a newspaper reported monday that an fbi team was en route to israel to question an UNK bomber about last month 's twa jetliner explosion near new york .

report : fbi team to question bomber in twa explosion


david rikl of the czech republic defeated croatian goran prpic #-# , #-# monday in the opening match of the croatian open .

czech UNK ousts veteran UNK in first-round


a top nato commander inspected a disputed military site tuesday after the bosnian serbs bowed to pressure from the alliance-led peace force .

officials leave for inspection of bosnian serb site eds : UNK with walker UNK after inspection


u.s. and russian naval forces practiced rescue techniques wednesday in the event of natural disasters , but the joint exercises in the sea of japan were cut short by an approaching typhoon .

typhoon cuts short russian-american naval exercises


the face of french singer daniel guichard grins from a poster advertisement .

briefs from canada eds : all dollars are canadian unless otherwise noted


the government has cut a dramatic hike in electricity charges after workers threatened to strike .

sudan rescinds price hike after union protests


a south korean novelist who illegally entered north korea was handed over friday to the south korean embassy in beijing for the trip back home , officials said .


thousands of greek cypriots flocked friday to the funeral of a protester killed two days ago by turkish troops in the buffer zone running across this war-divided mediterranean island nation .


anibal is the fourth generation of his family to work as a gaucho on the ranches spread around the vast UNK wetlands .

concacaf under-## at a glance by the associated press


authorities have freed about two thirds of the ### people arrested during three days of violent protests over increased food prices , security sources said wednesday .

jordan frees ### arrested during food riots UNK photos available


israel 's new government barred yasser arafat from flying to the west bank to meet with former prime minister shimon peres on thursday , a move palestinian officials said violated the israel-plo peace accords .

israel bars arafat from flying to west bank ; palestinians protest by jack UNK


boris yeltsin blasted his security chief 's handling of the chechnya crisis , raising doubts about the truce signed thursday and deepening the confusion over russian policy in the breakaway republic .


top activists arrested after last month 's anti-government rioting are in good condition , a red cross official said saturday .

arrested activists in good condition says red cross by UNK UNK


UNK


japan 's kimiko date lost the first four games before rallying for a #-# , #-# , #-# victory over top-seeded arantxa sanchez vicario of spain in the final of the dlrs ###,### toshiba tennis classic on sunday .


philip morris europe announced monday it was withdrawing its sponsorship of the mclaren formula one auto racing team three years after the team won its last championship .

philip morris mclaren announce end of marlboro sponsorship eds : UNK with reemtsma picking up mclaren ; UNK spelling of


tokyo share prices bounced back slightly in sluggish trading tuesday after a two-day decline , while the u.s. dollar fell slightly against the yen .

stocks bounce back after two-day decline dollar mixed eds : UNK up with late dollar closing bond prices comments


finland scored three goals in a ##-second span of the first period tuesday night for a #-# victory over the czech republic in their world cup of hockey opener .

finland routs czech republic at world cup


belarusian president alexander lukashenko does n't consider himself an autocrat .

belarus outspoken president pushes for more powers eds : UNK # UNK on picket after #th graf pvs UNK to conform ;


despite croat promises to protect minority rights , serbs in areas liberated last year by the croat army are frequent targets of assaults and thefts , the u.n. chief reports .


a russian plane filled with coal miners slammed into a mountain on a norwegian island near the arctic circle on thursday , apparently killing all ### people aboard .

UNK russian plane crashes in arctic rescue team finds no sign of


for a set and a half , olympic bronze medalist leander paes leaped and lunged , lobbing , volleying and slugging shots to perfection in a masterful show against gold medalist andre agassi .

agassi rallies to defeat paes eds : UNK previous ; UNK with sanchez vicario victory


australia 's robert allenby moved closer to his third victory of the season friday when he carded a one-under ## to take a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the dlrs #.# million british masters .

allenby moves clear as he chases third victory of season eds : fixes UNK between linhart and chasing players #rd graf


greek foreign minister theodoros pangalos reopened the greek consulate in the southern city of gjirokaster saturday , on a visit meant to demonstrate that bilateral tensions are a thing of the past .

greek foreign minister visits to demonstrate improved ties


two days of torrential rains washed away roads , triggered landslides and submerged homes , killing at least ## people and leaving dozens more missing , disaster relief headquarters said saturday .


italy 's andrea gaudenzi , coming back from a shoulder injury , saturday reached the final of the generali open by outlasting spain 's francisco clavet in three sets .

gaudenzi on rise again reaches final of generali open


baghdad papers on sunday marked the eighth anniversary of iraq 's invasion of kuwait by accusing the oil-rich emirate of working with the west to maintain punishing trade sanctions against the country .

butler due in iraq as country marks #### invasion of kuwait by UNK UNK


the palestinian journalists association has forbidden its members from engaging in non-professional contact with israelis and has threatened to blacklist journalists who break the rules , an official from the organization said sunday .


in a crucial victory ahead of the #### presidential elections , partial election results showed the opposition national action party on sunday capturing the governor 's seat in the central state of aguascalientes .

UNK early results show oppposition winning mexican gubernatorial vote


a spanish judge opened an investigation monday into the cause of a collision in which five young british tourists were killed a day earlier .

eds : contains items on jordan israel egypt kuwait


amateur american alexandra stevenson lost concentration and with it a potential upset monday in the toshiba tennis classic .

france 's testud takes first day of competition


delegates attending a conference of leading ethnic UNK voted to support the ruling military 's proposed plan to hand power back to civilian leaders , a spokesman said tuesday .

powerful UNK vote to support nigeria 's democracy plan


rescuers plucked two more bodies from river estuaries on south korea 's south coast wednesday , raising the death toll from weekend flash floods to ## .

death toll from floods rises to ## ; ## still missing


both crew members were killed when a civilian helicopter crashed in UNK , some ## miles -lrb- ## kilometers -rrb- south of the town of bodoe on wednesday .

two killed in helicopter crash in norway


prince charles is setting up a new architectural foundation and hopes to call a truce between modern and traditional styles .

prince charles sets up modern architectural foundation


fast bowler makhaya ntini gave south africa its only breakthrough in the opening morning of the fifth cricket test at UNK thursday , UNK england opener mike UNK for ## .


talks broke down on monday when butler refused to supply an immediate certification that iraq has destroyed all its weapons of mass destruction _ chemical and biological arms and long-range missiles .


nigeria 's new military ruler has named a new electoral commission and ## new state deputies to help prepare the sprawling west african country for a democratic transition by next may .


survivors wandered in a daze amid burning cars and the twisted steel and concrete of a collapsed building friday after a deadly terrorist bombing outside the u.s. embassy in nairobi .

explosions rock nairobi and stun kenyans with UNK


india 's top nuclear expert shrugged off antinuclear protests by indians on hiroshima day , saying the activists should instead shout slogans in washington and moscow , a newspaper reported saturday .

top nuclear scientist shrugs off indian antinuclear protests


a heatwave has killed ## people in the past ## hours on this eastern mediterranean island where temperatures have reached ## celsius -lrb- ### fahrenheit -rrb- , the authorities said saturday night .


an iraqi family stuck at cairo airport for ## days after being deported from hungary will not face deportation to iraq where it fears punishment by the government , egyptian and u.n. officials said sunday .

stranded iraqi family will not be deported to iraq say officials by UNK UNK


thailand 's battered economy should start to bottom out in the first quarter of #### provided the government 's efforts are n't neutralized by outside developments , a news report said monday .

economic crisis to bottom out early next year minister says


with musical performances and eulogies , russian artists paid tribute monday to alfred UNK , one of the leading composers of this century , who died a week ago .

russian musicians public pay final respects to alfred UNK eds : UNK with burial UNK details movie director 's quote


hong kong 's key stock index plunged tuesday to its lowest level in more than five years because investors haunted by fears of a weakening yen continued to dump shares , traders said .

key hong kong stock index hit five-year low eds : UNK with closing figures


share prices on the london stock exchange were sharply lower tuesday .

london share prices lower in afternoon eds : UNK with closing index


top-seeded jimmy connors , hampered by a tender left foot , narrowly defeated australian john fitzgerald #-# , #-# -lrb- #-# -rrb- in the rain-delayed first round of the citibank champions senior tennis tournament at UNK college .


u.s. diplomats who worked in outlying buildings were moved into the fortified embassy compound in cairo .

mideast african embassies tighten security after bombings eds : UNK lead to reflect closures in sudan uganda yemen and


israel advised u.s. officials to treat with skepticism a warning by an intelligence source that the american embassy in kenya might be the target of a bombing attack , the daily haaretz reported wednesday .

report : israel discounted warning of kenya bombing eds : UNK throughout with israeli denial of report


a senior russian diplomat on thursday accused pakistan of sending its troops and combat aircraft to help the taliban movement crush its opponents in northern afghanistan .

dollar up gold falls UNK in graf ## that gold is down in london ; UNK to conform ;


four poles were given sentences from ## to ## months of prison in connection to one of the biggest cigarette-smuggling cases in denmark , officials said friday .


clutching passports and eying their watches , throngs of foreign workers spill into the street outside the cavernous immigration department in a final rush to renew work permits .

deadline looms over foreign workers amid fear of riots UNK photos UNK


mustafa kamel mourad , the UNK of a small egyptian opposition party , died early friday .


as family members wept with joy , ## foreign democracy were expelled saturday from myanmar and arrived in bangkok after a week in custody for distributing leaflets opposed to the military government .

