Umpire Schrieber apologizes for making contact with Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez

MINNEAPOLIS — Umpire Paul Schrieber has apologized for making contact with Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez during a confrontation Wednesday night.

With neighbourhood on boil, Manmohan worries about future

NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed concern to his officials and aides that if an inward-looking, weak and unstable government is formed after the Lok Sabha elections, it may not be able to immediately grasp the seriousness of the situation in India’s immediate neighourhood and this could impact on the country’s security in the long term.

Aarushi murder coverage: Lessons media should have learnt

NEW DELHI - Reams of newsprint, hours of telecast…The media went into a tizzy after the murder of teenager Aarushi Talwar a year ago, not only blurring the line between fact and fiction but also showing a distinct upper class orientation while covering the story, say critics.

Half of Iraq’s Christians have left, and few plan to return, in historic exodus after war

BAGHDAD — Iraq has lost more than half the Christians who once called it home, mostly since the war began, and few who fled have plans to return, The Associated Press has learned.

Differing ideas of duty, service led 5 victims to Iraq clinic where they were gunned down

The paths that brought six men together in a Baghdad military clinic traced across the globe, from South America to rural Missouri, from the islands of Alaska to deepest Antarctica, before intersecting in a tragic shooting spree.

Ill leopard dies at Gwalior zoo

GWALIOR - A male leopard, which has been under treatment died in Gandhi Zoological Park in Gwalior on May 12.

A budding rivalry: Peirsol ready to take on Phelps in 100 backstrokes _ all the way to London

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Aaron Peirsol can’t remember the last time he lost in a final of the 100-meter backstroke.

Obama uses commencement speech to tell Arizona State grads their best work is yet to come

TEMPE, Ariz. — President Barack Obama didn’t shy away from the “snub” by Arizona State University officials who said he hadn’t accomplished enough yet to earn an honorary degree. In a commencement speech Wednesday to a stadium full of young graduates, he said the officials were right.

Obama tells Arizona State University graduates their best work, like his, is yet to come

TEMPE, Ariz. — President Barack Obama is answering critics who say he hasn’t achieved enough in life to deserve an honorary college degree. He says they’re right.

Ex-Colts coach Dungy still busy, strong in his convictions after football

INDIANAPOLIS — Tony Dungy is busier than ever, even though he’s no longer coaching the Indianapolis Colts.

Harley-Davidson considering moving York, Pa., production facility as part of cost-cutting

NEW YORK — Harley-Davidson Inc. is considering closing its main motorcycle assembly facility in Pennsylvania and moving production elsewhere as it aims to lower costs and cope with a sales downturn, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

BJP will emerge as the single largest party on counting day: Rajnath

NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday told reporters here that the BJP will emerge as the single largest party and NDA will form the next government after votes are counted on May 16.

Taliban using voter cards as ‘visas’ in southern Afghanistan

KANDAHAR - Taliban fighters are using recently acquired voter identification cards as makeshift passports to smooth border crossings from Pakistan and ease travel between cities in Afghanistan’s southern provinces, reports the Globe and Mail.

EADS 1st quarter net profit falls 40 percent on lower Airbus deliveries and A400M charge

PARIS — EADS, the parent company of planemaker Airbus, said Tuesday that first quarter profit fell 40 percent as airlines delayed orders and deliveries. The company also took a euro120 million charge for its troubled A400M military transport plane.

Troops enter ’safety zone’ in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - Troops have entered a ’safety zone’ which has been demarcated for civilians fleeing the Tamil Tigers-held area in north-eastern Sri Lanka, a move aimed at rescuing civilians trapped in the fighting, a minister said Tuesday.

Teen charged with murder in 2008 double-fatal crash steals another car, crashes it and dies

DETROIT — Authorities in Detroit say a 17-year-old accused of killing two women while driving a stolen U.S. Army van last year has died after crashing another stolen vehicle.

Replacing commander in Afghanistan, defense secretary says new strategy needs new leadership

WASHINGTON — Taking a cue from voters who elected a president promising a different approach, the Obama administration is replacing the general overseeing the war in Afghanistan with a commander who has special-forces experience.

Australia to open help line for Indian victims of racist attacks

MELBOURNE - The Australian and Victorian governments have decided to open a help line to assist Indian students who are victims of crime.

Unlucky Presidents’ Trophy claims another team, as Sharks join long list of playoff flameouts

The San Jose Sharks are already home for the summer, left to admire the Presidents’ Trophy that honors a stellar regular season but now also magnifies another empty postseason.

Bolivia demands Peru hand over asylum-seeking ex-ministers charged in 2003 protest bloodshed

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia demanded Monday that Peru hand over three former government ministers charged with genocide in the 2003 killing of dozens of protesters, and President Evo Morales called asylum an “open provocation of the Bolivian people.”

Angry crowd throws rocks, bottles at Austin police after officer shoots 2 men, killing 1

AUSTIN, Texas — An angry crowd threw rocks and bottles at police in riot gear in Austin, Texas, hours after an officer shot two men, killing one of them.

Atlantis blasts off for Hubble Telescope on most delicate, dangerous repair job yet

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Atlantis blasted off Monday for the Hubble Space Telescope on the most delicate and dangerous repair job ever in orbit — a mission so risky that for the first time a second shuttle stands ready to rescue the seven astronauts if something goes wrong.

Suspected Nazi guard Demjanjuk arrives at Cleveland airport and is expected to be deported

CLEVELAND — An ambulance believed to be carrying suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk has arrived at a Cleveland airport as federal agents prepare to deport him to Germany. The ambulance left U.S. immigration offices blocks away minutes earlier Monday evening. A man in a wheelchair was carried from the ambulance on board a twin-engine jet at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport. The man could not be identified.

Lance Armstrong’s crisis-hit Astana team given May 31 deadline to straighten out finances

VALDOBBIADENE, Italy — Lance Armstrong’s Astana team must straighten out its financial crisis by May 31 or risk being suspended.

US red ink to top $1.8 trillion, 4 times record; gov’t borrows 46 cents for every dollar spent

WASHINGTON — The government will have to borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year, exploding the record federal deficit past $1.8 trillion under new White House estimates. Budget office figures released Monday would add $89 billion to the 2009 red ink — increasing it to more than four times last year’s all-time high as the government hands out billions more than expected for people who have lost jobs and takes in less tax revenue from people and companies making less money.

Carrefour plans to revamp French hypermarkets in bid to gain market share

PARIS — Carrefour SA said Monday it plans to rethink and renovate its 220 French hypermarkets to gain market share and win over an increasingly cash-conscious clientele in its home country of France.

Obama praises health industry figures for offering to slow growth in spending by $2T

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has praised health industry groups for coming forward with an offer to reduce the growth of spending by $2 trillion a year to overhaul the system.

Advani says, 21 century will belong to India

AMRITSAR - Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate and senior leader Lal Krishna Advani on Monday said that the 21st century will belong to India even though in the last century it belonged to the United States, United Kingdom or Russia.

Left to join government if it has meaningful role: Buddhadeb

KOLKATA - The Left will join a government in which it can play a ‘meaningful role’, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here Monday.

Govt has started talks with Pak over imposition of ‘Jazia’ on minorities: PM

AMRITSAR - The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Monday said his government has started talks with Pakistan on the issue of imposition of the religious tax ‘Jazia’ on minorities in that country’s tribal areas.