Clemens, Houston stay hot Roger Clemens got his 326th win to tie Eddie Plank for 11th on the career list and the Astros hit four first-inning home runs to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2, yesterday in Houston and move into the wild-card lead with their 12th straight win.


Pollution harms developing lungs Children in smoggy areas have retarded lung development which puts them at risk of diseases, say researchers.


Burks still fighting for another chance to play For better or worse, Ellis Burks has all but committed to trying at all costs to help the Red Sox before the season ends. Burks, one of the game's most prolific righthanded hitters before two surgeries this season set him back, said he plans to decide by next week whether to try to play again this season. And, ...


Cost rises hammer Compass shares Shares in UK-based catering giant Compass slump 20 after the firm says higher costs are set to hit profits.


Showtime for ABC We like to think tonight's Patriots-Colts NFL opener (Ch. 5, 9 o'clock) is all about football. That concept will be put to the test when a tsunami of pop culture rolls into our living rooms during the pregame  quot;NFL Opening Kickoff quot; show at 8.


Milestones and streaks to watch for Packers QB Brett Favre is approaching several plateaus: his 13th 3,000-yard season would tie Dan Marino for most all time; should he lead the league in TD passes, he would break the record of four he shares with Johnny Unitas, Len Dawson, and Steve Young; Favre is tied with Marino (10) for most consecutive seasons with 20 TD passes.


Airbus boost to defence giant BAE BAE Systems sees profits rise as sales of aircraft at Airbus, in which it owns a stake, increase in the first half of 2004.


No flash in the plan Remember this amazing run of Patriots prominence. In decades to come, those who rewrite sports history are bound to tell the story with such poetic license that the record will have to be set straight.


Bank set to keep rates unchanged The Bank of England is set to keep UK interest rates on hold at 4.75 after five increases since last November.


Canada breezes along Jarome Iginla had two goals and an assist to lead Canada into the World Cup of Hockey semifinals with a 5-0 victory over Slovakia last night.


Tonight on TV MISSOURI (1-0) VS. TROY STATE (1-0) When, where: Tonight, 7, at Troy, Ala. TV: ESPN2 AP ranking: Missouri is No. 19 The line: Missouri by 10 1/2 Last meeting: 2002, Missouri won, 44-7 What to watch: Missouri QB Brad Smith completed 14 of 22 passes for 233 yards, threw three TD passes and ran for a 34-yard score in a ...


UConn still gets a kick out of women's soccer When people talk about sports at the University of Connecticut, the subject most likely is basketball. Men's or women's, it really doesn't matter, since both teams won the national championship last season. But there's another sport on campus that, although it doesn't grab as many headlines, is just as well respected in its circles.


BC plugging the gaps Boston College, which is organizing a youth movement on its offensive line, is counting on sophomores Shadu Moore and Jim Marten. They are young, but don't be surprised if the talented underclassmen block everything Penn State throws at them Saturday night at Alumni Stadium in the Eagles' home opener.


Abbey suitor sells stake in RBS Santander, the Spanish bank bidding 8bn for the UK's Abbey, is selling half its stake in rival Royal Bank of Scotland.


Cashing in at Deutsche Bank Vijay Singh's gift bag was without question stuffed more than anyone else's when he left TPC Boston in Norton following Monday's final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.


Keeping score around New England PROS Home security Rick Karbowski is a longtime golf standout from the Worcester area, so it was fitting that he stormed from behind to win last year's New England Open on a course he knew so well -- Pleasant Valley CC in Sutton. Now that it's time to try and defend the title, you can imagine that he's smiling at ...


Pro tours: The stops and the talk LPGA Event: John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic Site: Cedar Ridge Country Club (6,545 yards, par 71), Broken Arrow, Okla. Schedule: Tomorrow-Sunday. Purse: \$1 million. Winner's share: \$150,000. Television: The Golf Channel (tomorrow, 4:30-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 4:30-7 p.m.). Last year: Karrie Webb won her lone 2003 title, a nine-stroke victory on the Tulsa Country Club course. Last week: Cristie Kerr won ...


Boston South capsules BRIGHTON Coach: James Philip (eighth year, 10-48-2). Last year's record: 1-8. Returning starters (5): Donald Jeffrey, RB-DE, 5-11, 190, Sr; Garvin Jean-Bon, DB-WR, 5-6, 145, Sr.; Marvin Charles, C-LB, 6-1, 200, Jr.; Jermaine Bell, RB-LB, 5-10, 185, Jr. Returning letterman: Marshaunt Bowden, DE/TE, 6-1, 155, Jr. Strength: Running game. Weakness: Inexperience. Outlook: The Brighton Bengals and seasoned coach Philip have ...


The bus celebrates 70th The Globe's undefeated bus will celebrate its 70th anniversary this fall. The bus, originally penned by Gene Mack, made its debut in 1934. It will return on Mondays this fall.


EMass playoff schedule The divisional playoff games for determining the Super Bowl participants will be played on Tuesday, Nov. 30. All games will be played on artifical turf. The exact matchups and sites will be announced the day after Thanksgiving. The EMass Super Bowls will be held on Dec. 3-4.


Delta to cut 7,000 jobs Delta Air Lines said it would eliminate up to 7,000 jobs and US Airways said it would start charging passengers to make reservations by telephone or at an airport ticket counter.


Year-by-year leaders J.J. Sullivan gives Tyngsboro its first Eastern Massachusetts scoring leader. Following are the year-by-year scoring leaders for EMass. Year Name School Points 2003 J.J. Sullivan Tyngsboro 208 2002 Gerard Festa St. Mary's 199 2001 Jeff Ross Lowell 166 2000 Stephen Grillo Savio Prep 310 1999 Chris Piscione Chelmsford 168 1998 Brian Fabrizio Norwell 269 1997 Sharif Hartgrove Madison Park 210 ...


Bill to seek posting of results of drug trials Legislation to be introduced within days in the US House and Senate would require drug companies to publicly register clinical trials and post the results on a government-run website, congressional staff members who are drafting the proposals said yesterday.


Playing it smart At Madison Park, coach Dennis Wilson's  quot;MP Pride quot; chant isn't the only phrase that's sticking like peanut butter. There's a new slogan that's catching on at the school.


The one that didn't get away Good-bye, Frank Quattrone. The investment banker who became famous in money circles as one of Silicon Valley's main pipelines to Wall Street cash during the 1990s boom heard the bad news yesterday. A federal judge in New York gave him 18 months in prison, a slightly tougher stretch than the sentencing guidelines suggested. Expect the normal cycle of appeals, but ...


A snap response Cellphone users accustomed to using their phones to play computer games, listen to music, and take pictures now have something new to do with their wireless telephones: respond to magazine and outdoor advertisements.


Artificial heart maker seeking OK to sell device After 22 years of experimentation, the maker of the nation's first self-contained artificial heart yesterday asked the federal government for permission to begin selling up to 4,000 of the devices each year as a last-chance treatment for people with irreversible heart failure.


Cambridge lands major drug maker Dutch drug conglomerate Akzo Nobel NV is planning to set up a research laboratory in East Cambridge, joining a growing list of pharmaceutical firms that have established outposts to tap Greater Boston's biotechnology cluster.


Fidelity bowing out of Jumper Classic The Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic, which runs through Sunday in Hamilton, will be known by a different name next year. Fidelity Investments has announced that this is the last year it will sponsor the annual equestrian event that is celebrating its 15th anniversary.


Angels blanked by Jays Justin Miller allowed two hits over eight innings to outpitch Kelvim Escobar and lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 1-0 victory over the Angels last night in Anaheim, Calif.


Umpire out of bounds Tournament officials apologized to two-time champion Serena Williams for the faulty ruling made by chair umpire Mariana Alves during her loss to Jennifer Capriati in Tuesday night's Open quarterfinals.  quot;I told her she was a class act and how much we appreciated how she handled it, quot; Arlen Kantarian , the US Tennis Association's chief executive for professional ...


Pension plan disclosures urged Senator Edward M. Kennedy yesterday said he would press US pension plans to disclose proxy votes on the stocks they hold -- as mutual funds must now do -- in response to a government report calling for greater transparency in pensions affecting 100 million workers and \$4 trillion of assets.


Prices of oil slip on storm worries Oil prices fell yesterday after an early rally in jittery trading due to hurricane speculation and light volume.


Women encouraged to become players in video game industry Jennifer Canada knew she was entering a boy's club when she enrolled in Southern Methodist University's Guildhall school of video-game making.


Quattrone to serve 18 months Frank Quattrone, whose deal making made him an investment banking star during the Internet stock bubble and a multimillionaire, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for obstructing justice. The sentence makes Quattrone, 48, the most prominent Wall Street figure since junk-bond king Michael Milken to face time behind bars.


Bain acquires SuperPages Canada Bain Capital, a Boston private-equity firm, has agreed to buy the Canadian phone-directory business of Verizon Communications Inc. for \$1.54 billion. SuperPages Canada is the nation's second-largest publisher of phone directories. The deal includes online directories. SuperPages Canada had \$293 million in revenue last year. (Beth Healy)


Pounded by the competition, Frank #39;s Nursery set to close Before there was Home Depot for shovels and mulch, before there was JoAnn Fabrics for thread and ribbon, there was Frank #39;s Nursery.


Storms, fuel costs to take toll on JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corp. , a low-fare carrier flying mainly on the East Coast, said third-quarter profit will be lower than it expected because of hurricanes that forced flight cancellations in Florida and high fuel costs.


Teen charged over Sasser virus German prosecutors have laid charges of computer sabotage, data manipulation and disruption of public systems against student Sven Jaschan who has admitted writing the Windows worm.


Sven backs media boycott England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has come out in full support of his players #39; boycott of the media after the 2-1 victory over Poland.


Confident Germany Hold Brazil in Friendly Draw The German contingent in the 74,000-strong crowd that packed out the new look Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Wednesday night were pleasantly surprised to see a positive, attacking Germany team draw 1-1 with Brazil.


After 18 straight defeats, Mercury solves Sparks The Mercury took control early and pummeled Los Angeles 72-58 in front of 6,062 fans at America West Arena on Wednesday night. Phoenix (16-13) moved into a third-place tie in the WNBA #39;s Western Conference by knocking off the league #39;s best team (21-8).


Roddick will play Davis Cup There was a time when winning the Davis Cup wasn #39;ta goal for the United States -- it was an expectation. After recording a 3-2 win over Russia in the 1995 finals, the US was well


Pakistani Jets Attack Militant Hideouts Pakistani jets on Thursday pounded a suspected training facility for foreign militants in a tribal area near the border with Afghanistan, senior intelligence and military officials said.


