People tend to lose a little more weight with online help than with traditional weight loss programs, a Japanese study said — but combining the Internet with in-person contact appears to be the most effective in keeping extra kilograms at bay. With obesity on the rise, there have been many attempts to take advantage of
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* Stavrakis eyes Russia for future financing * The government is turning to the domestic market for a 700 mln euro bond auction Wednesday, preferring liquid conditions at home for now rather than international markets where yields are at record highs on Greek spillover jitters. Domestic borrowers are being offered a 4.5% coupon, compared to
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* Promises smooth transition from Strauss-Kahn era * Christine Lagarde's determination as a negotiator and experience working on the euro zone debt crisis are likely to ensure she settles smoothly into leadership of the International Monetary Fund, as the global lender faces some of the toughest economic challenges in its history. Her charisma and the
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* Deal likely to be under $100 million * News Corp is expected to sell the troubled social media site Myspace in the next two days, according to a source familiar with the situation. Two front-runners have emerged in the auction process: online ad company Specific Media and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, the
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Breast cancer patients testified that Roche Holding AG's Avastin saved their lives as U.S. health officials consider whether the world's best-selling cancer drug should still be approved for that condition. "I am alive due to Avastin," said 66-year-old Patricia Howard on Tuesday. "I'm a wife, mother, sister, aunt and granny. I'm not just a statistic.
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Efforts to combat piracy off the Somali coast have reduced the number of successful attacks on merchant ships, though the battle is far from over, a senior British navy officer said on Tuesday. Somali pirates are making millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, despite efforts
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* Tension rising in Kurdish southeast * Lira eases on uncertainty worries * Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's third term got off to a turbulent start on Tuesday when the main opposition party and minority Kurds boycotted parliament's swearing-in to protest against bans on elected candidates. The boycott meant more than 30% of elected MPs
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* Rehn says no Plan B to save Greece from default * Anti-austerity protests turned violent in Athens on Tuesday as the European Union warned Greek lawmakers the country faces immediate default unless they back an unpopular economic plan this week. Hooded youths throwing stones and wielding sticks set fire to garbage bins and a
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* Hands reins of Hermes to Iacovou * Nicos Shacolas, head of the NKS Group trade giant and founding chairman of the Hermes Airports consortium, seems determined to push through with plans to operate a casino at the Larnaca airport hotel, construction work for which is expected to start by the end of the
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The European Investment Bank is providing a further loan of EUR 100 mln in support of school facilities throughout Cyprus. This follows a EUR 200 mln loan granted by the EIB in 2003 for the improvement of the education infrastructure. EIB Vice-President Plutarchos Sakellaris signed the agreement with Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis, heading a top-level
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