YEREVAN, Armenia – A longshot candidate for the Armenian presidency was shot in the chest by an unidentified gunman late Thursday, officials said. Paruir Airikian was hospitalized in stable condition as police searched for the shooter, while the speaker of parliament suggested the election could be delayed.
Carlsberg signs JV deal to enter Myanmar
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish brewer Carlsberg has signed a deal with a privately owned local beverage company, Myanmar Golden Star (MGS) Breweries, to brew and market Carlsberg beers in the country. Carlsberg said in a statement on Friday that the companies pl an to set up a new greenfield brewery and distribute Carlsberg beers in the local market. The joint venture is 51 percent owned by Carlsberg, the brewer said. (Reporting by Copenhagen Newsroom; Editing by Ken Wills) Iraqi president's absence leaves political hole
BAGHDAD (AP) -- President Jalal Talabani’s unexpected exit from Iraqi politics couldn’t have come at a worse time for his nation, threatened by mounting antagonism among Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites.
Jailed Pussy Riot member suffering headaches, fatigue: bandmate
MOSCOW (Reuters) – One of the jailed members of Russian punk protest collective Pussy Riot has been moved to a prison with a hospital after suffering headaches and fatigue, her bandmate said in remarks broadcast on Friday. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, was one of three women sentenced to two years in prison for a "punk prayer" in Russia's main cathedral last February in which they called on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin. Tolokonnikova was sent to a Corrective Colony No. 14 in the Mordovia region after losing her appeal in October. … Canada stuns South Africa 26-15 at Wellington Sevens rugby tournament
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Canada pulled off an exciting 26-15 upset over South Africa on Friday in its second game at the Wellington Sevens tournament.
China factories in mild rebound amid patch Asia recover
BEIJING (Reuters) – Asia's manufacturers face a challenging business climate in the coming months, a clutch of surveys suggested on Friday, with China's vast factory sector managing only a shallow rebound at the start of 2013 as feebl e foreign demand dragged on sales. Two separate versions of China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed on Friday that factory output in the world's second-biggest economy rose in January, but the pace of the revival in activity was uneven. The patchy nature of the recovery on Chinese factory floors was repeated in other PMI releases across Asia. … Analysis: Beef price spike makes $1 McDouble harder to stomach
(Reuters) – McDonald's popular $1 McDouble cheeseburger, which has lured customers to the Golden Arches since 2008, is getting hard to sustain as rising beef prices threaten the company's profit margin. The world's biggest restaurant chain launched a competing $1 Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger in December. It also made the new sandwich – with one beef patty rather than the McDouble's two – a star of current television commercials, a status it shares with the McDouble. … Cricket-West Indies v Australia - first ODI scoreboard
PERTH, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Scoreboard after the West Indies innings in the first one-day international against Australia at the WACA on Friday. West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first. West Indies innings C. Gayle c Finch b McKay 4 K. Powell c Clarke b Starc 11 R. Sarwan b Starc 0 Darren Bravo c Clarke b Faulkner 11 Dwayne Bravo c Hughes b Starc 0 K. Pollard b Starc 0 D. Thomas c Clarke b Faulkner 3 D. Sammy c Bailey b McKay 16 J Holder b Starc 7 S. Narine c Wade b McKay 0 K. Roach not out 1 Extras (b-8 lb-3 w-6) 17 Total (all out; 23. …
Canada's Kingsbury, Bilodeau finished 1-2 at World Cup moguls event
DEER VALLEY, Utah – Consistency was the key for Mikael Kingsbury on Thursday.
Death toll in Mexico oil company office explosion climbs to 25 with 101 injured
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s interior minister says 25 people have died in an office building explosion at the state oil company headquarters.
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares wiped earlier gains on Friday as a tepid Chinese manufacturing report dented sentiment, leav ing investors on tenterhooks ahead of U.S. nonfarm payroll data due at 1330 GMT. China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) eased to 50.4 in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, missing market expectations for a rise and underscoring the fragility of the recovery from the economy's weakest year since 1999. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain's healthcare cost watchdog NICE said on Friday it was not able to recommend a new diabetes drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, and has asked for more information from the companies. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been considering Forxiga, or dapagliflozin, as an add-on therapy for use with other medicines, including insulin. NICE, which decides if drugs should be paid for on the state health service, also said it had issued draft guidance not recommending Roche's Avastin for ovarian cancer. … 
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – As night fell over Benghazi, a familiar sound echoed across the eastern Libyan city – an explosion, and then gunfire. A bomb had just been thrown at a police car on patrol, injuring an officer. It was the latest of many attacks on local security forces. Two months before, the man whose job it was to ensure Benghazi was safe, the police chief, was shot dead outside his home. … 
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- An explosion at the main headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company in the capital Thursday killed 14 people and injured 80 as it heavily damaged three floors of the building, sending hundreds into the streets and a large plume of smoke over the skyline. 
