Germany wins 2010 Eurovision Song Contest

OSLO — Germany won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo on Saturday with the punchy pop ballad "Satellite" sung by Lena, the second German to win the extravagant talent contest in its 55-year history.

"I'm so happy and so thankful and so grateful and I never thought that we could do this," the 19-year-old, who just finished her final school exams, said.

Dark red lips trembling with emotion, the singer -- who had been tipped as one of the evening's possible winners -- told the show's hosts she did not feel strong enough to lift her trophy.

"Thank you! This is so absolutely awesome and I feel like just, this is not real," she said, a German flag in her hands.

Germany last won the contest in 1982 and as this year's winner, will host the show next year.

Turkey and Romania came in second and third out of the 25 countries in the final.

They had competed for points obtained by the popular vote and the marks given by specialist juries in all of the countries that took part in the contest.

In Germany, as soon as Lena was declared the winner, shouts of joy burst out from the crowds of thousands watching the event from giant screens displayed in the northern city of Hamburg and in Hanover, central Germany, her home town.

Over the last week, Germany has fallen for the natural looking, spontaneous, and previously unknown young singer.

She won their hearts by candidly answering questions on her private life and criticism of her English accent.

"Lena, you are making a dream come true," ran the headline in the online version of the Bild-Zeitung tabloid, which praised Germany's "sensational" victory.

"Incredible! Lena turns her head to Europe and won," said regional daily Hamburger Abendblatt.

"All of Germany was trembling... and crossing its fingers: Lena Meyer-Landrut was carrying the hopes of a nation on her shoulders," said the weekly Focus.

Organisers said more than 120 million viewers across 39 European countries -- but also as far afield as Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand -- tuned in to the contest, one of the world's most watched events.

But one incident clouded the evening: one of the 16,000 spectators who had packed Oslo's Telenor Arena to watch the contest live managed to slip through security and onto the stage during Spain's performance.

Some in Spain identified the intruder as Jaume Marquet Cot, better known as "Jimmy Jump," a real estate agent from the separatist-minded region of Catalonia who is known for pitch invasions of several major sporting events.

They accused him of trying to ruin Daniel Diges' chances of winning Eurovision with "Algo Pequenito."

But for the most part, the 55th installment of the Eurovision song contest lived up to expectations with its classic blend of kitsch and pop glamour.

With sexy divas, bare-chested bronzed playboys, exuberant costumes and sparkling light displays, no effort had been spared for the musical showdown.

While the votes were being counted, a giant flash mob -- in which Norways Crown Princess took part- - was broadcast, showing Europeans from all over the continent dancing along to a catchy pop tune.

As in earlier years, regional blocks played a huge role in attributing points: Greece gave the maximum of 12 points to Cyprus who returned the favour; Serbia gave its points to Bosnia-Hercegovina, while Belarus' top marks went to Russia.

On the other hand, Russia gave 10 points to Georgia, with whom it was at war less than two years ago.

France, which has not won the Eurovision since 1977, came in 12th, and the United Kingdom was last.

`Diff'rent Strokes' star Gary Coleman dies

PROVO, Utah – Gary Coleman, the child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" whose later career was marred by medical and legal problems, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.

Life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT with family and friends at his side, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said.

Coleman, with his sparkling eyes and perfect comic timing, became a star after "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978. He played Arnold Jackson, the younger one of a pair of African-American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man.

"It's unfortunate. It's a sad day," said Todd Bridges, who played the older brother Willis. "It's sad that I'm the last kid alive from the show."

Dana Plato, who played the boys' white, teenage sister, committed suicide in 1999. Bridges was tried and acquitted of attempted murder.

Coleman's popularity faded when the show ended after six seasons on NBC and two on ABC.

Coleman suffered continuing ill health from the kidney disease that stunted his growth and had a host of legal problems in recent years.

He suffered the brain hemorrhage Wednesday at his Santaquin home, 55 miles south of Salt Lake City.

