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Gyula Horn, the man who tore the Iron Curtain, dies at 80
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Gyula Horn, who as Hungary's last communist foreign minister ripped a hole in the Iron Curtain in 1989, has died at the age of 80 after long illness, the government said on Wednesday.

Britain fails to get EU backing for Hezbollah blacklisting
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A British drive to put Hezbollah's armed wing on the EU's terror list again ran into resistance on Wednesday from governments concerned it would fuel instability in the Middle East, diplomats said.

Greek party leaders to meet Thursday over ERT impasse
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ruling coalition leaders will meet again on Thursday to resolve an impasse over last week's closure of state broadcaster ERT after failing to reach agreement during talks on Wednesday, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos said.

Theft of F-35 design data is helping U.S. adversaries: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The theft of sensitive design data by hackers targeting programs like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter takes away a big U.S. advantage by allowing rivals to speed up development of their own stealth aircraft, a top Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

Web retailer Fab valued at $1 billion with funding from Tencent
(Reuters) - Fab has raised $150 million from several investors, including Tencent Holdings , that values the online retailer at $1 billion.

Exclusive - Forest keen to bid for Irish drugmaker Elan - sources
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forest Laboratories Inc , the specialty drugmaker that counts investor Carl Icahn as a major shareholder, is among a handful of companies interested in bidding for Irish drugmaker Elan Corp , two people familiar with the situation said.

Fed keeps buying bonds, but sees economic risks easing
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said risks to the outlook for the U.S. economy and job market had eased since last fall, but it said it would keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month given the still-high level of unemployment.

Vince Flynn, author of Mitch Rapp thriller series, dead from cancer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Vince Flynn, the best-selling author of the Mitch Rapp series of political thrillers that includes "American Assassin" and "The Last Man," died on Wednesday at age 47 after a battle with prostate cancer, his representatives said.

U.S. to restart migration talks with Cuba: State Department
MIAMI (Reuters) - The United States and Cuba will resume immigration talks next month after a break of more than two years, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Kosovo's first envoy to Serbia quits after two days
PRISTINA (Reuters) - Independent Kosovo's first envoy to Serbia resigned on Wednesday, pre-empting his dismissal just two days into the job for exceeding his powers and making remarks likely to irritate Belgrade.

U.S. doctor group votes to recognize obesity as a disease
CHICAGO (Reuters) - In order to fight what it described as an "obesity epidemic," the American Medical Association voted on Tuesday to recognize obesity as a disease and recommended a number of measures to fight it.

Fed keeps buying bonds at $85 billion monthly pace
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it would keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month and gave no explicit indication that it was close to scaling back the program, despite intense market speculation it could soon start drawing it to a close.

Wall St. falls after 'status quo' Fed statement
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday, with the losses accelerating even after the Federal Reserve said it would hold steady with its monetary policy.

With Russian help, Europe prepares to search for life on Mars
PARIS (Reuters) - The European Space Agency signed final contracts with Thales Alenia Space Italy for work on a pair of missions to assess if the planet Mars has or ever had life, officials said at the Paris Airshow this week.

Russian official says statement on railway chief dismissal a hoax
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A statement announcing that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had dismissed Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin was a hoax, Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said on Wednesday.

Exclusive: Forest interested in bidding for Irish drugmaker Elan - sources
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forest Laboratories Inc is among a handful of companies interested in bidding for Irish drugmaker Elan Corp , according to two people familiar with the situation who wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media.

U.S. banks failed to follow mortgage standards: monitor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers failed to adhere to some of the new standards set out in a landmark settlement meant to help consumers facing foreclosure, a court-appointed monitor said on Wednesday.

Cyber threats and leaks spur increased security focus
PARIS (Reuters) - Increased cyber espionage by China and recent leaks by a contractor working at the National Security Agency have put a sharp focus on cyber security for aerospace and defense companies showing off their wares at this year's Paris Airshow.

FINRA reviewing brokerages' use of social media
(Reuters) - Wall Street's Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is looking at how brokerage firms supervise their use of communication outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the industry-funded regulator said.

Obama challenges Russia to agree to deeper nuclear weapon cuts
BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama used a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to call on Russia to revive the push for a world without nuclear arms by agreeing to target further reductions of up to one third of deployed nuclear weapons.