Karlyn Tilley, a spokeswoman for the Golden Fire Department, tells The Denver Post (http://bit.ly/10EYRgW ) the man was climbing with his two adult children while using technical gear at a popular cliff about 20 miles west of Denver. She says he fell at about 1 p.m. Saturday.

About a dozen climbers who were nearby helped with the rescue and brought the man off the mountain within an hour of the fall.

Tilley says the man was unresponsive and not breathing when paramedics arrived.

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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com

The Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament had approved the law last month and sent it to the Supreme Constitutional Court to check the legality of the voting procedures for a new lower house.

Opposition politicians had denounced the text of the revised election law approved by parliament and repeated threats to boycott the vote.

The court ruled that four provisions of the bill were unconstitutional, a judicial source said.

In its decision, the court took issue with parliament's removal of a long-standing ban on religious slogans in electoral campaigning.

The ruling said that failing to include a specific clause in the law banning religious slogans could "undermine national unity." The bill will now be sent back to parliament for review.

The ruling is the latest sign of friction between the judiciary, which Islamist lawmakers accuse of being loyal to deposed leader Hosni Mubarak and obstructing elections and legislation, and President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Mursi, an Islamist elected last year, originally called elections for April but postponed them when the court annulled the decree setting the dates.

Mursi has said elections could now begin in October, completing the democratic transition from Mubarak's rule.

A separate court ruling last year dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-led lower chamber elected in 2011-12.

Egypt has been plagued by political instability since Mubarak's ouster, scaring away investors and tourists who are needed to keep the economy afloat.

Outside parliament, baton-wielding police pushed back activists who were protesting against a controversial judicial reform law that was being discussed inside the chamber.

Parliament voted to continue discussions of the law, angering secular MPs who wore black sashes condemning it.

Islamist lawmakers allied to the Brotherhood are pushing the bill, which would force out more than 3,000 judges by lowering the retirement age.

The bill has also angered liberal, leftist and ultra-conservative Islamist opposition groups which accuse the Brotherhood of trying to control state institutions rather than pressing genuine reforms. The Brotherhood denies this.

Mursi has faced a revolt against Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges and he has alienated some of his aides.

Earlier this month, senior Egyptian judges halted talks with Mursi on judicial reforms after parliament decided to discuss the proposed laws despite presidential promises to seek consensus first.

(Reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Michael Georgy and Mike Collett-White)

HANGZHOU (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's largest e-commerce platform, said it will commit "as many resources necessary" to stop the sale of pirated goods on its Taobao shopping portals, where transactions exceeded $161.7 billion last year.

The company said its incoming chief executive would join a task force to combat piracy on its platforms.

Alibaba has been clamping down on the sale of fake goods, but users of Alibaba's Taobao Marketplace, which is similar to Amazon.com's marketplace, can still find knockoff Chanel bags or Vera Wang dresses. Its Taobao Mall has storefronts where retail brands can sell to consumers.

Industry watchers widely expect Alibaba to seek an initial public offering as early as this year, and intellectual property protection concerns may turn off some potential investors. Addressing the issue now could help the company avoid some uncomfortable questions during an IPO road show.

The company said it will partner with government bureaus and ministries such as China's Ministry of Public Security to fight counterfeiting and intellectual property rights infringement.

"Counterfeits are the narcotics of the marketplace," said Alibaba founder and Chairman Jack Ma, who announced in January that he was stepping down as CEO. "We don't want Alibaba's name to be associated with counterfeiting."

Incoming CEO Jonathan Lu will head the IP task force, which will also include chief risk officer Polo Shao.

"We are committed to put as many resources as necessary to tackle the problem," Shao said in a speech at Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, about an hour from Shanghai by high-speed train.

The task force will cooperate with government bureaus to report stores that infringe on intellectual property rights, to share information and to help trace the source of fake goods.

In December, the United States dropped Taobao from its annual list of the world's most "notorious markets" for sales of pirated and counterfeit goods because the company had "undertaken notable efforts" to clean up its shopping sites.

In September, Taobao Marketplace signed a pact with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), an affiliate of the Motion Picture Association of America, to curb the sale of counterfeit and copyright-infringing products on the platform.

Alibaba Group said in December the value of transactions on its Taobao platforms exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($161.74 billion)for the first time in January-November last year.

"The protection of IPR and fighting against counterfeit goods, if we don't do it well, will be something I'll regret," Ma said.

In 2012, Alibaba said it provided information to law enforcement officers involving 72 brands, and 170 million yuan worth of merchandise was taken down from its shopping sites.

