There was a time when LOL — "laughing out loud" — was so simple.

If I thought something in a casual online conversation was funny, I typed it. If I wanted to let someone know I was kidding in an e-mail or an instant message, same.

Scientists in Europe report they were able to diagnose Down syndrome prenatally by giving a simple blood test to pregnant women, an approach that might one day help them avoid the more extensive procedure used now to detect the condition.

The preliminary report published online Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine is the latest of several recent studies that suggest scientists can spot Down syndrome through fetal DNA that has been shed into the mother's bloodstream.

At least 17 people were killed Friday when a huge explosion ripped through a military weapons depot outside Benghazi, the main city held by Libyan rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi.

Dr. Habib al-Obeidi in Benghazi's al-Jalaa hospital said the blast also hit a residential area. Witnesses on the scene, about 32 kilometers from downtown, said ambulances were rushing to the area and secondary explosions caused two fire trucks to blow up.

Nepalese authorities have banned the sale of marijuana during a popular Hindu festival at which holy men traditionally smoke the drug and share it with young men and women, police said Thursday.

About 500,000 devotees attended the festival Wednesday at Katmandu's Pashupati temple, considered the most revered Hindu shrine in Nepal.

Patrick Hetzner tried diets and exercise, just about everything short of stomach stapling to lose weight. Nothing worked. Five months ago he tried something new: a stomach pacemaker that curbed his appetite.

Since having it implanted, Hetzner, a 20-year-old Munich mailman, has knocked off more than 10 kilos (22 pounds) from his earlier weight of 104 kilos (229 pounds).

Serena Williams' absence from tennis could stretch to almost a year after two new health scares — a blood clot in her lungs followed by a hematoma — have added to her injury woes.

Her agents confirmed Wednesday that Williams was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism last week and later needed treatment for a hematoma. The 13-time Grand Slam champion hasn't played an official match since winning Wimbledon last July because of a foot injury she sustained not on the court but at a restaurant.

Turkish police on Thursday raided the homes of several people, including journalists and a former intelligence officer, as part of a crackdown on an alleged secularist network accused of conspiring to topple the Islamic-rooted government.

The raids come two weeks after a court jailed three journalists of a dissident website Oda TV in the case. Critics say press freedom is under attack in the country and the United States has expressed concern over media freedom. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied any government attempt to silence journalists.

Leading credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has warned that it could further downgrade both Portugal and Greece's debt in the coming two months, depending on the outcome of a crucial European leaders' summit later this month.

The agency said in a report Wednesday that it is maintaining its A- rating on Portugal and its BB+ rating on Greece but has kept both countries on so-called "CreditWatch with negative implications."

The Turkish town of Mersin has been chosen to host the 2013 Mediterranean Games after Greece was stripped of the event because of financial problems.

The International Committee of Mediterranean Games says Mersin was elected ahead of Tarragona, Spain; and Tripoli, Libya. All three cities stepped up as alternatives after Greece lost the hosting rights in January.

Mass-market automakers like Toyota, Fiat and Ford say green technologies on display at the Geneva Auto Show will help them weather the impact of skyrocketing fuel prices — while less humble sports car makers like Lamborghini flaunted their gas guzzlers.

Companies rolled out a raft of new models — including many electric, hybrid and more efficient conventional engines — in a sign of renewed confidence following the economic crisis that bottomed out auto sales and put a freeze on new models.