UPI NewsTrack articles from February 2005

UPI NewsTrack archives from February 2005

Restaurateur dishes on celeb clientele.(Entertainment News)
February 1, 2005... BRASEiLIA, Brazil, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The owner of a popular New York restaurant has told the Brazilian press of his encounters with many of his celebrity patrons. Jeffrey Jah, while tending to his Lotus restaurant's Brazil branch, told Veja...

COL BKB: Pittsburgh 86, Providence 66.(Sports News)
February 1, 2005... PITTSBURGH, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Chris Taft had 25 points and 15 rebounds Monday night to lead the 15th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers to an 86-66 victory over the Providence Friars. Carl Krauser added 19 points for the Panthers (15-3, 5-2 Big...

Beijing to narrow rural-urban disparities.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BEIJING, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A senior agricultural policy maker in China said the Communist Party vows to narrow rural and urban income gaps, according to local media reports Tuesday. On Jan. 30 the Central Committee issued what is being...

Gasoline prices up for third week.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. gasoline prices are up for the third week in a row, the U.S. Department of Energy said Monday. Nationally, the average price of gasoline (all grades) rose to $1.953 per gallon as of Monday, Jan. 31, up from...

Adelphia creditors becoming nervous.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... GREENWOOD, Colo., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Unsecured creditors of bankrupt Colorado-based cable operator Adelphia Communications, Inc. are worried about low bids for the company, The Deal.com reports. Final bids were filed Monday, Jan. 31. Some...

Dolby Labs sets its IPO.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Dolby Laboratories of San Francisco Monday set the terms of its pending initial public offering at 27.5 million Class A shares. 17 million of the shares will be sold by the group's founder, Ray Dolby. ...

Support for Japan's Koizumi hits new low.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Support for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is at a record low, a poll found Tuesday. The Japanese daily Asahi Shinbun's survey of about 1,900 voters found that only 33 percent of those polled approved of...

Hong Kong cautious on airport sell-off.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... HONG KONG, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Following a failed attempt to privatize its assets on public housing estates, the Hong Kong government is rethinking the privatization of the Airport Authority. The government has extended the public consultation...

McDonald's to nearly double in Russia.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... MOSCOW, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- McDonald's is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its first restaurant in Russia with plans to open 105 new outlets across the nation in the next three years. The burger chain's 127 existing restaurants in 37 cities...

Most Japanese favor empress on throne.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The majority of Japanese voters support the accession of a woman to the imperial throne, a poll found Tuesday. The Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported that 86 percent of about 1,900 voters it surveyed are...

Nepal king sacks government, takes power.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... KATMANDU, Nepal, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Nepal's King Gyanendra announced Tuesday he was assuming power after dismissing the coalition government led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The monarch, in a televised address to the nation, accused...

More full-time workers in Japan.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The number of full-time workers in Japan increased by 0.4 percent from a year ago, the nation's Labor Ministry reported Tuesday. The ministry said slightly more than 42.83 million Japanese, on average, were employed...

Moscow offers Beijing reconstruction help.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BEIJING, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, visiting Beijing, said Moscow was ready to help Beijing's development program, the Interfax-China news agency reported Tuesday. "Beijing has adopted an impressive urban development program...

Japan sees no change in G7 currency stance.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- There will likely be no call for a change in global foreign exchange rates, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said Tuesday. The official said he expects monetary officials to continue stating that a...

Bangladesh strike ends in violence.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... DHAKA, Bangladesh, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A nationwide strike in Bangladesh, which paralyzed daily life, has ended after 60 hours with dozens injured in clashes between police and protesters. The shutdown disrupted economic activities, road...

Women arrested in emigration crackdown.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... FUZHOU, FUJIAN, China, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Chinese border guards arrested 17 women sneaking out of the country to work as prostitutes, as part of an intensified crackdown on illegal emigration. The women were from the island county of Pingtan...