($1 = 6.1826 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Emily Kaiser)

The Mississippi NAACP had challenged the state's 2011 state elections because the Legislature did not immediately use the 2010 census to draw new district lines in 2011. The state House and Senate instead argued for several weeks before ending their 2011 session without adopting new maps.

The NAACP had asked for that election to be set aside and special elections to be held under a court-ordered plan. It said that using the old maps violated the one-person, one-vote principle by diluting African-American voting strength.

Courts affirmed a ruling that allowed state lawmakers to run in their old districts that year.

The justices, without comment, upheld the lower court rulings.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ang Lee apparently isn't feeling very tyrannical anymore.

The "Life of Pi" director has dropped out of the FX pilot "Tyrant," which would have marked his television directorial debut.

The pilot, from "Homeland" producers Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, along with Craig Wright ("Six Feet Under"), follows an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. Raff created the pilot, which was developed by Gordon and Wright.

Raff handled writing duties for the pilot, which comes from Teakwood Lane, Gordon's production shingle with 20th Century Fox Television.

On a cold, rainy afternoon, the American-record holder eased to victory in the 100 metres, finishing in 10.02 seconds into a headwind Saturday. He appeared to slow down a bit at the end but still beat countryman Ryan Bailey by .13.

"It was important to leave here healthy and not try to push it too hard with the conditions," Gay said. "I feel pretty good."

Justyn Warner of Markham, Ont., was ninth in 10.60.

Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, B.C., threw 20.27 metres to finish fifth in the shot put, won by American Ryan Whiting, who threw 21.27. Justin Rodhe of Kamloops was eighth (19.12).

Sheila Reid of Newmarket, Ont., was sixth in the women's 1,500 metres in four minutes 7.47 seconds, while Hilary Stellingwerff of Sarnia, Ont., ran 4:10.70 to cross 12th. And Nathan Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., was seventh in the men's 800 in 1:48.61.

A year ago at this meet, Gay, meanwhile, made his return to competition after major hip surgery, running in the "B'' race as he scrambled to ready himself for Olympic trials. He felt far different on Saturday.

After Gay barely missed out on a bronze medal in London, he's off to a strong start this season and looking to challenge Usain Bolt again.

The 100 field had to run semifinals to qualify for the final, which Gay figured would be good preparation for U.S. trials before the world championships in August.

"I'm definitely pleased with the time," he said. "I felt comfortable."

Gay could probably relate to high jumper Blanka Vlasic's feelings on Saturday. The two-time world champion competed for the first time since ankle surgery 16 months ago and she won. The weather made her foot ache.

"But I don't care," she said. "I'm happy and I know it will recover."

Olympic gold medallist David Rudisha won the 800 in 1:45.14 well off his world record of 1:40.91, but about what he expected considering the weather.

Two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica took first in the 200 in 22.53 seconds on a day not designed for fast times.

"It's not the type of weather sprinters like," she said.

Reigning world champ Amantle Montsho won the 400; Olympic gold medallist Sanya Richards-Ross, recovering from toe surgery, pulled out after deciding her foot wasn't ready to return to competition.

Olympic silver medallist Michael Tinsley used the weather to his advantage to win the 400 hurdles, staying relaxed and rallying at the end when the wind was at his back.

With files from The Canadian Press.

German auction house Breker said Saturday an Asian client, who asked not to be named, bought the so-called Apple 1, which the tech company's founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built in a family garage.

Breker claims it is one of only six known remaining functioning models in the world. Breker already sold one last year for 492,000 euros.

It says the computer bears Wozniak's signature. An old business transaction letter from the late Jobs also was included.

The Apple 1, which was sold for $666 in 1976, consisted of only the circuit board. A case, a keyboard and a screen had to be bought separately.

Roland Emmerich doesn't want to just be known as the guy who destroys the White House. But he's just too good at it to stop.

Believe it or not, the director who blew up 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. with an alien laser in "Independence Day" and dropped an aircraft carrier on it in "2012" actually had some misgivings about trashing the place again for his new movie "."In a phone conversation with Yahoo! Movies, Emmerich said he had been working on another sci-fi film called "Singularity," but when it stalled out he was sent the highly sought-after script to "White House Down." He said he blanched at first when he read the title, knowing his own reputation for flattening American landmarks on film. But after one read of the screenplay by James Vanderbilt ("Zodiac," "The Amazing Spider-Man"), Emmerich said he was sold.

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at "White House Down":

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc on Monday agreed to buy Life Technologies Corp for $13.6 billion in a deal that would make it one of the top two companies in the hot field of genetic testing.