Military Headset Reaches Masses Sick of screaming to be heard over your cell phone in noisy places? A software firm claims its new headset, based on noise-reduction research it conducted for the U.S. military, will virtually eliminate background-noise disruptions. By Elisa Batista.


IBM hails automation in database upgrade IBM on September 17 will ship the first major upgrade to its DB2 Universal Database data management platform in nearly two years, focusing on functional automation, advanced clustering and Web services deployment.


Accord Reached on Overhauling U.S. Intelligence The agreement will allow passage of a bill to enact the major recommendations of the independent Sept. 11 commission.


Clean Air Tech Has Ancient Roots A Georgia entrepreneur is working with a team of government scientists who believe that the solution to fossil-fuel pollution may be found in a nutrient-rich charcoal fertilizer discovered by South American natives centuries before Columbus set sail. By John Gartner.


Bill Seeks Civil Liberties Board Legislation introduced in the Senate to implement 9/11 Commission recommendations would create an executive-level board to investigate and advise on civil liberties and privacy issues. President Bush recently created a similar board with fewer powers. By Ryan Singel.


Wall Street Expected to Slip at Opening (Reuters) Reuters - Wall Street was expected to dip at\Thursday's opening, but shares of Texas Instruments Inc.\, may climb after it gave upbeat earnings guidance.


Wall Street Expected to Slip at Opening  LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street was expected to dip at  Thursday's opening, but shares of Texas Instruments Inc.  TXN.N, may climb after it gave upbeat earnings guidance.


At Least 50 Militants Killed in Pakistan Raids  RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 50 Islamic  militants, most of them foreigners, were killed by Pakistani  forces on Thursday in the South Waziristan tribal region near  the Afghan border, a military spokesman said.


'Few ready' for information act Public bodies are ill-prepared for the Freedom of Information Act, says a group of MPs.


U.S. Jets Bomb Insurgent-Held Iraq Cities BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. jets on Thursday pounded the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah and a northern town astride a major smuggling route, killing dozens of people in the two attacks, officials and witnesses said...


Car Bomb Near Embassy in Indonesia Kills 7 JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful car bomb exploded outside the gates of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday, killing seven people and wounding nearly 100 in an attack police blamed on al-Qaida-linked terrorists.    The blast flattened the embassy's gate, mangled cars on the busy commercial street and shattered the windows of nearby high-rise buildings...


Has Ken Jennings' 'Jeopardy!' Run Ended? LOS ANGELES - Has Ken Jennings ended his "Jeopardy!" streak? A report posted Wednesday on TV Week's Web site said the brainy software engineer lost in a show taped Tuesday, walking away after his 75th straight game with about \$2.5 million overall in cash and prizes. The magazine cited unidentified sources and said the show would air later this fall...


Delta clips its wings in Dallas The links between Delta Air Lines and Dallas reach all the way back to the carrier #39;s first passenger flight. On June 17, 1929, a six-seat Delta  quot;Travelair quot; flew from Dallas to Jackson, Miss.


Quattrone to serve 18 months Frank Quattrone, whose deal making made him an investment banking star during the Internet stock bubble and a multimillionaire, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for obstructing justice.


Oil prices decline further, despite Caribbean hurricane NEW YORK, September 9 (New Ratings) - Oil prices declined further today, despite fears of a hurricane in the Caribbean disrupting supply from the US offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.


WPP, Hellman each bid \$900/shr for Grey - reports LONDON (CBS.MW) -- UK advertising group WPP (WPPGY) (UK:WPP) offered \$1.25 billion for New York ad firm Grey Global (GREY) in a cash and share deal valued at more than \$900 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported.


Foreclosure rate still high Although fewer Utahns are falling behind on their house payments, the rate at which families in the state are losing their homes to foreclosure was the 10th-highest in the nation in the


Internet porn ban enacted for Phoenix libraries A legal battle could be brewing after the City Council enacted a new policy that bars adults from unrestricted Internet access to pornography on Phoenix library computers.


IBM #39;s New Storage Play IBM plans to announce today that it is getting into a fast-growing segment of the data storage industry that #39;s currently dominated by Hewlett-Packard.


Stem cells 'arrest brain damage' Newborn babies with brain damage could one day be treated by stem cell therapy using cells taken from their bone marrow, scientists say.


The Census Bureau #39;s New Economic Indicator NEW YORK - The US Census Bureau publishes 12 economic indicators throughout the year. Four cover manufacturing, four deal with housing and construction, two measure retail sales and two concern trade.


Windows service pack deadline extended Windows XP users have until early next year to update business systems and applications before the operating system #39;s Service Pack (SP) 2 is fully unleashed.


DNA fingerprinting no longer foolproof #39; Sep 09 - The genetic profiles held by police for criminal investigations are not sophisticated enough to prevent false identifications, according to the father of DNA finger printing.


Big blue Stinger challenges SMB rivals on price Next week will see the launch of the latest version of IBM Corp. #39;s DB2 database, codenamed Stinger, and focusing on autonomic computing and challenging rivals on price.


Iginla no longer missing Iginla, the NHL #39;s top goal-scorer last season, scored his first two goals of the tournament and added an assist to lead Canada to a 5-0 win over Slovakia last night.


Panis Takes Step Back Frenchman Olivier Panis has announced his retirement from racing in Formula One, although he will continue as a test driver with Toyota.


Jakarta Embassy Blast Kills Eight, Wounds Scores A powerful car bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta on Thursday, killing at least eight people in the vicinity and wounding more than 130, witnesses and officials said.


At Least 50 Militants Killed in Pakistan Raids At least 50 Islamic militants, most of them foreigners, were killed by Pakistani forces on Thursday in the South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, a military spokesman said.


17 killed in heavy clashes in northern Iraq Seventeen people were killed and some 50 others wounded in heavy clashes overnight between US-Iraqi forces and insurgents in Iraq #39;s northern town of Tall Afar, witnesses and medical sources said Thursday.


Death toll from Chinese floods nears 200; more storms expected The death toll from flooding and landslides in mountainous southwestern China rose to 177 on Thursday, as authorities warned beleaguered residents to brace for fresh storms.


Hamas militant killed by Israeli soldiers A member of Izel Dein al Qassam, armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), was killed by Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.


Bacteria Turn Toxins Into Plastic A team of Irish scientists develops a strain of bacteria that can convert a toxic byproduct of the Styrofoam manufacturing process into biodegradable plastic. By Rowan Hooper.


Worldcon Is Gateway to Big Time Science fiction and fantasy fans gather to celebrate their favorite genre and hand out Hugo Awards, which some writers have been able to convert into wider exposure. Mark Baard reports from Boston.


Law Fights to Keep Pace With Tech Federal and industry experts grapple with how to apply CALEA wiretap standards to something that lawmakers didn't anticipate 10 years ago -- voice over IP. Michael Grebb reports from Washington.


NASA's Genesis Capsule Crashes A capsule carrying samples of solar wind was supposed to be plucked out of midair by a helicopter, but its chutes apparently malfunctioned. Amit Asaravala reports from Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah.


Facing the Copyright Rap Including snippets of another artist's song in your work -- a popular rapper technique known as 'sampling' -- may violate copyright law, an appeals court rules.


New cabinet fails to squelch power-struggle talk (AFP) AFP - Prime Minister Tony Blair huddled with his cabinet after a reshuffle that reinforced his grip on the Labour Party, at least for the time being, ahead of an expected general election.


Japan's central bank keeps stimulative policy to aid economic recovery (AFP) AFP - Japan's central bank left its stimulative monetary policy unchanged, as widely expected, in a bid to support the current economic recovery and turn around years of price drops.


South Korea admits nuclear experiment in early 1980s (AFP) AFP - South Korea admitted that its scientists extracted a small amount of plutonium, a key ingredient for making nuclear bombs, in secret research in the early 1980s.


Israel Army Kills 4, Including 9-Year-Old, in Gaza  GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces thrust into the outskirts  of a refugee camp on Thursday, killing four Palestinians  including a 9-year-old boy, as the army tightened its grip on  parts of the northern Gaza Strip.


Darfur Rebels Say Peace Talks on Last Legs  ABUJA (Reuters) - Darfur rebels said on Thursday that peace  talks with the Sudan government had reached a stalemate and  were on the verge of collapse.


F1: Panis to quit racing Toyota's Olivier Panis will retire from Formula One at the end of the 2004 season.


Johnson Said To Be in Talks for Heart Device Maker Johnson   Johnson is in advanced negotiations to acquire Guidant, one of the nation's largest makers of devices to treat heart illnesses, for more than \$24 billion.


Smart bandage to help diabetics A smart bandage studded with sensors could help people with diabetes maintain good health.


Spacecraft Crashes With Solar Data Parachutes failed to open as NASA's Genesis space capsule plunged back to Earth on Wednesday, causing it to take a tumble from the heavens and bury itself in the desert sands of western Utah, perhaps seriously damaging precious cargo revealing the origins of the solar system.


DirecTV goes for more HDTV No. 1 US satellite television provider DirecTV Inc. says it will launch four new satellites to expand programming capacity, particularly for high-definition channels and interactive services.


New: Tellabs to lower Advanced Fibre price NAPERVILLE - Tellabs Inc. plans to lower its price for Advanced Fibre Communications Inc. to \$1.5 billion from the \$1.9 billion announced May 20.


Mars satellite finds clues to once-deep ocean It wasn #39;t anywhere near as big as Noah #39;s worldwide flood -- but evidence is pouring in from a Mars-orbiting satellite that a vast plain on the Red Planet must once have held a deep ocean bigger than all the Great Lakes put together.


US Open at a glance  MEN #39;S MATCHES: Rain suspended the two men #39;s quarterfinal matches. Roger Federer (1) leads Andre Agassi (6), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5; and Tim Henman (5) leads Dominik Hrbaty (22), 6-1, 7-5, 4-5.


Stay of execution or new lease on life? Going into the game in Poland, Eriksson was a man courting headlines for the wrong reasons. Indeed, following revelations about the his private life, and the subsequent capitulation of his team in Saturday #39;s


NFL concert will be on delay In order to avoid a repeat of the crotch-grabbing, breast-baring halftime show from Houston, the league is tightly controlling the concert that will be broadcast before Thursday night #39;s season opener.


Giants get 4 in 8th to win Denver -- Maybe the sidearm lefty missed his spot. Or maybe the Rockies found a clever way to bid Barry Bonds adieu for the season after he clobbered them with a .


Crew edge shorthanded Earthquakes Two in a row was just too much for the Earthquakes, without the likes of forwards Brian Ching, Landon Donovan, Dwayne De Rosario and goalkeeper Pat Onstad.


