RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. is planning to buy rival Lorillard Inc. for about $25 billion in a deal to combine two of the nation's oldest and biggest tobacco companies.The deal announced Tuesday would create a formidable No. 2 to rival Altria Group Inc., owner of Philip Morris USA, and will likely face scrutiny from regulators. It also could spur a wave of consolidation in the tobacco business, shrink factories and workforces, and push prices for cigarettes highe

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber blew up his car packed with explosives near a busy market and a mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 89 people and wounding more than 40, officials said.The attack in the town of Urgun in Paktika province was the deadliest in months in Afghanistan, underscoring the country's instability as foreign troops prepare to leave by the end of the year. Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Defense Ministry spokesman, said the bomber detonated his explosi

MOSCOW (AP) -- A rush-hour subway train derailed Tuesday in Moscow, killing 12 people and sending at least 150 others to the hospital, many with serious injuries, Russian emergency officials said.Several cars went off the track in the tunnel after a power surge triggered an alarm, which caused the train to stop abruptly.Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Vladimir Puchkov gave the casualty toll at a televised news conference. At least 50 of the injured are in grave condition, the Itar-TASS new

 Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari admitted on Friday that a traumatic last six weeks both on and off the field will mark him for the rest of his life."Lots of things have changed and have impacted on my life for better or for worse. In the coming days I will try to get on with my life, that I have left behind a little bit in recent days," said Scolari ahead of Saturday's World Cup third-place play-off against the Netherlands in Brasilia."I will talk a bit with my family about everything that hap

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas in Gaza hit a mosque its military says concealed the militant group's weapons, as the Palestinian death toll topped 120 Saturday in an offensive that showed no signs of slowing down.Israel launched its campaign five days ago to stop relentless rocket fire on its citizens. While there have been no fatalities in Israel, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said overnight attacks raised the death toll there to over 120, with

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom of Germany have reached a basic agreement for a merger between their US affiliates Sprint and T-Mobile US, the business daily Nikkei reported Saturday.Eight financial institutions, including Japan's top three megabanks Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui, will provide a credit line of around four trillion yen ($39 billion) for SoftBank's purchase of T-Mobile through Sprint, according to the report.The combined customer base of Sprint, ra

A singer, who attempted suicide last year, has been questioned over his alleged use of a drug widely used to treat insomnia, a prosecutor said Saturday.Son Ho-young, a member of once popular boy band G.O.D., was called in by prosecutors in late June on charges that he took zolpidem, a common prescription medication that induces sleep.The 34-year-old allegedly took the drug in May 2013 when he attempted to kill himself just days after the body of his girlfriend was found in his car along with an

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - British actor David Legeno, who played a werewolf in the "Harry Potter" movies, has been found dead in Death Valley, United States police said.He apparently died of "heat-related issues," the local sheriff said, after  the 50-year-old's body was found near Zabriskie Point, a famed movie-related panorama spot.Legeno played the werewolf Fenrir Greyback in several of the "Harry Potter" movies, including "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (2009) and the two-part finale "Har

JERUSALEM (AP) - With the official Palestinian count of the dead passing 100, and rockets fired by militants striking Israel from the Gaza Strip and from Lebanon, Israel's prime minister on Friday brushed off a question about cease-fire efforts.There is no end in sight to Israel's effort to halt militant rocket fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.“I will end it when our goals are realized,'' he said. ``And the overriding goal is to restore the peace and quiet.''Israel says it launched t

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal is trying to motivate his players for the third-place match against Brazil by giving them the mission of becoming the only Dutch squad to finish a World Cup unbeaten in regular play.Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is just hoping Brazil can finish on a high note in front of the home fans following the devastating 7-1 loss to Germany.After being eliminated by Argentina on penalties, the Netherlands has the chance of ending the tournament without

North Korea threatened Saturday to strengthen its nuclear forces as a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier prepares to take part in joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan.The 97,000-ton supercarrier USS George Washington arrived at South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan on Friday to participate in naval drills with the South Korean Navy in the country's southwest sea from July 16-21.The carrier is also set to participate in a search and rescue exercise with South Korean and

Japan would be able to produce enough plutonium to make about 2,000 atomic bombs a year if a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the country's northeast goes into operation, a U.S. nuclear nonproliferation expert has warned.Henry Sokolski, executive director at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, made the remark during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Thursday, warning the opening of the Japanese reprocessing plant could prompt South Korea and China to take action in response.S

BEIRUT (AFP) -- New clashes have erupted in eastern Syria between rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad's ouster and jihadists that have captured swathes of territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitor said Tuesday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday night's fighting broke out when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant "tried to push an advance" in the village of Basira, in eastern Deir Ezzor province close to Iraq.Blasts went off as ISIL militants targeted the rebel brigades

KIEV (AFP) -- A Russian state television reporter died of his wounds after being rushed to hospital in Ukraine's restive eastern region of Lugansk, the hospital's chief doctor told AFP."He was unconscious when he arrived and died on his way to the operating room," Lugansk District Clinical Hospital doctor Fedir Solyanyk said by telephone.The doctor said Igor Kornelyuk, a reporter with the Russian state media group VGTRK, received serious stomach wounds after being hit by shrapnel from what appea

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is looking to create the largest marine preserve in the world by protecting a massive stretch of the Pacific Ocean from drilling, fishing and other actions that could threaten wildlife, the White House said.Aiming to protect marine wildlife, Obama will also direct the government to create a program to deter illegal fishing. The executive steps come as Obama is searching for ways to leave his second-term mark on the environment despite opposition from man

NAIROBI (AFP) -- Kenya's top Muslim leaders warned Tuesday that Islamist attacks and a harsh government response risked dividing the country along ethnic and religious lines that could trigger a repeat of the deadly post-election violence six years ago."The continued violence risks tearing the country apart ... while little has come from the government to address these concerns," Abdullahi Abdi, chairman of the National Muslim Leaders Forum, told reporters.At least 15 people were reported to hav

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) -- Portugal denied midfielder Raul Meireles gave a World Cup referee the finger in his side's stormy 4-0 defeat to Germany, insisting that he was merely gesturing a tactical switch. Portugal's Raul Meireles looks at the ball during the group G World Cup soccer match between Germany and Portugal at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Monday, June 16, 2014. (AP-Yonhap)Pictures on social media show Meireles, who sports a distinctive Mohawk hairstyle, raising the third fin

RAMADI, Iraq (AFP) -- Gunmen took control Tuesday of Al-Qaim, the Iraqi side of a border crossing with Syria, after security forces withdrew, police and army officers said.The gunmen were loyal to the rebel Free Syrian Army and Al-Qaeda's Syrian  franchise Al-Nusra Front, which already controlled the Syrian side of the crossing.Al-Qaim is one of three official crossings from Iraq into Syria.One at Rabia to the north was abandoned by Iraqi forces last week during a major offensive by Sunni milita

Nexen Tire Corp., South Korea's smallest tiremaker, said Tuesday that it inked a deal to build a new plant in the Czech Republic.The confirmation comes after the company had hinted for some time that it was reviewing various options to build its second overseas factory in an East European country."A deal has been reached for the building of the Czech plant, but it is too early to go into details," said a corporate source who declined to be identified.The insider, however, said Czech Prime Minist

Reversing an earlier position, the South Korean government said Tuesday that it is "impossible" to form joint teams with North Korea for the upcoming Asian Games, given tight schedules and current inter-Korean relations.Last month, North Korea announced its plan to join the 2014 Asian Games to be held in the metropolitan city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.If the North participates in the event, it will be the communist country's second Asian Games appearance in South Ko