China's central bank is reducing the amount of reserves banks must hold in an effort to spur lending and revive a sharply slowing economy.

The People's Bank of China announced Saturday that the bank reserve ratio requirement is being reduced a half percentage point as of next Friday.

Spanish activists angered by grim economic prospects planned nationwide demonstrations Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of their protest movement that inspired similar groups in other countries.

Spain is in deep economic difficulty, prompting fears it may need a bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal. It is in recession, and unemployment stands at almost 25 percent — the highest among the 17 countries using the euro. One in two Spaniards under the age of 25 are out of work.

Novak Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal in declaring he won't play again on the new blue clay court at the Madrid Open after losing to Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (2), 6-3 Friday in an all-Serb quarterfinal.

Tipsarevic won for the second time in five matches against Djokovic, who last lost at this stage in November at the Paris Masters.

Filippo Inzaghi and Gennaro Gattuso have decided to leave AC Milan, signaling the end of an era a day after Alessandro Nesta also bid goodbye to the Rossoneri.

After meeting with Milan vice president Adriano Galliani, the 34-year-old Gattuso announced, "It's time to move aside and leave space to others. ... I'll go away for a year and then we'll see."

Egyptians abroad began voting on Friday for their first president since veteran leader Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year, less than two weeks before polling stations open in the country.

They have until May 17 to cast their ballots in embassies and consulates. Voting in Egypt will take place on May 23 and 24, with a rerun in June if none of the 13 candidates wins a majority in the first round.

The giant asteroid Vesta got clobbered not once but twice, and it has the scars to prove it.

Ever since the Hubble Space Telescope spied a huge depression in the asteroid's south pole, scientists surmised it was carved by a collision with a celestial object, most likely a smaller asteroid.

The U.S. Navy may hurt more dolphins and whales by using sonar and explosives in Hawaii and California under a more thorough analysis that reflects new research and covers naval activities in a wider area than previous studies.

The Navy estimates its use of explosives and sonar may unintentionally cause more than 1,600 instances of hearing loss or other injury to marine mammals each year, according to a draft environmental impact statement that covers training and testing planned from 2014 to 2019. The Navy calculates the explosives could potentially kill more than 200 marine mammals a year.

The Guinness World Records has recognized a 44-year-old Hawaii pro surfer for catching a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal, saying the November feat beats a 2008 record for the biggest ridden by more than 1 foot.

Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara of Haleiwa, on Oahu's North Shore, told The Associated Press that the ride of his life was a fluke.

Rafael Nadal lost to Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco for the first time in the Madrid Open on Thursday, then threatened, along with top-ranked Novak Djokovic, not to return if the new blue clay-court wasn't discarded.

Nadal blew a 5-2 lead in the third set in losing 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, his first defeat to Verdasco in 14 matches.

The second phase of testing with Hawk-Eye's goal-line technology system has started, less than two months before football's rule-makers decide whether it can be used in games.

Experiments with the Sony Corp.-owned system were conducted at Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium on Thursday.