Russia Seeks to Boost Software Production (AP) AP - Russia is seeking to slow the brain-drain of computer specialists and increase software production, a top government official said Friday, in an effort that some hope will help diversify the country's oil-dependent economy.


Hollinger report filed in court TORONTO -- A special committee of Hollinger International, which was instrumental in ousting Conrad Black as head of the Chicago-based newspaper company, filed its final report in an Illinois court yesterday.


Saudi dissident fails to stage mass protests RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Hundreds of security forces made a show of force in two Saudi cities yesterday to ward off protests against the royal family, chasing a few would-be demonstrators in the streets and arresting several others, after a dissident called for a day of marches.


Analyst: Open-Source CRM Not Yet a Contender (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - Commercial open source CRM providers have established their presence in the CRM market in relatively short order, with at least four companies -- Sugar CRM, Ohioedge Anteil, Compiere -- setting up shop over the last year.


AOL upgrades with security tools America Online subscribers will receive a raft of new and enhanced security services as part of their standard package with the launch of AOL 9.0 Security Edition, the latest upgrade of the company #39;s fee-based, consumer-focused online service.


NBA: New Jersey 88, Toronto 86 Richard Jefferson, who scored 26 points, hit a jumper with seven seconds left Monday to give the New Jersey Nets an 88-86 win over the Toronto Raptors.


Insurers spared direct hit by Ivan Insurers breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as Hurricane Ivan skirted New Orleans as well as the heart of the Gulf of Mexico #39;s oil region, saving the companies billions of dollars in claims.


Oil Falls from \$50 as Crude Stocks Swell  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped from record highs  above \$50 a barrel on Wednesday as weekly U.S. inventory data  showed a surprise increase in crude stocks, easing fears over  stretched international supplies.


China, Russia to Hold Military Exercise in 2005  BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Russia will hold their first  joint military exercises on Chinese territory next year, the  Interfax news agency quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergei  Ivanov as saying in Beijing on Monday.


Sun Capital putting Anchor on block (TheDeal.com) TheDeal.com - The Boca Raton, Fla., venture capital firm hopes to get  #36;210 million or more for the teenage apparel retailer.


Amnesty Condemns U.S. for War on Terror Torture  LONDON (Reuters) - The United States has manifestly failed  to uphold obligations to reject torture and cruel, inhuman or  degrading behavior in the "war on terror" launched after Sept.  11, 2001, Amnesty International said Wednesday.


Scotland Coach Vogts Quits, Citing Fans GLASGOW, Scotland Nov 1, 2004 - Berti Vogts resigned as coach of Scotland #39;s national soccer team Monday, citing rude fans. Vogts, a German, held the job for 2 1/2 years, going 9-16-7 and failing to qualify for this year #39;s European Championship.


TOMPKINS: Best, worst in TV baseball manifest as Sox, Yanks duel The 14-inning playoff game between and Yankees and the Red Sox Monday was baseball #39;s version of The Longest Day, and it illustrated some of the best and worst in televised baseball.


Time Warp for Jets Just Won't Go Away Because of repeated showings, television viewers continue to argue over how badly the Jets mangled the clock in last Sunday's loss to Baltimore.


Explosions Rock Central Baghdad (AP) AP - A series of explosions rocked central Baghdad on Friday afternoon during a day of violence in the capital. The cause or exact location of the blasts was not immediately clear. The blasts came only hours after a suicide car bomb detonated near a row of parked police cars, killing at least five people and wounding 20.


Fighting Erupts Around Rebel-Held Iraqi Shrine  NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. marines and Shi'ite militiamen  fought fierce battles around a shrine in the Iraqi city of  Najaf on Monday in some of the heaviest fighting since the  20-day-old rebellion erupted.


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


Children #39;s Place to acquire Disney stores Kid #39;s clothing retailer Children #39;s Place agreed to buy Disney #39;s 313 North American retail stores, the companies said yesterday.


Organic Search Engine Optimization for Large Sites Organic Search Engine Optimization for Large Sites\\Commercial websites are getting larger. Driven by the rapid evolution of content management systems, shopping carts and e-biz facilitation, and by the increasing sophistication of Internet retailers, "small" business sites averaging 500 pages have become common.\\Some large sites are very well focused and present ...


BA cancels four more flights British Airways has cancelled four domestic flights but says other services have returned to normal at Heathrow Airport after severe disruptions earlier this week.


Starters strike it rich As general managers stampeded toward the airport, and Pedro Martinez reflected on the beauties of Flushing Meadow, another edition of baseball #39;s winter meetings ended Monday.


Spain to ramp up security with 35,000 police for Madrid Games bid MADRID (AFP) - Spain will draft some 35,000 police to beef up security, according to a dossier handed to the International Olympic Committee who were mulling the specifics of Madrid #39;s 2012 Olympic bid.


U.S. Oil Clings Near  #36;47 (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. oil prices hovered near  #36;47 a\barrel on Wednesday, awaiting data that was expected to show a\big drop in fuel stocks in the United States due to\weather-related disruptions to output and shipments.


Reuters looks to make India job hub Financial news and information provider Reuters Group PLC plans to make Bangalore its biggest worldwide employment center in order to become more competitive, executives said Thursday.


The Talk Shows  <em>  Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:</em>


Car Bomb in Northern Baghdad Kills Five News reports from the area Tuesday say at least five people were killed and several others wounded in the blast outside the Education Ministry building in the Azamiyah district of the capital.


Bellhorn Homer Gives Boston World Series Lead  BOSTON (Reuters) - Mark Bellhorn cracked an eighth-inning,  game-winning homer as the Boston Red Sox fended off the "Curse  of the Bambino" and the St. Louis Cardinals 11-9 to get the  100th World Series off to a wild start Saturday.


Italian team ordered to play without fans The Italian team Lazio was ordered Friday to play its next European game without fans as punishment for a game last month marked by racial taunts from the stands.


France Opens Judicial Inquiry Into Holocaust Doubter  PARIS (Reuters) - French prosecutors said Monday they were  opening a judicial investigation into comments by a leading  far-right politician who questioned whether the Nazis used gas  chambers in the Holocaust.


Risks vs. benefits The removal of painkiller Vioxx shows no drug is perfect. It is linked to heart attacks and strokes, but it has helped many. Patients must evaluate medications more carefully than ever.


Marvel 3Q Profit Falls but Sales Surge Toy company Marvel Enterprises Inc. on Thursday blamed a sharp drop in third-quarter profit on a tax swing in the period, but the company still beat Wall Street expectations as sales and license fees soared from sales of Spider-Man merchandise.


Oracle again extends PeopleSoft offer Oracle Corp. has again extended its \$7.7 billion cash offer for PeopleSoft Inc. by two weeks. Shareholders now have until Oct. 22 to tender their shares, Oracle said Thursday.


Nebraska Player Charged With Assualt (AP) AP - A Nebraska football player is charged with aggravated assault and battery for injuring a member of a University of Oklahoma spirit group before a game last week.


Putin ally  #39;is winner #39; of Chechen election A pro-Kremlin former policeman has become president of Chechnya, according to partial results last night of an election held after a week of rebel attacks made a mockery of Moscow #39;s claim to have pacified the republic.


Creative declares  #39;war #39; on Apple #39;s iPod Digital music player maker Creative has pledged to spend \$100m to out-market Apple in a bid to take the market away from the iPod.


Hollywood to Help NASA Catch Space Probe na meeting of the cinematic with the scientific, Hollywood helicopter stunt pilots will try to snatch a returning NASA space probe out of the air this morning before it hits the ground.


Bird Flu May Have Killed Thai Tigers -- Minister (Reuters) Reuters - The bird flu epidemic that has\killed 31 people in southeast Asia this year may also have\killed 23 tigers at a zoo in eastern Thailand, a cabinet\minister said Tuesday.


Pakistan's Musharraf says bin Laden alive, but hide-out unknown (AFP) AFP - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said he believed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was alive but that he was unsure where he was hiding.


China urges US to act on Dollar slide A senior Chinese official has urged the United States to take action to stop the slide of the dollar and restore equilibrium to global currency markets, China Radio International reported Saturday.


Springboks targets scrum THE South Africans have called the Wallabies scrum cheats as a fresh round of verbal warfare opened in the Republic last night.


Taiwan issues shooting report, but mystery remains Taiwan released on Friday the full report by a top US forensic expert on the election-eve shooting of President Chen Shui-bian but it offered few clues on who was responsible for the mysterious attack.


Apple Releases Updated OS X to Fix FireWire, Game Issues Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., this week released an updater for its Mac OS X operating system, bringing it to Version 10.3.7.


Intel's Dual-Core Chips Debut Company outlines plans for Yonah notebook processor, demonstrates desktop chip.


Bangladesh crash to Mills pace Chittagong - Fast bowler Kyle Mills grabbed four wickets in a dream spell as New Zealand thrashed Bangladesh by 138 runs in the opening one-day international here on Tuesday.


Australia struggling against New Zealand BRISBANE: New Zealand kept themselves firmly in the first Test with Australia yesterday after Jacob Oram blasted a career-best 126 not out to help the Kiwis reach a healthy first innings total of 353.


Record-tying Vuelta win for Heras Spain #39;s Roberto Heras of the Liberty Seguros team won the Tour of Spain for a record-equaling third time when he held off second-placed Santiago Perez in the final stage.


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


Texas Challenger Links Opponent to Rather (AP) AP - A Texas congressional candidate has launched a television campaign ad linking his opponent to beleaguered CBS news anchor Dan Rather.


Brown States His Case, but Yanks Lose Again Kevin Brown made a compelling case for a postseason start on Saturday, allowing one hit and an unearned run over five innings.


Stocks Headed Higher; Fed Outlook Pleases  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday,  pointing to a higher market open, as oil prices fell toward \$48  a barrel and Wall Street seemed encouraged that the Federal  Reserve would not accelerate its pace of interest rate hikes.


Funk, Johnson share lead at Hartford Zach Johnson, a rookie on the PGA Tour, and Fred Funk share the lead after Friday #39;s second round at the \$4.2-million PGA event.


Mauresmo v Davenport in final Filderstadt, Germany - France #39;s Amelie Mauresmo assured her world number one spot on Saturday when she beat US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia to advance to a final showdown with Lindsay Davenport in the \$650/ amp;nsbp;000 WTA event here.


South American Leaders Discuss New Bloc (AP) AP - Presidents and high-ranking officials from 12 South American countries gathered in this ancient Inca capital to create a political and economic bloc they hope will put them on a more equal footing with the United States and Europe.