UNK foreign democracy activists expelled from myanmar


looking tanned but tired during his vacation break away from the vatican , pope john paul ii on saturday marked italy 's main summer holiday by remembering those who are alone or must work while others have fun .

san marino UNK UNK results from saturday 's semifinal play in the


adding to china 's flood miseries , a river burst its banks in the north , stranding ###,### people and washing away rail lines , the official xinhua news agency said sunday .


the british and irish governments say they will wipe out ira dissidents believed responsible for the omagh car bombing .

british irish leaders promise security crackdown on real ira with bc-northern ireland UNK victims


an encounter between army soldiers and separatist guerrillas in kashmir on monday left ## militants dead , an official said .


an israeli businessman turned bank robber whose motorcycle getaways were legendary in israel during the late ####s will be released early for good behavior , the prison authority said monday .

israeli bank robbing legend to get early prison release


new zealand 's ruling coalition splintered tuesday under pressure from prime minister jenny shipley , who warned her minor party counterparts to support her or face an early election .

coalition minority partner splits as shipley warns of early


a controversial play about the assassin of indian independence leader mohandas gandhi has been banned in the country 's most populous state , officials said tuesday .

play on gandhi 's assassin banned in indian province by UNK UNK


a rash of malaria cases has been recorded in central russia and emergency workers fear an epidemic , a news agency said wednesday .

officials fear spread of malaria in central russia


italian police seized #,### kilograms -lrb- #,### pounds -rrb- of hashish being smuggled in containers of diapers and sanitary napkins , the ansa news agency reported wednesday .

police seize hash being smuggled in containers of UNK sanitary


palestinian security forces on thursday captured two palestinian prisoners , including the killer of an israeli taxi driver , who had escaped the day before , a senior official said .

palestinian police UNK two UNK prisoners eds : UNK with more UNK in #rd graf


leonardo piepoli of italy was the clear winner thursday of the fourth stage of the tour of burgos while frenchman laurent jalabert closed the gap on overall leader abraham olano .


with concrete ramparts fortifying its compound , the u.s. embassy remained on full alert friday against possible terrorist attacks after u.s. missile strikes in sudan and afghanistan .

u.s. embassy in malaysia heightens security after missile strikes by alvin ung


still mourning more than ### compatriots slain in the bombing of the american embassy , kenyans on friday expressed mixed feelings about u.s. missile raids on sudan and afghanistan .

bomb-hit nairobi divided on u.s. raids with UNK


UNK


andre blom and mark UNK scored tries and some tactical kicks in the final ## minutes sent the united states to the rugby world cup with a ##-## victory over uruguay on saturday .


ethnic albanians accused serb forces of launching a `` strong and massive '' artillery attack sunday on several rebel-controlled villages in southwestern kosovo .

serbs accused of new artillery assault in kosovo by UNK UNK


the european championship ended with a british triumph and a disheartening loss for wilson kipketer , probably the biggest name of the six-day event .

kipketer loses as britain tops the gold medals table eds : UNK pvs


greece monday said its security forces were in a state of `` extreme vigilance '' to thwart any retaliatory terrorist attacks against american interests here .

security forces in state of extreme vigilance


retired gen. alexander lebed urged the russian government monday to appoint a representative to the troubled northern caucasus region , a news agency reported .

lebed : russia needs new post for troubled caucasus


a bomb exploded on a bus bound for kigali , rwanda , killing at least ## passengers , a private radio station said tuesday .


cska sofia # -lrb- milen petkov , ##th , valentin UNK , ##th -rrb- , molde , norway # in uefa cup second qualifying round , second leg .


in chicago , frank thomas and albert belle hit consecutive homers for the seventh time this season , and chicago beat baltimore to stop a six-game losing streak .


where is abu nidal ? american news reports say the notorious terrorist is detained in egypt .


brondby , denmark # , kosice , slovakia # -lrb- ivan UNK , ##th -rrb- in the european champions cup qualifying game , second leg .


turkish authorities detained ## would-be immigrants attempting to cross into greece , paramilitary police in the provincial capital of edirne said thursday .

turkish authorities detain ## would-be refugees on greek border


lebanon warned israel thursday that if it bombs lebanese infrastructure in retaliation for guerrilla rocket attacks , it will destroy the #### understanding on the border conflict and provoke further violence .

with israel-lebanon foreign minister : attacks on lebanon will not benefit israel


scott fisher doubled in a run and struck out ## batters as toms river , new jersey -lrb- u.s. east -rrb- advanced to its first little league world series final with a #-# victory over greenville , north carolina -lrb- u.s. south -rrb- on thursday night .


the leader of germany 's jews , ignatz bubis , urged the government on friday to at least symbolically back an industry initiative to establish a fund for nazi slave laborers .

jewish leader calls on government to establish fund for nazi slave


spanish sensation sergio garcia toppled defending champion matt kuchar # and # friday in the quarterfinals of the u.s. amateur , keeping on course for a rare trans-atlantic double in amateur golf .

garcia topples kuchar at u.s. amateur marches toward rare double UNK photos


emboldened by an unprecedented week-long protest by thousands against strongman hun sen , cambodia 's opposition leaders appealed to the nation saturday to drive him from power .

opposition plans march urge overthrow of hun sen eds : UNK and UNK throughout with opposition urging


prime minister john howard on sunday called a national election for oct. # and will campaign mainly on the issue of sweeping tax reform .

prime minister john howard calls national election for oct. # eds : UNK beazley UNK in UNK UNK


defending champion fc barcelona drew with modest racing de santander while zaragoza trashed athletic de bilbao #-# to take the lead sunday in the spanish first division 's opening round .


an earthquake with the magnitude of #.# shook slovenia 's central region early monday , but there was no injuries or serious damage , seismologists said .


the chief investigator into the december crash of a silkair passenger plane can not say conclusively that pilot suicide was not the cause , singapore government television reported monday .

silkair crash investigator ca n't rule out suicide UNK tv


sammy sosa took two curtain calls _ one for himself and one for kerry wood .


southeast asian foreign ministers , seeking to bolster their combined clout , met wednesday with a string of other countries seeking better relations and trade in a region seen as full of potential investment and sales opportunities .

seeking to bolster clout asean talks with dialogue partners


new chinese foreign minister yang jiechi has sometimes looked ill at ease this week , negotiating his way through the busy corridors of asia 's largest security gathering .

new chinese foreign minister adjusting to limelight at key international meeting


torino striker david di michele will be allowed to play friendly matches despite being banned for three months for illegal betting .

torino striker david di michele allowed to play friendlies despite ban


after weeks of uncertainty , democrats in the house of representatives have decided against a confrontation over automobile fuel economy when they take up energy legislation later this week .

house decides against pursuing tougher fuel economy as part of energy bill


web sites usually used by islamic militants groups announced a new , major al-qaida video would be released soon .

major new al-qaida video expected on the internet


the belarusian president said thursday his country will pay $ ### million -lrb- euro### million -rrb- to settle its gas debt to russia in the next few days and that the president of venezuela may help to pay the bill , the interfax news agency reported .

belarus president pledges to pay $ ### million gas debt to russia


the scottish football association wants to issue retrospective bookings for diving this season -- a move fifa has warned is against the rules of the game .

scottish fa in dispute with fifa over issuing retrospective yellow cards to diving players


new zealand 's telecom corp. on friday reported a sharply higher annual net profit of nz$ #.## billion -lrb- us$ #.## billion ; euro# .## billion -rrb- , boosted by a one-off nz$ #.## billion -lrb- us$ #.# billion ; euro# .# billion -rrb- gain from the sale of its yellow pages business .

new zealand telecom annual profits boosted sharply by subsidiary business sale


a rebellion by UNK democrats over $ ## billion -lrb- euro## .# billion -rrb- in new taxes on oil companies is threatening to upend house democratic leaders ' plans to swiftly pass energy legislation .

oil taxes squabble sends us house democrat leaders looking for votes on major energy bill


a funds wrangle between the european union and ## south pacific nations ended friday after the eu assured regional trade ministers it never intended to cut development aid funding in a dispute over an economic partnership deal , officials said .

south pacific european union aid funds wrangle ends


a man inside a replica of a u.s. revolutionary war submarine was arrested friday after police found the UNK vessel partly submerged in a security zone near the docked queen mary # .

# people arrested in connection with UNK submarine spotted near queen mary #


president george w. bush signed legislation that intensifies the anti-terrorism effort in the united states , shifting money to high-risk states and cities and expanding scrutiny of air and sea cargo .

bush signs anti-terror bill carrying out many sept. ## commission recommendations


ali UNK was determined his son would get the same rite of circumcision as his ancestors -- a celebration of manhood that most iranians have long discarded for a simple but sterile hospital procedure .

old rites of male circumcision still practiced in iranian villages


afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world 's UNK supplier of the heroin source , yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop , u.s. officials say .

UNK exclusive : record poppy crop in afghanistan ; u.s. drug-control efforts bog down


allrounder andrew flintoff is expected to be selected for two england cricket squads on monday after recovering from injury .

andrew flintoff likely to get recall to england squads after recovering from injury


actors , musicians and comedians from around the world have taken to stages across the scottish capital at the edinburgh fringe -- a three-week performance extravaganza whose shows range from standup comics to singing tony UNK to a musical about suicide bombers .

edinburgh fringe festival brings # weeks of artistic excess to scotland


some nissan cars will soon come with a gas pedal that lifts to warn of possible collisions , while the cars will automatically stop if drivers take their foot off the accelerator in response to the warning .

nissan to offer UNK gas pedal tests drunken driving prevention


european stock markets struggled to maintain their equilibrium and most asian indexes fell monday following wall street 's plunge at the end of last week on lingering credit concerns that have been roiling markets .

european markets struggle most asian indexes drop after wall street s plunge


a judge monday ordered three men extradited to the u.s. to face charges in an alleged plot to attack new york 's john f. kennedy international airport , and a confidential u.s. document said they planned to seek help from iran .

trinidad judge orders # extradited in alleged jfk plot


an indian court formally charged ## men with a slew of crimes for their alleged role in train bombings last year that killed scores of people in india 's financial capital .

indian judge formally charges ## in deadly #### mumbai train bombings


an indian court formally charged ## men with murder and other charges for their alleged roles in train bombings last year that killed ### people in india 's financial capital of mumbai .


olympic gold medalist laure manaudou has likely found a new coach -- her older brother .

