Can Jamdat Survive the Hype? Earnings from hot new issue Jamdat Mobile don't live up to analysts' expectations.


Eyeing Laser Care Profits Eye care specialist TLC draws eyes to the field of high-tech vision correction.


Photos: 'Halo 2,' the adventure begins Thousands of fans wait for hours to pick up the first copies of Microsoft's long-awaited Xbox game sequel.


Rates rise increases to continue WASHINGTON - Another small hike in United States interest rates is seen as a certainty when Federal Reserve policy-makers meet today.


SEC Issues Plan to Standardize Governance Rules for Exchanges Ten US stock markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, would be required to file quarterly reports with regulators and maintain a majority of independent directors under a plan published by the agency today.


Another IE flaw, another MyDoom A new variant of the MyDoom worm that exploits an unpatched flaw in Microsofts Internet Explorer browser has emerged to threaten small business and home users in particular, security experts warned this week.


Mother of  #39;new Pele #39; is kidnapped SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The mother of Brazilian star Robinho has been kidnapped at gunpoint as the 20-year-old Santos winger, dubbed the  quot;new Pele quot;, appeared on the brink of a transfer to Real Madrid.


Ben Wallace loses brother to brain cancer West coast trips have been filled with heartbreaking moments for Detroit Pistons All-star Ben Wallace. But it has had nothing to do with the games being played.


Arafat #39;s wife under fire, clashes with PA chiefs PARIS, Nov 9 (AFP) - Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has held a covetous vigil in the military hospital where her husband may lie dying, protected by a French law that has let her shoulder her way into the Palestinian power


Pakistan Wins US Praise Over Afghan Vote A senior US official commended Pakistan on Tuesday for its help in ensuring the success of last month #39;s Afghan election and said the United States wanted to accelerate and broaden its cooperation with Pakistan.


Security group sets baseline standard for firewalls Four security software rivals are have teamed up to set a baseline standard for application security firewalls, challenging others in the industry to join them.


Microsoft Sees  #36;100 Million First Day for 'Halo 2' (Reuters) Reuters - First-day sales of Microsoft\Corp.'s  new video game "Halo 2" will reach  #36;100\million, a senior Microsoft games executive said on Tuesday.


Sudan, Rebels to Sign Partial Peace Pact (AP) AP - The Sudanese government and rebel representatives signed accords Tuesday aimed at ending hostilities in the troubled western region of Darfur and guaranteeing aid groups access to 1.6 million civilians uprooted by the conflict.


Security group sets baseline standard for firewalls (InfoWorld) InfoWorld - Four security software rivals are have teamed up to set a baseline standard for application security firewalls, challenging others in the industry to join them.


Sudan Signs Darfur Deals with Rebels - Mediator  ABUJA (Reuters) - Sudan bowed to international pressure  Tuesday for a ban on military flights over the Darfur region,  where 1.5 million have been forced from their homes, and signed  two landmark peace deals with rebels.


Mozilla Firefox 1.0 Ready For Primetime Mozilla Firefox 1.0 Ready For Primetime\\After years of reinventing the wheel with the Mozilla browser, Mozilla seems to have struck a gold stake into the heart of Microsoft with Firefox. As popular as Mozilla's open source browsers have been in the tech world, that niche popularity was a whisper to ...


HP debuts 14 new imaging, printing products Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) showed off 14 new imaging and printing products during an event in Frankfurt, Germany, where executives showcased the HP LaserJet 4345mfp multifunction copier, which they said can crank out up to 45 pages per minute for a third the cost of similar machines.


Mozilla launches Firefox 1.0 browser The Mozilla Foundation has released Version 1.0 of its Firefox browser, an open-source product that has generated lofty expectations that it will offer real competition to Microsoft Corp.'s ubiquitous Internet Explorer.


Dell Plans North Carolina Plant  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell Inc. DELL.O on Tuesday said it  will open a third U.S. manufacturing plant, a plant in North  Carolina employing 1,500 workers, marking a rare example of a  U.S. high-tech company expanding domestic production.


Microsoft Sees \$100 Million First Day for 'Halo 2'  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - First-day sales of Microsoft  Corp.'s MSFT.O new video game "Halo 2" will reach \$100  million, a senior Microsoft games executive said on Tuesday.


Web business standard gets thumbs up The ratification of Universal Business Language could make it easier for big companies to share documents.


In storm-ravaged Philippines, an urgent plea for food, goods REAL, Philippines -- Helicopters delivered food to famished survivors and picked up casualties as the weather cleared yesterday in villages ravaged by back-to-back storms that left 640 people dead and nearly 400 missing in the northern Philippines.


FCC further deregulates Net calls The Federal Communications Commission ruled that states are now barred from imposing telecommunications regulations on Net phone providers, which treat calls no differently than any other application on the Internet.


Mozilla Launches Firefox 1.0 The Mozilla Foundation has released version 1.0 of its Firefox browser, an open-source product that has generated lofty expectations that it will offer real competition to Microsoft #39;s ubiquitous Internet Explorer.


Miami Dolphins Coach Dave Wannstedt Resigns After 1-8 Start Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, whose team has the worst record in the National Football League, resigned after 4 1/2 seasons and was replaced by defensive coordinator Jim Bates.


Sudanese govt, rebels sign security and humanitarian deals (AFP) AFP - The Sudanese government and two rebel groups from the war torn region of Darfur signed two accords to demilitarize their conflict and ensure the safety of 1.5 million displaced people.


Microsoft Shareholders OK \$3 Dividend  BELLEVUE, Wash. (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O  shareholders on Tuesday approved changes to its stock-based  employee compensation plans that would maintain the value of  stock options and awards, allowing the software giant to go  forward with a planned \$3-per-share special dividend.


Arafat's Heart Functioning - Palestinian Minister  PARIS (Reuters) - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was  very ill but his brain, heart and lungs were still functioning,  Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said.


Anthrax hits Ugandan park hippos Scientists struggle to contain an anthrax epidemic which has killed nearly 200 hippos in a Ugandan national park.


Cricket: Sri Lanka keeper quits Sri Lanka wicket-keeper/batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana announces his retirement from international cricket.


Shareholders rubber-stamp Microsoft payout Approval of changes to employee stock compensation paves way for \$32 billion bonanza for shareholders.


Wannstedt Steps Down as Dolphins Coach  DAVIE, Fla. (Sports Network) - Dave Wannstedt resigned  Tuesday as head coach of the Miami Dolphins after the team sunk  to an NFL-worst 1-8 record. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates  will take over as interim coach for the remainder of the  season.


Marsh   McLennan to Cut 3,000 Jobs  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Marsh   McLennan Cos., the insurance  broker at the center of a bid-rigging scandal, on Tuesday said  it will lay off 3,000 employees, or 5 percent of its work  force.


UPS to Hire 70,000 Workers for Holidays  NEW YORK (Reuters) -  United Parcel Service Inc. UPS.N,  the world's largest package delivery company, said on Tuesday  it plans to hire nearly 70,000 temporary workers to help handle  an estimated 340 million packages from Thanksgiving to  Christmas, exceeding year-ago forecasts.


Spain Unchanged for Davis Cup Final  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain have named an unchanged team for  next month's Davis Cup final against the United States in  Seville as they bid to secure a second title in five years.


Dell Plans North Carolina Plant, to Hire 1,500  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell Inc. said on Tuesday it plans to  open a third U.S. manufacturing plant, based in North Carolina  with 1,500 workers, in a rare example of a U.S. high-tech  company expanding domestic production.


Alcohol ban row rages in Algeria Algeria's chances of joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may be scuppered by its parliament's refusal to lift a ban on alcohol imports.


Schilling Has Surgery Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has surgery to repair his injured right ankle with no complications Tuesday, the team doctor said.


IMF report  #39;not all good news #39; LABOR has accused the Federal Government of engaging in reckless spending which could push up interest rates. The claim came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave the Government and the Reserve Bank a glowing report card.


Infineon Revs Up, But Slowdown Coming Memory was little help to Munich, Germanys Infineon Technologies AG in its now closed fiscal Q4. The company reported Q4 revenues of \$2.


FCC Rules VOIP Not Subject to State Rules In what amounts to a big win for Vonage Holdings Corp., the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ruled that the broadband phone company #39;s service was exempt from state and local regulation and tariffs.


Marsh CEO says most of 3,000 layoffs due Wednesday Marsh  amp; McLennan Cos. (MMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Michael Cherkasky on Tuesday said 90 percent of the 3,000 employees the company plans to lay off will be notified on Wednesday.


Profit Tumbles at May Department Stores May Department Stores (MAY:NYSE - news - research) reported dismal third-quarter results Tuesday, weighed down by its acquisition of Marshall Field #39;s and negative sales trends.


Dell makes it official, chooses NC for facility WINSTON SALEM, NC - Dell announced today it is adding to its US manufacturing operations with a third location, to be placed in the Triad area of North Carolina.


SEC seeks more market disclosure The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday proposed that stock markets disclose more information about their operations, including executive pay and regulatory programs.


Henley: Oracle May Drop Bid If PeopleSoft Investors Nix  #39;Best #39; <b>...</b> Vox populi: Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ) attorney Michael Carroll says the firm will abandon its legal assault on PeopleSoft #39;s (nasdaq: PSFT - news - people )  quot;poison pill quot; defenses--if investors fail to tender at least 50 of their shares by Nov


UPS to Hire 70,000 Workers for Holidays (Reuters) Reuters - United Parcel Service Inc. ,\the world's largest package delivery company, said on Tuesday\it plans to hire nearly 70,000 temporary workers to help handle\an estimated 340 million packages from Thanksgiving to\Christmas, exceeding year-ago forecasts.


FCC Rules on Internet-Based Phone Services (AP) AP - U.S. regulators ruled Tuesday that providers of Internet-based phone call services fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, exempting them from some key regulation by states.


Regulators Probe Fund Trades at Bank of NY (AP) AP - Bank of New York Co. Tuesday said regulators are looking into mutual-fund transactions that were cleared by the company's Pershing LLC unit.


Online Learning Has Schools Nervous (AP) AP - A growing number of Colorado school superintendents are devising strategies to soften the blow of losing students to online schools.


Linux: The New Desktop OS? The debate about using Linux as a desktop OS has been going on for years. With each kernel revision and every new distribution release, we hear that Linux has become a feasible alternative.


Spansion Details NOR/NAND Hybrid Roadmap In order to meet the growing demands of the flash memory market, Fujitsu and AMDs flash memory subsidiary Spansion LLC unveiled plans to develop a new ORNAND flash memory architecture that combines the best of NOR code execution with NAND data


Phelps drink-drive charge American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won six gold medals at the Olympics in Athens, has been charged with driving under the influence by police in Maryland.


