G-DERR: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Barca game pics 'worth a thousands words': Mourinho

MADRID (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho vowed to stop talking about the fractious Champions League encounter with Barcelona and his own post-match tirade, saying images of the game will speak for themselves.

"A picture is worth a thousands words and as there are so many pictures, I am not going to speak any more about what happened," he told a news conference on Friday.

BERLIN (AFP) – Bayern Munich have urged their supporters to treat any visiting opponents and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with respect ahead of Saturday's highly-charged league clash against Schalke 04.

Neuer, 25, is widely reported to be set to sign for the Bavarian giants next season and has already told Champions League semi-finalists Schalke he will not extend his contract, which ends in 2012.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – Germany will host France in a pre-Euro 2012 friendly in Bremen on February 29, it was announced on Friday.

"The clashes against France are traditionally attractive duels," said national team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

"We are pleased that we will be able to take on France again after almost six years and that we can offer our fans an attractive game."

Blatter promises FIFA reforms if re-elected

FRANKFURT, Germany – FIFA President Sepp Blatter promises wide-ranging reforms if re-elected, including the way World Cup hosts are chosen.

Blatter told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine he also will set up a watchdog committee to supervise how FIFA works and "restore the credibility" of soccer's governing body.

The 75-year-old Swiss is seeking a fourth term of office on June 1. His lone opponent is Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed bin Hammam.

As Sony continues to inch toward a full two weeks of lost service forPlayStation Network and Qrirocity customers, there is more and more pressure on the company to address the growing numbers of questions being lobbed in its direction. The first steps were taken earlier this week toward addressing the demands of the 77 million users who have had their personal data stolen and been left without service since last Wednesday, in the form of a Sony-penned Q&A. Today brings part two of that Q&A, presumably with more to come given that today’s answers serve to raise additional questions.

LONDON – Prince William and Kate Middleton got their first royal wedding present from the queen on Friday: the titles Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Buckingham Palace said William is now His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge, and that Miss Catherine Middleton is now Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.

There's more: The palace statement said William was also named the Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. Middleton took those titles when she said "I will," becoming Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.

NEW YORK – Like guests who whisper asides to their friends from the back pews, the commoners in the media kept the mood lighthearted Friday as cameras captured every angle of the royal wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Millions followed the event throughout the world on television, their computers and hand-held devices. The media enabled anyone who cared to become a wedding guest.

LONDON – With a smile that lit up TV screens around the world, Kate Middleton married Prince William in a union that promised to revitalize the British monarchy. A million people roared their approval as the royal couple then paraded through London in an open carriage.

Even knowing that an immense television audience was turning in to watch, the couple managed, at times, to appear in their own private world Friday, both at Westminster Abbey and on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

LOS ANGELES – Casey Abrams was given the heave-ho on "American Idol."

The eccentric 20-year-old musician-singer from Idyllwild, Calif., received the fewest viewer votes on the Fox talent contest Thursday after his growl-filled interpretation of "Hi-De-Ho" on Wednesday's evening of Carole King tunes.

Abrams was previously rescued by the show's judges with their one-time-only power, but there was no helping the jazz-lover this time.

Whether you will be watching every moment or just want to see the ceremony, Yahoo! will be your one stop for all royal wedding updates. You won't miss a thing. Here's what you can expect:

Live streaming video: No TV? No problem, just come back to this page, starting at 1 a.m. PT/4 a.m. ET on Friday morning, where we'll have live video of every moment of the event courtesy of ABC News, hosted by Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters. Live coverage will continue through 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET.

Six Planets Now Aligned in the Dawn Sky

If you get up any morning for the next few weeks, you’ll be treated to the sight of all the planets except Saturn arrayed along the ecliptic, the path of the sun through the sky.

For the last two months, almost all the planets have been hiding behind the sun, but this week they all emerge and are arrayed in a grand line above the rising sun. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are visible, and you can add Uranus and Neptune to your count if you have binoculars or a small telescope.

Does Wild Tornado Season Signal Climate Change?

Some climate models suggest that a warming future could herald more intense storms like those that ripped through the Southeast on Wednesday night.

But that doesn't mean the southern storms and tornadoes were a manifestation of climate change, climate scientists say. That's because teasing out the influence of climate on weather takes time.

PARIS (AFP) – A stunning four goal show by Colombian striker Falcao saw Portuguese champions Porto come from a goal down to overwhelm Spanish side Villarreal 5-1 on Thursday in their Europa League semi-final first leg clash in Oporto.

