Bush Begins Drive to Limit Malpractice Suit Awards

President Bush demanded that Congress take immediate action to impose strict limits on medical malpractice litigation.


Ricavi in rialzo a 7,46mld (+2%) erano previsti 7,17mld


With the European economy on the upswing, companies and governments are shrugging off the dollar's renewed slide against the euro this week — a phenomenon once dreaded as potential poison for the continent's many exporters.


Car bombs kill 29, hurt 40 in Iraqi town

Insurgents set off at least two car bombs and attacked a police station yesterday in the central Iraqi town of Samarra, killing at least 29 people and wounding


Those caught for 'serious offenses' could now face life imprisonment while less serious cases could result in compulsory surveillance, detainment, taking into custody by the police.


German engineering company Siemens AG said Friday it will work with Microsoft Corp. to develop communication, information, entertainment and navigation products for vehicles.


I HAD A PATIENT who was a Navy fighter pilot. During his annual flight physical, he asked me if he should quit smoking. Although the answer seemed to be a no-brainer, I asked him what smoking did for him.


Garrison Keillor, the humorist and best-selling author, will host this year's National Book Awards ceremony.


Shaq and Kobe bring soapy glitz to full lather

Under one roof Saturday, there was The Diesel, The Wunderkind and a man they call Prince -- or at least they used to. The ballyhooed Christmas Day matchup between the Lakers and the Heat (or Kobe Bryant vs.


Soccer: Kiely save leaves Saints cursing

LONDON : Charlton goalkeeper Dean Kiely's magnificent save handed his side a point in the 0-0 draw with Southampton at The Valley here.


Radcliffe, Ramaala win New York City Marathon

NEW YORK Less than three months after she pulled out of the Olympics just a few miles from the finish, Britain's Paula Radcliffe surged ahead in the final feet of the New York City Marathon today to win its tightest race in history.


Natives' Land Battles Bring a Shift in Canada Economy

Native bands are exerting increasing control over natural resources across vast stretches of northern Canada.


Iran Nuclear Talks End with No Agreement

Talks between Iran and three European Union heavyweights ended on Saturday without an agreement on Tehran's nuclear program, a source close to the negotiations said.


Celebrities mark world peace day at United Nations

Conductor Daniel Barenboim, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, Japanese-American violinist Midori Goto and Olympic equestrian Princess Haya of Jordan were named U.N. messengers of peace on Friday.


The dollar falls to yet another record low against the euro and slips  to its lowest rate against the pound since 1992.


Buttiglione chiede scusa. Barroso lo mette sotto tutela

C'Ã¨ il compromesso: Buttiglione conserva il portafoglio, ma perderÃ  alcune competenze. Alcune competenze dell'ex-ministro verranno affidate a un team di 4 "saggi", supervisionati dal presidente Barroso.


Members of the European Parliament want to see an EU-wide sex offenders register, a survey suggests.


A man broke into a high school dormitory in central China late Thursday and killed eight students with a knife as they were sleeping.


West Ham fight off late interest from Tottenham to move in on a Â£7m deal for Newcastle's Scott Parker.


Iran Given Last Chance to Halt Uranium Enrichment

Senior officials from France, Britain  and Germany will meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator in Vienna  Thursday to offer Tehran a final chance to halt uranium  enrichment plans or face possible U.N. sanctions.


Rumsfeld Query No Shock to Soldier's Wife

Regina Wilson wasn't entirely surprised to see her husband, a guardsman bound for Iraq, on television Wednesday challenging Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with a tough question.


Republicans Change Rule to Shield DeLay if Indicted

House Republicans voted on Wednesday  to change their own rules to allow Tom DeLay keep his position  as majority leader even if he is indicted in Texas, where a  number of his associates have already been charged in  connection with illegal fund-raising activities.


Parigi, 13:01 - F1, SPIONAGGIO: HAMILTON E NEALE LASCIANO SEDE FIA

Lewis Hamilton ha lasciato la sede della Fia poco dopo le 12:30. Il pilota inglese della McLaren non...


Qantas' proposed pact with Air NZ rejected

SYDNEY: Australian flag-carrier Qantas said it was disappointed a proposed alliance with Air New Zealand (ANZ) had been rejected by New Zealand's high court but ruled out appealing decision.


Back to Wall, Giants' Defense Turns Fearsome

When the Giants' defensive players walked off the field after the Washington Redskins embarrassed them with an easy touchdown drive in the first quarter Sunday


Four more Bush Cabinet secretaries resign

The White House said it would make public Monday four additional resignations from the Cabinet of President George W. Bush. White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined further


The news that Jaguar is to end vehicle assembly at Browns Lane and invite several hundred employees to apply for what parent company Ford likes to call "voluntary separation" prompted the great and good to shrug their shoulders and remark, rather lamely


FIFA chief and Polish president reach compromise

Polish president Lech Kaczynski Monday met in Warsaw visiting FIFA chief Joseph Blatter and the two sides reached a compromise over conflicts between polish sport ministry and FIFA.Comment


As Jetsâ Season Ends, Penningtonâs Future Is the Biggest Question Mark

Quarterback Chad Pennington was the last of the Jets to leave the locker room Monday. He exited toward an uncertain future, unsure if he will return next season.


Ascoli Piceno, 19:54 - CALCIO, ASCOLI; SONCIN KAPPAO': NIENTE SIENA E INTER

Brutte notizie per Nedo Sonetti. Il tecnico dell'Ascoli perde per un po' di tempo l'attaccante Sonci...


European Union Removes Sanctions on American Products

The European Union said it was removing $4 billion in trade sanctions on American products after the U.S. repealed what Europeans considered an illegal export tax break.


The United Nations continues to receive reports of clashes throughout the Sudanese region of Darfur, where as many as 4,000 people are believed to have been forced from their villages


Public support grows for Prince Charles wedding to Camilla: poll

Britons are warming, slowly, to the long-simmering love affair of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles and approve of their upcoming marriage, according to a poll published in The Times newspaper Saturday.


Arafat in coma, 'extremely bad state': French medical source

PARIS, Nov 4  - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is in a coma and in an "extremely bad state", French medical sources told AFP on Thursday.


Police arrest teenager after killing of boy, 11

Police hunting the killer of an 11-year-old boy who was shot as he played football in the city of Liverpool have arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of murder, they said Friday.


Former Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry is one of four players who work out for the Wizards at Verizon Center on Friday.


Walgreen Co , one of the  largest U.S. drugstore operators, posted higher quarterly  profit on Friday, helped by higher sales and cost controls.


Southern California and Oklahoma finished atop the final Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday and will meet in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 4 in a title game that might not produce a unanimous national champion.


Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday the six-nation talks on proposed sanctions against Iran's nuclear program could take place early next week, Russian news agencies reported.


Amazon Offers Discount to A9 Search Users

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is offering a 1.57 percent shopping discount to registered users of its new A9 Web search service as a way to increase


CHALLENGING deeply-ingrained preconceptions isn't easy-just ask Liverpool-based refugee Gordon Hurd. Shock, horror headlines screaming of suicide bombers and benefit cheats have made their mark on our society, including impressionable schoolchildren.


To most, "Idlewild" is the title of a new movie starring platinum-selling hip-hop duo OutKast. To others, Idlewild is a historical landmark.


Viacom Inc., engaged in a public  copyright battle with Google Inc.'s YouTube, has agreed to  offer videos to Joost, the Internet video service created by  the founders of Skype and Kazaa.


Becky Sharp's genius is to be both a monster and a delight

It's a tall order to write the film script of a great novel, but there can be nobody better than Julian Fellowes to rework Vanity Fair for the screen.


Joyous Welcome in Sofia For Freed Medical Crew

LONDON, July 24 -- Five Bulgarian medical workers arrived home to an emotional welcome Tuesday after more than eight years in Libyan prisons, closing a case that caused international furor over Libyan justice and raised questions about whether a ransom was paid for their release.


Russian gas giant Gazprom asks the government to cancel an agreement to pipe large quantities of gas to China.


Torino, 17:33 - CALCIO, JUVE; DEL PIERO: MIO FUTURO SOLO IN CAMPO

"Ringrazio il presidente che mi vede dietro la scrivania, ma il mio presente e il mio futuro prossim...


Russian mobile operator to pay final tax claims bill

Russia's second largest mobile telephone firm VimpelCom has decided to pay the tax demands of over 17 million dollars for 2001, but may appeal the estimate, the company said in a statement.


After a photograph shows the mayor reaching for a bag of Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers, the mayor -- known for his public health and nutrition measures -- is taken to task.


Had things worked out differently, it might have been Queen Latifah in "Monster's Ball" instead of Halle Berry.


Gold hits 28-year high as dollar struggles

Gold rose to its highest in nearly three decades on Friday as a struggling U.S. dollar lifted its safe-haven appeal and purchases from speculators helped the metal defy selling pressure.


A priest says he hopes faith will help the families of two boys who drowned in a neighbour's swimming pool.


Two people die and a third is seriously injured in a fire at the offices of a taxi company in north-east Lincolnshire.


Cosi' il sindaco di Roma alla fiaccolata al Colosseo


Political Scientist Polokhalo Claims Yushchenko Won Televised Debates with Yanukovych

Volodymyr Polokhalo, political scientist, editor-in-chief of "Politychna Dumka" (Political Thought) magazine, believes that the yesterday televised debates between Ukrainian presidential candidates Victor ...


Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low in October

U.S. consumers turned more glum in  October, beset by everything from soaring energy prices to  relentless violence in Iraq and the increasingly bitter end of  the presidential election campaign.


Thailand's army chief vowed on   Wednesday to wipe the political slate clean and return "power   to the people" as soon as possible after a bloodless coup   against billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.


Jarrod Moseley, who won the Heineken Classic on his European Tour debut in 1999, must try his luck at the tour's qualifying school - all for the sake of 23 dollars.


Using Courts in Brazil to Strengthen an Indian Identity

Known as JoÃªnia Batista de Carvalho, Brazil's first Indian woman to become a lawyer has emerged as one of the most effective advocates of the indigenous cause.


An energetic Solar storm has caused disruption to satellites and may have caused a glitch on the space station.


Verizon Wireless 4th-Quarter Profit Rise

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon  Communications VZ.N and Vodafone Group Plc VOD.L, said on  Thursday operating profit and revenue rose on strong subscriber  growth in the fourth quarter.


