Although Benjamin Netanyahu made no clear commitments, his comments indicated that he is at least considering a shift away from two years of neutrality in the Syrian civil war that pits rebels against President Bashar Assad's regime. Key Israeli allies, including the U.S. and Jordan, already have begun assisting secular and moderate factions inside Syria despite fears that Islamic extremists are gaining influence among the rebels.

Netanyahu was discussing the deteriorating security situation in Syria on BBC World News when the interviewer asked whether Israel is arming any of the rebel groups.Netanyahu said he could not confirm such speculation but did not deny it.

"We are very careful," he said. "I have said that the arming of rebels presents the question of which rebels and which arms, and it is a very complicated question for every country, including my country Israel."

Israel has been warily watching the fighting in Syria since the uprising against Assad erupted in March 2011. Although Assad is a bitter enemy, Israel has been careful not to take sides, in part because the Assad family has kept the border with Israel quiet for the past 40 years and in part because of fears of what will happen if he is toppled.

Israeli officials are especially concerned that Assad's stockpile of chemical weapons and other advanced arms could reach the hands of Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon or other hostile groups in the region. As Assad's position has weakened, Israeli leaders have grown increasingly concerned that some of the groups trying to topple him, particularly extremist factions linked to al-Qaida, will turn their guns toward Israel.

"There are the worst Islamist radicals in the world, so obviously we are concerned that weapons that are ground breaking, that can change the balance of power in the Middle East would fall into the hands of these terrorists," Netanyahu said.

In January, Israel all but confirmed that it carried out an airstrike in Syria that destroyed a shipment of anti-aircraft missiles allegedly bound for Hezbollah, a powerful militia that battled Israel to a stalemate in a monthlong war in 2006. In the BBC interview, Netanyahu refused to confirm whether Israel targeted the convoy, but noted that Israel "has the right to act" to halt weapons transfers.

Direct Israeli support for any of the factions fighting inside Syria would be risky. Any group seen as being aligned with Israel could have its credibility harmed. Israel could also provoke a backlash from other dangerous factions, including the government, embroiled in the Syrian violence. More than 70,000 people have already died in the fighting, according to U.N. estimates.

Moshe Maoz, a Syria expert at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said it would make sense for Israel to supply moderate Syrian rebel groups with arms in coordination with Turkey, though he said it is unclear whether that has begun. Israel has recently moved to repair its strained ties with Turkey, and Maoz said both countries have an interest in propping up "mainstream" Muslim groups and countering the influence of Iranian-backed extremists.

"Israel has to signal to the Muslim world that Israel joins them in the struggle against a common enemy Iran," he said. "Maybe Netanyahu is going in that direction."

Netanyahu gave the interview on Wednesday during a trip to Britain, where he attended the funeral of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and met with the current prime minister, David Cameron.

Netanyahu gave few details about the meeting, saying only that Israel and Britain "see eye to eye" about preventing further bloodshed in Syria. "It's a complicated picture because you have bad fighting the bad," he said.

But Israel may feel it has no choice. In recent months, it has coped with a string of stray gunfire and mortar shells flying out of Syria into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Israeli military officials believe most of the fire has been spillover from internal fighting. But in several cases, Israel determined the attacks were intentional and quickly struck back at targets inside Syria. Israel has also treated a small number of Syrians who were wounded in fighting near the Israeli frontier.

Eyal Zisser, an expert on Syria at Tel Aviv University, said he "doubts very much" that Israel is currently arming rebels. But he said Israel would likely help if approached by the West.

Israel would likely back secular fighters such as the groups being trained by the U.S. in neighboring Jordan, or secular and moderate Islamic factions under the Turkey-based Free Syrian Army umbrella group headed by Gen. Salim Idris.

Idris is seen as a secular-minded moderate. But he is believed to have only limited control over the dozens of brigades and battalions inside Syria. Many of these groups are Islamist-leaning factions that have little coordination with each other and are often in rivalries. Some extremist groups, including Jabhat al-Nusra, have rejected his authority.

Israeli officials have said in recent months that they do have ties with pro-Western elements in the Syrian opposition. One official involved in those efforts said the contacts are continuing, but discussions have only been on the "political," not military level. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a covert diplomatic issue.

