Prototype copter-cam: Here, there, everywhere

It can only remain aloft for three minutes but weighs less than an empty soft drink can -- and it can take and transmit pictures in flight.


Cink Justifies Sutton #39;s Faith

Three weeks away from the Ryder Cup, American Stewart Cink hopes he has silenced at least some of his critics - if indeed they exist.


Plane crashes into Venezuelan mountain killing 25

: A military plane crashed into a mountain in Central Venezuela, killing 25 people, including five children, the Air Force rescue team said in a statement.


Africa brings Sudanese parties to the table as UN sanctions loom (AFP)

AFP - The African Union will bring Sudan's warring government and rebel armies into talks with regional power-brokers aimed at heading off a mounting humanitarian crisis in the province of Darfur.


Taiwan votes on leaner parliament

A vote is due to be held in Taiwan on plans to halve the number of seats in the island's famously heated legislature.


Nikkei briefly regains 11,000 level

TOKYO - Japan #39;s benchmark Nikkei stock index briefly recovered to the 11,000 level Monday morning on widespread buying prompted by advances in US shares last Friday.


HK walks out of 68-month deflation cycle, official

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang said he believed Hong Kong has walked out of the consumer price deflation cycle that lingered for 68 months, according to the consumer price index trend in the past few years.


Oil prices

In terms of dollar value, of all the products in the world, nothing is traded more than oil. Crude oil traded above 47 dollars a barrel for the first time this week.


Chavez rejects CD as opposition

Venezuela #39;s President Hugo Chavez has announced that he will no longer recognize the Democratic Coordination or CD as the opposition coalition.


ROUNDUP: Franchitti overcomes pit mishap for IRL win

FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Dario Franchitti shook off a potentially dangerous pit mishap to win the IRL #39;s Honda 225 Sunday at Pikes Peak International Raceway.


Productivity Growth Slowest in 2 Years (AP)

AP - The productivity of America's workers grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the slowest pace in nearly two years, the government reported Tuesday.


Roundup: Pleasantly Perfect takes Pacific Classic

Favored Pleasantly Perfect took charge down the stretch to win by a length in the 14th running of the \$1 million Pacific Classic yesterday at Del Mar. Pleasantly


War crimes hearings to begin for 4 at Guantanamo

US NAVAL BASE GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- Four suspected Al Qaeda fighters will be formally charged with war crimes this week as the US military opens the first legal hearings for foreign prisoners captured during the war in Afghanistan and held at a remote US Navy base in Cuba.


Maoists attack Nepal district HQ

More than 1,000 Maoists launched a violent assault on a district headquarters in Nepal #39;s northwestern mountains, officials said Sunday, as angry traders rallied on the streets of Kathmandu to protest a crippling rebel blockade of the capital, now also hit


Downer dismisses  #39;sexed up #39; Iraq warning claims

SYDNEY : Foreign Minister Alexander Downer dismissed newspaper claims the Australian government was repeatedly warned its support for the Iraq war would impede the fight against terrorism.


Hamm should support Yang

Paul Hamm needs a new marketing strategy. Either that, or he needs a clue. One harmless gesture separates him from lionization in America and canonization in South Korea, and


US women avoid disaster, advance

ATHENS -- Preliminary-round elimination would have been a disaster for the United States women. Desperate for a victory, the Americans avoided embarrassment by finally playing like a gold medal contender -- and like a team.


Australia Airline Announces Fuel Surcharge

Australian budget airline Virgin Blue announced Monday it will increase the fuel surcharge it adds to ticket prices from Aug. 26 because of soaring oil prices.


ARM agrees to buy Artisan Components for \$903 mn

LONDON, August 23 (New Ratings) - ARM Holdings (ARM.ETR) has agreed to buy Artisan Components Inc (ARTI), a US-based provider of integrated circuit designing solutions, for about \$913 million (503.


North Korea Says the Tyrant is Bush, not Kim

North Korea says it sees no reason to join a working-level meeting with the United States to prepare for further six-party talks on the communist state #39;s nuclear weapons development.


Terreblanche challenges SA arrest

White supremacist Eugene Terreblanche is detained after allegedly breaking the terms of his parole.


Radcliffe withdrawal not due to injury

World record holder Paula Radcliffe #39;s tearful withdrawal from the women #39;s Olympic marathon yesterday was not due to injury, the British team says.


Dollar Bounces; Eye on Data, Greenspan

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar bounced off recent four-week  lows against the euro and yen on Monday in thin August trade  with investors focusing on U.S. data and a speech by the  Federal Reserve chief later in the week.


Stopping spam at the source

New antispam technology standards are on the way that promise to hit spammers where it hurts the most--their wallets. At issue is the ability to authenticate the original source of e-mail messages, a major


New Fat-Busting Microwave Oven Unveiled

TOKYO (Reuters) - Eyeing up that juicy steak but worried  about your waistline? Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp.  6753.T says it has developed a new fat-busting microwave oven  that can melt some of your worries away.


Israel OKs More West Bank Settlement Homes

JERUSALEM Aug. 23, 2004 - Israel announced plans Monday to build hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank, following an apparent US policy shift on settlements that the Palestinians warned  quot;will destroy the peace process.


Kmart to Sell 18 Stores to Home Depot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retailer Kmart Holdings Corp. KMRT.O  on Monday said it finalized a deal to sell 18 of its stores to  Home Depot Inc. HD.N for \$271 million.


Rules for Overtime Pay To Take Effect Monday

Employers and workers are confused by eligibility and classification of the new regulations.


Students crazy about iPod follow the music to Apple laptops (USATODAY.com)

USATODAY.com - Apple's trendy iPod digital music player, which has revitalized the company, is giving laptop sales a boost during back-to-school season.


Stunt pilots to snag a falling NASA craft

NASA #39;s three-year effort to bring some genuine star dust back to Earth is set for a dramatic finale Sept. 8 when Hollywood helicopter pilots will attempt a midair retrieval


Trial of Accused US Vigilantes Resumes

KABUL, Afghanistan Aug. 23, 2004 - A defense lawyer for one of three Americans accused of torturing a dozen Afghan prisoners in a private jail showed a video in court Monday of Afghanistan #39;s former education


Sports: Graham says he sent the syringe

ATHENS, Greece Track coach Trevor Graham admits he was the person who triggered the BALCO investigation. Graham says he #39;s the one who anonymously sent a syringe of THG to the US Anti-Doping Agency.


Seattle Mariners Minor League Report - August 23rd

TACOMA RAINIERS - The Rainiers just missed a perfect week when they suffered their only setback on Sunday August 22nd, a 13-6 loss to the Portland Beavers.


Southwest Airlines to Cut 88 Flights (Reuters)

Reuters - Southwest Airlines Inc. (LUV.N), the\largest U.S. discount carrier, on Monday said it will eliminate\88 scheduled flights in order to boost revenue by freeing up\planes for more lucrative markets.


Seattle Times business columnist admits plagiarism, resigns

A business columnist has resigned from the Seattle Times after admitting he plagiarized the work of other journalists, said the newspaper.


Does Nick Carr matter?

Strategybusiness concludes that a controversial new book on the strategic value of information technology is flawed--but correct.\


Students Pay More for Beer Than Books

British students spend about \$1.8 billion on drink every year, nearly three times as much as they cough up for books, a survey released on Monday showed.


Leeds students figure high on working curve

Undergraduates in the city earn more than 90 a week on average, just behind Glasgow, Cambridge and Cardiff. Their hard-earned cash is likely to be spent on looking good and socialising, the


Windows Upgrade Causing Campus Headaches

Microsoft Corp. #39;s decision to release a major upgrade for its flagship operating system in the same month that hundreds of thousands of students are reporting to college campuses across the


Intel cuts Pentium 4 prices

The newest P4 chips drop in price by 18 percent to 35 percent; a host of other chips are cheaper now as well.


Northrop Grumman Gets \$408 Million Pact

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. on Monday said it received a 10-year, \$408 million Army contract to provide simulated battle command training support to Army corps commanders - the latest award in


Record biz hammers  #39;ostrich #39; downloaders

The music industry in the US is making great strides in its campaign against people it says have illegally downloaded music, with courts awarding huge settlements in many cases.


Sign-Up Reopened for House Race in La. (AP)

AP - A state judge ruled Monday that the sign-up period should be reopened for the Nov. 2 election in Louisiana's 5th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Rodney Alexander infuriated Democrats by switching to the Republican Party minutes before the qualifying deadline.


Oil price down as Iraq fears ease

The price of oil has fallen as fears about interruptions to supplies being pumped out of Iraq eased slightly.


Israel Accelerates Settlement Drive As Sharon Pushes On With Gaza <b>...</b>

The Israeli government was accelerating its settlement program Monday with plans to build hundreds of new homes in the West Bank, bolstered by a US softening of opposition to new construction projects.


Obesity Solution: Nuke It

Eying that juicy steak but worried about your waistline? Sharp says it has developed a new fat-busting microwave oven that can melt some of your worries away.


E-commerce still booming

Online retail sales continue to show significant growth, according to the latest figures released by the US Department of Commerce.


Lycos offers people and discussion search

Terra Lycos SA introduced two search tools on its Lycos U.S. Internet site on Monday as part of a recently announced strategy to focus on services that allow users to connect with others.


Oil Eases as Iraq Resumes Exports

\

 By Andrew Mitchell

 LONDON (Reuters) - High-flying oil prices eased for a\second session on Monday as Iraq resumed exports from both its\northern and southern outlets after lengthy disruption, despite\fierce fighting in the holy city of Najaf.


Botswana miners 'face dismissal'

Botswana's giant Debswana diamond mining firm says it will sack workers who carry on with an illegal stoppage.


U.S. Men's Hoops Team Finally Gets a Rout

ATHENS, Greece - The Americans got a taste of what it was like in the good ol' days. They finally played an opponent they were able to beat easily, routing Angola 89-53 Monday in their final preliminary game of the Olympic men's basketball tournament...


Congo Ex-Rebel Group Pulls Out of Government (Reuters)

Reuters - The former main rebel group during\Congo's civil war pulled out of a power-sharing transitional\government on Monday, dealing a major blow to the country's\already fragile peace process.


Blue Chips Unchanged, Wal-Mart Weighs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. blue chips were near the  unchanged mark on Monday as a disappointing sales forecast from  retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT.N dampened sentiment,  offsetting the benefit of easing oil prices.


Wiretaps may mute Nextel rivals

Fed up with technical excuses, FBI wants carriers to support eavesdropping capabilities for push-to-talk technology now.


Partnership Connects Wi-Fi Users In The Sky

Wi-Fi is going sky-high thanks to a deal forged between enterprise Internet service provider iPass and Connexion by Boeing. Under the deal, iPass #39;s 528,000-plus Wi-Fi enterprise customers will


Wariner Succeeds Johnson as 400 Meter Champion

ATHENS (Reuters) - American 400 meters champion Jeremy  Wariner succeeded Michael Johnson as the Olympic gold medallist  Monday with a personal best of 44.00 seconds.