Falcao's goals took him to a record 16 in the competition, beating Jurgen Klinsmann's total of 15 for Bayern Munich in the 1995/95 competition when it was the UEFA Cup.

Sony's S1 and S2 'PlayStation Tablets' vs. the iPad

For decades, Sony's brand has stood for entertainment. So now that Sony's releasing its own tablets to compete with the iPad, which it's calling the S1 and S2 for now, you'd naturally assume two things: That there's some reason to buy one instead of an iPad, and that that reason is entertainment, whether it be music, movies or video games.

As it turns out, the Sony "PlayStation tablets" will have all three, but they'll probably leave something to be desired.

Order & Chaos Online leads iPhone Games of the Week

This week’s best games list offers a pretty wide variety of quality titles at (mostly) bargain prices, and it kicks off with Gameloft’s newest entry to the App Store, Order & Chaos Online. If you’ve heard of World of Warcraft, you probably get the gist of the developer’s expansive and ambitious title. There are a lot of players to team up with in Order & Chaos, and the first three months of gameplay are free without a subscription. Get the goods below, and keep reading, because we’ve got several great offerings for you this week, and you aren’t going to want to miss any of them.

LONDON – Kate Middleton's spending her last night as a single woman in a room fit for a queen.

The princess-in-waiting is staying Thursday at London's Goring Hotel, a family run luxury hotel just around the corner from Buckingham Palace.

Middleton, father Michael, mother Carole, sister Pippa and brother James have taken over the 71-room hotel, with the bride-to-be staying in a recently redecorated five-room suite overlooking the hotel's private garden, complete with a four-poster bed, silk wallpaper and even a waterproof flat-screen TV in the bath.

NYON, Switzerland (AFP) – UEFA on Thursday announced it had launched a disciplinary inquiry into events surrounding Wednesday's fractious Champions League semi-final tie between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

One of the incidents being investigated is Real coach Jose Mourinho's post-match outburst in which the Portuguese suggested referees always showed favouritism to Barcelona, who won 2-0 in Madrid to take a huge step towards the final.

BlackBerry maker slashes short-term sales forecast

NEW YORK – Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry, on Thursday cut its sales and earnings forecasts for the current quarter, saying it's shipping fewer and cheaper phones than it had expected.

The stock was down $5.09, or 9 percent, to $51.50 in extended trading.

It's the second hit for the stock in just over a month. When reporting earnings for the previous quarter on March 24, the Waterloo, Ontario, company disappointed investors by saying it expects earnings of $1.47 to $1.55 per share for the current quarter, below analyst expectations at the time.

PARIS – Sounding like a stuck record by a lovesick crooner, Jose Mourinho wailed why, oh, why? In the warped view of Real Madrid's coach, the dice are stacked in Barcelona's favor. "They have got great power. The rest of us have no chance," he said.

And some of Europe's most respected referees — Mourinho rattled off several of them — are seemingly part of some kind of pro-Barca plot.

Well, Jose, here's the real question: Why are you such a bad loser?

LONDON – Police contacted Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney after his mobile phone was apparently hacked into by a British tabloid newspaper.

London police have conducted a high-profile investigation into the News of the World's role in a series of illegal interceptions into celebrities' voicemails.

"Scotland Yard detectives came to see me earlier and showed me some documents, looks like a newspaper have hacked into my phone," Rooney said Thursday on his Twitter account.

Golden Globes pick mid-January date for award show

LOS ANGELES – The 2012 Golden Globe Awards will be presented on Jan. 15, but which network will air the star-studded presentation is still an open question for a federal judge to decide.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the date on Thursday without mentioning a specific broadcaster.

LOS ANGELES – Universal's "Fast Five," the fifth installment of the massively successful "Fast and Furious" franchise, is about to hit the streets with the biggest domestic opening of the year thus far. An expected IMAX-fueled $70 million-plus haul will easily give the film pole position on the weekend box office chart.

This latest "Fast and Furious" takes its classic street-racing formula and turns it into a relentless heist-and-drive thriller with a reunited cast and the addition of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The film has already shot to No. 2 overseas after only one weekend in a little more than 400 theaters.

Three Great Movies That Celebrate the Royal Wedding Spirit

Millions around the world are expected to watch at least part of the royal wedding on TV or the internet tomorrow. If you want some alternative royal wedding related entertainment, here's a look at the best movies to watch to celebrate the royal wedding.