A statement from the family said he was conscious and lucid until midday Thursday, when his condition worsened and he slipped into unconsciousness. Coleman was then placed on life support.

"The world's going to be a little less happy place without Gary," said Randy Kester, Coleman's attorney. "For being a small guy, he sure had a big impact on the world."

"Diff'rent Strokes" debuted on NBC in 1978 and drew most of its laughs from the tiny, 10-year-old Coleman.

Race and class relations became topics on the show as much as the typical trials of growing up.

Coleman was an immediate star, and his skeptical "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" — usually aimed at his brother, Willis — became a catchphrase.

In a 1979 Los Angeles Times profile, his mother, Edmonia Sue Coleman, said her son had always been a ham as a small child. He acted in some commercials before he was signed by T.A.T., the production company that created "Diff'rent Strokes."

"Gary remembers everything. EVERYTHING," co-producer and director Herb Kenwith told the newspaper.

Asked by Ebony magazine in 1979 how he learned his lines so easily, young Gary replied, "It's easy!"

The attention his starring role brought him could be a burden as well as a pleasure. Coleman said in 2001 that he would do a TV series again, but "only under the absolute condition that it be an ensemble cast and that everybody gets a chance to shine."

"I certainly am not going to be the only person on the show working," he said. "I've done that. I didn't like it."

The series lives on thanks to DVDs and YouTube. But its equally enduring legacy became the troubles in adulthood of its former child stars.

Coleman had financial and legal problems in addition to the kidney disease that required dialysis and at least two transplants. As an adult, his height reached only 4 feet 8 inches.

He continued to get credits for TV guest shots and other small roles over the years. But in 2001 he said he preferred earning money from celebrity endorsements.

"Now that I'm 33, I can call the shots," he said. "And if anybody has a problem with that, I guess they don't have to work with me."

Coleman was among 135 candidates who ran in California's bizarre 2003 recall election to replace then-Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters ousted in favor of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Coleman finished in eighth place with 12,488 votes, or 0.2 percent, just behind Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

Running for office gave him a chance to show another side of himself, he said at the time.

"This is really interesting and cool, and I've been enjoying the heck out of it because I get to be intelligent, which is something I don't get to do very often," he said.

But legal disputes dogged him repeatedly. In 1989, when Coleman was 21, his mother filed a court request trying to gain control of her son's $6 million fortune, saying he was incapable of handling his affairs. He said the move "obviously stems from her frustration at not being able to control my life."

In a 1993 television interview, he said he had twice tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills.

He moved to Utah in fall 2005, and according to a tally in early 2010, officers were called to assist or intervene with Coleman more than 20 times in the following years. The responses included a call where Coleman said he had taken dozens of Oxycontin pills and wanted to die.

Some of the disputes involved his wife, Shannon Price, whom he met on the set of the 2006 comedy "Church Ball" and married in 2007.

In September 2008, a dustup with a fan at a Utah bowling alley led Coleman to plead no contest to disorderly conduct. The fan also sued him, claiming the actor punched him and ran into him with his truck.

Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., near Chicago. His mother told Ebony his kidney disease was diagnosed when he was 2. He underwent his first transplant at age 5.

He attracted attention when he took part in some local fashion shows and people suggested he should get work performing in commercials, which he then did, she said.

She stayed with her son in California while he was making "Diff'rent Strokes," while her husband Willis, a pharmaceutical company worker, stayed behind in Illinois.

Retail giant Wal-Mart selling iPhone 3G for 97 dollars

SAN FRANCISCO — Retail giant Wal-Mart on Tuesday more than halved the price of the 16-gigabyte iPhone 3G in a sign that shelves are being cleared for a hot new model to be unveiled by Apple.

Walmart began charging 97 dollars for 16-gigabyte iPhone 3G smartphones bought in the United States with two-year service contracts.