Observers insist: no proof of fraud in Venezuelan referendum.

Independent observers confirmed that the random auditing of results from the recall referendum (Sunday August 15) against Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez show there are no indications of fraud as claimed by the opposition.


EDS Is Charter Member of Siebel BPO Alliance (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - Siebel Systems (Nasdaq: SEBL) has named EDS as the charter partner in Siebels' new business process outsourcing (BPO) global strategic-alliance program. The agreement expands the relationship between EDS and Siebel to provide a set of high-value managed products and service offerings targeted at the BPO and customer relationship management (CRM) marketplaces.


Chicago OKs Cubs to Play at Wrigley Field (AP)

AP - The city gave the Chicago Cubs the go-ahead to play ball at Wrigley Field on Monday night after the stadium passed another round of inspections of repair work done on its crumbling upper deck.


Philippine President Says Country Faces Fiscal Crisis

Philippine president Gloria Arroyo warned that her country is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. A report by economists at the University of the Philippines said the country faces economic collapse


US men #39;s basketball routs Angola

Athens, Greece (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan led a balanced American attack with 15 points and seven rebounds, as the United States men #39;s basketball team completed the preliminary round with a resounding 89-53 victory over winless Angola.


Patterson gets silver on balance beam

Athens, Greece (Sports Network) - American Carly Patterson, the women #39;s all- around champion at the Summer Games, added another medal on Monday night with a silver in the balance beam competition.


New Russian-US Team to Leave for ISS in October

MOSCOW (AFP) -- A new Russian-US team for the International Space Station (ISS) will take off from the Baikonur space station in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan in October, Russian space officials said.       The three-person team, due to be approved on Thursday, will leave for the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft, Russia's Federal Space Agency, Roskosmos said on its website...


Gatlin sprints from unknown to 100m gold

Reuters Athens Aug 23: American Justin Gatlin roared from virtual unknown to win the blue ribband Olympic mens 100 metres race yesterday, upstaging defending champion Maurice Greene and other more illustrious rivals.


Panama Recalls Ambassador From Cuba (AP)

AP - Panama recalled its ambassador from Cuba on Monday after the Cuban government threatened to break off relations in a dispute over four anti-Fidel Castro exiles imprisoned in Panama.


Obesity Raises Risk for 9 Different Types of Cancer

By LAURAN NEERGAARD    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Heart disease and diabetes get all the attention, but expanding waistlines increase the risk for at least nine types of cancer, too. And with the obesity epidemic showing no signs of waning, specialists say they need to better understand how fat cells fuels cancer growth so they might fight back...


Credit Card Delinquencies at a 4-Year Low

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans paid their credit card bills  on time at a record high level in June, sending credit card  delinquencies to their lowest level in four years, Moody's  Investors Service said on Monday.


Deal has S2io champing at the gigabit

OTTAWA -- A local firm that says it can help shrink backup times at large data centres is growing its business thanks to an alliance with Sun Microsystems Inc.


Microsoft: Use Script to Block Windows XP SP2 Updates

Microsoft has offered up yet another way for businesses to block the automatic update of Windows XP to the big-deal Service Pack 2 (SP2) upgrade.


Marathon meltdown

THE winner smiled and then vomited. The roaring favourite collapsed and couldn #39;t finish. The Australian contemplated surrender, staggered on and didn #39;t regret it.


Panama-Cuba 'pardon' row worsens

Panama recalls its Havana ambassador after Cuba threatened to cut ties if jailed anti-Castro activists are pardoned.


Cisco Buys IP Platform Maker

Network equipment giant Cisco Systems (Quote, Chart) is buying IP platform specialist P-Cube for \$200 million in cash and stock. P-Cube #39;s technology helps telecom carriers, cable operators and ISPs manage


Arafat Meets With Gaza Critic

A former Palestinian security minister who could be key to keeping order among rival factions in Gaza after an Israeli pullout held a fence-mending meeting Monday with President Yasser Arafat, officials said.


New Overtime Rules Take Effect

New Bush administration rules that scale back overtime eligibility for white-collar workers took effect on Monday over protests that they would slash paychecks at a time of economic uncertainty.


Japanese joy and British tears

IT WAS the night of the longest race and the shortest, a night of distress for Britain #39;s Paula Radcliffe and delight for America #39;s Justin Gatlin.


SAP Gets \$35 Million Post Office Pact

SAP has landed a \$35 million deal to help the US Postal Service overhaul its human resources systems. According to sources close to the deal, the agreement includes a \$21 million consulting component, and


US beats Germany 2-1 in OT, to face Brazil in women #39;s soccer final

Heather O #39;Reilly, minutes after missing a wide open net, scored in the ninth minute of overtime Monday to give the United States a 2-1 victory over World Cup champion Germany and a place in Thursday #39;s gold-medal game.


Intel drops prices on computer chips

SAN FRANCISCO - Intel Corp. has cut prices on its computer chips by as much as 35 percent, though analysts on Monday said the cuts were probably unrelated to swelling inventories of the world #39;s largest chip maker.


Israel Announces West Bank Housing Plans (AP)

AP - Israel announced plans Monday for 500 new housing units in the West Bank, after an apparent U.S. policy shift that has infuriated the Palestinians. The Palestinians oppose all Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, lands where they hope to establish an independent state.


Dollar Holds Gains, Fed Comments Help

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar held on to the previous day's  gain on Tuesday, supported by a retreat in oil prices and  upbeat comments on the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve  officials.


SAP Awarded \$35 Million Postal Service Contract

The postal service, which employs more than a third of the civilian employees of the federal government, chose SAP after a multi-year evaluation, it said.


Dark arts of spin evident in phoney war for Abbey

THE phoney war over the fate of Abbey grinds on. Along the way, on all sides, it is producing its predictable crop of knowing winks and destabilising nudges.


Controversial US Overtime Rules Take Effect

New overtime rules have taken effect in the United States that the government says will strengthen workers #39; rights, but opponents say will significantly reduce workers #39; pay.


#39;Marathon mouse #39; doubles stamina

Scientists in the United States have genetically engineered mice which can run twice as far as normal before becoming exhausted. The researchers say their finding could lead to drugs or gene


SAS Braathens to cut Gatwick, Geneva flights

blackhawk writes  quot;SAS Braathens, the Norwegian unit of Scandinavian airline SAS, will cut Oslo routes to Geneva and London Gatwick in the first step of a plan to eliminate 10 routes.


CAO executives hand over passports

Executives at the collapsed China Aviation Oil Singapore have voluntarily handed over their passports to Singapore #39;s police, a spokesman said Tuesday.


Dickens Departs

Tony Dickens resigns as head coach at Northwestern six months after leading the Wildcats to the Maryland 4A boys basketball title.


Dollar Keeps Gains as Market Awaits Data

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar idled on Tuesday after gaining  the previous day, as many investors held off building positions  ahead of economic data from the United States.


Audit finds no fraud in Venezuelan recall vote

CARACAS : An audit of last Sunday #39;s recall vote in Venezuela, which favored keeping President Hugo Chavez in office, found no evidence of fraud, as the opposition had charged, electoral officials said.


Chargers, Rivers Agree to Deal

The San Diego Chargers finally reached a contract agreement last night with quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers, the fourth overall choice in April #39;s draft, agreed to a six-year deal worth about \$40 million, including


Chiefs #39; offense too much for Rams in 24-7 victory

The NFL #39;s highest-scoring offense is averaging two touchdowns every three possessions during the preseason. If Kansas City #39;s woeful defense can get its act together, too, the Chiefs could be in for big things.


Marathoning mice could have Olympian effects on obesity

A molecular switch known to regulate fat metabolism appears to prevent obesity and turns laboratory mice into marathon runners, a Salk Institute study has found.


Dominant US captures gold with 79th straight win

The US softball team completed its scorched-earth run through the Olympics on Monday with a 5-1 win over Australia, America #39;s third straight gold medal.


Johnson  amp; Johnson bids for rival

NEW YORK Johnson  amp; Johnson is in advanced negotiations to acquire Guidant, one of the largest US makers of devices to treat heart and circulatory illnesses, according to executives close to the talks.


Yukos warns it oil output is lagging

Beleaguered Russian energy giant Yukos has warned that it will not produce as much oil as expected this year. It blames bailiffs who are draining its bank accounts to pay its potentially ruinous tax bill.


Pressure points

ATHENS -- The booing went on for nearly 10 minutes while Paul Hamm, chalked up and ready, waited beneath the horizontal bar last night.  quot;Wow, quot; Hamm told his twin brother Morgan.  quot;I've never seen this before. quot;


Unions protest as overtime rules take effect

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of workers rallied on the steps of the Labor Department yesterday to protest the implementation of new rules they say will cause as many as 6 million Americans to lose their overtime pay. But the Bush administration officials who crafted the complex regulations insisted more workers will actually qualify for extra pay under the plan, which almost ...


Serb denies siege terror charges

A Bosnian Serb general accused of organising the siege of Sarajevo pleads not guilty to war crimes charges.


11th-hour highlights too late

NBC's prime-time Olympic coverage is taped and shaped, the television version of a Reader's Digest condensed book. We get all the US highlights, the big news stories, and a well-edited drama building to the 11 p.m. hour. It's a formula that's been proven to hold an audience and pull ratings. The big downside: You have to stay up until midnight ...


No IE? No Can See

One thing that #39;s always irritated those who don #39;t choose to use Internet Explorer is finding a website that requires IE. Such complaints seem to have grown all the more passionate now security concerns are driving more users to consider IE alternatives.


Iran shuts reformist websites

WEBSITES CLOSE to Iran #39;s leading reformist party have been blocked by religious hardliners in the police bureau of public morals.


Zambrano right at home

No one has been more dominating against National League hitters at home than Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. And Zambrano looked as if he would be at his finest Monday night at Wrigley Field.


Torre Calls a Meeting, and the Yanks Respond

Joe Torre gathered the Yankees before Monday night #39;s game at Jacobs Field and imparted a simple message: put aside the struggles of the past week.


Kerry Dispute Revives Memory of Delta War (AP)

AP - The controversy over the Vietnam war record of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has trained a fresh light on one of that conflict's lesser-known episodes  #151; the operations of America's "Brown Water Navy" in rivers, canals and mangrove swamps of the Mekong Delta.


Japan to Deport Ex-Chess Champion Bobby Fischer (Reuters)

Reuters - Japan issued a deportation order on\Tuesday against former world chess champion Bobby Fischer, who\is wanted in the United States for defying sanctions on\Yugoslavia, an immigration official said.