Indonesia On High Alert After Australian Embassy Blast Indonesia has stepped up security in the wake of Thursday #39;s bombing of the Australian embassy in the capital, Jakarta. Eleven people died, all Indonesians, after a massive bomb cratered the perimeter of the Australian embassy.


Israel Talks Tough to Arafat Silvan Shalom calls the veteran Palestinian leader a terrorist who has no place in the region. Arafat has been confined to his battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for more than two years.


Twins' Johan Santana Wins 10th Straight (AP) AP - Johan Santana had an early lead and was well on his way to his 10th straight win when the rain started to fall.


Dolphins' Bowens to Miss Opener Vs. Titans (AP) AP - Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tim Bowens will miss Sunday's opener against Tennessee because of a back injury.


SCH to sell 2.51 percent of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (AFP) AFP - Banco Santander Central Hispano (SCH) said it had instructed Merrill Lynch to place, on its behalf, up to 2.51 percent of Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBoS) equity with institutional investors.


TiVo, ReplayTV agree to limits (SiliconValley.com) SiliconValley.com - The makers of TiVo and ReplayTV digital video recorders have agreed to limit how long consumers can keep pay-for-view movies stored on future versions of the VCR-like devices.


New twist for McAfee: CFO Richards is retiring (SiliconValley.com) SiliconValley.com - Nobody could blame McAfee Chairman and Chief Executive George Samenuk if he didn't know exactly how to begin his speech to investors Wednesday in Boston.


JoS A. Bank 2Q Income Rises 75 Percent (AP) AP - Men's apparel retailer JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. reported Thursday that double-digit same-store sales gains, as well as continued strength in catalog and Internet sales, drove second-quarter earnings up 75 percent to beat Wall Street expectations.


Indonesia's Gen. Andi Muhammad Jusuf Dies (AP) AP - Gen. Andi Muhammad Jusuf, a former Indonesian army chief who played a pivotal role in the rise to power of former dictator Suharto nearly four decades ago, has died. He was 76.


Stocks Seen Lower After Greenspan  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks looked to open lower on  Thursday, a day after comments from Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan  did little to inspire investors and after Texas Instruments  Inc. gave a mixed business forecast.


Yum Brand's  August Sales Up  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc. YUM.N on Thursday  said sales at U.S. restaurants open at least a year, or  same-store sales, rose 5 percent in the four weeks ended Sept.  4, led by strength at its Taco Bell and Pizza Hut chains and a  rebound at KFC.


VW threatens to cut 30,000 jobs Volkswagen says it may need to slash 30,000 jobs if unions refuse to agree to pay freezes at next week's talks.


Seeking Quick Loans, Soldiers Race Into High-Interest Traps As easy-money lenders increasingly make service members a target market, military people have become trapped in a spiral of borrowing that can ruin their finances.


U.S. Pressure Risks Turmoil Across Sudan -Lawmakers  NAIROBI (Reuters) - U.S. pressure on Sudan's Islamist  rulers over Darfur will stir fresh separatist turmoil elsewhere  in the vast country and could torpedo peace efforts in the  south, a Sudanese parliamentary delegation said on Thursday.


Federer and Agassi Return to Battle  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer and Andre Agassi return  to battle at Flushing Meadows Thursday with their U.S. Open  quarter-final balanced on a knife edge.


Woosnam Disqualified After Closing Hole Debacle  COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Ian Woosnam, who missed a  chance to win the 2001 British Open because of the infamous  '14th club incident', again fell foul of the rule book when he  was disqualified from the German Masters Thursday.


Panis to Retire as Formula One Driver  MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Formula One's oldest driver  Olivier Panis announced Thursday he will quit racing at the end  of the season to take up a test role with Toyota.


Fed Chairman: US Economic Recovery Continues US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan Wednesday gave a generally upbeat economic assessment to a congressional committee, saying the US economy seems over the last two months to have withstood the trauma of sharply rising energy prices.


OPEC official reports unity on higher price target JAKARTA The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is united on the need to raise its oil price target to an average of \$30 a barrel, a top Iranian oil official said on Thursday, but the cartel has yet to agree on when to move its price range higher


German car sector faces autumn of discontent Labour conflict looks set to boil over in the German automobile sector in the coming weeks as car makers such as Volkswagen and Opel seek to impose rigorous belt-tightening measures as an answer to chronically weak demand.


Pathmark posts loss, shares slide Grocer warns on debt contracts, slashes full-year forecast, as it struggles with costs, weak sales. CHICAGO (Reuters) - Regional grocer Pathmark Stores Inc.


Prominent investment banker gets jail term Frank Quattrone, considered the most prominent investment banker of the 1990s technology boom, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.


Hurricane recovery sends jobless claims down The number of new people signing up for jobless benefits plunged last week, partly reflecting a tapering off of filings related to Hurricane Charley.


Rockwell Collins Sees 2005 EPS Up 17 Pct Electronics manufacturer Rockwell Collins Inc. (COL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday gave a 2005 profit forecast that was higher than Wall Street expectations as spending on defense


Nokia Raises Outlook, Shares Up Mobile phone maker Nokia raised its third-quarter sales and earnings forecasts on Thursday on the back of strong market demand, reversing a recent spate of grim outlooks and sending its share price higher.


Yum Brands posts higher monthly sales across all units Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) reported Thursday that estimated sales at US restaurants open more than a year rose 5 percent overall during the past month.


European Stocks Trim Losses Due to Nokia European shares pared losses after Finland #39;s Nokia raised its third-quarter guidance due to strong demand for mobile phones. Nokia shares rose 8.7 percent to 11.


ITV eyes 500m selloff ITV chief executive Charles Allen has earmarked assets for sale worth 500m, including the company #39;s stakes in cinema advertising and football clubs.


Airbus strength boosts BAE profits BAE Systems, Europe #39;s largest defence firm, has reported a 4.5 percent rise in underlying operating profit, buoyed by higher Airbus plane deliveries.


New York Leads US in Taxes, Tennessee Is Last New Yorkers pay the highest state and local taxes in the nation, shelling out nearly \$131 for every \$1,000 of income in 2002, according to a new study.


Hanging with the horses When the Colts run EDGE: Patriots Speculation swirled all summer about tailback Edgerrin James returning to Miami  #151; where he lives and starred in college  #151; to fill the void left by Ricky Williams #146;s unexpected retirement from the Dolphins. Whether there #146;s any substance to the rumors remains to be seen. This  #145; #145;distraction #146; #146; may be good news for the Colts. If ...


Repeat bears watching The Patriots know firsthand how hard it is to repeat. They have studied why they finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs in 2002 after winning their first Super Bowl.


Connecticut-based company engineered parachute system SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. -- The parachute re-entry system for the failed Genesis space capsule was one of several projects designed and developed by a Connecticut-based aerospace company.


IDF 2004: Day 1 Coverage On Tuesday of this week the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) got off to a great start after Paul Otellini took the stage and officially kicked off the Fall 2004 forum.


Echo of the Presidential Campaign For a group that promotes the benefits of offshore outsourcing and the need to import foreign workers under the H-1B visa program, the nation #39;s largest IT trade group seems to be providing fodder for the John Kerry campaign.


Blackberry gets svelte with new model The 7100t has a mobile phone, e-mail, instant messaging, Web browsing and functions as an organiser. The device looks like a mobile phone and has the features of the other BlackBerry models, with a large screen


Sybase Offers Free Database for Linux In a bid to expand the customer base for its database software, Sybase this week released a free, limited version of its software for deployment on Linux systems.


Delete records, or profile the whole UK, says DNA print pioneer The scientist who pioneered DNA fingerprinting has warned of the increasing danger of false positives as the use of the technique becomes more widespread.


Microsoft gives businesses more time to test SP2 Microsoft has doubled the period of time it will allow business users of Windows XP to delay installing Service Pack 2. Customers who wished to avoid having systems updated while they were testing the upgrade


Panasonic DVD Recorder Gets Connected Panasonic aims to be the first consumer electronics manufacturer to release a high-end DVD recorder that offers network connectivity.


P2P jail bill moves forward HR.4077, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act, has been approved by the United States #39; House Judiciary Committee. The bill specifies up to five years #39; jail for anyone making over a thousand copyrighted works available for download.


IBM seeks to ease database burden IBM next week will release a major revision of its DB2 database, providing fresh ammunition in the ongoing battle for supremacy in the database marketplace.


O2 unveils two new XDA models Bolstering its XDA product line, O2 unveils the XDA IIs and IIi models - both offering a vast array of advanced features including quad-band GSM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, SDIO and more.


German teenager indicted over Sasser worm Prosecutors in Verden, Germany, indicted an 18-year-old student on Wednesday for allegedly creating the Sasser worm that crashed hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide


Savvis outed as spam host Savvis, the big corporate-focused US ISP, has promised to remove spammers from its books following pressure from anti-spam group Spamhaus.


US Open Tennis: Williams gets apology for bad calls NEW YORK Since two days before the US Open began, when Serena Williams wore a jean miniskirt for an exhibition match, she has been the talk of the tournament.


Canada Advances to World Cup Hockey Semifinals Canada has advanced to the semifinals of the World Cup of ice Hockey with a 5-0 victory over Slovakia. Jarome Iginla had two goals and an assist Wednesday in Toronto.


Hughes: Referee Over-Reacted Northern Ireland midfielder Michael Hughes today insisted his challenge on Robbie Savage merited only a booking, not a red card. Hughes is due to miss the next World Cup qualifier against


US Men #39;s Soccer Team Plays Panama to 1-1 Draw The US men #39;s soccer team has played Panama to a 1-1 draw in Panama City in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. Roberto Brown found the net first for Panama in the 71st minute Wednesday as the hosts outshot


Jakarta embassy blast kills eight A powerful car bomb has exploded outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 130 in an attack


Russia warns terrorists A top Russian general yesterday warned the military will strike  quot;terrorist bases in any region of the world, quot; while authorities offered a reward equivalent to \$13.


Seoul tells of 1982 test to extract plutonium SEOUL A week after admitting that government scientists enriched tiny amounts of uranium four years ago, the South Korean government revealed on Thursday that scientists in 1982 conducted an experiment in plutonium extraction at a state-run research


National news briefs MIAMI - A teen whose life sentence in the beating death of a 6-year-old playmate was thrown out on appeal went before a judge yesterday on charges he violated his probation by walking around late at night with a pocket knife.


Nazi murder trial opens An 86-year-old Nazi war crimes suspect charged with the killings of 164 Slovak villagers during World War II denied as his trial opened Thursday that he was involved in the shootings of women or children.


Greenspan: Economy gains force The Fed chairman delivers a modestly upbeat prognosis that may signal an interest rate increase before Election Day. BY JEANNINE AVERSA.


