Honda Motor Co. (7267.T) posted a  smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly profit, helped by brisk  sales in Europe and a weak yen that offset a dip in U.S. sales  -- where Honda could not keep up with demand -- and nudged its  full-year forecast higher.


A Foolish rundown of this week's top telco tales.


The parents of Madeleine McCann have spoken of their 'nightmare' and guilt over the abduction of their daughter.


ATLANTA -- Children with asthma should get flu shots to protect them, but only 3 in 10 do, U.S. health officials said Thursday.


Asia's deadly bird flu has been found in a dog for the first time in Thailand, authorities said yesterday, as the country battles a second major outbreak of the virus this year.


Officials search al-Qaeda's anniversary tape for clues

US intelligence officials are studying the latest video from Osama bin Laden's top deputy to learn if the message is simply to rally al-Qaeda's faithful â-r if it's an indication of events to come.


Ghigo al Salone del Gusto, prima passa a Pollenzo dal Re

TORINO. Il Presidente della Regione Piemonte, Enzo Ghigo, parteciperÃ  domenica ad alcuni appuntamenti del Salone del Gusto. Alle 10 a Pollenzo accompagnerÃ  con il Presidente dellâEmilia Romagna, Vasco


National Renown Surgeon Jonathan Webb Dies at 45

Little Rock - The death of nationally renowned surgeon Jonathan Drummond-Webb has shocked his family, friends and colleagues. He was well-respected for his work with young adults suffering from heart conditions.


Russia Looks for Cause of 2 Plane Crashes

BUCHALKI, Russia - Russian investigators labored Wednesday to determine whether terrorism caused the near-simultaneous crashes of two jetliners, killing all 89 people aboard and spreading anxieties about a possible bloody escalation of the Chechen conflict.    Officials stressed that no evidence of a terrorist attack had yet been found among charred wreckage and said they were looking at other possibilities like bad fuel, equipment malfunction and human error...


Two giant pandas from China are headed for Spain in a goodwill gesture promised during the Spanish king's visit to Beijing earlier this year, state media reported Friday.


India Rallies as Australia Slumps; Warne Ties Record

Anil Kumble led a fightback by India, trailing 1-0 in the four-match cricket series, as Australia slumped to 235 all out on the first day of the second Test.


Bits Debate: Should Internet Providers Block Copyrighted Works?

Rick Cotton, of NBC Universal, says they need to in order to protect creators. Law professor Tim Wu says it is like helping farmers hurt by cheap imports by regulating airplanes.


Barrett: Intel Releases 'Extreme' Chip To Mixed Reviews

Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) released its Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processor on Monday. The hotly awaited--and just as hotly touted--new chip is geared for a "balanced" approach to home PCs: By tightening


Texas gov's son hired by consulting firm

One of two large financial firms consulting with the governor's office on the possible sale of the Texas lottery has hired the son of Gov. Rick Perry to work in its Dallas office.


Coinvolta una dozzina di giovani su motoslitte


JDS Uniphase Corp., a maker of fiber-optic equipment, on Wednesday posted a deeper loss for the first quarter despite sharply higher revenue.


As Senator Rose, Lobbying Became Family Affair

The lobbying work that Fred D. Thompsonâs sons did after their father won his Senate seat suggests how far the family has traveled from Mr. Thompsonâs early career.


The comedy "Meet the Fockers" introduced itself to the record books as the best Christmas day money earner in box office history, grossing an estimated $19.1 million Saturday.


Fla. Delegates Urged to Leave Convention

With Hurricane Frances barreling toward Florida, anxious Florida delegates examined weather reports and some began packing their bags for home.


Marks & Spencer reports a drop in quarterly revenues, but says sales of clothing and home goods are now improving.


Five Malaysian sailors in Spratly bird flu scare

KUALA LUMPUR : Five Malaysian navy sailors have been hospitalised for bird flu tests after possibly coming into contact with diseased birds while patrolling the disputed Spratly islands, officials said on Friday.


Amazon set to start testing Web database

In the next few weeks, Amazon.com plans to begin a "limited beta" of an online database called SimpleDB that is designed to enable users to run structured-data queries in real time.


WASHINGTON -- Crude futures plowed to a new high near $49 a barrel yesterday as the threat of sabotage to Iraqi oil infrastructure loomed larger than promises from Baghdad to boost exports in coming days.


Ex tenente Wehrmacht era accusato dell'eccidio di 50 civili


New defense consortium aims for greater systems interoperability

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004  - An international consortium of 28 defense-oriented companies hopes to develop standards for a network-centric framework that allows a variety of communications and information systems and sensors to interact on a


Peru Striker Pizarro Gives Bayern Victory Over Leader Wolfsburg

Peru striker Claudio Pizarro scored twice in the first half as Bayern Munich beat Bundesliga leader Wolfsburg 2-0 yesterday to move within a point.


Once expected to rival the courtroom dramas of Watergate and Iran-Contra, the trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby neared a quick, unsensational close Wednesday.


Ossezia: migliaia di candele nel corteo a Roma

ROMA - E' un corteo composto da migliaia di candele accese quello partito poco piu' di mezz'ora fa dal Campidoglio a Roma in ricordo delle vittime dell'Ossezia. Numerose le personalita' presenti, soprattutto del mondo politico.


The head of an organization that fights unwanted bulk e-mail said Friday that an Illinois company will remain on its block list despite a court order and a steep monetary judgment.


Udine, 16:53 - CALCIO, COPPA ITALIA: UDINESE-CATANIA 3-2

In una gara valida quale andata dei quarti di finale di coppa Italia dispuata allo stadio Friuli, l'...


Bush vetoes stem-cell bill, disappoints advocates

President George W. Bush vetoed  legislation on Wednesday that would expand federally funded  embryonic stem cell research, triggering an uphill battle to  override him in the Democratic-led U.S. Congress and likely  pushing the issue onto the 2008 election agenda.


The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the new (if temporary) home of âArtemis and the Stag,â below, the 2,000-year-old classical bronze sculpture that sold last year for a record $28.6 million at a Sothebyâs auction in New York. The sculpture, sold by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo to an unidentified private collector for the highest price ever paid for a sculpture or antiquity at auction, will be on view for six months in the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court (the central atrium in the new Greek and Roman Galleries).


Gold on Monday hovered below a 28-year  high marked last week, supported by safe-haven buying after a  sell-off in global stock markets, while Tokyo gold futures sold  on a rally in the yen versus the dollar.


(InfoWorld) - Handheld PC vendors sold four times as many smartphones as PDAs (personal digital assistants) in the second half of 2006, and Nokia Corp. continued to distance itself from competitors. Nokia owns 42 percent of the combined PDA and smartphone market, compared to single-digit market share for Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), Motorola Inc. and Palm Inc., according to a study released Thursday by Gartner Inc. Worldwide, that market reached 42.1 million units, a 57 percent rise from the same period last year. Most of the growth was driven by sales of smartphones, which rose 75.5 percent to 34.7 million units. In contrast, PDAs grew very slowly, climbing only 5.7 percent to 7.4 million units. Nokia could add to its lead in the second half of 2006 as it launches new models of smartphones, said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst for Gartner. Among the smaller vendors, Motorola doubled its sales of smartphones, thanks to the popularity of its Linux-based units in Chinese markets. But RIM is set to post stronger future growth with its Pearl device, as demand for mobile e-mail spreads beyond executive users, Gartner said. At the bottom of the pile, Palm saw its sales sink 26 percent, leaving it with only 5 percent of the combined worldwide market for PDAs and smartphones. In fact, the company has launched no new PDA models to date in 2006. PDAs aren't dead yet -- they outsold smartphones in North America in the first half of 2006. But smartphones ruled in every other region, including an enormous 33 percent worldwide share sold in Japan alone. To continue this hot pace of growth, vendors must convince buyers that new smartphones offer more benefits than less-expensive enhanced cell phones, Cozza said. To make that case, they will launch new products with advanced features and rich multimedia functions, she said. If they succeed, smartphone shipments could reach 81 million by the end of the year. Â


By Janice L. Habuda, The Buffalo News, N.Y.  Jun. 7--City of Tonawanda residents living near a landfill contaminated with radioactive wastes have retained a prominent attorney to ensure their interests are represented in its closure.   Richard J.


At an HIV benefit organized by Body & Soul in north London, Kelly Osbourne made an announcement that shocked the audience.  While introducing the Scissor Sisters before their performance, she said the cause was special to her because a member in...


Actor Richard Dreyfuss withdraws from the UK run of Broadway hit The Producers because of injuries.


Reggio Calabria, 20:52 - BASKET, SERIE A: REGGIO CALABRIA-UDINE 92-89

La Viola Reggio Calabria ha battuto 92-89 la Snaidero Udine nel primo anticipo della 22/a giornata d...


Ailing US car firm General Motors says it will ask for an extension to file its financial reports.


The House passes a resolution opposing Bush on the war, but the Democrats coax only 17 GOP members to join them. Next, however, could come a measure with teeth


FDA: Chip Implant Can Be Used to Get Health Records

A computer chip that is implanted  under the skin won U.S. approval on Wednesday for use in  helping doctors quickly access a patient's medical history.


The White House on Thursday defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against Republican criticism that her desire to fly in an Air Force transport plane is an extravagance


(InfoWorld) - Nokia intends to boost its mobile ad business through the acquisition of Enpocket, which provides cell phone marketing technology and services to advertisers, Web publishers, and carriers. Nokia announced on Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Enpocket, whose technology platform and business partnerships Nokia expects will allow it to rev up its products and services inÂ mobile advertising, a market poised for robust growth. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal. After years of great promise and unmet expectations, mobile advertising is expected to boom in coming years, going from a tiny market to a considerable one. Last week, The Kelsey Group predicted that spending on mobile search and display advertising in the U.S. will hit $33.2 million this year and grow at a compound annual rate of 112 percent through 2012, when it will total $1.4 billion. Kelsey Group also expects the number of mobile Internet users to grow at a 20 percent compound annual clip in the U.S. through 2012, when there will be almost 92 million people going online via their cell phones. Worldwide, mobile ad spending is expected to reach $1.5 billion this year and grow to $11.3 billion by 2011, according to market researcher Informa Telecoms & Media. As mobile phones become a viable vehicle for online marketing, all major telecom, online publishing, and Internet players are jockeying for position in this market. Those pursuing the mobile ad opportunity include online service giants like Google and Yahoo; mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless; and handset manufacturers like Apple and Nokia. Nokia expects to close the Enpocket acquisition in this year's fourth quarter. Enpocket, based in Boston, offers the Enpocket Platform, which the vendor describes as a "carrier-grade mobile campaign management and delivery system" designed for operators, advertisers and publishers. It has customers in Europe, Asia and the U.S., including Vodafone, Pepsi, Telefonica, AT&T, British Telecom, and Sprint. Eden Zoller, an Ovum analyst, wrote in a note e-mailed to the media that Nokia does well in acquiring Enpocket, because the company is a strong mobile advertising specialist whose technology platform has a solid analytics component. "Enpocket gives Nokia a leg up in mobile advertising and credibility that it needs to be taken seriously in the space," Zoller wrote. Â


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez prepared to send helicopters into neighboring Colombia to pick up three hostages who have been held for years by leftist rebels.


