'Dark Knight' still atop box office
LOS ANGELES - "The Dark Knight Rises" stayed atop the box office for the second straight weekend, making just over $64 million. But it's lagging behind the staggering numbers of its predecessor, 2008's "The Dark Knight."
The final piece in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy has now grossed more than $289 million in its first 10 days in theaters. It dropped 60 percent from its opening weekend of $160.9 million.
"Ice Age: Continental Drift," which is still going strong in its third week, took second. It made $13.3 million for a domestic total of nearly $114.9 million.Among the new arrivals in theaters, the comedy "The Watch" opened in third place with $13 million.
Decisions soon in euro debt crisis
BERLIN - German and Italian leaders issued a new pledge to protect the eurozone, while the influential eurogroup chairman was quoted Sunday as saying that officials have no time to lose and will decide in the coming days what measures to take.
The weekend comments capped a string of assurances from European leaders that they will do everything they can to save the 17-nation euro. They came before markets open for a week in which close attention will be focused on Thursday's monthly meeting of the European Central Bank's policy-setting governing council.
"What measures we will take, we will decide in the coming days," Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister who also chairs meetings of the eurozone finance ministers, or eurogroup, was quoted as telling the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "We no longer have any time to lose."
Japanese protest nuclear power
TOKYO - Thousands of people formed "a human chain" around Japan's parliament complex Sunday to demand the government abandon nuclear power - the latest in a series of peaceful demonstrations on a scale not seen in the nation for decades.
Also Sunday, voters went to the polls in a closely watched election for governor of southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture, where an outspoken anti-nuclear candidate was running. Japanese media reported his loss late Sunday, citing exit polls, although official results had not been tallied.
Protesters said they were angry the government restarted two reactors earlier this month despite safety worries after the multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in March last year. The reactors were the first to return to operation since May, when the last of Japan's 50 working reactors went offline for routine checks.
Myanmar may OK credit cards
YANGON, Myanmar - Banks in Myanmar are hoping to begin handling international credit card transactions by next year.
Than Lwin, deputy chairman of the prominent Kanbawza Bank, said Sunday that negotiations are under way with Visa on the use of its cards.
Foreign visitors have been unable to use credit cards because of U.S. and EU restrictions on money transactions since 2003. Western countries imposed sanctions on Myanmar because of its repressive policies, but began easing them this year after elected President Thein Sein initiated political and economic reforms.
Another Myanmar banker who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to release information said talks are also ongoing with MasterCard, China Union Pay and Japan Credit Bureau and he hopes credit card transactions will be possible by 2013.