Champions Barcelona bounced back from a dismal week to return to the top of the Spanish league with a 6-1 crushing of Real Zaragoza on Sunday night.There they may be free from the hunter's rifle, but they are not completely free from human contact or immune to the conflict between the two sides. Wild boar that have lost legs to landmines can be seen hobbling out from the forests, and when two gorals face each other from either side of ...

The light at the end of the recession tunnel is distant and dim for the nation's cities, according to a survey by the National League of Cities. While optimistic federal officials hint at an economic turnaround, city finance officers say the picture remains bleak for city governments. This is chiefly because a top source of municipal income -- property tax revenue -- tends to lag behind changes in the market. Because cities typically phase in property tax assessments, the full ...

Carrie Prejean will file a lawsuit against Miss California USA officials for stripping her of the title earlier this year, her attorney announced Monday. "We will make the case that her title was taken from her solely because of her support of traditional marriage," her attorney, Charles LiMandri, said in a news release. The complaint will be filed in Superior Court of California against Miss California USA officials Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler, as well as publicist Roger Neal. ...

Success in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is achievable, even though the situation is serious, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said in a statement Monday. The statement came as Gen. Stanley McChrystal submitted a long-awaited report on the state of the war. "The situation ... demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said in the statement. The general's review was passed on to Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, ...

Apple's iPhone is set to make its debut in China by the end of this year after the US company reached agreement with China Unicom, the country's second-largest mobile operator. China Unicom on Friday said it would start selling the 3G iPhone in the fourth quarter after signing a non-exclusive three-year contract with Apple. The company said it would not use Apple's traditional revenue-sharing model and would instead pay the group on a wholesale basis. China Unicom said it hoped ...

With the new General Motors Corp. expressing second thoughts about selling Opel to Canadian partsmaker Magna International Inc. — or anyone else, for that matter — a flip side to GM's indecision has emerged. Why would Magna want Opel when acquisition of the bankrupt European carmaker could jeopardize billions of dollars in business with existing customers — and possibly lead to its ruin? Negotiations between GM and Magna — based in Aurora, Ont., it's one of the world's ...

Like more than a billion fellow Muslims around the world, Sulley Muntari began the monthlong fasting ritual of Ramadan on Aug. 22. Abstaining from food or drink during daylight hours is challenging enough for the average person, but for the Ghana-born Muntari, a professional soccer player with Italy's Serie A team Inter Milan, running over six miles per game on an empty stomach might have proven to be too much to take. In his first match after the start of Ramadan, the midfielder was removed ...

In Britain, anyone looking to get high without the criminal side effects can go online or walk into a head shop and buy perfectly legal alternatives to a whole host of illegal drugs, from marijuana to ecstasy to cocaine. But not for long. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, the U.K. government announced it is set to ban these so-called legal highs by the end of the year. The ban on designer drugs such as stimulant BZP, narcotic alternative gamma-butyrolactone ...

Toyota is poised to slash production by as much as 580,000 vehicles -- or almost 6 percent of global capacity -- in an effort to stem losses amid the sharp downturn in car sales. Japan's largest carmaker, which is forecasting its second consecutive net loss this year, said it would shut a production line in western Japan from next spring through to the second half of 2011, reducing output by 220,000 vehicles. Toyota is also looking to pull out of ...

Fireworks continued to erupt between Bolivia and Peru over a costume worn at this year's Miss Universe pageant.