Report: IBM selling personal computer unit NEW YORK -- International Business Machines Corp. has reportedly put its personal computer business up for sale in a deal that could fetch as much as \$2 billion and close an era for an industry pioneer which


US Dollar Continues Its Broad Decline The US dollar sank anew against other major currencies yesterday, even though Japanese officials publicly raised the prospect of joining with European governments to brake its slide.


Jobs report a major letdown US employers pulled back on hiring as they entered the holiday shopping season, adding just 112,000 new jobs overall in November. It was the weakest gain in five months and about half of what economists had forecast.


EU Calls for Official to Clarify Position European Union officials on Friday called on the United States to clarify its position on a possible court challenge at the World Trade Organization over alleged unfair subsidies given to European aircraft maker Airbus.


Edwards Sees Delay in Answer on Trial Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday said it does not expect the US Food and Drug Administration to provide an answer on whether it can conduct a clinical


US Air agents agree to pay, benefits cuts ARLINGTON, Va. - The union for 5,800 US Airways Group Inc. customer-service and reservation agents said it reached agreement on pay and benefit cuts the airline had sought to help emerge from bankruptcy.


Stocks Set for Firm Start to '05  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures rose on Monday, pointing  to a solid start to the New Year, as oil prices tumbled more  than a dollar and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT.N brightened its  outlook for December sales.


Report: IBM Selling Personal Computer Unit (AP) AP - International Business Machines Corp. has reportedly put its personal computer business up for sale in a deal that could fetch as much as  #36;2 billion and close an era for an industry pioneer which long ago shifted its focus to more lucrative segments of the computer business.


Report: IBM Selling Its PC Business (PC World) PC World - China's largest maker of PCs is one of the potential buyers, newspaper says.


Fellowship of the Ring: Customized Cell Tones (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - Whenever  his cell phone rings, which is a lot, Delvon Murray, 18, hears "My Boo," the Alicia Keys-Usher duet. Whenever his girlfriend's cell phone rings,  she hears "In Love Wit Chu" from hip-hop artist Da Brat.


BALCO Founder Says Marion Jones Used Steroids NEW YORK -- The head of BALCO is saying US Olympian Marion Jones has used performance-enhancing stimulants. BALCO founder Victor Conte has told ABC #39;s  quot;20/20 quot; he witnessed the five-time Olympic medalist injecting


Moya puts Spain ahead in Davis Cup final Carlos Moya fired Spain into a 1-0 lead over the United States in the Davis Cup final on Friday. Whipping up a record tennis crowd of 27,200, the former world number one bamboozled


Heidfeld given another chance to impress Nick Heidfeld has declared himself happy with his first outing for Williams and in fact the team was also so impressed that they #39;ve invited him back for a second trial.


RYDER STARS FACING WEEKEND FIGHT Five weeks after Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia were in a play-off for the Volvo Masters title, three more of Europe #39;s Ryder Cup heroes are battling for victory at the Omega Hong Kong Open.


February launch for Red Bull The RB1, the Red Bull Racing teams challenger for the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, will be officially unveiled in Spain next February, it has been announced.


AWOL drug test stars charged World athletics chiefs yesterday formally charged Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou with missing drugs tests on the eve of the Olympic Games.


Houston Rockets Team Report - December 3 (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets fell to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime, 113-106, at AmericanAirlines Center on Thursday. Tracy McGrady also had an excellent game, scoring a season-high 48 points on


Nitties takes second-round Australian PGA lead Former Australian amateur James Nitties, playing in his fourth professional golf tournament, shot a 7-under-par 65 Friday to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Australian PGA.


SuperGen Pulls U.S. Cancer Drug Application  NEW YORK (Reuters) - SuperGen Inc. on Monday said it has  withdrawn an application to market its pancreatic cancer  treatment in the United States due to insufficient data,  sending its shares down 17 percent.


Relief Effort Gains as Aid Is Reaching More Survivors The international lifeline to save five million homeless victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami gathered strength on Sunday.


Indonesia presses Burma on Aung San Suu Kyi detention Indonesia has accused Burma of trying to avoid the issue of the ongoing detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Burma was asked at an Asia-Pacific summit this week to clarify media reports that


Danforth resigns as US ambassador to United Nations (AFP) AFP - The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, resigned less than six months after becoming the diplomatic face of Washington at the world body, the United States announced.


Moya Puts Spain Ahead in Davis Cup Final  SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Carlos Moya fired Spain into a  1-0 lead over the United States in the Davis Cup final on  Friday.


Disease Risk Rise After Philippine Typhoon  REAL, Philippines (Reuters) - Flood waters receded in the  Philippines on Friday in the wake of a typhoon that killed at  least 35 people, but thousands more remained cut off from help,  hungry and at risk of disease after a week of severe flooding.


BBC Says Deceived by Dow Impersonator on Bhopal  LONDON (Reuters) - BBC World said on Friday it was duped in  an "elaborate deception" by a man who claimed to be a Dow  Chemical Co. spokesman and said the U.S. company accepted  responsibility for India's Bhopal disaster.


Steroid Scandal Deepens Published reports say Barry Bonds has testified that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who was indicted in a steroid-distribution ring.


Transmeta licenses LongRun 2 to Fujitsu Foundry partner gears up for second-generation 90nm Efficeons


Napster creator reveals next step Napster creator Shawn Fanning introduces a new licensed file-sharing service with unlimited choice of tracks.


Nokia #39;s market share back above 30 In the three months to September, Nokia gained market share for a second consecutive quarter, helped by price cuts and new handsets.


Paul McIntyre: Switkowski carries too much baggage for the markets The prospect of aA\$30 billion (\$32.39) share issue will tend to do that to a board, which dined on Tuesday night at a swish Sydney restaurant without their virus-infused chief executive - he was officially stuck at home with a crook stomach.


Job Growth Is Well Below Wall Street Forecasts The economy added 112,000 payroll jobs in November, the Labor Department reported today, far fewer than the month before and not enough to keep up with average increases in the adult population.


Edwards sees valve trial delayed Medical device company says FDA not likely to greenlight a clinical trial of heart implant in 2004. CHICAGO (Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences Corp.


It #39;s official: Americans love SUVs NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Sport/utility vehicle registrations in the United States increased 56 percent in just five years, according to a report released Thursday by the US Census Bureau.


UK house prices predicted to fall next year A leading British mortgage lender predicted Friday that house prices in the country will fall two percent next year after nine years of strong gains.


Microsoft sues for lewd  #39;spam #39; Microsoft Corp. has filed class action lawsuits against vendors of sexually explicit commercial e-mail, the Seattle Post-Intelligence said Friday.


Napster #39;s Shawn Fanning Back With New Music Service Napster founder Shawn Fanning is back in the music-downloading game, this time with a legal service that has the blessing of at least some significant members of the music industry.


Four Infineon Execs Plead Guilty in DRAM Probe Samsung, Micron Technology and Hynix Semiconductor have acknowledged that they have received subpoenas related to the investigation.


Microsoft smitten by the blogging bug!: Technology India: London, Dec 3 :Software giant Microsoft is now ready to take the plunge into the world of blogging by launching a test service to allow people to publish blogs, or online journals, called MSN Spaces.


Life could exist below Mars surface, scientist says here Despite four decades of trying and some 40 space probes, the question of whether there #39;s life on Mars remains as elusive as ever.


Sun and Microsoft: True love or a marriage of convenience? Microsoft and Sun may be going steady, but they aren #39;t quite sure where the relationship is headed. The companies gave an update on Wednesday to their  quot;ongoing dialogue quot; about product interoperability that


Nortel picks up \$5m BT call centre contract Nortel has won a \$5m contract from BT to help the telco use Internet Protocol (IP) technology to upgrade its call centres around the UK.


HP Revises Cluster Plans HP (Quote, Chart) is dropping its efforts to port some Tru64 Unix products to HP-UX with the help of storage player Veritas . The two companies announced a multi-year agreement Thursday that finds HP #39;s sales


Blu-ray read-only format to be finalized early 2005 Companies backing Blu-ray Disc will finalize the read-only version of the optical-disc format early next year, a Sony Corp. spokesman said earlier this week.


Sun Drafts New  quot;SCO-Sensitive quot; Open Source License Without saying it has anything to do with its avowed determination to open source Solaris 10, Sun has sent over a newfangled open source license to the Open Source Initiative (OSI), the keeper of such things, for its approval.


VersaMail for the Treo 600 palmOne has released a modified version of its VersaMail 2.7 e-mail application for the its Treo 600 communicator. Although released last year the Treo 600 did not


Marion Jones denies new allegations LONDON (Ticker) - American gold medal-winning sprinter Marion Jones has denied new allegations she has used performance-enhancing drugs.


Appleby leads by a stroke in South Africa Stuart Appleby of Australia was the only player to break 70 Friday, shooting a 3-under-par 69 that left him with a one-stroke lead over Lee Westwood of England halfway through the Nedbank Golf Challenge.


Rangers #39; Euro Fate Rangers 1-0 loss in AZ Alkmaar was a blow but by no means a disaster as far as their UEFA Cup hopes are concerned. Ibrox manager Alex McLeish knows it is still possible that his side


Heidfeld gets a second look Nick Heidfeld will be given a second chance at landing the remaining full time ride at BMW-Williams. Team officials say the German will test with them again next week in Jerez, Spain.


Coach of disgraced Greek sprinters claims IAAF charges groundless The coach of disgraced Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou says IAAF charges against the athletes are groundless and will not result in a suspension, according to reports Friday.


#39;I cannot be on the losing side #39; In the clickety-clack of football shoes trudging into the bowels of Giants Stadium, in the blur of blank, numbed West Point faces marching toward the losing locker room, his was the unforgettable face.


Players, at charity game, express hope of having season ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Some NHL players who took part in a charity hockey game at the University of Michigan on Thursday were hopeful the news that the NHL and the players association will resume talks next week


Gerrard Stands Up for Anfield Chief Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard today rallied to the defence of beleaguered chairman David Moores by revealing how the Anfield supremos intervention convinced him to snub Chelsea and stay on Merseyside.


New blow for Zimbabwe's Moyo Zimbabwe's controversial information minister looks set to be disappointed in his campaign to become an MP.


Sudan Agreement Endorsed by US Officials at UN The US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, says the recently signed peace memorandum between the government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement offers the best


Germany Thwarts Possible Attack on Iraqi Leader German police arrested three men suspected of planning an attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who was in Berlin on Friday.


