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Afghan officials are claiming victory following a 9-day siege by U.S and Afghan troops against suspected Taliban fighters holed up in a region of mountains and caves of southern Afghanistan .
News flash from Tucker Carlson , who made his name as a shouting , bow-tied representative of the right on cable news debate shows : `` I do n't like shouting actually . ''
An overall ceasefire agreed in Chechnya for two days appeared to be holding Thursday and there was no sound of gunfire from disputed areas south of Grozny , the Chechen capital .
Municipal workers voted to extend a weeklong strike for another 48 hours Monday , leaving tons of garbage uncollected in the country 's second largest city ahead of mayoral elections .
The radar-evading F-22 , the first fighter in nearly a half century that will carry the Boeing name , is suddenly facing an enemy that might able to shoot it down .
The army said it killed six infiltrators armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers near the Pakistan frontier on Saturday .
Andre Delvaux , a leading film director in his native Belgium whose work includes `` One Night a Train '' and `` Appointment in Bray , '' has died in Spain .
Cao Weili , a teacher from the Beijing Language Institute , is planning a trip to Europe in September to celebrate his fifth wedding anniversary .
As his sympathetic biographers recall , when Henry Wallace , the vice president in Franklin Roosevelt 's third term , had the temerity to break with the Democratic Party and run on the Progressive ticket for the presidency in 1948 , he was demonized as a wild-eyed fanatic bent on destroying the American way of life .
That 's the horse who waits to do most of his serious running heading into the final turn , building a lead entering the stretch and staying there while the rest of the horses either make a belated rally or just spin their wheels as the winner basks in the glory of that final eighth of a mile .
It was n't too long ago that Dell Inc. was riding high on the success of its patented direct-sales model to consumers and businesses , boldly predicting during an April 2005 meeting with analysts that the computer maker would soon swell from $ 50 billion ( euro39 .1 billion ) in revenue to $ 80 billion ( euro62 .5 billion ) .
This high-tech , hard-edged , high-kicking action spin on the old horror chestnut is n't as much fun either , a flesh-frying bloodbath so determined to dazzle and thrill that it forgets to make you care .
Evaluating her first official trip to the Middle East , Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said on Monday , `` The crisis of confidence there is worse than I thought _ it 's fairly tattered . ''
Motorists trying to drive through Hollywood will face road and freeway closures for five days starting Tuesday as Tinseltown gears up for the first Oscar night at the new Kodak Theatre , officials said Wednesday .
Peter De Clercq of Belgium took the overall lead Thursday after the 170 kilometres first stage of the Tour of Luxembourg cycling race .
President Bush said Saturday that he held Yasser Arafat , the Palestinian leader , personally responsible for the waves of suicide bombings in Israel , and strongly sided with the Israeli government even while warning that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should temper military action to preserve a `` path for peace . ''
Pakistan has further slashed the types of goods Afghanistan can import through its territory in a move designed to curb smuggling , a senior official said here Sunday .
Annika Sorenstam 's latest treat in a remarkable year was something she got to share Sunday _ a record 17 { -10 { victory for Europe in the Solheim Cup to complete its domination of the United States .
Sweden today donated to Zimbabwe 1.44 million US dollars to finance the Poverty Alleviation Action Plan ( PAAP ) whose implementation is expected to begin next year in the country .
Al-Qaida-linked militants freed an Italian Red Cross worker Sunday from six months of jungle captivity in the southern Philippines , officials said .
If professional Stepford Wife Martha Stewart had been speaking in Farsi , I could not have understood less of `` Martha Stewart 's Home for the Holidays , '' which airs at 7 p.m. Tuesday on CBS .
Rahul Dravid notched his 10th Test century Sunday , guiding India past the follow-on target to a satisfying 345 for seven at lunch on the fourth day of the first Test against the West Indies .
Pakistan 's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her spouse were disqualified for public office and awarded five years ' imprisonment on Thursday morning .
The Cambodian government collected some 22 million U.S. dollars in value-added tax ( VAT ) during the first quarter this year , according to Finance Minister Keat Chhon .
The US telecommunications giant ATT is to cut hundreds of jobs in a management restructuring , a company spokesman said Friday .
West Germany 's 1974 World Cup winner Beckenbauer claims the German defence needs some experience if it is to hold firm at the Confederations Cup .
US Treasury Secretary John Snow said here Wednesday that correcting worldwide current account imbalances was a " shared responsibility " but acknowledged that the United States had an " obligation " to reduce its budget shortfall .
Iran dismissed Thursday the remarks made by British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon that the British sailors detained by Iran on June 21 were forced into Iranian territorial waters , the official IRNA news agency reported .
Argentina will send accused Bosnian Serb war criminal Milan Lukic to the UN tribunal in The Hague for trial , a judge in Buenos Aires ruled Tuesday .
Promising a new assault on unemployment , Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer , signed a coalition agreement Wednesday between the Social Democrats and environmental Greens Party to usher in four more years of center-left rule in Germany .
The Islamic Iran Participation Front , a mainstream party in the country , has threatened to quit the government if it is kept under ongoing pressures , the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday .
President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that his government uncovered plans for a military coup , set to take place on Sunday , after intelligence agents found evidence during a raid .
Portugal will close its embassy in Iraq due to the ongoing violence in the strife-torn country and the high costs of keeping it open , the foreign ministry said .
Toshiba Corp. reported a narrower net loss in its fiscal second quarter , helped by robust sales of consumer electronics and semiconductors .
Former Romanian president Ion Iliescu , charged with inciting a violent crackdown by miners on protesting students 15 years ago , said Monday his conviction would be a " national shame . "
China will tighten controls on Internet blogs and webcasts in a response to new technologies that have allowed cyber citizens to avoid government censorship efforts , state press reported Tuesday .
Police were questioning three suspected members of an Islamic network in connection with a plan to attack a soccer stadium a year ago as France and Algeria played a friendly match , police said Thursday .
Europe 's big three powers agreed here on Thursday that their negotiations with Iran on its nuclear programme have reached a " dead end " , German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said .
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( MOFA ) is preparing to add a new page to its official Web site in the next few days stating Taiwan 's support for democratic activities in Myanmar , a MOFA spokeswoman said Monday .
One night last spring when I was on call at my hospital , I was paged at midnight .
The eastern city of Sri Lanka Batticaloa Wednesday noon was rocked by a powerful claymore mine blast , which killed nine policemen and injured 14 others , informed sources here said .
The crew of a British yacht was stranded in the Atlantic awaiting rescue Wednesday , after the boat 's rudder was damaged in a storm , maritime officials said .
Canadian telecom equipment giant Nortel said Friday that president and chief operating officer Gary Daichendt was quitting , citing differences with other members of top management .
Chinese and American designers have completed plans for a one million kilowatt pressed-water nuclear plant , the first of its kind in China , the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday .
An English performance artist on Thursday unveiled an absurd solution to the record heat bedeviling Britain this summer : a " commute suit . "
A Romanian Orthodox priest who ordered the crucifixion of a young nun because she was " possessed by the devil " and now faces murder charges was unrepentant Saturday as he celebrated a funeral mass for his alleged victim .
With two federal judges pressing Microsoft and the government to settle their antitrust case soon , Microsoft presented a formal , written proposal Friday that would restrain some of the company 's business practices , officials said .
A former medical student charged with killing a masseuse he met on Craigslist has lost his request for an investigation into media leaks he claimed may have tainted the grand jury that indicted him .
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lauded the imminent signing of new partnership between NATO and Russia in epoch-making terms Monday as he deployed 15,000 police and military to protect a summit meeting between the former foes .
A former Chicago gang member accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb must be allowed to challenge the government 's use of a classified document describing his contacts with top al-Qaida leaders , a lawyer argues in court papers .
The Thai stock market rose 0.83 percent Monday as foreign investors continued buying in big-cap shares despite figures showing Thailand 's first quarter growth was lower than forecast , dealers said .
A Federal Reserve official suggested Wednesday that the central bank is near the final stages of its tightening cycle after lifting key rates by two percentage points .
Austerity measures announced by Portugal 's new conservative government will cause 10,000 to 15,000 public sector layoffs , a union leader said Wednesday .
Australian share prices closed 0.34 percent higher Thursday , ending the Australian financial year on a strong note in keeping with the market 's stellar performance over the past 12 months , dealers said .
The Afghan government has dropped all charges in the controversial corruption case against an aide to President Hamid Karzai , said the official whose office oversaw the case .
A team of American law enforcement and intelligence officials took part in a raid in Pakistan early Thursday that captured five Taliban fighters and 25 Arabs suspected of having links to al-Qaida , senior Pakistani law enforcement officials said on Friday .
Bernard J. Ebbers , who built WorldCom Inc. into a global telecommunications giant , has resigned as president and chief executive amid a steep decline in the company 's fortunes and an SEC investigation of its finances .
After winning weekend elections , Bulgaria 's Socialists on Monday said they were ready to govern with the outgoing prime minister 's party to keep alive Bulgaria 's hopes of joining the European Union in 18 months .
As we approach the anniversary , expect a slow but steady buildup of books about the attacks , the attackers and the lasting lessons of that day .
Kuwaiti men started voting to elect members of the municipal council Thursday in the last all-male polls in this oil-rich Gulf Arab emirate .
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said Wednesday that Kosovo Albanians should n't expect immediate NATO intervention in their separatist province .
About 11,000 residents of a subdivision threatened by a forest fire in southern British Columbia have been evacuated , officials said Sunday .
KARACHI , Pakistan ( AP ) _ The son of a top Pakistani opposition leader apparently committed suicide Wednesday in the southern city of Sukkur , police said .
Zimbabwe seized the initiative early on in the opening day of the third and final cricket Test against Pakistan here on Wednesday .
Spanish newspapers say a woman who was believed to have become the world 's oldest new mother when she gave birth to twins at age 66 has died .
Cultural undertakings in this capital of China are experiencing a prosperous year .
Asian stocks bounced on Tuesday , regaining some ground lost during a sharp sell-off at the start of the week , with Tokyo leading gains after an improved performance by Wall Street overnight .
Hong Kong stocks moved down 496.36 points , or 2.46 percent , to close at 19651.51 on Wednesday .
Italy Monday sent another contingent of 400 soldiers to Albania to join troops from other NATO nations called in for carrying out what was called the Allied Harbor operation .
France 's World Cup title defense is n't going according to plan , and it has n't even started .
Ace Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble , who continued to play after his jaw was fractured during a recent India-West Indies cricket match , underwent surgery on Thursday .
Macedonia closed its border with Greece Friday to prevent any further NATO troops from entering the country from Greece , an Albanian newspaper reported Saturday .
U.S. bonds rose after a report showing slower manufacturing last month eased concern the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates soon to ward off inflation .
A court in India acquitted eight people Saturday who were blamed for planting a bomb in a bus in the western commercial centre of Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay , in 2002 that killed two and injured 50 .
European Union nations failed Monday to agree on rules to allow new biotech crops in the farming and food industry , but a top EU official said an end to the controversial ban on such products was inevitable .
California 's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 6.4 percent in November from 6.5 percent in October , the Employment Development Department ( EDD ) said Friday .
China in June will set up four corporations responsible for the construction of the east and central route projects of the giant water diversion project from the country 's south to its north , said an official on Tuesday .
Aung San Suu Kyi , the Burmese Nobel Peace laureate , spoke over a noisy phone line from her Rangoon headquarters .
Russia 's boundless bureaucracy reached new heights on Friday as three cosmonauts aboard the international space station answered census-takers ' questions from Earth 's orbit .
South Korean prosecutors on Monday stepped up a probe into the alleged corrupt involvement of politicians and government officials in a stormy financial scandal over the debt-stricken Hanbo Group .
Carrying the torch for Iran 's embattled reformist movement in next week 's presidential elections is Mostafa Moin , a former higher education minister who hopes his increasingly radical platform can stir the students .
The industrial production of China was growing at a slower pace in May , the third consecutive month to witness a cooling down of the country 's heated industrial growth .
The office of the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugee ( UNHCR ) in Malawi has expressed concern over the increased influx of refugees into the tiny southern African country .
An Afghan man convicted of drug trafficking was beheaded in Saudi Arabia , raising to 73 the number of people executed in the kingdom this year .
China will build a new embassy in the US capital of Washington , D.C. , the Chinese embassy in the United States announced in a statement on Tuesday .
Jaap Stam returns to full training with Manchester United on Monday , which means that he might be fit to face Juventus in Wednesday 's European Champions League semi - final match .
The number of military discharges of gays has risen to its highest level in 15 years , and reported incidents of anti-gay harassment have climbed by 23 percent , a legal aid group said Wednesday .
U.S. regulators set technical standards today for television manufacturers to begin phasing in the so-called V-chip that will help parents block programs they do n't want their children to see .
The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency urged Major League Baseball on Wednesday to adopt its code , which includes a two-year suspension for an athlete 's first positive test .
Taxi drivers in Athens will start a four-day strike Monday , in a protest that will affect transport to Athens ' international airport and main port of Piraeus .
Maltese police confirmed tonight that the man , who was shot to death in the northern city of Sliema , Malta Thursday , was the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Fathi Shakaki .
Argentine call rates rose for a third day as companies , expanding with the fast-growing economy , used short-term borrowings to meet expenses .
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean set a fast pace as he wrapped up a Southern California campaign swing Tuesday , meeting with middle-class voters in Riverside , talking with African-American community leaders in South Los Angeles and trading quips with Jay Leno on `` The Tonight Show . ''
Germany 's biggest union reached a pay deal with employers Wednesday to end waves of one-day strikes in a key industrial region , a breakthrough likely to spare the country a drawn-out and potentially damaging stoppage .
Donald Curry 's second comeback fight is billed for the vacant International Boxing Association junior middleweight championship .
A Turkish prosecutor on Friday indicted two popular pro-Islamic politicians _ the current and former mayors of Istanbul _ with rigging state contracts , reports said .
U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton , a Democratic from New York and a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination next year , on Saturday called for the Bush administration to start withdrawing American troops from Iraq within 90 days .
Uruguay decided on Monday to impose a limit on the number of stopovers by British military planes on its territory as it suspects they carry passengers " surreptitiously " to the Malvinas ( Falkland ) Islands .
A Russian antique dealer discovered that a richly decorated chalice in his possession was among more than 220 items stolen from Russia 's renowned State Hermitage Museum and returned it to authorities Friday , a government official said .
Chile on Sunday joined the international condemnation of the latest nuclear test by China , calling it `` a step backwards '' in the efforts to reach an international nuclear test ban .
In a move to expand its ability to manage Web sites and software applications for corporate customers , IBM intends to announce Monday that it has struck a multibillion-dollar deal with Qwest Communications International Inc .
Germany 's Steffi Graf moved back into the WTA world number one spot Monday night , surpassing Spain 's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario with her Paris Open championship .
Factional fighting between soldiers and Khmer Rouge defectors loyal to Cambodia 's two main political parties continued in northwest Battambang province Thursday , officials said .
A visiting U.S. congressman described Taiwan 's democracy as " healthy , " on the eve of the presidential election Thursday , and said no outside force should try to intimidate Taiwan 's 23 million people into giving up their democratic rights .
After rapidly gaining momentum through the Middle East and Europe since its soft launching two weeks ago , the Saudi Arabian peace idea will descend on Washington when the Egyptian president , Hosni Mubarak , comes calling on Tuesday .
An Alabama law banning the sale of sex toys was struck down by a federal judge as a violation of the right to privacy .
The 11th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest will be held here from mid-September to early October , a tourism official said at a press conference on Tuesday .
Fernando Alonso hopes to regain lost momentum at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend with the world champion facing a resurgent challenge from Michael Schumacher .
Teacher Mary Kay Letourneau could n't draw the line that all adults , teachers and authority figures must draw between themselves and children when it comes to sex .
Washington DC sank deeper into financial trouble , and edged closer to a federal government bailout , this week , as major financial analysts downgraded the creditworthiness of the nation 's capital to junk bond status .
Former US Vice President Al Gore criticized the economic policy adopted by President George W. Bush on Sunday , proposing tax cuts aimed at the middle class instead of the richest ones .
Crude oil prices rose 5 percent to a two-month high on expectations for leaner supplies , after a key Nigerian terminal was shut down by local protesters demanding a greater share of oil revenue .
A planned meeting between a U.S. envoy and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat raised hopes Friday that cease-fire talks might soon begin and halt a weeklong Israeli offensive that has seized most of the West Bank 's major cities .
Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed at 5,498.4 points Monday , 31.5 points up from Sunday 's finish .
A bank of the former Soviet bloc-run Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( COMECON ) has agreed to sell the debt of its borrowers in Vietnam to the Vietnamese government , a report said Wednesday .
A member of a group seeking work at a construction site in Queens was killed Wednesday morning , apparently in a dispute over jobs , officials said .
On a sweltering June morning , Cambodia 's top military officers gathered at a ceremony in Phnom Penh to talk with US advisers about democracy and human rights .
World powers appeared split Tuesday on how to handle the crisis over Iran 's nuclear program , with Russia and China resisting European and US pressure for UN action and Tehran threatening reprisals .
In moves that appear to be direct responses to the rise of anti-immigrant parties in Europe , France 's new government is cracking down on undocumented refugees , and Britain and Spain have called for a Europe-wide policy to get tough on illegal migrants .
An AIDS activist friend of the daughter of former Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang was detained and put under house arrest Tuesday when he tried to pay his respects to the memory of the deceased Chinese leader .
President Bush has said repeatedly that in waging war on terrorism , the United States will work with countries that want to cooperate , but is prepared to act on its own .
No matter how they felt about going to war -- and most of the Democratic candidates and members of Congress supported the administration -- it 's not only bad politics but bad policy not to be willing to do whatever it takes to make the Iraq invasion a success .
A high-level North Korean delegation returned to Pyongyang on Friday after winning pledges of aid from South Korea but without giving a long-awaited date for the resumption of six-party talks on the Stalinist regime 's nuclear ambitions .
An American woman running for a seat on the Athens city council hopes to become one of the first-ever immigrants to hold public office in a country struggling to assimilate hundreds of thousands of foreigners who have decided to call Greece home .
Canadian government bonds were little changed after the latest job report renewed concern that the country 's strong economic growth will lead to higher interest rates .
Almost all the state agencies receiving grants or credit from the Greek government have overshot their budgetary targets for 2004 , a top government official said Tuesday .
Former union boss Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has n't won the presidency yet , but on Tuesday he won public support from a former rival which could boost his bid to win the Oct 27 runoff against government-backed candidate Jose Serra .
South Africa holds its second national AIDS conference this week with a much-awaited address on the program from the health minister who has questioned the use of anti-retrovirals to fight the pandemic .
A mountain guide has found the lifeless body of an English climber Alan Feeder , 51 , at around 6,000 meters up the Aconcagua Mountain , in the eastern Argentina province of Mendoza , local authorities reported on Sunday .
The Korea Olympic Committee ( KOC ) said Tuesday that officials of the Olympic committees of South Korea and the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) will hold a meeting in DPRK 's border city of Kaesong early next week to discuss issues including forming a unified team for the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 .
A documentary featuring Oriolus traillii , a rare indigenous bird , was premiered at Taipei 's newly inaugurated Forestry Conservation Building on Wednesday .
The injury-plagued Sacramento Kings signed guard Jim Jackson on Sunday .
Martina Hingis displayed her old killer instinct as she made a victorious return to the Australian Open Tuesday , the scene of her greatest Grand Slam triumphs .
The Asian Development Bank ( ADB ) Approved Tuesday an emergency assistance loan of 2 million U.S. dollars for the Pacific nation of Vanuatu to repair infrastructure damage caused by Cyclone Dani in January this year .
Italian centre-left opposition leaders on Tuesday stepped up calls for early elections , saying that Premier Silvio Berlusconi 's government was in a crisis .
US President George W. Bush said on Monday that the United States will continue to investigate if Iran was involved in the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks .
Liverpool 's Champions League final hero Jerzy Dudek appears to have another battle on his hands with Spanish goalkeeper Jose Reina announcing he aims to be the Reds ' number one goalkeeper .
The European Court of Justice on Wednesday threw out a European Union emergency appeal aimed at forcing Greece to lift its trade embargo against Macedonia , European Commission sources said .
The Bush administration committed on Thursday to join Europe , Russia and the United Nations in convening an international conference on Middle East peace and economic reconstruction early this summer , in its riskiest and most ambitious effort yet to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .
Sam Mohammed , the anti-drug crusader who burned down an abandoned crack house , admitted to a judge on Wednesday that he had an illegal drug in his body while he was on probation but said it got there legally .
U.S. stocks are expected to rise amid optimism that a compromise will be reached on balancing the federal budget .
Guillermo Coria , Argentina 's highest-ranked player , will not compete in the Davis Cup semifinals against Spain because of a muscle injury , officials said Wednesday .
You 've got to be careful who your allies are .
European soccer 's governing body on Sunday postponed Wednesday 's Champions League match at Spartak Moscow following the siege at a Moscow theater in which at least 118 hostages died .
The World Bank on Monday announced a grant of 15 million dollars to assist the Sierra Leone government transition from post-conflict recovery to sustainable development , the lender said in a statement .
The dollar was slightly higher here in late trading Tuesday , with activity slowing as fresh buying leads faded , dealers said .
This year was primarily useful for one thing : It confirmed the wisdom of the adage that it 's unappetizing to watch either sausage or legislation being made .
Hezbollah guerrillas killed a militiaman from Israel 's proxy South Lebanon Army ( SLA ) here Sunday during attacks on 10 positions in the buffer zone occupied by the Jewish state , the SLA said .
South Korea 's largest auto company , Hyundai Motor , said Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with China 's Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp to produce commercial vehicles in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou .
The issuance of a new NT$ 2,000 note next July will not trigger inflation , a financial official said Friday .
Michael Jackson is a serial sex predator who lured children into his " forbidden " world , prosecutors said Thursday , as his lawyers painted him as the innocent victim of liars and crooks .
Iraq 's main Sunni Arab party called Thursday for the release of US journalist Jill Carroll after her captors had threatened to kill her if Iraqi women prisoners are not freed .
The United States has warned US citizens in Pakistan to exercise caution following the extradition earlier this week of an Iraqi suspect in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing .
China North Industries Corporation issued a statement here Thursday on the US government 's sanctions against the company .
The European Commission approved 295 million euro ( dlrs 263 million ) Monday for a series of projects designed to promote economic development in Latin America .
Walking around the Smith Hill neighborhood , perched above what could very soon be the new home of the New England Patriots , one thing is certain : This is no South Boston .
New Zealand has welcomed a strong ruling by the International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) that Israel 's West Bank barrier is illegal and that construction of it should be stopped immediately .
ScottishPower Plc and North West Water Plc said they plan to sell about 380 million pounds ( $ 583 million ) worth of shares in the National Grid Group Plc held by utility companies that each bought recently .
Belgian police conducted around 20 early morning raids in Brussels on Thursday as part of the country 's fight against Islamic extremism , authorities said .
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said Norway welcomes the agreement to form a Palestinian unity government , and will work towards lifting the boycott on Hamas , according to reports reaching here from Oslo on Sunday .
The Zimbabwean government has started to provide about 5,000 AIDS patients in Harare hospitals with anti-retroviral drugs free of charge , the Sunday Mail reported .
The Russian military on Thursday successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as part of a regular effort to test the performance and extend the lifetime of Soviet-built missiles , officials said .
Antananarivo , Feb. 24 ( Xinhua ) -- Still recovering from last cyclone that swept the southern coastal area of Madagascar 10 days earlier , a stronger cyclone is expected to hit the east coast of the island country on Sunday , the Express reported on Saturday .
Thirty-three lawyers have gone on a hunger strike in solidarity with one of their senior colleagues , who is demanding publication of a report into the death of a lawyer in police custody , one of the strikers said Saturday .
The International Olympic Committee has refused to award a bronze medal to a New Zealand cyclist _ 31 years after he was promoted to third in the 200-kilometer road race at the Munich Games .
Alma became the first hurricane of the year in the eastern Pacific , as it picked up strength Tuesday far off the western coast of Mexico and moved further out to sea .
Sheng Huaren , vice-chairman and secretary general of the Standing Committee of the National People 's Congress ( NPC ) , met here Monday with a delegation from the Vietnamese National Assembly Office led by Chairman Bui Ngoc Thanh .
There were no new SARS case and death from the disease on the Chinese mainland between 10:00 a.m. June 3 and 10:00 a.m. June 4 , the Ministry of Health reported Wednesday .
Mount Etna spewed out columns of ash reaching as far away as Libya and rivers of lava tumbled down its slopes , keeping Catania 's airport closed for a second day , setting ablaze pine forest and prompting officials to close schools in a town on the Sicilian volcano .
Seven people were killed and more than 70 were wounded as northern Yemeni forces shelled the south 's stronghold of Aden , doctors here told AFP Thursday .
Some great names in television , movies and Broadway , too , are resurfacing in a DVD collector set .
Money sent home by Filipino workers overseas grew 3.7 percent in May to a record high of $ 1.48 billion , defying the World Bank 's forecast of a drop in remittances this year because of the global economic crunch .
Kuwaiti immigration authorities are trying to plug loopholes by the waiver of entry visa for single women from 34 countries , Kuwait Times reported Saturday .
Sudanese police on Sunday broke up a meeting of human rights activists held in Khartoum on the eve of an African Union summit , according to the rights groups .
French installation artist Gad Weil will dress up a section of China 's Great Wall this fall in hand-painted banners depicting iconic momuments of France , the French minister of culture has announced .
The United States expressed its concern on Friday about Iran 's nuclear program , saying the program and a related report of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) was deeply " troubling . "
A United States telecom company has started investing 100 million US dollars ( 1.05 billion naira ) in Nigeria 's telecommunication sector , signifying the start of the expected massive inflow of foreign investment into the country .
AT&T Corp. shares rose to their highest level in more than a year amid investors ' optimism that the long-distance phone company will safely meet earnings .
Terrorism topped the agenda as top law-enforcers from 139 countries gathered Monday for an annual meeting of Interpol that inducted Afghanistan and East Timor into the international policing body .
After leaving the Middle East behind , activist Huwaida Arraf switched gears this week and took some time to enjoy being a bride-to-be .
" If FIFA does n't do something they 'll kill football , " he said .
China 's Asia Games champion Chen Hua walked out of the swimming pool empty - handed on Sunday for the first time since the Chinese national swimming champions meet opened on Friday .
El Salvador will extend its peacekeeping mission in Iraq for one year , and a new dispatch of 380 troops will leave for Iraq in August to replace the servicemen currently in the Gulf country , said reports reaching here from San Salvador , capital of El Salvador .
Palestinian security officials have met with US officials to discuss a possible Israeli withdrawal from some Palestinian areas , the Jerusalem-based " Al-Quds " daily reported on Monday .
New year , same opponent ... vastly different ramifications for USC .
Mobs of Han Chinese wielding meat cleavers and clubs and groups of Muslim Uighur men beat people in the streets of the capital of China 's Xinjiang region Tuesday .
US President George W. Bush fully backs British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the crisis with Iran which seized 15 British naval personnel a week ago , the White House said Wednesday .
Norway 's Aid Minister Erik Solheim on Thursday praised the rise of indigenous leaders in Latin American politics as he prepared for visits to Bolivia , Brazil and Peru .
Ellen DeGeneres remembers the days when she 'd go home crying after a night of stand-up comedy .
Pope John Paul II has postponed to spring 2003 a third visit to Croatia that tentatively had been planned for September , the Catholic news agency IKA reported Friday .
The Nigerian head of state , General Sani Abacha , has called for a " collective intervention " by African countries to halt conflicts in the Great Lakes region , in Zaire and Sudan , an official statement said .
Macedonia on Saturday OKed the UN plan on the final status of Kosovo , saying it is acceptable to Macedonian government , news reaching here from Skopje reported .
Six overstaying foreigners have escaped from an immigration jail after one of them offered guards chocolate drinks laced with sleeping pills , officials said Monday .
Taiwanese law-enforcement personnel and their Indonesian counterparts recently raided a drug lab on Batam Island in central Indonesia , arresting six suspects including three Taiwanese men , the Criminal Investigation Bureau ( CIB ) reported Monday .
Later this week , the White House plans to send Congress its request for `` fast track '' authority to negotiate a series of new trade agreements .
Two unidentified people were shot and killed and two U.S. military personnel were injured Tuesday during U.S.-Kuwaiti war games in Kuwait , a Kuwaiti official said .
A disgraced Dublin politician should face criminal charges for lying to a fact-finding tribunal into bribery and corruption , a judge decided Wednesday .
They came from different areas of the world , each earning his way to the semifinals of the world 's richest golf event .
Iran on Sunday warned that it will reassess its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear agency following the imposition of a deadline for Tehran to clear up questions about its nuclear program .
Bulgaria will resume the construction of the new nuclear power plant at Belene , on the Danube river , in April 2004 , local media reported Thursday .
The baffled health authorities here are struggling to identify and combat a mysterious disease that has apparently afflicted only infants , often killing them in a matter of hours , in the six weeks since it suddenly appeared in Honduras .
Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex closed at 14,355.55 points on Thursday , up 345.65 points or 2.47 percent over the previous day close .
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday lauded the House of Representatives for ratifying the Human Security Act of 2007 , more commonly known as the anti-terrorism bill .
The euro eased slightly Monday in cautious trade as the market awaited a key meeting of US rate-setters .
France 's highly fancied youngsters showed Thursday they do not intend to be overshadowed by their elders , taking a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the first group match of the European Under-21 Championship .
The New Jersey computer programmer who unleashed the Melissa virus in March 1999 , disrupting more than a million e-mail accounts worldwide and costing businesses an estimated $ 80 million , was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in federal prison .
The first US trade delegation to visit Vietnam since President Bill Clinton lifted an embargo in February was expected in Hanoi on Monday , officials said .
When J. Crew announced its results for February recently , the company highlighted its growing Internet sales as the one bright spot in an otherwise forgettable month .
A powerful bomb exploded Thursday close to the Israeli settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip , just after an army patrol went by , military officials said .
France protested violence at a demonstration outside a French military base in Ivory Coast , and urged the president of the West African country on Wednesday to take steps to prevent attacks on foreigners .
French investors will build a five star hotel and a budget hotel in the Zambian capital of Lusaka and Kitwe , Zambia Daily Mail reported on Tuesday .
It is almost 2001 , so perhaps it is time for a new `` Space Odyssey . ''
Doctors in Saudi Arabia reported Wednesday that they had performed the world 's first uterus transplant , from a 46-year-old to a woman , 26 , who had a hysterectomy because of a hemorrhage after childbirth but still hoped to have another baby .
Many politicians , business executives and downtown residents want the developer Larry Silverstein to rebuild 7 World Trade Center , which was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attack in Lower Manhattan .
Kevin Na , a Los Angeles-based South Korean teen-ager , fired a seven-under-par 65 Friday to snatch the halfway lead in the Asia PGA tour 's dlrs 400,000 SK Telecom Open .
Hours before the agreed ceasefire in Bosnia finally set in , leaders of both warring sides ordered their troops to cease military activities one minute after October 12 begins .
SoftKey International Inc. raised its hostile bid for Learning Co. to $ 65 a share , or $ 606 million , and changed the terms to all cash .
The Israeli interior ministry Sunday ordered the expulsion of 15 Romanian workers who quit their jobs in the Red Sea resort of Eilat to work for another employer .
At least 47 people were killed in clashes overnight in the town of Duekoue in western Ivory Coast , a government minister from the region told AFP on Wednesday .
During the visit , Premier Zhu and his Russian counterpart Yevgeny Primakov will hold the fourth regular meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries , Zhang said in an interview with Xinhua .
A guard at President Chen Shui-bian 's residence who shot himself with his own pistol Friday morning was declared dead by National Taiwan University Hospital at 12:20 p.m. the same day .
Hong Kong cyclist Wong Kam-po won the first stage of the 2008 Tour de Taiwan , the country 's most prestigious cycling event , in the southern port city of Kaohsiung Sunday .
Israel successfully test-launched the Arrow anti-missile missile on Sunday , part of the US " Star Wars " Strategic Defence Initiative programme , the Israeli news agency ITIM reported .
High protection and anti-market regulations posed the biggest threat to the influx of foreign direct investment to the Philippines , an economist said in a paper published Monday .
A Picasso masterpiece not seen by the public for 60 years is expected to fetch up to 9 million pounds ( dlrs 13 million ) at auction next month , auctioneers Christie 's said Thursday .
Text of the section of the Arab summit communique issued Sunday that relates to the Arab-Israeli peace talks .
Somber tributes to the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks were held Monday , six months after two hijacked airliners smashed into the World Trade Center , another crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania .
Rosemary West sat impassively Monday before a court that was to decide whether she should be tried for the murder of 10 young women , including her daughter and stepdaughter .
President Vladimir Putin said Russia is prepared to work with other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to develop new resolutions ensuring the effectiveness of international weapons inspectors in Iraq .
Hong Kong share prices closed 0.61 percent lower Wednesday as investors were unnerved by another huge drop on the Japanese market sparked by a probe into Internet favourite Livedoor , dealers said .
The Credit Suisse Group of Switzerland said on Sunday that it would sell the Italian operations of its Winterthur Insurance subsidiary to Unipol Assicurazioni , the Italian finance group , for 1.47 billion euros ( $ 1.71 billion ) in cash .
The Dow Jones industrials surged past the psychological 4,000-point barrier Thursday as Wall Street was encouraged by signs that inflation is in check and the latest round of credit tightening is over .
Violence in the neighboring West Bank brought down the general share price index at Amman 's stock exchange for the third consecutive day Tuesday .
The Spanish region of Valencia is to invest some 2.1 billion euros in its preparations to host the America 's Cup in March 2007 , regional organisers said Wednesday .
India 's biggest software services company , Tata Consultancy Services , reported Thursday a 5.6 percent rise in third quarter net profit as companies globally boosted outsourcing .
Colombia 's peace negotiations with right-wing militias offer `` truth , justice and reparations , '' not impunity , to a group blamed for some of the worst human rights abuses in the country 's four decades of warfare , the foreign minister said Monday .
Chinese and American paleontologists have found fossils of a feathered , flightless dinosaur , slightly bigger than a pheasant , that they say should settle once and for all that feathers originated before birds or flight .
Table Limit , a recent allowance winner at Keeneland , will start in the Preakness at Pimlico on Saturday , his trainer , D.Wayne Lukas , has confirmed .
The financial situation in east China has continued to improve in the passing months of this year , according to sources at a joint meeting of bank presidents of the region .
One of three Cambodian rights leaders arrested since the new year was granted bail , his lawyer and court officials said Wednesday as the government continued to battle critics of its crackdown on dissent .
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that in order to move forward with the Middle East Road Map , the Palestinian side has to reform its security structures .
Four protesters invaded the U.S. Navy 's contested bombing range Thursday as warplanes and ships lobbed inert bombs and shells , forcing a brief halt to the war games , the Navy confirmed .
Laborers refurbishing an ancient temple in a village near Kolkata in east India have come across dozens of human carcasses .
US automakers at the Detroit Auto Show this week used pageantry and bold styling to try to make American brands popular again , as Asian rivals continue to gain market share .
Prosecutors said Tuesday they were investigating the Saint Petersburg branch of the British Council , a non-profit agency linked to the British government , which they say may wrongly have avoided paying Russian taxes on English language courses .
Romario lived up to his World Cup billing with a razor-sharp display for favourites Brazil in a 2-0 defeat of a makeshift Russian side here on Monday .
Santa Clara , California , April 22 ( Bloomberg ) -- 3Com Corp. said it 's cutting prices on two key computer-networking products in response to Intel Corp. 's price cuts on similar equipment .
Uzbekistan 's foreign ministry Tuesday vehemently dismissed a US State Department report accusing the Central Asian country of a worsening human rights record .
Authorities in three states and the District of Columbia conferred Friday about who should prosecute two suspects arrested in the deadly sniper attacks that killed 10 people and terrorized the Washington area for 21 days .
Massachusetts car owners are footing the bill in the form of higher insurance premiums for millions of dollars in legal bills from a top Boston law firm that works , without contract and virtually without oversight , for a state-regulated insurance board .