'Spam King' Ordered to Disable Spyware (AP) AP - A federal judge has ordered a man known as the "Spam King" to disable so-called spyware programs that infiltrate people's computers, track their Internet use and flood them with pop-up advertising.


'Thinking Cap' Controls Computer in New Experiment (Reuters) Reuters - Four people were able to control a\computer using their thoughts and an electrode-studded\"thinking cap," U.S. researchers reported on Monday.


Boeing, Northrop Grumman to team up on spaceship Two US aerospace giants, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, say they will form a partnership to compete for the contract to build NASA  #39;s next manned spaceship, China Radio International reported Thursday.


South Korea expected to gain from Singapore service sectors Korea will have a lot to gain from closer ties with Singapore #39;s advanced service and financial sectors, while Singapore can capitalize on Korea #39;s efficient logistics system following the inking of the bilateral free-trade agreement, a Singaporean business


#39;Gays are Sinful #39; Row Hots Up over Euro  #39;Justice Boss #39; The battle of wills was hotting up tonight over the political fate of an Italian European Commissioner-designate who thinks homosexuality is a sin.


Tom Ridge Steps Down as Chief of Homeland Security Dept. The resignation would be effective Feb. 1, unless a successor was confirmed before then, Tom Ridge said.


Visa, MasterCard Lose High Court Appeal, Amex and Discover may be <b>...</b> Do you already feel like your mailbox is clogged full of free checks and offers for low introductory rates for new credit cards?


Cadbury Warns Of Weaker Results Cadbury Schweppes has warned that its full year results will be at the lower end of its expectations. The world #39;s biggest confectioner said that wet weather had held back sales of soft drinks in France and Spain.


2004 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit - Chile In this edition of Perspective, we #39;ll take a look at some of the issues at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC Summit in Chile.


AOL Launches PC Line AOL courts novices, Spanish-speakers with budget PC that includes a year of AOL service.


Fannie Mae Discloses Document Request The mortgage giant said today that prosecutors had asked the company to preserve documents as part of an investigation into Fannie Mae's accounting practices.


Spammers exploit anti-spam trap Some spammers are getting their messages through using techniques designed to spot and stop them. A survey shows that spammers are the biggest users of a technique designed to find out if e-mail comes from the net address it says it does.


Researchers: Florida Vote Fishy President Bush may have received up to 260,000 more votes than he should have in Florida counties that used touch-screen voting machines, according to an academic analysis. Researchers call on Florida to examine the results. By Kim Zetter.


Powell Leans Toward Genocide Finding in Darfur (Reuters) Reuters - Secretary of State Colin Powell is\leaning toward a determination that the violence in the western\Sudan region of Darfur constitutes genocide, Bush\administration officials said on Wednesday.


Typhoon swipes Taiwan; shuts schools, businesses Howling winds and torrential rain lashed Taiwan on Monday as a rare autumn typhoon bore down on the island #39;s eastern shore, forcing schools and businesses in the capital and other regions to close.


Taiwan Denies Wrongdoing in Ex-U.S. Diplomat Meetings  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Premier Yu Shyi-kun said on Friday that  Taiwan intelligence officers had held secret dealings with a  former senior U.S. diplomat but denied that the government had  committed any wrongdoing.


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


Study: Musicians Dig the Net A new study finds that artists and musicians love the internet, using it to promote themselves and their work. But they are divided on whether illegal file sharing helps or hurts them. By Katie Dean.


Floridians would get Tax Relief Under Bill Passed by US Senate Floridians will be able to deduct state sales tax payments from their federal income tax returns for the next two years, under one part of a wide-ranging bill the US Senate passed today.


Soccer, Dec 5 Premier League: Arsenal 3 Birmingham City 0, Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 1, Blackburn Rovers 0 Tottenham Hot spur 1, Chelsea 4 Newcastle United 0, Everton 3 Bolton Wanderers 2, Manchester United 3 Southampton 0, Nor wich City 0 Fulham 1, Portsmouth 3 West


Cramming Features Into Phones The cell phone industry is banking on cell phone that seem more like personal assistants --dialing numbers, zapping text messages from fancy keyboards, taking pictures and serving as digital Rolodexes.\-washingtonpost.com


At least 10 killed, more than 50 hurt in explosions near Moscow subway station (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - MOSCOW (AP) - A woman strapped with explosives blew herself up outside a busy Moscow subway station Tuesday night, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 50 - the second terrorist attack to hit Russia in a week.


US Airways Union Meets to Discuss Pay Cuts Leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association said US Airways' plan to cut salaries and benefits of management was welcome news, but does not constitute a deal.


Small changes, big profits Staples Inc. hosted a daylong event last week for analysts who follow the company #39;s stock, laying out plans to keep growing in the immediate future and beyond.


Nikkei Opens Higher The Nikkei average rose 1.37 percent at the opening on Monday as a recovery in US stocks encouraged investors to seek bargains among lagging issues, including Canon Inc.


Bonds and Giants Cow Braves, 9-5 (AP) AP - Barry Bonds hit a pair of mammoth two-run homers  #151; giving him 696 in his career  #151; and went 4-for-5 with six RBIs Sunday night, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.


Firefox surpasses 10 million download mark com December 12, 2004, 2:25 PM PT. Firefox, the open-source challenger to Web browsing heavyweight Microsoft Internet Explorer, has surpassed 10 million downloads in a little more


Delta Gets Letter for \$500 Million Credi Delta Air Lines Inc., the third-largest carrier in the world, said Monday that it signed a commitment letter from GE Commercial Finance to provide \$500 million of financing to the beleaguered airline.


The wife, a stranger, the bully and a bullet Marlene Brookes is a shirt-presser, a quiet, conscientious woman who has looked after Bay Street #39;s demanding clients for more than eight years.


India says U.S. lifts nuclear, space export curbs (Reuters) Reuters - India said on Saturday the United States had lifted export restrictions on equipment for India's commercial space programme and nuclear power facilities, opening the way for greater cooperation in the two sectors.


Japan retailers report big DS preorders On preorders alone, the Nintendo DS is the third best-selling system in Japan this week. TOKYO--The Nintendo DS is the third best-selling video game console for the week of October 11-17, Nikkei BP Consulting reports today.


Wealth in America In what has become an annual ritual, Forbes Magazine has released its "400 Richest in America", a list of the wealthiest in a land which is simultaneously revered and reviled for its wealth. Between the lines are some suprisingly revealing truths about what it takes to be rich in America.


Greenspan says better banking rules benefit economy Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday that better management of banking risk and new rules on capital hold the promise of a stronger banking system contributing more to economic growth.


Juventus signs two stars at deadline Torino, Italy (Sports Network) - Juventus served notice of its intentions Tuesday, acquiring Italian national team captain Fabio Cannavaro and talented Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.


Newmont Mining 3Q Profit Up on Gold Prices Newmont Mining Corp. on Wednesday said its third-quarter profit rose on increased gold prices. Quarterly profit rose to \$128.7 million, or 29 cents per share, up from \$114.


Softbank protests Japan's 3G cell phone market policy (AFP) AFP - Softbank Corp., Japan's largest Internet provider, complained that its plan to offer a new mobile phone service could be thwarted by the government's refusal to provide the necessary bandwidth.


Argentina can wait, says IMF The IMF has said it will negotiate with Argentina after  the country's debt swap, that was delayed until 17 January.


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


New Running World Marine Corps Marathon organizers have launched an unprecedented security effort in preparation for Sunday's 26.2-mile race.


US death toll in Iraq nears 1,000 as seven more die A car bomb killed seven US Marines and three Iraqi soldiers outside the city of Fallujah yesterday, bringing the total number of American dead since the US invasion of Iraq in March last year close to 1,000.


Nokia Lifts Tech Stocks; Blue Chips Slip  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Technology stocks were given a lift on  Thursday when bellwether Nokia raised its earnings forecast,  but blue chips were lower as oil prices moved higher,  increasing concerns about future corporate profits and consumer  spending.


P2P Networks Score Legal Victory Against Studios Some advocates involved in the case were arguing that even though their legal argument may fail, the entertainment industry will actually win in the long run, as P2P networks will evolve, as


Outside influence They came -- like they always do on a Saturday afternoon in April -- to see the state of the nation. Only this time, it was different.


Kerry Tours Fla. Asking for Early Votes PALM BEACH, Fla. - Florida voters get to cast their ballots for president beginning Monday, and Democrat John Kerry planned to spend all day asking for their votes...


Americans Fail to Qualify in Cycling Their times were fast. So were their exits. American cyclists were simply overmatched on the speedy Olympic velodrome Saturday, all getting bounced in the preliminaries.


Hurricane Ivan Rolls Towards Cuba GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands Sept. 13, 2004 - A strengthened Hurricane Ivan headed toward the tip of western Cuba with 160 mph winds Monday after pummeling the Cayman Islands with flooding that swamped homes and fierce winds that ripped off roofs.


Indonesia concern on missile plan INDONESIA today expressed concern about Australia #39;s plans to acquire long-range cruise missiles which Canberra said would give it the  quot;most lethal capacity quot; for air strikes.


AG probes state health insurers The Massachusetts attorney general's office is investigating the state's health insurance industry over lucrative commissions offered brokers who are supposed to bring employers the best insurance deals.


GM workers on strike against 12,000 job cut GERMANY - European factories of General Motors Inc. launched a massive strike protesting against the planned major job cuts. The automaker has recently released its plans to reduce the number of jobs by 12


Snow Predicts Oil Prices Set to Go Down US Treasury Secretary John Snow predicted on Sunday skyrocketing oil prices were set to go down and said Middle Eastern finance ministers had responded positively to his request to boost output quotas.


Microsoft to offer anti-Spyware in January Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Giant Software, a provider of anti-spyware and Internet security products. Microsoft said it will use intellectual property and technology assets from the.


Revival! Lions Punish Giants, 28-13 Just one week removed from a devastating home loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions responded offensively and defensively in Sunday #39;s 28-13 victory over the previously 4-1 New York Giants.


Alcatel wins \$1.7 billion network deal PARIS Alcatel, the world #39;s largest provider of broadband Internet equipment, won a \$1.7 billion order to build a fiber-optic network for SBC Communications, the companies said Thursday.


Dell Cuts Prices on Enterprise Hardware Dell has cut prices on a number of products geared to enterprises. The PowerEdge 4600 dual-processor server price tag has been trimmed by about 22 percent, now starting as low as \$4,194.


