wayne rooney admits manchester united 's breathtaking form has reinvigorated him for the decisive final weeks of the season .

afp world news service no unauthorized reproduction


nearly ###,### people immigrated to the netherlands last year , marking an increase for the fourth year , statistics showed on monday .

immigration to netherlands increased in ####


team new zealand , out to avenge the humbling #-# capitulation of their america 's cup crown to alinghi four years ago , and the other ## challengers to the swiss team 's crown were left frustrated by the elements on the opening day of the louis vuitton cup here monday .

yachting : america 's cup challengers frustrated by weather UNK UNK details


a japanese man was sentenced to ## months in prison by a los angeles court on monday on charges on trafficking exotic butterflies .

us jails UNK man for butterfly smuggling


iran on tuesday sent its condolences to the people of arch enemy the united states after ## people were killed in a shooting at a university in the us state of virginia .

iran sends condolences to us over campus shooting


the finnish parliament on tuesday elected centre party leader matti vanhanen as prime minister , a post he has held since #### , after his party won legislative elections last month .

finnish parliament elects vanhanen as prime minister


south africa rode on andrew hall 's maiden five-wicket burst to storm into the world cup semi-finals with an emphatic nine-wicket win which humiliated england here on tuesday .

cricket : hall and smith fire south africa into semi-finals by UNK UNK


even before its opening here thursday , hot docs , the largest documentary film festival in north america , can be assured of at least one controversial film -- one that aims to debunk michael moore .

michael moore critique set to heat up hot docs festival by jacqueline swartz


the death toll from last month 's blast in siberia climbed to ### as two more bodies were discovered in the wreckage , the mine 's owner said wednesday .


somali elders accused ethiopian troops on wednesday of breaking a truce by attacking islamist insurgents in southern mogadishu , sparking clashes that killed at least seven civilians .

somali elders blame ethiopian troops for clashes by UNK UNK UNK UNK UNK throughout


mark buehrle pitched the ##th no-hitter in chicago white sox history on wednesday , as the white sox defeated the texas rangers #-# .

baseball : white sox hurler UNK UNK no-hitter


riot police broke up scuffles thursday as a key by-election campaign began in malaysia that could bolster former deputy prime minister anwar ibrahim 's return to formal politics .

scuffles as key malaysian by-election kicks off


the white house on thursday warned iran of possible new sanctions after the un nuclear watchdog reported that tehran had begun sensitive nuclear work at a key site in defiance of un resolutions .

us warns iran of step backward on nuclear issue


west indies captain brian lara said he will quit international cricket on saturday , ending speculation over his future after his team 's dismal world cup campaign .

cricket : lara quits international cricket UNK UNK details UNK


the tokyo stock market is bracing for a slew of corporate results over the coming week , with the potential for a boost to sentiment if firms give upbeat earnings forecasts , analysts said friday .

UNK shares seen taking cue from earnings


ten bulgarians involved in trafficking women to france to work as prostitutes have been arrested following a joint operation by bulgarian and french authorities , the national investigation service said friday .

police arrest ten bulgarians for human trafficking to france


a gunman killed a male hostage and himself at nasa 's johnson space center friday , just days after ## people died in the bloodiest school shooting in us history .


result of an african champions league third round , second-leg match here on saturday : UNK

african champions league result : young africans # esperance #


malaysia has won an extention to keep hosting a formula one grand prix until #### , despite concerns about its course and talk of a bid from singapore , the head of the sepang circuit said sunday .

UNK formula one : malaysia says it has host rights until ####


thousands of kashmiris chanting pro-pakistan slogans on sunday attended a rally to welcome back a hardline separatist leader who underwent cancer treatment in mumbai .

thousands attend rally for kashmir hardliner


ireland have been rewarded for their memorable world cup debut by being confirmed as the ##th best team in the world .

cricket : ireland confirmed in world top ten


turkmen president gurbanguly berdymukhammedov will begin a two-day visit to russia , his country 's main energy partner , on monday for trade talks , the kremlin press office said .

turkmen president to visit russia for energy talks


umaru yar ` adua , who was proclaimed winner of the nigerian presidential election on monday , is governor of the strict muslim state of katsina and the personal choice of outgoing leader olusegun obasanjo .

health doubts over new nigerian president yar adua by joel UNK UNK


younis khan has pulled out of the pakistan squad to play a three-match series against sri lanka in abu dhabi in may saying he is still suffering from the team 's traumatic world cup .

cricket : younis pulls out of pakistan 's gulf trip


a saudi man was beheaded by the sword in the southern city of UNK on tuesday after he was convicted of murdering a compatriot , the interior ministry said .


a top radical islamist leader in morocco who was arrested last month after five years on the run recruited ## youths in casablanca to join insurgents in iraq , police sources said tuesday .

moroccan islamist recruited fighters for iraq : police UNK UNK UNK on suspect


the only canadian detainee held at the us war-on-terror camp at guantanamo bay , cuba -- omar khadr , who was arrested in afghanistan in #### , at age ## -- has officially been charged with murder , spying and supporting terrorism , the pentagon said tuesday .

canadian held at guantanamo charged with murder


a consortium led by royal bank of scotland said wednesday it had proposed a ##.# - billion-euro counter-bid for dutch group abn amro , topping an offer from barclays by ## percent in the biggest banking deal ever .

rbs consortium makes counter-bid against barclays for abn amro


us aviation giant boeing co. said wednesday first-quarter profits lifted ## percent from a year ago to ### million dollars as new aircraft orders took off .

boeing profit up ## percent soars past UNK


argentina 's #### french open champion gaston gaudio could be set to retire from the sport after he said on wednesday he was n't sure whether he would continue on the atp circuit .


a firebomb seriously damaged the car of uruguay 's ambassador to greece overnight , police said thursday .

car of uruguayan envoy to greece firebombed


the euro hit ###.## yen in european trade early on thursday , its highest ever level against the japanese currency , on optimism about growth prospects for the ##-nation eurozone , dealers said .


an israeli patrol crossed into southern lebanon on thursday and was forced to end its `` violation '' after the intervention of un peacekeepers , the lebanese army said .

israeli patrol crosses into lebanon : lebanese army


hollywood megastar and paparazzi favorite angelina jolie lobbied in washington thursday for the world 's orphans and children at risk .

angelina jolie seeks more aid for orphans poor children


results and standings after the national league 's thursday baseball games : UNK

results and standings in baseball 's national league


the russian cellist mstislav rostropovich , who has died aged ## , was not only a consummate musician but also a great UNK of talent , notably among composers who wrote works both for and with him .


european union foreign policy chief javier solana called on friday for the united states to open a `` channel of communication '' with iran on all subjects .


sri lankans were stocking up on snacks , soft drinks , ice cream and liquor on saturday to watch their home team battle australia at the cricket world cup finals in the caribbean .

cricket : sri lankans ready for all night finals party by mel UNK


sri lanka were ###-# after ## overs in the world cup final against australia at kensington oval on saturday chasing ### to win .


south african cricket captain graeme smith said on sunday he would not use politics as an excuse for south africa 's performance in the cricket world cup in the west indies .

cricket : politics not to blame for world cup failure : smith


silvia cavalleri denied lorena ochoa her chance to celebrate her new world no. # status with a victory sunday , the italian capturing her own first lpga title at the corona championship .


environmental groups monday called for immediate and decisive action on climate change , amid concern that powerful nations will seek to water down a masterplan aimed at tackling global warming .

green groups urge action now on climate change


sri lanka 's tamil tiger rebels said monday that they hit a military war plane on a bombing mission over their territory with anti-aircraft fire .

tennis : estoril atp and wta open results


japanese share prices fell #.## percent in morning trade tuesday as losses monday on wall street overnight kept buyers at bay , dealers said .


an explosion in iraq 's restive northeastern province of diyala killed two us soldiers and wounded two more , the military reported monday .

two us soldiers killed in iraq blast december toll ###


myanmar 's opposition party , which is led by the detained aung san suu kyi , opened an art sale tuesday to raise money to help hundreds of political prisoners and their families .

aung san suu kyi 's party sells art to help prisoners


european stock markets closed sharply higher on the first trading day of the year , with many indices at their highest levels in nearly six years on a wave of positive new year sentiment .

european shares caught up in new year 's enthusiasm UNK UNK with closing levels


vietnam airlines on wednesday reported UNK profits for #### despite increased flights , passenger numbers and turnover , a shortfall it blamed in part on higher fuel costs .


a guantanamo official squatted over a koran in front of a chained detainee and another bearded detainee 's head was wrapped in heavy packing tape as he prayed , a newly released fbi document on mistreatment at the war-on-terror prison reports .

fbi report shows mistreatment of guantanamo detainees


australia 's agl energy said thursday it had made a preliminary merger approach to origin energy , paving the way for a ## billion dollar -lrb- ##.# billion us -rrb- deal that would create the country 's largest gas and electricity supplier .

australia 's agl and origin in merger talks UNK UNK closing shares


macedonian president branko crvenkovski will spend orthodox christmas this weekend with the country 's troops serving in iraq , his cabinet said thursday .

macedonian president to visit troops in iraq


us stocks put on a late closing spurt thursday as oil prices tumbled on milder winter temperatures , despite mixed sales reports from large retailers following the christmas holiday .

us stocks gain as oil prices slump UNK UNK


up to ## percent of the four million tourists expected to visit thailand in the first three months of the year may cancel their trips after deadly bombings in bangkok , a leading think-tank said friday .

thai tourism consumption hit by new year 's eve blasts by UNK UNK UNK UNK forecast on foreign investment


six-party negotiations aimed at convincing north korea to abandon its nuclear weapons are expected to resume later this month in beijing , the us state department said friday .

us expects north korea nuclear talks to resume this month


the us embassy in baghdad on saturday confirmed the kidnapping of an american , saying he was working in iraq as a private security contractor .

us embassy confirms UNK of us citizen in iraq


detainees at the us guantanamo prison in cuba continue to be subjected to violence and extreme isolation , but abuse has become more subtle than three years ago , a lawyer representing several prisoners said tuesday .

abuse at guantanamo more sophisticated subtle : lawyer


russian world no. # nikolay davydenko became the fifth withdrawal through injury or illness at the sydney international wednesday , retiring from his second round match with a foot injury .

tennis : davydenko pulls out of sydney with injury


the european commission unveiled sweeping plans wednesday to diversify eu energy sources , slash carbon emissions by ## percent and enforce fuel competition .