Storms Kill More Than 650 in Philippines Helicopters delivered food to survivors and picked up casualties Friday as flash floods began to recede in the northern Philippines, revealing the magnitude of a disaster


Russian President supports India #39;s UN bid Russian President Vladimir Putin said here on Friday that his country supported India #39;s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat but stopped short of favoring India #39;s veto power in the world body.


India, Pakistan to Reopen Key Rail Link Rivals Pakistan and India have agreed to reopen a key rail link between the two countries that has been closed for almost 40 years.


Putin Sends Greeting to War Crimes Convict (AP) AP - Russian President Vladimir Putin issued New Year's greetings Saturday to a former pro-Soviet partisan convicted in Latvia of killing civilians during World War II.


Fund Raising by Candidates, Parties (AP) AP - Fund raising and spending in the 2003-04 election cycle by President Bush, Democratic rival John Kerry and national party committees:


OPEC Can't Rule Out Oil Production Cuts  LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC cannot rule out cutting oil  production if oil prices slide further before the producer  group meets next Friday, a senior OPEC delegate said on Friday.


Stocks Trim Gains; Intel Boosts Techs  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. blue chips trimmed gains on  Friday after a senior OPEC delegate said the producer group  cannot rule out cutting oil production if oil prices slide  further and monthly U.S. jobs data showed weaker-than-expected  growth.


Two More Top Nokia Execs Exit  HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia NOK1V.HE said on Friday the  head of its networks unit had resigned and another top networks  executive left, in the second major shake-up of top management  in two weeks at the world's top mobile phone maker.


Need a job? Get a card - arresting ID pitch to business Analysis Redefining voluntary again...


Germany Says Thwarts Attack on Iraq PM, 3 Arrested  BERLIN (Reuters) - German police arrested three Iraqis in a  series of raids on Friday and the federal prosecutor said he  believed they were planning an attack on visiting Iraqi Prime  Minister Iyad Allawi.


UK govt takes iTunes gripe to Europe Union trade regulators asked to probe 'one country, single store' policy


IBM Puts PC Unit Up for Sale - NY Times  NEW YORK (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp.  IBM.N has put its personal computing business up for sale in  a deal that could be worth as much as \$2 billion, the New York  Times reported on Friday.


Last Xmas order date for the Antipodes Cash'n'Carrion Get 'em in by Sunday


India, Russia Agree to Revitalize Traditional Ties  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Cold war allies India and Russia  sought on Friday to instill new momentum into their  longstanding relationship, tidying up energy and military ties.


Dollar Sags on Nov Jobs Disappointment  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar fell to within a whisker of  record lows against the euro on Friday, after an influential  report on the U.S. labor market turned out to be unexpectedly  weak.


Sony Vaio U70P Wi-Fi micro PC Preview Smaller than a laptop, bigger than a PDA - the perfect PC size?


Yukos 'fails to halt sell-off' Russian oil giant Yukos has reportedly lost a court case against the sale of its main production unit.


US and EU put air dispute on hold Washington and Brussels say they will not escalate a dispute over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus.


Virgin wins most Indian flights Virgin Atlantic has won the largest share of 21 additional direct flights between the UK and India, gaining 10 to BA's seven and BMI's four.


BBC Says Deceived by Dow Impersonator on Bhopal  LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC's international TV news channel  apologized on Friday after being duped into airing an interview  with a fake Dow Chemical spokesman who said the U.S. company  accepted responsibility for India's Bhopal disaster.


DS aims to touch gamers Nintendo launches its new handheld console, the DS, which aims to change the way people play games.


ND officials take search for a coach to Utah Notre Dame officials hope to be one step closer to obtaining a new football coach after getting to bed a little later than usual Thursday night.


Iran says suspension period six months maximum Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of Iran #39;s powerful Expediency Council, said on Friday that the maximum duration of Iran #39;s suspension of uranium enrichment activities was six months, the official IRNA news agency reported.


Putin arrives in India to cement several pacts NEW DELHI President Vladimir Putin of Russia arrived Friday to hold talks on expanding trade and cooperation in defense, energy and space with India, a longtime ally of the Soviet Union during the cold war.


Ukraine court annuls poll result Ukraine's top court annuls the result of the second round of the disputed presidential poll, paving the way for fresh elections.


Will IBM sell PC business? p2pnet.net News - IBMs PC business is up for grabs - and the new owners could be Chinese, says the New York Times. While IBM long ago ceded the lead in the personal computer market to Dell and Hewlett


Job Growth Is Well Below Wall Street Forecasts The economy added 112,000 payroll jobs in November, the Labor Dept. reported today, far fewer than the month before.


Serb general faces Hague tribunal A Bosnian Serb general indicted for war crimes is to be transferred to The Hague, the chief UN war crimes prosecutor says.


The Fool's Look Ahead Chips, animated clips, supermarket slips, and dot-com flashback trips will shape the week that lies ahead.


Our Holiday Guide to ... Holiday Guides Sorting out which MP3 player is best, how to select a gaming console or making sense of high-tech TVs can become as much a chore as decorating your house for the holidays. Enter the ever-popular tech gadget gift buying guide. -washingtonpost.com


A Fool Looks Back Winners lost. Cereals bowled. Online storefronts schooled their offline storefronts yet again. In sum, it was another week of twisted holiday cheer.


Five Cities to Make Olympic Presentations (AP) AP - IOC president Jacques Rogge said the five cities bidding for the 2012 Olympics accepted his advice and agreed to stop complaining about each other.


Calpers battle on corporate governance may only just be <b>...</b> The ousting of fund president Sean Harrigan from Americas largest pension fund has been viewed by many as the first Republican victory in a battle to undermine the influence of pension funds like Calpers on corporate governance issues.


Napster Creator Touts Legal File Sharing Shawn Fanning's Napster software enabled countless music fans to swap songs on the Internet for free, turning him into the recording industry's enemy No. 1 in the process.


Intel Raises 4th-Quarter Sales Forecast Intel Corp.'s fourth-quarter sales are on track to break a company record as demand for the chips that power computers was stronger than originally expected in the weeks leading up to the holiday buying season.


Microsoft Files Seven New Spam Lawsuits

 SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> filed sevenlawsuits against senders of spam, or unsolicited e-mail, fortransmitting messages without labeling them as sexuallyexplicit content, the world's largest software maker said onThursday.


Yankees and Mets Swap Relievers (Reuters) Reuters - The New York Yankees and New\York Mets have reportedly agreed on a deal to swap lefthanded\relievers.


EBay Reorganizes Senior Management EBay Inc. announced a senior management reorganization Thursday, increasing international responsibilities for three executives and underscoring the significance of the company's tremendously profitable PayPal division.


Comcast Plans Music Video-Web Offering Comcast Corp. plans to begin offering music videos on demand to its broadband Internet subscribers early next year, part of a multiyear deal with the television network Music Choice.


High-Tech Publisher Tries 'Blogozine' After Red Herring sank into the dot-com morass last year, Tony Perkins considered resurrecting the magazine that helped establish him as a Silicon Valley sage. He changed his mind when his college-age daughter scoffed and told him "Red Herring is so 1990s."


Appleby Leads Westwood at Nedbank Golf (AP) AP - Stuart Appleby of Australia was the only player to break 70 Friday, shooting a 3-under-par 69 that left him with a one-stroke lead over Lee Westwood of England halfway through the Nedbank Golf Challenge.


Report: IBM Selling Personal Computer Unit International Business Machines Corp. has reportedly put its personal computer business up for sale in a deal that could fetch as much as \$2 billion and close an era for an industry pioneer which long ago shifted its focus to more lucrative segments of the computer business.


Ukraine Supreme Court Invalidates Run-Off The Supreme Court declared the results of Ukraine's disputed presidential run-off election invalid and ruled Friday that a repeat vote should be held by Dec. 26, bringing cheers from tens of thousands of opposition supported massed in Kiev's main square.


Three Arrested in Germany for Plot on Allawi German authorities arrested three Iraqis with alleged al Qaeda links on suspicion they were planning an attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi while he visited Germany on Friday, the country's chief prosecutor said.


Appleby Takes Halfway Lead in Sun City  SUN CITY, South Africa (Reuters) - Australia's Stuart  Appleby carded a second round 69 to move to five-under par 139  and a one-stroke lead at the Sun City Golf Challenge on Friday.


Chinese firm in trouble after losing \$550m in speculation A listed Chinese company that sources jet fuel is in deep trouble after losing \$550 million (R3.16 billion) in speculative oil trades, triggering concern over other China-linked stocks on the exchange.


Telstra CEO steps down over  #39;differences #39; The outgoing chief executive of Australian telecommunications giant Telstra said his departure was sparked by differences between him and the companys board of directors.


Head of Calpers Pension Fund Ousted California officials on Wednesday voted to oust Sean Harrigan as president of Calpers, naming a former real-estate executive seen as more business


Merck KGaA, Biomira Shares Gain on Cancer Study (Update1) Shares of Biomira Inc., a Canadian drug developer, jumped 94 percent and Merck KGaA, Germany #39;s fourth-largest drugmaker, rose as much as 6.4 percent after the companies said data from


Halliburton shakes up its top ranks and NELSON ANTOSH. Halliburton on Thursday promoted the head of its KBR operation to the No. 2 job and announced that the highly regarded leader of its oilwell service group had resigned.


Lycos screensaver for anti-spam vigilantes A screensaver that uses idle computing power to identify the sites of spammers and forward data traffic to them has been too successful, according to reports, generating so much traffic that the sites are being forced off-line.


MSN is latest to move into world of blogging services LONDON - MSN is upping the stakes in the battle for online and desktop domination with the launch of a new set of communication services to include blogging and picture sharing.


Skulls.B worm spreads on Series 60 via Bluetooth A new version of the Cabir  quot;Skulls quot; malware program is on the lose. The first version, discovered only a few weeks ago, was a trojan horse program that blocked access to built-in applications and erased data.


Newcastle boss Souness watched Rangers #39; Boumsong Newcastle United boss Graeme Souness attended Rangers #39; UEFA Cup clash at AZ Alkmaar last night. Souness was checking on the form of Gers defender Jean Alain Boumsong, who will attract a serious offer from Newcastle when the January transfer window opens.


Tsunami Steals a Generation and the Future (Reuters) Reuters - It took just a few seconds\for Shiva Shankari, like her village, to lose her future.


