Nintendo to Bring Music, Video to DS Game Machine Nintendo Co. will begin selling an adaptor for its DS and Game Boy Advance handheld game players to allow them to play music and video, the company said, matching a popular feature on Sony #39;s portable game machine.


Nokia turns up the heat on battery forgers Nokia today unveiled its latest initiative in the battle against low-quality counterfeit mobile phone batteries. To help customers identify original batteries from rip-offs that have been known to catch fire


Samsung Mobile Phone Memory Card Samsung Electronics announced yesterday that it has developed a small, low-power, multimedia memory card (MMC) for mobile phones. The new removable MMCmicro memory card


Liverpool 1, Portsmouth 1 (Echo) Wasted chances, edgy crowd, gradual retreat into defence, late panic, strange negative substitution, two points wasted. A pessimistic Liverpool supporter turned around at half-time and said:  quot;It can #39;t get any worse than this.


CASILLAS #39; DELIGHT AT BUMPER TURN-OUT Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas was delighted with the turn-out at Tuesday night #39;s  #39;Game against Poverty #39; in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.


Nationals Cancel Unveiling of Uniforms The Washington Nationals have postponed a news conference for Wednesday to unveil their new uniforms. A team spokesman tells The Associated Press they #39;ll issue a statement later Wednesday about why the event is being delayed.


Three Palestinians killed in Rafah; Palestinians blast one Israeli <b>...</b> Three Palestinians were killed and other three injured one of them in a critical health condition by the fire of the Israeli occupation forces in al-Salam quarters to the south of Rafah near the border strip with Egypt.


Two detained for cinema blaze Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish investigators on Wednesday were questioning two cinema employees about a fire that ripped through an Istanbul movie theatre during a gala premiere and injured some 200 people, officials said.


UK Reshapes Embassy Network to Face New Threats (Reuters) Reuters - Britain is to reshape its overseas\diplomatic network, closing or turning over to local staff\several dozen posts, in a cost-cutting drive to pay for\embassies in Iraq and Afghanistan and to fight terrorism.


Ethiopia Struggles to Feed Itself 20 Yrs After Famine (Reuters) Reuters - A ragged band of children\emerges ghost-like from mists in Ethiopia's highlands,\thrusting bunches of carrots at a car full of foreigners.


US mobile giants Sprint and Nextel to merge Sprint and Nextel announced today that their boards of directors have unanimously approved a  #39;definitive agreement #39; for a merger of equals creating the third-largest US mobile phone carrier.


Yukos shields itself with US bankruptcy law Washington - US bankruptcy law, invoked by Russian oil group Yukos on Wednesday, allows a company in financial difficulties to continue functioning while it seeks an agreement with creditors.


BlackBerry infringement ruling upheld A US appeals court has upheld a ruling that Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry pagers, engaged in patent infringement, but it gave the company a chance to reduce a jury award that has grown to more than \$100 million with interest.


Blockbuster nixes late fees on rentals Keep that copy of Shrek 2 an extra week. Heck, keep it forever: Blockbuster Inc. announced yesterday that the ubiquitous rental chain is letting customers hold onto movie and game


Ethiopians denounce border talks More than 50,000 people in Addis Ababa demonstrate against government plans to renew border talks with Eritrea.


BlackBerry Patent Case Swings Away from RIM to NTP There will be furrowed brows over at Research in Motion Ltd (RIM), the Canadian company behind the ever-popular wireless email device, BlackBerry.


Oil Futures Rise on Signs of Cold Winter Crude oil futures moved upward Wednesday, as the northeastern United States _ a heavy consumer of heating oil _ felt the first signs of what could likely be a colder-than-expected winter.


Windows kernel, LSASS flaws fixed As anticipated, Microsoft today released five security bulletins rated  quot;important. quot; All five fix vulnerabilities in Windows that could have been exploited by attackers to


Space News Headlines for December 14, 2004 One of NASA #39;s twin robotic Mars rovers, Spirit, has discovered a mineral linked to water according to ABC.  quot;Scientists identified the mineral goethite in bedrock studied in the Columbia Hills.


Sri Lanka tries to help tsunami orphans (Reuters) Reuters - So many Sri Lankan children have been orphaned by the tsunami that the government appealed on Sunday for doctors, psychologists and paediatricians to help give counselling.


Early merger consequences Having reaped the benefits of 18 months of uncertainty over the make up of the enterprise applications market as a result of the Oracle/PeopleSoft merger battle, SAP AG maintains it has no worries even though the two have now agreed to merge.


Majesco sweeps up rights for Phantom Dust Premier title from Microsoft Japan is coming to America; Majesco will localize and publish the Xbox actioner in wake of Microsoft #39;s decision to pass.


Last-minute haggling as EU prepares Turkish green light The EU sought Wednesday to keep pressure on Turkey over its bid to start talks on joining the bloc, as last-minute haggling seemed set to go down to the wire at a summit poised to give a green light to Ankara.


Egypt hopes for jobs boost as it signs trade deal with Israel and <b>...</b> Egypt and Israel signed an agreement on Tuesday that will boost employment and might act as an impetus for other Arab countries to make peace with Israel.


Curtains for Poe: Da King is dead; long live Da King A MEMBER of the Philippine royal family in the movies moved on to the Great Beyond midnight Monday (December 14), sending his hordes of fans in mourning.


Tyco probed on oil-for-food SEC asks the conglomerate for information about participation in the defunct UN program in Iraq. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tyco International said the Securities and Exchange Commission asked it for information


Man Arrested in UK Tsunami Death Email Probe (Reuters) Reuters - British police said on Sunday they had\arrested a man after a hoaxer posing as a government official\emailed relatives of people missing since the Asian tsunami,\saying their loved ones had been confirmed dead.


The Worrying Developments of the Debate in France It is often said that the debates over Turkey #39;s application for membership into the European Union (EU) reveal the fact that the European project has come to a standstill and that they reflect a lack of vision from its leaders.


Best Buy Quarterly Profit Jumps 21 Pct. (Reuters) Reuters - Best Buy Co. Inc. , the top\U.S. electronics retail chain, on Wednesday posted a 21 percent\rise in quarterly profit and said it gained market share in the\period.


Best Buy Quarterly Profit Jumps 21 Pct.  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY.N, the top  U.S. electronics retail chain, on Wednesday posted a 21 percent  rise in quarterly profit and said it gained market share in the  period.


Stocks Set to Open Slightly Higher  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were set for a slightly higher  open on Wednesday, boosted by wireless carriers Sprint Corp.  FON.N and Nextel Communications Inc. NXTL.O, which agreed  to combine in a deal worth about \$35 billion.


Lehman Brothers 4th-Qtr Profit Up 22 Pct  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers  Holdings Inc. LEH.N on Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit  rose 22 percent on continued strength from fixed-income  businesses and record investment banking revenue.


Mortgage Applications Fell Last Week-MBA  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home mortgages  declined last week as refinancing activity fell and mortgage  rates were little changed, an industry group said on Wednesday.


YUKOS Seeks Bankruptcy  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil major YUKOS has filed for  bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court and will seek an  injunction to stop Russia from auctioning off its main  production unit on Dec. 19, it said on Wednesday.


Sprint and Nextel Announce a \$35 Billion Merger While the combined company makes a formidable No.3 player in the wireless market, it may be hard pressed to match the firepower of its larger rivals.


Sprint to Buy Nextel in \$35 Billion Deal  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Corp. on Wednesday agreed to  buy wireless telephone company Nextel Communications Inc. in a  cash and stock deal worth about \$35.17 billion to gain more  business customers and more wireless airwaves to transmit  calls.


Oil Above \$42 a Barrel on Cold Weather  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed above \$42 a barrel on  Wednesday, rising for the third day in a row as cold weather  gripped the U.S. Northeast, the world's biggest heating fuel  market.


Lehman 4Q Earnings Rise Sharply Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Wednesday said fourth-quarter earnings rose 22 percent, driven by record revenue in its investment banking and capital markets segments.


Sony, Samsung To Share Patents Samsung Electronics and Sony Corporation have signed a cross-license agreement, licensing those patents, which are considered to be the basic technologies necessary for product development.


Company Claims First True WiMax Chip WaveSat this week began shipping a chip that it says is the first to comply fully with the IEEE 802.16-2004 wireless broadband standard, commonly known as WiMax.


In the frame OPINIONS were split in the Australian camp over the future of Brett Lee last night following a maverick selection push by captain Ricky Ponting.


Irish PM says chance for Northern Ireland peace too good to miss (AFP) AFP - The current push to secure peace in Northern Ireland is too good an opportunity to miss through petty political point-scoring, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said.


Sprint to Buy Nextel in \$35 Billion Deal  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Corp. FON.N on Wednesday  agreed to buy mobile telephone company Nextel Communications  Inc. NXTL.O in a deal worth \$35.17 billion to gain more  business customers and more airwaves to transmit calls.


Global Markets: European Stocks Rise  LONDON (Reuters) - European shares rose to 29-month highs  on Wednesday while the dollar came under modest pressure  despite a rate hike, and reassuring words, from the Federal  Reserve.


IATA Sees Strong Passenger, Cargo Growth International airline passenger numbers are set to grow by six per cent year-on-year to the end of 2008, driven by economic expansion in China and India, the industry #39;s global body IATA said on Wednesday.


Wall St looks to build on fresh highs Wall Street futures crept higher on Wednesday, as investors looked to build on the previous sessions fresh highs and attention turned to the \$35bn merger between telecommunications


Polyglot virus is Xmas party pooper An email worm which poses as a Christmas greeting began spreading widely yesterday. Zafi-D comes as an infectious attachment to emails written in a variety of different languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Swedish and Hungarian.


BSkyB Gets Exclusive Live Rights to England Cricket (Update1) British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, Rupert Murdoch #39;s UK pay-television arm, won an exclusive four- year contract to show live English cricket, cementing its grip on sports programming in Britain.


Judicial hearings set for Hussein #39;s comrades Baghdad -- Judicial proceedings will begin next week against some of the most senior leaders under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Iraq #39;s interim prime minister said Tuesday in a surprising announcement that put the past government #39;s crimes before


Italy calls to end Kyoto limits Italy has called for an end to the Kyoto Protocol after the environmental treaty #39;s initial period in 2012, preferring voluntary agreements that would entice the United States, China and India to tackle climate change.


Iraq #39;s  #39;Chemical Ali #39; to Be Tried First -- Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid, one of Saddam Hussein #39;s closest aides and better known as  quot;Chemical Ali, quot; will be the first of Saddam #39;s top deputies to be tried, Iraq #39;s Defense Minister Hazim al-Shalaan said on Wednesday.


