MLB: Chicago White Sox 8, Minnesota 7

MINNEAPOLIS, July 12 (UPI) –

Jim Thome’s four RBI, three coming on a sixth-inning double, led the Chicago White Sox to an 8-7 win over the Minnesota Twins Saturday.

Thome’s three-run double gave Chicago an 8-3 lead with two outs in the top of the sixth. Brian Anderson and Paul Konerko had two hits and two RBI apiece.

Scott Podsednik had one RBI while Gordon Beckham had three hits and also scored three times for the White Sox, who beat the Twins in Minneapolis for the first time this season.

The winner was starter Gavin Floyd (7-6). He went 7 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Closer Bob Jenks earned his 20th save despite giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

Minnesota’s Joe Crede hit two homers among four RBI and Jose Morales hit a two-run single in the ninth. Joe Mauer had one RBI and Denard Span had two hits for the Twins, who have lost four of five.

The losing pitcher was starter Glen Perkins (4…

See the full post at MLB: Chicago White Sox 8, Minnesota 7

Philippine president to visit White House

WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) –

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will visit President Barack Obama in Washington this month, the White House announced.

Arroyo is scheduled to visit the White House July 30. She will be the first Southeast Asian leader to visit since Obama took office.

The White House said in a press release the two leaders will discuss enhancing U.S.-Philippine cooperation on issues such as counter-terrorism and climate change.

Arroyo will meet members of Congress and other government and private sector officials as well, the announcement said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International
All Rights Reserved.

See the full post at Philippine president to visit White House

MLB: Boston 15, Kansas City 9

BOSTON, July 12 (UPI) –

Kevin Youkilis homered twice and drove in four runs and scored four times Saturday, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 15-9 win over Kansas City.

Youkilis hit a two-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the eighth to go with an RBI single in the first.

Jason Varitek hit a solo homer in the third and scored three times, David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the fourth and scored twice, Nick Green drove in two runs, Dustin Pedroia had two hits and one RBI, while J.D. Drew had one RBI for the Red Sox, who have won four of five.

The winner was John Smoltz (1-2). He went five innings, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Billy Butler led Kansas City with three hits and three RBI and Mike Jacobs had two hits, including a two-run homer. Jose Guillen had two hits, including a solo homer, and two RBI, while Ryan Freel added one RBI for the Royals, who have lost four of five.

The losing pitcher was starter Gil Meche (4…

See the full post at MLB: Boston 15, Kansas City 9

MLB: San Francisco 2, San Diego 1

SAN FRANCISCO, July 12 (UPI) –

Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer and six Giants’ pitchers scattered six hits Friday in San Francisco’s 2-1 win over San Diego.

Sandoval drove in Randy Winn with a fourth-inning homer off Padres’ starter Tim Stauffer (0-1), who went seven innings, allowing the two runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Everth Cabrera scored from second on a throwing error in the eighth to account for the only run for the Padres, who have lost 10 of their last 11 games.

Giants’ starter Matt Cain left the game with two out in the second after sustaining a right arm injury when he was hit by a line drive. X-rays were negative and the injury was diagnosed as a bruise.

He had numbness, that’s a pretty good shot he took, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. He wanted to stay out there … there was no way he was staying out there.

Justin Miller (2-1) came on in place of Cain and pitched 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief to get t…

See the full post at MLB: San Francisco 2, San Diego 1

Mark Martin wins Chicagoland auto race

JOLIET, Ill., July 12 (UPI) –

Mark Martin beat Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon to the checkered flag to win Saturday’s Sprint Cup LifeLock 400.com at Joliet, Ill.

Martin captured a stirring two-lap shootout after establishing a Chicagoland Speedway record by leading the race for 195 laps. He briefly gave up the top spot to Jimmie Johnson after a late-race restart, but Denny Hamlin pushed Johnson out of position with Brian Vickers and Hamlin getting together.

Martin and Gordon then seized the momentum and Martin later recorded his Sprint Cup Series-leading fourth win this season.

That was fun, Martin said after giving team owner Rick Hendrick a 60th birthday present a day early. That’s what life is all about. We could have parked this car after practice, it was that good.

Kasey Kahne finished third, followed by points leader Tony Stewart and Hamlin.

