UPDATE 1-Baseball-MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

* HGH and testosterone testing to be used this season* WADA-accredited lab hails toughness of new MLB testing (Adds details, quotes)Jan 10 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.The advanced testing will start this season,...

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MLB to expand blood testing for HGH

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — Major League Baseball will test for human growth hormone throughout the regular season and increase efforts to detect abnormal levels of testosterone, a decision the NFL used to pressure its players.Baseball players were subject to blood testing for HGH during spring training last year, and Thursday's agreement between management and the Major League Baseball Players...

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UPDATE 2-Baseball-MLB, players agree to expand drug testing

* HGH and testosterone testing to be used this season* WADA-accredited lab hails toughness of new MLB testing (Adds USADA comment in paras 5-7)Jan 10 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to expand their drug program to include random in-season blood testing for human growth hormone and a new test for testosterone, they said on Thursday.The advanced testing will start...

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Haiti plans low-key ceremony to mark quake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Haitian government plans a low-key ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the country.Haitian President Michel Martelly will preside over what an adviser calls a "subdued" memorial at the grounds of the former national palace.Presidential adviser Damian Merlo said Saturday's memorial would be a small public event with just senior...

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Argentine court charges officials for train crash

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine court is charging two former government officials and the owners of a train company in connection with a crash that killed 51 people last year.The Buenos Aires federal court on Friday ratified charges previously filed against former transportation secretaries Juan Pablo Schiavi and Ricardo Jaime.The court also charged Sergio and Mario Cirigliano, owners...

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Partial victory for Bolivia in coca fight

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Evo Morales' global crusade to decriminalize the coca leaf, launched in 2006 after the coca growers' union leader was first elected president of Bolivia, has finally attained a partial, if largely, symbolic victory.A year ago, Bolivia temporarily withdrew from the 1961 U.N. convention on narcotic drugs because it classifies coca leaf, the raw material of cocaine, as an illicit...

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Venezuela VP to travel to Cuba see Chavez, family

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president said he will travel to Cuba on Friday to visit ailing President Hugo Chavez and his family.Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced his trip on television, saying he would also meet with Chavez's medical team. The government says the Venezuelan leader is fighting a severe respiratory infection a month after he underwent cancer surgery in Havana."I'm...

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Cubans eager to try new law easing travel rules

HAVANA (AP) — Like many Cubans, 16-year-old Ana Liliam Garcia is excited at the thought of seeing the world beyond this Communist-run island smaller than the state of Pennsylvania.Once an impossibility, today she dreams of meeting several relatives in Florida — and maybe even Mickey Mouse."My cousins and my uncles, they're all in Miami," Garcia said, her eyes lighting up as she talked about a new...

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Manning puts winning streaks on line against Ravens

(Reuters) - Peyton Manning, who has mounted a remarkable comeback with the Broncos, will be aiming to extend two big winning streaks when Denver hosts the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League playoffs on Saturday.Manning and the Broncos are gunning for their 12th win in a row this season in the divisional round against the Ravens, a team he has beaten nine consecutive times, with eight...

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Jaguars no longer want hometown hero Tim Tebow

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Tebow won't be playing for his hometown team.The Jacksonville Jaguars made it clear Thursday that they have no plans to pursue the popular and polarizing New York Jets backup quarterback.The Jets are likely to release the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and Jacksonville native during the offseason, and many believed Tebow would land with the Jaguars.But new general manager...

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Steelers cut Rainey after domestic violence arrest

(Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut rookie running back Chris Rainey following his arrest for a domestic battery, the National Football League team said on Thursday."Chris Rainey's actions this morning were extremely disappointing," said Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert in a statement on the team's website. "Under the circumstances and due to this conduct, Chris will no longer be a...