Beckham Makes Timely Training Return David Beckhams prospects of skippering England in next weeks clash with Spain at Real Madrids Bernabeu stadium improved today when he returned to training.


Miami coach Wannstedt steps down CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Head coach Dave Wannstedt resigned from the struggling Miami Dolphins Tuesday morning, ending a frustrating season that began with the retirement of star running back Ricky Williams before training camp.


Schilling has successful ankle surgery Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured flexor tendon in his right ankle.


Schilling's Ruptured Ankle Tendon Repaired (AP) AP - Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling had surgery Tuesday to repair his injured right ankle. Schilling pitched Game 6 of the American League Championship Series and Game 2 of the World Series last month with the torn sheath of his ankle tendon sutured into place so it wouldn't flop over the bone when he pitched.


Iran cracks down on Internet: rights watchdog (AFP) AFP - Iran is cracking down on Internet communications, one of the country's last forums for free speech and a crucial tool for local social activists, Human Rights Watch said.


Italian police fear Naples mob war chiefs hold emergency meetings over how to combat a mob turf battle in the southern Italian city. were the latest victims of a struggle for control a multi-billion dollar trade in drugs, arms and prostitution.


Microsoft Shareholders OK Stock Changes (AP) AP - Microsoft Corp. shareholders on Tuesday approved changes to the company's stock compensation plans, clearing the way for the software giant to award a one-time,  #36;3-per-share dividend that will cost the company an estimated  #36;32 billion.


Apple supported technologies approved by DVB (MacCentral) MacCentral - The Digital Video Broadcasting Steering Board (DVB) has approved a revision to its implementation guidelines for audio and video codecs over a broadcast Transport Stream. The revision includes two technologies supported by Apple Computer Inc., H.264 or Advanced Video Codec (AVC) and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio codecs.


T.rex Fancied Ribs, Scientist Says (Reuters) Reuters - Tyrannosaurus rex scraped the meat from\the ribs of its prey in much the same way a human might gnaw on\a serving of barbecued ribs, a meeting of geologists was told\on Tuesday.


No Deal on Nuclear Fusion Reactor Site - Diplomat (Reuters) Reuters - Negotiations on where to build the\world's first nuclear fusion reactor ended without an agreement\on either of the two sides under consideration in France and\Japan, a Western diplomat said on Tuesday.


Golf Courses Make Good Homes for Birds (AP) AP - A new study shows that golf courses can be good homes for more than one kind of birdie.


Sudan Signs Landmark Darfur Deals with Rebels  ABUJA (Reuters) - Sudan bowed to international pressure on  Tuesday for a ban on military flights over the Darfur region,  where 1.5 million have been forced from their homes, and signed  two landmark peace deals with rebels.


Iran's conservatives seen tightening power in republic TEHRAN -- After eight years of a bold but bungled experiment with reform, Iran's government is in the throes of a takeover by conservatives determined to restore the revolution's Islamic purity, according to Iranian politicians and analysts.


Schilling Has Successful Ankle Surgery (Reuters) Reuters - Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling\underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured flexor tendon in\his right ankle.


Schilling Has Successful Ankle Surgery  BOSTON (Sports Network) - Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling  underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured flexor tendon in  his right ankle.


Irish Olympic Medal Horse Fails Second Test-Report  DUBLIN (Reuters) - A second blood sample taken from  Waterford Crystal, the horse Cian O'Connor rode to win  Ireland's only gold medal at the Athens Olympics, has also  tested positive for banned substances, local media reported  Tuesday.


Update 9: Oil Prices Briefly Fall Below \$48 a Barrel Crude oil futures prices briefly dipped below \$48 a barrel Tuesday on expectations that US oil supplies will continue to grow and that heating oil inventories will be adequate this winter.


TOSHIBA intente une action en justice contre Hynix Semiconductor <b>...</b> TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2004--Toshiba Corporation a annonc ce jour qu #39;elle intentait un procs  Hynix Semiconductor au Japon et aux Etats-Unis pour contrefaon des brevets relatifs aux mmoires  semiconducteurs.


What the Fed Has to Consider at Wednesday #39;s FOMC The Federal Reserve is primed to push up borrowing costs for the fourth time this year at its meeting on Wednesday, and is unlikely to pause at upcoming meetings


Oracle may drop suit against PeopleSoft WILMINGTON (DELAWARE): An attorney for Oracle says the company will abandon its legal challenge to PeopleSoft #39;s anti-takeover protection if shareholders fail to tender a majority of their shares by November 19.


Suns notebook: Suns pack it in on defense Bo Outlaw is arriving for his second stint with the Suns to stiffen a defense that works a bit differently than when he departed before last season.


Schilling #39;s Ruptured Ankle Tendon Repaired BOSTON Nov 9, 2004 - Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling had surgery Tuesday to repair his injured right ankle. Schilling pitched Game 6 of the American League Championship Series and Game 2 of the World Series


Second doping test on Irish winner Waterford Crystal positive <b>...</b> A backup doping sample from the horse that won the show jumping gold medal at the Athens Olympics also was positive for a banned substance, the Irish rider #39;s lawyer said Tuesday.


Playing indoors will make for a different game in West Final, says <b>...</b> VANCOUVER (CP) - Wally Buono expects a different game when the Saskatchewan Roughriders come in from the cold to face the BC Lions in Sunday #39;s CFL West Final.


Spain announce Davis Cup line-up Spain have named an unchanged team for the Davis Cup final against the United States in Seville on 3-5 December. Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo will take on the US in front of 22,000 fans at the converted Olympic stadium.


Got Firefox? I #39;m dating myself here, but I can vividly recall the web browser scene ten years ago, when I #39;d eagerly download every new version of Netscape Navigator the moment it was released.


Sunni clerics call for boycott of January elections because of <b>...</b> A powerful group of Sunni Muslim clerics called Tuesday for a boycott of national elections set for late January to protest the US-led attack against the Sunni insurgent stronghold Fallujah.


PORTRAIT OF FALLUJAH: Place of piety was Saddam stronghold Fallujah calls itself the  quot;City of Mosques quot; for its many Muslim houses of worship. The city 40 miles west of Baghdad is also the center of the fiercest resistance to the US presence in Iraq.


IBM Celebrates Supercomputing Triumph The United States grabbed top honors in the race for the world #39;s fastest supercomputer, beating out the Japanese computer that has held the title for more than two years.


Swimming: Phelps charged Six-time Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps has publicly apologised after his arrest for drink-driving. The 19-year-old ran a stop sign in Salisbury, Maryland.


Arsenal Football Club boss charged The Gunners boss has been hit with a charge of improper conduct following his controversial comments after their 2-0 Premiership defeat at Manchester United last month.


Keith highlights CFL Players of the Week Keith finished with a combined total of 125 rushing and receiving yards in a 14-6 upset victory over Edmonton to earn the offensive award.


Mother cleared of murdering baby A mother has her conviction for murdering her four-month-old son 10 years ago quashed during a retrial.


Calm for the Storm: Asset Allocation The market is still down from its March 2000 peak. Here's how to protect your assets from further drops.


Sudan, Rebels Sign Accords The Sudanese government and rebel representatives signed accords Tuesday aimed at ending hostilities in the troubled western region of Darfur and guaranteeing aid groups access to 1.6 million civilians uprooted by the conflict.


Dutch Mourn Murdered Filmmaker Amid Revenge Fears  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands mourned the outspoken  filmmaker killed a week ago by a suspected Islamic extremist,  while Dutch Muslims rallied to urge reconciliation on Tuesday  after a wave of apparent revenge attacks on mosques.


News.com Extra: Tech steals ideas from nature Plus: Heathrow airport using 'see through clothes' scanner on passengers.


Marsh   McLennan to Lay Off 3,000 Marsh   McLennan said today that it would lay off roughly 5 percent of its work force, as it moved to right itself after being accused of bid-rigging.


A harsh injection of reality What if baseball had a steroid scandal and nobody cared?  quot;In all honesty, that's an issue, quot; said Gary Roberts, an expert in sports law at Tulane.  quot;For all we know, the American public may not give a damn. They may be happy if all their gladiators were stoked up on steroids and hitting 500 home runs.


Conn. Man Charged with Selling Secret Windows Code  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Connecticut man was arrested on  Tuesday on charges that he illegally sold a secret source code  used for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000  programs, federal prosecutors said.


IBM Plans Web Meeting Service; Takes Aim at WebEx  NEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM plans to offer Web-conferencing as  a hosted Internet service, seeking to reach small and  medium-sized business customers while taking on more  established rivals in the market, the company said on Tuesday.


Health Holds Back Mesi Jack Mesi was a boxer on the rise until March 13 when several knockdowns brought on subdural hematomas or bleeding on the brain, boxers' No. 1 cause of death.


Ownership of Anti-Spam Measure Queried at Talks  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internet companies have begun to  change the way e-mail works in order to weed out spam, but  experts on Tuesday clashed over whether the underlying  technology should be controlled by any one company.


Moguls Match Up Over News Corp. Rupert Murdoch and John Malone may be fixin' for a fight over the media giant.


EchoStar Dishes Up Value The second-largest satellite entertainment provider adds 350,000 subscribers.


Give Sonic Solutions More Play The digital media software developer deserves more attention from investors.


Is Shanda Overvalued? The online games company's high valuation even more of a concern with the success of its competition.


Cisco 1Q Eyed as IT Spending Indicator Investors will get another glimpse into the pace of corporate spending as Cisco Systems Inc. prepares to deliver financial results after the closing bell on Tuesday.\-AP


Marsh   McLennan to Cut 3,000 Jobs  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Marsh   McLennan Cos. MMC.N, the  insurance broker at the center of a bid-rigging scandal, on  Tuesday said it will lay off 3,000 employees, or 5 percent of  its work force.


SEC Wants More Disclosure for Markets  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets would have to  disclose executive pay and provide details of their regulatory  programs, under new rules proposed by the Securities and  Exchange Commission on Tuesday.


Liberty Makes Nice with News Corp.  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Liberty Media Corp. L.N on Tuesday  said a share-swap transaction that would nearly double its  voting power in News Corp. was a "friendly" move, a day after  News Corp. announced a poison pill to fend off any hostile bid  from the U.S. media conglomerate.


SEC Probes Bank of New York's Pershing  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of New York Co. Inc. on Tuesday  said regulators are looking into market-timing trades cleared  by its stock clearing business unit Pershing LLC.


Stocks Rise, Oil Falls, Fed Wait Resumes  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday as a oil prices  slid below \$48 a barrel, offsetting caution as investors waited  for an expected quarter-point hike in U.S. interest rates and  results from technology bellwether Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO.O.


Halo fans' hope for sequel Halo 2 has been released in the US, with fans queuing to get their hands on the Xbox title.