UNK eu unveils vast energy plan to protect supplies environment


rennes midfielder arnold m ` UNK has been loaned till the end of the season to english premiership club portsmouth , the french first division club said .


russia 's gas and oil giant gazprom and us oil major chevron have set up a joint venture based in resource-rich northwestern siberia , the interfax news agency reported thursday quoting gazprom officials .


slovenia 's old national money the tolar will have almost disappeared from circulation by the end of this week , marking a successful two-week switch to the euro , the head of the slovenian central bank mitja UNK said on thursday .

UNK to UNK from slovenia by UNK : central bank chief


a lebanese soldier was wounded thursday when the army clashed with an islamist group outside a palestinian refugee camp in a dispute over a veiled woman , witnesses and the security services said .

soldier wounded in lebanon clash over veiled woman UNK UNK with soldier wounded


david beckham will begin a new and possibly final mission in his colourful football career by quitting real madrid for los angeles galaxy in the united states in a deal reported to be worth a staggering ### million pounds -lrb- ###m dollars -rrb- .

football : beckham signs up for american dream by chris wright UNK UNK


japanese electronics maker sharp corp. announced plans friday to ramp up its output of flat screen televisions with new production lines in japan and mexico in response to flourishing demand .

sharp to expand flat tv production in UNK mexico


sir alex ferguson revealed friday that david beckham 's move to the united states had not surprised him because he knew the midfielder would not return to england if he could not come back to manchester united .

football : ferguson says us was beckham 's only option


the top us envoy to nuclear disarmament talks with north korea will return to the region late next week to meet key allies , but there are no indications a resumption of six-party negotiations with pyongyang are imminent , a senior us official said friday .

us nkorea envoy headed back to asia but no signs of renewed six-party talks


a woman street cleaner and her three young daughters were killed saturday when a bomb in a metal container exploded in bangladesh , police said .

mother three daughters die in in bangladesh blast


los angeles galaxy coach frank yallop is not sure when david beckham is coming , but he knows where the former english captain is going .

football : galaxy coach wants beckham in central midfield


croatia 's fourth seed ivan ljubicic became the highest-ranked player eliminated on the opening day of the australian open here monday .

tennis : fourth seed ljubicic knocked out of aussie open UNK UNK details


italian police have uncovered a scheme by which the families of some ### illegal immigrant minors were duped into paying a gang for their freedom , police said monday .

six arrested in sicily for trafficking immigrant minors


four people were killed and dozens injured after a collision monday between a merchant ship and a hydrofoil passenger ferry in the busy strait between mainland italy and sicily , the sky UNK ## television news channel reported .

four dead in messina strait collision UNK UNK toll


air china is expected to remain the country 's most profitable carrier this year while the rest of the pack battles it out in a fast-growing but increasingly competitive market , analysts said .

air china expected to remain leading carrier as rivals struggle UNK UNK with china southern #### profit


munster hooker jerry flannery was included in ireland 's ##-man six nations squad on tuesday after returning to fitness from a shoulder injury which had kept him out of the autumn internationals .

rugby union : flannery back in ireland squad


an international terror suspect who had been under a controversial loose form of house arrest is on the run , british home secretary john reid said tuesday .

international terror suspect slips net in britain


dalian city commercial bank confirmed wednesday it would sell a near ##-percent stake to canada 's scotiabank and the international finance corp , a private investment arm of the world bank .


a third vessel may have contributed to a fatal collision between a container ship and a passenger hydrofoil in italy 's busy messina strait , press reports said wednesday .

third vessel implicated in messina strait collision


world oil prices dived close to ## dollars per barrel in london and new york on wednesday , hitting fresh ##-month lows after the market ruled out the prospect of a new opec production cut , analysts said .

oil prices sink close to ## dollars per barrel UNK UNK with new lows latest prices analyst UNK


UNK beware : spouses caught cheating in michigan could end up spending the rest of their life in prison .

cheat on your spouse in michigan and spend life in prison


east timor and the united nations on thursday launched an appeal for ##.# million dollars to help resettle and reintegrate about ###,### people displaced by violence which wracked the country last year .

east timor UNK for aid to help ###,### displaced by violence


iraqi president jalal talabani and high-ranking syrian baath party officials met here thursday and affirmed their joint aim to improve ties between the two countries , official media said .

iraqi president syrian baath party strive for better ties


the russian foreign ministry warned estonian ambassador marina UNK thursday of `` serious consequences '' if estonia removes a monument to soviet soldiers from central tallinn , news agency itar-tass reported .

russia warns estonia of serious consequences in monument row


australian stocks are expected to remain near record levels in the week ahead , although uncertainty over commodity prices could see a drift away from mining shares towards the financial sector , dealers said friday .

australian share sentiment expected to stay positive in week ahead


at least ## sri lankan soldiers and ### tiger guerrillas were killed in the battle for a key rebel stronghold which fell into government hands friday , the defense ministry said .

UNK battle for sri lanka town kills ### : military


former us lawmaker bob ney , a member of president george w. bush 's republican party , was sentenced on friday to ## months in prison , the us department of justice said .

former us lawmaker sentenced to ## months in prison


us defense secretary robert gates returned home early saturday with assurances that so far iraqi prime minister nuri al-maliki is living up to his pledge to support a renewed crackdown on sectarian violence .

gates returns home after road testing new iraq iran strategy


UNK

## us troops killed in helicopter crash near baghdad UNK UNK with us toll UNK UNK


a bomb blast in a bus killed five people and wounded ## in baghdad on sunday as the us military announced the arrival of about #,### new troops to secure the violent city , security officials said .

cycling : tour down under stage five results


insurgents killed five us troops across iraq 's sunni province of al-anbar , bringing us losses in a single day to ## , the military reported sunday .


china reinsurance , the nation 's only reinsurer , received a four-billion-dollar government fund injection in preparation for listings at home and abroad , state media said monday .

chinese reinsurer gets # billion dollar injection ahead of ipos


singapore said monday vehicles carrying hazardous material will be fitted with an UNK in case of extremist hijackings .

UNK to install UNK on potential truck bombs


palestinians were preparing monday to press on with efforts to form a national unity government after inconclusive talks between khaled meshaal , leader of the ruling hamas movement , and president mahmud abbas , head of the rival fatah party .

palestinian factions set to resume unity talks by UNK abu el UNK


for a tiny caribbean nation , cuba has a big reputation for its sporting prowess but that is increasingly coming under threat .

boxing : cuba worried as talent continues to desert


a german registered container ship ran aground at the entrance to the french port of le havre early tuesday , but authorities said there were no casualties .

container ship runs aground in french port


the european commission on tuesday called on germany , france , italy and slovenia to step up efforts to improve their public finances despite booming tax revenues .

eu urges germany france italy and slovenia to improve finances UNK UNK details


the uefa presidency battle between michel platini and incumbent lennart johansson was hotting up on tuesday with heavyweight german football legend franz beckenbauer throwing his weight behind johansson .

football : beckenbauer backs johansson in uefa fight UNK UNK UNK


democrats on tuesday accused president george w. bush of `` recklessly '' leading america into war in iraq and called for a withdrawal of us forces , in a blunt rebuttal to the president 's annual state of the union speech .

UNK by bush democrats urge us pullout from iraq by stephanie griffith


chadian security forces detained an armed hijacker who forced a sudanese plane heading to the troubled darfur region to to n ` djamena on wednesday .

chadian troops seize hijacker of sudanese plane UNK UNK throughout with detail on hijacker


a senate panel began debate wednesday on a resolution condemning president george w. bush 's plan to send an additional ##,### troops to iraq , in what would be , if it passes , an unprecedented rebuke of the us leader .

senate panel weighs no-confidence measure on bush troop surge


germany 's aliona savchenko and robin szolkowy won their first major title when they claimed pairs gold at european figure skating championships here on wednesday .

figure skating : germans claim european pairs gold


results from day ## of the australian open at melbourne park here thursday -lrb- x denotes seeding -rrb- .


four children were killed and another three wounded thursday when an old mortar fuse exploded as they played with it in afghanistan 's capital , police said .

children killed by old explosives in afghanistan


un chief ban ki-moon on thursday huddled with his special envoy for kosovo to discuss the disputed serbian province 's future status on the sidelines of the paris conference on lebanon reconstruction , his spokeswoman said .

un chief discusses kosovo on sidelines of lebanon aid talks


japanese core consumer prices rose by #.# percent in december from a year earlier , the government said friday as deflationary pressure eases in the country .

UNK UNK 's core consumer prices up #.# percent in december


vaccinations have reached record levels in poor countries , saving the lives of some #.# million children , a global immunisation program funded by computer billionaire bill gates said friday .

vaccines work miracles in poor countries : gates


quebec 's prime minister jean charest did not speak by phone with french socialist presidential candidate segolene royal , his spokesman said friday , confirming that royal had fallen victim to an impostor .

quebec 's premier did not speak with france 's royal : spokesman UNK UNK spokesman 's UNK


questions were raised friday over how much blame should be heaped on a top reporter jailed for hacking into phone messages about the british royal family -- and how much on his bosses .

fingers point at british UNK bosses as royal reporter jailed by katherine UNK


talks resumed in conakry saturday in an attempt to end to a ##-day general strike that has left ## people dead , after guinean president UNK conte made a crucial concession .


ministers from china and japan wrapped up three days of closed-door strategic talks over the weekend , vowing to build `` mutually beneficial '' ties , chinese state media reported sunday .

china and UNK UNK up talks vow to improve ties


sweden 's jens byggmark won his second men 's world cup slalom within ## hours here on sunday .

cricket : south africa v pakistan scoreboard


bollywood star shilpa shetty won the reality television show `` celebrity big brother '' , earning press plaudits monday for having changed britain by enduring with grace allegedly racist bullying that sparked an international row .

bollywood star shetty wins british reality tv show by UNK rao


insurgents attacked a police post in a taliban heartland in southern afghanistan overnight , killing a policeman and wounding two others , officials said monday .