After 0-13 season in  #39;03, Ross #39; Black Knights hope to mimic <b>...</b> For the 10th consecutive year, tickets for the Army-Navy game have sold out, and for good reason. Countless aspects of this 105-year-old rivalry command respect, from the thrill-inducing pageantry of the pregame


RAIDERS NOTEBOOK Schweigert might get start against Chiefs One week after making his first NFL start, opening last Sunday #39;s 25- 24 win at Denver in the Raiders #39; 4-1-6 defensive package in place of strong safety Marques Anderson, rookie Stuart Schweigert may get the opportunity to start in the base defense as well


Fed Sees Growth, Measured Rate Hikes (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. economy should grow about\4.0 percent next year, giving the Federal Reserve room to\continue raising interest rates at a measured pace, \Philadelphia Fed President Anthony Santomero said on Friday.


OPEC Can't Rule Out Oil Production Cuts (Reuters) Reuters - OPEC cannot rule out cutting oil\production if oil prices slide further before the producer\group meets next Friday, a senior OPEC delegate said on Friday.


Wal-Mart Launches Rare Newspaper Ad Blitz (Reuters) Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , hurt by\sluggish sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, on Friday\launched a rare advertising blitz in newspapers around the\United States focusing on its price cuts.


ECB lowers its growth forecasts BRUSSELS - The European Central Bank has lowered its growth forecast for the eurozone economy this year to 1.8 from a previously projected 1.9, and to 1.9 from 2.3 in 2005, sources close to the ECB said.


Judge: Boston Scientific Violated Deal NATICK, Mass. - Boston Scientific Corp. violated its agreement with an Israeli company and acted in  quot;bad faith quot; when it set up a secret stent-making operation in Ireland, according to a federal judge who ordered the companies to reach a settlement.


BT inks E3.75m contract with Nortel BT has signed a E3.75m deal with Canadian firm Nortel for the supply of IP telephony equipment for a major new  #39;virtual #39; contact centre.


Rescue Teams Discover Magnitude of Philippines Storms Disaster Soldiers who reached an isolated Pacific Ocean village in Aurora province reported finding about about 100 dead. In the worst-hit town of Real, in nearby Quezon province, TV images showed bodies buried under


China Mulls Measures After Textile Quotas Scrapped China will consider adopting measures to protect its interests and those of its trading partners once global textile quotas are scrapped at the end of this month, a government spokesman said on Friday.


Attacker slashes twelve Chinese children, cuts own throat BEIJING (AFP) - A man forced his way into a northeast China primary school and slashed 12 young children before cutting his own throat.


China Rules in Favor of Corning  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Corning Inc. GLW.N said on Monday  the Chinese Ministry of Commerce ruled that the company had not  dumped standard single-mode optical fiber into the Chinese  market.


Oil Slides Again on Weak U.S. Jobs Data  LONDON (Reuters) - Battered oil prices fell again on  Friday, extending this week's 14 percent slide, as  disappointing U.S. jobs data deepened a slump driven by easing  worries about winter supplies.


Wal-Mart Launches Rare Newspaper Ad Blitz  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT.N, hurt by  sluggish sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, on Friday  launched a rare advertising blitz in newspapers around the  United States focusing on its price cuts.


Christopher   Banks Disappoints The women's apparel retailer surprised investors with surprisingly bad Q4 guidance.


Gaining an Investment Edge Whitney Tilson demonstrates how to beef up your portfolio and beat the market.


Iomega rolls out low-end NAS Iomega on Friday introduced a new network-attached storage appliance for Windows networks in small and midsized businesses.


Mobile phones: An ear full of worms They're coming to mobile phones -- those nasty viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses that have, on more than one occasion, crippled PCs. No doubt about that. The question is: Will they be as bad?


Update: Four Infineon executives jailed for DRAM price-fixing Four executives at German memory vendor Infineon Technologies and its U.S. subsidiary have pled guilty to charges of illegally setting prices for PC memory chips, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.


HP drops plans to put Compaq technology into HP-UX Hewlett-Packard(HP) has abandoned plans to integrate a number of advanced technologies it acquired in its 2002 purchase of Compaq into its flagship HP-UX operating system. The Palo Alto, California, computer maker has instead decided to partner with Veritas Software to bring new file system and clustering capabilities to its Unix software, the two companies announced Thursday.


Report: IBM's PC business up for sale IBM has put its PC business up for sale, according to a story published on Friday on Web site of The New York Times.


Report: IBM Selling Its PC Business China's largest maker of PCs is one of the potential buyers, newspaper says.


ESPN Eyes Mobile Phone Market Sports media company teams with Sprint to offer a branded cell phone service.


Search Engine Forums Spotlight Links to this week's topics from search engine forums across the web: The Great SEO Myths of our Time - Let's Test Hijacking A Google Listing - Internet Searches Getting Re-directed - Search Engines Offering SEO Services? - Shopping Search Arrives as an Important Vertical - Is Having A Yahoo Directory Listing A Hindrance? - Google Not Reporting All Backlinks


News: Phishing losses overestimated - survey Fraud losses from email phishing attacks will hit \$137m globally in 2004, according to a study from research and consulting firm TowerGroup.


News: Lycos antispam site taken offline Lycos Europe appears to have taken down its controversial MakeLoveNotSpam site - temporarily, at least.


IBM Hires Merrill Lynch to Find Buyer for PC Unit, Person Says International Business Machines Corp., seeking to exit an industry it helped pioneer two decades ago, hired Merrill Lynch  amp; Co.


Napster Creator Stands Atop Snocap Napster creator Shawn Fanning is back with a new, legal file-sharing service called Snocap. The P2P service reportedly is close to signing a licensing deal with Universal Recording Group.


Berners-Lee returns to UK p2pnet.net News - Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the World Wide Web, is going home to England where he #39;s been appointed a professor at Southampton University.


Germany Says Thwarts Attack on Iraq PM, 3 Arrested (Reuters) Reuters - German police arrested three Iraqis in a\series of raids on Friday and the federal prosecutor said he\believed they were planning an attack on visiting Iraqi Prime\Minister Iyad Allawi.


New Jersey Supreme Court Cancels Bear Hunt TRENTON, NJ -- New Jersey #39;s top court shot down plans Thursday for next week #39;s bear hunt. The Supreme Court says the six-day hunt can #39;t take place because the state lacks a proper management program for the animals.


High Court to Hear ISP, Cable Dispute (AP) AP - The Supreme Court said Friday it would consider whether Internet providers should be allowed to sell their high-speed service over the cable television system.


Germany Stops Assassination Attempt on Allawi Three Iraqi citizens with alleged terrorist ties were arrested in Germany today under the suspicion that they were going to try to kill Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi during his visit to Germany.


Summit hopes for mine-free world It is in the nature of international conferences, like the one that has occupied 1300 delegates in Nairobi this week, for a final declaration to have been written long before the conference starts.


Israel's Peres Urges Likud Hardliners to Back Coalition  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Labour Party chief Shimon Peres  appealed to hard-liners in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud  on Friday to drop their opposition to forging a unity coalition  seen as vital to keeping Israel's Gaza withdrawal on track.


Hamas Hints It Is Open to Deal on Truce, Statehood  RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A Hamas leader said the  militant group could accept creation of a Palestinian state in  the West Bank and Gaza and a long-term truce with Israel,  signaling a possible new overture to end hostilities.


Weak employment report points to still-sluggish US economy (AFP) AFP - A weaker-than-anticipated report on the US labor market, showing just 112,000 jobs added in November, disappointed some but confirms a still-sluggish pace of US economic growth, analysts said.


Halliburton Says Settlement on Track Petroleum and energy services giant Halliburton Co. on Friday said that a district court judge has signed an order that will allow its settlement of asbestos lawsuits to take effect by the end of this month.


Retailers Seek To Block US Curbs on Chinese Textiles The New York-based Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel argued the government #39;s Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements accepted petitions by textile makers based on arbitrary factors.


Microsoft Sues Spammers over Porn E-Mails Laws require that sexually oriented solicitations be marked with a label warning users of the content in both the subject line and the initially viewable area of the message.


Spammers get taste of their own medicine Internet users are being given the chance to hit back at the spammers that have become the scourge of the web, thanks to free software being distributed by Lycos Europe, the internet portal.


Jail terms for DRam price fixers Four executives at German memory supplier Infineon and its US subsidiary pleaded guilty to charges of illegally setting prices for PC memory chips, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.


Mobile phones: An ear full of worms They #39;re coming to mobile phones - those nasty viruses, worms and Trojan horses that have, on more than one occasion, crippled PCs.


Survey: More than 54 million broadband connections in Europe today According to a survey conducted by the market research agency Nielsen/Netratings these days more than half of European Internet users are surfing the Net via a high-speed connection.


Murphy trial testimony ends; jurors to return Testimony in the sexual abuse trial of former Houston Rockets star Calvin Murphy ended this morning. Jurors will hear closing arguments and begin deliberations Monday, state District Judge Michael McSpadden said.


BBC says it was tricked into bogus story The BBC admitted Friday it was tricked into reporting that a US company accepted responsibility for the world #39;s worst industrial accident.


30 killed in attacks on Iraq police REBELS launched two major attacks on police stations in Baghdad today, killing 30 people including at least 16 police officers. The attacks took place in the western Amil district and in the Sunni Muslim stronghold


US expresses  #39;deep concern #39; over Suu Kyi #39;s extended detention WASHINGTON - The United States expressed  quot;deep concern quot; Thursday over reports that Myanmar #39;s ruling junta has extended the detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for up to a year from September this year.


Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link to reopen, no timeframe: World News: Islamabad, Dec 3 : Pakistan and India agreed Friday to an early resumption of the Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link but failed to agree on a time frame for this, Online news agency reported.


ABA Not Catching On An attempt to bring back the American Basketball Association hasn't succeeded, as the league loses teams and changes cities weekly.


IBM Said to Be Leaving the PC Business The company that has been synonymous with the term  quot;PC quot; since it was first created is getting out of the PC business. According to a report in the New York Times, IBM is in talks with China #39;s largest maker


Intel stock up on positive 4Q outlook Intel Corp. #39;s shares climbed nearly 6 percent Friday after saying its fourth-quarter sales are on track to break a company record because demand for the chips that


Oil prices fall below \$43 in fourth day of selling The selloff in crude oil futures continued for a fourth straight day Friday, with prices skidding below \$43 a barrel to roughly 14 percent below where they were at the beginning of the week.


Samsung phones outsell Motorola #39;s Samsung is now the world #39;s second-largest mobile phone maker, behind Nokia. According to market watcher Gartner, the South Korean company has finally knocked Motorola into third place.