Lazio goes out; Benfica, Seville among teams to reach next phase ...

Lazio was knocked out of the UEFA Cup competition after a 2-2 draw with lightly regarded Egaleo of Greece, but Middlesbrough, Partizan Belgrade and Villarreal advanced Thursday from the same group.


Perugia, 18:14 - VOLLEY, CHAMPIONS DONNE: SIRIO PERDE MA SI QUALIFICA

La Sirio Colussi Perugia si è qualificata alla seconda fase della Champions League di volley ...


BAGHDAD, Dec 14  - A cousin of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has been captured in the flashpoint city of Fallujah where he was fighting with rebels, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Tuesday.


American forces unleashed a strike yesterday against a suspected hide-out used by associates of terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah and troops battled insurgents on a main thoroughfare in the Iraqi capital, authorities said.


Parlamentari indagati, Fini: "Una montatura"

ROMA, 9 NOVEMBRE 2004 - Nell'ambito dell'inchiesta che ha portato oggi all'arresto di sei persone, risultano indagati dalla procura di Catanzaro anche il sottosegretario alla Giustizia Giuseppe Valentino, originario di Reggio Calabria ed eletto nel 2001


Thatcher was `trying to flee' South Africa before arrest

Mark Thatcher was preparing to flee South Africa when he was arrested over his alleged involvement in a botched coup attempt, police in Cape Town alleged Thursday.


A new breast cancer drug is so effective it will see the end of the current "gold standard" treatment Tamoxifen, researchers said today.


Find the perfect career school in your area. Search our listings for business, culinary, computer, health, technology, art, and many other degree programs near you.


Woman Feeds Medicine-Laced Pastry to Man

BATH, N.Y. - A woman spiked her elderly neighbor's apple strudel cake with medicine after learning the 82-year-old man was going to include her in his will, authorities said.


L'Oreal Challenges eBay Over Sale of Fakes

L'Oreal launches legal action against eBay, says that sales of counterfeit goods on the site have cost the company millions of euros.


The first votes in the contest to elect the next president will be cast in 10 weeks and two days, and intensive campaigning continues this week in Iowa, the site of the kickoff caucuses, to make every moment until then count.


Treasury Dept. Declines to Press China on Yuan

The Treasury Department declined again to designate China as a currency manipulator, despite the increasing pressure from Congress.


"Gara" per eliminare le discriminazioni tra uomini e donne


Partita oggi raccolta firme Carroccio per class action


Republican Mitt Romney said Thursday he would be willing to use a military blockade or "bombardment of some kind" to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.


Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N and   Sun Microsystems Inc. SUNW.O were among the fastest-growing   data storage providers in the second quarter, while EMC Corp.   EMC.N and Dell Inc. DELL.O lagged overall market growth,   researcher IDC said on Thursday.


Phantom Reference Blog: Hello NetBeans, this is PHP!

On the Phantom Reference blog there's a post that looks at the integration between NetBeans and PHP via a plugin.   Do you know that you can use NetBeans to build web applications using PHP? PHP plug-in is an extension to the NetBeans IDE that enables you to perform web based development on NetBeans. While there are several PHP IDEs available in the market today, NetBeans PHP plug-in offers the same functionalities offered by other IDEs and then much more. Here is a short note to quickly get you started with NetBeans PHP plug-in in Solaris.   The instructions are pretty adaptable for any OS out there, but you will need a build of NetBeans 6.1 as well as an Apache/PHP instance to configure. The setup is complete with screenshots as well as an example of making a script and running it right there in the application (no web server needed).


Operazione per complessivi 820 mln euro, verso quota 67,5%


Shutterfly to stay independent, eyes acquisitions

Online photo-sharing company  Shutterfly Inc is eyeing acquisitions outside the photo arena,  and expects to remain independent despite increasingly tough  competition as the industry consolidates.


Military drops charge vs. Air Force grad

The military on Friday dismissed a rape charge against an Air Force Academy graduate whose case was on hold because of a therapist's refusal to turn over the accuser's medical records.


Hundreds of Afghan warlord's supporters in new protests

Hundreds of supporters of a powerful warlord demonstrated in two towns in northern Afghanistan Tuesday, a day after nine people were killed in a similar protest, police said.


Interlagos, Free Practice 3 + 4: The homeboy comes good

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello is determined to shine at his home race. He set fastest time in the final practice session. Renault are optimistic, with Fernando 6th.


Brandon Crone scored 17 points and No. 15 Butler finished its winningest regular season with a 56-36 victory over Detroit on Saturday for a share of the Horizon League championship.


Preparations underway for Yasser Arafat's funeral

ELEANOR HALL: But first to Egypt, where preparations are underway for the funeral of the man who for almost half a century was one of the most dominant figures in Middle East politics.


If your identity is being used by someone else, then his overdose is not your business.


L-3 Communications Corp., which supplies products used in aerospace and defense platforms, agreed to buy CAE Inc.'s Marine Controls division for about $225 million cash and the assumption of about $42.


SAN FRANCISCO  - Business software maker  Oracle Corp.  said on Thursday it extended again its $7.7 billion hostile tender offer for PeopleSoft Inc. , to Sept. 10, as it awaits a U.S. District Court judge's ruling on whether the takeover attempt can move forward.


Japan-North Korea talks end without progress

Japan and North Korea on Thursday wrapped up two days of talks on establishing diplomatic relations without visible progress in disputes over key issues that have hampered efforts to improve bilateral ties.


CITY WILL GET ALL 140,000 FLU VACCINES ON ORDER

The city Health Department expects to soon get the rest of the flu vaccine it ordered, and hopes it can get more from the federal government - but there's no guarantee that everyone considered high risk will get a shot.


Londra, 14:21 - CALCIO, MANCHESTER CITY; INFORTUNIO DABO: FERMO 6 SETTIMANE

Ousmane Dabo ex centrocampista di Inter e Lazio, ora giocatore del Manchester City, dopo aver sconta...


Fidel Castro says US presidential hopeful John McCain lied about Cuba's role in torturing US POWs in Vietnam.


Lawmakers target FDA, Merck in Vioxx probe

Congressional pressure on drug makers and regulators mounted yesterday as the House Energy and Commerce Committee began investigating the approval and recall of Vioxx.


Heavily armed insurgents, some with explosives strapped to their bodies, seized a school in southern Russia today and herded scores of schoolchildren and others into its gymnasium.


Beware of terror in Indonesia, travellers told

New Zealanders are being warned against travelling to Indonesia, including Bali, over the Christmas and New Year period after the Government received reports terrorists were planning an attack.


Technology Outline Calls for Equipment, Training

By Dawn Marks, The Daily Oklahoman  Jun. 9--EDMOND -- The Edmond school system's technology outline for the next five years calls for putting more equipment in students' and teachers' hands.


Intermec Offers Up RFID Patents For Free

Intermec Technologies Inc. has agreed to waive intellectual-property licensing fees for 60 days on 14 patents in hopes of spurring more companies to build prototypes based next-generation standards for radio-frequency identification.


A roadside bomb exploded close to the   U.S. embassy in Kabul on Friday. Witnesses said they saw at   least four bodies they presumed were dead.


Ford and G.M. Sales Slide Despite Generous Rebates

Despite a crop of new car models and a still-generous supply of rebates, sales fell for the Ford Motor Company and General Motors in November.


Five Indiana Pacers players and seven Detroit Pistons fans were charged yesterday in one of the worst brawls in US sports history -- the melee last month that broke out on the basketball court and spread to the stands.


Spain's parliament debates a law to grant reparations to victims of Gen Franco's dictatorship.


John McCain claimed a sweet South Carolina victory that eluded him in 2000 Â and, if history is a guide, may have set himself on course to become the GOP presidential nominee.


American and European schoolchildren are losing ground to countries such as China and India that are adapting faster to changing needs and producing more of the high-skilled workers the 21st century demands, a new report says.


ASIA/INDIA - Roberto De Nobili, il missionario Gesuita, autentico innovatore della predicazione, per la lingua e la cultura New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) - ÂLo chiamavano Âil Predicatore filosoficoÂ. Seppe insegnare il cristianesimo in un modo originale e innovativo, per la religione, la cultura, la linguaÂ: cosÃ¬ il Gesuita p. M. Devadoss ricorda il missionario Roberto Da Nob...


The new year is traditionally the time we reflect on the state of . . . well, everything, with an eye to bettering what can be bettered or at least fantasizing about all those "if onlys" in our lives.


Fred Smoot said Thursday that he is pessimistic about returning to the Washington Redskins next season. Smoot, who was injured in the Redskins' 13-10 loss to Dallas last week and will not play in Sunday's


Edwards defends stepped-up war opposition

John Edwards said Saturday that challenging what he said was a failed war policy in Iraq is a "high form of patriotism." The Democratic presidential candidate defended his decision to use the Memorial Day weekend as a platform to step up his opposition to the war.


N.Korea Says Met U.S. Officials, No Nuclear Progress

North Korea made clear on Saturday it  would not return to six-party talks on its nuclear programs  until President Bush assembled his new team and Washington  decided its policy toward Pyongyang.


Chile is violating the rights of indigenous people by resorting to an outdated anti-terrorism law, a leading rights group says.


Marc Almond critical after motorbike accident

Singer Marc Almond is reported to be in a critical condition after being involved in a serious motorcycle accident in London yesterday.


Nasdaq formally launches 2.9 billion-pound hostile bid for LSE

US stock exchange operator Nasdaq has formally launched a 2.9 billion-pound hostile takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange, setting shareholders a deadline of January 11 to accept the offer.


The Nikkei average rose 1.06 percent by   midday on Wednesday, recovering from a one-month closing low   the previous day as heavyweights such as Fast Retailing Co.   Ltd. 9983.T led the market higher after a rally in U.S.   shares.


Pope Offers Plea for Peace in Christmas Message

Pope John Paul II delivered his traditional Christmas plea for peace on Saturday in an address shortened this year - apparently because of his poor health - but packed


India yesterday resembled a cartoon villain whose face has been frazzled by a backfiring booby trap. Having presented Australia with a green seamer in Nagpur last week they attempted to make amends by producing


A trial of a new type of schizophrenia drug shows promise in patients.


