UPI NewsTrack articles from June 2005

UPI NewsTrack archives from June 2005

UPI NewsTrack Sports.(Newswraps)
June 1, 2005... Pistons even series with Heat AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 1 (UPI) -- Richard Hamilton led the way with 28 points Tuesday night as Detroit deadlocked the Eastern Conference finals by downing Miami, 106-96. With reports swirling that their...

MLB: Colorado 2, St. Louis 1.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... DENVER, May 31 (UPI) -- Jason Jennings gave up a run on six hits over seven innings Tuesday night as Colorado won over St. Louis, 2-1. It was Jennings' 25th victory at Coors Field, giving him the most home wins in franchise history. He...

Al-Qaida suspect appears in court.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... FORT PIERCE, Fla., June 1 (UPI) -- Rabiq Sabir, a Florida man charged with conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaida, appeared in federal court Tuesday. Sabir and a man identified as Tarik Ibn Osman Shah were arrested late last...

New York politicians team up on terror.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... ALBANY, N.Y., June 1 (UPI) -- Republican and Democratic leaders in New York State have teamed up to push through new anti-terror laws. Republican Gov. George Pataki and Democratic state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer have jointly outlined a...

N.Irish police accused of incompetence.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... BELFAST, Northern Ireland, June 1 (UPI) -- A former Police Federation chairman has accused the Northern Irish police of losing the intelligence war against terrorists. Jimmy Spratt, of the Rev. Ian Paisley's Protestant hard-line Democratic...

French expert says al-Qaida threat growing.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- France's top anti-terrorism judge has warned that al-Qaida is now a bigger threat than ever. Jean-Louis Bruguiere said Tuesday that al-Qaida was now more fragmented but also more dangerous. He told BBC Radio 4 that...

Israeli general blasts PA on terror.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... TEL AVIV, Israel, June 1 (UPI) -- Israel's outgoing army chief Tuesday accused the Palestinian Authority of not making progress in the war on terror. Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon Tuesday completed his term as chief of staff of the Israel Defense...

Report finds British air, seaports at risk.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Major holes in Britain's anti-terrorist defenses, especially at airports and seaports, have been exposed in a damning report. Weaknesses at the country's airports and seaports could allow terrorists to slip into...

S.Korea's intelligence chief to step down.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... SEOUL, June 1 (UPI) -- South Korea's intelligence chief has tendered his resignation after a string of scandals involving presidential aides, officials said Wednesday. "National Intelligence Service Director Ko Young-koo delivered to...

Top Sri Lankan military man shot dead.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, June 1 (UPI) -- A top official of the Sri Lankan intelligence services was shot dead at point-blank range Tuesday morning in the capital of Colombo. Maj Nizam Muthalif was shot while traveling in his chauffeur-driven...

India opens new giant naval facility.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... KARWAR, India, June 1 (UPI) -- India has inaugurated a new naval base on its Arabian Sea coast, which it says will become one of the largest "this side of the Suez Canal." The INS Kadamba naval base, which opened Tuesday at Karwar on the...

S.Korea exports regain double-digit growth.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... SEOUL, June 1 (UPI) -- South Korea's exports recovered their double-digit growth in May after a slump in the previous month, officials said Wednesday. Customs-cleared exports increased 11.8 percent in May from a year earlier to $23.3...

Police clash with Bolivian protesters.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LA PAZ, Bolivia, June 1 (UPI) -- Bolivian police arrested protesters who were trying to enter the Government Palace in La Paz, El Universal reported Wednesday. The protesters are opposed to government plans to nationalize gas resources,...

Afghan mosque blast kills 20.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 1 (UPI) -- The Kabul police chief was among 20 people killed in a suspected suicide bomb attack Wednesday at a mosque in the Afghan city of Kandahar, the BBC reports. Kabul police chief Mohammed Akram was among...

Official resigns to run for president.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... MEXICO CITY, June 1 (UPI) -- Mexico's secretary of the interior will step down from office Wednesday to begin his campaign for the presidency in the 2006 election. Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar Valenzuela said that Santiago Creel...

Seoul welcomes Bush's diplomatic approach.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... SEOUL, June 1 (UPI) -- South Korea Wednesday welcomed U.S. President George Bush's pledge to stick to diplomatic means to resolve North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon also said the planned summit between...