Weak Job Data Won #39;t Deter Fed The sluggish pace of job growth in November hasn #39;t changed the odds for a quarter point interest rate hike later this month, but maybe it should.


Wal-Mart Launches Rare Newspaper Advertising Blitz Wal-Mart Stores Inc., hurt by sluggish sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, on Friday launched a rare advertising blitz in newspapers around the United States focusing on its price cuts.


Biomira Shares Skyrocket on Promising Data Shares of biotech company Biomira Inc. soared as it and a development partner, German drug maker Merck KGaA, reported Friday that the median survival in a study involving a lung cancer vaccine has yet to be reached after 23 months in a subset of patients.


Supreme Court to Decide Cable Internet Case The US Supreme Court said on Friday it would decide what regulations should apply to high-speed broadband Internet service offered by cable television companies like Time Warner Inc.


Edwards Sees Delay in Approval of Trial Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday said it does not expect the US regulators to provide an answer by the end of the year on whether it can conduct a clinical


Nortel Wins \$5 Million Contract for BT Virtual Call Center Nortel said that the Internet-protocol infrastructure at BT will reduce costs and boost efficiency by making it easier to operate agents across multiple sites,  quot;allowing dispersed teams to seamlessly work together as if in a single contact center location


WADA Chief Calls for Hearing Into Jones Doping World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound has called for a hearing into allegations former Olympic sprint champion Marion Jones used steroids.


Williams to take second look at Heidfeld. Nick Heidfeld #39;s pace on his first two days of running with the Williams-BMW team appear to have increased his chances of being included in next year #39;s race line-up, after the team confirmed that it would inviting him back for a second run next week.


Texas freshman awaits eligibility decision Texas coach Rick Barnes says the school could find out from the NCAA on Friday when freshman Mike Williams will be eligible to compete for the Longhorns.


Packers seek NFL revenge on high-flying Eagles WASHINGTON (AFP) - Revenge is on the mind of the Green Bay Packers as they enter a pivotal National Football League game Sunday at Philadelphia, where the Eagles made an amazing rally to oust them in last season #39;s playoffs.


Baghdad violence kills at least 25 people and stoking fears that sectarian divisions over when to hold elections could unleash further bloodshed. In a second dawn attack in the capital on Friday, guerrillas killed at


Explosions in Madrid After ETA Bomb Threat - Radio (Reuters) Reuters - Four explosions were reported at petrol\stations in the Madrid area on Friday, Spanish radio stations\said, following a phone warning in the name of the armed Basque\separatist group ETA to a Basque newspaper.


Stocks Rise; Gains Trimmed on Oil Worry  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks trimmed gains on Friday  after a senior OPEC delegate said the producer group cannot  rule out cutting oil production if oil prices slide further.


U.S.-Bound German Plane Lands in Dublin After Alert  DUBLIN (Reuters) - A Lufthansa plane heading to the United  States from Germany made an unscheduled landing in Ireland on  Friday after the airline received a call saying there was a  suspect device on board, Dublin airport authority said.


3 Arrested in Suspected Plot to Attack Iraqi Prime Minister German police today arrested three Iraqis who appeared to have been planning an attack on Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who is visiting Berlin today.


Crude Oil Prices Slip Below \$43 a Barrel Crude oil fell 55 cents to \$42.70 per barrel in early trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Inventories grew by 900,000 barrels last week to 293.3 million.


Singapore investigates China firm SINGAPORE China Aviation Oil (Singapore), which this week asked Singapore #39;s high court for protection from creditors after disclosing \$550 million of losses, is being investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department, Singapore #39;s white-collar crime unit


Non-Farm Payrolls Grow by 112,000 The Labor Department said the unemployment rate in November declined to a three-month low of 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent. Wall Street economists were expecting non-farm payrolls to rise by 200,000 -- nearly


Expert Expects More Hurricanes Again Next Year FORT COLLINS, CO -- Hurricane forecaster William Gray expects an above-average Atlantic hurricane season next year. Gray said he thinks next year will continue a trend of increased hurricane activity in the


Pats to test Browns defense again While wondering if the Cleveland Browns (3-8) can hold their opponents under 60 points for a second consecutive week, in their defense it has to be said they #39;re in the tougher of the two conferences.


Bookies convinced UEFA Cup betting coup took place Bookmakers are convinced a betting coup took place surrounding Tuesday #39;s UEFA Cup match between Greek side Panionios and Georgia #39;s Dinamo Tbilisi.


Nairobi summit reaffirms commitments to end landmine-caused <b>...</b> The Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World concluded here Friday with 144 states that have banned antipersonnel mines reaffirming their commitments to end sufferingcaused by the deadly weapons.


Bonds Said Unknowingly Used BALCO Supplements  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco Giants slugger  Barry Bonds told a grand jury last year that he unknowingly  used substances at the heart of the BALCO steroid scandal, the  San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday.


WADA Chief Calls for Hearing Into Jones Doping  LONDON (Reuters) - World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick  Pound has called for a hearing into allegations former Olympic  sprint champion Marion Jones used steroids.


Nadal Nails Roddick to Give Spain 2-0 Lead  SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Teenage rookie Rafael Nadal  blunted the world's fastest serve on Friday to beat Andy  Roddick and give Spain a 2-0 lead over the United States in the  Davis Cup final.


SuperGen Tumbles, Intel Up Before Bell  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of SuperGen Inc. SUPG.O  dropped 17 percent before the bell on Monday after the company  said it withdrew an application to market its pancreatic cancer  treatment in the United States due to insufficient data.


CSFB May Cut Jobs as Costs Outstrip Goldman, Lehman (Update1) Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland #39;s second-biggest bank, may eliminate hundreds of jobs at its securities unit to lower costs that are among the highest on Wall Street, people familiar with the matter said.


Forecaster Sees Fewer Atlantic Hurricanes in 2005 Next year #39;s Atlantic hurricane season will again be more active than usual but is unlikely to be a repeat of this year #39;s disaster, a noted storm forecaster said on Friday.


Heidfeld Happy in Testing Nick Heidfeld has declared himself happy with his first outings for Williams as he battles to retain his place on the Formula One grid.


Halifax keeps CIS basketball championships CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Halifax will remain as the host city for the men #39;s university basketball championships for the next three years.


Former star Murphy testifies in sex assault trial HOUSTON - Taking the stand in his own defense, Hall of Fame basketball player Calvin Murphy denied allegations that he sexually abused five of his 10 daughters.


High Court to Hear Cable Internet Case  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on  Friday it would decide what regulations should apply to  high-speed broadband Internet service offered by cable  television companies like Time Warner Inc. TWX.N


L-3's Art of the Deal Aggressive mergers and acquisitions have been troublesome for many companies, but not L-3 Communications.


Trump Lands on Mars A sweet challenge leads to a sour taste in the mouth of Trump's right-hand woman.


Bally's Bully Tactics Backfire An enormous number of consumer complaints shows investors why this company is hurting.


High Court to Hear Cable Internet Case (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court said on\Friday it would decide what regulations should apply to\high-speed broadband Internet service offered by cable\television companies like Time Warner Inc.


Wal-Mart Starts Rare Newspaper Ad Blitz  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT.N, hurt by  sluggish sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, on Friday  launched a rare advertising blitz in newspapers across the  United States touting price cuts.


CSFB May Cut Jobs as Costs Outstrip Goldman, Lehman (Update3) Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland #39;s second-biggest bank, may eliminate hundreds of jobs at its securities unit to lower costs that are among the highest on Wall Street, people familiar with the matter said.


Two More Top Nokia Execs Exit Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday the head of its networks unit had resigned and another top networks executive left, in the second major shake-up


UPDATE 2-Fed #39;s Santomero sees solid growth, measured hikes The US economy should grow about 4 percent next year, giving the Federal Reserve room to continue raising interest rates at a measured pace, Philadelphia


Walgreen Profit Rises 30.5 Percent  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Walgreen Co. WAG.N, one of the  largest U.S. drugstore chain operators, on Monday posted a 30.5  percent jump in quarterly profit, its largest increase in four  years, boosted by higher sales of prescription drugs and  general merchandise.


Infineon Execs Plead Guilty in DRAM Probe Individual penalties for the four Infineon executives who pled guilty in a price-fixing scheme follow a record \$160 million fine that Infineon agreed to pay in mid-September stemming from the same investigation.


Sun closer to open source Solaris with draft license The ostensible confusion within Sun over the relationship between its first-born Solaris and sibling-rival Linux won #39;t be cleared up by the open source license it submitted to the Open Source Initiative (OSI).


MLB, Angelos Have Yet to Reach a Deal Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Major League Baseball had not reached an agreement late last night on a financial package designed to offset the impact the Washington Nationals will have on the franchise.


Former 49er Owens accurately predicted team #39;s impending breakdown Terrell Owens has been called a lot of names -- most recently, the heedless heathen whose staged embrace of a naked actress signified the nation #39;s moral decline.


Bush asked to nudge Musharraf on Pakistan's democratic future (AFP) AFP - US President George W. Bush should find out how Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf plans to restore civilian rule in his country during their talks this weekend expected to be dominated by terrorism, analysts say.


Nadal Nails Roddick to Give Spain 2-0 Lead  SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Teenage rookie Rafael Nadal  blunted the world's fastest serve on Friday to stun Andy  Roddick and give Spain a 2-0 lead over the United States in the  Davis Cup final.


U.S. Aims to Boost Electricity in Iraq to 20 Hours  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes to boost the  availability of electricity throughout Iraq to at least 18  hours a day by the end of next year from 11 to 15 hours now,  the top U.S. aid official said on Friday.


Update 6: Crude Oil Prices Fall Below \$43 a Barrel Crude oil futures prices fell below \$43 a barrel Friday, extending two days of sharp sell-offs as worries about low winter fuel inventories dissipate amid rising supplies.


SuperGen Tumbles, Intel Up Before Bell (Reuters) Reuters - Shares of SuperGen Inc. \dropped 17 percent before the bell on Monday after the company\said it withdrew an application to market its pancreatic cancer\treatment in the United States due to insufficient data.


Infineon execs get jail time in price-fixing case Four senior executives of German chipmaker Infineon agreed to jail time and steep fines for their role in a scheme to fix prices in the memory chip market, the US Department of Justice said Thursday.


Eagles Set for Pack Attack Dec. 3, 2004 - Of the six teams the Packers have beaten during their winning streak, only Minnesota has a winning record. The Packers get a true gauge of their standing Sunday at Philadelphia.


