The Other Side of Life 24/7: Morning Digest: Syrian battles rage in capital, Russia pressed

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Morning Digest: Syrian battles rage in capital, Russia pressed

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07/18/2012

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Syrian battles rage in capital, Russia pressed

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said they shot down an army helicopter on Tuesday as they battled government forces backed by air power and artillery in the fiercest fighting to hit Damascus since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad erupted last year..

Japan to restart second reactor amid faultline concerns

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will on Wednesday restart its second nuclear reactor after the Fukushima crisis closed the nation's atomic power plants, even as fresh concerns surfaced about the unit's positioning near a faultline..

Shares gain, euro weak after Fed's mixed signals

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares edged up but the euro eased on Wednesday after testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that offered little guidance on whether the central bank was moving closer to new stimulus measures..

Actor Christian Bale reflects on years as "Dark Knight"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Dark Knight rises in movie theaters this Friday on the wings of huge anticipation for the final film of director Christopher Nolan's "Batman" trilogy, but there is one man who remains calm in the face of the media hype, Batman actor Christian Bale..

Sandwich charge was a major Open fillip for Mickelson

LYTHAM ST ANNES (Reuters) - Phil Mickelson believes the storming final round which left him joint runner-up at the 2011 British Open will give him the momentum to go one better in this year's tournament at Lytham..

Microsoft revamps Office, looks to the cloud

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp unveiled a new version of its Office suite tailored for tablets and other touch screen devices, in the company's largest-ever overhaul of the workplace software it relies on for much of its profit..

NASA's Mars rover may be in for blind landing

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's new Mars rover is heading for a risky do-or-die touchdown next month to assess conditions for life on the planet, but the U.S. space agency may not know for hours whether it arrived safely, managers said on Monday..

Batman could fly, but he'd crash and die

LONDON (Reuters) - Holy crash landing Batman! The crime-fighting caped crusader could fly but if he did, he would smash into the ground and probably die, a group of British physics students have calculated..