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Sony uses movie studio to press ultra-HD advantage

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Sony Corp. is finally pressing its advantage as a conglomerate that owns both high-tech gadgets and the content that plays on them by being the only electronics maker to offer ultra-HD TVs — and a way to get movies to the new super clear screens.Ultra-high definition TVs, which quadruple the number of pixels of current high definition technology, have been the talk of the International...

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Spending on consumer electronics will climb to $1.1 trillion in 2013

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, worldwide spending on consumer gadgets will reach $1.1 trillion in 2013. The CEA, which organizes the Consumer Electronics Show set to kick off on Tuesday, said global consumer spending on electronics will grow 4% over 2012 after having dipped roughly 1% last year. The estimate comes from Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for the CEA, and...

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With BlackBerry 10, there’s no place like home

Research In Motion (RIMM) has a steep hill to climb as it prepares to unveil its next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system later this month. Launching sleek new BlackBerry 10 handsets that prompt a healthy portion of its current user base to upgrade is of the utmost importance, of course. Just as important, however, is creating a user experience that showcases compelling differentiation and...

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AIG decides not to join Greenberg suit against government: WSJ

(Reuters) - American International Group Inc will not join a lawsuit against the U.S. government challenging the terms of the insurer's 2008 bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.AIG had said its board was meeting Wednesday to consider the possibility of joining the suit filed by former CEO Hank Greenber...

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Morgan Stanley cuts 1,600 jobs as business languishes

 Morgan Stanley plans to cut 1,600 employees starting this week, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of a pullback on Wall Street as revenue from trading and deal-making remains in the doldrums.The staff reduction pertains to Morgan Stanley's institutional securities unit - which includes sales, trading and investment banking, and whose staff will be reduced...

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Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Boeing up

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednesday after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a good start.The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 61.66 points to 13,390.51, its first gain of the week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.87 points to 1,461.02, and the Nasdaq composite rose 14 to 3,105.81.Having rallied after a last-minute resolution stopped the U.S. from going over...

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American Football-Alabama crush Notre Dame to win championship

MIAMI (Reuters) - Alabama's 'Crimson Tide' swept aside Notre Dame in the BCS Championship game on Monday, dominating the 'Fighting Irish' 42-14 to win their third college football title in four years. Notre Dame, 12-0 in the regular season, had been looking for their first national title since 1988 but were all at sea against irresistible Alabama, who set the tone of the game with an utterly one-sided...

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American Football-Saban completes Crimson dynasty

MIAMI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban secured his status as one of the greats of college football on Monday, guiding the 'Crimson Tide' to their third national title in four years with a crushing 42-14 victory over Notre Dame.In the same Sun Life Stadium where he endured a brief, fruitless and unhappy experience as an NFL head coach with the Miami Dolphins, Saban tasted...

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Saban completes Crimson dynasty

MIAMI (Reuters) - University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban secured his status as one of the greats of college football on Monday, guiding the 'Crimson Tide' to their third national title in four years with a crushing 42-14 victory over Notre Dame.In the same Sun Life Stadium where he endured a brief, fruitless and unhappy experience as an NFL head coach with the Miami Dolphins, Saban tasted college...

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Japan PM: Will pursue bold monetary policy, big fiscal spending

 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated on Monday his call for bold monetary easing by the central bank, big fiscal spending and an economic growth strategy as steps towards conquering deflation."Above all, the urgent task is to beat deflation," Abe told a meeting of officials from the government and ruling parties."A bold monetary policy, a flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy...

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Google executive chairman heading to NKorea

BEIJING (AP) — The Google chairman wants a first-hand look at North Korea's economy and social media in his private visit Monday to the communist nation, his delegation said, despite misgivings in Washington over the timing of the trip.Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of one of the world's biggest Internet companies, is the highest-profile U.S. executive to visit North Korea — a country with notoriously...

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Global economy: U.S. and China leave feeble Europe in their wake

The economies of the United States, China and much of the developing world have decoupled from Europe, leaving it to wallow in various stages of recession and fiscal disarray.That is one reason why the key economic event of the coming week will be a European Central Bank meeting almost totally focused on how far policymakers will go to boost growth.Although there are some signs that a bottom may...

