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


Office Workers, Move Over: Here Comes Honda's Asimo  WAKO, Japan (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co.'s humanoid robot  has been around: he's rung the famed bell at the New York Stock  Exchange, met Spain's king, and even traveled with Japan's  prime minister to Prague as a goodwill ambassador.


Time Warner Settles AOL Charges Time Warner Inc. has agreed to pay more than \$500 million to settle allegations that its America Online division improperly pumped up revenue and engaged in other unlawful practices before and after the two companies merged.
-The Washington Post


Nice Day for a Wireless Wedding Even though we knew it was coming, journalists seem to have plenty to write about now that underdogs Sprint and Nextel have announced their \$35 billion nuptial plans, including a rumor that one of the industry's big dogs would try to spoil the party. -washingtonpost.com


Google Wins in Trademark Lawsuit Google Inc. won a major legal victory Wednesday when a federal judge ruled that the search engine's advertising policy does not violate federal trademark laws.


FCC to Allow WiFi on Jetliners Federal regulators voted Wednesday to begin allowing airline passengers high-speed wireless Internet access on their laptop computers.


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


NASA's Future Is Rising From 'the Swamp' Associate Administrator Craig E. Steidle, the retired Navy rear admiral who runs NASA's not-so-new-anymore Office of Exploration Systems, went to work for NASA after the top brass lured him in as a consultant.


Nintendo to Bring Music, Video to DS Game Machine
\

 TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co. will begin selling an\adaptor for its DS and Game Boy Advance handheld game players\to allow them to play music and video, the company said,\matching a popular feature on Sony's portable game machine.


Electronic Arts Shares Up on NFL Game Pact Shares of Electronic Arts Inc., the country's largest video-game publisher, climbed Tuesday on news that it has gained exclusive rights to use NFL teams and players in its video games.


'Nano-needle' operates on cell Scientists perform a surgical operation on a living cell, using a needle just a few billionths of a metre wide.


Korea's Biotech Bet Korea's new facility could stimulate biotech research in Asia and lower costs for biotech companies.


Penguins face starvation threat Thousands of Antarctic penguin chicks could starve after being cut off by a giant iceberg, officials say.


Singapore heads school test table School pupils in Singapore lead the world in maths and science tests, latest international rankings suggest.


Search Is on for World's Biggest Freshwater Fish In a global conservation study, scientists are hunting for the world's largest freshwater fish. The current record holder? A 660-pound (300-kilogram) catfish.


Afghans Say bin Laden Trail Has Grown Cold <I>National Geographic</I> writer Tim McGirk discusses post-election Afghanistan and the hunt for international terrorist Osama bin Laden.


Test Failure Sets Back US Missile Defense Plan President Bush #39;s drive to deploy a multibillion-dollar shield against ballistic missiles was set back on Wednesday by what critics called a stunning failure of its first full flight test in two years.


Google To Build World #39;s Biggest Virtual Library Google announced an agreement Tuesday with Oxford University and some of the leading US research libraries to begin converting their holdings into files that would be freely searchable over the Web.


Ask Jeeves Enters Desktop Search Game Ask Jeeves (Quote, Chart) entered the desktop search competition with a beta version of its own service that scours users #39; computers.


NASA Building Shortlist for Possible O #39;Keefe Replacements As the White House search for NASA Administrator Sean O #39;Keefe #39;s successor began Monday, the emerging list of candidates indicated that the next space chief will have fewer


Marion Jones Sues BALCO Founder (AP) AP - Olympic track star Marion Jones filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against BALCO head Victor Conte, who told a national TV audience that he gave her steroids and watched her inject herself with them.


UK #39;s Blair Loses Key Minister Ahead of Election Top British government minister David Blunkett resigned on Wednesday over a charge of abuse of office, ripping a hole in Prime Minister Tony Blair #39;s


quot;Chemical Ali quot; first to be tried for Iraq war crimes Iraqi officials plan to make one of the highest-profile figures in Saddam Hussein #39;s regime - Ali Hassan al-Majid, called  quot;Chemical Ali quot; by the West -he first person to be tried for war crimes.


QB Lang Campbell Leads I-AA All-Americans (AP) AP - Lang Campbell played like an All-American even against major college competition.


New Approach to Iraq Rebuilding Bears Fruit -U.S. (Reuters) Reuters - U.S.-funded reconstruction in Iraq\is gaining pace in some areas, albeit on a smaller scale than\hoped, despite mounting attacks and intimidation by insurgents,\said a senior U.S. official on Wednesday.


Four Oregon State Players to Miss Bowl (AP) AP - Four suspended Oregon State players won't be reinstated to play in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28 against Notre Dame.


Serbian woman who hid in Halifax church concerned about immigration process (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - HALIFAX (CP) - A Serbian woman who sought refuge in a Halifax church basement for 441 days before being forced to leave Canada is concerned about unexpected delays in handling her immigration application.


LATEST FUTURES NEWS   2004-12-15 11:01:48 Oil - Brent higher on US cold snap ahead of this afternoon #39;s US inventories LONDON (AFX) - Oil prices were higher in pre-market deals ahead of this afternoon #39;s US weekly inventory data, with winter heating oil


Justice, Time Warner announce \$210M settlement Time Warner has agreed to pay \$210 million to settle criminal securities fraud charges brought by the Justice Department against the company #39;s America Online unit.


MPAA Slaps P2P Networks with Lawsuits and Arrests Online file-sharing is less of a problem for the movie industry because it has a much more diverse revenue model. In addition to the sale of movie tickets, money comes in from co-branding


1. Vulnerability in WordPad According to the Microsoft site, the vulnerabilty in WordPad allows an attacker to take complete control of the affected system.


Saban Going Swimming? Brian Curtis doesn #39;t think the LSU coach <b>...</b> Brian Curtis doesn #39;t think the LSU coach will be leaving Baton Rouge any time soon. By Brian Curtis. NEW YORK, NY -- As I first reported on CSTV #39;s Crystal Ball in early November and here on November 11th, LSU


Wal-Mart Fires 7 Execs, Managers (Reuters) Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.  fired\three executives and four managers from its Bentonville,\Arkansas headquarters for violating company rules, the company\said on Wednesday.


Gates Joins Berkshire Board So, what does a board with more than \$100 billion in wealth do for an encore?


It's Good to Be Right While creative, Blockbuster's latest policy change will have little impact on Netflix.


Insurers to Pay Record Disaster Damages  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Natural disasters will  cost insurers a record \$35 billion this year, after hurricanes  lashed the Caribbean and southeastern United States and a  record 10 typhoons soaked Japan in events seen as linked to  global warming, climate experts said on Wednesday.


Wal-Mart Fires 7 Execs, Managers  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT.N fired  three executives and four managers from its Bentonville,  Arkansas headquarters for violating company rules, the company  said on Wednesday.


Fans Turn on Sprint Nextel Sprint (FON:NYSE - news - research) chief Gary Forsee is billing the Nextel (NXTL:Nasdaq - news - research) deal as strength building on strength.


Update 5: Time Warner, AOL Settle Securities Fraud Time Warner Inc. agreed Wednesday to pay \$210 million to settle criminal securities fraud charges brought by the Justice Department against the company #39;s America Online unit.


MPAA Bolsters Anti-Piracy Efforts WASHINGTON, December 15: The Motion Picture Association of America has filed suit against more than 100 file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent, Direct Connect and eDonkey, which allow users to download illegal copies of movies and television shows from


Toshiba Brings Perpendicular Data Recording to HDD According to JCN Network, Toshiba has announced a new breakthrough technology in hard disk drives (HDD) based on perpendicular recording, setting new benchmarks for data density, boosting the capacity of a single 1.8-inch hard-disk platter to 40 gigabytes


HP shifting last of Itanium engineers to Intel SAN FRANCISCO - Hewlett-Packard Co. and Intel Corp. are parting ways on the development of the Itanium chip for server computers, ending a more than 10-year partnership on a project that has produced far less


Apple locks out RealNetworks with iPod update Apple Computer Inc. has updated the software for some of its iPod digital media players so that songs bought from RealNetworks Inc.


SingTel to launch 3G phones; first in SE Asia SINGAPORE - SingTel will begin selling high-speech third generation mobile phones, or 3G phones, from Thursday, making it the first company in the region to sell the new technology.


Liverpool misses a win against Portsmouth Liverpool was looking good for a win against Portsmouth in the premiership game being played at Anfield. However, a goal in the injury time by Portsmouths Lomana LuaLua spoiled their chances.


Aragones slur on file The Spanish Football Association has opened a disciplinary file against Luis Aragones - but anti-racism campaigners expect the Spain coach to be let off with a warning.


Technology Challenges Sprint-Nextel Merger (AP) AP - The proposed merger of Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. could face a rocky start as the companies work to run and eventually merge two wireless technologies without breaking the bank or losing customers.


Pak-India talks on NCBMs concluded without agreement Islamabad, Dec 15 (UNI) Pakistani and Indian negotiators today concluded talks on nuclear confidence building measures (NCBMs) without finalising the proposed draft agreement on prior notification of missile tests by Islamabad and New Delhi.


Ex-Soldiers Take Over Aristide #39;s Home PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - A band of former soldiers took over ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide #39;s former home early Wednesday and said they would use it to provide security in the neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital.


Review: E-Mail Program Lacks 'Wow' Factor (AP) AP - The Firefox browser has become an instant sensation, in just a few weeks gaining impressively against Microsoft Corp.'s market-leading but malware-beleaguered Internet Explorer.


Google Gets Victory in Trademark Lawsuit (AP) AP - Google Inc. won a major legal victory Wednesday when a federal judge ruled that the search engine's advertising policy does not violate federal trademark laws.


Sprint, Nextel Join in  #36;35 Billion Deal (AP) AP - Telecommunications giant Sprint Corp. is acquiring Nextel Communications Inc. in a  #36;35 billion deal that would create the nation's third largest wireless telephone service provider.


Apple releases Mac OS X v10.3.7 (MacCentral) MacCentral - Apple on Wednesday released Mac OS X v10.3.7, the latest release of its "Panther" operating system. The company recommends the update for all users of Panther, and said that the update "delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability."


2004 the Fourth-Hottest Year on Record (AP) AP - The year 2004, punctuated by four powerful hurricanes in the Caribbean and deadly typhoons lashing Asia, was the fourth-hottest on record, extending a trend that has seen the 10 warmest years ever beginning in the 1990s, a U.N. weather agency said Wednesday.