"We are going to reduce the price on this most popular smartphone so our customers can realize these new savings as soon as possible," said Mehrdad Akbar, senior category director for wireless for Walmart US.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is expected to show off the next-generation iPhone on June 7 during a keynote speech opening the California company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The WWDC will be held from June 7-11. The event typically attracts thousands of developers that craft software for Macintosh computers, the iPhone, the iPod and the iPad.

Apple typically shrouds such events in secrecy but a technology blog, Gizmodo, last month obtained and published details of the next iPhone after getting its hands on a prototype of the device.

Gizmodo is at the center of a police investigation into whether a crime was committed in obtaining the iPhone prototype, which was lost in a California beer garden by an Apple software engineer.

Henin, Nadal cruise, Safina crashes at Frenc Open tennis

PARIS — Justine Henin and Rafael Nadal each kept on course for their fifth French Open titles on Tuesday, but twice-beaten finalist Dinara Safina crashed out to a player who'll be 40 in September.

Henin was appearing at her first Roland Garros since 2007 following her spell in retirement and beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-3, while Nadal eased past French teenager Gianni Mina 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

But Russian ninth seed Safina had a day to forget, as the former world number one fell 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm -- the event's oldest female match-winner since Virginia Wade in 1985.

Men's sixth seed Andy Roddick came through a five-setter to beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 and there were also wins for Lleyton Hewitt and Spanish seeds David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Henin, the number 22 seed, is bidding for her fifth Roland Garros title after stepping away from tennis on the eve of the 2008 tournament.

The 27-year-old Belgian cut short her retirement at the beginning of the year and will now face Czech Klara Zakopalova in the second round.

"I never expected to be back here again on this court," said Henin after taking her first steps on Court Philippe Chatrier since she overwhelmed Ana Ivanovic in the 2007 final.

Four-time champion Nadal saw off nine break points against 18-year-old wild card Mina, who was making his Grand Slam debut, as he breezed into a second-round meeting with Argentina's Horacio Zaballos.

"My goal is always to play my best tennis. I would love to come back here every year as defending champion but that's impossible," said the Spanish world number two, who lost his title to Roger Federer last year after a fourth-round defeat against Robin Soderling.

The unexpected star of the day was Date Krumm, a semi-finalist in 1995, who will meet Australian wildcard Jarmila Groth in round two after seeing off a sour-tempered Safina, whose season has been hampered by a lower back injury.

"Three weeks ago I injured my calf and to play against Safina on (Court) Suzanne Lenglen, I was already happy just to be here," said Date Krumm, who came back from 4-1 down in the third set despite injuring her calf.

Safina, 24, who was just three when Date Krumm mader her debut here in 1989, committed 17 double faults in the match.

"I couldn't work on my serve until I came here. I was serving really good at the beginning but I got tight and lost the motion and that's when I started to make more double faults," she said.

Former world number one Maria Sharapova, the Russian 12th seed, brushed off 18-year-old compatriot Ksenia Pervak to win 6-3, 6-2, while French 13th seed Marion Bartoli won 6-2, 6-3 against Italy's Maria Elena Camerin.

In the men's draw Roddick will face Slovenia's Blaz Kavcic for a place in the last 32 after his five-set ordeal against Nieminen on Philippe Chatrier.

The big-hitting American skipped the entire claycourt season for what he called "personal reasons" and had to dig deep before eventually overcoming his wily 28-year-old opponent in three hours and 19 minutes.

"I've been pretty good at sticking around. The majority of the matches I win aren't pretty," said Roddick. "But I've made a career out of that."

Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, the seventh seed, eased past Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, but Argentine 26th seed Juan Monaco fell 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to Slovenian qualifier Grega Zemlja, the world 141.

Ninth seed Ferrer triumphed 6-1 6-3 6-1 over Frenchman David Guez, with Ferrero, the number 16 seed, a 6-4 6-3 6-1 winner against Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas, but 18th seed Sam Querrey of the USA lost in four sets to countryman Robby Ginepri.