N.Korea Hurls Abuse at Bush, Calls Him Human Trash

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea hurled invective at President  Bush for a second day on Tuesday, calling him a political idiot  and human trash, and said six-party talks on Pyongyang's  nuclear ambitions appeared doomed.


Nairobi police disperse Maasai

Police in Kenya disperse Maasai protesters in the capital who are seeking the return of leased colonial land.


Arctic team finds ship remains

A team retracing the route of a group of Victorian Arctic explorers have found parts of their 172-year-old ship.


Toy store profits R back up

TOY retailer Toys R Us has posted a second-quarter profit, over- turning the loss it made over the same period the year before. The New Jersey-based group, which is considering quitting the toys business, turned


Vonage Calls on Linksys for VoIP

Linksys will provide broadband-to-phone adapters and, eventually, Wi-Fi equipment.


Vonage Calls on Linksys for VoIP (PC World)

PC World - Linksys will provide broadband-to-phone adapters and, eventually, Wi-Fi equipment.


Mich. Elephant Gets Therapy for Arthritis

ROYAL OAK, Mich. - Like any patient, Wanda needs positive reinforcement to wrestle through her physical therapy...


Intel slashes Itanium prices as Madison looms

Intel has slashed prices across the board as it prepares to get behind new processor lines due this autumn. The Itanium server line has seen cuts of over 30 per cent, while prices for Intel #39;s fastest business


Straw: No British troops to Darfur

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said his country does not plan to deploy forces to Darfur in western Sudan but will provide technical assistance.


Iraqi Guardsmen Ring Najaf Shrine

US and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf on Tuesday and Iraqi National Guardsmen advanced to within 200 yards of the holy city #39;s Imam Ali Shrine compound, where insurgents loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up for weeks.


Gregg: I will help to close deal

EVERTON chairman Bill Kenwright #39;s plans for a Russian revolution at Goodison Park may have thawed the cold war with director Paul Gregg.


Straw: Sudan Must Help Displaced People (AP)

AP - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, touring a sprawling desert camp housing 40,000 displaced people from the troubled western Darfur region, urged the Sudanese government to do more to make it safe for the frightened refugees to return home.


Japanese Bank Makes Hostile Bid in Takeover Battle

The biggest-ever takeover battle in Japan got even bigger today as Sumitomo Mitsui sought to disrupt a rival's expansion plans with a \$29 billion hostile bid for UFJ.


Martian Weather Blamed for Loss of Beagle 2

Description: An investigation into the loss of Britain #39;s Beagle 2 spacecraft last December suggests the cause may have been unusual Martian weather.


Prodigy Adu Learns His Trade at DC United

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Teenager Freddy Adu, America's most  talked about soccer player, has hardly set the league alight  with his skills in his first season.


Japan #39;s SMFG in \$29B bid for UFJ

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. laid out a \$29 billion bid for UFJ Holdings on Tuesday, challenging a rival offer by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group to form the world #39;s biggest bank.


Sex toys find niche market in church-influenced Philippines (AFP)

AFP - In this predominantly Roman Catholic country where prostitution is illegal and the church still wields considerable influence on the nation's morals, it is a brave person who goes into business selling sex toys.


Director Leaves Hollinger Inc. Board

Hollinger Inc., th #39;e Toronto-based holding company controlled by disgraced media baron Conrad Black, lost an independent director Tuesday when a former general in Canada #39;s armed forces resigned from its board.


US not involved in Afghan vigilante trial-official

An Afghan court was following proper procedures in its trial of three US men accused of torture and kidnapping and the United States would exert no influence on next week #39;s verdict, a US official said on Tuesday.


British Minister Sees 'Show Camp' in Sudan (Reuters)

Reuters - Two rows of well-spaced\mattresses with brightly colored covers are laid out in a straw\hut, and the smiling nurse in surgical gloves gives an\injection to a crying baby held by his mother.


Bin Laden Driver Charged at Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - Osama bin Laden's chauffeur was officially charged Tuesday in the first U.S. military tribunal since World War II, appearing at a pretrial hearing where his lawyer challenged the process as unfair...


Cisco Reaches High And Low

NEW YORK - Cisco Systems is aggressively trying to build its presence in key growth markets, and it #39;s using both new products and new acquisitions to do it.


#39;Somebody please save my dad #39;

Nick du Toit #39;s wife and stepdaughter are distraught that there is nothing they can do to help him. On Monday his stepdaughter, Marilise Bezuidenhout, was forced to convey the news of his possible death sentence


Update 1: Passengers Stranded by Canceled Flights

Thousands of disgruntled vacationers were stranded at Heathrow Airport Tuesday after British Airways canceled scores of flights because of staff shortages and technical hitches.


Journalist purportedly kidnapped by militants

A group calling itself  quot;The Islamic Army in Iraq quot; said Italy must withdraw its 3,000 troops -- or the safety of a missing Italian journalist can #39;t be guaranteed.


Discus Champion Thrown Out of Games

ATHENS (Reuters) - Hungarian Olympic discus champion Robert  Fazekas will lose his gold medal and be expelled from the Games  after breaking doping rules, the International Olympic  Committee (IOC) said Tuesday.


Cisco to acquire P-Cube for \$200M

SAN JOSE, Calif.Cisco Systems Inc. said it has agreed to acquire P-Cube for \$200 million in stock and cash to enable service providers to further control and manage such advanced Internet Protocol services


Cisco and Microsoft Partner for CRM

8/24/2004 -- Cisco Systems yesterday announced a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Communications Connector for Microsofts CRM offering.


Apple Tops in Customer Satisfaction

Dell comes in a close second, while Gateway shows improvement, study says.


Sabre, NWA Trade Barbs Over Ticketing Fee

AUGUST 25, 2004 -- The Sabre Travel Network yesterday responded quickly to Northwest Airlines #39; decision to impose a fee on all domestic tickets issued through global distribution systems, firing back with its own policy changes and concluding the


United #39;s pension dilemma

United Airlines says it likely will end funding for employee pension plans, a move that would be the largest ever default by a US company and could lead to a taxpayer-funded bailout rivaling the savings-and-loan fiasco of the 1980s.


Linksys, Netgear prep soho VoIP kit

WLAN kit makers Linksys and Netgear have rolled out consumer and small-business oriented wireless access points with integrated Voice over IP (VoIP) support.


Tiny telescope detects a giant planet

A tiny telescope has spotted a giant planet circling a faraway star, using a technique that could open a new phase of planetary discovery, scientists say.


Gardner Loses Quest for Repeat Wrestling Gold

US heavyweight Rulon Gardner lost his Olympic title Wednesday after being beaten in the semi-final stage of the 120kg Greco-Roman wrestling event by Georgiy Tsurtsumia of Kazakhstan.


Playboy Posts Unused Google Excerpt to Web Site (Reuters)

Reuters - Playboy magazine on Tuesday\posted to its Web site an unpublished portion from its\interview with Google's founders, which raised regulatory\eyebrows not for what it revealed, but for its timing -- just\before the Internet search engine's much-anticipated initial\public offering.


Williams' Status at USC Still Unresolved (AP)

AP - Standout receiver Mike Williams is all but certain not to play Saturday night when top-ranked Southern California opens its season because of continuing delays in the school's appeal process to the NCAA. After that, who knows? USC has applied to the NCAA for a progress-toward-degree waiver and reinstatement of Williams' eligibility.


Kerry Pledges to Create Higher-Paying Jobs (AP)

AP - John Kerry headed to closely divided Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to tell voters he could produce better, higher-paying jobs from the White House than President Bush has.


GOP Platform Plan Seeks Gay Marriage Ban (AP)

AP - Republican leaders are pushing for a constitutional ban on gay marriage in the GOP platform, opening a new point of contention between social conservatives and outnumbered but vocal factions fighting to give the party's statement of principles a more moderate tone.


EPA: U.S. Waterways Contain Polluted Fish (AP)

AP - One of every three lakes in the United States, and nearly one-quarter of the nation's rivers contain enough pollution that people should limit or avoid eating fish caught there.


Selig Welcomes Government Help In Steroids Scandal

NEW YORK -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Monday he would accept government intervention on steroid testing if the players #39; association refuses to change the current rules, which run for two more years.


Barents Sea Under Threat from Fishing, Oil (Reuters)

Reuters - The Arctic Barents Sea is\under threat from overfishing, oil and gas exploration and\Soviet-era radioactive waste, the U.N. Environment Program said\on Tuesday.


Will This Idea Fly? Charge Some Travelers \$10 for Showing Up

Northwest Airlines said it would begin charging a \$10 fee for issuing a ticket at its airport check-in desks.


A man with a plan

ATHENS -- Four years ago in Sydney, after the US gymnasts had gone medal-free at the Olympics for the first time in 28 years, federation president Bob Colarossi was sitting at a table, explaining that the turnaround already had begun. The women had moved from sixth to fourth in the world in one year, the men from sixth to fifth. ...


ASCAP Shakes Down Burning Man for Music Royalties

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Officials from ASCAP today indicated they intend to pursue music royalties from the organizers of Burning Man, an artist's gathering and celebration held over the Labor Day holiday near Reno, NV.   The unconventional event, held annually since 1986, has never paid fees for any of the music played at the event, says ASCAP.  "We intend to pursue all available avenues to get this issue resolved," said Tony Wilcox, ASCAP spokesperson.


Branson: Virgin Billionaire Eyes China Telecom Deal

Can you hear him now: Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson said in Hong Kong that his company has earmarked \$300 million for a cell phone joint venture in China.


Second Prisoner Abuse Report Expected

WASHINGTON - Inattention to prisoner issues by senior U.S. military leaders in Iraq and at the Pentagon was a key factor in the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison, but there is no evidence they ordered any mistreatment, an independent panel concluded...


Cleric Returns to Broker Najaf Peace Deal

NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric returned home from Britain on Wednesday to help broker an end to nearly three weeks of fighting in Najaf and is calling on his followers to join him in a march to reclaim the holy city, his spokesmen and witnesses said.    Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani return came as heavy fighting persisted in Najaf's Old City...


Police Tear Gas, Arrest Protesters in Bangladesh

Baton-wielding riot police fired tear gas and rounded up dozens of demonstrators in Bangladesh on Tuesday during a general strike called to protest a weekend grenade attack that killed 20 people and wounded hundreds at an opposition political rally.


Careening Indians Fall

Slumping Cleveland lost a three-run lead while Derek Jeter homered and stole two ninth-inning bases as New York sent the Indians to their ninth consecutive loss, 5-4, Tuesday.


Internosis Will Relocate To Greenbelt in October

Internosis Inc., an information technology company in Arlington, plans to move its headquarters to Greenbelt in October. The relocation will bring 170 jobs to Prince George's County.


Microsoft offers SP2 compatibility guide

Security-focused Windows XP update can be tough on applications. Guidelines are meant to help professionals "test and mitigate."