Chinese "elephant man" to go under the knife

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - A Chinese "elephant man" with a crippling 15 kg (33 lb) tumor drooping from his head and face -- the biggest on record -- undergoes life-threatening surgery on Tuesday to have it removed.


Dutch court blocks Kurd rebel extradition

A district court in the Netherlands has blocked the extradition of an alleged Kurdish rebel leader wanted in Turkey for her suspected role in a series of bombings in the 1990s.


EU blocks Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus

The European Union's top competition watchdog on Wednesday blocked Ryanair's takeover of Irish airline Aer Lingus, a move the low-cost carrier has already vowed to appeal.


A senior Israeli official said yesterday the Jewish state did not spy in the United States, following reports a Pentagon analyst is suspected of passing it secret documents about Iran.


U.S. Congressman Meets N.Korean Foreign Minister

A visiting U.S. congressman met North  Korea's foreign minister in Pyongyang Monday, the North's  official KCNA news agency reported, amid concern about stalled  six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs.


Palestinians sign deal on unity government

MECCA, Saudi Arabia  - Rival Palestinian factions signed a deal to form a unity government on Thursday, hoping to end open warfare between their followers, but it was not clear if it was enough to end an international embargo.


Check Fridays and Mondays for weekly team updates and match ...

" I admit it, most of my notes for this game considered of "IY Shannon" and "Mr. and Mrs. Dan Boxx." Oh, and looking up the United States all-time record for Olympic finals played in cities called "Athens...". by Dan Loney. There's only one story this week


Queen of French left visits Spanish socialists

Segolene Royal, the socialist politician widely tipped to be her party's candidate in next year's French presidential elections, was set to meet with centre-left counterparts in Spain.


Paris court takes up Muslim cartoon case

European support for free speech, unequivocal during the 1989 Salman Rushdie affair, has become more muted.


A new type of memory could soon be available to device makers.


CIA Plans Cutbacks, Limits on Contractor Staffing

Acting under pressure from Congress, the CIA has decided to trim its contractor staffing by 10 percent.  It is the agency's first effort since the Sept. 11, 2001,  attacks to curb what critics have decried as the growing privatization of U.S. intelligence work, a circumstance that has sharply...


Studio 18 London office takes off from Jan 2007

Close on the heels of the announcement that Studio 18 would be setting up its London & New York offices for international marketing & Distribution, the London office is all set to take off from January 2007.


Oil steadies as Iran worries counter robust supply

Oil prices firmed above $70 on   Wednesday as dealers weighed tensions over Iran's nuclear   program against robust crude inventories in the United States,   the world's largest energy consumer.


Official Says Canada Isn't U.S. Drugstore

Canada's health minister said Wednesday that his country "cannot be the drug store of the United States" — a warning that comes as several states are pushing to buy low-cost prescription drugs north of the border.


Women must have more control over how they give birth as well as where, new NHS guidance states.


Make sure YOUR wallet is the one getting fatter.


Trees Take Center Stage at Meeting: Divisions in the Upper Eastside Were Exposed Last Week When Neighborhood Activists Continued to Fight Over the Kinds of Trees That Should Line Biscayne

By Tania Valdemoro, The Miami Herald  Feb. 4--Who should represent the Upper Eastside?   The politically thorny question came up Monday night at the end of a contentious three-hour meeting of the Upper Eastside Miami Council.


Shin-Etsu Chemical to Build Vinyl Chloride Monomer Plant in Texas

Tokyo, May 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical Co.  said Wednesday it will build a new plant in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, to make vinyl chloride monomer, a raw material for vinyl chloride resin.


ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- After winning three straight National League Championship Series games at Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros will attempt to advance to the World Series for the first time in their 43-year history when they battle the St.


Spanish police arrest 14 suspected Islamists allegedly involved in recruiting jihadi volunteers.


Aumento costante nel 2007, unica eccezione a dicembre


U.S. is Britain's number one ally: UK minister

New British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, seeking to quash speculation that London may distance itself from Washington over Iraq, insisted on Sunday the United States was still Britain's number one ally.


Neal Fredericks, 35, 'Blair Witch' Filmmaker, Dies

IAMI, Aug. 18  - Neal Fredericks, the cinematographer of the low-budget hit horror film "The Blair Witch Project," was killed on Sunday in a plane crash while filming a movie. He was 35.


The latest six-month report on Internet threats shows a staggering breadth and complexity. Symantec Corp.'s Internet Security Threat Report (http://enterprisesecurity .


Blasts Hit Churches, Hotel, Hospital in Baghdad

Explosions damaged churches and hit a  hospital and hotel in Baghdad on Saturday in fresh challenges  to Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government.


Disco fire in Buenos Aires kills at least 153: minister

BUENOS AIRES  - At least 153 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a fire at a Buenos Aires discotheque packed with 1,500 revelers, Argentine Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez said.


Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Cleveland Indians pitcher Kyle Denney was shot in the right calf late Wednesday night after a bullet caught the team bus and grazed another player.


Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve will be confirmed as Jarno Trulli's '04 replacement at Renault on Friday or Monday.


African Leaders Sign Great Lakes Peace Pact

Eleven African countries signed a  U.N.-backed peace deal for the Great Lakes region on Saturday,  pledging to end genocide, war, hunger and disease that killed 3  million over more than a decade.


NKorean leader's son arrives in Beijing: witnesses

A man believed to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's eldest son has arrived in Beijing, witnesses said.


Missing Italian reporter probably kidnapped in Iraq, editor says

An Italian journalist missing in Iraq since last Thursday was probably the victim of a kidnapping in which his driver was killed, his newspaper Diario said.


Large Doses of Vitamin E May Be Harmful, Study Says

People who take high doses of vitamin E to improve their health may not be getting any benefits and may, in fact, be slightly increasing their risks of dying earlier, researchers reported yesterday.


Orange Revolution's Foe Transformed in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 27 -- The Orange Revolution, strangely, has been kindest to the man who played the villain to the waves of protesters who rolled onto the streets of  this capital two years ago. Viktor Yanukovych, once cast as the bluff hack who tried to steal Ukraine's presidential election, is...


rocket exploded near a helicopter carrying President Hamid Karzai yesterday, forcing him to abandon his trip and raising questions about how difficult it will be for him


Pakistan Arrests 14 Suspects for Quetta Bombing

Pakistani police have arrested at least 14 suspects in a series of raids following a deadly bombing in the southwestern city of Quetta that killed 11 people, police said on Saturday.


Mike Naberezny's Blog:  Horde/Yaml 1.0 Released

Mike Naberezny has posted about the latest release he's made - a 1.0 released too - of the Horde/Yaml library for working with YAML files/information inside of PHP.   This is the package's first stable release. Chuck Hagenbuch started the library as an adaptation of Spyc around six months ago. Since then, he and I have been quietly using and improving it. Along the way, we fixed many issues, added support for pecl/syck, and wrote a test suite with PHPUnit.   You can find the latest download of the package over on the Horde PEAR channel and you can find out more about the YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) spec over on the Yaml.org website.


Andre Woodson threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Steve Johnson with 28 seconds left and Kentucky shocked No. 9 Louisville 40-34 Saturday night, the Wildcats' first victory over a top-10 team in three decades.


Defeated South Africa must not panic, says Smith

Graeme Smith pleaded for South Africa to avoid panic measures after England's victory in first test in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.


Bills tight end Mark Campbell will miss the rest of the season because of an injured right knee.


NATO leaders say peace in Afghanistan key priority

NATO leaders set restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan as the "key priority" of the alliance on Wednesday as members offered some concessions on the levels and mobility of troops battling Taliban insurgents there.


By Leigh Ann Tipton, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.  Feb. 13--BEAVER DAM -- Fecal matter, urine, toilet paper, used condoms and all the other disgusting items flushed down a toilet have been flowing into Jeremy Nance's yard for four years.


Remittances Up in Mexico; Exports May Fall

Consumers and investors will drive the Mexican economy this year, though a global slowdown will probably keep the country from achieving last year's growth rate, Bank of Mexico Governor Guillermo Ortiz said Thursday.


Chile's first female president marked International Women's Day on Thursday saying women were in politics "to stay," while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe must do more to bring about gender ...Comment


In the telecom sector, no company is safe anymore.


'Prescrizione diffusa in coincidenza del decennale di An'


It's ego check time for Intel, Negroponte

Neither side comes out looking good in public row between chip giant and the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child.


He put himself Â and psychoanalysis Â on the couch.


BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The United States sent out its Dream Team for the first match of the Ryder Cup, and it was all downhill from there...


Cricket-Resting Warwickshire win County Championship

LONDON  - Warwickshire won the English County Championship without having to take the field Monday after holders Sussex were beaten by Middlesex at Hove.


Larry Marks says he felt "somewhere between 65 and 70 percent," but that is still enough to score a fourth-round knockout of Elias Cruz.


General Motors Corp. GM.N Chief   Executive Rick Wagoner said he was open to an alliance with   Renault-Nissan and made clear that talks could be extended   beyond a mid-October deadline set by the carmakers.


Urgent action needs taking to tackle the lower attainment of ethnic minority university students, a report says.


Temperature in picchiata Neve in Trentino, piogge in Umbria e ...

ROMA, 7 NOVEMBRE 2004 - Alla fine l'inverno, quello vero, e' arrivato. Le temperature sono diminuite sensibilmente e da domani subiranno un ulteriore abbassamento in tutta Italia. Se in giornata si sono attestate


It Seems the Fertility Clock Ticks for Men, Too

Mounting evidence is suggesting that as men get older, they face an increased risk of fathering children with abnormalities.


Ethiopian court sentences 3 former rebels to death for mass murders

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia  - A court has sentenced three former rebels to death for killing dozens of people while rebel factions jockeyed for power more than a decade ago, a government spokesman said Thursday.


Aumento vistoso dei servizi offerti dagli stabilimenti balneari sulle coste italianeun bagnante puÃ² spendere anche 100 euro per una giornata al mare                                          Ombrelloni d'oro, dilaga il caro-spiaggia rispetto al 2006 si paga fino al 17% in piÃ¹                                                                                Fra i lidi piÃ¹ costosi, Forte dei Marmi, il Poetto a Cagliari, CapriE il ticket lievita se si calcolano pasti, parcheggio, piscina e pedalÃ²


TAMPA, Fla. -- Andre Waters, a defensive back who spent most of his 12 seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Monday. He was 44.