Witness: Ovitz Wanted Signing Bonus as Disney President Michael Ovitz initially wanted a signing bonus of \$50 million to join Walt Disney Co. as its president in 1995, a compensation expert who advised Disney during negotiations with Ovitz testified Tuesday.


Champion Irish Horse Fails Second Dope Test  DUBLIN (Reuters) - A second blood sample taken from  Waterford Crystal, the horse Cian O'Connor rode to win  Ireland's only gold medal at the Athens Olympics, has also  tested positive for banned substances.


Microsoft patches software for Mac version The software giant announces several changes and plans for its Virtual PC software, which lets Windows run on Apple machines.


Netanyahu lifts threat to resign Israeli Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lifts his threat to resign over the Gaza withdrawal plan.


Best game in town WALTHAM -- OK, granted, we're not Texas or Florida, and we're not Arkansas, Nebraska, or Alabama, either. In the grand scope of Football America, what we are is quaint.


Microsoft #39;s Novell Settlement Won #39;t Scare Off EU Microsoft has reached legal settlements with two of its biggest adversaries in the software industry, Novell and the Computer and Communications Industry Association.


Marks  amp; Spencer Dumps Execs Marks  amp; Spencer reported after-tax profits of \$260 million for the six month period ending October 2nd, compared to \$436 million a year earlier.


East Asia: Global Uncertainties Threaten to Mar 2005 East Asia #39;s economies are growing at their swiftest pace since before the financial crisis with fewer people than ever living in extreme poverty, according to the latest East Asia and Pacific Regional Update, the World Bank #39;s twice-yearly look at the


Powell: FCC Chief Gets Ruling In Favor Of VoIP Ring, Ring. Someone answer the computer. Voice-over-Internet Protocol got a boost today as The Federal Communications Commission ruled that providers of the service are exempt from some major state regulations


Dell picks NC for third US plant Dell (DELL) said Tuesday that it would build a US manufacturing plant in North Carolina, employing at least 1,500 people within five years.


Heads may roll at Putnam As many as 15 senior execs could lose their jobs in the next few days: source. BOSTON (Reuters) - Putnam Investments is expected to lay off more employees, the chief executive of its parent company said Tuesday


Anthem merger could be back on fast track California insurance commissioner expected to announce today that he will allow \$16.4 billion deal with WellPoint Health Networks to take place.


SEC proposes plan to strengthen governance at stock exchanges WASHINGTON - Federal regulators on Tuesday proposed a plan to strengthen governance at the nation #39;s stock exchanges and move them toward separating their self-policing function from their business operations to ensure that they serve investors #39; interest.


UPDATE 4-Toll posts strong 4th-quarter homebuilding sales Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday reported record fourth-quarter homebuilding sales and backlog, citing a growing population of affluent buyers.


Genta Can #39;t Catch a Break Genta (GNTA:Nasdaq - news - research) is never boring! Monday night, the company announced that its phase III Genasense study in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) met its primary endpoint, which was tumor shrinkage.


Microsoft Shareholders OK  #36;32 Bln Payout (Reuters) Reuters - Microsoft Corp. \shareholders cleared the way on Tuesday for the world's largest\software maker to pay out the largest corporate dividend ever\next month and welcomed news of a blockbuster first day of\sales for its video game "Halo 2."


IBM's recycling program goes global Businesses in Europe, Asia can net bucks for outdated computer equipment, company says. \


Irish urged to reduce gas emissions Ireland #39;s leading expert on climate change, Dr John Sweeney, has warned that both the Government and the public urgently need to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


Desktop Linux: The Final Hurdles I remember the major turning point that took Linux from an OS that Microsoft used to call competition during their anti-trust case to a serious commercial operating system.


Double MyDoom for Internet Explorer flaw A second version of the MyDoom variant that uses a flaw in Internet Explorer has started to spread, antivirus researchers said on Tuesday.


IBM Sits Atop Supercomputer List As expected, IBM took over the top slot on the Top500 supercomputing list with a BlueGene/L system that shatters previous Linpack benchmarks at 70.


Xbox #39;s  quot;Halo 2 quot; video game expected to be blockbuster (National) Nov. 9, 2004 -  quot;Halo 2, quot; the Microsoft Xbox game released on Tuesday, has been promoted like a box office blockbuster.


Limited EyeToy Support in GT4 November 09, 2004 - In a surprise move, Sony Computer Entertainment and Polyphony Digital revealed today that Gran Turismo 4 will feature limited EyeToy support.


Chartered to Manufacture AMD64 Processors in 2006 AMD64 is a new computing platform that extends the ubiquitous x86 architecture to accommodate 64-bit processing. Formerly known as x86-64, AMDs enhancements to the x86 architecture allow users of laptops


HyperTransport Broadens Its HPC Scope A technology group working on faster data transfer between devices announced a new specification targeted at improving high-performance computing systems.


#39;Northern lights #39; possible on LI The  quot;northern lights quot; will be visible this week in the Long Island area, with best chance of seeing them over the next few nights, astronomers said.


West Brom names former star player Bryan Robson manager Bryan Robson is returning to West Bromwich Albion after a 23-year absence. Robson left West Brom in 1981 as one of England #39;s top players to join Manchester United.


UPDATE 1-British and French GPs  #39;a done deal #39; The British and French Formula One grands prix have been saved after teams struck a deal with Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday, according to Minardi boss Paul Stoddart.


Beckham aims to bend it with Zidane Paris - David Beckham and Real Madrid team-mates Zinedine Zidane and Raul have signed to play themselves in a Los Angeles-produced movie called Goal!. Variety magazine reports that the \$100-million trilogy


Liverpool great Hughes passes away Liverpool, England (Sports Network) - Former English international and Liverpool great Emlyn Hughes passed away Tuesday from a brain tumor.


Clemens wins seventh Cy Young Often, the older a pitcher becomes, the less effective he is on the mound. Roger Clemens apparently didn #39;t get that memo. On Tuesday, the 42-year-old Clemens won an unprecedented


UPDATE 1-Mutu to continue career in England or Italy Romanian striker Adrian Mutu, dismissed by English Premier League club Chelsea for taking cocaine, said on Tuesday he would continue his career in England or Italy after completing a seven-month ban.


Schilling has surgery on damaged ankle Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling underwent a three-hour operation Tuesday to fix a ruptured tendon in his right ankle. Dr. Bill Morgan, the team physician, performed the surgery.


Irish gold medal in jeopardy A SECOND dope test on a blood sample taken from the horse of Irish Olympic show jumping gold medallist Cian O #39;Connor has tested positive for banned substances.


Transcript of Andy Geiger #39;s Statement at the November 9th Ohio <b>...</b> GEIGER: I guess I #39;m part two. Greetings, everybody. Obviously many of you have seen and probably have in your possession the story that broke this morning on espn.


\$10b NFL TV deal THE National Football League became \$US8 billion (\$10.57b) richer today after signing a six-year extension to its TV contract with American channels Fox and CBS.


SEC Wants More Disclosure for Markets (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. stock markets would have to\disclose executive pay and provide details of their regulatory\programs, under new rules proposed by the Securities and\Exchange Commission on Tuesday.


EU Says No Deal, No Breakdown on Fusion Reactor Talks on where to build the world #39;s first nuclear fusion reactor ended without a deal on Tuesday but the European Union said Japan and the United States no longer firmly opposed its bid to put the plant in France.


Armitage: Osama will be caught ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says Osama bin Laden will be caught  quot;sooner or later. quot;. Armitage is in Pakistan -- a key ally in the US-led war on terror.


Iraqi Sunni Clerics Urge Election Boycott for Fallujah Siege Sunni Muslim clerics in Iraq have called for a boycott of the country #39;s nationwide elections in January. The chief of the Association of Muslim Scholars, Harith al-Dhari, said Tuesday the boycott


Strategy for partnership With the European Unions (EU) expansion to 25 countries, it now accounts for 28 of world GDP and a market of 450 million. That closer commercial relationships with EU are desirable is obvious.


Ownership of Anti-Spam Measure Queried at Talks (Reuters) Reuters - Internet companies have begun to\change the way e-mail works in order to weed out spam, but\experts on Tuesday clashed over whether the underlying\technology should be controlled by any one company.


Photo: Unisys' updated ES7000 server line Unisys' updated ES7000 server line includes a top-end Itanium 2  processor with 9MB of high-speed cache memory.


Gateway To Ship New, Cooler Desktops (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - The first in a new series of desktop PCs from Gateway will become available later this week, says the company.


Clarett Rips Ohio State Coach, Staff (AP) AP - Maurice Clarett accused Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and his staff of arranging for him to get passing grades, cars, and money for bogus summer jobs. The school immediately denied the claims Tuesday.


Photo: Hewlett-Packard's Integrity rx4640 server Hewlett-Packard's Integrity rx4640 server is available with Intel's new Itanium 2 processor, which has 9MB of high-speed cache memory.


Ferrero, Moya to Lead Davis Cup Team (AP) AP - Former No. 1s and French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya will lead Spain against the United States in next month's Davis Cup final.


Dell to spend \$115 million on new plant North Carolina facility will open in fall 2005 and employ 1,500 people within the next five years, Dell says.


Mac OS X Update Fixes Some Problems, Creates Others (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has updated its Unix-based Mac OS X operating system to version 10.3.6. The software release, issued Friday, is Apple's first incremental update to OS X in almost two months.


Rebels Set Off Land mine in Indian Kashmir, 11 Dead  SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Separatist militants detonated  a powerful land mine in Indian Kashmir killing eleven people,  including nine soldiers in one of the biggest attacks in recent  weeks, police said on Sunday.


NEC Builds Itanium 2 Blade (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - NEC (Nasdaq: NIPNY) has unveiled a blade server powered by the Intel Itanium 2 processor, combining 64-bit computing, InfiniBand capabilities and increased memory, and targeted at the high-performance computing market.


Double MyDoom for Internet Explorer flaw A second MyDoom offshoot is taking advantage of an unpatched security hole in Microsoft's Web browser to spread.


Arafat Dead, Say Palestinian Sources Amid Confusion  PARIS (Reuters) - The fate of Yasser Arafat was mired in  confusion on Tuesday as Palestinian officials insisted in  public he was clinging to life even as aides said privately the  veteran leader had died at a Paris hospital.


Fresh Unrest in Ivory Coast Despite Peace Efforts  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - French soldiers fired to disperse  protesters in Ivory Coast on Tuesday after days of rioting in  the main city Abidjan.


Haiti Election Panel in Turmoil as Head Resigns  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - The head of a panel  organizing elections in Haiti next year to replace ousted  president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has resigned, warning that  other panel members were trying to rig the ballot.


Infineon Posts 10 Percent Profit Drop Infineon #39;s net profit fell to \$54.6 million in the fourth quarter from \$63 million in the third quarter of last year. The net result came up short of analyst forecasts of \$169 million.