TMM to Sell 51 Percent Stake in TFM  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mexico's Grupo TMM agreed to sell its  51 percent voting stake in Grupo Transportacion Ferroviaria  Mexicana SA de CV, or Grupo TFM, to Kansas City Southern  Industries Inc. for \$200 million in cash and 18 million shares  of stock, the companies said on Wednesday.


US mobile groups confirm merger Sprint and Nextel agree to merge in a deal which will create the third largest mobile phone operator in the US.


Legg Mason to Offer 4 Million Shares  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Legg Mason Inc. LM.N, one of the  fastest-growing U.S. asset management companies, on Wednesday  said it plans a public offering of 4 million shares, a sale  that could raise almost \$300 million.


Yukos Seeks US Court Protection to Foil Unit Sale (Update3) OAO Yukos Oil Co., Russia #39;s second- largest oil producer, said it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US and requested an emergency court hearing to stop the Russian government #39;s auction of its biggest unit.


Japan big business sentiment slips TOKYO, Japan -- Confidence among Japan #39;s big manufacturers has slipped slightly in recent months, according to the Bank of Japan #39;s closely watched  quot;tankan quot; survey.


Iraq Minister Blasts Iran, Syria, Says Aid Zarqawi (Reuters) Reuters - Iraq's interim defense minister accused\neighbors Iran and Syria on Wednesday of aiding al Qaeda\Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and former agents of Saddam\Hussein to promote a "terrorist" insurgency in Iraq.


U.S. Mission Flouts Cuba Christmas Warning (AP) AP - U.S. diplomats on Wednesday ignored a warning from the Cuban government to immediately take down Christmas decorations outside its offices or face unspecified consequences.


Round 3 of the desktop search heavyweight championship bout The Google vs. Microsoft technology war does not seem to let up. The latest salvo from the MSN camp is a beta edition of its new MSN Desktop Search application.


Critical patches highlighted in Microsoft #39;s December Security <b>...</b> Microsoft has unveiled its security bulletin for December, including a critical patch for Windows XP with SP1, and fixes rated as important for SP2.


Wavesat Says Its Created First WiMAX Chip Wavesat Inc., a developer of broadband wireless chips, said today it has delivered the first-ever WiMAX chip, the DM256. The company is planning to make the chips generally available early next month.


Hockey talks go nowhere fast Six days ago Jay McKee buoyantly strolled into his living room and proudly informed his wife there would be an NHL this season. The Buffalo Sabres #39; union representative had just finished


Miandad #39;s sniping runs true to form IT was a given that someone of influence within Pakistan cricket would seek to destabilise their national team before a ball was bowled in the Test series with Australia.


Sorry Anelka still on the trading block Anelka expressed his wish to play for a  quot;big club quot; in a recent interview with French magazine But, and the club now says it is only too willing to oblige.


We can #39;t afford to mess up again SHOTA ARVELADZE today insisted Rangers can #39;t repeat the mistakes of a year ago if they want to secure a Uefa Cup future. The Georgian striker looked on in agony then as Alex McLeish #39;s side crashed to a 3-1


Terrestrial TV to lose live English cricket The England and Wales Cricket Board today announced that Sky Sports have won the right to broadcast live all international cricket from 2006.


Nets get Knicked up The Nets looked at Tuesday #39;s game as another chance to climb out of the huge hole they created for themselves with their early-season offensive struggles and prove to the Knicks that they haven #39;t overtaken them just yet.


Sanctions will mean war: N Korea NORTH Korea has warned the imposition of economic sanctions by Japan would be treated as a declaration of war and that the Pyongyang regime would  quot;immediately react to it with powerful physical methods quot;.


Major Suspension Bridge Inaugurated in France Description: A towering new suspension bridge debuts in southern France. At its highest point, the Millau Viaduct is more than 1,000 feet above ground, and the French say it #39;s the highest bridge in the world.


Roddick Set to Link Up with Low-Key Coach  LONDON (Reuters) - World number two Andy Roddick is set to  hook up with his U.S. Davis Cup assistant coach after firing  Brad Gilbert at the weekend.


International Paper Sells Unit to Mohawk  NEW YORK (Reuters) - International Paper Co. IP.N, the  world's largest forest products company,  on Wednesday said it  would sell its fine paper business to privately held Mohawk  Paper Mills.


David Nicklaus The remarkable thing about the Federal Reserve #39;s interest-rate increases this year is that they have been so unremarkable. The latest move, on Tuesday, pushed the benchmark overnight lending rate up a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25 percent.


OMX has no interest in buying London Stock Exchange FRANKFURT (AFP) - OMX -- the European stock market group made up of the Stockholm, Helsinki and Baltic stock exchanges -- does not intend to get into in a bidding war with Deutsche Boerse for the London Stock Exchange, OMX #39;s president designate said in a


UPDATE 2-Lehman Brothers profit up 22 pct, shares rise US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit rose 22 percent on continued strength from fixed-income


Guilty, guilty, guilty atoning for HIH sins RAYMOND Reginald Williams, who had previously claimed he could have saved HIH from collapse, yesterday pleaded guilty to three criminal charges arising from his management of the failed insurer.


Zafi.D virus: Christmas wishes and a computer virus! Please be aware as there #39;s a new virus worm spreading on the net. The Zafi.D variant is a Christmas wish e-mail together with a .


Report: Amount of fine-particle pollution drops significantly LOS ANGELES A new Environmental Protection Agency report says concentrations of dangerous air pollutants have declined in Southern California in the last five years.


All eyes will be on spacecraft Dozens of professional telescopes, an army of amateur observers and three Earth-orbiting observatories will be watching July 4 when a Boulder-built NASA spacecraft collides with a comet and sparks celestial fireworks.


Another Successful Cassini #39;s Titan Flyby NASA #39;s Deep Space Network tracking station in Madrid, Spain, acquired a signal at about 4:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time) yesterday.


Roddick Set to Link Up with Low-Key Coach World number two Andy Roddick is set to hook up with his US Davis Cup assistant coach after firing Brad Gilbert at the weekend. Roddick, whom Gilbert steered to a maiden


Uefa Cup Wednesday Preview Middlesbrough, Partzan and Villarreal have all booked their place in the next round of the Uefa Cup, but today will decide who tops Group E. Boro face off against Partizan possibly without the services of George Boateng.


Retailers to unveil festive data The strength of festive takings will be revealed this week as UK retailers start to disclose sales figures.


Australia warns of terrorist threat SYDNEY The Australian government said Wednesday that terrorists may be preparing an attack in Indonesia, possibly at a Hilton hotel.


No half measures, Turkey tells EU TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned up the heat on the European Union yesterday, insisting his nation deserved full membership and warning that anything less would be a  quot;historic mistake quot;.


Blunkett battles nanny #39;s new visa allegations LONDON: Beleaguered British Home Secretary David Blunkett faces damaging new claims he fast-tracked a second visa for his lover #39;s nanny to visit a sister in Austria.


France Unveils World #39;s Tallest Bridge MILLAU, France -- French citizens and officials are celebrating a roadway bridge considered to be the world #39;s tallest. One of the Millau bridge #39;s pillars reaches more than 1,100 feet into the air, making it more than 50 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower.


UN peacekeepers sweep violent Haiti slum PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) - UN peacekeepers tried to restore order in one of Haiti #39;s most violent slums, but could not prevent the shooting death of a teenager in downtown Port-au-Prince.


QLT Prostate Cancer Treatment Wins FDA OK  TORONTO (Reuters) - QLT Inc. QLT.TO QLTI.O said on  Wednesday it won U.S. regulatory approval for the six-month  formulation of its prostate cancer treatment, Eligard.


Best Buy's 3Q Earnings Climb 21 Percent (AP) AP - Best Buy Company Inc., the nation's largest electronics retailer, said on Wednesday that third-quarter earnings rose 21 percent, but gave hints that profits during the holiday selling season may not be quite what analysts were hoping for.


YUKOS Seeks U.S. Bankruptcy to Stop Moscow  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil group YUKOS has filed for  bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court in an attempt to stop the  Russian government from auctioning off its main production unit  on Dec. 19, it said on Wednesday.


Stocks Open Flat, Oil Up, Nextel Eyed  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened little changed on  Wednesday, dampened by another rise in oil prices, but a deal  between wireless carriers Sprint Corp. FON.N and Nextel  Communications Inc. NXTL.O worth about \$35 billion boosted  Wall Street hopes for more mergers.


Sprint deal raises sponsorship questions Wireless telephone company Nextel Communications confirmed Wednesday it is being bought by rival Sprint in a cash and stock deal said to be worth more than \$35-billion US.


Fed rate increase to 2.25 good for savers Federal Reserve policy-makers raised interest rates yesterday for the fifth time this year and suggested they will continue gradual rate increases in 2005.


HIH inquiry claims its biggest scalp THE investigation into the \$5.3 billion collapse of insurer HIH has claimed its biggest scalp, with founder and former chief executive Ray Williams pleading guilty to criminal charges.


QLT Prostate Cancer Treatment Wins FDA OK QLT Inc. (QLT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (QLTI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it won US regulatory approval for the six-month formulation of its prostate cancer treatment, Eligard.


NASA throws Deep Impact spacecraft at comet NASA has is to send a probe on a collision course with a comet #39;s nucleus to find out more about the composition and history of the bodies.


Atheros unveils  #39;world first #39; Wi-Fi access-point-on-a-chip Access points for 802.11g wireless networks should become even cheaper next year after WLAN chip maker Atheros begins full-scale production of what it claims is the world #39;s first  #39;base-station on a chip #39; product.


Late strike spoils Christmas party for Liverpool AN EQUALISER in injury time by Portsmouth #39;s Lomana LuaLua against Liverpool at Anfield yesterday will hamper the home side #39;s attempts to make ground on the leading English Premier League soccer rivals during the Christmas program.


Sky deal a  #39;disaster #39; for cricket The government today faced calls to review the list of  quot;crown jewel quot; sporting events after Sky bought the rights to England #39;s home Test matches, sounding the death knell for live cricket on terrestrial TV after nearly 70 years.


Minnesota Timberwolves Team Report - December 15 In 2003-04, Minnesota swept its two contests against the Raptors. Overall, Minnesota has won three straight and four of the last five meetings in this series.


The FPJ chronicles Last May, he fought for the Presidency and just recently, he fought for his life. Fernando Poe, Jr. lost both fights but the ironies of ironies is that he has never been more alive now than any time in the hearts of the Filipino people.


Jenna Bush Plans to Teach in Washington (AP) AP - President Bush's daughter Jenna plans to live in the District of Columbia and teach at a public school serving low-income children.


US missile defence test fails WASHINGTON - The first full test in nearly two years of a multibillion-dollar US anti-missile shield failed Wednesday when one missile launched but a second shut down before leaving the ground, the Pentagon says.