Site security gets a recount at Rock the Vote

Grassroots movement to register younger voters leaves publishing tools accessible to outsiders.


Sony reveals some specs for PSP handheld

The PlayStation Portable is going to have one complex processor running the show for games and multimedia.


Study: Apple, Dell lead PC customer satisfaction index

The PC industry is doing a better job this year of satisfying its U.S. customers, and better technical support and easier-to-use hardware seem to have made a difference, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.


UN organizes open-source software day across Asia

The United Nations, through its International Open Source Network (IOSN) will organize the first annual Software Freedom Day on Saturday in an effort to educate Asian users about the benefits of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and encourage its wider use in the region.


European Union Extends Review of Microsoft Deal

By PAUL GEITNER    BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and the media and entertainment powerhouse Time Warner Inc...


Darfur: 4-Point Draft Agenda Adopted in Abuja

A tentative step was taken yesterday in the quest to finding lasting peace in the crisis torn Dafur region of Sudan when the Abuja peace talks unanimously adopted a four-point draft agenda.


UPDATE 2-TD, Banknorth in talks on possible deal

Toronto Dominion Bank (TD.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that it is in talks with US-based Banknorth Group (BNK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) about a possible deal, in line with the Canadian bank #39;s push for


Jamaican Government to Provide Free Internet Access in Poor <b>...</b>

Jamaica #39;s government on Tuesday announced a US\$5 million (Jamaican \$308 million) plan to provide free Internet access in poor communities across the island.


A new Golden Girl

It took only 49.41 seconds for Tonique Williams-Darling to etch her name in the annals of Bahamian history. Williams-Darling crossed the finish line


India's Tata makes powerful debut

Shares  in Indian software services giant Tata Consultancy close 16 higher on their market debut, raising \$1.2bn for the company.


Sudanese rebels agree to take part in peace talks in Abuja

ABUJA, Aug 25, 2004 (dpa) -- Rebel groups agreed Wednesday to participate in peace talks with the Sudanese government being held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja after coming under pressure to disarm and accept confinement to camps in the country #39;s


Dragging the Net for Cyber Criminals

In an attempt to stem the growing tide of online scams, identity theft and the proliferation of junk e-mail, the Justice Department and state law enforcement officials have initiated what seems to be the largest dragnet yet against spammers, so-called "phishers" and other Internet con artists. -washingtonpost.com


EU to probe Microsoft-Time Warner buy

The decision is a setback for the two companies and their plan to acquire ContentGuard, a digital rights management firm.


Allen Wins Triathlon

Kate Allen of Austria wins the triathlon with a late surge Wednesday, passing more than half of the field in the final leg and edging Loretta Harrop of Australia at the finish line.


Is Google the Next Netscape?

Is Google the Next Netscape?\\To draw a parallel between Netscape  #038; Google in their fight against Microsoft, it is necessary to examine the various similarities between the two situations and see if the tactics that worked then will work now. \


GM pulls Guy Ritchie car ad after protest

Protests from seven safety groups have prompted General Motors to pull a television ad that shows a young boy driving a Corvette sports car so recklessly that it goes airborne, officials of the automaker say.


Tiny telescope #39;s big discovery opens new doors

WASHINGTON - A tiny telescope has spotted a giant planet circling a faraway star, using a technique that could open a new phase of planetary discovery.


News: US cracks down on spam mountain

John Ashcroft, the attorney General of the US, is expected to announce on Thursday dozens of lawsuits against alleged spammers following a low key campaign against the practise across the US.\


Bryant Prosecutors Say Some Data Tainted

DENVER - Crucial DNA evidence tested by defense experts in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case might have been contaminated, prosecutors said in a court filing released Wednesday, just two days before jury selection is to begin.    Prosecutors said they had found contamination in DNA "control" samples intended to ensure testing was accurate...


Poultry Stocks See Mixed Recovery

Despite a weak third-quarter earnings report that sent its shares plunging 24 percent Tuesday, poultry producer Sanderson Farms Inc.


Brazil Tops Spain for Men's Gold in Beach Volleyball

ATHENS (Reuters) - Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego beat  Spain's Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera 21-16, 21-15 on  Wednesday to bag Brazil's first men's Olympic beach volleyball  gold medal.


NTT DoCoMo, Motorola tie up on 3G handsets

NTT DoCoMo will release a handset compatible with non-Japanese cellular networks and with its own 3G (third generation) mobile network early next year.


Vonage Awash in Venture Capital

VoIP (define) upstart Vonage has quickly amassed another \$105 million from venture capitalists and is looking to Latin America and Asia to accelerate an already torrid growth rate.


UN says Afghan vote can legitimise postwar scene (AFP)

AFP - Afghanistan has a chance for real political legitimacy when voters go to the polls in the country's first post-Taliban presidential election, the UN's envoy to the nation said.


Bryant Prosecutors Question Defense DNA Evidence

DENVER (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the rape case against  U.S. basketball star Kobe Bryant are questioning the validity  of DNA evidence crucial to the defense's case, saying data  appeared to have been manipulated and might have to be thrown  out.


Best Software overhauls Act

Best Softwarelaunched this week an overhaul of its Act contact management software, adding to the product line a second version with more scalability and advanced functionality.


MOM 2005 Released to Manufacturing

Microsoft on Wednesday announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition, a new edition that the company previously called MOM 2005 Express.


Pittman misses out

Fani Halkia (1980), of Greece, clears a hurdle en route to winning a gold medal ahead of fifth place finisher Jana Pittman, of Australia.


Jones Advances in Long Jump; Johnson Out

ATHENS, Greece - Marion Jones made her Athens debut in virtual anonymity, quietly advancing to the long jump final. Allen Johnson had the attention of everyone in the stadium, for all the wrong reasons...


Ford to Repair Faulty Heated Seats in Focus Cars

Ford Motor Co. said on Wednesday it will fix malfunctioning heated seats in 33,000 Focus cars, two-thirds of which were sold in Canada.


Gartner: Q2 server shipments rise on Sun, Dell strength

Server shipments and revenue increased in the second quarter, with low-cost servers based on Linux or the Windows operating system growing faster than their Unix counterparts, according to research firm Gartner Inc.


US raids Net song swappers

US agents have raided the homes of five people who allegedly traded hundreds of thousands of songs, movies and other copyrighted material over the Internet, Attorney General John Ashcroft says.


Dell May Soon Unveil More Consumer Goods -Analyst (Reuters)

Reuters - Dell Inc. (DELL.O), the world's\largest PC maker, could announce an expanded selection of its\consumer electronics line in the next several weeks, a retail\industry analyst said on Wednesday.


Coke Loses Quiznos Sandwich Account

Quiznos Sub, the third-largest US sandwich chain, said on Wednesday it signed a deal to serve PepsiCo Inc. (PEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) drinks in its US outlets, ending a 23-year relationship with Coca-Cola Co.


Israeli army set to unveil stink bomb

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army is set to unveil a new weapon designed to get under the noses of Palestinians - a massive stink bomb. A report in the Maariv daily on Wednesday said that the military, which has


Northwest sues Sabre over ticket fees

Northwest Airlines Corp. filed suit against Sabre Travel Network in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota alleging that Sabre instituted measures that will make it more difficult for the carrier to sell tickets.


News: FBI seizes computers in first-ever criminal action against P2P network

The Associated Press By Curt Anderson


Kuwait assures help on hostages

NEW DELHI, Aug. 25. - Kuwait has promised to leave no stone unturned to ensure the safe return of the three Indians who were taken hostage in Iraq.


MmO2 Announces 3G Mobile Data Network Launch

Customers will be able to download film clips, audio and video, interactive multiplayer games, multimedia music tracks,  quot;push-to-watch quot; services, as well as access large e-mail attachments.


Republicans Endorse Ban on Gay Marriage

NEW YORK - Republicans endorsed an uncompromising position against gay unions Wednesday in a manifesto that contrasts with Vice President Dick Cheney's supportive comments about gay rights and the moderate face the party will show at next week's national convention.    A panel made up largely of conservative delegates approved platform language that calls for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and opposes legal recognition of any sort for gay civil unions...


Microsoft expands mainframe pitch

Company is upgrading current support and service program to draw more mainframe customers.


U.S. Justice Department Cracks Down Internet Crime

The FBI seized computers, software and equipment as part of an investigation into illegal sharing of copyrighted movies, music and games over an Internet "peer-to-peer" network, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Wednesday.


UPDATE: NZ Auckland Airport FY Net Surges On Travel Boom

WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--New Zealand #39;s Auckland International Airport Ltd. (AIA.NZ) Thursday posted double digit annual profit growth, buoyed by a surge in passenger travel, and said it expects to meet market consensus for the 2005 fiscal year earnings.


Mich. Rep. to Head Intelligence Panel (AP)

AP - Republican Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan was picked Wednesday to head the House Intelligence Committee amid a heated election-year debate over how to carry out a major overhaul of the nation's intelligence system.


Belarus Bank Denies Money Laundering Charge

A bank in Belarus has denied US charges that it laundered money for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Infobank, in a statement, said it has strictly followed international agreements related to the fight against illegal transactions.


Singapore Air plans \$7.35B Boeing order

Singapore Airlines plans to buy up to 31 Boeing long-range 777-300ER planes worth about \$7.35 billion, the carrier said Wednesday.


Global server sales on the rise

Sales of server systems rose 7.7 percent globally in the second quarter to \$11.55 billion as demand for Information Technology remained strong after a three year downturn, market research firm Gartner said in a statement.


Oil Prices Alter Direction

After a month-long rally that repeatedly pushed prices to new highs, the cost of a barrel slumped for the fourth day, leaving the price \$10 higher than year-ago rate.


Warner to Start for Giants This Week (AP)

AP - Kurt Warner will start at quarterback for the New York Giants this week, although his competition with rookie Eli Manning for the regular-season job continues.


Pinochet Immunity Weighed by Chile Court (AP)

AP - Lawyers pressed Chile's Supreme Court on Wednesday to uphold a lower court decision stripping retired Gen. Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, saying the former dictator should face justice for past human rights abuses.


Lawyer for Bush Quits Over Links to Kerry's Foes

The quick resignation suggests that the Bush campaign, which has repeatedly said it has no ties to the Swift boat veterans group, is eager to put the issue behind it.


Toyota reports a silicon carbide breakthrough

Move over silicon chips, there is a new semiconductor king on the horizon. Silicon carbide #39;s (SiC) potential has been known since the 1950 #39;s, but the properties that make is attractive also make it hard to work with.


MLB, Va. Officials Meet

Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf led a team of negotiators from Major League Baseball in a three-hour meeting Wednesday with the leaders of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority.


AL Wrap: Ortiz Fuels Red Sox Fire as Blue Jays Go Down (Reuters)

Reuters - David Ortiz thumped two homers and\drove in four runs to fire the Boston Red Sox to an 11-5 win\over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wednesday.