New Zealand 3G Network Launched The T3G upgrade of Telecom #39;s nationwide mobile network cost 40 million New Zealand dollars (US\$28 million) and took about four months to build, the company says.


Nortel dumps bandwidth exchange suit Company says Arbinet will settle in copyright infringement dispute.   \


IBM Plans Web Meeting Service; Takes Aim at WebEx  NEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM IBM.N plans to offer  Web-conferencing as a hosted Internet service, seeking to reach  small and medium-sized business customers while taking on more  established rivals in the market, the company said on Tuesday.


Battle of the big games "Halo 2" for the Xbox shoots first, but for PC gamers, "Half-Life 2" is locked and loaded.


Radical change needed in Indigenous affairs, says leader Aboriginal leader and member of the National Indigenous Council Warren Mundine says it is time radical changes are made to the way Indigenous affairs are handled.


Murdoch Sets Up Poison Pill Defense If any party acquires 15 percent or more of News Corporation, all the other shareholders will be able to buy up to \$80 worth of shares at half-price for every share already owned, under a  quot;poison pill quot; defense adopted by Rupert Murdoch.


Lower oil fails to lift stox Oil prices continued their recent slide as optimism that supply would hold up this winter had more traders shifting money out of energy markets.


Honda to Build Transmission Plant in Georgia ATLANTA, GA (Nov. 9) - Governor Sonny Perdue and Honda officials announced today plans to build a \$100 million plant in Tallapoosa, Georgia to produce automatic transmissions.


Russia #39;s Severstal makes formal offer for Stelco Inc. amid <b>...</b> TORONTO (CP) - Russia #39;s Severstal has made an offer to buy Stelco Inc., in what #39;s believed to be one of several competing offers emerging for the restructuring but profitable Hamilton steel producer.


Toll Rings Homebuilders #39; Bell Homebuilders strode upstairs Tuesday after Toll Brothers (TOL:NYSE - news - research) reported record fourth-quarter sales, citing strong demand from affluent buyers.


Boeing tanker deal unlikely The Pentagon #39;s top weapons buyer Tuesday said he expected officials to decide soon whether to solicit new bids for a multibillion-dollar deal to begin replacing the Air Force #39;s aging fleet of KC-135 refueling tankers.


Weekdays at 4:45 PM on Radio 990 in Manitoba More than 300 scientists from 15 countries, including Canada, have released a study that shows the pace of the Arctic ice melt is accelerating.


Football pays tribute to Hughes Friends and former Liverpool players have paid tribute to Emlyn Hughes, who has died from a brain tumour aged 57. Former Reds captain and manager Graeme Souness told BBC Radio Five Live:  quot;He was an absolute legend.


Spain unchanged for Davis Cup final MADRID - Spain has named an unchanged team for next months Davis Cup final against the United States in Seville as they bid to secure a second title in five years.


Clarett says Tressel committed major infractions NEW YORK - Former Ohio State star running back Maurice Clarett said he received improper benefits from head coach Jim Tressel and his brother and that he  quot;took the fall quot; during the NCAA #39;s investigation of the school in 2003, according to ESPN.


Lefty May to Padres in trade for Long With the rival Dodgers expressing interest in David Wells, the Padres yesterday traded for another left-handed starting pitcher, Darrell May, a move they said is unrelated to their attempts to re-sign Wells.


Squeezing jello in Iraq The much-anticipated US-led offensive to seize the Iraqi city of Falluja from anti-American Iraqi fighters has begun. Meeting resistance that, while stiff at times, was much less than had been


Taipei Opts for Wi-Fi (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - The city of Taipei plans to make wireless Internet access available throughout the Taiwanese capital by the end of next year.


Virtual PC 7 update fixes RAM-based crashes, more (MacCentral) MacCentral - Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit on Tuesday issued a patch for Virtual PC 7 that fixes a problem that occurred when running the software on Power Mac G5 computers with more than 2GB of RAM installed. Previously, Virtual PC 7 would not run on those computers, causing a fatal error that crashed the application. Microsoft also noted that Virtual PC 7.0.1 also offers stability improvements, although it wasn't more specific than that -- some users have reported problems with using USB devices and other issues.


Crazy Like a Firefox (The Motley Fool) The Motley Fool - Today, the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser officially launched -- welcome, version 1.0. In a way, it's much ado about nothing, seeing how it wasn't that long ago that we reported on how Mozilla had set its sights on chipping away at Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) Internet Explorer browser's ubiquity. However, the Firefox launch does bode mention, especially considering a top story from CNET today pointed to the fact that the MyDoom virus is back in action.


News: Boom times ahead for IT security profession Boom times are ahead for security pros. The information security workforce will expand by an estimated 13.7 per cent annually to reach 2.1m workers by 2008.


News: Trojan infects PCs to generate SMS spam A Trojan which uses infected PCs to send spam messages to mobile phone users has been discovered.


White House Wants Suicide Law Blocked (AP) AP - The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to block the nation's only law allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients die more quickly.


Stelco gets offer from Russian steel giant Stelco Inc. has received a takeover offer from Russian industry giant OAO Severstal at a time when Bay Street is awash in rumours about possible financing deals for the restructuring Hamilton steel maker.


GT4 Final Spec November 09, 2004 - Three years in the making, and Gran Turismo 4 is finally done. Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment and developer Polyphony Digital held a party in Tokyo today (forgetting to invite us


SC2004: PathScale Introduces World #39;s Lowest-Latency Cluster <b>...</b> PITTSBURGH, SC2004 SuperComputing Conference, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- PathScale, developer of innovative software and hardware solutions to accelerate the performance and efficiency of Linux clusters, announces the PathScale InfiniPath Interconnect.


Solar weather whips up Northern Lights show For about eight hours, an  quot;extreme geomagnetic storm quot; raged in the upper atmosphere, as high-energy particles emitted by the sun three days ago swept over Earth.


Talks on Nuke Fusion Plant End Without Decision  VIENNA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Talks on where to build the  world's first nuclear fusion reactor ended indecisively on  Tuesday, while the European Union toned down threats to site  the plant in France.


Newsday Replaces Top Editor  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tribune Co.'s TRB.N Newsday  newspaper, which got a new publisher in July after a  circulation scandal, on Tuesday replaced its top editor, Howard  Schneider, who was in the job for about a year.


Dow Slips, Nasdaq, S P 500 Flat  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The blue-chip Dow average declined  slightly, while the Nasdaq and the S P 500 were little changed  on Tuesday as investors waited for an expected quarter-point  hike in U.S. interest rates and results from technology  bellwether Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO.O.


Musharraf Says Bin Laden Trail Has Gone Cold -Post (Reuters) Reuters - The search for al Qaeda leader Osama\bin Laden has gone cold and there is no indication of his\whereabouts, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told the\Washington Post in an interview published on Sunday.


IBM cranks up client software push Big Blue fills out its Workplace initiative with bundles tailored for medium size-businesses and for specific industries.


HP unveils low-cost copier Streamlined multifunction device aimed at helping company gain ground in business copier market.\


Dow Dips, Nasdaq Up in Wait for Fed  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The blue-chip Dow average ended  slightly lower, while the tech-driven Nasdaq inched higher on  Tuesday as investors waited for hints from the Federal Reserve  about the pace of interest-rate increases on Wednesday.


Lucent, Unions Have Tentative Agreement  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Lucent Technologies Inc. LU.N on  Tuesday said it reached a tentative labor agreement with the  two unions representing about 10 percent of its work force,  ending a month of bargaining over a range of issues including  health care.


Oil Ends Nearly \$2 Down  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid nearly \$2 a barrel to  end at 7-week lows on Tuesday, as growing signs of ample supply  eased concerns over fuel stocks for the northern winter.


GM Gives Car Buyers 'Locked-In' Rates  DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. GM.N will offer  car buyers nervous about rising interest rates a chance to  lock-in today's low rates in a bid to boost its sluggish U.S.  sales, car dealers briefed about GM's new sales incentive plan  said on Tuesday.


California OKs Anthem-WellPoint Deal  LOS ANGELES/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - California's insurance  commissioner on Tuesday ended his opposition to Anthem Inc.'s  ATH.N proposed \$16.5 billion acquisition of WellPoint Health  Networks Inc. WLP.N after Anthem agreed to hike its funding  of state health projects.


SEC Probes Bank of New York Clearing Unit  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of New York Co. BK.N on Tuesday  said regulators are examining whether its Pershing LLC unit  cleared improper stock trades.


Fed Rate Hikes Expected The Federal Reserve is expected to nudge interest rates up for a fourth time this year on Wednesday, acting on the belief that the economy has finally emerged from an extended "soft patch."


Brown rules out pre-poll splurge There will be no pre-election cash giveaway, says Gordon Brown as he suggests he still wants to be premier.


DVD Rentals for \$15.99? As part of a special promotion, Blockbuster has cut prices again. But will it be enough?


Midway to Profitability Video game developer is moving in the right direction, despite an "unprofitable" image it needs to shake.


Fans Flock to Buy Sci-Fi Epic 'Halo 2' (AP) AP - There's a new media king, only he isn't on the radio or in the movies. His name? Master Chief. His role: Interstellar soldier and star of "Halo 2," one of the most anticipated video games ever.


LSU Star Leads Preseason All-America Team (AP) AP - Give Seimone Augustus the basketball and watch her go to work. Nothing is more comforting to the LSU Lady Tigers  #151; or more unsettling for their opponents. Augustus has tormented defenders for two years and the accolades have poured in. She received another Tuesday as the No. 1 choice on The Associated Press' preseason All-America team.


U.S. Will Deal with Iran When Group Meets in Egypt (Reuters) Reuters - The United States would deal with\Iran as part of a group of Iraq's neighbors that will meet in\Egypt this month, although Washington has no diplomatic\relations with Tehran, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on\Tuesday.


Lucent, Unions Have Tentative Agreement (Reuters) Reuters - Lucent Technologies Inc.  on\Tuesday said it reached a tentative labor agreement with the\two unions representing about 10 percent of its work force,\ending a month of bargaining over a range of issues including\health care.


Big Ben Knew He Would Be Good for Steelers (AP) AP - When quarterbacks Eli Manning and Philip Rivers were chosen before the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger No. 11 in April, he responded with words that bordered on anger and were wrapped with a promise to Pittsburgh: Play me, and I'll show you.


Report asserts Kazaa makes the rules Setting aside Sharman Networks #39; objections, an Australian judge accepted on Friday an affidavit with potentially damaging assertions about Kazaa #39;s handling of copyrighted material.


Government building in southern Russia seized in protest over multiple slaying (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) - Hundreds of protesters ransacked and occupied the regional administration building in a southern Russian province Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the region's president, whose former son-in-law has been linked to a multiple slaying.