UPDATE 3-Lehman Brothers profit up 22 pct, shares rise US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit rose 22 percent on continued strength


Jockey Club clears Fallon Kieren Fallon, the former champion Flat jockey, will not face disrepute charges relating to race-fixing allegations made against him in a Sunday newspaper, the Jockey Club said on Tuesday.


Missile shield fails to work THE first test in nearly two years of a multi-billion-dollar US anti-missile shield failed yesterday when the interceptor missile shut down on its launch pad in the central Pacific.


Best Buy reports third-quarter earnings rise 21 percent MINNEAPOLIS - Best Buy Company Inc. said on Wednesday that third-quarter earnings rose 21 percent, but gave hints that profits during the holiday selling season may not be quite what analysts were hoping for.


HIH head admits guilt RAY Williams, the eccentric executive who built insurer HIH from nothing into a multi-billion dollar insurance giant he ran as his personal fiefdom, yesterday became the biggest scalp of the


Wash. DC council clears altered baseball plan The Washington, DC, City Council approved funds for a Major League Baseball stadium late Tuesday, but substantially altered the plan by requiring the mayor to find private financing for half the construction costs.


Khler: African Union Slow in Darfur German President Horst Khler on Wednesday regretted that the African Union-led mission was slow to intervene in Sudan #39;s western Darfur province, where a nearly two-year-old conflict has caused untold suffering.


Pak wants US intervention in Kashmir: World News: Lahore, Dec 15 : Pakistan has expressed its desire for the Bush administration #39;s intervention to help Islamabad sort out all of its conflicting issues with New Delhi.


Business: Sprint-Nextel Merger Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein will be online to discuss the merger of Sprint and Nextel Communications. In a column this morning, he wrote that consumers should should cheer the combination.


Treasuries Rally, Yields Hit 6-Week Lows (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. Treasury yields touched their\lowest levels in over a month on Wednesday, driven by largely\technical factors in an illiquid year-end market.


Treasuries Rally, Yields Hit 6-Week Lows  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields touched their  lowest levels in over a month on Wednesday, driven by largely  technical factors in an illiquid year-end market.


Suicide Bombers Kill 25 Iraqi Troops  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb hit a bus packed  with Iraqi National Guards on Sunday, killing 26 people in the  deadliest attack of its kind in four months on Iraqis  cooperating with U.S. forces to secure a Jan. 30 election.


Test of US missile defence shield fails An attempt to launch an interceptor missile as part of the US missile defence shield failed early Wednesday in the first test of the system in nearly two years.


Best Buy #39;s 3Q Earnings Climb 21 Percent MINNEAPOLIS - Best Buy Company Inc., the nation #39;s largest electronics retailer, said on Wednesday that third-quarter earnings rose 21 percent, but gave hints that profits during the holiday selling season may not be quite what analysts were hoping for.


MSN Toolbar Suite Beta So how good are those tools are... and what #39;s the big fuss about them? Personally I don #39;t know, as I didn #39;t try them out.


Apple breaks the Harmony Earlier this year RealNetworks came up with a workaround allowing music downloaded from its store to work on iPods. This was achieved by reverse-engineering Apple #39;s FairPlay technology, and Real named it Harmony (see our previous coverage).


Phantom of the Xbox After being dropped for release outside of Japan by Microsoft Game Studios, publisher Majesco has picked up Phantom Dust for a release in North America, expected to be early 2005.


Pressure Grows on Romanian Left to Give Up Power (Reuters) Reuters - Romania's centrist opposition, buoyed\by a presidential election victory of their leader Traian\Basescu, put pressure on the ruling left on Wednesday to\abandon its bid to cling to power or face early elections.


NHL: Impasse continues as league, union pass on proposals There is no end in sight for the lockout, which enters Day 89 today with 414 games gone. The NHL lockout continues with no sign of it ending.


DC council approves stadium, maybe, sort of After all the twists and turns that the Washington, DC stadium controversy has taken, we should have known it wouldn #39;t end simply.


BNP chief detained over comments on Islam, Quran As controversy surrounds the Blair Government #39;s plans to extend the incitement laws to cover religious hatred, leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP) Nick Griffin was arrested and was questioned about alleged incitement offences.


Iraq Asks Some of Saddam's Soldiers to Return to Work  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's interim government, preparing  for an election next month while fighting a bloody insurgency,  asked some of Saddam's Hussein's disbanded army to come back to  work on Wednesday.


Pressure Grows on Romanian Left to Give Up Power  BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's centrist opposition, buoyed  by a presidential election victory of their leader Traian  Basescu, put pressure on the ruling left on Wednesday to  abandon its bid to cling to power or face early elections.


Oil futures trade above \$42 Crude oil futures traded above \$42 a barrel Wednesday as colder weather descended on the northeastern United States, a heavy consumer of heating oil.


Google turns over new leaf The search engine that revolutionised how people use the Internet has teamed up with some of the world #39;s greatest libraries to put their books in your living room.


Lewis scores 37 to lead Sonics past Lakers There was a nice little mini-drama last night with the Lakers playing in Seattle. Not as big of a deal as Kobe vs. Shaq or Kobe vs.


Dry spell dooms Nets Forget the 10 miles that separates their two home arenas and the fan chatter heard within that short expanse. The Nets and Knicks rivalry is now based on a different type


Sprint to Buy Nextel in \$36 Billion Deal  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Corp. on Wednesday agreed to  buy mobile telephone company Nextel Communications Inc. in a  deal worth \$36.3 billion to gain more business customers and  more airwaves to transmit calls.


YUKOS Seeks U.S. Bankruptcy Protection  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil group YUKOS has filed for  bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court in an attempt to stop  Russia's government from auctioning off its main production  unit on Dec. 19, it said on Wednesday.


Best Buy: Best Sales Yet to Come  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY.N, the  nation's top electronics retail chain, posted a 21 percent rise  in quarterly profit on Wednesday, slightly above expectations,  and said the holiday shopping season was even more competitive  than last year.


Stocks Rise; Sprint, Nextel Deal Helps  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as  wireless carrier Sprint Corp.'s FON.N acquisition of Nextel  Communications Inc. NXTL.O boosted investor hopes for more  mergers.


Russia #39;s Yukos seeks protection in US Russia #39;s Yukos oil company has filed for bankruptcy in a Houston court to halt a Kremlin-driven liquidation of the nation #39;s biggest crude oil producer.


RIM patent dispute referred back to lower court A US appeal court has delivered a mixed ruling in a patent dispute between Research in Motion (RIM) and NTP. It upholding a decision that RIM had infringed on patents held by NTP, but cancelled an injunction


Fiat says no deal with GM, mediation next Fiat (FIA) and General Motors (GM) will move to mediation after executives failed to reach agreement over the Italian company #39;s option to compel GM to buy its troubled auto division.


US to Charge AOL with Fraud The US government will charge Time Warner Inc #39;s (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) America Online unit with aiding and abetting securities fraud but will defer prosecution for two years, a US Justice Department official said.


Google To Scan Millions Of Library Books Google announced yesterday that they have agreements with several large libraries to scan books whose copyrights have expired. Joseph O #39;Sullivan, Software engineer and Adam M. Smith, Business product manager


After KaZaa, BitTorrent gets it. KaZaa is still finding themselves in court, explaining what #39;s going on, and Hollywood is already finding a new target: BitTorrent.


MSN Toolbar Suite Beta The MSN Toolbar Suite Beta rounds out Microsoft #39;s MSN search family with fully indexed searching of local documents and e-mails.


Apple Changes The IPod Locks NEW YORK - The only surprising thing about the fact that Apple Computer has now locked RealNetworks out of the iPod is that it took so long for it to happen.


Full mp3 downloads for mobiles p2pnet.net News:- Melodeo and Warner Music Group (WMG) say theyve signed the first global agreement to allow mobile users to securely download complete mp3s from WMG #39;s music catalog directly to their phones.


Linux Looms Larger Than Thought The overall Linux market is far larger than previous estimates show, a new study says. In an analysis of the Linux market released late Tuesday, market research firm IDC estimated that the Linux market -- including


Nokia Uses Hologram To Identify Batteries In addition to the hologram label, each Nokia battery will have an authentication code hidden under a scratch-off area on the label.


Sun Upgrades JSE, NetBeans Sun Microsystems (Quote, Chart) announced the availability of two upgrades to its software development platforms on Tuesday. Java Studio Enterprise (JSE) 7, the Santa Clara, Calif.


Oracle merger to result in few app improvements Oracle Corp. #39;s newfound control of PeopleSoft won #39;t result in vast improvements to the E-Business Suite, according to analysts, but it could result in long-term benefits for users of both application suites.


Southern California particle pollution improving National data released by the US Environmental Protection Agency today reveals that several Southern California metropolitan areas have seen a sharp decrease in the amount of fine particle pollution contributing to local air quality problems over the past


Man City Would Consider Anelka Bid Manchester City chairman John Wardle says he would consider a bid for want-away striker Nicolas Anelka.  quot;If a bid comes in for Nicolas then, after speaking to the board, I will speak to Kevin Keegan, quot; said Wardle.


SCHUEY #39;S SCORE DRAW Michael Schumachers football match against a host of Real Madrid stars ended in a 4-4 draw. The match, in aid of the UN Development Fund, pitted Schuey against the likes of David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo.


It #39;s been swell, Pedro Perhaps in our hearts we knew it was too good to last - this Red Sox dream team that so brightened our late summer and early fall days.


Hamas Cancels Annual Rally, Fearing Israeli Strike Hamas said on Wednesday it had canceled an annual rally on the anniversary of its founding for fear Israel might target leaders of the Palestinian militant group in reprisal for a deadly attack on an army outpost.


Iran Tells Russia to Expand Nuclear Ties Iran told nuclear partner Russia on Wednesday it would have to show  quot;readiness quot; to expand nuclear ties with Tehran to secure a solid share of Iran #39;s atomic market in face of growing competition from Europe.


Body of Turk Engineer Found in Afghanistan The bullet-riddled body of a kidnapped Turkish engineer was found Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, a day after he was snatched with his driver and interpreter by a band of armed men, officials said.


#39;Arms photo reasonable #39;: Ahern British and Irish Government proposals for photographic evidence of IRA decommissioning were reasonable, the Irish premier has said.


Oil Up 4 Pct., U.S. Heating Oil Stocks Fall  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed for the third  straight day on Wednesday as U.S. government reported a fall in  heating oil stocks and cold weather gripped the U.S. Northeast,  the world's biggest heating fuel market.


Wireless Merger December 15 - Call it a blockbuster merger, rumored for days and made official this morning in New York. Reston, Virginia. The \$35 billion deal creates the nation #39;s third-largest wireless telephone service provider.


