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in the smartphone market as part of a partnership forged in 2011. Under the alliance, Nokia's Lumia smartphones has run on Microsoft's Windows software, but those devices haven't emerged as a popular alternative to the iPhone or an array of Android-powered devices spearheaded by Samsung Electronics' smartphones and tablets.
• Microsoft is betting it will have a better chance of narrowing the gap if it seizes complete control over how the mobile devices work with its Windows software.
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• TOKYO (AP) -- The Japanese government announced Tuesday that it will fund a costly, untested subterranean ice wall in a desperate step to stop leaks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear station after repeated failures by the plant's operator.
• The decision is widely seen as an attempt to show that the nuclear accident won't be a safety concern just days before the International Olympic Committee

chooses between Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid as the host of the 2020 Olympics.
• The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has been leaking hundreds of tons of contaminated underground water into the sea since shortly after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the complex. Several leaks from tanks storing tainted water in recent weeks have heightened the sense of crisis that the plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., isn't able to contain the problem.
• "Instead of leaving this up to TEPCO, the government will step forward and take charge," said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after adopting the outline. "The world is watching if we can properly handle the contaminated water but also the entire decommissioning of the plant."
• The government plans to spend an estimated 47 billion yen ($470 million) through the end of 2014 on two projects -- the ice wall and upgraded water treatment units that is supposed to remove all radioactive elements but tritium -- according to energy agency official Tatsuya Shinkawa.
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