Giant's Warner Knows Eli's Time Is Coming (AP) AP - Wellington Mara walked through the New York Giants' locker room and smiled when he saw the throng of reporters surrounding Kurt Warner.


Rapids Drop Head Coach Hankinson (AP) AP - The Colorado Rapids fired coach Tim Hankinson on Tuesday, two weeks after the team was eliminated from the 2004 Major League Soccer playoffs with a 2-0 loss to Los Angeles.


Cisco First-Quarter Profits Up 29 Percent (AP) AP - Cisco Systems Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter profits jumped 29 percent as the network equipment giant saw growth in its traditional routing markets as well as its emerging technologies like Internet telephone and home networking gear.


'Canes Confident Heading Into Va. Showdown (AP) AP - There's a certain swagger that typically accompanies the Miami Hurricanes, the only team to play in Bowl Championship Series games each of the last four seasons.


Accused Air India bomber told witnesses to 'keep their mouths shut:' Crown (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - VANCOUVER (CP) - An accused bomber threatened witnesses, telling them to keep their mouths shut about his involvement in an airline attack that killed 331 people, a Crown prosecutor said in closing arguments Tuesday.


ADV: \$175,000 Mortgage for Under \$730/Month Mortgage rates are at record lows. Save \$1000s on your mortgage payment. Free quotes.


Liberty Media reports robust 3Q sales and profit growth NEW YORK, November 9 (newratings.com) - Liberty Media Corporation (LB3A.ETR) has reported an eight-fold increase in its third-year profits, while the company #39;s quarterly sales more than doubled from the year-ago levels.


Toshiba Sues Hynix Semiconductor Toshiba Corp. on Tuesday said it has sued Hynix Semiconductor Japan Inc., accusing the company of infringing on Toshiba #39;s memory patents.


Infineon posts 4Q profit decline; sees chip market downturn ahead LONDON, November 9 (newratings.com) - The German semiconductor company, Infineon Technologies (IFX.ETR), has projected a downturn in the semiconductor industry next year, after reporting a 10 y/y decline in its profits for the fourth fiscal quarter.


Health Insurance Stocks Climb in Trading Health insurance stocks spiked in trading Tuesday after California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi withdrew his opposition to the merger between WellPoint Health Networks Inc.


Mercer seen remaining in MMC fold for now-analysts Marsh  amp; McLennan Cos Inc. #39;s Mercer Consulting unit, facing layoffs and a federal investigation, is expected to remain part of MMC because it is a stabilizing


Lucent, Unions Have Tentative Agreement Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it reached a tentative labor agreement with the two unions representing about 10 percent of its work force, ending


Cisco's Fiscal 1Q Profit Jumps 29 Percent Cisco Systems Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter profits jumped 29 percent as the network equipment giant saw growth in its traditional routing markets as well as its emerging technologies like Internet telephone and home networking gear. -AP


US, Airlines Agree on New Water Testing Guidelines (Reuters) Reuters - Most big U.S. airlines will more\frequently test and disinfect aircraft storage and delivery\systems to ensure water used for drinking and washing meets\federal standards, the government and industry said on Tuesday.


Teck Cominco to Appeal U.S. Pollution Ruling (Reuters) Reuters - Canadian miner Teck\Cominco Ltd. will appeal a U.S. judge's refusal to dismiss a\case over cross-border pollution of a lake on the Columbia\River, a spokesman said on Tuesday.


Arctic Melting Fast; May Swamp US Coasts by 2099 The consequences of such a massive meltdown of northern ice would be dramatic, according to the study.  Low-lying coastal areas in Florida and Louisiana could be flooded by the sea.


Fans flock to buy sci-fi epic Halo 2 #39; #39; There #39;s a new media king, only he isn #39;t on the radio or in the movies. His name? Master Chief. His role: Interstellar soldier and star of  quot;Halo 2, quot; one of the most anticipated video games ever.


Chartered Semiconductor To Manufacture AMD Chips Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Tuesday said it has entered a manufacturing agreement with Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in Singapore.


HP, Unisys, and SGI Intro Itanium Servers Intel #39;s Itanium gains ground as three vendors roll out new servers based on the processor. By Darrell Dunn. Systems based on Intel #39;s Itanium processor this week will gain ground in the high-performance server


Trojan horse drives spam into cell phones com November 9, 2004, 1:41 PM PT. Security continues to hold steady over software as the third top IT priority, with organizations busy coping with cyber threats, keeping up with software


Collisions in Gran Turismo 5 November 09, 2004 - Gran Turismo 4 has just finished its development cycle. While developer Polyphony Digital is still hard at work on Gran Turismo 4 Mobile and, possibly, Gran Turismo For Boys, we #39;re sure


Computer Associates Fires Latest Round in Spyware Battle Ken Dunham, Director of Malicious Code at iDefense, said he recommends both Adware and Spybot to his friends and family.  quot;We really haven #39;t had good comprehensive solutions to deal with these threats, quot; Dunham told TechNewsWorld.


Sony will release the Ultra Personal Computer in the USA At only over 1 pound, Sony #39;s VAIO U Ultra Portable PC is a full Microsoft Windows XP computer, on a form factor that resembles that of a PDA.


Astros Pitcher Roger Clemens Wins Record Seventh Cy Young Award Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros won the Cy Young Award as the National League #39;s top pitcher, becoming the oldest recipient of a trophy he #39;s won a record seven times.


Worsley misses Canucks FLANKER Joe Worsley has been ruled out of England #39;s Test with Canada at Twickenham on Sunday (Australian time because of a leg injury.


Wannstedt was one of the good guys Almost every single week I spend Monday morning reading the papers, watching TV and talking to my wife -- who is a great football fan.


Mutu sorry for his failings After testing positive for cocaine, former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu apologised on Tuesday and said he hoped to stay clean and be an  #39;example for youths #39;.


Rockies dump vice chairman McMorris The Colorado Rockies dumped vice chairman Jerry McMorris on Tuesday, ending a relationship with one of the team #39;s founding figures.


Playing catch-up with the future Every day they wait on Eli Manning here, the pressure percolates. Behind a crumbling offensive line and a suddenly tenuous season, there will be less and less patience for the NFL #39;s No.


Chelsea skipper Terry signs extension London, England (Sports Network) - Captain John Terry signed a fresh contract with Chelsea Tuesday that will keep him with the club until 2009.


House Democrats to Focus on Debt Ceiling (AP) AP - House Democratic leaders, consigned by the election to a minority role for another two years, said Tuesday they want to hold Republicans more accountable, starting with a vote on raising the  #36;7.4 trillion debt ceiling.


Dutch Mourn Murdered Filmmaker Amid Revenge Fears The Netherlands mourned filmmaker Theo van Gogh killed last week by a suspected Islamic militant, while Dutch Muslims rallied to urge reconciliation on Tuesday after a wave of attacks on mosques and churches.


Sudan, rebels reach Darfur accords The Sudanese government and rebels in the country #39;s Darfur region have signed security and humanitarian agreements in Nigeria after two weeks of talks, the press officer for Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo has said.


UN awaits Iran nuclear letter France, Britain and Germany reached a tentative deal with Tehran on freezing enrichment activities during talks in Paris over the weekend.


Rebels  #39;stage show of strength #39; Iraqi rebels seized the centre of the city of Ramadi and attacked police stations elsewhere as US-led troops continued their Falluja assault.


Protesters Ransack Russian Gov #39;t Offices Hundreds of protesters ransacked and occupied the regional administration building in a southern Russian province Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the


HP unveils low-cost corporate copier With streamlined multifunction device, tech giant aims to gain ground in business copier market.\


Microsoft settles \$536m antitrust SEATTLE/NEW YORK: Microsoft has said it will pay \$536m to Novell to settle an antitrust suit. It also resolved a 10-year dispute with a computer trade group.


FCC frees VoIP service from state regulations NOVEMBER 09, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - A voice-over-IP service from Vonage Holdings Inc. is not subject to the public utility regulations of individual US states, the Federal Communications Commission declared today.


Toshiba Suits Accuse Hynix of Patent Infringement South Korea-based Hynix said it would respond to the actions and take appropriate  quot;countermeasures quot; after reviewing the lawsuits more closely.


Marsh  amp; McLennan to Lay Off 3,000 The Marsh  amp; McLennan Company, the troubled insurance and investment company, said today that it would lay off 3,000 employees, or roughly 5 percent of its work force, as it moved to right


Fans throng for first shot at Halo 2 LOS ANGELES: It takes a special kind of person to stay up all night and stand in a line nearly 250 people long just to buy a video game - but for rabid fans of the first Halo on the Xbox video game console, it was well worth the wait to buy the new Halo


IBM tops supercomputing table A supercomputer being built by IBM for the US Department of Energy (DOE) has topped a list of the world #39;s fastest computers. The Blue Gene/L beta-system can perform 70,720 billion calculations per second, which


AMD signs up for extra 64-bit production capacity Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will use Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. #39;s manufacturing services to produce AMD #39;s Opteron and Athlon 64 processors starting in 2006, adding production capacity as the


Symantec plays-down security hole in Norton AntiVirus Symantec has admitted its flagship consumer security application, Norton AntiVirus 2005, has a security vulnerability that allows certain types of malicious script to infect a user #39;s personal computer with a virus.


E-mail commerce vs. politics Solving the nation #39;s spam problem will require a balancing act, legal and privacy experts said today in Washington, DC, at a meeting sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission.


David Beckham to act in a movie trilogy on Football Real Madrid star and England Soccer team captain David Beckham has already been an inspiration of a massive international hit movie Bend it like Beckham.


US-Led Forces Thrust Towards Central Falluja, Air Strikes <b>...</b> . US-led forces met heavy resistance in Falluja as they battled toward the heart of Iraq #39;s most resistant city on Tuesday, officers said.


Kohl blames greed for disunity with east economic troubles still plaguing reunited Germany on the 15th anniversary of the Berlin Wall #39;s collapse. the Wall fell, also admitted in a public debate he had made errors that were contributing


Liberty Media revenues, cash flow up Englewood-based Liberty Media reported increased operating cash and higher revenue for the third quarter of 2004. Liberty (NYSE: L, LMC.


Gold Up as Traders Worry About Inflation Gold prices rose to 16-year highs on Tuesday, spurred on by buy #39; #39; signals in technical price charts and fears that inflation, seemingly under control, could rise again in the months ahead.


Honda To Build Plant In Northwest Georgia ATLANTA -- Honda Motor Company will build a new auto parts plant in Tallapoosa in Haralson County in northwest Georgia. Officials with Honda and the state held a news conference in Atlanta Tuesday to announce plans for the \$100 million plant.