"Royal Wedding"

How could I not include a movie fittingly called " Royal Wedding "? I absolutely love Fred Astaire, and although Jane Powell costars rather than Ginger Rogers, "Royal Wedding" is still one of his classics. In this movie London

Man in cow suit robs Walmart of 26 gallons of milk

The schedule of events for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

• 0815 BST (0715 GMT; 3:15 a.m. EDT) — Guests begin arriving at the Great North Door of London's Westminster Abbey.

• 0950 BST (0850 GMT; 4:50 a.m. EDT) — Governors-general and prime ministers of realm countries, the diplomatic corps, and other distinguished guests arrive at the abbey.

LONDON – Each step has been rehearsed, each flower meticulously arranged, the aisle of Westminster Abbey transformed into a flowering avenue of trees.

With just hours to go before his wedding to Kate Middleton, dedicated royal watchers camped outside got an unexpected surprise — a visit from Prince William.

Tornadoes devastate South, killing at least 280

PLEASANT GROVE, Ala. – Firefighters searched one splintered pile after another for survivors Thursday, combing the remains of houses and neighborhoods pulverized by the nation's deadliest tornado outbreak in almost four decades. At least 280 people were killed across six states — more than two-thirds of them in Alabama, where large cities bore the half-mile-wide scars the twisters left behind.

The death toll from Wednesday's storms seems out of a bygone era, before Doppler radar and pinpoint satellite forecasts were around to warn communities of severe weather. Residents were told the tornadoes were coming up to 24 minutes ahead of time, but they were just too wide, too powerful and too locked onto populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count.

Google Docs app released for Android

Google has finally Android OS. The new release was announced on Wednesday in a blog post by the Mountain View company.

The post says that the new app allows you to easily “filter and search for your content across any Google account, then jump straight into editing docs using the online mobile editors. The app also allows you to easily share items with contacts on your phone, right from within the app.”

Baidu sees stronger-than-expected Q2 revenue

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Baidu Inc more than doubled its profit in the first quarter and forecast stronger-than-expected revenue for the second quarter, betting on strong online advertising demand among China's businesses.

Shares of Baidu, which are up more than 50 percent since the start of the year, were down slightly at $150.65 in after-hours trade after closing Wednesday's regular session at$151.11.

5 worst digital security breaches of all time

Post by Sebastian Anthony: With yesterday's news of the PlayStation Network being hacked and the unceremonious accompaniment of millions of names, addresses, dates of birth, passwords, and possibly credit card details having potentially been stolen, the tech community's attention has yet again been focused on the tricky and vitally important topic of internet security.

WASHINGTON – The United States must step up its efforts on renewable energy to compete with China and other countries for global leadership, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday after returning from a nine-day, taxpayer-funded trip to Asia with nine of his colleagues.

The Nevada Democrat said the trip, his first visit to China in a quarter-century, offered "an unmistakable reminder just how hard we have to work to make America competitive with the rest of the world," particularly on manufacturing and energy.

LOS ANGELES – "Rio" topped the international box office chart for the third consecutive weekend with $32.1 million in 41 territories and a worldwide total of $239.3 million, but "Fast Five" is coming on quickly with a tally of $12.6 million in just three territories in advance of its turbocharged U.S. debut this weekend.

As the most action-packed and visually stunning film of the "Fast" franchise, look for Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to dominate the worldwide market in the weeks to come.

Egyptians find their voice after years of repression

CAIRO (Reuters) – For decades, authoritarian rule and police brutality ensured the only voice heard from Egypt was that of its leaders. Since popular protests deposed President Hosni Mubarak, the silent majority has erupted into a cacophony.

Emboldened by the success of their uprising, almost everyone in post-Mubarak Egypt, from Western-educated professionals to illiterate farmhands to once-banned Islamists, has something to say about their nation's past and future.

MADRID (AFP) – Argentina's two-time world player of the year Lionel Messi scored a superb late brace as Barcelona gained the upper hand in their Champions League semi final with a 2-0 first leg win over arch rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Real were down to ten men after Pepe had been sent off on the hour mark and Barca made the extra man count with Messi converting an Ibrahim Afellay cross on 76 minutes and then scored a mesmerising goal on 86 minutes for his 11th Champions League goal of the season.

The iPad gets the Presidential seal of approval

President Barack Obama has joined the 15-or-so million people in the iPad nation. He was recently photographed carrying the iPad with an Apple smart cover.

Last month, the President told Univision’s Jorge Ramos that he owns an iPad, and joked that of course he has his own computer (reportedly a MacBook Pro).