Wayne Ferreira of South Africa won the ATP men 's tennis tournament here Sunday , beating Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy 6-3 , 6-3 .
With his communist ally Fidel Castro of Cuba on hand , leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday launched Petrocaribe , a new oil diplomacy vehicle that could greatly increase Chavez 's influence on the region .
Continued heavy rain triggered by a tropical storm blurred the view of a solar eclipse today in Languyan , Tawi Tawi , some 1,000 km south of Manila .
Unswayed by a new U.N. plan for arms inspections , President George W. Bush and House leaders agreed Wednesday on a resolution for dealing with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein `` diplomatically if we can , militarily if we must . ''
The always dynamic trade relations between Chinese mainland , Hong Kong and Canada will be further strengthened and consolidated with the establishment of the China-Hong Kong Business Studies Network at the University of British Columbia ( UBC ) .
Long-term peace in the Middle East will require a regional solution , visiting Jordanian Prince El Hassan bin Talal said Monday .
An Indian court sentenced one man to death by hanging and 12 others to life in prison for killing a Christian missionary from Australia and his two young sons in an arson attack in 1999 .
BRAZZAVILLE , Republic of Congo -- Opposition calls for a voter boycott in the Republic of Congo 's presidential election appeared to be cutting into the turnout Sunday , but it was unclear how this would affect longtime President Denis Sassou-Nguesso 's bid for another term .
West African military chiefs met in Liberia 's capital Monday to open two days of talks on the war-ravaged country 's chances of holding its first post-war elections , due in May .
Sri Lankan champion Susantika Jayasinghe sprinted to the gold medal and an Asian Games record in the women 's 100 meters on Tuesday .
England beat Bangladesh by five wickets in their Triangular Series one-day international at Headingley here Sunday .
Brad Hogg sparked an England collapse as Australia dismissed their old rivals for 197 in the teams ' final World Cup warm-up match here Friday .
An Islamic fundamentalist was killed and 160 people were injured Thursday in clashes between fundamentalists and secular rivals during a nationwide general strike in Bangladesh , police and witnesses said .
Senate Republicans opened the lame-duck session of Congress on Monday by signaling their commitment to the antispending posture that fueled their big gains Election Day , underscoring the Tea Party movement 's influence on the Republican leadership .
Turkey and five European Union countries will sign a landmark agreement on Monday aimed at reducing Europe 's reliance on Russian energy by running a gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea region to the EU via Turkey .
Yuri Senkevich , a documentary filmmaker who was the host of Russia 's longest running TV show , died Thursday .
The price index of Jordan 's Amman stock market closed at 6,230 points on Tuesday , down 167 points from Monday 's finish .
A lawmaker from Ireland 's governing Fianna Fail party was exposed as a tax cheat Friday , dealing another embarrassment to the increasingly unpopular government of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern .
South Korean stocks were mixed , as banks rose after the government announced it will grant special loans to Korea First Bank and merchant banks .
U.S.-Russian talks on nuclear arms cuts remain difficult , the top Russian negotiator said Monday , amid intensified efforts to clinch an agreement by the time President George W. Bush visits Russia next week .
As bad ideas go , the proposed Major Champions Tour is the clubhouse leader for 2002 .
Pakistan test-fired a missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads into Indian territory Tuesday , the third and final launch in a series of much-criticized tests .
Mexico 's newly powerful opposition parties have formed a common front with a common agenda : challenging the president and the country 's long-ruling party .
The renowned Mogao Grottoes in northwest China , home to over 1,000 Buddha figures , has become the site of the country 's successful project to protect cultural relics from wind-blown sand drifts and the encroaching desert .
Shortly after leading Mexico to a place in the World Cup , star striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco quit the national team , complaining of bad treatment and saying he wanted to focus on his play in Europe .
Italy 's organized crime rackets collected between 70.7 and 74.7 billion US dollars in 1996 without counting earnings from money - laundering , according to a report here Tuesday .
Four people have been hurt in the last chapter of the running of the bulls but no one was gored .
Prime Minister Jean Chretien 's Liberals announced they will choose his successor in November 2003 , paving the way for Chretien to lift a Cabinet campaign ban , party president Stephen LeDrew said .
Israeli troops stormed a house in the West Bank early Tuesday and arrested 40 opponents of its controversial security barrier , 34 of them foreigners of the International Solidarity Movement , some of the detainees said .
AUSTIN , Texas - Basic black judges ' robes are in fashion this TV season , as evidenced by the arrival of two Supreme Court dramas .
Sri Lanka 's prime minister said Friday he was optimistic that the peace process in his country would move forward despite the `` temporary impasse '' after Tamil separatists walked out of the latest round of negotiations in April .
On the day after a troublesome defeat to the Ravens , the Giants faced the dispiriting news that one of their best players would not return this season , another top player appeared unlikely to return this season and a promising player listed for expanded duty had been lost until next year as well .
In a series of sweeps across Europe , police arrested 80 people allegedly involved in the trafficking of illegal immigrants mostly from Eastern to Western Europe , police said Wednesday .
U.S. President Bill Clinton Thursday proposed a five-year , over 6 billion U.S. dollar package to raise the ante on his nearly fulfilled pledge to put 100,000 new officers on the beat nationwide .
The Mortgage Corporation will expand its Mortgage Insurance Program by increasing the maximum loan-to-value ratio from the current limit of 90 percent to 95 percent , the corporation said here Wednesday .
In an escalating border war , New York state and city officials are assembling a package of tax breaks and other incentives to keep Standard & Poor 's from accepting a lucrative offer to move its headquarters and 2,000 employees to New Jersey .
Supporters and opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to outlarst Amendment .
Economic data that were surprisingly softer than expected lifted bond prices Tuesday , sending yields in the Treasuries market plunging to their lowest levels in a month .
Three-times champion Boris Becker impressively powered his way into the second-round of the men 's singles on the opening day of the Wimbledon Championships here on Monday when he defeated David Wheaton of the United States in straight sets .
Pope John Paul II 's visit to Lebanon in mid-May will be " purely religious , " the Holy See 's representative here said Thursday .
Egyptian and U.S. troops started 36 hours of military exercises on Monday in the Red Sea , including waters off the Halaib enclave , which is claimed by both Sudan and Egypt .
The Detroit Tigers hugged each other on the field and enjoyed some beers in a raucous clubhouse .
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday to demand the right to vote for their own leaders and that the process of democratization be speeded up .
The Indonesian Military ( TNI ) has expressed concern over the death of a German man during a military raid on a suspected rebel stronghold in Aceh on Wednesday morning , a spokesman has said .
The Palestinian National Authority ( PNA ) on Tuesday refused to accept a timetable that permits Israel to complete its withdrawal from the West Bank by February 15 next year .
A Taiwan-designed poster has won a silver in the 89th annual awards competition held by the New York-based Art Directors Club ( ADC ) , marking the first time a contestant from Taiwan has been honored by the professional association .
A bus veered off a road and slammed into a tree in northern Pakistan Monday , killing three people and injuring 10 others , the state-run news agency reported .
A private car Tuesday slammed into a vehicle which was part of a motorcade for the visiting Turkish prime minister , killing two people and injuring five others , Macedonian radio reported .
A Dutch safari park is organizing a special tour to show homosexuals `` gay '' behavior in the animal kingdom .
China and Hong Kong fleshed out and expanded their free trade pact on Monday , with Beijing adding telecommunications to the deal and raising the stake that Hong Kong companies can take in mainland insurance providers .
A teen-age gunman took four youngsters hostage Friday at a school in southwestern Germany and demanded 1 million euros ( US$ ) ransom , police said .
Roman Catholic church officials in the southern Philippine town of Jolo have suspended church services to put pressure on the government to solve the murder of their bishop , an official said Thursday .
Polio cases in the eastern Mediterranean fell 77 percent to 532 cases last year , the U.S. government said Thursday .
The Clippers , who go 20-20 when the writing 's on the wall , have saved some graffiti for their shoes .
A Sydney-based dealer for Citigroup on Tuesday denied insider trading charges brought against the world 's biggest bank by the Australian corporate regulator .
Taiwan extended its support for the World Health Assembly 's ( WHA 's ) advocacy of reducing alcohol-related harm , a Taiwan delegate to the WHA said Friday .
King Hussein said Tuesday he was prepared to talk to the Muslim fundamentalist opposition about its planned election boycott , reversing his hard-line stance of last month .
A Pakistani man convicted of smuggling heroin into Saudi Arabia was beheaded Saturday , the Interior Ministry said in a statement .
A handful of coalition troops sweeping en masse through eastern Afghanistan have been knocked out of commission by the region 's mountainous terrain , but none from contact with al-Qaida or Taliban fighters , military officials said Sunday .
Foreign financial institutions should refrain from speculative local currency trading or face fines , the governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of China ( CBC ) warmed Thursday .
Republican sophomores in the House threatened another uprising against their leaders Thursday , vowing to block a pay raise for members of Congress and throwing their support behind the transportation committee chairman in his row with Speaker Newt Gingrich over highway spending .
A train operating company canceled its services Thursday between London and Birmingham after withdrawing one type of train because of safety concerns .
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe left here Monday for a three-day trip to Mozambique to attend the Southern African Development Community ( SADC ) summit .
Today 's Xinhua A stock index rose by 2.75 points to close at 47.43 .
Ilan will fete Palau President Tommy E. Remengesau with refined cuisine based on local delicacies when he begins his two-day cultural and sightseeing tour of the northeastern county Friday .
A top mafia don in India jailed on murder and kidnapping charges is planning to stand in upcoming polls in the key state of Uttar Pradesh next month , his lawyer said Sunday .
The Senate Appropriations Committee Friday made substantial modifications in a major package of House-passed spending cuts , restoring some or all of the funds that had been deleted for low-income housing , summer jobs , public broadcasting , the national service corps , school-improvement programs , and subsidies for poor people 's utility bills .
A plane of the Dutch airline Transavia made an emergency landing in Nuremberg , Germany , because of a technical problem , a company spokesman said Sunday .
For an English gunner , it was the sight of an artillery barrel turning red with rapid fire .
Italy urged on Monday the international community to normalize relations with Libya following its handing over of two suspects accused of the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing .
Sweden 's Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi , the number two seeds , won the French Open men 's doubles title on Saturday with a 2-6 , 6-1 , 6-4 win over third-seeded American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan .
A local council in southern England said Tuesday it had agreed to move a footpath from which prying eyes could peer into the country home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards .
The Security Bureau of Hong Kong has received more than 90,000 submissions from organizations and individuals as at 5 p.m. Tuesday after a three-month consultation exercise on the government 's proposals to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law .
An environmental expert who serves as a state consultant was arrested Tuesday for allegedly giving false testimony on Lebanon 's toxic waste scandal .
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy is still growing strongly with widespread labor shortages reported nearly everywhere in the country .
Seven of Algeria 's 10 seaports were paralysed Monday on the third day of a strike launched by dockers for equal pay .
Another suspect charged in the alleged plot to down U.S.-bound airliners will be in court Friday .
The 10th meeting of National Tourism Organizations ( NTO ) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) ended here Thursday .
DETROIT - Guessing the Thanksgiving schedule will go something like this .
Argentina 's president swore in former diplomat and trade expert Roberto Lavagna on Saturday as his second economy minister in three months in a bid to fix the crumbling economy .
The Kuwaiti authorities have arrested three people on charges they stole 180,000 dollars during a bank hold-up in the emirate last week , the interior ministry said Tuesday .
Seeking to contain Protestant fury , a government-appointed commission ruled Monday that Belfast 's most disputed Orange Order march should be permitted to pass a hostile Catholic neighborhood next week .
An Italian state television operative , Marcello Palmisano , was killed Thursday in an ambush on the airport road in the strife-torn Somali capital Mogadishu , the ANSA news agency reported .
A southern Russian region that has absorbed the bulk of the refugees from the war in Chechnya held early elections Sunday for provincial president after a tense campaign .
Police and U.S. military authorities called off their search for an American airman Wednesday after he was found in a southern Greek hotel .
The death toll in a fiery truck crash at a Tunisian synagogue rose to at least 10 on Friday , as officials sought to deflect a growing chorus of questions about how the crash could have been an accident .
President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic arrived in Mexico City Sunday at the start of a three-day visit aimed at strengthening trade ties and the fight against drug trafficking .
European Union antitrust officials withheld comment Friday over reports that U.S. cruise line Carnival Corp. 's hostile bid for P&O Princess PLC would force it to sell its Cunard Line and that P&O would have to drop its Aida Cruises , a German unit .
Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney has called for Republic of Ireland fans to get firmly behind new manager Steve Staunton .
At least three Muslim students including a 12-year-old boy have been killed after suspected separatist rebels launched an attack on a school in Thailand 's restive south , police said Sunday .
Britain and Sinn Fein on Monday discussed possible moves to restore a Catholic-Protestant administration for Northern Ireland , the central goal of the 1998 peace accord for this British territory .
World Bank president James Wolfensohn on Friday praised the South African government 's commitment to accelerated growth in its macro - economic planning .
Budweiser 's decades-long connection to Major League Baseball frayed Friday when the giant brewer 's parent company , Anheuser-Busch , alleged in a federal lawsuit that baseball reneged on an agreement reached this year to extend the beer maker 's sponsorship .
Police Monday said they were investigating the origin of three incendiary devices found on lorries used to transport livestock .
Syria appears intent on wresting political gains from the standoff in Lebanon , privately telling Arab diplomats that it wo n't aid cease-fire efforts unless that results in less isolation for it , and more focus on the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights , diplomats and analysts said Tuesday .
Six Palestinians wanted by Israel will be moved from Yasser Arafat 's compound to a West Bank prison within two days , at which point the Palestinian leader 's monthlong confinement by Israel will end , a Palestinian official said Monday , revealing first details of the U.S.-brokered deal .
Taiwan said Tuesday it would allow multinational corporations to bring in more employees from rival China for regional company meetings , addressing a key business demand on the issue .
The United States suggested Iran was violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on Tuesday and urged other nations at a U.N. atomic energy agency meeting to join in pressing Tehran to prove it was not running a covert nuclear weapons program .
US researchers have created genetically-modified mosquitoes resistant to a malaria parasite , raising the possibility of one day stopping the spread of the disease , a new study says .
Karrie Webb has won every tournament she has entered this year , something that even Tiger Woods has not done .
Nicolas Slonimsky , musicologist , lexicographer , wit , and complete man of music , died Monday at his home in Los Angeles .
Chinese President Hu Jintao left here Thursday for summits in Russia and Kazakhstan and a trip to Britain where he will meet his counterparts from the G8 ( Group of Eight ) , state press said .
Iran said Wednesday that it backed a plan to enrich its uranium in Russia to defuse an international row over its nuclear power programme , but warned against Western attempts to put the debate before the United Nations .
The Australian army is investigating accusations that its peacekeepers tortured and executed pro-Indonesian militiamen in East Timor three years ago , an official said Thursday .
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke is expected to rule out upgrading the classification of cannabis later Thursday , despite new concerns about the drug 's possible side-effects .
Giggling children built castles , drew pictures in the sand and splashed water on each other in a refreshing first for Palestinian youngsters from the landlocked West Bank : a day at the beach .
Russia urged the United Nations on Friday to prepare an independent report on Iran 's seizure of 15 British navy personnel , the day after the UN Security Council expressed its " grave concern . "
India 's cricket team leaves here Friday to take part in a limited - overs tournament in New Zealand , hoping to live up to its computer - aided status as the best one-day combination in the world .
More than 10,000 teachers , schoolchildren and parents took to the streets of the Polish capital on Saturday calling for the resignation of Roman Giertych , the country 's far-right education minister .
A twin-engined plane carrying 27 people crashed while trying to land at Lyon airport Tuesday , injuring nine people , one seriously , airport officials said .
Sverre Fehn , a 72-year-old Norwegian architect whose work is little known outside Scandinavia , has been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize for 1997 .
MOSCOW , August 27 ( Xinhua ) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country will use everything in its arsenal against criminal gangs .
The University of California will launch a comprehensive analysis of admissions at its eight undergraduate campuses in response to a preliminary report on University of California , Berkeley stating that hundreds of students were admitted in 2002 with SAT scores substantially below the campus norm .
Russia 's Federation Council , or the upper house of parliament , voted Wednesday to reject President Boris Yeltsin 's demand to fire Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov .
The traditional Gaijatra ( Cow Festival ) is being observed in the Kathmandu Valley and some other places in the country amidst fun , gaiety , humor , satire and entertainment , the official RSS news agency reported Friday .
Nepal and India signed here Sunday a memorandum of understanding on adopting a new system for a swift and easy refund of excise duties and simplify the duty refundable procedure between the two countries , The Rising Nepal newspaper reported Monday .
It may be a tiny village with just 300 inhabitants but Blsany boasts a professional football club that launched the career of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech .
The International Organization of Migrants ( IOM ) has provided funds to enable 50 Mozambican professionals working abroad to return home soon , an IOM official here has said .
The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading Wednesday morning .
Global air traffic improved recently thanks to efficiency gains and cost cutting efforts , the International Air Transport Association ( IATA ) said here on Monday .
Chanting " Try Rove for treason , " Cindy Sheehan and more than 50 other war protesters ambushed a reception before President George W. Bush 's top adviser Karl Rove spoke at a fundraiser .
Federal prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui , the sole person charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks .
A plainspoken senator booted from Brazil 's ruling party after she accused President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of betraying his leftist ideals could force him to a runoff in the upcoming presidential elections .
The Cambodian government is determined to take tough measures to stop illegal fishing now " in a state of anarchy " in Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake , local reports said Tuesday .
The snowballing crisis in the German open-ended property fund sector appears to have claimed another victim , with SEB Immobilien-Investment saying Monday that one of its funds had also seen heavy withdrawals last week .
Khartoum and Sudan 's largest opposition bloc on Saturday signed a landmark reconciliation agreement that observers said would boost a recent North-South peace deal and redefine the country 's political map .
Borussia Dortmund 's players agreed Monday to a 20 percent pay cut for poor performances that led to the side 's financially disastrous exit from the Champions League .
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 on the Richter Scale has shaken a wide area of New Zealand 's North Island but there were no reports of damage , Radio New Zealand reported Friday .
More than 20,000 unemployed Beijing residents are expected to enrol this year in vocational courses aimed at retraining workers laid off from state enterprises , a report said Thursday .
Sweden 's unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in January from December , according to the national statistics agency , Statistics Sweden .
At a congressional hearing Wednesday , the nation 's major credit rating businesses are expected to try and explain their failure to detect financial problems at Enron .
The U.S. dollar was trading at 140.97 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market at 9 a.m. ( 0000 GMT ) Thursday , up 0.31 yen from its level of 140.66 yen as of 5 p.m. ( 0800 GMT ) Wednesday .
Increasing pressure along the Iraqi border , soldiers have killed 17 Kurdish guerrillas in clashes , officials said Saturday .
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was licking his wounds Wednesday after coming away with no tangible results from a humiliating summit with Ariel Sharon that saw him lectured at length by the Israeli premier over continued militant attacks .
Unable to settle a feud over the ban on British beef exports , London and its European Union partners appealed to the EU head office Monday to help them resolve their bitter 10-week standoff .
Leaders of rival Somali factions are expected here for talks with Egyptian officials aimed at normalizing the situation in war-torn Somalia , a spokesman for the Somali National Salvation Council said Tuesday .
The Iranian state news agency confirmed on Wednesday that the authorities had pardoned a German national who had been sentenced to death for spying for Iraq .
Myanmar 's foreign minister insisted that his country is committed to democracy , even as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest .
The Mexican Stock Exchange closed up Thursday with the Benchmark IPC index surging 7.88 points , or 0.15 percent , at 5,150.79 .
A 33-year-old Pakistani man who authorities say convinced a teenage girl to send him a nude photograph by telling her he could ruin her parents ' credit rating has been charged with extortion .
Indonesia prosecutors on Tuesday sought the death penalty for an Australian accused of heroin trafficking along with eight compatriots on the resort island of Bali , they said .
German shares ended lower Monday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange .
A day after the Boston Archdiocese decided to back out of a multimillion-dollar settlement with 86 victims of a sexually predatory Roman Catholic priest , the victims ' lawyer vowed to take new legal action .
Fire broke out on a cruise liner anchored in a river near the south coast of England on Sunday but firefighters extinguished it quickly , the coast guard said .
More than 40 people have been killed in an upsurge of rebel attacks , including 23 at an Iraqi army canteen , as an Australian hostage walked free after 47 days in captivity .
When Mary Edlund learned that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston might have to pay $ 20 million to $ 30 million to settle cases against a former priest accused of recurrent child molestation , she offered encouraging words .
Mexico 's main leftist candidate took his fight for the presidency to the world Friday , urging other countries in a New York Times editorial to support his bid for a full recount in the disputed July 2 race .
Romania and Bulgaria said Tuesday they will not get militarily involved in the Kosovo conflict , the Romanian news agency said .
The Security Council formally ended the U.N. peacekeeping role in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday night in a unanimous vote and turned over authority to a NATO-led force .
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will not make any adjustment to the 12 billion HK dollars ( 1.54 billion US dollars ) target on its investment income , Acting Financial Secretary Frederick Ma said Friday .
The death of Walter Cronkite elicited tributes from colleagues , presidents past and present , world-famous astronauts and those who hoped in vain to fill his empty anchor chair , all honoring the avuncular face of TV journalism who became the " most trusted man in America . "
Runners from the Czech Republic are favorites to win the 7th International Costa Rica Marathon next Saturday , Guillermo Saenz , president of the organizing committee , told Xinhua on Tuesday .
A 156-member team of Bangladesh Army on Sunday night left for Sudan as part of the replacement of the existing United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the war - torn African country , Bangladeshi news agency UNB reported Monday .
Growing up in a Harlem housing project , Lenny Holmes marveled at the cowboys in the Saturday matinee Westerns popular in the early '50s .
The Taipei bourse Monday slumped across the board as a result of the Barings crisis and interest rate hikes by the Central Bank of China ( CBC ) this weekend , dealers said .
Wang Guangying , vice-chairman of the National People 's Congress Standing Committee , met here today with a Thai delegation headed by Phaisith Phipatanakul , secretary-general of the House of Representatives of Thailand .
China should recommend immediately the granting of observer status to Taiwan in the World Health Organization ( WHO ) to show its goodwill toward the country , instead of manipulating the issue for political purposes , local medical experts said Thursday .
India is set to launch the most ambitious headcount yet of its dwindling tiger population , focusing especially on parks where scores of the big cats have been killed for their pelt or claws .
AMC Entertainment Inc. and Russell Stover Candies , two Kansas City powerhouse brands , have teamed up to offer the confectioner 's sugar-free Pecan Delights at all AMC theaters .
The Conference on Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa opened here Monday , calling African states concerned to take measures to prevent children from being conscripted .
More than 60 representatives from Southern Cone Common Market ( MERCOSUR ) countries as well as Chile and Bolivia today attended a seminar on museums in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil .
An Israeli rabbi was charged with fraud in Rabat after two Moroccans , including a paralytic , said he tricked them into believing he had cured them , judicial officials said Sunday .
Trevor Nelson , a producer for `` 60 Minutes , '' died on Thursday in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston .
World oil prices rebounded on Friday on disruption to exports leaving Iraq and concern over possible heating fuel shortages during the northern hemisphere winter , traders said .
Mental-health treatment has come a long way , but more needs to be done to ensure that people who suffer mental illness _ and their loved ones _ get the help they need , former first lady Rosalynn Carter said here Monday night .
German Stev Theloke won the men 's 200 meters backstroke event in a time of one minute 55.52 seconds at the World Cup short-course swimming meeting here Sunday evening .
Russian Patriarch Alexei II urged Ukraine 's Orthodox Christian believers to end long-standing divisions and unite with Moscow in his Christmas message on Saturday .
Florin Raducioiu , the Romanian forward , has joined Stuttgart on a loan from Espanol Barcelona , the Bundesliga club said Monday .
Iran 's religious leader , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , on Monday ruled out talks with the United States as a way to ease threats by Washington against Iran .
Spain 's first goalkeeper Santiago Canizares was ruled out of the World Cup on Friday after he ruptured a tendon when a bottle of scented water fell on his foot , news reports said .
New Zealand will play England in the quarterfinals of the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) series Saturday afternoon , after wins over Kenya , Tonga and Argentina on Friday .
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was reportedly in Shanghai Wednesday observing China 's economic progress on the second day of a rare and secretive visit to his Asian neighbor .
President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia has not yet decided whether to ratify the Kyoto Protocol , leaving the future of the landmark pact to curb global warming in doubt .
Starwood Hotels and Resorts said Tuesday it will build a luxury hotel in Tibet under its St. Regis brand to take advantage of a boom in tourist arrivals to the impoverished Chinese-controlled region .
The barbarity of murderous attacks in Algeria has reached a level of deliberate cruelty that is incomprehensible as well as outrageous .
EU talks on a new package of aid for the world 's poorest countries were headed for deadlock here on Monday , EU officials said .
Japanese Ai Sugiyama became the first Asian woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in seven years , beating Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand by straight sets in their fourth round match on Monday .
An American militant accused by Washington of conspiring to help the terror network al-Qaida has been arrested by Malaysian police and faces deportation within days , an official said Tuesday .
Seven people were killed and four others injured here Friday noon when two cars collided in the Turkish capital , semi-official Anatolia News Agency reported .
The Republican-led state Senate announced plans Monday to vote on a bill Tuesday that would add members of the clergy to the list of people who would be required to report suspected child abuse .
Suspected Islamic rebels set off an explosion in a Himalayan tunnel in Indian Kashmir and fought gunbattles across the region as a surge of violence claimed 17 lives Monday , police and army officials said .
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was conducting state affairs from his hospital bed in Munich Friday following successful surgery on his knee , a spokesman at his office said .
Masked men shot a protester dead in the historic city of Oaxaca as escalating violence increased pressure on President Vicente Fox to intervene in a three-month-long protest by leftists and striking teachers .
The field in Sunday 's London Marathon is probably the best in the history of any big-city marathon .
City authorities have cut water supplies to India 's financial capital by nearly one-third , despite an overnight downpour Wednesday that caused flooding but failed to replenish Mumbai 's dangerously low water levels .
Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marwan Muasher on Friday welcomed the decision of International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) , which considered the separation wall Israel is building on the Palestinian territories illegal , Jordanian TV reported .
A disc-jockey on an independent French radio station was suspended for referring to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz as a " run-down country house , " the station 's head said Saturday .
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pledged anew Monday that the United States will track down Osama bin Laden and other top leaders of his al-Qaida terrorist network .
Taiwan is to acquire a 40 percent stake of a United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) oil firm for 80 million US dollars , the Central News Agency ( CNA ) reported Monday .
Tens of thousands of desperate Somalis have converged on Mogadishu over the past two months , abandoning their homes in the lawless nation 's drought-stricken south and center to beg for food in the capital as famine looms across east Africa .
Philip Seymour Hoffman scooped up the Golden Globe award for best actor in a drama on Monday , for his portrayal of the writer Truman Capote in the biopic " Capote . "
Cameroon have settled their World Cup pay dispute on the eve of their first match against Sweden later on Sunday at the Rose Bowl stadium here .
Yasser Arafat won a tough political battle Tuesday as the Palestinian parliament approved his new 19-member Cabinet despite dissenters demanding more sweeping reforms and limits on the authority of the Palestinian leader .
Karen rebels announced Tuesday they had withdrawn from their last major stronghold at Kawmoora on the Thai-Burma border after a two - month siege by Rangoon junta forces .
Security planning for the 2004 Olympics will be put to the test from Wednesday _ on paper at least .
Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian held talks here today with his visiting Mozambican counterpart Aguiar Real Mazula .
Life has taken a turn for the better in three poverty-stricken counties in Gansu , a province in the northwest , as the United Nations Children 's Fund ( UNICEF ) has launched a training program to provide over 50,000 people with professional skills .
They 're called `` street blimps , '' and , in Boston , they 're selling Swatches .
The radio show 's next caller was a black constituent with few kind words about Mayor Clarence Harmon .
735 companies or 79 percent of the total 934 companies listed in Malaysia Stock Exchange are classified as Shariah-compliant companies , its chief executive officer Yusli Mohamed Yusof has said .
Brushing off critics who fear the ruin of a Michelangelo masterpiece , restorers are forging ahead with the cleaning of `` David , '' insisting that one of the world 's most admired statues needs to be more presentable for its 500th birthday next year .
Federal Express Corp. 's pilots union is threatening to delay package deliveries during next week 's crucial holiday rush if company officials do n't present a more acceptable contract proposal .
Chancellor Angela Merkel presented medals for bravery on Monday , marking the first time since World War II that the nation has bestowed such an honor , long tainted by the Nazi military effort .
Groups from Baltimore and Indianapolis are locked in a court battle over the nickname " Colts , " reviving a decade-old bitter feud between the US cities over American football .
Clashes between security forces and militants have left 20 people dead in northwest Pakistan over the past 24 hours , officials said Monday , in the latest violence in the troubled region .
Bayerische Motoren Werke ( BMW ) announced Thursday creation of a wholly-owned subsidiary in South Korea , saying it was the first auto - maker to set up such a company there .
Even though the second night of KROQ 's `` Almost Acoustic Christmas '' concert ran opposite the Ringling Sisters ' 10th and final holiday `` fun-raiser '' at the Palace , the latter event drew a large and enthusiastic crowd to the Hollywood club .
Some of the most nervous people in South Korea these days are probably North Korean spies .
A top aide of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has been released after nearly three years in US military detention , a media officer at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki 's office said on Wednesday .
Romania plans to abolish communist-era laws which restrict freedom of expression , the country 's prime minister said Wednesday .
League MVP Carlos Ruiz scored in the 23rd minute of overtime Sunday to give the Los Angeles Galaxy their first Major League Soccer title with a 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution .
John G. McElwee of Weston , Mass. , a former fighter pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS John Hancock who piloted the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. during its diversification in the early '80s , died Monday on Captiva Island in Florida .
" Pacquiao 's defeat is inevitable , " said MiraGabriel Mira , the Mexican mandatory challenger to Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao who will stake his World Boxing Council flyweight crown on Saturday , April 24 at the Araneta Coliseum of Manila .
Jimy Williams tried to give the situation a little levity , jokingly claiming the Astros did n't have a very good scouting report on John Valentin , who once starred in Boston for him .
Iran says it will offer a " multifaceted response " Tuesday to a Western package of incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to rein in its nuclear program , but insisted it wo n't suspend uranium enrichment altogether .
President Ion Iliescu has refused to sign a bill changing editorial policies and public control of the state-run news agency Rompres because the bill gave reporters the right to protect the identities of their sources , officials said Wednesday .
State TV says a train has derailed in southern China , killing at least four people and injuring 50 .
Tony Bennett , the singer who appeals to senior citizens and their grandchildren , is the big star of this summer 's JVC Jazz Festival in Newport , Aug. 9-11 .
The dollar held steady at lower levels against the euro Wednesday as players treaded water on the eve of US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan 's testimony on the US economy .
The French committee of UNICEF Tuesday celebrated its 40th birthday with an urgent call for demobilizing child soldiers and their rehabilitation .
A right-wing member of parliament sparked an uproar Sunday by proposing that legislation be passed to ensure that only Jews can become Israel 's prime minister .
Iran 's supreme leader warned Western governments on Monday of a " negative impact " on relations over what he called their meddling in Iran 's post-election riots , state television reported .
Europe 's financial leaders are expected to put on a show of unity over the planned single currency this weekend , heading off a rift between Germany and countries in southern Europe .
Greek airport authorities on Tuesday unveiled measures to be taken at Athens international airport during the Olympic Games slated for August 13-29 .
Former Giro d'Italia winner Stefano Garzelli decided to start in Sunday 's Giro seventh stage , ending rumors that he was going to withdraw from the race ahead of a possible doping suspension .
Scientists in China have disturbing news about a strain of the flu virus circulating among ducks in Asia -- the virus is getting progressively more lethal to mammals .
Apparently , Steve Collins never wanted to pay his bills , so now he 's paying the price .
The Lexus LS 400 was the most trouble-free car after five years on the road , and the Toyota Corolla was best in its class of small affordable cars in a survey released Tuesday by market researchers J.D. Power and Associates .
The United Nations ' abolition of sanctions on Libya _ long branded a sponsor of terrorism _ gives the country a chance to boost its oil industry , clean up its human rights record and return to the international fold .
Canada 's Defense Minister John McCallum is here for discussions with Afghan leaders on the upcoming peacekeeping mission of Canadian troops in the Afghan capital , an official of the Afghan Defense Ministry said on Monday .
Thai and U.S. experts would cooperate in an operation to identify the toxic chemicals recently discovered under an airport in Hua Hin , about 200 kilometers south of Bangkok .
Wallabies vice-captain Toutai Kefu was taken off the field in a neck brace during his team 's 29-9 Tri-Nations rugby Test win over South Africa at Suncorp Stadium here on Saturday .
The United Nations Monday condemned the murder of an Afghan election worker who was involved in voter education in the country 's restive south-central region and shot by suspected Taliban .
World number one Roger Federer showed a humble side Friday by saying he was honoured to have tennis great Rod Laver in the crowd watching his semi-final victory at the Australian Open .
The US Treasury announced it will unveil on Wednesday its plan for resolving a dispute with a North Korea-linked bank , a key step for advancing efforts to end the communist regime 's nuclear arms program .
Police detained 43 illegal immigrants hiding in the back of a truck which was stopped and searched outside Athens Sunday , authorities said .
Tom Watson stood over an 8-foot par putt Sunday evening on the final hole of a mystical British Open , one stroke away from becoming the oldest major champion in history .
A veteran police officer went on a rampage in two New Jersey towns , killing five of his neighbors and wounding two people , police said .
After a shocking defeat by Japan in the Women 's World Cup field hockey qualifying tournament Sunday , Canada may have hurt its chances of making it to the finals in Utrecht , Holland , next year .
The hotly-debated law that voters passed last year impossing term limits on state legislators and other elected officials is facing its first serious legal challenge in a suit filed Friday with the state supreme court .
In the halls of the state Capitol , on the campaign trail in San Francisco , at California 's most exclusive restaurants with California 's most important people , Willie Lewis Brown Jr. never forgets his roots in segregated east Texas .
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer left here Tuesday afternoon after wrapping up his two-day visit , the official MENA news agency reported .
Hong Kong stocks ended the morning session at 10,237.09 points Tuesday , up 31.93 points , or 0 .
Upon learning it has been 14 long and trying years since the Houston men 's basketball team has won a postseason game of any kind , Cougars coach Ray McCallum was taken by surprise .
He has no money , no organization , no obvious well of party support , but US Ambassador to the Vatican Raymond L. Flynn evidently has a mind to run for governor , setting the stage for what could be one of the most remarkable comeback attempts in recent political history .
Raytheon Co. is working toward a settlement with federal regulators by the end of September that resolves three remaining antitrust concerns about its $ 9.5 billion acquisition of General Motors Corp. 's Hughes Electronics business , said a person familiar with the review .
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Friday called for earnest efforts to improve the living standards of ethnic minorities and speed up economic growth in where they live .
The U.S. will run up against startling budget deficits that will spark inflation unless the cost of Social Security and other government entitlement programs are curbed , Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Michael Moskow said today .
Looking for ways to fight Germany 's chronically high joblessness , Chancellor Helmut Kohl 's government is considering a plan that would allow long-term unemployed who take low-paying jobs to continue receiving unemployment benefits .
Ludacris has lopped off the long braids that have been his trademark for nearly a decade _ and not because of the heat .
For years , Jewish Americans have eagerly anticipated the day when a Jew could be considered a serious candidate for the White House .
China 's foreign minister will upgrade economic and political ties with Nigeria during his upcoming African visit , an official said Tuesday , a day after the nations signed a 2.3-billion-dollar oil deal .
Michael Jackson 's ex-wife , Debbie Rowe , whose testimony at his child molestation trial struck a blow for the defence , said Monday she was " overjoyed " at his acquittal on all charges .