IBM to Put Its PC Business Up for Sale  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - IBM IBM.N is looking to sell  its personal computer business in a deal that could be worth up  to \$2 billion, The New York Times reported on Friday, capping a  gradual withdrawal from the business it pioneered.


Why Else Would Wood Leave? The PalmSource chief financial officer jumps ship. Does that mean it's sinking?


Forget IBM Forget about IBM and all the other dinosaurs. But remember the investment lessons they offer.


U.S.'s Snow Won't Discuss His Job Future (Reuters) Reuters - Treasury Secretary John Snow on\Friday said that any discussion about whether he continues in\his post or quits was a matter between himself and President\Bush.


Fired Broker Sues Morgan Stanley (Reuters) Reuters - A fired female broker has sued Morgan\Stanley  for alleged sex discrimination, barely four\months after the investment bank agreed to pay  #36;54 million to\settle a landmark bias case.


Former native residential school students can sue as a class: appeal court (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - OTTAWA (CP) - Ontario's highest court has given the go-ahead for the first class-action lawsuit by former students of a native residential school.


SEC Could Slow Aggressive Rulemaking Pace (AP) AP - Spurred to action by a wave of scandals that rolled through corporate America and the mutual fund industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission could slow its aggressive rulemaking pace in coming months as internal dissension and outside pressures intensify.


Danforth Quit U.N. Post to Return to Mo. (AP) AP - U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said Friday he took himself out of the running for any job in President Bush's second term because he wanted to go home to Missouri.


Sudan War Marked Danforth's U.N. Tenure (AP) AP - During his five months at the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador John Danforth has focused on one goal: bringing peace to Sudan, which has been engulfed in war for 21 years.


ETA Returns with Five Bombs in Madrid, No Injuries  MADRID (Reuters) - Bomb explosions hit five petrol stations  in the Madrid area on Friday after a telephoned warning from  armed Basque separatist group ETA, police said.


Stocks Flat as Jobs Number Offsets Intel  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on  Friday as a disappointing jobs report was offset by strength in  tech stocks, after bellwether Intel Corp. INTC.O shot 6  percent higher after raising its sales forecast.


Appeals Court Rejects ABB Ltd.'s \$1.2 Billion Asbestos Settlement Plan A federal appeals court has rejected a \$1.2 billion asbestos settlement plan for ABB Ltd., a setback for restructuring efforts by the Swiss-Swedish engineering company.


EADS Offers to Split Deal With Boeing Airbus SAS's parent company has proposed splitting a contested U.S. Air Force contract for refueling tankers with its rival Boeing Co., the company said Friday.


Automakers Telling the Same Tale The top two U.S. automakers continue to deal with declining sales while the little guy grows.


Ukrainian Justices, in Show of Independence, Order New Runoff Ukraine's Supreme Court ordered that a new runoff vote between the two main challengers take place by Dec. 26.


Explosions Reported in Madrid After Warning Bomb explosions hit five petrol stations in the Madrid area on Friday after a telephoned warning from armed Basque separatist group ETA, police said.


Pennington to Start Jets quarterback Chad Pennington will start Sunday's game against the Houston Texans after sitting out the last three contests with a strained right rotator cuff.


McDonald #39;s CEO says strategy unchanged McDonald #39;s (MCD) newly appointed Chief Executive Jim Skinner said Friday that there would be no change in strategy at the fast-food chain and a recent physical showed he is in good health.


Major Atlantic hurricane season forecast FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Hurricane forecasters are calling for an above-average Atlantic hurricane season again next year after one of the most destructive seasons on record.


November Job Growth Unexpectedly Weak The US economy created only 112,000 new jobs in November, the government said on Friday, about a third October #39;s total and weak enough to deepen a shadow of uncertainty hanging over the holiday sales season.


UPDATE 1-Citigroup says committed to asset management -memo Citigroup Inc. (CN: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world #39;s largest financial services company, said it remains committed to asset management, rejecting a published report it might


Mars Once Ripe for Life, Rovers Discover Water once covered thousands of square miles of Mars, creating an ancient environment that hints at the possibility that life might be present there yet today, scientists reported.


Apple iTunes Opens in Canada Apple announced yesterday the launch of its iTunes music store in Canada, making it the 14 country where iTunes is available. Apple said that the iTunes music store in Canada has more than 700,000 songs and


Nintendo gets touchy feely Nintendo wants you to know that its new handheld is not just another blob of circuitry encased in cold silver plastic. To make this point, my review copy of the Nintendo DS came in unusual packaging.


And the Winner Is... Guess what is the most popular search word in the online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary? It #39;s blog. In case you didn #39;t know, that #39;s short for Web log, a form of online expression that has come into


Samsung: Memory, LCD prices to drop; sales to rise While taking a back seat to software and security efforts, hardware is still a big time concern according to our survey. Organizations are taking the opportunity to consolidate their environments as they replace


Iomega NAS Line Boasts Improved Speed, Capacity Iomega Corp. updated its network-attached storage line Friday with the NAS 400r, a rack-mounted NAS line featuring faster processors and improved capacity.


Bonds Denies Steroid Use, Admits Using  #39;Substances #39; SAN FRANCISCO - For the second morning in a row, there is a major development in the on-going scandal involving steroids and star athletes.


3 Arrested in Suspected Plot to Attack Iraqi Prime Minister German police today arrested three Iraqis who the chief federal prosecutor said appeared to have been planning an attack on Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraq, here for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schrder.


House Arrest Extended for Burmese Pro-Democracy Leader Suu Kyi Burma #39;s military junta extended the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi for one more year. According to CNN, the Bush Administration is calling on.


Pennington Set to Start Sunday (Reuters) Reuters - New York Jets\quarterback Chad Pennington is expected to start Sunday's game\against Houston after missing the last three weeks with a\rotator cuff injury.


Earnhardt Jr. Wins Most Popular Driver Award  NEW YORK (Sports Network) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. was voted  the NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver of the Year for the second  consecutive year. The announcement was made Friday during the  National Motorsports Press Association's breakfast at the  Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.


Pennington Set to Start Sunday  HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Sports Network) - New York Jets  quarterback Chad Pennington is expected to start Sunday's game  against Houston after missing the last three weeks with a  rotator cuff injury.


Miller Wins Downhill for Fourth Win in Five Races  BEAVER CREEK, Colorado (Reuters) - American Bode Miller won  a men's World Cup Alpine skiing downhill Friday to celebrate a  phenomenal fourth win in five races.


Supreme Court to Hear ISP-Cable Dispute The Supreme Court said Friday it would consider whether Internet providers should be allowed to sell their high-speed service over the cable television system.


Kelly: Perennial Winner Southwest In 14.1 Traffic Jump <b>...</b> Southwest Airlines (nyse: LUV - news - people ) on Friday said its traffic jumped 14.1 in November. The discount carrier carried 9.6 more passengers during the month than in the year-ago period.


Microsoft discovers blogging The beta version of MSN Spaces, web-logging service that enables consumers to create their own personal place on the web has been launched for current users of Hotmail or MSN webmail services.


Napster Creator Launches New Music Service Napster founder Shawn Fanning is returning to the music downloading arena with a brand new offering that is receiving reasonable support - given their histories together -rom the music industry.


Mozilla Outfoxing Microsoft pardon the pun -- and for good reason. Web surfers looking for a reliable alternative to Microsoft #39;s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Internet Explorer have been busy over the last


Sun Offering Free, Open Source Solaris 10 - Not Quite Yet II #39;m reading everywhere that Sun is making Solaris 10 free and open source ( http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=106224). environment.


Nintendo Sells 500K DS Systems Thus Far Shoppers snapped up more than 500,000 Nintendo DS systems during Thanksgiving week, representing more than 90 percent of all units available in stores across the United States.


Match-fixing fear prompts Uefa inquiry Betting patterns described as  quot;the most suspicious ever seen in football quot; yesterday prompted European football #39;s governing body to begin  quot;gathering information quot; about a Uefa Cup match - in Newcastle United #39;s group - on Wednesday.


F1 test vetoed NICK Heidfeld #39;s test with Williams has been brought forward after BAR blocked plans for Anthony Davidson to drive its Formula One rival #39;s car.


Mailbag: Readers right? You be the judg First, thanks to all those Bengals fans who wrote to complain about the dig on their team #39;s uniforms. Yeah, this time of year I like pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes, too, but not when I have to wear them on Sundays.


Microsoft Sues Porn Spammers Microsoft said on Thursday that the company filed seven lawsuits against spammers that have sent sexually explicit emails on the Internet without adhering to federal laws.


Lycos Europe Withdraws Its Spam-Fighting Screensaver just a couple of days -- before newfound Lycos Europe enemies organized a multi-pronged counter-attack with delirious affects that forced Lycos to turn tail and


MSN upgrades Messenger, Hotmail The MSN network of Internet services has introduced updates to its free communication services to make e-mail, instant messaging and online sharing easier and more personal for consumers.


Napster creator develops Snocap Napster was a revolutionary product. It practically gave birth to the p2p industry on the Internet. It has lead to a stage that big corporations of the music industry are practically scared of losing a major chunk of their business from this phenomenon.


Probe of UN oil-for-food cheating endorsed The State Department yesterday endorsed a Senate investigation into possible fraud in the United Nations oil-for-food program while sidestepping a senator #39;s


#39;Security Council can #39;t be eroded #39; NEW DELHI: Russian president Vladimir Putin has, in one pithy paragraph, poured cold water on India #39;s hopes of making it as a card-carrying member of a reformed UN Security Council.


Barghouti Release Would Reward Terror consecutive life terms, plus another 40 years, by an Israeli civil court that found him guilty of five cases of murder of innocent citizens, attempted murder and membership in a terror organization.


Palestinian Militant Shot to Death in West Bank Israeli army officials say soldiers killed Mahmoud Hammad, a member of the militant group Islamic Jihad, as he tried to escape from a house in the village of Raba, close to the West Bank town of Jenin.


Holiday sales outlook dims with retailers November results The outlook for the holiday season dimmed yesterday as several of the nation #39;s large retailers reported disappointing sales for November, which included an uninspiring Thanksgiving weekend, The Associated Press reports.


Salvation Army using cardboard bell-ringers to stoke donations BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - There #39;s a reason that smiling Salvation Army bell-ringer looks a little stiff this Christmas season, and it #39;s not the cold weather.


Moody #39;s may raise ratings on AES Corp. Moody #39;s Investors Service on Friday said it may raise its ratings on global energy company AES Corp.(AES.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , citing lower debt and improved cash flow.