UNK kill policeman in southern afghanistan


pope john paul ii had such a passion for skiing that he carried on hitting the slopes -- incognito -- even after becoming pontiff , according to a memoir by his personal secretary stanislaw dziwisz .

pope john paul ii hit the ski slopes incognito : aide 's memoir


rio ferdinand admits manchester united 's recent defensive problems are causing concern ahead of the crucial , closing stages of the season .

football : united UNK a worry for rio by ian UNK


russia is cautiously optimistic about upcoming six-nation talks aimed at dismantling north korea 's nuclear weapons program , deputy foreign minister alexander losyukov was quoted as saying tuesday .

cautious optimism for nkorean nuclear talks : russia


several mortar rounds slammed into a baghdad sunni district tuesday , killing at least ## people , hours after dozens of shiite pilgrims were killed in other attacks around iraq , police said .

## killed by mortar fire on baghdad sunni district


us forces are running up against the clock in implementing a badly-needed new strategy in iraq , the admiral who is set to take over the command of us forces in the middle east said tuesday .

time is short for iraq turnaround : us commander by jim UNK UNK UNK with UNK details


some ## countries met here wednesday to set national quotas for tuna whose total catch has been reduced to prevent the immensely popular fish being hunted to extinction .

nations to set tuna quotas amid extinction fears


germany has ordered the arrest of ## people behind the alleged cia-backed kidnapping of a lebanese-born german man , prosecutors said wednesday , in one of the best-known cases of us `` renditions '' of terror suspects .

germany orders arrest of ## over cia UNK : report by deborah cole UNK UNK with confirmation


eight people were killed and several injured when two passenger vans collided wednesday near the western kenyan city of kisumu , throwing one of them into a nearby river , officials said .


canada and the united states have launched a satellite mapping project of north america to better monitor biodiversity and climate change in the region , natural resources canada said wednesday .

canada us launch satellite UNK of north america


chelsea owner roman abramovich and england captain david beckham top english soccer 's rich lists .


the pentagon has decided to bolster u.s. forces in iraq in advance of elections scheduled for late january by sending elements of the ##nd airborne division from fort bragg , north carolina , and extending the tours of duty for other units already in iraq , officials said wednesday .

pentagon sending more troops to iraq to provide security before election


in george UNK 's new biography of marlon brando , he writes of how he and brando spent a rare evening with jacqueline kennedy onassis six weeks after president kennedy 's assassination : UNK

new book recalls a rare evening with jacqueline kennedy onassis


crude oil prices rose briefly before heading lower and dropping through us$ ## friday following two days of sharp sell-offs as worries about low winter fuel inventories dissipate amid rising supplies .


a chemical weapons laboratory that u.s. forces found last week in fallujah as they chased out insurgents had chemicals and other paraphernalia to make deadly hydrogen cyanide , pentagon officials said friday .

pentagon says UNK had lab in fallujah to research chemical UNK


austrian christoph gruber took the first-run lead saturday by two-tenths of a second in a world cup giant slalom , which claimed defending discipline champion bode miller , who crashed early in his run .


two major challenges are expected to unfold monday when ohio secretary of state kenneth blackwell certifies the state 's final presidential election results , declaring president george w. bush the winner by about ###,### votes .

new round of challenges expected as ohio certifies vote monday


ukraine will not pull out its #,###-member contingent from the u.s.-led coalition in iraq for at least four to five more months because the withdrawal would be too expensive , the defense minister said monday .

defense minister says ukrainian military to stay in iraq at least four months


shots in the air , music in the streets and screams of joys greeted six students who returned home monday after being released from an israeli jail the day before in a high-profile prisoner swap .

egyptian students released from israeli jail return home will not face charges


tom UNK , a pop artist best known for his modern take on the reclining female nude , has died at age ## .


state-owned indian airlines and air-india will soon finalize plans to buy new planes , the aviation minister said tuesday , in what would be another major battle for orders between the world 's largest commercial aircraft makers _ airbus and boeing .

india to expedite us$ # billion purchase of new aircraft for state-owned airlines


jack newfield , a muckraking reporter and newspaper columnist who wrote books on robert f. kennedy and boxing impresario don king , has died .

u.s. columnist author jack newfield dies at ## ; wrote books on bobby kennedy don king


japan airlines said wednesday it has selected boeing co. 's new #e# passenger jet to replace a fleet of older aircraft _ the latest development in the rivalry between the u.s. aircraft maker and airbus of europe to woo asian carriers .

UNK airlines to purchase boeing 's #e# jets


three city police officers have been arrested on suspicion of shooting two arizona tourists they were allegedly trying to rob , federal police reported on wednesday .

mexican federal agents arrest city police accused of robbing arizona residents


onstage , a revered classical actor with a knighthood and two oscar nominations to his name is strutting his stuff in a multicolored UNK , tossing out double UNK with a wink to the crowd .


in a land of magic and mystics , beyond the waves of the arabian sea , lives a hero whose soul will forever remain american .

annals of globalization _ india has its own spider-man tailored to local tastes


the vatican 's official english-language translation of the italian text of pope john paul ii 's homily during midnight mass in st. peter 's basilica : UNK


days of rioting between christians and muslims in eastern pakistan following allegations that a quran was defiled escalated saturday , leaving six christians dead , including a child , authorities said .

# pakistani christians die in riots with muslims


it 's the perfect miami morning at carlos justo 's penthouse -- warm and bright , with luxury yachts powering through the sparkling blue atlantic ocean some ## stories below .

a superstar real estate agent plots his comeback


a european union naval spokesman says pirates have freed a malaysian tugboat they held for more than seven months .


results monday from the la women 's tennis championships , a $ ###,### wta tour event played on hardcourts at the home depot center -lrb- seedings in parentheses -rrb- : UNK

wta tour la women s tennis championships results


a cambodian court convicted an outspoken opposition legislator on tuesday of defaming prime minister hun sen , despite complaints from rights groups that the lawsuit was aimed at silencing critics .

court rules politician defamed cambodian pm


an independent pakistani human rights commission said tuesday that rioting that killed eight christians last week was not spontaneous but was planned by the attackers , some of whom belong to an al-qaida-linked group .

pakistan rights group : christian riots planned


the u.n. security council voted unanimously tuesday to name and shame countries and insurgents groups engaged in conflicts that lead to children being killed , maimed and raped .

un to name those that kill children in war


pakistan 's air force says one of its fighter jets has crashed on a training flight , killing the pilot .

pakistan air force fighter jet crashes pilot dies


sportswear maker adidas ag said wednesday its second-quarter net profit fell ## percent as currency effects and tough competition weighed on earnings , but hopes of an improvement over the rest of the year helped the company 's share price leap # percent .

adidas q# net falls ## pct ; shares up on h# hopes


a suspected u.s. missile strike killed a wife of pakistani taliban chief baitullah mehsud at his father-in-law 's house wednesday , pakistani intelligence and military officials said .

officials : taliban chief s wife killed by missile


nascar driver reed sorenson inhaled carbon monoxide during monday 's sprint cup race at pocono , and his team has asked former formula one champion jacques villeneuve to be on standby this weekend at watkins glen .

UNK recovering from carbon monoxide sickness


reinsurer hannover re ag said thursday that its second-quarter net profit doubled as demand increased for its products , particularly life and health reinsurance .

hannover re s #nd-quarter profit doubles


newcastle starts its new season in unfamiliar surroundings against very familiar opponents when it takes on west bromwich albion in the league championship on saturday .

newcastle opens second-tier season at west brom


a woman who let her #-year-old son drive while she was passed out drunk in the passenger seat has been sentenced to ## days in jail .

us mom sentenced for letting son # drive


two u.s. senators are blocking ## of president barack obama 's nominees for senior administration posts at the pentagon and justice department in protest over a proposal to house guantanamo detainees at the fort leavenworth prison in their midwestern home state of kansas .

us senators bar obama nominees protest guantanamo


the parallels between iran and north korea would seem to riff off the same UNK script : start a nuclear program , test some long-range missiles , demand international respect .

nkorea iran use similar script to get their way


a uighur activist called friday for a u.n. investigation of recent violence in western china , as ### people demonstrated outside the chinese consulate in melbourne .

uighur activist calls for probe on unrest in china


portugal has agreed to take two syrian detainees from guantanamo on humanitarian grounds , the government said friday -- becoming the third eu nation to accept inmates from the u.s. military prison .

portugal taking # syrian guantanamo detainees


the new general motors co. said friday it was worried about regaining consumer confidence following its exit from bankruptcy protection , and that its sales wo n't improve in #### as u.s. economic troubles continue .

new gm worries about regaining consumer confidence


sonia sotomayor was sworn in saturday as the supreme court 's first hispanic justice and only third female member in the top u.s. court 's ###-year history .


chinese ace lin dan is poised to become the first player in world badminton championship history to win three successive men 's singles titles .

lin dan chases hat-trick of world titles


the arctic ocean has given up tens of thousands more square miles -lrb- square kilometers -rrb- of ice on sunday in a relentless summer of melt , with scientists watching through satellite eyes for a possible record low polar ice cap .

vast UNK of arctic ice melt in summer heat


nestle sa , the world 's biggest food and drink maker , reported wednesday a # percent fall in first-half net profit as the recession hurt consumer demand and divestments and a stronger swiss franc weighed on sales .