manaudou s new swimming coach expected to be her older brother


gold opened at us$ ###.## an ounce on wednesday in hong kong , up us$ #.## an ounce from tuesday 's close of us$ ###.## .


iraqi authorities clamped a three-day driving ban on the capital and erected new checkpoints , while thousands of shiite pilgrims began their annual trek toward a mosque in northern baghdad to mark the anniversary of the death of one of shiite islam 's key saints .

iraqi authorities impose #-day driving ban in baghdad ahead of shiite holiday


a tow-truck driver and his passenger severely burned in last month 's massive UNK explosion have filed lawsuits against consolidated edison , accusing the utility of misconduct .

tow truck driver burned in nyc steam explosion sues utility company


the yen dropped against its rivals wednesday , and the dollar was weaker versus most european currencies , as upward momentum in u.s. stocks brought risk appetite back to the market .

yen drops as risk UNK returns ; dollar weaker


the u.s. has cut the population of the guantanamo bay detention center to nearly half its peak in #### but is struggling to empty it further .

security human rights concerns make clearing guantanamo prison a struggle


puma ag said thursday that its second-quarter profit slipped nearly ## percent as rising sales in europe were offset by a ## percent sales decline in the americas and a slide in u.s. orders for shoes .

puma sees #nd-quarter profit slip as sales decline in americas


the euro slipped against the dollar on thursday even as u.s. weekly jobless claims rose slightly .


jurors visited phil spector 's mansion thursday to see the place where actress lana clarkson died , some of them sitting in a chair to mimic the position in which her body was found .

jurors in spector trial visit mansion where actress died


mexico on thursday criticized the `` excessive use of force '' by american border authorities and slammed what it called insensitivity among u.s. legislators who failed to approve immigration reforms .

mexican slams border shooting u.s. failing to pass immigration bill


a judge ruled friday that britain 's state-run health service must review its decision not to give all alzheimer 's patients access to three drugs to treat the brain-destroying disease .

court says government must review decision to restrict access to alzheimer s drugs


a brief UNK to this weekend 's english premier league games : UNK


in an aug. # story about israel 's efforts to improve its defense against rockets , the associated press erroneously reported that palestinian militants had fired tens of thousands of rockets from gaza into israel since #### .


divers took another body from the wreckage of a collapsed freeway bridge , bringing the death toll to # , with five still missing .

bridge death toll rises to # confirmed as federal authorities promise more money


results from the second round of the french first-division soccer league -lrb- home teams listed first -rrb- : UNK


three egyptian brothers died in the explosion of a leftover land mine they were toying with near egypt 's suez canal , hospital officials said sunday .

three teenage brothers killed in land mine explosion in egypt


iraq 's most senior sunni politician issued a desperate appeal for arab nations to help stop what he called an `` unprecedented genocide campaign '' by shiite militias armed , trained and controlled by iran .

military reports # american deaths in iraq ; sunni politician claims genocide campaign


a suicide bomber targeted a u.s.-led coalition convoy in eastern afghanistan on monday , while afghan security forces clashed with the taliban militants in southern afghanistan , leaving nine militants dead , officials said monday .

afghanistan clash kills # taliban # police


the ##-nation euro fell monday against the u.s. dollar after the u.s. commerce department reported consumer spending was up , despite fears the recent housing crisis could trigger a recession .


wall street gave up a moderate gain in late trading and closed marginally lower monday after the federal reserve and other central banks added more cash to their banking systems , helping investors set aside some concerns about credit tightness .

wall street edges lower after banks add liquidity dow falls #.##


results monday from the western & southern financial group masters , a $ #.## million -lrb- euro# .# million -rrb- atp event on hardcourts at lindner family tennis center -lrb- seedings in parentheses -rrb- : UNK

UNK & southern financial group masters results


nato 's commander in kosovo said tuesday that patience is running out in the volatile province and he warned of further deterioration if international envoys fail to persuade ethnic albanians and serbia to agree on its future .

UNK interview : nato commander in kosovo warns of trouble if no deal struck


state-run oil company petroleo brasileiro sa , or petrobras , said tuesday it plans investments of us$ ###.# billion -lrb- euro## .# billion -rrb- in production , exploration and other activities in brazil and around the world through #### .

brazil s petrobras to invest us$ ###.# billion over next five years


lawyers for muslim charity leaders accused of aiding middle east terrorists scored a rare win in court tuesday when a federal judge blocked some evidence seized by israeli soldiers during raids of palestinian organizations .

judge in trial of muslim charity leaders bars some evidence


six people were fatally shot in the western town of duisburg , a police spokesman said wednesday .

# people fatally shot in germany police report


u.s. UNK giant mattel inc. said wednesday it was recalling dozens of models of polly pocket , batman , barbie and other toys from asian markets , prompting groups in australia and new zealand to call for tighter safety regulations on imports .

us UNK mattel s recall raises concerns in asia


israeli troops uncovered a tunnel constructed by gaza militants who intended to dig under the border fence and into israel , a military spokesman said wednesday .

israeli troops uncover tunnel in northern gaza greenhouse


the u.s. dollar was trading at ###.## yen at #:## a.m. -lrb- #### gmt wednesday -rrb- , down from ###.## yen late wednesday in new york .

dollar lower against the yen in early tokyo trade


north korea 's economy shrank for the first time in eight years in #### amid an international nuclear standoff , energy shortages and falling farm output , south korea 's central bank said thursday .

north korea s economy shrank in #### amid nuclear tensions


india 's children are getting increasingly overweight and unhealthy and the government is asking schools to ban junk food , officials said thursday .

indian government asks schools to ban junk food


max roach , a master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations provided the dislocated beats that defined bebop jazz , has died after a long illness .

max roach the master jazz percussionist dead at ##


the son of democratic presidential candidate joe biden is preparing for deployment to iraq .

son of anti-war presidential candidate prepares for deployment to iraq next year


the tropical weather season revved up as the atlantic 's first hurricane formed and quickly strengthened , and as tropical storm erin 's remnants soaked UNK texas , snarling rush-hour traffic and killing at least two people .

erin brings torrential rain to flood-weary parts of texas as hurricane dean builds in atlantic


the dollar slipped against the euro on friday after the u.s. federal reserve cut its discount rate to banks by a half percentage point .

dollar slides against euro as fed cuts discount rate


hurricane dean roared through small caribbean islands friday , tearing away roofs , flooding streets and killing three people as the powerful storm muscled its way across the eastern caribbean on a collision course with jamaica and mexico 's yucatan peninsula .

large powerful hurricane dean hits eastern caribbean islands


u.s. representative dennis hastert , the former speaker of the u.s. house who held the post during a tumultuous period of american history , has announced he will not seek re-election .

former us house speaker hastert says he will not run for re-election


results saturday in the ninth and final stage of tour of germany , a ###-kilometer -lrb- ##-mile -rrb- ride from UNK to hanover : UNK


the largest u.s. group of psychologists is to decide sunday what role , if any , its members can play in interrogating terror suspects at guantanamo bay and other u.s. military detention centers .

us psychologists weigh ban on guantanamo interrogations


white house political adviser karl rove said sunday he sees encouraging signs for the republican party in the public 's strong negative opinions of democratic presidential front-runner hillary rodham clinton and the democratic-run congress .

rove : clinton s high negatives declining views of congress give gop hope for ####


at least ## people were killed as typhoon sepat hit the chinese mainland after more than ###,### were evacuated as a precaution , state media reported .

storms lash chinese coast killing ## ; ###,### evacuated as precaution


financial giant hsbc said monday it is in talks to buy the controlling stake in korea exchange bank currently held by u.s. private equity group lone star funds .

hsbc in talks to buy controlling stake in korea exchange bank from lone star funds


leona helmsley , the hotelier who went to prison as a tax cheat and was reviled as the `` queen of mean , '' died monday at age ## .

hotelier leona helmsley reviled as queen of mean dies at ##


hurricane dean plowed into the caribbean coast of mexico on tuesday as a roaring category # hurricane , lashing ancient mayan ruins and heading for the modern oil installations .

eye of roaring hurricane dean strikes mexico s yucatan peninsula


a detained iranian-american academic accused of acting against national security has been released from a tehran prison after a hefty bail was posted , a top judiciary official said tuesday .

iranian-american academic held in tehran released on bail


the jewish group anti-defamation league on tuesday reversed itself and called a world war i-era massacre of armenians a genocide .

jewish group in us reverses stand ; calls armenian massacre genocide


the body of a ##-year-old woman was found tuesday in western mexico , the last of ## people who were swept away and killed in a fast-moving river .

death toll from mexico flash flood reaches ##


the u.s. dollar was mixed against other major currencies in european trading wednesday morning .

us dollar mixed gold down in european morning trading


the kenyan president refused wednesday to approve legislation that has widely been condemned as an attack on independent media because it would allow kenyan courts to compel reporters to reveal their sources .

kenyan president refuses to sign proposed media law


a runway incursion in which two airliners may have missed each other by less than ## feet -lrb- ## meters -rrb- at los angeles international airport is under investigation by the national transportation safety board , the agency said wednesday .

near collision between two airliners on los angeles runway under investigation


georgia said an aircraft from russia had violated its airspace , raising tension just weeks after the ex-soviet republic claimed a plane from russia launched a missile on its territory near a radar site .

georgia says aircraft from russia violated its airspace for the second time this month


the dubai stock exchange broke a law on takeovers in its efforts to acquire nordic bourse operator omx ab , sweden 's top financial regulator ruled thursday , but did not impose any sanctions .

swedish regulator says borse dubai bid for omx illegal but refrains from punishment


two u.n. envoys accused the cambodian government on thursday of interfering with the judiciary by transferring a top judge from the khmer rouge genocide tribunal , which they said was a violation of the constitution .

un envoys slam cambodia over genocide judge s transfer


rose UNK , a soprano who performed ## seasons at the metropolitan opera and established herself as a premier voice in american opera , has died .