British death toll in tsunami disaster rises to 40 (AFP) AFP - At least 40 British nationals are now confirmed as having been killed in the Asian tsunami disaster, according to latest figures released by the Foreign Office.


Oracle to PeopleSoft: Redeem Poison Pill (Reuters) Reuters - Oracle Corp. on Monday said it has\asked Peoplesoft Inc.'s board of directors to immediately\redeem the company's poison pill, two days after 61 percent of\PeopleSoft shareholders tendered their stock for Oracle's\ #36;24-a-share hostile offer.


Afghan hostage deadline extended Militants holding three UN workers hostage in Afghanistan have said they will give officials until Friday to meet their demands. The group had previously suggested it would start killing the hostages on Wednesday


Report: Lehman named Ryder Cup captain West Palm Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Tom Lehman will be named the United States Ryder Cup captain for the 2006 matches, according to The Palm Beach Post.


U.S. Denies Report It Wants to Sideline U.N. Tribunal  BELGRADE (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday dismissed  a U.S. newspaper report that Washington was insisting war  crimes cases linked to the Balkan conflicts should go before  domestic courts instead of the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.


STAR WARS II When will Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson ever bury the hatchet? Looks like never as the bitter tit-for-tat goes unabated. By Jeffrey Low.


Hu takes over China #39;s top military job from ageing Jiang BEIJING : Chinese President Hu Jintao was named Sunday to replace elderly leader Jiang Zemin as head of China #39;s powerful Central Military Commission, state press said.


Nation/world briefs NEW YORK - Oil prices neared \$49 a barrel Friday, capping a rise of 7 percent for the week, as Gulf of Mexico crude production rebounded at a slower-than-expected rate in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.


Racing: Schumacher vows to fight back at Japanese GP TOKYO : World champion Michael Schumacher vowed to end his three-race Formula One losing streak at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend -- come rain or shine.


Contact Center Today Cisco Strengthens IP-Service Offerings with P <b>...</b> Cisco Systems is buying IP-service control vendor P-Cube in a deal valued at \$200 million. P-Cube #39;s products help service providers identify subscribers, classify applications, improve service performance and charge for multiple IP services.


Burundi Agrees to Move Tutsi Refugees to Safety Following last week #39;s massacre of at least 160 Congolese Tutsis at a refugee camp near Burundi #39;s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Burundian government is speeding up efforts to help the United Nations set up more secure camps in the


Yahoo Search Gets Personal, Too Following in the footsteps of search rivals Ask Jeeves and Amazon.com #39;s A9, Yahoo on Tuesday unveiled a beta version of a toolset that personalizes searching the portal and the Web.


No release for Iraq women, says US Two high-profile women prisoners in American custody will not be released immediately, the US embassy said in Baghdad, despite an earlier announcement by Iraqi authorities.


Cisco Beefs Up Security Through Acquisitions Cisco Systems will pay \$74 million for Perfigo, a developer of packaged network access control products. Perfigo #39;s product, CleanMachines, will bolster up Cisco #39;s network security offerings for the small and mid-size business market.


IMF Approves \$436 Million Loan for Iraq The International Monetary Fund approved a \$436 million loan to Iraq on Wednesday, a milestone in the nation #39;s effort to normalize its finances and rebuild its economy.


Investors Sell Retailers, Stocks Fall  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Tuesday, led by  declines in retail shares and news of a larger-than-expected  rise in U.S. producer prices last month that heightened  concerns of inflation and rising interest rates.


Arab channels scrap soap on Taliban after Islamist threat DOHA: State television channels of Qatar and Jordan announced on Saturday that they would not broadcast a series on a love story set in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan for technical reasons, a day after Islamists issued threats against the Jordanian


Fantasy Dozen: RB outlooks in Cleveland and Minnesota Every Sunday, we look at 12 important lessons to be learned from the day #39;s games in the Fantasy Dozen. In Week Six, some receivers had good outings, but not all of them have earned our trust yet.


County #39;s economic forecast outshines national The future of the economy looks strong for San Diego County but less promising for the nation as a whole, according to two economic reports released yesterday.


Diouf charged by FA with improper conduct Bolton striker El Hadji Diouf has been charged with improper conduct following an incident in Saturday #39;s Premier League match against Portsmouth, the Football Association (FA) said on Monday.


Wizards 95 Nets 68 WASHINGTON Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison led Washington to its fifth victory in six games, a 95-to-68 blowout over New Jersey.


Growth of global PC market forecast to ease The global personal computer market will grow at a more modest pace in 2005 as the economic recovery slows, according to a report by a market research firm.


Detroit Seeks Its Own Prize on 'Oprah' The show's 276-car giveaway is part of an effort to reclaim credibility in the domestic  car market.


Arsenal Tries to Extend Unbeaten Streak (AP) AP - More than a record unbeaten streak is at stake when Arsenal plays at Manchester United on Sunday: The result could go a long way to determining who wins the Premier League championship.


Britain says pressure on Sudan to intensify Khartoum if it does not stop Arab militia terrorising African farmers in the remote western province.  quot;I first discussed the crisis in Darfur when I was in Khartoum in December ... They


Phishing Scams Continue to Grow After a drop off earlier this fall, more fraudulent Web sites are popping up.


Doom 3 unleashes hell  Doom 3 combines hectic gameplay with genuine shocks to deliver a deliciously uncomfortable gaming experience.


Sixers grab preseason win over Spurs Another victory escaped the clutches of the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. This one eluding them in overtime. The Philadelphia 76ers (4-1) topped


Holyfield bids to keep fighting Evander Holyfield is appealing against a medical suspension imposed upon him following his defeat by Larry Donald. The former world heavyweight champion was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission


Comeback kings Bayern crowned winter champions BERLIN: Bayern Munich claimed the honorific title of winter champions showing great spirit to come from two goals down to net a point in a 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.


Oil surges to \$50.47 a barrel Oil prices soared to a new record above \$50 yesterday as uncertainties over Nigerian output heightened worries of a severe supply disruption ahead of winter.


Rockies Clobber Dodgers 4-1 (AP) AP - Jeromy Burnitz's RBI single with one out in the ninth inning sparked a three-run rally, and the Colorado Rockies beat Los Angeles 4-1 Wednesday night to slow the Dodgers' drive to their first playoff berth in eight years.


Edward C. Baig: Personal Tech - Trade in your dumb phone for a smart one: Treo 650 (USATODAY.com) USATODAY.com - I've apparently been carrying around pretty dumb cell phones over the years - and I bet many of you have as well. That's what the telecom geniuses would have us believe, anyway. These phones don't organize our lives, don't play music, don't take pictures or videos and don't handle e-mail.


Honda Indy 225 Top-Three Finishers Transcript DAN WHELDON: Especially following last week, it was one of the most challenging races of the year. The flag was just changing completely the whole day.


Despite wine losses, Foster #39;s net rises SYDNEY Foster #39;s Group, Australia #39;s biggest maker of beer and wine, said Tuesday that full-year earnings rose 73 percent after the company sold its pubs unit.


US consulate attack  JIDDA, Saudi Arabia -- The five men who attacked the US consulate are being vilified by some Saudis as criminals, not lauded as heroes, even though they targeted the offices of a country that remains unpopular among many Arabs.


Fat Students Sap School Finances By BEN FELLER    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Expanding waistlines are squeezing the bottom line of the nation's schools, as poor eating and exercise subtly strip money from education, a new study suggests.    "It's too risky not to call attention to this," said Dr...


Joy in Italy as hostages freed : Two Italian women aid workers and their two Iraqi colleagues abducted in Baghdad have been freed after difficult negotiations, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told a delighted parliament today.


Northwest #39;s CEO Deplanes And then there was one. Northwest Airlines (NWAC ) reported Oct. 1 that its CEO, Richard H. Anderson, is quitting to take a job in the health-care industry.


Brazil appeals for gold Brazilian sports officials blamed inadequate security for a defrocked priest's bizarre attack on the Olympic marathon leader, and said yesterday they will appeal to world track authorities for a duplicate gold medal.


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.


Torvalds comes out against EU patent directive SAN FRANCISCO - Three prominent open source software developers, including Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, have issued a statement urging the European Union Council to reject proposed legislation that would codify the practice of granting software patents in the E.U.


Navy launches two formal inquiries FASLANE, Scotland -- The Canadian navy has begun assembling two formal boards of inquiry in Scotland that will look into the deadly fire aboard the HMCS Chicoutimi that killed one submariner, left two others in hospital and crippled the vessel #39;s operating


Napalm joke gets advert banned An advert for a Vietnam War PlayStation 2 game is banned over a reference to napalm.


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


Israel-bound Lufthansa flight lands in Cyprus after bomb-scare LARNACA, Cyprus : A Lufthansa flight en route to Israel landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus after receiving a bomb alert that subsequent investigations said were not serious.


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.


Indonesia police identify suicide bomber Indonesian police have identified a suicide car bomber from last month #39;s Australian embassy blast, but said it was unclear if he drove the vehicle, raising the possibility a second suicide attacker was involved.


Sony Takes on iPod with New Hard Disk Walkman Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) unveiled its first MP3-compatible, hard disk Walkman music player on Tuesday in an


Catalogs hold fast in the electronic age  FREEPORT, Maine -- L.L. Bean projects that its online sales will overtake its catalog business within two years, but don't expect any trees to be spared in the process.


Science, Politics Collide in Election Year (AP) AP - With more than 4,000 scientists, including 48 Nobel Prize winners, having signed a statement opposing the Bush administration's use of scientific advice, this election year is seeing a new development in the uneasy relationship between science and politics.


Itsa miracle one would part with a talisman One of the first things we did after moving into our old house was to rip out the ancient radiators and put in a modern heating system.


Manufacturer Gets Help Managing Product Information (TechWeb) TechWeb - Brady Corp. turns to product-information-management software from FullTilt Solutions so it can more easily handle information on thousands of products. The software also helps Brady manage its online catalog.


Otellini: soft-spoken, driven and an Intel lifer news analysis Intel selects consummate insider as next CEO. Can he take Intel beyond the PC?


Failed Mars Probe Blamed on Lack of Funds A failed European mission to land a probe on Mars last year was hampered by late funding from the British government and tensions between groups conducting the flight, a parliamentary committee said Tuesday.


Red Sox Lift Championship, Bury Curse  ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - The Boston Red Sox won their first  World Series title since 1918, and buried a curse, with a 3-0  victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday.