A 59,44 dollari il greggio con consegna a marzo


A slippery slope for RIM and the BlackBerry?

Sad shaking of the head The news that RIM is launching a consumer/prosumer device called the "Pearl" (aka BlackBerry 8100) has got me all mixed up.â¦


For Pornographers, Internetâs Virtues Turn to Vices

The online availability of free or low-cost photos and videos has taken a fierce toll on sales of X-rated DVDs.


Nepali Army Launches Air Strikes Against Rebels

KATHMANDU, Nepal  - Nepali troops backed by  helicopters have attacked Maoist camps in the jungles in the  west of the country, as part of a new offensive against the  rebels launched after the king seized power a week ago.


IBM Promises New DB2 Will Take Better Care Of Itself

IBM will begin shipping a new DB2 Universal Database next week that has more self-managing capabilities, extended Linux support, and geospatial technology.


For the first time in more than four years, the Federal Reserve appears ready to lower interest rates to prevent a housing meltdown and a painful credit crunch from driving the economy into a recession.


Wild new flavors spice up German sausages

Hoping to spice up their summer  business, German butchers have introduced a new line of  exotic-tasting sausages with flavors ranging from kiwi,  maraschino cherry, lemon and even aloe vera.


Giants' snap decision put ball in DeOssie's hands

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It's been a relatively uneventful rookie season for former Brown University star Zak DeOssie. Just the way he hoped it would be.


Shaq, Kobe Showdown Set for Christmas Day

Description: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant will exchange baskets instead of presents on Christmas Day when their teams, the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, meet on the court.


Dodgers star Milton Bradley allegedly called a reporter an "Uncle Tom" after the outfielder was asked how he was treated by St. Louis fans following his season-ending suspension for throwing a bottle into the stands.


Stock index futures sank in holiday-shortened trading on Monday as fear of a U.S. recession gripped investors, indicating Wall Street was likely to join a global equity markets plunge that may usher in a bear market when trading resumes on Tuesday.


LONDON/SINGAPORE  - France's Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Thursday of a threat to world growth posed by the U.S. home loan crisis but a Bank of Japan policymaker said the recent market turmoil had been overdone.


Collezione dedicata a Sabah: abito bianco visibile al buio


Second Sight offers a compelling storyline that keeps gamers coming back for me.


Stocks Open Lower as Wall St. Pulls Back

US stocks opened slightly lower on Monday as investors pause after a three-day rally last week, with interest rates and a weakening dollar gaining focus now that the presidential election is over.


Zee takes cricket TV rights fight to Supreme Court

A row over Indian TV rights, which threatens a test series next month with world champion Australia, is heading back to court after jilted broadcaster Zee Telefilms filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.


Portoroz, 16:12 - TENNIS, WTA PORTOROZ: DERBY ITALIANO IN SEMIFINALE

Dopo Maria Elena Camerin, anche Tathiana Garbin si è qualificata per le semifinali del torneo...


TV Decoder Blog: $2.7 Million for a Super Bowl Ad

Fox Broadcasting "has sold all but one of the 63 30-second commercials that it plans to run" during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, Stuart Elliott reports in Friday's New York Times. "The average cost of each 30 seconds of commercial time is estimated at $2.7 million, compared with $2.6 million for spots in Super [...].


Human Frailty and Pain on Bostonâs Mean Streets

With âGone Baby Gone,â Ben Affleck has taken a satisfyingly tough look into conscience, to those dark places where some men also go astray.


Police investigating child sex charges against pop star Michael Jackson raid his Neverland ranch in California.


Jon Lieber no-hit the Red Sox until David Ortiz's two-out home run in the seventh inning, and the New York Yankees beat up on Derek Lowe.


A woman who denied being on a mobile before a collision is found not guilty of death by dangerous driving but guilty of careless driving.


Mitchell Report may not have shut door on steroid use

Commissioner Bud Selig, who hoped to bring closure to Major League Baseball's steroids era by commissioning the Mitchell Report that was issued on Thursday, may have opened the door to more questions about the game's troubled past.


Even the chilly weather couldnât cool down Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova as she reached the semifinals of the Hansol Korea Open yesterday in Seoul in convincing fashion.


ANNAN'S FUTURE: Remains up in the air with scandal

When US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell met Secretary-General Kofi Annan last month at an Egyptian summit on Iraq, the two old friends shook hands.


Turkey deports two North Korean diplomats for trying to smuggle drugs into the country, Turkish officials say.


These Boston Red Sox aren't worried about what happened in New York last year because they think they're better than the team that lost to the Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series.


Denmark Snaps U.S. Women's Soccer Streak

Denmark snapped the U.S. women's soccer team's 21-game unbeaten streak Saturday, beating the Americans 3-1 in an exhibition match.


Microsoft serves light fare on Patch Tuesday

No critical patches for most Windows users Microsoft served comparatively modest fare for its monthly patch release on Tuesday, issuing only four security-related updates, only one of which carried its top severity rating of critical. It plugged a hole in a Windows 2000 component, while the other updates fixed vulnerabilities rated as important in instant messenger programs, Visual Studio .Net and Windows services for Unix found on several different versions of the Windows operating system.â¦


Microsoft files lawsuits against smut spammers

Microsoft said today it has filed seven lawsuits against defendants it accuses of sending hundreds of thousands of spam e-mails with sexually explicit content.


Senators challenge White House approach on Afghanistan

Foreign Relations Committee hearing comes a day after the release of two critical reports.


The number of consumers legally downloading recorded music has fallen to 1 million from a high of 1.3 million in April, The Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday.


An Angel You Wouldn't Want to Be Touched By

In "Constantine," a $90-million apocalyptic fantasy-drama, Tilda Swinton plays the angel Gabriel as an executive in a bespoke suit.


JP Morgan, the investment bank advising Malcolm Glazer, today said its client had raised his stake in Manchester United to 28.11%, putting the American within touching distance of the holding he would need to launch a takeover bid.


NBA-Suns Overcome Clippers to Maintain Best Record

Shawn Marion and Steve Nash each posted double-doubles as the Phoenix Suns eased past the Los Angeles Clippers 108-91 on Saturday, improving their record to an NBA best 29-4.


Congress passes tax bill, ending dispute with EU

WASHINGTON The US Senate gave final approval Monday to a bill that would resolve a long-running trade dispute between the United States and Europe, as well as hand out about $140 billion in corporate tax breaks.


Houston - Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby were dunking. Nuggets guard Andre Miller was leading the fast break and nailing jumpers. The Houston Rockets were getting soundly beaten.


Software giant Microsoft is joining the ranks of companies offer blogs or online journals.


Microsoftâs $1.2 billion bid for a Norwegian search software company is seen as an effort to add tools to its lucrative Office products and fend off Google.


Iraqis slowly began returning to the streets of Baghdad when a curfew was lifted on Sunday, four days after the bombing of a revered Shi'ite Muslim mosque to the north sparked fears of reprisal sectarian attacks.


Pope Benedict XVI met Thursday with Israeli President Shimon Peres, as the elder statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate continued his visit to Italy amid an international push for peace in the Middle East.


Dopo Svizzera e Grecia e' Paese europeo dove si spende meno


Sistani Urges Supporters to Wait at Najaf Gates

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


LOS ANGELES: Legendary rock producer Phil Spector has pleaded innocent to an indictment charging him with murdering actress Lana Clarkson, claiming he is the victim of a prosecutor who is acting like Adolf Hitler.


ATHENS, Greece - Paul Hamm's gold medal just lost its luster. A scoring mistake at the all-around gymnastics final cost South Korea's Yang Tae-young the gold that ended up going to Hamm, the International Gymnastics Federation ruled Saturday...


Prominent Shiite and Sunni politicians called on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves after a weekend of violence that claimed more than 220 lives, including 60 who died Sunday in a surge of bombings and shootings around Baghdad.


The sweet boy-meets-girl love story seems to be on the way outÂ.. Rajshris who specialize in whatÂs known in the trade parlance as vegetarian romances miscalculated badly with Uff ÂKya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai.


Eyes up EMEA market Electronics distie Avnet said today that it will acquire the IT solutions arm of Storage Area Networking (SAN) reseller Acal plc for a cash consideration of Â£41m.â¦


Nearly five months after his predecessor was assassinated, Maj. Gen. Alu Alkhanov was sworn in as Chechnya's president Tuesday in a heavily guarded ceremony seen as another step in the Kremlin's strategy to undermine rebels in the war-ravaged region, Russian media reported.


Specially designed products benefit breast-cancer research

"Think pink" is a familiar cry come October's Breast Cancer Awareness month. And the feminine shade is definitely something to keep in mind while shopping.


Nevada's Democratic caucus stirs lawsuit

The Nevada caucuses are becoming a proxy for the racially tinged fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, with Barack Obama's campaign criticizing Hillary Rodham Clinton's allies for a lawsuit that could prevent some minorities from participating.


Patty Schnyder said on Friday her forthcoming book would include a big secret that tops the tales of her bizarre relationship with her ex-coach which included allegations of brainwashing.


Bee Washington Bureau. WASHINGTON - Trying to avert a trans-Atlantic trade war over government subsidies to Airbus, US and European negotiators found little to agree on Thursday during a five-hour meeting in Brussels, Belgium.


An unexpectedly weak reading for US consumer confidence pushes the dollar to a fresh low against the euro.


MULTIPLE European Cup winners Real Madrid and Liverpool have squeezed into the last 16 of the Champions League after winning their final group matches.


Warren Mitofsky, a survey researcher who pioneered the use of exit polls to cover elections and helped develop the sampling method used in most modern telephone polling, has died.