Win lifts Mundine title bid Anthony Mundine #39;s hopes of another shot at the WBA world super middleweight title have been boosted after he won his first bout since losing the title.


Panis retires - but agrees new deal with Toyota. Olivier Panis has today announced that he is to retire as a Formula 1 race driver after the 2004 season finale in Brazil. However, Panis has signed a new two-year deal with Panasonic Toyota Racing, which will


Intel Heralds Dual-Core Pentium M SAN FRANCISCO -- Intel continued its charge into its wireless future with news of its next generation Pentium M processor. Based on the 65-nanometer process technology, Intel is working on its  quot;Napa quot; platform


IBM  quot;Stinger quot; release pushes .NET, Linux support IBM is launching the next version of its DB2 Universal Database, code-named Stinger, touting new autonomic features and .NET developer tools.


Russia Criticizes West Over Chechen Asylum Russia #39;s foreign minister criticized Western countries for granting asylum to Chechen separatists, who Moscow blames from last week #39;s bloody school hostage taking, saying the practice


Football: England Beats Poland in 2006 World Cup Qualifier England has eased the pressure on national football coach Sven-Goran Eriksson with a 2-1 win over Poland in a European qualifying match for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.


Hauritz to ask Miller for advice Nathan Hauritz, recalled to the Test squad for next month #39;s highly anticipated tour of India despite his uninspiring recent form, wants to talk to former off-spinning tourists Gavin Robertson


Jrme dAmbrosio  My race in Albi Four is his number! The Belgian driver finished 4th in both his races and still stands 4th in the drivers championship. Will 3 be his lucky number in the next round?


Lenders and U.S. Tighten Screws on Struggling Airlines The federal government, banks and aircraft lenders are putting the clamps on airlines, particularly those operating under bankruptcy protection.


High security for Afghan ceremony Tight security is in place in the Afghan capital Kabul as Hamid Karzai prepares to be sworn in as president.


Plunging Delta slashes jobs DELTA Air Lines yesterday announced a massive restructuring plan that would cut 6000 to 7000 jobs and slash more costs, but nonetheless warned that bankruptcy remained  quot;a real possibility quot;.


Greenspan says economy shows  #39;some traction #39; WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday the economy has  quot;regained some traction quot; after a late spring slowdown caused largely by high oil prices.


Global Markets: Europe Shares Fall European shares fell on Thursday, despite a boost for tech shares as Nokia upped its third quarter outlook as investors worried about global growth and headed into euro zone and US government bonds.


Nokia: 3Q Profits Will Beat Predictions Nokia said Thursday its third-quarter revenue and profits would be better than expected, citing an increase in mobile phone sales.


Taco Bell boosts Yum #39;s August sales Yum Brands Inc. said Thursday sales at US restaurants open at least a year, or same-store sales, rose 5 percent in the four weeks ended Sept.


BAE Systems interim profits boosted by US arm, Airbus LONDON : The British defence and aerospace giant BAE Systems posted an 18 percent rise in interim headline profits on the back of a strong performance in North America and by airplane maker Airbus.


Intel #39;s Dual-Core Chips Debut SAN FRANCISCO -- Intel outlined its plans for a dual-core mobile processor and platform technology this week, but declined to provide any details about the dual-core future of its flagship Pentium 4 desktop processor.


ITV says advertising picking up ITV has reported a sharp increase in half-year profits and says advertising revenue growth is accelerating. The firm, which controls more than half


BAE First-Half Loss Widens on Goodwill Writedowns (Update4) BAE Systems Plc, Europe #39;s largest defense company, said its first-half loss widened as it wrote down goodwill in its avionics and defense-electronics units.


IBM to Roll Out New Two-Way Opteron Server IBM later this month will begin shipping the second generation of its two-way server powered by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. #39;s 64-bit Opteron processor.


Mundine didn #39;t scare me ANTHONY MUNDINE gave one of the most electrifying performances of his career to stop Sean Sullivan at the Whitlam Centre on Wednesday night - but his next opponent hardly seemed overwhelmed.


Quattrone sentenced to 18 months in jail A federal judge slammed former Wall Street banking star Frank P. Quattrone with an 18-month prison sentence for obstructing a federal securities investigation, ruling that the


UK Helicopter Crashes in Czech Republic, Crew Reported Dead A British Army helicopter crashed in the Czech Republic during a military exercise, Czech Army spokeswoman Sabina Introvicova said.


Soccer / France, Greece and England are looking for first <b>...</b> For France, England and Greece, tonight #39;s World Cup qualifiers will provide an opportunity to redeem themselves less than a week after disappointing games in their opening matches of the 2006 World Cup campaign.


Europeans have plenty pedigree, insists Monty COLIN Montgomerie believes the strength in depth of the European Ryder Cup team will give captain Bernhard Langer more flexibility than any of his predecessors when the 2004 match begins next week.


Basketball star Gary Payton arrested in DUI case last month LOS ANGELES Basketball star Gary Payton was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence two weeks ago. The California Highway Patrol says Payton was stopped on August 28th after an officer saw him


Four Chinese injured in explosion outside Australian embassy in <b>...</b> Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said here Thursday that four Chinese company staff were injured in a car bomb explosion which happened outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta Thursday morning.


We killed 50 foreign militants at training camp, says Pakistan Pakistani jets killed 50 people as they pounded a suspected training facility for foreign militants today in tribal South Waziristan, senior intelligence and military officials said.


WMD suspect vows to fight  #39;tooth and nail #39; The owner of a Randburg engineering company and one of his engineers appeared in the Vanderbijlpark regional court on Thursday on charges under the Nuclear Energy Act and Weapons of Mass Destruction Act.


Replay likely, but here #39;s to mistakes New York -- On a rainy Wednesday at the US Open, Serena Williams got a phone call from Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of the United States Tennis Association.


European powers wary of more slip-ups LONDON, SEPTEMBER 7: Some of Europes major powers including newly-crowned champions Greece, France and England, will be looking to improve on Saturdays disappointing results when they play their second World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday.


Healy gets Dad #39;s backing David Healy #39;s dad Clifford said that he could not believe it when he saw his son sent off for his celebrations during the 2-2 draw with Wales.


US soccer ties Panama United States, Panama tie: Cobi Jones scored two minutes into second-half injury time, and the United States escaped with a 1-1 tie against Panama in a World Cup qualifier last night in Panama City.


Six British soldiers killed in chopper crash Six British soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash in the Czech Republic, a Czech Defence Ministry spokesman says. Andrej Cirtek said the soldiers had been participating in a Czech


India to build oil pipeline to Nepal India is to build a pipeline into Nepal to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products in the Himalayan nation torn by an increasingly violent Maoist insurgency, an oil official said on Thursday.


Qantas buoyed by sale QANTAS yesterday shrugged off the exit of its major shareholder, with the stock buoyed by the prospect of more international alliances now that British Airways is off its share registry.


German car sector faces autumn of discontent FRANKFURT : Labour conflict looks set to boil over in the German automobile sector in the coming weeks as car makers such as Volkswagen and Opel seek to impose rigorous belt-tightening measures as an answer to chronically weak demand.


Rockwell Backs 2004 Earnings View Rockwell Collins Inc., a maker of aircraft electronics, on Thursday backed its full-year earnings estimate and put its fiscal 2005 expectations above Wall Street views in anticipation of improved margins in its commercial segment and lower benefits


Nokia Says Price Cuts Have Helped Boost Market Share (Update3) Nokia Oyj, the world #39;s biggest mobile- phone maker, said price reductions have helped it regain some of the handset market share it lost earlier this year.


Yum Brand #39;s August Sales Up Yum Brands Inc. (YUM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday said sales at US restaurants open at least a year, or same-store sales, rose 5 percent in the four weeks ended Sept.


Santander to sell up to 79 million RBS shares SPAINS Santander Central Hispano is to sell up to 79 million shares in Royal Bank of Scotland, and said it will end cross-directorships with RBS if its bid for Abbey National is successful.


ITV says advertising growth accelerating LONDON : Britain #39;s largest commercial television network ITV comfortably beat profit forecasts in the first half of this year and said advertising revenues rose 4.9 percent year-on-year, the best performance since 2000.


IBM Throws An Opteron Party IBM on Thursday unveiled its second Advanced Micro Devices Opteron-based server, which the company hopes is ready for when AMD releases its dual-core processors.


Intel adds Sonoma and Napa to mobile roadmap Intel has showcased the next two generations of its notebook platforms, and revealed how it intends to extend battery life in the future.


Sybase offers free ASE license for Linux Sybase Inc. is trying to lure businesses seeking low-cost open source DBMS alternatives by offering a free production license for its Adaptive Server Enterprise Express Edition on Linux.


Brilliant Digital and Altnet Sue the RIAA Kazaa and Grokster, which belongs to the large FastTrack network, uses the UUHash hashing mechanism to verify files. Its main advantage is that it allows large files to be checked very quickly.


IBM Releases New Linux-Oriented Database Software (Reuters) Reuters - International Business Machines\Corp.  late on Wednesday rolled out a new version of its\database software aimed at users of Linux and Unix operating\systems that it hopes will help the company take away market\share from market leader Oracle Corp. .


Nokia Raises Outlook, Shares Up (Reuters) Reuters - Mobile phone maker Nokia raised its\third-quarter sales and earnings forecasts on Thursday on the\back of strong market demand, reversing a recent spate of grim\outlooks and sending its share price higher.


Russia Slams West for Double Standards on Beslan (Reuters) Reuters - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov\accused the West of double standards on terrorism in the wake\of his country's bloodiest hostage crisis, highlighting a\growing rift over the issue between the former Cold War foes.


Treasuries Lower on Jobless Drop (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. Treasury debt prices cut early\gains but remained narrowly higher after the government said\that new claims for jobless insurance fell in the latest week.


Price Cuts Propel UK Sales of Xbox, PS2 (Reuters) Reuters - Last month's back-to-back price cuts by\Sony Corp (6758.T) and Microsoft Corp  have boosted\sales of their PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles in\Britain, retail sources said on Thursday.


Jobless Claims Fall Sharply to 319,000 (AP) AP - The number of new people signing up for jobless benefits plunged last week, partly reflecting a tapering off of filings related to Hurricane Charley.


Real's Music Deal Ends (PC World) PC World - Online store will continue to offer certain songs at low prices, company says.


In Western Europe, Poor Children Kept as Thieves (Reuters) Reuters - The theft follows a simple pattern. A\little girl asks a customer in a shop for help reaching\something on a shelf, and while he or she is distracted another\child steals a wallet or cash from their pocket or bag.