Insurgents fear democracy, says Bush.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi insurgents fear democracy, and that is why they are attacking innocent people, President George Bush said Tuesday. The president told a White House news conference he was confident that Iraqi troops would...

Chinese couple pays $184,000 for Picasso.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... YOKOHAMA, Japan, June 1 (UPI) -- A Chinese couple paid $184,000 for Pablo Picasso's oil painting "Tete d' homme" at an auction Wednesday in Kanagawa prefecture in Japan. A company in Yokohama had owned the painting, but the Kanagawa...

Militia storms court, ejects protesters.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, June 1 (UPI) -- Protesters who occupied Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court for more than a month were forcibly ejected in a raid of the building Wednesday morning. As many as 200 people, identified by Russia's Interfax news...

Afghan forces raid 'drug bazaar'.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... KABUL, Afghanistan, June 1 (UPI) -- Elite Afghan security forces have raided a key "drug bazaar" near the Pakistan border, seizing tons of opium and chemicals used in heroin production. The anti-drug units stormed the village of Bahram Shah...

Survey reveals high child mortality rate.(UPI Science Report)
June 1, 2005... TOKYO, June 1 (UPI) -- The mortality rate for Japanese children between the ages of 1 and 4 is the highest among 14 of the world's most developed countries, a survey shows. The survey, conducted by Japan's health ministry, found that the...

Japan's birth rate remains at record low.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... TOKYO, June 1 (UPI) -- The fertility rate of Japanese women in 2004 remained at the record low of 1.29 children per woman, the same as the previous year, a survey showed. A population survey report issued by Japan's Ministry of Health,...

Dad says Jeb Bush would be good president.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine, June 1 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush says his son Jeb would make a good president once his other son George is finished in 2008. Jeb Bush is in his second term as governor of Florida, which ends in...

Washington mixed on Deep Throat emergence.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Reactions in Washington to the identification of the Watergate-era Deep Throat tipster ranged Wednesday from praise to accusations of treason. News the man who helped two Washington Post reporters topple the...

MLB: Chicago Cubs 2, Los Angeles 1.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES, June 1 (UPI) -- Michael Barrett scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning to edge the Chicago Cubs over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1. With Yhency Brazoban (2-1) pitching for Los Angeles, Barrett singled leading off...

Polls open in Netherlands EU vote.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 1 (UPI) -- Netherlands was poised Wednesday to become the second European state to reject the EU constitution. Polls late Tuesday showed as many as 60 percent of voters opposed accepting the measure, prompting...

Class war over Shakespeare's identity.(UPI Science Report)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Britain's leading theater gurus are engaged in a class battle over the true identity of the author behind Shakespeare's plays. Mark Rylance, the outgoing artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, recently...

MLB: San Diego 8, Milwaukee 4.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... SAN DIEGO, June 1 (UPI) -- The San Diego Padres set a franchise record with its 11th straight home victory, downing the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4, in the second of a three-game set. As well, Geoff Blum drilled a three-run homer and Phil Nevin...

New York Sept. 11 terror trial delayed.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- The New York trial of a Jordanian student acquainted with two of the Sept. 11, 2001, aircraft hijackers has been delayed by legal wrangling. Osama Awadallah, 25, is charged with committing perjury before the grand...

Cook: Blair should go after EU presidency.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair should step down after Britain's presidency of the European Union, former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook suggested Wednesday. It had been widely expected that the British referendum on the...

MLB: Oakland 10, Tampa Bay 1.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... OAKLAND, Calif., June 1 (UPI) -- Dan Haren pitched his first career complete game to sweep the Oakland Athletics past the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 10-1. Breaking a six-game losing streak, Haren (2-7) allowed a run on five hits, and struck out...

Al-Qaida says it set off car blast.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... BAGHDAD, June 1 (UPI) -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Iraqi al-Qaida network Wednesday claimed responsibility for a Baghdad suicide attack that injured seven people. A statement carried on an Islamic Web Site said: "A member of the Lion suicide...

MLB: Toronto 9, Seattle 7.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... SEATTLE, June 1 (UPI) -- Two homeruns and five RBI from Vernon Wells propelled the Toronto Blue Jays past the Seattle Mariners 9-7 at Safeco Field. Aaron Hill and Eric Hinske added two hits and two runs scored apiece for the Blue Jays, who...