rose UNK metropolitan opera star in the ####s and ##s dies at ##


meatpacking plant officials accused of discriminating against dozens of somali muslim workers have offered to tweak break times to help accommodate the workers ' prayer demands .

swift offers partial accommodation for muslim prayers


a majority of poles continue to oppose hosting a u.s. missile defense base , according to a poll released friday .

poll : ## percent of poles oppose hosting u.s. missile defense base


the german soccer federation voted friday to triple the number of players tested for doping this season from the ### tested last season .

german soccer federation to boost the number of doping controls


a reggae festival in new york which was created to promote peace among cultures is being denounced by gay and lesbian groups for allowing performers with a history of anti-gay lyrics .

gay lesbian groups protest ny reggae concert because of anti-gay music


batting -- UNK , detroit , .### ; UNK , seattle , .### ; polanco , detroit , .### ; posada , new york , .### ; figgins , los angeles , .### ; UNK , boston , .### .


leading season scorers in the bundesliga after saturday 's third-round games : UNK


southeast asian countries hope to conclude free-trade talks with six major trading partners , including china , japan and australia , by #### but would avoid any new negotiations amid the frenzy of the work ahead , a top official said sunday .

asean hopes to UNK up free-trade talks with # big trading partners including china by ####


iraq 's embattled prime minister lashed out at american critics sunday , saying sen. hillary clinton and other democrats who have called for his ouster should `` come to their senses '' and stop treating iraq like `` one of their villages .

iraqi leader lashes out at u.s. critics as american pressure mounts


the nikkei stock average of ### issues closed at ##,###.## points on the tokyo stock exchange monday , up ##.## points , or #.## percent , from friday .

tokyo stock market s main index rises #.## percent


attorney general alberto gonzales has resigned , ending a months-long standoff with republican and democratic critics who called for his ouster over the justice department 's botched handling of fbi terror investigations and the firing of u.s. attorneys , officials said monday .

us sources : attorney general gonzales has resigned


there is no `` imminent crisis '' that would require a special legislative session to fix a mistake in a new law that lets residents of any age -- even toddlers -- marry with parental consent , arkansas governor mike beebe said monday .

governor : mistake in law that could let kids marry is no imminent crisis


whole foods market inc. said it had support from enough shareholders of wild oats markets inc. to complete the purchase of its rival , putting a successful end to a takeover opposed by federal antitrust regulators .

whole foods says it has enough shares to buy rival wild oats


the euro drifted lower against the u.s. dollar tuesday after a report showed that german business confidence slipped again , hit by turbulence in global financial markets .

euro drifts lower on slip in german business sentiment


greece 's president described the fires ravaging his country 's forests as a national catastrophe , as thousands of firefighters -- hundreds of them brought in from other countries -- fought to control blazes that have burned nearly ###,### hectares -lrb- ###,### acres -rrb- .

greek president says fires a national catastrophe as death toll rises to ##


oil and gas futures fell tuesday as concerns about refineries faded and opec suggested that the oil cartel sees no need to boost production .

oil and gas futures fall on refinery opec news while storm prediction boosts natural gas


gusty winds pushed a wildfire closer to sun valley resort 's ski area , while hundreds more homes were ordered evacuated in the valley below .

gusty winds whip idaho wildfire near sun valley ski area ; hundreds more homes evacuated


the u.s. dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies in european trading wednesday morning .

u.s. dollar mostly higher gold up in european morning trading


ireland is growing warmer and wetter because of greenhouse gas emissions and faces increasingly tough challenges to combat floods and manage water supplies , a government-funded report concluded wednesday .

ireland growing warmer wetter because of global warming report finds


police used tear gas , water cannons and clubs against demonstrators staging nationwide protests wednesday over government social and economic policies .

clashes arrests mark national day of protest against economic policies in chile


cesar luis menotti , who managed argentina to the #### world cup title , said wednesday he 's full of energy and looking forward to directing uag tecos of guadalajara .

menotti looking forward to getting tecos headed in right direction


two american priests were to be consecrated thursday as anglican bishops in kenya , the latest in a string of conservative priests who are defecting to african churches in a dispute over homosexuality .

u.s. priests getting ordained in kenya say american church has lost its way


tyson gay proved thursday he is in a class of his own when he completed a sprint double at the world championships with a win in the ### meters .

gay completes sprint double has eyes on third gold medal


an alaska father who was too drunk to drive had his ##-year-old son take the wheel , authorities said .

drunk alaska dad has ## year old drive home


leona helmsley 's decision to leave $ ## million -lrb- euro# .## million -rrb- to her dog so it could live out its life in luxury proved once and for all that she was not one of the little people .

size aside helmsley s $ ## million bequest to dog is far from unique


japanese stocks rose friday as exporters rallied on the yen 's weakness against the dollar and banks climbed on news that the u.s. government was working on a policy to ease subprime woes .

tokyo stock market s main index surges #.## percent on yen s weakness


lebanese army helicopters stepped up raids friday on al-qaida-inspired islamic militants barricaded in a palestinian refugee camp in the country 's north , after five soldiers were killed , a senior military official said .

lebanese helicopters step up raids on islamic militants after # soldiers die


baa plc , the spanish-owned airports operator facing harsh criticism for delays and overcrowding at heathrow , announced the appointment of two high-profile directors on friday in a bid to improve its poor public relations and performance .

airports operator baa names two high-profile directors as it attempts to repair reputation


a republican u.s. senator arrested in a police sex sting in an airport men 's bathroom will resign from the senate amid a furor over his arrest and guilty plea , republican officials said friday .

republican us senator to resign saturday in storm over sex sting at an airport men s room


two workers at germany 's bayer ag were taken to a hospital for examination after ## tons of a carcinogenic chemical leaked at a factory in western germany , the company said tuesday .

chemical spill at bayer plant in west germany


ding UNK believes in miracles .

earthly rewards strengthen heavenly faith for philippine believers UNK photos UNK


evander holyfield is n't your normal heavyweight boxing champion .

the people 's champ moves on after controversial victory over tyson by paul UNK


in an effort to overcome a growing rift within judaism , israel 's orthodox chief rabbis met wednesday with reform and conservative leaders .

jewish leaders meet in israel in effort to overcome religious


france wants five new eastern european nations let into nato despite washington 's insistence that only hungary , poland and the czech republic can join now , the foreign ministry said thursday .

france firm on demand to admit five new nations to nato eds : UNK throughout with foreign ministry news briefing


negotiations between the bruins and the nhl 's no. # draft pick , joe thornton , have snagged over what boston general manager harry sinden called an `` ominous '' proposal from the ##-year-old forward 's agent .

proposal from nhl 's no. # pick stuns bruins


ukraine 's monthly inflation rate dropped to #.# percent in june from #.# percent the previous month , the national bank said friday .

ukrainian inflation drops to #.# percent in june


latvian president guntis ulmanis on friday expressed condolences to jews for the nazi holocaust and conceded `` with shame and indignation '' that latvians were among their persecutors , a news agency reported .

latvian president expresses condolences to jews over holocaust


president daniel arap moi said rallies planned across the country monday to demand reforms before general elections this year threaten development in kenya .


UNK , ## , grew up in a secular jewish household in a poor neighborhood of new york city .


spain 's julian alonso overcame marcello UNK of germany in three sets sunday to win the dlrs ###,### venice open for his first title as a professional .


less than a week out of office , former gov. chris patten has thrust himself back into hong kong politics with accusations that britain ignored the former colony 's leanings toward democracy in an attempt to appease china .

former governor : britain ignored hong kong democracy desires by ted anthony


deepening economic woes and diplomatic stalemates may force north korean leader kim jong il to delay plans to assume full power , a south korean government report said monday .

seoul report : kim jong il may delay assuming full power in north korea


when rebels raked an army helicopter with machine gun fire this week , bringing it down in flames , they all but dashed hopes for imminent peace talks in a decades-old leftist guerrilla conflict .

peace in colombia seems ever distant after rebels down helicopter eds : UNK previous ; UNK metric conversion in #th graf


the victorious socialists consulted on tuesday with their political allies over the makeup of a new government and ways to end months of chaos and violence .

albanian party leaders confer over new government composition by UNK UNK


the leaders of the victorious socialist party consulted with their political allies tuesday on the composition of albania 's new government .

albanian party leaders confer over new government composition eds : UNK #nd graf to clarify UNK t investment schemes caused


gregor UNK , the talented center of stefanel milan and of the italian national team , has signed a four-year contract with UNK bologna thus ending rumors of his possible transfer to los angeles clippers .