The pact values Life Tech at $76 per share, a 12 percent premium, and is one of the year's biggest corporate takeovers.

It would catapult Thermo, the world's largest maker of scientific and laboratory equipment, to the forefront of the fledgling field of personalized medicine, where research is uncovering the hereditary underpinnings of diseases to better tailor treatments to patients.

"Genetic sequencing is an area that will become increasingly important over the years in terms of specialty diagnostics, and Thermo needs to compete in that market because they have a number of products in that area that ultimately could get displaced by sequencing applications," said Macquarie Capital analyst Jonathan Groberg.

Thermo Chief Executive Marc Casper said advanced genetic testing was an important field going forward, and his company wanted to get into it as an industry leader. Life Tech is considered No. 2 behind Illumina Inc in the race to produce faster and less expensive gene sequencing technology.

"We didn't want to be a more distant participant, and this transaction facilitated us having a stronger position there," Casper said in a telephone interview.

Illumina last year rebuffed a $6.8 billion hostile takeover bid by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG. Shares of Illumina, which will now have to compete with a far larger rival with much greater resources, were down nearly 3 percent.

Interest in buying Illumina could heat up again, given the company's unique position in advanced gene sequencing.

"They've only got one target they can think about," Mizuho Securities analyst Peter Lawson said of potential buyers. "There's a lot of experimental technologies out there, but if you need something that functional, you need either Illumina or Life Tech's Ion Torrent business."

Both companies have dramatically cut down the time and cost of sequencing human DNA, a major boon to researchers and drugmakers developing gene-based diagnostic tests and treatments. Life Tech's Ion Proton System can complete the sequencing process, which recently took several days, in a couple of hours for about $500. The technology has more than 1,000 times the sequencing capacity of Life Tech's original sequencing chip.

AN IMMEDIATE PROFIT BOOST

Thermo said the deal would add 90 cents to $1 to its per-share profit in the first full year, initially sending its shares higher. After jumping nearly 6 percent, the shares gave back those gains and were down almost 1 percent at $78.98 in late afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Life Tech shares were up 7.4 percent at $73.05, below the offer price.

Analysts estimate the combined company's 2013 revenue at about $17 billion. The acquisition will also enhance Thermo's offerings in the fast growing field of food safety, and its ability to grow in China and other emerging markets.

"The combined company has significant scale in emerging markets and scale makes a huge difference there," said Casper, adding that the deal "will put us in even better position to grow in the fastest growing regions in the world."

The acquisition is by far the biggest deal for Thermo since the company was created in the $12.8 billion merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific International in 2006. It is also far larger than the biggest previous deal on Casper's watch - the $3.5 billion acquisition of Phadia in 2011.

Thermo expects the transaction to close early in 2014, pending U.S. regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Thermo will assume Life Tech's net debt of about $2.2 billion. In the third year following the deal's closing, Thermo said it expects to achieve cost savings of $250 million by consolidating facilities and support functions.

Thermo's products range from basic scientific instruments to advanced mass spectrometry equipment used to determine the chemical structure of molecules. It also sells chemicals, agents and antibodies used in the manufacture and research of biotech medicine - a line that will be complemented by Life Tech's product lines - and in recent years has increased its portfolio of products for testing air and water quality and food safety.

LIFE TECH EXPLORED MANY OPTIONS

Life Tech explored a sale after previous attempts by Chief Executive Gregory Lucier to boost the value of the company's stock and capture more market share from Illumina.

Lucier said the company explored many options during a lengthy strategic review, with the ultimate sale of the company always one of them. "We are very satisfied both with the process and the outcome," he said in a telephone interview.

Lucier oversaw the merger of his former company Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems that created Life Tech.

Life Tech President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Stevenson is expected to play a significant role in the combined company, the companies said.

Thermo has obtained committed bridge financing from JPMorgan and Barclays, which also acted as the company's financial advisers.

Sources familiar with the deal told Reuters that Life Tech chose Thermo over Sigma-Aldrich Corp, a maker of chemicals for research laboratories, and a private equity consortium consisting of Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, KKR & Co and Temasek Holdings.

Deutsche Bank Securities and Moelis & Co advised Life Tech.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz and WilmerHale are legal counsel to Thermo Fisher; Cravath, Swaine and Moore is legal counsel to Life Tech.

(Additional reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Michele Gershberg)

But Pakistani officials criticized the president for not announcing an end to drone strikes against Islamic militants in the country in his landmark speech Thursday, as they have long demanded.