EU presidency suggests European norm for mobile television

The Finnish presidency of the European Union proposed the creation of a common standard for European technology in the field of mobile television.


ABC has greenlighted  "The More Things Change ...," a comedy pilot about four male  friends.


A senior Vatican cardinal will inaugurate an international low-cost charter flight service for pilgrims.


p2pnet.net News:- F-Secure gives the new Santy worm, that uses Google search to find vulnerable hosts, a Level 2 Radar rating. âAlso, Santy does not affect individual computer users, unless they are hosting


Not bad, not bad Computerland, which provides IT services to medium and larger business, made an operating profit of Â£1.3m on turnover of Â£30.8m for the six months ended 31 October 2006. Profits before tax were Â£1.3m, up from Â£686,000 for the same six months of 2005â¦


Justin Langer scored his third career double Test century as Australia continued to pile on the runs in the second Test against New Zealand.


The Mac maker says it will replace about 28,000 batteries in one model of PowerBook G4 and tells people to stop using the notebook.


Chief Justice William Rehnquist plans to administer the presidential oath of office in January, despite recent surgery and treatment for thyroid cancer, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Friday.


Women in this conservative oil-rich emirate voted in parliamentary elections for the first time Thursday, a vote that also inspired surprisingly vocal calls for reform and criticism of the ruling family.


Afghanistan's Karzai swears in new reformist cabinet

KABUL  - Afghan President Hamid Karzai swore in a new cabinet which sidelines powerful warlords and brings in reformers to battle drugs and rebuild the shattered country.


TEHRAN, IRAN - Authorities have arrested more than 10 men over the past nine months on charges of spying on the country's nuclear activities for the United States and Israel, Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi told IRNA news agency.


Clinton urges end to HIV/AIDS stigma in Vietnam

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton urged young Vietnamese on Wednesday to talk more about HIV and AIDS to reduce fear and ignorance of the disease and discourage discrimination.


Futures extend losses on labor cost data

Stock index futures extended losses on  Wednesday after government data showed a larger-than-expected  rise in unit labor costs in the first quarter, adding to  concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.


E' scappata da casa per incontrare i protagonisti del realityL'hanno ritrovata i carabinieri alla stazione ferroviaria                                                  Dodicenne da Cuneo a Cervia in fuga per conoscere i Campioni


Sheriff says he's vindicated in probe of Michael Jackson's claim ...

The Santa Barbara County sheriff said he was vindicated by a state attorney general's report that found no evidence deputies and jail staff manhandled Michael Jackson during his arrest on child molestation charges.


The biggest typhoon to hit Japan in more than a decade roared over the country's main island, with heavy rain and fierce winds leaving at least 16 people dead and 12 others missing.


SESTRIERE, Italy - World Cup leader Bode Miller won a slalom Monday to join Marc Girardelli as the only men to win races in all four disciplines in a season.


A year after New Jersey authorities busted a multi-million-dollar sports betting ring that implicated hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's wife as a bettor, the most high-profile suspect — former NHL star Rick Tocchet — remains in legal limbo.


The captain and owner of a boat that capsized in the US killing 20 tourists are charged after a 15-month inquiry.


Fotango to smother Zimki on Christmas Eve

Little donkey Zimki, the floundering pay-as-you-use online application platform, is to be killed off by London-based developer Fotango on Christmas Eve, it was revealed today.â¦


Meetings are due in an effort to avert weekend strikes planned at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.


C.E.S. Picks: Wireless Video Networks and G.P.S. for Dogs

Our reporters lust after the 150-inch TV from Panasonic, they admire wireless video networking and are amazed by motorized roller skates.


US air raids destroyed two buildings said to belong to top Islamic militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah yesterday where residents claimed a family of six were killed.


Turgeon retires after 19-year NHL career

Pierre Turgeon ended his 19-year NHL career Wednesday, retiring after groin and calf injuries limited him to 17 games last season with the Colorado Avalanche.


Moss Among Nine Vikings Fined for Bears Altercation

NEW YORK (Sports Network) - The NFL handed down fines to 15  players involved in a scuffle between the Minnesota Vikings and  Chicago Bears on Sept. 26.


Hostility tied to lower levels of antioxidants

NEW YORK  - Hostility could increase people's risk of heart disease by depleting their levels of certain heart-healthy antioxidants, new research suggests.


Amanda Peet is pregnant and ready to wed

Amanda Peet and screenwriter David Benioff are expecting a baby and will marry this weekend, the "Studio 60" actress says.


Rebel accusations that new government air raids killed 26 civilians in Sudan's troubled Darfur region cast a pall over peace talks in Nigeria, where African Union


Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins are looking to collaborate with a new voice, but the TLC stars insist they're not trying to replace the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.


The United States won the men's 4 x 400  meters relay gold medal at the Olympics Saturday.


Crude Oil, Natural Gas Rise as Ivan Disrupts US Gulf Output

Crude oil rose and natural gas soared in New York as the approach of Hurricane Ivan disrupted production and tanker shipments in the Gulf of Mexico, where a quarter of US oil and natural gas is pumped.


Hand-built bicycles pedal into the mainstream

Everyday bikers saddle up for custom-made frames at Portland's two-wheeled version of the Detroit Auto Show.


Q&A:            "In Most Conflicts We Know What Needs to Be Done"

VENICE, Dec 10 (IPS) - There is hardly a trouble-shooter in the world  today more trusted than Martti Ahtisaari, Chairman of the Crisis  Management Initiative. Kosovo, the disputed southern province of  Serbia, is the latest challenge he has taken on.


Microsoft Adds Research Lab in East as Others Cut Back

As other high-tech companies cut back on their research labs, Microsoft continues to increase its ranks of free-rein thinkers.


Iraqi Official Derides U.N. Election Prep

The United Nations has not sent enough election workers to help out with vital balloting in Iraq set for January, the Iraqi foreign minister said Wednesday.


ENVIRONMENT:  France Gets U.S. Nuclear Treatment

PARIS, Oct 13 (IPS) - Over several days now France has been home to a new  consignment of 140 kg of plutonium, enough to build 20 atom  bombs. The plutonium from dismantling of U.S. nuclear weapons has  been sent to France for treatment.


Haiti's death toll from flooding mounted Tuesday following tropical storm Jeanne, as rescue workers estimated at least 600 people lost their lives.


French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin makes a surprise call for democratic reform in Tunisia.


Man Eats Raw Duck Before Undies Save Him

ROGERS, Ark. - There's a reason Mom says to always have a fresh pair of underwear. The Rogers city attorney learned this week that it's to attract rescue helicopters.


Victoria's Secret Model Refuses US Dollars

The world's richest model has reportedly reacted in her own way to the sliding value of the US dollar - by refusing to be paid in the currency.  Gisele BÃ¼ndchen is said to be keen to avoid the US currency because of uncertainty over its streng...


Kerry and Bush Tangle on Explosives, Character

Democratic Sen. John Kerry attacked President Bush's "shifting explanations" on missing explosives in Iraq on Thursday, but Bush said Kerry


World's Beer Fans Meet for Annual Munich Binge

MUNICH, Germany  - International squads of beer  drinkers, leather-clad Bavarians and devotees of excess young  and old converged in Munich on Saturday for the start of the  planet's biggest beer festival, the Oktoberfest.


American and Briton Face Beheading in Iraq

Militants led by Washington's top foe  in Iraq said they would kill an American and a Briton on  Tuesday unless their demands were met, a day after they  released footage showing them severing the head of another U.S.  hostage.


Taiwan Is Developing Missiles Capable of Striking Shanghai

Taiwan may have the technology to mass produce mid-range missiles capable of striking Shanghai in two years, a lawmaker said, adding teeth to Premier Yu Shyi-kun's warning that the island will retaliate if China attacks.


FTC goes after alleged MySpace hijackers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked a federal court to require an alleged Web page hijacking operation to obey previous orders barring unfair and deceptive practices.Walter Rines, business partner Sanford Wallace, and Rines' company, Online Turbo Merchant, diverted users of MySpace.com to other Web sites and barraged them with ads to earn advertising commissions, according to court papers filed with the FTC. The defendants used pagejacking, phishing, and other methods to target MySpace users in violation of a previous court order, the FTC said in a news release.The FTC, in a Jan. 23 filing, asked the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire to order the defendants to give up the money they earned from their MySpace scheme.Rines' listed phone number in New Hampshire was disconnected.In October 2005, the FTC charged Odysseus Marketing and its owner, Rines, with luring consumers to their Web site by offering free software, including a program that supposedly allowed them to engage in anonymous peer-to-peer file sharing. The software was bundled with spyware that intercepted and replaced search results and barraged consumers' computers with pop-up ads, the FTC said. The software also stole users' personal information, and users were unable to locate or uninstall the spyware through reasonable means, the FTC said.The FTC alleged that the defendants' software captured consumers' personal information and transmitted the information to the defendants' servers. Consumers were unable to locate or uninstall the spyware through reasonable means, the agency charged. The court ordered a preliminary halt to these practices pending trial, and in October 2006 Odysseus and Rines settled the charges by stipulating to a permanent injunction.The permanent injunction prohibited the defendants from redirecting consumers' computers; from changing any Web browser's default home page; and from modifying or replacing the functions of any computer application. It required Rines and his company to obtain consumers' express consent before downloading or distributing any content to their computers.The permanent injunction also imposed a $1.75 million judgment, and all but $10,000 was suspended based on the defendants' inability to pay.In its recent filing, the FTC alleges that Rines, his company, and Wallace knew of the permanent injunction and violated that order by diverting users from MySpace.com to their Web sites.


Messina, 19:48 - Calcio, Messina: problema muscolare per Amoruso

Doppio allenamento per il Messina. Al mattino Mutti ha curato l'aspetto atletico, nel pomeriggio ha ...


Court Bars Sale of Billions in Oil Assets by Venezuela

The oil giant won court orders freezing as much as $12 billion in petroleum assets controlled by Venezuelaâs government.


PlanetOut Inc. showed a small gain in morning activity before shooting up more than 15 percent in recent trading, marking a successful initial public offering for the Web site operator while Thursday's second deal fell flat in its debut.


Israeli-Palestinian talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended on Monday with little sign of progress on reviving long-stalled peace negotiations beyond a vague promise to meet again.


Petition Seeks to Free Fiona Apple Album

Fiona Apple fans wondering when the artist's third CD would see the light of day might want to keep an eye on one enthusiast's online petition.