Icy road causes 37 cars to crash in Japan.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... KOBE, HYOGO, Japan, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- At least 37 vehicles were involved in a series of crashes on an icy bridge in the Japanese city of Kobe, slightly injuring two people early Tuesday morning. At around 4:30 a.m., cars and large trucks...

400M Indians endangered by ozone depletion.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Indian and U.S. scientists have reported that a dangerously declining ozone layer over northern India threatens the lives of 400 million people. A joint study by scientists of the Indian Institute of Technology...

Japan may send peacekeepers to Sudan.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Japan may send its Self-Defense Forces to Sudan to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations, Mainichi Shimbun reported Tuesday. SDF troops would carry out initial peacekeeping operations, such as...

China bans fortunetelling for New Year.(Quirks in the News)
February 1, 2005... BEIJING, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- China has banned ads promoting "superstition" in an effort to crack down on fortunetelling ahead of the Chinese New Year, Xinhua reported Tuesday. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has banned...

Militants threaten more attacks on Israel.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... GAZA, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Militant groups including Hamas, Fatah and Jihad movements threatened Tuesday to continue attacks on Israel if the latter did not halt attacks on Palestinians. Fourteen groups said in a joint leaflet sent to reporters,...

Japan puts bass on list of banned species.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... TOKYO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Japan's Environment Ministry has listed the largemouth bass among 37 non-indigenous species not to be imported, bred or released into the wild. As a measure to protect the environment from damage by specific foreign...

Jockstrip: The world as we know it.(Quirks in the News)
February 1, 2005... Byline: United Press International Parking space scarcity sparks British rage LONDON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The scarcity of roadside parking spaces is causing drivers to adopt extreme measures to secure a spot, and 10 million of Britain's...

U.S. and China hold low-key military talks.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BEIJING, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Chinese and U.S. defense officials met in Beijing Tuesday for a second day of "special policy dialogue," according to sources from both countries. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless held...

Religious leaders discuss aid issues.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... DUBLIN, Ireland, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Religious leaders from around the world have met in Dublin to discuss aid to developing countries, the Irish Independent reported Tuesday. Discussion topics included HIV/AIDS, health, gender issues,...

Watercooler Stories.(Quirks in the News)
February 1, 2005... Byline: United Press International 'Haunted' windbreaker sells on eBay CHICAGO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A red fleece Chicago windbreaker haunted by a ghost named Phil has been sold on eBay, the Chicago Daily Southtown reported Monday. ...

COL BKB: Utah 72, BYU 58.(Sports News)
February 1, 2005... PROVO, Utah, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Utah won its 13th straight game Monday, beating BYU 72-58. Andrew Bogut scored 20 points for the No. 22 Utes, 18-3, 6-0 Mountain West Conference. Bryant Markson and Tim Drisdom added 11 each. Austin...

NBA: LA Clippers 96, New York 89.(Sports News)
February 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Elton Brand led the Los Angeles Clippers with 24 points Monday in a 96-89 win over the New York Knicks. Chris Kaman added 18 points and Bobby Simmons and Marko Jaric 15 each for the Clippers. Stephon...

Jordan to open West Bank representation.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Malka said Tuesday his government is about to open a representative office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Amman's daily newspaper al-Arab quoted him as saying the "move...

Pakistan to push U.S. for F-16s.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Pakistan is expected to press the United States for a supply of F-16 fighter jets when defense officials of the two nations meet Thursday. Douglas Feith, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, and...

NBA: San Antonio 103, Seattle 84.(Sports News)
February 1, 2005... SEATTLE, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- San Antonio won for the seventh time in its last eight games Monday, routing the Seattle SuperSonics 103-84. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 23 points. Tim Duncan added 21 and Tony Parker had 17 points, 10 rebounds...

Haiti schedules elections for autumn.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Haiti is scheduled to hold elections in October and November to elect local and federal officials, Haitian radio reported Tuesday. Local and regional elections are set for Oct. 9, while federal races...

Saudi Arabia hails Iraqi elections.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia praised the Iraqi elections, held Sunday against all odds, as an "important step" toward restoring full sovereignty and independence. The official Saudi Press Agency said Tuesday, "We hope...