Fed Officials: No Inflation Alarm Bells  PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve, while  remaining watchful as prices and interest rates tick higher, is  holding to its mantra that rate increases will be "measured,"  senior Fed officials indicated on Friday.


Halliburton Says Court Clears Asbestos Settlement  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Halliburton Co. on Friday said a  federal court had signed an order that would end the company's  asbestos liability later this month, clearing another hurdle  for two of its subsidiaries to emerge from bankruptcy.


iTunes Canada Launched iTunes, a legal music download service from Apple, previously unavailable in Canada, finally launched its much anticipated Canadian online store yesterday.


The Best Way to Grow Operating cash flow is the best growth path there is, and Kenneth Cole is on it.


DATE WITH DESTINY FOR COLLINS The fate of American sprinter Michelle Collins, who has been charged with doping violations, will be decided next week. Collins, last year #39;s world indoor 400metres champion, has been implicated in the BALCO


Expos move closer to DC Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Owners voted 29-1 on Friday to approve the proposed move of the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season.


30 killed in pair of major attacks against mosque, police station <b>...</b> In some of the worst violence in recent weeks in Baghdad, insurgents launched attacks Friday against Iraqi security forces in the north and west of the capital, killing at least 30 people.


India, Pak end technical talks on rail link NEW DELHI, Dec 3. Technical level talks, led by railway officials of India and Pakistan, concluded in Islamabad today with an agreement to start the rail link, but no agreed dates on which to launch the train.


Blair aiming for  #39;opportunity and security #39; Tony Blair paid tribute to the chancellor #39;s handling of the economy today and made a pre-election promise to hand more power to the British people.


FACTA  amp; your credit A new federal law that entitles consumers to free credit reports sounds great, but the devil is definitely in the details. The Fair


Salvation Army using cardboard bell-ringers to stoke donations There #39;s a reason that smiling Salvation Army bell-ringer looks a little stiff this Christmas season, and it #39;s not the cold weather.


Nielsen Counts 54.5 Million Broadband Users in Europe The number of people in Europe surfing the Internet over a broadband connection reached 54.5 million in October 2004 -- an increased of 60 from 34.1 million a year earlier -- according to the latest report from Nielsen/NetRatings.


Paper: Second Samsung 7G line to process larger substrates than <b>...</b> Samsung Electronics may process 2,0002,300mm glass substrates at a second seventh-generation (7G) line in the beginning of 2006, according to the South Korea-based Electronic Times, Seoul.


Jones denies using performance-enhancing drugs The accusations were levelled by Victor Conte, founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), the firm at the centre of the biggest doping scandal in sporting history.


NOVO PROMISES RANGERS REACTION Striker Nacho Novo expects Rangers to respond in style to their UEFA Cup setback in Holland because of the prevailing  quot;great spirit quot; in the squad.


Jimenez fires 64 for lead at Omega Hong Kong Open Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez took his customary position when a superb six-under-par 64 hauled him into the halfway lead at the US\$800,000 Omega Hong Kong Open today.


Thousands Uprooted by Clashes in East Congo - UN Thousands of civilians have fled their homes after clashes in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said on Friday, although it was unclear who was behind the violence.


US Congresswoman says she was denied Vietnam visa (AFP) AFP - A US Congresswoman who has criticised Vietnam's human rights record has been denied a visa to visit the communist country for the second time, she said.


Apple Falls After Analyst Cuts Rating Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) shares fell 4 percent after a Needham  amp; Co. analyst lowered his investment rating on the stock to  quot;hold, quot; saying


Arbitrator to Hear Artest Appeal Petition (AP) AP - An arbitrator ruled Friday that he has jurisdiction to decide whether the brawl-related suspensions given to Ron Artest and other NBA players can be appealed to someone other than commissioner David Stern.


Lycos UK turns anti-spam vigilante Internet firm Lycos UK released free screensaver software that allows users to attack spammers using the same mass mailing techniques the spammers themselves use to fill up the worlds inboxes.


European broadband access up 60 on 2003 In the past 12 months, the number of people actively surfing the web from home each month in Europe has grown by 12 per cent to 10m, according to numbers from internet research firm Nielsen NetRatings.


Prince of Persia 2 on shelves Young royal returns to adventure in Ubisoft #39;s Warrior Within; darker storyline and new fighting system highlight the multi-console title.


SI.com #39;s BJ Schecter breaks down the SEC Championship Game Auburn has won nine of its 11 games by 18 points or more. The Tigers are averaging 419.2 yards per game and will pound teams on the ground before going for the kill through the air.


UN seat yes, veto no While India and Russia signed a joint declaration signalling a push to their strategic partnership on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin fired a Brahmos on the issue of  #39;veto #39; for new UNSC members which India is seeking.


Mullah: Iran bids to join nuclear tech club Mullah Rafsanjani said here Friday that Tehran expects it would become a member of the club of countries possessing nuclear technology.


Bedding Blip? Rest Assured Just as you are getting comfortable, Select Comfort's stock collapses. But don't let Mr. Market's nightmares scare you away.


Oil prices pause for breath after two-day rout London - Oil prices edged lower on Friday after a two-day rout that saw the value of crude drop 12 percent amid easing fears over a northern winter supply shortage, traders said.


Blair backs Brown Tony Blair has given his staunch backing to Gordon Brown #39;s pre-Budget report, insisting that its spending pledges are  quot;fully-funded quot;.


US job creation disappoints The US jobless rate dropped in November, but analysts are surprise and disappointed by the weak job creation numbers reported by the US Labour Department.


Cable Internet case goes to Supreme Court The US Supreme Court will decide whether cable operators that provide high-speed Internet connections, like Time Warner Inc., should be required to open their networks to other Internet service providers.


Southwest Air Traffic Jumps Southwest Airlines (LUV:NYSE - news - research) said demand for tickets outstripped increasing supply in November, allowing the carrier to fill more seats on its planes than a year ago.


Its Sno Napster Napster founder Shawn Fanning tries to convince record companies and peer-to-peer networks to switch from lawsuits to making money on downloads.


Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Ships Ubisoft has announced that its sequel to the amazing Prince of Persia, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within has shipped and is now available at retailers.


HP drops plans to put Compaq technology into HP-UX Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has abandoned plans to integrate a number of advanced technologies it acquired in its 2002 purchase of Compaq Computer Corp.


Meyer attends practice Utah football coach Urban Meyer was just where he was scheduled to be Thursday, at practice with his team. The New York Times reported earlier in the day that Meyer had been contacted by Notre Dame and that he would meet with school officials.


England clinch sevens title England tonight won their first ever Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens title by beating a fiery Fijian side 26-21 in a pulsating final.


NCAA probation for little engine that could ROMEOVILLE, Ill. The Division Two school that won an NCAA Division One championship in volleyball last year is on NCAA probation for four years.


30 killed in insurgent attacks in Baghdad; Two US soldiers die in <b>...</b> In the deadliest insurgent violence in weeks, militants stormed two police stations and a mosque in Baghdad on Friday, killing 30 people.


California Diocese Settles Abuse Cases for Record Amount The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, Calif., has reached a settlement with 87 victims of abuse by priests and lay employees that includes the largest payment ever agreed to by the church.


Consumers snap up credit reports online Credit reporting agencies reported a rush of traffic and a few glitches as a new federal law requiring free access to credit data went into effect.


Napster Star Changes His Tune Napster creator Shawn Fanning, who turned the music industry on its head with his file trading technology, has re-emerged with a new company that hopes to facilitate agreements between peer-to-peer services and the record companies, making it easier for


Internet Explorer Loses European Share to Firefox Firefox is the second most popular Web browser in Europe, with 5.51 percent of the market share at the end of November, according to Adtech.


US finishes 1-2 in World Cup downhill Beaver Creek - In an unprecedented result for American men in World Cup skiing, Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves finished first and second in today #39;s World Cup downhill race on Beaver Creek #39;s Birds of Prey course.


Arbitrator Sets Hearing An arbitrator rules that he has jurisdiction to decide whether the brawl-related suspensions given to Ron Artest and other NBA players can be appealed to someone other than commissioner David Stern.


Big Blue news a sign of PC market #39;s graying temples While taking a back seat to software and security efforts, hardware is still a big time concern according to our survey. Organizations are taking the opportunity to consolidate their environments as they replace


Oil Futures Drop Below \$43 Around noon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark January crude futures were down 50 cents to \$42.75 a barrel, well off their intraday low of \$42.05, a three-month low, but still a sharp decline on the day.


Select Comfort down; lowers sales expectations NEW YORK - Select Comfort Corp. stock fell after the bed maker lowered is sales forecast, citing slow sales during the Thanksgiving weekend.


Radio Stocks Fizzle on Analyst Downgrade Shares of radio station operators sank in Friday trading, saddled by a report raising concerns that future growth could be limited as advertising demand wanes amid fierce competition from personal media players and satellite radio.


#39;Morning Edition #39; Returns: Webster #39;s Most Wanted Description: The most requested word on Merriam-Webster #39;s Web site isn #39;t in the dictionary yet. The word is blog. It will be in the next edition.


Roddick played well in Friday #39;s loss Andy Roddick has never fought harder in a Davis Cup match and has never experienced a team loss like he did in his 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (6) 6-2 defeat to Spanish 18-year-old Rafael Nadal on Friday in the US-Spain Davis Cup final.


Utah #39;s Meyer to pick Florida over Notre Dame today? Maybe Urban Meyer is notheaded to Notre Dame after all.According to a report in the Palm Beach Post, Meyer has beenmade an offer to replace Ron Zook as Florida #39;s coach and isexpected to accept it as early as Friday afternoon.


Clubs hit back over match fixing claims The two clubs at the centre of a UEFA investigation into an alleged match fixing scam angrily denied any wrongdoing. European football #39;s governing body announced they were opening an inquiry into Wednesday #39;s


Bad-news West good for Hawks The NFLs meekest division is in no position to contest the issue, and thats fine by the Seattle Seahawks. Were in first place despite the general feeling you get when people talk about us, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said Wednesday.


Russia #39;s Putin Calls US Policy  #39;Dictatorial #39; Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Friday of pursuing a dictatorial foreign policy and said mounting violence could derail progress toward bringing peace and democracy to Iraq.


Somalia plans landmine ban, seeks patience Somalia, one of Africa #39;s most landmine infested countries, said on Friday it was considering signing a treaty aimed at banning the deadly devices, but asked the international community to be patient as it rebuilds its war


India and Pakistan agree to reopen second rail link ISLAMABAD : Pakistan and India have agreed to restore a second rail link between the countries which was severed nearly 40 years ago.