Australia's Hewitt, the 28th seed, took his place in the last 64 by beating France's Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-0, 6-4 in a match that ended with a dramatic rainstorm after three days of blazing heat in Paris.

New risk threatens Internet cafe denizens: research

SAN FRANCISCO — Canadian university researchers on Friday warned of a new strain of advertising software that can sneak onto laptop computers linked to wireless networks at Internet cafes.

University of Calgary computer science researchers have branded the potentially infectious ad software "Typhoid adware" for its ability to spread in public through unsuspecting laptop users.

"We're looking at a different variant of adware which we haven't seen out there yet but we believe could be a threat soon," said associate professor John Aycock, who co-authored a Typhoid research paper.

Adware is software typically sneaked onto people's computers when they download booby-trapped files such as screen savers or browser tool bars.

Once on machines, the programs barrage users with pop-up advertisements.

"Typhoid adware is designed for public places where people bring their laptops," says Aycock. "It's far more covert, displaying advertisements on computers that don't have the adware installed, not the ones that do."

A "carrier" laptop infected with Typhoid inserts advertisements in videos or Web pages on other computers using hotspots, according to the research.

"Not only are ads annoying but they can also advertise rogue antivirus software that's harmful to your computer, so ads are in some sense the tip of the iceberg," Aycock said.

Rogue antivirus software is used to con people into paying to fix computer problems that don't exist, steal identity information, and infect machines with malicious programs.

Internet cafe Web surfers can protect themselves by making certain online videos being watched are from the original sources and adjusting computer settings to be more wary of contact from other computers, researchers said.

Study uncovers gene that raises vulnerability to TB, malaria

WASHINGTON — An international team of researchers has uncovered new genetic variants that increase a person's likelihood of contracting infectious diseases including tuberculosis and malaria.

Their work revealed a "striking association" between a gene called CISH and increased susceptibility to a range of infectious diseases.

A group of five different genetic variants was discovered within the CISH gene, and having just one of these variations raised susceptibility to infectious disease by 18 percent.

"That is a substantial effect size for a single gene," said Frederick Vannberg, a doctor at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics and a co-author of the study published in the May 20 issue of the New England Journal Medicine.

CISH is responsible for the production of a protein that plays a key role in the way the body's immune system responds to infectious diseases, effectively interfering with signals sent between immune system cells.

"What the results tell us is that CISH is well worth following up with more research to understand better how the immune system responds to these infectious diseases, and how this can contribute to disease risk," said Adrian Hill, also of the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics.

The study's authors analyzed the genes of more than 8,000 people in clinics in Malawi, Kenya, Vietnam and Hong Kong over a five-year period.

Their research focused on susceptibility to tuberculosis, malaria and other serious blood infections called bacteraemia.

Chiea Khor of A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences said the research left it unclear why having reduced CISH is linked to an increased vulnerability to infectious disease.

"But it does suggest that CISH is a key regulator of the immune system," she said.

"We hope that our findings will encourage clinical research to better understand the immunological processes that are going on, with a view to identifying targets for therapeutic intervention and the development of better therapies and vaccines."

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide but are particularly devastating in the developing world, where treatments and vaccines are "urgently needed," the authors of the study said.

William Shatner to star as dad in new CBS comedy

NEW YORK – William Shatner will star in his first sitcom on CBS next season.

CBS has given the green light to a show on which the son of Shatner's character has more than a million followers to a Twitter account where he writes down his father's musings.

A person familiar with the development process who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to talk about CBS' schedule says the Shatner series is among six new ones the network will add next season. The shows include a spinoff to the FBI profilers drama "Criminal Minds" and a remake of the 1970s police series "Hawaii Five-0."

CBS also is ordering a comedy about a couple who meet in a support group for overeaters, a cop drama with Tom Selleck and a Las Vegas-based legal series.