Intel Brings N.Mexico Jobs, Pollution  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 15-year tax break that secured  Intel Corp.'s ongoing investment in the state of New Mexico has  rekindled a heated debate over the ability of a poor U.S. state  to regulate the world's largest chip maker.


iPod to go 80GB? Toshiba, whose tiny hard drives power Apple #39;s hit iPod music players, announced that it has produced an 80GB model. The company said in a statement late on Monday that it will begin mass production in mid-2005


Swiss-based Phonak cycling team appeals UCI licence refusal The Swiss-based Phonak team said Wednesday it is contesting the International Cycling Union #39;s decision to refuse it a racing licence amid a doping scandal.


RUSSIA * FORMULA-1 * TEAM MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian team Midland F1 will participate in the Formula-1 world championship in 2006. Boris Yeltsin Jr.


Norway goes 1-2 in biathlon sprint Stian Eckhoff and Frode Andresen gave Norway a 1-2 finish in a 10-kilometer World Cup biathlon sprint event Wednesday. Jay Hakkinen of the United States finished seventh, his best outing this season.


Ole Miss officials interview Erickson San Francisco 49ers coach Dennis Erickson met with Mississippi #39;s athletics director and chancellor for two hours Tuesday night to discuss the school #39;s vacant head coaching position.


Turkey ups the stakes in diplomatic battle over EU bid ANKARA, Dec 15 (AFP) - Raising its tone on the eve of a critical summit, Turkey warned the European Union Wednesday that it would not hesitate to give up its 40-year dream of joining the bloc if it is offered a status falling short of full membership.


Arafat favored successor makes bid for peace ISN SECURITY WATCH (15/12/04) - Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Mahmoud Abbas - the favored candidate to succeed late Palestinian Authority president Yassir Arafat, has made a bid for peace with Israel, calling on Palestinian militant


Flying high, like a butterfly The worlds tallest bridge was opened in the Tarn Valley, France, yesterday and has been hailed as both a monumental work of art and an unrivalled technological achievement.


Sprint, Nextel Agree To  #39;Merger Of Equals #39; Wireless operators agree to \$35 billion deal to create a new company that will be called Sprint Nextel. By Mobile Pipeline News. The merged company, which the companies positioned as a merger of equals, will be called Sprint Nextel.


Mixed results for Blackberry court battle Research In Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of the popular Blackberry mobile, has been left with a curate #39;s egg to mull over for Christmas.


Time Warner, AOL settle securities fraud charges Time Warner Inc. has agreed to pay \$210 million to settle securities fraud charges involving the company #39;s America Online unit, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.


Nokia combats counterfeit batteries In an effort to combat (now common) counterfeit batteries, Nokia has launched a new program that will allow consumers to accurately tell if a battery is made by Nokia.


Beeb blamed for Test cricket #39;s satellite sale The Government today rounded on the BBC and terrestrial broadcasters for turning their backs on English cricket. Although Five will show highlights as part of the 220million


More Athens bus hostages freed Hijackers have released two more of the around 24 hostages they are holding after seizing a bus in an Athens suburb, bringing the total freed to 12.


Turkey to Get Date for Open-Ended EU Entry Talks Turkey was on course on Wednesday to get a date to start open-ended negotiations on European Union membership as final elements of a compromise package came together on the eve of a landmark EU summit.


Beware of terror in Indonesia, travellers told New Zealanders are being warned against travelling to Indonesia, including Bali, over the Christmas and New Year period after the Government received reports terrorists were planning an attack.


Europe Seeks New Accords With US to Address Global Warming The European Union is seeking new agreements with the US to slow climate change apart from the Kyoto Protocol that President George W. Bush withdrew from.


U.S. to Charge AOL with Fraud (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. government will charge Time\Warner Inc's  America Online unit with aiding and\abetting securities fraud but will defer prosecution for two\years, a U.S. Justice Department official said.


Body of Turk Engineer Found in Afghanistan (AP) AP - The bullet-riddled body of a kidnapped Turkish engineer was found Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, a day after he was snatched with his driver and interpreter by a band of armed men, officials said.


Bush Inauguration to Tout Freedom, Service (AP) AP - With the theme "Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service," President Bush's second inauguration will heavily emphasize a nation at war, but festivities will rival those held during peacetime.


Ohio Judge Rules Punch-Card Voting Fair (AP) AP - Voting rights are not denied to those who use punch-card ballots, a federal judge ruled in the nation's first trial to challenge the system blamed for woes in Florida in the 2000 presidential election.


Dems gain in 'hidden election' (USATODAY.com) USATODAY.com - Democrats had great success in state legislative races this year, even as they performed poorly in the presidential race and campaigns for Congress. Many Democratic gains came in the heart of Republican territory.


U.S. Drug Lobby Group Taps Tauzin for Top Job (Reuters) Reuters - The former chairman of the U.S.\House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, who\earlier this year ended negotiations to head the pharmaceutical\industry's top lobby after critics questioned the ethics of the\move, has now accepted the post, the group said on Wednesday.


Bus Hijackers Hold 11 in Athens, Demand \$1 Million  ATHENS (Reuters) - Two gunmen thought to be Albanians  hijacked a Greek bus with 23 passengers on board on Wednesday  in Athens and demanded a \$1 million ransom and a plane to fly  them to Russia.


Cheney Pushes for Permanent Tax Cuts Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that it is critical to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent during his second term, while achieving broader reforms in the tax code and bolstering Social Security.


Brazil passes bankruptcy reform Brazilian Congress gives the green light to a long awaited overhaul of bankruptcy laws, which it hopes will reduce business and credit costs.


Turkish PM Heads for EU Summit in Confident Mood  ANKARA/STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip  Erdogan voiced confidence on Wednesday that Turkey would win a  date for opening long-delayed European Union entry talks at a  landmark summit of the bloc's 25 leaders this week.


Cactus diet deal for Phytopharm A slimming aid made from a southern African cactus is set to be developed by UK pharmaceutical Phytopharm and Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever.


Bolden says he hasnt been approached about NASA post Retired Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr. is proud his name is among a handful being mentioned as the next head of the US space agency.


Nokia makes counterfeiting batteries harder Nokia will now be adding a small hologram to all batteries it produces for its mobile phones, in an effort to combat counterfeit batteries.


Yeltsin grandson joins Russian Midland F1 team The Russian-backed Midland Formula One team planned for 2006 has hired the grandson of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin as marketing director, Kommersant daily newspaper said on Wednesday.


Norwegians finish 1-2 at biathlon World Cup CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Five-time Olympic biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjorndalen of Norway may have been absent from a World Cup event Wednesday, but his fellow countrymen Stian Eckhoff and Frode Andresen were there to pick up the slack.


Allawi to stand in Iraq elections Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says he will stand in January's polls, as a blast hits the holy city of Karbala.


Halama Agrees to Deal With Red Sox (AP) AP - John Halama and the Boston Red Sox finalized a one-year contract Wednesday.


Fresh clashes in Nepal 'kill 26' At least 26 people die in clashes between security forces and Maoists in western Nepal, the army says.


Marines Found Guilty of Abusing Iraqis, Files Show Marines in Iraq were convicted by military trials of committing a variety of abuses of captured Iraqis.


Sprint, Nextel Agree To Merge The deal, valued at \$35 billion, will create a large wireless service provider to compete with wireless rivals Cingular and Verizon.


Best Buy Quarterly Profit Jumps 21 Pct. Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY), the top US electronics retail chain, on Wednesday posted a 21 percent rise in quarterly profit and said it gained market share in the period.


Google Planning To Index Entire Libraries For a long time there have been rumors going around about Project Ocean, a project by Google to index all the pre-1923 content in the Stanford Library.


Microsoft Issues 5 Important Security Bulletins For its  quot;Patch Tuesday quot; this month, Microsoft delivered five security bulletins for what it called  quot;important quot; security flaws, including one publicly known flaw in the Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS).


PeopleSoft deal is done, real work begins Oracle is now OracleSoft, and that means SAP will soon have some real competition on its hands. Oracle #39;s recent monster user conference, the first that united its technology, database and


Renteria picks Boston Free agent shortstop Edgar Renteria has chosen to leave the St. Louis Cardinals to join the Red Sox. Renteria is expected to sign a four-year deal for slightly more than \$36 million.


Seven killed in Karbala mosque explosion At least seven people were killed and 31 injured today when a bomb exploded at the gate to one of Shia Islams holiest shrines in Iraq, hospital officials said.


Swing and Miss for D.C. The question of whether baseball will now jerk its franchise out of Washington is a mere foregone conclusion. Why would baseball come here? We have pulled a bait-and-switch on the sport.


Red Sox to Sign Renteria According to The Boston Globe, the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a four-year, \$40-million contract with shortstop Edgar Renteria.


Dollar Back on the Defensive  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar weakened on Wednesday on  dealers' renewed concern about the ability of the United States  to finance its trade and current account deficits, causing a  recent rebound in the currency to fizzle out.


Sara Lee Raising Retail Coffee Prices (Reuters) Reuters - Sara Lee Coffee   Tea said Wednesday\it was raising its retail coffee prices to keep pace with 14\percent hikes by other major roasters as global bean supply\next year shifts from surplus to deficit.


Sara Lee Raising Retail Coffee Prices  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sara Lee Coffee   Tea said Wednesday  it was raising its retail coffee prices to keep pace with 14  percent hikes by other major roasters as global bean supply  next year shifts from surplus to deficit.


Time Warner settles fraud case Time Warner agrees to pay \$210m to settle charges of securities fraud involving America Online.


Bios of Sprint #39;s Forsee, Nextel #39;s Donahue Here are brief sketches of the two top executives of the company being created by Sprint Corp. #39;s \$35 billion purchase of Nextel Communications Inc.


City prepared to sell 5million Anelka in the New Year Manchester City Football Club are prepared to sell Nicolas Anelka in the New Year transfer window. The controversial French striker was blasted by the City fans at the weekend following his comments he wants


Iraq Insurgency Growing 'More Effective'-US General (Reuters) Reuters - A bold, innovative insurgency has\become more effective against U.S. supply lines in Iraq and\explosive attacks have slowed military operations there, a\senior American general said on Wednesday.


Feds anticipate 6,000 will be added annually to new sex offender registry (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - OTTAWA (CP) - A national sex offender registry came into force Wednesday, requiring convicted offenders to register within 15 days after being released from prison, or if they're ordered to register.


YUKOS files for bankruptcy protection. YUKOS oil company announced December 15 it has filed for bankruptcy protection today. Please see the company #39;s statement below.