Baton-wielding police broke up an anti-communist demonstration by students and arrested 3O people Thursday , a spokesman for the pro- democratic Nepal Vidhyarthi Sangh said .
Thailand gained a trade surplus of about 2.2 billion US dollars with the United States during the first six months of this year , according to a government news bulletin available today .
The Component Stock Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange closed at 4,134.14 points today , up 88.79 points from the previous session , according to the Guangfa Securities Co. Ltd .
More than 3,000 villagers returned home Monday when Mount Merapi 's volcanic activity subsided after an outpouring of hot poisonous gases , ash and lava .
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe left Harare Sunday for Khartoum to attend a summit of the African Union which has already been blighted by opposition to Sudan 's leadership of the continental body .
A float crashed ploughed into crowds during Hong Kong 's major Lunar New Year parade Friday killing one woman and leaving 20 injured , officials said .
The widow of prominent Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir , who was murdered last week , said Thursday she is seeking a criminal investigation by authorities from France , where her husband also held nationality , complaining that the initial Lebanese probe has proved incompetent .
South Korea on Thursday allowed officials of Hyundai Business Group to freely visit North Korea to discuss unprecedented sightseeing tours to the communist state by South Koreans .
Deadly ambushes at the world 's largest gold mine likely stem from rivalries between Indonesian police and military forces who compete for millions in illegal profits for protecting the industry , analysts said .
Six months after a war to uproot dictatorship and plant democracy 's seeds , a new battle of Baghdad has flared in the palmy quadrangles of the national university , where the freely elected president has been fired by a political appointee .
European stock markets closed higher Wednesday , with insurance shares providing most of the upward momentum across the region after Swiss Re said it expected a sharp upturn in earnings for 2002 .
West Coast dockworkers headed back to work under court order Wednesday , facing a huge backlog of cargo that built up over 10 days but could take more than two months to clear .
Even if it is approved by Congress , President Clinton 's proposed national testing program of student achievement is traversing so many political landmines in states , cities and school districts that many experts wonder whether it will ever be widely used .
Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic took a hardline stand Monday ahead of the Group of Seven meeting in Italy , stressing that Bosnia - Hercegovina 's borders were not a subject open to discussion .
Japanese Hitachi Global Storage Technologies will invest 500 million US dollars to build a hard disk drive factory in Shenzhen , south China 's Guangdong Province .
Iranians vote Friday in the tightest presidential election in the Islamic republic 's history , with conservative frontrunner Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani facing a tough twin challenge from pro-reform and hardline candidates .
The fraud trial of a former Malaysian cabinet minister involving share transaction worth millions of dollars will be heard in November , court officials said Wednesday .
I am seldom swayed by advertisements , but I 've just been made aware of three products that I 've simply GOT to have .
A German restaurateur has been charged with the murder of a German business partner and the wounding of a second on the Thai resort island of Ko Samui , police said Monday .
Foreign children fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries are often improperly detained for months in bleak detention centers in the United States without access to lawyers or psychological services , a study released on Wednesday said .
Boeing Co. 's Shared Services division , which handles computing , telecommunications , building maintenance and other in-house jobs for the aerospace company , plans to cut 1,200 to 1,500 jobs in the next six months .
The Cabinet-level Council of Labor Affairs ( CLA ) will help women start their own businesses by providing them with appropriate job training and a loan of up to NT$ 500,000 ( US$ 15,340 ) , CLA officials in Kaohsiung said Monday .
For centuries , this city of Islamic shrines and turbaned students has been a symbol of Shiite Muslim spirituality .
Oil prices broke above $ 64 a barrel Monday in Asia as strong second quarter company results helped boost investor optimism .
Hampered by polls showing a possible defeat in this week 's euro referendum , Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said Tuesday that the underdog `` yes '' side is poised for victory .
Hospitals and medical schools are straining to keep up with their mission of training new doctors , as financial pressures whittle away the time physicians can spend teaching and as medical knowledge mushrooms , according to a report by a task force that has spent six years studying medical education .
Opener Virender Sehwag scored a rapid half-century to accelerate India 's innings on the second day of the second cricket test against the West Indies after overnight showers washed out Friday 's morning session .
Independent counsel Kenneth Starr , who heads a probe into the Whitewater financial scandal that has dogged the Clinton administration , said Friday he reversed his decision to quit the investigation .
As Sheryl Crow was about to take the stage Saturday night at the Universal Amphitheatre , the Rolling Stones ' `` Factory Girl '' blared from the sound system .
A man charged with fatally shooting three people in an apartment above the Carnegie Delicatessen in Manhattan during a botched robbery told the police that his hands were shaking so badly with nervousness that he fired the gun accidentally , killing one of the victims , a detective testified in court on Friday .
Philippine companies that have sought debt relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission since the start of last year 's Asian currency crisis have a total of 102.4 billion pesos ( dlrs 2.5 billion ) in outstanding loans , the government says .
New Zealand share market closed higher Friday with the benchmark NZSX-50 ending up 3.4 points , or 0.08 percent , to 4,188.88 on turnover worth 164 million NZ dollars ( 108 million U.S. dollars ) .
China is to intensify monitoring of bird migration to try to ward off any further outbreaks of bird flu , Cao Qingyao , spokesman of the State Forestry Administration , said here on Wednesday .
Ireland had the best chances but Luis Garcia struck two minutes from the break to give Mexico a 1-0 half-time lead in their World Cup Group E match here on Friday .
Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined Inter Milan for euro24 .8 million ( US$ 31.9 million ) on Thursday , becoming the latest player to leave demoted Juventus .
Asian stock markets extended their advance Monday , with investors emboldened by U.S. lender CIT Group 's eleventh-hour deal to stave off bankruptcy and optimism about corporate earnings .
Probe No. 2 , the second satellite of a Sino-European joint space probe program , known as the Double Star Project , was successfully launched at the Taiyuan Satellite Launching Center , in north China , at 15:05 p.m. Sunday .
The Philippines ' finance secretary said Tuesday he has assured the International Monetary Fund of the passage this year of the remaining portion of a comprehensive tax reform program .
Singles results on the third and final day of the Alfred Dunhill Challenge between Southern Africa and Australasia at the Houghton golf course here ( SAfrican names first ) .
U.S. President George W. Bush told the United Nations on Tuesday that a democratic transition in Iraq wo n't be `` hurried , '' while French President Jacques Chirac demanded a `` realistic timetable '' overseen by the United Nations .
Ceramics artist Heidi Sowa had her eyes set on Portland for years .
Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , will host the 2009 US Women 's Open , the US Golf Association announced on Wednesday .
The owners of a barge that spilled 800,000 gallons of fuel oil off Rhode Island in January 1996 were slammed with $ 8.5 million in fines Thursday , including $ 1.5 million that will go to a private group to buy conservation land on Narragansett Bay .
The Korean owner of a sweat shop factory has been jailed for 40 years for forcing his workers into " modern-day slavery , " the toughest-ever punishment imposed in America for human trafficking .
Former Enron Corp. chief executive Kenneth L. Lay surrendered to federal agents at daybreak in Houston Thursday , pleading not guilty to criminal charges that he knew his company was failing in 2001 when he sold millions of dollars in stock and urged investors and employees to buy more .
Microsoft Corp. has finally roped Yahoo Inc. into an Internet search partnership , capping a convoluted pursuit that dragged on for years and finally setting the stage for the rivals to make an all-out assault against the dominance of Google Inc .
The Afghan opposition Sunday reported new impetus in several northern provinces in a bid to repel the Taliban armies since the capture of Bamyan city by the alliance .
Gold in Hong Kong opened at U.S. dlrs 291.65 an ounce on Saturday , down U.S. dlrs 1.70 from Friday 's close of U.S. dlrs 293.35 an ounce .
Hong Kong gold prices opened lower Wednesday at 435.50-436 .00 US dollars an ounce compared to Tuesday 's close of 438.20-438 .70 dollars an ounce .
Federal Reserve policymakers opened a two-day meeting here Tuesday to debate US monetary moves , a Fed source reported .
Six parties convened in China for the third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue are all in a serious , pragmatic , positive and looking - forward spirit and have shown the strong political will to resolve the issue .
Whenever Dean Lombardi or Chuck Grillo , the Skipper and Gilligan of the San Jose , Calif. , Sharks , felt cornered by the cruelties of public opinion , unhappy players or the simple math of losing hockey , they would always rely on three rebuttal points .
At least 10 people have been feared killed in a fresh communal clash between Ullam and Ugambe communities in Benue state , southeastern Nigeria , The Guardian newspaper reported Thursday .
No cigarette billboard will be erected at the circuit of Chinese Grand Prix of the Formula One motor racing at Shanghai , said the State General Administration of Sport ( SGAS ) on Thursday .
Washington is releasing half a million metric tons of wheat to help African nations fight hunger , with special focus on Ethiopia and Eritrea , the US Department of Agriculture said in a statement Wednesday .
In the 50th anniversary year of the revelation of the Holocaust , organisers of the Berlin Film Festival chose an Israeli , Lia van Leer , to head the jury that will attribute its prestigious Golden Bear award .
Nurlan Balgimbayev was re-elected Kazakhstan 's prime minister in a vote during a joint session of the two chambers of parliament on Thursday .
Gov. George W. Bush of Texas briskly returned to the campaign trail Thursday as if his competition had not withered away , seeking to sustain the momentum from his climactic victories on Tuesday and hone his attacks on Vice President Al Gore .
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing voiced confidence Tuesday that a decades - old border dispute with India would eventually be resolved .
Hong Kong stocks fell 57.76 points , or 0.60 percent , to close at 9,570.93 Monday .
Using rubber bullets , flying beanbags and Finnish bear dogs , Tim Manley , a Montana wildlife conflict specialist , teaches grizzlies to associate the outskirts of this resort town with unpleasantness and pain .
Hooker Trevor Leota has withdrawn from Samoa 's rugby World Cup squad to remain with his English club side , Wasps .
No Hollywood figure is generating more intrigue these days than Harvey Weinstein , who 's turned his musings about his future into daily grist for industry gossips and news hounds .
The World Health Organization on Monday pledged millions of emergency vaccines to counter a meningitis epidemic in Burkina Faso which has killed at least 583 people .
U.S. troops of the 4th Infantry Division arrested 92 people and seized weapons and ammunition in two dozen raids , including the largest-ever joint operation with Iraqi police , the U.S. military said Monday .
Boston-based U.S. Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC has been hired to liquidate all the merchandise of Canada 's oldest retailer , T. Eaton Co. Ltd .
At least some of the 153 people killed at a secluded cult compound in southwestern Uganda died several weeks before hundreds of followers of the doomsday cult died in a raging inferno in their church eight days ago , police said Saturday .
The European Championship is tougher than the World Cup , former Liverpool and France manager Gerard Houllier said on Sunday .
King Hussein of Jordan is being tested for lymphoma and is expected to remain at Mayo Clinic in the United States for three more weeks , his physician said Wednesday .
Since October 1995 , five Cowboys players have been suspended by the NFL for alcohol and substance abuse , two of them twice .
Britain 's Princess Alexandra inspected a guard of honour of the Hong Kong police force on Monday for the last time before China resumes sovereignty here .
A feeling of insecurity has spread through Germany 's Jewish community since authorities uncovered a plot to bomb a ceremony to launch construction of a new synagogue in Munich , Jewish leaders said Wednesday .
Israeli police cleared hundreds of settlers and supporters from an old hotel that had been turned into a bastion of opposition to the Gaza Strip pullout during a lightning raid Thursday .
The Philippine Congress began an inquiry Tuesday into claims President Gloria Arroyo rigged last year 's election , a probe that saw scuffles in the visitors ' gallery and sent financial markets spinning .
South African cricket officials gave the green light Tuesday for a shortened tour of Pakistan after calling the event off after a bomb explosion in Karachi last week .
If last weekend 's state GOP confab is any indication , Gov. Jane Hull has little to fear from a much-talked-about right-wing rebellion .
Russian State Civil Aviation Service ( SCAS ) on Friday decided to lift a partial ban on flights to China and parts of southeast Asia after significant declines in new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS ) in the areas .
Javelin thrower and boxer Paal Arne Fagernes , the bad boy of Norwegian sport , has been killed in a traffic accident , the Norwegian athletics federation announced Tuesday .
More than 200,000 hectares of various crops have been invaded by army worms , an infestation described to be the worst in the past decade .
A moderate earthquake jolted southwest China on Friday , killing two people and destroying homes in an area still recovering from damage caused by a temblor that hit last month , the official Xinhua News Agency said .
Thai tourism officials voiced concern Friday over Swedish animals rights groups ' call for a tourist boycott of Thailand over a Bangkok safari park 's treatment of a chimpanzee from Sweden .
David Minella , who helped create the GT Global mutual funds group in 1987 , will become president and chief executive of Value Asset Management Inc. , the company said .
Thirty-eight people have been confirmed dead and regional governments dispatched teams Thursday to assess more than 2 billion yuan ( US$ 240 million ) in damage after Typhoon Dujuan lashed coastal southern China , state media said .
Prosecutors and police say a defendant has fatally stabbed a witness at a courthouse in eastern Germany .
Micro Warehouse Inc. said it tentatively agreed to pay shareholders $ 30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the software direct marketing company broke securities laws when it restated earnings from fiscal years 1992 through 1995 .
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher will pay a visit to Mozambique in early July to attend a ministerial meeting of the African Union ( AU ) , an Egyptian diplomatic source said on Friday .
The international community should force Armenia to withdraw troops from the disputed Nagorno Karabakh enclave or face new hostilities , Azerbaijan said Thursday .
South Korea won Saturday 's doubles to take a winning 3-0 lead over Indonesia 3-0 in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone match here .
A Midwestern U.S. university campus was shut down Tuesday after suspicious white powders were found , but it finally turned out to be a scare , CBS News reported .
Thousands of villagers fled the India-Pakistan border region Saturday as firing between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated , with heavy weaponry being used in all-night shooting across the frontier .
Four Palestinians and a Chinese labourer were killed Tuesday in the deadliest day of violence to strike the occupied territories since militant groups began observing a fragile truce in January .
NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft have been charged with protecting the airspace over Portugal for the Euro 2004 football championship from June 12 to July 4 , NATO sources said here Friday .
With one last little trick in a campaign full of them , the Kremlin on Saturday tackled the one thing that can stop Vladimir V. Putin from winning Sunday 's presidential vote outright : apathy .
Saudi King Abdullah called Sunday for an end to the crisis in Syrian-Lebanese relations over Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri 's murder , at a summit with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad .
Pakistani troops shelled foreign militants in a remote tribal area Wednesday after battles between locals and Uzbek rebels left at least 51 people dead , officials and residents said .
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Tuesday pushed for the repeal of President George W. Bush 's tax cuts for wealthy Americans to finance the $ 87 billion the president is seeking for the military and reconstruction of Iraq .
The United States and Mongolia launched a two-week military training program in peacekeeping techniques on Friday with forces from five other nations , U.S. officials said .
Mingling the traditional and the technological with modern spectacle and time-tested skills at Madison Square Garden , the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is marching , dancing , swinging , soaring , pirouetting , plodding , prat-falling and blasting off into its third century of lavish entertainment .
Indonesia will sign a regional counterterrorism agreement with Malaysia and the Philippines next week , in a bid to show it is serious about security threats in Southeast Asia , the Foreign Ministry said Thursday .
Andre Agassi withdrew from the next week 's Rogers Cup on Friday .
Federal energy regulators examining whether companies overcharged for electricity during the California power crisis rejected an attempt by California officials on Thursday to expand their claim for refunds by up to $ 2.8 billion .
Riots and street battles killed at least 140 people in China 's western Xinjiang province and injured 828 others in the deadliest ethnic unrest to hit the region in decades .
Philippine stocks plunged 3.7 percent as foreign investors unloaded stocks such as Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and Ayala Land Inc. on anticipation a property glut will crimp earnings .
Sudan 's army spokesman said Tuesday that government forces repulsed an attack by southern rebels on the border with neighboring Eritrea .
President George W. Bush Tuesday invoked the name of Osama bin Laden and the horror of September 11 , in a speech designed to stiffen wavering public backing for his tactics in Iraq .
Bombardier 's regional aircraft division announced Tuesday that the US airline Comair had converted an option on five commuter craft into a firm order for five " Regional Jets . "
Senegal defender Habib Beye and Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingston saw their further participation in the African Nations Cup end on Sunday when both players were hit with three-match bans .
Japanese share prices closed flat Thursday as weaker futures contracts and profit-taking on early gains dampened sentiment despite better-than-expected April machinery orders data , dealers said .
The United Nations and the United States are applying pressure this week on Guinea-Bissau President Kumba Yalla , seeking assurances that the West African country 's twice-postponed legislative elections will take place in a transparent manner .
Craig Fitzgibbon scored a critical second-half try and landed five conversions Sunday as the Sydney Roosters beat the New Zealand Warriors 30-8 to clinch Australia 's National Rugby League championship .
Marc Rosset , fresh on the heels of his first tournament success in almost two years , continued his winning ways Wednesday with a 6-4 , 6-2 victory over Francisco Clavet for a place in the second round of the 815,000 dollar Italian Indoors .
Authorities were sifting through debris Sunday to uncover clues in a bus explosion that injured at least 12 people in the southern city of Karachi .
Exxon Corp. will consider `` strategic alliances '' and sales or closures of refineries as a way to boost poor profits in that segment of its business , Chief Executive Lee Raymond said .
Lebanon 's first parliament since the 1975-1990 civil war not controlled by pro-Damascus factions will hold its first session next Tuesday , one of the newly elected MPs said .
The Philippine Stock Exchange gave the go-ahead for Boulevard Properties Inc. to begin trading , ignoring a government agency 's call to disallow the listing of the property company 's shares .
Zambia 's ruling party has suspended with immediate effect its vice president Enoch Kavindele , who was earlier sacked from his position as the vice president of Zambia by President Levy Mwanawasa .
Like everybody else , the Phoenix Suns are wondering just how large they can be in the playoffs with a bunch of shrimps .
The presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic demanded greater protections Friday for the rights of candidate countries expected to join the European Union next year .
Taliban rebels firing rocket-propelled grenades killed three British soldiers , the first fatalities suffered by the NATO-led force since it took command of insurgency-wracked southern Afghanistan this week .
The Bush administration 's welfare proposal came under sharp criticism on Tuesday from Democrats in the House and the Senate , who argued that any increase in work requirements for welfare recipients must come with more help for child care .
Defense Minister George Fernandes said Monday that India 's peace efforts with Pakistan would continue despite a surge in violence in Indian-controlled Kashmir .
Spain 's top diplomat in Iraq has resigned , saying he could not support his government 's pro-U.S. stance in the crisis with Baghdad .
Fighting has intensified in southeastern Liberia , forcing an estimated 2,000 refugees to flee to neighboring Ivory Coast , U.N. sources said Wednesday .
The dollar was near its intra-day lows against major currencies in late Tokyo trade Thursday as investors cut long positions due to the US unit 's heavy upside , dealers said .
The National Health Service ( NHS ) waiting lists in Britain have fallen by a record number , according to figures released on Wednesday by the Royal College of General Practitioners ( RCGP ) .
A Stoneham man who apparently lived quietly with his wife and in-laws was charged with murder Sunday after authorities said they discovered his girlfriend and two young sons killed here in what seemed a case of a `` double life . ''
The Iranian ambassador to Turkey , under fire for backing supporters of Islamic sharia law , will leave the country , a senior official of the ruling party said .
New books _ lots of new books _ arrive at this desk every day , where they are unwrapped and examined .
Guatemala 's agriculture secretary resigned Tuesday , saying he had completed the work he was hired to do .
Russia lifted restrictions on Friday on foreign investors in Gazprom , the world 's largest gas company .
Oman intends to pump more than three billion dollars into its oil industry until the year 2000 as part of overall expansion in the energy sector , an Omani official said on Sunday .
As she prepares for her fourth and final Women 's World Cup , Mia Hamm is happy , healthy and confident again , not an aging superstar hanging on for another year or so .
Former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo admitted Friday that he had raised about 650 million U.S. dollars in what he called " fund for ruling " while in office , saying that 221 million U.S. dollars was left unused when he stepped down in February 1993 following a five-year term .
Investors continued to drive up Brazilian stocks and currency Thursday , encouraged by the likelihood of a smooth transition process to the government of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva .
Formula One driver Karl Wendlinger , badly injured in the run-up to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix , took his first steps on Monday according to Innsbruck university doctor Erich Schmutzhard .
Indonesia 's outgoing police chief on Thursday said he regretted failing to arrest two Malaysian explosives experts accused of masterminding major terror attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings .
Police on Friday hoped a videotape from a department store camera would help them identify the killer of Sweden 's popular foreign minister , who was honored across the Scandinavian country with vigils and rallies .
Two Taiwanese rock bands have been invited to participate in a world - renowned music festival in the United Kingdom , with the bands scheduled to perform two concerts each on Friday and Saturday .
The first unit of a nuclear power plant near the Austrian border has been reconnected to the country 's power grid following a computer problem that did not threaten nuclear safety , an official said Wednesday .
Non-white Americans are twice as likely to be uninsured as white Americans and probably will have fewer choices over where they get health care , according to the findings of a national poll .
Promoter Don King 's claim that former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will be released from prison this week is untrue , an Indiana prison system spokeswoman said Tuesday .
Losing weight may be more effective than aerobic exercise in helping obese men reduce their risk of heart disease , a new study has found .
Stock prices declined Tuesday , as investors took profits in a number of companies that have been big winners so far this year and Abby Joseph Cohen , the influential stock market strategist at Goldman , Sachs , announced that she had pared the exposure to stocks in her model portfolio to 65 percent , a reduction of 5 percentage points .
The English Football Association is confident Sven-Goran Eriksson will honor his England contract through to the 2006 World Cup despite the Swede 's comments that , at some stage , he would like to return to club management .
The White House on Thursday firmly rejected calls by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to set a date for withdrawing US forces from Iraq , but acknowledged concerns about the situation there .
The UN Security Council , ignoring repeated calls for more peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan , Thursday agreed to extend the mandate of an international force for six months but did not increase the number of troops or expand their presence beyond Kabul .
The New England Patriots could sign a tentative deal with Rhode Island as early as Tuesday to move the team to Providence , those close to the situation said last night .
Debate on Iraq is on the UN Security Council 's monthly working agenda for August 21 , the council presidency said Monday .
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on Thursday that the Uganda People 's Defense Forces ( UPDF ) has killed 936 Lord 's Resistance Army ( LRA ) rebels in the northern part of the country this year .
Cambodia has ordered health officials to be on alert for suspected human cases of bird flu following recent outbreaks of the virus in two neighboring countries , United Nations agencies in the country have reported .
Syria launched a scathing attack on Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Saturday and said Damascus would not put up with the same treatment as the Palestinians at the hands of the Jewish state .
Russia and Israel agree there can be no prospect of a Palestinian state unless the radical Islamic Hamas movement renounces violence , the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday .
Compuserve Corp. , the struggling provider of the second-largest computer online service , acknowledged Wednesday that the takeover reports swirling around the company were at least partly true , saying in a statement that it was in talks to be acquired .
Amid the general sense of capital drift , the House Republican conference on Wednesday turned out to be one of the most heavily attended of the three-month-old session , but not for members ' great expectations about the national agenda .
A computer firm in the northeastern city of Dalian has developed China 's first color liquid crystal display technology after years of research , the state-run Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday .
U.S. researchers firing sound blasts into the Gulf of California to map the ocean floor 's movements may have inadvertently caused the deaths of two whales off the Mexican coast , a conservation group claims .
U.S. President George W. Bush and European leaders tried to defuse tensions that are threatening to spark a full-blown trade war but reported no breakthrough on the most contentious issue _ new American tariffs on steel .
Canadian equestrian Eric Lamaze did not willingly take cocaine and will appeal his suspension from the Olympic team , his lawyer said Thursday .
The 14th Dalai Lama is simultaneously the exiled monarch of Tibet , a Nobel Peace Prize-winning statesman and Buddhism 's most renowned world leader _ aspects that are all evident during his current U.S. tour .
Biologists on Wednesday freed three endangered condors in Baja California with the hope that North America 's largest birds will soar over Mexico for the first time in more than 50 years .
France 's most powerful manufacturers of luxury goods warned tourists on Wednesday that buying or possessing counterfeit items on French soil is punishable by fines up to 300,000 euros ( 365,000 dollars ) and three years in jail .
Rescuers , armed only with spades and hampered by rains , have recovered two more bodies from a landslide in the southern Philippines , bringing the death toll to five , police said Sunday .
The little girl squats by the side of the road atop a pile of rotting vegetables , her hands stained orange from cutting into soft onions to salvage the good parts .
Bangladeshi National Economic Council ( NEC ) chaired by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia deferred its approval of a 15-year participatory perspective plan envisaging a per capita income of 1,251 US dollars from present 236 dollars .
Resources stocks helped Australian share prices close at record highs on Friday , boosted by sentiment that strong demand for minerals will continue , dealers said .
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) have visited one of Iran 's most controversial nuclear installations , an Iranian official said Friday .
The Poster Exhibition of the 15th International AIDS Conference shows various creative ways in dealing with HIV/AIDS and its impact .
Boeing Co. received part of a $ 2.7 billion Philippine Airlines Inc. aircraft order and is p ~ expected to win the bulk of a $ 4 billion order from Malaysian Airline System as the airplane maker expands rapidly in Asia .
Taiwan 's leading opposition Kuomintang is organising a weekend rally to protest against the recent controversial push for independence by President Chen Shui - bian , the organisers said Wednesday .
Eventually , if the Lakers kept searching , they were bound to bump into themselves somewhere .
ATLANTA - The top economics adviser to an avowedly free-market president Tuesday defended subsidies , tariffs and bailouts _ saying pragmatism trumps ideology .
The price of shares in Eurotunnel fell by 2.2 percent to 22.15 francs in busy initial trading here on Thursday .
Portugal 's star playmaker Luis Figo once again criticized Brazilian-born team-mate Deco 's inclusion in Euro 2004 finals here on Friday .
Hong Kong stocks rose 15.72 points , or 0.16 percent , to finish the morning session at 9,654.73 Thursday .
Tour de France contender Jan Ullrich will be supported by teammates Ukrainian Serhiy Honchar , Andreas Kloden of Germany , Italy 's Eddy Mazzolini and Michael Rogers of Australia in this year 's race , his T-Mobile team announced on Monday .
To some , Marshall Herff Applewhite was the disciplined , charismatic spiritual leader of the sect called Heaven 's Gate at the Rancho Santa Fe house near San Diego , Calif .
A 20-year-old school dropout has hacked into an online banking system and stolen some 50,000 dollars , causing alarm over the security of South Korea 's widely-used Internet banking services .
Diplomatic efforts to restore Manuel Zelaya to Honduras ' presidency shifted back to Washington on Tuesday , as supporters of the ousted leader threatened to escalate protests and disrupt business across the poor Central American nation .
The agency overseeing the rebuilding of the ruined World Trade Center area offered a plan Tuesday to turn it into a pedestrian-friendly hub of offices and homes , with a `` museum of freedom and remembrance '' and a memorial chosen through an international competition .
At least 15 civilians including four women were injured when suspected Maoist rebels threw a crude bomb near a hospital in southwestern Nepal , an army official said Wednesday .
The maker of " Brokeback Mountain , " Taiwan-born Ang Lee , was Saturday named best director by Hollywood 's top filmmaking union , boosting his already-stellar Oscar prospects .
Jaromir Jagr scored a beauty and Martin Prochazka netted the winner to lift three-time defending champions Czech Republic to a 5-4 victory over the United States in an action-packed scoring fest Saturday at the Ice Hockey World Championships .
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch has sent questions to two judicial nominees asking their independent views on affirmative action and federal regulation of private land -- two of the hottest subjects in the national debate .
Telecommunications company Marconi is facing further financial troubles after Railtrack Group Sunday confirmed it was taking steps toward suing it for 20 million pounds ( dlrs 28 million ) .
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan left here on Wednesday for Tbilisi for a visit to Georgia , according to the prime minister 's office .
FBI agents have launched a series of interviews of Muslims and Arab Americans in the Washington area and across the country , hoping to glean information that could prevent a major terrorist attack during this election year .
The trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani has attracted intense interest as a test of the Obama administration 's strategy to try Guantanamo detainees in civilian court .
Colombian doctor Mauricio Vergara , who helped Argentina 's former soccer star Diego Maradona , was arrested Wednesday at the city of Cali when he was about to depart for Argentina , carrying two kilograms of cocaine .
The European Union ( EU ) said Wednesday that all its people of 15 countries share 6.3 percent of the world 's population , with the figure of 375,329,400 in 1998 .
The Zambian housemate who won the reality show that captivated a continent _ Big Brother Africa _ won another prize Tuesday when she met former South African President Nelson Mandela .
Lawyers for three men charged in the 1998 African embassy bombings are arguing for their clients ' lives on political grounds , contending that executing them would be a foreign-policy disaster for the United States .
The National Hockey League suspended Pittsburgh Penguins center Stu Barnes four games for a slash that broke Boston Bruins center Joe Thornton 's left arm .
A night of scattershooting ended Texas ' improbable journey one step short of a championship at the Big 12 women 's basketball tournament .
The UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the terrorist attack that killed 11 Chinese construction workers in Afghanistan .
French raider Hurricane Run won the Irish Derby here on Sunday giving trainer Andre Fabre his second triumph in the race and jockey Kieren Fallon his first .
Ivory Coast rebels agreed to a cease-fire Thursday after talks with top West African envoys , who flew into this rebel-held city hoping to halt an insurgency that seized half the country in two weeks .
NRMA Insurance Group Thursday posted a loss of 65.3 million dollars for the six months to December compared to a 303.8 million dollar net profit a year earlier .
Croatia on Friday banned the import of pigs and pork products from Romania , Bulgaria and Luxembourg due to outbreaks of classical swine fever in those countries .
China called on the United States Thursday to stop selling arms to Taiwan and said weapons sales increase the chances Beijing will use force to take the island .
Airlines official of Vietnam , Laos , Cambodia and Myanmar met in Vietnam 's central city Da Nang on Tuesday , expecting that growth of air transportation could reach 14-16 percent annually within the sub-region until 2010 .
The Romanian government on Wednesday survived a no-confidence vote called by the opposition Socialists over draft legislation aimed at speeding the country 's accession to the European Union .
The remains of three airmen missing in action from a World War II combat mission over France 62 years ago have been identified and returned to their families for burial , the Pentagon said Wednesday .
The Grateful Dead _ even minus Jerry Garcia _ should keep on truckin ' , at least for one more tour as a healing gesture to fans who have been left out in the cold .
Two Tanzanian defense advocates in the U.S. embassy bombing case have requested the Kisutu Resident Magistrate ' s Court in Dar es Salaam to acquit the suspects as the prosecution side has failed to complete investigations in time .
The attacks on U.S. troops in Kuwait demonstrate the dangers of building up American forces in the Gulf region _ even in a country closely aligned with the United States .
Sweden has decided to sign a United Nations convention on efforts to prohibit illegal import , export and transfer of ownership of cultural property , the government said Thursday .
The People 's Daily is to carry a signed article tomorrow , further refuting Lee Teng-hui 's splittist remarks .
The scene at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale on Wednesday was a convention organizer 's dream : more than 1,000 delegates , many of them top leaders in the travel industry , hobnobbing over seminars and golf .
The modernization of national defense is an important part of China 's socialist modernization as a whole , said Jiang Zemin , general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) .
UNDATED : The workplace word du jour is `` coaching . ''
A long-simmering battle within the Nixon family has burst into the open with the filing of two lawsuits over who should control a $ 19 million bequest to Richard Nixon 's presidential library from one of his closest friends , Bebe Rebozo .
Defending champion Serena Williams turned on a power-packed display in the Australian Open second round Wednesday to defy predictions she would be unable to cope with the Melbourne Park heat .
Denmark on Thursday received a formal request from Russia for the extradition of a Chechen rebel envoy linked to last week 's deadly hostage crisis in Moscow , while the government faced criticism for bowing to diplomatic pressure .
The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( SET ) index Wednesday lost 1.55 points from Tuesday to close at 409.76 .
Security around Philippine President Gloria Arroyo was stepped up Friday amid reported plots to assassinate or kidnap her following a military uprising against her , officials said .
Prudential Financial , the US-based insurer and asset manager , teamed up with Indian real-estate developer DLF on Tuesday to sell life policies in an under - insured market expanding by 20 percent annually .
An outbreak of sleeping sickness has claimed dozens of lives in Zaire , the national radio and news agency reported Thursday .
Kenya 's police commander has ordered the police to stop the torture of people suspected of committing crimes and to refrain from harrassing journalists , the Sunday Nation newspaper reported .
The construction of the first natural museum in southwest China 's Tibet Autonomous Region has begun .
A panel of the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) has formally granted the right for the United States to impose sanctions against the European Union ( EU ) over their long-lasting banana dispute , trade officials said here Monday .
The dollar recovered against the deutsche mark on the chance that European countries will go ahead with their plan to start the monetary union on Jan. 1 , 1999 , traders said .
The carcass of the Kursk nuclear submarine has been delivered to a ship repair plant for dismantling , more than 20 months after the accident that left it a mangled wreck , the Interfax news agency reported Saturday .
A Labor government here would be prepared to sign a European Union trade pact which included a human rights clause , opposition trade spokesman Stephen Smith said Tuesday .
Six Filipinos accused of killing a Canadian told a court Tuesday they had nothing to do with the murder and confessed under duress .
Willie Lewis Brown Jr. promised to avert `` fiscal disaster '' for this city Wednesday after San Francisco elected him mayor with 57 percent of the vote .
The Central Bank of China announced Thursday a cut of 0.25 percentage points in its rediscount rate and secured loan rate .
Newly appointed Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado , who as a senator in 1991 voted against U.S. bases , said Tuesday he supports a new agreement that would allow American troops to visit but not be stationed in the Philippines .
New pressures on America 's oceans , from wind turbines to fish farms , are increasingly sparking conflicts with more traditional activities such as shipping and recreational boating and show the need for better planning , the head of the agency overseeing federal ocean research services said Monday .
The following is a list of stocks , on which analysts changed their ratings or began coverage today .
The State Department will name an Islamic extremist group that is under suspicion in the nightclub bombing that killed nearly 200 people in Indonesia as a terrorist group , a U.S. government official said Tuesday .
Grasshoppers of Zurich easily downed Norway 's Brann Bergen 3-0 in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup Tuesday .
A suburban railway to ease Athens traffic during the 2004 Olympics will be ready before the games begin , Greece 's transport minister insisted on Monday .
Hong Kong 's future leader Tung Chee-hwa on Monday refused to say whether pro-democracy members of local councils will be allowed to keep their seats after China takes over here in July .
Sebastien Loeb of France , driving a Citroen Xsara , won the Acropolis Rally on Sunday , the eighth leg of the 2005 world rally championship .
Martina Navratilova revisited the Wimbledon centre-court where she has won a record nine singles title here on Tuesday to surge into the semi-finals with a three-set victory over dangerous Czech rival Jana Novotna .
Northern heavy artillery gunners shelled the southern stronghold of Aden on Friday , a day after the collapse of the latest ceasefire in Yemen 's civil war .
Kutluay Ibrahim scored a team-high 22 points Saturday as Turkey upset Italy 69-64 in the World Basketball Challenge .
European stocks closed higher Tuesday after more strong U.S. corporate earnings and indications from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that borrowing costs will remain at record lows for some time to come .
Bernard Yoh , a lecturer on psychological warfare and a former underground fighter in China and Vietnam , died on Monday at a nursing home in Bethesda , Md .
The United States and South Korea will launch their first ministerial strategic dialogue next week on a wide range of issues , the State Department said Tuesday .
Uganda 's new constitution was promulgated and came into effect at a ceremony held at the Uganda International Conference Center here today .
Zambia 's Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out an opposition bid to bar the country 's electoral commission from conducting further elections using a controversial voters ' register .
More than half the homes in a Siberian village were burned to the ground as wildfires that have swept across the taiga this month reached populated areas for the first time , emergency officials said Thursday .