Video games get serious In my own case, the event is the release of Halo 2 shortly after midnight this morning. It #39;s the sequel to my favorite video game Halo: Combat Evolved, one of the best games ever made for


Teams vote for 19-race schedule, test cuts. The latest meeting of minds among the nine teams to have signed the Interlagos document detailing cost-cutting proposals has resulted in the ideas being carried forward to the point where they will be presented to the Formula One Commission.


Warner again underwhelming Kurt Warner #39;s woeful performance, combined with the Giants #39; enormous monetary commitment to Eli Manning, made their quintessential quarterback question inevitable in this  #39;What have you done for me today?


AMD Taps Chartered To Meet Chip Demand The Chartered announcement had been signaled when AMD and IBM extended a chip processing deal in September. While the deal centered on jointly developed technology, it also left AMD the option


Antivirus Subscription Prices Climb Price hikes may be designed to convince you to upgrade to an all-out Internet security suite. Troublesome Trojan horses, virulent worms, nasty viruses--sometimes it may seem like the Internet exists just to let the bad guys attack your PC.


Capital One Financial to Cut 750 Jobs Capital One Financial Corp., the holding company of Capital One Bank, plans to eliminate about 750 jobs as it shifts the majority of its production service operations to a U.S.-based supplier, the company reported Tuesday.


Screen shots: Invasion of "Half-Life 2" Valve Software is experimenting with a model that could substantially transform the video game business.


'Rocket' Clemens Lands Record Seventh Cy Young Award  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Clemens, at 42, became the  oldest Cy Young winner in Major League history on Tuesday,  claiming the award for a record seventh time.


McMorris Removed as Director and Officer of Rockies  DENVER (Sports Network) - Colorado Rockies vice chairman  Jerry McMorris has been removed from the team's board of  directors and also as an officer. The move came during a  meeting of the director and shareholders of the club's general  partner.


Conn. man charged with selling secret Windows code A 27-year-old Connecticut man was arrested today on charges he offered online to sell the source code for Microsoft's Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 programs.


Q A: Open Text CEO on wrestling with regulatory compliance IT managers are struggling to make sure their organizations comply with a raft of regulations on lean IT budgets, according to Open Text CEO Tom Jenkins.


A DVD Burner Too Far? (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - If you've got more of yesterday's videotapes than today's free time, and you'd like to archive all that footage to DVD before your VCR dies, Sony's DVDirect offers an easy, relatively affordable solution.


Oracle to drop PeopleSoft suit if tender fails Oracle has told a Delaware court that it plans to drop a lawsuit pending there against PeopleSoft if PeopleSoft shareholders don't back Oracle's tender offer by next week's deadline.


FCC frees VoIP service from state regulations In a ruling that could have implications for increasingly popular VoIP services, the FCC ruled today that a VoIP service from Vonage Holdings is not subject to the public utility regulations of individual states.


Intel delivers updated Itanium 2 chips Gunning for markets that have long been the domain of RISC-based systems, Intel yesterday delivered updated Itanium 2 processors with larger memory caches.


Review: Halo 2 GamePro reviewer says: This is about as easy an Xbox buying decision as there is -- just do it.


Belgian ECB board member warns over euro #39;s rise Brussels - Belgium #39;s central bank chief and European Central Bank (ECB) board member Guy Quaden added his voice Tuesday to those warning of the surging value of the euro.


US FTC Sues Firms for False Weight-Loss Claims As part of a renewed effort to curb false weight-loss claims, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday it has sued six companies that sold products ranging from cellulite cream to diet teas and patches.


Panel urges Washington to finance fast computer A panel of leading computer scientists warned in a report issued Monday that unless the federal government significantly increases support for advanced research on supercomputing, the United


HyperTransport consortium approves HTX expansion spec The HyperTransport Technology Consortium today announced the first HyperTransport technology expansion connector specification. The new EATX Motherboard/Daughtercard


Belkin debuts TuneBase FM for iPod Mini IPod mini portable music player users can power, charge and play the contents of their devices simultaneously while in their automobiles.


Emlyn Hughes KNOWN to players and fans as Crazy Horse, Emlyn Hughes was one of the most talented footballers of the 1970s, and almost certainly the most enthusiastic.


November's coolest gadgets from Japan Cutting-edge game units, TVs, satellite receivers, camcorders and more are introduced.


Oracle to drop PeopleSoft suit if tender fails Oracle Corp. notified Delaware's Court of Chancery of plans to drop a lawsuit pending there against PeopleSoft Inc. if PeopleSoft shareholders reject Oracle's tender offer. The notification is a sign that Oracle is serious about its current offer being the final one.


Study: Information security field to grow steadily WASHINGTON - The number of cybersecurity professionals is projected to grow at an annual compound rate of nearly 14 percent from now until 2008, according to a study released this week during the Computer Security Institute (CSI) trade show in Washington, D.C.


FCC frees VOIP service from state regulation A VOIP (voice over IP) service offered by Vonage Holdings Inc. is not subject to the public utility regulations of individual U.S. states, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declared Tuesday.


Exabyte adds new tape storage Exabyte has announced the release of the Magnum 1X7 LTO Autoloader, a 2U, rack-mountable, automated backup and restore system for less that \$5,000.


Antivirus Subscription Prices Climb Price hikes may be designed to convince you to upgrade to an all-out Internet security suite.


Cisco 1st-Qtr Net Rises 29 Amid Web-Phone Sales Gain (Update2) Cisco Systems Inc., the world #39;s largest maker of computer-networking equipment, said first- quarter profit rose 29 percent amid demand for Internet phones and devices that link homes to the Web.


Toshiba Sues Hynix for Patent Infringement Toshiba is taking action to protect its patents. The Japan-based company has accused Hynix Semiconductor of violating seven patents in the United States, including ones for DRAM, and three flash-memory patents in Japan.


UPDATE 2-Russia #39;s Severstal makes offer for Canada #39;s Stelco Russia #39;s OAO Severstal (CHMF.RTS: Quote, Profile, Research) made a bid for Stelco Inc. (STEa.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday, promising to take on the debts


Islamic School Set Ablaze in Netherlands (AP) AP - Suspected arsonists set an Islamic elementary school on fire Tuesday amid a string of attacks following the killing of a Dutch filmmaker by an alleged Islamic extremist.


U.S. Lowers Chinese Furniture Tariffs (AP) AP - The government on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Chinese bedroom furniture was being sold in the United States at unfairly low prices, but it scaled back the level of penalty tariffs.


The men who could replace Arafat Analysts say securing the popular vote is key for the credibility of new Palestinian leadership.


Tom Siebel plans to sell a portion of his company shares Siebel Systems Inc. founder Tom Siebel plans to sell up to 18 percent of his company stock over the next two years, the company said Tuesday.


Sanofi Wins Contract for Flu Shot Vaccine (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. government on Tuesday\awarded Sanofi-Aventis  a contract worth up to  #36;41\million through 2008 to ensure enough eggs are available for\future flu vaccine production.


Mozilla Firefox - setting the world on fire After a year in development, today is the day the Mozilla Foundation released their long awaited browser named Firefox officially launching version 1.0.


Is Microsoft taking dead aim at Linux? This fourth priority #39;s main focus has been enterprise directories for several months, but for many IT managers, ERP (enterprise resource planning) and open source initiatives are on the horizon.


Latest IE Worm Developed in Record Time While most security firms have designated the threat from the worm in the medium range, it is notable because of how quickly it was developed, Graham Cluley, technology consultant with Sophos antivirus, said.


D.C. Delays Vote on New Expos Ballpark (AP) AP - The District of Columbia Council delayed a vote on funding a new ballpark for the Expos, with Council Chair Linda Cropp proposing another new plan Tuesday.


#39;Rocket #39; Clemens Lands Record Seventh Cy Young Award Roger Clemens, at 42, became the oldest Cy Young winner in Major League history on Tuesday, claiming the award for a record seventh time.


Clarett Implicates Tressel, Ohio State In this week #39;s issue of ESPN The Magazine, controversial running back Maurice Clarett attempts to perform damage control with NFL owners and general managers concerning his image as the 2005 NFL Draft looms on the horizon.


Fans Calling for Tickets Get Sex Line (AP) AP - Charlotte Bobcats fans were in for a surprise if they dialed an NBA ticket number listed in a local phone book: Instead of getting seats, they were told to call a sex chat line.


The opportunities and dangers of the post-Arafat era Yasser Arafat #39;s increasingly imminent passing from the scene points to the end of a long and complex era that is best left for historians to assess.


Government buildings in Nepal hit by bomb blasts Two powerful bomb explosions have ripped through separate government buildings in Nepal, wounding at least 40 people. Authorities have blamed Maoist rebels for the attacks.


Correct description of missing man's shoes would have helped search: police (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - TORONTO (CP) - A man with the mind of a toddler who died after wandering off two weeks ago likely wouldn't have survived even if investigators had realized sooner that they'd already found a key clue to his whereabouts, police said Tuesday.


Moguls Match Up Over News Corp. Shares of international media giant News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSWI) fell nearly 4 yesterday following the company #39;s announcement that it adopted a  quot;shareholder rights plan


VoIP Gets A Boost From The FCC The Federal Communications Commission voted to bar state regulators from exercising key jurisdiction over VoIP. By W. David Gardner.


Tunnelbound NAB sees distant light National Australia Bank, capping off a horror year, unveiled a 15 per cent fall in annual earnings on Wednesday and warned against expectations of a quick fix for its myriad operational and cultural problems.


North Carolina formally announces Dell plant Governor Easley announced today that the computer maker is building a manufacturing facility somewhere in the Triad cities, creating at least 15-hundred jobs and investing 100 (m) million dollars during the next five years.


Gemstar-TV Guide Intl 3Q Financial Table  gt;GMST LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones)--Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. (GMST) posted a sharply wider third-quarter loss weighed down by a large impairment charge related to its TV Guide business.


Calif. approves Anthem-WellPoint merger California #39;s insurance commissioner said Tuesday he would approve the proposed merger between health insurance giants WellPoint Health Networks and Anthem.


Int #39;l Paper to Sell Woodlands for \$250M PORTLAND, Maine - International Paper Co., the world #39;s largest forest products company, has agreed to sell all of the 1.1 million acres of woodlands it owns in Maine and New Hampshire to GMO Renewable Resources LLC for \$250 million.


Kyoto Protocol not enough to stop warming: scientists REYKJAVIK, ICELAND - Canadian scientists at an international symposium on climate change say a new report shows the Kyoto Protocol agreement on limiting fossil fuel emissions is not enough to slow the potentially disastrous warming of the planet.


Partners Weigh In On Firefox, IE Faceoff Solution providers applauded the Tuesday launch of Firefox 1.0 as the first viable competitor to Microsoft Internet Explorer, even though they expect the browser #39;s publisher to face an uphill battle.