Baptism of Eli passes QB test Half the world expects Eli Manning to be the next Peyton Manning. The other half only wants him to be the next Ben Roethlisberger.


S amp;P raises outlook on Ingersoll-Rand Standard  amp; Poor #39;s on Thursday raised its outlook on Ingersoll-Rand Co. to  quot;positive quot; from  quot;stable, quot; citing the proposed sale of its Dresser-Rand business unit.


Hair Stem Cells May Offer Baldness, Burn Treatments (Reuters) Reuters - Master cells found deep inside hair\follicles might offer a new way to treat baldness and burn\victims, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.


Middle East ; Abbas calls on Palestinians to end armed struggle Middle East News, GAZA, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has called for his people to pursue negotiations instead of violence in the struggle for a state, marking out a change of strategy for peace with Israel after Yasser Arafat #39;s death.


Black in windfall compromise deal Former Hollinger International boss Lord Black reaches a deal with the media group over windfalls from the sale of Telegraph newspapers.


New defense consortium aims for greater systems interoperability The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium, an international group of 28 defense-oriented companies, hopes to create a network-centric framework that allows a variety of communications and information systems and sensors to interact globally.


Fiutak: Five Thoughts on the BCS Texas will be left out in the cold again, USC #39;s free ride and a break down of who should play in the Orange Bowl. It #39;ll take nothing short of a loss by California or Utah for Mack Brown and Texas to get into the BCS.


Silver surprise for US #39;s Abdallah In the weeks leading up to these Olympic Games, American Nia Abdallah wasn #39;t even on the radar screen of international taekwondo.


Ex-HP exec joins StreamServe board Peter Blackmore, who lost his job at Hewlett-Packard in August, is now a director of the board for the Swedish software company.


Sacked again: Pats stop KC During halftime Monday night, a man wearing a No. 31 Kansas City jersey put on some nice moves as he ran on the field. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, that wasn #39;t the real No.


Mexican Volkswagen Workers Strike Over Wage Increase Volkswagen workers in Mexico have gone on strike after rejecting a wage increase offered by company management.


Symantec And Veritas To Merge With aftershocks still fresh from the Oracle-PeopleSoft deal, another buyout has rocked the enterprise market - Symantec #39;s multi-billion dollar buyout of Veritas.


In Sadr City, Stalking the Enemy Lair American soldiers venture out of their bases into dangerous streets, confronting myriad of  unseen risks.


Rabbis tell army to refuse Sharon #39;s orders Israel #39;s military is worried significant numbers of soldiers will heed a call by prominent rabbis to refuse orders to evacuate Jewish settlers, officials said on Tuesday, and


Odumbe handed five-year ban Former Kenya captain Maurice Odumbe receives a five-year ban for receiving money to fix a match.


Nextel Talk Catches Fire Nextel (NXTL:Nasdaq - news - research) and Sprint (FON:NYSE - news - research) shares surged to multiyear highs, fueled by reports that the telcos are in merger talks.


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


Rogers wins world TT title Reigning world time trial champion Michael Rogers of Australia successfully defended his crown here at the world road race championships Wednesday.


Internet Key Battleground in Wildlife Crime Fight (Reuters) Reuters - Why trawl through a sweaty illegal\wildlife market in Asia when you can shop for rare animals and\exotic plants on the Internet?


Giants look to take lead in NL West The San Francisco Giants need Jason Schmidt to bounce back from his recent struggles as they try to catch the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and hold off the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card race.


FIGURE SKATING Hamilton, 46, had a biopsy at the Cleveland Clinic, and doctors expected to release him from the hospital today, publicist Michael Sterling said Thursday.


SanDisk flashes new memory cards SanDisk this week announced a series of CF (CompactFlash) cards that double the read and write speeds of its fastest flash cards available today, as well as an 8GB version of its Ultra II CF Type 1 flash memory card.


British defence contractor BAE agrees to buy DigitalNet for  #36;600 million US (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - LONDON (AP) - British defence contractor BAE Systems PLC said Monday it is buying DigitalNet Holdings Inc., a U.S. maker of secure computer networks and a leading information-technology supplier to the Pentagon.


Japan to Keep Troops in Iraq Despite Hostage-Taking  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's prime minister insisted Wednesday  that Japan would not withdraw its troops from Iraq despite a  threat by a militant group to behead a Japanese hostage unless  Tokyo pulled them out.


Davis tops US qualifying England #39;s Brian Davis took top spot in the qualifying tournament at PGA West in California, where the leading 30 and ties made it onto the American tour.


NASA Puts Hands-Free Linkup to a Test Ever since two Gemini spacecraft met up high above Earth in 1965, the US space program has used astronauts for every rendezvous in orbit -- with other spacecraft, satellites, space stations or the Hubble Space Telescope.


Black Watch raid on Saddam Millionaire #39;s Row The Black Watch has taken part in its biggest offensive since being re-deployed near Baghdad, raiding homes of suspected Saddam Hussein loyalists.


DOE awards \$235 million for clean-energy power plant in Fla. Oct. 22 -- The US Department of Energy has awarded a \$235 million grant to help fund the development of a clean, advanced technology coal-fired power plant near Orlando, Fla.


Brief: AT T lays off 20 of workforce AT T today announced layoffs affecting more than 20 of its workforce, far higher than the 8 it had said earlier in the year would be laid off.


Sick of Avian Flu Troubling new research and a lack of transparency raise the likelihood of a new pandemic on the horizon


Injured Shoulder Forces Bowe to Back Out of Bout Riddick Bowe plans to return to the ring in January or February after a shoulder injury forced him to call off a fight this weekend.


Sports in Brief  Two track world records set Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia and steeplechaser Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar set world records at the Van Damme Memorial meet yesterday in Brussels, Belgium.


University of Michigan The participating libraries include those at the University of Michigan, Google co-founder Larry Page #39;s alma mater; Stanford University, where Page and Google co-founder Sergey Brin met as doctoral students and dreamed up the idea of the search engine


HP unveils its iPod, entertainment media center Hewlett-Packard (HP) is hot about what it considers a consumer revolution in digital media, and on Friday the company #39;s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer


Johnson Creeps Closer Jimmie Johnson wins for the second time at Darlington this year and moves to within 18 points of Nextel Cup leader Kurt Busch with one race left in the chase for the title.


Milk deal 'to help dairy farmers' Sainsbury's supermarket agrees a new milk supply deal with Robert Wiseman and Dairy Crest which the firms say could benefit hundreds of dairy farmers.


Ad Groups Omnicom, WPP See Strong Earns  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global advertising titans Omnicom  OMC.N and WPP WPP.L WPPGY.Oon Tuesday reported  third-quarter results that outpaced analyst expectations,  sending shares higher on improved confidence in the ad  industry.


Ranks of uninsured grow to highest since  #39;98 A stagnant economy and rising health care costs helped push the percentage of people in the USA without health insurance last year to 15.


U.S. Says Iran Nuke Freeze Offer a Ploy  VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday it might extend its  partial freeze of uranium enrichment in order to ease Western  fears about its nuclear ambitions but a U.S. official dismissed  this as a ploy to fend off tough U.N. action.


AMD and IBM collaborate on strained silicon AMD and IBM said today they will begin using a strained-silicon transistor technology designed to augment processor performance and power efficiency.


Report: Japan May Sanction Citibank  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's financial regulator may suspend  or even end some private banking operations at the Japanese  commercial banking unit of U.S. financial services firm  Citigroup Inc. due to lost customer data and questionable  securities transactions, local media said on Thursday.


Spurs frustrate Chelsea Tottenham climbed to fifth place on 10 points, six behind Arsenal and two short of Chelsea, who have been held goalless in their last two league games.


BellSouth and SBC Partner to Buy YellowPages.com BellSouth and SBC Partner to Buy YellowPages.com\\SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. announced that their directory affiliates have created an Internet yellow pages partnership that has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the online directory publisher www.yellowpages.com, Inc. The new venture will utilize the highly recognized YellowPages.com brand and ...


Nanotubes race toward bike parts Easton Sports plans to produce bicycle components made out of carbon nanotubes, a step forward for the tiny technology.


Airbus gets go-ahead for A350 jet European plane maker Airbus won approval from its shareholders on Friday to start a fresh marketing battle against rival Boeing by seeking customers for a new wide-body jet to be known as the A350.


Credit Suisse to merge CSFB Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland #39;s second-biggest bank, plans to combine its Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) securities unit with its banking business in the next two years to boost earnings.


Indonesia insists it is committed to war on terror JAKARTA - Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to fight terrorism yesterday after police officers came under fire for taking a convicted Bali bomber out for coffee.


Andretti #39;s drivers finish season 1-2 As Indy car seasons go, it was not a great one for legendary car owner Roger Penske. So the Penske people whooped it up big time on Sunday when two-time Indianapolis 500


US sweeps Iraqi Sunni  #39;hotspots #39; More than 5,000 US-led forces are sweeping through lawless hotspots in an area south of Baghdad known as Iraq #39;s  quot;triangle of death quot;.


Cyberonics #39; Shares Jumps on Stock Buy Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc. reported Friday that it purchased 3.5 million shares of Cyberonics Inc., taking a 14.9 percent stake in the Houston-based medical device maker, and expressed an interest in combining the two companies.


Wavelink unveils integrated wireless management, security software Wavelink Managed Security allows a company to centrally deploy WPA client software and policies across multiple devices and supports a range of major authentication standards.


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.


Tanker #39;s hull was pierced twice US Coast Guard officials still have not determined what caused a Greek-owned tanker to leak 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River Friday, but did reveal Monday


Government IT Tom Jarrett, the new president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers will discuss challenges facing state government information technology officials. Filter columnist Cynthia L. Webb will moderate the discussion.


Deepest Image of Exploded Star Uncovers Bipolar Jets Chandra X-Ray Observatory -- A spectacular new image of Cassiopeia A from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory released today has nearly 200 times more data than the "First Light" Chandra image of this object made five years ago. The new image reveals clues that the initial explosion caused by the collapse of a massive star was far more complicated than suspected...


Illinois Tool Won #39;t Pursue Linx After Danaher Offers More Money Illinois Tool Works Inc. said it won #39;t proceed with its bid for UK-based Linx Printing Technologies Plc after Danaher Corp. said it may offer 15 percent more for the company.


Israel says troops kill three Gaza militants Israeli forces have killed three Palestinian militants who tried to attack a Jewish settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip, Israeli security sources say.