AL Wrap: Ortiz Fuels Red Sox Fire as Blue Jays Go Down

TORONTO (Reuters) - David Ortiz thumped two homers and  drove in four runs to fire the Boston Red Sox to an 11-5 win  over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Wednesday.


China warns Singapore officials against future visits to Taiwan (AFP)

AFP - China has warned Singapore officials against visiting Taiwan again after a "private and unofficial" trip by the city-state's new leader just weeks before he took office strained ties with Beijing.


Sistani Urges Supporters to Wait at Najaf Gates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand  Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged his supporters converging on  Najaf on Thursday not to enter the battered holy city until he  arrived, a senior aide said.


Rain threatens triangular final (AFP)

AFP - Organisers were left banking on the Dutch weather to spare Saturday's final of the triangular cricket tournament after deciding against altering the fixture schedule in a bid to beat the rain that has marred this warm-up event for next month's ICC Champions Trophy in England.


Pakistan down India to ensure top six finish (AFP)

AFP - Pakistan defeated arch-rivals India 3-0 here to ensure they stand among the top six in the Olympic men's field hockey competition.


Singapore Air expands fleet with US\$3.7B Boeing order

Singapore Airlines Ltd., Asia #39;s most profitable carrier, is betting new planes will help it lure passengers from Emirates and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.


White House Shifts Its Focus on Climate

The administration issued a report indicating that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming.


Bush Makes Fourth Trip of Year to N.M. (AP)

AP - The ranks of independent voters in New Mexico have grown by nearly 20,000 in the last 10 months, a prize pulling President Bush and rival John Kerry to the state again and again.


Charges reduced for Iraq jail MP

MANNHEIM, Germany -- A US military policewoman accused in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal had the charges against her reduced yesterday as a set of pretrial hearings wrapped up at an American base in Germany.


An insurer sees the light

Snoopy has left the building. Well, almost. MetLife Inc. , the insurance giant that employs Charlie Brown's dog in ads, is close to completing a deal to sell its State Street Research and Management investment arm to BlackRock Inc. for about \$400 million. Everyone involved will be better off for it.


GM pulls Corvette ad with underage driver

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. has withdrawn a Corvette commercial that shows a young boy driving wildly through city streets after safety advocates complained, the company said yesterday.


A mixed economic bag in July

Factory orders in July for costly manufactured goods recorded the biggest gain in four months. New home sales, meanwhile, slid, according to a pair of reports


Keck telescope confirms important exoplanet discovery

Hawaii #39;s Keck Observatory has confirmed the existence of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a distant star, the first one spotted by a network of astronomers using telescopes no larger than the ones you can buy in stores.


Civil servants in net porn probe

More than 200 staff at the Department of Work and Pensions have been disciplined for downloading porn at work.


World #39;s smallest digital camera with zoom lens

Come September, Japanese electronics giant Casio Computer will launch the world #39;s smallest digital camera with a zoom lens. Casio #39;s palm-sized Exilim camera is much smaller than others as, for the first time, it uses a ceramic lens.


Iraq Mortar Attack Kills 25, Sistani Heads to Najaf

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A mortar attack on a packed mosque  in the town of Kufa on Thursday killed at least 25 people as  Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric headed to the nearby  holy city of Najaf to try to end a bloody three-week uprising.


Dream Team Leads Spain 44-42 at Halftime

ATHENS, Greece - As expected, the U.S. men's basketball team had its hands full in a quarterfinal game against Spain on Thursday...


Nokia, Pointsec team on mobile data security

Enterprises seeking higher security for their growing number of mobile devices may be interested in new encryption technology that Nokia Corp. is deploying in its smart phone products.


BlackRock Buys State Street Research

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc. BLK.N, one of the  largest U.S. fixed income managers, on Thursday said it will  buy its far smaller competitor State Street Research    Management Co., marking the biggest takeover in the asset  management business this year.


Six-month deal for Hoddle at Wolves

The 47-year-old former England coach was unveiled at a press conference, bringing to an end Wolves #39; month-long search for a successor to Dave Jones.


Microsoft Expands Windows Update Release

Microsoft Corp. is starting to ramp up distribution of its massive security update for the Windows XP operating system, but analysts say they still expect the company to move at a relatively slow pace to avoid widespread glitches.


British sailors bag bronze

Britain's Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks win bronze in a tense final 49er race on the Saronic Gulf.


Understanding Search Engine Models

Understanding Search Engine Models\\To understand search engines and search engine marketing, one must first understand the search engine model. There are two fundamentally different types of search engine back ends: site directories and spidering search engines. Site directory databases are built by a person manually inputting data about websites. Most ...


Electronic Jihad Internet Attack Rumored For Today\\Is the Electronic Jihad attack happening today or is it just stirred up rumors? Yevgeny Kaspersky has raised concerns of a major attack on the internet today. Kaspersky has been widely quoted as saying that there would be a major online attack against Israeli ...


Freddie Mac: Investment Portfolio Grew

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Freddie Mac FRE.N said on Thursday  its mortgage investments, or retained portfolio, grew at an  annualized rate of 20.8 percent in July, compared with a 19.4  percent increase in June.


Science Magazine: Asia Farmers Sucking Continent Dry (Reuters)

Reuters - Asian farmers drilling millions of\pump-operated wells in an ever-deeper search for water are\threatening to suck the continent's underground reserves dry, a\science magazine warned on Wednesday.


Report: Intel Logs Big Gains In Flash Market

Intel #39;s share of the booming flash market jumped 40.8 percent in the second quarter, according to market-research firm iSuppli Corp.


Morocco #39;s El Guerrouj Olympic champion

Morocco #39;s Hicham El Guerrouj won in Athens Tuesday an Olympic title in the 1500m race after two failed attempts in Sydney and Atlanta.


McClaren happy with striking duo

Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren believes Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink could forge one of the most dangerous strike partnerships in the Barclays Premiership.


Iraq group to free 3 Indians, 4 others of Kuwait firm - TV (Reuters)

Reuters - Iraqi kidnappers of seven employees of a Kuwaiti company said in a video statement on Thursday they would release the captives once their employer halted operations in Iraq, Al Arabiya television reported.


BlackRock to buy State Street Research from MetLife

NEW YORK, August 26 (New Ratings) - BlackRock Inc (BLK.NYS), a leading US-based fixed-income asset management company, has reportedly agreed to buy State Street Research  amp; Management Company, a unit of MetLife Inc, for \$375 million in a cash and stock


Casio Shows Off Slim, Trim Digicams

New Exilim models include the thinnest version yet, featuring a new ceramic lens.


U.N. Urges Funds to Curb African Locusts (AP)

AP - With swarms of locusts threatening crops in a number of African countries, a U.N. agency appealed for an additional  #36;70 million in assistance Thursday to prevent the upsurge from becoming a full-scale plague.


Nepal blockade 'blow to tourism'

Nepal tour operators say tourists cancelled millions of  dollars of bookings due to the rebel blockade of Kathmandu.


Manchester United cruise into Champions League

Manchester United eased into the Champions League group phase with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Dinamo Bucharest at Old Trafford on Wednesday.


Intel Gives Centrino Chip Line a Wireless Upgrade (Reuters)

Reuters - Intel Corp. (INTC.O) on Thursday\said it has upgraded the wireless networking capabilities of\its Centrino line of notebook computer chips to allow broader\network access with improved security.


Panama pardons Castro 'plotters'

Four men accused of planning to kill Cuba's Fidel Castro have been pardoned by Panama's president.


Pinochet loses immunity: Your reaction

The Supreme Court in Chile has ruled that the former dictator General Pinochet should have his immunity from prosecution removed. A lawsuit was brought by relatives of alleged victims of the military regime Operation Condor.


Rangers Sign Weekes, Bolster Goaltending (AP)

AP - Goaltender Kevin Weekes signed Thursday with the New York Rangers, who expect the unrestricted free agent to compete for the No. 1 job with Mike Dunham.


Glaxo Settles Paxil 'Suicide Pill' Suit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc GSK.L has agreed  to release all clinical studies of its drugs to settle a  lawsuit that accused it of withholding negative information  about the antidepressant Paxil, the New York Attorney General's  office said on Thursday.


Spears' Fiance to Star in Her New Video

NEW YORK - Britney Spears' former backup dancer and current fiance Kevin Federline can add another title to his resume: co-star.    On Wednesday, a Jive Records publicist confirmed Federline is featured in Spears' upcoming "My Prerogative" video, set to debut in mid-September...


Dollar General earnings up 19 percent

CHICAGO (CBS.MW) - Discount retailer Dollar General reported a 19 percent rise in fiscal second-quarter earnings, helped by higher sales and lower charges.


No Evidence Of Abuse At Guantanamo, says Australian Foreign <b>...</b>

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says a US investigation has rejected allegations that Australian terror suspect David Hicks was abused while in US custody in Afghanistan and Cuba.


British police arrest radical cleric Abu Hamza (AFP)

AFP - Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, already detained in London on an extradition request from the United States, was arrested under suspicion of committing or preparing terrorism acts within Britain.


Olympics: High-Flying Holm Aims to Defy Science (Reuters)

Reuters - Sweden's gold medal-winning high\jumper Stefan Holm reckons he can leap even higher but\scientists say he and other athletes were already close to the\limit of what they can achieve.


Japan Won't Have U.S. Beef Anytime Soon (Reuters)

Reuters - Japan's lucrative market for U.S.\beef, ruptured by mad cow disease worries, is likely to remain\closed for the rest of this year, U.S. meat industry officials\said on Thursday.


Nigeria gives Shell \$1.5 billion eco-bill

The Shell oil company has been handed a \$1.5 billion bill for ecological compensation in the Niger delta by the government of Nigeria.


Texas School to Offer Women's Gaming Scholarship (Reuters)

Reuters - As part of a drive to attract more\women into the male-dominated video game industry, a program\for aspiring game developers at Southern Methodist University\will offer a women-only scholarship, organizers said on\Thursday.


Dell adds new switch to lineup

Dell has upgraded its PowerConnect line with the addition of the PowerConnect 5324, a 24-port managed gigabit layer 2 switch.


103 arrests for Internet fraud, related crimes since June: US (AFP)

AFP - US authorities arrested at least 103 suspects and filed 117 criminal complaints since June 1 in a crackdown on various forms of online fraud, Attorney General John Ashcroft said.


Microsoft Reprimanded for Misleading Linux Ad (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - The United Kingdom's advertising watchdog group, the Advertising Standards Association, has found that complaints lodged against a Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) magazine ad that stated that Linux was more expensive than Windows were valid.


IBM To Amp Integration with Venetica Buy (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - IBM (NYSE: IBM) has said it will purchase Venetica, a privately held firm that provides content-integration software to unstructured data sources.


