It”s a whole new ball of wax in Europe these days. The unusually tight alliance between former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — and the expected compliance from Greece — that has seen Europe reluctantly through the continent”s...

The number of Canadians receiving federal jobless benefits dipped slightly on a monthly basis in March to 549,400, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. That represents 3,400 fewer beneficiaries of Employment Insurance on a monthly basis as the unemployment rate in March was 7.2 percent, the...

U.S. computer maker Hewlett-Packard says it plans to cut 27,000 jobs, 8 percent of its workforce, this year as part of a multiyear restructuring plan. The company made the announcement Wednesday after the markets closed. Analysts had estimated the job cuts would be as high as 35,000. The...

Grain futures were mixed at the close Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade, with corn futures pressured by strong gains in the U.S. dollar index. Corn was up 1/2 to up 6 1/2, soybeans were down 18 1/2 to down 24 1/2, wheat was down 2 to down 17 3/4, oats were down 3 3/6 to down 9. Soybeans...

Gold futures for June delivery fell $28.20, or 1.8 percent, Wednesday to $1,548.40 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver futures for July delivery fell 66 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $27.52 per troy ounce. Concerns about Greece’s ability to...

U.S. stocks closed mostly flat Wednesday as investors reversed the day”s steep losses in late day trading. The markets spent most of the day in decline as the euro dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years amid growing concern Greece could exit the eurozone, the 17 nations that...

Since U.S. President Barack Obama”s visit earlier this month, talk in the Afghan capital has centered almost exclusively on how the United States” and NATO presence will pack its bags on the way out of the country, beginning next year. In country and in the region, Washington...

Communist rebels in the southern Philippines have threatened to attack mining companies, including Toronto Ventures Inc. operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Jorge Madlos, a spokesman for the New People’s Army — the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines — also...

Australia has passed legislation establishing the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corp. to provide grants and government investment to green projects. The legislation, introduced by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, was passed Wednesday, Australia”s Fraser Coast Chronicle...

Jordan, traditionally energy-barren, sits on shale oil deposits that are reported to be the equivalent of 50 billion barrels of oil. High production costs have made extracting this resource way too expensive for the Hashemite kingdom — until now. But extracting the oil will take time,...

Land-locked Paraguay is hoping the latest investor seeking oil in its promising western region will have better results than previous prospectors. British energy producer Amerisur Resources Plc said it has received a prospecting permit from Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and...

Australia has scrapped the planned $8.8 billion expansion of the Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland. Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney on Monday said the project had been labeled “unrealistic” and “undeliverable.” “The significant scale, complexity and...

Lifetime says newcomer Holly Deveaux will play Casey Anthony, a Florida woman acquitted of killing her toddler daughter, in a new TV movie. A network representative confirmed the casting of the 19-year-old Canadian actress in “Imperfect Justice” to...

British actor and comedian Eddie Izzard says weather and health issues have forced him to take a break from his plan to run 27 marathons in 27 consecutive days. Izzard, 50, started the endeavor as a tribute to anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela, who...

“American Idol” alums Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo got engaged on the show”s Season 11 finale Wednesday night. “This has always been home to us and I felt this was the perfect place to ask a simple question,” Young, 31, said. “We have conquered Broadway...

U.S. actor Jon Cryer says Duckie, the quirky character he played in “Pretty in Pink,” was not gay, despite his co-star”s recent statements saying he was. Molly Ringwald recently told Out magazine she feels late writer-director John Hughes included gay characters in most...

Actor Michael McKean, who was hit by a car while walking in New York this week, is maintaining a positive attitude, saying via Twitter he is a “lucky man.” The New York Post reported McKean, 64, underwent surgery Wednesday after suffering a broken leg, bruises and lacerations...

Phillip Phillips was crowned the winner on “American Idol” in Los Angeles Wednesday. More than 132 million votes were cast for the singing competition show’s Season 11 finale. Phillips, 21, walked away with a recording contract. He beat out fellow finalist Jessica Sanchez,...

Funding shortages forced the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to scale back vaccination in 24 high-risk countries, officials meeting in Switzerland said. Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said despite the dramatic drop in polio cases in the last year,...