LONDON (AFP) – Fulham look assured of keeping their Premier League status next season after a resounding 3-0 win over Bolton at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.

American international Clint Dempsey scored either side of half time with Brede Hangeland adding a third to earn Fulham a crucial victory which pushed them up five places to ninth, eight points above the relegation zone.

Apple: IPhone not tracking users, will get update

NEW YORK – Apple denied that the iPhone has a privacy problem Wednesday — and then promised to fix it. It took the technology giant a week to respond to a brouhaha over how the devices log their owners' movements.

Privacy concerns erupted last week when security researchers said a file found on PCs linked to iPhones allowed them to create maps of the phones' movements for up to a year. Combined with similar questions about Google's Android smartphone software, the news left privacy-conscious smartphone users wondering how much information they were unknowingly giving up.

Prince William, Kate at final wedding rehearsal

LONDON – Prince William and Kate Middleton have arrived at Westminster Abbey for a final wedding rehearsal.

St. James's Palace says that the couple, the bride's parents and Prince Harry are at the abbey with senior clergy for the private rehearsal.

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AFP) – Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson basked in the 2-0 Champions League semi-final first leg win over Schalke on Wednesday and admitted that his team now face a crucial seven days.

United tackle Arsenal on Sunday and fellow Premier League title rivals Chelsea the weekend after with the return European leg against Schalke sandwiched in between.

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AFP) – Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson poured praise on Schalke 04's Manuel Neuer after the Germany goalkeeper's defiant performance in his team's 2-0 Champions League defeat on Tuesday.

Neuer kept his side in the semi-final, first leg tie with a sequence of stunning saves in the opening period, only for second-half strikes from Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney to earn United a victory that scarcely reflected the extent of their dominance.

LONDON – It's not the type of welcome most wedding guests expect before they get into church — background checks, ID verification and a security sweep.

But then again, Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on Friday is no ordinary affair.

Britain hasn't seen a royal wedding of this size since Prince Charles married Diana in 1981 — there were actually 200 more police on duty for that wedding, which had a longer procession route and a guest list of some 3,500 people, including foreign royals and heads of state.

LOS ANGELES – Scotty McCreery won back some friends on "American Idol."

After receiving lukewarm criticism from the show's judges last week, the 17-year-old country crooner of Garner, N.C., pleased the panel with his buttery rendition of "You've Got a Friend" on the Fox talent competition's evening of Carole King tunes Wednesday, but it was 22-year-old rocker James Durbin of Santa Cruz., Calif., who was dubbed the front-runner.

White House releases Obama birth certificate

The White House on Wednesday morning released the president's long form birth certificate (pdf) in an attempt to put "birther" questions to rest.

"The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn't good for the country. It may have been good politics and good T.V., but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement.

Titanic's Unknown Child Given New, Final Identity

Five days after the passenger ship the Titanic sank, the crew of the rescue ship Mackay-Bennett pulled the body of a fair-haired, roughly 2-year-old boy out of the Atlantic Ocean on April 21, 1912. Along with many other victims, his body went to a cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the crew of the Mackay-Bennett had a headstone dedicated to the "unknown child" placed over his grave.

When it sank, the Titanic took the lives of 1,497 of the 2,209 people aboard with it. Some bodies were recovered, but names remained elusive, while others are still missing. But researchers believe that they have finally resolved the identity of the unknown child -- concluding that he was 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin from England. [Photo of Sidney Goodwin]

Lock Down Your Wi-Fi or the FBI Might Come Knocking

A New York man learned the hard way that leaving your wireless router open to the general public can have some very negative consequences, and that the authorities tend to act first and ask questions second.

You might think it's no big deal to share your wireless network with your neighbors. But that altruism can bite you in the butt when a less scrupulous neighbor, or a random stranger connects to the wireless network and uses it for illegal activity. As far as the authorities are concerned, that illegal activity originates from your wireless router, so you are the primary suspect.

BLACKBURN, United Kingdom (AFP) – Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini backed Edin Dzeko to become a regular scorer after the £27 million forward hit his first Premier League goal.

Dzeko's second-half strike gave City a 1-0 win over struggling Blackburn on Monday and a four-point lead over Tottenham in the race to secure the fourth and final qualifying place for next season's Champions League.

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AFP) – If Manchester United are to reach a third Champions League final in four years, they must overcome both surprise package Schalke 04 and a dismal record against German teams.