Samsung Cell Phones to Get Tiny Hard Drive (AP) AP - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has announced the world's first mobile phone to sport a tiny hard drive. With the built-in 1-inch, 1.5-gigabyte hard disk, the SPH-V5400 could store about 15 times more data than conventional handsets  #151; everything from digital music files and photos to video, Samsung said.


U.S. Stocks Near Flat After Nokia Boost (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. stocks were little changed on\Thursday after cell phone maker Nokia Corp.  raised its\earnings forecast and weekly jobless claims fell more than Wall\Street's forecast.


Pair of Linux Holes Put Users at Risk (Ziff Davis) Ziff Davis - Researchers claim attackers can exploit security vulnerabilities in components used to view graphics and handle archives to take over a Linux system.


Baseball Today (AP) AP - Houston at Pittsburgh (5:05 p.m. EDT). Carlos Hernandez starts the first game of a doubleheader for the Astros, who have won 12 straight.


Moonlight Special (Forbes.com) Forbes.com - It's rare, but sometimes a good manager at an expensive load fund can be found making a little extra money on the side by also running a cheaper, comparable no-load fund. In fund argot, this moonlighting is called "subadvising." Why not go for the cheaper fund where the hotshot manager does extra duty? Especially when the second fund's performance mirrors or even exceeds the star manager's marquee fund.


US classifies Sudan atrocities as genocide, seeks through UN probe (AFP) AFP - US Secretary of State Colin Powell classified the atrocities in Sudan's troubled Darfur region as genocide and called on the United Nations to launch a thorough probe into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.


Jobless Claims Slump, Import Prices Jump  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. initial jobless claims slumped  last week but the outcome was heavily influenced by weather,  while soaring petroleum prices in August powered the cost of  imports to an 18-month high.


Huge pileup on Montreal highway kills one person and injures six others (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - MONTREAL (CP) - Flames shot several metres into the sky as a major pileup involving several semi-trailers killed one person Thursday, injured six others and caused traffic chaos on a busy highway.


Retief Goosen Five Shots Back in Japan (AP) AP - Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen shot a par-70 Thursday in the opening round of the Suntory Open, leaving him five strokes behind leaders Scott Laycock of Australia and Y.E. Yang of South Korea.


Treasuries Lower on Jobless Drop  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices cut early  gains but remained narrowly higher after the government said  that new claims for jobless insurance fell in the latest week.


Serbs in Dispute Over Darwin Vs. Divine (AP) AP - Charles Darwin's evolution theory is out of Serb schools. The Bible is in.


Scientists See Success Relocating Palila (AP) AP - Scientists have found two separate breeding pairs of palila nearly a year after the endangered birds were reintroduced to the northern slopes of Mauna Kea.


Maine Slated to Get Advanced Microscope (AP) AP - The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor is awaiting delivery next year of what may be the world's most advanced microscope, a  #36;1 million machine it will share with other members of a Maine scientific consortium.


New Wave of Croakers Wash Ashore in Va. (AP) AP - Thousands of croakers have washed ashore at beaches in recent days, the latest mass deaths of the popular sport and food fish.


Genesis Crash Adds to NASA Post-Columbia Troubles (Reuters) Reuters - With NASA's broken Genesis capsule\stuck in the Utah desert and its shuttle assembly building\battered by a hurricane at Cape Canaveral, the U.S. space\agency defended its budget and mission on Wednesday.


Iran: OPEC United on Raising Price Target  JAKARTA/DUBAI (Reuters) - OPEC is united on the need to  raise its oil price target to an average \$30 a barrel, but the  cartel has yet to agree on when to implement the higher level,  a top Iranian oil official said on Thursday.


Health Insurance Premiums Rise 11 Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose 11.2 percent this year, registering the fourth consecutive double-digit annual increase and pushing the cost of family coverage under the most common type of plan past \$10,000, according to a new survey.


Weekly Jobless Claims Fall Sharply The number of new people signing up for jobless benefits plunged last week, partly reflecting a tapering off of filings related to Hurricane Charley.


China Accused of Unfair Trade Policies A group of industry, farm and labor groups, seeking to put pressure on the Bush administration before the presidential election, petitioned the government on Thursday to file an unfair trade practices case against China.


Gore: Cheney 'Wrong Choice' Remark Sleazy (AP) AP - Al Gore on Thursday described Vice President Dick Cheney's remark that "the wrong choice" by voters could result in another terrorist attack as "a sleazy and despicable effort to blackmail voters with fear."


Md. Geologist Completes Sinkhole Study (AP) AP - A geologist who spent four years traipsing in and around Frederick has mapped areas most likely to develop sinkholes  #151; depressions in the earth that appear suddenly, swallowing cars and homes.


Some see Cheney's terror remark as 'fear strategy' (USATODAY.com) USATODAY.com - Vice President Cheney was not campaigning Wednesday, but his suggestion a day earlier that electing John Kerry would risk a "devastating" terrorist attack kept agitating the political arena.


Developer Wins Victory in WTC Case  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York developer hoping to rebuild  the destroyed World Trade Center on Monday won a major victory  against his insurers, when a jury decided the hijacked airline  attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were two separate events.


U.S. Ordered to Reduce Crop Supports GENEVA, Sept. 8 -- The United States was ordered to withdraw some of its support for producers of cotton and other commodities, according to a World Trade Organization report made public Wednesday.


U.S. to Meet Asian Allies, Chinese on N. Korea (Reuters) Reuters - The chief U.S. negotiator on North\Korea will hold discussions in Japan and China in the next few\days aimed at organizing a fresh round of six-party talks on\dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programs, a State Department\official said on Tuesday.


Intercontinental plans hotel sale Intercontinental Hotels plans to shed properties worth 750m (1.3bn) to help it recover from three years of falling hotel bookings.


Karzai talks to Qanuni over cabinet post KABUL, Dec 6: President Hamid Karzai has held discussions with arch rival Yunus Qanuni over a possible position in the next Afghan government, a spokesman for Mr Karzai said on Monday.


Russia Slams West for Double Standards on Beslan  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov  accused the West of double standards on terrorism in the wake  of his country's bloodiest hostage crisis, highlighting a  growing rift over the issue between the former Cold War foes.


U.S. Forces on Offensive in Iraq Rebel Strongholds  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces launched operations in  three Iraqi rebel strongholds on Thursday, killing nearly two  dozen insurgents in a town near the Syrian border and bombing  targets in Falluja for the third straight day.


Retail sales soar in South Africa Lower interest rates and taxes have sent South Africans to the shops, driving retail sales up 10 in June on a year ago.


Israel Kills 4, Including 9-Year-Old, in Gaza  JABALYA, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Israeli forces thrust into  Gaza's largest refugee camp on Thursday, killing four  Palestinians including a 9-year-old boy, as the army tightened  its grip on the northern part of the coastal strip.


U.S. Declares Genocide in Sudan's Darfur  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States declared on  Thursday genocide has occurred in Sudan's Darfur region and  blamed the Khartoum government and Arab militias for the crisis  that has driven more than a million people from their homes.


Oil moves UK trade deficit higher A monthly deficit on its oil balance saw the UK's worldwide trade gap widen to its highest level since January.


Ebookers admits possible sell-off Internet-based holiday company Ebookers confirms it is in talks over a possible sale, sending its shares 22 higher.


Pakistan Bombs 'Terrorist Camp,' Kills at Least 50  WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani jet fighters and  helicopter gunships pounded a suspected terrorist training camp  near the Afghan border on Thursday, killing at least 50 mostly  foreign militants.


Iran Seen Using EU to Buy Time to Get Atomic Bomb  VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is using negotiations with the  European Union's "big three" on suspending sensitive nuclear  activities to buy the time it needs to get ready to make atomic  weapons, an Iranian exile and intelligence officials said.


Scientists 'hopeful' for Genesis Genesis mission specialists are to begin the task of examining the remains of their capsule that crashed in the Utah desert.


Argentines rally for bomb justice Thousands of Argentines protest over the failure to find those who bombed a Jewish centre in 1994.


U.S. Import Prices Jump 1.7 Percent Soaring petroleum prices pushed the cost of goods imported into the U.S. much higher than expected in August, the government said today.


Russia tightens Caucasus security Russia announces a new security structure for the North Caucasus to prevent Beslan-style terror attacks.


ADHD parents 'are also affected' Parents of children with attention deficit  hyperactive disorder (ADHD), often show signs of the condition themselves, research has suggested.


Memos: Bush Suspended From Guard Flying WASHINGTON - Addressing questions that have lingered for years, newly unearthed memos state that George W. Bush failed to meet standards of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war, that he refused a direct order and that his superiors were in a state of turmoil over how to evaluate his performance after he was suspended from flying...


Fla. Urges New Evacuations As Ivan Nears MIAMI - Tourists and residents were told Thursday they will have to leave the Florida Keys to avoid mighty Hurricane Ivan, even as the state still struggled with the misery left by Hurricanes Frances and Charley.    Forecasters said Ivan - which strengthened early Thursday to 160 mph - could reach the island chain as soon as Sunday, making it the third hurricane to hit Florida in a month...


Stocks Higher on Drop in Jobless Claims NEW YORK - A sharp drop in initial unemployment claims and bullish forecasts from Nokia and Texas Instruments sent stocks slightly higher in early trading Thursday.    Investors welcomed the latest Labor Department report, which showed 319,000 new claims for the past week, down 44,000 from a week ago...


Fla. Urges New Evacuations As Ivan Nears KEY WEST, Fla. - All tourists and recreational vehicles were urged to evacuate the Florida Keys early Thursday because the powerful Hurricane Ivan could hit the island chain by Sunday...


U.S. Jets Bomb Insurgent-Held Iraq Cities BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. jets on Thursday pounded the rebel stronghold of Fallujah and a town near the Syrian border that had come under control of insurgents, killing dozens of people, officials and witnesses said...


Dog Wiggles Paw Free to Shoot Florida Man PENSACOLA, Fla. - A man who tried to shoot seven puppies was shot himself when one of the dogs put its paw on the revolver's trigger...


Stocks Are Set to Open Lower NEW YORK - U.S. stocks are seen lower at the open Thursday as traders get a handle on Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony Wednesday...


Bill Clinton Helps Launch Search Engine (AP) AP - Former president Bill Clinton on Monday helped launch a new Internet search company backed by the Chinese government which says its technology uses artificial intelligence to produce better results than Google Inc.


U.S. Strike Targets in Fallujah and Tal Afar U.S. jets pounded the rebel stronghold of Fallujah on Thursday, and American and Iraqi forces entered the central city of Samarra for the first time in months to try to reseat the city council and regain control.


Pakistani Strike on Terror Training Camp Kills 50 Pakistani jets pounded a suspected training facility for foreign militants in a two-hour barrage Thursday in tribal South Waziristan, killing 50 people, senior intelligence and military officials said.


