U.S. album sales rose for the first time since 2004 last year, edging up 1.4 percent to 330.6 million units from 326.2 million in 2010, according to figures published in Billboard magazine on Wednesday. The small increase in the world's biggest music market will be welcome news to the record industry after years of declining

Obese people who had weight-loss surgery were less likely to later suffer a heart attack or stroke, or to die from one, compared to people who did not have the surgery, according to a Swedish study. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, come from a study of more than 4,000

The FBI performed nearly 16.5 million pre-purchase background checks on weapons buyers in 2011 as Americans went on an apparent gun-buying spree. The top 10 states, listed below, accounted for more than half of the requests the FBI fielded during the year. An FBI spokesman said Kentucky's numbers were skewed because the state runs a

A 36-year-old woman was accused of causing $10,000 worth of damage to a painting by the late abstract expressionist artist Clyfford Still, a work valued at more than $30 million, authorities in the U.S. state of Colorado said on Wednesday. A police report said Carmen Tisch punched and scratched the painting, an oil-on-canvas called "1957-J

Romania's new Ambassador to Cyprus Ion Pascu has reaffirmed the steadfast positions of principle of his country regarding the solution of the Cyprus problem, respecting the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, based on relevant UN resolutions. Pascu was received on Wednesday by President of the House of Representatives Yiannakis Omirou,

The average number of the registered unemployed in Cyprus for the year 2011 reached 28.276 persons, compared to 22.842 persons in 2010, recording an increase of 23,8%, according to the Statistical Service. The unemployed persons, registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of December 2011, reached 32.895 persons. Based on the seasonally

The government and Hermes Airports have signed an agreement to stimulate tourism. The agreement, expected to increase tourist arrivals by 3,5 million and revenue by 2,3 billion euro in the next five years, was signed by Minister of Communication and Works Efthymios Flourentzou and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hermes Airports Iacovos Iacovou.