Blog: Security researcher points to rootkit found in fingerprint authentication software in Sony's Micro Vault USB drive.


Murdoch flitting to record Â£22m penthouse

The 20-room penthouse apartment at 834 Fifth Avenue occupies three floors in a building opposite the entrance to Central Park zoo.


Assassination fears as gunshots disrupt Arafat mourning

TWO Palestinian security officers were killed yesterday and five others injured when militants opened fire as PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived at a mourning ceremony for Yassir Arafat in Gaza, sparking fears that the succession race could descend into


Consumer Spending Stronger Than Expected

U.S. consumer spending rose a  sharper-than-expected 0.7 percent in October, showing the  economy off to a solid fourth-quarter start despite a step-up  in inflation, a government report showed on Wednesday.


New Somali President Asks for 20,000 AU Peacekeepers

Somalia's newly elected president,  Abdullahi Yusuf, has asked the African Union to send 20,000  peacekeepers to disarm militias controlling his lawless Horn of  Africa country, an AU spokesman said on Saturday.


Edwards, Clark carry debt from 2004 bids

Democrats John Edwards and Wesley Clark have debts of several hundred thousand dollars from their unsuccessful White House bids in 2004, a burden as they consider presidential runs in 2008.


With a growing economy and closer ties with the U.S., India has a growing military appetite that is attracting contractors seeking big arms deals.


Mozambique Votes to Elect Successor to Chissano

Mozambicans began voting on Wednesday in presidential and parliamentary elections focusing on who will succeed President Joaquim Chissano, stepping down after 18 years in office.


Londra, 12:51 - CALCIO, INGHILTERRA: OWEN NON DEVE OPERARSI

Michael Owen non dovrà operarsi. L'ecografia cui si è sottoposto l'attaccante del Newc...


Canada's Goodale Says C$18 Bln for Health Won't Cause a Deficit

Canada's promise to give C$18 billion ($14 billion) to the 13 provinces and territories over the next six years for health care won't push the federal government into deficit, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said.


The US is calling on Nato to take overall responsibility for peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan. US officials are proposing the separate US and Nato missions there should merge under Nato command


TOKYO - One in 10 high school students in northern Japan has chlamydia, a curable sexually transmitted disease, a study showed Thursday.


Offensiva delle Tigri Tamil a vigilia 60mo dell'indipendenza


With a market value of $162 billion, Apple is now the most valuable computer maker in the world, and it is the fourth most valuable technology company, after Microsoft, Google and Cisco. It will have to battle all of them to stay on top of the tech world.


Sirius, XM shares fall after Sirius cuts forecast

Shares of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.  fell more than 7 percent on Tuesday after the pay-radio provider cut its fourth- quarter subscriber target, citing disappointing sales over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend.


Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc., said on  Friday that it received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking  documents relating to commissions that were paid to a non-U.S.  subsidiary since 1990.


Rilasciati gli ultimi 3 ostaggi, ora sono con la Croce Rossa


Deja vu: Sony uses rootkits, charges F-Secure

(InfoWorld) - A line of USB drives sold by Sony installs files in a hidden folder that can be accessed and used by hackers, a Finnish security company charged Monday, raising the specter of a replay of the fiasco that hit Sony's music arm two years ago when researchers discovered that its copy protection software used rootkit-like technologies. According to F-Secure, the fingerprint-reader software included with the Sony MicroVault USM-F line of flash drives installs a driver that hides in a hidden directory under "c:\\windows". That directory and the files within it are not visible through Windows' usual APIs, said F-Secure researcher Mika Tolvanen in a posting to the company's blog Monday. "[But] if you know the name of the directory, it is possible to enter the hidden directory using [the] Command Prompt, and it is possible to create new hidden files," said Tolvanen. "There are also ways to run files from this directory." All of this -- and the fact that the directory goes unspotted by some antivirus scanners -- is similar to the Sony BMG rootkit case in late 2005. Then, researchers spotted rootkit-like cloaking technologies used by the copy-protection software Sony BMG Music Entertainment installed on PCs when customers played the label's audio CDs. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that Sony had violated federal law and settled with the company earlier this year. Before that, Sony paid out nearly $6 million to settle cases with U.S. states. "This isn't the same code, recycled," said Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure's chief research officer, in an interview Monday. "Sony doesn't do any of its own development in this area; it looks like a Chinese company did it. But the similarities lie in the fact that like the Sony BMG rootkit, this software uses a hidden folder and hides files in it." More important, he said, is another trait shared by both. "This can be used to hide malware," Hypponen charged. By mid-November 2005, less than two weeks after the first reports that the Sony BMG copy protection software used rootkit-style technologies, Trojan horses using the Sony code to hide from security software popped up in the wild. Hypponen is convinced the same thing can happen here. "This will be trivial to use," he said. Both Hypponen and Tolvanen pointed out that the MicroVault software is cloaking the folder for good reason: To protect the fingerprint reader's authentication files from being tampered with or circumvented. The issue, said Hypponen, is that Sony's left the door ajar. "What's not justified is that others can use this folder," he said. "If Sony was only hiding its own files, no one would object." F-Secure first notified Sony "about a month ago" that its rootkit-sniffing software, BlackLight, had reported hidden files on a system with the MicroVault software. "We never got a reply," said Hypponen. Sony did not respond to a Computerworld request for comment Monday.


Spaceship team gets its $10 million prize

Marking the end of a years-long quest, the team behind the SpaceShipOne rocket plane on Saturday accepted the $10 million Ansari X Prize for advancements in private space travel and tourism.


An explosion rocks New York, sending fear over a city that knows it is a target of terror.


Notoriety of President Morales Roils Area's Bolivian Community

On weekend nights, the dance floor at Cecilia's Club in Arlington County pulsates with strobe lights and salsa dancers. But one recent Saturday afternoon, this social hub of the region's large Bolivian population became a sober forum for debate on the political storm that has convulsed the...


The EU will today mount its largest joint military operation when it takes over responsibility from Nato for 7,000 peacekeeping troops in Bosnia.


Uncle of abducted U.S. soldier says video not enough

The uncle of a U.S. soldier kidnapped in Baghdad nearly five months ago said on Wednesday a video of his nephew was encouraging but not sufficient proof he was still alive.


Berlusconi chiarisca se l'accordo con il Pd c'e' o non c'e'


The Quartet of Middle East mediators will discuss a job as envoy for Tony Blair at talks in Jerusalem.


El Duque shines as Mets leave Padres praying for mercy

The New York Mets rode the strong pitching of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez to a 7-0 road victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.


World Business Briefing: South Korea: Lone StarÂs Bank Purchase Challenged

Lone Star FundsÂ 1.4 trillion won ($1.5 billion) purchase of the Korea Exchange Bank in 2003 was illegal, South Korean prosecutors said, setting up a court case that may cause the sale to be annulled. A former finance ministry official, Byeon Yang-ho, took bribes and conspired with the former president of Korea Exchange, Lee Kang-won, to drive down the sale price by as much as $900 million, the Supreme ProsecutorsÂ Office said. Mr. Byeon denied the accusations. Regulators will determine whether the sale should be voided, said Chae Dong-wook, a prosecutor. Last month Lone Star abandoned the sale of the bank to Kookmin Bank for a profit of about $4 billion because of the investigations. ÂIt is the same old broad conspiracy theory that never made any sense and still is not supported by any hard evidence,Â Lone StarÂs chairman, John Grayken, said in a statement.


Software got the biggest bucks, with drops in chip and telecom investments.


Higher costs for energy and food last year pushed inflation up by the largest amount in 17 years, even though prices generally remained tame outside of those two areas


Princess Diana Hits Out at Charles in Videotape

Princess Diana was "traumatized" by Prince Charles' refusal to publicly declare his love for her on the day of their engagement and became bulimic to punish herself for their failed marriage.


Alex, Wendy, Dirk and Kyle Komarnitsky would like you to help them with their Christmas decorations. Or more precisely, the family in Lafayette, Colorado, want you to turn on and off the 17,000 Christmas lights