United visit Schalke in their semi-final first leg on Tuesday, bidding to reach the final at Wembley 43 years after they beat Benfica there to become the first English champions of Europe.

Broadway expands its stage with movie theater shows

NEW YORK (Reuters) – If you can't come to Broadway, Broadway is going to come to you.

That's the philosophy behind the upcoming nationwide movie theater showings of two current Broadway shows -- Tony Award-winning musical "Memphis," and "The Importance of Being Earnest," the Roundabout Theater Company's acclaimed revival of the Oscar Wilde classic play starring British actor Brian Bedford.

Israel's Electric Car Network: Can It Change the World?

Shai Agassi, the founder of Better Place, the most sophisticated electric-car enterprise in the world, projects the ebullient confidence of a man facing a giant wave of money. "Within less than this decade the No. 1–selling car in the world will be the electric car," he says. "It's the biggest financial opportunity the world has ever seen. We're seeing a $10 trillion shift in an industry in less than a decade. It's the Internet, and add another zero."

In the introduction to Start-Up Nation, Dan Senor and Saul Singer's best-selling paean to Israeli innovation, Agassi was the soft-spoken software wiz who had a brilliant idea and a terrible time locating a backer. That doesn't seem

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Facebook on Monday began letting members of cozy cliques formed at the social networking service share website links or photo albums without all their friends knowing about it.

A "Send" button that lets people share website links with selected cadres instead of all Facebook friends was among enhancements being rolled out to a "Groups" feature launched in October of last year.

More than 50 million groups have been created at Facebook since the option became available.

AJDABIYA, Libya – Libyan rebel fighter Jaad Jumaa Hashmi cranks up the volume on his pickup truck's stereo when he heads into battle against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

He looks for inspiration from a growing cadre of amateur rappers whose powerful songs have helped define the revolution.

The music captures the anger and frustration young Libyans feel at decades of repressive rule under Gadhafi, driving the 27-year-old Hashmi forward even though the heavy machine gun bolted on the back of his truck — and other weapons in the rebel arsenal — are no match for Gadhafi's heavy artillery.

Steve Jobs's 10-Word Defense of the iPhone's Location Tracking

It's been a week since the iPhone location-tracking scandal began and still no official statement from Apple. But according to an email exchange obtained by MacRumors, CEO Steve Jobs remains unapologetic and says Google's Android phones are the real culprits.

"We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false," reads an email from Jobs to a customer complaining about reports that the iPhone transmits users longitude-latitude coordinates to Apple.

Steve Jobs: We're Not Tracking Anyone, but Android Is

Steve Jobs himself has reportedly answered a reader's question about the recent iPhone tracking scandal.

A MacRumors reader apparently emailed Jobs asking for "clarification" on the issue, MacRumors reported Monday.

The reader asked Jobs why location-tracking within iOS was necessary, and--possibly to bait the Apple CEO into responding--threatened to switch to Android, stating "they don't track me."

LONDON – Bahrain's crown prince on Sunday declined an invitation to attend Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, saying he did not want the Gulf nation's unrest to tarnish the celebration.

Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa sent his regrets to Prince Charles after questions emerged over the British monarchy's decision to invite a member of Bahrain's Sunni ruling family, which has waged a wide-ranging crackdown against Shiite protesters calling for more freedoms.

Eminem to release EP with rapper Royce da 5'9"

DETROIT – Eminem and Royce da 5'9" are back recording together more than a decade after the Detroit rappers first joined forces.

The pair, who met at a concert in their home city in 1997 and worked together under the name Bad Meets Evil, announced Monday that they're coming out with an EP of new material in June.

Taliban tunnel more than 480 out of Afghan prison

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – During the long Afghan winter, Taliban insurgents were apparently busy underground.

The militants say they spent more than five months building a 1,050-foot tunnel to the main prison in southern Afghanistan, bypassing government checkpoints, watch towers and concrete barriers topped with razor wire.

Heavy fighting in Misrata and Libyan mountains

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya's rebel-held city of Misrata won no respite from two months of bitter siege as Muammar Gaddafi's forces bombarded the city and battled rebel fighters, despite pulling out of the city center.

Gaddafi's forces were also pounding Berber towns in Libya's Western Mountains with artillery, rebels and refugees said, in a remote region far from the view of international media.

NEW YORK – An actor seriously injured at the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" returned to work Monday, only four months after he plummeted 35 feet from an onstage platform.