About 20 protests over alleged irregularities in Iraq 's legislative election last month were received during the two-day period allotted for appeals , an electoral commission official said Tuesday .
Fans of k.d. lang 's music are lighting up to the singer-songwriter 's newest album , `` Drag . ''
After a turbulent first-round count , the front-runner in Mali 's presidential elections on Saturday announced the creation of his own watch-squads to oversee voting in Sunday 's runoff .
A high-level delegation from China will visit Taiwan to attend a cross-Taiwan Strait conference on biotechnology and medical equipment later this month .
Russian President Boris Yeltsin was released from the Central Clinical Hospital and departed for the Barvikha sanatorium Saturday afternoon , the presidential press service said .
Tiger Woods , Vijay Singh and Ernie Els headline the field for the PGA Tour 's Memorial , where many in the star-studded cast will already have one eye on the upcoming US Open .
Canada 's departing ambassador to Washington , Frank McKenna , declined Monday to campaign for the beleaguered Liberal Party 's leadership , one week after its defeat in national elections .
Amnesty International expressed worries Monday that a crackdown against political and religious violence in Pakistan could lead to arbitrary arrests and detentions .
Britain 's Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke said today that he would not hurry to make vote-winning tax cuts at the expense of a lasting prosperity .
New Zealand share prices closed 0.41 percent lower Monday after trading was suspended for five hours because of telecommunications problems , dealers said .
Benjamin Netanyahu , Israel 's prime minister-elect , has assured Qatar that he will pursue efforts to find a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace settlement .
Amid recent criticism about the effectiveness of their cooperation , prime ministers from Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia said Friday they were forging ahead with plans for a Baltic common market .
Former NBA player Drazen Petrovic , Italian star Dino Meneghin and Spanish League coach Pedro Ferrandiz have been proposed for election to the Basketball Hall of Fame by its International Committee .
These business stories for release Friday , March 22 , 2002 , are moving today to clients of the New York Times News Service .
Australia took the men 's 4x100 meters freestyle relay title with a time of three minutes 11.21 seconds at the 4th world short-course swimming championships on Thursday .
At least 21 people have been killed and scores wounded in 48 hours of inter-clan fighting in two separate strife-torn regions of Somalia , witnesses and clan elders said Tuesday .
With a U.S. military invasion to remove him looming , Iraqi President Saddam Hussein reached out to his people Sunday issuing a decree meant to empty his jails of everyone from pickpockets to political prisoners .
The first day of the NATO summit here Monday marked by a series of protests in various parts of the city , leaving nearly 50 people injured , Turkish private NTV reported .
An aerial search scoured the jungle-covered mountains of southwest Colombia on Monday for a helicopter that disappeared 10 days ago with two Canadians and a Frenchman aboard .
Gov. George W. Bush won a forceful victory over Sen. John McCain in Virginia and North Dakota on Tuesday , picking up a large cache of delegates as well as a considerable morale boost after his discouraging loss in Michigan a week ago .
Malaysia 's new maritime unit aimed at fighting piracy and other criminal activities will be launched in November , the official Bernama news agency said Monday .
Powered by a batch of surprisingly good earnings reports , stocks barreled higher Tuesday and lifted the Dow Jones industrials back above 8,000 .
British runner Paula Radcliffe , continuing her comeback from injury and illness , broke the world half-marathon record at the Great North Run in Newcastle on Sunday .
China cruised to a two-second win Monday in the men 's four-kilometer team pursuit cycling at the Asian Games , shutting out Iran at a regional meet for the second time in five months .
Oman is seeking foreign and local investors to develop its first coal mine , which was estimated to cost more than 36 million U.S dollars , so as to diversify its oil-dependent economy , local newspaper Emirates News reported today .
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent 80th birthday congratulations to legendary cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich on Tuesday , ahead of a Kremlin party in his honour .
The UN Security Council 's sanctions committee on Ivory Coast is to meet formally Monday to consider sanctions against individuals blocking the peace process , the UN said Friday .
A team of West African peacekeepers was headed to a region north of the capital on Thursday to investigate reports of possible fighting that has put tens of thousands of civilians on the run despite a peace deal .
South Korean share prices closed 0.68 percent lower Tuesday in a moderate correction , with foreign and retail investors locking in profits on financials and electronics , dealers said .
With Israel-Syria peace talks frozen for more than a year , seven Arab members of Israel 's Parliament will go to Syria this week to discuss the peace process .
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Monday ordered the immediate shut of all gambling and gaming stations near school campuses after a report disclosing high-stake gambling in schools .
Europe 's top antitrust enforcer on Wednesday began investigating whether tax relief granted by Paris to Electricite de France at a time that the state-owned utility was buying up rivals abroad amounted to illegal aid .
Roger Federer wants to play in Switzerland 's Davis Cup playoff against Italy in September , team captain Severin Luethi said Wednesday .
World badminton powerhouses China and Indonesia dominated Saturday , capturing five and four berths each for the finals of the Sanyo '97 World Cup Badminton Championship .
The Seattle Mariners signed veteran pitcher Mike Maddux to a minor league contract .
Wheat futures tumbled Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade following more than two weeks of big gains .
These feature stories are moving today to clients of the New York Times News Service .
Crop yields on organic farms averaged about 20 percent less than those on conventional farms , but the production used about 50 percent less energy and built healthier soils , a study found .
Faas Wilkes , a former Netherlands striker who scored 35 goals in 38 international matches , died Tuesday , the Dutch soccer association said .
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Saturday blasted US claims on Palestinians leadership , saying the Palestinian people who only can determine their leaders through elections .
On her visit to South Africa last month , Hillary Rodham Clinton took a moment to compliment her beaming host at the University of Cape Town , Dr. Mamphela Ramphele , the school 's vice chancellor .
Russia on Wednesday called on Israel to release the Palestinian parliament speaker , who was detained over the weekend as part of a round-up of several senior members of the Hamas government .
Until 35 years ago , a tangle of barbed wire ran down the middle of Assael Street in Jerusalem .
A man who married the widow of a millionaire investment banker he is suspected of killing filed papers Tuesday challenging the woman 's will following her death last month from cancer .
With Israel 's approval , the Security Council unanimously adopted a U.S. resolution Friday welcoming the dispatch of a U.N. team to find out what happened in Jenin during the Israeli military 's sustained attacks .
The British and Irish Lions are set to be without flanker Lewis Moody for the next two matches , making him a major doubt for the first Test on June 25th .
Officials say heavy rainfall in Pakistan 's largest city has left at least 15 people dead and cut off electricity .
Jann Wenner , the magazine entrepreneur who founded Rolling Stone , has bought out The Walt Disney Co. 's 50 percent stake in Us Weekly magazine for $ 300 million ( euro233 million ) .
The United Nations should urgently send a brigade of peacekeepers to Katanga , a southeastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) , as violence brews there ahead of elections later this year , a non-governmental group said Wednesday .
Israel was shocked to the core Thursday over the landslide Palestinian electoral victory for Hamas , a group that has killed hundreds of Israelis and advocates the destruction of the Jewish state .
West African peace-makers struggled to hold together a cease-fire deal Friday in rebellion-divided Ivory Coast _ while rebels accused loyalists of readying their long-threatened counterattack under cover of the truce talks .
Althea Gibson , a sports pioneer who broke the color barrier in tennis in the 1950s as the first black woman to win Wimbledon and the U.S. national title , died Sunday .
The leader of Britain 's second opposition party was on the verge of being ditched Friday after an unprecedented admission of alcoholism at a time of fierce public debate over alcohol abuse .
Javier Saviola scored in the 43rd minute to give Argentina a 1-0 win over South Korea in an international soccer friendly on Wednesday .
An organizing committee was set up today for this century 's last Shanghai International Broadcast Music Festival in November .
U.N. peacekeepers grounded their helicopters in south Lebanon and Italy 's prime minister headed to Israel Thursday after an Italian U.N. helicopter crashed in the Israeli-occupied south , killing all five aboard .
An unlikely matchup between Unilever , the global consumer goods giant , and a group of socially oriented investors emerged Wednesday as the likely buyer of Ben & Jerry 's Homemade Inc. , the ice-cream icon of Vermont .
Halliburton Co. executives say they will cooperate with a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of the accounting method the company uses to report cost overruns on construction jobs .
Automotive sales in the Philippines rose to 37,985 units in the first five months this year , an increase of 19.2 percent over the same period of last year , according to an industry report published Saturday .
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Nynex Corp. , which is now a part of Bell Atlantic Corp. , of discriminating against a group of female employees who took maternity leaves 20 years ago and were denied full retirement benefits .
Tamil Tiger rebels retaliated against a major army offensive by firing artillery shells at a government-held town in northern Sri Lanka , causing panic but no reported casualties , officials and local residents said Sunday .
Mainland Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen will reportedly pressure Washington again on the issue of arms sales to Taiwan during his planned visit to the United States in March .
Every time Barry Bonds hits a home run , fans scramble to grab a piece of baseball history _ and perhaps make loads of cash .
Malaysian share prices were 0.91 percent lower in early trade on jitters after falls overnight on Wall Street and corrections from an over-sold position , analysts said .
In sharp new criticism of the Giuliani administration 's First Amendment policies , two federal appeals court judges have complained that a `` relentless onslaught '' of litigation over restrictions on political demonstrations and artistic events has forced the federal courts to take on the role of city licensing agencies .
Britain on Thursday extradited a suspect in the Madrid train bombings to Spain after the man lost his legal challenge for removal , police in London said .
Media madness and zany antics have turned the Michael Jackson verdict watch into a bizarre display of emotion , tension and boredom .
A statement in the name of a Communist death squad claimed responsibility Wednesday for the killing of a former intelligence officer accused of human rights violations under the late President Ferdinand Marcos .
Singapore police on Wednesday arrested the suspended chief executive of China Aviation Oil ( CAO ) , which collapsed last year following massive speculative trading losses , as the company began a final round of negotiations with creditors .
Israeli troops raiding this town with tanks and helicopters killed 12 Palestinians early Monday , including 10 who died when a missile slammed into a large crowd .
French President Jacques Chirac on Monday again called on Syria to " cooperate without restrictions " with the United Nations investigation into the murder of Lebanon 's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri .
Suspected Taliban or al-Qaida fired five rockets at targets in Kabul on the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States , international peacekeepers said Sunday .
Hong Kong stocks closed higher Monday , with the Hang Seng Index moving up 150.15 points , or 1.58 percent , to close at 9,637.53 .
Investors are taking a breather after a surge in stocks that sent the Dow Jones industrials above the 9,000 mark for the first time since January .
Immediately after Sept. 11 , there were predictions that the terrorist attacks would prove to be a seminal moment for the television news business .
Ime Udoka scored 18 points and guard Josh Akognon hit a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter Saturday as Nigeria upset Serbia and Montenegro 82-75 at the basketball world championship .
Commercial lender CIT Group Inc. confirmed late Monday that it has secured a $ 3 billion bailout from its bondholders , saving the company from bankruptcy protection .
Alexis Cabreja , a 25-year-old unemployed Cuban defector , hopes his next job will be as the starting right fielder for baseball 's New York Yankees .
Scolded internationally for ignoring demands that it crack down on terrorism , Indonesia pledged Wednesday to press ahead with tough new anti-terror laws and formed an international investigative team to hunt for the culprits in the Bali nightclub bombing .
U.S. Rep. John Dingell has removed links to Arab-American sites from his official congressional Web site , after Detroit 's Jewish News complained that they make " unsubstantiated and disputed claims " about Israel 's response to Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon .
Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that it had agreed to acquire the 51 percent of AST Research Inc. that it does not already own for $ 5.40 a share .
Pakistan and India here Wednesday agreed to hold foreign ministers ' meeting on September 5 and 6 in New Delhi .
COSCO Pacific Limited has became a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Index ( HSI ) Monday .
Prime Minister Tansu Ciller vowed Sunday that Turkey was " determined " to seal a planned customs union with the European Union ( EU ) , three days after Greece vetoed the deal .
South Korean police said Tuesday they will take stern legal measures against workers who organize illegal strikes and street protests during the World Cup soccer finals , which South Korea will co-host with Japan starting May 31 .
There was excitement in Nick Bond 's voice shortly after noon Tuesday , after his P-3 Orion `` hurricane hunter '' aircraft found 97-knot winds about 80 miles off the coast of Tillamook , Ore .
Kuwait 's private sector continues to decline in terms of share of GDP , making the need for privatization more urgent , the National Bank of Kuwait said Monday .
Nineteen people were injured and more than 100 residents were evacuated when a fire swept through an apartment building in Greenwich Village near downtown New York early Tuesday .
Portugal Telecom wants to set up a new pan-African mobile services operator based in Angola , the company 's chief executive officer said in an interview published on Thursday .
St. Louis Blues forward Dallas Drake could miss Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night after injuring himself making a first-period check in Game 4 .
The Ghana Bar Association ( GBA ) has called on lawyers to strike from Monday in a bid to force the country 's newly appointed chief justice to step down following a controversial court ruling , legal sources said Sunday .
Two opinion polls Thursday showed Sweden 's center-right opposition surging ahead of a left-wing bloc led by the governing Social Democrats , with national elections just one month away .
A colony of federally protected harbor seals is causing a stink about whether it should spend its days lounging at a popular San Diego cove or be sent packing .
Following a review of its impotence drug Viagra , Pfizer , the world 's biggest drugmaker , has concluded that there is no apparent link between the medication and an increased risk of blindness .
Japan 's Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday that one of its subsidiaries would cut about 4,400 jobs by closing a plant in Mexico , as the technology firm reorganises its hard drive manufacturing operations .
Italian international left back Francesco Coco is to leave FC Barcelona after a year on loan and return to AC Milan , the Catalan club announced .
On a field at Afghanistan 's new police academy , six cadets line up to be taught how to shoot an AK-47 assault rifle .
As a Connecticut teen-ager , J.J. Henry had never visited the TCU campus before agreeing to play his college golf in Fort Worth .
A group of dissident directors battling for control of the Student Loan Marketing Association said they will release a proxy statement today , detailing their plan to reorganize the largest buyer of U.S. student loans as a fully private corporation .
Eastman Kodak Co. introduced new software this week to allow interactive manipulation of higher quality photographic images on the World Wide Web .
Five Zambian surveyors have been picked up and detained by government soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) , Zambia News Agency reported Monday .
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin received Latvia 's highest honor Tuesday for recognizing the Baltic state 's independence 15 years ago .
The trial began Monday of three former policemen accused over the murder in 2000 of Ukrainian opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze , a killing seen as a landmark on the road to the " orange revolution " protests in the ex-Soviet nation .
All week long , powerful lobbyists have put an NFL-style blitz on Arizona lawmakers in hopes of winning support for a package that includes money for tourism and Cactus League activities .
The Xinhua A stock index dropped 1.13 points to close at 224.27 and the Xinhua B stock index lost 2 .
A clouded leopard found in the rainforests of Indonesia 's islands of Borneo and Sumatra is a new species of big cat , conservation group WWF said Thursday .
A global federation of over 250 consumer groups plans to mount a conference in opposition to an American effort to promote genetically modified ( GM ) crops in Africa and other developing regions .
Japanese share prices rebounded Wednesday , in line with most Asia - Pacific bourses which were boosted by a record-breaking performance on Wall Street .
Two-time world champion Manny Pacquiao will use his relentless style with the hope of getting different result in his rematch with Erik ' Terrible ' Morales at the Thomas and Mack Center .
President Clinton and Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole sketched out competing visions of American foreign policy Wednesday , with Dole accusing the Democrats of failing to grasp grim global realities and Clinton sternly warning of the dangers of `` a new American isolationism . ''
Residents of Iraq 's capital woke to the sound of explosions on Thursday as three car bombs blew up in succession in the central Karradah district , killing at least 15 people and wounding 50 , an interior ministry official said .
Silver prices continued to rise Monday on the bullion market in Mumbai ( Bombay ) due to higher industrial demand .
France 's leading anti-globalization farmer , Jose Bove , who was arrested over the weekend in southern France , might win a presidential pardon next month , Justice Minister Dominique Perben said on Monday .
House and Senate negotiators on landmark telecommunications overhaul legislation agreed `` in principle '' to deregulate cable TV prices about three years after passage of the bill , but wrapped up their meeting without pinning down details .
Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said here Sunday that his government will raise the issue of ex-Gurkha soldiers with the British government through diplomatic channels to provide them equal facilities like their British counterpart .
`` Cold Fever '' by Icelandic director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson received the top prize and the award for best director at the Troia International Film Festival Sunday .
In a major strike , unidentified gunmen shot dead 10 persons -- a brick-kiln owner and nine laborers -- at Dinar village in Bihar 's Nalanda district , north India .
The prime minister of Ivory Coast 's transitional government is studying a new peace accord signed last weekend by the country 's president and the main rebel leader , his aide said Tuesday .
Superman , who doubled as a journalist , regularly saved the world .
Neil Finn figured he knew exactly how it would go when he and his brother Tim played their mother a new song they 'd written for her several years ago .
What the Beatles did for transcendental meditation in the 1960s , Madonna , Elizabeth Taylor and Courtney Love may be doing for the study of the Kabbalah _ the mystical tradition that lies at the root of Jewish practice .
The American Psychological Association , which drew fire for declaring that it is permissible for psychologists to assist in military interrogations , took a stand against torture at its convention Thursday .
Pittsburgh officials have cited a self-styled litter vigilante for making debris piles on city sidewalks .
Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Youssef Wali has extolled bilateral relations between Egypt and China as an exemplary model of international relations and believes the two countries will share a bright and constructive future .
The businessman chosen by army commanders to lead Venezuela postponed the swearing-in of his new Cabinet on Saturday as protesters in some cities demanded the return of ousted leader Hugo Chavez and soldiers in one city rebelled against the new government .
Masashi `` Jumbo '' Ozaki , Japan 's winningest golfer , shot a 5-under-par 67 Friday and extended his lead from two to six strokes midway through the 100 million yen ( dlrs 847,000 ) Hisamitsu KBC Augusta .
Last week , Paul Volcker , the former Federal Reserve chairman , proposed shrinking Arthur Andersen to focus it more closely on audits of public companies .
Petrol prices here could rise by up to 40 percent amid plans to end subsidies on oil , water and electricity , a senior government official was quoted as saying Saturday .
The radical Islamist movement Hamas criticised Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas for meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem on Tuesday and questioned the usefulness of their summit .
Twelve people were killed in a bus accident in a rugged valley in central Afghanistan when a group of internal displaced people were returning to their home villages from a northern province , a report reaching here said on Sunday .
Strong global demand for high tech products has prompted United Microelectronics Corp ( UMC ) to feel optimistic about the outlook for the global semiconductor sector in the second half of this year .
In sharp contrast to the last presidential election , Bill Clinton 's name is resonating on the campaign trail , and the candidates for the 2004 Democratic nomination are working hard to win his support .
Police clashed with separatist sympathisers in the Spanish Basque country town of Bilbao early Thursday during the arrest of Carlos Rodriguez , a leader of ETA separatist movement 's political wing .
President George W. Bush 's Supreme Court pick Samuel Alito won a vote in a Senate committee on Tuesday but must now face a confirmation vote in the full Senate this week .
Argentina 's attorney general said a recently approved law which locks in import tariffs on Brazilian sugar is unconstitutional , reported Ambito Financiero .
In a surprise move , the head of the general works council at German car giant Volkswagen , Klaus Volkert , announced Thursday he is stepping down , employees who attended a general meeting at the car maker 's headquarters in Wolfsburg said .
Britain announced it was sending more troops to Iraq , but other allies of the United States reacted cautiously Monday to President George W. Bush 's call for money to help fund his Iraq policy .
Bill Anderson whispers the final notes of `` Still , '' acknowledges the applause and , as he has done for 36 years , banters with the Grand Ole Opry audience .
The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Tuesday Nikko Securities Co. Ltd. would inherit the securities positions of the local unit of Barings bank while any losses would be covered by Barings and the reserves of other members .
Some U.S. tobacco company shareholders say a proposed industry settlement of lawsuits may hinder sales and profit growth because it could boost prices of Philip Morris Cos. ' Marlboro and other premium cigarettes about 75 percent to $ 3.50 a pack .
Ugandan security forces have shot one person dead and arrested 29 bomb-making suspects in Seeta in Mukono district , some 15 km east of Kampala , the New Vision newspaper reported on Monday .
Russia 's electoral commission chairman Alexander Veshnyakov , who criticised a new election law as too favourable to the Kremlin , has been removed from his post , the government announced Tuesday .
Tokyo stocks dipped Tuesday as investors locked in profits from surges the previous session and due to overnight declines in US shares .
The state Ethics Commission has fined the Massachusetts Medical Society $ 45,000 for plying legislators with thousands of dollars in illegal gratuities , much of it for fun in the sun .
Hisanobu Watanabe pitched Japanese professional baseball 's first no-hit game of the year Tuesday as the Seibu Lions beat the Orix BlueWave 9-0 at Seibu Stadium .
Premier Silvio Berlusconi has never been shy about boasting of his successes or the friendships that made them possible .
For theatrics of potentially profound significance to corporate America , no place will be as intriguing to watch over the next few months as the courtroom of Judge Melinda F. Harmon .
Bulgaria and Moldova moved Monday to prevent the spread of bird flu on their soil , asking neighboring Romania for help to test fowl and prevent the spread of a potentially lethal human version of the disease now present in nearby Turkey .
Israel is seriously concerned that Russia could sell advanced anti-tank weapon systems to Syria capable of piercing the most modern armour , the country 's top selling newspaper reported Friday .
House Speaker Newt Gingrich , R-Ga. , faces a critical turn this week in the ethics inquiry into his conduct when a congressional panel considers whether to continue its probe or bring in an independent investigator to take over the politically charged case .
Trucks laden with food started arriving here Saturday after the radical Islamic student movement Taliban captured a town held by anti- government forces and reopened the main highway to the capital .
Canada 's provincial premiers and territorial leaders reached a consensus here Tuesday to make deep tax cuts due to an anticipated surplus in the next federal budget .
History is poised to repeat itself as the United States surrendered its advantage to Italy in the Admiral 's Cup Monday .
Listening to President Bush 's State of the Union speech nearly four years ago , I thought that putting North Korea in the `` axis of evil '' made as much sense as including Kim Jong Il on Seventeen magazine 's `` best-dressed list . ''
Two big guns in the auto industry are about to challenge each other in the lucrative police car market .
Greece 's parliament has approved measures allowing police to use surveillance camera footage and create a DNA database .
The European Commission will give 140 million shillings ( about 2.2 million U.S. dollars ) to the Kenya Tourism Board as part of its effort to revamp the tourist sector in the country .
The Dutch government announced Monday that it would compensate businesses and farmers for the financial losses arising from the evacuation made necessary last week by fears of flooding on a huge scale .
Pernell Whitaker , a former world boxing champion in four weight classes , has been convicted of reckless driving and sentenced to jail time on the first of three driving-related charges .
Fifteen lawyers ended a hunger strike here on Monday after nine of their colleagues were released from jail , a source in the bar association said .
The Council of Europe 's parliamentary assembly Thursday froze indefinitely Russia 's application for admission to the organisation in protest at the war in Chechnya .
The European Union hit back at Cuban President Fidel Castro Wednesday , demanding he ends his political crackdown on opposition groups or face further isolation .
With just six weeks to go before soccer 's premier event , World Cup favorite Argentina , England and Spain each won their tuneup matches while defending champion France , Brazil and Italy got draws and Germany lost .
Argentinian President Carlos Menem told Thai business executives here Wednesday that conditions were ripe for a big increase in bilateral trade .
The European Commission is set to demand major changes to Anglo - American 's strategic link-up with Lonrho , partly because of concerns about the role of the Oppenheimers , South Africa 's most powerful family , EU sources said on Friday .
Veba and Cable and Wireless ( C and W ) have ended a telecommunications partnership because C and W wants to concentrate on its British business , Veba announced on Friday .
Ghana will provide an extra 500 troops for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda ( UNAMIR ) on condition that transport and equipment are provided by the UN , an army spokesman told AFP in Accra Wednesday .
Managers at China 's major state-owned enterprises ( SOEs ) will be allowed to hold stakes in their own firms , the government said Monday in an easing of restrictions introduced last year .
Iraq agreed Tuesday on a plan that would let U.N. weapons inspectors return for the first time in nearly four years , but the pact would provide no new access to Saddam Hussein 's palaces and other contested sites .
Asian superstar Paradorn Srichaphan will have the home advantage when Thailand faces the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup World Group Playoffs , but the Thai side still will need every break it can grab to pull off a victory , says its captain .
A Chinese activist who spent nearly a decade protesting against a polluting uranium mine has been admitted to a Beijing hospital with a life-threatening tumour , a rights group said Wednesday .
Stunned by its latest deadly disaster , Russia started a new work week with an official day of mourning Monday for at least 118 people killed in a hostage crisis at a Moscow theater , all but two of them victims of the gas special forces used to knock out the attackers before storming the building .
Roy Keane admitted Monday that he left Ireland manager Mick McCarthy with no option but to send him home from the World Cup .
Heading into the summer holiday season , the European Union 's top environment official reassured vacationers Wednesday that the quality of Europe 's bathing waters continues to improve .
For information on credit card deals , including gas-rebate credit cards , consumer advice , credit card alerts and consumer forums , visit www.cardratings.com .
State-run Sberbank , Russia 's largest lender , posted a 98 percent plunge in first-quarter profit Tuesday as provisions for bad loans spiraled in a worsening economy .
The end-of-season WTA tour championships will move to Madrid in 2006 from Los Angeles dealing another blow to tennis in the United States .
Victims of sexual abuse by priests are taking their complaints to the United Nations on Wednesday , claiming the Vatican has violated the U.N. treaty protecting children and demanding the United Nations do something about it .
Say `` A-frame '' and certain words leap to mind , such as gingerbread , yodeling and tacky .
Police seized 600 pairs of counterfeit sports shoes and 300 sports shirts imported from China and arrested a suspect surnamed Lai in a raid in central Taiwan , Criminal Investigation Bureau ( CIB ) officials reported Wednesday .
The United States has big plans for Cuba once Fidel Castro is gone for good .
Wholesale prices in the United States plunged by 0.4 percent in November , the biggest decline in six months , the Labor Department said Friday .
Upping the ante in a bitter dispute that has cut Venezuela 's oil exports , the country 's largest labor and business confederations announced late Wednesday they will continue a general strike indefinitely .
Sealed by a deal between the United States and Russia , the U.N. Security Council was close to agreement on an overhaul of sanctions against Iraq after months of negotiations .
Three people were killed and five others went missing in avalanches which broke out Saturday morning in Gorkha district , western Nepal , the official RSS news agency reported Sunday .
A U.S.-led international team of experts investigating slavery and abductions in Sudan has ended its first fact-finding mission praising cooperation from the government and southern rebels .
The tumbling dollar appeared to stabilize Monday but traders were expecting further central bank interventions and a short-term interest rates hike .
High unemployment continues to grip Palestinian communities in the occupied Arab territories , reaching an average of 35 percent , the International Labor Organization ( ILO ) said in a report released Tuesday .
As the German and Malian governments undertake negotiations aimed at freeing 14 European tourists abducted in the Sahara desert , bounty hunters have began their own talks , flooding the reportedly annoyed kidnappers with mediation efforts , sources said here Saturday .
Six years and nearly $ 6 billion after buying the Rover Group , BMW of Germany abandoned the British automaker Thursday .
Zambia unveiled a new draft constitution Wednesday , seeking to reduce the powers of the president and entrench fundamental human rights ahead of presidential and general elections next year .
Swiss rider Markus Zberg crashed during training on the eve of the world championship individual race and had to be hospitalized with facial injuries , ruling him out of Sunday 's event .
The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft hurtled through the rings of Saturn and headed into planetary orbit late Wednesday , in an apparent pinpoint finish to a bold 2-billion-mile journey through space to embark on a four-year exploration of the solar system 's sixth planet , its rings and its moons in the most ambitious space science project ever undertaken .
The late U.S. President Thomas Jefferson , who advocated soft power , would have nodded in his tomb if he heard President Ma Ying-jeou saying Monday that those with power should know restraint when exercising it .
Australia 's trade deficit ballooned to a higher than expected 2.47 billion dollars ( 1.85 billion US dollars ) in November , up by more than a billion dollars , official figures showed Tuesday .
United Airlines on Friday posted a loss of 17 billion dollars for the fourth quarter and 21 billion dollars for 2005 as it took major writedowns ahead of its planned exit from bankruptcy protection .
The 12 social democratic minsters in Prime Minister Tansu Ciller 's coalition government submitted their resignations Monday following the merger of their party with Turkey 's main opposition group .
Beijing has issued a nationwide security order that bans all large gatherings for Tuesday 's funeral of Deng Xiaoping , according to local officials here .
China announced here Saturday the establishment of its first monitoring and early-warning system for trade remedy measures to handle increasing anti-dumping appeals from developed countries after its accession to the World Trade Organization .
Oil prices surged past 67 dollars per barrel on Friday , with the market unnerved by reports that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened new attacks against the United States , dealers said .
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday lashed out at U.S. President George W. Bush and British Premier Tony Blair , labeling them as " war criminals " and " killers of children . "
A delegation of Canadian aborigines is visiting Taiwan to promote exchanges and understanding of the indigenous cultures of Taiwan and Canada , the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei ( CTOT ) said Friday .
The European consortium Airbus looked set Thursday to be overtaken by arch-rival Boeing in the race for new business , as the US company announced a record 1,002 orders in 2005 following a remarkable comeback .
The number of U.S. children killed in auto crashes last year was the lowest since the government began monitoring traffic deaths 36 years ago , a trend attributed to laws requiring seat belts and safety seats .
Every time Nigeria has played in the Women 's World Cup , the team has improved greatly .
Kazakhstan held Belgium to a 0-0 draw Wednesday in its European qualifying debut .
This year 's Australian Open will host its first grudge match Thursday when Lleyton Hewitt meets Argentina 's Juan Ignacio Chela , who was fined for spitting at the third seed in the 2005 event .
Ireland 's biggest trade union said on Thursday its bosses were prepared to enter talks on a new national pay deal , after the government agreed the controversial practice of employing migrant workers would top the agenda .
The " diabetes clock " may start ticking in women years in advance of a medical diagnosis of the disease , according to a new research released Monday by the State University of New York at Bufflo .
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld strongly doubts that sending new U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq would be worth the effort _ a view not officially shared by the State Department .
Clashing over whether to turn Yucca Mountain into the nation 's nuclear waste repository , two Republican senators said Thursday that the decision to ship hazardous material across 43 states to the planned site in Nevada came down to a matter of morals .
Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak visited the French naval shipyard at Cherbourg Friday , where two Scorpene submarines ordered by his country are being built .
Anyone who knows Orel Hershiser even a little will tell you his options are limitless when his playing days are over .
A 11.8 billion rupee ( $ 324 million ) World Bank project in India 's Maharashtra state devoted to rebuilding an area devastated by a 1994 earthquake will be almost complete by December , six months ahead of schedule , the World Bank said .
An Islamic court in Malaysia has sentenced a Muslim woman to be flogged with a rattan cane for having a beer in a nightclub , a court official said Tuesday .
The French PPR luxury products group , owners of the Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent brands , said on Thursday that it had boosted net profits last year by 28.0 percent to 685 million euros .
Libya failed to take its seat at Tuesday 's meeting of Arab League foreign ministers , and gave no explanation for its absence .
Thai share prices dropped 1.1 percent Tuesday with sentiment failing amid a lack of fresh positive leads to overcome concerns about the economy and the financial sector , brokers said .
Hong Kong share prices finished the morning session 0.74 percent higher Wednesday as investors continued to hunt for bargains following the recent market tumble , with Wall Street 's strong gains overnight aiding sentiment , dealers said .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized U.S. President George W. Bush for failing to respond to his overture made in a letter in May , warning that " those who refuse to accept an invitation will not have a good ending or fate . "
The United Nations Security Council demanded on Friday Sudan disarm the marauding Arab militia in the troubled Darfur region and prosecute its leaders or face possible international economic sanctions .
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in the South Korean port city of Pusan for erasing material and e-mail loaded by some 40,000 users of a local computer network , a newspaper reported Sunday .
The Canterbury Crusaders of New Zealand kept their unbeaten Super 12 record Saturday with a hard-fought 37-34 victory over the Sharks at King 's Park .
The effort by the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez to prevent his return to his father in Cuba was stymied Tuesday when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit requesting a political asylum hearing for the 6-year-old boy , concluding that the long , bitter legal battle is not in Elian 's best interest .
All-Star Orlando Hudson homered twice and Clayton Kershaw won his fifth consecutive road start as the Los Angeles Dodgers capped the best first half in the majors with a 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday .
Chinese authorities have executed five convicts recaptured by police firing tear gas and anti-riot shells during a failed jailbreak early this year , according to an official report .
Israel 's military campaign will not produce security for its people , but will yield only the hatred of 300 million Arabs , Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday .
U.S. bonds rose as traders and investors awaited signs of progress in budget negotiations between the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans .
The cash-strapped Dubai owner of the QE2 is considering opening the British ocean liner as a floating hotel elsewhere in the Middle East or Africa rather than in the struggling Persian Gulf sheikdom .
Israel and the Palestinians appeared close to a new deal Wednesday that would free most of the Palestinians from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and move 13 suspected militants to a temporary location until a country agrees to take them in , one of the suspected militants said .
A friend of the man charged with murdering a British backpacker said Thursday that he told her he had done `` something stupid '' on the day following the woman 's death .
Perhaps the creators of `` Crisis Center '' know something we do n't .
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian premier to visit the Siachen glacier Sunday , calling for the world 's highest battlefield to be turned into a symbol of peace between rivals Pakistan and India , reports said .
The Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby lost one of their stars Monday when Greenwood Lake limped home from a morning workout at Hialeah and was immediately booked for a flight to Kentucky for surgery on a hairline fracture of his left front ankle .
CIA Director Porter Goss has taken part in a conference grouping chiefs of secret services of the southeastern European countries in Tirana , the government said Tuesday .
Livestock breeders slowed traffic and searched trucks at a tunnel connecting Italy and France on Wednesday in protests to demand aid for slumping sales blamed on the mad cow crisis .
Mitch Richmond scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday as the Washington Wizards held on for an 84-73 victory over the Orlando Magic .
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Tuesday expressed deep concern and resentment over the Israeli excavations near the Islamic holy shrine in Jerusalem .
Hong Kong 's former top civil servant Donald Tsang said Wednesday he had secured sufficient support to become the Chinese territory 's next chief executive .
The best thing about my hair , aside from the fact that I still have all of it , is that whenever I have a bad hair day , nobody can tell .
Poland 's Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrzej Wajda on Thursday opened a new school to give a hand to the country 's budding young directors .
At least 37 people were killed and 18 others injured when a fire gutted a two-story restaurant in the central Taiwan city of Taichung late Wednesday , police said .
Tim Salmon 's second home run of the game , a tiebreaking , two-run shot with two outs in the eighth inning , lifted the Anaheim Angels over the San Francisco Giants 11-10 Sunday to even the Series at 1-1 .
Turkey 's Istanbul Stock Exchange National-100 Index closed at 2,721.51 points on Friday , down 41.96 points , or 1.44 percent , from Thursday 's finish .
Bulgaria 's political parties pledged late Monday to preserve " civil and ethnic " peace and take a number of steps to resolve the current economic crisis , national television reported .
Oil executives in tailored suits walked picket lines and closed some refineries and deliveries Wednesday , escalating their fight to force the government to change top management at Venezuela 's state-owned oil giant .
Five people were killed and nine suffered serious injuries when a train ploughed into a bus and a taxi at a level crossing in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka , officials said Monday .
A jury voted Monday to impose the death penalty on a habitual criminal who took part in a home invasion in Cheshire , Conn. , that left a woman and her two daughters dead , a crime of such inexplicable cruelty and randomness -- the family was apparently chosen after being spotted in a shopping center parking lot -- that it upended a debate about capital punishment .
Police said Sunday they received thousands of tips after releasing pictures of a possible suspect in the brutal stabbing death of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh .
