Election underscores Ghana’s democratic reputation

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Voters in Ghana selected their next president Friday in a ballot expected to mark the sixth transparent election in this West African nation, known as a beacon of democracy in a tumultuous region.Proud of their democratic heritage, residents of this balmy, seaside capital trudged to the polls more than four hours before the sun was even up, standing inches apart in queues that...

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Relationship Ranch: Couples’ Therapy with Horses

It’s fascinating to watch a man trying to win back the love of his life by talking to a horse.Horse therapy has been used for decades to help treat people with physical disabilities or learning disorders, but now they are also being used in an unconventional form of couples counseling.Watch the full story on “Nightline” tonight at 11:35 p.m. ETNancy Hamilton and Lottie Grimes are marriage therapists...

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Reinhold Weege, creator of “Night Court,” dies at 63

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Reinhold Weege, the creator of the hit NBC sitcom “Night Court,” has died, a spokeswoman for the family told TheWrap. He was 63 years old.He also wrote for other notable television shows, including “Barney Miller” and “M*A*S*H.”However, it was “Night Court,” a show that poked gentle fun at bureaucratic absurdity, that would become his signature work. The series centered...

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Crisis dims German growth hopes

7 December 2012 Last updated at 07:58 ETGermany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, has cut its growth forecast for next year, saying the country’s economy might be entering a recession.Growth in 2013 is now expected to be just 0.4%, compared with a forecast in June of 1.6%, but is expected to bounce back to 1.9% in 2014.Meanwhile, industrial output fell a steeper-than-expected 2.6% in October.It comes...

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Ghana election, test of democratic reputation

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Voters in Ghana were selecting their next president and a 275-seat parliament in elections Friday, solidifying the West African nation‘s reputation as a beacon of democracy in the region.Some 14 million people are expected to turn out. President John Dramani Mahama, in office for only five months, is running against seven contenders. A former vice president, Mahama became president...

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Strong quake hits off Japan near Fukushima disaster zone

TOKYO (Reuters) – A strong quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered a one-meter tsunami in an area devastated by last year’s Fukushima disaster, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious damage.The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the U.S. Geological Survey said, adding that there was no risk of a widespread tsunami.The...

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Deportation looms for tech guru McAfee after heart drama

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Software guru John McAfee, fighting deportation to Belize, was rushed to a hospital in Guatemala on Thursday shortly after his asylum request was rejected, but a suspected heart attack turned out to be stress in a fresh twist to the saga.The 67-year-old U.S. computer software pioneer was taken swiftly from a hospital in a police car out of the sight of media, after earlier...

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Stock index futures fall, focus on jobs data

LONDON (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 falling 0.1 to 0.2 percent.U.S. non-farm employment, due at 8.30 a.m. EST, is forecast to have risen by 93,000 jobs last month after gaining 171,000 in October, according to a Reuters survey. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 7.9...

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South Africa military plane crashes in mountains

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African military aircraft on an unknown mission to an area near the village where former President Nelson Mandela lives crashed in a mountain range, officials said Thursday. It was unclear whether there were any survivors.The Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, had taken off from Pretoria’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday night, said Brig. Gen. Xolani...

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Zynga Wants to Get into the Gambling Business

Zynga recently filed a preliminary application for a gambling license in Nevada. We’re not talking about gambling with Farmville credits, either. We’re talking cold hard cash.RELATED: Irish Olympic Athlete Accused of Betting on an OpponentGetting a gaming license is no easy task in Nevada. The paperwork that Zynga filed this week is just the beginning of a process that the company’s executives...

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Treat nutrition and cancer research cautiously: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Studies suggesting that everything from cinnamon to lobster either raises or lowers a person’s risk of cancer may sometimes be a bunch of baloney, a new report suggests.Researchers created a list of 50 random food items, then found studies from the last 35 years that claimed risks or benefits for the majority them. But most of the claims were based on weak evidence.“We...

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UK’s Kate leaves hospital after morning sickness

LONDON (Reuters) – Prince William‘s pregnant wife Kate left the King Edward VII hospital in central London on Thursday where she had spent four days being treated for acute morning sickness.Accompanied by her husband, Kate, 30, appeared at the steps of the hospital smiling and holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. Neither she nor William spoke to waiting reporters before being driven way.Kate, who...

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EADS EGM scheduled for first quarter: source

BERLIN (Reuters) – EADS will call an extraordinary general meeting in the first quarter of next year to seek approval of a planned overhaul of its shareholders structure, a source at the German economy ministry said on Thursday.Nations in EADS on Wednesday agreed on the biggest shake-up of the European aerospace group since it was founded over a decade ago, opting after years of uneasy cohabitation...