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – An explosion rocked the Mexico City headquarters of state oil giant Pemex on Thursday, k illing one person, injuring more than 20 others and causing extensive damage to the building, officials said. The blast, which media reports said was caused by machinery exploding, hit the lower floors of the building. A local emergency official said one person died and 22 others were injured. Another four people were trapped inside the skyscraper, the official said. "The place shook, we lost power and suddenly there was debris everywhere. … 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Roomy Khan, a one-time technology c ompany executive who became a key FBI informant in the insider-trading case against hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Thursday. Her defense lawyer had sought five years of probation for Khan, 54, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to securities fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan also ordered her to forfeit nearly $1.53 million. "As I reflect back, I am horrified by the choices I made," Khan said. … 
(Reuters) – Pension charges wiped out more than $20 billion in fourth-quarter earnings at major American companies, as persistently low interest rates leave some of those with the largest retiree burde ns no choice but to assume they need more money now to cover liabilities later. Actuaries warn there is little chance for improvement on the horizon for defined benefit pension programs, as rates linger at historically low levels and the Federal Reserve shows no inclination to raise them. The only hope, they say, is for rates to turn around – though when, no one really knows. … 
TIGUENTOURINE, Algeria (Reuters) – Algerian engineers at the In Amenas natural gas plant are working to get at least some of the desert facility back to work in the coming days, two weeks after three dozen foreign workers were killed in an Isl amist hostage siege. Lying deep in the Sahara, the site was surrounded by troops with armored vehicles when Algerian officials gave journalists a first view of the area since gunmen attacked on January 15 and seized hundreds of hostages before the army stormed in four days later. … 
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- An explosion in the basement of a building next to the headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company in the capital left several workers injured Thursday, the company said. 
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Archaeologists say they have turned up about 150 skulls of human sacrifice victims in a field in central Mexico, one of the first times that such a large accumulation of severed heads has been found outside of a major pyramid or temple complex in Mexico. 
TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) -- On the day the French came and the Islamists left, Hawi Traore folded up her veil and tied on a vibrantly-colored wraparound dress. On the next day, she wore heels. On the day after, she got her hair braided and slipped on sparkly earrings. 
TORONTO (Reuters) – Sears Canada , which is struggling with shrinking sales and the looming arrival of Target Corp on the Canadian retail scene, said on Thursday it was laying off 700 workers as part of a plan to "right-size" the operation. The job cuts will incl ude 360 department store staff and about 300 distribution center workers, as well as some head office personnel, said company spokesman Vincent Power. "This is part of our initiative to right-size the organization," he said in an email, noting that the job cuts amount to two to four people per store on average. … 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Signs that Cana dian citizens were involved in the attack by hostage-taking Islamist militants on a remote gas plant in Algeria are of great concern to American authorities, U.S. intelligence officials said on Thursday. While Algerian authorities apparently have not yet provided Western governments with cast-iron proof, a senior U.S. intelligence official said, "We're taking very seriously the reports of the two Canadians' involvement. … 
CAIRO (Reuters) – Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi have called mass demonstrations on Friday, raising the prospect of more bloodshed despite a pledge by politicians to back off after the deadliest week of his seven months in office. Protests marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak have killed nearly 60 people since January 25. It prompted the head of the army – the institution that effectively ran Egypt for six decades until Mursi's election – to warn that the state was on the verge of collapse. … 
WASHINGTON – Congress has approved must-do legislation to permit the government to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars more to meet its obligations, averting a first-ever government default that had loomed as early as mid-February. 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bill allowing the U.S. government to borrow money beyond its record $16.4 trillion debt limit won final congressional approval on Thursday, clearing the way for President Barack Obama to sign it into law. The Democratic -led Senate passed the bill, 64-34, a week after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved it, 285-144. … 
VIENNA (AP) -- In a defiant move ahead of nuclear talks, Iran has announced plans to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment, which can make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of warheads. Eager to avoid scuttling those negotiations, world powers are keeping their response low-key. 
SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) -- Brazilian authorities inspected and shuttered night spots around the country on Thursday as part of a crackdown on unsafe public spaces after a deadly nightclub fire left 235 people dead and shocked the nation. Officials in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Mexico followed Brazil's example and tightened scrutiny on their own nightclubs. 
BEIRUT (AP) -- An Israeli air attack staged in Syria this week may be a sign of things to come. 