Stocks End Up; Earnings, Merger Trump Oil  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on  Wednesday, as better-than-expected quarterly results from  investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. LEH.N helped to  offset a two-week high in crude oil prices.


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


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


Technology Challenges Sprint-Nextel Merger The proposed merger of Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. could face a rocky start as the companies work to run and eventually merge two wireless technologies without breaking the bank or losing customers.


Yahoo Offers Desktop Search Tool (Article Central) Yahoo Inc. announced that it has released a new tool to search computer hard drives as it strives to compete with rivals Google Inc.


STATE OF THE ART Evaluating the Rivals to IPod Mini IN February, Apple followed up its wildly popular iPod music player with the iPod Mini. This smaller, sleeker \$250 player could hold 1,000 songs and came in five brushed-aluminum colors.


Oracle Shifts to Integration Mode In a briefing with reporters, Oracle President Charles Phillips reaffirmed the company #39;s plans to solidify the deal before Dec. 30.


Marion Jones sues Victor Conte San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Olympic track and field star Marion Jones filed a defamation lawsuit against BALCO chief Victor Conte on Wednesday.


Aragones Investigation Begins Luis Aragons could lose his job as Spain #39;s coach after the Spanish Football Association launched an investigation into remarks he made about Arsenal #39;s Thierry Henry.


Athens hijacker issues ultimatum A man holding hostages on a bus in Athens threatens to blow it up if a ransom is not paid in the morning.


Erickson Staying in SF After Talks with Ole Miss  ASHBURN, Va. (Sports Network) - San Francisco 49ers head  coach Dennis Erickson will remain with the team after  discussing the head coaching vacancy at Ole Miss with school  officials on Tuesday.


Yukos Files for Bankruptcy in U.S. The floundering Russian oil giant Yukos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Houston Wednesday in an effort to stop the Russian government from selling its core production unit at an auction this weekend. Analysts predicted the move would have no real impact on the planned sale.


HP Shifting Last of Itanium Engineers  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N and  Intel Corp. INTC.O on Wednesday ended their 10-year  partnership to co-develop the Itanium chip for server  computers, following disappointing sales of the product.


An IPO Hot Enough for Vegas Many have been expecting the initial public offering (IPO) from the Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) to be hot. The shares were originally priced at \$20 to \$22 each.


Linux to Grow Steady for Next Four Years Linux is much more popular in the enterprise than previously thought, according to a new report out today. IT research firm IDC combined several of its data studies and threw in a few that it didn #39;t already


2004 fourth hottest since records began The year 2004 was the fourth hottest ever recorded and the past decade was the warmest since measurements began in 1861, the World Meteorological Organisation said Wednesday.


WRAPUP 1-Auxerre #39;s Kalou dumps Rangers out of Europe Striker Bonaventure Kalou netted twice to send AJ Auxerre through to the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup at the expense of Rangers on Wednesday.


Rangers crash out of Europe Rangers joined the European scrapheap after a Bonaventure Kalou double fired Auxerre to a 2-0 victory at Ibrox. The home side had only to avoid defeat to progress to the knockout stage but were out-classed by the visitors.


BLAIR SUPPORTER RESIGNS British Prime Minister Tony Blair has lost one of his key supporters with the resignation of controversial Home Secretary David Blunkett.


Celtics' Gugliotta Back on the Injured List (Reuters) Reuters - The Boston Celtics Wednesday\placed forward Tom Gugliotta back on the injured list.


Counsell Returns to the Diamondbacks (Reuters) Reuters - The Arizona Diamondbacks\have signed shortstop Craig Counsell, who has played for two\World Series championship teams.


Yukos Files for Bankruptcy in U.S. Court (AP) AP - Embattled Russian oil giant Yukos made a last-ditch legal bid Wednesday to halt the looming auction of its core production unit after filing for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court.


Pauline Gore, Mother of Former VP, Dies (AP) AP - Pauline Gore, whose son Al became vice president and nearly captured the presidency and whose husband had a long and distinguished career in Congress, died Wednesday. She was 92.


Bush Pledges Strong-Dollar Policy (AP) AP - President Bush pledged Wednesday to work with Congress to reduce the government's huge budget deficit as a key step in assuring the world that his administration supports a strong dollar.


Time Warner settles AOL fraud charges for \$210M Time Warner Inc. will pay \$210 million to settle charges that its America Online unit fraudulently inflated its revenue figures. Separately, it is expected to pay about \$300 million to settle SEC charges related to its buyout of a stake held by Germany's Bertelsmann AG in AOL Europe.


Q A, Part 1: Cisco's Mike Volpi on IP traffic management Mike Volpi, routing technology general manager at Cisco, spoke recently about important new application-aware networking technology, service providers and his 10 years at Cisco.


Nortel reports loss in Q3, sees pickup in Q4 Amid continuing problems with the release of its financial statements, Nortel Networks yesterday reported a loss for this year's third quarter but said it expects improvements in fourth-quarter revenue.


Sprint, Nextel herald 'future of communications' Officials from Sprint and Nextel Communications today announced a definitive agreement to merge their two companies, creating the third-largest mobile phone company in the U.S.


Cool Mac stuff: What to give for the holidays Knowing that some Mac-heads can sometimes be hard to buy for, columnist Ryan Faas offers some gift ideas for the Mac fan in your life.


Oracle's Phillips talks up PeopleSoft integration For the first time since closing a deal to purchase PeopleSoft for \$10.3 billion, Oracle has begun offering a glimpse of how it plans to digest its acquisition and handle what will represent four different product lines.


SAP offers new security service SAP is offering a new service called SAP Security Optimization, which provides a detailed analysis of security gaps and vulnerabilities and action plans on how to resolve them.


Sprint to buy Nextel in \$35B deal Sprint has agreed to buy mobile telephone company Nextel Communications in a deal worth \$35.17 billion, combining the No. 3 and No. 5 U.S. wireless carriers and creating a new company with about 40 million customers.


Host Marriott Selling Stake in Courtyard Host Marriott Corp. said Wednesday that it is selling a majority of its stake in Courtyard hotels to an institutional investor for \$92 million in a move to divest a noncore asset.


Blackberry Disappointed in Court Research in Motion lost part of the case on appeal, but it #39;s not over until it #39;s over. Specifically, the patent infringement finding against the maker of the email device was upheld by the appeals court.


Update 1: FCC OKs Rules for Local Phone Competition Federal regulators narrowly approved rules Wednesday that phase out many of the government-mandated discounts the four major regional telephone companies must give rivals to encourage them to compete for local service customers.


Fa-la-la: Decking your PC with an Xmas virus HELSINKI: Internet security experts warned last Tuesday of a new virulent e-mail worm particularly successful in infecting computers as it is disguised as a multilingual electronic Christmas card.


IDC: Linux PC sales to hit \$10 billion in 2008 com December 15, 2004, 2:07 PM PT. Sales of new and used PCs running the Linux operating system will reach \$10 billion by 2008, market researcher IDC predicted Wednesday.


SAP Launches Security Service SAP AG unveils a service that evaluates security settings across a customer #39;s SAP enterprise system. SAP AG on Wednesday unveiled a service that evaluates security settings across a customer #39;s SAP enterprise system.


Symantec Unveils Anti-Spam Subscription Service Symantec launches an optional, anti-spam subscription service for customers of its Internet e-mail gateway and enterprise-class antivirus products.


Two-goal Kalou kills Rangers hopes GLASGOW, Scotland -- Scottish giants Rangers crashed out of a European competition for the second time this season following a 2-0 defeat at home to Auxerre in the UEFA Cup.


Athletics acquire Ginter from Brewers Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - The Oakland Athletics have acquired infielder Keith Ginter from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitcher Justin Lehr and outfielder Nelson Cruz.


Blunkett quits over visa row LONDON, DECEMBER 15: Senior British minister David Blunkett resigned on Wednesday, ripping a hole in Prime Minister Tony Blairs team months before an expected general election.


Hall Done for Season Redskins kicker John Hall is done for the season with a torn right quad muscle, his fourth leg injury in three months. The team signed Jeff Chandler to replace Hall.


Citrus Department to Challenge Labeling of Low-carb Juices Florida's Department of Citrus wants to put the squeeze on producers of low-carb orange juice, claiming their labels confuse consumers into believing they're purchasing 100 percent juice when buying a product that's 42 percent juice.


Yukos, of Russia, files for bankruptcy in US MOSCOW The Russian oil producer Yukos sought bankruptcy protection in the United States on Wednesday and requested an emergency court hearing to stop the Russian government #39;s auction of its largest production unit.


Fiat and GM prepare talks to avoid costly lawsuits MILAN General Motors and Fiat on Wednesday edged closer to initiating a legal battle that could pit the two carmakers against each other in a New York City court room as early as next month.


Air China shares debut strongly Shares in Air China, the country #39;s flagship carrier, closed 8.2 per cent higher yesterday when it began trading in Hong Kong, as Chinese stocks in the territory continued to rebound


Japan #39;s business confidence slips The Bank of Japan said Wednesday the confidence of the nation #39;s largest manufacturers has fallen for the first time in more than two years.


Gucci chief designs a bigger future for the brand Robert Polet, the new chief executive of Gucci, has vowed to double the size of the core Gucci brand over the next seven years. He also said that loss-making


TechBrief: Judge clears Google on search ads Google won a major legal victory Wednesday when a US judge said the search engine could continue to sell ads triggered by searches that use trademarked company names.


US Dollar Falls Against the Euro The US dollar fell against the euro Wednesday amid persistent concerns over the US trade and budget deficits, despite a pledge from President Bush to work with Congress to reduce the huge twin deficits.


Kansas City Southern to Buy Mexican Rail Mexican transportation company Grupo TMM SA said Wednesday it has reached an amended agreement with Kansas City Southern to sell 51 percent of its railway unit to the US company.


Intel To Take Over HP #39;s Itanium Chip Team Intel is taking over the team of 300 designers who work on Itanium chips for use in HP servers. An official announcement from the companies is expected Thursday, according to a person familiar with the plans.


New mobile music service launches com December 15, 2004, 3:10 PM PT. Seattle-based mobile music company Melodeo said Wednesday that it won worldwide rights to sell songs from Warner Music Group through cell phone networks.


Angles guide ants back to home LONDON - When an ant comes to the fork in the road, it uses geometry to find the correct path, scientists say. Worker pharaoh ants use a series of branching paths scented with pheromones to travel around their colony.


2004 Signals More Global Warming, Extreme Weather: UN Global warming is set to continue, and bring with it an increase in extreme weather such as hurricanes and droughts, scientists from the United Nations #39; World Meteorological Organization warned on Wednesday.