Man knifes 12 primary school children in north-east China : Beijing, Dec 3 : A man intruded into a primary school in north-east China #39;s Jilin province today and slashed 12 grade one pupils, four of them seriously.


Arms sales ban at the centre of China-EU talks Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The EUs ban on arms sales to China will be the main topic at next week high-profile diplomatic talks between China and Europe.


Dollar Dives to New Lows  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar slid to a new record low  against the euro on Friday amid disappointing U.S. jobs data  and a perception that the United States was in no hurry to stem  the dollar's fall.


Fed: Inflation Not Setting Off Alarms  PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve, while  remaining watchful as prices and interest rates tick higher, is  holding to its mantra that rate increases will be "measured,"  senior Fed officials indicated on Friday.


Treasuries Rally on Weak Jobs Report  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Treasury debt prices soared on Friday  after the latest employment figures suggested U.S. job creation  continues to lag, soothing worries the Federal Reserve might  raise interest rates more aggressively.


Fla. Businessman Sues Ex-NYSE Director  MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida businessman has sued former New  York Stock Exchange director Kenneth Langone for \$1.8 billion,  claiming he made false statements about data management company  Seisint in hopes that ChoicePoint Inc. CPS.N could buy it for  a low price.


Halliburton: Court Clears Asbestos Deal  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Halliburton Co. HAL.N on Friday said  a federal court had signed an order that would end the  company's asbestos liability later this month, clearing another  hurdle for two of its subsidiaries to emerge from bankruptcy.


Snow says strong dollar  quot;foundation quot; of US policy WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Treasury Secretary John Snow said a strong dollar is the  quot;rock solid foundation quot; of US policy, but its value is best set in open currency markets.


Star elephants aid Thai clean-up Six elephants from the film Alexander join rescue teams to clean up debris-strewn forests in parts of Thailand.


Lycos Pulls Anti-Spam  #39;Vigilante #39; Campaign Just days after Lycos Europe #39;s launch of an anti-spam DDoS tool raised eyebrows in the security space, the company appears to have scrapped the campaign.


Swiss Blocks Accounts in Oil Co. Probe (AP) AP - Swiss justice authorities have blocked bank accounts containing  #36;100 million in an investigation of an alleged bribery scandal tied to a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., the oil services company formerly headed by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.


Appleby breaks 70 to lead in Sun City Stuart Appleby got his putter working to score a 69 and take the lead at 5-under-par after the second round of the Sun City Golf Challenge in South Africa on Friday.


Lincou seals world squash triumph DOHA, Qatar -- Thierry Lincou has become the first Frenchman ever to win the world squash title. Lincou beat top-seeded Englishman Lee Beachill 5-11 11-2 2-11 12-10 11-8 on Friday, saving a match point at 9-10 in the fourth game.


Rwanda singled out as Great Lakes peace threatened (AFP) AFP - The EU added its voice to a chorus of international concern over the presence of Rwandan troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that threaten to undermine the fragile peace in the region.


China Launches New Class of Nuclear Sub (AP) AP - China has launched the first submarine in a new class of nuclear subs designed to fire intercontinental ballistic missiles, U.S. defense officials said Friday.


BALCO Head Conte Admits Role as Steroid Mastermind  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Victor Conte, the head of BALCO  lab at the center of a global doping scandal, has detailed his  role in doping some of the top names in sport.


Davis Cup: Spain Leads U.S. 2-0 as Roddick Loses  SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Teenage rookie Rafael Nadal  blunted the world's fastest serve Friday to stun Andy Roddick  and give Spain a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Davis  Cup final.


Triumph for People Power After Ukraine Vote Annulled  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor  Yushchenko declared victory in an "orange revolution" on Friday  after the ex-Soviet state's top judges annulled a rigged  election and ordered a new vote on Dec. 26.


Thousands Uprooted by Clashes in East Congo - U.N.  GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - Thousands of civilians have fled  their homes after clashes in the east of the Democratic  Republic of Congo, the United Nations said on Friday, although  it was unclear who was behind the violence.


United Airlines to Cut Up to 825 Jobs  CHICAGO (Reuters) - UAL Corp. UALAQ.OB, parent of United  Airlines, on Friday said it would lay off up to 825 ramp and  customer service workers as the airline continues its fight to  emerge from bankruptcy.


Cocoa Up on Fund Buying, Ivorian Tensions  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cocoa prices rose 3.5 percent on  Friday as commodity funds bought on technical signals, a  falling dollar and prospects of more political violence in  Ivory Coast, grower of 40 percent of the world's cocoa.


Cyclical pressures likely to weigh heavily on tech in 2005 and <b>...</b> Technology stocks have underperformed the rest of the market this year, and professional investors have reduced their commitment to the industry as a growing number of analysts question the outlook for the sector.


FDA Chief to Meet with Top Lawmaker Regarding Vioxx US Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) Acting Commissioner Lester Crawford on Friday agreed to meet with a top Republican lawmaker about the agency #39;s handling of safety concerns over Merck  amp; Co Inc.


Spam the spammers: Lycos p2pnet.net News:- If you #39;ve wondered just how much people hate spam, wonder no more. A couple of days back, Lycos Germany launched a vigilante screen-saver to beat people sending out advertiusing junk mail at their own game.


UN #39;s Kofi Annan Under Fire for Oil-for-Food Scandal Description: A US senator is calling for the resignation of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Annan is being accused of fraud and lack of oversight in the Iraq oil-for-food program.


Supreme Court to Decide Cable Internet Case The US Supreme Court said on Friday it would decide what regulations should apply to high-speed broadband Internet service offered by cable companies like Time Warner


Supreme Court to Hear ISP, Cable Dispute (AP) AP - The Supreme Court said Friday it will consider whether Internet providers should be allowed to sell their high-speed service over the cable television system.


An Invisible Technology May Slow Piracy (AP) AP - Invisible technology could soon point the finger toward the camcorder-wielding pirates responsible for that bootleg copy of "The Incredibles" hawked on the street or posted on the Internet.


High-Tech Publisher Tries 'Blogozine' (AP) AP - After Red Herring sank into the dot-com morass last year, Tony Perkins considered resurrecting the magazine that helped establish him as a Silicon Valley sage. He changed his mind when his college-age daughter scoffed and told him "Red Herring is so 1990s."


Napster Back In Music Scene Napster founder Shawn Fanning has returned to the online downloading arena with the approval of some significant members of the music industry.


Infineon Execs Plead Guilty in DRAM Price-Fixing, Face Jail Time Four executives at Infineon Technologies AG and its US subsidiary, Infineon Technologies North America Corp., are to plead guilty to participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the DRAM market, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said


Skulls mobile trojan learns Bluetooth The Skulls trojan horse we warned you about last month didnt do much since users had to install it themselves (thats why its called a trojan).


U.S. Dad Wins Custody Battle in France (AP) AP - A 4-year-old girl at the center of a trans-Atlantic custody battle that drew attention at the highest levels of French government was turned over to her American father on Friday.


WADA chief wants hearing into Jones doping CBC SPORTS ONLINE - World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound thinks allegations that Olympic sprint champion Marion Jones used steroids are serious enough to warrant a hearing.


Bush Signs Internet Tax, Special Ed Bills (AP) AP - State and local governments will be barred from taxing connections that link people to the Internet for the next three years under legislation signed Friday by President Bush.


Baldauf, Bergqvist to Leave Nokia Posts (AP) AP - A pair of top executives in charge of the networks division at mobile phone giant Nokia Corp. are leaving the company for personal reasons, the Finnish company said Friday.


Mozilla Outfoxing Microsoft (The Motley Fool) The Motley Fool - Firefox is catching fire -- pardon the pun -- and for good reason. Web surfers looking for a reliable alternative to Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) Internet Explorer have been busy over the last month downloading the new version of the Web browser. The Mozilla Foundation, a network of programmers jointly developing open-source technology, reports more than 8 million people have downloaded the program since early November.


Reports: Blasts Rock Madrid Gas Stations MADRID, Spain - Spanish media are reporting that at least one explosion -- and possibly as many as four blasts -- have gone off in Madrid following a warning from a Basque (search) group.


Danforth Says No Tension with Washington Over UN Job US Ambassador John Danforth dismissed suggestions on Friday he resigned from his UN post after just five months because he bridled at orders from the Washington


Kosovo elects ex-rebel as PM Kosovo #39;s Albanian-dominated parliament has elected former rebel commander Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister, ignoring Western concern that he may be indicted for war crimes any day now.


Dog released by Calgary pound to new owners back with original family (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - CALGARY (CP) - Zack the dog was home with his original family Friday, but it's not a happy ending for everyone involved.


Apple Falls After Analyst Cuts Rating (Reuters) Reuters - Apple Computer Inc. \shares fell about 4 percent on Friday after a Needham   Co.\analyst lowered his investment rating on the stock to "hold,"\saying much of the potential upside to the company's business\is reflected in the current stock price.


U.S. Study Says Sage Grouse Not Endangered (Reuters) Reuters - A government study has concluded the\greater sage grouse is not an endangered species, a finding\ranching and oil and gas interests in the West had lobbied hard\for, a congressional spokesman said on Friday.


UN Talks to Review Where 'Dangerous' Warming Starts (Reuters) Reuters - A decade after the world pledged to\prevent "dangerous" global warming, 194 nations meet next week\to review whether rare heatwaves and a fast Arctic thaw may\signal that the planet is nearing the brink.


Forecaster Sees Fewer Atlantic Hurricanes in 2005 (Reuters) Reuters - Next year's Atlantic hurricane season\will again be more active than usual but is unlikely to be a\repeat of this year's disaster, a noted storm forecaster said\on Friday.


King Tut Exhibit Could Prove to Be Gold Mine (Reuters) Reuters - The gilded treasures of King\Tutankhamun are on their way back to the United States in what\could prove a gold rush for Egypt and big business.


Rare Event: Jupiter to Hide Behind the Moon (SPACE.com) SPACE.com - A rare and spectacular event will occur in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Dec. 7 when the brilliant planet Jupiter and three of its largest satellites pass behind Earth's Moon.


Supreme Court to Decide Cable Internet Case (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court said on\Friday it would decide what regulations should apply to\high-speed broadband Internet service offered by cable\companies like Time Warner Inc., a key case that could decide\whether such lines must be opened to competitors.


