* Politicians reject invitations to the event

* No plans for change with clubs acting within British laws

By Belinda Goldsmith

LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Politicians and golfers of both sexes took a swing at the sport's governing body on Monday for holding Britain's top tournament at a club that allows only men to be members, saying it was time for a change.

The R&A is responsible for running the Open Championship which will be held from Thursday at the ancient Muirfield course near Edinburgh in Scotland, one of three exclusively male clubs to host the event alongside Royal St George's and Royal Troon.

Culture Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities Maria Miller said it sent out the wrong message to hold the Open at a club that did not allow women members. She urged clubs to lift all bans as the number of women golfers declines.

"Sports governing bodies should be doing all they can to promote equality and address the sexism that still exists in some quarters, not turning a blind eye to it," Miller said in statement after turning down an invitation to the event.

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond have also rejected invitations to the 142nd Open, the only major to be played at a single-sex club. The three other majors are played in the United States.

Salmond, a keen golfer, said it was "indefensible" in the "21st century not to have a golf club that's open to all".

The protests follow a decision by the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia to end a men-only policy before the U.S. Masters in April with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore, the philanthropist, among its first female members.

Some of Britain's best-known women golfers have spoken out recently against Muirfield, with Vivien Saunders, Catriona Matthew and Laura Davies saying they did not feel comfortable that such a major sporting event went to a single-sex club.

Britain's Times newspaper joined the debate on Monday, with an editorial saying the sport of golf still had a problem with gender and it was time The R&A took "some moral leadership".

NO CHANGES TEED UP

But The R&A brushed aside calls for the Open to be taken away from venues with men-only policies and said it had no plans to change single-sex clubs that are allowed under British equality laws as long as there is guest access.

A spokesman for R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson said he had made the organisation's views on single sex golf clubs clear at a news conference in April and had nothing more to add.

At that time Dawson stressed that only about one percent of 3,000 golf courses in Britain used by about 1.3 million players had a single sex membership policy - and some were women only.

"Personally I think this idea that it sends out a dreadful message to the world is considerably overblown," said Dawson who will face the media again at Muirfield on Wednesday.

"I think private clubs can determine their own destiny."

A spokesman for Muirfield, which boasts it is the world's oldest golf club dating back to 1744, said women were welcome to play as visitors or guests year round and use the facilities.

"We are disappointed that some individuals feel unable to attend this year's Open staged by The R&A at Muirfield," the club said in a statement ahead of hosting its 16th Open but added there were no plans for any change.

The Ladies Golf Union, representing ladies' amateur golf in Britain and Ireland, said it boycotted men-only clubs 15 years ago but the ban lasted only three years as it did not help.

"Why should we be denied the opportunity to play some of the best courses in the country so we do now hold championships for women at Muirfield and other men-only clubs," Chief Executive Shona Malcolm told Reuters.

"But really this is nothing compared to the biggest issue facing women's golf which is a massive 20 percent drop in women players in the past 10 years from 210,000 in 2004 to 177,000 last year. That is far more of a priority for us." (Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Tom Bartlett)

The downhill skier from Owen Sound, Ont., was dropped from the national team in May and is paying her own way to train on snow with the German team in Zermatt, Switzerland, starting Wednesday until the end of July.

"I've put in $25,000 of my own money and that's how I was able to go on my first camp," Yurkiw said from Toronto. "Team Larisa is not rolling in cash."

Yurkiw, 25, earned her first World Cup top-10 result in 2009 and was a talented prospect behind Canadian team veterans Emily Brydon, Britt Janyk and Kelly VanderBeek.

But Yurkiw crashed during training in Val-d'Isere, France, on Dec. 16, 2009, tearing multiple ligaments in her left knee that required reconstructive surgery to repair.

Not only was Yurkiw unable to race in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she couldn't compete on the World Cup circuit for two years.

Yurkiw had one top-30 finish in her first full season racing World Cups this past winter. She finished 23rd in super-G and 28th in downhill at this year's world championship.

Her results didn't meet the criteria to remain on the national team.

Alpine Canada shifted its funding to the men's downhill team and slalom racers Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., and Erin Mielzynski of Brampton, Ont.

The organization considers those athletes more likely to win medals in Sochi.

As the host country, Canada can have up to six women race the downhill and super-G at the season-opening World Cup in Lake Louise, Alta., in November.

After that, Canada is limited to one quota spot for women's World Cup races in Europe.

Alpine Canada is leaning towards Gagnon for that berth because she has Olympic medal potential in the combined event, which comprises the downhill and the slalom.