Obama cast drone strikes as crucial to U.S. counterterrorism efforts but acknowledged that they are not a "cure-all." The president also said he is deeply troubled by civilians unintentionally killed in the strikes and announced more restrictive rules governing the attacks measures that his advisers said would effectively limit drone use in the future.

On Guantanamo, Obama implored Congress to close the detention center in Cuba, and tried to jumpstart the process by announcing a fresh push to transfer approved detainees to their home countries and lifting a ban on transfers to Yemen. The end of Yemeni restrictions is key, given that 30 of the 56 prisoners eligible for transfer are Yemeni.

An adviser to Yemen's prime minister, Rageh Badi, praised Obama's decision to lift the ban on the return of Yemeni detainees as a "welcome step" that would improve relations between the two countries.

"This is a responsible speech, especially about the closure of the detention center, which has been an insult to the U.S. more than to any other country," said Badi.

Obama's push to close Guantanamo was also welcomed in Pakistan, but the issue has less resonance in the country because there are fairly few Pakistanis left in the prison. Analysts also questioned whether Obama would be successful, given that he promised to close the prison during his first term but failed to do so, largely because of opposition in Congress.

Pakistanis were much more focused on Obama's comments about drone strikes since the country has been hit by 355 such attacks since 2004. The strikes have killed up to 3,336 people, according to the New America Foundation, a U.S.-based think tank.

It was the first time the president has spoken so extensively in public about the drone program, which is conducted by the CIA in Pakistan and considered classified. Drone strikes in other countries are carried out by the military alone or in cooperation with the CIA, as in Yemen.

The strikes are extremely unpopular in Pakistan, partly because of claims by government officials that the attacks regularly kill innocent civilians an assessment the U.S. has called exaggerated. Pakistani officials also regularly criticize the strikes as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. Senior civilian and military officials are known to have supported at least some of the attacks in the past, but claim that is no longer the case.

Obama said in his speech that there was a wide gap between U.S. assessments of civilian casualties from drone strikes and those produced by non-governmental organizations. But he acknowledged civilian deaths have occurred and said they will haunt him and those in his chain of command "as long as we live."

"Obama has finally responded to the popular sentiment in this country, which is fiercely against the drones, and I think that shows a certain sensitivity," said Mushahid Hussain, chairman of the defense committee in Pakistan's Senate. "But for the people of Pakistan that is not good enough unless there is a cessation of drone attacks."

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry reiterated this point in a statement sent to reporters.

"The government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that the drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent lives, have human rights and humanitarian implications and violate the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law," the ministry said.

But it also praised Obama for mentioning the thousands of Pakistani soldiers who have lost their lives fighting extremists and for acknowledging that force along will not make the U.S. safer.

"This also has been Pakistan's longstanding stance that a comprehensive strategy was acquired to address the root causes that foster terrorism and extremism," the ministry stressed.

Even though Obama defended the use of drones, Pakistani officials and analysts thought his comments and new guidelines governing the attacks could create space for improving strained relations between the two countries, as a new government is set to take power in Pakistan.

"I think it puts the new government in a better position," said Imtiaz Gul, head of the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies. "The expectation will be that even if a strike happens, it will be a lot more carefully examined before the execution and will be more in coordination with Pakistani forces."

According to an unclassified summary of the new guidelines, the U.S. will not strike if a target can be captured, either by the U.S. or a foreign government; a strike can be launched only against a target posing an "imminent" threat, and the U.S. has a preference for military control of the drone program, although the CIA will continue to control the attacks in Pakistan.

Obama also said there must be "near-certainty" that no civilians will be injured or killed in strikes, and they are bound by respect for state sovereignty. Cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan on attacks in the past has been hampered by pervasive mistrust between the two countries.

The number of strikes in Pakistan has dropped from a peak of over 120 in 2010 to around a dozen so far this year, although it's unclear whether the decline is being driven by decisions about targeting or the political sensitivity of carrying out attacks. A further decline in the future, as predicted by White House officials, would further help Pakistan-U.S. relations.

"In implying that the drone surge is coming to an end in this region, as al-Qaida has all but been neutralized, this opens space for more meaningful efforts to come to an agreement between the U.S. and Pakistan," said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S.

Drone strikes are somewhat less controversial in Yemen, where the attacks are carried out in close coordination with the government in Sanaa.

A Yemeni intelligence official said the strikes have helped weaken al-Qaida and thwarted plans to kidnap diplomats and foreigners. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

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Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj contributed to this report from Sanaa, Yemen.