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Sri Lanka see backlash from Aussie ‘wounded soldiers’

(Reuters) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has warned his team to be wary of a backlash from Australia in their three-test series after the hosts were stung by their series defeat to South Africa earlier this week.Australia’s hopes of snatching the Proteas’ top test ranking ended in a crushing 309-run defeat in the third and final test in Perth on Monday, but Jayawardene took little comfort...

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India’s Strides Arcolab, Eli Lilly in generic cancer drug tie-up

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s Strides Arcolab and Eli Lilly will jointly manufacture and distribute generic cancer drugs for developing markets, the drugmakers said on Wednesday, as the U.S. company looks to expand its presence in emerging markets.The tie-up is the latest in a line of agreements between ‘Big Pharma’ companies eyeing greater access to high-growth emerging markets, and Indian companies...

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“Family Guy” executive producer lands animated cop series with Fox

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Despite – or perhaps because of – a robust cartoon slate that includes “The Simpsons,” “American Dad” and “Family Guy,” Fox apparently feels that it’s just not animated enough.The network has given a 13-episode order to a new animated series, “Murder Police,” from “Family Guy” executive producer David Goodman and Jason Ruiz, Fox said Tuesday.The series, which will be produced...

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Stock futures signal gains at open

PARIS (Reuters) – Stocks were indicated to open higher on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.35 percent, Dow Jones up 0.43 percent and Nasdaq 100 up 0.41 percent at 4:55 a.m. EDT.* European shares resumed a recent sharp rally on Wednesday after comments from China’s new leader boosted global growth expectations.* Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping said the country will maintain...

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Officials: NATO to decide on missiles for Turkey

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are expected to approve Turkey‘s request for Patriot anti-missile systems to bolster its defense against possible strikes from neighboring Syria.NATO foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels. Parliaments in both nations must approve the deployment, which would also involve several hundred soldiers.Ankara, which has been highly supportive...

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Yahoo sees several flaws in $2.7 billion Mexico ruling: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc believes it has “numerous” grounds to appeal a Mexico City civil court‘s $ 2.7 billion preliminary judgment against the company, including both errors in procedure and in application of law, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.The ruling in the case, which involves allegations of breach of contract related to an online yellow pages listings...

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U.S. hospital chain HMA’s shares fall after TV report

(Reuters) – Shares of Health Management Associates Inc fell about 5 percent on Monday after the television news program 60 Minutes aired a story describing aggressive patient admissions policies allegedly pursued at the company’s U.S. hospitals.The story included interviews with several former employees of the hospital chain who said they were pressured to meet quotas for admitting patients.HMA Senior...

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Kutcher’s Steve Jobs, Gordon-Levitt among Sundance premieres

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ashton Kutcher‘s turn as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s directorial debut about a modern day Don Juan are leading a slew of star-studded premieres unveiled Monday for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.Kutcher stars in “Jobs,” a biographical look at the career rise of Jobs from wayward hippie to charismatic inventor and entrepreneur, which Sundance said...

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Investors’ Risky Bet on the Ghost of Freddie Past

The post-bailout world abounds with financial incongruities. Witness: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or “Freddie Mac,” the government-sponsored agency that by its own admission “makes home possible for one in four home buyers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing.” Since the beginning of 2009, it has provided nearly $ 1.6 trillion of funding to the U.S. mortgage...

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Gunmen assassinate peasant leader in Paraguay

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Gunmen murdered one of the surviving leaders of a peasant movement whose land dispute with a powerful politician prompted the end of Fernando Lugo‘s presidency last June.Vidal Vega, 48, was hit four times early Saturday by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report...

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Holiday fitness gifts trend from high-tech to basic

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Looking for the perfect holiday present for a fitness fan? Gift offerings this year range from apps that can store a run in the country to be viewed later to gadgets so sophisticated they measure quality of sleep as well as calories burned.There is also the revival of the humble foam roller, which experts say, like old-time push-ups, squats and planks, has never been more popular.Anita...

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Letterman, Hoffman, Zeppelin honored by Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — David Letterman‘s “stupid human tricks” and Top 10 lists vaulted into the ranks of cultural acclaim Sunday night as the late-night comedian received this year’s Kennedy Center Honors with rock band Led Zeppelin, an actor, a ballerina and a bluesman.Stars from New York, Hollywood and the music world joined President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday night to salute the honorees,...

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Global firms’ tax pay ‘an insult’

3 December 2012 Last updated at 05:44 ETGlobal firms in the UK that pay little or no tax are an “insult” to British businesses, a committee of MPs says.Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) needed to be “more aggressive and assertive in confronting corporate tax avoidance”.Multinationals such as Starbucks and Amazon have come under fire for paying little...

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