In a sign of Israeli concerns, Netanyahu has made several covert trips to neighboring Jordan in recent months. Israeli officials have given few details about the visits, and Jordan has not commented. But Jordan is Israel's closest ally in the Arab world, and both countries have a joint interest in containing any threats in Syria.

U.S. and other Western and Arab officials say that Jordan has recently been facilitating arms shipments and hosting training camps for Syrian rebels since last October.

American and foreign officials have told The Associated Press that the U.S. has been training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan with the aim of strengthening the hand of moderates among the country's fractured opposition.

On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress that the Pentagon is sending about 200 soldiers from an Army headquarters unit to Jordan to assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and plan for any operations needed to ensure the safety of chemical weapons in Syria.

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Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) said the fraud had happened at the end of last year and resulted in losses of around $4.7 million for the United Arab Emirates-based lender.

U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday that a global cyber crime ring had stolen $45 million from RAKBANK and Bank of Muscat of Oman by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATM cash machines in 27 countries.

RAKBANK chief executive Graham Honeybill said he believed the fraud went wider than lenders in the Gulf region. "We are given to understand that the overall fraud encompassed a number of banks not only in the Middle East but in the USA and other countries," he said in a statement.

The amount of the potential loss for RAKBANK was 17.4 million UAE dirhams ($4.7 million) and this had been fully provided for before it closed its 2012 accounts, Honeybill said.

"The Bank can confirm that none of its customers suffered any financial loss as a result of this fraud," he added.

The incident related to events in December 2012 and involved the bank's service provider in India, he said, without naming the provider or giving any further details.

On Thursday the U.S. Justice Department accused eight men of forming the New York-based cell of the organization, and said seven of them have been arrested. The eighth, allegedly a leader of the cell, was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27.

However, the global ringleaders are believed to be outside the United States but prosecutors have declined to give details, citing the continuing investigation. ($1 = 3.6730 UAE dirhams)

(Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Writing by Alexander Smith and David Stamp; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Greg Mahlich)

Chief Executive Dan Akerson said last month GM might look at shifting output from this key production base in the long-term due to tensions between South and North Korea, angering the union. This latest development suggests annual wage talks will not be easy when they start later this month.

Akerson plans to bring up concerns about labor in talks with South Korean's President Park Geun-hye during her U.S. trip this week. He made his remarks at a meeting with GM Korea's union leader last week in Detroit, union spokesman Choi Jong-hak said.

"We are upset by his remarks. We did not go all the way to the U.S. to hear that," Choi said.

A Shanghai-based spokeswoman for GM's international operations declined to comment, saying the automaker considers meetings between GM senior leaders and union officials to be private.

South Korea is one of GM's biggest overseas manufacturing bases, producing more than four out of 10 Chevrolet vehicles sold globally, but the industry is prone to disagreements with what it says are uncooperative unions.

Speculation about a possible shift of some production to bolster ailing European manufacturing centres has continued despite GM saying in February that it would invest $7.3 billion in its South Korean unit over the next five years.

A wage lawsuit filed by GM Korea's labor union members could lead to an increase in labor costs, which have already grown too fast over the past decade, executives have said.

Hyundai Motor Co , South Korea's biggest automaker has its own labor woes, with workers having refused to work weekends since March, hurting sales and earnings in the latest quarter.

Choi said Akerson's previous comments on a potential shift of production was an empty threat to tame the union ahead of talks on a possible restructuring of production systems.

"GM cannot withdraw from South Korea. We have technology to make good cars and our wages are only about one third of those in the United States and Europe," he said.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in BEIJING; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

After playing Bayou Country SuperFest in Baton Rouge last year, group member Karen Fairchild said they talked to festival producer Quint Davis about other things they hoped to accomplish. They mentioned that they'd one day like to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Davis was in a position to help since he also produces Jazz Fest.

Known for its trademark four-part harmonies, Little Big Town performed in New Orleans on Saturday.

"Can you believe we're opening for Fleetwood Mac?" said Kimberly Schlapman, another group member. "We've been wanting to play Jazz Fest forever and now we're opening for Fleetwood Mac and can mark off two big things from our list."

Schlapman said early in their career they had the chance to meet Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, which she described as an "amazing harmony band."

"Being able to share a stage with them is one of our greatest wishes," she said.

Fairchild said they've watched Jazz Fest from afar for years. "The who's who of music shows up year after year at the festival. Who wouldn't want to play there?"