New recommendations highlight lifestyle changes as a key to managing acute gout symptoms, U.S. rheumatologists said. The recommendations from the American Society of Clinical Rheumatologists, published in Postgraduate Medicine, encourage gout patients to consume a balanced diet of fresh fruit...

A 65-year-old U.S. couple retiring in 2012 will spend at least $240,000 for healthcare costs in retirement, officials of Fidelity Investments say. The latest estimate from Fidelity Investments on healthcare out-of-pocket costs for a U.S. retired couple at age 65 in 2012 does not include...

The cost of the Affordable Care Act will put additional strains on the U.S healthcare system, a former Department of Health and Human Services official said. Tevi Troy, who served as deputy secretary of HHS under former President George W. Bush, said the cost of the healthcare reform law,...

Publicly funded family planning clinics helps millions of U.S. women avoid unintended pregnancies and plan the timing of wanted pregnancies, researchers say. Lead author Jennifer Frost and colleagues at the Guttmacher Institute in New York said more than half of publicly funded clinics...

Competition among hospitals and cardiology groups is the most common barrier to implementing systems for treatment of heart patients, U.S. researchers say. Lead author Dr. James G. Jollis, professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and colleagues said 381 systems...

A sneezing monkey and a fungus named for a popular TV cartoon character are on a list of the top 10 new species described in 2011, U.S. researchers say. A beautiful but venomous jellyfish, a night-blooming orchid and an ancient walking cactus creature are also on the list released Wednesday by...

Three rare Florida panthers have been killed this week, bringing the total to 12 for the year as habitat for the cat shrinks, an environmental group says. The number of Florida panthers remaining in the wild is estimated to range between 100 and 120, a release from the group Public Employees...

Dozens of computer science teachers will work in British schools thanks to a partnership between Google and the charity Teach First, Google’s chairman says. Without investment in the subject, Britain risked “losing a generation” of scientists, Google’s Eric Schmidt...

“Jeopardy” quiz show host Alex Trebek is featured in a new public service announcement titled “How does NASA affect our daily lives?” the agency said Wednesday. In the video, the host of the long-running show points out that much of the technologies we rely on in our...

NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity has used a low sun angle in the Martian evening to help capture a memorable image of a large crater, the space agency says. Mars Exploration Rover used its panoramic camera between about 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. local Mars time to record images taken through...

A fossil discovery has scientists reconsidering whether a spine with multiple segments is a feature of land-dwelling animals only, U.S. researchers say. The discovery of the identical anatomical feature in a 345-million-year-old eel-like fish suggests the complex anatomy arose separately from...

Ryan Roberts had three RBI and Justin Upton hit two-run home run Wednesday to help the Arizona Diamondbacks clobber the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4. Jason Kubel and Aaron Hill each drove in two runs, and Hill and Willie Bloomquist each had three hits for Arizona, which salvaged the finale of a...

Alan Gordon scored on a header in the game’s closing seconds Wednesday, giving the San Jose Earthquakes a stunning 3-2 victory over Los Angeles. Mike Magee put Los Angeles in front 2-0 in the 73rd minute, but the Galaxy collapsed down the stretch to extend their winless streak to six...

Emilio Renteria assisted on one goal and scored another Wednesday, boosting the Columbus Crew to a 2-0 victory over Seattle. Renteria set up Justin Meram on his goal in the 15th minute and then scored on a spectacular volley in the 76th minute to wrap up the victory. Columbus (4-4-3) won for...

Carlos Beltran broke open a tie game with a two-run homer in the fifth inning Wednesday, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-3 win over San Diego. The Cardinals swept a three-game series from the Padres after having suffered four straight losses. Both teams scored three times in the first...

Wandy Rodriguez worked in and out of trouble while giving up a lone run in seven innings Wednesday, lifting Houston to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Astros finished off a three-game sweep and won for the sixth time in eight outings. The Cubs’ losing streak stretched to nine...

Marco Pappa scored off a penalty kick rebound in the 63rd minute Wednesday to boost the Chicago Fire past Dallas 2-1. Chicago gave up the first goal of the game, but rallied to run the Dallas winless streak to eight contests. The Fire won at home against Dallas for the first time since Chicago...