US Missile Defense Test Fails The first test in nearly two years of a multibillion-dollar US anti-missile shield failed on Wednesday when the interceptor missile shut down as it prepared to launch in


Report: Global PC Market Set To Soar The worldwide market for personal computers will double by the end of the decade, reaching about 1.3 billion units by 2010, according to Forrester Research.


FCC to Allow Wireless Access on Planes WASHINGTON Dec 15, 2004 - Federal regulators voted Wednesday to give airline passengers high-speed Internet connections while they fly.


Time Warner Near AOL Settlement Time Warner (TWX:NYSE - news - research) is on the brink of announcing settlements with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was reported Wednesday.


Update 1: Best Buy #39;s 3Q Earnings Climb 21 Percent Best Buy Company Inc., the nation #39;s largest electronics retailer, said on Wednesday that third-quarter earnings rose 21 percent, but gave hints that profits during the holiday selling season may not be quite what analysts were hoping for.


Linux market to exceed \$35bn by 2008 The overall market revenue for Linux desktops, servers and packaged software will exceed \$35bn by 2008, research published today has claimed.


LSU #39;s Saban meets with Dolphins for  #39;preliminary conversation #39; LSU coach Nick Saban met with the Miami Dolphins about their opening Tuesday night, the school announced Wednesday morning.  quot;I owe it to the people of Louisiana and the fans of LSU football to let them know


Ponting in Lee plea OPINIONS were split in the Australian camp on the future of Brett Lee after a maverick selection push by captain Ricky Ponting last night.


Former Greats Lament TV Deal Two former England captains today bemoaned the loss of cricket to Britains living rooms, claiming the sports new television deal had turned its back on thousands of potential future players.


Fischer, Bailly win pursuit events at Holmenkollen biathlon World <b>...</b> German veteran Sven Fischer and France #39;s Sandrine Bailly won pursuit races Sunday at a World Cup biathlon meet. Fischer covered the men #39;s 12.5-kilometre race in 33 minutes 40.62 seconds, beating


Hijackers grab Greek bus passengers, demand 1 million euro ransom GERAKAS, Greece (AFP) - Two gunmen, thought to be Albanians, commandeered a bus with some 25 passengers on board in an Athens suburb, later releasing a total of 12 while reportedly demanding one million euros in ransom and a plane to be flown out of


CLIFFORD D. MAY: Shouldn #39;t Palestinians have a real election? (SH) - In Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai defeated a raft of candidates to win his historic election. In Iraq, more than 200 political parties have registered for next month #39;s elections.


LSU Coach Saban Talking With Dolphins (AP) AP - LSU coach Nick Saban has talked to the Miami Dolphins about their vacant head coaching position.


TimeWarner Settles AOL Fraud for  #36;210 Mln (Reuters) Reuters - Media giant Time Warner Inc. \will pay fines of  #36;210 million under an agreement with the U.S.\government to be announced on Wednesday to settle charges that\its America Online unit inflated revenue, a Justice Department\official said.


TimeWarner Settles AOL Fraud for \$210 Mln  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Media giant Time Warner Inc. TWX.N  will pay fines of \$210 million under an agreement with the U.S.  government to be announced on Wednesday to settle charges that  its America Online unit inflated revenue, a Justice Department  official said.


Oil Up 4 Pct, Heating Oil Supplies Fall  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices surged on Wednesday as U.S.  government reported a fall in heating oil stocks and cold  weather gripped the U.S. Northeast, the world's biggest heating  fuel market.


Time Warner Settles Fraud Charges With Justice Department Time Warner has agreed to pay \$210 million to settle securities fraud charges involving advertising deals between America Online and smaller Internet companies.


Russell's a Good Sport If it can keep integrating buys and grow profits, this looks like a company worth holding.


Timeshares Can't Shake the Stink Timeshare stocks have never been valued fairly because of a bad reputation for unscrupulous salespeople.


Bush Backs Strong Dollar President Bush pledged Wednesday to work with Congress to reduce the United States' huge deficits to assure markets that his administration supports a strong dollar.


Tauzin to Head Pharmaceutical Lobbying Group Retiring Rep. Billy Tauzin will become head of the pharmaceutical industry's top lobbying group next month after leaving his post as head of the House committee that regulates the pharmaceutical industry.


Libya takes \$1bn in unfrozen funds Libya withdraws \$1bn of unfrozen assets from the US after a trade embargo is lifted as a reward for giving up weapons of mass destruction.


US to Charge AOL with Fraud, Defer Prosecution Media giant Time Warner Inc. will pay fines of \$210 million under an agreement with the US government to be announced on Wednesday to settle charges that its America


Russell #39;s a Good Sport Judging by yesterday #39;s trading action in shares of sporting goods and apparel company Russell (NYSE: RML) -- the shares were about flat on volume not terribly different than its recent


Google to digitally scan library collections Google has begun an ambitious project to digitally scan books from 5 libraries: Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, the New York Public Library, and the University of Oxford.


US moviemakers go after  #39;parasites #39; The Motion Picture Association of America is launching civil and criminal actions worldwide against movie pirates in a bid to curb illegal film downloading.


NASA #39;s chief quitting post Sean O #39;Keefe on Monday officially resigned as the head of NASA to interview as the chancellor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.


First WiMAX Baseband Chip Wavesat Inc., a fabless semiconductor developer of broadband wireless chips, today announced delivery of the first ever WiMAX chip, the DM256.


ZigBee clears ratification hurdle Intelligent sensor networks moved a little closer to commercial deployment on Tuesday with the ratification of ZigBee. ZigBee is a short-range, very low-power wireless technology.


Dolphins appear interested in LSU #39;s Saban LSU coach Nick Saban has talked to the Miami Dolphins about their vacant head coaching position. In a statement issued by LSU on Wednesday, Saban described the talks as  quot;a preliminary conversation with the


LSU #39;s Saban meets with Miami Dolphins LSU football coach Nick Saban met with representatives of the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday night to discuss their head coaching job. In a statement today, Saban said he and the Dolphins had a  quot;preliminary quot; discussion and no decision was made.


Glamorgan relieved by new TV deal Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell has welcomed the new television deal for English cricket agreed on Wednesday. The England and Wales Cricket Board has awarded an exclusive four-year contract to BSkyB for Test matches, which will run until 2009.


Counsell returns to Diamondbacks Shortstop Craig Counsell returned to the Arizona Diamondbacks, agreeing Wednesday to a \$2.7 million, two-year contract. Arizona traded Counsell to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 2003 season


Official: 'Chemical Ali' to Be Tried First (AP) AP - The ex-Iraqi general known as "Chemical Ali," who is accused of using chemical weapons attacks to kill thousands of Kurds, will be the first detained former Saddam Hussein regime figure to stand trial next week, a government official said Wednesday.


Sprint, Nextel ringing up \$35B US wireless merger NEW YORK - Sprint Corp. is buying Nextel Communications Inc. in a \$35-billion US deal that will create the third-largest wireless phone company in the US.


Oil prices above \$42 pb on lower US supplies NEW YORK, December 15 (newratings.com) - Oil futures prices rose this morning after the US Energy Department reported a marginal decline in the countrys supplies of crude and heating oil.


First Command Paying \$12M in Accords First Command Financial Planning Inc., a company that sold high-fee mutual funds to military officers, has agreed to pay \$12 million to settle regulators #39; charges that it used misleading sales material to promote the funds, it was announced Wednesday.


US appeal court gives mixed decision on RIMM-NTP patent case NEW YORK, December 15 (newratings.com) - A US appeal court has upheld a lower courts decision that Research in Motion (RIMM.NAS) had infringed on the patents held by NTP, while canceling an injunction preventing the sales of Blackberry email devices


US rejects key part of Geico case against Google A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a key element of insurer Geico #39;s trademark infringement case against online search engine Google.


Internet Life Hollywood Intensifies File-Swapping Fight The Motion Picture Association of America has filed lawuits against operators of more than 100 servers that use BitTorrent and eDonkey to swap copyighted movie files.


Hopefuls Emerge for Top Job at NASA US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said the next administrator will face  quot;several critical missions, quot; including the shuttle #39;s return to flight, completing construction


Oracle #39;s Phillips talks up PeopleSoft integration DECEMBER 15, 2004 (COMPUTERWORLD) - For the first time since closing a deal to purchase rival PeopleSoft Inc. for \$13.3 billion, Oracle Corp.


Berlusconi Accused of Using Bill to Save Buddy  ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government on Wednesday sped  up parliamentary approval of a law that could overturn the  corruption convictions of a close friend of Prime Minister  Silvio Berlusconi, sparking fury among opposition politicians.


Saban meets with Dolphins LSU head football coach Nick Saban met with officials of the Miami Dolphins Tuesday evening about the team #39;s coaching position, university officials announced Wednesday.


Signs point to Anelka exit NICOLAS Anelka #39;s future with Manchester City is in serious doubt after chairman John Wardle admitted for the first time the club would consider bids for him.


Report: Renteria heads to Beantown Boston, MA (Sports Network) - If you can #39;t beat  #39;em, join  #39;em. That #39;s exactly what free agent shortstop Edgar Renteria did on Wednesday by agreeing to a four-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.


Spanish coach facing action in race row Spanish national team coach Luis Aragones faces a formal investigation after Spain #39;s Football Federation decided to open disciplinary proceedings over racist comments about Thierry Henry of France and Arsenal.


EU Urges Liberia to Improve Election Laws Fast  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The European Union urged Liberia,  struggling to emerge from more than 10 years of civil war, to  bring its election laws up to international standards ahead of  an October vote.


Chemical Ali Will Be the First to Go on Trial The former Iraqi general known as Chemical Ali, who is accused of using chemical weapons attacks to kill thousands of Kurds, will be the first of Saddam Husseins cohorts to stand trial next week, a government official said today.


Pakistan and India to start nuclear hotline, no deal on missile <b>...</b> ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan and India agreed to push forward plans for a nuclear hotline after two days of talks but failed to reach a deal on advance warning of ballistic missile tests, officials said.


Polish Weapons Maker Signs Deal With Iraq A Polish weapons maker signed a multimillion dollar contract Wednesday to equip the new Iraqi army with helicopters, machine guns and ambulances, a company official said.


Judge Throws Out Claim Against Google Ads Google won a major legal victory today when a federal judge said the search engine could continue to sell ads triggered by searches using trademarked company names.


Christmas-New Year's Travel to Set Record  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans will travel in record  numbers this holiday season, thanks partly to Christmas and New  Year's landing on the weekend, the AAA said Wednesday in  releasing a travel survey.


Airbus Forecasts Big Demand  LONDON (Reuters) - Planemaker Airbus said on Wednesday it  expected demand for 16,600 passenger planes over the next 20  years, including a sharp rise in demand for very large  airliners such as its new A380 doubledecker which is due to fly  in 2006.


