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US tech giant Apple will join the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Index later this month, replacing venerable telecom company AT and T, S and P Dow Jones Indices announced Friday. The inclusion of the iPhone and iPad maker in the elite list of 30 top companies comes long after Apple had earning the title of the world's biggest company by market capitalization, now with a value of more than $730 billion. S and P Dow Jones said it shifted Apple into the prestigious index to ensure adequate representation of the information technology sector. "As the largest corporation in the world and a leader in technology, Apple is the clear choice for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the most recognized stock market measure," said David Blitzer, managing director of the index committee at S and P Dow Jones Indices.

GALENA, Ill. (AP) — The two rail cars that split open and burst into flames during a western Illinois oil train derailment were retrofitted with protective shields to meet a higher safety standard than federal law requires, the railroad said.

By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Talks to end more than a year of fighting in South Sudan broke up on Friday without a deal or an agreement when to meet again, as mediators said they had failed to persuade either side to make a compromise. The adjournment was the latest impasse in peace efforts in the world's youngest country -- where a political row between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar triggered a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people. "I regret to inform you that the talks did not produce the necessary breakthrough," Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia's prime minister and the chairman of regional body IGAD which is hosting the talks in Addis Ababa, said in a statement. His comments echoed widespread frustration at the lack of progress in South Sudan, an oil-producing country which seceded from Sudan in 2011 with promises of good will and support from most world powers.