A British group lobbying for the European constitution said Wednesday it looked " extremely unlikely " Britain would hold a referendum on the document following voting in the Netherlands and France .
Financial services company ING Groep NV reported a 30 percent rise in second quarter net profit Thursday , with the bulk of the gains at its insurance division .
With Bonnie Blair dominating women 's speed skating , the sprints have been a race for second place in recent years .
Foreign workers in 18 types of businesses in Thailand 's 37 provinces are allowed to work in the country for three more months before being replaced by local labors , Labor and Social Welfare Minister Wuth Sukosol announced here Thursday .
The Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council ( MAC ) imposed a last-minute travel restriction on Taipei Deputy Mayor Pai Hsiu-hsiung Friday , declaring that he may visit Shanghai and Nanjing in mainland China as scheduled but not Gueilin .
Senator Patrick Leahy took major league baseball owners to task on Thursday for apparently refusing to let season ticket-holders keep their seats if they decline to ante up for replacement games .
Opposition Kuomintang ( KMT ) President-elect Ma Ying-jeou addressed a press conference late Saturday following his clear victory in the country 's fourth direct presidential election , saying that he and his party will create an administration of integrity and noting that the first mission for his new Cabinet will be to steer the economy back to prosperity .
The United States says it will veto a new Arab-backed Security Council resolution demanding an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities , an end to the siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat , and a U.N. investigation into the deaths and destruction in the Jenin refugee camp .
Deutsche Telekom has dropped its bid to buy the remaining 51 percent of Polish mobile phone firm PTC that it does n't already own , Europe 's largest telecommunications company said Friday .
China 's largest trade fair will include an import section for the first time , state media said Tuesday , in an apparent sop to mounting concerns about the nation 's enormous and growing trade surplus .
Trinidad and Tobago 's professional soccer clubs have launched a new league that kicks off Sunday with four matches .
Tokyo stocks ended little changed Wednesday as investors adopted a wait-and-see stance ahead of Thursday 's release of the Bank of Japan 's quarterly Tankan survey of business confidence .
The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to sanction the use of marijuana for medical purposes , dashing the hopes of thousands of US patients illicitly using the banned substance for pain relief .
The week-long SADC music festival ended yesterday with hundreds of people attending the final show at Harare gardens .
U.S. warplanes bombed missile launchers in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq on Wednesday , with U.S. military officials calling them a threat to air patrols over the restricted zone .
Kumar Sangakkara scored a century to guide Sri Lanka within striking distance of a world record fourth innings winning total , moving the hosts to 338-4 at tea on the final day of the third test against Pakistan .
Iraq 's new government has agreed a deal to disband the country 's many factional militias , Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Monday .
Of all the government failures recounted by the Sept. 11 Commission , one of the most important is perhaps the toughest to quantify and correct : a failure of imagination .
The Interior Ministry says Spain remains on high alert as firefighters combat wildfires in hot , tinder-dry conditions across the southern half of the country .
Turkey and Ukraine signed six agreements on Tuesday aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy , nuclear technology , railway transport and combating cross-border crime .
Cisco Systems reported better-than-expected profits on Tuesday for its fiscal third quarter , as belt-tightening , dramatically lower costs for parts and a slight rise in sales helped the technology bellwether turn around from a steep loss a year before .
A weeklong heat wave caused four war-era bombs to self-detonate in central Vietnam , including a napalm device that destroyed 30 hectares ( 74 acres ) of forests , police said Friday .
They have a sizzling fastball that registers around 95 mph , a knee-buckling breaking pitch and a mean disposition .
Some 130 French troops Tuesday morning flew to Bunia , main town of the Ituri region of the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ) , from Uganda 's Entebbe airport , some 40 km south Kampala , a French troops spokesman announced .
South Korea overtook the United States to became Australia 's second largest export market behind Japan last year as exports to the country surged 8.6 percent to 4.7 billion dollars ( 3.5 billion US ) , Trade Minister Bob McMullan said Sunday .
Thousands of high school and college students around the nation vowed not to speak Wednesday to protest anti-gay bias in schools .
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday urged governments and voluntary agencies to redouble their efforts to help meet Turkey 's earthquake relief needs in the weeks and months ahead .
France 's comeback win over England has altered Croatia 's approach to their Euro 2004 game with the champions and several players are likely to be reserved .
President Bill Clinton , " exasperated " by the failure of players and owners to resolve the baseball strike , summoned both parties to the White House Tuesday to urge them to find a settlement .
Possibly no role in all of film history is more suicidal for an actress to remake than Tolstoy 's `` Anna Karenina . ''
President George W. Bush , nearing congressional approval to wage war , said Thursday the United Nations must stand with the United States to disarm Saddam Hussein _ or stand aside .
Hospitals went on full alert to cope with heat-related illnesses Friday after soaring temperatures were blamed for at least six deaths in Italy .
President Obama 's go-slow approach to ending the ban on openly gay men and women from serving in the military has left repeal hanging on life support in a lame-duck session of Congress , as lobbyists raced Tuesday to build support before an incoming tide of newly elected Republicans kills the issue for the rest of Obama 's first term .
Japanese share prices rose 0.42 percent Tuesday morning in cautious trade ahead of US inflation and Japanese machinery orders data due out this week , dealers said .
The Metallurgical Group , which consists of 57 iron and steel works and enterprises , was inaugurated recently in east China 's Zhejiang Province as the province 's largest enterprise group .
Aron Bell would not be alive today if it were not for the resourcefulness of his three older brothers during World War II .
Big-screen TV , good food and drink , plush digs , Super Bowl XXX .
The disarmanent and demobilization program intended to mark the end of the Ivory Coast 's civil war is set to start on schedule June 27 , a spokeswoman for the program said Thursday .
Twelve people aboard an Antonov 32 plane sustained major injuries when it crash-landed here Tuesday at Kigali International Airport Kanombe .
Sens. Slade Gorton and Patty Murray have asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to quickly hold a hearing on the long-delayed nomination of Seattle trial lawyer M. Margaret McKeown to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals .
North Korean President Kim Il-Sung met a delegation from Thailand 's upper house of parliament Friday , the Korean Central News Agency ( KCNA ) reported .
Midway through the evening of Oct. 25 , Aaron Brown began typing his commentary for that night 's edition of CNN 's `` NewsNight . ''
South Korea agreed Tuesday to buy eight Indonesian CN-235 passenger airplanes worth dlrs 120 million from the state-owned IPTN aerospace company in a barter deal .
Sensex managed to end in positive terrain with a marginal rise of 1.12 points at 4963.75 at Bombay Stock Exchange ( BSE ) on Wednesday .
Turkish and U.S. officials were set to leave Monday on a joint mission to Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to lobby for oil and gas pipelines across the Caspian Sea to Turkey , the foreign minister said .
Israeli officials will try next week to resolve a trade dispute with the European Union involving millions of dollars worth of goods produced outside the country 's 1967 borders , officials said Wednesday .
A new head and editor in chief were nominated for Belgrade 's Studio B television station Monday , three days after it came under the control of the new opposition-dominated city council .
Smokers who quit live longer than those who do n't , even after a lung cancer diagnosis , a new study has found .
An Economist Group unit that owns the Washington publication Roll Call is buying Congressional Quarterly in a deal that will bring two well-known publications covering U.S. politics under the same corporate umbrella .
Anti-whaling activists sang songs and pro-whaling local residents sold canned whale meat and whale stew at a park in this southern port city Sunday , in a prelude to the global debate on whaling set to begin this week .
Thousands of Ken and Barbie dolls held captive in container ships unable to dock .
Seventh-seeded Byron Black of Zimbabwe beat Gianluca Pozzi of Italy 6-3 , 6-2 Wednesday in the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup .
Bracing for the possibility of more suicide bombings , Israel arrested more than 35 Palestinians early Sunday in the West Bank and reinforced security in major cities and crowded recreational spots .
Richard Michael Abell , former president and chief executive officer of Carondelet Health , pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to defrauding Medicare of more than $ 91,000 .
French President Jacques Chirac called Friday for a rescue plan for the European Union 's heavily-indebted telecom companies .
Juan Pablo Montoya left his rivals in the shade and staked a serious claim for the world championship title here Sunday when he cruised to victory in the German Grand Prix .
The military announced Monday a new lineup of top commanders , who are expected to preserve the military 's role as defender of Turkey 's secular traditions .
Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek has canceled a day of official meetings in the United States , citing health problems , Slovene media reported Saturday .
Hundreds of white farmers said Thursday they were giving up their efforts to farm after 30 months of harassment by militants and officials carrying out President Robert Mugabe 's land redistribution program .
China defender Zhang Yaokun 's dreams of making the big time in England have been shattered after he was refused a work permit to allow him to join Championship side Sheffield United .
Venezuelan shares fell , led by market bellwether CA Electricidad de Caracas which is to pay out a 17 percent share dividend this week .
A U.S. envoy met Monday with Yasser Arafat to try to resolve the key dispute holding up the start of cease-fire talks _ standoffs between Israeli troops and wanted men in the Palestinian leader 's West Bank headquarters and Bethlehem 's Church of the Nativity .
As President Bush addressed a rally here Wednesday , he performed the political equivalent of preaching to the choir .
The Israeli army early on Sunday re - imposed a complete closure on the Gaza Strip passages , including the southern Rafah traveling passage on the border with Egypt and other trade passages , official Palestinian sources said .
Amcor Ltd. , the world 's largest maker of plastic soda bottles , said Wednesday net profit for the year ended June 30 was 351.3 million Australian dollars ( 267.8 million ; euro209 .1 million ) , up from A$ 245.3 million ( US$ 187.0 million ; euro146 .1 million ) last year .
When President Bush called Bill Simon Jr. on Wednesday morning to congratulate him on winning the California Republican primary for governor , he only indirectly acknowledged that his preferred candidate , Richard Riordan , was overwhelmed in an upset on Tuesday that just weeks ago was inconceivable to the White House .
More international troops are needed in Iraq to stave off threats ranging from al-Qaida terrorists to brewing ethnic and religious conflicts , the top U.S. commander said .
At least nine policemen were killed in two car bomb attacks in Baghdad on Thursday , said security sources , less than 24 hours after a trio of car bombings in the capital killed at least 18 and wounded 46 .
Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani left here today for home , concluding his 4-day state visit to Bangladesh .
Belgium and Luxembourg 's January trade surplus rose 89 percent to 38.6 billion francs ( $ 1.1 billion ) , led by exports of base metals , chemicals , gems and precious metals , according to the National Bank of Belgium .
A senior Burmese military leader on Wednesday presented Independence Awards to visiting American war veterans in Rangoon , state-run Radio Rangoon reported in a dispatch monitored here .
Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Monday after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) kept its production quota unchanged , dealers said .
Gold demand in developing countries reached a record 2,242 tonnes in 1996 , just ahead of the previous peak set a year earlier , the World Gold Council said in a report received here Friday .
The Indonesian government revoked a three-year state of emergency on Monday in the eastern province of Maluku , where fighting between Muslims and Christians killed up to 9,000 people but peace has taken hold in recent months .
Murky brown , teeming with garbage and rising rapidly , the 330-yard-wide Sava River could be a bigger initial obstacle for American troops entering Bosnia-Herzegovina than rebel Serb or foreign Islamic soldiers .
With an international outcry building for the closing of one of Britain 's most troubled nuclear fuel processing plants , its operators acknowledged Sunday that a saboteur had severed cables controlling robotic operations in a radioactive area of the installation .
The newly-trained Iraqi army rescued Australian hostage Douglas Wood and an Iraqi contractor in a risky operation in Baghdad on Wednesday that won praise from the former captive and his government .
The New Zealand government Wednesday urged any of its citizens still in India and Pakistan to leave , citing fears of nuclear war between the South Asian neighbors over the disputed Kashmir border region .
A father who allegedly grabbed his 10-year-old daughter by the facemask and shook it at a youth hockey game has been charged with assault , police said Wednesday .
The Myanmar Olympic U-23 team tied the Indian Olympic U-23 team 1-1 at the Thuwunna Youth Training Center here Wednesday in the first soccer qualifier for the 2008 Beijing Olympics .
Moderate conservative cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and ultra-hardline Tehran Mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad are leading the race for Iran 's presidency and are set to face each other in a run-off next Friday , official sources said .
The Australian dollar backpedaled nearly half a U.S. cent Wednesday , whittled away by a stronger U.S. dollar and a near 12-year low in copper prices .
The campaign finance reform plan now heading for President Bush 's desk may spur presidential candidates to opt out of the public financing of elections , undercutting a centerpiece of post-Watergate reforms , political analysts in the capital predict .
Hong Kong stocks climbed 71.39 points , or 0.74 percent , to open at 9,733.45 Thursday .
The US-led war in Iraq has taken on a starring role at this year 's Sundance independent film festival , with three different filmmakers taking aim at the contentious conflict .
Hundreds of mostly elderly who lost money in unlicensed investment schemes demonstrated Wednesday to demand that the government either help them or resign .
Trade ties will top the agenda when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sits down for an informal chat Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi .
The National Hurricane Center says Carlos has become a hurricane swirling far off Mexico 's Pacific coast .
Penalties meted out for dereliction of duty and abuse of power by officials involved in serious workplace accidents have been " too lenient " as a result of sympathy from local governments , a Chinese prosecutor said here Wednesday .
Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev Wednesday called for an meeting of ministers from four leading power blocs to be held in the next two to three weeks to prepare a " presidential " summit on Bosnia .
The President 's Office in Uganda has refuted a report carried in Sunday 's Monitor which said President Yoweri Museveni had demanded power to dissolve parliament .
Dino Zoff , Italy 's newly-appointed coach , said Tuesday he planned a more offensive play when the `` Azzurri '' begin qualifying matches for the European Championships in September .
United Nations Undersecretary-General Sevan Bennom urged both the Angolan government and the rebel UNITA movement here Monday to cease fire immediately so that the U.N. can seek for the downed planes and the possible survivors .
The Common Market of the South ( Mercosur ) and the European Union ( EU ) on Sunday failed to reach an agreement aimed at setting up a free trade area between the two regional blocs .
The U.S. dollar fell to the lower 119 yen range on Friday in Tokyo .
A power outage Monday blacked out large parts of peninsular Malaysia for several hours , disrupting flights at the country 's main airport and causing traffic snarls , officials said .
Chelsea filed a complaint to the Football Association on Thursday against Leeds United and its chairman Ken Bates for bringing the game into disrepute .
Bangladesh made a confident start Wednesday in the third and final cricket test against Pakistan at Multan Cricket Stadium .
At least eight aftershocks from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake struck Saturday morning , waking slumbering residents from Ventura County to Los Angeles but causing no injuries or major damage , authorities said .
A 37-year-old man who amassed an arsenal of guns , ammunition and bomb-making equipment , was convicted Thursday of racially aggravated criminal damage .
The newly created accounting industry regulator will scrutinize situations where companies fire their auditors , a top official warned on Monday .
Total tax collections increased by 7 percent to 940 billion rupees ( 22.12 billion U.S. dollars ) in India during April-December 1998 , an official press release said Tuesday .
Home Secretary Michael Howard Wednesday announced a crackdown on asylum seekers , with a package of measures designed to speed up the expulsion of bogus applicants .
Prime Minister Bill Skate on Sunday ordered a second , broader inquiry into the US dlrs 36 million Sandline mercenary contract which triggered a military and political crisis in March .
A 35-year-old software billionaire said Wednesday that he would spend $ 100 million to realize his vision of 21st century higher education : a giant free Web site that would provide access to what he calls the `` 10,000 greatest minds of our time , '' in lectures and interviews recorded especially for the venture .
China 's leading newspaper , the People 's Daily , will carry an editorial on Sunday hailing the successful conclusion of national meetings held by the eight non - Communist parties and by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce .
An Israeli civilian and a Palestinian teenager were shot dead Monday in violence in the Palestinian territories , the Israeli army and medical sources on both sides said .
Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda said Wednesday he was prepared to hold talks at foreign minister level with Pakistan , the Press Trust of India said a day after Pakistan elected a new premier .
A Canadian airplane doused a raging forest fire at an important ecological reserve Thursday .
Malaysia said Tuesday it was to table joint plans with Indonesia and Singapore for a scheme to separate traffic in the busy Straits of Malacca .
The Greek coast guard on Wednesday rescued 11 sailors on board a St. Vincent - flagged freighter caught in gale-force winds in the southeastern Aegean Sea , the merchant marine ministry said .
Defence Secretary Renato de Villa said Tuesday Moslem extremist rebels have been identified in a southern Philippine town near an airport where an ill-fated plane carrying a bishop crashed .
Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz said here on Thursday he agreed with the reopening of July 27 incident in Central Jakarta , which killed five people .
After 11 days together in orbit , Endeavour undocked from the international space station on Tuesday and began its trip home , leaving behind a larger and more energized outpost .
Oil prices slipped further Thursday , following on a decline brought on by an unexpected increase in U.S. gasoline and crude oil stockpiles .
The World Bank has invested 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in nine water and wastewater treatment projects in Iran , the Tehran Times reported on Thursday .
A car bomb exploded in Beirut 's Shiite Muslim southern suburbs , an area dominated by the militant group Hezbollah , Saturday morning , killing a driver working for the Iranian embassy , police said .
ESPN reached beyond telecasting live sports and news Wednesday to acquire Classic Sports Network , which in two years has carved a nostalgic cable television niche by repackaging old sports events .
About 100 customs officials gathered in the southern French port of Sete on Tuesday to block ferries heading to Morocco , part of a month-long protest movement .
A number of non-governmental organizations ( NGOs ) gathered here Friday to unite calls rejecting government 's plan of raising power tariff by Jan. 1 , 2003 .
Xuanwu Hospital , one of the designated hospitals for treating patients of severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS ) in Beijing , saw off the last batch of three SARS patients Friday .
The European Union on Wednesday said that it " deeply deplores " the Israeli government 's decision to approve construction of a new Jewish neighbourhood in annexed east Jerusalem .
Israel 's Cabinet barred a U.N. fact-finding mission on Sunday from investigating allegations surrounding Israeli army actions in a West Bank refugee camp , saying the United Nations is `` out to get us . ''
When the National Basketball Association finals begin Thursday there will be a record seven international players in the title series , with five competing from the San Antonio Spurs .
President Bush marked the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on America with a vow Monday to thwart any quest by terrorists to obtain weapons of mass destruction from renegade nations such as Iraq , Iran and North Korea .
Information services companies are being encouraged to create flagship units with other companies to increase their efficiency through synergy , the Industrial Development Bureau ( IDB ) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs said Tuesday .
A massive explosion from a car bomb destroyed a nightclub on the tourist island of Bali , sparking a devastating inferno that killed at least 187 people and wounded more than 300 _ many of them Australians and other foreign tourists .
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon postponed decision on the path of a contested security barrier cutting through the West Bank , a Cabinet minister said Wednesday , a day after the United States warned Israel might forfeit part of a $ 9 billion loan guarantee package over the issue .
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Saturday had phone talks with his Jordanian counterpart Marwan Muasher over the volatile Mideast situation , the official MENA news agency reported .
Kenya , facing fierce criticism over rampant sleaze , on Thursday said it would have followed South Africa 's example of sacking graft-tainted officials , but lacked evidence to take such a move , a government spokesman said .
On at least two occasions , Harris Eugene Yarbrough III chartered jets for cross-country meetings , according to his former employees .
Kosovo prepared Tuesday for president Ibrahim Rugova 's funeral amid growing worries over who will succeed the man seen in the troubled province as the " Father of the Nation " .
Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold talks over the controversy on Afghan Transit Trade Agreement ( ATTA ) on Tuesday , officials said Monday .
Iranian officials today attacked the U.S. government for projecting a special scheme to topple the Iranian government .
JENIN REFUGEE CAMP , West Bank - Jostling for space atop the crumbled remains of their former homes , the people waited , some for hours , for their leader who never came .
Former opposition Kuomintang Legislator Apollo Chen announced his bid for Kaohsiung mayorship Saturday , saying he will seek the party 's nomination for the 2006 election .
The unita rebel movement has promised to investigate the fate of four South Africans who were abducted by armed men on Monday in Angola 's diamond-rich province of Lunda Norte , " the Citizen " daily reported today .
Hindu and Muslim firefighters , who have ignored religious differences and together battled flames ignited by sectarian rioters in western India , went on strike after they became the latest target of mob violence .
Cuban state television on Monday aired the first video of Fidel Castro since he stepped down as president to recover from surgery , showing the bedridden Cuban leader joking with his brother and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez .
Indonesia witnessed over 3,700 rallies in various places across the country in 1998 , according to a police year-end report .
Sampdoria skipper Francesco Flachi has tested positive for cocaine , the Italian Olympic Committee ( CONI ) said Wednesday .
An Italian woman charged with bribing officials and forging documents to facilitate adoptions of Russian children by foreigners was acquitted Friday for lack of evidence , the ITAR-Tass news agency reported .
When it comes to Turin Olympic speedskating , the long and short of it is that Asians are favored in the bump-and-jostle pack events but Europeans and Americans are likely to rule on the large-track oval .
Japan 's Toyota Motor Corp. may face a production cut after a weekend fire at a brake parts plant of its affiliate Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd. , a Toyota spokesman said Monday .
The White House said Thursday that the US occupation of Iraq is " certainly not " illegitimate , hitting back at Saudi King Abdullah 's rhetorical attack on the US military presence in a speech this week .
Fitri Komalasari has heard of plans by Indonesia 's increasingly vocal Islamic clerics to forbid the watching of celebrity gossip shows .
Residents of Fallujah , west of Baghdad , were being asked by US troops Friday to remain in their homes amid high tension in the former rebel bastion a day after a suicide car bomb attack against marines .
Insurgents shot dead a US soldier on Saturday in the restive Iraqi city of Baquba , north of Baghdad , the military said .
Broadway 's new Max Bialystock has been given the hook .
Saying they acted to `` save democracy , '' army officers who overthrew Guinea-Bissau 's increasingly unpopular and erratic president gathered representatives of civil society Monday for talks on what they promised would be a civilian transition government .
The Dalai Lama visited Mongolia 's largest Buddhist monastery on Tuesday at the start of a trip aimed at shoring up Tibetan links with the landlocked nation that is expected to draw anger from China .
European Union finance ministers on Tuesday set a deadline of March next year for Britain to bring its public deficit back within EU limits , an EU diplomat said .
Georgia will more than double the number of its soldiers serving with the US-led coalition in Iraq to 2,000 , the presidency said Friday .
Hannover 96 midfielder Jan Simak , who mysteriously disappeared a week ago , was quoted Tuesday as saying that he wants to quit soccer .
Facing three hours of harsh questioning at a City Council hearing Thursday , Police Commissioner Howard Safir was forced to defend his department against accusations of widespread brutality in the wake of charges that a Haitian immigrant had been attacked by officers at a Brooklyn station house .
China 's Tang Gonghong set a world record with a clean and jerk lift of 165 kilograms to win the women 's over-75 kilogram weightlifting title at the Asian Games on Tuesday .
Russian authorities said Monday that federal forces have killed more than 400 militants in its campaign to root out Islamic gunmen that infiltrated several Dagestani villages near the breakaway Chechnya republic .
After a Long Island advocate for breast-cancer research was quoted as saying she was sorry she made a commercial criticizing Sen. John McCain 's votes on research programs , Gov. George Pataki 's office released a letter Monday night from the woman defending her involvement in electoral politics .
Southeast Asian markets reeled Monday in the wake of weekend bomb blasts that killed nearly 200 foreign vacationers in Bali and rattled nerves throughout the region that terrorist cells were alive and active there .
An international medical aid group is warning that a proposed free trade treaty with the United States could restrict access to medicine in Central America .
The militant Islamic group Hamas left open the door Saturday to its participation in planned Palestinian elections .
Delivering an unconditional rebuke , Cardinal Bernard Law Monday characterized allegations that the late Cardinal Humberto Medeiros had sexually molested a Catholic Memorial High School athlete in the chancery of the archdiocese as `` character assassination . ''
The 7th Cavalry and the Indians met here Saturday in memory of the historic Battle of Little Bighorn fought more than a century ago .
After an unprecedented 14-day inspection of the nation 's largest railroad , the Federal Railroad Administration on Wednesday determined that Union Pacific is suffering from a `` fundamental breakdown '' in safety procedures .
Fast-food operator AFC Enterprises has instituted a 100-day plan to revitalize its struggling brands and get its financial house in order .
South Korean police are analyzing a sample of the tens of thousands of infected computers used to crash Web sites in South Korea and the U.S. , but conceded Sunday they may not lead to the culprit .
The lead contractor on a dlrs 3.2 billion mass-transit project to relieve Bangkok 's choked streets of traffic said Wednesday that a key government deadline would be missed .
Regions Financial Corp. agreed to pay $ 223.5 million in stock to buy two South Carolina banks , Palfed Inc. and First United Bancorp , as it steps up expansion into the state .
Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan Ibn Talal meet here today with Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Tian Zengpei , who came Saturday to attend the ongoing Second Middle East and North Africa economic conference .
South Korea registered a trade surplus of 39.9 billion U.S. dollars in 1998 , said the Commerce , Industry and Energy Ministry Saturday .
A Chinese insurance company employee has been executed for embezzling 4.17 million yuan ( US$ 504,000 ) in insurance premiums , the official Xinhua News Agency reported .
Four people were killed in a road accident on Thursday near Pakistan 's Quetta city , the capital of the southwestern Balochistan province , a report reaching here said .
Prosecutors turned up the heat on Martha Stewart on Wednesday when a stockbroker 's assistant admitted taking a payoff to keep silent about an alleged insider stock trade by the home decorating diva .
With the first lady of Spain serving as an impromptu tour guide , first lady Laura Bush checked out an exhibit of classic Goya paintings at the National Gallery of Art Friday .
Record-setting Warwickshire batsman Brian Lara is reported to be flying home to the Caribbean this week for a short break .
Kuwait 's parliament will meet Tuesday to initiate unprecedented constitutional measures to remove the ailing emir as demanded by the government which declared him too ill to rule , officials said .
Super-cooling of the space shuttle 's external fuel tank as it is filled with liquid propellant is the likely cause of insulating foam chunks falling from the spacecraft , NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said Friday .
At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing , Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham will visit China from June 22 to 24 .
The Central Intelligence Agency has determined that the voice purported to be Osama bin Laden 's on a recent videotape is probably authentic , an agency official said Friday .
The European Commission on Monday denied media reports that it was planning to ban advertising for automobiles as part of a road safety drive .
African leaders involved in the Congo war will meet in Zambia to discuss problems that have arisen in implementing a cease-fire agreement , a Zambian official said Monday .
A car bomb explosion hit central Baghdad early Monday , leaving many casualties , CNN reported .
Followers of a spiritual movement banned in China have called on U.S. officials to pressure the Beijing government to release eight San Francisco Bay area practitioners arrested over the weekend .
Second-seeded Amy Frazier was declared the winner by walkover in the final of the USTA Women 's Challenger on Friday when top-seeded Fang Li of China did not show up on time .
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday he saw " durable , very important signs " of recovery in the financial system -- but he warned against repeating the mistakes of the 1930s and withdrawing stimulus too soon .
A 63-year-old widow has smashed the record for the highest individual prize in Germany 's national lottery , scooping more than 13 million marks ( 8.5 million dollars ) , organisers said Tuesday .
An Austrian arbitration court ruled Tuesday that five paintings by Austrian art nouveau painter Gustav Klimt seized by the Nazis should be returned to their owner 's family , a report said Monday .
The interior ministry has granted citizenship to 1,294 stateless residents in the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) , the first group to benefit from a promise made last October , local media reported on Friday .
Algeria said Sunday it saw no reason for OPEC to change its production levels in the third quarter , but there was no consensus yet among members of the cartel on what to do at their June meeting .
Russian engineers broke a red wax seal and six men emerged from a metal hatch beaming and waving Tuesday after 105 days of isolation in a Soviet-era mock spacecraft testing the stresses space travelers may one day face on the journey to Mars .
Rogue anti-gang officers in the LAPD 's Rampart Division embraced and exploited the department 's overall culture of mediocrity to commit crimes and corrupt policies with shocking disregard and met little resistance from their supervisors , an internal investigation found .
Taiwanese ceramics are being highlighted at a biennial exhibition in Sevres , France 's historical ceramics center since the 18th century , exhibition organizers said Thursday .
Shanghai , China 's most economically vibrant city , will upgrade its industrial structure with more emphasis on creating information , biomedical , and new materials industries .
The Taiwanese romantic film " Au Revoir , Taipei , " has won the Golden Durian award at the 12th Barcelona Asian Film Festival ( BAFF ) , reports from Spain said Thursday .
Mohamed Sahnoun , the United Nations ' envoy for conflict-torn central Africa , said Thursday he is still in favor of having a peacekeeping force in the Republic of Congo .
Japanese share prices fell 0.18 percent Thursday morning in cautious trade as investors waited for the outcome of the US central bank 's policy-setting meeting later in the day and the Bank of Japan 's key Tankan survey due Friday , dealers said .
Iran is keen to continue negotiations with Europe over its nuclear programme and maintain cooperation with the IAEA , despite calls for its referral to the UN Security Council , Tehran 's new ambassador to the UN agency said Friday .
Kyrghyzstan signed up Wednesday to the NATO Partnership for Peace scheme offering mainly former members of the Soviet bloc increased cooperation on security affairs and joint military manoeuvres .
The Tanzanian government in collaboration with the World Bank has worked out a new security-access to health by all people in the rural areas through establishment of a wide-ranging Community Health Fund ( CHF ) .
Sen. John McCain on Thursday cast himself as a vigorous campaigner for the Republican congressional majority and insisted he was `` not interested in harming '' Gov. George W. Bush 's candidacy .
A man who was planting a bomb at the offices of a pro-Ataturk organisation was critically injured when the device went off prematurely , witnesses said here Monday .
Already thirsty , Beijing is cutting back water to hospitals , schools , factories and hotels to relieve a shortage caused by a long drought , an official report said Tuesday .
An English nursing home says Harry Patch , the last British veteran of World War I , has died at 111 .
Russian servicemen guarding the border of Tajikistan seized 245 kilos ( 539 pounds ) of raw opium , as well as weapons and ammunitions while inspecting a truck , a news agency reported Friday .
A dozen of the best sprinters in the country , led by the 3-year-old stars Tale of the Cat and Kelly Kip , were entered Thursday in Saturday 's seven-furlong Vosburgh , the premier sprint of New York 's racing year and the gateway to the Breeders ' Cup Sprint six weeks later .
Workers at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Thursday said they have resolved to go on strike over a 45-percent cost of living adjustment across the board to cushion them against harsh economic conditions .
A group of 85 Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong returned to Vietnam today under the Orderly Repatriation Program ( ORP ) , according to the Hong Kong Government Information Services ( GIS ) .
Three teen-agers living in a Kazakh orphanage were arrested Wednesday and charged with going on a rampage through their children 's home that left six people dead and one seriously injured , police said .
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his best wishes on Thursday to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who is seriously ill in hospital after suffering an extensive brain haemorrhage .
Nike Inc. reported a $ 261 million first-quarter profit on Thursday , aided by more expensive shoe prices and favorable foreign currency exchange rates .
Industrial production has become the leading driving force in the economy of north China 's Tianjin municipality , contributing seven percent to its economic growth during the first six months of this year .
Wan Guoquan , vice chairman of the Chinese People 's Political Consultative Conference ( CPPCC ) National Committee , met here today with a Macao delegation composed of Macao residents who are graduates of Taiwan colleges .
Italian and Dutch soccer fans clashed after a UEFA Cup semifinal here between home team Internazionale and visitors Feyenoord .
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Friday announced a major cabinet reshuffle in which Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was appointed as deputy prime minister and home minister .
Northern warplanes on Sunday blew up an oil storage tank at Aden 's refinery , the main source of fuel for southern Yemeni troops , a military spokesman said here .
Riot squads clashed with several hundred protestors outside a venue here Wednesday where four leaders of a mass 10-day strike appeared in court .
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( Kadin ) is soon to instruct all its provincial branches to set up a special team in order to identify the small and medium scale businesses that could become partners of big companies .
Following instructions from its imprisoned leader , former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic , the Socialist Party of Serbia reshuffled its top ranks Sunday in hopes of consolidating itself and retaking power .
Members of the Denver Nuggets shot hoops with soldiers and signed autographs Wednesday as part of their goodwill tour of U.S. military bases across Europe .
The Bank for International Settlements warned on Monday that further increases in the price of oil could do far more harm to the global economy than expected .
Thousands of Pakistani tribesmen Saturday vowed to fight US forces as they marked the first death anniversary of a slain militant leader in a tribal region near Afghanistan .
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said Wednesday its net profit surged by 57 percent to a record 2.4 billion euros ( 3.2 billion dollars ) in 2006 from a year earlier , boosted by gains from stock investments .
Germany 's Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH received a key boost Monday toward its goal of becoming a European brick and cement leader as the European Union Commission approved its joint venture with Dr. Schmidt AG in Norddeutsche Naturstein GmbH .
Bombs and bullets killed seven American troops on the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year -- and a sign that the war being fought in the Taliban heartland of the south and east could now be expanding north .
French title holder Cyril Despres , riding a KTM , on Monday broke through the pain barrier of a recently dislocated collarbone to win the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally , which was marred by the death of Australian rival Andy Caldecott .
Estonian President Arnold Ruutel supported Ukraine 's bid to integrate with Europe and NATO in talks with President Leonid Kuchma Monday .
For the first time in many quarters , well over three-fourths of all domestic stock funds are beating the Standard & Poor 's 500-stock index .
The Milan stock market jumped on Tuesday on low volume , as the Mibtel index broke back up through the 10,000-point level to end at 10,067 , up 1.73 percent from the Monday close .
A Texas A&M University search committee has rebuffed U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm 's overtures to become the next president of the school , announcing three finalists on Tuesday but not including the long-time politician on the list .
Ralph Rumney , an English-born artist who romanced just about every eccentric left-wing intellectual movement he encountered over a half-century _ and helped start a few _ died on March 6 at his home in Manosque in the Provence region of France .
Four candidates have officially presented their offers by Friday 's deadline to host the world table tennis championships which has been left in limbo for the unfolding Kosovo crisis .
Several civil liberties groups sued the federal government Wednesday , challenging its closed immigration hearings for those detained in New Jersey in the investigation of the Sept. 11 terror attacks .
The World Carnival-Pudong , Shanghai 2003 will be held in Shanghai , China 's commercial and economic center from June 27 to July 27 , making its debut in the Chinese mainland , organizers said Thursday .
Three Indian soldiers were killed and 20 injured when a powerful car-bomb exploded Friday as a bus carrying troops passed a popular tourist attraction in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir , police said .
Bringing the Hartford Whalers back to this city is a task that could be described as difficult at best , hopeless at worst .
Annika Sorenstam is n't ready to turn the LPGA Tour over to Se Ri Pak just yet .
The European Union ( EU ) on Wednesday urged Russia to call an immediate ceasefire in Chechnya and seek a negotiated end to the conflict there , a French foreign ministry spokesman said .
It was n't supposed to end like this for Glenn Hoddle .
As Canada prepared for the return of the bodies of four of its troops killed by a U.S. bomb in Afghanistan , people here expressed anger at their deaths but few saw lasting damage to relations between the nations .
United States President George W. Bush was widely expected on Monday to name the head of one of the nation 's biggest freight railroads to replace outgoing Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill , local media reports said .
WASHINGTON -- The federal deficit has topped $ 1 trillion for the first time ever and could grow to nearly $ 2 trillion by this fall , intensifying fears about higher interest rates , inflation and the strength of the dollar .
According to supermarket giants Safeway , Albertson 's and Kroger , the competitive threat from Wal-Mart makes it impossible for them to survive without cutting the pay and benefits of unionized employees .
Canadian authorities on Monday announced a new case of mad cow disease , sparking fears of a fresh crisis in its beef industry , already rocked by export bans and multi-billion dollar losses after a previous scare .
A special commission tasked with designing Bosnia 's new military defense structure have recommended that Bosnia 's two armies be put under a joint command , international officials said Friday .
Chinese Vice-Premier Huang Ju met here Wednesday with Jess Soderberg , CEO of A. P. Moller Maersk Group of Denmark .