UNK to fix sequence number geneva : UNK faroe islands


a ##-year-old italian soldier was killed wednesday and three others were wounded in a munitions explosion , the multinational force said .

italian soldier killed three others wounded by blast eds : UNK with new casualties in ##th graf UNK family and


the defense force commander who led a mutiny over the government 's plan to hire mercenaries said his dismissal thursday from the army was an act of political vengeance .


rescue workers picked through the rubble of a collapsed school and an office building in northeastern venezuela thursday , desperately trying to save dozens of people buried in an earthquake .

precede caracas earthquake in venezuela leaves at least ## dead


the protestant orange order decided not to march along several routes roman catholics had vowed to block saturday , saying the move was to avoid further violence and possibly loss of life .

eds : UNK with orange order quote UNK previous by shawn UNK


a fire raged through a ##-story hotel friday in the beach resort city of pattaya , killing at least ## people , including eight europeans or americans , police said .

at least ## dead in hotel fire at beach resort eds : UNK with police saying eight dead may be american or


the government and opposition groups have reached agreement on bringing home more than ##,### refugees who fled to northern afghanistan to escape tajikistan 's civil war , an official said friday .

government opposition reach agreement on return of refugees eds : subs #th graf to UNK with repatriation to begin july ##


almost ## years after the nazis looted a cubist oil painting from a jewish collector in france , the work has been returned to the man 's heirs .

france returns nazi-looted painting to jewish heir eds : subs ##th graf neither UNK ... to UNK with owner 's


a military court heard more medical testimony sunday in the case of a jordanian soldier accused of killing seven israeli schoolgirls .

court hears more experts in case involving attack on israelis by jamal UNK


the dollar slipped against the yen on profit-taking in early monday trading in tokyo , while share prices rose moderately .

dollar lower stocks rise in early trading


the leaders of china 's and vietnam 's ruling communist parties pledged monday to improve relations despite persistent territorial disputes , official chinese media reported .

vietnam china party chiefs pledge closer ties eds : UNK throughout with official media account of muoi jiang


a virgin islands police investigator was charged monday with trying to smuggle ##.# kilograms -lrb- ## pounds -rrb- of cocaine to atlanta in his carry-on luggage , police said .

v.i. police investigator charged with attempted drug smuggling


iranian authorities have seized ### kilograms -lrb- #,### pounds -rrb- of opium in the northern mazandaran province , the official islamic republic news agency reported tuesday .

iranian agents seize half a ton of drugs


austrian women in leading positions complained about lingering male domination in their society in a meeting tuesday with visiting u.s. first lady hillary rodham clinton .

austrian women complain to mrs. clinton about male domination by roland prinz


north korean soldiers fired at least ## mortar rounds at a south korean border post wednesday during a heavy exchange of gunfire , the defense ministry said .

gunfire exchanged on korean border eds : UNK throughout with details UNK


food shortages in north korea have grown so acute that more than a third of all children are malnourished , with some so weakened that standing is difficult , an aid worker said wednesday .

aid worker : death rate rising from north korean food shortage eds : leads with ## UNK to raise reference to malnourished


japan posted a trade surplus of ###.## billion yen -lrb- dlrs #.## billion -rrb- in june , well below what analysts were expecting but still a ##.# percent increase over the same month last year .

UNK 's trade surplus posts smaller-than-expected rise in june


european leaders on wednesday praised u.n. secretary-general kofi annan 's strict reform plan for the unwieldy united nations , and echoed his call for tighter budgets and reduced bureaucracy .


the missing father of andrew cunanan , the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of italian fashion designer gianni versace , has been found in the philippines , police and news reports said friday .

cunanan 's father in philippines believes in son 's innocence


his third career century _ in a qualifying round match at the premadasa stadium in colombo on friday .

eds : UNK throughout with sri lanka winning


seve ballesteros is used to missing cuts these days .

seve misses another cut UNK shoots ## ; monty coaches clarke ;


one of ousted president sese seko mobutu 's most powerful allies in the business community has been arrested by the new government for suspected embezzlement , joining several dozen other former mobutu associates in custody .

top business ally of mobutu arrested by congo 's new government eds : bemba is correct as second reference


supporters of radovan karadzic expelled his rival , the bosnian serb president , from the ruling party in an effort to close ranks in the face of strong external pressure .

bosnian serb president booted from ruling party eds : leads throughout with bosnian serb president expelled by


hale irwin won his fifth senior pga tour event of the year sunday , edging lee trevino by two strokes to capture the dlrs #.## million burnet senior classic .

results of brazilian national soccer championship games


two grenades exploded near a national police station monday , slightly injuring one woman , news reports said .

two grenades explode near spanish police station


justin leonard hoisted high his british open trophy to the delight of cheering fans and friends who turned out at the airport monday to welcome home the ##-year-old from dallas .

scores turn out to greet british open winner


black american leaders , gathering for a summit aimed at promoting u.s. aid and investment in africa , on tuesday defended the expense of convening the lavish talks in the impoverished continent of their ancestors .

black americans gear up for lavish summit by angus shaw


puerto rico ended water rationing for nearly half a million residents tuesday after heavy rain partly replenished a reservoir serving the san juan metropolitan area .


red cross negotiators from rivals north korea and south korea held talks wednesday on emergency food shipments to starving north koreans and agreed to meet again thursday .

koreas meet in beijing to discuss food aid from south eds : UNK with comment from icrc official in UNK #-# ; south


amid concern that the peace process in angola is unravelling , the security council on wednesday threatened economic sanctions against angolan rebels and accused them of failing to honor agreements to end the ##-year-old civil conflict .

security council raises again the prospects of sanctions against unita


UNK

grenade blast raises fears of terrorism in cambodian UNK UNK photo UNK


arab entrepreneurs should wage a financial `` holy war '' for east jerusalem by investing in the arab part of the city , a senior palestinian official says .

palestinian official urges arabs to invest in jerusalem


rick danko , bassist and singer for the legendary rock group the band , was found guilty friday of colluding with his wife to smuggle heroin into japan , but received a suspended sentence and will not go to jail .

rocker rick UNK gets suspended sentence on heroin smuggling


faced with shifting strategic interests and the need to cut costs , france is reconsidering its commitments in africa , a foreign ministry spokesman said friday .

france rethinks its africa policy by deborah seward


conchita martinez , who had never even won a set in ## previous matches against monica seles , defeated her nemesis #-# -lrb- #-# -rrb- , #-# friday to reach the semifinals of the bank of the west tournament .

martinez defeats seles in tourney quarterfinals eds : will be UNK with evening matches


an unfancied ##-# shot , swain outshone UNK , UNK and UNK and a star-studded lineup saturday to win the ###,###-pound -lrb- dlrs ###,### -rrb- king george vi and queen elizabeth diamond stakes at ascot .


the chief of staff has endorsed a military court verdict condemning a jordanian soldier to life in prison for killing seven israeli tourist girls , officials and newspapers said sunday .

army chief endorses life sentence on jordanian soldier


egypt trounced ethiopia #-# sunday in a group three qualifying round , earning a coveted spot in the #### african nations cup .

egypt trounces ethiopia in african nations cup qualifier


several economists say thailand _ an asian economic success story until #### _ could see its first recession in ## years .


a natural gas tank exploded monday in the kitchen of an oil company building in the urals region , killing at least ## people and injuring ## , officials said .

explosion in oil company building kills ## eds : UNK to increase death toll to ## dead ## injured


asian stock markets closed generally higher tuesday , but share prices fell in tokyo after rising for three straight sessions .

asian stock markets close generally higher


italian tax police on tuesday searched offices of silvio berlusconi 's media company fininvest in connection with a tax evasion investigation of the spanish television network telecinco .

italian tax police search offices of berlusconi group


british foreign secretary robin cook met bosnian serb opposition leaders wednesday before going on to croatia and talks with president franjo tudjman .

cook arrives in zagreb after talks with serbs by UNK UNK


a saudi dissident pleaded innocent wednesday to plotting to kill americans in his homeland as his attorney said an earlier agreement to plead guilty was invalid .

saudi suspect pleads innocent to plotting against americans eds : combines pvs ; no pickup


nasa on wednesday rejected the u.s. astronaut who was supposed to be the next american to live on the russian space station mir because she 's too short .

european cups scores by the associated press


algerian soldiers stepped up their patrols in the capital thursday , a day after a car bomb killed three people and wounded at least ## at an algiers cafe and a policeman was killed in a shootout .

patrols increased in algiers after cafe bombing eds : UNK toll from hospital officials in #th graf


when hashemi rafsanjani steps down sunday after eight years as iran 's president , he will leave behind an administration that has strengthened its grip on power and stabilized the economy but still has n't come to terms with the west .

results in modern pentathlon world championships


the eighth asia-pacific traditional arts festival opened saturday at the center for traditional arts in eastern yilan county saturday , featuring folk music , dance and theater groups from the mekong river region of indochina .

traditional arts center in yilan presents mekong art


the u.s. dollar was traded at nt$ ##.### at #:## a.m. thursday on the taipei foreign exchange , down nt$ #.### from wednesday 's close .


the planned taiwan food and drug administration -lrb- UNK -rrb- will be formally inaugurated jan. # , #### and have a staff of ### people , minister without portfolio chang UNK announced monday .

taiwan food and drug adminstration to be launched in early ####


computer vendor acer inc. was unveiled friday as taiwan 's leading brand on a list of taiwan 's top ## global brands for the first time ever , with anti-virus software maker trend micro and computer maker asustek close behind .

acer heads list of top ## taiwan global brands in ####


the taiwan stock exchange 's main index opened little changed thursday , moving down #.## points at #,###.## on a turnover of nt$ #.## billion -lrb- us$ ##.## million -rrb- .


the first comic-book version of a defense white paper was introduced by the ministry of national defense -lrb- mnd -rrb- tuesday , with two of the leading characters appearing at a press conference to promote it .

leading characters of mnd comic book pleased with result


president chen shui-bian said thursday he will attend a summit meeting of heads of state of the republic of china and its central american allies to be held in el salvador later this year if the event can take place as originally scheduled .

president reaffirms commitment to attending summit in el salvador


minister of the interior chang po-ya said wednesday that she favors setting up casinos at offshore island hotels , as long as it would be in line with the development of the domestic tourism industry as a whole .

interior minister favors setting up casinos on offshore islands


republic of china president chen shui-bian and his cabinet `` ought to be applauded for their continuing efforts to make taiwan one of the freest places on earth , '' u.s. congresswoman eddie bernice johnson said wednesday .


premier chang chun-hsiung said thursday he is enraged and saddened by the snail-paced progress of the reconstruction of areas hardest hit by a disastrous earthquake that rattled taiwan on sept. ## , #### .

premier enraged by slow progress of post-quake reconstruction


a granddaughter of republic of china founder dr. sun yat-sen said thursday said that the thoughts of her grandfather should be used as the basis for peaceful cross-strait reunification .