Flags flying amid a cool breeze, music fans packed the festival grounds by the stage where Little Big Town and Fleetwood Mac performed. Some put down tarps over the muddy infield. Others sat in chairs, wore rubber boots or stood barefoot to hear the bands.

"Once you're in it, it kind of feels good," said Mary Kathryn Gatlin, of Greenville, S.C., who danced shoeless in the mud, the muck covering her feet past the ankles. Gatlin was taking in her first Jazz Fest with her sister, Frances Gatlin.

The pair had been at the stage since noon, about an hour after the gates opened.

"We love country, bluegrass, just easy-listening music that's fun to dance to," Gatlin said.

Many danced as Fleetwood Mac performed such hits as "Dreams," ''Rhiannon," ''Gypsy," ''Tusk" and "Landslide," which drew huge roars from the crowd when Stevie Nicks introduced it.

Nicks also delivered her tribute to the host city, singing a portion of her song, "New Orleans," which she said she wrote after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "I wanna get a room in New Orleans, I wanna sing in the streets of the French Quarter," she sang.

The band also performed a new song, "Sad Angel," testing it out with the crowd. Toward the end of their set, they played an old favorite, "Go Your Own Way" at the end of which Buckingham shouted to the crowd, "New Orleans, we love you!"

They left the stage briefly before returning for an encore performance of "The World Keep On Turning," a song from their self-titled first album released in 1968 and "Don't Stop."

Other Saturday headliners included Phoenix, Frank Ocean, Los Lobos, Terence Blanchard, Davell Crawford and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Sunshine and blue skies were welcomed by fans of the outdoor festival, which had been drenched by rain in previous days. Despite the mud, the field in front of the festival's largest stage was packed hours before Fleetwood Mac's performance.

Little Big Town's Fairchild said she hoped their festival appearance would help boost their fan base.

"This is a great chance for longtime fans to come out and see our set and a chance for us to discover and be introduced to new fans," she said.

Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook make up the rest of Little Big Town, which recently won two Academy of Country Music awards for their latest album "Tornado." They go on tour with Keith Urban in July.

"I like them," said Monique Powell, of Lafayette. "They've got three big hits out right now, 'Tornado,' 'Pontoon,' and 'Little White Church.' We came in to hear Maroon 5 yesterday. This is just a bonus."

Powell and her friend, Matt Chaisson, also of Lafayette, said Saturday's sunny weather made the trip worthwhile.

"Even though it's nasty out here with all the mud, we're making the best of it," she said, adding that she should have packed her rain boots.

"I should know better," she said, laughing. "I'm from here!"

The festival ends Sunday, with closing performances by Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Aaron Neville, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, and Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra with special guest Dee Dee Bridgewater.

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Associated Press writer Stacey Plaisance contributed to this report.

The 83-year-old O'Connor tells the Chicago Tribune editorial board that perhaps she and her colleagues should have turned down the Bush campaign's appeal of a Florida Supreme Court decision to allow a recount requested by the Gore campaign.

O'Connor was in the majority in the high court's 5-4 decision that stopped the recount and sealed Bush's election. She has long lamented the controversy over the decision that she said gave the court a "less-than-perfect reputation."

But in the past, O'Connor has said the court had no choice but to take on the case. She retired in 2006.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Mexico on Thursday for a visit he hopes will draw attention to Mexico's emerging economic might, even as worries about containing drug-trafficking and related violence remain an inescapable subtext.

Obama meets with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and is then due to hold a news conference at 4:10 p.m. CDT (4.10 p.m. EDT).

The U.S. president has said he wants to hear more about Mexico's new policy of restricting contacts with the United States on drugs and drug-related violence to a single point, the Ministry of the Interior.

The "single-door" policy would be an abrupt change from the wide latitude the U.S. government enjoyed in working with Mexican officials across agencies under Pena Nieto's predecessor, Felipe Calderon.

"From their perspective, its the effort to have better control over all the aspects of security policy and make it more fluid," said Maureen Meyer, a Mexico specialist with the Washington Office on Latin America, a U.S. non-governmental organization.

The change has raised concern about Mexico's commitment to combating drug trafficking and drug-related violence.

While the Mexican government has said that killings linked to organized crime fell 14 percent in the first four months of Pena Nieto's presidency, more than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed in drug violence in Mexico since 2007, and gang-style murders continue to provide lurid headlines.