Colombian, Venezuelan leaders to meet.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Colombian and Venezuelan leaders will meet Thursday to end the dispute over the capture of a Colombian rebel in Venezuela. In January Colombian President Alvaro Uribe admitted to paying Venezuelan police...

Democrats nix Kennedy withdrawal scheme.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Two leading U.S. Democrats have spoken out against Sen. Edward Kennedy's call for a troop withdrawal from Iraq by 2006, the Washington Times reports. "As far as setting a timeline, as we learned in the Balkans,...

U.S. to increase soldiers' death benefits.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Pentagon is moving to retroactively increase the death benefit for survivors of soldiers killed in combat to as much as $500,000, the Washington Post said. "This increase is a recognition that in certain...

Crematory operator gets 12 year sentence.(Quirks in the News)
February 1, 2005... LAFAYETTE, Ga., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A north Georgia crematory operator has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in a plea agreement after 334 bodies were found strewn about his property. After hearing victim impact statements from 24 relatives...

Bomb may have downed British plane.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The British Ministry of Defense is investigating whether a bomb could have been on the British military plane that crashed in Iraq Sunday. The Royal Air Force Hercules was flying from Baghdad to Balad when it came...

Iraqi prison riot ends with 4 dead.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. troops opened fire to quell a prison riot near the southern city of Basra, leaving four Iraqi inmates dead and six injured, CNN reported Tuesday. Camp Bucca, south of Basra near the Kuwait border, houses...

Poll: Students weak on First Amendment.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Knowledge of the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech is poor, a national survey of U.S. high school students and teachers indicates. Researchers from the University of Connecticut questioned more than...

Blair announces welfare abuse crackdown.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... MANCHESTER, England, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has outlined plans to reform the welfare system if Labor is re-elected. Speaking in Manchester Tuesday, Blair said Labor would crack down on abuse of the system and...

963 Palestinians killed in 2004.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... GAZA, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A Palestinian report indicates 963 Palestinians were killed and nearly 6,000 injured in 2004, the fourth year of the Palestinian uprising against Israel. The report issued Tuesday by the National Center of Information...

Settlers agree to leave Gaza Strip.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... JERUSALEM, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Thirty-eight settler families who live in the northern Gaza Strip have signed an understanding with the government to move to a village in Israel proper. They are the first group known to have concluded a...

Yawer: All Iraqi factions were represented.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Interim Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer made an appeal Tuesday for unity among Iraq's various factions in the wake of Sunday's elections. "Big challenges are looming ahead which we should confront with...

Canadian train hits logging truck.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... EDMONTON, Alberta, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A Canadian passenger train carrying 86 passengers smashed into a logging truck and derailed in Alberta, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Tuesday. The westbound Via Rail train with eight cars and...

Israeli military chief in Turkey.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Israel's military Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, began a two-day visit to Turkey Tuesday to strengthen military and diplomatic ties. Ya'alon is a guest of Turkish military chief of staff...

Security officials didn't agree on pullout.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... GAZA, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials failed to agree on plans for an Israeli pullout from five West Bank cities, officials said Tuesday. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and former security official...

Israel minister: Abbas won't use terrorism.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said he is confident Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will reject the use of terrorism. Mofaz said in an interview Tuesday with the London-based Saudi daily...

Argentina: Deadly storm kills six.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Six people were killed and 700 more evacuated due to storms that lashed the greater Buenos Aires area, La Nacion newspaper reported Tuesday. Among those killed were an 8-year-old boy and an 8-month-old infant...

Israel reopens Rafah crossing in Gaza.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... GAZA, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Israel reopened the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt in both directions Tuesday after seven weeks of closure, Palestinian security sources said. Sources said only Palestinians under the age of 16 and more than 35...

Hamas warns of retaliation against Israel.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... GAZA, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Senior Hamas leaders Tuesday vowed to retaliate immediately for any Israeli military action against Palestinians. Hamas spokesman Musheer al Masri told UPI Palestinians would not "stand with folded hands" if Israel...

