NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan agricultural firm Rea Vipingo posted a 7 percent drop in first-half pretax profit to 281 million shillings due to a jump in its cost of sales, it said on Monday. The sisal producer said it expected prices and sales to remain at "satisfactory levels" in the remainder of its financial year ending September. It
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TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - A Mississippi martial arts instructor has pleaded not guilty to charges he sent ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and two other public officials. James Everett Dutschke, 41, who was arrested on April 27, pleaded not guilty to all five counts of a grand jury indictment, court records filed on Tuesday showed. His trial has been set for July 29 and Dutschke faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for
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LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is to buy U.S. respiratory drug specialist Pearl Therapeutics for up to $1.15 billion as Britain's second biggest drugmaker steps up a drive to rebuild its product pipeline via deal-making. AstraZeneca said on Monday it would pay $560 million upfront, plus up to $450 million if certain development milestones are hit and sales-related payments of up to a further $140 million. Pearl's lead product, PT003, is a fixed...
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By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour party sought to convince voters on Monday that it is fit to run the economy by promising "iron discipline" on spending and pledging some cuts to welfare benefits if it wins the 2015 election. Would-be chancellor Ed Balls said winter fuel subsidies will be scrapped
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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man has pleaded not guilty to sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a local judge....
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PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius's earnings from tourism dropped 12.4 percent from a year earlier to 12.06 billion rupees in the first three months of this year as the weak economic environment in Europe hurt visitors' spending. Statistics Mauritius cut its forecast for visitor arrivals this year to 990,000 from a previous estimate of 1
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Hobbits, elves and dragons appear to be luring tourists to New Zealand as fans await their first glimpse of the second movie in "The Hobbit" trilogy....
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a lackluster start to the year, the movie industry enjoyed its most robust Memorial Day weekend ever at the box office, with "Fast & Furious 6" speeding to the top spot....
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By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S-Syrian citizen accused of conspiring with jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has been extradited to New York from Australia to face charges he conspired to buy aircraft in violation of economic sanctions, federal prosecutors said on Friday. Richard Ammar Chichakli is scheduled to be arraigned in federal magistrate court in Manhattan on Saturday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of...
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BOSTON (AP) — A former enforcer for James "Whitey" Bulger who admitted killing 20 people insisted Tuesday that he is not a hit man or a serial killer, but instead is a "nice guy" who was only trying to help his family and friends when he pumped bullets into victims while working with Bulger and his gang.
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LONDON (AP) — Actor Michael Douglas says that his throat cancer was caused by a virus he contracted by performing oral sex on women.
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