"I feel amazing," said Christopher Tierney before reporting for rehearsals at the Foxwoods Theatre. He said the accident in December didn't give him second-thoughts about rejoining the stunt heavy show: "I'm ready to put on the harness right now and fly around."

ROME (AFP) – AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said Monday he is simply focussing on earning the four points necessary to deliver an 18th league title to the club.

Milan head Serie A by eight points with four games left and due to their better head-to-head record against second place city rivals Inter Milan, they need only four more points to be crowned champions.

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AFP) – Sir Alex Ferguson admitted on Monday that Manchester United's push for Champions League glory is fired by a desire to make ground on their more decorated European rivals.

United tackle Schalke here on Tuesday in the first leg of their semi-final, as they bid to reach what would be their third final in the space of four years.

BLACKBURN (AFP) – Edin Dzeko's first Premier League goal earned Manchester City a 1-0 win over Blackburn on Monday which strengthened his team's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

City were heading for a disappointing draw against their relegation-threatened hosts when substitute Dzeko, who had only been on the pitch three minutes, finished well after the Rovers defence failed to clear a dangerous ball by David Silva in the 75th minute.

LOS ANGELES – Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg's animated hit "Rio" remains perched at No. 1 with a $26.3 million second weekend, coming in just ahead of the $25.1 million debut for "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family."

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

Nintendo says successor to Wii coming in 2012

NEW YORK – The successor to Nintendo's hit Wii console will arrive next year.

In disclosing its plans Monday, Nintendo Co. didn't say what the new system will do. The Japanese company plans to show a playable model of the new console at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which runs June 7-9 in Los Angeles.

New York Times falls for Onion spoof

The paper of record has been punked by the paper of parody.

The New York Times' April 17 mini-retrospective on the "original teen-girl tabloid," Tiger Beat, included a sampling of the magazine's covers throughout the years. But as the Times learned the hard way, one of those things was not like the other.

Indian spiritual guru Sai Baba dies

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba, revered by millions of followers as a living god, died Sunday in a hospital in southern India. He was 86.

Sai Baba, who was admitted to hospital in his hometown of Puttaparti a month ago, died of multiple organ failure, media said.

LONDON (AFP) – What do you give the couple who have everything? The answer, in the case of Prince William and Kate Middleton, is a donation to charity.

Not for them the entire roomful of antique furniture including a four-poster bed in maple which Canada gave to William's mother Diana and Prince Charles for their wedding in 1981.

Or the 20 silver platters inscribed with the date of the marriage which was Australia's gift 30 years ago.

Messi becomes 1st player in Spain to score 50

BARCELONA, Spain – Lionel Messi became the first player in Spain to score 50 goals in a club season, helping Barcelona rebound from its loss to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final with a 2-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday night.

Barcelona rested most regular starters in preparation for Wednesday's first leg of the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid — the third of four matches between the rivals in an 18-day span.

LONDON (AFP) – Javier Hernandez admits his impressive first season at Manchester United won't be a success unless he finishes the campaign with trophies to celebrate.

Hernandez has proved himself one of the buys of the season as the Mexican's 19 goals have kept United on course for glory in the Premier League and Champions League.

The 22-year-old arrived at Old Trafford from Chivas Guadalajara last year as a relative unknown, but he has quickly become a key figure for United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and emphasised his growing importance with the late winner against Everton on Saturday.

BOLTON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Arsene Wenger shouldered the blame after admitting that Arsenal's title chances had all but vanished following defeat to Bolton.

Wenger said his team's hopes of avoiding a sixth successive season without a trophy were "minimal" after a 2-1 defeat at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday.

The result left Arsenal nine points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United with four games remaining.

Potter star Emma Watson to transfer from Brown

LONDON – A spokeswoman for Harry Potter star Emma Watson says she will be transferring from Brown University to another university in the autumn.

Vanessa Davies denied reports that the 21-year-old actress was "bullied out" of the Rhode Island university, saying there was no truth in reports by a number of online publications who cited classmates and "insiders".

SHICHIGAHAMAMACHI, Japan – Soldiers prodded marshy ground with slender poles and cleared mounds of rubble by hand Monday as 25,000 troops mounted Japan's largest search yet for the bodies of nearly 12,000 people missing in last month's earthquake and tsunami.

The operation was the third intensive military search since the March 11 disaster, which splintered buildings, flattened towns and killed up to 26,000 people along Japan's northeastern coast. With waters receding, officials hope the team, which also includes police, coast guard and U.S. troops, will make significant progress during the two-day operation.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011