Japanese Volcano Under Scrutiny After Eruption

Japanese authorities were closely monitoring a volcano in a resort area of central Japan on Thursday, a day after its biggest eruption in 21 years.


Tori Spelling gave birth to a boy Tuesday, her publicist said. The actress and her husband, actor Dean McDermott, welcomed 6-pound, 6-ounce Liam Aaron McDermott at a Los Angeles hospital, said spokeswoman Meghan Prophet.


President Bush Meets with Iraqi Prime Minister

WASHINGTON - Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is making the case on behalf of his country today. The prime minister will address a joint session of Congress, and he will meet the press with President Bush.


Jewish settlers call for mass civil disobedience

Jewish settler leaders were expected to meet on Monday to decide on whether to call on the public to disobey Sharonâs disengagement plan.


ElBaradei leaves for N.Korea to underpin atom pact

The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief left for North Korea on Sunday to broker a return of inspectors to the secretive Stalinist state under a precarious six-party pact to dismantle its atomic bomb program.


Mahmoud Abbas apologises to Kuwait for the Palestinians' support of Saddam Hussein's invasion in 1990.


Before his brain surgery, Johnny DuRocher thought he'd been promised he wouldn't lose any of his hair. However, when DuRocher awoke from surgery on Nov. 30, the entire back of his head was shaved.


Europe doesn't match the US in its response to global terrorism, Nato's secretary general warns.


Branson's tilting trains hit by technical snag

LONDON: In an unfortunate coincidence for Britain's favourite entrepreneurial billionaire-showman, the promise to offer the world's first commercial space flights in less than three years, has hit its first stumbling block a dismal transport record back


Hurricane Ivan Slams Gulf Coast; 20 Dead

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Hurricane Ivan drilled the Gulf Coast on Thursday with 130-mph winds that inflicted far less damage than feared everywhere except Florida's Panhandle, where residents were left with surge-ravaged beachfronts, flooded streets and homes ripped apart by deadly tornadoes...


Iraq trip left NBC anchor's head spinning

NEW YORK  - "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams says his recent five-day stint in Iraq "left my head spinning because the story lines are all over the place."


As airport security tightens, checkpoint lines grow and tempers fray amid fears of devastating airborne attacks, more and more Britons are calling for the use of profiling to decide which travelers should be singled out as possible threats.


Raptors' GM Expects Vince Carter to Stay

TORONTO - Vince Carter wants out of Toronto, but the Raptors' new general manager says he isn't going anywhere.   "It doesn't change anything with us," Rob Babcock told The Associated Press on Thursday...


Hanjin to run Chinese branding in Shanghai

Renault F1 Team Partner Hanjin Shipping will run unique Chinese branding for this weekendâs race in Shanghai.


Mine rescuers face dark, death with confidence

SYLVESTER, W., Virginia  - Mike Vaught sounds about as comfortable about coal mining as you'd hope a man tasked to rescue others from deep within the earth would be.


Pitcairn Islanders including mayor jailed for sex abuse crimes

Four out of six Pitcairn Islanders convicted of sex crimes were handed jail terms but escaped longer prison sentences because of the unique location of the remote British colony, officials said.


Strained left wrist sidelines Garciaparra

CHICAGO -- Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra missed yesterday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers because of a strained left wrist and his status is day to day.


Army Officer Is Cleared in Abu Ghraib Scandal

The only Army officer charged with a crime as a result of the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has been cleared of all criminal responsibility in the case after a general this week dismissed the one conviction against him and wiped away the sentence.


Can Lame Ducks Forge a Middle East Peace?

Analysis: Why there's little grounds for optimism that Tony Blair, Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas can restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process


French police probe how two illegal immigrants ended up working at a residence used by President Sarkozy.


A gunman shot four people, killing two of them, in law offices on the top floor of a downtown skyscraper on Friday and took a hostage before he was shot dead by a police sniper, authorities said.


Famous for his gills in Waterworld then for his Tango with wolves, and for his protection skills in Bodyguard, Kevin Costner produced another first rate performance.


Photo in the News: Hubble Spies Dazzling Death of a Sunlike Star

The recently hobbled space telescope is still proving its mettle, capturing a colorful image of a white dwarf's "last hurrah" with its remaining camera.


Cantores,musicisti e ballerini per 2/a edizione del Festival


Injured Ameobi to soldier on for Newcastle

With a painful midweek defeat at Liverpool still fresh in the memory, an inconsistent Newcastle United team take on the blue half of Merseyside on Sunday looking to cement a top 10 position in the Premiership.


Changes Proposed to Ensure Juror Privacy

Prospective jurors could keep more personal information private and challenge overly intrusive questioning by lawyers under a proposed overhaul of the way jurors are selected and serve.


A court hearing is set to decide whether ailing supermarket chain Kwik Save can keep trading.


Greatness hovers just outside âAmerican Gangster,â knocking, angling to be let in.


Marsh & McLennan Cos. revealed what's at stake in the probe into its behavior by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, saying


EMI sells landmark Capitol Records Tower in L.A

EMI has agreed to sell  its historic Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood to a New  York-based commercial property firm, but the label will remain  housed in the building under a long-term lease.


Report: NFL's Patriots use videocam to steal signals

Assistant coach is accused of violating rules by taping opponent's hand signals. League is also investigating the way Pats used radio frequencies.


Thieves steal thousands of pounds worth of ceramics from a museum - just one month after a previous theft.


Sonific LLC Announces Beta Launch of SongSpots(TM): 'Soundtracks for Your Digital Life'

SAN FRANCISCO, and BASEL, Switzerland, Sept. 19  /PRNewswire/ -- Sonific LLC today announced the public beta launch of its new service at http://www.sonific.com/ .


Cancellation of telecast rights â Constitution Bench to hear ...

THE three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde, today referred the petition filed by Zee Telefilms challenging the cancellation of the telecast rights and re-opening the bidding process by the Board of Control for


Alarmed at a recommendation that antidepressants for children carry a strict new warning label, some parents are not letting their kids take the drugs as


Shares in the UK's largest insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) have taken a tumble after the firm issued a profits warning.


The singer from Muse is actually Gwen Stefani. But wait, Gwen Stefani is actually Ricky Martin! In Table of Malcontents.


com September 14, 2004, 7:32 AM PT. This fourth priority's main focus has been improving or obtaining CRM and ERP software for the past year and a half.


(InfoWorld) - As Amazon.com Inc. trumpets its hosted IT infrastructure services, the Web site of its Alexa Internet division, responsible for some of the company's best known Web services for developers, has been experiencing serious availability and performance problems. Alexa's Web site has been down for over 18 hours this month, with the most serious problems experienced since Nov. 16, according to Pingdom, a Web site monitoring company based near Stockholm. For example, on Monday, the site was offline for 6 hours and 42 minutes, and already today (Wednesday), at press time, it had been unavailable for over 90 minutes, according to Pingdom's GIGRIB (Green is good, red is bad) service . Another monitoring company, Netcraft Ltd., also detected "significant" outages and delays at Alexa.com on Tuesday, which it detailed here . It isn't clear whether the problems are limited to Alexa's Web site or whether they have affected the online infrastructure it makes available to third-party developers. An Amazon.com spokesman couldn't immediately comment on the issue but said via e-mail he is looking into it. At least one user of an Alexa Web service hasn't been seriously affected by the downtime: Alexaholic.com , which lets its visitors, like webmasters, search engine marketers and publishers, contrast Web site traffic statistics on up to five domains at once. "We just wrap the Alexa graphs in a fast, Ajax interface, so we haven't been affected as much by Alexa's downtime. Occasionally I see a graph load a bit slowly, but overall it's not too bad," wrote Ron Hornbaker, founder of Alexaholic.com, in an e-mail interview. Hornbaker, in Kansas City, Missouri, speculates that the code that generates the Alexa graphs his Web site displays may run on different servers from the Alexa Web site. "Their graph servers are really outstanding, and it's a fantastic free service," he wrote. Still, the intensity and length of the performance problems affecting Alexa's Web site, as documented by Pingdom, are jarring at a time when Amazon.com's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Bezos has heavily promoted the company's hosted IT infrastructure services for developers at public appearances and press interviews. BezosÂ sang the praises of Amazon servicesÂ like Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3) at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco two weeks ago and at the Emerging Technologies Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in September. S3 and EC2 have become quite popular because they let developers lease storage space and computing capacity from Amazon over the Web, providing them with an option to having to buy expensive hardware, Bezos has said. This month, BusinessWeek magazine ran a story about this topic and put Bezos on the cover. The Alexa division offers four hosted services designed to let developers build Web sites and applications based on Alexa's Web index and data. "Users can access Web site traffic data, related links, contact information, as well as a powerful search engine based on the Alexa crawl, and a wide variety of other functionality and data," according to a page on Amazon.com's Web site. With the improvements in storage and bandwidth, many are saying that the much-anticipated era of network computing is finally here, and that it is now finally feasible to provide, over the Internet, hosted storage, computing and application services. At the Web 2.0 Summit,Â Google CEO Eric Schmidt also championed the hosted, software-as-service model, calling it superior to the packaged software model upon which Microsoft Corp. built its empire. "Finally now the architecture works," he said. Google plays in the software-as-service software market with its word processing, calendaring, Web mail, wiki and spreadsheet hosted applications. Yet, Google has also at times disappointed users of its hosted applications. Users of Google's Blogger have recently complained about performance problems that have hobbled that popular blog hosting and authoring service. Likewise, Google Analytics suffered crippling performance problems when demand for it surged after Google made it a free service in November.


A bomb explodes at a bar in southern Thailand, days after 78 Muslim protesters died in army custody.


Unwrapping a Final Round of Musical Holiday Treats

The singers held the spotlight, but if the instrumental works were few, the players had ample opportunity to shine.


American Ginepri crushes Paradorn in Vienna

Number five seed Paradorn Srichaphan was crushed 6-2 6-1 by Robby Ginepri in the second round of the Vienna Trophy on Thursday. The American's victory over the Thai took just 59


An online petition opposing plans for road pricing is closed after being signed by almost 1.8 million people.


Oggi si possono inviare le domande per l'assunzione di colf e badantiassalto al sistema del Viminale: in due ore oltre 136.000 richieste                                          Flussi immigrati, secondo clic day i 65.000 posti esauriti in 38 minuti                                                                                di VLADIMIRO POLCHI


Political Billboards Defaced in Portugal

Someone's not taking the general election campaign seriously. Some of the large campaign billboards mounted along Lisbon's main avenues have a colorful new addition: big red stickers on the noses of the pictured party leaders, giving them a strong resemblance to clowns.