Said al-Hammashi , a member of the five-judge Iraqi panel trying Saddam Hussein , will replace the chief judge who has resigned when the trial resumes , the main prosecutor in the case said Tuesday .
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano took the 54-hole lead in the Scottish Open with a 7-under 64 at Loch Lomond , taking advantage of mistakes by Retief Goosen and Adam Scott on the back nine .
Former President George Bush came to relax in the land of the original white houses : gleaming island villages overlooking the Aegean Sea .
A Palestinian suicide bomber struck a crowded pool hall here late Tuesday night , killing at least 15 people and wounding about 60 as President Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met at the White House , struggling to agree on a way toward Middle East peace .
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Tehran Monday that the international community wants a negotiated settlement to the problem of Iran 's nuclear ambitions , his spokeswoman said .
Australian Prime Minister John Howard will meet Indonesian President BJ Habibie in Bali next week for urgent talks on the soaring death toll in East Timor , Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC ) reported Monday .
An 88-year-old man who said he shot his 74-year-old wife in the back to end her suffering pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder .
A Rome judge has indicted Mario Luis Lozano , the United States soldier accused of murdering an Italian secret agent in a controversial " friendly fire " incident in Iraq in 2005 , Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday .
China 's AIDS control institutions have urged efforts to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in the floating population because they are highly susceptible to the disease .
UNDATED : Peace and resolution came to John Fogerty last year during a spiritual pilgrimage to the Deep South , as he stood at a gravesite in Mississippi contemplating the life and music of a blues legend .
Japanese share prices closed flat to firmer Wednesday , giving up early gains as positive sentiment on further gains on Wall Street offset by a continuing scandal at Internet firm Livedoor , dealers said .
After five months of confinement at his rocket-scorched compound , Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is free to go where he wants , Israel said Monday in a deal that appeared to resolve one of three tense standoffs in the Mideast conflict .
Former Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will headline a tribute concert in memory of their late colleague , George Harrison , officials announced Thursday .
China hopes India and Pakistan to observe the Resolution NO. 1172 of the United Nations and to take measures with a responsible attitude so as to avoid arms race escalation in South Asia , Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sun Yuxi said here this afternoon at a routine press conference .
The gap between the health standards of aborigines and other Australians is widening , a new report has found .
A train promoting the 2007 Taipei International Flower Exhibition was inaugurated Tuesday in the southern port city of Kaohsiung , the organizer said , adding that the train will carry people in central and southern Taiwan to attend the exhibition in Taipei .
Intense fighting was reported Tuesday in northern Bosnia , even as warring faction leaders held a second day of talks on an overall cessation of hostilities .
China 's national cycling team has been in a warm-up training program ever since their arrival in this capital city of Qinghai Province last Saturday , for the 2004 Tour of Qinghai Lake race slated for July 14-25 .
The EU battled Thursday to keep its constitution alive after twin ballot blows to the historic charter , as the leaders of France and Germany planned crisis talks to seek a way out of the impasse .
In an office in a sunny , picturesque town near Bogota , Colombia , a deceptively avuncular older man is speaking with a beautiful young woman , Maria , inquiring if she scares easily .
Chile 's most wanted man , anarchist rebel leader Guillermo Ossandon , has been captured and jailed , police said Wednesday .
Norwegian banking group DnB NOR said on Tuesday it had agreed with Germany 's Norddeutsche Landesbank ( NordLB ) to launch joint operations in Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania as well as other countries on the Baltic rim .
Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich signed a contract extension through the year 2001 that will pay him an average of dlrs 4.5 million per season .
US President George W. Bush on Friday discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Saudi Arabia 's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak , White House spokesman Tony Snow said .
Curtis Joseph made 24 saves for his first shutout with Detroit and the Red Wings scored two short-handed goals in the second period to beat the Calgary Flames 4-0 Monday night .
The Skoda Car Factory in the Czech Republic produced 403,000 cars in 1998 , the highest in its history , a factory official said here on Friday .
Braving chilly morning winds , tens of thousands of people gathered before dawn at Tiananmen Square on Tuesday for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the founding 53 years ago of the People 's Republic of China .
The Israeli ambassador in Berlin on Tuesday slammed comments by a German bishop in which he compared the situation of the Palestinians to Jews in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II .
The Democratic People 's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ) on Monday condemned the United States for allowing South Korea to test missiles with a range of less than 300 kilometers .
The comments were certainly inflammatory : A best-selling French novelist , discussing his spiritual beliefs in a magazine interview , declared Islam `` the most stupid religion . ''
The police arrested 19 people Tuesday in early morning raids on Islamic militant groups in Paris , Lyons , Toulouse and Tours .
Turkey 's Istanbul Stock Exchange National-100 Index closed at 5,018.28 on Tuesday , down 259.03 points , or 4.97 percent , from Friday 's finish .
Austria officially finished paying out nearly $ 350 million Monday in restitution to former slave and forced laborers who were compelled to work in the country during World War II when it was controlled by the Nazi regime .
Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong met an inspection team composed of businessmen from Hong Kong and Macao on Sunday , encouraging them to seek more business opportunities in the traditional industrial base in northeast China and to contribute to its revitalization .
This time , there can be no doubt , Skip Hicks did all he could do .
At first blush , it seemed that last week 's hostage rescue in Peru could not have been executed more brilliantly .
Taliban militants attacked government buildings in the southeastern city of Khost on Saturday with suicide bombers , AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades , officials said .
British scientists claimed Wednesday to have created human sperm from stem cells but other experts questioned their data .
Two students were killed and 30 injured Sunday in fierce clashes between rival groups who used guns and crude bombs in western Bangladesh 's Rajshahi University , student sources said .
With Afghan opium production on the rise , it would take up to 10 years to destroy the country 's narcotics industry , the U.N. 's top representative in Afghanistan said .
As he nears the end of a problem-plagued , four-month visit to Russia 's Mir space station , U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger is poised to join cosmonaut Vasili Tsibliev for the first joint spacewalk by the once rival superpowers .
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on Tuesday got a warm welcome from crowds and musicians in Burkina Faso on the second leg of his first foreign trip as head of the institution .
President Eduardo Duhalde assured lawmakers Tuesday he would step down as promised next May and urged them to endorse a timetable for a presidential vote early next year .
Finnish telecommunications group Nokia on Thursday announced a 20 percent drop in its profit before taxes and minorities last year to 3.90 billion marks ( 790 million dollars ) , but a 75 percent jump in fourth quarter profit thanks to increased demand for mobile telephones .
U.S. corn and soybean crops conditions were little changed last week , a government report showed , as warm temperatures and ample rainfall hastened maturity of predicted bumper crops .
UNDATED : Not even one hour after the first news reports that Princess Diana had died in Paris , and before anybody had a reasonable idea of what had happened , somebody created an Internet site detailing elaborate theories about her passing .
The U.S. Defense Department has offered to sell F-16 fighter jets to Brazil that would include advanced air-to-air missiles _ the first U.S. sale of the weapon in Latin America .
Wuhan , a port city once known as " the Chicago of the Orient " , is planning a new strategy to regain its lost glory on the country 's economic map by integrating eight cities within 100 km of the inland city , capital of Hubei Province .
When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon , it was a first for the Soviet Union -- the first time the U.S. had beaten the U.S.S.R in the space race .
Indonesia 's central bank raised bank reserve requirements , telling investors it 's closely watching the economy to make sure inflation does n't accelerate .
Nora Marzouk Ahmed 's 7-day honeymoon came to an end Tuesday when her father chopped off her head in a final _ and in his mind _ justified punishment for dishonoring the family .
But it 's a much more daring venture , because the butt of so much of its humor is the exaggerated black pride of the era .
Major League Baseball has gone 1,684 days without a commissioner , a span the leaders of the other major sports leagues said is far too long .
Chasing a victory target of 373 runs , India batted slowly to reach 94 for two at lunch Wednesday on the fifth and final day of the second and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka .
Pakistan and the United States will discuss a five-point non-proliferation agenda and the Afghan issue here early February .
The Philippine and US navy launched Tuesday a new round of combined naval exercises to promote interoperability here in the main northern Philippine island of Luzon .
The Zambian Under-23 soccer team beat Malawi 3-2 in the first leg , second round qualifying match of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at Nkoloma stadium here on Wednesday .
Unseeded Nadia Petrova won an All - Russian affair to book her first-ever semifinal ticket at the French Open , beating Vera Zvonareva 6-1 , 4-6 and 6-3 on Tuesday .
An American association donated US$ 2.1 million Wednesday to a museum in northern France dedicated to relations between the two countries , France 's Ministry of Culture said .
The Shanghai-based Bank of Communications is to offer mortgage loans from November 1 .
Cambodia 's Royal Air Cambodege ( RAC ) plans to introduce direct flights from Phnom Penh to Shanghai , one of the largest cities in China , in response to the increase of Chinese tourists to Cambodia , the Cambodia Daily reported Monday .
Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou stressed Monday in the southern Greek island of Crete the great importance of the friendship between the Greek and Turkish peoples .
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that he is considering proscribing an organization suspected of the terrorist blast in Bali , but he said there is not yet any proof linking the group to the attack .
A German citizen 's abduction by U.S. officials on a mistaken suspicion he was an Islamic militant has riveted the new government of Chancellor Angela Merkel and led to a strong denial Wednesday by the Foreign Ministry of German complicity in the affair .
Football 's world ruling body FIFA on Friday validated Mexico 's recent results in the Confederation Cup following the mini scandal caused by two of their players being thrown out of the competition .
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh , touted as a future prime minister , died Thursday from multiple stab wounds , the second Swedish politician to be murdered in the Scandinavian country in 17 years in a rare act of public violence .
Egyptian state television will broadcast a 30-part series based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion , an infamous anti-Semitic tract the show 's creator and star says `` reveals the Zionist schemes to seize Palestine . ''
Nine Chinese combinations stormed into the mixed doubles last 16 at the world table tennis championships here on Wednesday .
John Franco walked slowly from the first-base dugout to the right-field bullpen on Wednesday afternoon at Shea Stadium , taking in each blade of grass and each empty seat .
Carol Hagan is a contributing editor to `` Child '' and the mother of two .
The Justice Department said on Monday that it would defy a court order and refuse to make a captured member of al-Qaida available for testimony in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui .
Tandem Computers chief executive Roel Pieper was named yesterday to a key post at Compaq Computer , which acquired Cupertino-based Tandem recently in a $ 3 billion stock swap .
A U.S. advocacy group warned Monday that the response to an upcoming court decision about the boundaries of a disputed oil-rich region in Sudan could determine whether the country remains united or descends into renewed north-south civil war .
Midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and hometown goalkeeper Kasey Keller of the expansion Seattle Sounders FC are Major League Soccer All-Stars .
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday he ws " now more clear than ever " that the ratification process of the EU constitution should be suspended to give Europe time to ponder the direction it wants to take .
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano will decide on Saturday on the government 's future in a crisis sparked by the surprise resignation of Prime Minister Romano Prodi .
Bulgarian peacekeepers took over command of Afghanistan 's Kabul international airport from Romania on Tuesday , the Defense Ministry said .
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday he would represent his centre-right coalition in general elections next year , ending speculation that he may be planning to retire from politics .
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived Monday to seek help from President Daniel arap Moi in mediating his country 's two-month border conflict with Eritrea .
Thai share prices closed 1.00 percent lower Monday on concerns about rising oil price , dealers said .
Nearly every day , former movie actor Erik Aude writes to his mother from his prison cell in Pakistan .
At least five people were killed and 22 injured late Thursday in a bomb explosion outside a railway station and an attack by gunmen at a mosque in this capital of Punjab province , police said .
Dwayne Hosey drove in five runs with two home runs as the Central League 's front-running Yakult Swallows beat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp 6-3 at Hiroshima Sunday and ended their losing streak at five .
The Philippine central bank ( PCB ) 's monetary board is inclined to raise key interest rates in 2003 if it sees adverse factors pushing consumer prices higher , a ranking official said on Monday .
Kuwaiti General Director of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports Sheikh Fahad Al-Jaber Al - Ahmad Al-Sabah said Wednesday that the country will launch a new sport of motorbikes and establish an individual union or joining it in the Kuwaiti Union of Athletics .
Tourism is exclusively a developmental industry and comprises a powerful tool for eliminating regional inequalities , Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said Monday .
France 's defence minister started a tour of Asia on Thursday in Japan , which has deep concerns about North Korea 's nuclear drive and European proposals to end an arms embargo on China .
New Zealand star winger Jonah Lomu , troubled by a knee strain , has withdrawn from the All Blacks team for Saturday 's second rugby union test against Scotland .
Cyprus supports the European Union ( EU ) decision on oil embargo against Yugoslavia , said Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides Monday .
Serbian President Boris Tadic would not be welcome at the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Muslims , families of victims and Bosnia 's Islamic community said Wednesday .
ABC Sports is conducting an audit into the finances of The Baseball Network , the joint television and advertising partnership it was part of in 1994 and 1995 with NBC and major league baseball .
One soldier was killed and eight others wounded after a clash between security forces and peasants who had held hundreds of Bolivian and foreign tourists in a remote Andean village , the government said .
The Giants did not beat the Seahawks on Sunday so much as they battered and embarrassed them .
U.S. securities company Merrill Lynch opened the first Tokyo branch of its brokerage business in Japan on Wednesday , its biggest step yet to cash in on the deregulation of the country 's financial markets .
Around 50 mobile booths will be installed along the entire border line between Albania and Greece to enforce the border control during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games .
NBC won the first week of the prime-time season with fresh episodes of `` E.R. , '' `` Seinfeld '' and `` Friends '' and new series such as `` Veronica 's Closet , '' getting the No. 1-ranked network off to another strong start .
One of the hundreds of hostages held by Chechen gunmen in a Moscow theater has been shot and killed , a Russian official said Thursday , and the hostage-takers broadcast warnings that all of them are ready to die for the cause of Chechnya 's peace and independence .
Facing a Monday morning deadline , Clinton administration officials were meeting Saturday to decide whether to back away from an important provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement that would allow trucks from Mexico to travel freely on American highways starting next week , despite a widespread fear that they could pose safety hazards and spur trade in illegal drugs .
Just two days after threatening to leave the team , Ireland captain Roy Keane told BBC radio he would retire from international soccer after the upcoming World Cup .
A shooting at a Ponderosa restaurant was being investigated for connection to the string of sniper attacks in the Washington , D.C. area .
Moroccan tennis player Younes El Aynaoui , who plays for Sporting Club Geovillage in Sardinia , has denied taking banned substances following revelations of a positive test .
New Zealand was rushing diplomats to Israel on Tuesday to seek the release of two journalists _ a New Zealander and an American _ who were abducted by masked gunmen in Gaza City , Prime Minister Helen Clark said .
New York , Sept. 3 ( Bloomberg ) - Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo SA bondholders , concerned they will be last in line when the Mexican construction company restructures its debts , have formed a committee to try and recoup as much as possible .
Russian authorities say a bomb blast has killed a policeman and three militants and a soldier have died in a shootout in the country 's perilous North Caucasus region .
The U. N. agency UNHCR is stepping up efforts to help Mozambique resettle its refugees in the northern Niassa Province , the Mozambique Information Agency ( AIM ) reported today .
President Barack Obama is moving to cool down his war with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , one of the most bitter political feuds of the last two years .
Enso , one of Finland 's leading forest products companies , reported Wednesday a six-month pretax profit of 928 million markkaa ( dlrs 168 million ) , down from 1.12 billion markkaa for the same period last year .
The Anaheim Angels will have a different look this season , and they believe it 'll be more than those bright red caps .
Kenya will host in November an international conference to assess the progress made by the international community in implementing the Ottawa Convention which bans anti-personnel landmines , organizer said here on Tuesday .
The number of low - and moderate-income families in the New York metropolitan region who are seriously behind on their mortgage payments is soaring , according to new federal and city data and housing experts , who say they have seen a surge in mortgage troubles since Sept. 11 .
Jordan 's Arab Potash company and Israeli Dead Sea Bromium Company signed here Sunday an agreement on starting joint production of Bromine on the Dead Sea , the local daily Jordan Times reported today .
Two people were killed and scores injured when some 30,000 Moslems rioted Thursday in central Pakistan , setting Christian churches and houses ablaze and attacking police , officials said .
If Democrats have their way , Senate debate this week on President George W. Bush 's $ 87 billion plan for U.S. operations in Iraq will boil down to garbage trucks , area codes and taxes on the rich .
Southern China Airlines plans to carry 2 million passengers by adding an additional 1,400 flights between February 1 and March 12 to cope with transportation demand during the Chinese Spring Festival holiday season .
East Africa 's three leading mobile phone service providers have partnered to launch a seamless network that will enable more than 10 million subscribers in Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania to communicate within areas covered by their networks .
An Angolan government official has urged the international community to help the 150,000 refugees in Angola 's central city of Kuito .
The 12-week-old Dutch government was on the verge of collapse Wednesday , with coalition partners saying the alliance was unworkable and new elections likely .
The contractor of the Central Reclamation Phase III project has lodged a claim for 280 million HK dollars ( 35.9 million US dollars ) compensation to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( SAR ) government , a Hong Kong official said here Wednesday .
Share prices in Taiwan are expected to rally in the week ahead after reaching their highest closing level in almost seven years Friday , brokers said .
The government announced Tuesday that Bulgaria had almost doubled its wheat harvest compared to last year , when the fertile Balkan country was hit by unprecedented shortages .
Canada has advised its citizens to take precautions in Bangkok and southern Thailand following a security alert issued on Friday by the Thai interior ministry .
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Thursday announced a 10 percent increase in full-year 2005 profit , reaching 6.14 billion dollars ( 5.07 billion euros ) .
Lebanon 's parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and opposition speaker Nabih Berri met overnight for their second round of crisis talks in as many days , the official NNA news agency said Saturday .
Fourteen heads of state or their representatives from francophone Africa gather here Tuesday to examine the impact of a nearly six - month-old devaluation in their common currency , the CFA franc .
In the coming 15 years China will guide the sound development of regional economies with distinctive features and foster a rational distribution of the national economy .
A Burmese-Thai jewellery production company , Myanmar Ves , has won two international trade awards which the junta hailed Thursday as the dawn of world recognition for Burmese producers .
President Clinton failed in three hours of talks here on Sunday to persuade the Syrian leader , Hafez Assad , to moderate his differences with Israel , and the White House said afterward that it was `` impossible '' to predict when talks between Israel and Syria would resume .
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas urged voters Tuesday to turn out en masse for the second ever general election as armed factions pledged to ensure the ballot passes off peacefully .
The central government is considering building " fairly priced " houses in a zone near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in an effort to provide houses at affordable prices , Premier Wu Den-yih said Tuesday .
Prices on Taipei 's stock futures market were lower Friday as the Taiwan Stock Exchange ( TAIEX ) Capitalization Weighted Index for May lost 10 points to close at 5,770 , with 18,029 contracts changing hands .
Iran 's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani told a press conference in Vienna on Tuesday that Iran is willing to restart negotiations on its nuclear program but rejects any pre-condition .
A recent survey revealed that four out of every 1,000 urban families in China plan to buy private cars , with the potential market standing at 103,000 units .
Top seed Chanda Rubin reached the semifinals of the Wismilak International on Friday with a 6-2 , 6-2 victory over Anca Barna , while Russia 's Elena Dementieva beat Tamarine Tanasugarn in straight sets to make the final four .
The driver of the crashed car in which Princess Diana died had been drinking heavily and was travelling at over 120 mph , it emerged Monday in France .
Warsaw 's mayor inaugurated an Internet site Wednesday devoted to images and descriptions of 54 key locations of Jewish life in the Polish capital before World War II .
These Sports stories for release Friday , March 15 , 2002 , are moving today to clients of the New York Times News Service .
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rebuffed Secretary of State Colin Powell 's demand Sunday for a halt to violence , saying Israel first must withdraw its troops from the West Bank .
The U.N. special envoy trying to help combat AIDS in Africa urged Canada on Wednesday to take a leadership role in the fight against HIV and AIDS just days before it hosts the International AIDS Conference .
The Bush administration proposed on Thursday to drop a requirement at the heart of federal rules protecting the privacy of medical records .
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze checked into the central military hospital Thursday for a medical checkup , a presidential spokeswoman said .
SACRAMENTO ( AP ) _ California governments will split nearly dlrs 15 million from the settlement of a lawsuit that accused Toshiba Corp. of selling defective computers , Attorney General Bill Lockyer said .
U.S. defense manufacturer Raytheon Company said Wednesday that it has been awarded contracts worth a total of US$ 1.1 billion to produce new Patriot Air and Missile Defense System for Taiwan .
Iraq has formally agreed to a six-month extension of the newly revamped U.N. oil-for-food humanitarian program , a U.N. official said Wednesday .
Egypt has released a leader of the militant group responsible for the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat after 22 years in jail , police officials said Sunday .
BE Semiconductor Industries NV , a Dutch unit of Berliner Elektro Holding AG , said it will sell shares at $ 13 , or 20.94 guilders a share .
Interior Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos challenged Premier Costas Simitis on Friday for the leadership of the ruling Socialist party , following the death of party founder and chairman Andreas Papandreou .
Saudi and U.S. officials announced Wednesday that they had ended their search for the body of Paul M. Johnson Jr. , the American military contractor who was kidnapped last month in Riyadh and later beheaded by Islamic radicals .
The federal program that provides legal assistance to poor Americans turns away half of its applicants for lack of resources .
When Greece surprisingly won the Euro 2004 competition last summer their fans proudly called for a match up with world champions Brazil .
These feature stories are moving today to clients of the New York Times News Service .
Prosecutors in Boris Becker 's tax evasion trial on Wednesday sought a 3&1/2 - year jail sentence for the retired tennis star , while his defense team pleaded for the three-time Wimbledon champion to be given probation .
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday he wanted to change gear to put main focus on domestic issues , while insisting that Britain 's future remains in Europe despite strong opposition in local and European elections .
Irabu was told Thursday that he has made the team and will be on the Opening Day roster , most likely as a middle or long reliever .
When the Winston Cup series last visited New Hampshire International Speedway , Dale Jarrett started fifth , roared to the front of the pack , and ended up leading nearly a third of the race .
Unexpectedly strong profits at Cisco Systems delighted investors starved for good news Wednesday , sending the Dow Jones industrials up more than 300 points and the Nasdaq composite index higher by more than 120 .
US black activists demanded Wednesday that a bust of Tutankhamun be removed from a landmark exhibition of artefacts from the Egyptian boy king 's tomb because the statue portrays him as white .
Atletico Madrid dumped Barcelona out of the Spanish Cup here Tuesday , moving into the quarter-finals 5-4 on aggregate despite a second-leg 3-1 defeat .
A Gulf War missile that lay dormant in southern Iraq for six years has killed one man and injured another , the official Iraqi News Agency said Saturday .
Peru and Ecuador have announced a halt to hostilities in their border conflict , but the Ecuadoran army has moved quickly to refute claims by Peru that it had regained control of some disputed border posts .
Hong Kong share prices finished the morning session flat Monday in thin trade as investors styayed in the sidelines amid uncertainty over the market 's direction , dealers said .
More than 40 Phoenix police officers who bought expensive foreign rifles in 1994 either broke the law or violated department policy , a massive internal investiga tion will reveal today .
Taliban militants fired on a US base in southeastern Afghanistan Wednesday , killing two American soldiers and wounding eight others , including civilians , the US military and the ousted regime said .
A man whose daughter survived a massacre by Protestant paramilitaries in an Ulster pub 16 months ago won almost half a million dollars in the Irish lottery Saturday , a day after the men responsible for the 1993 attack were jailed for life .
The Chrysler Group , which spent the last decade promoting design innovation as central to its car-selling strategy , quietly but abruptly ended its Chrysler Design Awards program on Monday , two days after announcing staff changes at the top of its marketing department .
The peseta continued to be the main beneficiary of the mark 's weakness , despite the political crisis facing Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez , dealers said early on Wednesday .
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Monday announced guidelines to ensure public safety in sea travel and ordered the transportation department to speed up investigation of the recent ships collision accident .
Suspected Islamic insurgents burned down a girls school in eastern Afghanistan because they oppose education for women , a government official said Sunday .
O'Kying Chilai is the first reincarnated Living Buddha of Tibetan Buddhism approved by the central government since the CPC came to power in 1949 .
Eric Crouch grew up in a broken home , the product of a divorce that left him feeling like the man of the house at an early age .
Seven people were killed Tuesday when the ambulance they were traveling in collided with a truck in eastern Spain , a police spokeswoman said .
An international energy conference ended in Chiba , east of Tokyo , Friday with an appeal for further development of solar and other energy sources which will benefit people in developing countries .
Taking its cue from yuppie civilian drivers , the San Francisco Police Department may trade in some of its stodgy patrol cars for sport utility vehicles , according to Chief Fred Lau .
The accused ringleader of an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaida said Wednesday that he would refuse to answer police questions about the nightclub bombing on Bali , while the government was considering fast-tracking tougher anti-terrorism measures .
At least 15 people dancing on bus roofs on their way to an election rally were killed when they got entangled in high-voltage power lines , police said Sunday .
Holding a tray of roast beef decorated with British flags on toothpicks , London 's food minister on Monday praised the flavor and safety of British beef , which was recently allowed back into France after a six-year ban .
A northern bottle-nose whale stranded in the River Thames in central London Saturday was being transported on a barge out to the nearby estuary , in an urgent measure to rescue the endangered animal .
Mining giant Anglo American announced Wednesday it has joined a consortium to begin privatising one of the world 's largest copper mines , Zambia 's state-owned Konkola Project , which is potentially lucrative .
Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange ended lower Monday on profit taking actions .
The Palestinian security services launched a campaign to arrest armed militants in the West Bank town of Jenin on Friday after a policeman was shot dead overnight , witnesses and officials said .
A respected Indonesian academic on Friday urged Australia to immediately suspend military ties with Indonesia or risk being associated with a possible bloody crackdown .
Bill Parcells will be back to coach the Patriots next season , as eager as he 's ever been .
Iraq denied on Monday holding Iranian prisoners from the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war , and stepped up its call for the release of 20,000 Iraqi prisoners held in Iran .
Former president Jimmy Carter 's trip to North Korea may have provided a possible opening for settling the dispute with Pyongyang over its nuclear program , a senior US official said Sunday .
Philippine share prices closed 0.23 percent higher Wednesday on modest bargain-hunting after a sharp two-day fall sparked by political concerns and record oil prices , dealers said .
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Russian-Belarussian Union on Thursday granted Yugoslavia 's parliament the status of permanent observer , Itar-Tass reported .
The twin sisters who shot themselves at a suburban Denver shooting range on Monday made a pact to commit suicide together in Colorado on the last day before one of them would be required to return home to Australia .
Dutch politics took a startling swing to the right in parliamentary elections as followers of the slain populist Pim Fortuyn turned out in force Wednesday to push his anti-immigrant and law-and-order agenda .
Deutsche Telekom AG announced plans to spend up to 100 million deutsche marks ( $ 69 million ) to encourage employees to buy its shares when they go on sale next November .
Economy Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said late Thursday that Mexico will lift antidumping import duties on high fructose corn syrup from the United States , but will limit tariff-free imports to 163,000 tons ( 148,000 metric tons ) per year .
A U.S. marine was killed in combat operations in the volatile province of Anbar , the U.S. military said on Saturday .
When , in a few weeks perhaps , Britain starts to emerge from the self-absorption of mourning , it may begin to realize that the loss of Diana , Princess of Wales , has implications that go far beyond its own shores .
China reiterated on Tuesday its position on Iranian nuclear issue .
In the movie , the Dalmatians are cute and fun .
Hamas 's chief candidate Ismail Haniya said Wednesday that the Islamist group would keep hold of its weapons if it enters the Palestinian parliament as he cast his vote in Gaza City .
The Kansas City Royals placed outfielder Jermaine Dye on the 15-day disabled list with a possible stress fracture of the left foot .
Thailand 's government and a group of academics have worked out a draft election bill which would deprive eligible voters of three rights if they fail to vote during elections .
Braulio Luna and Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored in a two-minute span Sunday to give Mexico 's World Cup soccer team a 2-1 victory over AC Milan of Italy at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum .
China 's Tang Gonghong set a world record with a clean and jerk lift of 165 kilograms to win the women 's over-75 kilogram weightlifting title at the Asian Games on Tuesday .
U.S. stocks posted their second-biggest drop this year , led by computer-related issues , as concern grew that 1996 profits wo n't match estimates and the Federal Reserve wo n't be so quick to lower interest rates .
Google announced on Monday that it would provide free online communication services such as e-mail and Internet telephone calling to universities in Kenya and Rwanda .
Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi has called a meeting from Monday of his UNITA movement in central Angola , following an agreement on a cessation of hostilities in the war-torn country , a Portuguese daily reported Saturday .
Thailand 's trade rebounded sharply to a surplus during the first half of 1998 compared to a deep deficit during the same period the previous year , the Commerce Ministry said Friday .
President Roh Moo-hyun said Monday that it is not desirable to discuss who is to blame for the beheading of a South Korean hostage in Iraq based on speculation , reported Yonhap .
Supporters of Ivory Coast 's President Laurent Gbagbo on Friday left the streets of the economic capital to people going about their work , but aid agencies announced bad damage in four days of violent anti-UN protests .
A foodstore chain and city authorities are locked in an unusual dispute over the groceries ' garbage .
A 60-seat passenger plane hit power lines as it was landing on a central Philippines island Wednesday , toppling poles that struck and killed at least one villager , officials said .
Democrats on a key Senate panel Thursday voted to permanently reverse a policy in effect under recent Republican administrations that banned giving U.S. money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information .
Former British prime minister Alec Douglas-Home has died at the age of 92 , it was reported here today .
The United States is providing anti-terrorist training for 18 policemen from the Muslim-Croat federation , the U.S. embassy said Monday .
A 22-year-old man faced five fresh murder charges Wednesday when he appeared in court here following a gun rampage in a tiny New Zealand ski hamlet which left six people dead .
Uganda will host the Zone 3 ( east and central Africa ) U-18 rugby tournament in mid of 2003 , Vice President of the Confederation of Africa Rugby ( CAR ) Paul Sigombe announced .
Iraq 's prison abuse scandal spilled anew into the election campaign Monday as a leading Sunni Arab legislative candidate released a video purporting to show tortured detainees at a Baghdad palace used as a government prison .
Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear told her Mexican counterpart Luis Ernesto Derbez on Tuesday that political and economic relations with Mexico are excellent .
Los Angeles spent $ 1.4 million to provide security , traffic control and other services for Michael Jackson 's memorial service , city officials said as they looked for ways to have others help the financially troubled city pick up the bill .
After weeks of turmoil , House Democrats reached a shaky peace with the party 's rebellious rank-and-file conservatives Wednesday and cleared the way for a vote in September on sweeping U.S. health care legislation .
Latin America 's cellular phone market is expected to more than double in the next three years , according to Lucent , a major telecommunications equipment producer in the region .
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Tuesday signed a gas supply agreement in Abuja to further implement the West African Gas Pipeline project .
Twenty-two family members and two others were killed in an auto crash over the weekend along Akungba - Oka Road in southwest Nigeria 's Ondo State , Vanguard reported Monday .
Germany , the dominating team in European qualifying , is ready to step up and take the top prize in women 's soccer .
Prince William is to be the first member of the royal family to have stamps issued to celebrate his 21st birthday , Royal Mail officials said Friday .
Saudi Arabia has cut the budget deficit to 2 percent of its gross domestic product ( GDP ) in the first half of 1995 from 9 percent in 1994 , local newspaper Emirates News reported today .
A leak in a hydroelectric dam forced energy officials to shut off power to Suriname 's capital and surrounding areas leaving 100,000 without electricity , officials said Tuesday .
General Nutrition Cos. said it awarded an exclusive franchise for as many as 15 stores in Israel .
Israel came out ahead in the Lebanon war and will abide strictly by a U.N. cease-fire deal , an Israeli spokesman said Monday in the government 's first reaction since the truce came into force .
US Commerce Secretary Ron Brown said Monday he would underline to PLO chairman Yasser Arafat the need to halt terror to bring economic prosperity when the two meet in Gaza .
Albania is participating in two separate military exercises with Britain and the United States to help the Balkan country move toward NATO standards , the Defense Ministry said Monday .
New US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will visit nine European and Asian capitals including Beijing later this month in her first foreign trip , the State Department announced Monday .
The U.S. dollar was trading mixed against the Japanese yen in early trading Monday , while prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange advanced moderately .
Pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union ( TSU ) lawmakers on Saturday put forth a series of questions to test opposition Kuomintang ( KMT ) Chairman Lien Chan according to what they call the " love Taiwan index " ahead of his planned visit to China .
The hottest director in music videos today is n't part of one of the huge California production houses or one of the New York boutique shops .
In a series of raids across Italy , police have arrested 240 people , mostly foreigners , for drug trafficking , smuggling illegal immigrants and running prostitution rings , Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday in what appeared to be an effort to bolster his conservative coalition 's fortunes in approaching elections .
The German government on Saturday expressed relief over the ending of the hostage crisis at a Moscow theater , and the country 's foreign minister said a `` political solution '' to the war in Chechnya was more urgent than ever .
Behind the decorous colonial facades of this city an epic battle of words has been under way to determine who is the master of the Spanish language _ and whether it should , or can , have any master at all .
China plans to limit the time coal miners have to spend at work underground to six hours a day in a bid to halt a trend of soaring fatalities in its mining industry , state media said Thursday .
President George W. Bush said a car bombing in Indonesia that killed at least 187 people _ including at least two Americans _ was a heinous act of terrorism , and he resolved to fight `` this global menace . ''
South Korean forward Hwang Sung-hong suffered a knee injury in the 3-0 friendly victory over Honduras Saturday and will miss training for at least two days , the team said Sunday .
A German parachutist taking part in a NATO exhibition landed on a five-year-old boy , injuring him slightly , a newspaper said Monday .
Two explosions ripped through Russia 's main natural gas supply pipeline to Armenia and Georgia Sunday , halting supplies to the two Caucasus countries for possibly several days , Russian officials said .
The front-runner to succeed Jean Chretien as prime minister criticized how Canada 's government works Monday , calling for parliamentary reforms to erase what he called a deficit of democracy .
The Bundesbank , the German central bank , said Thursday that the country 's banks were better off now than they were a year ago , benefiting from a strong domestic economy .
Australian retailer Coles on Monday said it was considering all options for a 20 billion dollar ( 16.1 billion US ) sale of the group , including splitting up its supermarket and discount store interests .
STANFORD - Time and again , UCLA forward JaRon Rush imagined how his first game in three months would unfurl .
Vasco beat Santos 2-1 in the Supercopa soccer tournament Thursday evening , paying back last Sunday 's loss in a league game for the first division championship .
Two people were killed as violence flared in two Pakistani cities on Monday when voters went to the polls to elect a new national assembly , police and hospital sources said .
The Sacramento Kings placed swingman Kevin Gamble on the injured list with a strained lower back .
A judge delayed arraignment Monday for a Swiss bodybuilder charged with offering to kill Kobe Bryant 's accuser .
Yasser Arafat , president of Palestine State and president of the Palestinian National Authority , will pay a visit to China from April 14 at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin .
Hayley Wickenheiser has a chance to become the first female position player in minor league hockey .
Lord Sebastian Coe , the former Olympic champion who masterminded London 's successful bid for the 2012 Games , was named as the Great Briton of 2005 at a ceremony on Thursday .
The crew and scientists aboard the Australian Antarctic research ship Aurora Australis were prepared to take to the ice after an engine room fire deep in Antarctic waters nine days ago .
Under pressure from Congress to tell the public more about airline safety problems , the Federal Aviation Administration has begun announcing major violations by airlines and the fines they bring .
Ten years after his death , Andy Warhol is gaining in stature among contemporary artists , and the prices of his paintings are skyrocketing .
The Israeli army is strongly opposed to government plans to hold a military parade in 1998 to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state , the Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday .
President Clinton said on Monday that he was confident neither he nor his campaign broke `` the letter of the law '' in fund raising .