Corporates get a case of the wireless jitters Analysis Too many systems, too many operators


Delete records, or profile the whole UK, says DNA print pioneer Something of a curate's egg of a lash out, this...


'Independent' report used MS-sourced data to trash OSS 'Microsoft gave us this stuff, but we haven't checked it'


Voting opens for web's villains Web users can vote for the best and worst of the net in the Future UK Internet awards.


IBM Releases New Linux-Oriented Database Software  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - International Business Machines  Corp. IBM.N late on Wednesday rolled out a new version of its  database software aimed at users of Linux and Unix operating  systems that it hopes will help the company take away market  share from market leader Oracle Corp. ORCL.O.


Nokia Launches Three New Camera Phones  HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's largest mobile phone maker  Nokia NOK1V.HE launched on Thursday three new handsets, the  7260, 7270 and 7280 models, all with cameras.


Price Cuts Propel UK Sales of Xbox, PS2  LONDON (Reuters) - Last month's back-to-back price cuts by  Sony Corp 6758.T and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O have boosted  sales of their PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles in  Britain, retail sources said on Thursday.


Congress Puts Hooks in Copyright Crooks Congressional lawmakers are taking a cue from Hollywood with an aim to beef up penalties against people who illegally swap copyrighted movies and songs over the Internet. \-washingtonpost.com


Debate Draws Distinctions in Candidates' Trade Policies At a "Bush-Kerry trade debate" Wednesday stand-ins for President Bush and Democratic challenger Sen. John F. Kerry outlined the candidates' differences on such issues as outsourcing and free trade.


Women Make Small Inroads in Game Industry Jennifer Canada knew she was entering a boy's club when she enrolled in Southern Methodist University's Guildhall school of video game making.


Video Game Review: 'Political Machine' Political couch potatoes who can't get enough of the impending presidential election will find endless fun with "The Political Machine."


Nokia Hikes Outlook Due to Handset Demand
\

 HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's Nokia raised its\third-quarter sales and earnings outlook due to strong demand\for mobile phones, reversing a recent spate of grim outlooks\and sending its shares higher on Thursday.


Commissioner would accept government help Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig says he would accept government help if the players union doesn #39;t accept rules changes.


Europe gives GM seed green light The European Commission says it has approved a genetically-modified seed for planting.


Tracking down the 'jungle yeti' Two amateur explorers prepare to fly out to Indonesia in the hope of proving the existence of the "jungle yeti".


Pollen helps war crime forensics UK scientists say pollen enabled them to help to convict people in Bosnia on charges of genocide.


Swans in a flap about territory Black swans clash with their white rivals in a battle over a Lincoln in lake.


Developer Wins Victory in WTC Case (Reuters) Reuters - A New York developer hoping to rebuild\the destroyed World Trade Center on Monday won a major victory\against his insurers, when a jury decided the hijacked airline\attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were two separate events.


Scientists Pick Up Pieces of Genesis Space Capsule By PAUL FOY     DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah (AP) -- Scientists with tweezers picked through the twisted wreckage of a space capsule that crash-landed on Earth, hoping that microscopic clues to the evolution of the solar system weren't completely lost in Utah's salt flats.    NASA engineers were stunned Wednesday when neither parachute deployed aboard the Genesis capsule and the craft plummeted to the ground at 193 mph, breaking open like a clamshell and exposing its collection of solar atoms to contamination...


More Confirmation Mars Had Large Seas Boulder, CO -- Spacecraft observations of the landing area for one of NASA's two Mars rovers now indicate there likely was an enormous sea or lake covering the region in the past, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.     Research Associate Brian Hynek of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics said data from the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey spacecraft now show that the region surrounding the Opportunity rover's landing site probably had a body of water at least 330,000 square kilometers, or 127,000 square miles...


Scientists Gain Glimpse of Bizarre Matter in a Neutron Star Scientists have obtained their best measurement yet of the size and contents of a neutron star, an ultra-dense object containing the strangest and rarest matter in the Universe.


Common Antibiotic Can Trigger Cardiac Deaths By LINDA A. JOHNSON    (AP) -- A common antibiotic prescribed for 50 years to treat everything from strep throat to syphilis dramatically increases the risk of cardiac arrest, especially when taken with certain newer, popular drugs, a study found...


Older Runners Improve Overall Performance Faster By DIANE SCARPONI     NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Runners over age 50 improve their performance more quickly than younger runners, a Yale study found, reinforcing past research on older athletes and the benefits they get from exercise...


IBM seeks to ease database burden "Stinger" update of DB2 will focus on automatic administration and an improvement in clustered performance.


Longhorn to put squeeze on gadgets The next version of Windows will let companies block access to iPods and other tiny storage devices, News.com has learned.\


Applebee #39;s Predicts Earnings Growth Applebee #39;s International Inc. said Thursday it expects annual earnings per share to grow from 14 percent to 17 percent over the next three to five years beginning in 2005.


Anadarko to Buy Back \$1 Billion of Debt Oil and gas exploration company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Thursday that it launched cash tender offers for about \$1 billion of its outstanding debt.


Study claims lake on Mars was wide, deep NASA #39;s Mars rover Opportunity found evidence for a lake or sea on Mars, and new research suggests the body of water was deep, large and long-lasting.


Serbs in Dispute Over Darwin Vs. Divine Charles Darwin #39;s evolution theory is out of Serb schools. The Bible is in. The education minister #39;s decision this week to drop the evolution


US Declares Genocide in Sudan #39;s Darfur The United States declared on Thursday genocide has occurred in Sudan #39;s Darfur region and blamed the Khartoum government and Arab militias for the crisis that has driven more than a million people from their homes.


Seven Palestinians Killed in Gaza Clashes BEIT LAHIA, Gaza Strip Sept. 9, 2004 - Yasser Arafat #39;s expulsion is  quot;closer than ever, quot; the Israeli foreign minister said in remarks broadcast Thursday, and seven Palestinians were killed and 27 wounded


Police Find Explosives In St. Petersburg Cinema 9 September 2004 -- Russian police in St. Petersburg said today they found explosives, detonators, and a gun in a cinema which was closed for renovation.


Patrick Walters: Countering menace of JI a priority strategic <b>...</b> THE bombing of our embassy underlines the magnitude of the long-term strategic challenge Australia faces in Southeast Asia. It marks the first time Australia has been directly targeted in a terrorist attack in the region.


Virtual Server becomes reality After two years of fits and starts, Microsoft will finally deliver its Virtual Server 2005 product, which company officials contend will be an important contributor to its Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), the company's plan for managing distributed systems.


More big security holes in Linux Open-source developers have warned of serious security holes in two Linux components that could allow attackers to take over a system by tricking a user into viewing a specially crafted image file or opening an archive. Patches exist for the bugs, which affect LHA and imlib.


Microsoft set to ship Virtual Server 2005 Microsoft Corp. next month will release Virtual Server 2005, its first foray into server virtualization and a key element of the broad management platform the company is creating for Windows.


Online fraud: We got law, but no enforcement Plenty of laws exist to prosecute online identity thieves and fraudsters, and also to co-opt ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and online auction sites into the fight against fraud, but enforcement is lacking across the board, according to security experts.


New IBM server supports dual-core Opteron IBM Corp. next week will begin shipping the second generation of its rack-mounted dual processor servers based on Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (AMD) Opteron microprocessor. The new server, called the eServer 326, will be IBM's first product specifically designed to support the upcoming dual-core Opteron processors that AMD is expected to ship next year.


Real's Music Deal Ends Online store will continue to offer certain songs at low prices, company says.


Panasonic DVD Recorder Gets Connected Device offers remote programming, features a whopping 400GB of storage.


Sybase Offers Free Database for Linux Company hopes to attract users who will later upgrade to its small business software.


'Lord of Rings' Supercomputer Turns to Commerce WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A supercomputer used to generate the special effects for the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy is turning to commerce, offering its power to commercial customers worldwide, backers said Thursday.    Ranked 80th among the world's top 500 powerful computers, it can perform 2.8 trillion calculations per second, said Eric Pilon, a spokesman for the New Zealand Supercomputing Center...


Review: Microsoft Fingerprint Reader Delivers By ALEX VEIGA     LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Spend time online and odds are you'll have to type a username and password to check your e-mail, access your bank account or read a newspaper story.    Enter Microsoft Corp...


'Political Machine' Game Brings Politics to PC Political couch potatoes who can't get enough of the impending presidential election will find endless fun with "The Political Machine." This new PC game from Ubisoft pits you as a string-pulling presidential puppet master, aka the campaign manager.


RealNetworks Ends Cheap Song Download Promotion SEATTLE (AP) -- RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK) is ending a temporary promotion that slashed the price of its downloadable songs to 49 cents, but bargain hunters will still be able to find some deals at its online music store...


Beck's Brewer Sees Beer Demand Rising (Reuters) Reuters - Belgium's Interbrew, which acquired\AmBev to create the world's biggest brewer, reiterated on\Thursday its higher volume and profit targets for 2004 as\demand began to recover from a weak summer.


South Korea to provide Iran with 100,000 broadband Internet lines (AFP) AFP - Iran and South Korea have signed a 40 million dollar deal for the provision of 100,000 broadband Internet lines to the Islamic republic.


Nokia says third quarter profits will be better than expected (AFP) AFP - Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, said its results for third quarter would be better than earlier forecast due to higher-than-expected handset sales.


Heralded Lady Vols' Freshman Has Surgery (AP) AP - Heralded Tennessee freshman Candace Parker underwent knee surgery and could miss the upcoming women's college basketball season.


Ontario police forces set to take part in 9-11 anniversary ceremonies (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - TORONTO (CP) - About 60 members of the Toronto Police Services left for New York City Thursday to take part in upcoming ceremonies marking the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.


Kerry and Bush Election Popularity Tracked on Blog Monitor Kerry and Bush Election Popularity Tracked on Blog Monitor\\The Democratic and Republican Conventions respectively cast John Kerry and George W. Bush into the eyes of those who are in their election day decision making. Besides helping to define the candidates' campaigns, the conventions also legitimized and gave respect to bloggers ...


Beck's Brewer Sees Beer Demand Rising  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's Interbrew, which acquired  AmBev to create the world's biggest brewer, reiterated on  Thursday its higher volume and profit targets for 2004 as  demand began to recover from a weak summer.


Bill Clinton Helps Launch Search Engine NEW YORK Dec 6, 2004 - Former president Bill Clinton on Monday helped launch a new Internet search company backed by the Chinese government which says its technology uses artificial intelligence to produce better results than Google Inc.


