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Japan's Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co Ltd plans to offer about $2.7 billion to acquire U.S. drugmaker Sepracor Inc, a source said, in a move that it would give it a much needed U.S. sales force.

BOSTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co Ltd has agreed to buy U.S. drugmaker Sepracor Inc for $2.7 billion, two sources said, in a move that would give the Japanese firm a much needed U.S. sales force.

UK carrier O2 has once again encountered severe data interruptions, significantly impacting iPhone owners, multiple sources say. The most recent outages began during the region's Bank Holiday weekend, and O2 has confirmed a problem that 'lasted for around two hours on Saturday.' According to PC Advisor and comments posted on O2 and Register forums however, outages have extended well past Saturday, running into Wednesday morning.

President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. The compromise plan would lack a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but would leave the door open to adding that provision down the road under an idea proposed by Snowe, the sources said.

President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. The compromise plan would lack a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but would leave the door open to adding that provision down the road under an idea proposed by Snowe, the sources said.

President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. The compromise plan would lack a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but would leave the door open to adding that provision down the road under an idea proposed by Snowe, the sources said.

President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

. Frontline cuts included in consultancy report. Health minister insists proposal already rejectedThe NHS will have to shed around 137,000 jobs - almost a tenth of its workforce - if it is to meet planned efficiency savings of £20bn, the Department of Health has been warned.The severity of cutbacks needed by 2014 was contained in advice presented by management consultants McKinsey to the government this spring.The content of the document, obtained by the Health Service Journal, was not disputed today but the health minister Mike O'Brien insisted the government had already rejected the proposal.He said: 'In core frontline services, like maternity, nursing and primary care, we need more staff rather than fewer.'Attempting to distance themselves from the report, ministerial sources suggested the review had been commissioned without full ministerial authority.It is understood that the report was ordered by Mark Britnell, who until recently was a senior NHS official based at the Department