Microsoft proposals await EU repsonse.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... BRUSSELS, June 1 (UPI) -- A two-month clock began ticking Wednesday for Microsoft Corp. as it began waiting to see if the European Union will accept its proposed antitrust remedies. Having just met the June 1 deadline set by EU regulators...

Protestants concerned by 'no' vote.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... PARIS, June 1 (UPI) -- French Protestant churches want to reinforce France's European roots despite Sunday's no vote on the EU charter. A statement issued by Jean-Arnold de Clermont expressed regret that nearly 55 percent of French voters...

U.S. mortgage activity falls slightly.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- U.S. mortgage applications fell 2.8 percent for the week ending May 27, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The MBA's index of mortgage loan request volume was 709.1 for the period, down from...

UPI NewsTrack TopNews.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... Washington mixed on Deep Throat emergence WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Reactions in Washington to the identification of the Watergate-era Deep Throat tipster ranged Wednesday from praise to accusations of treason. News the man who...

America West confident of US Airways deal.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... TEMPE, Ariz., June 1 (UPI) -- The head of the America West, the Arizona airline set to buy US Airways, is not worried other bidders may scotch his acquisition plans. Doug Parker, chief executive of America West, expressed his confidence a...

Haiti: French consul killed by gunfire.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, June 1 (UPI) -- A French diplomat was killed in Haiti when gunmen fired on his car driving from the northern port city of Cap Haitien to Port-au-Prince in the south. Paul-Henri Mourral was the honorary consul for Cap...

Paul Wolfowitz takes helm of World Bank.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Paul Wolfowitz took over as president of the Washington-based World Bank Wednesday to administer the bank's $20 billion poverty reduction loans. The bank board approved his appointment two months ago, and in a...

Egypt writer banned from travel to Israel.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... CAIRO, June 1 (UPI) -- Egyptian authorities barred Egyptian writer Ali Salem from traveling to Israel to receive an honorary doctorate from Ben Gurion University. Salem told UPI Wednesday authorities at Cairo's airport barred him from...

Cherie Blair slammed for profitable talks.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- A lucrative lecture by Cherie Blair in Washington on the eve of her husband's visit to the White House has prompted protest from opposition politicians. Cherie Blair's talk at the Kennedy Center next week is billed...

New Egypt envoy in Iraq.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... CAIRO, June 1 (UPI) -- Egypt has appointed a new head of its diplomatic mission in Baghdad, foreign ministry sources said Wednesday. Ihab al-Sharif, who will replace Farouk Mabrouk, headed to Baghdad early Wednesday. Iraq has been...

Yemen president to visit U.S. in November.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... SANAA, Yemen, June 1 (UPI) -- Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh will visit Washington before the end of 2005 to discuss combating terrorism, it was announced Wednesday. Foreign Ministry Director General Mustafa Naaman said, "The ministry...

Algeria violence claims three lives.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... ALGIERS, Algeria, June 1 (UPI) -- Two Algerian soldiers were killed and a third injured in eastern Algeria in the last few days in attacks by Muslim fundamentalist gunmen. Daily al-Watan said the incident occurred in the province of...

Zito voted into Hall of Fame.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... SARASOTA SPRINGS, N.Y., June 1 (UPI) -- Two-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Nick Zito was among four selections for horse racing's Hall of Fame. He joined three steeple-chase stars -- jockey Thomas Walsh, trainer Sidney Watters Jr. and...

Former PM suggests weapons solutions.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 1 (UPI) -- Former Lebanese Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss wrote an article Wednesday addressing the touchy issue of weapons control. In the independent daily as-Safir, Al-Hoss wrote weapons should "never exceed their...

Singers' parents sue movie producer.(Entertainment News)
June 1, 2005... PARIS, June 1 (UPI) -- Parents of the child singers in the hit French movie "LesChorists" are suing for financial compensation. The suit filed in Paris says producer Galatee Films should pay for the performances of the children from Lyon...

Oil prices rise ahead of inventory report.(UPI Science Report)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- The wholesale price of light, sweet crude oil rose Wednesday to $52.34 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Europe's benchmark Brent crude also rose, hitting $51.33, as traders on both sides of the...

Australia's GDP positive but weakening.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... SYDNEY, June 1 (UPI) -- Australia's economy expanded by 1.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, a lower-than-expected increase. Economists had expected the annualized growth rate to come in at 2.2 percent, the Financial Times...