Technology to Drive Changes in Search Engine Marketing Technology to Drive Changes in Search Engine Marketing\\The coming years will be much more interesting as the business of search transits from its adolescence into adulthood. Search engine marketing has matured and is now viewed as an important component in mainstream marketing. The environment is going to change becoming more ...


Stem Cell Research Measure Contested (AP) AP - The Roman Catholic Church and the wealthy evangelical Christian Howard Ahmanson Jr. have emerged as the biggest financial backers of the campaign against a California ballot measure that would fund stem cell research and cloning projects.


Making Informed Search Keyword Choices Making Informed Search Keyword Choices\\Marketers stake much of their livelihood on keywords, whether for proper search engine optimization or targeted pay-per-click advertising. One challenge faced by inexperienced marketers involves knowing which phrases to target out of hundreds of combinations.\\Often, one will find terms which look good, but later testing reveals ...


Smelly Robot Eats Flies to Generate Its Own Power (Reuters) Reuters - British scientists are developing a\robot that will generate its own power by eating flies.


Israel Kills 5, Including 9-Year-Old, in Gaza  JABALYA, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Israeli forces thrust into  Gaza's largest refugee camp on Thursday, killing five  Palestinians including a 9-year-old boy, as the army tightened  its grip on the northern part of the coastal strip.


News: Telenor takes down 'massive' botnet A network of more than 10,000 zombie PCs has been dismantled after security staff at Norwegian telco Telenor located and shutdown its controlling server.


Monza: whats at stake this weekend Michael Schumacher wants to celebrate his world championship in style, while the Renault F1 Team is looking to strengthen its championship advantage.


African sugar farmers await sweet victory African sugar farmers and other developing countries stand to benefit from a new ruling by the World Trading Organisation (WTO) declaring some European sugar exports as illegal.


US jobless claims fall New US applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week partly as a result of Hurricane Charley, the Labor Department reported Thursday.


Fidelity National to Acquire InterCept Fidelity National Financial Inc. said Thursday that it agreed to acquire InterCept Inc., a provider of technology services to banks, in a deal valued at about \$400 million.


WPP Offers Over \$1.25B for Grey Global Britain #39;s WPP Group PLC and private-equity firm Hellman  amp; Friedman have submitted offers in the auction for advertising firm Grey Global Group, according to people familiar with the matter.


The dispute goes on BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro Charles Darwin #39;s evolution theory is out of schools in Serbia-Montenegro -- and the Bible is in. The education minister decided this week to drop the evolution theory from elementary school classes in favor of creationism.


Agassi-Federer match could resume The glamour match of the US Open so far, two-time champion Andre Agassi vs. No. 1 Roger Federer, was suspended because of showers on Wednesday.


Heralded Lady Vols #39; Freshman Has Surgery KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Heralded Tennessee freshman Candace Parker underwent knee surgery and could miss the upcoming women #39;s college basketball season.


Shevchenko #39;s goals will be crucial. (Getty Images) AC Milan begin their Serie A campaign at home to newly-promoted Livorno on Saturday evening under the weight of great expectation.


Zbikowski makes impact in Irish debut Lost in Notre Dame #39;s disappointing 20-17 loss to Brigham Young last week was the surprise start of sophomore Tom Zbikowski at strong safety.


Door remains open for Button, say BAR BAR expect Briton Jenson Button to continue racing for them next season if Formula One #39;s contract recognition board takes their side in a bitter tug-of-war with Williams.


Sudan agrees to extend mandate of Darfur monitors Sudan will agree to expanding the mandate of African Union (AU) monitors in its Darfur region to allow them to document human rights abuses, Justice Minister Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin said on Thursday.


Pakistani Jets Attack Suspected Militants WANA, Pakistan Sept. 9, 2004 - Pakistani warplanes pummeled a suspected al-Qaida training facility near the border with Afghanistan on Thursday, flattening a vast mud-brick compound and killing at least 50 fighters, the military said.


Dozens More Killed In New Fighting In Iraq American and Iraqi forces once again fought with Insurgents in the cities of Falluja and Tall  #39;Afar, killing dozens of Iraqis in airstrikes and gunbattles.


India, Nepal Hold Talks Over Tackling Maoist Revolt Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba held talks with his Indian counterpart on Thursday to try to secure more help to crush an increasingly deadly Maoist revolt in the poor Himalayan nation.


Talks over, Kashmir blame game begins Another round of India-Pakistan peace talks over, and once again it #39;s time for the blame game. A day after their by now ritualistic photo-op bear hug, the foreign ministers of the


Europe condemns Jakarta bombing FRANCE and Britain led strong European condemnation of today #39;s car bomb attack which killed at least eight people outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, with several governments pledging to pursue joint efforts to root out international terrorism.


Adware - Are Downloads Safe? Adware - Are Downloads Safe?\\Developers offering downloads are paying the price for the malformed truths that have been put forth regarding downloads. While not a political campaign the smears are ever present in the adware arena.\\Years ago developers saw they could monetize freeware that was becoming expensive to host. Developers ...


Ford Recalls Econoline Vans to Fix Brakes (Reuters) Reuters - Ford Motor Co.  said on Thursday\it is recalling 234,208 Econoline vans in North America to fix\a defect in the anti-lock brake unit that can spark fires even\when the vehicles are parked.


US jobless claims plunge by 44,000 (AFP) AFP - US weekly unemployment claims plunged by 44,000 in the week ended September 4, to 319,000, the Labor Department revealed.


Pakistan launches attack on suspected militants near Afghan border; 50 killed (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - WANA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani warplanes pummelled a suspected al-Qaida training facility near the border with Afghanistan on Thursday, flattening a vast mud-brick compound and killing at least 50 fighters, the military said.


Oil Leaps as U.S. Inventories Dwindle  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped a dollar on Thursday  after the U.S. government said crude stocks fell to a fresh  five-month low last week and distillate fuel inventories barely  grew ahead of winter.


NATO, Russia United Against Terrorism (AP) AP - NATO diplomats and Russia's ambassador to the alliance pledged to remain united in the fight against terror Tuesday, condemning that attack on a Russian school that left more than 350 people dead.


Global house prices still rising As the sun looks ready to set on the UK house price boom, global house prices are still rising,  a report in the Economist said.


Frank #39;s Nursery going out of business Franks Nursery  amp; Crafts Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to begin closing stores soon as it initiates going-out-of-business sales.


For BlackBerry Users, a New Way to Write N the annals of consumer electronics, certain devices have proven so compelling, they #39;ve created consumer cults. You know, Mac heads.


Samsung SPH-V5400 with 1.5 GB hard drive While most mobile phones are lucky to have 4 MB of RAM to store user data, Samsung #39;s new SPH-V5400 phone offers a whopping 1.5 GB of storage courtesy of its integrated mini-hard drive.


German virus author charged woth cmputer sabotage The teenager accused of authoring the Sasser and Netsky worms has been formally charged with computer sabotage. Eighteen-year-old Sven Jaschan was arrested in May at his parents #39; home in Waffensen, Lower Saxony, in northern Germany.


Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson extends contract with AC Milan Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson has extended his contract with AC Milan through the 2008-09 season. Tomasson, 28, becomes the third starter in Milan #39;s lineup to have his contract extended this summer.


Levet willing to miss out Thomas Levet says he would be willing to be left out of the foursomes and fourballs at the Ryder Cup as long as the European team wins.


Baseball contenders feasting on also-rans One reason pennant races have heated up in both leagues is because the supposed spoilers are the ones getting spoiled. Consider the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who once were third in the American League East and flirting with .


AD Holland a great hire for East Carolina No, it isn #39;t North Carolina or Kentucky, but East Carolina also takes great pride in its intercollegiate athletic program. The Pirates on Wednesday announced the hiring of Terry Holland as their new athletic


The Crisis in Darfur, Written Remarks, Senate Foreign Relations <b>...</b> Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the situation in Darfur. Let me start by reviewing a little history.


Kashmir solution hinges on Pakistan crackdown-India India and Pakistan can make progress on resolving their thorny dispute over Kashmir only if Islamabad delivers on its promise to act against Kashmiri rebels on its soil, India #39;s foreign minister said on Thursday.


Jakarta bombing draws international defiance, condemnation JAKARTA : The bloody car bomb attack outside the Australian embassy in Indonesia Thursday drew strong international condemnation and defiance as leaders vowed to work together to fight the scourge of terrorism.


Mass Grave Uncovered In Northern Iraq 9 September 2004 -- An Iraqi official says that construction workers have uncovered a mass grave in northeastern Iraq. Mansour Hama Karim, an official at the Human Rights Ministry in the Kurdish-dominated


Sybase releases free database for Linux Company goes head-to-head with MySQL and PostgreSQL with a free version of its ASE database for Linux.


Capsule from Genesis Space Probe Crashes in Utah Desert Scientists with the US space agency NASA have begun investigating the crash landing Wednesday of the Genesis space capsule in Utah.


Ump #39;s terrible call hurts Serena, tennis NEW YORK -- She used the word conspiracy, as if someone is out to get the Williams family.  quot;At first I thought it was another Wimbledon conspiracy, quot; Serena Williams said in discussing one of the most flagrantly awful calls in the history of tennis,.


RealNetworks Sells 3 Mln Songs, Ends Download Promo (Reuters) Reuters - RealNetworks Inc.  is ending\its 49 cent-per-song music download service but will keep the\promotional prices in place for top 10 songs, the Internet\media and software company said on Thursday.


Interbrew pumps 19.9 pct rise in first-half profit, holds targets (AFP) AFP - Interbrew said its first-half profit rose 19.9 percent and maintained its 2004 full-year targets, saying the diversity of its beer brands around the world helped smooth out bumpy markets.


IBM Announces Dual-Core Support (PC World) PC World - New server is designed to run AMD's upcoming Opteron chips.


FEC: Wis. Car Dealer Can Run Campaign Ads (AP) AP - A Wisconsin auto dealer can continue airing car ads even though its founder and namesake is running for the Senate, election officials said Thursday.


Bush's guard service under new scrutiny (AFP) AFP - US President George W. Bush faced fresh questions about his Vietnam War-era service as he and his Democratic rival, Senator John Kerry, campaigned in key states ahead of the November 2 election.


Dollar Rises as U.S. Jobless Claims Fall  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar edged higher against major  currencies on Thursday after the U.S. weekly jobless claims  report suggested stable job creation, although Hurricane  Charley likely skewed the data.


EU irked by Turkish adultery law The EU enlargement commissioner says  Turkey's plans to make adultery a crime could affect its chances of joining the EU.


AFC Powers Meet in NFL's Season Opener FOXBORO, Mass. - Forget last season's win over Indianapolis in the AFC championship game...


Job gains hike mortgage rates Mortgage rates crept higher this week on news of good job growth in August, according to a survey conducted by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.


