Work programme ‘to miss targets’

27 November 2012 Last updated at 04:11 ETGovernment figures assessing the success of its welfare-to-work programme are expected to show a crucial target has been missed.Firms and charities are paid to help find jobs for the long-term unemployed in the hope of helping 2.4m people.But the first set of official figures, due out at shortly, are expected to show they are getting less than 5% of jobseekers...

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Halle Berry’s ex claims he was victim in Thanksgiving brawl

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Halle Berry‘s ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry on Monday won a restraining order against the actress’s current lover, as the two men fought in the Los Angeles courts over who started their Thanksgiving Day brawl.Releasing photos of himself with a black eye and cuts to his face, Aubry claimed that he was the victim in the November 22 punch-up with Berry’s fiancé, French actor Olivier...

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UN climate talks open in Qatar

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — U.N. talks on a new climate pact resumed Monday in oil and gas-rich Qatar, where negotiators from nearly 200 countries will discuss fighting global warming and helping poor nations adapt to it.The two-decade-old talks have not fulfilled their main purpose: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet.Attempts to create a new climate treaty failed...

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Donald preparing for surgery on sinuses

DUBAI (Reuters) – World number two Luke Donald is planning to have an operation in the off-season in an attempt to cure a lingering problem with his sinuses.“My sinuses are all completely clogged up and every time I get a little bit run down they turn into infections,” the 34-year-old Briton told reporters after finishing in a tie for third place at the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday.“Hopefully...

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World stocks muted ahead of meeting on Greece

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets rose modestly Monday after the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season in the U.S. topped expectations. But trading in Europe was subdued hours before finance ministers gathered yet again to discuss what to do about Greece.The ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro are scheduled to meet in Brussels to try to reach an agreement on conditions that...

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Jose Luis Borau, Spanish Filmmaker, dies at 83

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Influential Spanish filmmaker Jose Luis Borau died Friday in Madrid, the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences said. He was 83.Borau had reportedly been suffering from throat cancer.Though Borau, who was born in Zaragoza in 1929, only made a handful of films since his 1960 directorial debut “En el Rio,” his talents were widely respected, and he received a...

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Egypt’s Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country’s deep divisions.The Judges’ Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the “downfall of...

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First Person: Unemployed, Disabled and Hungry for Work

Five million Americans are among the long-term unemployed–those without a job for 27 weeks or longer–according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 7.3 million are looking for work, while the unemployment rate sits at 7.9 percent. Numbers aside, individual stories illustrate how America is affected. To see how joblessness hits home, Yahoo News asked unemployed workers to share their job-hunting...

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Catalonia election tests Spanish unity

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – Voters in Spain’s Catalonia region go to the polls on Sunday and are likely to elect a pro-independence leader who will test Spanish unity at a time of deep economic crisis.Opinion polls show two-thirds of voters in this region on the French border will cast ballots for parties, both rightist and leftist, that want Catalan independence from Spain.Catalan President Artur...

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“Downton Abbey” Renewed for fourth Season by ITV

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Downton Abbey” fans have something to be thankful for.British network ITV has commissioned a fourth season of the hit historical drama, the network said Friday. The new season will consist of eight new episodes to premiere in fall 2013, with an extended episode for Christmas 2013. As with previous seasons, the opening and closing episodes will be feature-length.“Downton...

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