"Crime lurks in the background throughout everything. They know it," said Diana Negroponte, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, referring to the Mexican government.

Some question whether Calderon's aggressive policies, which focused on eradicating gang leaders, has been successful or whether it has generated additional violence as rival factions vie for control of turf.

"There's a lot of resentment that the consumption problem is coming from the United States, and so are the guns, and they're getting all the violence, and they're fed up with it," said one government Latin America analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

RIGHTS WORRIES

Rights group Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Obama ahead of his visit urging him to review the United States' public security approach with Mexico, rapping his administration for offering "uncritical support" for Calderon's policies and citing a "dramatic increase" in rights abuses.

Both Obama and Pena Nieto have said they want the visit to focus on economic issues rather than security. Pena Nieto is eager to underscore Mexico's recent run of solid economic growth, fueled in part by its increasing attractiveness as a manufacturing hub.

"The new government wants to change the narrative," said former U.S. ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow. "It doesn't want the headlines to be about murders and decapitations."

The Mexican president has launched an ambitious reform agenda, aiming to overhaul the tax system and energy sector, among other areas, in a bid to boost economic growth.

"The way the agenda is laid out is to emphasize the economic side of things, to show that the relationship is about more than just security," said Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "The signal that's being sent is that the United States fully supports the reform agenda."

Obama, for his part, would like to highlight Mexico's progress in moving up the economic ladder, in part to emphasize that his own goal of reforming U.S. immigration laws will not promote an exodus of Mexicans into the United States.

The two presidents are also likely to discuss the fate of a much-ballyhooed agreement that would remove obstacles to expanding deepwater drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

The United States has yet to finalize the deal, know as the Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement, which provide guidelines for drilling in an area of the Gulf that straddles the U.S.-Mexico boundary.

The deal is seen as the key to opening a new era of cooperation on oil production between the two countries. Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex needs technology and investment to boost its stagnant production, and U.S. companies are eager to help.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Simon Gardner and David Brunnstrom)

No one saw a parachute Thursday, and if Kurt Ruppert, 29, of Lake City, Fla., survived the jump and was caught in a tree or lost in the forest, he likely died of hypothermia, a King County sheriff's sergeant said.

"We just don't think he survived at this point," Sgt. Cindi West said Monday.

Dozens of searchers were out four days "calling and calling," West said. "If he survived he wasn't conscious enough to yell to us."

It snowed Thursday night and temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s around Mount Si, a steep and heavily forested 4,200-foot peak about 30 miles east of Seattle.

Searchers covered 9 square miles before the ground search was suspended Sunday. Fog on Monday prevented a helicopter search.

Ruppert was taking turns with two friends who were waiting at the grassy landing zone when he jumped out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet and disappeared.

The webbed wing suit allows a skydiver to glide at up to 100 miles per hour, so Ruppert could have covered a lot of ground, West said.

Friends in Florida say Ruppert had been skydiving seven or eight years and was experienced in a wing suit.

There's a record of Ruppert's cellphone signal until he went up in the air and jumped or shut it off, West said. That information led to an extensive search of a quarter-square mile area, which found no sign of him.

Outlying areas where Ruppert might have landed are heavily wooded or mountain cliffs.

Ruppert carried a blue parachute in a black pack. He was dressed in a tan and green wing suit, which would make him hard to spot in the woods.

Friends of Ruppert's were with ground searchers over the weekend, but did not want to talk with reporters, West said.

"People that are out there are having a little memorial today on the mountain," said a friend in Florida, Skydive Palatka owner Art Shaffer.

"There's a lot of sad people here," he said Monday.

An earlier version of the forms had provoked widespread griping that they were as bad as tax forms and might overwhelm uninsured people, causing them to give up in frustration.

The biggest change: a five-page short form that single people can fill out. That form includes a cover page with instructions and another page if you want to designate someone to help you through the process.

But the abridged application form for families starts at 12 pages, and grows as you add children. Most people are expected to take another option, applying online.

The ease or difficulty of applying for benefits takes on added importance because Americans remain confused about what the health care law will mean for them. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Tuesday found that 4 in 10 are unaware it's the law of the land. Some think it's been repealed by Congress. In fact, it's still on track.

And it's a mandate, not a suggestion. The law says virtually all Americans must carry health insurance starting next year, although most will just keep the coverage they now have through their jobs, Medicare or Medicaid.