Child survivor of Libyan crash flies home

TRIPOLI — The nine-year-old Dutch boy who was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Libyan capital left for home on Saturday, three days after the disaster that killed his parents, brother and 100 others.

Ruben van Assouw was accompanied on the flight from Matiga military airfield in the Libyan capital by his uncle, aunt and the Libyan doctor who had been treating him.

"He's a very special patient. He is talking and in good health. I will stay (in the Netherlands) for as long as necessary," Dr Siddiq ben Dilla told AFP before the Cessna Citation Libyan air ambulance took off.

The Dutch foreign ministry has refused to disclose its destination, but the Dutch federation of tour operators said the aircraft would land at Eindhoven military airport.

It took off shortly after 12 noon (0900 GMT) for the roughly three-hour flight.

Earlier, police prevented photographers from approaching as Ruben was taken by stretcher, covered in a blue blanket and with a black cap on his head and scarf covering his face, to the ambulance for the journey to the airport.

Dilla said flowers and presents given to the boy had been taken away from Al-Khadra hospital in Tripoli in a Dutch embassy vehicle.

The boy's aunt and uncle said on Friday that Ruben now knows that his mother, father and 11-year-old brother died in Wednesday's crash at Tripoli airport that killed a total of 103 people and whose cause remains unknown.

The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330 flight from Johannesburg in South Africa disintegrated on landing.

"We have explained to Ruben exactly what happened. He knows that his parents and his brother are dead," they said in a statement read to media in Tripoli.

It said Ruben was doing well under the circumstances and had seen the flowers and messages of support sent to him.

"The time ahead will be a difficult period for us," the statement said. "We hope that the media will respect our privacy."

Earlier Ruben himself told a Dutch newspaper he could remember nothing about the crash.

"My name is Ruben and I am from Holland," Telegraaf newspaper reported on a telephone conversation with him. "I am fine, but my legs hurt a lot," the boy told a reporter on the mobile phone of one of his doctors.

"I am in a hospital," Ruben said. "I don't know how I got here, I don't know anything more. I really want to go home."

The Dutch newspaper Brabants Dagblad said Ruben had been on safari in South Africa with his mother Trudy, 41, father Patrick, 40, and brother Enzo.

The boy's grandmother, An van de Sande, said in a report on Thursday that the holiday had been to celebrate the couple's "copper" wedding anniversary.

A Libyan official said on Saturday that a security agent died of shock on the day of the disaster when he saw the bodies at the crash site.

"He was a diabetic. He ran towards the scene but at the sight of the bodies his blood sugar levels soared and he died on the spot," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He said the man, who had worked at Tripoli airport, was "elderly."

Crash investigators have said no technical problems were reported by the pilot before the jet went down on Wednesday.

"The pilot did not report any problems. Until the very last moment things were normal between the pilot and the control tower," Neji Dhaou, the head of the Libyan commission of inquiry, said on Friday.

Paying tribute to the captain, Yussef Beshir Assaidi, Afriqiyah Airways said he was widely experienced and "among the company's best" pilots.

Spanish union calls public sector strike over austerity plan

MADRID — A Spanish union Thursday called a strike of public sector workers for June 2 over the socialist government's tough new austerity measures.

The public sector branch of the UGT union also called for demonstrations from May 20, the day the measures announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero are to be presented to parliament, the UGT said.

It urged all "public workers of different sectors of the country, from health to education to emergency services, municipalities, autonomous communities and government agencies, to observe a general strike on June 2."

The UGT said it will ask other unions to join the walkout over the government plan, which includes a pay cut for the public sector.

Another major union, the CCOO, earlier also said it's management would vote on a strike call.

But the leaders of both unions ruled out calling a general strike in all sectors of the country.

"It would be irresponsible on our part to call a general strike which would contribute to the economic deterioration of the country even more," the secretary general of CCOO union, Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, said after a meeting with Zapatero along with his CCOO counterpart.

