DODGER GREAT IS DEAD HEART ATTACK KILLS CAMPANELLA.(SPORTS)

Byline: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Roy Campanella, the power-hitting Brooklyn Dodgers catcher whose Hall of Fame career was ended by an automobile accident after the 1957 season, died Saturday night at age 71 of a heart attack.

Campanella joined the Dodgers in 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. In 1969, Campanella again followed Robinson, this time as the second black player elected to the Hall of Fame.

During a 10-year major league career with the Dodgers, Campanella was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1953 and 1955. He set major league records for catchers with 41 homers and 142 RBI in 1953.

Campanella died …

Vanity Fair: Murdoch asked son to take leave

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As the British phone hacking scandal unraveled this summer, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch told his son James that he should take a leave, but he changed his mind after a sleepless night, according to a new article in Vanity Fair.

The article, in the December issue due out Thursday, says Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth pushed the suggestion. It also says the family has been undergoing psychological counseling over who will succeed 80-year-old Rupert Murdoch to run the media conglomerate.

The article on the family's struggle comes as James Murdoch, News Corp.'s 38-year-old deputy chief operating officer, faces increasing pressure over his handling of the affair. …

Secret hostage rescue played out as Obama spoke

WASHINGTON (AP) — The secret was still intact when President Barack Obama, entering the House chamber Tuesday evening to deliver his State of the Union speech, pointed at his Pentagon chief and said, "Good job tonight."

Unknown to a global television audience watching the annual Capitol Hill ritual, a bold U.S. raid was still playing out half a world away with an elite Navy SEAL team's rescue of two hostages in Somalia, one of them an American. It was the same unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Publicly, Obama did not tip his hand during his speech, though microphones picked up his congratulation to Defense Secretary Leon …

Computer training

SOUTHMEAD: Free computer training is available for people aged 19and over at Southmead Development Trust's training division …

Research from Huazhong Agricultural University provides new data about science.

"The precocious trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata [L] Raf.), an early flowering mutant of P. trifoliata, has a short juvenile phase of about 14 months, significantly shorter than other citrus," researchers in Wuhan, People's Republic of China report.

"In this report, using the stems of precocious trifoliate orange seedlings as explants, an improved protocol mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens was developed to evaluate regeneration and transformation frequency," wrote Z. Tong and colleagues, Huazhong Agricultural University.

The researchers concluded: "The transformed plants continued to reveal the precocious trait of non-transgenic mature precocious …

IRAQ: AIRSTRIKE CLAIMS CIVILIANS.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. and British warplanes struck targets in southern Iraq Thursday, and Iraqi military said residential areas were hit, killing 14 civilians and injuring 19.

U.S. military confirmed the strikes but said the raids targeted Iraqi military and responded to anti-aircraft …

Firm to Embark on New Entertainment Venture in Thailand.

Byline: Sujintana Hemtasilpa

Nov. 21--RS Promotion Plc will embark on a new entertainment venture next year in a bid to raise its corporate revenue, its chief executive officer said yesterday.

Surachai Chetchotisak said the country's second largest entertainment company planned a major investment in a lucrative business, with details to be released in January. In addition, the company would reorganize and develop new distribution channels.

Pornpan Rungruengbangchan, assistant managing director, added that next year the company's music production business would be broken down into nine music labels under the RS umbrella.

For this reason, …