High-risk patients in the region could have trouble tracking down flu shots as supplies of the vaccine dwindle and clinics are canceled.


For worn-out electronic gear, the end of the road could be a Hewlett-Packard recycling plant in Roseville, Calif.Photos: HP's hardware graveyard


PassCode - Secure ID Tags to Fight Hackers

AOL have signed a deal with Internet security company RSA Security Inc. to launch its new AOL PassCode, designed to add an additional layer of protection to member accounts.


Inside Gaza, a Landscape Marked by Violent Change

GAZA CITY, June 19 -- At the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, a man with a three-day growth of beard and bluejeans raised his fist and let out a hoarse scream amid the stench and desperation of the dozens of men, women and children who have been gathered here for days, unable to go...


Panel Says Institutions Hinder Female Academics

The panel said that in an era of global competition the nation could not afford to underuse female talent.


No. 1 automaker's plan may affect 20% of European work force as it aims to save $500Ma year. FRANKFURT  - General Motors, the world's largest automaker, is expected to unveil a plan this week to cut


The new iPod shuffle, introduced today, comes in four new colorsâincluding the new (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition iPod shuffleâand the original silver. Featuring 1GB of storage, iPod shuffle lets you wear up to 240 songs on your sleeve. Or belt. Or lapel.


Edwards Courts Voting Bloc on Daytime TV

Sen. John Edwards turned up the charm and raised his smile to high beam Thursday as he chatted on daytime television talk shows popular among women, a voting bloc the Democrats need to win over by Election Day.


Britainâs Prince Harry scuffles with photographer outside ...

LONDON - Prince Harry, fast gaining a reputation as Britainâs most unruly royal, was involved in a scuffle with a photographer outside a London nightclub early Thursday, palace officials and witnesses said.


CITES tightens ramin controls, may save orang-utan

A United Nations conference adopted a proposal on Friday to tighten controls on the trade of a commercially valuable hardwood known as ramin, which could help save the endangered orang-utan ape.


A rail accident occurred near the British town of Newbury, killing six people according to first estimates. Over 100 people were wounded in the accident, 30 of them heavily.


Venice ends on sour note with shock film choices

Ang Lee has walked off with another top award at the Venice film festival, and surprised critics are wondering how he did it.


Tokyo Stocks Slip, Exporters Hurt by Yen

Tokyo stocks slipped on Thursday as  exporters such as Sony Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. succumbed  to dollar weakness against the yen, giving up some of the gains  made during in the previous three sessions.


Nel pomeriggio tutta l'Unione ha chiesto rinvio alle Camere


Intel to Join in a Project to Extend Wireless Use

In an effort to create a global wireless alternative to cable and telephone Internet service, Intel said on Monday that it would collaborate with Clearwire, a wireless


Air Force says shuttle spectators at high risk

Space shuttle launches are 100 times more dangerous to people on the ground than any other US missiles or rockets, and NASA fails to meet


The record label EMI is planning to cut as many as 2,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan.


Less than seven months after same-sex couples began tying the knot in Massachusetts, the state is seeing its first gay divorces.


MOSCOW Yukos said Monday that it would reduce crude oil output by 4.5 percent for 2004, the first time it has given a concrete estimate of the damage its conflict with the Russian government is doing to oil production.


Balkan governments crack down on hazardous drivers

Bad driving made the news last month when a car tried to ram the Serbian President's motorcade.


Scaroni, eolico puo' aiutare ma non e' la soluzione


The much-anticipated merger between Sirius and XM gets the green light. Plus: <a href="http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/02/


TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwanese high-tech giant Acer Inc. on Wednesday announced a leadership reshuffle and the retirement of Stan Shih _ the company's founder and a major figure in Taiwan's bid to dominate the personal computer industry.


Timmy Chang becomes the first college quarterback to pass for 17,000 yards, throwing for four touchdowns and running for another to lead Hawaii over UAB, 59-40, in the Hawaii Bowl on Friday.


Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters is not expected to play in the first Grand Slam of next year while she continues to recover from an injury to her left wrist.


Dow Jones to consider Murdoch bid, other offers

Dow Jones & Co Inc.'s  board of directors said on Thursday that the company plans to consider alternatives for the company, including a $5 billion bid by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.  to buy it.


Miller, Rahlves give US Ski Team 1-2 punch in quest for overall ...

The first time the US Ski Team had two serious contenders for the World Cup overall title, they were identical twins who looked alike, acted alike and sounded alike.


The US military formally hands over control of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad to Iraq.


President Bush mixed solemn remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks yesterday with a renewed call to complete the mission in Iraq, paying tribute to the fallen even while warning Americans that failure in the Middle East would leave the United States more vulnerable than ever to Islamic...


Persuading the Sunnis to act as a loyal minority in an Iraqi democracy may be the most improbable goal of the retaking of Falluja by storm.


Madrid, 11:04 - CALCIO, CANNAVARO: INFONDATE VOCI SUL MIO RITORNO IN ITALIA

Fabio Cannavaro si raduna oggi con il Real Madrid con l'obiettivo di prepararsi bene e vincere la Ch...


Nel quarto trimestre 2007 scende esposizione subprime


By Tamara Chuang, The Orange County Register, Calif.  Dec. 19--NEWPORT BEACH -- As a child growing up in Slovenia, Bostjan  Cadez would doodle during class.


Presidents Call on U.S. to Help Tsunami Survivors

WASHINGTON/JAKARTA  - U.S. presidents past and  present appealed to all Americans Monday to aid victims of the  Asian tsunami, as rescuers struggled to get food and water to  those clinging to life on shattered coastlines.


Thousands of anti-war campaigners took to the streets of London last night calling for an end to the "illegal occupation" of Iraq by US-led coalition troops.


Felix hits Central America, 2 reported dead

PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua  - The highly dangerous Hurricane Felix ripped into Central America on Tuesday, smashing up a port on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast and threatening deadly mudslides in Honduras and Guatemala.


Space shuttle Discovery is to dock with the space station after an inspection showed no visible damage on lift-off.


Israelis Raid Hideouts in West Bank, Killing 9 Palestinians

Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians today in two separate raids on militant hideouts in the northern West Bank. An 11-year-old Palestinian girl also was fatally shot during one of the clashes, Palestinians said.


Israel's Sharon Raises Prospect of Early Elections

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon  may call early elections if an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party  fails to join a coalition for his Gaza pullout plan this week,  he said in an interview published Monday.


Not one, but three former CEOs begin their trials


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.


In-depth look at U.S. struggle to defeat improvised explosive devices used by insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2002.


Microsoft Corp.'s MSN division has extended its sponsored-links contract with Overture Services Inc. for another year. ADVERTISEMENT.


Catania, 19:57 - CALCIO, CATANIA: DANUCCI VA AL TARANTO

Il Catania ha ceduto in prestito al Taranto (C1) il centrocampista Ciro Danucci. (Nic. Api) ...


A fare hike that raises tickets by $5  each way announced by American Airlines earlier this week to  offset record high jet fuel appears to be sticking among other  U.S. airlines, an industry source said on Friday.


The promotion will mark a subtle shift at the top of Intel - Paul Otellini promises to be a kinder, more gentle leader than his last two predecessors.


Sept. 11 responders suffer lung ailments: study

About 70 percent of the rescue workers   who picked through the toxic debris of the World Trade Center   after the September 11 attacks suffered respiratory problems, a   study released on Tuesday said.


Changes to the way hospitals are paid  are being scaled back amid concerns over "financial volatility".


A youth gets four years in a young offenders' institute for causing a fatal crash after using her mobile phone.


Eagles coach Andy Reid was just 10 seconds into his postgame press conference, and he had already said the word "tough" four times.


Protesters defy junta crackdown in Myanmar town

Around 50 members of Myanmar's main opposition party staged a protest march in a provincial town on Monday, witnesses said, as a major junta crackdown failed to stifle rare displays of public anger at soaring fuel prices.


Shares of Navistar International Corp.  rose 2.7 percent before the bell on Monday after the commercial truck maker said it expects higher fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.


Israeli Soldiers Kill 2 Palestinian Gunmen in Gaza

Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian gunmen in Gaza on Tuesday as they approached a border fence with a bomb, an army spokesman and Palestinian security sources said.


U.S. television viewers have begun to  prize the on-demand services that let them choose the programs  they want, when they want them, but will they do the same for  advertising?


UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrives in Pakistan for talks on issues including nuclear arms and trade.


SAP profit drops 6 percent in fourth quarter

SAP reported a 10 percent rise in revenue for the fourth quarter, but earnings fell 6 percent compared to a year earlier, dragged down in part by the cost of launching Business ByDesign, a new offering for the mid-market, the company said Wednesday.Revenue for the fourth quarter totalled €3.24 billion ($4.77 billion as of Dec. 31, the last day of the period reported), up 10 percent from €2.95 billion a year earlier, but net income fell 6 percent to €756 million.Software and related services revenue grew at 13 percent year on year, while consulting activities, representing around a fifth of SAP's revenue, remained stagnant.For the full year, revenue rose to €10.25 billion, up 9 percent from €9.39 billion, while net income rose to €1.92 billion, up 3 percent from €1.87 billion.The results do not include any revenue gains from SAP's $6.8 billion acquisition of business intelligence software vendor Business Objects, which the companies only completed on Jan. 16, 2008, although they do include €61 million in acquisition-related costs.SAP's operating margin for the year fell from 27.4 percent in 2006 to 26.7 percent in 2007, but if the effects of exchange rate fluctuations and the company's investment in Business ByDesign were excluded, the operating margin would have risen to 28.2 percent, Chief Financial Officer Werner Brandt said in a conference call.Developing Business ByDesign cost the company €125 million in 2007, €40 million of it in the fourth quarter, and the company expects to spend at least a further €175 million in 2008. An additional €50 million of expenditure will fall in late 2008 or early 2009.Sales and related services for subscription-based products like the new ByDesign contributed just €53 million in the fourth quarter, up 47 percent year on year.Looking ahead, CEO Henning Kagermann expects mid-market products like ByDesign to boost growth in 2008, he said during the conference call.Another growth driver will be SAP's acquisition of Business Objects, which will help the company increase its penetration of the business user sector, Kagermann said.SAP expects full-year revenue from software and software-related services to grow at between 24 percent and 27 percent. Excluding the contribution of Business Objects, SAP's existing activities will contribute between 12 and 14 percentage points, the company said.