Fifteen backup programs to safeguard your data

(InfoWorld) - There's no way around it: Malware happens, drive failure happens, natural disaster happens. If your data isn't backed up, it's gone -- or it will require an extremely expensive, not-certain-to-succeed recovery operation. If all you have on your system are scribblings and unimportant downloads, you might not care. But you probably have something of value: scanned pictures of ancestors, wedding videos, a presentation you worked all week on, the song that's going to make you famous. It pays to back up, and it has never been easier to do so. No matter what method you're most comfortable with, be it traditional file-based backup, image backup, or continuous data protection, one of the following 15 tools will do the trick. Traditional backup Traditional backup (also called file-based backup) programs read and write data at the file level, and are the oldest type of backup available. The biggest distinctions between products lie in their ability to back up open files (files being edited by apps, or locked by the operating system), support for professional hardware such as tape drives, and disaster recovery -- namely, the ability to boot from a CD and restore the system as well as data. (Note: Roxio is releasing a new version of the venerable Backup MyPC, but it wasn't available in time for this review.) CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 If you're searching for easy-to-use traditional backup but you don't need disaster recovery, look no further. PowerBackup has the friendliest user interface in this roundup. Its approach helps you get up to speed quickly without unnecessarily shielding you from the concepts you need to understand to form an effective backup strategy. The program also has all the features that average users need, including full/incremental/differential backup, files comparison, and versatile scheduling. What's missing are tape-drive support (not an issue for most users, who back up to hard drive or CD/DVD) and true disaster recovery -- it gives you no way to create a boot disc. However, PowerBackup does create self-restorable backups: Simply click on your latest backup (it'll have an .exe extension), and up pops a little dialog box asking if you want to restore the files to their original location or a new one. Since reinstalling Vista isn't that painful, disaster recovery isn't the issue it once was, though it would behoove CyberLink to look into adding a boot-disc option in version 3. Price: $40; 30-day trial Download PowerBackup 2.5 EMC Retrospect 7.5 Retrospect is unquestionably the most powerful consumer backup program on the market today. Its features are second to none, covering full/incremental/differential backups, disaster recovery, automatic updating, open-file backup, and even plain file copying. You name it, this program has it. You even get a scripting tool for creating complex backup jobs. Alas, Retrospect is neither easy to learn nor easy to use. It's conceptually complex (sometimes needlessly, calling jobs "sets," for example), and it has an overall layout and workflow that only a tech geek could love. It's also expensive: The $129 price tag ($119 download) alone will drive most home users into the arms of the competition. Still, if you want the ultimate in control over your backups, as well as support for tape drives and remote backup (invoking backups on other machines on the network), it's the way to go. Price: $129 box, $119 download Download Retrospect 7.5 NovaStor NovaBackup 8 Standard Before the advent of Vista, NovaBackup gave even Retrospect's feature set a run for its money. It doesn't have scripting, but non-IT types rarely employ such functions anyway, and -- unlike its pricey rival -- NovaBackup is easy to use. The tabbed navigation, well-designed windows, and easy-to-understand language and concepts are a comparative joy. Unfortunately, NovaBackup's disaster recovery features extend only to XP. If you run the program on Vista, the option to create a recovery disc isn't available. NovaStor has developed a Vista restore function but is currently hammering out the distribution agreement with Microsoft. Aside from the aforementioned omissions, NovaBackup has a full bag of tricks: full/incremental/differential backup, open-file backup, scheduling, plain file copying, and support for a wide variety of tape drives in addition to the usual hard-drive and optical-drive support. One feature that sets it apart from the crowd is an integrated virus scanner that helps you make sure all your files are uninfected before you back them up. Price: $50; 15-day trial Download NovaBackup 8 Standard Genie-Soft Backup Manager Pro 8 Version 8 of Genie-Soft's Genie Backup Manager Pro is a substantial improvement over previous versions. It has the open-file backup function that was formerly a separate $40 module, and it adds disaster recovery to the full, incremental, differential, and mirror backups already offered. Put bluntly, Genie is playing with the big boys now. Genie Backup Manger Pro is simple to use, with a versatile interface that has both normal and easy modes. The former features standard restore and backup panes presented in a step-by-step format with access to advanced features; the latter employs the same wizard-based workflow but with a cleaner look, and no tools or advanced options. The new self-booting disaster recovery boot disc uses Vista Pre-installation Environment (Win PE 2.0), but unlike others of its ilk it offered no opportunity that I could find to add drivers ex post facto, and in my tests it failed to connect to my network. The program has some minor cosmetic and language glitches as well, such as too-tiny text in a dialog box on the disaster recovery disc, but I've never experienced a problem backing up with Genie. Price: $70; 30-day trial Download Genie Backup Manager Pro 8 NTI Backup Now 5 NTI's design philosophy is to keep things simple. Unfortunately, simple isn't always easy to use -- take for example the buttons labeled with numbers instead of their function. Still, you'll have far less trouble getting up to speed with this program than with a product like Retrospect, and the look of the Backup Now interface is substantially improved for version 5. Backup Now 5 offers the usual basics: full and incremental backup, scheduling, and a compare function. It also has a nice set of utilities that display information about your drives, network, and system. Unfortunately, in my testing it failed to back up some open files (files in use by the OS or other programs). At $50, Backup Now is pricey for a program with no disaster recovery. However, combined in the $60 Deluxe Suite with the Drive Backup imaging component, which does have that feature, it's a much better deal. Drive Backup 5 and Deluxe Suite 5 aren't available at this writing; according to NTI they should ship in November. Price: $50; 30-day trial Download Backup Now 5 Backups based on imaging "Imaging" is the copying of the entire contents of a hard-drive partition -- the boot sector, operating system, and data -- to a single file. The beauty of an image is that creating or restoring one takes only a single step -- backup and disaster recovery just don't get any easier. That said, the line between traditional-backup programs and imaging apps is blurring. Programs such as Norton Save & Restore and Acronis True Image now have the ability to back up individual files and folders in addition to full partitions, and can even perform incremental and differential backups. Norton Save & Restore Symantec has taken great pains to make Save & Restore user-friendly by removing the concept of images from the interface -- you'd hardly know this program created them, for all the talk about recovery points. But it is indeed an imaging program, with a wide range of features such as full/incremental imaging, file and folder backup, scheduled backups, encryption, and compression. It also has a unique (among imaging programs) housekeeping function that automatically culls previous backups to keep scheduled jobs from failing due to lack of space. Advanced users might find tunneling down for options such as raw imaging (copying all sectors) a tad wearying, but such options do exist. Unfortunately, tunneling down also reveals a pane with a download link to Google Desktop, completely integrated with the options dialog box. I can't speak for anyone else, of course, but I don't want to spend $50 on a program and find ads in my options dialog box. Symantec should be ashamed. But the real fly in the ointment is that you can't create an image using the install/boot disc, only restore one. You do get a file-copy utility, but it's a much slower process that leaves room for user error when you're trying to save data from a failed Windows installation. The boot disc is Win PE 2.0-based, though, so you can load drivers as needed; it also provides a virus scanner, an extremely handy item in case of a malware attack. Price: $50; 30-day trial Download Norton Save & Restore Acronis True Image Home 11 In breadth of features, True Image can't be beat. It runs from within Windows or from a Linux-based boot disc, creates full and incremental images, and also backs up single files and folders. It offers the usual compression and encryption options, and if you opt for the more expensive Workstation version you can also purchase a Universal Restore module that will restore images to a PC with a different hardware profile from the one that the image was created on. Version 11's interface is friendlier than past editions, though still unintuitive at times, and it presents some very useful new features. Try & Decide mode, for example, works like a proactive Windows Restore, writing changes to the program's Secure Zone hidden recovery partition and committing them later only at your discretion. Turn it on before you install unfamiliar software or browse to suspicious Web sites. In my gold beta it caused a noticeable performance hit, but it's a nice safeguard to have. In addition, you can now restore individual files and folders from a full image within the main program, as well as perform a quick system-state backup; you also get improved filtering and masking for file and folder backup. The interface may be befuddling in spots, but True Image is the best all-around backup software on the market. Price: $50; 15-day trial Download Acronis True Image Home 11 Runtime Software DriveImage XML How can you say anything bad about a program that's free? Even if it weren't, I wouldn't. I've used DriveImage XML a number of times over several years, and for basic imaging from within Windows, you can't go wrong. It creates images with or without unused sectors (images of the former type are larger, but great for transferring a partition from a rapidly failing drive to a good one for data recovery), and it restores them whole or retrieves only selected files and folders. The program is unique in writing header information about the data being backed up (sector locations of files, etc.) in XML format so that it can be read by numerous programs, including Web browsers. This feature may not be useful for the average user, but it does allow us geekier types to process the data in other ways. A module for the popular Bart's PE boot disc is available so you can restore images even when Windows won't boot, though creating a custom Bart's PE disc isn't for technophobes. DriveImage XML does have limitations. You can't back up individual files or folders, it offers no encryption, and you can't restore an image to a partition smaller than the one it was created from even if the data will fit. But for the price, we're not complaining -- the program is the perfect complement to traditional or continuous-protection programs that lack disaster recovery. Price: Free Download DriveImage XML Active @ Disk Image Though the imaging module is only part of the attraction of this handy boot disc, it's a component I've employed often, and it's both straightforward to use and reliable. All the basics are there: You can create compressed, encrypted images and restore them in their entirety or just retrieve selected files and folders. Additionally, you get a raw write mode that copies all sectors regardless of status, plus a drive clone function. Alas, the product has no Windows-installable component, so you can create images only if you boot from the disc, making it more suitable for disaster recovery than regular backup. The boot disc is based on Vista PE (Pre-installation Environment), so you can install drivers at any time in case you need to attach some esoteric outboard gear like a tape drive. While not as powerful an imaging product as Acronis's True Image or Norton's Save & Restore, the Active @ Boot Disc has some attractive disaster recovery utilities, including partition recovery, deep file recovery, disk wiping, a backup-to-CD/DVD program, a password changer, a Web browser (Vista PE offers network connectivity), and more. They're not weak throwaways either, but industrial-strength applications. Price: $80 Download Active @ Disk Image Paragon Drive Backup 8.5 Though reliable, capable, and truly user-friendly, Paragon's Drive Backup 8.5 imaging application falls a few features short of the latest versions of Acronis's True Image and Norton's Save & Restore. It lacks the ability to back up individual files and folders, and has none of Norton's automated housekeeping, or Acronis's Try & Decide or inline selective restore of files from full images. However, Drive Backup's tabbed interface and exceptionally well-done wizards put advanced options at your fingertips instead of hiding them as Norton does. Some of those options include full and differential imaging, a recovery disc that will integrate the partitioning abilities of the company's Partition Manager if you own that program, and the ability to create a hidden restore partition (which Paragon calls a Backup Capsule). Note: If you use the download version of Drive Backup 8.5, be sure to download the separate recovery CD as well. The bare-bones recovery disc that the program itself creates has limited driver support, lacking even USB. Price: $50; 30-day trial Download Drive Backup 8.5 Continuous backup Continuous data protection (CDP), sometimes called real-time backup, tracks files and backs them up whenever they change. Think of it as something like selective RAID mirroring, where only the files and folders you choose are copied. Unfortunately, CDP suffers the same weakness as RAID mirroring does: It might back up corrupted and infected files, as well as pieces of malware. The risk is substantially reduced, however, since nearly all CDP programs let you keep multiple versions of the files you back up, and normally you'll be backing up only data, not the executables that are most prone to attack. All told, CDP may cost you a few CPU cycles here and there, but it's a great way to keep your system backed up at all times. NTI Shadow 3 Though the first version of Shadow wasn't ready for prime time (it missed backing up some files), subsequent versions have been relatively reliable. That said, I did manage to crash version 3 once this go-round; and during the initial baseline backup (copying everything the first time), it failed to back up its own locked log files, a shortcoming it shares with NTI's Backup Now. Generally, however, open-file backup isn't important when you're backing up only the My Documents folder -- the most common scenario with CDP. Shadow will back up files either as they change or at specified intervals, a nice option if you don't want the program interfering with CPU- or disk-intensive applications such as real-time video or audio recording. You can also save all revisions of a file, a specified number of revisions, or only the latest copy. Shadow's interface is attractive and friendly, though I'd rather be able to specify multiple destinations for a backup job instead of defining multiple jobs to accomplish the same thing. Multiple jobs give the program greater flexibility, however. Shadow lacks a true fully integrated restore function, but it does add an Explorer right-click menu option that allows you to restore Shadow backup files to their original location or a new one. Price: $30; 30-day trial Download NTI Shadow IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files Most users aren't accustomed to configuring programs through their Web browser, as IBM's Tivoli CDP for Files requires. But applications targeting the enterprise market, including Tivoli, often operate through an HTML interface so that users can easily access them across a WAN. I found the latest version of CDP for Files, 3.1.1.2, a pleasant surprise -- a swan has replaced the ugly-duckling interface of last year's version 2.2. Among the CDP programs in this roundup, its interface is the slickest and the easiest to use. Playing on the big corporate stage, where literally billions of dollars' worth of data is at stake, also tends to weed out weaklings -- CDP for Files has been around for a while. It does exactly what you need done, does it reliably, and stops there. It watches folders and files you specify and copies them to both a local storage destination and an external destination such as a network drive, keeping as many revisions as you want. You can use encryption and compression or stick with plain file copying. Once configured, CDP for Files sits in the system tray and accomplishes its duties with minimal fuss. I noticed no system slowdown, but the program does offer a right-click option to disable it temporarily if you're doing something disk-intensive. Though IBM's CDP for Files is a bit pricey, it works well, and there's just something about having software with an enterprise bloodline protecting your data that gives you peace of mind. Price: $42 Download IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files StarDock KeepSafe At first glance Keepsafe may appear to be a CDP program, but it's actually a revision-tracking utility. Unlike true CDP utilities, this application doesn't make an initial baseline backup of the files or folders it's watching, and it doesn't back up files copied to a watched directory. It backs up files only after an application has saved them to the folder. This odd design choice limits Keepsafe's appeal, but it's still a suitable adjunct for more traditional backup methods, and it's perfect for tracking projects. In keeping with its narrow focus, configuring Keepsafe is document-centric, not folder-centric. When you finish installing the program, the setup wizard presents you with a list of document types to include or exclude. For most users the extensive default list will work fine, but double-check it to make sure -- the .bmp (bitmap) extension that I use for my screen captures wasn't included. Fortunately, you can add many more predefined types with a single click; and when you select additional locations to watch in the subsequent wizard step, you can turn the exclude function off if you simply want to watch everything. Price: $30; 30-day trial (limited features) Download StarDock KeepSafe MirrorFolder This powerful little gem from Techsoft not only mirrors multiple folders to multiple locations but can also synchronize them. Though MirrorFolder lacks true revisioning (retention of multiple copies of files), it has an option to archive files that are about to be overwritten to a .zip file. After you set the source and target locations, you have literally dozens of options, including whether the target is a mirror or synced folder, when operations should be performed (in real time or scheduled), who can do them, how overwrites are handled, how long logs are kept, and so on. The large array of settings can lead to a bit of sensory overload until you get up to speed. Fortunately, the program is for the most part logically laid out, and tool tips pop up over every option with a concise explanation of what it is or does. IBM's simpler-to-configure Tivoli CDP is only a couple of bucks more and probably a better fit for the average user. But MirrorFolder's extreme configurability and advanced options, such as copying folder user permissions, make it a must-have for anyone who wants to do complex real-time backup. Price: $39; 30-day trial Download MirrorFolder AJC Active Backup AJC's Active Backup may not have a splashy name or a sexy interface, but its no-nonsense, logical approach to setup, configuration, and backup is a breath of fresh air. That said, I have two decidedly minor setup gripes: It offers no New Folder button when you browse for the location to store your backups (you can select a location and add the new directory name by typing it), and the program is a little too polite, not automatically setting itself to run when Windows boots. Other than that, it's a model of design efficiency. AJC consists of two modules. One is a backup applet that sits in the system tray waiting to back up files in locations you specify, and the other is a viewer module that lets you browse the revisions of documents added to the program's proprietary .aja compressed archive files. The program performed well in my testing, though it didn't offer to copy previously archived files when I changed the backup location. It did, however, keep track of files that were changed while the backup destination was unavailable (my network-attached storage box was off), and it copied them when the location became available again. My only other wish is that AJC would back up to multiple locations. I feel better when I know my current articles are backed up both to local storage and to something remote on the other end of the network. Price: $30; 30-day trial Download AJC Active Backup PCWorld is an InfoWorld affiliate.