nestle posts # pct fall in h# net profit


president barack obama 's campaign for a health care overhaul is an intense installment in a long-running story , dating to theodore roosevelt in #### .

analysis : health care debate a long-running story


president barack obama is presenting the highest u.s. civilian honor to ## actors , athletes , activists , scientists and humanitarians .

activists actors athletics honored by obama


results thursday at the rogers cup , a $ # million atp tour event on outdoor UNK at UNK stadium -lrb- seedings in parentheses -rrb- : UNK


a swiss court has backed the government 's plan to give aid agencies # million swiss francs -lrb- $ # million -rrb- seized from bank accounts linked to haiti 's former dictator jean-claude `` baby doc '' duvalier .

swiss court says haitian money can be given as aid


the search for a UNK cargo ship that vanished last month in the atlantic reached far south along the west african coast friday with unconfirmed reports of sightings near cape verde .

missing ship reported as far south as UNK verde


the leader of lebanon 's militant hezbollah warned israel friday his fighters would hit tel aviv with rockets if israeli forces attack beirut or the guerrillas ' stronghold in its southern suburbs .

hezbollah chief : we ll hit tel aviv if beirut hit


israel appears to be quietly halting new building projects in the west bank even as it publicly refuses u.s. calls for an official settlement freeze .

israeli officials : new west bank projects frozen


when the sky & more mall opened in riga in #### , retailers hoped its expensive boutiques and upscale supermarket would draw well-off latvians on their way home to the UNK neighborhoods on the capital 's north side .


sanya richards shook off years of disappointment with her first major title in the ### meters , pumping her fist after crossing the line at the world championships .

richards wins bolt through to semifinals in ###


canada 's prime minister has dined on seal meat in a gesture of support for the sealing industry .


greece international central defender sotiris kyrgiakos says he intends to join liverpool after receiving an offer from the premier league club .

kyrgiakos says intends to join liverpool


ivory coast striker boubacar sanogo is set to leave werder bremen for french first division side saint-etienne .


don hewitt , the cbs newsman who invented the highly popular tv newsmagazine `` ## minutes '' and produced it for ## years , died wednesday .


midfielder UNK scored a first-half goal as defending champion sao paulo defeated struggling fluminense #-# to extend its winning streak to seven matches and move closer to the brazilian league lead on wednesday .


scoreboard at stumps thursday on the third day of the first cricket test between sri lanka and new zealand at galle international stadium : UNK


south african teenager caster semenya received her gold medal thursday for her ###-meter win at the world championships .


roger federer struggled in blustery conditions to overcome david ferrer of spain #-# , #-# , #-# to reach the quarterfinals of the western and southern financial group masters on thursday .

federer needs # sets to reach quarterfinals


an iraqi police official says a bomb attached to a small truck has exploded near a vegetable market in southern baghdad , killing two and wounding ## .

iraq : # killed in baghdad truck bombing


u.s. home resales posted the largest monthly increase in at least ## years last month as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall .

july home sales surge more than # percent


UNK

bermuda us coast warned as bill stays offshore


charlie UNK baffled the cubs with his knuckleball , matt kemp and casey blake homered , and the los angeles dodgers defeated chicago #-# in the national league to win their third game in a row on saturday .


copenhagen ap -rrb- -- results from the danish first division -lrb- home teams listed first -rrb- : UNK


the obama administration launched a criminal investigation monday into harsh questioning of detainees during president george w. bush 's war on terrorism , revealing cia interrogators ' threats to kill one suspect 's children and to force another to watch his mother sexually assaulted .

inhumane cia terror tactics spur criminal probe


president barack obama has announced he wants ben bernanke to get a second four-year term as head of the federal reserve , praising his `` calm and wisdom '' in the face of a near financial collapse .

obama selects bernanke for second #-year fed term


diego maradona predicted a victory against brazil in their world cup qualifier at rosario on sept. # .


results tuesday from the pilot pen , a $ ###,### atp and $ ###,### wta event played on hardcourts at the connecticut tennis center -lrb- seedings in parentheses -rrb- : UNK


an outspoken uighur economist who disappeared for more than a month after being accused of stirring up china 's worst ethnic violence in decades said wednesday that authorities have freed him without charge .

china frees outspoken uighur intellectual


police say gunmen have opened fire on a group of men in a street in the southwestern pakistani city of quetta , killing three .


results wednesday from the pilot pen , a $ ###,### atp and $ ###,### wta event played on hardcourts at the connecticut tennis center -lrb- seedings in parentheses -rrb- : UNK


the moroccan royal palace says a doctor has ordered king mohammed vi placed in convalescence for five days for a digestive infection .

morocco s king convalescing with digestive virus


it 's not green cheese , but it might as well be .

moon rock in dutch museum is just petrified wood


facebook agreed thursday to give users more control over the information they share with third-party applications like games and quizzes in response to concerns raised by canadian privacy officials .

facebook agrees with canada on privacy controls


toyota is pulling out of a california factory joint venture it had previously run with general motors -- the first time the japanese automaker is closing a major auto assembly plant ever .

toyota moving UNK production to other plants


hours after being lightly wounded by a suicide bomber , a senior saudi prince largely credited with the kingdom 's aggressive anti-terrorism efforts said friday he was more determined than ever to fight militants in the country .

saudi prince vows to fight terrorism after attack


utrecht , netherlands -- dutch judges friday called a ##-year-old girl 's plan to sail solo around the world `` undeniably daring and risky , '' but refused to scupper it completely , in a high profile clash between child care authorities and liberal dutch parenting .

dutch delay ##-year-old sailor s worldwide trip


for ## years , phillip garrido managed to elude detection as he pulled off what authorities are calling an unfathomable crime , kidnapping ##-year-old jaycee dugard , keeping her as his secret sex slave for nearly two decades and fathering two of her children .

questions arise over how UNK went undetected


manchester united will begin the defense of the league cup against premier league newcomer wolverhampton .

man united opens league cup defense against UNK


summaries from the first round of the spanish first-division football league -lrb- home teams listed first -rrb- : UNK


formula one leader jenson button crashed out of the belgian grand prix on sunday and will finish out of the points for the first time this season .

f# leader button crashes out of belgian gp


japan 's opposition swept to a historic victory in elections sunday , crushing the ruling conservative party that has run the country for most of the postwar era and assuming the daunting task of pulling the economy out of its worst slump since world war ii .


german media company bertelsmann said monday it lost money in the first half of the year on declines in advertising revenue and consumer spending .

bertelsmann makes #h net loss of euro### million


shares in africa israel investments ltd. , one of israel 's largest companies , have plummeted by one-third in two days after its diamond tycoon owner acknowledged possible problems paying off billion of dollars in company debts .


french judges on monday ordered UNK generale trader jerome kerviel to stand trial over transactions that cost the bank billions of euros -lrb- dollars -rrb- , a judicial official said .

french trader to stand trial over socgen losses


waving banners against immigration , european integration and president jacques chirac , about ##,### far-right supporters marched wednesday while unions were divided on the traditional labor day .

big national front march on labor day while unions divided eds : UNK with union march drawing up to ##,###


worried by dozens of abusive telephone threats received by doctors and nurses , police have tightened security at a hospital treating a man accused of murdering ## people in a shooting and arson spree .

hospital security tightened after threats made ; cafeteria to be demolished


three u.s. warships with some #,### marines on board moved toward liberia 's shores thursday after fierce fighting erupted on a strategic bridge in the capital .

chief liberian warlord calls for end to cease-fire eds : UNK with u.s. efforts to broker a cease-fire


a man who pushed his wife to her death from a sixth-floor balcony has been executed , the china women 's news reported friday .

man who pushed wife off balcony others executed in china eds : UNK with reports of # other executions


for the first time since this caribbean nation gained independence in #### , a woman is running the country - if only temporarily .

for first time woman acting as prime minister


carlos moya snapped thomas muster 's ##-match clay streak saturday at the bmw open , posting a surprisingly one-sided win over the austrian .

eds : contains items on lebanon kuwait jordan saudi arabia


baghdad authorities have reopened the roads leading from the city of kirkuk to the kurdish self-rule area in northern iraq , the official iraqi news agency has reported .

iraqi authorities reopen roads to kurdish area


clouds of dark smoke billowed over the city sunday as #,### liberian refugees stood on the deck of a freighter , sadly singing a patriotic hymn and waving farewell as the ship inched away from the burning capital .


the speaker of germany 's parliament urged greater participation of women in technical fields , at monday 's start of an international forum on women 's role in leadership .

forum hears UNK for more women in technical fields UNK photo UNK


home-grown champions have been few and far between at the italian open .

italy 's woes continue with five losses on first day eds : matches begin at #### UNK


just a day before the deadline , officials said tuesday that only about a third of eligible bulgarians had signed up for a share of more than #,### state-run enterprises that are being privatized .

privatization attracts only one-third of potential investors by UNK UNK


the governing party on tuesday suspended a veteran local legislator who was expelled from the senate because of ethics violations .

governing party suspends senator after expulsion from senate by benjamin morales melendez


the government has combined poland 's seven state-owned oil refineries and the main gasoline distribution network into a holding company , making it the biggest enterprise in the country , officials said wednesday .

refineries gasoline distribution formed into one operation


the european union lost at least #.## billion european currency units -lrb- dlrs #.# billion -rrb- to fraud last year , amounting to #.# percent of its total budget , the eu commission reported wednesday .

eu reports dlrs #.# billion lost to fraud last year by mark lawrence


for five years , the supreme patriarch of cambodian buddhism has been marching for peace in a vain effort to save thousands of young men from marching to war .


a malaria epidemic in azerbaijan is in danger of spreading into neighboring countries , the world health organization said thursday .

who fears malaria outbreak in azerbaijan could spread


in process of divorcing from prince andrew , the cash-hungry duchess of york has clinched a deal with a u.s. publisher to write a new book , according to a news report friday .

report : duchess has clinched us deal to write a new book eds : in #nd graf simon and schuster takes an UNK


norwegian shipyard workers rejected a wage offer friday and said they would strike next week , shutting down key shipyards and offshore oil construction yards .


russian border guards in tajikistan seized ### kilograms -lrb- ### pounds -rrb- of raw opium bound for smuggling abroad , the guards ' command said saturday .

russian border guards seize ### pounds of raw opium


the shape of india 's future government could be decided sunday as politicians huddled into meetings to work out alliances between parties and cobble together a coalition .

parties meet to work out a coalition to rule india by UNK roy


in a rare foray into politics , the head of russia 's orthodox church has appealed to his countrymen to prevent a return to past repressions and `` make the right choice '' in june 's presidential elections .

russian church leader UNK for stability with russia-politics


a public prosecutor on monday asked a judicial council to determine if felony fraud and bribery charges should be brought against representatives of germany 's UNK , greece 's UNK and the state-owned telecommunications monopoly .