Soccer / UEFA Cup - Auxerre #39;s Bonaventure dumps Rangers Striker Bonaventure Kalou netted twice to send AJ Auxerre through to the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup at the expense of Glasgow Rangers last night.


Aachen Makes Final 32 in UEFA Cup Play LONDON - Alemannia Aachen, a German second division team which reached its domestic final last season, is in the final 32 of the UEFA Cup competition and the Glasgow Rangers are out.


Erickson staying put - for now On second thought, Ole Miss didnt look that good to Dennis Erickson after all. So now its back to where it was earlier this week on the Erickson-Is-Out-As-49ers-Coach front: Hell be coaching San Francisco


Mariners sign slugger Sexson CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Free-agent first baseman Richie Sexson is the newest member of the Seattle Mariners. The four-year deal, which was contingent on Sexson passing a physical, was announced Wednesday and is reportedly worth \$10 million US per season.


Williams activated; Burks placed on injured list Point guard Jason Williams was activated by the Memphis Grizzlies before Wednesday night #39;s game against the Chicago Bulls and they placed rookie Antonio Burks on the injured list.


Steelers RB Bettis thinking about retiring after season Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis hasn #39;t decided if he will retire after this season, but is thinking about it. Bettis said his health -- not whether the Steelers win the Super


Celtics put Gugliotta on injured list CBC SPORTS ONLINE - The Boston Celtics returned Tom Gugliotta to the injured list Wednesday, this time with a sprained right ankle.


Brother: Renteria agrees to sign with Red Sox All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria is nearing an agreement with the Boston Red Sox on a contract, his brother said Wednesday. The deal is worth \$40 million over four years with an option for a fifth season, a


Majerus named head coach at USC Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Rick Majerus accepted an offer to become the head basketball coach at Southern California and was introduced Wednesday afternoon.


The end of the career: Blunkett timeline The  #39;News of the World #39; reveals that David Blunkett is having an affair with a married woman. It takes 24 hours for  #39;The Sun #39; to identify the woman as the US publisher of The Spectator - Kimberly Fortier, who has since adopted her married name Quinn.


Shi #39;ites Bombed as Iraq Poll Campaign Begins A bomb near a Shi #39;ite shrine killed eight people and a fierce attack on Iran by a minister fueled fears of sectarian strife when campaigning began on Wednesday for


Haiti Ex-Soldiers Seize Aristide #39;s Old Compound Some 100 former soldiers who helped lead a revolt against ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide seized his abandoned residence on Wednesday and said they would make it their headquarters.


Turkish engineer for US firm killed in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan A Turkish construction engineer has been kidnapped and killed by suspected Muslim militants opposed to the international reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, government officials said Wednesday.


Washington Mayor Says Council Puts Baseball in Capital at Risk Anthony Williams said today that he was deeply pessimistic about salvaging the deal to bring the Expos to the city.


French economy to grow 2.1 pct in 2004; slump in 2005: INSEE (AFP) AFP - The French economy is expected to grow 2.1 percent this year, but will limp through the first half of 2005 at a 1.4 percent pace that threatens the official full-year target of 2.5 percent, the national statistics office INSEE said.


HP, Intel End Itanium Chip Pact  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N and  Intel Corp. INTC.O on Wednesday ended their 10-year  partnership to co-develop the Itanium chip for server  computers, following disappointing sales of the product.


Nextel Deal Sees Sprint Shares Rise * Sprint #39;s strong wireless Internet service and Nextel #39;s walkie- talkie feature popular among mobile professionals would be a competitive combination.


Russia #39;s Yukos Oil Company Files for Bankruptcy Description: Russian oil company Yukos files for bankruptcy protection in a US court in an attempt to prevent the Russian government from auctioning off the company #39;s main asset.


Orgeron to finalize deal with Rebels Ed Orgeron, Southern California #39;s assistant head coach and defensive line coach, has agreed to become the new coach at Mississippi, USC athletic department sources have told ESPN.


Intrigue, power plays as Iraq campaign season starts Mass graves, war criminals, and Iranian agents: welcome to the campaign trail in Iraq. Even before he announced his


S. Lanka Peace Bid at Critical Low - Norway Envoy Sri Lanka #39;s bid to forge lasting peace with Tamil Tiger rebels after two decades of civil war is at its most critical ebb since a 2002 truce, Norway #39;s peace envoy to the country said on Wednesday.


Australia to Boost Security Net Around Coastline Australia plans to strengthen its coastal security with a controversial surveillance footprint that stretches south of New Zealand to north of Indonesia.


US anti-missile shield test fails The first test of the United States anti-missile shield in nearly two years, has failed. Our correspondent, John Shovelan, reports the Missile Defence Agency says the ground-based interceptor has shut down, due to an unknown anomaly.


Expos' Move to D.C. on Verge of Collapse (AP) AP - Washington's new baseball team shut down business and promotional operations indefinitely Wednesday as its move to the nation's capital teetered on the brink of collapse.


Sprint and Nextel Announce  quot;Merger of Equals, quot; Spin-Off Of <b>...</b> Sprint and Nextel Communications have signed a merger agreement. The combined company, which will adopt the name Sprint Nextel, will serve nearly 40 million wireless customers.


First flight test of new missile defense interceptor fails The Bush administration #39;s ambitious national missile defense program suffered a major setback on Wednesday when a malfunction forced a shutdown of the first test


HP Hands Over Itanium to Intel Intel #39;s (INTC:Nasdaq - news - research) plans for high-end computing reached a sad milestone Tuesday, with Hewlett-Packard (HPQ:NYSE - news - research) saying it would end the partnership that developed the less-than-successful Itanium chip.


Apple Locks Out RealNetworks With iPod Update Apple Computer has updated the software for some of its iPod digital media players so that songs bought from RealNetworks won #39;t play.


Melodeo signs mobile music agreements with Telefnica, Warner US-based mobile music solutions provider Melodeo, Inc. and the Warner Music Group (WMG) today announced the signing of a global agreement that allows consumers to securely download entire tracks from WMG #39;s


Making the most of season #39;s big gift: iPod By all accounts, millions of people will buy or receive Apple Computer #39;s iPod digital-music players this holiday season. The gadgets are beautifully designed and simple to operate, which is one reason they


Ants use geometry, odour to find way PARIS: Ants use angled signposts, using tiny scent markers, to find their way home or follow the path into the wilderness, according to a study published on Wednesday in Nature, the British science weekly.


Anger Rises as Does Toll in Remote Indian Islands  PORT BLAIR, India (Reuters) - Tempers flared over the  sluggish pace of relief efforts in India's remote and  restricted Andamans and Nicobars on Sunday as hundreds of  bodies lay scattered around the islands a week after the  tsunami struck.


Washington Mayor: Baseball Deal Near Dead Washington, DC, Mayor Anthony Williams on Wednesday said the deal to bring Major League Baseball back to the US capital was close to dead after the city council changed the plan to require private financing.


Sexson signs with Mariners Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - The Seattle Mariners have found their slugging first baseman, as they agreed to terms Wednesday with free agent Richie Sexson on a four-year contract.


Rick Majerus Named USC Men #39;s Basketball Coach For 2005-06 Season Los Angeles - Rick Majerus, one of college #39;s top basketball coaches who has won more than 400 games and made 15 post-season appearances in his 20-Year career, was hired today (Dec. 15) as USC #39;s men #39;s basketball


Time Warner To Pay \$210 Million To Settle AOL Charges The charges of accounting improprieties at AOL date back to 2000. Some analysts had been expecting Time Warner to pay \$500 million to \$600 million to settle all of its criminal and civil charges with the Justice


Crude oil prices soar on drop in heating-oil supply Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday as a government report showed a decline in US heating-oil stockpiles. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures for January


US mulls ending ban on airplane cell-phone calls WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (AFP) - US telecom regulators began on Wednesday to ponder whether ending a ban on in-flight cell-phone calls would jeopardize safety or simply vex other passengers.


Toshiba inspires breakthrough in hard disk storage Dec 16, 2004: The storage race for higher capacity and smaller sized storage hard disk drives continues with Toshiba being the latest vendor to break into the lead with the release of its newest invention.


Pedro Martinez signs \$52m deal with NY Mets December 15, 2004 -- Pedro Martinez confirmed Tuesday during an interview in his home in the Dominican Republic that he has agreed to join the New York Mets.


International Donors Warn Sri Lankan Government About Disrupting <b>...</b> The United States and two other international donors have criticized Sri Lanka #39;s coalition government, after one of its partners made statements the donors say could disrupt efforts to restart peace talks with separatist rebels.


Aachen Complete Fairytale by Reaching Last 32 German second division side Alemannia Aachen progressed to the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup after a 2-0 win against AEK Athens in Group H. Aachen had gone into Wednesday


England: Lua-Lua denies Reds LIVERPOOL, Dec 15 (SW) - Rafael Benitez Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Portsmouth last night, after Lua-Lua grabbed an equalizer in the stoppage time.


Football Press Conference Set For Thursday Morning OXFORD, Miss. - A press conference to announce the hiring of a new head football coach at The University of Mississippi has been scheduled for Thursday morning, December 16, at 10:00 am, in the new Indoor Practice Facility.


JONES SUES CONTE FOR \$32 MILLION US sprint star Marion Jones has filed a \$US 25 million (\$AUD 32.7 million) defamation lawsuit against accused steroid peddler Victor Conte saying he has sullied her reputation by making false claims she used banned performance enhancing drugs.


Celtics #39; Gugliotta back on injured list Gugliotta, who has a mild right ankle sprain, is averaging 1.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in eight games this season. He played in just one game after coming off the injured list on December 1 with lower back pain.


Helpers battle Sri Lanka floods Aid teams in Sri Lanka battle the aftermath of flash floods as they try to prevent the spread of disease among survivors.


Bengals QB Expects to Miss Bills Game (AP) AP - Carson Palmer was still on crutches Wednesday and resigned to missing the Cincinnati Bengals' next game because of a sprained left knee.


U.N. Expands Iraq Presence Beyond Baghdad (AP) AP - The United Nations is expanding its presence in Iraq outside Baghdad to the cities of Basra and Irbil but is planning to have only about 25 electoral experts in the entire country ahead of elections next month, a U.N. spokesman said Wednesday.


Sexson Agrees to  #36;50M Deal With Mariners (AP) AP - The Seattle Mariners added power to one of the weakest lineups in baseball Wednesday, agreeing to a  #36;50 million, four-year contract with free agent first baseman Richie Sexson.