Zapatero on Wednesday announced austerity measures worth 15 billion euros over two years in a new bid to shore up Spain's public finances after stocks plunged last week over fears it could follow Greece into a debt crisis.

The cuts are on top of a 50-billion-euro (63-billion-dollar) austerity package announced in January designed to slash public deficit to the eurozone limit of three percent of gross domestic product by 2013 from 11.2 percent last year.

Zapatero had said just last week that he planned no additional austerity cuts.

The latest measures include a five-percent pay cut for public sector workers from June, and a pay freeze from 2011. Pensions except for the poorest will also be frozen in 2011.

The government also plans to scrap a 2,500-euro payout to parents for the birth of children, a key part of Zapatero's social platform to boost Spain's lagging birth rate.

"It is not easy for the government to approve" these measures, Zapatero said on Wednesday, adding that belt-tightening would have "an obvious social impact" in a country struggling with 20 percent unemployment.

Spanish media said Thursday that the public sector pay cut was the first since the restoration of democracy after the 1939-75 dictatorship of general Francisco Franco.

Spain's credit rating was cut by Standard and Poor's last month and it has been named along with Portugal as possible new weak links in the eurozone after debt-laden Greece.

As the new measures were announced, Spain became the last of Europe's big economies to emerge from recession, with official data showing fragile growth of 0.1 percent in the first quarter.

Spain, Europe's fifth largest economy, went into recession in the second quarter of 2008 as the global financial meltdown compounded a crisis in the Spanish property market, which had been a major driver for growth in the preceding years.

"Rollercoaster Tycoon" riding to the screen

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Sony is getting into the roller-coaster theme park business ... sort of.

Sony Pictures Animation has pre-emptively picked up rights to the Atari video game "Rollercoaster Tycoon," and is developing the project as a live-action/CGI hybrid.

The "Tycoon" franchise, created by Chris Sawyer, is a popular series of computer games that simulate a combination of designing roller coasters and amusement park management. Each game challenges players with open-ended amusement park management and development while allowing them to construct and customize their own unique roller coasters.

The games are popular in the PC world, generating more than $300 million in sales and giving Atari bragging rights for having the third-best-selling PC title of all time in the U.S.

Harald Zwart is spearheading the development of the big-screen adaptation as a possible directing project and will executive produce. He directed Sony's "The Karate Kid," the upcoming remake of the 1980s classic that is produced by Will Smith and stars his son Jaden Smith.

Adam Sandler taking "Pixels" to big screen

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Pixels," the much-buzzed-about short film featuring 1980s video game characters attacking New York City, is heading for the big-screen.

The French filmmaker behind "Pixels," Patrick Jean, has teamed up with Adam Sandler's production banner Happy Madison to develop a big-screen take. The team is in talks with Columbia, where Happy Madison has its first-look deal, to set up the project at the studio.

The project is still in the early stages and no writer is on board, but the plan is to make a "Ghostbusters"-style action comedy in which characters come out of a video game to wreak havoc in the real world.

"Pixels," abetted by a thumbs-up from filmmaker Edgar Wright, became a viral hit in April with its pixilated versions of Tetris, Space Invaders, Frogger, Pac-Man and others invading NYC first, then the world.

Afghanistan's Karzai heads to Washington

KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai left for Washington Sunday on a four-day visit, his office said, aiming to mend ties after a damaging row over his criticism of foreign partners.

Karzai will meet President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He is accompanied by more than a dozen government ministers, his office said in a statement.

The visit is Karzai's first since he made a string of outspoken criticisms alleging that foreign nations had orchestrated fraud in the elections that returned him to power last year, comments that infuriated Washington.

With the United States pouring thousands more troops into Afghanistan ahead of a decisive operation in Kandahar -- the Taliban's heartland -- both sides have stressed the importance of the White House meeting on Wednesday. A Karzai spokesman last week described it as "extremely important".

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Obama had asked his security team to treat Karzai with more public respect following the row.

"There has been a rough patch," the paper quoted a senior US administration official as saying.