PHPBuilder.com: Beginning PHP: One Goal at a Time

Though it contains no code, this new article on PHPBuilder provides a good perspective for those looking to get into PHP and what to expect to find.   A couple of months ago, I knew almost nothing about PHP, only that is was a programming language that I needed to learn. Today, my whole site relies upon PHP and I have gained the confidence that almost anything is possible using PHP. I accomplished this achievement using methods that I will describe in this article.   The author talks about the methods followed to get into the language, including making smaller goals at first, just to get used to things. The manual is also suggested as a "best friend" for a developer and looking at other people's code can provide insight into your problems.


Peterson to Present Unified Front to Jury

Aphrodite Jones, a crime writer, holds up a special edition of the Redwood City Daily News, after the announcement of a first degree murder verdict in the Scott Peterson case, outside of the courthouse in Redwood City, Calif.


Oracle exceeds August quarter earnings forecasts

NEW YORK, September 15 (New Ratings) - Oracle Corporation (ORCL.NAS) reported its 1Q FY05 earnings ahead of expectations, despite a 36% year-over-year decline in the company's enterprise application software sales during the quarter.


Londra, 10:21 - CALCIO, CHELSEA: PANCHINA OFFERTA A VAN BASTEN

E' Marco Van Basten l'allenatore piÃ¹ vicino alla panchina del Chelsea. Il tabloid inglese 'The Sun' ...


A New York City launch event draws hundreds of Master Chief fans for a "midnight madness" sale.


US retail sales grew 1.4% in May, suggesting that US economic growth may recover faster than expected.


Statins Expand Their Role in Protecting the Heart

Heart attack prevention has just taken another step with the US Food and Drug Administration's go-ahead for one of the nation's best-selling cholesterol


Recount Ordered in Washington Governor Race

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed ordered a recount of the state's gubernatorial race on Wednesday after the final tally showed only 261 votes separated the top two candidates.


Abbas Declares Victory in Vote to Replace Arafat

RAMALLAH, West Bank  - Mahmoud Abbas declared that  he had won a Palestinian presidential election on Sunday and  dedicated his victory to Yasser Arafat, the late iconic leader  he is replacing.


Darfuris demand external trials for war crimes suspects

Angry and dismissive,  Darfuris who fled their homes to the relative safety of  overcrowded makeshift camps demand Khartoum hand over two war  crimes suspects to an international court.


Vice President Dick Cheney will serve as acting president briefly Saturday while President Bush is anesthetized for a routine colonoscopy, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday.


Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has moved to calm tensions ahead of tonight's Carling Cup quarter-final clash at Old Trafford by insisting there is no long-term vendetta between the clubs.


High Court Overturns Loan Scam Damage Award

The Supreme Court today overturned a five-figure damage award to an Alexandria man for a local auto dealer's alleged loan scam, ruling that a Richmond-based federal appeals court had wrongly


ELECTION 2004: Kerry, Bush try out zingers for debate

Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush tested their best debate lines Monday, mixing dashes of humor with cutting criticism in a preview of their encounter in Florida Thursday night.


Pentagon chief cancels Latin America trip

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday canceled a long-planned, four-country trip to Latin America less than 24 hours before departure to help prepare a report for Congress on the Iraq war, the Pentagon said.


US warship makes first Hong Kong visit since Thanksgiving row

An American warship arrived in Hong Kong Monday, the US consulate said, the first visit by a military vessel from that country since a November spat when a US carrier group was denied entry.


Shoppers flocked to Britainâs stores for the busiest weekend so far this Christmas, retailers said. Early indications show pre-season sales bucked takings at the tills compared to the same time last year.


A leading human genome scientist says he has taken a major step towards creating life from scratch in the lab.


Iraq. Sadr ordina il cessate il fuoco. Possibile un suo ingresso ...

Il leader sciita Muqtada al Sadr ha ordinato un cessate il fuoco generale e ha annunciato la sua intenzione di entrare nel processo politico cosÃ¬ come gli era stato richiesto dai leader del governo provvisorio iracheno.


Is the food-service giant as pricey as its sound-alike cousin?


"Dear Doctor" Letter Spells Trouble for Cephalon

The potential for harm reduces the uses of painkiller Fentora.


Bush says PKK attacks in Turkey must stop

President George W. Bush on Sunday condemned as unacceptable attacks by Kurdish rebels that killed at least 17 Turkish soldiers and said they must stop.


Pitcher Jamie Walker suffera a mild concussion Friday after being struck on the back of the head by a line drive from Nick Markakis during live batting practice.


Empoli, 18:57 - CALCIO, EMPOLI: DOPPIO ALLENAMENTO

Doppio allenamento per l'Empoli. In mattinata il tecnico Malesani ha curato il lato atletico in pale...


TV Says Lebanese Man Held Hostage in Iraq

Lebanese satellite television channel  LBC aired a tape on Tuesday it said showed a Lebanese driver  held hostage in Iraq.


ICC to review 2006 Champions Trophy format

MUMBAI: The Champions Trophy for cricket which was held in September and aired on Max and DD was considered a let down by many followers of the game.


Doctors seek to solve preemies' problems

It's one of the grimmest threats to premature babies: Their immature intestines break down. They can't be fed. In the worst cases, holes in the bowel let bacteria leak into the blood — and kill.


Investors shred Intel over double-digit Q4 gains

Fear is in the share Intel today turned in record fourth quarter revenue and then saw investors pummel its share price in after-hours trading. Thank for the effort, guys.â¦


Sunni Muslim group urges Iraqis not invade Falluja

A powerful Sunni Muslim group urged Iraqi security forces today not to fight with US troops preparing to storm the rebel-held city of Falluja.


London/La Jolla (pts) - Scientists at London's Hammersmith Hospital http://www.hhnt.org are testing the use of adult stem cells, which could reverse cirrhosis of the liver.


"The Lord of the Rings" musical, the most expensive production in West End history, opened to mixed reviews, with some critics praising it as brilliant and others calling it corny and "a thumping great flop."


Cheney Turns on Heat, but Edwards Doesn't Quayle

Dick Cheney might have said to John Edwards, "I've met Dan Quayle, I know Dan Quayle, and Senator, you are no Dan Quayle.


Scottish art rockers Franz Ferdinand top music award nominations

Scottish art rockers Franz Ferdinand, widely lauded as Britain's band of the moment, scooped the most nominations for the NME Awards to be held next month.


Stock index futures rose on Monday, suggesting the market will rebound from last week's losses, after financial results from IBM  lifted the technology sector.


com October 1, 2004, 11:39 AM PT. With the economy slowly turning up, upgrading hardware has been on businesses radar in the past 12 months as their number two priority.


An unpatched security vulnerability in popular older versions of Microsoft Word poses a severe threat to users, security reporting firm Secunia warned yesterday.


US bank profits may rise despite languid quarter

Most large US banks appear poised to post higher third-quarter profits, but may struggle to post big gains as sluggish commercial lending and weak stock trading


Vista: Gates backs Ballmer against confused analysts

Only Disconnect Bill Gates has defended sales of Windows Vista after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer chided analysts for being "overly aggressive" on the company's effect on the PC market.â¦


La sonda europea individua aree con vapore acqueo e metano.

Eâ un altro piccolo passo che potrebbe rivelarsi interessante per la ricerca della vita su Marte. Uno strumento imbarcato sulla sonda Mars Express dellâEsa europea ha rilevato che nellâatmosfera del


SAN FRANCISCO - Two days after reporting another knockout fiscal quarter, Cisco Systems Inc. said Thursday that Mike Volpi, the senior vice president and general manager in charge of the routing and service provider technology group, has resigned from the company.


India, Pak discuss J&K, no progress expected

Top diplomats from Pakistan and India met on Tuesday for talks on disputed Kashmir but no breakthrough was expected on the issue. The South Asian neighbours have come a long way in patching up ties since going


"Idol" dilemma -- ratings up, sales down

"American Idol" is poised to set  ratings records when Fox's talent show returns to the airwaves  with a four-hour season premiere on Tuesday and Wednesday.


Canada pressed China on rights at G8 meet: Harper

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday that he pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao over "shortcomings" in democracy and human rights when the two met at the G8 summit in Germany.


US BitTorrent servers shut down under Hollywood pressure

Some most popular web servers that publish lists of movies, TV shows and other free downloads suddenly went dark Monday, after Hollywood sued operators for copyright infringement.


Even before tipoff last Friday in Game 1 of its opening-round playoff series with Minnesota, the Seattle Storm held a 2-0 lead in perhaps the most critical statistic of all -- superstars.


Middle East emerges as prime growth market for graphic solutions

ATI Technologies Inc. has announced that PCI Express (PCIe)-enabled graphics cards are set to account for 25% of the global graphics card market by year-end.


South Korea's Kospi also tumbles after US loss

TOKYO (CBS.MW) - Japanese stock indexes fell sharply by midday Monday as record oil prices and the dollar's fall to a six-month low against the yen sparked fears about the impact on consumer spending and corporate profits.


A powerful tropical storm killed four  people and injured at least 70 in Mozambique's resort town of  Vilanculos, where thousands of homes were destroyed along with  the hospital and power grid, officials said on Friday.


Sudanese Peace Talks Begin Despite Renewed Fighting

Peace talks over the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur began in Nigeria Monday despite continued insurgencies and a virtual deadlock between involved parties.


NEW YORK -- Toshiba Corp. on Monday announced an aggressive campaign to bolster its HD DVD movie disc format against Sony-backed Blu-ray technology, cutting prices on players to as low as $149.99.


Mittal Steel   said on  Monday that it owned 93.7 percent of the share capital of  Arcelor , as it moved toward creating the world's  biggest steel maker.


North Carolina was taking command when it counted against Ohio State, leaning on big man Tyler Hansbrough to lead the decisive run.


Oil reservoirs could have an environmental make-over with the help of bacteria, researchers say.


Pfizer Appeals Decision on Viagra Patent

Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug company, said Tuesday that it has filed an appeal in a Beijing court against a government decision rejecting the company's Chinese patent for its erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra.


Zeta Jones' lawsuit is frivolous claims strip joint owner:

[Hollywood News]: New York, Oct 26 : The owner of the strip joint in Reno, Nevada, who is being sued by Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta- Jones, for allegedly using her face on a naked picture has claimed that he was not aware that it was Jones' face.