IBM offers low-cost blade chassis, bundles for SMBs IBM Corp has announced that it will launch a new low-budget version of its BladeCenter chassis for blade servers in an effort to make the blade machines more appealing to budget conscious customers in the small- and mid-sized market.


Stocks Higher As Oil Nears \$50 a Barrel NEW YORK - Stocks moved slightly higher Friday as investors tried to uncouple share prices from skyrocketing oil costs, even as crude reached new highs and flirted with \$50 per barrel.    A barrel of light crude was quoted at \$48.90, up 20 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange after setting a new intraday record earlier in the session at \$49.40...


Canada Offers Darfur Aid, Eschews 'Genocide' Label (Reuters) Reuters - Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin\promised on Wednesday to help fund an African Union mission in\Sudan's troubled Darfur region but he skirted the issue of whether\what was happening there was genocide.


McNabb-Culpepper Other Big Match Up Tonight In the game hyped as a face off between elite wide receivers Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, the men throwing the ball their way tonight have a lot in common.


SMIC establishes first 12-inch chip production line in mainland Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, or SMIC, has established a 12-inch chip production line in Beijing, the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland.


Australian Newbery wins women #39;s platform Olympic gold Chantelle Newbery won Australia #39;s first gold medal in diving since 1924 Sunday night, easily holding off China #39;s Lao Lishi and Aussie teammate Loudy Tourky in women #39;s 10-meter platform.


Dell, Intel, Microsoft Launch Web Services Standard Web Services Management supports a full spectrum of usage models, including the management of everything from silicon components and handheld devices to PCs, servers and large-scale data centers.


Taiwan Says U.S. Ties to Suffer if Arms Deal Fails (Reuters) Reuters - Taiwan's Foreign Minister warned\lawmakers on Wednesday that ties with Washington would be hurt\if parliament failed to approve an  #36;18 billion budget to buy\advanced U.S. weapons.


US fears for World Cup winner Casey SEVILLE (Spain): A knee-trembling three-foot putt brought the curtain down on Sunday on an extraordinary, topsy-turvy week for England Ryder Cup star Paul Casey.


Stocks Up on PeopleSoft Deal, Retail Data  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday after  software maker PeopleSoft Inc. PSFT.O accepted rival Oracle  Corp.'s ORCL.O buyout offer and a government report showed  better-than-expected retail sales in November, signaling an  uptick in consumer spending.


US wholesale prices up 0.5 WASHINGTON - US producer prices, a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose by a faster-than-expected 0.5 in November, seasonally adjusted Labor Department data showed.


2004 Presidential Endorsements (AP) AP - Newspaper endorsements in the 2004 presidential campaign between President Bush, a Republican, and Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat.


There was no stopping Goings CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nick Goings revived the Carolina Panthers' running game -- for a half, anyway.


NZ Watchdog:Changes To Prime #39;s Bid For Powerco Difficult WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Prime Infrastructure Group (PIF.AU) could still change the terms of its controversial takeover bid for Powerco Ltd.


UPDATE:Stanchart To Buy 51 Stake In Indonesia Bk Permata JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--A consortium led by Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) won the bidding for a majority stake in PT Bank Permata (BNLI.


German terror suspects detained AP - A German judge on Saturday allowed the continued detention of three men suspected of planning an attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi while he was in Germany, prosecutors spokesman Hartmut Schneider said.


3 Music Companies Will Use Online File-Sharing Service Three major recording companies have agreed to make their music available to be shared and sold over a new online file-swapping service.


Broad Study Suggests a Lower Tolerance for Exposure to Benzene The first study of a large group of workers breathing air with very low levels of benzene suggests that the chemical may harm the bone marrow.


iTunes under fire over UK pricing Apple's iTunes music download service is accused by the Consumers' Association of overcharging UK users.


Report: Symantec May Buy Veritas Antivirus vendor may pay \$13 billion for the storage software company.


Intel Firms Up Dual-Core Plans Intel Corp. updated its 2005 product plans at its analyst meeting in New York Tuesday, including a timetable for its so-called  quot;Ts, quot; the processor technologies that are beginning to take precedence over clock-speed increases.


Deep, faint tremors in central California fascinate, worry <b>...</b> Deep beneath the San Andreas Fault in central California, the ground has been erupting in strange, faint tremors that last up to 20 minutes, scientists reported Thursday.


Cycling: Hamilton suspended Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton is suspended after failing a doping test.


Google to index works at Harvard, other major libraries Google Inc. is expanding its territory from bytes to books. The world's largest Internet search engine said yesterday it will soon begin a program to index books and bound periodicals in the libraries of Harvard University.


Sun, Microsoft to detail interoperability in October Sun Microsystems Inc. and Microsoft Corp. next month plan to provide more details on work they are doing to make their products interoperable, a Sun executive said Monday.


Iran Plans to Resume Nuclear Enrichment  VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran said Monday it was losing patience  with U.N. inspections of its nuclear program and announced that  its agreement with the Europeans to halt uranium enrichment  would soon come to an end.


Intel Touts Linux over Windows in Asia (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - Intel has launched an effort to make it easier for the company's Chinese and Indian customers to build and buy desktop computers that run Linux rather than Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows software.


New Nintendo game system may attract wider audience Nintendo Co. is set to launch Nintendo DS, the latest of its wallet-sized game systems. The company will have its \$150 Nintendo DS in United States stores Nov. 21 -- hoping to take advantage of post-Thanksgiving shopping.


Dillard's Loss Narrows But Off Estimates  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dillard's Inc. DDS.N on Wednesday  reported a narrower quarterly loss as it cut costs, but a drop  in same-store sales caused the latest results to miss Wall  Street's estimates by a wide margin.


Content Management Systems and SEO - A Powerful Mix Content Management Systems and SEO - A Powerful Mix\\Search Engine Optimization revolves around providing useful, unique content on your website and making sure that search engines can find and understand it easily. 'Organic SEO' as it is called, puts emphasis on optimizing hundreds of keyword rich content pages as 'spider-bait' ...


After delays, Intel points to chip-making advance Intel Corp is on track to introduce the worlds most advanced chip production technology in its products next year, the largest semiconductor maker said on Sunday.


Dollar trades stronger THE Australian dollar continued to trade only slightly stronger today as investors wait for local data due out next week to provide some short term direction.


Acid Rain Pollution Up 4 Percent in 2003 (AP) AP - Emissions of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, rose 4 percent in 2003, but probably will not compromise long-term air quality goals, the government reported Wednesday.


MICROSOFT IE LOSING THE EDGE The Mozilla Foundation, which develops both the Mozilla and Firefox browsers and their underlying Gecko browsing engine, has noted that downloads of the Firefox browser have doubled from 3 million for version 0.8 to 6 million for version 0.9.


Leader Barcelona beats Osasuna 3-0 in Spanish Primera Liga Samuel Eto #39;o scored two goals and Ronaldinho added another from the penalty spot Sunday to help Spanish Primera Liga leader FC Barcelona blank Osasuna 3-0 and maintain its five-point lead at the top of the standings.


Nintendo Cuts Price on Game Boy Advance System By MATT SLAGLE    DALLAS (AP) -- Nintendo Co. has permanently slashed prices on its Game Boy Advance SP portable video game system as the company tries to entrench its No...


Garrison gets new contract; King retires WHITE PLAINS, NY -- Zina Garrison was given a one-year contract to stay on as US Fed Cup captain, while Billie Jean King retired Tuesday as a coach for the team.


Clemson, Carolina: THE AFTERMATH The 102nd gridiron meeting between archival Clemson and South Carolina will certainly be remembered, that #39;s for sure, but unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.


The dream stays alive Carlton Fisk in 1975. David Ortiz in 2004. Twelfth inning both times. Hold on to those tickets for this afternoon's fifth game of the American League Championship Series. The left-for-dead Red Sox are still breathing.


TCS in IT deal for Ferrari F1 car Mumbi: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. has tied up with Formula One racing car champion Ferrari to provide information technology and engineering services for the development of the team #39;s racing car for the 2005 season.


2 steps back in Texas ARLINGTON, Texas -- All of a sudden, the Indians #39; prolific offense has been reduced to shambles. And, remember phenom left-hander Cliff Lee, who won 10 games before the All-Star break? He #39;s seemingly forgotten how to pitch.


Indecency Rules Enter Digital Age The FCC leads the campaign to rein in 'indecency' on the airwaves. But in a world of unlimited spectrum, some think shackling the First Amendment is what's obscene. By Frank Rose from Wired magazine.


Europeans Easily Take Ryder Cup, Again BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Europe again proved to be the best in the Ryder Cup with its biggest romp over the Americans, as Lee Westwood ended any remaining suspense at Oakland Hills with a 4-foot par putt on the final hole to beat Kenny Perry on Sunday...


Google Shares Fall on 4Q Revenue Warning Shares of Google Inc. slipped in pre-market trading Thursday after the world's most popular Internet search engine warned for the second time in a week that its fourth-quarter revenue growth rate is likely to slow from previous quarters.


African leaders discuss Darfur in Libya A summit of African leaders on the crisis in the Sudanese region of Darfur opened Sunday in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, the BBC reported.


UK Will Listen, Not Negotiate, with Iraq Kidnappers (Reuters) Reuters - Britain is ready to listen to kidnappers\holding a British hostage in Iraq but is not prepared to\negotiate with them or pay them a ransom, Foreign Secretary\Jack Straw said on Thursday.


Nemechek wins Bud Pole at Talladega TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Joe Nemechek took his first Bud Pole of the year and his third at Talladega Superspeedway Friday, turning a top speed of 190.


Fed Officials See More Rate Hikes  PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The U.S. economy has come through  its recent soft patch and the Federal Reserve still has some  way to go to restore interest rates to more normal levels, Fed  officials said on Monday.


Iraqi police, troops under insurgent fire Iraqi insurgents are targeting fellow Iraqis serving as police or national guardsmen and their families, the New York Times reported Tuesday.


NFL: Eagles/Lions _ Donovan McNabb threw for 356 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as Philadelphia beat Detroit 30-to-13. While the Eagles improve to 3-and-0 the surprising Lions fall to 2-and-1.


Canon Problems Ease Fears of LCD Glut  TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Japan's Canon Inc. said on Thursday  it had found problems with equipment for making liquid crystal  displays (LCDs), boosting shares in LG.Philips and other LCD  makers as fears of a supply glut eased.