Carter finishes fourth in 400 hurdles

James Carter of Baltimore finished fourth in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles today, missing out on a medal. Felix Sanchez, of the Dominican Republic, won the gold medal.


London oil drops to \$40 a barrel

The cost of a barrel of oil in London has dipped below \$40 as energy prices have continued to slide. The price of Brent crude in London fell to a three-week low of \$39.


TiVo loss widens

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - TiVo said its second-quarter loss widened from a year earlier on higher customer acquisition costs. Free!


Athletics: Dominant Phillips takes long jump gold

ATHENS - Dwight Phillips of the United States completed a hat-trick of global long jump titles when he crushed the field with his opening leap in Thursday #39;s final to win Olympic gold.


Jury Selection to Begin in Kobe Bryant Rape Trial

EAGLE, Colo. (Reuters) - Jury selection begins in the Kobe  Bryant rape case on Friday when hundreds of potential jurors  fill out a questionnaire to help determine if they can sit in  judgment in a trial involving race, sex and celebrity.


Vioxx Faces Challenges from Insurers, Lawyers

Merck  amp; Co. faces a dual threat from health insurers and patients #39; lawyers, after a US study suggested its Vioxx arthritis drug carries a greater risk than rival medicines.


U.N. Agency Sees No Rapid Development of El Nino (Reuters)

Reuters - Fears of a new El Nino, a phenomenon\that brings extreme weather patterns, are unfounded despite\unusual ocean temperatures which often herald the devastating\weather anomaly, the World Meteorological Organization said\Thursday.


Visit to a Potemkin village

Gongzhong does not resemble any Tibetan village in Tibet. It is a village more from Epcot Center in Walt Disney World.


Let basketball

As the US men #39;s basketball team limps into the Olympic medal round, the focus has been on the team #39;s lousy outside shooting.


Anglers Have Big Impact on Fish Numbers -- Study

Recreational anglers may be responsible for landing nearly 25 percent of over-fished salt water species caught off US coasts, a study released on Thursday suggests.


Israeli army demolishes 13 Palestinian homes

GAZA CITY: The Israeli army demolished 13 Palestinian houses during an incursion in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Thursday, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.


Nigerian Senate approves \$1.5 bln claim on Shell

LAGOS - Nigeria #39;s Senate has passed a resolution asking Shell #39;s Nigerian unit to pay \$1.5 billion in compensation to oilfield communities for pollution, a Senate spokesman said.


Goosen takes lead in the BMW Open

Retief Goosen, a two-time US Open champion, grabbed the first-round lead in the BMW Open in Nord Eichenried, Germany, with a 6-under-par 66, while Colin Montgomerie improved his European Ryder Cup chances by finishing one stroke back on Thursday.


Hewitt cruises to quarterfinals

Former Wimbledon and US Open winner Lleyton Hewitt cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Michael Llodra on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the TD Waterhouse Cup.


US edge out Brazil for gold

The United States beat Brazil 2-1 in extra time to win the women's Olympic football tournament.


Breast scans 'fail' in some women

Some women with breast cancer are less likely to have their tumours picked up by scans, say experts.


Yemeni Poet Says He Is al-Qaida Member

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba Aug. 26, 2004 - In a dramatic turn that silenced defense lawyers, a Yemeni poet accused of crafting terrorist propaganda argued on Thursday to represent himself before a US


Changing of the Guard in US Track and Field

Description: NPR #39;s Steve Inskeep talks with USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan about the latest news in track and field at the Athens Olympics.


Govt. to Test New Air Passenger Screening Program

The US government unveiled plans on Thursday for a revised computer-based program using personal information to identify airline passengers who may pose a threat to air travel.


Chile Court Strips Pinochet of Immunity (AP)

AP - Chile's Supreme Court stripped Gen. Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution Thursday in a ruling that revived hopes of his foes that he might stand trial on charges of human rights abuses during his rule.


Amelie's final footsteps retraced

Detectives have staged a reconstruction of the final steps of murdered French student Amelie Delagrange.


Bush, Kerry Bow to McCain's Wishes on Ads

NEW YORK - President Bush and Sen. John Kerry bowed to the wishes of popular maverick John McCain on Thursday, as the president embraced the Republican senator's legal fight against big-money special interest groups airing negative ads and the Democratic nominee scrapped a commercial that featured McCain...


Thatcher case twist as list of alleged coup backers vanishes

THE Thatcher saga took a dramatic twist last night when it emerged a key witness in the police investigation has disappeared, taking with him a list of wealthy individuals who supposedly bankrolled an alleged coup attempt in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.


PeopleSoft customers reassured

Oracle Corp. President Charles Phillips on Monday said PeopleSoft Inc. customers have become more comfortable with the prospect of a merger between the two software firms even as the proposed transaction awaits a critical ruling from a Delaware court.


Torch passed on winning goal

ATHENS -- America #39;s gold-medal soccer players don #39;t just say goodbye; they say hello.  quot;The thing I love, quot; retiring captain Julie Foudy said,  quot;is that Tarpley and Wambach scored.


Union leaders held under ESMA on Day 6 of strike

New Delhi, August 26: The sixth day of the truckers strike on Thursday saw 12 more truckers being arrested under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA)in the Capital.


DreamWorks Officer Quits

DreamWorks SKG, the studio that created the  quot;Shrek #39; #39; films, said yesterday that Helene Hahn would step down as chief operating officer.


Vote 2004 - a guide to the primary

Get ready for the primary with the Herald-Tribunes special news section profiling all the federal, state and local candidates in races in Tuesdays election.


Jets, Pennington Talk

The New York Jets and quarterback Chad Pennington are looking to finalize a contract extension by next Wednesday.


AL Wrap: Oakland's Durazo Piles on Misery for Baltimore (Reuters)

Reuters - Erubiel Durazo's three-run homer in\the second inning helped the Oakland Athletics remain top of\the American League (AL) West with a 9-4 win over the reeling\Baltimore Orioles Thursday.


AL Wrap: Oakland's Durazo Piles on Misery for Baltimore

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Erubiel Durazo's three-run homer in  the second inning helped the Oakland Athletics remain top of  the American League (AL) West with a 9-4 win over the reeling  Baltimore Orioles Thursday.


Sports: Braves 6 Rockies 4

ATLANTA Mike Hampton hit an RBI single and Atlanta stretched its lead in the NL East by winning its fourth in a row 6-to-4 over Colorado.


Islamic group holding lorry drivers demands firm quit Iraq (AFP)

AFP - A group calling itself the Secret Islamic Army (SIA) will release seven hostages it has been holding for more than a month as soon as their Kuwaiti company says it will no longer operate in Iraq, the SIA announced.


Iraq's Sadr Orders Fighters to Lay Down Weapons

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Rebel Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr  on Friday ordered his men inside Najaf's Imam Ali mosque to lay  down their weapons and join thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims  outside the shrine.


Guo tucks away gold for China

China #39;s Guo Jingjing easily won the women #39;s 3-meter springboard last night, and Wu Minxia made it a 1-2 finish for the world #39;s diving superpower, taking the silver.


Taiwan Rescuers Dig Out 7 Bodies Buried in Landslide

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan rescue workers dug out seven  bodies from mud and rock in a mountain village that was hit by  a devastating landslide triggered by Typhoon Aere, but eight  still remained buried, officials said on Friday.


Camarillo #39;s Homer Lifts Mexico

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa., Aug. 26 -- Alan Camarillo #39;s first homer of the series came at a perfect time for Mexico. Camarillo hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning on Thursday to propel Guadalupe, Mexico, into


Troops close Gaza roads after rockets fired at Israel

JERUSALEM -- Israeli forces blocked main roads in Gaza yesterday after rockets were fired at an Israeli town, and troops tore down houses in a refugee camp on the Egyptian border, foreshadowing more unrest after Israel #39;s announced planned pullout next year


Exec, wife give Stanford \$43.5 million

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman Charles Munger and his wife Nancy Munger on Thursday donated \$43.5 million to Stanford University and its law school.


Athens - a \$12bn bill

THE world sighed with relief when Greeks kept their promise to deliver some of the world #39;s finest sport venues in time for the Athens Olympics.


HP Unveils Cavalcade of Consumer Products (PC World)

PC World - First TVs, new printers, long-lasting inks, and projectors are targeted\ at living room and office.


Bush Faces Heavy Pre-RNC Travel Schedule (AP)

AP - President Bush charges into the final runup to the Republican National Convention with a heavy campaign schedule in key states he needs to carry in November.


Anticipation nation

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Carly Simon got it right a generation ago.AN-TI-CI-PA-TION. She wasn't singing about college football, but out here in the heartland of America, as Husker Nation prepares for a new season, the sense of anticipation is enormous.


A great catch? Lobsters

How does he like lobster? Boiled, steamed, broiled, baked, grilled? Newburg? Bahar Uttam prefers his with a capital L -- Lobsters -- and sees them frolicking on a tennis court rather than laid out on a plate. In Uttam's mind lurks a tasty dish for the town's sporting crowd, one that could satisfy the five-year hunger of tennis junkies, a ...


Bureaucracy Pins Rocket to Earth

The da Vinci Project, a Toronto group planning to launch a homemade, manned spacecraft in October, is having trouble getting its paperwork off the ground. Canadian regulators are leery of approving the launch. And then there's the matter of finding insurance. By Dan Brekke.


Dominicans' Swift Step Into Crisis

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- When Sandro Batista smashed his banana truck into a tree in April, leaving him with two hideously shattered legs and a broken arm, his orthopedic surgeon sent his sister shopping.


HP Moves Deeper Into Consumer Electronics

Personal computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. is stepping deeper than ever into the consumer electronics arena with its fall product lineup - so don't be surprised if you hear about "HP TV" along with "HDTV" when shopping for your next television.


Sprint, SBC Announce Wi-Fi Roaming Pact

Customers of Sprint Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. will be able to use both companies' wireless Internet connections with less hassle under a reciprocal deal announced Friday.


Stock Futures Flat Before GDP, Fed Speech

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures were nearly  unchanged on Friday as investors awaited key data on the  economy that could determine the market's early direction.


Interbrew wins shareholder vote to buy AmBev

LONDON, August 27 (New Ratings) - Belgian brewing giant, Interbrew SA (ITK.ETR), has received the approval of its shareholders for its proposed acquisition of the Brazilian brewer, AmBev.


Update 1: Thai Airways Orders 6 Airbus Superjumbos

Thai Airways has agreed to buy six Airbus A380s, becoming the 13th airline to order the new  quot;superjumbo, quot; the European aircraft maker said Friday.


Jacobson Lifts Ryder Cup Hopes with Sparkling 65

MUNICH (Reuters) - Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson made his bid  for a last-gasp Ryder Cup spot with a spectacular  seven-under-par 65 in the BMW International Open second round  on Friday.