UNK gov t urged to return to three principles of the people


opposition kuomintang -lrb- kmt -rrb- chairman lien chan on wednesday called for unity among members and supporters of the kmt and its ally the people first party to win the next presidential election to be held in march #### .

kmt head calls for unity in opposition alliance


taiwan 's deputy representative to the united states , tsai UNK , stressed on tuesday that holding referendums is one of the basic human rights of the people of taiwan and it has nothing to do with taiwan 's independence or possible unification with mainland china .

taiwan diplomat says referendum has nothing to do with independence


share prices opened high and closed even higher on the taiwan stock exchange -lrb- taiex -rrb- thursday , with the weighted index , the market 's key barometer , moving up ##.## points to close at #,###.## .


the u.s.-based UNK llc and the i-shou university in southern taiwan signed a memorandum thursday to jointly develop the micro and nano technologies for UNK use .

taiwan school and u.s. firm to develop UNK technology


a group of social activists and academics are scheduled to meet friday to call for gender equity in funeral rituals and traditions in which the female members of a taiwanese family are discriminated against , a women 's rights group said thursday .

activists to call for gender equity in funeral traditions


the first taiwan-born UNK , a mammal belonging to the raccoon family , has been put on public display at the city zoo in suburban taipei , a zoo official said wednesday .

first locally born UNK put on display at taipei zoo


in any cross-taiwan strait trade pact talks that take place in the future , topics concerning agricultural affairs will focus on quarantine and relevant testing of livestock and plants , as well as intellectual property rights -lrb- ipr -rrb- protection for taiwanese agricultural products , the vice minister of the cabinet-level council of agricultural affairs -lrb- coa -rrb- said monday .

quarantine ipr on agricultural products to be included in ecfa


the daily charter flights between taiwan and china inaugurated four months ago have attracted severe criticism , with detractors complaining about excessive pricing , but the opening of regular flights , expected later this year , is raising hopes of cheaper fares .

launch of regular cross-strait flights might help lower fares


business at taiwan 's theme parks and resorts grew significantly in the first quarter of this year compared to q# last year , the tourism bureau said thursday , attributing the growth to the government 's shopping voucher program and other promotion efforts .

shopping vouchers help boost theme parks business : tourism bureau


taiwan began to make on-board checks of passengers on flights arriving from the united states wednesday in a bid to keep the swine flu virus at bay .

taiwan launches on-board flu checks on flights from north america


a national human rights museum under the planned ministry of culture is scheduled to open on jan. # , #### , council for cultural affairs chairman emile sheng said friday .


united microelectronics corp. -lrb- umc -rrb- , the world 's second largest contract chipmaker , said wednesday it saw a slight drop in sales in november as a result of the new taiwan dollar 's surge against the u.s. dollar .

umc november sales down on stronger new taiwan dollar


taiwan-based petrochemical giant formosa plastics group categorically denied monday that the seven members in its core leadership have signed a secret deal to retire by #### .

formosa plastics denies secret deal on core leadership


the first probable human case of mad cow disease in taiwan was listed posthumously saturday , following the death in may of a man who had symptoms of the fatal brain-wasting illness .

#st case of probable mad cow disease listed posthumously in taiwan


academia sinica said thursday that taiwan 's economic growth for #### is expected to be a moderate #.## percent from a strong showing in #### amid uncertainty over global economic fundamentals .

academia sinica : #### economy to grow #.## percent


a team of community rangers was formed tuesday to help protect wetland areas around the UNK community , the second ecotourism attraction of its kind near kenting national park in southern taiwan .

ranger team established in effort to conserve wetlands


president ma ying-jeou declared thursday that his administration will form a special panel to seek investment from around the world now that taiwan has struck a landmark trade deal with china .

talk of the day all-out drive to attract global investment


the u.s. dollar rose against the new taiwan dollar wednesday , adding nt$ #.### to close at the day 's high of nt$ ##.### .

u.s. dollar closes higher on taipei forex


UNK

taiwanese enterprises form oil transport company


the inking of a UNK economic cooperation framework agreement -lrb- ecfa -rrb- between taiwan and china has stirred up a sense of crisis of japan , south korea and singapore .

united daily news : low tax rates wo n't bring golden decade


the u.s. dollar rose against the new taiwan dollar thursday , gaining nt$ #.## to close at nt$ ##.### .


several heavyweight musicians from europe will perform and give master classes at the first chamber music festival hosted by greater tainan city on dec. #-## , a cultural ambassador of tainan county told the central news agency on tuesday .

greater tainan to host chamber music festival in december


james soong , chairman of the people first party -lrb- pfp -rrb- said saturday evening at a press conference that he is not interested in joining any political alliance , but his party will do its best to fulfill its obligation as a dutiful opposition party .

james soong shows no interest in joining political alliances


taipei mayor ma ying-jeou and mainland china president jiang zemin topped the men of the year lists in taiwan and across the taiwan strait respectively , a poll released on sunday showed .

taipei mayor mainland china president top men of year lists : poll


president chen shui-bian lauded tuesday the government 's decision to open taiwan to mainland chinese tourists as a breakthrough in peaceful exchanges with the mainland .

roc president lauds taiwan 's opening to mainland chinese tourists


kanye west did n't play one of his smoothest shows saturday , but it was one of his most significant -- if not for him then for the coachella valley music and arts festival .


the senate on wednesday neared approval of a $ ###-billion spending bill to fund the iraq war and hurricane relief efforts , loading it up with billions of extra dollars for projects around the country .

senate nears passage of huge spending bill


last sunday 's boston globe carried an alarming #,###-word front-page article about president bush and the constitution .


ending days of secret balloting and back-room dealing , the italian parliament on wednesday elected an ##-year-old former communist as president of the nation , the final step before a new government can be seated .

parliament elects former communist as president


in heavily accented english , the radio skit invited landscapers and dishwashers to head on over to the `` UNK steakhouse .


the pentagon 's top medical officer contests the conclusions of a government accountability office report that questioned whether service members returning from iraq and afghanistan are getting appropriate mental health care .

pentagon faults report questioning veterans mental health care


soccer in italy is nothing short of a religion .


it 's odd to hear vinton cerf , regarded as one of the founding fathers of the internet , to gush over UNK books .

google 's goal : a worldwide web of books


the UNK UNK


inside a ramshackle buddhist temple here on the country 's southeastern coast , curious villagers gathered last fall as part of the united states ' biggest gamble yet on stopping the aids pandemic .


marine sgt. phillip jolly , in the masterful documentary `` combat diary : the marines of lima company , '' set for thursday on a&e , explains the exhilaration of combat -- and the horror that soon follows .


armando reyes climbed over the border fence and prepared for the dash into san diego .


complaints : the cx-# 's success is also its failure .


when gas prices rise , drivers grumble and politicians talk energy crisis .


`` african gold from the UNK collection , the museum of fine arts , houston '' runs through nov. ## at the smithsonian institution 's national museum of african art , ### independence ave. nw .


john duffy of gettysburg , pa. , arrived at washington 's dulles airport # #\/# hours before his united flight to frankfurt , germany , to find all available floor space filled with other would-be fliers .


a washington post article incorrectly said that steve scully , president of the white house correspondents ' association , works for cnn .


the water in the shower went from cold to colder .


in #### , seven years into a life sentence for a double homicide , aaron owens sat before a parole board believing that he was never going to be released .


a strange form of cancer is being transmitted as an infectious agent among the world 's dogs , without help from viruses or bacteria , a research team in england has found .

form of dog cancer spreads as infectious agent


the government filed another round of criminal charges in a widening stock options scandal .


sometimes it seems the only way to keep children safe from household accidents is constant vigilance .


like all feats of magic , transforming bunches of pinot noir grapes into great red wine is n't easy .


some of the most popular programming on cable television networks today revolves around the do-it-yourself theme -- from bob vila showing you how to tile a floor to the team on `` while you were out '' offering tips on how to brighten a room with the right colors .

videos that explain life but leave verifying to you


last week , the international astronomical union stripped pluto of its official status as a planet .

# things that like pluto need a downgrade


as a kurdish rebel group took responsibility for a string of weekend bombings , a new blast monday killed three people and injured dozens more in the southern mediterranean resort of antalya .

blast kills # injures dozens in resort town


bernie massey , the co-founder of a los angeles social action foundation , had been trying to figure out how to make a statement against terrorism .

bombed bus exhibit to show fearful cost of terrorism


dashing louisiana 's hopes that it would be the site of a public rapprochement between president bush and french president jacques chirac , representatives for both men said this week that they will not attend a ceremony marking the bicentennial of the louisiana purchase .

bush chirac are n't buying louisiana purchase ceremony UNK houston


shopping for consumer electronics is a pain .


an american soldier and at least three iraqis were killed friday when a bomb exploded near a humvee and a passing minibus on a crowded street in the capital , despite an overall reduction in rebel attacks .

u.s. soldier # iraqis killed in iraq UNK baghdad


our colleague anne hull got lots of reader response on a story last week about an arabic linguist discharged from the army for being gay .


former sen. paul simon , a democrat who ran for president in #### as a budget-balancing liberal , died tuesday of complications after heart surgery in his home state of illinois .


democratic presidential candidate howard dean , known to many voters as a staunch opponent of the iraq war , enthusiastically supports missile defense development and declines to back a proposal to ban weapons in space .

democrats stake out positions in national security survey UNK UNK


today , concern about homework is again reaching a fever pitch .

it 's not the amount of homework that is the problem


saddam hussein , who portrayed himself as the successor of salahuddin and other arab conquerors as he ruled iraq for ## years , was captured by u.s. forces saturday night while hiding in a rat-infested hole in the ground .


in the early ####s , the only thing most people knew about llamas was that michael jackson had one .


lord knows our UNK culture downs plenty of coffee -- american coffee hounds gulp an average of three cups a day apiece , according to the new york-based national coffee association of u.s.a. inc. 's #### survey .


setting their sights on an operation they say clogged the internet with a quarter-billion e-mail messages daily , new york attorney general eliot spitzer and microsoft corp. .

new york microsoft sue to halt deluge of spam


it starts with a few whispered words over tiny cups of bitter black coffee , a narrow UNK glance or two -- and then comes the torrent of talk about betrayal and blood revenge .