Dating Site Seeks Lasting Impression (AdWeek.com) AdWeek.com - Euro RSCG 4D executive creative director Arthur Ceria is joining OgilvyOne's San Francisco office, which opened last Tuesday to service the Yahoo! online advertising account, a new assignment, the agency said.


Hurricane Frances Causes Damage in Bahamas Howling winds and severe flooding brought by Hurricane Frances pounded the Bahamas for two days, leaving at least two people dead, homes destroyed and yards littered with mangled trees.


Lewis to Face Browns The spotlight will shine on Jamal Lewis this weekend when the Ravens open their season in Cleveland against the team Lewis has historically dominated.


Glaxo Settles Suit Over Paxil Studies GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to disclose information on all clinical studies of its drugs to settle a lawsuit that accused it of withholding negative information about the antidepressant Paxil, the


Aviva to move 950 jobs to Asia Britain #39;s largest insurer Aviva says it will move 950 jobs to low cost centres in India and Sri Lanka in 2005 and it plans to have up to 7,000 people working in offshore centres by the end of 2007.


U.S. Offers Internet Downloads of \$50 Bill By TED BRIDIS    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government will offer over the Internet low-quality images of its new \$50 bill for artists, students and others who discover that their computers, scanners or printers won't allow them to view or copy pictures of the new currency...


EDS Signs With Opsware, Again Global IT services powerhouse EDS extended it contract with Opsware (Quote, Chart) for data center automation software and services, the company said Tuesday.


Bush says delaying vote would send 'wrong signal' WASHINGTON -- President Bush joined the interim president of Iraq yesterday in insisting that Iraqi elections be held Jan. 30, saying that keeping to the election schedule will deter insurgents and quicken the pace toward peace and democracy in Iraq.


S Korea's Roh visits Iraq troops South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun pays a surprise visit to troops in Iraq, after his government decided to extend their mandate.


Nikkei, Hang Seng rally smartly MUMBAI: Asian markets were up in early trades on Friday. While Tokyo Nikkei gained 119.90 points at 10966.22, Hong Kong #39;s Hang Seng index was up 147.


At CNN/US, Another Quick Change of Suits CNN #39;s US operation has a new boss for the second time in just 14 months. This time it #39;s Jonathan Klein -- former CBS News suit and, more recently, founder and CEO of high-speed Internet news network and video streamer FeedRoom.


SGI supercomputer: Two records in one day The public record has been eclipsed by a faster result yet to be announced, CNET News.com has learned.


Europe blesses Oracle-PeopleSoft union Following a U.S. judge's lead, regulators eliminate final regulatory hurdle to Oracle's hostile takeover bid.


Vegas Comes to Wembley with Casino Plan  LONDON (Reuters) - Rundown land surrounding London's  Wembley Stadium will be transformed into a glitzy \$600 million  gambling resort in a joint venture between U.S. group Caesars  Entertainment and Britain's Quintain Estates.


Wakefield Starts Game 1 for Red Sox Tim Wakefield Will Start Game 1 of World Series for Boston Against St. Louis on Saturday Night. Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona faces reporters during a news conference at Fenway Park, in Boston, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2004.


Sudanese Aid Workers Released by Rebels AL-FASHER, Sudan Sept. 1, 2004 - Rebels released six Sudanese aid workers early Wednesday in Darfur, four days after they went missing during a trip to register refugees fled a brutal campaign of killings in the war-ravaged region, a UN official said.


Halliburton admits bribes  #39;may have been paid #39; in Nigeria WASHINGTON : US oil service firm Halliburton has acknowledged that improper payments  quot;may have been made quot; to Nigerian officials through a consortium of which it was a member.


Pirates #39; Bay National League Rookie of the Year After rewriting the Pirates #39; record book, Jason Bay was named the National League Rookie of the Year yesterday by the Baseball Writers Association of America.


Riot not premeditated: Palm Is leaders Community leaders on Palm Island off north Queensland have rejected suggestions yesterday #39;s riot was premeditated. The community remains calm but tense, with police reinforcements sent to the island today.


Correction: One-Day-Of-Prayer Story (AP) AP - In One Day of Prayer, sent in advance for use Oct. 24, The Associated Press misattributed a statement about policy toward the preaching of radical Islam at the London Central Mosque. The official quoted was the deputy director of the mosque, Sheik Anwar Madi, not the director, Ahmed Al-Dubian.


France wins 1st cycling gold at Athens Olympics France won the first cycling gold in the last-day cycling match at the Athens Olympics on Saturday as Olympic debutant Julien Absalon clocked 2:15:02 in the mountain bike cross country.


Australian teenage drinking scare A national survey in Australia shows worrying levels of alcohol consumption among the country's teenagers.


Africa 'makes excuses on climate' African governments are failing to act to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Kenya's Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai says.


Pushed by Mets, Sox won't go fourth on Martinez Lest there remain any doubt about their resolve, the Red Sox last night were fully prepared to let Pedro Martinez take his remarkable skills elsewhere rather than guarantee him a four-year contract to stay in Boston.


Arroyo cheers on Philippine economy outlook Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday expressed confidence in the country #39;s economy outlook and called all sectors not to be off the track in the major economic reforms.


Beijing set to impose own tariffs on textiles HONG KONG The Commerce Ministry in China plans to impose tariffs on some textile exports, a step that could avert a trade war with the United States and the European Union over a new influx of low-cost Chinese garments that had appeared likely to flood


MLB: Seattle 16, Anaheim 6 Seattle pounded Anaheim pitchers for 24 hits Wednessday in a 16-6 rout of the Angels. Raul Ibanez had six hits and five RBI and Ichiro Suzuki had four hits to run his total to


Explosion investigated at Watertown biotech company Police were searching for suspects Friday after a pipe bomb exploded in the offices of a biotech company developing treatments for diabetes and liver disease.


Ukrainian Klitschko retains WBC heavyweight crown Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine stopped Danny Williams of Britain in the eighth round to retain his World Boxing Council heavyweight crown in Las Vegas on Saturday.


This week in iPod news Steve Jobs brings U2 on stage for an iPod photo op, and Wall Street likes what it's hearing.


Astros Turn to Clemens With Series on the Line Twenty-one years after Roger Clemens pitched the Texas Longhorns into the College World Series, he is back in Texas preparing to pull another string.


House Proposal Puts Less Power in New Spy Post House Democrats immediately criticized the long-awaited bill, which they said would not enact the 9/11 panel's recommendations.


Hollinger Inc. Chief Executive Conrad Black Resigns (Update1) Hollinger Inc., the company that controls the publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, said Conrad Black quit as chairman, chief executive and a director.


Private Rocket Ship Earns \$10 Million in New Space Race A private rocket ship shot into space on Monday morning and won a coveted \$10 million aviation prize for its creators.


Feds launch Internet crime crackdown Federal agents armed with search warrants conducted raids in three states Wednesday as part of a nationwide crackdown on the theft of copyrighted materials through the Internet, the Justice Department announced.


Kerry Accuses Bush of Hiding the Truth About Iraq Senator Kerry leveled his charges in a speech prepared for delivery later today before the National Guard Association in Las Vegas.


No. 9 North Carolina 70, Indiana 63 North Carolina was ready for its test Wednesday night. Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton made sure the Tar Heels passed. McCants scored 19 points and Felton added 18 to lead the No.


Will Your Next Cell Phone Have a Hard Drive? Hitachi and Intel are teaming up to add storage to more mobile devices.


Stoddart warns new team AUSTRALIAN Paul Stoddart has warned the owners of a potential new Formula One team to be prepared for a long, tough haul in the sport.


EU Holds Out Prospect of End to China Arms Embargo  THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The EU told China on Wednesday it was  not yet ready to end its 15-year-old ban on selling it arms,  but suggested the embargo could be lifted in early 2005 despite  opposition from human rights groups and Washington.


Dollar Up, But Respite Seen Temporary  TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Monday, back-tracking  from record lows hit against the euro on disappointing U.S.  jobs data, but traders said it was just a matter of time before  the market sells the currency again.


Saha back for Man United Striker Louis Saha returns to the Manchester United squad for Saturday #39;s game at Birmingham City to give manager Alex Ferguson the choice of four front-line strikers for the first time this season.


Five more suspended by weightlifting body ATHENS -- Weightlifting #39;s aggressive pursuit of drug cheaters will continue even if it jeopardizes its future in the Olympics, its top official said yesterday after six more positive doping cases in what is again becoming the Games #39; dirtiest sport. Five ...


Oklahoma Moves Past Miami to No. 2 in BCS The Bowl Championship Series standings -- college football #39;s week-to-week barometer of who #39;s in line to play for the national title, and who could end up with the remaining berths in major bowls -- offered another puzzle yesterday with the release of the


Rivals end phoney contest A cricket match is expected to break out this morning at the Oval, ending a week of tediously phoney contests and sparking the ICC Champions Trophy into belated life.


Firefighters die in roof collapse SEVEN Swiss firefighters were presumed dead today after they were trapped under the collapsed roof of a burning underground car park.


Executive's death stuns State Street  The chief executive of State Street Global Advisors, Timothy B. Harbert, died of a heart attack on Tuesday night, the company said yesterday. He was 53.


Storage Networking World: ILM a business matter Users at Storage Networking World are developing information life-cycle management schemes within their storage networks to more efficiently and cost-effectively store data according to business policies.


Explore your browser options FEW global companies have managed to make themselves as unpopular as Microsoft. Its defence consists of variations on:  quot;The reason nobody loves us is because were so successful.


Powell arrives in Beijing for talks Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived Sunday in Beijing for a two-day visit after holding talks in Tokyo. China expects  quot;to have an extensive exchange of views quot; with the


Titan on Tuesday On Tuesday, October 26, the Cassini spacecraft will approach Saturn #39;s largest moon, Titan. Cassini will fly by Titan at a distance of 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) above the surface, nearly 300 times closer than the first Cassini flyby of Titan on July 3.


IBM Contributes Speech Recognition Software to Open Source (NewsFactor) NewsFactor - IBM (NYSE: IBM) will contribute \speech recognition software to the \open source community in the hope of promoting standardized and compatible speech-enabled applications.


#39;Sims 2 #39; makes emotional debut Electronic Arts on Friday began shipping the long-awaited sequel to its hit PC game  quot;The Sims. quot;. The new version,  quot;The Sims 2, quot; builds on the theme of letting people play out simulated life stories of its characters


Apple Fan Sites Buzz with Talk of Photo-Ready iPod  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Is Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O  fine-tuning an enhanced iPod with roughly 50 percent more  storage and a color screen to display photos?