CSKA sponsor rejects criticism

RUSSIAN oil giant Sibneft today rejected any suggestion of a conflict of interest existing between Chelsea and CSKA Moscow who are due to meet in the Champions League.


Astronaut Candidates Practice Survival Skills

By SARA LEITCH     BRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) -- Astronauts spend years training before they can lift off into space. They learn to operate shuttles, perform experiments in zero-gravity, and eat bugs if they must...


RealNetworks Gets in Content Business (AP)

AP - RealNetworks Inc. survived the dot-com collapse and an assault from Microsoft Corp. Now it's trying to remake itself into a provider of paid Internet content.


United States 66, Russia 62

Frustrated by fouls, turnovers and a feisty opponent, the United States desperately looked for help. Then along came Sheryl Swoopes to set things right.


Paula #39;s going for gold

PAULA RADCLIFFE has decided she WILL run in tonight #39;s 10,000m race at the Athens Olympics. Today #39;s dramatic decision comes just days after Britain #39;s star long-distance runner was left weeping at the roadside after pulling up in the Olympic marathon.


US economic growth slips to 2.8

Annual US economic growth fell to 2.8 in the second quarter of 2004, marking a slowdown from the 3 estimated a month ago.


Explosive Remnants Found in Russian Jet Wreckage

One of two Russian airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously was brought down by a terrorist act, officials said Friday, after finding traces of explosives in the plane's wreckage. A Web site connected to Islamic militants claimed the action was connected to Russia's fight against Chechen separatists.


Who cares about Kerry? It's Bush we can't stand, say Vietnamese (AFP)

AFP - The question of whether presidential candidate John Kerry was a coward or a leader during the Vietnam War might be raging in the United States, but on the streets of Hanoi people hope for just one result from the American election -- the exit of George W. Bush.


Spike Lee Wins Cybersquatting Case Against Porn Site

Movie director Spike Lee has won his\cybersquatting case against a Philippines-based operator who\misused the domain name to redirect surfers to a pornographic\Web Site, arbitrators ruled Friday.


Socially Responsible Funds on a Tear

Don't be too impressed -- great returns don't always mean much.


At least 25 bodies at Sadr #39;s religious court

NAJAF, Iraq : At least 25 charred and bloated bodies were discovered in the basement of a religious court set up by rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr in Najaf #39;s Old City, police said.


Nepal rejects UN mediation

Nepalese Prime Minister has rejected the UN offer of mediating in talks with Maoist rebels. But Sher Bahadur Deuba has not ruled out an expanded role for India to resolve the conflict in the Himalayan kingdom.


USOC letter to FIG

I write in response to your letter of August 26, 2004, which you asked the United States Olympic Committee to forward to Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm of the United States of America.


Japanese Utility Plans IPO in October (AP)

AP - Electric Power Development Co., a former state-run utility, said Friday it is planning an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October, a deal that could be the country's biggest new stock listing in six years.


Now It's Official: Economy Shrunk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy slowed more sharply  in the second quarter than first thought as oil prices rose and  the trade gap swelled, the government said on Friday in a  report that confirmed momentum faltered in the spring.


Now It #39;s Official: Economy Shrunk

The US economy slowed more sharply in the second quarter than first thought as oil prices rose and the trade gap swelled, the government said on Friday in a report that confirmed momentum faltered in the spring.


Now It's Official: U.S. Growth Slowed


Microsoft corrals changes for Longhorn

With SP2 out the door, Microsoft turns sights to Longhorn--which won't look quite as expected.


Nonnative Goats Bunking at Yellowstone (AP)

AP - A new study shows mountain goats are taking hold in Yellowstone National Park, but park officials aren't sure how to handle the presence of the nonnative animals.


Less Turbulence Ahead for Airbus, Boeing

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and his US counterpart, Robert Zoellick, aim for a truce in the latest transatlantic row over government aid for aviation rivals Boeing and Airbus.


Bon-Ton's Succession Success

The transition atop the department store company looks like a pleasant non-story.


Friday Focus: Running in the rain

Rain is forecast for Saturday in Spa. Here's what the team will do to cope...


Procter  amp; Gamble: A soap opera success

By Davis Dyer, Frederick Dalzell. By Robert Slater. In the 1830s, William Procter, a storekeeper and candle maker, and James Gamble, a soap maker, happened to marry two sisters in Cincinnati, Olivia and Elizabeth Ann Norris.


Paisley #39;s decision over disarmament awaited

Northern Ireland #39;s politicians have an anxious wait as the Reverend Ian Paisley decides whether to endorse an historic deal with Sinn Fein.


VeriSign #39;s Antitrust Claim Against ICANN Dismissed

quot;VeriSign #39;s contentions are deficient, quot; Judge Howard Matz wrote in the 16-page decision setting aside the antitrust claims against ICANN.


Rooney going nowhere unless price is right: Moyes

England striker on his way. Or is he? Will it be St James #39; Park or Old Trafford? Or will he remain at Goodison? Although Wayne Rooney today handed in a transfer request, and set in motion his seemingly inevitable


Triathlon: Double for Kiwis in toughest of events

NEW ZEALAND scored an unprecedented Olympic double in the men #39;s triathlon yesterday when Hamish Carter no cigar for guessing his roots beat his compatriot, reigning world champion Bevan Docherty, by 7.87 seconds, writes Doug Gillon.


Modified US space shuttle ready to fly next spring

NASA said Thursday it had corrected flaws that caused the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia in February 2003 and that a modified shuttle would be ready to resume flights sometime next Spring.


Report: Explosion Kills 2 Near Chechyna (AP)

AP - An explosion rocked a police building in the restive Dagestan region adjacent to Chechnya on Friday, and initial reports indicated two people were killed, the Interfax news agency said.


Flying Cars Reportedly Still Decades Away (AP)

AP - It's a frustrated commuter's escapist fantasy: literally lifting your car out of a clogged highway and soaring through the skies, landing just in time to motor into your driveway.


HP to tempt holiday shoppers with sights and sounds

The computer-hardware giant, best known for products such as PCs and printers, on Friday laid out its plan to become a brand-name in consumer electronics products such as flat-screen TVs, music players and the devices that move content between them.


Thai Airways orders six Airbus superjumbos

Thai Airways International plans to buy six Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft that will be delivered in 2008 and 2009. The airline is also ordering two additional A340 aircraft.


Shareholders Toast Brewers' Merger

BRUSSELS/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Shareholders gave their  blessing on Friday for Belgium's Interbrew INTB.BR to buy  Brazil's AmBev AMBV4.SA<ABV.N> in a \$9.7 billion deal that  will create the world's largest brewer.


Argentina Beats U.S. Men's Basketball Team

Argentina defeated the United States team of National Basketball Association stars 89-81 here Friday in the Olympic semi-finals, dethroning the three-time defending champions.


US Space Agency Improves Shuttle Safety, Management

The US space agency, NASA, continues work on improving the safety of the space shuttle, before the fleet of orbiters resumes its visits to the international space station next year.


'Dream Team' Out of Gold Race After Loss to Argentina

ATHENS (Reuters) - The U.S. men's basketball team was  beaten by Argentina Friday, denying it an Olympic gold medal  for the first time since 1992 when NBA players started  competing.


GOP Urge Bush to Turn Attention From Iraq (AP)

AP - Nervous Republicans are urging President Bush to unveil a robust second-term agenda at his convention next week to shift voters' focus from the unpopular war in Iraq and other issues that are a distraction to his re-election drive. Some contend the party should ditch the GOP-fueled controversy over rival John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam.


A Canadian Invasion

A few weeks ago, in a story on Nortel (NYSE: NT), I asked people to submit a Canadian joke to me. This is as good a place as any to reveal the winner.


American Champion Tim Mack Wins Pole Vault Gold

American champion Tim Mack won the Olympic pole vault title on Friday with a Games record 5.95 meters after an engrossing duel with teammate Toby Stevenson.


Khan urged to stay amateur

British boxing sensation Amir Khan is being urged to shun a big-money move to the professional ranks, whether he wins or loses his shot at Olympic gold on Sunday.


FBI Suspects Israel Has Spy in Pentagon -- CBS News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI believes there is an Israeli  spy at the very highest level of the Pentagon, CBS News  reported on Friday.


IBM puts grids to work at U.S. Open

IBM will put a collection of its On Demand-related products and technologies to this test next week at the U.S. Open tennis championships, implementing a grid-based infrastructure capable of running multiple workloads including two not associated with the tournament.


Sudan remains defiant as time starts to run out

BRITAIN has warned Sudan that it still has a lot of work to do to satisfy the international community that it is tackling what the United Nations has described as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.


Lebanon political drama plays out Syrian scipt

The stage is Beirut and the actors are Lebanese; but the audience knows the drama surrounding selection of the countrys president is being produced in Lebanons powerful neighbour Syria.


HP brand to inject new life into ink

The company splashes a new name on the inks to be used in its photo printers.


UPDATE 1-Rookie Johnson shares Buick lead with Funk

Rookie Zach Johnson produced the day #39;s joint best score, a five-under-par 65, to join Fred Funk at the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the \$4.


UK growth at fastest pace in nearly 4 years

Britain #39;s economy accelerated to the fastest annual pace in nearly four years in the second quarter as manufacturing emerged from a slump and consumers ratcheted up spending, the government said Friday.


Next Version of Windows for PC's to Ship in 2006

To meet its timetable, Microsoft has scaled back its technological ambitions for the product, code-named Longhorn.


Siemens Says Cellphone Flaw May Hurt Users and Its Profit

Siemens, the world #39;s fourth-largest maker of mobile phones, said Friday that a software flaw that can create a piercing ring in its newest phone models might hurt earnings in its handset division.


Microsoft promises new OS for 2006

Microsoft says it plans to broadly release the long-awaited update to its flagship Windows operating system, dubbed  #39;Longhorn #39;, in 2006.


Yemeni Ambassador to United Nations Dies (AP)

AP - Abdullah Saleh al-Ashtal, who served as Yemen's ambassador to the United Nations for nearly 30 years, died in New York on Thursday after a long illness, Yemen's Foreign Ministry and its U.N. Mission said Friday. He was 66.


Schumacher in uncharted territory

MICHAEL Schumacher doesn #39;t need to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday to nail his unprecedented seventh Formula One drivers title.


Top-ranked Illinois flyin #39; high

When the Illinois men #39;s basketball team moved to No. 1 in The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls on Monday afternoon, it was a special moment for the program and the players.


Daly penciled in for Deutsche Bank

John Daly provided a nice surprise for local golf fans yesterday when he committed to play in next week #39;s Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC of Boston in Norton.


Revelations on "children overboard" incident put pressure on Australian PM (AFP)

AFP - Australian Prime Minister John Howard was fighting to maintain his credibility after official transcripts backed up critics' claims about what he knew of a controversial 2001 sea rescue of boatpeople.