\$12 million payment over allegations in sales to military <b>...</b> BOSTON (CBS.MW) -- First Command has reached a \$12 million settlement with federal regulators for making misleading statements and omitting important information when selling mutual funds to US military personnel.


Aragones under investigation for comments Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - The Spanish Football Federation has launched an investigation into national team coach Luis Aragones #39; racial comments.


Two Greek bus hijackers demand ransom and plane Two armed hijackers released another two men from a bus in Athens in a fourth batch, bringing the total number of the released hostage to 12 , including 6 men and 6 women, police said Wednesday.


Bush Welcomes Scandal-Plagued Berlusconi (AP) AP - Days after he was acquitted in a corruption trial, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi got a warm welcome Wednesday from President Bush, who is grateful to Italy as a rare European ally willing to send troops to Iraq.


Google Scores Court Victory Over GEICO  ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday  dismissed a key element of insurer GEICO's trademark  infringement case against online search engine Google Inc.  GOOG.O.


Sprint buys Breeders Cup sponsor Nextel for \$35-billion Sprint Corp. is to acquire Nextel Communications Inc., title sponsor of the Breeders Cup Distaff (G1), in a \$35-billion deal that will create the nations third-largest wireless telephone service provider


Bush pledges to  quot;take on quot; deficit in hopes of supporting dollar WHITE HOUSE President Bush is pledging to  quot;take on quot; the nation #39;s huge deficits -- in hopes of shoring up the sagging US dollar.


Italy : Gucci brand expects to double sales by 2011 Italian luxury goods group Gucci Group has ruled out acquisitions and disposals for the next three years and predicted annual sales growth of at least 10 percent.


Movie Makers Target BitTorrent December 15, 2004 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- According to reports release on Tuesday Hollywood movies studios sued numerous operators of computer servers that help transfer digital movie files across online file-sharing networks.


Evidence for water on Mars flows This week, scientists f urther confirmed the presence of water on Mars, almost a year after the Mars Exploration Rovers landed on the fourth rocky planet from the sun.


Cassini #39;s First Flyby of Dione Summary - (Dec 15, 2004) Just days after completing its second flyby of Titan, Saturn #39;s largest moon, Cassini proceeded on to its next target: Dione, Saturn #39;s 4th largest moon.


NHL #39;s  quot;Quest for the Cap quot; continues I guess we were all just very desperate and very stupid. Just last week there was that ray of hope that the National Hockey League labor strife could be nearing an end.


Dolphins talk to LSU #39;s Saban about coaching vacancy LSU coach Nick Saban and Dolphins officials met for several hours Tuesday night about the team #39;s vacant head-coaching position.


Blunkett is expected to resign Home Secretary David Blunkett is expected to quit on Wednesday, BBC political editor Andrew Marr has said. The news comes amid claims he misused his office to fast-track a visa for his former lover #39;s nanny.


Iran rejects negotiations with US on N issue TEHRAN: Iran Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Wednesday rejected any talks with the United States on the standoff over Iran #39;s nuclear programme because of Washington #39;s hostile attitude towards the Islamic republic.


Body of Turk Engineer Found in Afghanistan The latest abduction of a foreigner in Afghanistan - a Turkish engineer working on a US-sponsored road project - ended when the kidnappers killed him, apparently so he wouldn #39;t slow them down with police hot on their trail.


Police probe BNP mosque leaflet Police are investigating a British National Party leaflet posted to homes in south Wales opposing plans for a new mosque. Anti-racism campaigners in Swansea have handed copies to South Wales Police.


Oil Up 6 Pct as Heating Oil Stocks Fall  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices surged more than two dollars  on Wednesday as the U.S. government reported a fall in heating  oil stocks and cold weather gripped the U.S. Northeast, the  world's biggest heating fuel market.


Mixed ruling in RIM patent suit could affect entire wireless e <b>...</b> BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. suffered a somewhat mixed ruling in its legal battle with patent holding company NTP Inc.


Japan firms to increase spending TOKYO Managers at Japan #39;s largest companies were less optimistic about their business prospects in the last quarter but still plan big increases in capital investment this year, according to a central bank survey disclosed on Wednesday that offered hope


Brokerage Stocks Rise on Lehman Results Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. posted fourth-quarter profit Wednesday that trounced Wall Street forecasts due to an unexpected revival of its investment banking business, a signal that could bode well for some of its rivals.


Erickson turns down Ole Miss coaching spot 49ers officials have told FOXSports.com that 49ers head coach Dennis Erickson met with his players this morning and informed them that he was staying put, turning down the Ole Miss head coaching job.


Phonak appeals license refusal GENEVA -- The Phonak cycling team wants to overturn a decision in which its racing license was denied because of a doping scandal.


British minister and Blair ally Blunkett resigns LONDON - A Cabinet minister embroiled in the messy fallout of an affair with a married woman resigned on Wednesday, his department said.


Britain warns travellers of Indonesia terrorism risk Britons travelling to Indonesia over Christmas and the New Year face a  quot;heightened risk quot; of terrorist attacks, the Foreign Office in London has warned.


Iran conditions talks with US on change of Washington #39;s attitude Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Wednesday conditioned negotiations with the United States on a change in Washington #39;s attitude toward Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.


Pakistan recognizes China as market economy, nuclear plant deal signed (AFP) AFP - Pakistan recognized China as a market economy Wednesday and Beijing promised visiting Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz 150 million dollars in aid to build a nuclear power plant.


Prime minister announces new 1,700-kilometre security zone off Australia (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australia plans to enforce a maritime security zone more than 1,700 kilometres out to sea, far beyond its territorial waters, in a move to boost defences against possible terror attacks on its soil and offshore oil and gas facilities, Prime Minister John Howard said Wednesday.


UK Official Confirms Minister Blunkett Resigned  LONDON (Reuters) - Senior British government minister David  Blunkett, a trusted ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair, resigned  on Wednesday, a government official confirmed.


Italian Nurse Kills Six Patients to Boost Ego  LECCO, Italy (Reuters) - A nurse has killed six patients in  a provincial hospital in northern Italy because she wanted to  "feel more important," prosecutors said on Wednesday.


In Colorado, a merger of equals and opposites Sprint and Nextel Communications each have 15 retail stores in Colorado and both are known for offering a popular push-to-talk service, or walkie-talkie-like product that


AOL Fraud Claim Settled Time Warner will be paying \$210 million as part of a settlement for securities fraud charges leveled by the US Department of Justice.


Nokia unveils program to identify counterfeit batteries WASHINGTON-Nokia Corp. of Finland today unveiled a new program to help consumers identify original batteries of the No. 1 mobile-phone manufacturer, an action that comes in the face of reports of exploding


EPA Says Particle Pollution Down in Some Areas The average level of a deadly form of air pollution dropped in the US from 1999 to 2003 as new pollution controls made strides in battling the nation #39;s air quality problem, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.


Coach tells players he #39;s not going to Mississippi San Francisco 49ers coach Dennis Erickson informed this players during a Wednesday morning team meeting that he will not leave to become the new head coach at the University of Mississippi.


Pedro On The Way As every second ticks away, the Mets and Pedro Martinez get a little closer to consummating what will amount to a four-year marriage - for better, for worse, for partial tears,  quot;Who #39;s Your Daddy quot; and the presence of pint-sized Nelson de la Rosa.


NASCAR Says Merger Won't Hurt Nextel Cup (AP) AP - NASCAR is not expecting any immediate changes to its top-tier racing series following the merger between telecommunications giant Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc.


Cricket: SA 'to seize initiative' Andrew Hall says South Africa plan to take advantage of England's inadequate preparation in the first Test.


Govt Signs Airbus Deal Government has signed a Declaration of Intent with a European aircraft manufacturer that will see Pretoria taking stock of between eight and 14 military airbuses between 2010 and 2014.


In-flight Cell Phones JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Everywhere you look and everywhere you go these days, people are using cell phones. Right now, air travelers can only use their cells phones before their flights take off, but that could soon change.


Geico-Google trademark suit goes to court A federal judge in Alexandria, Va., will hear opening arguments today in a case that pits Geico against Google. Geico, the auto insurer owned by Berkshire Hathaway, sued Google in May for trademark infringement.


IDC Says Linux Market Will Top \$35 Billion by 2008 The overall market revenue for Linux desktops, servers and packaged software will exceed US\$35 billion by 2008, research published today has claimed.


NASCAR confident Nextel Cup series will not be harmed by Sprint <b>...</b> NASCAR is not expecting any immediate changes to its top-tier racing series following the merger between telecommunications giant Sprint Corp.


Europe ; Bus Hijackers Hold 11 in Athens, Demand \$1 Million As the standoff gripped the nation, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis postponed his departure for a European Union summit in Brussels by one day until Thursday.


Abbas Needs Support In His Push for Peace By the News-Register. Mahmoud Abbas, the interim leader of the Palestinian Authority, has made it clear that he believes terrorist attacks aimed at Israelis must end if there is to be peace between his people and Israel.


Top British Official Resigns Amid Scandal A cabinet minister embroiled in the messy fallout of an affair with a married woman resigned Wednesday, his department said.


Washington Mayor: Baseball Deal Near Dead (Reuters) Reuters - Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony\Williams on Wednesday said the deal to bring Major League\Baseball back to the U.S. capital was close to dead after the\city council changed the plan to require private financing.


Report: Renteria OKs Deal With Red Sox All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria told The Boston Globe he has agreed to a \$40 million, four-year contract with the Red Sox, the paper reported on its Web site Wednesday.


Mercosur Trade Talks Begin Amid Bickering Top officials from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay gathered Wednesday for high-level trade talks ahead of a two-day summit taking place 10 years after leaders officially created South America's Mercosur zone.


Nextel the Big Winner in Sprint Merger Faced with growing pressure to upgrade their networks and compete with larger rivals, Sprint and Nextel Communications are poised to join forces in a \$35 billion takeover that will give the combined entity a value of around \$70 billion.


Fed increases rates by a quarter point The US Federal Reserve yesterday raised interest rates by a quarter point to 2.25 per cent and signalled that there had been no change in its assessment of economic conditions.


Mexico loses ground to China in exports For the second year in a row, US imports from Mexico lost ground to China, El Universal reports. The world #39;s largest economy, the United States, took 10.7 percent


Air traffic seen recovering steadily Air traffic is seen increasing steadily worldwide in 2004, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday. Passenger traffic for 2004 is expected to increase by 11 percent from a year ago, the


Time Warner to Pay \$210 Mln to Resolve Justice Department Probe Time Warner Inc., the world #39;s biggest media company, agreed to pay \$210 million to settle a US Justice Department probe into whether its America Online unit improperly booked advertising sales.