UNK UNK focus of judicial investigations


john lucas , who lost his job as general manager of the philadelphia ##ers last week , was fired as coach of the national basketball association team on monday .

##ers fire lucas as coach two assistants


about ### bosnian army soldiers flew to turkey on tuesday , where they will receive three months of training on new weapons the muslim-led government expects to receive .

bosnian soldiers leave for training in turkey with bc-yugoslavia


in #### bernardo bertolucci was president of the jury at cannes , the world 's largest film festival .


if the communists win presidential elections in june their economic program includes plans to confiscate private fortunes and property and stop russians from going abroad , a newspaper reported wednesday .

report : communist program would confiscate money and property


the dutch insurer aegon nv said wednesday its first-quarter net profit rose ##.# percent and turnover rose ##.# percent , largely due to better results in life and general insurance .

dutch insurer aegon reports net profit rise


russia will ease its currency gradually lower against the dollar during the second half of #### but at a rate lower than russian inflation , top officials announced thursday .


palestinian leader yasser arafat will visit greece next week , the government said thursday .


a delighted president nelson mandela met one of his screen idols friday , american actor sydney poitier .

star struck mandela meets american screen legend UNK photos available


pope john paul ii landed friday for the first time in independent slovenia , where he will celebrate his ##th birthday this weekend amid some of his favorite scenery _ mountains _ and with some of his favorite people _ the young .

precede rome pope lands in slovenia on birthday weekend


johnny `` guitar '' watson , one of rhythm and blues ' most influential guitarists , has died of a heart attack after collapsing on stage in japan .

rhythm and blues musician johnny guitar watson dies in UNK eds : UNK UNK UNK UNK : rob crocker ... to UNK with


nick zito , who had three horses finish second during rival trainer d. wayne lukas ' streak of six straight victories in triple crown races , won the preakness on saturday with louis quatorze , who had finished ##th in the kentucky derby .


olivier panis of france in a UNK captured a wet and wild monaco grand prix sunday after pole winner and two-time defending champion michael schumacher crashed on the first lap .


russian troops backed by aircraft monday bombarded a village held by chechen rebels as insurgents stepped up attacks on government posts in the capital , officials said .


marc rosset upset boris becker in straight sets to pace switzerland over germany in the opening round of the world team cup monday , while spain beat sweden #-# .


this time , there were no gale conditions facing colin montgomerie at the oxfordshire golf club .

montgomerie weathers bad day advances to semifinals eds : UNK previous


a small arab party headed by an adviser to yasser arafat on tuesday quit the race for israel 's parliament after polls suggested it would fail to win a seat .

arafat 's adviser withdraws candidacy in israeli elections eds : UNK with peres comment in #th graf


a county on the route of the olympic torch passed an anti-gay resolution tuesday night that is identical to one that prompted officials to reroute the torch around a georgia county .

greenville county passes anti-gay resolution


two cabinet members submitted their resignations to former premier tansu ciller on wednesday as part of her attempt to tighten the grip on premier mesut yilmaz .

ciller increases pressure for confidence vote eds : leads with cabinet ministers proposing resignations


wong peng soon , a four-time all-england singles badminton champion and singapore 's most famous sportsman , has died of pneumonia .


second-seeded aranxta sanchez vicario disposed of south african amanda coetzer #-# , #-# thursday in the third-round of the madrid open .

sanchez vicario easily advances eds : will be UNK ; stands as #st UNK to some lines to


a president who 's appealing for more time to raise living standards and a coup-prone former dictator who says time has run out faced a tight election thursday in this south american nation .

former dictator mounts strong challenge in suriname vote eds : UNK throughout with UNK voting peaceful


waving brooms and telling jokes , more than #,### workers took to the streets of the capital friday to protest falling living standards and low salaries .

#,### workers protest poor living conditions with UNK photo


gold in hong kong dropped the equivalent of #.## u.s. cents an ounce on saturday , to close at ###.## u.s. dollars , compared with friday 's hong kong close of ###.## u.s. dollars .


a group of puerto rican businessman will visit chile to explore possible new markets , this u.s. commonwealth 's economic development bank announced .

puerto rican trade mission to visit chile


world no. # joko suprianto beat poul erik hoyer-larsen ##-## , ##-# sunday to lead defending champion indonesia to a #-# victory over denmark in the final of the thomas cup , the premier men 's team badminton tournament .

indonesia blanks denmark #-# to retain thomas cup


gold in hong kong dropped the equivalent of #.## u.s. cents an ounce on monday , to close at ###.## u.s. dollars , compared with friday 's hong kong close of ###.## u.s. dollars .


an american delegation scouring the former soviet union for information on u.s. soldiers missing in action meets with tajik government leaders this week , a news agency reported monday .

us delegation arrives in tajikistan to look for mias


two south african climbers who conquered mount everest returned safely to their base camp shocked by the loss of their third teammate , missing on the world 's highest peak and presumed dead .


the french open 's two defending champions had little trouble putting away their first-round challengers tuesday , though thomas muster had a tough shootout with frederick fetterlein in their first set .

with UNK champions league participants for next season


UNK UNK scored twice wednesday as india beat new zealand #-# in the four nations field hockey tournament .

eds : will be led with later australia-south africa match india beats new zealand


romanian authorities have issued arrest warrants for officers of a taiwanese cargo ship and want them extradited if canadian police find evidence they should be tried for throwing three stowaways overboard .

romania seeks arrest of ship officers in stowaway case


high productivity does n't always correspond with high profits in the auto industry .

study shows auto plant productivity profits not always linked with auto UNK auto UNK


armed with a `` magnificent seven '' of young guns from an experienced world-beating youth squad , portugal could be the surprise of the european championship finals .

armed with experienced young guns portugal hopes to surprise europe


a key international bank thursday revised upward to dlrs #.## trillion the average amount of money handled daily by the world 's currency markets .

UNK by source until #### UNK friday final bis figures : daily global currency trade of dlrs #.##


german foreign minister klaus kinkel insisted friday that his government would not abandon the half million ethnic germans living in kazakstan .

german foreign minister visits kazakstan hails reforms eds : UNK throughout with agreement signed kinkel comments on


his final words from the top , beamed by radio from everest 's frozen peak , were triumphant , jubilant .

death raises questions about south african team by duncan guy


a strong earthquake shook southeastern turkey on thursday , killing at least ## people and collapsing a school dormitory on more than ### children .

strong quake kills at least ## in turkey ; scores of children UNK in UNK school dormitory


france midfielder emmanuel petit will miss the confederations cup in june because of minor leg injuries , while patrick vieira is an almost certain absentee , france 's coach said .

france 's petit to miss confederations cup vieira highly doubtful


general motors corp. and ford motor co. posted declines thursday in light vehicle sales for last month compared with a robust april a year ago , though results were better than the past couple of months .


remarks by president george w. bush announcing the end of major combat operations in iraq thursday evening from the deck of the aircraft carrier uss abraham lincoln : UNK

text of president george w. bush 's speech aboard the uss abraham lincoln with bc-na-gen UNK


hadi is no. ## on the u.s. coalition 's list of the ## most-wanted figures .


formula one teams have agreed to a complete ban on automatic gearboxes and launch control for #### , auto racing 's governing body said friday .

fia reaches agreement to keep drivers in control of cars


economic growth in toronto will suffer this year because of sars , a think tank said friday as health authorities insisted the illness was under control in canada 's largest city .

sars toll on toronto economy estimated at c$ # billion UNK us$ ### million with bc-as-gen world-sars virus


the european bank for reconstruction and development is opening an annual meeting in uzbekistan this weekend under strong pressure from human rights groups to push the host country 's repressive government toward democratic change .

european bank shifts UNK to central asia in a bid to promote democratic and economic change


rebels and government forces signed a countrywide cease-fire agreement saturday , even as insurgents alleged fresh attacks by government forces .

ivory coast government rebels sign countrywide cease-fire ; fighting reported


muslim guerrillas attacked a southern philippine town and took hostages sunday in fighting that killed at least four people , the military and rebels said .


latvia celebrated its independence day by upsetting russia #-# , and slovakia remained unbeaten after routing austria #-# at the world ice hockey championship on sunday .

latvia upsets russia #-# slovakia whips austria #-#


the rope on the flagpole is still broken .

british reopen their baghdad embassy but they ca n't call it that yet


germany 's lufthansa on monday inaugurated a service allowing passengers from frankfurt airport to check in at the railroad station in cologne , bypassing queues at continental europe 's biggest hub .

lufthansa opens cologne check-in service for passengers from frankfurt airport


it was a sickening feeling he hoped never to experience again , least of all three months later .

nasa chief found himself reliving columbia tragedy when communication was lost during russian UNK 's descent


as other parts of the world stepped up precautions against sars , state-run newspapers tuesday reported china 's premier as saying the situation in beijing `` remains grave '' and that officials who do n't work hard to fight the disease will be punished .

china says sars grave in beijing ; hong kong treats patients with serum ; us university bans some asian students


hundreds of fans and collectors snapped up memorabilia collected by roy rogers and dale evans that did n't make the cut when the museum dedicated to the cowboy couple moved to missouri .


president george w. bush named l. paul bremer , a former ambassador and head of the state department 's counterterrorism office , to become civilian administrator in iraq and oversee the country 's transition to democratic rule .

bush names former state department official to head transition in iraq


president george w. bush named l. paul bremer , a former ambassador and head of the state department 's counterterrorism office , to be his special envoy to iraq and oversee its transition to democratic rule .


president chandrika kumaratunga accused her political rival , sri lanka 's prime minister , of `` degrading '' the country 's military and raising the `` false hope '' that a safety net provided by friendly nations would protect against a resurgence of civil war .

sri lankan president accuses rival prime minister of raising false hope of international safety net in dispute with tamil rebels


mama rose will be back in `` gypsy '' thursday .

bernadette peters misses performances but will return to critically acclaimed gypsy revival


the columbus blue jackets re-signed forward david vyborny for next season .


china 's cabinet says sars is wreaking havoc not only among its people but also its economy , and in the faraway jungles of cambodia a new mystery illness has appeared _ baffling doctors just like sars once did .

china says grim sars crisis hitting economy ; new mystery disease in cambodia


the european central bank left interest rates untouched thursday , waiting for more data on the continent 's shaky economy despite a weak growth outlook that many economists say already justifies a rate cut .

