A Japanese rocket carrying supplies for the International Space Station successfully lifted off from a remote island Saturday on a mission designed to help fill a hole left by the retirement of NASA's space shuttle program.

The unmanned rocket was carrying nearly 6 tons of food, water, clothing and experimental equipment to the astronauts in orbit in the space station, an international project involving 15 nations. The rocket also was carrying cargo for NASA.

Attention, Walmart shoppers: The food in your cart, from fruit drinks to salad dressing, may soon get healthier.

The nation's largest grocer said Thursday it will reformulate thousands of store-brand products to reduce sodium and sugar and push its suppliers to do the same.

The pre-eminent institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world said Thursday it is freezing its dialogue with the Vatican to protest Pope Benedict XVI's recent remarks calling for the protection of Christians in Egypt.

The move from Cairo's Al-Azhar comes as Muslim-Christian tensions have been rising in Egypt following the New Year's bombing on a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria that killed 21 people. Egypt's government has rejected international expressions of concern over the country's Christian minority as foreign meddling in its internal affairs.

Have your luck and eat it, too.

That's the philosophy behind traditional Chinese New Year's dishes, which are loaded with symbolic meaning auguring prosperity for the coming year.

Oil prices rose to near $92 a barrel Wednesday in Asia, underpinned by a rise in regional stock markets and increases to demand forecasts for this year.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 34 cents at $91.72 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract, which expires this week, fell 16 cents to settle at $91.38 on Tuesday.

Two men who authorities say were competing to impress their fellow hackers were arrested Tuesday on federal charges they stole the e-mail addresses of more than 100,000 Apple iPad users, including politicians and media personalities.

The theft and the AT&T security weakness that made it possible were revealed months ago, and U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said there was no evidence the men used the swiped information for criminal purposes. Authorities cautioned, however, that it could theoretically have wound up in the hands of spammers and scam artists.

For generations, Playboy's image has been "Entertainment for Men." Now, it's TV network wants these men to watch their movies and shows with their wives and women friends.

The premium cable network, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, is starting "TV for 2," slightly steamy programming designed for women and men to experience together. The idea was unwrapped over the weekend with the premiere of "Brooklyn Kinda Love," a reality series made by the producers of HBO's "Taxicab Confessions."

A centuries-old Russian prison notorious for its primitive conditions will soon offer inmates a new perk — tanning beds.

The ITAR-Tass news agency on Sunday cited federal prisons service Viktor Dezhurov as saying the tanning beds at Moscow's Butyrskaya prison will be ready for observances of its' 240-year anniversary this year.

Host Ricky Gervais humorously insulted nearly every A-lister in the room at the Golden Globes, while the big winner was "The Social Network" — a movie about a guy who riles up everyone on campus with his new and invasive website.

It all seemed fitting Sunday night.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly announced Monday that he was leaving his Labor Party and forming a new parliamentary faction inside the governing coalition, completing a split in the iconic party over the handling of peace talks with the Palestinians.

The dramatic and unexpected move did not immediately threaten the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's parliamentary majority. Instead, it appeared to strengthen Netanyahu's hardline coalition by leaving it with a smaller, yet largely like-minded majority.