At his news conference Tuesday, President Barack Obama hailed the simplified forms as an example of how his team listened to criticism from consumer groups and made a fix. The law's full benefits will be available to all next year, he emphasized, even if Republicans in Congress still insist on repeal and many GOP governors won't help put it into place.

When the first draft of the application turned out to be a clunker, "immediately, everybody sat around the table and said, 'Well, this is too long, especially ... in this age of the Internet,'" Obama recounted. "'People aren't going to have the patience to sit there for hours on end. Let's streamline this thing.'"

The flap over the application forms was a "first test" of the administration's ability to confront problems as they emerge, said Sam Karp, vice president of programs at the California HealthCare Foundation.

"Being nimble enough to identify, then fix, problems will be critical to successfully enroll millions of Americans who will become newly eligible for coverage," he said.

The applications will start becoming familiar to consumers less than six months from now, on Oct. 1, when new insurance markets open for enrollment in every state. Most people already signed up in their employer's plan don't need to bother with the forms.

Filling out the application is just the first part of the process, which lets you know if you qualify for financial help. The government asks to see what you're making because Obama's Affordable Care Act is means-tested, with lower-income people getting the most generous help to pay premiums. Consumers who aren't applying for financial help still have to fill out a five-page form.

Once you're finished with the money part, actually picking a health plan will require additional steps, plus a basic understanding of insurance jargon.

Benefits begin Jan. 1, and nearly 30 million uninsured Americans are eventually expected to get coverage.

While the first drafts of the applications were widely panned, the new forms were seen as an improvement. Still, consumers must provide a snapshot of their finances. That potentially includes multiple sources of income, from alimony to tips to regular paychecks.

On the list: unemployment, pensions, Social Security, other retirement checks and farming and fishing income. Individuals will have to gather tax returns, pay stubs and other financial records before filling out the application.

"Given the amount of information necessary to determine eligibility, it's hard to see how the forms could be any shorter," said Robert Laszewski, a former insurance executive turned industry consultant.

Although the new forms are more concise, the administration wasn't able to get rid of complexity. One question asks family applicants with at least one member covered through a job for "the lowest-cost plan that meets the minimum value standard offered only to the employee." Huh?

Administration officials expect most people to apply online. The process will route consumers to either private plans or Medicaid. Identification, citizenship and immigration status, as well as income details, are supposed to be verified in close to real time through a federal "data hub" pinging Social Security, the Homeland Security department and the Internal Revenue Service.

Under Obama's overhaul, insurers will no longer be able to turn away the sick or charge them more. The pitfalls of giving the wrong answer to a health care question will be gone, but consumers who underestimate their incomes could be in for an unwelcome surprise later on in the form of smaller tax refunds.

One section eliminated in the new form asked applicants if they also wanted to register to vote. Some congressional Republicans had criticized that, calling it politically motivated.

LONDON (Reuters) - Five years after the onset of the global financial crisis, the world economy is in such a chronic condition that the European Central Bank might cut interest rates this week and the Federal Reserve is likely to indicate no let-up in the stimulus it is providing the U.S. economy. With the euro zone economy in recession, momentum is building for the ECB to lower interest rates for the first time since July 2012, according to senior sources involved in the deliberations.

Deutsche Bank has "zero tolerance" for tax evaders: CEO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bankhas "zero tolerance" for customers seeking to evade taxes by holding assets in foreign accounts managed by the lender, Co-Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen told German radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "Tax evasion is a crime," Fitschen said in an interview. "It's unacceptable."

Japan's ANA takes its first 787 back into the air since grounding

TOKYO (Reuters) - All Nippon Airways , the Japanese launch customer for Boeing Co's787, flew its first Dreamliner in more than three months on Sunday to test reinforced batteries installed by the U.S. aircraft maker. The ANA flight was the second by an airline since aviation regulators on Friday gave permission for 787 operations to restart after batteries on two of them overheated in mid January. One was on an ANA plane in Japan and another on a Japan Airlinesjet parked at Boston's Logan airport.

Zames' star ascends in latest JPMorgan shakeup

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Cosaid on Sunday Matt Zames will fully assume the role of chief operating officer as his former partner in the job leaves, which was part of the latest management shakeup at the biggest U.S. bank. Zames, who has been seen as a strong candidate to succeed the bank's Chief Executive and Chairman Jamie Dimon, had been co-chief operating officer with Frank Bisignano, the New York-based bank said in a statement.