saddam 's betrayal has village on edge UNK UNK iraq


-lrb- wap -rrb- editors this refers to UNK -lrb- lane , post -rrb- moved thursday .


in september , the u.s. postal service issued two commemorative UNK stamps featuring kirby the puppy and samantha the kitten .


an ear tag on a slaughtered washington state holstein cow found to be infected with mad cow disease shows the animal came from alberta , canada , where another case of mad cow disease was discovered in may , government officials said saturday .


as much as they hoped never to hear it , the dreaded news of mad cow disease comes at perhaps the best possible time of year for american ranchers .

timing of mad cow news minimizes impact on ranchers UNK seattle


former vice president dick cheney waded into another roiling public debate monday , saying that he supports legalizing same-sex marriage as long as the issue is decided by the states , rather than the federal government .

cheney endorses gay marriage on state-by-state basis


UNK lindner watches her boys asleep in a sofa bed .


the securities and exchange commission thursday charged former countrywide chief angelo r. mozilo , who ran the nation 's largest subprime mortgage lender , with fraud , making him the most prominent executive accused of illegality in connection with the financial crisis .

sec charges former countrywide executive with fraud


president george w. bush 's springer spaniel , spot , was old and ailing .

former head usher at white house witnessed first families at their most vulnerable


it does n't take a paranoid mind to fret over our state of UNK .


almost #.# million u.s. homes could wake up saturday to a blank tv screen .

switch to digital could blank some tv screens saturday


two projections offer two contrasting , compelling documents of contemporary urban life .


she is aware she raised more than a few eyebrows with her music , and that fans might be even more bewildered by her film `` the human contract .

smith 's new film bears little UNK to tv show


president obama has embraced bush administration justifications for denying public access to white house visitor logs even as advisers say they are reviewing the policy of keeping secret the official record of comings and goings .

obama criticized for withholding visitor logs


new dvds you can watch this weekend : UNK


chrysler 's alliance with fiat , finalized this month , creates a fresh start for the company and for tens of thousands of workers .


iran 's post-election tumult has exposed the sharply divergent ways in which the obama administration and its republican opponents view the nature of american power and the president 's role in speaking to political dissent outside the borders of the united states .

iran unrest reveals partisan split on proper u.s. role


a lot of barack obama campaign folks , people who were in the trenches with him early on during the iowa winter of #### , are said to be grumbling about not getting jobs in the administration while people who backed other democrats and then shifted late to the one , are happily ensconced on the federal payroll .


in january , the los angeles times reported that the nederlander organization acquired the rights to produce a musical version of `` thriller '' with the intention of involving jackson in `` every aspect of the creative process .

jackson 's death stalls thriller musical plans


who 's going to hear `` you 're hired '' ? this time , donald trump is asking viewers to weigh in on his choice for the next winner of `` the apprentice .

reality check : trump asks viewers for help


european tourists here send home postcards with stamps bearing the images of five faces , known simply as los UNK -lrb- the young men -rrb- or los cinco -lrb- the five -rrb- .

cubans jailed in u.s. as spies hailed at home


fbi agents who raided the office of rep. william jefferson , d-la .


a former chief of staff to then-house majority whip tom delay , r-tex .

ex-aide to delay traveled often on others tab


is it time for the media to stop lavishing attention on ann coulter ? UNK

promoting nastiness : mainstream media UNK ann coulter


in stifling heat shortly after noon , a compact , neatly groomed man in a plaid shirt and slacks plunges down an alley lined with mango sellers and women cooking bread over wood fires .

sniffing out the UNK who stress the grid


if you had a headache , even a migraine , would you shoot yourself in the head to get rid of it ? UNK


a range of previously unrecognized tax liabilities have forced UNK service corp. to reduce its stated operating income for #### by $ # million , according to an securities and exchange commission document filed late tuesday .


he was a jew with missing teeth and flat feet .


former president clinton predicted last week that republican environmental policies are going to lead to more hurricanes .


temperatures have been warmer over the past ## years than any time in the last four centuries -- and possibly the last #,### years , a prestigious federal advisory panel reported thursday .

federal panel confirms global warming findings


as merck & co. defends itself against litigation involving its pain reliever vioxx , the pharmaceutical giant also is fielding the first of what could be another wave of lawsuits involving fosamax , an osteoporosis drug and its second biggest seller .


the house of representatives recently voted to refrain from mandating something called `` net neutrality '' in this year 's telecom legislation , but the proposal could resurface in the senate or in a conference committee .


anna wintour must be pleased .


gov. david a. paterson proposed legislation wednesday to eliminate pay and perks for special district commissioners and put town boards in charge of sanitation districts .

paterson backs government streamlining plan


david axelrod first showed signs of chronic fan syndrome in the early ####s in his native new york city .

david axelrod the man with obama 's game plan


at UNK elephant camp , i met boon rot , all ## feet and three or so tons of her , as she UNK on bamboo stalks .

declining prospects for thailand 's elephants


on its second day of deliberations , a jury tuesday found a maryland man guilty of stalking `` pulp fiction '' star uma thurman .


in brief remarks after meeting with congressional republicans , bush issued his veto threat , complaining that legislation under consideration would `` reward speculators and lenders .


UNK corp. , an oak ridge , tenn. , technology company , is developing a camera and software system that promises by next year a significant improvement in automated traffic signals .

your wheels : computer vision has eyes on driving 's future


alexander calder -lrb- ####-#### -rrb- , the son of an artist and a painter , not surprisingly was a multimedia artist .


the collision occurred shortly before noon pdt , said sgt. kristin UNK of the west hollywood sheriff 's station .


the lebanese government rescinded two decisions wednesday that had targeted hezbollah and ignited the worst internal fighting since the end of the ##-year civil war , underlining the group 's sense of victory in a battle that has recalibrated lebanese politics .

lebanese cabinet backs off in UNK with hezbollah


the rankings for UNK books sold in southern california , as reported by selected book stores : UNK


when kids at UNK singh 's school in loudoun county , va. , have a birthday , there are no parents sweeping in with towers of cupcakes dripping with frosting .

a birthday celebration without the sweets


james frey was back in his old los angeles neighborhood , strolling happily along the venice boardwalk , enjoying a sunny day in a t-shirt and aviator shades as he passed tattoo shops and a man who was selling what he claimed to be `` philosophy .


the deal between government officials and islamic militants in the scenic swat valley could presage broader accords with militants in the tribal areas bordering afghanistan .

pakistan signs truce with militant faction


but the survey also suggested that the state is moving closer to accepting non-traditional marriages , which could create openings for supporters of same-sex marriage as the campaign unfolds .

poll says voters lean toward overturning judges on gay marriage


authorities are investigating whether an arson fire near chicago mayor richard m. daley 's summer home in michigan last month is linked to threats against the mayor from someone furious about the april ## killing of a cougar that had roamed into downtown chicago .

arson near chicago mayor 's home may be linked to cougar 's killing


may is a pivotal month for moving and storage companies .

moving companies hit bumps in economic road


sony electronics and six of the largest cable companies have signed an agreement that paves the way for `` two-way , '' digital UNK tvs to be sold on the market , according to sony and the national cable & telecommunications association .

cable companies sony agree on box alternative


the sloping expanse of verdant hillside known as el UNK does n't stand out amid the lush UNK straddling the remote UNK frontier .

hill of ore may hold mountain of conservation woes


UNK tallahassee bureau UNK


orlando long after a recent practice , magic center dwight howard lounged in the stands and chatted with team general manager otis smith about life .

as howard fouls mount so does frustration


the district of columbia council approved a measure on tuesday that would allow people with certain chronic illnesses to obtain medical marijuana from a handful of dispensaries regulated by the city .


borrowing costs for europe 's more vulnerable countries rose on wednesday while stocks and the euro fell , as the possibility of a new credit downgrade for portugal underscored fears that efforts to contain the debt crisis to greece were failing .

wall st. stumbles as european debt worries persist bettina wassener and graham bowley contributed reporting


ext goes here .


seattle as usual , rays manager joe maddon had his reasons for starting willy aybar ahead of pat burrell at designated hitter on thursday against seattle lefty ryan UNK .


this is the time of year when people often take golf lessons .


q. i 've heard that cow manure can be used for energy production , but not human waste .


a creek winds through lush wetlands along a los angeles river walk surrounded by native plants and birds .


teachers are giving up raises in at least five long island districts , including most recently , brentwood , where the #,### teachers will also take individual pay cuts of $ ### that will be repaid to them without interest when they leave or retire .


when she founded the digital ad agency UNK nine years ago , kat egan was n't worried about finding good talent .

a digital boot camp to groom talent for agencies


one by one the favorites have fallen : the penguins , the capitals , the red wings , the devils .

regular season was irrelevant in the east


three days after the u.s. soccer federation announced its preliminary world cup roster , its president led a four-member team to switzerland to attempt to win the right to host the tournament for the second time .

u.s. makes bid for world cup but isn t picky about the year


the boxer amir khan spent late april and early may in vancouver , british columbia , his entry into the united states delayed while he obtained a work visa .

after verbal sparring a lopsided title fight


ever since thomas UNK was accepted to three law schools outside his home state of california , he has spent entire days on the phone with health insurers in other states , compiling information that he enters on a giant spreadsheet .

in health law a clearer view of coverage


chronicle movie critic san francisco chronicle , copyright #### UNK

commentary mick lasalle on movies age in the eye of the UNK


never mind the plot .

make carrie s style yours even without a mr. big


maybe it takes a shock jock like bubba the love sponge clem to get alex sink to relax .


using certain anti-cancer drugs for years at a time can help keep some types of cancer in remission longer , doctors reported thursday .

study finds drugs can keep some cancer in remission longer


able-bodied , outgoing and accustomed to working , alexandria wallace wants to earn a paycheck .

lack of aid for child care pushes some to welfare


stocks declined monday , dragged down by late-day losses in the financial sector , which has been mired in uncertainty over financial reforms and european debt troubles .

financial reform and europe s debt send shares lower


consider it the ultimate girl 's night out .