USSF Threatens to Drop Players From Cup (AP) AP - The U.S. Soccer Federation is threatening to drop all experienced players from the roster for its next World Cup qualifier unless the union agrees to a new labor contract by Feb. 1.


Cincinnati QB Expects to Start in Bowl (AP) AP - Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli has the cast off his broken throwing hand and expects to start when the Bearcats play in the Fort Worth Bowl next week.


Aid group warns of jobs catastrophe with end of textiles quota system (AFP) AFP - Millions of desperately poor workers, particularly women, will lose their jobs next year following the lifting of a global system of textile and clothing tariffs, a leading aid agency warned.


Calgary police charge man with series of vicious rapes from 1988-92 (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - CALGARY (CP) - More than 12 years after a serial rapist terrorized a quiet southwest Calgary neighbourhood, police say advances in DNA technology have led to the arrest of a 61-year-old man who was a suspect all along.


Bush Prepares for Possible GPS Shutdown (AP) AP - President Bush has ordered plans for temporarily disabling the U.S. network of global positioning satellites during a national crisis to prevent terrorists from using the navigational technology, the White House said Wednesday.


Yukos makes plea to US court in bid to avoid sale By Andrew Osborn in Moscow and Katherine Griffiths in New York. Yukos emitted what appeared to be its final death rattle yesterday, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States just four days before


Missile Defense Flight Test Conducted The Missile Defense Agency announced today it was unable to complete a planned flight test after the interceptor missile experienced an anomaly shortly before it was to be launched from the Ronald Reagan Test Site, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the


Market share of Linux PCs to double by 2008: IDC Global market share of new andused PCs running Linux operating system is expected to grow from 3percent in 2003 to 7 percent in 2008, IDC, a US high tech market research firm, predicted on Wednesday.


Study uncovers ants #39; 60 degrees of navigation Ants use angled signposts and tiny scent markers to find their way home or follow the path into the wilderness, according to a study published in British science weekly Nature.


Mountain to climb for Pakistan SYDNEY: Australia and Pakistan have been involved in some classic cricketing confrontations but the spin doctors have their work cut out this time in trying to generate any real hype in the build-up to their Test series.


Players: Season in Peril Veterans Chis Pronger and Jim McKenzie don't believe that hockey will return until Dec. 2005 at the earliest after talks negotiations broke down on Tuesday.


Sexson Signs with Seattle First baseman Richie Sexson agrees to a four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.


Tyson Completes Service Charges stemming from a 2003 altercation are dropped as Mike Tyson completes community service on Wednesday.


Tokyo Stocks Open Lower on Profit-Taking  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average opened 0.43  percent lower on Thursday as investors took profits in Sony  Corp. and other exporters that had risen in the previous three  sessions.


Q amp;A: Stock exchange takeover With news that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has knocked back a 1.35bn offer from its German rival Deutsche Boerse, the ordinary shareholder may be wondering what lies ahead.


Airlines may incur US\$5bil loss this year GENEVA: International airlines are heading for a near US\$5bil loss this year, largely due to the rise in oil prices, the industrys global body said on Tuesday.


Report: Intel, HP Itanium Joint Development to End Intel and Hewlett-Packard will end their 10-year long development partnership for Itanium server chips, according to a report from Reuters.


Departing NASA chief faces faculty questions at LSU over possible <b>...</b> Sean O #39;Keefe stepped down from leading NASA this week and into the pole position for Louisiana #39;s top academic job, chancellor of LSU, where he met Wednesday with


Uefa Cup Wrap: Rangers Crash Out Rangers European adventure has come to a disappointingly early conclusion after the Scottish giants crashed to a 2-0 defeat at home to Auxerre tonight.


Tyson completes  #39;sentence #39; MIKE TYSON closed the book today on one of his many run-ins with the law: his brawl last year with two men outside a Brooklyn hotel.


16 including 3 Polish soldiers killed in Iraq BAGHDAD: At least 16 people including one US Marine and three Polish soldiers were killed in violence across Iraq on Wednesday. A bomb exploded near the office of a senior Shiite cleric in Karbala on Wednesday


Bomb in Iraqi Shi #39;ite City Kills 8, Wounds 32 A bomb exploded near the office of a senior Shi #39;ite cleric in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala on Wednesday, killing eight people and wounding 32 in a failed attempt on the cleric #39;s life, officials said.


Kidnapped Turkish engineer found dead in Afghanistan An ambulance of the International Security Assistance Force carrying the body of Turkish Engineer Eyup Orel leaves Kabul airport in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Dec. 15, 2004.


Australia to impose 1,000-mile  #39;terror exclusion zone #39; In a controversial and possibly illegal step, Australia plans to intercept and board ships on the high seas if it believes them to be a terrorist threat.


FCC to Allow Wireless Access on Planes (AP) AP - Passengers taking to the skies for U.S. flights could be checking e-mail and surfing the Web through high-speed Internet connections in a couple of years. And the day when travelers can chat away on cell phones while in flight might not be far behind.


Greek Bus Hijackers Had No Explosives -Police (Reuters) Reuters - Two Albanian gunmen who hijacked a\packed Greek bus and threatened to blow it up turned out to be\bluffing because they did not have any explosives, Greek police\chief George Angelakos said on Thursday.


Hijackers of Bus in Greece Surrender (AP) AP - Two armed men who hijacked a public bus and threatened to blow it up surrendered just after midnight Wednesday and released their six remaining hostages, ending an 18-hour standoff.


Washington Baseball at Risk, MLB May Seek Bids (Reuters) Reuters - Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony\Williams on Wednesday said the deal to bring baseball back to\the U.S. capital was close to dead after the city council\changed the plan to require private financing, a move Major\League Baseball called unacceptable.


Bomb at Shiite Shrine Kills 7 in Karbala (AP) AP - A bomb targeting a prominent Shiite cleric killed seven people outside one of southern Iraq's holiest shrines Wednesday as campaigning began for Iraq's first post-Saddam elections  #151; a vote that is going ahead despite suicide attacks and assassinations by Sunni insurgents.


Apple Locks Out RealNetworks With iPod Update (PC World) PC World - IPod Photo won't play songs purchased from Real.


Sprint Nextel Would Be 3rd Largest Carrier (AP) AP - Sprint Corp.'s  #36;35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. could challenge Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless for supremacy in a ruthlessly competitive business where prices are constantly dropping.


IDC predicts Linux market worth  #36;35 billion by 2008 (InfoWorld) InfoWorld - IDC on Wednesday painted an optimistic outlook for Linux over the next few years, predicting that overall revenue for desktops, servers, and Linux-compatible packaged software will reach  #36;35 billion by 2008.


Moderate Earthquake Shakes Eastern Taiwan (AP) AP - A moderate earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Bureau said, but no damage or injuries were reported.


First Look: Small Business Accounting Apps (PC World) PC World - Intuit, Best Software offer new features, prices with 2005 editions.


IBM, Others Push for Greater U.S. Innovation (PC World) PC World - Nation needs government help to maintain competitive edge, group says.


Washington Baseball at Risk, MLB May Seek Bids  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony  Williams on Wednesday said the deal to bring baseball back to  the U.S. capital was close to dead after the city council  changed the plan to require private financing, a move Major  League Baseball called unacceptable.


Plant to Make Clean Power from Turkey Droppings (Reuters) Reuters - Turkey leftovers will take on a whole\new use after a Minnesota company finishes construction of a\power plant fired by the birds' droppings.


U.S. to More Closely Coordinate GPS Policy (Reuters) Reuters - The United States will more\aggressively promote and more tightly coordinate oversight of\its Global Positioning System, the network of satellites used\to determine precise geographic locations, the White House said\on Wednesday.


Scary Faces Have Subliminal Effects, Study Finds (Reuters) Reuters - People's brains react to a\photograph of a frightened face, even when it is flashed on a\screen too quickly to be consciously recognized, U.S.\researchers said on Wednesday.


Summary Box: 2004 Fourth-Hottest on Record (AP) AP - WEATHER REPORT: The year 2004 was the fourth-hottest on record, extending a trend since 1990 that has registered the 10 warmest years, a report by the World Meteorological Organization showed.


Shi'ites Bombed as Iraq Poll Campaign Begins  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb near a Shi'ite shrine killed  eight people and a fierce attack on Iran by a minister fueled  fears of sectarian strife when campaigning began on Wednesday  for Iraq's first election since Saddam Hussein's fall.


2004 Among the Hottest Years on Record (AP) AP - The year 2004, punctuated by four powerful hurricanes in the Caribbean and deadly typhoons lashing Asia, was the fourth-hottest on record, extending a trend since 1990 that has registered the 10 warmest years, a U.N. weather agency said Wednesday.


Key Ruling Due on Inmates of 'Britain's Guantanamo'  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's highest court decides on  Thursday how far human rights can be restricted in the "war on  terror" in a major judgment on detaining suspected foreign  extremists without trial.


Haiti Ex-Soldiers Seize Aristide's Old Compound  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - Some 100 former soldiers  who helped lead a revolt against ousted Haitian President  Jean-Bertrand Aristide seized his abandoned residence on  Wednesday and said they would make it their headquarters.


Democracy stirs in the Arab world Upcoming elections in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority are initial steps on still rocky paths to democracy.


UN seeks more I Coast troops The UN mission says it needs extra troops to continue to maintain order in Ivory Coast which has seen renewed fighting between rival factions.


French head warns Turkey on EU French President Jacques Chirac says Turkey can join the EU as a member if it meets entry requirements.


Protestant Leader: IRA May Disarm on Sly (AP) AP - A key Protestant leader in Northern Ireland on Wednesday warned that the Irish Republican Army may resume disarmament in secret, rather than allow the process to be photographed as demanded by Protestants.


Bad Sex For the past 12 years, the Literary Review has held an annual Bad Sex competition aimed at exposing "the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it".   This year's winner, drawn from a shortlist that included Will Self, Andre Brink and Nadeem Aslam, was veteran journalist and author Tom Wolfe.


EU Leaders Poised to Offer Entry Talks to Turkey  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders were poised on Thursday to  set a date to start accession talks with Turkey, as Turkish  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Brussels in an  optimistic mood for a spate of last-minute diplomacy.


Yukos files for bankruptcy protection The embattled Russian oil company Yukos has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States to prevent the auction of its main asset Yuganskeneftegaz, the Interfax reported on Wednesday.