TD Bank to buy New England retail bank Banknorth for \$3.8 billion <b>...</b> TORONTO (CP) - TD Bank confirmed Thursday it will buy mid-sized New England retail bank Banknorth for \$3.8 billion US in a cash-and-shares deal.


'Gloria' Singer Laura Branigan Dies at 47 EAST QUOGUE, N.Y. - Laura Branigan, a Grammy-nominated pop singer best known for her 1982 platinum hit "Gloria," has died...


Wireless net to get speed boost Wireless computer networks could soon be running 10 times faster than they do now.


Shibui breaks Berlin marathon record BERLIN: Japans Yoko Shibui ran the fourth fastest womens race in history on a chilly, drizzling Sunday and broke the Berlin Marathon record with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 41 seconds.


R  amp; R WIN IT FOR DEVILS GOALS from Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy gave Manchester United the win at Newcastle. Alan Shearer briefly levelled matters for the Magpies but United managed to scrape through.


Seagate Ships 400GB Hard Drive (PC World) PC World - Device uses NCQ technology to prioritize a PC's requests.


Orlando Magic Team Report - November 10 (Sports Network) - The much-improved Orlando Magic will take aim at their fourth win in five games tonight, when they take on the Washington Wizards at the MCI Center.


Hughes still has master #39;s touch BRADLEY HUGHES returned to Huntingdale after a six-year hiatus to remind everyone why he was once considered the next big thing of Australian golf.


J.P. Morgan cancels \$5B IBM outsourcing deal J.P. Morgan, the No. 2 U.S. bank, said that after its recent merger with Bank One, it could better manage its own technology and infrastructure.


Cavaliers, Hokies Play Host Akron at No. 12 Virginia
   Where:  Scott Stadium, Charlottesville
   When:  3 p.m.    Radio:  WTNT-570    Tickets:  Sold out
   Another Top QB:  Like North Carolina's Darian Durant last week, Akron quarterback Charlie Frye is the key to his team's slim chances of upsetting the Cavaliers. The 6-foot-4 senior, likened by Virginia Coach Al Groh to recent ACC stars Matt Schaub and Philip Rivers, ranks fourth among active NCAA quarterbacks with 9,048 career passing yards. In losses the past two weeks to Penn State and Middle Tennessee, Frye completed 60 of 80 passes for 622 yards. Weather permitting, he will present a challenge for an inexperienced Virginia secondary that made a few too many errors in deep coverage in its first two games.


Redskins Tied, 3-3 The Redskins and Browns have traded field goals and are tied, 3-3, in the first quarter in Cleveland.


Treasuries flat as jobless rise, trade worsens Treasury debt prices ticked higher briefly before turning flat on Thursday after jobless claims rose more than forecast and the US trade deficit balooned even wider than expected.


Police officer arrested in Internet sex sting WHITE PLAINS, NY (AP) _ A city police officer was arrested at what he thought would be a sexual rendezvous with a teenage boy, six months after he was caught calling himself a  quot;boy hunter quot; in an Internet chat profile, officials said.


German Supreme Court rules in favor of 'generic domain grabbing' First-come, first-served system 'not unethical'


A Crucial Test, but Not Final George W. Bush and John Kerry ended the debates as they began them, with starkly defined differences on most issues.


'Enron of Kansas' Trial Begins In the recent annals of corporate fraud, the names Enron, Tyco and WorldCom ring the loudest.


Blunkett #39;s ex  #39;asks to testify #39; David Blunkett #39;s former lover has asked to put her side of the story to the inquiry into his professional conduct, a newspaper has claimed.


DC in first place for Expos Washington, DC, remains the No. 1 choice to become the new home for the Montreal Expos, but issues remain, according to two people with knowledge of the relocation process.


Europe Mission to Moon Called Success (AP) AP - A small spacecraft has made it into lunar orbit, signaling Europe's first successful mission to the moon and paving the way for the craft to be used to study the lunar surface, a European Space Agency spokesman said Tuesday.


lawyer argues Ford sold unsafe police cars Ford Motor Co. continued to sell Crown Victoria police cars even after the deaths of several officers in fiery rear-end crashes showed the vehicles were unsafe, a lawyer


Chelsea still on course after Arsenal draw Chelsea have preserved their five-point lead over champions Arsenal after their pulsating London derby finished 2-2 at Highbury. Thierry Henry, who scored both the home side #39;s goals, took


Iran, EU Nuke Talks Underway, No Breakthrough Seen  PARIS (Reuters) - Diplomats from France, Britain and  Germany met their Iranian counterparts on Friday for a new  round of talks to persuade Tehran to give up its uranium  enrichment program, but diplomats said no breakthrough was  likely.


The next president could tip high court (USATODAY.com) USATODAY.com - This election's potential impact on the Supreme Court has seemed to be an afterthought, but the stakes for the court and the law are even higher now than they were in 2000. The prospect of a change on the court is greater and the replacement of one justice could affect the law on hot issues.


African final delayed because of Ghana poll The final of the African Confederation Cup between Ghanaian clubs Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko has been postponed to avoid a clash with the country #39;s presidential elections.


McCain to consider possible 2008 presidential run (AFP) AFP - Maverick US Republican Senator John McCain, who ran against President George W. Bush four years ago, indicated he might be considering another presidential bid in 2008, despite the fact he will be 72 when the next election rolls around.


Stocks Bounce Back as Oil Retreats  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rebounded on Monday as  worry about oil prices crunching corporate profits eased when  crude retreated from record highs.


Mavericks Defeat Trail Blazers, 92-83 (AP) AP - Marquis Daniels had a block, a steal and three straight assists in a just over a two-minute span in the fourth quarter Friday, helping push the Dallas Mavericks to a 92-83 win over the Portland Trail Blazers that ended a three-game losing streak.


Sony Rolling Out Powerful DVR Sony Corp. will begin selling a computer and home server system that makes a midget of TiVo. With 1,000 gigabytes of hard-drive storage, it can record six TV channels for nearly a week straight.


Oracle buyout gets mixed reviews from PeopleSoft customers Today's announcement of Oracle's \$10.3 billion buyout of PeopleSoft Inc. isn't drawing rave reviews from the installed based of customers about to be acquired in the deal.


Favre, Pack offense are clicking like never before GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brett Favre did something Sunday he hadn #39;t done for a long time. He finally posted a quarterback rating of at least 100.


Roundup: Road to splitsville? No way, Tiger says Tiger Woods has denied a gossip item that he and his fiance, Elin Nordegren, have broken up.  quot;That #39;s completely false, quot; Woods said on Tuesday of a Boston Herald columnist #39;s report.


Texas Officials Wary of Plan to Hunt by Internet (Reuters) Reuters - Hunters soon may be able to sit at\their computers and blast away at animals on a Texas ranch via\the Internet, a prospect that has state wildlife officials up\in arms.


Taiwan President Makes Personal Appeal for UN Seat  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian  made his case for U.N. membership in an unusual satellite news  conference on Wednesday, saying his country was the victim of  "political apartheid" engineered by China.


Citigroup stuns Wall Street with shake-up Sallie Krawcheck became the most powerful woman on Wall Street yesterday when she was named chief financial officer of Citigroup, the biggest bank in the world.


Lost to the Flu: Paydays The shortage of flu vaccine this fall poses serious challenges for employers concerned about productivity, and for low-wage workers who don't have paid sick leave and can't afford to miss a day.


AUTO INDUSTRY REPORT: Hummer probe likely General Motors Corp. faces an investigation and potential recall of 69,000 Hummer H2 luxury sport-utility vehicles because of reports about a flawed steering part.


Moose mania GREENVILLE, Maine -- Winter is not far away beyond the peaks of these northern hills, and at an outdoor community gathering here Monday, where PTO volunteers grill the hot dogs and kids press their hands around steaming cups of cocoa, that inevitability comes in the form of 20-knot gusts off Moosehead Lake.


At Least 50 Deaths Blamed on Hurricane Ivan UPDATE, SAT 4PM: The number of dead across the Caribbean from Hurricane Ivan is now at least 50. Grenada alone is reporting 34 deaths, with eight more bodies found today.


Retailers grin over Oct. sales But as the holiday shopping season approaches, discounters aren #39;t so optimistic about the jingle in their pockets. BY ANNE D #39;INNOCENZIO.


Arsenal Loses Again in Premier League Arsenal dropped five points behind Chelsea in the English Premier League on Sunday after losing 2-1 to Liverpool on an injury-time goal by Neil Mellor.


Latin America on Alert for Terror MONTERREY, Mexico - Governments throughout Mexico and Central America are on alert as evidence grows that al-Qaida members are traveling in the region and looking for recruits to carry out attacks in Latin America - the potential last frontier for international terrorism.    The territory could be a perfect staging ground for Osama bin Laden's militants, with homegrown rebel groups, drug and people smugglers, and corrupt governments...


Google Search Hits The Desktop Google #39;s (Quote, Chart) Desktop Search application, released today, sorts through desktop files of all sorts, as well as AOL Instant Messenger chats and Web sites the user has visited.


NFL Game Preview The struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be trying to avoid an 0-5 start in the Superdome this Sunday, when Jon Gruden #39;s team visits the New Orleans Saints in an NFC South duel.


Oil Up on Rosy U.S. Economic Data  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to another record high  on Tuesday on U.S. economic data showing inflationary pressure  was held in check in July and ahead of weekly inventory data on  Wednesday expected to show a decline in crude stocks.


Cryptography break threatens digital signatures Researchers in the field of cryptography have been successfully breaking the hash functions that are used to secure the privacy of electronic communications, threatening the integrity of digital signatures, according to a report on Slashdot.


IBM steps up grid partner plan WALTHAM, Mass.--IBM is ramping up its recruitment efforts with application companies in an effort to make an emerging distributed computing technology, called grid computing, pervasive in corporations.


Ukraine #39;s Crucial Election THIS IS NOT a good weekend to hold a presidential election if you are not American and would like to have the attention of the United States and its major allies.


Jobless numbers increase again in Germany The ranks of the unemployed in Germany increased in October for the ninth straight month, the Federal Labour Agency said today in a report that threatened government efforts to shrink the public deficit.


U.S. Report Turns Focus to Greenhouse Gases Previously, the Bush administration stressed uncertainties in understanding the causes and consequences of global warming.


Sudan refugees report new attacks More Sudanese refugees flee across the border into Chad following reports of renewed violence in the Darfur region.