BBC writer dies of cancer at 37.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- BBC News journalist Ivan Noble, who has been writing about his treatment for a brain tumor for the past two years, has died. He was 37. Noble chronicled his ordeal on the BBC Web site, including a second period of...

Detainees reject house arrest plans.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Terror suspects held without trial would choose to remain in prison rather than be put under house arrest, a special court has heard. Ben Emmerson, the lawyer representing two detainees seeking bail, told the...

Soldier witnessed Iraqi forklift abuse.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... OSNABRUCK, Germany, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A British soldier has told a court martial he witnessed an Iraqi being tied to a forklift truck and repeatedly driven into a wall by other soldiers. Pvt. David Coxon gave evidence Monday at the trial of...

Networks reject anti-Bush ads.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Four U.S. television networks have refused to carry an advocacy group's ad opposing President Bush's push to crack down on malpractice lawsuits. USAction sought to run the spots just before Bush's State of the...

UPI NewsTrack TopNews.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... Iraqi prison riot ends with 4 dead BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. troops opened fire to quell a prison riot near the southern city of Basra, leaving four Iraqi inmates dead and six injured, CNN reported Tuesday. Camp Bucca, south of...

Health Tips ... from UPI.(Newswraps)
February 1, 2005... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ STUDY LINKS POLLUTION TO HARDENED ARTERIES Long-term exposure to air pollution may lead to the development of atherosclerosis, a University of Southern California study suggests. The study of 798 Los Angeles...

Saudi national beheaded.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia Tuesday beheaded a Saudi national convicted of killing a compatriot in the northern Saudi city of al-Kassim. An Interior Ministry statement said the convict was executed with a sword in...

General gets 8 years for Dubrovnik siege.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The U.N. War Crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has sentenced the Serbian general who commanded the 1991 siege of Dubrovnik to eight years in prison. Pavle Strugar was found guilty at The Hague...

Ex-RAF skydiver's lawsuit in court.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A London court is hearing a lawsuit filed by a former Royal Air Force skydiver who was paralyzed and lost a leg in a failed stunt. Nigel Rogoff, 45, was a Flight Sergeant when he dressed as Santa Claus to perform...

Senate confirms Bodman as Energy Secretary.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate has confirmed Samuel Bodman as energy secretary. The seventh cabinet member to get approval for President Bush's second term. Bodman was easily approved by the upper house of Congress Monday in...

Thais grapple with rebuilding tourism.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... PHUKET, Thailand, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- More than 100 travel industry and tourism officials gathered in Phuket Tuesday to assess Thailand's tsunami-shattered tourism industry. The group will tour nearby Koh Phi Phi, the best-known of southern...

AOL, Time Warner decide to work together.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... DULLES, Va., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- America Online Inc. and Time Warner Cable have agreed to jointly provide high-speed Internet service in New York and other areas. AOL will encourage its roughly 3 million dial-up subscribers who live in areas...

Jude Law placed in wife-swapping fest.(Entertainment News)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- British actor Rhys Ifans was invited to a wife-swapping session with film star Jude Law and his wife, actress Sadie Frost, the Mirror reported. Law and Frost allegedly swapped partners with singer Pearl Lowe and...

2 Illinois men freed by DNA evidence.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... CHICAGO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- An attorney for two men who spent 12 years in Illinois prisons for a 1990 murder they did not commit plans to seek full pardons from Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Dan Young Jr. and Harold Hill were exonerated after DNA...

Zimbabwe denies it has food shortage.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... HARARE, Zimbabwe, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Zimbabwe government denies it has a food shortage and calls the claim U.S. propaganda to destabilize the government, the BBC reported. Last week, the U.S.-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network...

Moss pals worry about her new beau.(Entertainment News)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The mother of Kate Moss's ex-boyfriend says the British supermodel will never fall into a life of drugs with her new beau, rocker Pete Doherty. "Kate is smarter than that. She knows what she's doing," Theresa Hack,...