Sun must acquire Red Hat or Novell - analyst Analysis If it knows what's good for it


US mobile deal keeps Vodafone in the spotlight America #39;s third-largest mobile operator, Sprint, yesterday agreed to buy the fifth-largest, Nextel, in a well-flagged cash and shares deal worth \$36.3billion (19billion).


Yukos Turns to US Court in Last-Ditch Effort to Prevent Sell-Off Russian officials Wednesday shrugged off the decision by embattled oil giant Yukos to file for bankruptcy protection in the US, saying the move was politically motivated.


Federal Reserve lifts target rate to 2.25 Federal Reserve policy-makers raised the benchmark US interest rate a quarter point to 2.25 per cent and restated a plan to carry out


US stocks: Markets end higher; earnings, merger news trump oil US stocks closed slightly higher Wednesday, as better-than-expected quarterly results from investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.


GERMAN PAPERS Frankfurt Courts London Stock Exchange The Deutsche Boerse has tendered its second offer to buy the London Stock Exchange in four years. The last bid ended in catastrophic failure, but German newspapers generally agree on Tuesday that its chances this time around are much stronger.


Peace award for Margaret Hassan British national charity worker Margaret Hassan, murdered in Iraq, is honoured posthumously with a peace award.


Google #39;s Plan Prompts a Question: What #39;s on the Web? Description: This week, the search engine Google announced plans to digitize millions of library books and make them searchable online.


Four Confirmed Dead in Peru Police Shootout  LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Four police officers died on Sunday  in a shootout with an armed group that took over a police  station in a southern Peruvian town on New Year's Day and held  10 hostages, doctors said.


Good News (Wells), Bad News (Schilling) David Wells passed a physical and was introduced at a Fenway Park news conference, and the timing could not have been more striking.


FCC Eases Phone Network Leasing Rules  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New rules easing requirements that  the big four U.S. local telephone carriers lease their networks  to competitors at government-set rates, were narrowly approved  by U.S. communications regulators on Wednesday.


US to unveil deal with AOL on fraud charges The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will announce a settlement deal it has reached with Time Warnerconcerning accounting issues with its America Online(AOL) Internet division on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter.


Dollar Under Pressure in Thin Trading  TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar was feeling the heat on  Thursday as concerns about the U.S. trade and current account  deficits hardened the market's view that the currency's  downward spiral would continue.


Fannie Mae Told to Restate Earnings An official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday a review had found that the firm had violated accounting rules and that he had told the mortgage giant to restate its earnings.


Drinking at last-chance saloon Yukos will on Thursday seek an injunction from a US court in a last-gasp bid to block the forced auction of its main operating unit by the Russian government on Sunday.


Missile-defense test ends in failure WASHINGTON - An important test of the United States #39; emerging missile-defense system ended in an \$85 million failure early Wednesday as an interceptor rocket failed to launch as scheduled from the Marshall Islands, the Pentagon said.


Stocks: Wall Street mixed as focus returns to profit NEW YORK Stocks bounced between gains and losses Wednesday as investors overlooked rising oil prices to focus on strong results from Lehman Brothers and Sprint #39;s much-rumored acquisition of Nextel Communications.


#39;Tankan #39; sees first slide in 21 months; recovery past peak Business confidence at Japan #39;s large manufacturers in the October-December quarter worsened for the first time in 21 months, and the outlook for next quarter is even dimmer, according to the


MPAA files lawsuits against P2P networks The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is following the Recording Industry Association of Americas (RIAA) footsteps by filing lawsuits against BitTorrent clients.


Microsoft introduces desktop search feature Microsoft Corp., world largest software maker, introduced its desktop search feature on Monday, taking aim at Google with its beta desktop search functionality.


HP, Intel End Itanium Partnership Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday ended their 10-year partnership


SAP Clamps Down on IT Security com. As IT landscapes are in a constant flux, SAP advised that these security checks need to be undertaken at regular intervals. SAP Security Optimization is part of SAP Active Global Support #39;s portfolio of customer services.


Washington Mayor Says Council Puts Baseball in Capital at Risk A grim Mayor Anthony Williams said today that he was deeply pessimistic that Washington would be able to salvage its deal with Major League Baseball to bring the Montreal


Spain coach facing  #39;slap on wrist #39; The Kick Racism Out Of Football campaign believe Luis Aragones will receive little more than  quot;a slap on the wrist quot; after the Spanish Football Federation yesterday belatedly opened a disciplinary


Jones sues Conte over drugs claim Marion Jones raised the stakes in the battle to clear her name last night when she filed a \$25 million lawsuit against the man who said he watched her inject herself with drugs.


Counsell is happy to be back PHOENIX - Craig Counsell is returning to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the latest in an offseason spree of signings designed to turn baseball #39;s biggest losers into winners again.


Anger rises as does toll in remote Andaman and Nicobar islands (Reuters) Reuters - Tempers flared over the sluggish pace of relief efforts in the remote and restricted Andamans and Nicobars on Sunday as hundreds of bodies lay scattered around the islands a week after the tsunami struck.


British Home Secretary resigns TONY EASTLEY: In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair #39;s election hopes have been dealt a blow with the resignation of his Home Secretary, David Blunkett.


Italy Calls To End Kyoto Climate Limits After 2012 ROME - Italy has called for an end to the Kyoto Protocol after the environmental treaty #39;s initial period in 2012, preferring voluntary agreements that would entice the United States, China and India to tackle climate change.


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


EU Leaders Poised to Offer Entry Talks to Turkey (Reuters) Reuters - EU leaders were poised on Thursday to\set a date to start accession talks with Turkey, as Turkish\Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Brussels in an\optimistic mood for a spate of last-minute diplomacy.


FCC adopts new network-sharing rules WASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday adopted new rules about what parts of incumbent telephone carrier networks must be shared with competitors, backtracking on an earlier decision forcing incumbents to share local switching facilities in the residential market.


IDC predicts Linux market worth \$35 billion by 2008 IDC on Wednesday painted an optimistic outlook for Linux over the next few years, predicting that overall revenue for desktops, servers, and Linux-compatible packaged software will reach \$35 billion by 2008.


Air talks back on runway The news came as Airbus predicted that 17,300 new passenger and freight aircraft, worth \$1.9trillion, were needed to meet global demand over the next 20 years.


Update 1: Court OKs Trump Hotels Bankruptcy Package Staking Donald Trump to some badly needed cash, a judge signed off Wednesday on a \$100 million loan that will keep his casinos open while his company #39;s bankruptcy case winds through the courts.


Here #39;s what you will _ and won #39;t _ be able to see when searching <b>...</b> A few months from now, perhaps by mid-2005, Google will be adding thousands of library books from university collections to its searchable database.


Gators #39; RB Fason declares for NFL draft Florida running back Ciatrick Fason announced Wednesday he plans to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. The 6-foot, 215-pound junior has been one of the most consistent performers for the 20th-ranked Gators.


Government issues Indonesia travel warning TONY EASTLEY: As thousands of Australians prepare to fly out to Indonesia for their Christmas and New Year holidays, the Federal Government has issued a new quite specific warning about the risk of a terrorist attack there.


AP: Yushchenko Shows Record Dioxin Level New tests reveal Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko #39;s blood contains the second-highest level of dioxin poisoning ever recorded in a human - more than 6,000 times


Sri Lanka urged to offer more support to Norway peace efforts Sri Lanka #39;s main foreign donors have warned that some members of the ruling coalition are undermining the peace process aimed at ending the decades-long civil war.


Rams Safety Probably Out for Rest of Year (AP) AP - St. Louis Rams free safety Aeneas Williams probably will be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a neck injury.


Yankees Raise Price of Best Box Seats  #36;10 (AP) AP - The New York Yankees are raising ticket prices for most of their top seats by  #36;10 next season, with the best box seats going for  #36;90.


Dollar Under Pressure in Thin Trading (Reuters) Reuters - The dollar was feeling the heat on\Thursday as concerns about the U.S. trade and current account\deficits hardened the market's view that the currency's\downward spiral would continue.


Kodiak missile goes up, but interceptor fails A target missile successfully blasted off from the Kodiak Launch Complex at 8:45 pm Tuesday, but the interceptor it was meant to test failed to launch from the Kwajalein Atoll in the central


SEC says Fannie did not meet accounting standards The US Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday the accounting practices of housing finance group Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) from 2001 to mid-2004  quot;did not comply in material respects quot; with


Ask Jeeves launches desktop search tool LOS ANGELES - Online search company Ask Jeeves Inc. Wednesday launched an application that lets people search files and documents on their computers, joining a number of competitors who have released similar applications recently.


Online Groups Behind Bulk of Bootleg Films (AP) AP - In not-too-secret online forums, Wesley Snipes' latest movie, "Blade: Trinity," is the subject of intense discussion and evaluation.


Intel Acquires Chip Designers From HP Intel Corp. has reached an agreement to hire hundreds of Hewlett-Packard Co. engineers who helped design the Itanium microprocessor, a massive joint project between the two technology companies since the early 1990s.


Linux market may grow to \$35 billion by 2008 SEATTLE - Linux, the fast-growing alternative to Windows and other operating systems, will become a \$35 billion market by 2008, technology research firm IDC said Wednesday.


Oracle gives first outline of PeopleSoft plans It may be one of the software industry #39;s largest acquisitions to date, but Oracle expects to work out its merger plans with PeopleSoft by the end of the year and will  quot;hit


Expos #39; Move to DC on Verge of Collapse With a  quot;NO quot; banner in the foreground, Washington Mayor Anthony Williams, right, DC Sports Commission Chairman Mark Tuohey, left, and others, look as a the DC City Council debates stadium finance legislation for the return of Major League Baseball


Jones sues BALCO founder, denies steroid use Olympic athletics champion Marion Jones filed a defamation lawsuit yesterday against BALCO head Victor Conte, who told a US television audience that he gave her steroids and watched her inject herself with them.


Erickson to stay with 49ers After discussing a job opening with the University of Mississippi, San Francisco coach Dennis Erickson said Wednesday he would stay with the 49ers.


Seeking second base help, A #39;s land Ginter Ginter batted .262 with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs in 113 games for Milwaukee last season. He posted career highs in batting, at-bats (386), hits (101), doubles (23), home runs, RBIs and slugging (.479).


Majerus to coach USC next season Rick Majerus was hired Wednesday to coach the USC basketball team, but he will not take over the position until the 2005-06 season.


Surrender of hijackers ends eighteen-hour ordeal of bus passengers <b>...</b> Two armed men who hijacked a busload of hostages at gunpoint in the outskirts of Athens and demanded 1m (690,000) ransom surrendered last night.