Yurkiw is footing the bill for her off-season training. Her coach last season, Kurt Mayr, is donating his time to work with her in Zermatt.

"My shorter-term goal is to keep creating a preparation period for myself," Yurkiw said. "I can fall asleep at night thinking about the sensations I'd feel standing in the Lake Louise start. I'm more excited to get a chance to go fast and be aggressive in Zermatt."

She has the opportunity to train in Zermatt again in September if she can raise the money.

"There's no real stopping," she said. "I'm training like I would any other summer. That's obviously the priority. If I'm not fit, then this might not go anywhere.

"I'm just trying to keep banging on doors and hope a few of them let me in and create a partnership."

Without national team support, Yurkiw is responsible for her own logistics in addition to fundraising.

"The initiative that an athlete has to take to go independent like this is pretty powerful," she said. "I choose to seize this opportunity as opposed to feeling cornered."

Yurkiw raised $22,000 via the website Pursuit to pay team fees when she was on the national team last year.

She estimates her budget for the 2013-14 season will be $150,000.

"That's the highest number I've ever had to raise," Yurkiw said. "I just have to be creative, but also have some big corporations step up in a big way for me to meet my goal."

RELATED:

Here's : 

A black couple was sitting outside the Mexican joint when an intoxicated white man stumbled into their table.

Douglas Reddish, 25, who was eating with his girlfriend, tried to help him regain his balance, cops said, and the wait staff came over to shoo the table crasher away.

And : 

Witnesses on Greenwich Ave. near W. 12th St. said the white man — who cops said is in his 30s — was belting back beers outside Benny’s Burritos about 5:30 p.m. when he began mouthing off to a black customer in the outdoor seating area.

What happened next isn't really up for debate, though. The drunken white man hurled racial slurs at the couple who were, up until this point, privately enjoying some Mexican food. "You n-----s are why I lost my job," the unidentified drunk said, . "This n----r wants to fight me!" he yelled, . 

RELATED:

What would you do if a well-dressed man, who is clearly drunk, interrupted your dinner and began hurling racial slurs at you and your significant other for no apparent reason other than you were there, in front of him, during his drunken rage? You'd probably knock the guy out, too, and that's exactly what Reddish did. 

RELATED:

The drunk fell back and hit his head pretty hard on the pavement, though. "He was out cold. I thought he was dead," Benny’s worker Robert Garcia . "He mentioned the N-word, this guy hits him one time and he hits his head on the curb," . Reddish fled the scene after the unidentified racist drunk started "bleeding profusely," but he was picked up by the New York Police Department a few blocks away, , and charged with assault. 

RELATED:

The drunk, who "could hardly walk," according to one witness, is now in critical condition at Beth Israel Hospital. That same witness said she spoke with the man before he got clocked and he was upset about his wife leaving him and his job at Goldman Sachs. 

Officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority said a leak is "strongly suspected" and urged plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to determine where the water may be leaking from and assess the environmental and other risks, including the impact on the food chain. The watchdog said Wednesday it would form a panel of experts to look into ways to contain the problem.

The watchdog's findings underscore TEPCO's delayed response in dealing with a problem that experts have long said existed. On Wednesday, the company continued to raise doubts about whether a leak exists.

TEPCO spokesman Noriyuki Imaizumi said the increase in cesium levels in monitoring well water samples does not necessarily mean contaminated water from the plant is leaking to the ocean. TEPCO was running another test on water samples and suspects earlier spikes might have been caused by cesium-laced dust slipping into the samples, he said. But he said TEPCO is open to the watchdog's suggestions to take safety steps.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was ravaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and TEPCO has used massive amounts of water to cool the damaged reactors since then. Repeated leaks of the contaminated water stored on site have hampered decommissioning efforts.

Marine biologists have warned that the radioactive water may be leaking continuously into the sea from underground, citing high radioactivity in fish samples taken near the plant.

Since May, TEPCO has reported spikes in cesium levels in underground water collected from a coastal observation pit, while the water-soluble element strontium showed high levels in seawater samples taken in areas just off the coast of the plant. The company says most of the contamination has been there since the 2011 accident.

TEPCO has said it has detected "no significant impact" on the environment. It says cesium tends to be absorbed in the soil, and denies water contaminated with that element reached the sea.

But the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday that samples from both the pit water and coastal seawater indicated that contaminated underground water likely had reached the sea.

Watchdog chairman Shunichi Tanaka said he thinks that the seawater contamination has been happening since the accident, but that it was worst early in the crisis.

"What's most important is to minimize the leak to the outside and reduce the impact on the human society," he said.