DUKAN, Iraq -- Leading Sunni politicians and representatives of Iraq's prime minister and president called yesterday for Iraq's national election to be postponed until order is restored in the violence-racked Sunni Arab heartland, the strongest signal yet that the ballot might not take place in January as scheduled.


Dance Review | 'Cambodian Stories Revisited': A World of Glacial Movements, Tense With Emotions

Like snails, like glaciers, Eiko and Koma move slowly, so slowly, and yet even in stillness their bodies seem at all points suffused with meaning and, more particularly, feeling.


Snowflakes swirled around the crematoriums and barbed wire of Auschwitz, and a shrill train whistle pierced the silence as frail survivors and humbled world leaders remembered the victims of the Holocaust on Thursday, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp.


African Students Await Cash Before Freeing Envoy

Guinea-Bissau students holding their  ambassador hostage in Moscow said on Thursday the government  had promised to start paying their overdue grants, but vowed to  hold the envoy until the cash was in their hands.


The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.


The Aids virus is a quick-change artist that copies itself at ...

For nearly 20 years, the Rutgers University chemist has obsessively dismantled the AIDS virus to untangle its deadly submicroscopic machinery.


Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, longtime foes in American politics, forcefully defended Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday against a wave of Muslim criticism over a speech last week.


Botnet herder jailed over hospital attack

Hacker gets three years for adware assault A California man has been jailed for three years and one month over a botnet attack that floored tens of thousands of computers including systems at a Seattle hospital, a California school district, and US Department of Defence machines.â¦


A man is remanded in custody charged with the murder of a 23-year-old in Belfast seven years ago.


India proposes âself-ruleâ, âopen bordersâ for Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Rejecting Pakistani President Pervez Musharrafâs recent formula on Kashmir, India has proposed âself-ruleâ and âopen bordersâ to both parts of Jammu and Kashmir.


Turkey's AKP faces challenges after big poll win

Turkey's ruling AK Party on Monday celebrated its decisive victory in a parliamentary election, but strong nationalist gains dented its majority and could hamper reforms crucial to its European Union bid.


TAIWANESE President Chen Shui-bian sought to defuse the Taiwan Strait time-bomb yesterday by calling China to wide-ranging peace talks to banish the "shadows of terror" and "forces of darkness" that have threatened war between the two rivals for more than


The third-seeded Sharapova was scheduled to face top seed and defending champion Amelie Mauresmo of France in the second semi-final Saturday night.


American Home Comforts Suit European Ryder Rookies

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan  - For Americans, there  is no place quite like home. Europeans, however, always seem to  enjoy the challenge of foreign lands.


Vanessa Hudgens Opts Out of Tonight Show Appearance

Still dealing with the nude-photo fallout, Vanessa Hudgens canceled her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday. Producers confirmed that the High School Musical star, 18, had been booked and that they were resched...


Yahoo shows off oneConnect social address book

Yahoo is working on a mobile service called oneConnect designed to aggregate contacts and communications around what it calls a "socially connected address book."The service, due to launch in the second quarter this year, will be open and other companies are free to join, Yahoo said Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.OneConnect draws information from social-networking sites such as MySpace, instant-messaging services such as Yahoo Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger, and e-mail services including Yahoo Mail and Google's Gmail to build a picture of the mood, location, and activities of friends and colleagues.It also stores details of recent communications with address-book contacts, including instant-messaging and e-mail exchanges. All the information held about a person can be viewed on a "social contact card."Location data is calculated by GPS (Global Positioning System) in handsets that have it, or deduced from nearby cell tower locations. Users of the service can keep their locations private, or opt to share that information with others.Combining all the information gathered by the service allows Yahoo to alert users of the service when friends arrive in town, or to let them follow up on unfinished business when colleagues become available."I can see all my communications archives so when someone comes up to me, I know whether I answered his last e-mail," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo's Connected Life division, who demonstrated the service at an MWC news conference.Yahoo oneConnect is built on the same widget platform that Yahoo used for its oneSearch mobile search service, so it will work on some 300 phones, either in a browser, as a Java applet or as a native application.Boerries demonstrated how oneConnect can extract information about the status and activities of members of a social network on other services such as MySpace.With some of those services, he said, Yahoo developed the code to exchange the information, while other partners chose to develop the bridge themselves."We don't want to be competing to build a better Facebook client," he said.In one case, though, the intervention of a neutral party was necessary to get both sides talking. Although oneConnect can collect information from Microsoft Exchange e-mail accounts, the connector was written by Dataviz, a third-party software developer specializing in data translation. Microsoft recently made an unsolicited offer to purchase Yahoo, and the two companies are engaged in a war of words over the value of the bid, which may turn hostile.Opening up the social network to other services will allow Yahoo to bulk up in its battle with Google for the attention of Internet users. But Google is also a potential partner for the service: the beta version of oneConnect gathers information from Google Talk and Gmail.The service sends large amounts of data to and from the mobile phone -- the demonstration paused often with a message indicating that data was being exchanged. While unlimited data services are common in the U.S., they are less so in Europe, making the service potentially expensive to use.Boerries acknowledged that data rates could be a problem, adding that Yahoo is negotiating with operator partners to introduce all-inclusive data tariffs for the service.In return, those partners could benefit from a share of the advertising revenue generated by Yahoo's online services, he said.To conclude his demonstration, Boerries announced "one more thing," acknowledging that he had stolen the line from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.That thing was an iPhone running oneConnect as a native application, linked to contact information in the iPhone address book."It's a prototype, because there is no SDK [software development kit]. We had some eager developers who used Jailbreak to open up the iPhone," Boerries said, referring to the way in which iPhones must be hacked if they are to run applications not approved by Apple. Jobs has said an SDK will be made available to would-be iPhone application developers later this month.


Blair pledge to quit fails to heal rifts

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's   pledge to quit within a year failed to heal rifts on Friday as   his likely successor came under fire from a respected Labour   Party heavyweight.


In Senate, passage of Iraq resolution uncertain

Debate on whether to oppose Bush's troop 'surge' begins this week, and the risks of action - or inaction - are high for both parties.


WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's most senior civilian and military officials share a portion of blame for creating conditions that led to the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, according to a new report.    The report, by a commission appointed by Defense Secretary Donald H...


Romney Homes In on a Message That Will Stick

For months, the pricey image machine that Mitt Romney assembled to sell himself to the American people had marketed him as both "Mr. Fix-It" and "Mr. Conservative Values," reflecting what top aides say was a difference of opinion among his cadre of media consultants and strategists.


Blog Buzz: Cheap Cisco, Pricey Baidu, and Cramer's Accuracy

Who says investing is zero-sum? Members of our CAPS community love sharing their investing knowledge.


Fiji military stages coup, fourth in 20 years

Fiji's military chief said on Tuesday the army had taken over running the country, plunging the South Pacific island nation into its fourth coup in 20 years.


Although most of the significant quarterly gains were the result of the completed merger with BellSouth, AT&T reported continued growth in its wireless revenue.


Mid-Atlantic storm leaves 100,000 without power

A snow and ice storm ravaging the U.S. Mid-Atlantic states early Wednesday knocked out power for more than 100,000 customers from Virginia to New Jersey, local electric companies reported.


Police investigating the Â£26m Northern Bank robbery resume a search operation in County Tyrone.


Sharapova fights off battling Hantuchova

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova had to fight off a strong challenge from Daniela Hantuchova before reaching the quarter-finals of the $1.


There might be one athlete in the world who knows exactly how Roger Federer feels as he dominates his peers and gobbles up Grand Slams, so it was fitting that Tiger Woods was sitting in his guest box Sunday for the U.S. Open final.


Seattle woman dies after hospital mix-up

SEATTLE - A woman who underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm died after she was mistakenly injected with an antiseptic solution instead of a harmless X-ray marker dye, hospital officials say.


Photon Dynamics Names Wendell Blonigan Chief Operating Officer

Photon Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHTN), a leading global supplier of integrated yield-management solutions for the flat panel display (FPD) market, announced the appointment of Wendell T. Blonigan to the position of Vice President & Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective today.


US, EU urge Iran to cooperate with probe

The United States and European Union on Monday backed efforts to get Iran to reveal details of past nuclear activities, but suggested concerns about Tehran's intentions will ease only if it also scraps technology that can be used to make atomic bombs.


TWO British Airways flight attendants were taken off their flight from Finland to London and arrested after allegedly failing an alcohol breath test.


By Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.  Dec. 12--Two construction firms reported thefts of tools and materials in Rochester last week totaling $8,600.   Rochester police reported a home site at 797 Brandon Lane S.W. and another at 1425 South Echo Ridge Lane had thefts overnight on Dec.


U.S. says 10,000 troops in major Iraq offensive

The U.S. military using attack helicopters, armored fighting vehicles and 10,000 soldiers launched an offensive north of Baghdad on Tuesday in one of the single biggest operations since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.


Patients may not be given a choice of hospitals by the end of the year as ministers promised, a report says.


Auburn Hills, MI -- Chauncey Billups scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to help the Detroit Pistons rally for a 93-85 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in coach Larry Brown's first game back from hip surgery.


NEW YORK -- Though U2 is among the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Irish rock band is still going strong. "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" will be released on Nov. 23, Interscope Records announced Tuesday.


Ministro Mastella, fiducioso ma servono modifiche a Manovra


Temasek Holdings, the biggest shareholder in Standard Chartered, increased its stake in the British bank to 18 percent, increasing the financial services investments in its $100 billion portfolio. Temasek bought 12 million shares of Standard Chartered, raising its holding by one percentage point, the bank said in a filing. Standard Chartered gets most of its profit from Asia and spent more than $2.7 billion since 2006 on acquisitions, including Hsinchu International Bank in Taiwan and Union Bank Ltd. in Pakistan. The shares purchased by Temasek, worth Â£220 million ($436 million), lift the total holding to 253.7 million shares.


Unioncamere: spinge anche caro-prezzi, +1,4% a maggio-giugno


The US space agency says the veteran Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft is probably lost and unrecoverable.


Greenspan issues new warning over US current account deficit

US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said the United States' huge current account deficit cannot be indefinitely financed by foreign countries and investors.


Pm procedono contro ignoti e senza ipotesi di reato


When I compare the current attack of the Olympics with the original Games in ancient Greece, a theme emerges. Back then, athletes were occasionally disemboweled and those who stepped over the line were flogged.


Manmohan Singh greets Than Shwe at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. ...

