On the field, the Confederations Cup can give Brazil's national team a major boost in its quest to win a sixth World Cup title next year. Off the field, the eight-team tournament will offer the first hints about where the country stands in its preparations for the main event in 2014.

Brazil has won the last two Confederations Cup titles — in 2005 and 2009. And while expectations will be predictably high for this month's tournament, it won't be anywhere near the pressure the team will face in 12 months, when Brazil will try to avoid losing a second World Cup on home soil.

Hobbits, elves and dragons appear to be luring tourists to New Zealand as fans await their first glimpse of the second movie in "The Hobbit" trilogy.

Figures released this month by government agency Tourism New Zealand show that international vacations to the South Pacific nation rose 10 percent from January through April when compared to the same period last year. The agency said a survey indicated that 8.5 percent of visitors cited "The Hobbit" as one reason for coming and that 13 percent took part in some kind of hobbit-themed tourism like visiting a film set.

On a tropical island in Papua New Guinea where most people live in huts, a mob armed with guns, machetes and axes stormed a wooden house by night. They seized Helen Rumbali and three female relatives, set the building on fire and took the women away to be tortured. Their alleged crime: Witchcraft.

After being repeatedly slashed with knives, Rumbali's older sister and two teenage nieces were released following negotiations with police. Rumbali, a 40-something former schoolteacher, was beheaded.

What is the next generation of gaming?

It's a question the video game industry hasn't quite figured out yet, but it's one it must confront at this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the much-hyped Los Angeles trade show where about 46,000 attendees are expected to play, poke and prod new video games and products from more than 200 exhibitors.

Harried Venezuelans who devote hours scouring supermarkets for increasingly scarce food basics and toilet paper have just received some digital help thanks to a young software developer.

A free application for mobile devices written by Jose Augusto Montiel lets people notify one another where flour, sugar, milk, cooking oil and toilet paper are for sale. It has been downloaded more than 12,000 times.

Not even Chewbacca and his light saber get a free pass with airport security before being cleared to travel.

Transportation Security Administration agents in Denver briefly stopped "Star Wars" franchise actor Peter Mayhew recently as he was boarding a flight with a cane shaped like one of science-fiction saga's most iconic weapons.

Every dog has its day, but few canines get a motorcade on their return home.

Kabang, who lost half her face after jumping in front of a motorcycle to save the lives of two girls, received a rousing welcome Monday in Zamboanga, a city in the southern Philippines.

Apple is expected to reveal a digital radio service and changes to the software behind iPhones and iPads on Monday as the company opens its annual conference for software developers.

Apple hasn't said what it will unveil at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. But the major announcements are expected during Monday's keynote presentation. Last year, Apple used the conference to announce its own mapping service, better integration with social networks and improvements to virtual assistant Siri. It also announced thinner MacBooks with high-resolution screens. The conference runs through Friday.

Syrian media and opposition activists said Saturday that a car bomb exploded in the central city of Homs, causing casualties.

The Syrian state-owned Al-Ikhbariya TV said the blast in the city's southern al-Nozah neighborhood was a suicide bomb. It reported casualties but did not give a number.

French President Francois Hollande sought reassure Japanese business leaders Saturday that the eurozone debt crisis is over but acknowledged that steps to boost the region's growth and competitiveness need to be taken.

In a speech on the final day of his visit to Japan, Hollande said that the potentially destructive debt crisis has served to "reinforce" Europe and foster greater integration of the 17 member economies that use the euro currency.