivendi pushed out Rodolphe Belmer as chief of its Canal Plus unit on Friday amid disappointment over what one source said was a failure to rejuvenate the pay-TV channel and halt a drop in sales and profits. The move came amid a high-p... More »
SAO PAULO Swiss lender UBS AG made a whistleblower deal with Brazilian authorities investigating the suspected rigging of Brazil’s currency market and will receive no punishment in the case, a local newspaper reported on Friday. The investigation, which involv... More »
HONOLULU A Swiss man attempting to circumnavigate the globe with an aircraft powered only by the sun’s energy has broken a world record for the longest non-stop solo flight, the project team said on Thursday. The Solar Impulse, which took off from Japan on Mon... More »
NEW YORK Investors pulled $3 billion in assets from Pacific Investment Management Co’s flagship fund in June, compared with $2.7 billion the previous month, in another sign Pimco is stabilizing since last fall’s departure of star manager Bill Gross. The Pimco ... More »
WASHINGTON Woolly mammoths spent their lives enduring extreme Arctic conditions including frigid temperatures, an arid environment and the relentless cycle of dark winters and bright summers. An exhaustive genetic analysis of these bygone Ice Age giants and th... More »
LONDON The British Broadcasting Corporation will cut more than 1,000 jobs to cover a 150-million-pound gap in license fee income next financial year as millions of viewers turn off their televisions and watch programs on tablets and mobile phones. The BBC, the... More »
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis will decide for himself if he chews coca leaves in order to ward off altitude sickness when he lands next week at La Paz, Bolivia, the highest international airport in the world, the Vatican said on Tuesday. A Bolivian minister said o... More »
TUNIS Tunisia expects to lose at least $515 million this year, or about a quarter of its estimated annual tourism earnings, following last Friday’s attack on a beach hotel that killed 39 people, mostly British holidaymakers. The attack by a gunman on the Imper... More »
NEW YORK Puerto Rico’s governor on Monday called for the commonwealth to be allowed to restructure its debts under U.S. bankruptcy code, while a newly appointed adviser to the U.S. territory said it is “insolvent” and will soon run out of cash. Governor Alejan... More »
TOKYO Two passengers on a Japanese Shinkansen bullet train died after one doused himself in oil and set himself ablaze on Tuesday, media reports said. The train, carrying about 1,000 passengers, made an emergency stop on its way from Tokyo to the western city ... More »
WASHINGTON More than half a billion years ago, a peculiar little creature with rows of spikes on its back and delicate, feather-like front limbs to strain bits of food from the water thrived in the primordial seas of what is now China. Scientists on Monday ann... More »
MEXICO CITY A television company controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has canceled a project with real estate developer and TV personality Donald Trump after his comments insulting Mexicans, Slim’s spokesman said on Monday. This is the third company t... More »
FRANKFURT Talks to resolve a pay dispute at German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) have made enough progress to lift the threat of any immediate work stoppages, flight attendants’ union UFO said early on Tuesday. Lufthansa had faced a June 30 deadline to make conc... More »
SACRAMENTO, Calif. California lawmakers on Monday sent Governor Jerry Brown a bill to substantially limit vaccine exemptions for school children in the most populous U.S. state, following last year’s measles outbreak at Disneyland that sickened more than 100 p... More »
NEW YORK Jeffrey Gundlach, a widely followed investor who oversees DoubleLine Capital, said in an interview on Monday his firm had purchased “lots of Treasuries and Ginnie Maes” on Friday, ahead of new developments in the Greek and Puerto Rico crises. The U.S.... More »
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Larry Kramer’s confrontational style has mellowed. Now 80, the playwright, novelist and AIDS activist, speaks softly and looks almost frail in a big leather armchair in his New York apartment overlooking Washington Squar... More »
NEW YORK European shares fell broadly Monday as Greece edged closer to defaulting on its debt, yet some U.S. equity fund managers said that they were waiting for further declines before they considered it a buying opportunity. “We’re not in oversold territory ... More »
LOS ANGELES Mike may have the magic, but it’s the ladies that have the control in “Magic Mike XXL,” as five buff men cater to the female gaze in the supercharged raunchy male stripper movie sequel. The film, out in U.S. theaters July 1, follows 2012’s surprise... More »
SYDNEY Justin Bieber arrived in Sydney on Monday to attend a week-long gathering at a Hillsong pentecostal church, after the pop star this year vowed to discard his hard-partying image. “Justin is here, like tens of thousands of others, as a delegate who is se... More »
LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) – The party wasn’t as wild the second time around. Universal’s “Ted 2” debuted to an underwhelming $32.9 million across 3,442 theaters, roughly $15 million less than most analysts had expected the pot-smoking teddy bear comedy would ... More »
WASHINGTON In the political equivalent of “get off my lawn,” Donald Trump on Friday declared his Miami golf course off limits to anyone from the Spanish-language broadcast company Univision over its decision to dump the Miss USA beauty pageant. Trump’s inflamm... More »
CHICAGO Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage will give a huge boost to the retirement security of LGBT Americans. That will be especially true in the realm of Social Security – where it pays to be married. The ruling will affect everything f... More »
NEW YORK Aerialists descend in a giant chandelier and lift a guest back up with them, a showgirl leads an audience member back in time to a 1920s Parisian nightclub and actors single out guests for a mysterious experience yet to come. Immersive theater product... More »