New Delhi, Oct. 25: Visiting Myanmar military ruler Senior General Than Shwe today told his hosts his country will not allow its soil to be used by Northeast insurgents against Indian interests.


Ad Campaign Challenges SUV Drivers to Master the Beast

State attorneys general announced a $27 million ad campaign Monday designed to coax SUV owners to drive safely by challenging them to "master" the vehicles.


Londra -0,33%, Parigi -0,51%, Francoforte -0,01%


Stocks soared on Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to an all-time high, as investors drew confidence from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments that inflation is poised to ease while the economy grows moderately.


L'occupazione nel 2006 in aumento dell'1,%, +0,5% nel 2007


As the world scrambled to the rescue, survivors fought over packs of noodles in earthquake-stricken Indonesian streets yesterday, and relief supplies piled up at the airport for lack of cars, gas or passable roads to deliver them.


Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promises Iraq complete co-operation in stabilising security.


Roma, 21:45 - PALLAMANO, SERIE A ELITE: BOLOGNA-FASANO 24-27

Nell'anticipo della 7/a giornata di ritorno della serie A elite di pallamano, l'ultima della prima f...


Public borrowing is set to rise and the government will need to raise taxes or reduce spending to decisively cut the deficit, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says.


Nessuna scaletta, ordine di uscita sorteggiato in diretta


Physical Culture: Skate or Ski Your Way Into College

Attending a winter sports school can be as valuable as good SAT scores.


Americans have resolved to improve their fiscal lot.


US praises Pakistan's effort on bin Laden

President Bush defended yesterday Pakistan's cooperation in the hunt for Osama bin Laden despite the inability of US and Pakistani troops


Milano, 12:17 - CICLISMO, COBO PROLUNGA CON SAUNIE SINO AL 2010

La Saunier Duval-Prodir ha prolungato fino al 2010 il contratto con Juan Josè Cobo, 26 anni, ...


US Sighs with Relief But Basketball Concerns Linger

The United States men's basketball team could breathe a sigh of relief on Wednesday after its first win but lingering concerns over a lack of outside shooting and team defense have coach Larry Brown scrambling for ...


Patrono animali domestici celebrato da insoliti visitatori


Cradling a cup of coffee on his knee, the Rev. Paul Porter welcomes five neighbors to his home, leads them in a brief prayer and gets down to business.


Key failings identified in response to summer floods in England that caused billions of pounds in damage


Italia ultima in Ue, ma a automobilisti non piacciono


Mars Has Liquid Water, New Photos Suggest

NASA released images today that reveal water likely flowed through Martian gullies within the past few years, providing a "squirting gun" of liquid water's presence on the red planet.


Nigeria pays military pensions to former soldiers, including former Biafran separatists from the 1967-1970 war.


Blognation founder resigns amid feud with TechCrunch founder.


Football's world governing body bans a Mexican woman footballer from playing for a professional league club.


Bologna, 17:47 - BASKET, CASO BENETTON: CORTE FIP RESPINGE RICORSO REGGIANA

La Corte Federale della Fip ha respinto, dichiarandolo inammissibile, il ricorso presentato dalla Pa...


Cyclists who wear protective helmets are more likely to be knocked down, a study suggests.


From Lead Percussionist to Different Drummer

Ted Atkatz gave up a job at the Chicago Symphony to pursue a rock dream, and heâs not looking back.


Patent Backlog Spurs Demand for Examiners

Got a degree in engineering, chemistry or physics and looking for work? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is hiring.


Debate Grows Over Payouts by Firm to Son of UN Chief

The chairman of a House subcommittee investigating the United Nations' oil-for-food program in Iraq said in a statement yesterday that Secretary General Kofi Annan's son received reimbursements


Pfizer Shares Rise on Celebrex, Aleve Trial Data

Pfizer Inc. shares rebounded on  Tuesday as a study of Alzheimer's patients found that its  arthritis drug Celebrex carried no increased cardiovascular  risks, differing from findings of a study in cancer patients  released last week.


You might ignore your mobile phone if  your ringtone is Beethoven's "Fur Elise," but what if it's a  gruff voice that yells "Pick up the damn phone?"


'Treasure' finds $45M in box office gold

Nicolas Cage followed his secret treasure map to another fortune at movie theaters. Cage's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," the Disney sequel to its 2004 hit, opened as the weekend's No. 1 movie with $45.5 million as Hollywood continued a holiday spree at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.


DIVING - Helm backs himself to take a dive for last-second ...

Mathew Helm has practised the dive that won him silver at the Athens Olympics thousands of times. He finished Australia's greatest Olympics in diving in almost the best possible way - with four perfect 10s and a spot on the medal podium.


PLO chief to meet all Palestinian groups

PLO leader Mahmud Abbas is due to hold separate meetings with representatives from the Palestinian security services and 13 main factions, officials said.


Police arrested a 37-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of murdering five prostitutes in one of Britain's most dramatic serial killings of recent times.


STOCKHOLM: A series of heart-rending photographs showing a mother running towards the tsunami off Thailand in a desperate bid to save her family were published around the world last week.


- CALCIO, UEFA: LIVORNO PAREGGIA IN CASA 1-1 CON IL MACCABI

Il Livorno ha pareggiato 1-1 in casa contro il Maccabi Haifa in un incontro valido per la 4a giornat...


Federer struggles at Open; Hewitt eases into second round

Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Roger Federer struggled in his second-round match against little-known Marcos Baghdatis, but pulled out a four-set win Wednesday.


Colgate to cut 4,400 jobs, close a third factories

Colgate-Palmolive Co., the consumer products giant, will close a third of its factories and cut 4,400 jobs, or roughly 12 percent of its worldwide workforce, as part of a


Modern Clothes Are Unwearable, Says Cardin

Modern clothes are unwearable and the  fashion industry has been disfigured by big business and  nudity, says legendary designer Pierre Cardin.


World at risk of bird flu pandemic, ill-prepared to handle it: WHO ...

MIAMI - The world is at great risk of a new pandemic of deadly bird flu, but is ill-prepared to handle it, a top World Health Organization official said at an international conference in Miami on Monday.


Nuclear declaration submitted, says North Korea

North Korea said on Friday it had already given an account of its nuclear arms program as required under an international disarmament deal, while separately threatening to boost its "war deterrent".


Consultancy to Microsoft lines up EU trust-buster

A European Commission official chosen   to lead Microsoft's antitrust case has asked to work instead   for a consultancy that has the software firm as a client, the   company and Commission confirmed on Wednesday.


Bremer says US makes two major mistakes in Iraq

The former US high-ranking official in Iraq has said that the United States failed to deploy enough troops in the country and curb the violence and looting soon after the ouster of Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi president.


A new version of the Band Aid charity single is being recorded with current stars, according to Midge Ure, one of the singers behind the original song.


Blackburn limp out of Europe at Ewood Park after a tame draw against Bayer Leverkusen.


Fox News, O'Reilly Producer Trade Charges

Fox News Channel traded accusations Wednesday with one of the producers of Bill O'Reilly's show, with the woman alleging that the commentator had phone sex with her against her wishes three times. Fox in a claim of its own dismissed the sexual harassment complaint as a politically motivated extortion attempt.


Debito netto salito a 914,1 milioni, +16,3%


A POLISH distiller has set its initial public offering for January 18-28, to become the first vodka maker listed on the Warsaw bourse.


Prime Minister Tony Blair says a new European Union treaty agreed in Brussels protects Britain's interests.


Heidi Klum and her husband Seal, currently expecting their second child together, might not be done. "We want to have a lot of children," the supermodel tells Life magazine in its latest issue. "(Seal) always says that he finds me the most beautiful when I'm pregnant."


Israeli warplanes pounded Lebanon on   Tuesday, killing at least 13 people, as diplomatic efforts   brought no signs of an early end to the week-old assault   launched in retaliation against Hezbollah attacks.


Islamabad and Kabul must stop playing   blame games in the battle against the resurgent Taliban and   work together to crush the group on both sides of the border,   Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday.


Su chi lavora nelle organizzazioni umanitarie nel mondo


Congress says it is going to join the war against global warming by cleaning up its own backyard, now cluttered with a coal-burning power plant, a fleet of fuel-inefficient vehicles and old-fashioned lights.


LONDON - British police charged eight terrorist suspects Tuesday with conspiring to commit murder and use radioactive materials, toxic gases, chemicals or explosives to cause "fear or injury" in a case involving an alleged top al-Qaida operative at the center of a U.S. terror alert this month...


Two graffiti artists jailed for spray-painting trains have their sentences cut to conditional discharges.


Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's White House general counsel during his first term, is President Bush's choice to replace John Ashcroft as attorney general, sources say.


Russian troops storm the school where hundreds of people have been held as heavy gunfire continues.


The Mac may be the cooler computer, but arenât there more PC users in the world?


Waste-to-electricity firm Ze-gen raises funds

Additional $2.5 debt financing from Pinnacle Ventures will finance construction of full-scale gasification plant.


Man U. and Everton play to scoreless draw

Manchester, England (Sports Network) - Manchester United's struggle continued on Monday when they failed to score in a 0-0 tie with Everton at Old Trafford.


Iraqi Shi'ite Cleric Urges Election Boycott

NAJAF, Iraq  - A senior Shi'ite cleric urged  Iraqis on Saturday to boycott Sunday's landmark elections and  take up arms to expel U.S. forces from the country.


Time Doesn't Give Hendrick Distance From a Tragedy

It has not been the same at the Hendrick Motorsports complex since 10 people on their way to the Subway 500 Nextel Cup race died Oct. 24 in a plane crash.


Fast starts are nothing new to Tufts football, but it's the meat of the Jumbos' schedule that has presented problems.


Hardline religious students in Islamabad abduct a group of people, including women, accusing them of prostitution.


Parents of obese children to get formal advice, report says

The parents of five-year-old children found to be overweight will receive a formal letter from their school warning them of the fact and offering health advice, The Times reported Monday.


London's legendary Abbey Road studios will be transformed into a cinema for a special public opening.


Bulls Fire Scott Skiles After 9-16 Start

The Chicago Bulls fire Scott Skiles on Monday, hoping to shake up a team with one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference.


Comparing on-demand CRM products is a lot like comparing ice to steam. Both are technically water, but the form makes all the difference.


Pioneering McCaw at epicenter of cell deals

The announced union of Sprint and Nextel Communications yesterday marked the second mega-deal in the wireless industry this year - and the second involving a life change for a Craig McCaw-built venture.