Guangzhou of China won the hosting right for the 2010 Asian Games , announced Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al - Sabah , president of the Olympic Council of Asia ( OCA ) during its 23rd session here on Thursday .
North Korea said Thursday the United States had sent military reinforcements to the Korean peninsula because of the nuclear standoff in the region .
Rankings reflect sales figures for the week ending Nov. 26 , 1995 .
Spain 's largest bank , Santander Central Hispano , said Thursday it had increased its stake in the electric company Union Fenosa S.A. to 20.4 percent .
Hong Kong stocks increased 6.92 points , or 0.05 percent , to close at 13,573.66 Monday .
A paralyzed woman who won a landmark case giving her the legal right to terminate life-sustaining medical treatment has died peacefully in her sleep , the Department of Health said Monday .
Michael Chang has the upper hand in a decade-long rivalry with Jim Courier after a 6-3 , 6-4 quarterfinal victory Friday night in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic .
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz will meet in the coming days with Jewish settlement leaders in an effort to persuade them to voluntarily evacuate illegal outposts that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon undertook to dismantle .
Rising Dutch star Michaella Krajicek claimed her second career WTA title with a straight sets victory over Iveta Benesova in the final of the Tasmanian International here Friday .
The Cabinet-level Department of Health ( DOH ) has decided to expand a popular " primary nursing " program that saves patients money and eases the burden on caregivers by limiting their hours worked .
Swiss drug giant Novartis AG will move its worldwide research headquarters to Cambridge , Mass. , providing a major boost to the region 's attempt to establish itself as the nation 's premier center for biomedical research .
McLaren has failed in its attempt to overturn Michael Schumacher 's victory at the British Grand Prix , FIA , the sport 's governing body , said Tuesday .
Denver 's cold-case team has arrested 75 suspected rapists and killers since 2004 , a number that rivals the totals achieved by some nations .
U.S. stocks were mixed as tobacco stock euphoria offset concern that the Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates .
Welfare recipients , last year 's political pariahs , are shedding their outcast status .
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing accusations that the manufacturer of the diabetes drug Rezulin withheld evidence of liver toxicity from the agency until six months after Rezulin was marketed .
Ma Ying-jeou 's win in the March 22 presidential election boosted Taiwan stock market Monday , with the weighted index or Taiex rising 340.36 points , or 4 percent , on a turnover of NT$ 270.865 billion .
Even after two weeks in U.S. military custody , John Walker Lindh suffered from wounds caused by shell fragments , frostbite and dehydration , his attorneys charged Wednesday as they moved for the right to question Navy personnel who dealt with the Marin County man in Afghanistan .
Communications giant Telefonos de Mexico SA says it is considering plans to launch cellular operations in Brazil and expand in Central America .
Four years after a US-led invasion billed as a bid to disarm Iraq and create a democratic pro-Western enclave in the Middle East , the country is instead steeped in sectarian bloodshed .
Oman is considering to launch a national campaign against drug abuse , the Khaleej Times daily reported on Wednesday .
Tajikistan and Russia Thursday conducted joint military exercises in a military base in Tajikistan , according to reports from Dushanbe .
Russian fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko defeated Australian wildcard Nathan Healey in the third round of the Australian Open Saturday .
The more the Somali immigrant activist talked about it , the more things began to boil to the surface .
After a decade of seeking to grow by merging with another company , Kansas City Power & Light Co. is turning inward in a bid to increase the company 's value .
A US delegation arrived here on Tuesday for last-ditch talks with China to avert a trade war over intellectual property rights .
Leaked extracts of a government-commissioned report into the wrongful detention of a German-born Australian resident as an illegal alien revealed a scathing assessment of her treatment Wednesday .
Eight army soldiers were killed and 12 others were injured north of Manila when a speeding passenger bus slammed into a truck bringing the soldiers back to camp from a combat mission , army officials said .
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Israel on Thursday that its military operations against Palestinians on the West Bank would not eliminate the threat of terror .
Malaysian armed forces would enhance cooperation with Thai forces in patrolling the common border , its Army Chief Jen .
Police arrested two suspected al-Qaida-linked militants accused of orchestrating a suicide attack near the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that killed a U.S. diplomat and three Pakistanis , a senior police official said Monday .
Joachim Milberg , the chief executive who extricated BMW from its disastrous purchase of Britain 's Rover and successfully refocused it on its luxury car business , handed over his job Thursday to Helmut Panke with a prolonged ovation from shareholders .
Boeing Co. said it 's considering the feasibility of moving aircraft maintenance work to facilities at Texas ' Kelly Air Force Base , which the Defense Department is closing .
A U.S. envoy returns home Thursday unsuccessful in efforts to assume his appointed role as mediator in peace negotiations over the future of Northern Ireland .
Passport holders of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( HKSAR ) can made a visa-free visit to Caymans Islands starting from Friday , a government spokesman said .
A new Red Cross refugee camp will be built in western Tanzania to relieve operation pressures as people continue to flee the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo .
The Buffalo Sabres sent defenseman Dmitri Kalinin to Rochester of the AHL on Monday .
A suicide bomber struck Israel again Saturday for the third time in four days , contributing to a sense that the nation was enduring a state of siege .
The U.S. Senate passed a bill today that would prohibit financial advisers from charging senior citizens and other homeowners excessive fees for loan information that they could otherwise get for free .
A Rwandan official said Monday his government has formally asked Namibia to hand over former Rwandan Education Minister Dr. Andre Rwamakuba to stand trial on charges of inciting the 1994 genocide .
With three days until its opening game with Nigeria , Argentina has only one injury concern : Glasgow Rangers forward Claudio Caniggia .
The European Union 's top justice official urged EU nations Thursday to crack down on international trafficking of women forced into prostitution .
An Indian-born fashion designer accused of rape was on Monday hit with a further 13 criminal charges for a range of sex offenses involving four more women , authorities in Los Angeles said .
Visiting Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said here on Monday that Denmark , as the European Union ( EU ) term president , is in favor of a united Cyprus 's membership in the European Union .
The rand held relatively steady in early trade here Thursday , opening at 4.4770 / 85 to the dollar , compared to Wednesday 's close of 4.4750 / 65 against the greenback .
Turkish police , security forces and customs officials seized about one ton of heroin destined for Europe in an operation in Istanbul , Turkey 's largest city , Turkish State Minister Kursat Tuzmen said on Friday .
If promoters expect Evander Holyfield to step into a ring with Lennox Lewis , they better come up with a lot of money .
The wind-blown fire that destroyed much of the Malden Mills textile complex here on Monday night and put 1,400 people out of work barely two weeks before Christmas was a reminder that in some parts of America , a factory and its workers are still everything to each other .
Slobodan Milosevic denied responsibility Friday for ethnic Serbs accused of killing non-Serbs in Croatia in the early 1990s , saying they were defending themselves against Croatian pogroms .
The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( SET ) index on Thursday moved up 7.45 points to close at 666.59 points .
IBM Corp. took another step to build out its software portfolio Thursday by announcing a $ 1.6 billion ( euro1 .24 billion ) acquisition of FileNet Corp. , a maker of software which helps companies route data through business applications .
Mexico 's postal service has paid homage to a 1940s cartoon character called Mimin Pinguin , giving him a series of postage stamps that has outraged many African-American groups which see it as racist or insensitive .
China is planning to introduce a " chief prosecutor responsibility system " to replace the existing practice whereby decisions are mainly made by a procuratorial committee composed of officials , top procurator Han Zhubin announced here today .
A fire erupted today in a textile warehouse in the Nile delta , injuring 60 workers , local media reported .
The U.S. dollar was down against other major currencies in European trading Tuesday morning .
At least three people died when several carriages of a Pakistani train plunged into a ravine Sunday , but the other passengers on board were all rescued , officials said .
Pakistan is optimistic that the U.S. will release 26 of its citizens held at Guantanamo Bay and the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on suspicion of terrorism links , a senior official said Saturday .
Jeff Gordon won the CMT 300 Sunday by holding off Ernie Irvan , who was battling a viral illness and a starting position near the back of the field , on six restarts over the last 70 of the 300 laps of the race at New Hampshire International Speedway .
President Robert Mugabe sees international criticism of the razing of homes and offices that have left hundreds of thousands homeless in Zimbabwe as unfair , a state-run daily reported on Tuesday .
The national capital of Beijing has remained attractive to investors all over the world despite the threat of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS ) .
Protests flared in strife-torn Kashmir on Wednesday after Indian security forces killed a top Moslem guerrilla .
Former authoritarian Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar was re-elected Saturday as the chairman of his party , a news agency reported .
Top seed Nikolay Davydenko suffered first round exit after losing to Sweden 's Robin Soederling 3-6 , 6-4 , 6-1 at the Marseille ATP Open on Wednesday .
With a carnival lilt and a host of new backers , former union leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva kicked off his media campaign Monday for the deciding round of Brazil 's presidential elections .
World Cup-bound Sweden tied Scandinavian rival Norway 0-0 in a friendly match Wednesday .
Officials from the Czech Ministry of Finance said here on Tuesday that the country failed to fulfill its budget-balancing program for 1998 , which set both revenues and expenditures at 536.6 billion krone ( about 17.88 billion U.S. dollars ) .
Decisions became more meaningful at the World Series of Poker on Sunday , but players were still willing to gamble and play aggressively .
World number one Pete Sampras and fast-charging number two fellow American Andre Agassi could meet for the first time since their Australian Open final here next Sunday in the US Indoor final .
Vice President Annette Lu said Tuesday that human rights should be on the minds of everyone in Taiwan and that the true history of how the Kuomintang ( KMT ) trampled human rights when it ruled Taiwan with an iron fist must be made clear .
Steady rain forced a delay in the start of most outdoor events Sunday at the Asian Games , including matches in tennis , softball and baseball .
Germany 's top security official will meet with his Turkish counterparts to receive assurances that an Islamic militant wanted in Turkey for treason will get a fair trial if handed over to Ankara , the Interior Ministry said Monday .
William Joppy of the United States defended his World Boxing Association middleweight title Thursday , beating Japan 's Naotaka Hozumi by technical knockout in the 10th round .
Vice-Premier Li Lanqing has called for the promotion of quality education and education reform in a bid to train large numbers of highly skilled professionals capable of fostering comprehensive development in the next century .
The 20th session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program ( UNEP ) will meet at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi , capital of Kenya , from February 1 to 5 , Xinhua learned here Monday .
The Earth is a much more complex organism than either the Sun or Venus , which makes studying it all the more difficult .
South Korea 's pointman on North Korea , who held talks with Pyongyang 's supreme leader on his nuclear ambitions earlier this month , will travel to Washington to brief US officials on the meeting , officials said Tuesday .
David Moffett has spent less than a year as head of Sport England , but Saturday he said British sport would never enjoy long term success because of red tape and an unwillingness to change .
Former Interior Minister Driss Jettou was appointed prime minister on Wednesday by the Moroccan monarch , nearly two weeks after legislative elections that ended in a hairsplitting victory for the ruling Socialists .
Police in China have burnt 224 kilogrammes ( 493 pounds ) of drugs with an estimated street value of around 12 million dollars to mark the 166th anniversary of the Opium Wars with Britain , state media reported Saturday .
Hundreds of Maoist rebels stormed an army checkpost in Nepal 's far southwest , sparking fierce clashes which left at least three people dead , the army said Saturday .
East Timorese Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Wednesday that he would take two weeks ' leave from his job to campaign for the presidential election .
Two separate blasts overnight rocked the western Slovakian town of Zilina , ripping through cars and damaging buildings , the national TASR news agency reported Sunday .
The UK-based lubricant giant , Castrol , has reaffirmed that Manchester United captain David Beckham would arrive in Vietnam 's Ho Chi Minh City on June 25 , Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday .
Twenty-four members of the Georgian Interior Ministry 's special forces are undergoing training in the United States , a Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman said Monday .
A United Nations mediator said Tuesday there was renewed hope that neighbors Greece and Macedonia could break a deadlock in a dispute over the Balkan country 's name that has prevented Macedonia from joining NATO .
Many Canadians are questioning their military involvement in Afghanistan after four Canadian soldiers were killed accidentally by a U.S. bomb .
The African Development Bank ( ADB ) has pledged to support the mining sector in Nigeria , a senior leader of the bank said here at the weekend .
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke by telephone with her major power counterparts Monday about how to respond to the creation of a Palestinian unity government , a senior US official said .
European finance officials said it was up to China to decide when and how to make its currency more flexible , backing off from the US approach of pressuring Beijing over the issue .
Democrats sometimes fret that there are too many disparate voices in their party and too many prospects for the White House in 2004 .
Ten soldiers of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon ( UNIFIL ) were wounded , two of them seriously , in a traffic accident in south Lebanon this morning , the multi - national peace-keeping force announced .
An explosion caused extensive damage early Monday to the far-right National Front 's regional headquarters in Marseille , southeast France , police said .
Greek bank staff on Thursday called off a strike that had disrupted wage and tax payments for over three weeks , but promised continued opposition to a reform of their pension fund voted into law a few hours later .
A Hong-Kong based Taiwanese television anchorwoman was in a coma after being injured in a British train derailment , a spokeswoman for her station said Monday .
Police rushed to the U.S. Embassy in Paris on Tuesday in response to a bomb alert , police headquarters said .
The powerful IG Metall union said Tuesday it was extending a strike by 14,000 union members in Bavaria to a further 6,000 workers , hitting 33 factory sites in all to increase pressure on the employers to concede a pay rise .
Free agency opens in the NBA on Wednesday and few headline-stealing moves are expected .
Malaysia 's leader Tuesday urged ASEAN nations to loosen up their policy of not interfering in each other 's affairs , which critics said is a hurdle to the bloc 's efforts to push Myanmar toward democratic reforms .
AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato has married a Brazilian actress in a ceremony packed with celebrities and football stars .
`` The magic numbers , '' Milton Berle confided , `` are 50-85-90 .
The mayor of Moscow , Yuri Luzhkov wants more foreign investment to bring his city up to the standard of other major world capitals and is prepared to offer ironclad guarantees to investors , he told French businessmen .
Panic Room exceeds the bounds of its limited-setting premise , in which Jodie Foster fends off a home invasion from within the confines of an impregnable bunker in her New York City brownstone .
A Protestant men-only party that cites the Bible to justify its refusal to admit women was hauled into court Tuesday by nine Dutch feminist groups , in what could give yet another peek at the tender underbelly of traditionally tolerant Netherlands .
Sandy Fleischmann is reading a book while her husband , Jacques , leans against the seat on the front end of his 19-foot bass boat with his fishing line submerged in Castaic Lake .
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard will hold talks with the European champions over a new contract aimed at keeping him at the club beyond his current two-year deal .
Nearly 90 percent of the imported mail-order drugs stopped at the borders in a special crackdown by U.S. government agents were potentially dangerous , the Food and Drug Administration said Monday .
China Southern Airlines is to resume flights from Shantou , a coastal city in south China 's Guangdong Province , to Hong Kong on June 25 and to Bangkok on July 12 .
Actress Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 65th birthday Thursday just a week after an operation to remove a benign brain tumor .
Walt Disney Co. said it named Paul Saleh , former treasurer at Honeywell Inc. , as its new treasurer .
Gays wo n't be barred from serving as military police in Taiwan , the defense minister said Thursday , one day after a local newspaper reported that a new regulation banned homosexuals from the service .
Facing a Dec. 31 deadline to replenish a state fund for hospital care of the poor , Gov. Christie Whitman and the Legislature 's Republican leadership have agreed to raise some of the money by increasing the cigarette tax by as much as 25 cents a pack .
The International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) has urged the Philippine government to adopt a program that will result in a greater reduction of the budget deficit .
German media giant Bertelsmann AG said Thursday it plans to cut costs by between 60 million and 90 million euros ( US$ 59 and 89 million ) a year by bundling together its in-house information technology units .
A key federal regulator said Tuesday his agency must " seriously consider " imposing stringent limits on speculative trading of energy futures contracts , a move that would mark a major shift for the government .
Tokyo stocks rose modestly in early trading Wednesday , lifted by Wall Street 's advance the previous day .
Iran 's foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned Denmark 's ambassador to protest over the publication by a Danish newspaper of cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims .
Jimmy Carter ended his landmark visit to Cuba on Friday urging the United States and the Communist nation to initiate changes that might end 43 years of hostility .
China 's flagship container shipping line , the China Ocean Shipping Company ( COSCO ) , has traded sharply lower than its initial public offer ( IPO ) price on its debut Thursday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange .
In the first game of the rest of their season , the Los Angeles Dodgers faded .
LAS PALMAS , Canary Islands ( AP ) _ This week it is business as usual at the dlrs 1,530,000 ( 1,722,000 euros ) Gran Canaria Spanish Open .
On the first day of her trial for murder , the nurse who became known as the `` Black Angel '' claimed that she killed more than 30 patients in her care over a period of nine months .
The Israeli army escalated its ground military operations in several West Bank cities on Thursday , killing three Palestinians , security sources and witnesses said .
Israeli security forces concentrated a major search for a missing paratrooper on the Judaean desert on Thursday where he went hiking , police said .
Los Angeles businessman Joel Lipin is investing three days , and about $ 4,000 , at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to rev up his company 's sales and increase its exposure .
A total of NT$ 20 billion from the newly-established National Stabilization Fund ( NSF ) was injected into the Taipei stock market for the first time on Thursday to shore up share prices .
A North Korean ship tracked by the U.S. Navy because it was suspected of carrying illicit cargo and which reversed course without delivering its load has likely arrived back home , a South Korean official said Tuesday .
MOSCOW , January 17 ( Xinhua ) - Russian President Boris Yeltsin was taken to hospital on Sunday with what doctors believed to be severe bleeding ulcer , Tass reported .
A postponed United Nations human rights mission to Nigeria has now been cancelled because of the military government 's refusal to allow it to meet detainees , according to a UN official .
Prosecutors have asked Spain 's top investigating magistrate to probe secret offshore accounts once held by Spain 's second largest bank , raising the prospect of criminal charges , El Pais said Saturday .
Bush administration officials were outlining to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon U.S. plans to block any Iraqi missile attack on Israel in the event of a U.S.-led military campaign against Saddam Hussein .
A Tunisian army helicopter transporting soldiers from an inspection mission along the country 's northwestern border crashed Tuesday afternoon , claiming several lives , the official TAP news agency reported .
When Wilfried Hofmann was a young German exchange student in the United States 45 years ago , a car in which he had hitched a ride through Mississippi was hit head on by another car .
Thanks to the mummy 's curse , the riddle of the Sphinx and other shadowy lore , we tend to think of ancient Egypt in terms of mystery and , well , death .
An earthquake measuring a strong 5.5 on the Richter scale rocked southeastern Iran early Monday , state news agency IRNA reported .
Tax revenues in Mali are set to increase by 74.5 billion CFA francs ( 149 million U.S. dollars ) in 2007 and to reach 292.8 billion CFA francs in 2008 , based on the 218.3 billion CFA francs collected in 2006 , according to news reaching here .
Sri Lanka 's cricket board named injured off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan on Thursday to the 18-member team for the England tour that begins next week .
Five million pounds of donations flooded in to help the Kosovo refugees within 24 hours after a national television appeal for funds , according to charity organizers in Britain .
Lithuania on Friday submitted to the European Union ( EU ) an annual report on preparations for its entry into the bloc in 2004 , reports reaching here said .
An evening gala to mark International Children 's Day , which falls on June 1 , was staged in Beijing and broadcast live on the country 's dominant television station .
Rescuers have brought out the bodies of 31 miners killed at a weekend mine explosion in northeastern Colombia , an official said on Monday .
The bookish visitor in a conservative blue suit beamed with satisfaction as he watched a group of middle school students demonstrate their skills on eight new computers in the Demopolis Public Library .
A group of Indian activists and university students tried to storm a McDonald 's restaurant Wednesday as part of growing protests ahead of free trade talks scheduled this week .
As World Trade Organization members struggle for agreement on how to open markets to international trade , one of the biggest fights here likely will be whether to start even more negotiations .
The Australian Olympic Committee ( AOC ) announced Friday that no sufficient evidence found to prove five Australian cyclists using performance-enhancing drugs .
Chinese Ministry of Health ( MOH ) Friday reported neither new severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS ) cases nor new deaths from the disease on the Chinese mainland for the 24 hours from 10:00 a.m. June 19 to 10:00 a.m. June 20 .
European Union ( EU ) leaders put forward a diplomatic offer here on Wednesday about the future of Kosovo , saying they shall initiate their offer into a resolution to be adopted by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII .
France expressed cautious optimism that the U.N. Security Council would be able to vote Friday on a resolution toward ending the Mideast crisis , with the foreign minister headed to New York to join the debate .
Authorities Tuesday denied bail to two teenagers charged with murder and aggravated assault for allegedly beating homeless men in Florida but released another youth suspected in one of the three attacks .
Ahold , the world 's third-largest retailer , released worse-than-expected third quarter sales figures for its U.S. operations Friday .
The leader of France 's far-right National Front tried Monday to back off earlier comments he made questioning the `` Frenchness '' of the country 's mixed-race national soccer team .
Kimmo Rintanen scored halfway through the third period , lifting Finland to a 3-2 win Thursday over Sweden in the opening game of the European Hockey Tour .
Voters heading to the polls in 2004 will see new voting machines , provisional ballots and ID requirements under a bill Congress has sent to the White House .
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday described Monday 's three-way summit as an " opening meeting " , local media reported .
Abrupt changes in Brazil 's financial market over the past few days have attracted the attention of financial professionals and members of the general public in Beijing , the Chinese capital .
The United States is making clear to Yasser Arafat and others in the Palestinian Authority that it wants the next Palestinian prime minister to have the political and security muscle to crack down on terrorist groups .
US President George W. Bush on Thursday charged that Iran 's upcoming presidential election " ignores the basic requirements of democracy " and accused Tehran of backing international terrorism .
Seven people were killed and 67 injured in three bomb explosions in Urumqi , the capital of northwest China 's Moslem-majority Xinjiang province , official sources said Wednesday .
Taiwan is to reduce the size of its armed forces while pushing ahead with a multi-billion dollar modernization programme which will boost combat preparedness , reports said Sunday .
The United States signaled Wednesday that it was open to a third term for UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei , but stopped short of endorsing a new mandate outright .
Abdelkader El Mouaziz of Morocco produced a superb display of front-running to win the London Marathon in two hours seven minutes and 57 seconds .
American Stacy Dragila became the brightest star on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships when she won the women 's paul vault with a world record mark of 4.60 meters Sunday evening .
Cubans are drawing on a wide range of spiritual traditions , calling out to the African gods of Santeria , the saints of Roman Catholicism and the Christian God of Protestant faiths in prayers for ailing leader Fidel Castro 's health and peace on the island .
Hopes for South Korea 's early economic turnaround faded Thursday as consumers expressed gloom about future prospects and official figures showed a prolonged weakness in domestic demand and exports .
A 32-year-old Israeli man appeared in court Monday charged with the fatal stabbing of another Israeli national near Sydney 's Bondi Beach at the weekend .
The dollar rose against other major currencies here early Thursday , pushed up by cover buying on a quiet market .
Heaping on more anti-American rhetoric , Greece on Monday complained that U.S. intervention on such issues as Cyprus has served only to confuse the situation .
Uruguayan forward Alvaro Recoba , nursing a knee injury , insisted Thursday he would play in his squad 's World Cup opener against Denmark .
A U.N. helicopter carrying officials trying to help Bosnia carry out elections crashed Wednesday in central Bosnia , killing all 12 passengers , U.N. officials said .
A firebrand Hindu leader who charged a judge with corruption had a one-week jail sentence suspended by India 's Supreme Court Wednesday .
Gov. Fife Symington announced Friday that two friends have formed a trust fund to pay legal bills arising from civil and criminal investigations into his failed real-estate dealings .
Former Croatian general Vladimir Zagorec is to challenge in the European Court of Human Rights an international arrest warrant issued by the Croatian authorities , his lawyers said on Wednesday .
Brazil 's president-elect has set a goal of stamping out hunger in his first year in office , but the hard part will be paying for it .
Nearly three weeks before they announced a $ 600 billion effort to shore up the economy , Federal Reserve officials debated whether to adopt formal targets for inflation and long-term interest rates and whether the Fed chairman , Ben S. Bernanke , should " hold occasional press briefings . "
Seventh seed Greg Rusedski of Britain was beaten by American qualifier Paul Goldstein at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne on Thursday .
A day after Elvis Presley died , Fred Daviss stood in the living room in the King 's Graceland home , looking down at his body in a coffin .
Swedish police are using DNA testing to link the 35-year-old drifter they arrested to the slaying of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh , but are seeking at least five more people who fit the profile of her killer .
Environmentalists have taken their campaign against Disney 's plan to serve sharks ' fin dishes at its Hong Kong theme park to the city 's political leaders , activists said Monday .
The Danes on Tuesday asked Russia to provide proof of its claim that `` terrorists '' were participating in a conference on the breakaway republic of Chechnya .
Major European stock markets ended lower Thursday as a glum profit outlook from mobile phone giant Nokia dampened the market 's sentiment and investors feared that 2004 earnings might not live up to high expectations .
Romanian authorities said Thursday they will prosecute a television station for broadcasting pictures of a television personality in her bedroom without her approval .
Nepal is working towards acquiring membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO ) , from which the country could benefit by getting oil and energy support , local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported on Monday .
EU foreign policy envoy Javier Solana Monday welcomed North Korea 's agreement to six-party talks on the Stalinist state 's nuclear ambitions .
The Hungarian Health Ministry has decided to forbid advertisement of any foodstuff for babies under six months of age in an effort to promote breast-feeding .
Two local political party offices , vehicles , and other property were damaged in a 15-minute spate of arson attacks in Athens early Tuesday , police said .
The founder of budget airline easyJet is to step down as chairman , but will retain a significant stake in the company , it was announced Thursday .
Australian share prices rose 0.17 percent Tuesday as resources stocks benefited from rising oil prices , dealers said .
A two-day blockade of a key railway station by hundreds of caddies facing unemployment if the government shuts their golf course has ended with pledges to find them new jobs .
The shadowy head of Peru 's national intelligence service may be called to testify in the investigation into an alleged telephone espionage by intelligence agents , a state prosecutor said Thursday .
Sobbing relatives gathered at coastal river ports Tuesday to identity their loved ones who drowned four days ago when their ferry sank in a rainstorm , killing more than 300 people .
Car bombs in two Shiite villages on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul killed 16 civilians and injured more than two dozen on Wednesday , authorities said .
Israeli troops have arrested a Palestinian cameraman working for WTN after he filmed youths pelting rocks at soldiers , the British television agency said Sunday .
About 20 Oriental white storks , a species near extinction , have apparently elected to spend the summer in east China 's Poyang Lake Nature Reserve , a major habitat of migratory birds , after their fellows flew back to the north .
Hong Kong Monetary Authority ( HKMA ) announced Monday that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to 120.1 billion US dollars at the end of May 2004 .
The 28th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held here is highly praised by participants from the world .
Latin America 's three major stock markets -- Sao Paulo , Buenos Aires and Mexico City -- closed mixed on Wednesday .
At least 15 people were killed and 50 wounded in three consecutive car bombings in central Baghdad Thursday , an interior ministry source said .
Deanna Nolan scored 19 points and Cheryl Ford added a double-double as the Detroit Shock clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs by beating the Connecticut Sun 88-65 on Sunday .
A Senior Malaysian official urged Friday the local information technology ( IT ) companies to establish indigenous creative IT industry that can generate products and services for local and foreign markets .
Unidentified attackers hurled a grenade into a market in a remote mountain town in war-ravaged Kashmir on Monday , injuring at least 15 civilians , police said .
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators reached an agreement on Tuesday to end the five-week siege at the Church of the Nativity , but the deal stalled after Italy said no one had asked its consent to send a group of Palestinian militants into exile there .
The backing of hardliners , a knack for drawing on the concerns of the poor and his opponent 's failure to shake off an unappealing image propelled Mahmood Ahmadinejad Saturday to the biggest political upset in modern Iranian history .
Britain Friday lifted exclusion orders banning 10 persons from British territory under its Prevention of Terrorism Act , saying they were no longer considered a threat .
US aeronautic giant Boeing said Wednesday it had won a firm order for 18 of its 737-800 jets from Air Europa .
Vietnam 's stock market has temporarily suspended trading of one of its 19 listed companies over tax fraud , a stock exchange official said Thursday .
Iraq could become a haven for terrorists if the United States does not provide money needed to help rebuild the country , the U.S. administrator told senators Monday as he urged them to approve an $ 87 billion spending request .
Taiwan is planning to rename the memorial for its former president Chiang Kai - shek , officials said Saturday , the latest name-changing move by the independence-leaning government .
Not even a rainstorm could cool Michael Chang on Thursday in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic .
President George W. Bush on Friday named retired vice admiral John Redd as director of the new National Counterterrorism Center that collects information about terrorist threats against the United States , the White House said .
Panic seized India 's international airport Thursday after an anonymous caller said a woman passenger on an Air India flight to Hong Kong was carrying explosives .
In a historical second opinion , Texas researchers question whether polio was the cause of Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's paralytic illness .
In a move designed to foster reconciliation , Justice Minister Dullah Omar on Tuesday announced the creation of a Truth Commission to probe human rights abuses by all South African political groups .
Grubb & Ellis Co. shares rose for a fourth-straight trading day , buoyed by better than expected earnings at the commercial real estate brokerage firm .
Thousands of travelers were stranded Tuesday when travel on the high-speed Eurostar trains that link Paris , London and Brussels was halted because of a technical problem , French rail authorities said .
Bad things happen to bad teams and the Jets , with only three wins in 14 games after losing to the Patriots , 31-28 , Sunday , have been playing miserably .
Global production of the Toyota Motor Corp. group is expected to increase 10.4 percent in 2004 over the previous year to an all-time high of 7.54 million vehicles , Toyota President Fujio Cho said Tuesday .
A mining company said today it had discovered enough coal resources in Zimbabwe to support a thermal power station for over 100 years and make the country self-sufficient in power generation for the first time .
Poland 's prime minister said Wednesday that his country is seeking closer economic cooperation with states in the Persian Gulf region .
Iran 's state television is reporting that a Greek journalist that had been held for more than two weeks has been released .
About 1,000 supporters of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa gathered at the State House in Lusaka Monday to demand the expulsion of former vice president Enock Kavindele from the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy ( MMD ) .
The governing coalition 's candidate conceded defeat Wednesday in Mali 's presidential elections , ceding the top job to a former junta chief who first led the West African nation into democracy .
The former head of Denmark 's public radio and television broadcaster says in a new book that the government pressured the company over its critical coverage of the Iraq war .
Senator John McCain graduated fifth from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy , in 1958 , yet in conversations today he talks easily about such rarefied subjects as Somerset Maugham 's fiction and Henry 's Kissinger 's geopolitical strategy .
The US government on Wednesday said it wants Canada to move toward a market-based system for softwood lumber exports in order to eliminate stiff US tariffs , local media reported .
Pakistani police in northern city of Peshawar Sunday seized huge cache of lethal weapons and ammunition in a passenger bus heading to the port city of Karachi .
The leader of an anti-graft campaign told a trial court Monday that the Assembly and Parade Law should be abolished because it infringes on the constitutional rights of the people of Taiwan .
Khaleda Zia , head of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( BNP ) , has called for anti-government action starting with nationwide demonstrations on March 3 , it was reported here Thursday .
South Africa bounced back to win the second and final Test against England 27-9 to level the series at 1-1 at Newlands here Saturday .
A group of states seeking stronger antitrust sanctions against Microsoft on Monday modified their proposed remedies to try to assure a federal judge that their proposals are technically practical and not a recipe for chaos in the personal computer industry , as Microsoft has predicted .
Over 100 youth organizations gathered in Kowloon today to celebrate the National Day of the People 's Republic of China .
Thousands of frightened and angry tenants are expected to swell the marbled corridors of the State Capitol in the coming week , demanding a stay of execution for the law that limits rent increases on one million apartments in New York City and its suburbs .
Three people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a pickup truck loaded with explosives at the gate of a US airbase in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday .
The European Union 's plans to bring in 10 new members by 2004 will be jeopardized if France and Germany fail this week to resolve their dispute over how to pay for the expansion , the EU 's presidency warned Tuesday .
With former President Roh Tae-woo now in jail because of charges of corruption and other matters , another major target of the government 's investigation is a U.S. military contractor that has been widely suspected of paying bribes in South Korea .
A bomb exploded Saturday outside a building housing the U.S. and British consulates in Yekaterinburg , causing no casualties .
A Boeing 757 with Franco-British millionaire Jimmy Goldsmith aboard lost a wheel over Strasbourg on Tuesday , but managed to land safely at the airport here .
Major European stock markets ended higher Thursday as health care stocks benefited from a move out of economically sensitive media and technology stocks following a host of profit warnings from US tech companies .
The International Ski Federation announced several ski racing innovations Friday , including a new format for the speed disciplines and a special `` Knock Out '' slalom .
International aid agency officials said Tuesday that Israel 's offensive in the West Bank has caused a humanitarian crisis in Palestinian areas .
Egyptian antiquities authorities have approved dlrs 1.5 million for the restoration of the 2,300 year old Edfu temple in southern Egypt , a Culture Ministry statement said Monday .
Latest statistics show that Shanghai Volkswagen sold 28,000 sedans in July , reclaiming the No. 1 position of car sales in the Chinese market .
A critic of the government told a military court Wednesday she had a constitutional right to express views that resulted in charges of publishing false information .
The great mare Zenyatta was retired Wednesday and will be sent in early December to her new home at Lane 's End farm near Versailles , Ky .
West African mediators said Friday they were returning to Ivory Coast with a new plan to end a bloody uprising , as a U.N. agency warned that a looming humanitarian crisis in the West African country could destabilize the entire region .
German budget airline Air Berlin said Thursday it has bought rival dba to expand its domestic business and announced improved earnings .
Facing criticism that an early version of a proposed rate reduction favored large businesses , Consolidated Edison and state regulators agreed Wednesday to an across-the-board 10 percent cut in electric rates , the largest rollback in half a century .
China kept alive their chances of equalling last year 's open era record of four of the five All-England titles when Lin Dan struggled into the men 's singles final on Saturday .
Australia and South Africa have contrasting reasons to covet victory in the opening match of the New Zealand Centenary one-day cricket series at the Basin Reserve here Wednesday .
Myanmar Education Minister and Secretary-General of the Union Solidarity Development Association ( USDA ) U Than Aung said Chinese youth volunteers to Myanmar will add to the substantive contents in the exchange of youths between the two countries .
The Legislative Yuan unfroze two Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( MOFA ) budgetary plans for 2007 Monday after the Foreign Ministry decided to forego their implementation .
The two men identified themselves as pilots when they came to the emergency room of Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale , Fla. , last June .
England selectors called up batsman Ian Bell to face Australia in the third test after Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of the rest of the Ashes series following Achilles surgery .
Underestimated and out of the spotlight for most of its Euro 2004 qualifying campaign , the Czech Republic outclassed the Netherlands 3-1 Wednesday night to breeze into next year 's finals and prove it ranks among the best soccer teams on the continent .
Insurance companies in this Chinese national capital of Beijing raked in 12.31 billion yuan ( 1 .
Zimbabwean opposition party Sunday called on the government to halt the drafting of a new constitution until the National Constitutional Assembly ( NCA ) agrees to participate on the behalf of the majority of Zimbabweans .
A massive blackout hit Italy on Sunday , cutting power to millions of Italians who woke up to find their phone lines silent and their televisions black , while drivers struggled through streets without traffic lights and trains remained stuck on the tracks .
An American-born prisoner from the Afghan war was transferred Friday from a U.S. Navy base in Cuba to a military jail in Virginia while the Justice Department sought to decide his legal status .
Uganda Railways Corporation ( URC ) is in need of 23 billion shillings ( about 13 million US dollars ) to ensure a continued operation , reported local media on Thursday .
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres on Tuesday refused to be " bellicose " towards Iran and said he hoped Tehran would renounce its nuclear drive out of its own interest .
