TOKYO – Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. said on Wednesday it will begin leasing a dual-fuel car that can run on both hydrogen and gasoline in the auto industry’s latest effort to reduce oil consumption in vehicles. Most major auto makers are developing zero-emission hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars as a potential …

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Consumer boycotts of Danish goods in Muslim countries in protest of the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad are costing Denmark‘s companies millions, and have raised fears of irreparable damage to trade ties. From Havarti cheese to Lego toys, Danish products have been yanked off the …

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. (GM) said on Thursday it would outsource up to $15 billion of information technology work as it tries to cut costs and restructure operations. Five-year contracts were given to Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), France’s Cap Gemini, …

McKINNEY, Texas – A woman accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter felt that God was commanding her to cut off the baby’s arms as well as her own arms, legs and head, a state psychiatrist testified Monday. Dena Schlosser saw a TV news story about a boy being mauled by …

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt’s foreign minister said Tuesday it would be premature to cut off international aid for a Palestinian government, even if Hamas is at its helm, dashing Bush administration hopes for a unified front as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood stiffly at his side. “We should give …

The Colons ended up with some pretty explosive toilet bowl problems. After a sewer line blew up inside the family’s Charlotte, N.C., home — damaging almost everything inside — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (CMUD) said it’s not responsible for mopping up the mess, according to WCNC-TV News. The utility and local mom …

BOSTON – The Boston Archdiocese still hasn’t implemented key reforms promised three years ago in its plan to prevent the sexual abuse of children by church personnel, according to the state attorney general’s office. In a letter to a church committee, Attorney General Tom Reilly‘s office criticized the failure of …

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon dismissed a United Nations report on Monday that criticized the United States for the conditions and treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The U.N. draft report, which has not yet been officially released, called for the prison to be closed, citing torture acts and prolonged solitary …

NEW YORK – Carl Icahn, stepping up his battle against Time Warner Inc., on Tuesday unveiled details of his plan to shake up the media conglomerate, saying it should be split into four separate public companies. In a report prepared by his investment-banking adviser Lazard Ltd., Icahn also said Time …

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Stepping up competition in the PC industry, Lenovo Group Ltd., the world’s third largest computer maker, is introducing its first Lenovo-branded computers to be sold outside its home base of China. The new products — low-priced desktops and notebooks targeted at small businesses and consumers — …