Short Jump, Bad Handoff End Jones #39; Games

ATHENS, Greece - For Marion Jones, Sydney must seem far more than half a world away. Those Olympics were some dreamland where she ruled track and field with a golden touch and a sweet smile, winning five medals


DATA VIEW: HK Exports Slow In July, But Momentum Intact

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Hong Kong #39;s export expansion slowed a touch in July, as expected, but still continued at double-digit rates thanks to high trade volume with mainland China.


Fired-up Baggaley takes silver

Australia #39;s Nathan Baggaley was over the moon after winning the silver medal in the Olympic kayaking K1 500 event today. Double world champion Baggaley fired from the start and took an early lead but faded


Profiling Shaukat Aziz: economic reformist-turned-PM

Shaukat Aziz, taking over as Pakistan #39;s 23rd prime minister on Saturday, is a former private banker credited with infusing new life into an almost bankrupt economy.


NCAA Wrong To Close Book On Williams

Top-ranked and defending co-national champion USC opens its season tonight against Virginia Tech. Tampa #39;s Mike Williams, the best football player not in the NFL - now officially the best college football player


Change on the money

One day after National Hockey League executive vice president and chief legal officer Bill Daly accused the NHL Players Association of engaging  quot;in a charade quot; with regards to negotiating a collective bargaining agreement -- and believes the start of the 2004-05 season is in jeopardy because the union wants to keep status quo -- Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs said there's ...


Eritreans deported by Libya hijack a plane

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Armed with knives, Eritrean deportees hijacked a plane that left Libya carrying about 80 fellow Eritreans and forced it to land yesterday in the Sudanese capital before surrendering to security forces, officials said.


Bush administration shifts stance on the cause of warming

NEW YORK In a striking shift in the way the Bush administration has portrayed the science of climate change, a new report to Congress focuses on federal research indicating that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are the only likely


Hamm flap, Dream Team just wrong

ATHENS, Greece -- Look at it this way: At least the US basketball team won #39;t be asked to give back its gold medal. On a day that was Olympic in scope both for its shock value and its intrinsic weirdness, the


Microsoft #39;s big fix: Security patch now on the market

For the past few years, viruses have attacked Microsoft #39;s operating system, Web browser or e-mail programs seemingly on a weekly basis.


Second seed Dementieva hammered in New Haven

The French Open runner-up, who had progressed to the last four with ease, was completely out of sorts as seventh seed Bovina wrapped up victory in only 56 minutes.


Yemen Jails 5 Over Limburg, US Envoy Murder Plot

A Yemeni court jailed five al Qaeda supporters for 10 years Saturday for the bombing of the French supertanker Limburg and sentenced to death another militant who plotted to kill the US ambassador to the Arab state.


Facing Arrest, Uma Bharti Quits as Madhya Pradesh Chief

BHOPAL (PTI) - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti has been forced out of office after four days of political drama as the issue of tainted ministers came back to haunt the Bharatiya Janata Party.


Far from fun and Games for Jones

ATHENS, Greece -- So other than your anemic, fifth-place finish in the long jump and the missed baton pass in the 400-meter relay for a big fat  quot;Did Not Finish, #39; #39; how did your day go, Marion Jones?


Swing and a Miss for Asteroid

An asteroid the size of a large storage shed came within 4,100 miles of Earth this spring, making it the closest near miss ever recorded, US astronomers said this week.


US team stumbles

Marion Jones, the queen of Sydney who finished those 2000 Olympics with a record five track-and-field medals, ended her next Olympics much differently Friday -- out of medals and in tears.


Yemen Sentences 15 Militants on Terror Charges

A court in Yemen has sentenced one man to death and 14 others to prison terms for a series of attacks and terrorist plots in 2002, including the bombing of a French oil tanker.


Shaukat Aziz gets vote of confidence

ISLAMABAD: Newly-elected known as finance wizard Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has secured vote of confidence form the national assembly.


Australia win Olympic hockey gold

ATHENS, Aug 27: Australia won the Olympic men #39;s hockey tournament for the first time in history on Friday, beating the Netherlands 2-1 with a golden goal.


GOP Jamboree Could Briefly Lift Stocks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fasten your seatbelts. The Republicans  are coming to town. If things go smoothly at the Republican  National Convention, the stock market could get a brief boost  next week, experts say.


Bea Arthur for President

Bea Arthur sparked a security scare at Logan Airport in Boston this week when she tried to board a Cape Air flight with a pocketknife in her handbag.    The "Golden Girls" star, now 81, was flagged by a Transportation Security Administration agent, who discovered the knife - a strict no-no following 9/11.    "She started yelling that it wasn't hers and said 'The terrorists put it there,' " a fellow passenger said. "She kept yelling about the 'terrorists, the terrorists, the terrorists.' "    After the blade was confiscated, Arthur took a keyring from her bag and told the agent it belonged to the "terrorists," before throwing it at them.  - via philly.com


At Least 24 Killed Morocco Bush Crash (AP)

AP - A bus, truck and taxi collided in a mountainous region of western Morocco Saturday, killing 24 people and injuring about 20 others, the official MAP news agency reported.


The Digital Transition

If my car died tomorrow, I'd have a lot less angst picking its successor than I would if my TV conked out. -Rob Pegoraro


Sudanese rebels squabble with government over ceasefire violations (AFP)

AFP - Sudanese rebels walked away from African Union peace talks to hold a 24-hour boycott in protest at alleged government attacks on civilians in the war-torn western province of Darfur.


Olympics-U.S. Women Show Men How to Win Gold

ATHENS (Reuters) - The U.S. women's basketball team showed  their men how to win gold Saturday as around 70,000 spectators  flocked to the Olympic stadium for a hectic athletics program  on the penultimate night of the Athens Games.


Hard Drive: SP Your XP, RSN

Don #39;t have Windows XP? Listen up anyway, because there #39;s a lesson to learn, not to mention sly put downs you can use to annoy your Windows-XP-using-friends so they #39;ll finally break down and admit


In Western Iraq, Fundamentalists Hold U.S. Forces at Bay

Falluja and Ramadi, and much of Anbar Province, are now controlled by militias, with U.S. troops confined to outside bases.


The Hunt for a Hybrid

The Aug. 23 front-page article on the Toyota Prius vs. the Honda Civic implied that the main reason people prefer the Prius was its  quot;geek-chic look quot; and the image buyers want.


Al-Sadr #39;s militia keeps fighting in Baghdad

US forces and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr #39;s militia battled Saturday in Baghdad even as the truce that ended the bloody fighting between US-Iraqi troops and the militia forces in Najaf held for a second day.


Britain Edges U.S. for 400M Relay Gold (AP)

AP - Stymied by a sloppy handoff in the middle of the race, the United States lost to Great Britain by a hundredth of a second Saturday night in the 400-meter relay  #151; a race the American men usually dominate.


US suspends helicopter flights after Japan crash (AFP)

AFP - The United States suspended flights of CH-53D military helicopters in Japan, bowing to protests over a crash in an Okinawa university campus.


Bovina wins Pilot Pen tournament

Elena Bovina of Russia outlasted Nathalie Dechy of France 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 and won the Pilot Pen tennis tournament Saturday. Bovina, seeded seventh, won her third WTA title.


Hewitt reaches final on Long Island

Commack, NY (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt reached Sunday #39;s final at the \$380,000 TD Waterhouse Cup -- a final US Open tune-up.


Hurricane Watch Issued for Gaston Off S.C.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A hurricane watch was issued for the South Carolina coast Saturday as forecasters predicted Tropical Storm Gaston would make landfall near Charleston on Sunday night...


Kerry Says He's in a 'Fighting Mood' (AP)

AP - Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Saturday he's in "fighting mood" with two months to go to the presidential as his allies defended him from questions about his valor in Vietnam.


#39;We walk a fine line, #39; says the boss whose airline tripped up

After one of the most embarrassing weeks in British Airways #39; history, the recriminations begin tomorrow. Rod Eddington, the airline #39;s gregarious Australian chief executive, says he will mount a full investigation


GlobeTrotter: Mandrake-based 40GB Linux Mobile Desktop

joestar writes  quot;Mandrakesoft  amp; LaCie have just launched  quot;GlobeTrotter quot;, a ultra-compact 40 GB bootable USB hard-drive pre-loaded with Mandrakelinux 10.


Health Highlights: Aug. 28, 2004

A new drug that fights a form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, won applause if not approval from a panel of advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration.


Hewitt advances to Long Island final

Lleyton Hewitt is one match away from winning his second consecutive ATP title, with the Australian reaching the final of the TD Waterhouse Cup at Long Island.


Soldiers face death after refusing to bomb Darfur

Fifteen armed men in blue uniforms guard the metal stairs leading to the Sudanese court. Among the people massed at the bottom, only those who look official and scream loud


Bovina ends two-year wait

Seventh-seeded Russian Elena Bovina won her first title in two years by beating France #39;s Nathalie Dechy 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the final of the Pilot Pen tournament.


UN, ending mission, says some human rights improvement Sudan's Darfur region (Canadian Press)

Canadian Press - AL-FASHER, Sudan (AP) - Security has improved inside camps in Sudan's violence-torn Darfur region, but displaced villagers still face attacks and abuse when leave the camps, a United Nations team said Saturday, wrapping up a mission that could determine whether Sudan is hit with international sanctions.


File-Sharers, the Eyes of Justice Are Upon You

President Bush likes to project the swashbuckling image, but this week it was the folks over at the Justice Department who formed the posse to go after the evildoers -- the ones on the Internet.


Mobile phone  #39;deafness #39; risk

p2pnet.net News:- Defects in Siemens 65 series mobile phones could cause deafness, says the company.  quot;In extreme cases, this volume could lead to hearing damage.


Pakistani PM-elect takes parliament confidence vote

Pakistani Prime Minister- elect Shaukat Aziz Saturday secured vote of confidence in the National Assembly (NA), the powerful lower house of the parliament,a requirement under the country #39;s constitution.


TOMPKINS: Young Brit who fought here has shot at gold

Great Britain #39;s Amir Khan, who looked so impressive in winning the 132-pound championship at the Junior International Invitational Boxing Championships here last summer, has a chance for an Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division today.


Pakistan province focuses on prayers, curbing vice (Reuters)

Reuters - Cinemas are barred from hoisting movie bill-boards and shopkeepers are afraid to display posters featuring women in the historic northern Pakistani city of Peshawar.


Apology, refund from cruise line

In a move almost unheard of in its industry, Norwegian Cruise Line has apologized for service problems during the Pride of Aloha #39;s first two months of sailing around Hawaii, and is refunding a portion of the service charge to everyone who has cruised on


Smith saves United

LONDON, Aug. 28. - Alan Smith scored a late equaliser for Manchester United today as the side tied 1-1 at Blackburn. Sir Alex Fergusons side looked headed for their second Premier League defeat of the