Report: al-Qaida May Target VA Hospitals

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida terrorists looking for a U.S. military target might try to attack a Veterans Affairs hospital rather than a base or other high-security installation, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warn in a new nationwide terrorism bulletin...


Asian shares dipped on Thursday, as tech shares followed U.S. counterparts lower after an influential investment bank downgraded the sector.


LONDON: Arsenal's Brazilian World Cup winning midfielder Gilberto Silva is set to be out for at least a month with a back injury, the Premiership leaders said on Tuesday.


VANCOUVER, British Columbia  - A hot-air balloon caught fire as it left for a sunset flight near Vancouver, killing two people and injuring 11, including some who jumped from the craft in midair, police and witnesses said on Saturday.


Personal Solar Panels Could Help Power Mobile Devices

Mobile phone users left talking to themselves when their battery runs out in the middle of a call could soon see an end to their frustration as scientists perfect a way to recharge electrical equipment while on the move.


U.S. and China promise Americans lead-free toys

U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on Tuesday to take immediate steps to stop the use of lead paint in toys made in China following toy recalls that have scared American parents ahead of holiday shopping.


Lawmakers Introduce Sept. 11 Legislation

Sept. 11 commission members thought it would be too difficult to break up the CIA and rearrange the Pentagon's spy agencies under a single national intelligence director, as is being proposed in the Senate, the commission's vice chairman says.


`Jeopardy' champ Ken Jennings blasts show

"Jeopardy!" ace Ken Jennings, who won $2.5 million during his 74-game winning streak, has a few unkind words to say about the show — and dapper host Alex Trebek.


The US says a suspected al-Qaeda member has been captured in East Africa and sent to Guantanamo Bay.


A cut-out-and-keep reference guide It's a little known fact that it's possible to have your DNA profile removed from the National DNA Database (NDNAD). While the Police have processes to gather and retain DNA samples - they don't yet have a procedure to delete the DNA of innocent members of the public.â¦


U.S. Soldiers Kill 25 Insurgents in Iraq

U.S. troops and warplanes killed at least 25 insurgents as they attacked an American outpost in northern Iraq with a car bomb and explosives, the military said Thursday.


L'azienda italiana ha offerto 1,12 miliardi di euro


Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, who had offered to quit over a controversial cabinet reshuffle, submitted his resignation Wednesday.


Scholarship Added to Extra Effort Awards

By Dan Simmons, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.  Feb. 21--A $1,000 Randy Smith Leadership Award has been added to the list of scholarships available to recipients of the La Crosse Tribune Extra Effort Awards.


The real drama of the latest BCS standings -- the last before the final rankings are issued Sunday -- was the razor-thin margin separating No. 4 California and No. 5 Texas.


Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, accused of leading the biggest accounting fraud in US history, must stand trial in New York, not Mississippi where he lives and the company was based.


Bush, Kerry health plans costly, lacking

$13 million Palm Beach mansion and may have to give up his 92-foot yacht and two other boats, several other residences, three airplanes, two new Cadillacs, a 2000 Rolls-Royce, a 2003 Lamborghini, jewelry and art, including a Picasso, all worth $280 million


PeopleSoft Firing of Conway Tied to Oracle Comment

Former PeopleSoft Inc. Chief Executive Craig Conway testified that he lied when he told investors last year that Oracle Corp.'s $7.


Hong Kong brushes off Swiss dressage pullout

Hong Kong's summer heat posed little risk to horses in the 2008 Olympic equestrian events and the Swiss dressage team's pullout would have no effect on the Games, the body organizing the equine events said on Thursday.


XM Satellite in $650 Million Deal with Pro Baseball

XM Satellite Radio on Wednesday said  it signed a $650 million deal to broadcast Major League  Baseball games for 11 years, countering a rival's moves to sign  up high-profile programing that will lure listeners to the new  medium.


Caselli, scandaloso essere considerato eversivo


Australia's government calls for an end to a permit system which limits those who can visit Aboriginal lands.


If you don't think Kevin Youkilis is happy to be back in the Red Sox lineup, consider this: He was in his uniform and on the field three hours before last night's game against the Devil Rays.


Jarvis Says It Needs Fresh Financing to Keep Trading

Jarvis Plc, the UK engineering company whose debt is more than 15 times its market value, said it may be wound up in the New Year unless it secures new financing arrangements.


THURSDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- For cancer survivors, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight are important factors in preventing malignancy's return, at least for some forms of the disease.


Task force should clear shuttle for launch

NASA appears on track to return the space shuttle to flight in May or June 2005 as planned, says an influential oversight panel. The independent task force - set up to oversee NASA's efforts following the


Polish PM hails EU support for Poland's veto

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski hailed on Tuesday EU's support for Poland 's veto concerning the new EU agreement with Russia as a big success of Poland's diplomacy.Comment


Some 28 U.S. GIs Face Afghan Abuse Cases

WASHINGTON - Up to 28 U.S. soldiers face possible criminal charges in connection with the deaths of two prisoners at an American-run prison in Afghanistan two years ago, the Army announced Thursday...


Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce won re-election Monday by a margin so slim that a recount will be required.


Stangata su bolli e tasse locali E giovedÃ¬ si vota la fiducia

Stangata di 1.120 mln (1.320 dal 2007) su bolli e imposte di registro. Lo prevede il maxiemendamento depositato dal governo. Riguarda anche tasse di concessione governative, imposte ipotecarie e catastali.


Northrop gets contract worth up to $686 mln

Northrop Grumman Corp. 's  Space & Mission Systems business unit is being awarded a U.S.  Navy technical services contract worth up to $686.1 million to  support the U.S. Joint Forces Command's warfighting center, the  Defense Department said on Friday.


Mauresmo, Sugiyama reach quarters in Linz

_Top seed Amelie Mauresmo reached the quarterfinals of the US$585,000 (euro483,255) Generali Ladies Open at the Intersport Arena on Thursday, beating Poland's Marta Domachovska 6-4, 6-0.


Turkey to vote in most important poll in decades

Turkey votes on Sunday in a parliamentary election pitting the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party against nationalists who disagree strongly over the future path of the secular Muslim country.