What Do You Say to An Extraterrestrial? (SPACE.com) SPACE.com - I once thought that worrying about what we should broadcast to extraterrestrials made as much sense as fretting over the small talk I'd venture with King Carl XVI Gustaf if I won the Nobel Prize. I reckoned there was no need to dwell on the problem, as it was both hypothetical and irrelevant.


Smithsonian Exhibit Explores Orchid Lore (AP) AP - An oversized model train speeds over the heads of visitors to guide them through 200 species of orchids.


Experts Nix Endangered Status for Grouse (AP) AP - Interior Department biologists have recommended against adding the sage grouse to the endangered species list, a determination that could wind up benefiting natural gas and oil producers but add to environmentalists' concerns.


Major Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast (AP) AP - Hurricane forecasters are calling for an above-average Atlantic hurricane season again next year after one of the most destructive seasons on record.


U.S., Iran Join in Rare Gulf Security Conference  MANAMA (Reuters) - A conference on regional security  threats opened in Bahrain on Friday, in a rare gathering of  senior officials and strategists from Gulf Arab states as well  as Iran, Iraq and the United States.


Quirkiest News of 2004: Flatulent Fish and Beyond See our top ten picks of the oddest and most unexpected discoveries of the year, from cat cloning to hobbit-like humans to bloodsucking bedbugs.


"I Am David" Film Puts Human Face on Refugee Crisis Opening in the U.S. today, the movie <i>I Am David</i> depicts a Bulgarian refugee's struggle in post-World War II Europe. The film is being used by the UN to highlight the plight of current-day refugees.


Price of 5 Golden Rings Plummets The cost of Christmas rose this year, but some surprising elements got cheaper.


Analysts: Lenovo an Odd Inquirer for IBM #39;s PC Biz A report in The New York Times that IBM is poised to sell off its PC unit has provoked mixed reactions and tentative interpretations from analysts who follow the historic company.


World oil prices slip, capping sharp weekly decline NEW YORK (AFP) - Global crude prices fell, capping a 13-percent, three-day plunge triggered by news of an unexpectedly sharp gain in US petroloeum stockpiles.


Russia welcomes oil firms to bid for Yukos NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 3: Thanks to his old hand in oil diplomacy, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar was able to reap as much as possible from a brief 12-minute meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.


High court agrees to hear dispute over cable Internet access WASHINGTON The Supreme Court is taking up the issue of whether cable-based broadband is a telecommunications service that makes it subject to the same FCC rules that apply to phone companies.


McDonald #39;s CEO Vows to Build on Momentum McDonald #39;s Corp. #39;s second new CEO in eight months pledged Friday to keep up the fast-food giant #39;s momentum with more new menu items and a continued focus on restaurant improvements, adhering to a course that has reinvigorated the burger chain #39;s sales and


SUV sales in Tennessee jump fastest in the country KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Sales of sport utility vehicles jumped 151 percent in Tennessee between 1997 and 2002 - faster than any other state and three times the national rate, a new government report says.


Microsofts New Blogging Service Microsoft quietly launched its new blogging service, MSN Spaces, earlier this week. The quiet launch has already attracted more than 250,000 users to the new service, still in beta.


Napster Creator Creates Way To Pay For Traded Files The man whose Napster software let lots of music fans swap songs on the Internet for free is now working to help the music companies who once sued him out of business.


HP drops plans to put Compaq technology into HP-UX DECEMBER 03, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said yesterday that it has abandoned plans to integrate a number of advanced technologies it acquired in its 2002 purchase of Compaq Computer Corp.


Nortel Wins \$5M Virtual Call Center Contract with BT A new system from Nortel will replace British Telecom #39;s existing distributed infrastructure based on Nortel Meridian private branch exchange products.


Irish botch chance to hire Meyer Doesn #39;t anyone watch The Apprentice? The Donald drove home the point Thursday night that you never underestimate your enemy, and that #39;s precisely what Notre Dame did apparently assuming it could low-ball Meyer


Owners vote to move team The president of the re-named Washington Nationals, Tony Tavares, told WTOP Radio the vote was overwhelming. Tavares said the deal to move the Expos remains contingent on the DC Council giving final approval to a stadium plan.


Suicide strike kills 14 in Iraq : A suicide car bomber ploughed into a Shia mosque in Baghdad after dawn prayers today, killing 14 people and stoking fears that sectarian divisions over when to hold elections could unleash further bloodshed.


REGION: Iran making a lot of mistakes WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday Iran was making a lot of mistakes but said any action to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons was a call for President George W Bush and other leaders to make.


Munabao-Khokhropar: Pakistan, India agree to re-open another train <b>...</b> ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India agreed on Friday to re-open the Khokhropar-Munabao railway link, which was severed nearly 40 years ago.


North Korea nuclear issue must be resolved peacefully, South <b>...</b> LONDON - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said on Friday the nuclear standoff with North Korea must be resolved peacefully, despite hawks in the United States pushing for a more hardline approach.


Sharon steps up efforts to form national unity govt JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stepped up efforts on Friday to overcome resistance in the ranks of his right-wing Likud party to an enlarged government coalition with the centre-left Labour, ahead of a decisive party meeting.


British death toll from tsunami could approach 200: foreign secretary (AFP) AFP - Forty Britons have died in the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster and 159 others were missing and "highly likely" to have died, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, suggesting the death toll could approach 200.


Disney World increases daily ticket prices; offers other options Walt Disney World, revamping its admissions policy for the first time in at least two decades, is dramatically restructuring its ticket pricing structure by offering lower prices for longer stays and other options.


Spain on top in Seville Rafael Nadal has repaid the faith shown in him by defeating Andy Roddick in four sets to hand Spain a 2-0 lead after the first day of the Davis Cup final in Seville.


Double act can bring Old Firm fans back TOMMY BURNS #39; appointment as Walter Smith #39;s assistant had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with him being the right man.


Yanks, Mets close to deal In a change-of-scenery deal, the Yankees are close to a trade that would send left-handed reliever Felix Heredia to the Mets and put Mike Stanton back in pinstripes.


Five 2012 Bid Cities Make Presentations To European Olympic <b>...</b> Prior to their 10-minute presentations before the general assembly of the European Olympic Committees in Dubrovnik Croatia, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge spoke to the five cities bidding to host the 2012 Summer Olympic


Madrid blasts after ETA warning Five explosions hit Madrid at Friday evening rush hour -- three of them at gas stations -- after a warning from the Basque separatist group ETA, police said.


Donation Line For Flooded Philippines Floodwaters have receded in the northern Philippines, following a week of severe flooding and four typhoons, but thousands of people remain cut off from help.


Yankees Send Lofton to Phillies for Rodriguez The begin reshaping their roster, sending Kenny Lofton and cash to the Phillies for setup man Felix Rodriguez and nearing a trade to reacquire Mike Stanton from the Mets.


UPDATE 1-Aon sells much of Endurance holding for \$320.5 mln Insurance broker Aon Corp. (AOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it sold nearly all of its equity investment in property and casualty insurer Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd.


East Carolina hires Skip Holtz as football coach Holtz replaces John Thompson, who was forced out about two weeks ago after a 3-and-20 record in two seasons with the Pirates. Holtz has spent six years as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at South


Treasuries Rally as Job Doubts Reemerge  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Treasury debt prices soared on Friday  after the latest employment figures suggested U.S. job creation  continues to lag, soothing worries the Federal Reserve might  raise interest rates more aggressively.


Oil Prices Fall Below \$43 Crude oil futures sank for a fourth straight day Friday, settling beneath \$43 a barrel for the first time in nearly three months and capping a 14 percent decline for the week.


Head of Lockheed's Aeronautics Division to Retire The head of the aeronautics division of defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. will retire next year, the company announced Friday. The division makes fighter jets and other planes for the United States and foreign armies.


Microsoft Sues Porn Spammers over  #39;Brown Wrapper #39; Violations Spam that includes sexually oriented content viewable in the e-mail message violates the  quot;brown paper wrapper quot; rules that are part of the CAN-SPAM law, as well as Federal Trade Commission rules.


Lycos pulls the plug on anti-spam screensaver Lycos Europe has yanked its  quot;Make Love, Not Spam quot; anti-spam screensaver from its site, leaving only a cryptic message of  quot;Stay Tuned quot; in its place.


Expos move gets owner backing MLB owners have voted 29-1 to approve the proposed move of the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season. The decision is still subject to the District of Columbia government enacting funding for a new stadium.


Vizcaino gets one-year deal Houston Astros: The Astros re-signed utility infielder Jose Vizcaino to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Vizcaino made \$1.2 million last year.


Holtz introduced as East Carolina #39;s football coach East Carolina introduced former South Carolina assistant Skip Holtz as its head football coach on Friday, welcoming him as the man to lead the program  quot;into a new era.


Holtz Introduced As East Carolina Coach (AP) AP - East Carolina introduced former South Carolina assistant Skip Holtz as its head football coach on Friday, welcoming him as the man to lead the program "into a new era."


Meyer Headed to Univ. of Florida  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Sports Network) - In a surprising turn  of events, Urban Meyer is expected to be named head football  coach at the University of Florida.


Yankees Re-Sign Catcher Flaherty  NEW YORK (Sports Network) - The New York Yankees re-signed  catcher John Flaherty to a one-year contract on Friday.


Dow chemical given poison well water to mark mass Bhopal deaths (AFP) AFP - A group of activists on Friday delivered to Dow Chemical a container of poisoned well water from the Bhopal gas disaster site to mark the 20th anniversary of the world's worst industrial accident in India.


Bush asks defence chief to stay US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accepts a request from President Bush to say in his job, a senior official said.


Supreme Court Takes Broadband Regulation Case Grotius writes  quot;Reuters reported that the Supreme Court will hear a broadband regulation case that may determine whether FCC regulations apply to cable companies providing broadband services.


Weak employment report casts doubts over US economic strength WASHINGTON (AFP) - A weaker-than-anticipated report on the US labor market, showing just 112,000 jobs added in November, cast fresh doubts over the pace of growth of the world #39;s largest economy.


ANNWhat does Asia want from China? Asians tend not to be very straightforward. They avoid precise questions and exact answers, even on matters of paramount importance - like money.


Microbes on Mars pose risk to Earth Earth #39;s defences may need to be boosted against the risk of potentially deadly microbes returning on board space probes sent to study Mars, according to leading scientists.


Death toll reaches 35 in Philippine typhoon MANILA - Powerful Typhoon Yoyong, which pounded the main Philippine island Luzon from late Thursday, killed at least 35 people in landslides, electrocutions and by falling trees, disaster officials said Friday.