-lrb- alfred a. knopf ; ### pages ; $ ## -rrb- reviewed by peter stansky san francisco chronicle , copyright #### UNK

his finest hour winston s war : churchill ####-####


internal documents from bp show that there were serious problems and safety concerns with the deepwater horizon rig far earlier than those the company described to congress last week .


every job interview has its awkward moments , but in recent years , the standard interview for men seeking a life in the roman catholic priesthood has made the awkward moment a requirement .

sexuality now prime question in priest interview


forecasters are predicting an active hurricane season , which begins today and runs through nov. ## , much like the #### season of charley , frances , ivan and jeanne and the #### season of dennis , katrina and wilma .


UNK -lrb- los angeles -rrb- - column on who should win the western conference semifinals between the lakers and san antonio spurs .


blur : `` think tank '' -lrb- virgin -rrb- # stars king UNK creative differences led to the sudden departure of blur 's longtime guitarist graham UNK early on in the recording process .


new executive director of basketball operations danny ainge said he would not speak with the players until after the celtics finished their playoff run .

celtics pushed to brink as nets cruise in game #


the treasury department and the federal reserve on tuesday introduced a new design for paper currency , which will include colors other than the standard black and green , in an effort to deter counterfeiting .


-lrb- for release sunday , may ## -rrb- UNK


long before the final horn blew wednesday at the sbc center , the mavericks felt they never had a legitimate chance at beating the san antonio spurs .

technical knockout : nelson harris booted early in mavs game #


john e. UNK , the former chief executive and president of the rheingold corp. , died on may ## at atria UNK in annapolis , md. .

john e. UNK former chief of rheingold corp. dies


one of the UNK but more engaging conventions of the contemporary caper film is to imagine that a dream team of crooked UNK , each a quirky genius who takes pride in his craft , can mesh like a perfectly functioning machine and accomplish miraculous feats of larceny .

the italian job : once again it takes a thief to catch a thief


the master plan for ground zero is unraveling , which is not necessarily bad news .

for ground zero disarray reigns and an opportunity awaits


if ever there was a classic case of `` no free lunch , '' popular pain control medications are it .

personal health : perils of pain relief often hide in tiny type


during his first two days on the witness stand , l. dennis kozlowski appeared calm as he parried a series of tough questions .

things turn a bit testy at trial of ex-tyco chief


one month after resigning as musical director of la scala in a stormy power struggle , riccardo muti ended a triumphant evening on monday at the opera house he directed for nearly two decades with the tempestuous notes of verdi 's `` forza del destino '' -lrb- `` power of fate '' -rrb- .

muti returns to la scala but just for one night


the independent political groups known as ###s should be required to disclose their funding sources while election campaigns are in progress , three republican house members said wednesday .

bill would require quick disclosure of ### groups funding


without government nutrition guidelines , a doctor 's advice or some primeval diet fad , entire species of dinosaurs sometimes UNK their predatory , meat-eating lifestyle and evolved into grazing vegetarians .

becoming vegetarian : dinosaurs caught in the act


get ready to think about office politics and family affairs in UNK terms again .

living with wolves : wolf society alpha to omega


one day after lakers owner jerry buss left his interest in phil jackson subject to interpretation , new york knicks president isiah thomas did anything but , telling reporters thursday that he believed a second meeting with jackson soon would take place .


john r. bolton 's effort in #### to oust a top central intelligence agency analyst from his post in a dispute over cuba represented a troubling breach of the line between policy makers and intelligence , the agency 's former deputy director has told the senate foreign relations committee , according to a transcript of the exchange .


it is a cast worthy of a political thriller : a former convict whose claims about a former president and first lady spurred a criminal investigation ; a prominent senator 's brother-in-law , who worked undercover for federal agents looking into the case ; sworn enemies of the former first family trying to dig up fresh dirt , and some hollywood stars .

trial over hillary clinton 's hollywood event has a strong cast


if you walk into the office of a scientist , chances are you 'll see a white board hanging on the wall , covered with UNK .

profile : michael UNK explores where brain meets mind


southern california motorists again wasted more time in stalled traffic than drivers did anywhere else in the nation , and the region is expected to continue its dismal ranking for years , experts said monday .


the curse at first - reversed .


numbers help define jennifer rosales , in atlanta this week to defend the lpga chick-fil-a charity championship .


a wealthy dilettante pays a publishing house to issue the novel he has written : a classic example of a vanity project .

vanity of UNK : the conductor as composer as entrepreneur


commentator , UNK , fascist apologist and occasional presidential candidate pat buchanan could n't stand by silently while millions of people around the globe celebrated the defeat of hitler 's nazi germany .

once again pat buchanan comes to hitler 's defense


to many new jersey republicans , the biggest turning point in the party 's primary for governor this year came in march , when tom kean jr. , son of the former governor , made it known that he would be a candidate -- for the u.s. senate .

on the road to trenton # strive to excite


mike d'antoni has n't quite rescued the nba from itself yet , but the phoenix coach said that the suns ' success this season validates his approach to the game .

suns showing no signs of slowing down in playoffs


for judi burgess , a single word changed everything .

a ceremonial event evolves into a wedding


on monday , less than three weeks before the official start of the hurricane season , government forecasters predicted an active season that could be comparable to last year 's destructive one .

forecasters predict an active hurricane season


the senate is likely to vote tuesday to make the environmental protection agency find a better way of measuring automobile fuel economy , to bring more realism to the stickers on the windows of new cars , which consumers have learned always to read but never to trust .

congress seeks more realistic mileage estimates


`` i bring you a taste of my UNK , '' says our host as my friend laurie and i sit down to dinner beside a murmuring fire .


morgan stanley suffered another legal setback on wednesday , as a florida jury ordered it to pay $ ### million in punitive damages to the financier ronald o. perelman , who contended he was defrauded by the investment bank in a #### deal .

jury awards perelman $ ### million more from morgan stanley


the #-year-old should n't be here .


four days of talks between north and south korea ended thursday with the north resisting pressure to resume negotiations over its nuclear program , but agreeing to cabinet-level meetings with the south next month .

in rare talks the # koreas agree to talk again next month


while jury deliberations continued in the trial of richard m. scrushy , the former chief executive of healthsouth , a separate healthsouth criminal case came to an end friday morning with the acquittal of two former executives on federal bribery charges .

# healthsouth executives acquitted ; deliberations on scrushy continue


the roman catholic church and the chinese government are actively exploring the re-establishment of diplomatic relations , with contacts between the sides warming to the point that the ailing john paul ii quietly received a quasi-official chinese delegation in the vatican late last year .

china and vatican explore renewing diplomatic ties international herald tribune


after spending a week in japan exploring the aichi world fair , courting japanese investors and lunching with toyota 's chairman , vice premier wu yi of china decided monday to fly home a few hours early , canceling a scheduled meeting with japan 's prime minister .

chinese vice premier skips meeting with UNK leader


it was supposed to be a cozy affair .

out in force : as # beloved sci-fi franchises fade away fans have seized the spotlight like never before


top military and civilian officials gathered on a conference call when a private plane strayed into restricted airspace over the district of columbia on may ## , but they never reached the point of authorizing jet fighters to shoot it down , a pentagon spokesman said wednesday .

pentagon denies preparing to down stray plane


the new york times said in an editorial for friday , may ## : UNK


weight can have startling consequences for women 's financial well-being , careers , and marriage prospects , according to research that found that women - but not men - suffer economic harm from being overweight .

women 's weight found to affect job income


as they move to thwart the illegal trade of cigarettes over the internet , state officials from new york have joined with colleagues from around the nation to persuade credit card companies to stop processing payments for online cigarette sales .

post office draws criticism for shipping cigarettes purchased online


david beckham , the world 's highest-paid soccer player , will make his playing debut in the new york metropolitan area tuesday at giants stadium , and sven-goran eriksson , his coach with the national team of england , dismissed all UNK sunday by saying that beckham would remain the captain of the team .

england 's coach says beckham will remain UNK of team


at ## , after nearly half a century in the union movement and after a decade leading the nation 's main labor federation , john j. sweeney is facing his toughest time ever .

labor focuses on leader 's fitness for his job


for years , politicians from presidents to city council members have believed they could win tens of thousands of orthodox jewish votes if they captured the support of just one group : the council of jewish organizations of borough park , a collective of social service agencies .

inquiries focusing on government funds for jewish council


the raiders were definitely up for dan marino 's first appearance ever at the oakland coliseum sunday .

tough defense stood up to marino 's challenge


not long ago , in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in texas , a ##-year-old boy was weathering withdrawal at its worst .

stuck on the web : the symptoms of internet addiction


colombian stocks rose for the first time in seven days , led by retailer UNK , amid optimism over the economy for #### .

colombian stocks rise on economic recovery UNK UNK


charles keating jr. , whom government officials once characterized as the most notorious swindler in the savings and loan crisis , had his last remaining criminal conviction thrown out by a federal judge on monday .


jerry york 's office at boston college is tucked away in a corner of conte forum , suitably removed from the traffic flow in a place where conversations inevitably turn to hockey .

can make individual purchases by calling UNK or UNK


boeing co. , faced with a record number of commercial aircraft orders , signed an agreement that will give it the help of rival mcdonnell douglas corp. in developing larger jumbo jets .

boeing signs mcdonnell to help with new big jets UNK UNK


the new york times said in an editorial on wednesday , dec. # : UNK


texas senator takes seat on influential appropriations panel UNK

attn eds : removes state in hedline to correct to u.s. senate


here 's the routine : UNK

breaking small rules to preserve the big ones


trying to determine whether it is politically realistic to use a proposed change in the way the government measures inflation to help erase the deficit , republicans and democrats tried wednesday to tease out assurances of bipartisan cooperation on an issue that holds clear perils for both sides .

battle lines drawn by report on inflation gauge