Most fish and seafood from along the Fukushima coast are barred from the domestic market and from being exported. Seafood caught north and south of Fukushima are regularly tested for radiation to make sure they are safe for consumption. In the wider ocean, the contaminated water becomes too diluted to be harmful.

The safety of fish and other foods from around Fukushima remains a concern among ordinary Japanese, who are among the world's highest per capita consumers of seafood.

TEPCO says it has taken steps to prevent seawater contamination but that it is impossible to completely prevent the contamination from spreading.

Atsunao Marui, underground water expert at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said there is a possibility of new leaks from reactor buildings. He said TEPCO will have to expand its seawater sampling and its investigation of the underground water system to assess the extent of possible contamination.

"It is important to apply several layers of protection," he told NHK television.

The plant still runs on jury-rigged systems to cool the reactors, and managing the contaminated water and its storage has been a chronic headache.

"When something unexpected happens, we can only take stopgap measures, which shows how unstable Fukushima Dai-ichi still is," Tanaka said. "Given the situation, we can only use the best of our wisdom and do what we can."

Rates measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association jumped to the highest level since July 2011, which also cut into refinance activity. The share of refinance applications fell to the lowest level in more than two years.

Interest rates on fixed 30-year mortgage surged 12 basis points to average 4.58 percent in the week ended June 28, the MBA said.

"At these rates, many fewer homeowners have an incentive to refinance," Mike Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

"Purchase application volume also declined, but not nearly to the same extent, as affordability remains strong."

However, a separate report from mortgage financier Freddie Mac, covering the week ending July 3, showed average rates for 30-year mortgages heading slightly lower. Market concern about an early reduction of Fed stimulus eased somewhat during the period, an economist said.

Rates have been rising since early May, with the increase accelerated by comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last month that the central bank expects to wind down the pace of its quantitative easing program later this year if the economy improves as expected.

The Fed has been buying $85 billion a month in bonds and mortgage-backed assets to keep borrowing costs low and stimulate economic growth. The historically low mortgage rates have helped lure in buyers as the housing market gets back on its feet.

The recent higher cost of mortgages has raised concerns that the increase could dampen demand and slow the housing recovery, though most economists do not expect it to be derailed. Even with the increase, rates remain historically low.

While the rise in rates had appeared to cause some potential buyers to get into the market earlier in June, MBA's seasonally adjusted index of loan requests for home purchases decreased 3.1 percent last week.

Refinancing activity was hit much harder and the index tumbled 15.6 percent last week. The refinance share of total mortgage activity slumped to 64 percent of applications from 67 percent the week before. It was the lowest level since May 2011.

The overall index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, slid 11.7 percent.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

The Freddie Mac report showed average 30-year fixed rate mortgages for the week ending July 3 falling to 4.29 percent from 4.46 percent last week. At this time last year the rate averaged 3.62 percent.

The Primary Mortgage Market Survey also showed that the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.39 percent this week, down from last week's average of 3.50 percent.

"Fixed mortgage rates fell over the holiday week as market concerns over the timing of the Federal Reserve's pullback in bond purchases eased somewhat," said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Additional reporting by Paige Gance; Editing by Diane Craft and Kenneth Barry)

ROME (AP) -- Prosecutors have wrapped up their money-laundering investigation into the Vatican bank and are focusing on the institute's two recently resigned managers, Italian news reports said Tuesday in the latest development to shake the Holy See.

Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulli stepped down late Monday from the Vatican bank called Institute for Religious Works, or IOR amid a criminal investigation into the bank's operations that has resulted in the arrest of a Vatican accountant.

The Vatican said the two resigned to make way for a new leadership to "increase the pace" of efforts to make the Holy See's finances more transparent. That suggests Cipriani, as IOR director, and Tulli, his deputy, hadn't embraced the full scope of reform required to comply with international norms to fight money-laundering and terror financing.

Cipriani was placed under investigation in 2010 for allegedly violating Italy's anti-money laundering laws stemming from a routine transaction involving an IOR account at an Italian bank. The bank's then-president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was placed under investigation as well and Italian police seized the 23 million euros ($30 million) in the account.

Italian news agency LaPresse said Tuesday that prosecutors were expected to exonerate Gotti Tedeschi in the case, since he didn't handle day-to-day bank operations. But, according to LaPresse, prosecutors said they would likely seek indictments for Cipriani and Tulli.

It's not clear what charges they could face since prosecutors in 2011 determined the Vatican had put into place a suitable legal regime to prevent money-laundering and ordered the 23 million euro released. Tulli isn't believed to be under investigation in that case, suggesting that other accusations might be involved.