A song that Elvis Presley helped write , but never recorded , fetched 19,500 pounds ( dlrs 30,000 ) at auction Thursday .
An express train rammed into a bus at an unmanned crossing in eastern Bangladesh , killing three people and injuring at least 40 others , a news agency reported Friday .
World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson will be on the bench for England 's Six Nations opener against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday .
The 11th ministerial session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD ) was formally inaugurated here on Monday .
Leave it to Daimler-Benz to upstage the industry when it comes to blending luxury and technology _ enter the ML320 luxury sport/utility .
The European Union and South Korea are moving closer to a free-trade agreement , but the 27-nation bloc is not yet ready to sign the deal because of potential questions from some EU members , Sweden 's prime minister said Monday .
U.S.-led special forces engaged suspected al-Qaida terrorists in two firefights near the eastern border with Pakistan , killing up to four of them , the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Tuesday .
Federal authorities announced a nationwide sweep of identity theft arrests Thursday , charging the people with using false credentials to cover up a murder , sell homes belonging to the elderly and exercise 176,000 stock options belonging to an unknowing company executive .
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko Tuesday as part of a visit expected to reaffirm Washington 's support for Kiev 's pro-Western course over opposition from Moscow .
British scientists claimed Wednesday to have created human sperm from embryonic stem cells for the first time , an accomplishment they say may someday help infertile men father children .
The widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl gave birth to a healthy baby boy in Paris on Tuesday .
An anti-government demonstrator was shot and killed and another died after a heart attack in the southern Albanian town of Vlore , hospital officials said Monday .
Nuremberg striker Robert Vittek will miss several weeks after injuring his left knee in a friendly for Slovakia .
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev struck a preliminary deal Monday to reduce their nations ' stockpiles of nuclear warheads to as few as 1,500 each , pointing their arsenals toward the lowest levels of any U.S.-Russia arms control agreement .
Lleyton Hewitt faces a potential semi-final showdown with world number one Roger Federer if he is to become the first home player in 30 years to win the Australian Open , which starts here on Monday .
A U.S. soldier was killed and two others wounded in a clash with suspected Taliban rebels in southeastern Afghanistan , the U.S. military said Tuesday .
One policeman was killed and another was critically wounded when their patrol car drove over a camouflaged land mine in North Ossetia , a news agency said Saturday .
Groups campaigning against alleged Chinese repression in Tibet filed a lawsuit at Madrid 's high court on Tuesday against former Chinese president Jiang Zemin and former prime minister Li Peng .
Real estate developer Donald J. Trump completed his purchase of 40 Wall Street , buying the 70-story office building across from the New York Stock Exchange for a price estimated below $ 8 million .
Eric Wynalda cancelled out an early Switzerland goal with a stunning long-range free kick for the United States to equalise at 1-1 at halftime in their World Cup Group A match Saturday .
Vivendi Universal reported a strong first-half performance in its media and telecommunications divisions Wednesday _ signs of a mounting recovery by the French media giant after hovering on the verge of bankruptcy just a year ago .
After extending an historic olive branch to Ulster unionists , the Sinn Fein political wing of the Irish Republican Army Sunday set about formulating a response to the four-day-old Anglo-Irish peace initiative .
US President George W. Bush urged Congress on Thursday to pass an expanded anti-terror law which would give greater powers to law enforcement agencies to monitor the private lives of people living in the United States .
British Telecommunications Plc has acquired French technology systems integration company Europe Informatique to establish a presence in France , the key remaining gap in its European expansion plans .
NEW YORK , January 26 ( Xinhua ) -- Wall Street stock prices stood higher Tuesday mostly on the share splits announced by a number of companies .
Russian runner Tatyana Pozdnyakova broke the women 's record in the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon by nearly 15 minutes Sunday , winning a dlrs 10,000 bonus .
Buildings inside the Church of the Nativity compound were briefly aflame Wednesday night after rifle fire at Manger Square ignited into the worst skirmish at the compound since the beginning of the siege early last month .
Rival lawyers at Michael Jackson 's child sex trial were set to present their crucial closing arguments Thursday before handing the case to the 12 jurors who will decide the pop star 's fate .
Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has a stomach illness and could be in doubt for England 's Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovakia this weekend .
When the doors to the European Fine Art Fair opened on Friday afternoon , the 198 exhibitors were all smiles , eager to talk about the prized offerings they were placing before some 8,200 visitors who poured into the convention center where the fair is held every March .
Lower sales and restructuring charges helped drive chemical giant DuPont Co. 's profit down 61 percent in the second quarter , overshadowing a strong showing by its agriculture and nutrition business .
Kuwait 's ambassador to the United Nations said that military action against Iraq must be `` within the United Nations framework . ''
The New York Knicks re-signed reserve guard Scott Brooks , providing insurance in the back court should either Allan Houston or Charlie Ward miss significant playing time .
The ruble fell by 25 points to 4,231 to the dollar here on Tuesday .
The Senate Commerce Committee 's vote will come about three months after the industry began rating TV shows according to whether they 're appropriate for children of certain ages .
An accused terrorist who won a landmark case at Canada 's top court last month that forced Ottawa to rethink its hawkish security laws , will soon return to the tribunal to try to jab holes in the case against him .
The Detroit Tigers ' stretched their losing streak to eight games _ their worst start in a half-century _ as Frank Thomas capped a five-run fifth inning with a three-run homer Wednesday that led the Chicago White Sox to a 7-5 win .
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Thursday reported a better-than-expected third quarter net profit of 86 million euros ( $ 83.8 million ) , up from 27 million euros ( $ 26.3 million ) last year .
Macao 's incumbent chief executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah on Thursday made a public announcement on his re - election candidacy .
A year ago , Derek Fisher blossomed into a playoff hero before the eyes of a national television audience .
A head on collision between a van and a bus traveling in the Hambantota district in southern Sri Lanka killed 10 people on board the van on Saturday , police said .
Vietnam is to take concrete measures to boost the country 's exports in 2003 , according to a report of Vietnam News Agency on Tuesday .
It 's officially an epidemic ... numb thumbs in the Lakers ' locker room .
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday set three " strategic conditions " for the government 's resumption of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front , the biggest rebel group in the country .
One worker in this capital city of Guangdong Province was drowned Friday as seawater flowed backward while he was working in a seaside culvert , police said Saturday .
A two-day international donors ' meeting that aims to raise 1.5 billion dollars to help fight bird flu opened in Beijing Tuesday amid warnings of a " great risk " of a global pandemic .
Turkey appeared divided Sunday over a proposed amnesty for prisoners which would empty out the country 's overcrowded prisons of all inmates except those convicted of terrorism .
Hong Kong share prices finished the Thursday morning session 0.42 percent higher on continued buying of blue chips and H-shares by institutional investors , dealers said .
NATO 's senior civilian representative here provoked sharp criticism from children 's advocates Monday after he said Kabul was safer for children than many Western cities .
Ten years after the signing of historic peace accords whose goals were never achieved , Yasser Arafat said Saturday that the Mideast conflict is facing its most difficult moment since and urged Israel to return to negotiations following an Israeli threat to send him into exile .
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday recommended extension of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( UNIFIL ) for a further period of six months until July 31 , 1999 .
The New Taiwan dollar rose NT$ 0.002 against the US dollar on the Taipei foreign exchange market Tuesday , closing at 32.343 .
Thailand retained the overall championship title in the 25th King 's Cup International Amateur Boxing Tournament Wednesday , clinching eight gold medals on the final day of the event .
In the last hours before the nation came to know Venus Williams on a first-name basis , she showed up at Shea Stadium to take batting practice .
The path is now clear for General Motors to leave bankruptcy protection in record time as a leaner company that is better equipped to compete in a brutal global auto market .
The new Iraqi president will be announced by United Nations special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi " in the next hour , " CNN said on Tuesday .
Gold closed at U.S. dlrs 311.75 an ounce on Monday in Hong Kong , up dlrs 1.50 from Saturday 's close of dlrs 310.25 .
President Bush 's national security adviser was fielding a question the other day on how it is that the United States can shine as a beacon of democracy in a troubled world and still court unelected leaders in places like Saudi Arabia , Pakistan and China .
President Bill Clinton renewed the US commitment to Middle East peace Sunday as diplomats from Israel , Egypt , Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization gathered for one-day negotiations .
Northern Algeria , Tunisia and northern Libya will be cloudy Thursday with showers over northern Tunisia and thunderstorms over the Atlas Mountains of east-central Algeria .
The Ford Motor Co. said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Belarussian government to assemble vehicles from kits in the capital of Minsk .
NATO on Thursday formally proposed fresh cuts in the overall level of conventional forces in Europe , a statement issued at talks in Vienna said .
Carmaker Renault SA on Thursday rejected pleas for handouts by laid-off workers at a French auto parts supplier , offering a compromise that employees said was n't enough to defuse their threat to blow up their factory .
Britain faces what is probably the most sustained period of severe threat since the end of World War II , Home Secretary John Reid said Wednesday .
The Ottawa Senators , eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference semifinals earlier this week , extended the contract of head coach Jacques Martin for another year , through the 2003-04 season .
The British government on Wednesday rejected as " completely without foundation " Iran 's claim that British soldiers in Iraq were behind a twin bomb attack in the Iranian oil city of Ahvaz .
A senior Iranian negotiator hinted Wednesday that UN nuclear inspectors would not be visiting the Parchin military site in Iran , where the United States says weapons work is going on , anytime soon .
Two Buddhist Thais , including a police officer , were shot dead by suspected Islamic militants as the government extended emergency rule in the Muslim south , police said Tuesday .
King Abdullah II Bin Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan leaves Beijing for Hong Kong Tuesday evening to continue his state visit to China .
Wicketkeeper Adam Parore scored his maiden Test century as New Zealand reached 341 for eight declared in their rain-shortened first Test against West Indies here Monday .
The Damascus-based leader of a radical PLO faction has asked Israeli Arab legislators for help in getting the Israeli government 's permission to settle in the autonomous Palestinian areas .
Turkey coach Aydin Ors resigned Wednesday , two weeks after his team was eliminated in the group stage of the European Basketball Championships .
Supporters of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo maintained barricades in Abidjan Wednesday , bringing the west African country 's main city to a halt for the third straight day .
Asserting that a Supreme Court decision last month had created `` a wave of instability in the federal sentencing system , '' the Justice Department on Wednesday asked the court to review as soon as possible two federal cases that call into question sentencing guidelines .
While final preparations are under way for the shipment of water in bags to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state , Turkey has also launched a study to build a fresh water pipeline to the Mediterranean island .
Luyendyk pulled into the pits without taking the green flag for what would have been his second attempt at 5:58 p.m. Saturday , two minutes before the end of Pole Day qualifications at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway .
Turkey 's police chief said Thursday that European allies and neighbors have provided support for Turkish terror groups and denounced " double standards " in the global struggle against terrorism , Anatolia news agency reported .
France should continue to sell defensive weapons to Taiwan and should step up bilateral ties after last Saturday 's election of Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang ( KMT ) as Taiwan 's new president , said Michel C. L. Lu , Taiwan 's representative to France , Tuesday in Paris .
Five men accused of being members of a white supremacist gang were found guilty Monday on federal racketeering , drug and firearms charges stemming from what prosecutors called a reign of intimidation and violence in Nevada prisons .
Four Cambodians , including three children aged under five , died after eating a sea turtle caught off the kingdom 's coast , while 62 were hospitalised , police and health officials said Wednesday .
For months , Minnesota Twins fans settled for small gestures to show how much they disliked commissioner Bud Selig , the man who tried to get rid of their team .
The Obama administration says it is prepared to release one of the youngest prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay , days after signaling it may bring him to the United States for a criminal trial .
Frank Beserra , a Hispanic Republican , has not been all that impressed with his party 's past efforts to attract minorities .
More and more Chinese are buying houses and apartments on their own , according to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics .
President Clinton 's top foreign-policy advisers wrestled Tuesday with ways to reinstate a crumbling cease-fire in Bosnia , and proposed to supply United Nations peacekeeping troops with heavy weapons to better protect civilians and safeguard relief supplies .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) warned Wednesday that there is an urgent need to rebuild public health systems capable of containing the spread of communicable diseases in Kosovo .
Eastward expansion of the European Union will need care and long transition to avoid a brain drain in eastern Europe and cheap goods and labor flooding into the west , Austria 's foreign minister said in an interview Monday .
The world 's major oil producing nations are unlikely to cut oil production for the rest of this year because they want to ensure sufficient supplies for the global market , OPEC President Edmund Daukoru said Thursday .
German Finance Minister Theo Waigel said Wednesday he had never specified the date of his resignation , despite a television report that he would quit after the September 1998 federal elections .
Nepalese communist party leader Ishwor Pokhrel , a former minister , was released on Wednesday more than four months after his arrest following King Gyanendra 's seizure of power , party officials said .
England 's Nigel Mansell defends his Milwaukee 200 Indy-car title here Sunday , trying to snap the three-race win streak of the powerful Roger Penske team .
The Cambodian government has showed its political will to properly manage the development of the kingdom 's extractive industries , said United States Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli here on Friday .
China 's top economic planning body issued a regulation on tightening drug pricing on Sunday .
Reynolds Metals Co. said it will sell its aluminum rolling mill in Alabama and related assets to Aluminum Co. of America and record a loss of $ 225 million to $ 250 million from the transaction .
Five Russian servicemen were killed when two armored personnel carriers hit mines near a movie theater in the Chechen capital on Friday , news reports said .
Asia 's largest clothing retailer , Giordano Holdings Ltd. , said Wednesday its profit after tax and minority interests rose 42 percent on a year earlier to 195.3 million Hong Kong dollars ( 25.23 million US ) in the year to December .
U.S. poultry imports are beginning to trickle back into Russia more than a month after Russia lifted its ban on American chicken , Russia 's Agriculture Ministry and U.S. poultry producers said Wednesday .
The outlines of an agreement to resolve the 35-day standoff at the Church of the Nativity were taking shape Monday , but the sides remained at odds on several issues , including how many of the wanted Palestinians holed up in one of Christendom 's holiest shrines would be deported .
The U.S. Customs Service confirmed Tuesday that officials have seen an intelligence report describing 25 Islamic extremists entering the U.S. as stowaways in cargo ships .
Canadian government bonds were little changed after a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan late Friday renewed expectations that the Federal Reserve may lift lending rates again before the end of the year .
Two trustees named by Michael Jackson to administer his estate have won a judge 's written order to move ahead in spite of new opposition by Katherine Jackson 's lawyers , who continue to claim she " should be treated like a third trustee . "
The European Parliament heard pleas Tuesday for the European Union to get the Bush administration to either release or try 20 European citizens who are among some 660 people being held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba .
India 's rapidly growing software and outsourcing industry said Wednesday that the nation 's university graduates lack the skills needed for an estimated one million jobs in the next four years .
Angry opponents of the Gaza Strip pullout turned a funeral Sunday for a slain Israeli teenager into a mass protest against the withdrawal and clashed with troops demolishing abandoned houses in the occupied territory .
The Israel Army intensified Saturday its widespread military operation in the northern Gaza village of Beit Hanoun for the fifth consecutive day , residents and security sources reported .
Nottingham Forest 's star striker Stan Collymore was cleared of attacking two young men outside a nightclub last summer here on Wednesday .
Gheorghe Hagi , Romania 's captain , stole the honours from the much - vaunted Carlos Valderrama in a meeting of two of the World Cup 's outstanding playmakers to steer Romania to an upset 3-1 victory over the fancied Colombians here on Saturday .
Two British policewomen who supplied drugs to friends were jailed for 12 months at Liverpool Crown Court Tuesday , it is reported here today .
Glum and almost silent , Texas Sen. Drew Nixon pleaded guilty Monday to two misdemeanor counts resulting from his arrest seven months ago for soliciting sex from an undercover Austin policewoman .
Fidel Castro , who has wielded absolute power over Cuba and defied the United States for 47 years , was recovering from intestinal surgery Tuesday , his allies said , after temporarily turning over authority to his brother Raul .
The Tanzanian government has collected taxes amounting to 272.5 billion Shillings ( about 400 million U.S. Dollars ) between July and November last year , surpassing the target by 10.5 billion Shillings .
Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines rejected , by a narrow margin , a third attempt to be represented by a union .
Thai paramilitary forces Sunday fought a gunbattle with members of a breakaway ethnic Karen group which crossed the into Thailand from Burma , Thai television said .
An English police force faced a civil lawsuit Thursday from a young woman who was punched five times by a police officer as he arrested her during a scuffle outside a night club last year .
Chinese President Jiang Zemin declared the opening of the 22nd Universal Postal Congress in Beijing this morning .
Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed at 5,316.2 points Wednesday , 2.3 points up from Tuesday 's finish .
Indonesia , which has been pushing Southeast Asian nations for tougher action against human rights violators , said Tuesday that 2010 elections in military-ruled Myanmar would not be free and fair if democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi remained in detention .
Several mortar shells hit Somalia 's presidential residence in Mogadishu Tuesday , witnesses said , just hours after President Abdullahi Yusuf moved there from the provincial town of Baidoa .
Sri Lanka will adopt a step-by-step approach to peace with Tamil Tiger rebels and try to strengthen the ceasefire in a new round of talks next month , President Mahinda Rajapakse told AFP on Tuesday .
Egypt suspended its agriculture relations with Israel when it decided to limit its diplomatic ties , Egyptian Agriculture Minister announced Wednesday .
Investors bought stocks furiously on Thursday , sending the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 500 points in its biggest one-day point gain since October 1987 .
Al-Qaida-linked militants freed an Italian Red Cross worker Sunday from six months of jungle captivity in the southern Philippines after a government negotiator agreed to release two arrested wives of the kidnappers ' leader , officials said .
Amid hopes of a breakthrough in tense inter-Korean relations , a presidential envoy from the South will visit North Korea to try to persuade the communist country to stop developing weapons of mass destruction .
These sports stories for release Thursday , March 9 , 2000 , are moving today to clients of the New York Times News Service .
The Chinese government donated equipment worth 2.08 million naira ( 1.6 million U.S. dollars ) here on Thursday to Nigeria 's Nnamdi Azikiwe University to help the university improve teaching of Chinese language .
Pamela Chepchumba of Kenya will be banned for two years for her positive test of erythropoietin ( EPO ) at the world cross country championships , Athletics Kenya said on Thursday .
A key U.N. atomic agency meeting moved closer Wednesday to setting a deadline committing Iran to prove by next month that it is not running a secret nuclear weapons program .
Glenn Robinson , the projected top pick in Wednesday 's National Basketball Association draft , will attend the selection ceremony even though his agent says the event is illegal .
As President Bush seeks to build support for the war against terror , many Europeans believe the fallout from Sept. 11 has complicated joint U.S.-European efforts to pursue peace between Israel and the Palestinians .
The Village Voice , founded 42 years ago by apostles of urban culture , will begin publication of a sister publication , The Long Island Voice , on Thursday .
Canadians vote Monday in an election expected to drive the scandal-smeared Liberal Party from power after 12 dominant years , and nudge the country to the right with a new Conservative-led government .
Boy Scouts in bright-green uniforms pulled scorched bodies and body parts Sunday from the charred wreckage of an airliner that plowed through homes , mosques and a school in the northern Nigeria city of Kano .
Backers and bashers of Salt Lake City 's bid for the 2002 Olympic Games are getting ready for a visit this month from five members of the International Olympic Committee .
A world-first technique that will slash tens of millions of U.S. dollars off Australia 's mining costs has been developed by a team of experts led by a Chinese Australian scientist , Australia 's leading research body announced here Monday .
Leaders of London 's bid to host the 2012 Olympics on Monday hailed the IOC 's final evaluation report as a sign that front-runners Paris could still be caught in the final sprint for the biggest prize in sport .
Moroccan authorities said Sunday 78 would-be immigrants were arrested on the beach in the northern town of Nador as they were getting ready to embark for Spain .
PARIS ( AP ) - Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul-Kader Bajammal assured France on Friday that his country will cooperate in the investigation into the terrorist attack on a French oil tanker .
All eyes will be on China and the United States after five days of steep drops on the Hong Kong exchange threatened further falls in the coming week , dealers said Friday .
St. Peter 's Basilica , hub of the Catholic world and one of Rome 's most treasured monuments , is to get a facelift as part of Pope John Paul II 's plans to mark the year 2000 , the Italian press reported Tuesday .
President Boris Yeltsin will launch a bitter attack against Russian military operations in the breakaway republic of Chechnya when he addresses the Russian parliament on Thursday in his annual state of the nation speech .
Farmers upset over high government taxes drove their tractors into an eastern Chinese city to block traffic in protest , a Hong Kong-based rights group reported Wednesday .
The United States repeated on Thursday its demand that rebel groups in Darfur quit killing each other and said a strong and mobile U.N. peacekeeping force must be in the Sudanese region by Oct. 1 to make them stop .
A fire tore through a firecracker factory in southern India , killing at least 16 people and injuring an additional 25 , news reports said Wednesday .
Finland is discussing with its EU partners the possibility of granting asylum to Chinese dissidents living in hiding with their families in Hong Kong , the Finnish foreign ministry said on Tuesday .
A political extremist convicted of murdering a policeman in 1993 was put to death in the electric chair Friday , becoming the first woman executed in Alabama in 45 years .
Prosecutors seeking the death penalty for a man convicted of killing two women with hammers can not bring up his first manslaughter conviction in court , a Broward County judge ruled .
More than 50,000 sheep stranded for five weeks on an Australian ship should be killed to end their suffering , an opposition leader and a respected animal welfare group said Friday , claiming that thousands of the animals had already died .
Next month 's Myanmar Open golf tournament has been postponed until later in the year after a scheduling clash , Asian Tour officials said on Thursday .
Two boats capsized in western India when the passengers panicked after seeing a bolt of lightning , police said Sunday .
Bosnia 's joint Moslem-Croat army is set for a new supply of artillery and air defence guns and armoured troop carriers , US special envoy to the Balkans James Pardew announced Friday .
Laure Manaudou of France improved on her own world record Sunday in the women 's 400-meter freestyle at the European Swimming Championships , finishing in 4 minutes , 2.13 seconds .
Leaders of the world 's richest democracies Saturday urged North Korea to join four-nation peace talks on reducing tensions on the volatile Korean peninsula .
William Gross , a widely respected bond fund manager , sharply criticized General Electric on Wednesday , saying that GE is using acquisitions to drive its growth rate and is relying too much on short-term funding .
Top mediators from Norway will come to Sri Lanka later this month to help revive stalled peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels , government officials and diplomats said Wednesday .
The British paper manufacturer Bowater said Tuesday it had signed an agreement with South Africa 's Nampak to merge its polysystems business with those of Nampak 's BlowMocan unit .
A Nepalese UN peacekeeper died overnight from injuries he sustained in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo 's troubled region of Ituri , the UN mission here announced Friday .
Turkey is ready to act as a go-between for Israel and the new Palestinian administration led by the radical Islamist group Hamas , Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday .
Three policemen were killed on Saturday on the outskirts of the capital of Dagestan , the commander of the republic 's Interior Ministry special forces said .
Tourism , the mainstream of the Czech economy , has suffered great losses from the month-long NATO airstrikes on neighboring Yugoslavia .
Jag de Bellouet proved he is the king of trotting when capturing his second successive Prix d'Amerique , the sport 's richest prize , at Vincennes here on Sunday .
U.S. Treasury bonds were little changed amid concern reports ne on labor costs , economic output and jobs may show faster growth and inflation .
In an old movie theater , up a creaky staircase , Desi Arnaz Jr. gestures to freshly painted cotton candy walls and a tiny room stuffed with ballerina tutus .
The dollar rose against other major currencies in calm trading Friday as investors drew encouragement from the stock and bond markets ' positive reaction to a surprise drop in the May unemployment rate .
Life began to return to normal in Lagos on Monday with schools and office buildings reopening after days of rioting and chaos last week .
Belgium 's highest court on Wednesday threw out a war crimes case against former U.S. President George Bush and leading U.S. administration officials and also dropped a case against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon .
It appears the Los Angeles Dodgers have decided on left-hander Odalis Perez as their fifth starter .
Indonesia agreed on Tuesday to resume sharing bird flu virus samples with the World Health Organisation for tests aimed at fighting the disease .
Iraqi police in the Shiite Muslim city of Karbala teamed up with religious leaders Saturday to crack down on street vendors around the revered shrine of Imam Hussein .
The head of an organization fighting the proliferation of pirated CDs and DVDs was beaten up in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok , the group 's spokesman said Wednesday , linking his attack to the fight against counterfeiters .
After an initial state of shock , Israelis have rapidly adjusted to life without Prime Minister Ariel Sharon whose fate has been relegated from the front pages as he enters his third week in a coma .
Spain on Wednesday said it had significant doubts about the United States ' plan to install an anti-missile defence system in central Europe .
China has inaugurated a website to spread information on the forthcoming Fortune Global Forum in Shanghai , the China Internet Information Center ( CIIC ) said here today .
A member of the Sudanese Parliament was killed in fighting against rebels in southern Sudan , a death notice published in the official media said Wednesday .
Seven people have died in fresh violence in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir including five Islamic militants shot dead by troops , police said Saturday .
A foreign national was detained in Britain this week on suspicion of terrorism charges , the government said Thursday _ the 12th arrest under anti-terrorist laws that allow some foreign suspects to be jailed indefinitely without trial .
Fierce wind and thunderstorms killed three people and destroyed thousands of hectares ( acres ) of crops in southern and eastern Ukraine , emergency officials reported Friday .
US soft drink giant PepsiCo said Tuesday it plans to invest another 850 million dollars in China over the next three years , with the focus on the under-developed western and central regions .
Ask Dan Quayle what he misses most about being vice president of the United States and he sounds a little like that midget from the old television program about that island .
Top-seed Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden overcame a tough challenge from compatriot Thomas Johansson Saturday to move into the final and a chance to be the first player to win an unprecedented fourth title in the Swedish Open ATP claycourt classic .
The stock market 's end-of-the-year rally ran out of gas before the finish line , giving Wall Street its first weekly loss since mid-October .
Leaders of the world 's seven leading industrial nations urged Iran Saturday to stop supporting terrorism and to end its threat on the life of British novelist Salman Rushdie .
Young Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis capped an extraordinary Australian Open by reaching his first Grand Slam final with an stirring five-set fightback victory over Argentina 's David Nalbandian Thursday .
After staging one of the greatest modern Olympics on record , Australia is capable of hosting the best Rugby World Cup to date , said Bob Carr , the New South Wales premier whose state government bankrolled the 2000 Sydney Games .
Scores of international experts began talks on Monday in Edinburgh aimed at helping the Group of Eight industrial powers tackle disease and poverty in Africa at their July summit in Scotland , officials said .
A Jordanian businessman pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of swindling and forging official documents in a case that rocked the kingdom 's financial sector , the court heard .
Newsday on Thursday dismissed 72 employees from across the newspaper and announced that 40 additional vacant jobs will be eliminated .
World soccer 's governing body FIFA said Monday it plans to appoint `` trios '' of referees from the same country to officiate at the next World Cup finals .
Europe 's winter death toll continued to mount Friday as conditions eased in eastern countries frozen solid by this week 's Arctic snap and heavy snowfalls paralysed airports and road traffic in Switzerland and Italy .
Britain has told a Spanish judge investigating crimes committed during military dictatorships in South America that he can not question Henry Kissinger during the former U.S. secretary of state 's stay in London this week .
China has scrapped plans to send an advance military party to Hong Kong before the July 1 handover as Beijing and London failed to strike a deal on the proposal , a report said Sunday .
Thousands of people in Sierra Leone have been threatened with starvation due to the worsening civil conflict in the West African country , the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) said today .
The telephone company and the leaders of two striking unions have reached an agreement to end a 37-day-old walkout .
Suspected members of the Basque separatist movement ETA gunned down a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a street carnival here on Tuesday , local authorities said .
U.S.-German ties remain strong , but the two countries must work on redefining their relationship after the end of the Cold War , the new U.S. ambassador said Wednesday .
British American Tobacco , the world 's second-largest tobacco company , Tuesday said third-quarter earnings before taxes climbed more than 3 percent during the first nine months of this year to 608 million British pounds ( US$ 940 million ) .
Saudi Arabia beat Senegal 3-2 Tuesday on Hasan al-Yami 's free kick from outside the penalty area in the 60th minute in the last friendly before both teams head to the World Cup .
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has called on national traditional healers and herbalists to work closely with research institute so that together they can boost and promote local medicines to international standards .
Cash-strapped Farmland Industries Inc. paid its employees Wednesday , two days earlier than scheduled .
Eurozone factories and refineries scaled down production more than expected in January after a strong showing in December , official EU data showed Wednesday .
All year , Texas Tech dominated teams at Lubbock , going 15-2 at home and outscoring the opposition by an average of 17 points per game .
Andre Agassi , the last former champion in the draw , crashed out of the Wimbledon Open on Monday when he lost 6-3 , 2-6 , 6-7 , 6-3 , 6-4 to Australian Mark Philippoussis in the fourth round .
Novartis AG , the giant Swiss drug company , is expected to announce Tuesday that it is leasing as much as 500,000 square feet of research and development space in Cambridge , Mass. , in the shadow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , according to several real estate and government sources .
The turf on the training ground chosen by Russia for the upcoming soccer World Cup has been damaged , and officials suspect vandals sprinkled the grass with herbicide , police said Tuesday .
A mortar shell apparently intended for U.S. troops hit a market , killing nine civilians and wounding 15 , Iraqi police reported Friday , while the U.S. military said a soldier was killed in an ambush at Kirkuk in the oil-rich north of the country .
Canada has pledged 4.5 million Canadian dollars ( about 3 million U.S. dollars ) in support of the on-going peace process in Sierra Leone .
Transshipment traffic at Colombo Port fell last year after two years of record growth , Sri Lanka Ports Authority ( SLPA ) officials said Sunday .
More than 4,000 concerts serving up everything from from rap to religious rhapsodies were held across France on Tuesday to welcome the first day of the northern hemisphere summer .
Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham left here Tuesday morning , concluding his three-day visit to China .
Thousands of nurses , teachers and other government workers in Portugal were to take part in a nationwide protest Tuesday against government austerity measures intended to curb a surging public deficit .
The fourth Guangzhou International Furniture Fair opened today in the Chinese province of Guangdong .
Russia has asked two Canadian diplomats to leave the country because of " activities incompatible with their diplomatic status " , a Foreign Ministry report said Monday .
Terrorists have reportedly planned to bomb the Philippine and United States embassies in the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) in the last two weeks using Filipinos to carry out the attacks , Philippine foreign affairs sources disclosed Wednesday .
Responding to growing frustrations of investors , the Securities and Exchange Commission will soon propose rules for clearer disclosure of executive pay , including a complete accounting of how much they are getting in retirement plans and severance agreements .
Procurement prices for wheat and early indica rice have been significantly reduced in China , as a major step to phase out shoddy or unmarketable grain strains , according to today 's China Daily .
A US marine shot in western Iraq has died of his wounds , the US military said Saturday .
The smallest copy of Quran in the world has been found in Bangladesh , reported the Bengali daily Janakantha ( people 's voice ) on Monday .
Devean George yearned for this opportunity , and maybe he just wanted it too much for his own good .
Incumbent Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said here Sunday he had so far already got nominations from 450 Election Committee members in support for his campaign for election of the third term of chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( HKSAR ) .
Australian Tourism Minister Fran Bailey Friday welcomed plans by Air Canada to launch daily flights on the lucrative Sydney to Los Angeles route , a prized air corridor long sought by Singapore Airlines .
Palestinians trapped for a month in Yasser Arafat 's compound here erupted in celebration early Thursday morning after Israeli forces withdrew in an American-brokered compromise .
Free agent center Wang Zhizhi has signed a three-year offer sheet with the Los Angeles Clippers , giving the Dallas Mavericks 15 days to either match it , work out a sign-and-trade deal or lose him without compensation .
A Chinese woman whose height of 2.33 m ( 7.645 feet ) makes her the tallest woman in Asia and the second-tallest in the world , is to undergo surgery to remove a brain tumor .
Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin came face to face with his new namesake Thursday _ a locomotive that will haul passenger trains through the Australian Outback on a transcontinental railroad .
Kyrgyzstan 's president may seek a third term in office due to a legal loophole that skirts a constitutional two-term limit , the country 's highest court has ruled .
Israel 's industrial production during the first half of this year fell by 2.8 percent compared to the previous six months , according to a report issued by the Central Bureau of Statistics .
An International Labour Organization ( ILO ) conference on child labour opened here Wednesday with a strongly worded denunciation of the " intolerable " fate of millions of exploited children forced into prostitution and slavery .
For the first time , a woman has been chosen as one of two candidates facing off for the presidency of the Navajo Nation , whose reservation is the largest in the United States .
AU Optronics , the world 's third-largest flat panel maker , said Friday it plans to make inroads into northern China by setting up a joint venture with a Chinese home appliance giant .
Captain Kepler Wessels led his South African cricket team proudly through England 's front door here Saturday at the start of an historic tour .
The course , organized by the Cyprus Academy of Public Administration , is conducted in the framework of a plan approved by the Cyprus government last July that aims at providing assistance to the Palestinian autonomous areas .
A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck Alaska 's Aleutian islands on Tuesday , according to the US Geological Service .
Parents of a U.S. activist killed in Gaza by an Israeli army bulldozer in March called Monday for an independent U.S. investigation of her death .
About 1,716 men and women have died in Kuwait of drug abuse since the emirate was liberated from seven months of Iraqi occupation in February 1991 , an official said in remarks published Monday .
The US government has no plans to close its prison at Guantanamo Bay , Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview airing Monday , as controversy about the " war on terror " detention camp flared anew over the latest revelation of detainee treatment .
President Bush announced Tuesday that his administration and the American Federation of Teachers will work together to help teachers learn `` research-based '' ways to teach reading and to help educators learn how to recruit and retain new teachers .
Palestinian police have detained the leading human rights lawyer in the Gaza Strip who has repeatedly criticized the self-rule authority of PLO chief Yasser Arafat , relatives told AFP Wednesday .
The president of the French Schneider group rejected charges of fraud , denied that the company had siphoned money through a secret fund and said that he had ordered an audit of subsidiaries , in a newspaper interview on Friday .
Wycliff Palu has been recalled after an injury-enforced absence in the only change to Australia 's starting XV for Saturday 's Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations series opener in New Zealand .
Veteran Korean People 's Army ( KPA ) chief of staff Choe Kwang , 77 , is the the man most likely to succeed North Korea 's defence minister O Jin-U , who died of cancer Saturday , commentators here said .
Two people were killed on Thursday in Kinshasa , capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ) , when United Nations forces opened fire on angry mobs as massive protests and looting overran the city in outrage at the fall of eastern border city Bukavu .
A Ugandan court on Friday convicted a US cattle farmer on an illegal weapons charge , but he was freed after paying a three-dollar fine , his lawyer said .
At least 345 Muslim pilgrims were trampled to death Thursday as they tripped over luggage in a scramble to hurl pebbles at symbols of Satan during the annual pilgrimage , Saudi officials said .
Increasingly concerned about a backlash to its growing reliance on the National Guard and Reserve , the Army has decided to limit overseas deployments of these units in peacekeeping and other military operations to a maximum of six months , Pentagon officials said .
The Legislative Yuan 's Economics Committee decided Thursday to remove a controversial clause from a bill governing the liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) industry after legislators said it could lead to monopolies .
" We must ensure that Taiwan 's status as an inalienable part of the Chinese territory not be altered " by Lee 's malicious conspiracies , said Yang Guiqing in a speech jointly authored by himself and Liu Yiming , Yan Keqiang , Du Yijin , and Tong Fu , and delivered at a legislative session .
The four-day '95 National Exhibition of Building Materials , which ended in this leading industrial city of north China on October 19 , saw a business volume worth 3.86 billion yuan .
Charles Schwab Corp. leased five of Merrill Lynch & Co. 's memberships on the Pacific Stock Exchange , bringing its total specialist posts at the exchange to 14 , covering 661 stocks .
Iran has responded warily to the rapid advance of the Talibans in neighboring Afghanistan -- an army led by radical Islamic students now controlling one-third of the country .