Cracker Barrel Settles NAACP Discrimination Lawsuits (Update1) Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., which has restaurants in 41 states, said it will pay \$8.7 million to settle all discrimination lawsuits brought or supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.


Applebee #39;s sees room for 3,000 restaurants in USA Restaurant chain Applebee #39;s International (APPB) said Thursday that there is room for at least 3,000 of its namesake restaurants in the United States, nearly double the existing number.


ITV may sell its \$126m stake in Seven Network British television broadcaster ITV is looking to sell a range of  quot;noncore quot; assets, including its \$126 million, or 12.3 per cent, stake in Australia #39;s Seven Network.


University Of Michigan Lands Big Gift ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan is getting \$100 million from a New York real estate magnate -- the school #39;s largest gift ever.


Survey: IT Job Growth on Slow Track The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) survey says that the high-tech job market showed a modest 2 percent increase in the first quarter of 2004, but that the market is expected to shrink over the rest of the year.


Virtual Server 2005 Fills Gap In Microsoft Line New virtual-machine technology can be used to test software patches and migrate aging Windows NT applications. By John Foley, Paula Rooney, CRN.


RealNetworks Sells 3 Mln Songs, Ends Download Promo  SEATTLE (Reuters) - RealNetworks Inc. RNWK.O is ending  its 49 cent-per-song music download service but will keep the  promotional prices in place for top 10 songs, the Internet  media and software company said on Thursday.


Delta Cutting Flights From OKC To Dallas-Fort Worth OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma will lose Delta Air Lines flights to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as the airline restructures to try to avoid bankruptcy.


Ali Calls for U.S. Boxing Commission (AP) AP - Boxing great Muhammad Ali asked Congress on Thursday to create a U.S. Boxing Commission, saying oversight by the federal government is needed to protect boxers from exploitation and injury.


Royals Pound Tigers 26-5 (AP) AP - Joe Randa had six hits and tied a major-league record with six runs scored as the Kansas City Royals broke a club record for runs in a 26-5 rout of the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday.


Cracker Barrel Announces \$8.7M Settlement NASHVILLE, Tenn. Sept. 9, 2004 - Cracker Barrel has agreed to an \$8.7 million settlement to resolve lawsuits accusing the restaurant chain of mistreating and segregating black customers and discriminating


National Semi rallies on results National Semiconductor Corp. posted a higher quarterly profit Thursday, with sales in line with its reduced forecast on lower-than-expected demand for flat-panel displays and from Chinese wireless handset makers.


A Taste of Yum! Wins the World Over It seems that fast food is in style. Favorites McDonald #39;s (NYSE: MCD) and Wendy #39;s (NYSE: WEN) had already posted positive August sales comps; Yum!


Health Stocks in Motion Shares of Radiation Therapy (RTSX:Nasdaq - news - research) were among the worst-performing health and pharmaceutical stocks Thursday after Banc of America Securities initiated coverage with a sell rating.


Normal plant will trim second shift, 1,200 jobs by months #39; end NORMAL, Ill. Mitsubishi Motors says it will eliminate the second shift at its only US plant on September 17th and about 12-hundred workers will be laid off by the end of the month.


Kraft affirms 2004 profit forecast Kraft Foods Inc. Thursday stood by its previously lowered earnings forecast for the calendar year and said new products including its 100-calorie snack packs would help drive growth in the second half.


FCC Insists Broadband Deployment Improving (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. communications regulators on\Thursday insisted the United States was making progress in\rolling out high-speed Internet service, despite falling\further behind other countries.


Bordeaux's producers target Denmark to fight wine hangover (AFP) AFP - A delegation of producers from the prestigious French wine-growing region of Bordeaux launched a major campaign try to convince Danes to start drinking their wines again.


Congress Puts Hooks in Spyware, Copyright Crooks (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - Congressional lawmakers are taking a cue from Hollywood with an aim to beef up penalties against people who illegally swap copyrighted movies and songs over the Internet. Meanwhile, lawmakers also are targeting spyware and hackers with the threat of jail time for evil cyberspace deeds.


NASA tries to salvage solar dust NASA experts were today studying the debris from the Genesis capsule that crashed as it brought back samples of solar particles - the latest in a series of setbacks for the US space agency as it seeks to get its space program back on course.


IBM strikes out at Intel with new Opteron box IDF Fall  #39;04 With the Intel Developer Forum rolling along in full force, IBM made the obvious decision to announce its next-generation server based on AMD #39;s Opteron processor.


New ring and possible moons found at Saturn The Cassini spacecraft has detected two and possibly three new additions to the already full environment of Saturn, and scientists are puzzled over what they #39;ve seen.


Titans-Dolphins Game Moved to Saturday (AP) AP - The Miami Dolphins' opening game against the Tennessee Titans will be played Saturday instead of Sunday because of approaching Hurricane Ivan.


IBM DB2 Takes Sting Out of Database Management IBM announced Thursday the general availability of the  quot;Stinger quot; version of its DB2 Universal Database, which delivers to database administrators a host of new autonomic database self-management and self-healing capabilities designed to simplify data


House Panel Gets Tough on Spyware, P2P Piracy WASHINGTON -- With an eye on peer-to-peer networks, the US House Judiciary Committee approved legislation Wednesday criminalizing some acts of copyright infringement.


T-Mobile Debuts New Blackberry Phone  quot;T-Mobile has made it a priority to provide its customers with phones and services that not only meet their professional needs, but their personal needs as well, quot; said Scott Ballantyne, vice president marketing, T-Mobile USA.


Virtual Server becomes reality After two years of fits and starts, Microsoft will finally deliver its Virtual Server 2005 product, which company officials contend will be an important contributor to its Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), the company #39;s plan for managing distributed


Intel CTO: New Protocol Needed For Next-Gen  #39;Net Intel #39;s chief technologist called for an overlay network to be applied to the Internet infrastructure to allow new protocols and services to be enabled.


Huge DNA database opens door to mistakes: scientist The scientist who invented DNA fingerprinting two decades ago has warned that the huge expansion of the British national database, which now contains details of 2.5 million criminals, could


Scientists Create Fly-Eating Autonomous Robot According to New Scientist.com, Scientists at the University of West England have designed an autonomous robot which generates its own energy by eating flies.


Darwin is OK after all, Serbia says BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - Serbia reversed an order to ban Darwins theory of evolution from schools on Thursday, after its education minister drew national ridicule for ruling in favor of Old Testament creationism.


Inmates in Charge of Travelzoo It #39;s official: The lunatic fringe has clearly gotten loose. There really is no other way to explain what #39;s going on with shares at online travel company Travelzoo (Nasdaq: TZOO).


Youth admits to creating computer virus German prosecutors say a teenager has confessed to creating the virulent Sasser computer virus. Authorities say Sven Jaschan is believed also to be responsible for the Netsky virus.


IBM  #39;Stinger #39; Database Coming in Mid-September IBM #39;s next version of the DB2 Universal Database, code-named  quot;Stinger, quot; will be generally available on Sept. 17, the company said Thursday.


US economic outlook downgraded: WSJ survey (AFP) AFP - US economists have trimmed their forecasts for hiring and economic growth in view of steep energy prices and other factors, a Wall Street Journal survey showed.


Golf: Harrington leads while wet Woosie walks away GUT LARCHENOF, Germany : Europe #39;s Ryder Cup hopes received another boost when Padraig Harrington hit a six under par 66 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the German Masters.


Klinsmann #39;s aggressive moves net Germany draw with Brazil Juergen Klinsmann took some risks in his home debut as Germany coach and they paid off in a 1-1 draw Wednesday with five-time World Cup champion Brazil.


Thursday, 9 pm EST (ABC) Not quite eight months ago, with a light snow dusting Foxboro #39;s Gillette Stadium, these two stared each other down with a trip to Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston on the line.


Hurricane Ivan Pushes Up Titans Game in Miami Nashville, Tenn. (WVLT/AP) - It looks like Mother Nature isn #39;t much of a sports fan. The Tennessee Titans and the Miami Dolphins will play 24 hours early, courtesy of Hurricane Ivan.


Jagr hopes to play against Canada despite hip injury Jaromir Jagr sat out practice Thursday but hopes to be ready when the Czech Republic plays Canada in the World Cup of Hockey semifinals.


A #39;s may be headed for off-season And if not, well, there are no water-holding explanations other than the one Monte Poole already provided yesterday, which is that the A #39;s and Boston Red Sox are about as similarly potent as whiskey and milk.


Spain #39;s Freire wins sixth cycling stage Spain #39;s Oscar Freire won the sixth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Thursday, and countryman Manuel Beltran of the US Postal Service team kept his lead as the overall standings remained unchanged.


Best of times, worst of times The smiles should be wider than the Wasatch Mountains this week at The Y., as they call Brigham Young University. The Cougars are coming off a triumph of Biblical proportion over Notre Dame, in


Cricket telecast: Opportunity for lost bidders EVEN as Zee Telefilms chalks out its strategy for the cricket rights, legal experts are of the opinion that the Bombay High Court #39;s suggestion for a fresh round of bidding could open options for the other broadcasters who had lost out in the first round.


Nokia Raises Outlook on Better Phone Sales (AP) AP - Nokia said Thursday its third-quarter revenue and profits would be better than expected, citing an increase in mobile phone sales. The news pushed its shares up nearly 6.5 percent in trading.


Hudson Hopes A's Received Wake-Up Call (AP) AP - Tim Hudson hopes being swept by Boston will serve as a wakeup call for the Oakland Athletics.


US declares genocide in Sudan afrol News, 9 September - US Secretary of State Colin Powell today made a statement saying his government had reached  quot;the conclusion that genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in Darfur.


Australian embassy blast not linked to elections: Downer JAKARTA : A deadly bomb blast outside Australia #39;s embassy in Jakarta was not linked to next month #39;s Australian elections or forthcoming polls in Indonesia, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.


Anger At US Chechen Policy (CBS/AP) Russia castigated the United States on Wednesday for its willingness to hold talks with Chechens agitating for independence and suggested the issue could harm bilateral relations, the Interfax news agency reported.


At least 3 killed in blast at Australian Embassy Jakarta, Indonesia -- A powerful bomb exploded near the Australian Embassy in Jakarta early today, killing at least three people and wounding 50, witnesses and officials said.


Two More Arrests in South Africa Weapons Probe South Africa has arrested two men in an investigation into alleged trafficking of equipment used to build nuclear weapons. Authorities say Daniel Geiges and Gerhard Wisser are charged with illegally importing


Defense officials: Arafat expulsion unlikely Senior defense officials dismissed as  quot;empty words meant for domestic political consumption quot; Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom #39;s call to expel Palestinian Authority head Yasser Arafat.