The Vatican has long denied any wrongdoing and said the 2010 investigation resulted from a mere misunderstanding. Gotti Tedeschi, in the meantime, was ousted as IOR president last May, though the reasons weren't related to the investigation.

Tuesday's developments capped a remarkable week for the IOR: It began with Pope Francis' announcement that he was forming a commission of inquiry into the bank to get to the bottom of the problems that have plagued it for decades.

It peaked Friday with the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, a Vatican accountant, in a purported plot to smuggle 20 million euros out of Switzerland into Italy. Scarano was already under investigation for using his account at the Vatican bank for alleged money-laundering.

And it continued with Monday's resignation of Cipriani and Tulli from the IOR. Interim managers who belong to the Promontory Group, a leading firm in the fight against money-laundering, were appointed.

Despite the rough week, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano had some more lighthearted news to offer on Tuesday: Pope Francis' @Pontifex twitter account surpassed 7 million followers, combining the nine languages in which he tweets.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Garcelle Beauvais is getting "Loose" for her next role, TheWrap has learned exclusively.

The actress has signed on to independent film, "Loose," from executive producer Dan Garcia with "Deception" star Meagan Good and Datari Turner attached as producers.

"Loose" is a coming of age story that follows Grace, a young girl from a small town trying to figure out her purpose in life.

Beauvais plays Grace's single mother, Lisa, an alcoholic who repeatedly finds herself in abusive relationships and making them the priority over her daughter.

Ty Hodges ("Doctor Me") directs the drama with a script written by Jacquin De Leon. Production is set to begin this summer.

Beauvais plays First Lady, Alison Sawyer, opposite Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum in "White House Down," which opens in theatres on Friday. She also recently wrapped production as the lead in the indie drama, "And Then There Was You," directed by Leila Djansi.

Her TV credits include guest roles on Netflix's "Arrested Development," USA's "Psych" and TV Land's "The Exes" and recurring roles on TNT's "Franklin and Bash" and ABC's "NYPD Blue."

Beauvais is represented by SDB Partners, Luber Roklin Entertainment, Innovative Artists, and Edelstein Laird and Sobel.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A senior Catholic cleric arrested in a plot to smuggle tens of millions of dollars into Italy controlled vast amounts of money and felt he could act with impunity because of his connections to the Vatican bank, according to a judge's investigative document.

In the latest blow to the Vatican's image, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, 61, was arrested on Friday along with an Italian secret service agent and a financial broker.

The three had plotted to smuggle 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland for a members of a family of ship-owners in southern Italy, an investigating magistrate told reporters on Friday.

The magistrate said the pivotal protagonist was Scarano, who worked until recently as a senior accountant in the Vatican's financial administration, and that he owned numerous pieces of property and had accounts in the Vatican bank.

A 48-page document in which Judge Barbara Callari approves magistrates' requests for the arrests, and which was obtained by Reuters, contains transcripts or summaries of wiretaps, emails, letters, checks and other results of police investigations.

It describes the development of a plot that reads like a spy novel, involving a private plane that was to collect the cash in Switzerland, burned cell phones, a shady financier and an allegedly corrupt secret service agent who promised to slip the money past customs.

In her report, Callari wrote that Scarano felt safe "thanks to his relations with the Vatican bank". She said the monsignor saw the IOR as "the only safe and rapid instrument for financial and banking operations that could evade - if not outright violate - laws against money laundering and tax evasion".

EMBARRASSMENT FOR POPE

The case came as an embarrassment to Pope Francis who, only two days earlier, set up a commission of inquiry into the scandal-plagued Vatican bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR).

Scarano was for years a senior accountant APSA, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. Through APSA, he had ready access to the IOR and magistrates believe he had at least two personal accounts there.

The Vatican, which has pledged to cooperate with the magistrates, said Scarano was suspended several weeks ago when magistrates in Salerno put him under a separate investigation.

The arrests of Scarano, secret service agent Giovanni Zito and broker Giovanni Carenzio stemmed from a previous money laundering investigation by Rome magistrates into the IOR.

Magistrates have said there was no indication so far that the bank was directly involved in Scarano's attempt to smuggle the money into Italy for his rich friends.

But Italian newspapers speculated that Scarano may have been planning to use the bank to launder at least some of the Swiss money for his friends later.

The judge's report said the cash was in Swiss bank UBS. But it said it never left because Carenzio, the broker, did not carry out his part of the deal even though Zito, the secret service agent, had gone to Locarno in July, 2012 to pick it up.

In her report, Callari wrote that the investigations showed that Scarano had "very vast economic resources" and that "the prelate did not hesitate to use complicated stratagems and to involve many third parties to carry out financial operations without respecting norms against money laundering".

