LYON, France (AFP) ― Heavy rolls of silk printed with a tiny stirrup motif line up on a factory floor near Lyon, waiting to be rolled, beaten and brushed to perfection, before they are cut into Hermes neckties.Based outside the eastern French city, silk “finisher” Proverbio is one of a handful of survivors of a once-flourishing industry, which from farm to weaver to trader employed many thousands at its height in the 19th century.Today the thread comes from China or Brazil, but Lyon still counts

SAO PAULO (AP) ― Mark Webber won the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday after Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel struggled with a gearbox problem.Vettel, who had already secured the Formula One title, still finished second after letting Webber pass him almost halfway through the race at the 2.6-mile Interlagos track.Jenson Button of McLaren finished third to secure second place in the drivers’ standings.Webber easily passed Vettel on lap 30 after his teammate reduced his pace after bei

OTTAWA (AP) ― Jason Spezza was overdue for a goal outburst and he timed it just right to record a milestone in the midst of the Ottawa Senators’ only stop at Scotiabank Place in a span of 10 games.Spezza scored twice, including his 200th regular-season goal, to lead Ottawa to a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night.The 28-year-old center reached the milestone with his second goal of the game on a power play late in the first period. His first tally, a highlight-reel effort 55 seco

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― Hennie Otto recorded a par on No. 18 for a one-stroke victory over Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger at the South African Open on Sunday.Home favorite Otto finished with an even-par 72 and a 14-under total of 274 for his second European Tour title.Wiesberger shot a 4-under 68 during the final round at the Serengeti course. He had five birdies and a bogey.After wobbling with bogeys at Nos. 13, 15 and 16, overnight leader Otto birdied the 17th and held on for his first tour win since

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) ― Ben Roethlisberger joked that the broken thumb on his throwing hand was “still attached” after Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.The Pittsburgh Steelers are still tied for lead in the AFC North because of it.Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders in the first half, and the Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palker in a 13-9 victory that allowed them to keep pace with Baltimore atop their load

Seals 70th career championshipLONDON (AP) ― Roger Federer wasn’t about to let Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pull off another improbable comeback.After a year that saw some uncharacteristic slip-ups from Federer in big matches, the Swiss star shrugged off a second-set letdown to beat Tsonga 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 for a record sixth title in the ATP World Tour Finals.“I know it’s one of my greatest accomplishments,” Federer said. “This definitely is an amazing finish again to the season. I’ve never finished so st

MIAMI (AP) ― Free agency 2011 will be nowhere near as celebrated for the Miami Heat as the player-movement bonanza that brought LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade together a year ago.It still carries massive importance.James, Wade, Bosh, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem are still under contract, meaning the core remains intact. Point guard Mario Chalmers ― who came up big during the NBA finals ― is a restricted free agent, though he clearly has an eye on being back in Miami. And rookie point

The Democratic Party’s internal strife over left-wing consolidation was temporarily settled as leading figures reached a last-minute compromise to split the national party convention into two stages. The party will hold a national convention on achieving unity first and select the new leadership in a separate process.The party’s chairman Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu met former floor leader and aspiring chairman Rep. Park Jie-won late Sunday in a bid to narrow their differences on the creation of a unified

Ruling Grand National Party leader Rep. Hong Joon-pyo has requested that President Lee Myung-bak consider increasing the welfare budget for ordinary citizens and levying heavier taxes for those in the top income brackets.Hong made the request on Sunday as his party has been striving to come up with measures to support mid- and low-income citizens in efforts to win back their support and shake off its “wealthy, elitist image.”The government, ruling party and presidential office are expected to ho

Main issues include ODA alignment, harmonization, accountabilityThe global economy has changed enormously since September 2008, when high-ranking officials from both donor and recipient countries gathered in Accra, Ghana to discuss improving the effectiveness of aid and development cooperation.Recent global crises including food shortages, inflation, the global financial crunch and economic downturns have aggravated the global efforts for development in less-developed countries.The Fourth High-L