Adelphia gets two big bids for its assets.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A New York leveraged buyout firm and a consortium of Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. emerged as major bidders for Adelphia Communications Corp. assets. The Comcast group submitted a bid worth...

Fuzzy screen could help chocoholics.(Quirks in the News)
February 1, 2005... ADELAIDE, Australia, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Australian researchers say chocoholics may be able to reduce their intake of the sweets by watching fuzzy television screens. Flinders University researchers found while mental images of chocolate...

Eurozone PMI stat looks strong.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... FRANKFURT, Germany, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A key European economic indicator has risen in a possible sign eurozone nations may grow throughout 2005, the Financial Times said Tuesday. The eurozone purchasing managers' index rose from 51.4 in...

Report: Zarqawi slipped Iraqi police.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was in police custody at one point, but was released as no one recognized him, The Sun reported Tuesday. The newspaper said the blunder was revealed by one of Zarqawi's...

Al-Qaida member trained by U.S. Air Force.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A Saudi military official with links to al-Qaida was apprehended by the FBI after training at a U.S. Air Force base, the New York Daily News said Tuesday. No names or locations were given in the report, which the...

HP reports nanotechnology breakthrough.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Researchers at California's Hewlett-Packard Co. say they have made unusually small junctions of wires that can do the work of transistors. Company scientists, in an article in Tuesday's edition of the Journal...

Medicare begins pay-for-performance demo.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Ten large U.S. physician groups will participate in a demonstration project testing pay-for-performance reimbursement from Medicare. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mark McClellan...

Colorado professor quits post over remarks.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... DENVER, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A University of Colorado professor criticized for comparing victims of the World Trade Center attack to Nazis has resigned an administrative post. Todd Gleeson, dean of the college of arts and sciences, accepted the...

U.S. stocks up a tad ahead of Fed action.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks rose cautiously Tuesday ahead of a key two-day meeting of the central bank that is expected to result in an interest rate hike. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.52 or 0.13 percent to 10,503.46...

85 Indiana counties flood disaster areas.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency has expanded disaster relief to 85 Indiana counties hit by the highest flood levels in 90 years. At least 2,000 residents and businesses in central and Southern Indiana...

Kurds press for independence from Iraq.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... KIRKUK, Iraq, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Kurds in northern Iraq are again talking about creating their own autonomous state, the Los Angeles Times said Tuesday. Tribal leader Karim Agha said while Iraq's more than 1.7 million Kurds have traditionally...

42 killed in Algerian cold spell.(UPI Top Stories)
February 1, 2005... ALGIERS, Algeria, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Algerian authorities Tuesday said 42 people died and 943 others were injured during last week's record-breaking cold spell and snow storms. A civil defense report said rescue teams carried out 10,851...

Nissan to expand British car plant.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Nissan plans to build a new car at its Sunderland, England, plant, boosting employment at the facility by 200, Sky News said Tuesday. Known as the P32L, the vehicle is described as a "compact-crossover vehicle" into...

France to debate longer workweek.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... PARIS, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- French lawmakers are set to begin debating a proposal to let workers put in 35-plus hour workweeks if their unions agree. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said for a number of months such a measure is needed...

More physicians becoming 'hospitalists'.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A report released Tuesday finds the number of U.S. hospitalist physicians has grown from a few hundred in the mid-1990s to more than 8,000. Hospitalists are doctors who specialize in caring for hospitalized...

Teens' brains linked to car crashes.(UPI Science Report)
February 1, 2005... BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Two U.S. studies have linked incomplete brain development in teenagers with the fact they are three times more likely than adults to die in a car crash. A National Institutes of Health study suggests the...

Germans focus on Citigroup's 'smoking gun'.(Business News)
February 1, 2005... BERLIN, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Two weeks before Citigroup launched questionable European bond trades, now being investigated, an internal memo specified how to profit from such moves. Last August the U.S. company abruptly sold $14.3 billion in...