European officials portray assistance as effort to fill rebels’ military gapPARIS (AP) ― Europe has moved closer to doing what it said it wouldn’t do in Libya ― directly jump into the bid to overthrow leader Moammar Gadhafi.France said Wednesday it has already sent military officers to work with Libyan rebels on the ground, in addition to stepping up airstrikes. Italy and Britain have said they’re

 

An Italian man was reportedly arrested for pretending to be blind in order to receive disabilities benefits.Since 2003, the 67-year-old man allegedly to be sightless applied for governmental welfare for his ‘disabilities’ and had been receiving about $85,000 worth of support, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency.His swindle came to the end when his automobile was pulled over by police at a r

A 10-year-old boy in Liaoning province pretended to be his own parent in order to chat online with his teachers and the parents of his classmates.He kept up the ruse for nearly a year before his cover was blown.Registering as "Lulu's parent", the boy communicated with other parents and teachers in a group talking room on the instant messaging service set up by his teacher in a primary school in Da

NEW YORK (AP) ― Citigroup’s first-quarter income fell 32 percent on lower revenue from investment banking and a decline in consumer loans. The bank was able to set aside fewer reserves for losses as more borrowers were able to keep up with their debt payments.The New York bank said Monday that it earned $3 billion, or 10 cents per share, compared with $4.4 billion, or 15 cents a share in the first

Foreign direct investment surged 33 percent in March from a year earlier as rising inflation and interest rates failed to damp overseas confidence in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Foreign investments added $12.5 billion to China’s economy, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement in Beijing Tuesday. Investments increased at an annual rate of 29 percent in the first quarter. China’

A man who was helping to fly a huge kite in Huai’an, Jiangsu province, was nearly killed when it lifted him 7 meters off the ground.The incident happened on April 5 when several professional kite fliers took the phoenix kite, which was 40 meters long and 30 meters wide, to a plaza but could not get it off the ground because of its size.With the help of some local residents and a gust of wind, it f