In the updated standings, Tony Stewart leads Gordon by 175 points. Johnson (-212) is thi…

See the full post at Mark Martin wins Chicagoland auto race

EU, Turkey set to sign Nabucco pipeline deal

by Burak Akinci ANKARA (AFP) –

European Union countries and Turkey are Monday to sign a key intergovernmental agreement on Europe’s flagship Nabucco gas pipeline, coming a step closer to realizing a project that still lacks key suppliers.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to host the signing ceremony in Ankara for the transit deal that would link Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria in a conduit that Europe hopes will reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

The 3,300-kilometre (2,000-mile) pipeline is expected to pump as much as 31 billion cubic metres from the Caspian Sea to Austria via Turkey and the Balkans, bypassing Russia.

It is a rival to Russia’s South Stream project, developed by Russian gas giant Gazprom and Italy’s Eni, which will channel Russian gas through Bulgaria to Western Europe under the Black Sea.

The Nabucco pipeline is planned …

See the full post at EU, Turkey set to sign Nabucco pipeline deal

Summer bonuses plunge record 16.6 percent in Japan

TOKYO (AFP) –

Summer bonuses at Japanese companies have plunged a record 16.6 percent on average this year, the second straight year of decline, according to a recently released survey.

The poll was conducted by the Nikkei business daily, covering some 700 listed and major non-listed firms in Japan, where bonuses are traditionally provided twice a year — summer and winter.

The poll showed that the average bonus this summer stood at 701,012 yen (7,579 dollars) per employee, some 140,000 yen lower than in 2008, as 78 percent of the firms polled said they were giving less cash than last summer.

More than half the firms were trimming their payouts by more than 10 percent as they are still struggling to survive the nation’s worst post-war recession, the Nikkei said.

Japan’s video game giant Nintendo Co., which logged a record profit for the fiscal year to March 2009, cam…

See the full post at Summer bonuses plunge record 16.6 percent in Japan

Nomura tie-up with India’s largest life insurer

TOKYO (AFP) –

Japan’s top securities firm Nomura Holdings has agreed to an asset-management capital tie-up with Life Insurance Corp. (LIC), India’s largest life insurer, a newspaper has reported.

Under the accord, Nomura will take a 35 percent stake in LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Co., a LIC subsidiary, for about six billion yen (65 million dollars), the Nikkei business daily reported.

Nomura is expected to send executives and staff to LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management, which currently has 600 billion yen in assets under management, the newspaper said.

Nomura, which began stock trading operations in India last year by taking over the business base of the collapsed Lehman Brothers, now plans to start selling bonds in the country later this year.

Nomura has bought the Asian, European and Middle Eastern operations of Lehman Brothers, which became the most visible corp…

See the full post at Nomura tie-up with India\’s largest life insurer

MLS: Colorado 1, FC Dallas 0

COMMERCE CITY, Colo., July 12 (UPI) –

Kosuke Kimura scored the game’s only goal and the Colorado Rapids nipped FC Dallas 1-0 Saturday in Major League Soccer action.

The two Western Conference clubs battled to a stalemate through the first 79 minutes before Kimura scored his second goal of the season with just over 10 minutes to play.

Rapids midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy controlled the ball inside the Dallas penalty area before sending the ball to Kimura making a run behind the defense. Kimura fired a shot high under the crossbar, over the hands of FCD goalkeeper Ray Burse.

The Rapids (6-4-6) are back in action next Saturday at D.C. United, while Dallas (4-8-5) will play at Real Salt Lake July 24 in its next MLS match.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International
All Rights Reserved.

See the full post at MLS: Colorado 1, FC Dallas 0

Weather could delay shuttle launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 11 (UPI) –

Bad weather in Florida could force NASA to postpone the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour scheduled for Saturday, officials said.

Weather Officer Kathy Winters said thunderstorms were predicted for the area around the Kennedy Space Center. She said there was a 60 percent chance the launch, scheduled for 7:39 p.m., will have to be delayed.

Otherwise, NASA officials said everything was on track.

Everybody is ‘go’ for launch; we have no major issues at all, said Mike Moses, chairman of the mission management team, after a final review Friday.

The STS-127 mission is scheduled to last 16 days.

Five spacewalks are planned, along with construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module, allowing experiments to be exposed to space.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International
All Rights Reserved.

See the full post at Weather could delay shuttle launch