#39;Halo 2 Flu #39; Overtakes The Country As Game Goes On Sale NEW YORK - If there was an increase in the number of people who took the day off from work or stayed home from school Tuesday, it may not have been the flu that kept them at home and on the couch.


New MyDoom Variant Aims at IE Hole It #39;s time to face Doom yet again. The latest MyDoom virus variant is once again running amok across the Internet, according to reports from security firms.


Man Charged in MS Windows Leak The man responsible for selling portions of Microsoft #39;s (Quote, Chart) Windows NT and 2000 source code earlier this year was charged with one count of unlawfully distributing a trade secret by the US Attorney #39;s Office in Manhattan Tuesday.


\$1 million bond set for alleged spammer #39;s freedom Alleged spammer Jeremy Jaynes must pay \$1 million in bail for sending as many as 15 million junk e-mails a day and bilking recipients of millions of dollars, a Virginia judge ordered this week.


Ownership of Anti-Spam Measure Queried at Talks Internet companies have begun to change the way e-mail works in order to weed out spam, but experts on Tuesday clashed over whether the underlying technology should be controlled by any one company.


New species of fearsome amphibian uncovered? PITTSBURGH: A geology student on a field trip stumbled across the fossil of an oversized, salamander-like creature with vicious crocodile-like teeth that lived about 300 million years ago, paleontologists said.


Small Vendors Issue Security Challenge To Large Competitors Four vendors of application security products have created an alliance to challenge the ability of large-scale vendors--such as Check Point Software Technologies, Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks


Microsoft Plugs ISA Vulnerability Microsoft issued a patch for a vulnerability in its server software that could allow an attacker to spoof trusted Internet content.


Dolphins coach quits DAVE WANNSTEDT resigned today as head coach of the Miami Dolphins after the team sank to an NFL-worst 1-8 record. Defensive co-ordinator Jim Bates will take over as interim coach for the remainder of the season.


Clarke in, Katich out Rising star Michael Clarke has been named in the Australian cricket squad for this month #39;s Test series with New Zealand, replacing a luckless Simon Katich.


Names in the Game The Herminator is selling well, just not as well as The Terminator. An Austrian postage stamp depicting Herman Maier, the country #39;s first skiing star to adorn a stamp, sold out in just six weeks after it went on sale Sept.


Patient Describes Ankle Tendon Surgery BOSTON -- Curt Schilling #39;s injury is not common, but another man underwent the same surgery Tuesday. NewsCenter 5 #39;s Liz Brunner took an inside look at the procedure and what patients can expect afterward.


France #39;s Burden in Africa Letting Africans save Africa has become an operating objective for world diplomats. But that #39;s been difficult for one former colonial power, France.


Sunnis quit Iraq government A MAJOR Sunni political party has quit the interim Iraqi Government in protest over the US assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, the party #39;s leader said yesterday.


Madonna weighs in on Iraq Madonna made a rare foray into politics Tuesday, calling for her home country to withdraw its troops from Iraq during an interview with British radio, reports Agence France-Presse.


Vonage Dodges State Regulations The FCC decides that cable, phone and other companies offering internet-based phone services fall under federal jurisdiction. The company calls the ruling a victory for consumers.


Peru Rebel Leader's Lawyer Decries Access The attorney for Shining Path rebel leader Abimael Guzman said Tuesday he has been barred from visiting his client, who is being retried in a civilian court on terrorism charges.


The (mis)information age The online world has once again become a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, this time with allegations that last week's presidential election was rigged in favor of George W. Bush. Missing Links


Sun readies tools line for Solaris 10 Development tools for upcoming upgrade to Unix operating system will be coming soon.


Lawyer 'barred from Peru rebel' The lawyer for Abimael Guzman, ex-leader of Peru's Shining Path rebels, says he is denied access to his client.


Israeli Troops Kill Two Palestinians in New Violence (Reuters) Reuters - Israeli forces shot and\killed two Palestinians on Tuesday in separate incidents in the\West Bank and Gaza Strip.


Moody's Raises New York State Bond Rating (Reuters) Reuters - New York State and its bond investors\got some good news on Tuesday as Moody's Investors Service said\it raised the state's general obligation bond rating to "A1"\from "A2," citing a strengthening economy.


NBA Suspends Bucks' Fizer for One Game (AP) AP - The NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Marcus Fizer on Tuesday for one game following his guilty plea on a gun charge.


Liberty denies News Corp plot LIBERTY MEDIA, the second-biggest shareholder in The News Corporation, yesterday denied that it had any hostile intentions towards the media group - a week after it raised its voting


NAB profit down 20pc NATIONAL Australia Bank Ltd today became the first of the Australia #39;s big banks to report a fall in 2004 annual net profit and said the result reflected problems that had been accumulating for years.


EDS to file for Q3 report extension Technology services firm Electronic Data Systems Corp. plans to seek a five-day extension for its quarterly report from the US Securities and Exchange commission, according to news reports Tuesday.


SEC to Propose Tighter Exchange Governance (Associated Press) The Securities and Exchange Commission will propose soon a plan to tighten governance at the nation #39;s stock exchanges to ensure they are serving the public interest, SEC Chairman William Donaldson said Friday.


Int #39;l Paper to Sell Woodlands for \$250M International Paper Co., the world #39;s largest forest products company, has agreed to sell all of the 1.1 million acres of woodlands it owns in Maine and New Hampshire to GMO Renewable Resources LLC for \$250 million.


US Middle East reform initiative to hold first session in Morocco (AFP) AFP - A Washington-inspired project for Middle East reform will begin in Morocco next month by looking at ways of improving cooperation and strengthening political and economic reform, the foreign ministry said.


Innovation isn't the panacea it seems Innovation has become an all-purpose tonic, the default prescription for every pain associated with the retrenching American economy. Whatever the problem -- slower growth, global competition, fewer well-paying jobs -- innovating, we are told, is the solution.


Halo 2 heads out Following a flurry of midnight sales, one of 2004 #39;s most anticipated Xbox titles is in gamers #39; hands. Almost three years to the day after Halo: Combat Evolved first crash-landed onto the Xbox, its sequel has finally arrived.


HyperTransport Consortium Announces HTX Spec HyperTransport Technology Consortium announced today that is has approved HTX, the industry #39;s first HyperTransport technology expansion connector specification.


Boeing, Northrop Grumman to Team Up on Spaceship (Reuters) Reuters - Two aerospace giants,\Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp., said on Tuesday they\will form a partnership to compete for the contract to build


English League Cup: Arsenal 3, Everton 1 Italian teen Arturo Lupoli scored two goals to lead Arsenal past Everton 3-1 Tuesday, putting the Gunners in the fifth round of the English League Cup.


Mutu sacks his Romanian agents Romanian striker Adrian Mutu, who was dismissed by English premier league club Chelsea for taking cocaine before being banned by the Football Association last week, fired his agents on Monday.


Australia delays announcing lineup Australia delayed announcing its squad for the first cricket Test against New Zealand next week and Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming delayed his arrival in Sydney due to illness.


Report: Clarett Claims Cash, Cars Among OSU Benefits COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett told ESPN The Magazine that he  quot;took the fall quot; for the school during a 2003 NCAA investigation into the football program.


Schilling set for operation: Expected back in February Two days before results of the 2004 American League Cy Young Award balloting are to be announced, Red Sox stats, schedule right-hander Curt Schilling stats, news


The conflict without Arafat The imminent passing of Yasser Arafat will mark the beginning of a new era in the Arab-Israeli conflict. For a century, Palestinian national politics has been dominated by two men: Hajj Amin al-Husseini led


Mozilla considers desktop search integration for Firefox Having launched the much-awaited version 1.0 of the Firefox browser on Tuesday, the Mozilla Foundation is busy planning future enhancements to the open-source product, including the possibility of integrating it with a variety of desktop search tools. The Mozilla Foundation also wants to place Firefox in PCs through OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deals with PC hardware vendors and to continue to sharpen the product's pop-up ad blocking technology.


Browns Place Garmon, Bodden on IR (AP) AP - The Browns placed offensive lineman Kelvin Garmon and defensive back Leigh Bodden on injured reserve Tuesday.


Cisco Systems Earnings Rise, Stock Falls Cisco Systems Inc., the biggest maker of equipment that directs data over the Internet, on Tuesday said quarterly earnings rose 29 percent on stronger demand for its networking gear.


StreamCast asks Supreme Court to reject RIAA/MPAA requests StreamCast, which owns the Morpheus P2P Network has formally asked the US Supreme Court to reject requests made by the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to revisit lower court decisions


NBA suspends Fizer for one game following guilty plea on gun <b>...</b> The NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks guard Marcus Fizer on Tuesday for one game following his guilty plea on a gun charge. Fizer, who signed with the Bucks last Thursday, is currently on the injured list with a knee injury and out four to six weeks.


Legal Woes Swamp Marsh #39;s Quarter The aftershocks of October #39;s insurance scandal continued to punish Marsh  amp; McLennan (MMC:NYSE - news - research) Tuesday. Just weeks after it was hit with kickback and bid-rigging allegations, the New York


Several dead at Ivory Coast demo Several people have died after shooting at an anti-French protest in Ivory Coast #39;s commercial capital, Abidjan. Several witnesses told the BBC that French peacekeepers opened fire on a crowd of tens of thousands supporters of Ivorian government.


US troops meet fierce resistance in Falluja US troops today pushed further towards the centre of Falluja after a night of artillery and aerial bombardment of the city. The Associated Press reported heavy street fighting in the northern districts from


No Savior of League Lockout, Says 'Great One'  TORONTO (Reuters) - Wayne Gretzky is an ice hockey god to  millions of Canadians but even the "Great One" is unable to  offer a solution to the labor dispute now threatening to wipe  out the entire NHL season.


Cisco Systems Earnings Rise, Stock Falls  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc., the biggest maker  of equipment that directs data over the Internet, on Tuesday  said quarterly earnings rose 29 percent on stronger demand for  its networking gear.


Fusion reactor decision stalled Six nations planning to build the world's biggest nuclear fusion reactor fail to agree where to site the facility.


Microsoft Sees \$100 Million First Day for 'Halo 2' Game  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - First-day sales of Microsoft  Corp.'s MSFT.O new video game "Halo 2" will reach \$100  million, a senior Microsoft games executive said on Tuesday.


Attorney General and Commerce Secretary Resign From Cabinet John Ashcroft and Don Evans are the first members of President Bush's cabinet to leave as he heads into his second term.


Solid growth lifts Cisco fortunes Cisco Systems, the IT systems producer, records a strong start to the year with first quarter profits rising 29.


Halo 2 Rakes in \$100 Million It's the hottest ticket in town, as dedicated fans flock to retailers to grab copies of Microsoft's new video game. The opening-day sales figures catapult the sequel to the top of the entertainment heap.