UNK european central bank leaves key interest rate untouched


the united states will introduce a resolution friday calling for the united nations to lift sanctions against iraq immediately and phase out the oil-for-food aid program over four months , diplomats said .

u.s. to urge u.n. to lift sanctions against iraq and phase out oil-for-food program


danny ainge said thursday he had two one-hour meetings with the new owners of the boston celtics but no deal has been completed for him to return to the franchise .

ainge says no deal completed with celtics


exxon mobil has launched a us$ ##-million lubricant oil plant in bangladesh in a joint venture with state-owned jamuna oil company , officials said friday .

exxon mobil launches its lube plant in bangladesh


poul nielson , the european union 's top humanitarian aid official , said friday the united states wants to take control of iraq 's oil reserves so it can eventually join opec .


seeking a central role for the united nations in iraq , the leaders of anti-war germany and france said friday they were committed to `` constructive negotiations '' over a draft u.n. resolution that would leave iraq under u.s. and british control for a year .

anti-war germany and france open to u.n. draft resolution on iraq


the honduran government will fine the san francisco international airport , or sfo , us$ ###,### for not upgrading airport facilities , a federal official said friday .

honduras fines u.s. company in charge of country 's airports


montenegro will hold its third presidential election in six months on sunday , with a pro-independence candidate a clear favorite to become the leader of the small republic , part of a union with the much bigger serbia .

montenegro to hold third presidential election in six months


a move in the u.s. congress to link immigration with opening up mexico 's state oil company to u.s. investment has outraged mexicans , and newspapers accused american lawmakers of arrogance and blackmail .

mexicans outraged by u.s. congress move to link immigration with oil


the city of frankfurt is marking the ##th anniversary of the book burnings in nazi germany by staging a series of readings , exhibits and discussions about the authors and their works who were deemed `` non-german .

german cities mark ##th year of nazi book burnings


olympiakos piraeus beat a disappointing panathinaikos athens #-# at home sunday to take a major step toward winning the greek first division soccer championship for the seventh year in a row .

UNK ,#### west indies-australia scoreboard


comments by u.s. treasury secretary john snow helped propel the euro higher against the dollar to over us$ #.## on monday , a new four-year peak as the ##-nation currency closed in on its all-time high .

snow 's weekend comments fuel further rise of euro against dollar in european trading


bangladesh and bhutan signed a five-year agreement on monday to promote bilateral trade , officials said .


european finance ministers kicked off two days of talks monday dominated by concern over lethargic growth , swelling budget deficits and a euro rising close to record highs against the dollar .

eu finance ministers discuss rising euro budget deficits


panamanian police announced monday they had recovered about ### stolen gold and ceramic pre-hispanic artifacts stolen in february from panama city 's anthropology museum .

panama recovers stolen pre-hispanic artifacts


with deportivo de la coruna , real sociedad and real madrid jammed together at the top of the standings with five rounds remaining , the spanish title race looks set to run to the wire .

spanish title race promises thrilling finish


british foreign minister jack straw eulogized anti-apartheid fighter walter sisulu tuesday as '' a great fighter for freedom , '' as he began his two-day visit to south africa .

british foreign minister visits south africa


pg&e corp. on tuesday reported a first-quarter loss of $ ### million as the UNK company continued to suffer from the downfall of a once-thriving energy trading business that appears destined for bankruptcy court .

pg&e reports first-quarter loss of $ ### million


dozens of ####s-era sewing machines hum in the room off a cobblestone street in old havana , the drone mixing with strains of salsa music and the chatter of elderly women at work .

international fashion helping to revive a latin classic _ UNK UNK


the suicide bomb attacks in saudi arabia were `` a cowardly and disgraceful terrorist atrocity , '' prime minister tony blair said wednesday .

two britons missing after saudi suicide blasts


the penultimate phase of talks intended to end more than a decade of violence and chaos in somalia entered its final session wednesday after months of torturous negotiations marred by disputes and allegations of corruption .

penultimate phase of somali peace talks reach final stage after months of dispute


a russian scientist facing espionage charges asked for a jury trial on wednesday , the itar-tass news agency reported .

report : russian scientist requests a jury trial


in the second scandal this year involving alleged illegal union donations to the former ruling party , an opposition senator filed a complaint wednesday claiming that money diverted from a rail workers ' union membership fund wound up in the #### campaign of former president ernesto zedillo .

opposition senator accuses union of illegal contributions to former president 's #### campaign


heavily armed u.s. army forces stormed into a village near the northern city of tikrit before dawn on thursday , seizing more than ### prisoners , including one man on the united states ' `` most-wanted '' list of former iraqi officials .

major night raid in northern iraq aims at nabbing u.s. most-wanted iraqis


the u.s. coast guard stopped six illegal cuban migrants who tried to enter the florida keys on a small boat thursday , plucking five from the water , one after he treaded water for more than two hours , authorities said .

u.s. coast guard trying to rescue cuban migrants in florida keys


the driver of the tractor-trailer that became a sweltering deathtrap for ## people was charged thursday with transporting and harboring illegal immigrants , and authorities searched for three more suspects in one of the deadliest smuggling schemes in u.s. history .

truck driver charged in smuggling scheme that left ## dead


a young man with a wispy beard is emerging as a suspect in a series of ## explosions at shell stations in southern karachi , police officials said friday .

pakistan police prepare sketches of suspected gas station bombers


the dutch national soccer association friday suspended feyenoord rotterdam forward robin van persie for two games , the latest in a string of punishments meted out to players on competitive teams in the final stages of the season .

dutch soccer association suspends van persie for two games


whether it 's a brilliant smile or tears of joy , helio castroneves lets you know how he feels .


taiwan announced its biggest jump in sars cases saturday with ## new people infected , and the island 's new health minister said the outbreak has been worsened by sick people not being honest about their illnesses and infecting health workers .

taiwan registers biggest one-day increase in sars ; new health minister accuses people of hiding symptoms


the talks , which lasted about four hours , were scheduled to resume at ##:## a.m. local time -lrb- #### gmt -rrb- sunday , the mediator said .


leading the preakness field at the far turn , edgar prado sensed victory as he prepared peace rules for the final push to the finish line .

prado watches potential victory fade in stretch


UNK

UNK indonesian officials rebels fail to agree on aceh peace deal


saudi arabia 's interior minister says an international effort is needed to crack down on terrorism , but downplayed the role being played by u.s. investigators in probing the riyadh suicide bombings that he linked to al-qaida .

international effort needed to crack down on terrorism but limited u.s. role into riyadh bombing probe


a palestinian riding a bicycle blew himself up near an israeli army jeep monday in the fourth hamas suicide bombing in two days , while israel decided to deepen yasser arafat 's isolation in response to the latest violence .

fourth hamas suicide bombing in two days injures three soldiers


botswana is scheduled to begin tests on an aids vaccine to find out if it is safe when given to healthy adults , officials said monday .

botswana to begin trials for aids vaccine


hundreds of teachers taking part in a nationwide strike sat down on the railway used to carry tourists to visit the incan ruins of machu picchu monday , forcing the train company to cancel service , a company spokesman said .

striking teachers in peru block train carrying tourists to machu picchu


celebrating the ##th anniversary of the first ascension to the summit of mount everest , sir edmund hillary recalled tuesday how his partner , tenzing norgay , saved his life just before they began the historic climb .

edmund hillary recalls how tenzing norgay saved his life


pakistan will host bangladesh for three test cricket matches and five one-day international matches in august , an official said tuesday .

cricket minnows bangladesh to tour pakistan in august for test one-day series


the bush administration raised the u.s. terror alert level to orange tuesday amid fears a wave of terrorist attacks overseas will spread to the united states .

UNK u.s. raises terror alert level to orange amid concern over terror attacks


australia will keep open its embassy in saudi arabia despite decisions by the united states , britain and germany to close their diplomatic outposts in the country amid growing terror fears .

australia to keep open its embassy in saudi arabia with bc-me-gen UNK


former president nelson mandela on wednesday asked the english national soccer team to support south africa 's bid to host the #### world cup .


u.s. senate democrats lost a fight to keep a ban on the research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons , though the senate agreed wednesday that congressional approval would be needed before any of the weapons are produced .

democrats seek compromise on low-yield UNK development ban


the nfl will look into the awarding of the #### championship to the chicago cardinals instead of the UNK maroons of pennsylvania .