CAIRO (AP) -- With near impunity and the backing of the Islamist president, Egyptian police have been accused of firing wildly at protesters, beating them and lashing out with deadly force in clashes across much of the country the past week, regaining their Hosni Mubarak-era notoriety as a tool of repression. 
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Saintilus Resilus' day job this time of year is walking the streets of Haiti's capital with snakes on his head. 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook's prediction that tablets would one day outsell personal computers appears to be coming true. Holiday seaso n shipments of tablet computers touched a record 52.5 million, up 75 percent from a year ago, as consumers snapped up a wide range of the touch-enabled mobile devices and lower priced offerings, according to International Data Corp (IDC), which tracks both markets. Growth of the tablet market handily outpaced that of personal computers, with PC shipments sliding 6.4 percent to 89.8 million in the October-December period. … 
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) – Russell Wasendorf Sr., who admitted looting more than $100 million from broker Peregrine Financial Group in a scheme that shook confidence in the U.S. futures industry, was sentenced to 50 years behind bars on Thursday. Wasendorf was ordered to pay $215.5 million in restitution. Supporters of the disgraced 64-year-old executive had asked Chief Judge Linda Reade of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Iowa for leniency, arguing that Wasendorf is in frail health and that he had helped others even in the midst of his 20-year fraud. … 
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron used a surprise visit to Tripoli on Thursday to pledge Britain's help in training Libya's security forces, part of broader European efforts to counter Islamic militancy in North Africa. In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers approved the outline of a mission to help Libyan authorities tighten border security to combat arms-smuggling and stop militants crossing the border. The training and advisory mission is expected to involve about 70 civilian experts and to be launched by summer. … 
ROME (Reuters) – A court in Rome has summoned Bank of Italy officials for questioning on the state bailout of Monte dei Paschi, as scandal spread over the trading that plunged the world's oldest bank into trouble. The Lazio regional administrative c ourt said in a statement on Wednesday that it had called Deputy Governor Fabrizio Saccomanni and Luigi Federico Signorini, the official in charge of bank supervision, to a hearing on Saturday. The central bank said they would not attend, but would be represented by counsel. … 
(Reuters) – Canada's main stock index looked set to open lower on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve said in its latest statement that economic growth had stalled and as weak German retail sales data hurt investor sentiment. TOP STORIES * The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left in pl ace its monthly $85 billion bond-buying stimulus plan, arguing the support was needed to lower unemployment even as it indicated a recent stall in U.S. economic growth was likely temporary. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Insurers Standard Life and Resolution are most at risk from a regulat ory probe into whether retirees who buy annuities – investment policies that provide a regular income until death – get a fair deal, analysts said. The investigation by the Financial Services Authority will focus on whether people who buy an annuity directly from their pension provider pay more than they would if they shopped around, the watchdog said on Thursday. The regulator will also look into whether insurers hinder their customers from shopping around. … 
BEIRUT (AP) -- Sy ria and Iran have threatened to retaliate for an Israeli air raid near the capital Damascus. 
(Reuters) – Shares of Facebook Inc were set to open 7 percent lower on Thursday as a surge in fourth-quarter mobile advertising revenue failed to live up to Wall Street's high expectations. Three brokerages d owngraded the stock of the No. 1 social network, which has struggled to develop a full-fledged mobile advertising business. Facebook has long established itself as one of the most important websites, but investors have worried that until the company's mobile advertising strategy takes off, revenue growth will remain shaky. … 
LONDON (AP) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to help Libya's police and army Thursday as he made an unannounced visit to the North African country's capital of Tripoli. 
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said that steroids he is taking for a rare skin disease has made him appear to be bloated, t hough the problem is not preventing him from doing his job, according to an interview published on Thursday. "Of late I've been getting too many questions about my appearance and the weight gain," he told the Globe and Mail. He said the disease is pemphigoid and is being treated with the steroid prednisone. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Thursday in an unannounced visit to the north African country, his office in London said. Cameron is scheduled to meet his Libyan counterpart Ali Zeidan, and then expected to hold a joint news conference, which is expected to touch upon the threat of Islamist militancy across the region. "The prime minister landed in Tripoli earlier on Thursday, and will discuss bilateral relations with Libyan officials," a spokeswoman for his Downing Street office said. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Thursday in an unannounced visit to the north African country, his office in London said. Cameron is scheduled to meet his Libyan counterpart Ali Zeidan, and then expected to hold a joint news conference, which is expected to touch upon the threat of Islamist militancy across the region. "The prime minister landed in Tripoli earlier on Thursday, and will discuss bilateral relations with Libyan officials," a spokeswoman for his Downing Street office said. …