Ukraine reopens poisoning inquiry Ukrainian prosecutors reopened their investigation into allegations Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned after doctors who treated the opposition leader confirmed he had been slipped the toxic chemical dioxin.


US prudent on possible Japanese sanctions against North Korea (AFP) AFP - The United States backed Japan's efforts to resolve a dispute with North Korea over its abduction of Japanese nationals during the Cold War but stayed prudent about Tokyo's possible use of sanctions.


Australia's plan for vast sea security zone angers neighbour New Zealand (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - WELLINGTON, N.Z. (AP) - Australia has angered its neighbour New Zealand, with a plan to impose an 1,850-kilometre security zone around the Australian coastline.


Author of expose on UN peacekeepers says his contract not renewed (AFP) AFP - A New Zealand doctor and United Nations employee who co-wrote a book exposing sex, drugs and corruption among UN peacekeeping forces said his contract with the world body was not being renewed.


Bush warns Iran and Syria on Iraq US President George W Bush says Iran and Syria should not interfere in Iraq in advance of January's elections.


Oil Tops \$44, Heating Supply a Concern Oil prices surged nearly 6 percent on Wednesday as the US government reported a fall in heating oil stocks in the midst of the season #39;s first arctic cold blast in the Northeast.


Google Wins Trademark Victory Over GEICO A federal judge on Wednesday handed online search engine Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) a victory in a trademark infringement case on Wednesday, ruling


Blockbuster Cans Late Fees, Keeps Due Dates LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - To the joy of couch potatoes nationwide who resent rushing to the video store to return movies, video rental giant Blockbuster says it will do away with the dreaded late fees.


Money talks, Pedro walks Those were the exact words uttered by Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez in an interview that appeared in the World Series DVD released late last month.


Raiders Kicker Gets Contract Extension (AP) AP - Sebastian Janikowski finalized a  #36;10.5 million, five-year contract extension with the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday that makes him the highest paid placekicker in the NFL.


Infection link to heart attacks \Common respiratory and urinary tract infections play a role in triggering heart attacks and strokes, researchers say.


Expos' Preparations Thrown a Curve (AP) AP - Some fans who had not heard the news showed up at a downtown restaurant Wednesday expecting to witness the unveiling of the Washington Nationals uniforms.


Hostage Takers Give Up After 18-Hour Standoff on Bus in Greece The two gunmen who had hijacked an Athens-bound commuter bus surrendered to the authorities and released their six remaining captives.


Cold sends oil price above \$44 Oil futures prices have jumped 5 percent higher, climbing above \$44 a barrel in the United States Wednesday after US government data showed a slight decline in crude and heating oil supplies as colder weather in the Northeast drove up


Nokia counters counterfeit products with holographic labels Finnish mobile handset maker Nokia has made a 3-D move against counterfeit batteries. In order for customers to be able to more easily identify original Nokia batteries from non-original batteries, Nokia has


Coalition thanks outgoing NASA Administrator Sean O #39;Keefe WASHINGTON (Dec. 15, 2004) - The Coalition for Space Exploration expresses its deep appreciation to NASA Administrator Sean O #39;Keefe for his strong personal leadership during one of the most critical periods


ICANN making available new domain names The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has given preliminary approval to two new domain names. The  quot;.


Majerus leaves TV gig to take coaching job at Southern California He retired nearly a year ago for health reasons after 15 seasons at Utah, but he couldn #39;t stay away from his life #39;s passion.


Rockets activate Lue from injured list Houston, TX (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets activated guard Tyronn Lue from the injured list prior to Wednesday #39;s game against the Hawks.


Lions sticking with Harrington at QB Mariucci wouldn #39;t name a starter for this week #39;s game at his weekly news conference on Monday, allowing speculation to grow that he might replace Harrington with Mike McMahon.


Abbas and the Rafah Operation The nature of Israeli occupation will not change overnight. The savagery that the Sharon government adopts in dealing with the Palestinians will not change.


Google Wins Geico LawSuit According to wire services, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema rejected a claim by auto insurance giant Geico, which argued that Google should not be allowed to sell ads to rival insurance companies that appear whenever Geico #39;s name is typed into the


Sri Lanka urged to offer more support to rebel go-between Sri Lanka #39;s main foreign donors warn some members of the country #39;s ruling coalition are undermining the shaky peace process aimed at ending the decades-long civil war.


Bennett Thinks He's Finally Hit Stride (AP) AP - Drew Bennett of the Tennessee Titans is not surprised by his recent play, which includes the most receiving yardage in a game this season in the NFL.


Source: Renteria Agrees to Sign With BoSox (AP) AP - All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria has agreed in principle to a  #36;40 million, four-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, who beat his St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series when he grounded to the pitcher for the final out.


San Diego Ballots Would Have Ousted Mayor (AP) AP - A complete review of disqualified ballots in San Diego's mayoral race showed Wednesday that write-in candidate Donna Frye would have ousted Mayor Dick Murphy had those votes been counted.


Business confidence dips in Japan Business confidence among Japanese manufacturers has weakened for the first time since March 2003, the quarterly Tankan survey has found.


SA netball team thumped gain Birmingham - South Africa #39;s netball team have suffered their third successive defeat against England on Tuesday evening when they lost the Test series 3-0.


Tsunami swallows Sri Lanka nursery school, children (Reuters) Reuters - Bob Uppington, a retired teacher from England, came to this tiny Sri Lankan tsunami-ravaged fishing village to find 40 children.


Europe expected to say yes to Turkey Depending on which direction you are coming from, European leaders are meeting in Brussels today either to crash the EU dream or cut the ribbon on a vital bridge between Islam and the west.


Editorial: Tragedy With Multiple Victims DARFUR is a real tragedy. First of all, it is a tragedy for the two million refugees and then for the widows and orphans of the 70,000 people who have been slain.


Yukos files for bankruptcy protection in Bush #39;s backyard Russian oil giant Yukos yesterday increased the stakes in its battle with the Kremlin when it filed for bankruptcy in the United States in an unusual move possibly intended to pitch Washington against Moscow.


\$210m settlement in AOL fraud inquiry Time Warner agreed to pay \$210m (108m) yesterday to settle criminal fraud charges related to its internet service provider America Online.


Defense Missile for US System Fails to Launch WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - An important test of the United States #39; fledgling missile defense system ended in failure early Wednesday as an interceptor rocket failed to launch on cue from the Marshall Islands, the Pentagon said.


US Fed nudges interest rates up again US Federal Reserve policy-makers probably will keep nudging interest rates upward next year, trying to guard against inflation but moving moderately enough to keep the economy expanding.


Desert plant offers rich pickings for Bushmen THOUSANDS of South African Bushmen are to receive a royalty windfall after a Cambridgeshire company yesterday signed a deal with Unilever to develop one of their bush plants into a slimming aid.


Company Settles Charges on Funds Sold to Soldiers First Command Financial Services, one of the best-known companies marketing financial products to military families, agreed yesterday to pay \$12 million to settle accusations that it


ThyssenKrupp sells off 48,000 workers #39; houses ThyssenKrupp, the German engineering group buoyed by soaring steel prices, sold off a core element of its philanthropic past yesterday by disposing of its entire stock of company homes for employees for 2.1bn (1.45bn).


No. 6 Wake Forest Drops Elon 85-67 (AP) AP - Chris Paul had 14 points and a career-high 11 assists and Kyle Visser added 13 points, helping No. 6 Wake Forest hold off Elon 85-67 on Wednesday night.


Despite Google, we still need good libraries GOOGLE, with whom I spend more time than with my loved ones, is planning to put the contents of the worlds greatest libraries on line, including the Bodleian in Oxford and those of Harvard and Stanford in America.


Current stories in Viewpoints, Outlook: Cragg Hines welcomes the departure of NASA #39;s chief but worries about the list of potential successors, especially Gen. Missileman.


MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf Goes Gold To celebrate the upcoming release, Microsoft has launched a new MechAssault 2 mini-site where visitors will find tons of information on the upcoming Xbox action title, such as trailers, wallpapers, and plenty of screenshots.


Solar panels in clothing could keep us talking MOBILE phone users left talking to themselves when their battery runs out in the middle of a call could soon see an end to their frustration as scientists perfect a way to recharge electrical equipment while on the move.


Interactive Christmas lights an on-line hit LAFAYETTE, Colo. - After festooning his house with 17,000 Christmas lights, Alex Komarnitsky wanted more than just drive-by gawkers to be able to enjoy the spectacle.


Sony, Nintendo, Take Market Share Battle to New Heights Gaming console giants Nintendo and Sony are enabling music and video playback on their popular gaming devices in an effort to dominate the lucrative market, expected to account for sales of \$2 billion in the United States this year.


Baseball Rejects Terms for Washington Stadium Major League Baseball on Wednesday rejected as  quot;wholly unacceptable quot; a stadium financing plan approved the day before by the Washington City Council, throwing into grave


Raptors 96 Timberwolves 90 TORONTO Chris Bosh scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to push Toronto past Minnesota 96-to-90. Bosh came within one point and one rebound of career highs.


Pakistan sends Aussies in PAKISTAN captain Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and sent Australia in to bat in the first cricket Test at the WACA Ground today. Australia will start its innings in fine conditions against Pakistan pacemen Shoaib


By Signing Renteria, Red Sox Finally Make a Big Splash Trying to counter the loss of Pedro Martnez and their failures in other contract negotiations, the Boston Red Sox have reached an agreement with their most significant free agent this off-season


Cavaliers 112, Trail Blazers 88 LeBron James scored 12 of his 25 points in less than three minutes of the third quarter and Ira Newble added a season-high 18 as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their ninth straight at home, 112-88 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.


Sexson agrees to \$50 million contract with Seattle The Seattle Mariners added power to one of the weakest lineups in baseball Wednesday, agreeing to a \$50 million, four-year contract with free agent first baseman Richie Sexson.


Greek Bus Hijacking Ends With Surrender ATHENS, Greece -- Two armed hijackers have surrendered and released their hostages, 18 hours after seizing a bus near Athens, Greece.


Political storm began as summer shower The avalanche of bad publicity that buried David Blunkett #39;s career was triggered more than four months ago, with the Sunday newspaper revelation that the home secretary was having an affair.


AP: Ohio Hires Solich As Football Coach (AP) AP - Former Nebraska coach Frank Solich has been hired as coach of Ohio University, The Associated Press learned Wednesday night.