"Frankly, some of what Karzai said needed to be responded to. But the bottom line is that there has been an improvement since then in the atmospherics and in the substance of our dealings with President Karzai and his team."

Nonetheless the meeting is likely to see renewed US pressure on the embattled leader to wipe out corruption.

US administration officials have sent mixed signals about Karzai's legitimacy and his value to the US-led counter-insurgency campaign.

Karzai's standing in the West has fallen dramatically since he took power following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, but unity is seen as crucial if US-led efforts in ending a nine-year Taliban insurgency are to succeed.

Hours before his departure, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it had lost a soldier fighting insurgents in southern Afghanistan.

"An ISAF servicemember died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today," the force said in a statement, without specifying the nationality of the casualty or the location of the incident.

There are about 130,000 international troops operating under ISAF, more than two third of them US nationals.

On Saturday US and Afghan forces killed 10 Taliban militants in a raid in the western province of Herat after the insurgents beheaded four guards working for the US military, the Afghan army said Sunday.

US and Afghan soldiers engaged the insurgents for a full day in the district of Shindand, the commander of Afghan army commando forces in western Afghanistan told AFP.

"We together with US Marines launched an operation against insurgents as a result of which 10 Taliban were killed," said Zainudin Sharifi.

ISAF has a base in Shindand, part of the relatively peaceful province of Herat, which shares a long border with Iran.

N.Korea leader in Beijing for talks with Hu: report

BEIJING — North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Il was reportedly in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, on his first trip abroad in years to secure much-needed economic aid.

The 68-year-old Kim, who arrived in China on Monday, is expected to offer Beijing reassurances that Pyongyang will return to nuclear disarmament talks it abandoned more than a year ago, in exchange for economic aid and investment.

North Korea is under tough UN sanctions over its refusal to halt its atomic drive, and its economy suffered a new blow last November when a currency reform backfired, wiping out people's savings and sending prices soaring.

China is Pyongyang's sole major ally and its main source of finance, food and fuel. It is also seen as the only country with any ability to put pressure on Kim's hardline regime.

Kim arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Hu after apparently visiting the port city of Tianjin southeast of the Chinese capital, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing unnamed sources.

An AFP photographer saw a convoy of cars believed to be carrying Kim entering the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing -- where he has stayed in the past and was expected to stay again this time.

It was unclear when the reclusive leader would meet Hu. Yonhap reported that what appeared to be the same motorcade was later seen coming out of Diaoyutai, heading towards the Great Hall of the People where talks often take place.

This prompted speculation Kim might be meeting Hu Wednesday evening, although sources had earlier told Yonhap summit talks between the two leaders would take place on Thursday.

Before his stop in Tianjin, the North Korean leader visited dock and industrial facilities in Dalian in the northeast -- suggesting he wants to learn how to boost his country's port cities as a way to increase trade.

"By visiting industrial sites, Kim is trying to learn about China's economic development," Kim Yong-Hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul, told AFP.

"The main and open goal of Kim's trip is to strengthen economic cooperation and secure more economic assistance from China," he added.

"In an attempt to overcome (economic) difficulties, Kim may tell China that North Korea is willing to resume six-party talks."

Cheng Xiaohe, a professor of international politics at Renmin University in Beijing, agreed, saying any aid given to Kim would be "aimed at getting him to return to negotiations".

The North has said it will not return to the six-party disarmament talks grouping the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States until UN sanctions are lifted and the US agrees to talks on a formal peace treaty.

US and South Korean officials have said the sinking of a South Korean warship in March -- which was ripped apart by an external blast, killing 46 sailors -- has made an early resumption of negotiations less likely.

Seoul has hinted the Cheonan incident could be Pyongyang's fault. The North has denied all responsibility.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the next move on disarmament was up to North Korea.

"There are five countries on the same page with respect to the six-party process. There's one country that is not -- North Korea," Crowley said Tuesday, adding that China was in a prime position to make some headway with Kim.