Fee Fight For Fun It seemed amazing at first. Video rental titan Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) is axing late fees? Considering that the company had projected \$250 million to \$300 million in late fees next year -- or an average of


UPDATE 2-KCS buys control of Mexico railroad, resolves spat US transport group Kansas City Southern has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Mexico #39;s busiest railroad in a deal worth at least \$550 million, ending a bitter legal dispute with Mexican company TMM.


Movie studios sue US, European file-sharing  #39;parasites #39; LOS ANGELES - Movie studios have expanded their fight against illegal downloading, suing more than 100 US and European-based computer services that transmit movie files across Internet file-sharing networks.


Desktop Search: It #39;s Getting Serious The launch of Microsoft #39;s test version throws down a gauntlet to Google. With Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves gearing up, too, a battle is brewing.


Nokia takes aim at fake batteries Nokia on Wednesday said it will put hologram labels on cell phone batteries as part of a move to help consumers avoid counterfeits.


Zafi Spreads Like Crazy The Zafi.d worm continued to sweep through the Internet Wednesday, creating such a flood of messages as it replicated that by one security vendor #39;s estimate, it accounted for 10 percent of the world #39;s mail.


Apple blocks iPod Photo from RealNetworks Harmony Apple has finally done it. They have blocked the files downloaded from RealNetworks music store from playing on iPod Photo. The software update on the Apples music player will not let it now play files downloaded from Reals Harmony software.


Lilacs say Northeast spring coming earlier As the first signs of winter push into the Northeast, researchers have some good news for fair weather fans -pring is coming earlier than it used to.


Toshiba #39;s 1.8-Inch Hard Disks Are First To Use Perpendicular <b>...</b> You know that hard disk manufacturers have worked miracles to increase the areal density or storage capacity of any given size platter, but Toshiba Corp.


Warner, Melodeo Join for Cell Phone Music Downloads Melodeo CEO Bill Valenti said:  quot;There #39;s no denying the market potential for music delivered to mobile phones. In 2003, there were approximately 526 million wireless phones sold.


Alternative browser chips away market share Firefox, the alternative Web browser from the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, is chipping away at Microsoft Internet Explorer #39;s stranglehold on the market.


SPECTOR: Proposals offer chance to compromise The chess game between the NHL and the NHLPA continued Tuesday, with the league rejecting the players #39; offer from last Thursday and tabling a counteroffer, which was in turn rejected by the NHLPA.


Washington mayor says baseball deal nearly dead The deal to bring Major League Baseball back to Washington, DC, was described by Mayor Anthony Williams as close to dead on Wednesday after the City Council changed the plan to require private financing.


Erickson staying in San Fran after talks with Ole Miss Ashburn, VA (Sports Network) - San Francisco 49ers head coach Dennis Erickson will remain with the team after discussing the head coaching vacancy at Ole Miss with school officials on Tuesday.


Reds sign add relievers Weathers, Weber CINCINNATI (Ticker) - After surrendering the second-most runs in the National League last season, the Cincinnati Reds have made an attempt to improve their bullpen.


Hard act to follow David Blunkett #39;s resignation this evening could mark the end of one of the most extraordinary political careers, which saw the former home secretary overcome disability and poverty to rise to one of the great offices of state.


Turkish PM arrives ahead of crunch EU summit BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Brussels late Wednesday ahead of an EU summit widely expected to give Ankara a green light to start membership negotiations with the bloc.


Paisley claims IRA ready to decommission DUP leader, Ian Paisley has claimed confidential sources have told him the IRA may be about to go ahead and decommission its weapons.


Sprint, Nextel to Merge UPDATED: Sprint (Quote, Chart) and Nextel (Quote, Chart) have agreed to merge, to better compete with Cinglar and Verizon Wireless for voice and data customers.


Yukos lawyers to argue case for US bankruptcy filing WASHINGTON (AFP) - Lawyers for the Russian oil giant Yukos made their first appearance in a US court, as the company made a last-ditch effort to avert a weekend auction of its major asset.


US FCC Aims to Lift Airborne Wireless Phone Ban Airline travelers might be able to use their mobile phones and other wireless devices in the air under a proposal put forward by US communications regulators on Wednesday to ease the current ban.


Fighting Words: Decoding Iraq War Lingo  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - "Hi Sergeant, we hear there are clashes  in Baquba. Do you have any information on that?" screams the  journalist down a bad mobile phone line from Baghdad.


Send astronauts to repair Hubble The Hubble Space Telescope, arguably one of the greatest achievements of the space program, needs to be rescued. And astronauts should be sent to do the job.


Earlier blooming lilacs another harbinger of global warming <b>...</b> As the first signs of winter push into the US Northeast, American researchers have some good news for fair weather fans - spring is coming earlier than it used to.


Bus Hijackers Demand 740,000  #39;Or We #39;ll Blow Up Hostages #39; Bus hijackers tonight set a Thursday morning deadline for Greek authorities to deliver a ransom of 740,000, threatening to blow up the vehicle and six remaining hostages if they did not receive the money.


Summary: Spring coming earlier than usual SPRING TORRENTS: In one of the most comprehensive studies of plants #39; response to the global warming trend, Cornell scientists and their colleagues at the University of Wisconsin concluded


NVIDIA Announces GeForce 6 GPU with TurboCache Technology December 15, 2004 - NVIDIA today announced the newest GPU in its GeForce 6 series of graphics processors, the NVIDIA GeForce 6200 GPU with TurboCache technology.


Australia, Pakistan set to wage speed war Australia and Pakistan both delayed naming their teams for the first cricket test starting in Perth today as they consider adding extra pacemen to their bowling stocks in anticipation of a speed war.


Reds add two to bolster bullpen The Reds added two pitchers to their bullpen today, signing veteran right-handers David Weathers and Ben Weber. Weathers, 35, signed a one-year deal with an option for 2006.


Marion Jones Sues BALCO Founder (AP) AP - Track star Marion Jones filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against the man whose company is at the center of a federal investigation into illegal steroid use among some of the nation's top athletes.


Senior British cabinet minister David Blunkett resigns in fallout <b>...</b> Britain #39;s top law-enforcement officer, a key member of Prime Minister Tony Blair #39;s cabinet, resigned on Wednesday after acknowledging that his department had fast-tracked a visa for his former lover #39;s nanny.


Sox to ink Renteria to four-year pact com. Edgar Renteria, for nine years one of the Majors #39; best all-around and most underrated shortstops, has agreed with the Red Sox on a four-year contract.


Spanish coach facing action in race row MADRID (AFP) - Spanish national team coach Luis Aragones faces a formal investigation after Spain #39;s Football Federation decided to open disciplinary proceedings over racist comments about Thierry Henry of France and Arsenal.


EU prepares green light for Turkey #39;s entry BRUSSELS: The EU sought Wednesday to keep pressure on Turkey over its bid to start talks on joining the bloc, as last-minute haggling seemed set to go down to the wire at a summit poised to give a green light to Ankara.


Fighting in Eastern Congo Continues for Third Day The United Nations says fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo continued Wednesday. The Congolese government and neighboring Rwanda have traded accusations yet again over who is involved.


Washington Mayor Says Baseball Deal Nearly Dead (Reuters) Reuters - The deal to bring Major League\Baseball back to Washington, D.C, was described by Mayor\Anthony Williams as close to dead Wednesday after the City\Council changed the plan to require private financing.


Fans Learning to Make Do Without NHL (AP) AP - The NHL is disappearing right before our eyes, and the reason is simple.


NCAA, NABC Address College Hoops Issues (AP) AP - It wasn't hard for college basketball coaches to get to know NCAA president Myles Brand. He went and met them.


Washington Mayor Says Baseball Deal Nearly Dead  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deal to bring Major League  Baseball back to Washington, D.C, was described by Mayor  Anthony Williams as close to dead Wednesday after the City  Council changed the plan to require private financing.


Renteria Heads to Beantown: Report  BOSTON (Sports Network) - If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  That's exactly what free agent shortstop Edgar Renteria did on  Wednesday by agreeing to a four-year deal with the Boston Red  Sox.


Deal in 'Great Jeopardy' Mayor Anthony A. Williams says the deal to bring baseball to D.C. is in "great, great jeopardy" because of changes to the stadium agreement.


Nvidia #39;s new chip with TurboCache Nvidia #39;s new chip is a version of its existing mainstream GeForce 6200 PCI Express chip - but with the added bonus of TurboCache.


Oil Tops \$44, Heating Supply a Concern  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices surged nearly 6 percent on  Wednesday as the U.S. government reported a fall in heating oil  stocks in the midst of the season's first arctic cold blast in  the Northeast.


Washington Mayor: Baseball Deal Near Dead  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony  Williams on Wednesday said the deal to bring Major League  Baseball back to the U.S. capital was close to dead after the  city council changed the plan to require private financing.


Yeltsin #39;s grandson joins Russian Midland F1 team The Russian-backed Midland Formula One team planned for 2006 has hired the grandson of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin as marketing director, Kommersant daily newspaper said on Wednesday.


YUKOS Gets Hearing as It Tries Stop Sale  HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge will hear  arguments on Thursday in Russian oil company Yukos' YUKO.MM  request to stop the impending auction of its main production  unit.


Stocks Near Flat, Oil's High Price Weighs  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks barely budged on Wednesday  as a 2-week high in crude oil prices limited gains by  reigniting worry about energy costs eating into corporate  profits and consumer spending.


BCE Hikes Dividend, Sees '05 Growth  MONTREAL (Reuters) - BCE Inc. BCE.TO unveiled its first  dividend increase in 10 years on Wednesday and said it expects  higher revenue and per share profit next year, mainly from  wireless, video and high-speed Internet services.


Wyeth Keeps Producing The drug maker's difficulties are evident, but its productivity may make it worth a second look.


Ameritrade's Nifty November The broker's 26 jump in average daily trades was nice growth, but will it last?


Berkshire Hathaway Greenspan basically has stopped the movie projector and pushed the button that says, "reverse."


Feds move on wireless Web, cell phones in flight Federal regulators have proposed allowing cell phones to be used on airplanes, and took steps toward bringing high-speed wireless Internet connections to passengers #39; seats.


US president pledges strong-dollar policy US President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that his government still adheres to the strong-dollar policy.  quot;The policy of my government is a strong-dollar policy, quot; Bush


Attorney convicted of credit card scam LOS ANGELES -- A lawyer has been convicted of using a credit card scam to pay his way through law school. Christian Ehlers, 29, a 2001 graduate of Loyola Law School, was found guilty Tuesday of conspiracy, fraud


E-Card Holiday Virus Packs Ugly Punch A new virus strain masquerading as electronic Christmas cards is accounting for one in every 10 e-mails hitting in-boxes, security experts warned Wednesday.