Serie A round-up: Milan to make Crespo bid Champions Milan have said they will make Chelsea an offer to sign on-loan striker Hernan Crespo.  quot;We are already in talks with Chelsea, quot; confirmed Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.


Rooney backs fiercesome threesome (AFP) AFP - Wayne Rooney believes the three-pronged attack of himself, Michael Owen and Jermain Defoe can put England on the fast track to the World Cup finals.


Fettig: High Costs Put Whirpool Earnings Through Wringer The chill wafting over Whirlpool (nyse: WHR - news - people ) isn #39;t coming from its freezers. The home appliance maker posted lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings, cut its full-year forecast and said


Al-Qaida Linked Group Claims Responsibility for Police Slaughter Iraqi police suffered two mortal blows today in attacks that left at least 59 people dead and more than 120 injured. The major attack - a car bomb blast near a Baghdad police station, was claimed by an al-Qaida linked terror group.


IBM Dominates Top Supercomputer List (PC World) PC World - Silicon Graphics comes in second for "fast computer" bragging rights.


Fannie Mae Execs, Regulator Square Off (Reuters) Reuters - Fannie Mae executives and their\regulator squared off on Wednesday, with executives denying any\accounting irregularity and the regulator saying the housing\finance company's management may need to go.


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


Busch Wins Pole for Nextel Cup Finale  HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Sports Network) - His first pole of the  season couldn't have come at a better time for Nextel Cup  Series points leader Kurt Busch. The No.97 Roush Racing Ford  driver captured the pole for Sunday's season finale, Ford 400,  with a time of 30.114 seconds (179.319 m.p.h.).


Scouting Report On South Carolina The most important thing to remember when looking at the strengths and weaknesses of South Carolina as opposed to the strengths and weaknesses of Alabama is that nothing South Carolina Coach Lou Holtz can be believed.


Mitsubishi gets pledge of support Japan's second-largest bank says it is committed to supporting struggling Mitsubishi Motors, despite denying it is preparing 100bn yen of fresh investment


G20 Expresses Concern at Currency Swings Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the world #39;s 20 biggest economies voiced concern on Saturday over sudden currency swings, venturing for the


Barrichello well placed to end home-town jinx Ferrari #39;s Rubens Barrichello aimed to shake off a decade-long jinx after seizing pole position at his home Brazilian Grand Prix for the second year in a row.


Iraqi Leaders Warn Against Poll Postponement Baghdad, Nov. 29 (NNN) : Iraqs interim deputy prime minister has said that postponing the forthcoming Iraqi elections would be giving in to terrorism.


Jones loses last chance for medal at Athens ATHENS -- American Marion Jones is going home without a medal. Jones, who won five medals and arguably was the biggest star of the Sydney Games four years ago, finished fifth in yesterday #39;s long jump and -- barely


A Digital Doctor Treats Computer Contamination Unfortunately for users, computer equipment manufacturers and resellers don't adequately inform Windows users of the risks involved in accessing the Internet without proper security measures.
-The Washington Post


U.S. Gymnasts End Rebuilding With Silver (AP) AP - Twenty years later, the boys are back on the medal stand.


Maverick MP Carolyn Parrish turfed from Liberal caucus (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - OTTAWA (CP) - Carolyn Parrish, the maverick MP who gained notoriety for her outspoken anti-Americanism, has been turfed from the Liberal party caucus.


Opposition forms 900km human chain against government: World News: Dhaka, Dec 11 : Hundreds of thousands of people formed a 900 km-human chain across Bangladesh to show  quot;no confidence quot; in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition government.


Time runs out on Redskins A record crowd of 90.367 entered FedEx Field Monday night hoping to witness a new chapter in what has become a lopsided rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.


Davis joya for Moya CARLOS MOYA was hurled into the air by jubilant team-mates after clinching the Davis Cup for Spain yesterday. Moya beat American Andy Roddick 6-2 7-6 7-6 to give the home side an unbeatable


Philips switches strategy pictures through flat screen disposal (AFP) AFP - The Dutch electronics group Philips said that it is selling its low-brand flat screens business group to TPV Technology of Taiwan as part of a strategic change of direction, and in line with a trend by big groups to use Asian partners to cut costs.


Nikkei Ends Higher  TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo's Nikkei average rose 0.62 percent  by the close on Wednesday after revised figures on Japanese  economic growth, while sluggish, came in better than some had  feared and the yen edged down against the dollar.


Fans come down hard on Gruden Jon Gruden, Tim Brown, Charlie Garner and the rest of the Tampa Bay Raider-neers returned to the Black Hole for the first time Sunday as visitors and the locals made sure they felt at home, delivering a true Silver- and-Black welcome: expletives, middle


Blair Flies to Sudan to Press for Darfur Peace  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Tony Blair flew to Khartoum on  Wednesday as the most senior yet in a parade of Western  government figures seeking to pressure Sudanese officials over  violence in Darfur province.


Google and Instant Messenger Google and Instant Messenger\\Google already dominates the search engine market, where once Yahoo! ruled users browser. With GMail and Google Desktop Search, they are entering prime time Microsoft domain. Speculation prevails that it will not be long before Google enters the instant messaging market. We have discussed before that Google ...


Decision on dams soon, says Rashid LAHORE - Federal Minister for Information, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Friday reiterated that President Pervez Musharraf should retain both the offices in view of the changed internal situation and geo-political conditions of the region.


Terrorism isnt just US, Israeli problem When the controversial Dutch artist and filmmaker Theo van Gogh was slain in an Amsterdam street last week by a Muslim suspect, it was more than a murder story.


Australia Dismisses India for 185, Leads By 213 in Third Test Australia bowled out India for 185 to take a 213-run lead on day three of the third cricket Test at Nagpur, edging the top-ranked team closer to a first series win in India for 35 years.


EU Lifts Sanctions After U.S. Signs Bill  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will suspend  sanctions on \$4 billion worth of U.S. goods, the bloc's  executive said Monday, three days after President Bush signed a  bill repealing illegal export tax subsidies.


System X supercomputer speeds up almost 20 percent (MacCentral) MacCentral - Virginia Tech's all-Mac System X supercomputer, installed at the university's Terascale Computing Facility, made headlines last year when it was determined to be the third-fastest supercomputer in the world. System X has been upgraded to Apple Computer Inc.'s Xserve G5 server and now runs even faster, with a sustained speed of 12.25 trillion operations per second -- 19 percent faster than before.


U.S.: Blast Consistent with N.Korea Explanation  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's explanation that a  blast last week was demolition work for a power project rather  than a nuclear explosion squared with what Washington saw,  Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday.


Oil price hits \$53 LONDON, Oct 7: World oil prices bolted to new record summits on Thursday, reaching \$53 in New York on markets nervous about tight global supplies with winter approaching in the northern hemisphere.


US November Consumer Prices Rise 0.2; Core Up 0.2 (Update3) Prices paid by US consumers rose for a fourth straight month in November, supporting forecasts that Federal Reserve policy makers will keep raising interest rates.


Billick Wants Lewis Practicing With Ravens (AP) AP - Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick wants the NFL to amend the rule that forbids running back Jamal Lewis from appearing at the team's training complex during his two-week suspension.


Income for 2004 also revised lower for syn-fuel credits NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Hurricane damage in Florida and the Carolinas will cost Progress Energy more than \$300 million to clean up and will lower earnings for the year by about 18 percent, the utility said Friday.


Google slammed for corporate sleaze Google #39;s eleventh hour price adjustment might have saved it some red-faces when it finally floated last week, but it #39;s back to earth with a bump this week.


Saints' McAllister Hurt in Chargers Game (AP) AP - Saints running back Deuce McAllister lasted just a handful of plays before spraining his right ankle against San Francisco, one of several prominent players who got hurt Sunday.


Owen hoping for Depor lift to ensure England place England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says striker Michael Owen must prove in training next week that he deserves to face Wales in a World Cup qualifier - or risk losing his place.


Hairballs Haunt Cisco Rising sales and net income isn't always what it seems, especially when there's a big, fat inventory hairball in the way.


Memory makers face jail for price fixing THREE German executives and an American with microchip giant Infineon Technologies face jail terms and fines under plea agreements to settle a US probe into price-fixing, according to the Justice Department.


Reds decide to part ways with Barry Larkin Barry Larkin #39;s stellar 19-year career with his hometown team ended Tuesday with a one-sided phone call. The Cincinnati Reds informed their captain they aren #39;t interested in keeping him around for another season.


Housing Starts Increased 0.6 Percent Housing construction in August surged to its highest level in five months, a dose of encouraging news for the economy's expansion.


Greenspan: U.S. Needs to Cut Budget Gap (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan\Greenspan said on Friday the United States should cut its\budget gap to foster a more balanced pattern of global trade\and avoid painful economic consequences.


No. 1 Illinois takes control with 10-0 run late in first half It took a while for the top-ranked Illini basketball team to find a little traction Thursday night. But when the Fighting Illini dug in -t one point going


Mozilla Fixes Browser Bugs (PC World) PC World - Ten security flaws found in Firefox browser, Thunderbird e-mail client.


Sony to Release PC with TV Tuners, Huge Hard Drive Sony said yesterday that it has built a desktop computer with 1 TB of data storage and seven analog television tuners. The PC will be able to record a week #39;s worth of programming on six channels at the same time.


Hewitt streak continues, through to last 8 Australian Lleyton Hewitt #39;s hot streak has continued, the No.4 seed crushing Slovakian Karol Beck to reach the US Open quarter-finals.


Bush Signs Corporate Tax Cut Bill (Reuters) Reuters - Without fanfare, President Bush\signed into law on Friday a nearly  #36;140 billion corporate tax\cut bill derided by both Democratic presidential rival John\Kerry and Republican Sen. John McCain as a giveaway to special\interests.


Squarespace Lets Users Manage Multi-Page Web Sites (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - Anthony Casalena was 17 when he got his first job as a programmer for a start-up called HyperOffice, a software company that makes e-mail and contact management applications for the Web. Hired as an intern, he became a regular programmer after two weeks and rewrote the main product line.


Big Blue reaches partial settlement on pension issues IBM Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed to pay \$320 million in retirement benefits to settle part of a class-action lawsuit and another \$1.


Yemen court sentences terror suspects A Yemen court has sentenced 15 men on terror charges, including the bombing of a French oil tanker and a plan to kill the US ambassador to Yemen.


Vancouver Indy race a question mark VANCOUVER - The future of of the Vancouver Molson Indy Race is up in the air again, following the release of the Champ Car World Series schedule for 2005.