January Becomes Snowiest Month for Boston

More than 5 more inches of snow fell on Boston by Thursday morning, putting a fresh coat on the leavings of last weekend's blizzard and making January the city's snowiest on record.


White House: no rift with military on Iraq troops

President Bush is considering a short-term increase of U.S. troop strength in Iraq, a spokesman said on Tuesday as he denied reports of a rift between White House officials pushing the option and resistant Pentagon chiefs.


Philippine rebels vow to end conflicts through talks

The Philippine rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Monday reiterated its resolve to end conflict with the government troops through talks.


Sara' consegnato oggi all'ufficio del leader sciita


The hunt for Earth-like planets is to be stepped-up as a new mission, Corot, prepares for launch.


Ralph Cioffi coinvolto nella crisi dei subprime


GOOD, BAD, UGLY: Katrina's Effects on Environment Sometimes Surprising

By Mike Keller, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.  Sep. 8--A year ago, Katrina wreaked havoc on many aspects of life in South Mississippi. Often concern for the environment and our natural resources took a back seat to the immediacy of rescue, relief and recovery.


Liverpool chairman David Moores is considering his position because of constant takeover talks.


Radical Cleric Al-Masri Faces U.K. Charges

British authorities have decided to charge a radical Muslim cleric with terrorist offenses, pre-empting a bid from the United States to try him on similar charges, a British news agency reported Friday.


Union workers may face a 23 percent slash in pay; United says it needs cash reserves. United Airways asked a bankruptcy judge to impose a 23 percent pay cut on its union workers, including pilots and attendants.


Apple Sues Three for Posting Mac OS X on Net

Apple Computer Inc. has sued three men for illegally distributing test copies of the next version of its Mac OS X operating system on a file-sharing Web site, court records showed on Tuesday.


Will it be Google? Paul Allen? How about Qualcomm?


Japan, China try to smooth over tensions

Japanese and Chinese officials were trying to arrange a meeting between the leaders of their two countries on the sidelines of a weekend summit to try to calm rising tensions, authorities said.


Anything goes at the annual Super Bowl media blitz

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith paused, looked left and then right in a desperate attempt to understand the relevance of the question.


For years, President Bush and his advisers expressed frustration that the White House received little credit for the nation's strong economic performance because of public discontent about the Iraq war. Today, the president is getting little credit for improved security in Iraq, as the public...


Karzai arrives in Canada for three-day state visit

Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Ottawa for talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, hoping also to quell local opposition to Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan, officials said.


Amazon.com buys J.K. Rowling tales for $4 million

Amazon.com Inc, the Web retailer known  for selling books, said it had paid about $4 million to buy a  handwritten, illustrated book of wizardry by "Harry Potter"  author J.K. Rowling.


Tiger's wife sues Irish magazine over pictures

Tiger Woods's wife Elin has issued libel proceedings against an Irish magazine for publishing fake nude pictures of her during September's Ryder Cup tournament in Ireland, a court official said on Friday.


Bryant scores 42, but Heat nip Lakers in overtime

It was improbable that a game less than one-third of the way into the NBA season could live up to the hype. But the first head-on collision between the Corvette and the Diesel, err, the brick wall, came pretty close.


MANAGEMENT at the Italian national airline Alitalia put forward a rescue plan today to trade unions that foresees slashing 5000 jobs and splitting the struggling carrier into two in order to keep it aloft.


Dell says its blades are the best for the planet

Sometimes it's about both the steak and the sizzle: Dell on Monday unveiled its new line of blade servers, and included a hearty helping of rhetoric to go with it. Vendor bombast is becoming more common as the blade-server market heats up.


Israel Approves Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved  the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners in what Prime Minister  Ariel Sharon called a goodwill gesture to bolster new  Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and build mutual trust.


Soft Cell Singer Critical Marc Almond suffers serious injuries in ...

Soft Cell singer Marc Almond suffered serious head injuries in a motorcycle accident in London on Sunday afternoon. The forty-seven-year-old Almond was the passenger on a motorcycle that collided with a car at an intersection.


RIL approves share buyback at Rs 570 per share; Anil abstains

Mumbai, Dec 27 (UNI) The Reliance Industries Limited Board of Directors at its meeting today, with RIL Vice Chairman and Managing Director Anil Ambani abstaining from voting, approved the proposal of buyback of the company's fully paid up equity shares of


Ministro,centrodestra ha avuto 5 anni per applicare sue idee


Home mortgage firm Freddie Mac on Friday said it began paying previously owed compensation to its former chairman and chief executive Leland C. Brendsel after a federal court lifted a government freeze order on the funds during a pending accounting


Raucous squawking erupts from cages filled with dozens of parrots — a hopeful sound from a species on the brink of extinction. The last chance of survival for the Puerto Rican parrot may lie in forest aviaries where these captive birds began their nesting in January under close observation.


At least one Palestinian is shot dead by Israeli troops as he attacked a checkpoint near Gaza City.


Leading shares closed sharply lower, as a profit warning from Tomkins, an arrest of another gaming executive in the US and continued weakness on Wall Street undermined sentiment, and offset relief the Bank of England left rates unchanged, dealers said.


Putin casts doubts over viability of Iraq polls

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast doubts over the viability of holding free and fair elections in Iraq, saying he "cannot imagine" how an occupied country can go through a meaningful electoral exercise.


Proposals Draw Sharply Divided Reactions in Mideast

JERUSALEM, Dec. 7 -- The Iraq Study Group's call for a broad Middle East peace conference put Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government on the defensive Thursday, while Palestinian officials praised the recommendations as a possible "turning point" for U.S. policy in the region.


World number seven Tim Henman is already focused on the Masters in Houston and believes he has a good chance of finishing his 2004 season on a high there.


A study of pre-historic animals reveals the crucial role of the English Channel in shaping  Britain's natural history.


Red Cross fined $4.2 mln over blood safety

The U.S. government fined the   American Red Cross $4.2 million for failing to ask blood donors   proper screening questions and skipping other steps meant to   keep the blood supply safe, officials said on Friday.


New Sharks, Rays Discovered in Indonesia Fish Markets

A five-year survey of fish for sale at ports across the archipelago has revealed at least 20 previously unknown species, according to the Australian team that led the study.See photos >>


Sheriff's investigators denied they are the source of recent leaks to the media in the Michael Jackson child molestation case and also said Monday that an investigation has been started to find who might be responsible.


The international coalition pushing for Middle East peace awaited an update Sunday from its envoy, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and considered developments after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent trip to the region.


Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is interested in moving into Russia after strong growth in that giant country's retail spending, the world's largest retailer said Monday.


Hydrogen has zero greenhouse emissions when "burned" in the novel car engines now under development - but being a gas it is expensive to compress or liquefy.


Jacko to show at pricey Tokyo event, but won't sing

Michael Jackson is set to appear at a Tokyo Christmas event next month and organizers are charging a staggering $3,400 for tickets even though he won't sing.


When the college football season began, the University of Southern California was No. 1 - almost by acclamation.


Kerry, Greenspan Diff on Social Security

SEATTLE Aug. 28, 2004 - John Kerry doesn't talk much about Social Security on the campaign trail, but he laid out some thoughts for a voter in Everett, Wash.


Spain's foreign minister admits Spain may have been a stopover for secret CIA flights, but says no law was broken.


Techician pleads guilty in ID theft case

A computer technician who prosecutors said made possible the largest identity theft in US history, surpassing $US50 million ($A71.


Like a recurring nightmare, reports of the beheading of civilians kidnapped by Iraqi terrorists flashed across our newspapers and television screens this week in macabre, horrifying succession.


Major crisis looming in Ethiopia rebel region: NGO

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Tuesday a major humanitarian crisis could be developing in Ethiopia's rebel Ogaden region, where the organisation was repeatedly denied access in recent weeks.


Citigroup raises offer price for Nikko Cordial

Citigroup  sweetened its takeover  offer for Japan's Nikko Cordial Corp. (8603.T) on Tuesday,  saying it would pay 1,700 yen a share for the brokerage rather  than the 1,350 yen announced initially.


Gov. Bob Riley stayed the execution of a contract killer Thursday, hours before it was to have been carried out, so the inmate could be put to death using a new lethal injection formula the governor had ordered just a day earlier.


Study Shows eBay Buyers Save Billions of Dollars

Independent research by two statisticians found buyers saved $7 billion that they might have otherwise been ready to pay.


It's been 14 years since first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care reform plan sank like a stone, swallowed by fears of a big-government power grab. In the years since, wary presidential candidates at first avoided the issue altogether, then gingerly dipped one toe, then another, back into the pool.


Blog: Video-sharing company sees CEO Steven Starr move to chairman. Company best known for paying videographers has seen employee exodus in last six months.


Chile's Supreme Court yesterday stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, paving the way for possible trials of the 88-year-old general on charges of human rights abuses during his 17-year rule.


Currency impasse overshadows U.S.-China deals

The United States and China struck civil aviation and financial sector access deals on Wednesday but they made no headway on the divisive issue of Chinese currency reform, stoking anger on Capitol Hill.


Craig Stadler is excited to play with legends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in Saturday's Champions Skins Game.


NEW YORK  - A day after he filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS for violating his contract, veteran newsman Dan Rather said Thursday that he would "absolutely not" settle purely for money.


World needs to commit more resources to treat people infected with ...

Leaders of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have stressed that as the world commits more resources to treat people infected with HIV, it must also intensify efforts to develop a vaccine to prevent new infections and stop the continuing


On the anniversary of his death, Richard Lacayo looks back at the sharpest customer to play the common man since Will Rogers twirled his lariat


Arrests made in Taiwanese re-marking raid, AMD says

An unspecified number of re-marked AMD processors were seized in a raid last week on four businesses in Taiwan, an AMD spokeswoman said today.


BEIJING - A Chinese company that once tried to sell land on the Moon has lost an appeal against a court ruling that stopped it from selling bags of "World Cup air," state media reported Wednesday.