"We would trust that if there are meetings with high-level Chinese officials that they will stress, as we do, that the only route forward for North Korea is through the six-party process."

Cheng said Kim would have to raise the Cheonan incident with Hu, as it was "slowly turning into a crisis that will impact China-North Korea economic exchanges and affect relations between China and South Korea".

Kim's trip to China -- his first in four years -- has not been officially confirmed by either Beijing or Pyongyang. An official at North Korea's embassy in Beijing told AFP Wednesday he had no information.

Both governments often refrain from comment until Kim, who reportedly suffered a stroke in mid-2008, is safely back home.

Kim, who is said to dislike air travel, has visited China four times since 2000, each time by train. It was not clear when this trip would end, but Hu is scheduled to begin a visit to Russia at the end of the week.

"His current trip to China appears to have a strong political and diplomatic motive, compared to his previous trips," said Kim, the expert at Dongguk University.

"North Korea now needs a breakthrough as its isolation from the international community has deepened, with its economic troubles worsening."

Winfrey, Wintour host Met Costume Gala in NYC

NEW YORK – Two of the most powerful women in entertainment and fashion teamed up to throw a party in New York City.

Oprah Winfrey and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and Gap creative director Patrick Robinson co-chaired the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala Benefit on Monday night in New York.

This year's theme celebrated the American woman.

Stars like Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lopez were there. Many were accompanied by the designer who dressed them.

Winfrey walked the arrival line with Oscar de la Renta, wearing a navy couture gown by the designer.

She said she looked forward to going into the party and having a few shots of tequila.

"Harry Potter" actress Emma Watson took a break from studying for her final exams at Brown University to attend, wearing a white custom gown by Burberry.

"I'm pretty lucky I get the best of both worlds and that's why I'm so blessed," the teenager said.

When asked what goes on inside the Met Gala, Anna Wintour responded with a laugh, "Oh, we're very, very well behaved."

Lady Gaga was slated to perform at the ball but didn't walk the red carpet. Instead, the famous face with the most unusual dress was singer Katy Perry. She wore a dress that literally lit up with LED lights.

"I feel like I really have to represent those girls that just go for it and do their own thing and, you know, have their own bit of spontaneity and self confidence," Perry said. "I think sometimes in fashion it can get a little stuffy so I wanted to lighten up!"

Full field expected despite dismal Derby weather

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Rain pounded Churchill Downs early Saturday, but boggy conditions at the historic track weren't expected to deter hopefuls for the Kentucky Derby, first jewel of US flat racing's Triple Crown.

The heavy rain prompted the postponement of early workouts, but all 20 Kentucky Derby entrants were expected to go to the gate at 5:24 pm (22:24 GMT).

"I think they'd run over crushed glass," joked Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will be seeking his fifth Derby win with Dublin.

Light rain was expected to continue throughout the afternoon, but at least predictions of 3-6 inches of rain were not expected to materialize.

Few in the field have experience in the mud. Trainer Bob Baffert said it remained to be seen how the country's top 3-year-olds will react.

"It hits their belly and face," Baffert said. "They throw their head up, they lose interest and they get scared."

The race was already wide open. Eskendereya, the horse to beat in the build-up to the Derby, was withdrawn last weekend with an injury in his left front leg.

Baffert's Lookin At Lucky was the 3-1 morning favorite, but has drawn the unfavorable first post.

Second choice Sidney's Candy (7-1) is a synthetic specialist who has never raced on dirt and will start from the outside 20th post in the auxiliary gate.

Baffert said the conditions are perfect for an upset, like the one sprung by 50-1 shot Mine That Bird last year under Calvin Borel.

"It's huge because horses either on the lead win it or a deep, deep closer," Baffert said. "A long shot has a chance."

The Kentucky Derby is the first race of the Triple Crown, which also includes the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

No horse has completed the coveted treble since Affirmed in 1978.