Nigeria leader wants $1 billion loan to help fight Boko Haram

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Centenary City project in Abuja June 24, 2014.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday sought approval from parliament to borrow up to $1 billion abroad to help the armed forces tackle the security threat posed by the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram.

Jonathan, facing intense criticism at home and overseas for his government's failure to curb a spreading campaign of violence by the Islamist militants, made the request in a letter read to Nigeria's Senate and House of Representatives.

His government is accused by critics of not doing enough to protect civilians in Africa's biggest economy and oil producer from Boko Haram, which has killed thousands and abducted hundreds since launching an uprising in the northeast in 2009.

Stevie Wonder blends hits at Montreux for Quincy Jones

          U.S. singer Stevie Wonder performs during the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux July 16, 2014.

Motown legend Stevie Wonder gave a soulful two-hour concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival on Wednesday night, blending his hits with covers of the Beatles and Michael Jackson for an audience that included producer Quincy Jones.

The African-American singer and songwriter, wearing lime green sunglasses and braids down to his waist, headlined the 48th edition of the prestigious Swiss festival, fulfilling a longtime wish of its late founder Claude "Funky" Nobs.

"Tonight's show is dedicated to a man who talked with me so long about doing this event. He is watching us from up in heaven - Mr. Nobs," Wonder told the sold-out crowd of some 4,000 fans.

Texas actress sentenced to 18 years for ricin-laced letter to Obama

A Texas actress was sentenced to 18 years in a federal prison on Wednesday on a biological weapons charge for mailing letters containing the toxic agent ricin to President Barack Obama, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a gun control advocate.

Shannon Guess Richardson, 36, whose career included minor television roles in shows such as "The Walking Dead," also will be subject to five years of supervised release and restitution of $367,000.

Richardson, shackled and dressed in the brown uniform of an inmate, apologized in a federal court in Texarkana, Texas, to Obama, Bloomberg and Mark Glaze, the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group founded by Bloomberg that lobbies for stricter gun laws.

"I never intended to hurt anyone," she said.

Apple-IBM deal dents BlackBerry's prospects, slams stock

A Blackberry logo is seen through a cracked box in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, January 24, 2014
 

BlackBerry Ltd's (BBRY.O) shares took a beating on Wednesday after IBM Corp (IBM.N) outlined plans to partner with Apple Inc APPL.O to sell iPhones and iPads loaded with applications for business users.

The Apple-IBM tie up, beginning this fall, is set to target the customer base that BlackBerry needs to woo as part of a turnaround under new Chief Executive Officer John Chen.

"It is not a crushing blow at this early stage, but ‎it is a negative for BlackBerry," said IDC analyst John Jackson. "There can be little question that it is unwelcome, if not entirely unexpected news."

U.S. lawmakers press CDC chief over 'dangerous pattern' of lapses

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden (C) testifies at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing called the 'Review of CDC Anthrax Lab Incident' on Capitol Hill in Washington July 16, 2014. 

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday faulted a "dangerous pattern" of safety lapses at government laboratories handling deadly pathogens such as anthrax and avian flu, calling for an overhaul of controls at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Members of a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee cited new information on breaches previously unreported by CDC, which is under scrutiny for the potential exposure of more than 80 lab workers to live anthrax bacteria in June. No one has fallen sick due to the lapses.