Mexico: Activists outraged with Fox.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... MEXICO CITY, June 1 (UPI) -- Mexican activists are outraged with President Vicente Fox's claim that the majority of slayings of young women in Ciudad Juarez have been solved. The president claimed the issue had been "rehashed" by the media...

Democrats show middle-class support drop.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- A Democratic advocacy group released a statistical analysis of the November election indicating the Democratic Party is losing middle-class support. Third Way issued a report Tuesday stating voters' backing for...

Airbus confirms A380 delivery delays.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... PARIS, June 1 (UPI) -- European aircraft maker Airbus confirms it will miss by six months the initial delivery date of its A380, capable of carrying more than 800 people. Confirmation of the delay came after Australian carrier Quantas...

Ryanair predicts beating BA.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Irish discount airline Ryanair has predicted it will soon be flying more passengers than British Airways. Chief Executive Michael O'Leary predicted Ryanair would grow by 27 percent and carry 35 million passengers in...

Sudan's new constitution to be ready soon.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... CAIRO, June 1 (UPI) -- Sudan's southern rebel leader Wednesday said a new constitution for the country ruined by 20 years of civil strife will be ready within two weeks. "The committee in charge of drafting the transitional constitution is...

Sharon feels Bush was soft on Abbas.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... JERUSALEM, June 1 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is unhappy with President Bush's failure to pressure the Palestinian Authority to crack down more on terror. Sharon told visiting U.S. congressmen he was disappointed with the...

Mark Sandy new AD at Eastern Kentucky.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... RICHMOND, Ky., June 1 (UPI) -- Mark Sandy has been named the new athletic director at Eastern Kentucky University. Sandy has been senior associate athletic director at the University of Richmond the last five years, where he also was...

Zarqawi tried in new terror case in Jordan.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... AMMAN, Jordan, June 1 (UPI) -- The Jordan trial of three people, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, began in Amman Wednesday on charges of planning to bomb a post on Iraq-Jordan border. Only one of the three defendants appeared in court --...

Bio-threat received at Indonesian embassy.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... CANBERRA, Australia, June 1 (UPI) -- Urgent diplomacy mixed with high-tech biohazard response Wednesday when a suspicious envelope was received at Indonesia's embassy in Canberra, Australia. The Australian Capital Territory's Chief Health...

Amnesty group chides Bush a second time.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- Amnesty International took a second shot at U.S. President George Bush Wednesday in response to his calling its human rights concerns "absurd." The group issued a statement claiming Bush has again "failed to...

Calls for 'peaceful protest' at G8.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 1 (UPI) -- Scotland's first minister has appealed for a "peaceful protest" in response to Bob Geldof's call for a million man march on Edinburgh during the G8 summit. Minister Jack McConnell said it was important...

Hybrids easier on conscience than finances.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Automobile analysts say the retail price of gas-electric hybrid vehicles will not be offset by savings from lower fuel costs or U.S. tax credits. A study by Edmunds.com found that in most cases a hybrid vehicle...

U.S. announces anti-Semitism team.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- New York Gov. George Pataki will head the U.S. delegation to an anti-Semitism conference in Spain, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. The conference on Anti-Semitism and on Other Forms of Intolerance,...

N.Y. may be sued for crime figure's death.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- The widow of a reputed mobster says she'll sue New York City for not adequately supervising the two police officers charged with her husband's death. Anna Lino filed notice with the city Tuesday -- the first step...

ABC's high ratings help upfront ad sale.(Entertainment News)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- High ratings and careful strategy helped ABC to be the first U.S. TV network to wrap up its "upfront" sale of commercial time for the fall season. The Walt Disney-owned network's ratings were boosted by the...

Ohio fire that killed eight ruled arson.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... CLEVELAND, June 1 (UPI) -- Investigators have determined the Cleveland fire that killed eight children and an adult was intentionally set, Mayor Jane Campbell said. Campbell told the Cleveland Plain Dealer she was told of the investigation...

U.S., EU announce Iraq conference.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- The United States and the European Union are co-hosting a conference on Iraq, it was announced Wednesday. "The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for the new Iraqi Transitional Government to present...

U.S. manufacturing growth is slowing.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... TEMPE, Ariz., June 1 (UPI) -- U.S. manufacturing grew in May for the 24th straight month, while the overall economy grew for the 43rd consecutive month, an industry group said Wednesday. A report from the Institute of Supply Management said...