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Venezuelan VP says he has visited Chavez twice

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president says he has visited ailing President Hugo Chavez twice in Cuba and plans to return home to Caracas.Vice President Nicolas Maduro says he spoke with Chavez during their visits. Maduro says the president has "the same strength as always," despite a health situation that he described as complex three weeks after his cancer surgery.Maduro says he will...

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Venezuelans on edge amid shifting news on Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez alike nervously welcomed the new year Tuesday, left on edge by shifting signals from the government about the Venezuelan leader's condition three weeks after cancer surgery in Cuba.With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised interview in Cuba that he had...

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Chavez's VP says ailing leader still 'delicate'

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president is returning home Wednesday from a visit with Hugo Chavez in Cuba and says the ailing president's condition remains "delicate" three weeks after his cancer surgery.With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that he had met with the president twice and had spoken with him."He's totally...

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Fed's Plosser: U.S. unemployment to fall under 7 percent by end - 2013

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said on Friday that he expected U.S. unemployment to decline to between 6.8 percent and 7.0 percent by the end of this year, helped by economic growth of around 3 percent in both 2013 and 2014.Plosser also told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the American Economic Association that he hoped the U.S. central...

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Italy PM Monti says not eyeing role of finance minister in next government

ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Friday he was aiming to lead the next government and he was unlikely to agree to be economy minister in another premier's cabinet after February elections."I do not think I would have the motivation to commit myself to serve a government that did not agree with me on at least 98 percent of policy," he said when asked whether he...

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Fed's Plosser: U.S. potential growth rate has likely been lowered

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said on Friday that the United States had likely suffered a lasting decline in the trend potential growth rate of its economy as a result of the severe 2007-2009 U.S. recession."It certainly looks like we've had a permanent shock," he told a panel discussion on the real business cycle during the annual meeting of the American...

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Britain extradites al Qaeda suspect to U.S

LONDON (Reuters) - A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al Qaeda operative who took part in a plot to bomb U.S. and English targets was extradited from Britain to the United States on Thursday to face terrorism charges.Abid Naseer, 26, was one of a dozen men arrested in April 2009 on suspicion of preparing to cause mass casualties by bombing Manchester city centre in northern...

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Icelandic girl fights for right to her own name

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Call her the girl with no name.A 15-year-old is suing the Icelandic state for the right to legally use the name given to her by her mother. The problem? Blaer, which means "light breeze" in Icelandic, is not on a list approved by the government.Like a handful of other countries, including Germany and Denmark, Iceland has official rules about what a baby can be named. In a...

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Better margins a bonus for Next as Christmas sales rise

Next, Britain's No.2 clothing retailer, nudged its full-year profit forecast higher after an increase in sales over the Christmas period was supplemented by improved margins due to a renewed attack on costs.Shares in Next, which has a long-standing policy of never going on sale before December 26, rose 2.3 percent on Thursday, topping the FTSE 100 leader board, after it forecast profit growth in both...

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Basque group announces it is dissolving

BAYONNE, France (AP) — The Basque nationalist group known as Batasuna — legal in France but banned in Spain — has announced that it is dissolving after 11 years.It leaders said Thursday that Batasuna, which means "unity," is dissolving because "the Basque country is witnessing a new political phase."In Spain, Batasuna has been outlawed since 2003 for its links to the separatist group ETA, but in France...

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British zoos start annual census

LONDON (AP) — In a sea of flapping black and white flippers, Ricky is hard to miss: He's got spiky yellow feathers, a flamboyant character, and he's the only rockhopper among the dozens of penguins living in the London Zoo.That's a big help for keepers embarking on their annual stock-taking of all the zoo's residents. It's no easy task, when there are more than 17,500 creatures to count. All animals...

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