UNK maroons stake claim to #### nfl title


alan jackson continued his winning ways by capturing album of the year honors at the academy of country music awards .

alan jackson garners album of the year as las vegas hosts u.s. country music awards


swiss and swedish investigators raided several offices in and around zurich as part of an ongoing investigation into whether the telecommunications company lm ericsson held back information for a required tax audit , officials said thursday .

sweden 's ericsson investigated by swiss swedish officials over taxes


the ministry of finance on thursday lowered its economic growth estimates for the year , predicting slower growth of the gross national product , and increased unemployment .


army gen. tommy franks , who planned and commanded the american-led wars in iraq and afghanistan , has decided to retire , defense officials said thursday .

gen. franks commander of war in iraq to retire officials say


surviving relatives of a woman who claimed she was raped ## years ago by the british queen 's representative in australia are seeking to withdraw a lawsuit against him , after the case drew widespread publicity in australia .

UNK family of alleged UNK victim withdraw civil case against australia 's governor-general


led by a lone ivory coast army pickup truck , french and west african military convoys set off in jeeps and armored vehicles friday on a mission to secure the lawless west after civil war .

french-led troops set off to secure ivory coast 's law


french foreign minister dominique de villepin will meet with yasser arafat on monday at the palestinian leader 's headquarters ramallah , the french foreign ministry announced friday .

french foreign minister dominique de villepin to meet palestinian leader yasser arafat


ibrahim UNK froze in anguish when rescuers in white face masks lifted his wife 's body friday from the rubble of what was once a cozy family home he shared with in-laws .


he 's leader of the world 's most populous nation , but a mystery to most .

hu 's debut : western leaders get rare chance to size up china 's new leader


while searching the house of a suspected hit man , authorities discovered something that terrified human rights lawyer UNK uribe _ a folder containing his own pictures , his address and maps showing his various routes to work .

colombian human rights lawyer receives international award for brave work


more troops are needed to restore order in iraq , the top british military official here acknowledged sunday as the u.s. military catalogued small steps forward in the enormous and enormously complicated task .


after years of disappointment , an elegantly simple medical technique that targets bad cells while leaving healthy ones alone could be making a comeback in the high-profile fights against cancer and the sars virus .

experimental smart bomb drug targets sars


a powerful earthquake rocked northeastern japan on monday , knocking out power , causing a landslide and disrupting road and rail traffic .

strong earthquake shakes northeastern UNK


companies that reduced their u.s. tax bill by incorporating overseas did $ # billion worth of business with the federal government last year , an associated press computer analysis of federal contracts showed .

offshore companies do $ # billion in business with u.s. government


the archbishop of canterbury believes the church of england should change its teaching on homosexuality to accept gay relationships , his biographer was quoted as saying in a newspaper tuesday .

archbishop of canterbury believes church should accept gay relationships UNK says


hungry tigers and lions have been attacking each other at a chinese zoo that says it ca n't afford to feed its animals because of a slump in visitors amid sars fears .


the santos scoring machine will be missing a cog when it meets mexico 's cruz azul on wednesday in a second-leg quarterfinal for the copa libertadores .


a federal jury ordered ebay inc. to pay $ ## million for violating patents filed by an attorney in a ruling that could change how the online auction house operates .

federal jury orders ebay to pay $ ## million in patent dispute case


israelis and palestinians must take immediate steps to implement an internationally backed `` road map '' to mideast peace because it `` is vital that -lrb- our -rrb- two peoples feel something is changing on the ground , '' palestinian prime minister mahmoud abbas said in comments published wednesday .

palestinian prime minister calls for peace plan implementation


police arrested about three dozen opposition lawmakers from a provincial assembly wednesday during two protests against constitutional changes made by pakistan 's president to increase his power .

pakistan police arrest more opposition lawmakers in second day of protest


in a story sent may ## about panama recalling its diplomatic staffs in china , hong kong and the philippines as a precaution against sars , the associated press reported erroneously that the embassies and consulates were closed .


the al-qaida network plotted terror strikes in australia well before the sept. ## , #### attacks in the united states , prime minister john howard said thursday .

government says al-qaida UNK terror targets in australia before sept. ##


spain 's royal family has a new member _ ##-year-old leandro ruiz UNK _ the illegitimate son of former spanish king alfonso xiii , news reports said thursday .

illegitimate son of former king wins battle to be recognized as part of spanish royal family


microsoft corp. will pay aol time warner $ ### million and let the media company license its browsing software for seven years in a settlement to resolve an antitrust lawsuit against the software giant , the companies announced thursday .

microsoft to pay $ ### million to aol in settlement


now that `` buffy the vampire slayer '' is finished , fans might assume that anthony stewart head would be eager to escape his image as giles _ the proper british librarian whose UNK helped conquer evil .

anthony steward head says he was glad to play librarian on buffy


in a twist of the u.s.-russian controversy over iran 's nuclear program , russia 's atomic energy minister on friday suggested washington join moscow in building a nuclear power plant in iran .

russian minister offers united states to join moscow 's nuclear deal with iran


u.s. president george w. bush brought personal thanks to poland for standing up as a wartime ally in iraq , making no effort to hide that he harbors a deep grudge toward france and germany for opposing the u.s.-led campaign against saddam hussein .

president bush lauds poland for war support cool toward france and germany with UNK auschwitz


russia and india vowed to increase bilateral cooperation , including joint military exercises and space programs , on the fringes of a UNK celebration that has brought some ## world leaders to this baltic sea port .

russian indian leaders vow increased military cooperation joint space program on fringes of russia-eu summit


kenya goalkeeper francis UNK made two key saves saturday as the harambee stars held trinidad to a #-# draw in an international friendly that opened the caribbean squad 's four-game african tour .

armenia election commission certifies parliament voting results


the suspension of pentagon efforts to find and recover the remains of thousands of american war dead from north korea was a precautionary move to reassess whether conditions were safe for u.s. teams , president george w. bush said .

bush : suspending u.s. remains recovery effort was not caused by threat to u.s. personnel


construction spending in the united states rose a healthy #.# percent to a record level in april , as office construction surged and activity in the red-hot housing market hit an all-time high , the government reported wednesday .

construction activity in the u.s. hits all-time high in UNK


a u.s. congressman expressed concern wednesday over the health of venezuela 's democracy and condemned pending conspiracy charges against a leading government opponent .

u.s. congressman expresses concern over venezuelan democracy under chavez


workers at greece 's largest oil refinery threatened thursday to stage a ##-day strike over pay and new labor contracts .

greek refinery strike threatened over pay labor reforms


the dutch government vowed thursday to set the country on a less ambitious course in the european union , responding to public concern that the eu is moving too far , too fast .

dutch government vows to set new course after eu constitution rejection


sixteen years since the bloody crackdown on tiananmen square , china 's grip on dissent has tightened under the leadership of president hu jintao , disappointing those who hoped he might represent a more tolerant leadership .


bureaucrats .

bureaucrats get their share of blame in european constitution crisis


at stake for the detroit pistons in game # against the miami heat is so much more than their nba playoff lives .

o'hair has to switch u.s. open qualifying sites


several thousand supporters of far-right groups attended rallies on saturday to remember the ##th anniversary of the post-world war i treaty that dismantled the austro-hungarian empire and left millions of hungarians outside the country 's borders .

hungarians remember #### treaty that broke up UNK empire


armed confrontations in the west bank and gaza involving palestinians disgruntled with their government over promises of security jobs or seeking revenge for past killings are calling into question mahmoud abbas ' ability to pacify his territories .

unrest in west bank gaza over jobs police positions


president gloria macapagal arroyo 's spokesman released a pair of tapes monday as part of a pre-emptive effort to counter expected opposition claims that she fixed last year 's election .

dispute erupts over UNK purportedly showing arroyo tried to fix election


thor hushovd won the first stage at the dauphine libere on monday , while six-time tour de france champion lance armstrong finished in the chasing pack .

hushovd wins first stage at dauphine libere armstrong finishes in chasing pack


a u.s. commitment to provide $ ### million -lrb- euro### million -rrb- for famine relief in africa may take some of the sting out of president george w. bush 's opposition to a proposal by british prime minister tony blair to spend even more money .

blair seeks support from bush in boosting africa fighting global warming


a possible takeover of hvb group by italy 's unicredito italiano spa drew support from three hvb board members and a workers group tuesday as talks between the banks went on .

hvb board members offer support for possible unicredito takeover


long before making `` the terminator , '' arnold schwarzenegger was a young austrian bodybuilder hitting the books at santa monica college in the early ####s .

schwarzenegger 's planned speech causing friction at community college


justice ministers from greece and turkey signed an agreement wednesday aimed at assisting reforms ankara must make to join the european union .

greece to train turkish judges to help eu accession bid


one week after surgery to separate her fused legs , ##-month-old milagros UNK was recovering quickly , with daily treatments inside a UNK hyperbaric chamber to speed her healing , her doctors said wednesday .

peru 's miracle baby recovering well one week after surgery to separate fused legs


growing up in the slums of kabul and suffering from a life-threatening heart defect , ##-year-old UNK UNK feared that she may only have a few more years to live .

afghan girl with heart defect gets new chance at full life


beatings and brutality are common at rio 's youth detention centers , but abuses often go unreported because there is no outside monitoring , human rights watch said thursday .

human rights watch denounces abuses in youth detention centers in brazil


investors punished brazilian stocks thursday for the fourth day in a row amid continuing fallout from allegations that president luiz inacio lula da silva 's workers party paid bribes to buy votes in congress .

brazilian stocks plunge for fourth straight day amid corruption scandal


south korea 's leader on friday hoped to forge unity with u.s. president george w. bush in washington on how to secure north korea 's commitment to nuclear disarmament , as japan fretted that the north 's latest boasts may indicate advances in its nuclear weapons program .

bush south korean president to meet ; UNK frets that north 's nuke program is advancing


share prices were higher on the london stock exchange friday .


israeli police have found the olympic gold medal of windsurfer gal fridman that had been stolen , the athlete said saturday .