Economic reports lift U.S. stocks.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- A strong manufacturing report and positive construction data helped lift U.S. stocks Wednesday on all major indexes. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39.23 or 0.37 percent to 10,506.71 in mid-morning trading....

Archives show Harold Wilson feared plots.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Newly declassified British documents show former Prime Minister Harold Wilson worried about being spied on by Russia and plots by his own security force. The papers released by the National Archives recorded how...

Egypt rights group want minister out.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... CAIRO, June 1 (UPI) -- Twenty-two Egyptian human rights groups called Wednesday for the dismissal of the interior minister for the abuse of anti-government protesters. A joint statement released by the coalition also called for a public...

Sentences cut for Iraq abuse soldiers.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- The British Army has reduced the sentences of two soldiers convicted of abusing Iraqi civilians. Lance Cpl. Mark Cooley had his two-year prison term cut to 18 months and Fusilier Gary Bartlam's 18 month sentence was...

Fairytale celebration chief quits.(Entertainment News)
June 1, 2005... COPENHAGEN, Denmark, June 1 (UPI) -- The head of Denmark's bicentenary celebration of Hans Christian Andersen has resigned in the wake of the commercial flop of a Tina Turner concert. Anker Boye, who was in charge of organizing the...

Lebanon PM warns against Israel violations.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 1 (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati Wednesday warned Israel's repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty endangered calm in the region. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mikati wrote: "We...

Indian officer allegedlly sold battle plan.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, June 1 (UPI) -- An Indian Army brigadier has been accused of selling battle plans during the 1965 war against Pakistan to fund his wife's hobby. The claim was made by Gohar Ayub Khan, son of Pakistan's first military ruler....

Judge in Executive Life case order talks.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... LOS ANGELES, June 1 (UPI) -- A California judge ordered both sides in the trial of an insurer whose failure left 300,000 policyholders uncovered to hold settlement talks. Last month a jury exonerated French billionaire Francois Pinault of...

Bizarre crash hospitalizes ex-East 17 star.(UPI Science Report)
June 1, 2005... LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Troubled former East 17 star Brian Harvey was in critical condition in London with injuries suffered when he was crushed by his own car. Harvey, 30, underwent surgery at Whipps Cross Hospital for injuries he...

'Deep Throat' family wanted cash for story.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- The family of the mystery man known as "Deep Throat" in the Watergate saga wanted to tell the story to Vanity Fair two years ago -- for a price. An editor at the magazine, David Friend, told the Washington Post...

Celebrity poll says Jackson will walk.(Entertainment News)
June 1, 2005... NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- A majority of celebrity and legal experts believe singer Michael Jackson will be acquitted of child molestation charges, the New York Daily News reports. As California Judge Rodney Melville prepared jury...

Georgia hoops star skipping college.(Sports News)
June 1, 2005... ATLANTA, June 1 (UPI) -- Former South Gwinnett (Ga.) High basketball star Louis Williams has reportedly decided to forego college and go straight to the NBA draft. The 6-2 guard from Atlanta is the all-time leading scorer in Georgia...

Movie-makers upset over film smoking ban.(Entertainment News)
June 1, 2005... BOMBAY, June 1 (UPI) -- India's government has banned smoking by actors in movies but filmmakers say it is an infringement of artistic expression. The government has taken the step in its effort to reduce smoking-related illnesses, which...

Comatose mugging man awakens for birthday.(Quirks in the News)
June 1, 2005... MANCHESTER, England, June 1 (UPI) -- A Manchester, England, man who was beaten by a gang of teenagers awoke from a 13-day coma Wednesday in time for his 49th birthday. Phil Carroll sustained serious head injuries requiring brain surgery...

U.S. construction spending hits record.(Business News)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- The value of all U.S. construction activity for April 2005 was 0.5 percent higher than March's revised figures, its 15th consecutive gain. The increase, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $1.067...

Officials see terror threat from Iraq vets.(UPI Top Stories)
June 1, 2005... FLORENCE, Italy, June 1 (UPI) -- Veterans of the insurgency in Iraq pose such a threat, security measures will change Americans' quality of life, say former Bush anti-terror chiefs. "I predict that the quality of all our lives will change...