New Zealanders warned of more terrorism in Indonesia New Zealanders in Indonesia arebeing contacted by embassy staff after new reports that terroristscould be planning attacks on specific targets, including hotels, The Dominion Post reported Thursday.


As Iraqi Campaign Begins, a Bomb Kills 9 in Karbala BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 15 - Iraq #39;s election campaign season opened on a violent note when a bomb exploded Wednesday near the gate of one of Iraq #39;s holiest Shiite shrines in the pilgrim city of Karbala, killing


Melting Icy Egypt-Israel Relations Through a Trade Pact When Egypt, Israel and the United States signed a trade agreement this week, it represented the most tangible step in a monthlong thaw in chilly relations between the Egyptians and Israelis.


Hard bargaining over Israeli coalition posts Israeli political parties were yesterday bogged down in hard bargaining over the formation of a new coalition government to implement the plan of Ariel Sharon, prime minister, to


UN to Increase Its Staff in Iraq for Elections The United Nations announced Wednesday that it was expanding its presence in Iraq outside Baghdad to the cities of Erbil in the Kurdish north and Basra in the south


Prickly solution to slimmers #39; woes A plant used to stem the hunger pangs of African tribes could soon be added to the meals of obese westerners desperate to lose their excess pounds.


Google Wins Battle With Geico Unlike Overture (Yahoo!) who settled out of court with insurance company Geico, Google didn #39;t buckle and today won a major legal victory with a US federal court.


Rockets Activate Lue from Injured List  HOUSTON (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets activated  guard Tyronn Lue from the injured list prior to Wednesday's  game against the Hawks.


Google To Bring The Library To You Google, the world #39;s most popular search engine plans to transform the trip to the library into a trip to the nearest computer.


Lights, webcam, action! Alex, Wendy, Dirk and Kyle Komarnitsky would like you to help them with their Christmas decorations. Or more precisely, the family in Lafayette, Colorado, want you to turn on and off the 17,000 Christmas lights


Apple #39;s iPod goes to school its also a powerful learning tool, according to Apple. Audio has always had a place in the classroom but it is normally in the form


Ants use odour, geometry: study ANTS use angled signposts, using tiny scent markers, to find their way home or follow the path into the wilderness, according to a study published today.


Mets Bracing for Beginning of Martnez Era Pedro Martnez took the M.R.I., passed the physical, and will be introduced as a Met in a news conference at Shea Stadium on Thursday.


By Signing Renteria, Red Sox Finally Make a Big Splash Trying to counter the loss of Pedro Martnez and their failures in other contract negotiations, the Red Sox have reached an agreement shortstop Edgar Renteria.


MechAssault 2 jacks gold Mech shooter off stomps off to production, and is on schedule for its uncommon December 28 release. Microsoft today announced that MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf has achieved gold status and will be ready to hit Xboxes and light up Xbox Live December 28.


Sky nets four-year deal to air live cricket British Sky Broadcasting has strengthened its grip on live television coverage of sport with a deal giving Sky Sports exclusive rights to the live broadcast of all home international and domestic cricket in England and Wales.


Former Ole Miss coach Irish #39;s offensive coordinator Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has apparently zeroed in on former Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe as his offensive coordinator and John Latina, who was Cutcliffe #39;s offensive coordinator with the Rebels, as the new Irish offensive line coach.


Line of Scrimmage: Week 15 - Putting a Finger on Plummer #39;s Woes Somewhere in the recesses of Jake Plummer #39;s mind, the idea of the Broncos #39; quarterback raising his right hand, middle digit extended, must have seemed brilliant.


SEC: Fannie Fails Accounting Compliance (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. Securities and Exchange\Commission said on Wednesday the accounting practices of\housing finance group Fannie Mae  from 2001 to mid-2004\"did not comply in material respects" with certain accounting\standards for derivatives, hedging and other matters.


Rangers #39; worst fears realised ALEX McLeish admitted last night Rangers had no-one to blame but themselves after they followed Celtic out of Europe and left Hearts clinging to the remaining hope that Scottish football will have UEFA Cup representation in the second half of the season.


Nikkei Drops, Exporters Hurt by Yen (Reuters) Reuters - Tokyo stocks slipped on Thursday as\exporters such as Sony Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. succumbed\to the weakness of the dollar against the yen and gave up some\of their gains of the previous three sessions.


Nikkei Drops, Exporters Hurt by Yen  TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks slipped on Thursday as  exporters such as Sony Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. succumbed  to the weakness of the dollar against the yen and gave up some  of their gains of the previous three sessions.


Dollar Closes in on Low Versus Euro  TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar was within reach of a record  low against the euro on Thursday as concerns about the U.S.  trade and current account deficits hardened the market's view  the currency's downward spiral would continue.


S.E.C. Says Fannie Mae Violated Accounting Rules The Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered Fannie Mae to restate its earnings for the last four years after concluding that it had violated accounting rules.


Company Settles Charges on Funds Sold to Soldiers First Command Financial Services agreed to pay \$12 million to settle accusations that it used misleading information to sell mutual funds to military officers.


Latest Merger Would Recast Cellular's Face Once Again Sprint and Nextel Communications formally announced a merger that will create a formidable No. 3 carrier with 35.4 million subscribers.


Air Force at Unease in the Capital At the heart of the scandal is a relationship between the Air Force and its main supplier, the Boeing Company, that had grown increasingly cozy.


AOL reaches agreement on securities fraud America Online, the internet division of Time Warner, will be charged with criminal securities fraud but is likely to avoid prosecution under a settlement


Google wins advertising case Google won an important test case in the US yesterday when a federal court judge cleared its practice of selling ads around internet searches conducted for trademarked terms.


HP quits chipmaking alliance with Intel Hewlett-Packard yesterday announced it was quitting the microprocessor making business by severing its 10-year partnership with Intel to develop Itanium chips for server computers.


Jets Say Pennington Bothered by Shoulder Some throws fell woefully short, skittering across the turf and rolling to the feet of receivers. Others sailed over the heads of the intended targets, fluttering


Saban admits meeting with Dolphins LSU Coach Nick Saban said Wednesday he had met with officials of the Miami Dolphins to discuss that team #39;s head coaching job. There was no indication whether an offer had been made or accepted.


Fannie Mae Warns on Capital Position (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. mortgage finance giant Fannie\Mae said on Wednesday a Securities and Exchange Commission\decision that it must restate earnings over accounting problems\is likely to cut into its capital position.


Nuke Whistle-Blower Named Scottish Rector (AP) AP - Students at a Scottish university on Wednesday elected Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu their official spokesman.


Industry Hires House's Author of Drug Benefit Representative Billy Tauzin will become president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the chief lobby for brand-name drug companies.


U.N. Sexual Abuse Alleged in Congo The 34-page draft report, which was obtained by The Washington Post, accuses U.N. peacekeepers from Morocco, Pakistan and Nepal of seeking to obstruct U.N. efforts to  investigate a sexual abuse scandal.


Video War Is a Break From the Real Fight Between guard duty and patrols and shifts at the dining facility, soldiers gather to crash fast cars, play volleyball with buxom women and mimic warfare in a small trailer at Camp Liberty.


Varig Future in Doubt Amid Takeover Talks The future of Varig, Brazil's flagship airline, was thrown into confusion Wednesday after the country's vice president downplayed a top official's announcement that the carrier would be taken over by the government to save it from collapsing under a mountain of debt.


SEC #39;s Recent Penalties Among Its Toughest Although the specter of a criminal prosecution of Time Warner Inc. all but vanished with yesterday #39;s Justice Department settlement, the company #39;s tentative \$300 million agreement to settle


Best Buy ahead 21 in spite of  #39;modest growth #39; Best Buy beat analyst estimates with a 21 per cent rise in quarterly profit, sending its shares 5 per cent higher yesterday. The number one US consumer electronics retailer said


Michael Wilbon It #39;s a great idea that private money finance at least 50 percent of the cost of a new riverfront baseball stadium. It #39;s a smart idea to protect the District from millions of dollars in penalties resulting


FOOTBALL: REDS FANS MUST FEAR A GERRARD KOP-OUT STEVEN GERRARD dug Liverpool out of a hole again on Monday night but you have to question if the skipper is growing tired of the same old routine.


Allawi unveils candidacy for elections BEIJING, Dec. 16 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has unveiled his candidacy for the general elections on January 30. His name appears at the top of a list of candidates submitted by his electoral alliance for seats in the 275-member National Assembly.


Bosh, Raptors stun Timberwolves CBC SPORTS ONLINE - The spectre of an eighth straight loss was enough to spur the Toronto Raptors to a stunning 96-90 upset win over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves at the Air Canada Centre.


Carlyle, Prudential to Buy China Pacific Life Stake, People Say Carlyle Group Inc., the world #39;s third- biggest buyout fund, agreed to pay \$400 million for 24.9 percent of the life insurance subsidiary of China #39;s third largest insurer, people familiar with the transaction said.


Hornets Top Warriors 98-89 (AP) AP - Dan Dickau scored a career-best 23 points and the New Orleans Hornets won their first home game of the season, 98-89 over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.


Lee expected trade from White Sox New Brewers outfielder Carlos Lee was expecting a trade. He just didn #39;t know where. The Brewers obtained the 28-year-old left fielder from the Chicago White Sox this week for center fielder Scott Podsednik, reliever Luis Vizcaino and a player to be named.


Indonesia Orders Security Clampdown (AP) AP - Indonesia ordered a nationwide security crackdown Thursday after Australia, Britain and New Zealand warned terrorists were preparing to attack ahead of Christmas.


New finding in Ukraine poisoning Dutch experts who have been examining blood samples from Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian opposition leader, disclosed yesterday that the politician has staggeringly high levels of dioxin in his blood, the second highest ever recorded.


Southwest wins battle for ATA assets Southwest Airlines emerged on Wednesday as the victor in the battle for the assets of ATA, the bankrupt low-cost carrier, beating a rival offer from AirTran and underscoring its


Rockets Blast Hawks 92-69 (AP) AP - Tracy McGrady had 25 points and Yao Ming scored 23 to lead the Houston Rockets past the Atlanta Hawks 92-69 on Wednesday night.


Minnesota 68, Chicago St. 58 Lawson, a senior guard whose previous high was the 11 points he scored earlier this month against Holy Cross, hit 8-of-12 shots, including three 3-pointers.


A Line in the Sand In the coming days, Washington and its disingenuous D.C. Council must make a simple decision. Do they want to accept the deal for a new stadium? Or don't they? That's it. Yes. Or no.