Cornell scientists look at lilacs for evidence of earlier spring As the first signs of winter push into the Northeast, Cornell University researchers have some good news for fair weather fans _ spring is coming a week earlier than it did 40 years ago.


Notebook: Majerus-USC marriage just great ... unless Rick Majerus is a basketball savant. Nobody questions that. He #39;s a winner. Nobody questions that. He #39;ll be a tremendous hire for Southern California.


Craig Counsel rejoins Diamondbacks Counsell was a member of Arizona #39;s 2001 World Series championship team as well as the 1997 world champion Florida Marlins. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2001 National


Norway envoy meets with Tamil Tigers Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheimmet Wednesday with Tamil Tigers leaders at the rebel-held northerntown of Kilinochchi in a fresh attempt to revive Sri Lanka #39;s peacetalks, the national television reported.


Lowe's Hardware Hacker Gets Nine Years (AP) AP - One of three Michigan men who hacked into the national computer system of Lowe's hardware stores and tried to steal customers' credit card information was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in federal prison.


'San Andreas' Hijacks Gaming Awards (AP) AP - It's bound to be an unusual awards show when Snoop Dogg shows up to argue with a computerized version of himself, sexy women in lingerie seductively coo secret video game codes to viewers and bubbly model Brooke Burke beats out stately Dame Judi Dench for best actress.


Nice Day for a Wireless Wedding (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - The courtship was public, and now they're engaged. Even though we knew it was coming, journalists seem to have plenty to write about now that underdogs Sprint and Nextel have announced their  #36;35 billion nuptial plans, including a rumor that one of the wireless industry's big dogs would try to spoil the party.


Google Wins Trademark Victory Over GEICO (Reuters) Reuters - A federal judge on Wednesday\handed online search engine Google Inc.  a victory in a\trademark infringement case on Wednesday, ruling that when\users searched for insurer GEICO, Google could display rivals\as well.


Ask Jeeves Joins Quest for Desktop Search Dominance (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - Ask Jeeves (Nasdaq: ASKJ) will launch its own desktop search tool on Wednesday, amid the hoopla over similar announcements from Google, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO). The Ask Jeeves desktop application is based on technology it obtained through the acquisition of privately owned Tuckaroo in June.


Sprint to Buy Nextel in  #36;36 Billion Deal (Reuters) Reuters - Sprint Corp.  said\on Wednesday it would buy mobile telephone company Nextel\Communications Inc.  for about  #36;36 billion, creating a\U.S. wireless carrier with nearly 40 million subscribers.


Symantec Rumored To Be Negotiating with Veritas (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - Security software vendor Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) is negotiating to buy Veritas Software (Nasdaq: VRTS), a provider of data storage software, for more than US #36;13 billion, according to press reports.


'OracleSoft' May Change Mid-Market CRM Game (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - Much has been said about the impact Oracle's (Nasdaq: ORCL) acquisition of PeopleSoft (Nasdaq: PSFT) is likely to have on the enterprise software market. The U.S. Justice Department thought it would have an adverse effect, creating a de facto monopoly. A federal judge thought otherwise, though, as did the European Commission.


Macworld Expo Games Pavilion to feature new games (MacCentral) MacCentral - IDG World Expo on Wednesday offered details about the Macintosh Games Pavilion, featured at next month's Macworld Conference  amp; Expo in San Francisco, Calif. The pavilion will feature new games from publishers including Aspyr Media, MacSoft, Freeverse Software and Ambrosia Software. It'll also be populated by an Arcade area where showgoers can get their hands on Power Mac G5s and iMac G5s running the latest titles available for the Macintosh.


Arctic Ocean Was Balmy 70 Mln Years Ago -Study (Reuters) Reuters - It may be freezing cold and covered in\ice now but 70 million years ago the Arctic Ocean was as tepid\as the Mediterranean.


U.S. Resists Changing Stance Amid Climate Warnings (Reuters) Reuters - Meteorologists warned\on Wednesday that 2004 would be one of the hottest years since\records began as environment ministers tried to crack U.S.\resistance to joining international efforts against global\warming.


Blair Faces Test of Bush Friendship on Environment (Reuters) Reuters - Tony Blair will get short shrift from\George W. Bush on global warming when he leads the G8 in 2005\but the fight with Washington might help him shed the "poodle"\tag he got over support for the Iraq war, analysts say.


Astronomers Ready for Comet Smashing Mission (SPACE.com) SPACE.com - NASA and university astronomers are eagerly awaiting \the launch of a nbsp;space probe bound to collide with a comet and give \researchers a glimpse inside the solar system's nbsp;icy \wanderers. nbsp;


Rare Whales Said Tangled Off Carolina Coast (AP) AP - Two endangered Atlantic right whales have been spotted tangled in lines off the coast of the Carolinas, and the crews of ships in the area have been asked to look for them.


Spring Coming Earlier Than It Used To (AP) AP - As the first signs of winter push into the Northeast, researchers have some good news for fair weather fans  #151; spring is coming earlier than it used to. The lilacs say so.


Top UK Minister Blunkett Quits Ahead of Election (Reuters) Reuters - Senior British government minister David\Blunkett resigned on Wednesday, ripping a hole in Prime\Minister Tony Blair's team months before an expected general\election.


Japan Corporations Lag in Promoting Women (AP) AP - When Ginko Sato landed her first job in the 1950s, the only person who genuinely welcomed her was the other woman in her office, a secretary who was relieved she would have help serving tea to colleagues and guests.


Ohio Recount Resembles Florida in 2000 (AP) AP - In a scene reminiscent of Florida circa 2000, two teams of Republican and Democratic election workers held punch-card ballots up to the light Wednesday and whispered back and forth as they tried to divine the voters' intent from a few hanging chads.


Greek Hijackers Warn of Deadly End if Ransom Not Met  ATHENS (Reuters) - Two suspected Albanians armed with  rifles and dynamite hijacked a packed passenger bus in Athens  and warned they would "light the fuse" if a Thursday deadline  for payment of a \$1 million ransom was not met.


Japans Tankan shows business confidence falling Confidence among Japans big manufacturers deteriorated for the first time in seven quarters, although their capital spending plans were revised higher, the Bank of Japans tankan survey for December showed on Wednesday.


ThyssenKrupp Sells Units to Consortium Steel company ThyssenKrupp AG said Wednesday it has sold some 48,000 residential housing units in western Germany for euro2.1 billion (US\$2.8 billion) to a consortium of real estate funds of US bank Morgan Stanley and Germany #39;s Corpus-Immobiliengruppe.


Don't Disarm Without Photos: N.Irish Paisley to IRA  HILLSBOROUGH, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Northern Ireland  Protestant hard-liner Ian Paisley said on Wednesday the IRA may  be about to disarm but he would not share power with its  political ally Sinn Fein without photographic proof of the act.


Turkey Launches New Currency (AP) AP - Turkey launched a new currency Saturday by dropping six zeros from the old one, in a sign of progress in its decades-long struggle with inflation. But getting rid of old habits in a country where even a loaf of bread costs hundreds of thousands isn't likely to be easy.


1 in 10 emails infected with Christmas virus Experts at Sophos report that the virus is currently accounting for 75 of all virus reports at Sophos #39;s global network of monitoring stations in the last 24 hours.


SAP offers new security service DECEMBER 15, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - SAP AG said today that it #39;s offering customers a new service to ensure the security of SAP systems.


NHL, Players #39; Union Reject New Proposals TORONTO Dec 14, 2004 - The NHL moved a step closer to losing the season Tuesday, when the league and players #39; association rejected proposals for a new collective bargaining agreement.


The Joy of K5: Recipes As many of you have noticed, there has been a deluge of recipes and food related stories. It's as if a floodgate of anecdotal recipes and comments has been unleashed upon the queue. Both balsamic vinigga's and Trollaxor's stubble stories were meant to discourage this swell of Christmas time cheer. Now, I present for the meek, scared of e-backlash, a guide to making your very own K5 recipe from scratch.


NZ in the dark over security plan A plan by Australia to extend its maritime security zone into New Zealand territorial waters has taken New Zealand by surprise. Australia #39;s Prime Minister John Howard says ships destined for Australia could


Romania winner threatens new poll Romania's president-elect  warns he may call fresh elections if his alliance fails to form a new government.


Bush Pledges to Address Weak Dollar, Cites Fed President Bush said on Wednesday a renewed drive to cut US budget deficits should help the weak dollar and that Tuesday #39;s Federal Reserve interest-rate hike showed Alan


SAP Launches Security Service SAP AG on Wednesday unveiled a service that evaluates security settings across a customer #39;s SAP enterprise system. SAP Security Optimization helps customers identify and fix vulnerabilities


Ranger reject Boumsong bid RANGERS have rejected a  amp;pound7.5 million (\$19m) bid from Newcastle United for French central defender Jean-Alain Boumsong.  quot;I can confirm we have been in touch with Rangers and I can confirm he is one of


The e-mails are back with attitude The e-mails have returned from two weeks off. The first week, they succumbed to the shocking news of Notre Dame firing Ty Willingham.


Lucchino: Renteria Deal Not in Place Yet All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria told The Boston Globe he has agreed to a \$40 million, four-year contract with the Red Sox, the paper reported on its Web site Wednesday.


Jones Sues BALCO Sprinter Marion Jones files a defamation suit against BALCO founder Victor Conte on Wednesday after Conte said that Jones had taken steroids.


Beavers Suspend Four Oregon State suspends four players for the Insight Bowl against Notre Dame on Dec. 28.


Don't use Google desktop search in your business, warns Gartner Well, hang on there, let's give them a chance


Oil Tops \$44, Heating Oil Supplies Worry  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices surged nearly 6 percent on  Wednesday as the U.S. government reported a fall in heating oil  stocks in the midst of an arctic cold blast in the Northeast,  the world's largest heating oil market.


iRiver N10 512MB Flash MP3 player Review Dedicated follower of fashion?


Excite rises again like a turkey from the ashes Will this be third time lucky for dotcom boom darling?


Ratty pilots worry sci-fi fans Letters And cheap tinsel worries wifi fans


PC ownership to 'double by 2010' The number of personal computers worldwide is expected to rise to 1.3 billion by 2010 say analysts.


PC photo printers challenge pros Some home printers produce photos that are cheaper and better quality than the High Street, tests show.


Lab to study emotion of gaming Experts are to study the "sweaty palmed excitement" of people playing their computer and console games.


Shoppers 'wary' of chip and pin One in five people using the new chip and pin credit and debit cards is still signing rather than using a pin number, research suggests.


Time Warner fraud charge settled Time Warner agrees to pay \$210m to settle charges of securities fraud involving America Online.


Freeview fans buy second boxes More than one million UK households now have two or more Freeview boxes for different television sets.