israeli police say they have found the olympic gold medal of windsurfer


malaysia 's first two submarines are expected to arrive from france in #### , news reports said sunday .

reports : malaysia 's first two submarines to arrive from france in ####


michelle wie was rolling her eyes and slapping her thigh in disgust early in the final round of the lpga championship .

wie proves she belongs with second-place finish


swedish truck maker volvo ab and norwegian oil and gas company statoil asa are launching a joint venture on fuel cell technology aimed at cutting emission from idling engines .

volvo statoil start joint venture on fuel cell technology to cut emissions


police shot and killed an opposition politician , prompting authorities to detain six officers , a government spokesman said as the government rejected an opposition offer to renew a peace deal .

ethiopian police kill opposition politician


israel 's military chief said tuesday that the planned withdrawal from the gaza strip this summer would be difficult to accomplish if palestinian militants wage attacks on israeli forces trying to evacuate the settlements .

army chief says gaza withdrawal will be difficult under fire


pakistan 's information minister tuesday denied running terrorist camps , a day after a visiting separatist kashmiri leader praised him for helping train militants fighting indian troops in the himalayan region .


the european commission on wednesday approved a joint venture between french banks credit agricole sa and UNK d'epargne to combine their securities services businesses .

eu clears french bank credit UNK d'epargne joint venture


president aleksander kwasniewski said wednesday that the european union constitution `` is not dead , '' and reiterated that poland would wait to decide how to vote on the treaty until after this week 's eu summit .

poland 's president says constitutional treaty not dead


one of phil jackson 's first observations upon returning to the los angeles lakers was he 'd be `` most amazed '' if they were in position to contend for a championship during the life of his three-year contract .

jackson faces major challenge with lakers this time around


russia 's constitutional court has agreed to hear the first case challenging president vladimir putin 's abolition of direct elections for governor , a court spokeswoman said thursday .

russian high court agrees to hear challenge to putin 's abolition of elections for governor


the bottom of elena osuna 's skirt flares with each step , her feet pound and her hands twist as she UNK in a sweltering studio .


several hundred unarmed supporters of a presidential candidate who was denied registration in next month 's election stormed the kyrgyz government headquarters on friday in the largest protest to grip the central asian country since an uprising in march .

hundreds of supporters of rejected presidential candidate break into kyrgyz government building


a passenger train running solely on biogas will make its maiden journey in sweden on monday in what officials said was a major step toward making public transport more environmentally friendly .


tom kristensen of denmark will drive for a record seventh victory in the ##-hour endurance race at le mans this weekend .

kristensen vies for record-breaking seventh victory at le mans


french open champion justine henin-hardenne said she 's better equipped to win wimbledon than in years past .


fighting raged across southern afghanistan on sunday , with the u.s. military killing up to ## suspected taliban fighters along a narrow mountain footpath , and rebels firing rockets into the main southern city of kandahar .

u.s. airstrikes kill up to ## rebels in southern afghanistan fighting rages elsewhere


china faces traditional powerhouse germany on tuesday in the round of ## at soccer 's world youth championship .

china success at youth world championship shows preparation for #### olympics


new york has brought out its biggest hitter so far in the campaign for the #### olympics .

muhammad ali to support new york #### bid at UNK vote


in a policy shift , israel arrested more than ## islamic jihad militants in the west bank overnight , following a series of attacks by the group against israeli targets , military sources said .

israel in policy change widens net for islamic jihad militants


UNK stores inc. on tuesday said it agreed to sell its private-label credit-card portfolio to hsbc holdings plc 's retail services unit , which will also administer the UNK card 's future accounts .

UNK stores to sell credit-card services to hsbc


the u.s. senate endorsed president george w. bush 's climate change policies tuesday , approving a measure that avoids mandatory reductions of heat-trapping pollution while still boosting government support for cleaner energy sources .

u.s. senate votes for offshore energy inventory debates climate change


sri lanka 's parliament convened wednesday for the first time since a major coalition partner withdrew its support of the government in protest of a plan to share tsunami aid with tamil tiger rebels .

sri lanka parliament meets marxists to be neutral so long deal with tamils is not signed


a federal grand jury has indicted two brazilians , already facing charges at home , in the killing of an american nun who spent decades trying to save the amazon rain forest .

u.s. grand jury indicts two men in killing of american nun in brazil


china 's third largest oil producer cnooc ltd. .

china 's cnooc offers us$ ##.# billion for unocal trumping chevron 's bid


philippine president gloria macapagal arroyo has never received election campaign support from illegal gambling operators , her spokesman said friday , denying claims by an outspoken roman catholic archbishop at a time she faces accusations of electoral fraud .

philippines arroyo denies receiving support from illegal gambling operators


russia 's attempts to enter the world trade organization are on track , the country 's trade minister claimed friday , but trade officials said negotiations still face many obstacles .

russian minister says wto membership possible by december but others say obstacles remain


britain criticized `` serious deficiencies '' in iran 's elections saturday and urged the new president to address international concerns about the country 's nuclear program .

britain criticizes iran election urges move on nuclear concerns


chris carpenter pitched a four-hitter , and yadier molina , jim edmonds and albert pujols homered saturday night to lead the st. louis cardinals over the pittsburgh pirates #-# .

carpenter 's four-hitter UNK stellar month for cardinals right-hander


german chancellor gerhard schroeder arrived in washington for a visit shortened by election-year pressure and overshadowed by the possibility germany will have a new , more pro-american leader this fall .

election year overshadows schroeder 's shortened visit to washington


bulgaria will buy back us$ ###.## million -lrb- euro### million -rrb- in brady bonds next month , slashing part of its debt to foreign creditor banks seven years in advance , the finance ministry said on monday .

bulgaria to buy back us$ ###.## million in brady bonds


hollywood fashion commentator steven UNK underwent surgery monday for removal of a transplanted kidney that had become infected , a spokesman said .

hollywood fashion commentator steven UNK has more surgery


malaysia 's national car maker proton expects to export its cars to russia by early next year to boost its overseas sales , a company official said tuesday .

malaysian carmaker proton seeks inroads into russia by early next year


japanese stocks ticked up wednesday afternoon as the u.s. dollar 's rise to a more than eight month high against the yen helped boost export-dependent issues .

UNK stocks rise as u.s. dollar hits # #\/# month high against yen


software maker sap ag said wednesday it is extending a program aimed at poaching customers from u.s. rival oracle corp. , part of tussle between the two biggest players in the business software market .

software maker UNK expanding program to lure customers from oracle


the prosecutor of a french military tribunal will request preliminary hearings for six rwandans who alleged that french troops had a role in the #### rwanda genocide , judicial officials said wednesday .

prosecutor requests hearings for rwandans who accused french army of role in #### genocide


gold bullion opened thursday at a bid price of us$ ###.## a troy ounce , down from us$ ###.## late wednesday .


boeing co. on thursday named #m co. .


grenada 's leader will visit china next week to negotiate new aid deals and finalize several agreements that arose from the island 's decision to restore ties with the asian country and sever relations with rival taiwan .

grenadian leader to visit china next week to strengthen newly restored ties


financier werner k. rey lost a major round in his extradition battle thursday when a magistrate ruled that the swiss government has shown that he does have a case to answer back home .


south korea will play for its third straight olympic women 's handball gold medal when it meets denmark saturday .

denmark south korea advance to final eds : repeating


a zairean diplomat was among three african men arrested for smuggling ## kilograms -lrb- ### pounds -rrb- of marijuana into sweden , the swedish news agency tt reported friday .

zairean diplomat among three arrested for pot


UNK thorpe remembers her difficult marriage to jim thorpe , called the greatest athlete of the modern era , and their harsh life outside the spotlight .

late olympian 's wife recalls hard times UNK photo available


prime minister benjamin netanyahu on sunday said he had issued orders to close the jerusalem office of a palestinian legislator who was operating in violation of peace agreements .

netanyahu announces closure of palestinian office in jerusalem by nicolas b. UNK


ulrich UNK of germany , on UNK de UNK , won the gold sunday in equestrian show jumping , fulfilling his dream of winning a medal in his first olympics .

german wins gold in first olympics ahead of swiss and french


legislators said monday they plan to seek more details from gov. chris patten over the sudden resignation of this british colony 's top immigration official .

legislators seek more details over resignation of official


a highland villager attacked his three wives with an ax after they tried to stop him marrying a fourth woman , police said tuesday .

UNK ,#### man attacks three wives with ax


a wooden warehouse used as a temporary shelter for the homeless went up in flames tuesday , killing ## people , three of them children , the fire department said .

UNK to add slugline ten homeless killed in warehouse fire ,####


succumbing to public pressure , a subsidiary of the giant hyundai conglomerate said wednesday it will pull out from co-sponsoring u.s. pop star michael jackson 's scheduled performance here .

business giant hyundai pulls out of michael jackson concert


egypt , rich in ancient antiquities , is planning to build the world 's largest museum to house them but has n't yet figured out how to pay for it , the nation 's chief archaeologist said wednesday .

egypt planning world 's largest museum needs money by salah UNK


a bomb exploded in a crowded cafe thursday afternoon and injured seven people , the government said , in the latest of a wave of attacks on city restaurants .

bomb explodes in algiers cafe injuring seven


his leftist fringe party does n't even have ### members , but ##-year-old budiman UNK is accused of being at the heart of a communist plot to topple the government .


damon hill edged out michael schumacher by only ## hundredths of a second , earning the fastest time in friday 's practice for the hungarian grand prix .

hill records fastest time in practice eds : UNK with details UNK ; UNK UNK ; UNK to european


the people appointed by china to engineer hong kong 's political future met saturday in beijing to decide on steps to set up a new government after the british colony reverts to chinese rule next july .

committee mulls hong kong 's political future eds : UNK with committee ending meeting


echoing a familiar theme in the state-controlled press , a top leader of the military government blamed the pro-democratic opposition for trying to isolate burma and deny it foreign aid .

top junta leader says opposition trying to ostracize burma