In the Salerno investigation, Scarano has been accused of attempting to launder money by taking 560,000 euros ($727,900) in cash out of his Vatican account and giving various amounts to friends in exchange for checks.

He then deposited the checks into an Italian bank account to pay off a mortgage on a property, his lawyer, Silverio Sica, told Reuters. Sica said well-off friends had donated money to Scarano in order for him to build a home for the terminally ill.

Scarano wanted to use that money to pay off his mortgage so he could sell a property in Salerno and use the proceeds to build the care home, Sica said, adding that Scarano would "clear everything up".

($1 = 0.7693 euros)

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

SOFIA, June 29 (Reuters) - Angry CSKA Sofia fans protested and threw stones and fireworks at the Bulgarian Football Union's (BFU) headquarters on Saturday, angry at its lack of action as the debt-ridden club battles to avoid the obscurity of the amateur leagues.

CSKA will play in the amateur championship next season if it fails to merge with another first division club in time for the start of the Bulgarian league on July 20.

The Reds, as CSKA are known in the Balkan country, are in serious debt and last week coach Hristo Stoichkov said it had declared bankruptcy, although that had not been confirmed by club management or the BFU.

More than 1,000 supporters marched in downtown Sofia, blaming the national body for being too strict and for not allowing a merger.

Windows were smashed and some fans threw fireworks and sprayed graffiti near the main entrance of the BFU's building.

Former CSKA players and coaches including Stoycho Mladenov, who led the club to their last title in 2008, and former Bulgaria coach Plamen Markov also turned up at the protest.

They later condemned the violent scenes.

Local media reported that a security guard had hidden under a table and then began to beg the trouble-makers for mercy, and that a reporter who tried to take a photo during the attack was hit and his mobile phone broken.

"Police intervened immediately after receiving a call," the interior ministry said in a statement.

"It prevented more serious damage to the building. Police officers are working to identify and trace the offenders."

The BFU said in a statement that it was outraged at the "acts of vandalism".

"It's obvious that some people want to press the BFU to close its eyes at attempts at not observing the rules."

In an attempt to calm the escalating situation at the club, CSKA had earlier turned to former European Footballer of the Year Stoichkov, naming him coach.

Last Saturday, the club's owners said in a statement on the club's website that they had transferred their 6.5 million shares to Stoichkov, although the deal has yet to be concluded.

Stoichkov, frustrated by the actions of club management, didn't attend CSKA's last two training sessions this week, giving the owners a one-week ultimatum to finalise the transfer.

"I had two conditions, when I agreed to take over but they (the owners) didn't fulfill any," Stoichkov said.

"I want CSKA to be a club with transparent funding."

MOUNTING INSECURITY

Earlier in the year CSKA chiefs fell out with die-hard supporters who accused them of incompetence and called on them to quit.

In September, angry CSKA fans set up a road blockade to protest against the owners and even asked the government for help.

During Saturday's protest the fans said they wanted their representatives to attend the share transfer.

"Next week, Hristo Stoichkov will receive CSKA's shares with zero debt and he'll become the owner of the club," Dimitar Borisov, one of CSKA's owners, told reporters earlier this week.

"I am not a lawyer, I can tell you anything more."

CSKA, the most successful Bulgarian club with 31 league titles, finished third last season, nine points behind champions Ludogorets.

Inept performances on the pitch have combined with controversy in the boardroom and stifling levels of debt have led to the current troubles.

It has led to insecurity in the dressing room, with more than half a dozen key players, including captain Ivan Bandalovski and Brazilian striker Michel Platini leaving the club earlier this week.

CSKA, who made three European semi-finals between 1967 and 1989, were barred from the 2008-09 Champions League after failing the meet licencing criteria, and their financial problems have led to them being denied a place in next season's Europa League.

(Editing by Josh Reich)

These "planetary protection" requirements impose heavy financial burdens on missions, partially explaining why no robots have searched for life on the Red Planet's surface since NASA's twin Viking landers ceased operations three decades ago, researchers Alberto Fairen of Cornell University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University write in a commentary published online today (June 27) in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Further, such restrictions are unnecessary, because Earth life has doubtless made it to the neighboring Red Planet already inside chunks of rock blasted off our planet by asteroid strikes, the scientists say. []

"If Earth micro-organisms can thrive on Mars, they almost certainly already do; and if they cannot, the should be of no concern, as it would simply not survive," Fairen and Schulze-Makuch write in the commentary. "We cannot see how our current program of Mars exploration might pose any real threat to a possible Martian biosphere."