It's About Time With only three games left in the season, the Redskins are still having difficulty getting off plays within the 40 seconds allotted.


Martinez Deal Finalized Martinez passes his physical, and the Mets finalize their \$53 million, four-year contract with the pitcher.


WIZARDSINSIDER  WHO'S NEXT?
at Lakers
Friday, 10:30 p.m.
Comcast SportsNet


Anthony Lifts Nuggets Carmelo Anthony's 15-foot jumper with 3.6 seconds remaining lifts the Nuggets to a 100-99 victory over the Celtics.


Sepracor Says FDA Approves Sleep Drug  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sepracor Inc., a specialty  pharmaceutical company, said on Wednesday it received a  long-awaited approval to market its Lunesta treatment for  insomnia, giving it a foothold in an estimated \$2 billion  market in the United States.


The Soft Underbelly of Software Deals It #39;s been a heck of a week for the software industry. First there was Oracle #39;s Dec. 13 long-sought-after deal to acquire rival PeopleSoft (PSFT ) for \$10.3 billion.


China #39;s Investment in Construction Slips China #39;s investment in construction and factory equipment, a key growth indicator, slowed slightly in November on lower public spending, but local-level investments surged, the government reported Thursday.


US must make R amp;D priority, business leaders warn The US must make innovation the top national priority or risk ceding its role as the worlds foremost economic power, an organisation of top business and academic leaders warned on Wednesday.


Time Warner  Settles AOL Cases For  #36;510 Million (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - Time Warner Inc. yesterday agreed to pay  #36;510 million to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from an accounting scandal at its America Online division, moving to end a messy affair that tarnished its image and impeded its business after its merger with AOL in 2001.


Kalou kills off Rangers Bonaventure Kalou fired Auxerre into the knockout round of the UEFA Cup with both goals in a 2-0 victory over Rangers to oust the Scottish team from the competition.


Rockets 92, Hawks 69 Tracy McGrady had 25 points and Yao Ming scored 23 to lead the Houston Rockets past the Atlanta Hawks 92-69 on Wednesday night. It was the biggest blowout of the season for Houston, which won for the fourth time in five games.


Apple Fights Back Against RealNetworks (AP) AP - No longer only a war of words, Apple Computer Inc. has quietly started to block the technology that RealNetworks Inc. created to get around the iPod music player's copy-protection armor.


Bush warns Iran, Syria not to meddle in Iraq #39;s affairs US President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged Iran and Syria not to meddle in internal affairs of Iraq.  quot;We will continue to make it clear, to both Syria and Iran that... meddling in the internal affairs


In Software Industry, Size Matters (Reuters) Reuters - The fragmented  software\business is growing up.


RealNetworks promises iPod lockout fix (MacCentral) MacCentral - Apple Computer Inc. has updated the software for some of its iPod music players so that songs bought from RealNetworks Inc. won't play. RealNetworks says they're not sure why it's happened, but they're working on a fix. Apple suggests that it's what to expect if you use music that isn't officially supported on the iPod.


NASA Spacecraft Tracks Global Air Pollution (Reuters) Reuters - A NASA spacecraft has begun the\first-ever daily tracking of how air pollution moves across the\globe, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on\Wednesday.


Death of L.A. Elephant Rekindles Zoo Welfare Debate (Reuters) Reuters - An African elephant, which\collapsed and died at the Los Angeles Zoo this week, suffered a\heart attack, officials said on Wednesday, and animal rights\activists said the death underscored the risks of confining the\large mammals in urban zoos.


Pandas Face Years Before Next Favorite Solid Meal (Reuters) Reuters - A shortage of the staple food of\China's giant panda will leave 19 of the rare animals\scrounging to keep hunger at bay for as long as a decade in a\reserve in the mountainous southwest, Xinhua news agency said\on Thursday.


Scientists to Help NASA Build Instruments (AP) AP - Two Indiana University scientists have been tapped to help build two miniaturized instruments for NASA's next Mars rover mission, a traveling laboratory that will search for signs of past or present life.


Suharto party to elect new leader Indonesia's largest party is electing its new leader in Bali in what is one of the most critical periods in its history.


O's Turn to Burnett The Orioles lose first baseman Richie Sexson to the Mariners and are now considering a trade for Marlins pitcher A.J. Burnett.


In Software Industry, Size Matters  NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The fragmented  software  business is growing up.


J J to Buy Guidant for \$23.9 Billion  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson   Johnson will buy Guidant  Corp. for \$23.9 billion in cash and stock, giving the  health-care products maker a foothold in the fast-growing  market for implantable devices that regulate heartbeats, J J  said on Wednesday.


Baseball Wrangling Makes Some Uneasy Tuesday night's D.C. Council vote on baseball left some business leaders worried that the events will hurt the District's credibility with developers and financiers.


A Choice Location The developer that built Dulles Town Center in 1999 is planning to build a 300,000-square-foot open-air shopping center, dubbed Dulles 28 Centre, along the same corridor.


New Training On De-Icing Urged for Small Plane  The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday recommended improved de-icing training for pilots who fly the Cessna 208, a small turboprop aircraft commonly used to transport cargo in the United States.


GOP Gains Boost Chances of Alaska Drilling  Republican gains in the Senate from last month's elections have pumped new life into the administration-backed move to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, prompting environmentalists to mount what one of them called "the fight of our lives" to defeat the proposal.


Manassas Counting on New District  Manassas took a major step this week toward expanding and boosting its downtown.


Stores Are Hoping to Do Well by Urging Shoppers to Do Good This Christmas season, Americans are the focus of a different kind of retail marketing: campaigns that appeal to people's oft-stated wish to share with the less fortunate.


Sprint and Nextel to Merge, Creating Cellphone Powerhouse The deal creates the third-largest company in the wireless telephone industry, but its competition is much larger.


FCC to consider allowing cell phones on planes The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday kicked off efforts that could reshape the communications services available to airline passengers, deciding to auction off spectrum now set aside for air-to-ground phone service and proposing to relax its ban on the use of cellular phones in flight.


Startup takes new approach to server virtualization A little-known, Boston-area startup is beta-testing technology designed to let users quickly configure "virtual" multiprocessor systems out of inexpensive PC machines. Called Katana Technology, the 30-person company has not yet revealed details of its upcoming product, but appears to have developed a novel approach to consolidating data center resources.


IBM, others push for greater U.S. innovation The U.S. needs to overhaul its education system to encourage innovation and focus more federal funding on high-risk research to maintain a competitive edge over other nations, according to a report endorsed by leading U.S. companies and universities.


Sprint, Nextel herald 'future of communications' Executives from Sprintand Nextel Communicationstook to a stage at the St. Regis Hotel in New York Wednesday to announce a definitive agreement to merge their two companies and create the third largest mobile phone company in the U.S.


In Brief: Neon Systems acquires ClientSoft Neon Systems, a provider of mainframe integration solutions for Microsoft .Net and Java applications, has acquired ClientSoft for \$10.5 million in cash and the rights to purchase 1.1 million shares of Neon stock. The privately held ClientSoft specializes in secure, high-performance integration solutions for mainframe Web services. The purchase, which adds 180 customers to Neon's base of 300 customers, brings together Neon's Shadow z/Services and ClientSoft's ServiceBuilder product lines and should provide customers with a robust set of solutions to support service-oriented architectures (SOAs).\\


NEC, Toshiba claim MRAM breakthroughs NEC and Toshiba have made two advancements in developing a new type of memory that could eventually replace the standard memory used in mobile phones, MP3 players, and other portable electronic devices, the companies said Wednesday.


IBM, Others Push for Greater U.S. Innovation Nation needs government help to maintain competitive edge, group says.


Third Largest U.S. Cell Phone Company Created Sprint and Nextel herald "the future of communications."


FCC Moves Toward Voice, Data, Broadband on Planes Agency to auction licenses for communications; consider cell phone use during flights.


First Look: Small Business Accounting Apps Intuit, Best Software offer new features, prices with 2005 editions.


NEC, Toshiba Claim Memory Breakthrough Companies are developing MRAM, which could be used in portable electronic devices.


Company Claims First True WiMax Chip Wireless broadband systems should be available next year, WaveSat says.


Court Lifts BlackBerry Maker's Injunction Patent infringement found; split decision sends part of case back to lower court.


Global aviation security in a confusing mess: IATA Geneva, Dec 16 (UNI) Three years and three months after September 11 terror attacks in the United States, aviation security worldwide remains a confusing mess.


A Sleeping Pill for Longer Use Wins Approval The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new sleeping pill that some specialists say could pave the way for longer-term use of such medications.


Ask Jeeves Enters Desktop Search Wars The same week Microsoft released a beta version of its desktop search the butler Jeeves has released a beta of their own. The software is for Windows based pcs only and will allow a user to search their


Spurs Beat Magic 94-91 (AP) AP - Tim Duncan had 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 94-91 victory Wednesday night over the Orlando Magic.


Jones Files \$25 Million Defamation Suit Against Conte Sprint superstar Marion Jones filed a \$25 million defamation lawsuit against Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) founder Victor Conte Jr.


Dickau scores 23; Hornets get rare win NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Dan Dickau gave the New Orleans Hornets the lead after three quarters and made sure it stood up in the final 12 minutes.


He Won #39;t Coach Mississippi; Saban Talks to Dolphins San Francisco 49ers Coach Dennis Erickson withdrew his name from consideration yesterday for the head coaching vacancy at the University of Mississippi, the day after interviewing for the job.


Television deal is  #39;irresponsible of the ECB #39; MIKE GATTING has slammed the decision to award live TV rights for all of England #39;s home Test matches to BSkyB as  quot;irresponsible.


NCAA Game Summary - Louisianna-Lafayette at North Carolina State Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - Andrew Brackman scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half to lead 12th-ranked North Carolina State to a hard-fought 78-72 win over Louisiana-Lafayette at the RBC Center.


No. 9 Tenn. Tops Louisiana Tech 70-59 (AP) AP - Alexis Hornbuckle scored 17 points for ninth-ranked Tennessee, which beat Louisiana Tech 70-59 Wednesday night to give the Lady Techsters consecutive losses at home for the first time in 14 seasons.


Indonesia orders security clampdown after terror warnings JAKARTA, Indonesia Indonesia has ordered a nationwide security crackdown after warnings from Australia, Britain and New Zealand that terrorists plan to attack ahead of Christmas.


With Renteria, Boston Finally Makes a Big Deal Trying to counter the loss of Pedro Martnez and their failures in other contract negotiations, the Red Sox have reached an agreement shortstop Edgar Renteria.