Microsoft beats Street, reports strongest Q1 in eight years

Strong sales of new and old products alike led Microsoft to its fastest first-quarter growth in eight years with the company reporting growth in all five business segments and both revenue and EPS (earnings per share) that beat analyst expectations.Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30 was up 27 percent at $13.76 billion compared to $10.81 billion a year ago, Microsoft said Thursday. Consensus estimates from Thomson First Call analysts were for the company to generate revenue of $12.57 billion. Microsoft's EPS for the quarter was $0.45, which also soundly beat Thomson First Call consensus estimate of $0.39. Net income for the quarter was $4.29 billion, a 23 percent increase over the $3.48 billion reported a year ago.At $5.92 billion, operating income for the quarter also had double-digit percentage growth: An increase of more than 25 percent over operating income reported for the same period last year of $4.47 billion.Microsoft's first quarter was buoyed by the highly anticipated launch of the Xbox 360 game Halo 3 on Sept. 25, just days before the quarter's close. In its first 24 hours on sale, the game brought in $170 million in sales; it became the fastest selling video game in history after being in the market for just a week and a half, according to the company.Strong performances from Microsoft's client, business, server and tools, and online divisions also contributed to revenue growth in the quarter. In particular, Microsoft said sales of its Windows Vista OS experienced double-digit growth through multi-year business contracts, and demand for Microsoft Office, Windows Server, and SQL Server was also high.Looking ahead, Microsoft said it expects to report revenue in the range of $15.6 billion to $16.1 billion for its second quarter, which ends Dec. 31. Operating income is expected to be in the range of $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion, while diluted EPS are expected to be between $0.44 to $0.46 for the second quarter, the company said.For its fiscal year 2008, Microsoft expects revenue in the range of $58.8 billion to $59.7 billion and operating income in the range of $23.3 billion to $23.7 billion. Diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $1.78 and $1.81 for the fiscal year, the company said.


The Washington Capitals are within a point of first place.


Google patches one security hole, but another surfaces

Search engine darling Google Inc. has patched a hole in its search engine the could have allowed malicious hackers to modify the content of the Google search results page or silently modify search results, but a new hole may have already appeared.


President Bush asked for billions of dollars in new spending for the Iraq war on Monday, as car bombs killed 24 people in Baghdad and its besieged residents awaited a crackdown on sectarian violence.


Kobe Bryant is no longer a fashion icon. For the last month, Bryant's No. 8 Lakers jersey — previously one of the best sellers in the world — has fallen out of the top 50, according to point-of-sale data tabulated by a Florida market research firm.


Fed's Poole says inflation is under wraps: radio

U.S. inflation is under control right   now and the economy is unlikely to suffer from "cascading   weakness," St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William   Poole said on Tuesday.


The four original members of R.E.M. gave a rare performance Saturday night as the group was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.


Spain confirms its first case of bird flu

Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday. The deadly strain was found in a water fowl in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria.


INDIANAPOLIS  — Think Indianapolis goes crazy in May? Try September. Tens of thousands of blue-clad fans poured onto the downtown Monument Circle on Thursday, where they stood shoulder to shoulder to cheer for their beloved Indianapolis Colts — and get a little groove on while they were at it.


Zimbabwe's veteran President Robert Mugabe announced on Friday that the crisis-hit southern African country will stage a general election on March 29 when he will seek a sixth term in office.


The pound has been steady as the impact of a buoyant housing survey from the Nationwide, the UK's largest building society, was offset by a very weak consumer confidence reading from research company GfK NOP.


Three days into his 11-day trip to Asia, the D.C. mayor said Washington has much to learn from the way China's capital sells itself as a tourist destination.


MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Nina Kulikova) - On December 22 state-owned Rosneft purchased 100% of Baikal Finance Group, the mystery bidder that purchased a 76.6% stake in Yuganskneftgaz at auction.


Fannie Mae to Review Pay Packages of Ex-Officials

Fannie Mae's regulator will review the benefits the company planned to pay its former top two officers after their ouster last week.


The FBI anticipates violent protests at the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York but does not have enough evidence to move against any group or person, the bureau's top terrorism official said Wednesday.


Milano, 18:33 - CALCIO, CHIEVO; PILLON: SIAMO IN UN MOMENTO DIFFICILE

Il Chievo perde a Milano pur segnando tre gol all'Inter. Tre gol che non consolano il tecnico dei ve...


IBM and Industry Leaders Declare New Era of Speech Technology

Speech technology has finally arrived as a staple of everyday life and is only going to become more pervasive, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and a group of industry leaders declared today at the annual IBM Speech Technology Innovation Day in New York.


A Launching Pad for Space  Entrepreneurs

Guillermo Soehnlein grew up stargazing and dreaming of space travel. He's the founder of  the International Association of Space Entrepreneurs, which launched its first chapter in Washington in April 2003. -Ellen McCarthy


Microsoft flaw opened door to scammers, analysts say

A bug in Microsoft's registration process for Windows Live ID may have allowed scammers to register false e-mail addresses and use them to deceive other users.


Fannie Mae, facing questions about its accounting similar to those that shook up Freddie Mac last year, has agreed to changes that will bring it in compliance with accounting standards.


US forces enter Latifiya seeking hostage killers

US forces over the weekend entered the hard-line Islamist stronghold of Latifiya in search of the terrorist group that killed two American contractors and last week beheaded their colleague, British engineer Kenneth Bigley.


Despite President Bush's clear margin of victory in the 2004 presidential race, voting and civil rights advocates say the election did not go as smoothly as Americans might think.


The financial services giant takes over non-memory semiconductor chip production.


Sun sets lofty operating margin goal for FY09

InfoWorld - Sun Microsystems, buoyed by its first profitable quarter in more than a year and a half, said Tuesday it has a goal of generating an operating margin of 10 percent by its 2009 fiscal year.


âKite Runnerâ Boys Are Sent to United Arab Emirates

After months of worrying and diplomatic wrangling, the movie studio that is releasing âThe Kite Runnerâ has whisked to safety four young actors.


Londra, 11:33 - CALCIO, GB: SI TEME OPERAZIONE OWEN

Le condizioni fisiche di Michael Owen fanno preoccupare il Newcastle e il commissario tecnico dell'I...


Blair asked by ethics watchdog about holiday

Prime Minister Tony Blair has been asked by parliament's ethics watchdog about allegations he failed to declare a holiday at the home of an executive with ties to the tobacco industry.


Dutch police say they have raided a suspected paramilitary training ground for Kurdish militants in the southern Netherlands, arresting 29 people.


The African Union summit begins in Ghana and the idea of a pan-African government will be the main theme.


Anil Kumble takes 7-48 as India dismiss Australia for 235 on day one of the second Test in Madras.


SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - In what could qualify for Ripley's Believe It or Not, seven thieves stole an entire 13-yard bridge near the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, police said Friday.    Over several days, the group dismantled the metal bridge built during the Austro-Hungarian empire 150 years ago, transported the parts to a local junk yard and sold them, a police statement said...


The Ridings School, once labelled the worst in the country, is to close after a decade of rescue attempts.


Specialty-electronics retailer Sharper Image Corp. cut its fourth- quarter earnings forecast Monday, citing disappointing holiday sales caused in part by inventory shortages.


Motorola Inc, the world's third  biggest cell phone maker, on Thursday introduced a mobile media  player that shows live television, on-demand video clips and  programming saved on digital video recorders.


Wal-Mart launches new movie, TV download service

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday introduced a test version of its new video download service, making it the first major retailer to offer such a service with the backing of all of Hollywood's big studios.


This is one cleaning that could pass anybody's white-glove test.


Microsoft has agreed to pay Novell $536 million, in return for Novell withdrawing from the European Union's antitrust case against the maker of the Windows family of operating systems.


U.S. to invite Syria, Saudis to peace meeting

The United States will invite members of an Arab League panel that includes Syria and Saudi Arabia to a Middle East peace conference this year, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday.


Most Australians believe Iraq war unworthy

A growing number of Australians think Iraq war is not worth it, but many say Australian troops should stay there as long as necessary, according to a latest poll.


Chad K. Gifford is retiring earlier than initially expected as chairman of Bank of America, a title he gained when the bank acquired FleetBoston Financial Corp.


U.S. chain store sales rose in the  first week of January, as larger than average purchases were  the reason for this weeks growth, a report said on Tuesday.


Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Monday he run next year for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Debbie Stabenow.


Sara' lanciata in collaborazione con Ministero comunicazioni


Bored by opera? Can't understand the words? Placido Domingo wants to change your mind.


Cuban master Mario Kindelan has met the future of boxing and has survived the experience after he outpointed British teenager Amir Khan in the highlight of final action at the Olympic tournament.


More Monitoring Needed of Kids in California Mental Health Clinics

THURSDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDayNews) -- Problems with documentation of drug responses and child abuse screening and reporting are among the gaps in quality of care for children in California's public mental health clinics, says a University of California, Los Angeles-led study.


Charmless and insulting, 'Shark' lacks biting wit

The marketing campaign leading up to "Shark Tale," Dreamworks' new grab for your child's mindshare -- sorry, Dreamworks' new digitally animated entertainment -- seems more relentless than usual.


Â· Consumer revolt on hold while court case is heard  Â· Ruling may lead to refunds but also end free banking


Emerging economies throw down gauntlet at IMF

India on Tuesday led a clutch of  emerging economies in asserting their growing clout on the  world stage by objecting to a landmark overhaul of the way the  International Monetary Fund is run.


"Kamikaze"  film delves behind war propaganda

Ordered to sacrifice themselves for the nation by crashing their planes into U.S. warships as Japan vainly battled to stave off invasion in the final months of World War Two, some young pilots instead returned alive.


IRA timed raid to be a 'spectacular' show of strength

THE IRA's Northern Bank raid was a 'spectacular' in the same mode as the huge 1996 Canary Wharf bomb in London - but with no loss of life.


Blog: Bibble's raw-image editing software now supports multiple new SLR cameras, including the Canon EOS-1D Mark III among others.


O.J. Simpson held without bail in Las Vegas robbery

Former football star O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, was arrested and held without bail on Sunday in connection with a suspected armed robbery in a Las Vegas hotel room last week.


Helicopter with 24 aboard missing in Nepal

A private helicopter carrying 24   people including a junior minister and at least seven   foreigners went missing in a remote region of eastern Nepal on   Saturday, a conservation group and authorities said.


Singer Courtney Love Pleads Innocent to LA Assault

Rocker Courtney Love, making her  second court appearance this week, pleaded innocent on Friday  to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon and said afterward  she found her predicament "scary."