U.S. Steel locks out workers at Lake Erie in Canada: union

TORONTO (Reuters) - United States Steel Corphas locked out all unionized employees at its Lake Erie works in Canada, the United Steelworkers union said on Sunday. The move, part of a contract dispute, affects nearly 1,000 workers at the Nanticoke, Ontario plant, which produced about 10 percent of U.S. Steel's raw steel output in 2012.

Earnings beating forecasts but jury's out on rest of season

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. companies have easily beaten expectations for first-quarter earnings so far in the reporting season, but nearly half of the members of the S&P 500 are yet to announce results and they are unlikely to be as robust. With results in from 271 of the S&P 500 companies, year-over-year earnings growth is projected at 3.9 percent, compared with a forecast for 1.5 percent growth at the start of the earnings season, Thomson Reuters data shows. That figure includes those that have reported and analyst estimates for those who have not.

Abu Dhabi plans financial free zone, may resemble Dubai

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi is putting finishing touches to plans to establish a financial free zone that could resemble, and therefore compete with, the Dubai International Financial Centre, sources familiar with the matter said. A federal decree was passed by the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan in February to create the area, known as the Abu Dhabi World Financial Market, on Al Maryah island, the sources told Reuters.

Dell investors may still gain after Blackstone pullout: Barron's

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell shareholders could still stand to profit even after Blackstone Group LPwithdrew its bid to buy the world's No. 3 personal computer maker more than a week ago, Barron's said on Sunday. On April 19, Blackstone's move knocked Dell shares to a two-month low and narrowed the fight for Dell between activist investor Carl Icahn and the company's founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, the newspaper said.

Analysis: China's 4G bonanza to shake up mobile gear vendor market

STOCKHOLM/PARIS (Reuters) - Chinese telecom operators will start awarding contracts for super-fast mobile networks this year, kicking off the third wave of a global investment cycle that is reshaping the competitive landscape among telecom equipment makers. China, the world's biggest mobile market with 1.1 billion subscribers, is likely to further alter the picture at the expense of European suppliers by giving a huge boost to Huawei and its smaller Chinese rival ZTE.

Italian court rejects Nomura seizure order: sources

SIENA, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian judge has rejected an order to seize around 1.8 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of assets from Nomuraas part of a probe into suspected fraud involving troubled lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena , legal sources said on Saturday. Assets worth 140 million euros that were already seized from the Japanese bank have been released under the judge's ruling, which was made on Friday, the judicial source said.

Zoo Lovers Day

Thewas the Imperial Menagerie in Vienna. It first opened in 1752 and is still in business today. Just a few kilometers away resides Zoo Berlin, which is the largest zoo in the world. It houses more than 15,000 animals from nearly 1,700 species.

Here are some other :

* More than 600 million people visit zoos each year.

* The U.S. has more than 350 zoos.

* Disney's Animal Kingdom has the most visitors of any other zoo in the United States, with 9.5 million visitors each year.

Today is "." What are you waiting for? Grab the cooler and the kids and head out for a memory-making trip to your zoo! And when you're back, settle in and watch the 2011 family drama "We Bought a Zoo," starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. You can watch the trailers on .

National Empanada Day

Empanadas are wonderful littleall wrapped up in a flaky dough crust and baked or fried to a golden brown. Although many countries lay claim to the invention of empanadas, they most likely originated in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain.

Today is "," and a great time for you to try your hand at making these delicious treats. Although you can fill yours with anything you like, here are some mouth-watering ideas from Yahoo! Shine:

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Anniversary of Glass Milk Bottles Day

Before milk was delivered or dispensed in glass bottles, it was simply poured or ladled into . As one might imagine, this was far from hygienic. But on April 8, 1879, the first glass bottles were used to deliver this popular food and drink product, which changed the history of milk consumption.

The trend caught on, and soon after the turn of the century, some cities were actually requiring that milk be delivered in bottles. As with most things in the early 1900s, milk bottles were reused over and over again. In fact, the average milk bottle made 22.5 round trips between merchant and consumer before it was broken, lost or used for some other purpose.

Today is the "." And whether you get your milk from a glass bottle, plastic jug, or straight from the cow, you're sure to appreciate its importance in cooking and nutrition around the world.