Fumes 'not winter asthma trigger' Air pollution has been wrongly blamed for worsening winter cases of asthma, say US researchers.


Stress-free shopping with a seasoned pro Bring Jenny DiDomenico a list of 12 friends and relatives, and she could have your holiday shopping done for you in about two hours.


Aviation Key in Climate Change Battle -UK Report (Reuters) Reuters - Britain's Tony Blair must make aircraft\pollution a priority in his drive to confront the problems of\climate change, an expert parliamentary committee of peers said\on Wednesday.


Boston hospital mends its finances Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center this week plans to announce its first annual operating profit since the 1996 merger that brought one of the city's premier medical institutions to the brink of bankruptcy.


Cisco Systems Earnings Rise 29 Percent  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO.O, the  biggest maker of equipment that directs data over the Internet,  on Tuesday said quarterly earnings rose 29 percent on stronger  demand for its networking gear.


Amazon CEO Predicts Record Holiday Season  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Amazon.com chief executive Jeff  Bezos on Tuesday said the online retailer was poised for record  holiday sales, with MP3 players and digital cameras leading the  way as this year's hot gift items.


Palestinian Sources Say Arafat Dead, Others Deny  PARIS (Reuters) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat suffered  a brain hemorrhage on Tuesday and aides said he had died at a  French hospital, but confusion over his fate grew as officials  insisted in public that he still clung to life.


Currencies: Dollar firms on euro amid EU warnings NEW YORK The dollar firmed against the euro on Tuesday, finding support from a growing chorus of European officials expressing concerns over the rapid ascent of their currency.


Chambers: Modestly  #39;Pleased #39; As Cisco Profit Rises 29 Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people ) posted first-quarter results Tuesday, and investors are likely jumping like the firm #39;s financials: Profit rose 29, as the network equipper cited strong activity in both its traditional arenas as well as in


Embattled US insurer Marsh and McLellan axes 3,000 jobs NEW YORK : US insurance giant Marsh and McLellan Co., facing a lawsuit for allegedly rigging bids, announced it is cutting about 3,000 jobs, five percent of the global staff.


National Foods Suspends Discussions With SPC Ardmona (Update1) National Foods Ltd., Australia #39;s biggest fresh milk producer, ended merger talks with SPC Ardmona Ltd. so investors can consider Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd.


Gemstar 3Q Loss Up on TV Guide Devaluation Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. posted a much wider third-quarter net loss as it wrote off the remaining goodwill on the TV Guide magazine business.


Courting the Pentagon WASHINGTON As a corporate symbol, it #39;s hard to find anyone more all-American than Sammy Pence of Grand Prairie, Texas. With his cowboy hat and boots, and his bold stance in front of a helicopter painted red


NTSB warns of near airplane collisions On a clear day in Los Angeles last August there was a close call that almost ended in disaster. Tuesday, the NTSB released animation and radio transmissions, revealing a Southwest 737 cleared


Afghans Need More Help as Next Elections Near -UN  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The world must not neglect  Afghanistan now that its presidential election is over because  upcoming parliamentary and local elections will be far harder  to manage, a top U.N. official said on Tuesday.


The game #39;s no angel, but it #39;s got a halo VANCOUVER - A new computer game launched by Microsoft on Tuesday is graphic, violent - and wildly popular. Halo 2 is a console game where Master Chief,  quot;a genetically enhanced super-soldier, quot; battles to


Patch in for Microsoft server spoofing flaw A flaw in Microsoft #39;s security server software could allow an attacker to fool business users into thinking that malicious content can be trusted, the software giant warned on Tuesday.


Boeing, Northrop Grumman to Team Up on Spaceship Two aerospace giants, Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp., said on Tuesday they will form a partnership to compete for the contract to build NASA #39;s next manned spaceship.


Microsoft to Preview New Search Engine Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 at Microsoft Corp. #39;s annual shareholders meeting in Bellevue, Wash.


Conn. Man Charged with Selling Secret Windows Code A Connecticut man was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he illegally sold a secret source code used for Microsoft Corp. #39;s MSFT.


Fantastic fossil find by geology student PITTSBURGH - Paleontologists are hailing the discovery by a first-year geology student of a new species of amphibian, a salamander-like creature that lived 300 million years ago.


Israeli Troops Kill Two Palestinians in New Violence  NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli forces shot and  killed two Palestinians on Tuesday in separate incidents in the  West Bank and Gaza Strip.


Silverstone gets green light for GP next year The new broom busily at work in Formula One has swept the British Grand Prix back on the calendar. At a meeting in London described as unprecedented by F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone


Robinson #39;s captaincy completes cross-code revolution BAGSHOT, ENGLAND - Jason Robinson #39;s appointment as the first former rugby league player to captain England #39;s rugby side amply proves how the previously insurmountable gulf between the codes has been bridged.


Coaching change won #39;t help Dolphins win Here #39;s what you didn #39;t hear from the Dolphins on Tuesday: You didn #39;t hear anyone suggest this day helps them win. You didn #39;t hear anyone pretend this franchise is improved.


Ferguson sure that Fletcher will come good Manchester United #39;s Scottish international midfielder Darren Fletcher is expected to make a rare appearance against Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup.


Ohio State denies Clarett accusations Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has accused Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel and his staff of giving him cars, cash and improper benefits while he was enrolled at the University.


Drug test could cost Ireland its only Athens gold IRELAND looks certain to be stripped of its only gold medal from the Athens Olympics after the nations most popular horse, Waterford Crystal, tested positive for a banned drug.


Auburn #39;s BCS gripe understandable, but it can #39;t claim a tough <b>...</b> You know, I had a feeling I got ripped off by those landscapers last summer. It was like they didn #39;t even do any work. Guess I shouldn #39;t have hired those Ohio State football players.


VIEW: Arafats ghost Barry Rubin Rarely in history has a political movement been so deliberately set by its founder on a course towards chaos. Arafat not only left no successor, but also no order.


Iraq #39;s Sunni Clerics Call for Election Boycott An influential group of Sunni Muslim clerics on Tuesday urged Iraqis to boycott the first democratic election in decades in protest at a US-led offensive against the rebel-held city of Falluja.


Fusion reactor decision must wait The six nations planning to build the world #39;s biggest nuclear fusion reactor ended their latest meeting with no agreement on a site for the facility.


Fifteen years after the fall On November 9, 1989, jubilant Germans breached the ugly concrete wall that separated East and West Berlin. Soon the Wall began to disappear piece by piece, visible evidence the Cold War was over.


Islamic Rebels Behead 2nd Thai Buddhist Suspected Islamic militants beheaded a Buddhist laborer in Thailand #39;s tumultuous south, police said Tuesday, the second such killing in retaliation for the deaths


Afghanistan says hopes rise for release of UN workers Get INQ7 breaking news on your Smart mobile phone in the Philippines. Send INQ7 BREAKING to 386. KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan #39;s government said Tuesday that progress had been made towards freeing three


Aftershocks of a fender bender In Massachusetts, where the average annual auto insurance premium is nearly \$1,100 and drivers are involved in more accidents than anywhere else in the country, a claim for \$4,000 barely raises an eyebrow.


Deadly Clash in Ivory Coast as Mbeki Seeks Peace  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Gunfire killed at least 10 and wounded  hundreds in a clash involving French troops, protesters and  local security forces in Ivory Coast on Tuesday, the fourth  straight day of chaotic violence in the West African country.


Rocket Wins Record Seventh Cy Young Award (AP) AP - Clearly, sticking around the major leagues was a great career move for Roger Clemens. As dominant as ever after reversing his decision to retire, the 42-year-old Rocket easily won his record seventh Cy Young Award on Tuesday after taking the Houston Astros within one win of the World Series.


Healthcare price tag is coming your way Where would you rather have your baby delivered -- at a prestigious Boston teaching hospital or at a community hospital near your home? My guess is most people would opt for the teaching hospital.


Rockies Oust McMorris From Management (AP) AP - Jerry McMorris was ousted from the Colorado Rockies' board of directors and management, ending a 12-year relationship between the team and the man who controlled the franchise during its first decade.


Wizards, United Prepare for Showdown (AP) AP - The Kansas City Wizards and D.C. United plan to play the same scrappy style in the MLS championship game that they used to get that far.


IBM Plans Web Meeting Service, Takes Aim at WebEx  NEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM IBM.N plans to offer  Web-conferencing as a hosted Internet service, seeking to reach  small and medium-sized business customers while taking on more  established rivals in the market, the company said on Tuesday.


Will pocket-size Sony PC take on iPod? Consumers can take music, photos and movies on the road when Sony's Vaio U hits the United States next month.


Microsoft settles anti-trust case  2004-11-09  Microsoft has recently said that it had finally laid to rest the anti-trust case against it in the US, when it reached an agreement with the Computer  amp; Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the final group seeking to overturn its


TechBrief: States can #39;t regulate Net phones US regulators ruled Tuesday that providers of Internet-based telephone call services fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government and cannot be regulated by states.


From mouths of babes: What's hot, what's not How hot are the ''Hot Dozen quot; toys? To find out, The Boston Globe put six toys from the 2004 Toy Wishes magazine Hot Dozen list in front of 13 kids from the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club. The kids, from 6 to 8 years old, spent an hour last week playing with toys ranging from a Cabbage Patch doll to ...


Marsh   McLennan to Cut 3,000 Jobs (Reuters) Reuters - Marsh   McLennan Cos. , the\insurance broker at the center of a bid-rigging scandal, on\Tuesday said it will lay off 3,000 employees, or 5 percent of\its work force.


Microsoft to Preview New Search Engine (AP) AP - Microsoft Corp., stepping up its efforts to compete with rival Google Inc., will offer consumers a preview of its technology for searching the Internet, beginning Thursday.


S.Korea Says Warns North After Boat Intrudes (Reuters) Reuters - South Korea's navy sent three warning\messages to the North after a North Korean patrol boat briefly\crossed a disputed maritime border, the South Korean military\said on Wednesday.


Texas Performs 21st Execution This Year A former high school football star who helped abduct a man from the parking lot of a gay nightclub, then robbed and killed him, was executed on Tuesday in the 21st lethal injection in Texas this year.


By: Jon Wilcox The biggest game release in the history of videogames creates a highly entertaining if a little predictable experience... Its Halo on fire, going 130mph through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters


App-Firewall Vendors Challenge Rivals to a Test Saying that they #39;re fed up with some security vendors claiming that their products protect against application-level attacks, a group of application-firewall vendors on Tuesday will issue a challenge to Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.


IBM Plans Web Meeting Service, Takes Aim at WebEx (Reuters) Reuters - IBM  plans to offer\Web-conferencing as a hosted Internet service, seeking to reach\small and medium-sized business customers while taking on more\established rivals in the market, the company said on Tuesday.