integrated_datasets/tad_datasets/304.AGNews10K/AGNews10KBAEGarg2019/AGNews10K.train.dat.4.BAEGarg2019.org

Game execs predict mergers, price cuts LOS ANGELES - Video game executives believe consolidation will be crucial to their future, but they also want further cuts to hardware prices to boost short-term growth, according to a report set for release this week.$LABEL$3,0,-100
It #39;s a big injustice, protests Greek sprinter The Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris left hospital yesterday protesting his innocence ahead of today #39;s International Olympic Committee disciplinary hearing that looks certain to land him with a ban.$LABEL$1,0,-100
US NBA stars edge Greece Sick, injured and reeling from a humiliating loss, the United States basketball team struggled past Greece 77-71 in an Olympic preliminary-round game that signalled more difficulties to come.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Iraqi delegation flies to Najaf for peace talks An eight-member team of Iraqi political and religious leaders flew to Najaf to talk with Sadr on Tuesday.(Xinhua/AFP) ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
UK charges 8 in terror plot linked to US alert LONDON: Britain has charged eight terrorism suspects and said one had plans which could be used in terror attacks on US financial targets in New York, New Jersey and Washington.$LABEL$0,0,-100
China says hopes N.Korea nuclear talks to continue BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it hoped all six parties taking part in talks on the North Korea nuclear crisis would keep calm, remain flexible and continue negotiations despite inevitable difficulties.$LABEL$0,0,-100
British soldier killed in Basra A British soldier was believed to have been killed and another seriously injured last night after clashes with Shia fighters in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Dominicans send juiced message Dominican New Yorkers had a message yesterday for the newly elected president of their homeland: Let there be light.$LABEL$0,0,-100
SEC seeks to update stock sale rules BEIJING, Aug.18 (Xinhuanet) -- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may revise its rules on initial stock offerings to modernize 1930s-era guidelines, agency commissioners and staff said.$LABEL$2,0,-100
AMP #39;s H1 profit beats expectation Insurer and fund manager AMP Ltd. , on Wednesday posted a better-than-expected first-half profit on higher investment returns and improved margins, and targeted a stronger performance for the remainder of the year.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Yahoo Unveils Budget Domains Deal Domain hosting and parking services drop in price, rise in capacity to lure small businesses. Trying to attract more small business customers, Yahoo has introduced a new domain name registration service and significantly increased the storage space and ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Fall Season Looks Solid for Retailers, But Holidays Could Be Another Story Against a background of lackluster retail sales in June and July, analysts and merchants still predict a decent, possibly strong, fall selling season for clothes, accessories and home furnishings.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Mutual Funds Opt to Liquidate Some of the nations more than 8,000 mutual funds are shutting their doors, as their manag- ers confront a lackluster stock market, great- er regulatory scrutiny and higher costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Charley Shows Progress, Pitfalls in Forecasting (Reuters) Reuters - A few decades ago, the earliest warning\Floridians would have had of a hurricane would have been black\clouds on the horizon. Now people are complaining after\Hurricane Charley hit shore at a point just 60 miles off from\the track projected by meteorologists.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Bears' Tucker Out With Dislocated Elbow (AP) AP - Chicago Bears left guard Rex Tucker will miss eight to 10 weeks of the regular season because of a dislocated left elbow.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Researchers Try to Breed Rare Sea Ducks (AP) AP - Researchers at the Alaska Sealife Center are poking into the private lives of Steller's eiders  #151; a rare sea duck that is disappearing from its nesting grounds in Alaska.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google #39;s IPO delayed Google Inc. #39;s initial public offering has been delayed while the company awaits final approval of its paperwork by the Securities and Exchange Commission.$LABEL$2,0,-100
AMP Turns to 1st-Half Profit After It Cut Debt, Costs (Update4) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- AMP Ltd., Australia #39;s largest life insurer, posted its first half of profit in four after Chief Executive Andrew Mohl reduced debt, cut costs and sold more equity investment products. The stock fell as much as 3.7 percent.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Cassini Spacecraft Discovers 2 More Moons Around Saturn The planet with the second largest number of moons now has two more. The US Cassini spacecraft discovered them around Saturn, bringing the giant ringed planet #39;s known total to 33.$LABEL$3,0,-100
US no-show: Teamwork When the NBA began sending its players to the Olympics in 1992, one of the league #39;s goals was to spread basketball around the globe. Clearly, the idea worked.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Athletes Return to Olympia, Home of Games, After 1,611 Years Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Olympia, home of the Olympics for more than 12 centuries, will host competition for the first time in 1,611 years when the shot put competition of the Athens Games is contested at Greece #39;s most sacred sporting site.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Are England fans are changing their Toon? IN a desperate attempt to spark some public interest in an England team that appears to be quickly losing its appeal, Sven-Gran Eriksson announced his starting line-up for the friendly against Ukraine at St James #39; Park a day earlier than expected.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China halfway to complete medals goal BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- China is already halfway to its stated goal of 20 gold medals at the Athens Olympics after going into the fourth day of the 16-day competition, CRIENGLISH.com said Wednesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China says hopes N.Korea nuclear talks to continue BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it hoped all six parties taking part in talks on the North Korea nuclear crisis keep calm, remain flexible and continue negotiations despite inevitable difficulties.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Senate probe needed: Faulkner A SENATE inquiry was needed into claims that the Prime Minister misled the Australian public over the children overboard affair, Labor Senate Leader John Faulkner said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Athletics' Homers Crush Orioles 11-0 (AP) AP - Tim Hudson pitched a five-hitter to earn his first victory since June 11, and Scott Hatteberg's second grand slam of the season highlighted a four-homer attack that carried the Oakland Athletics past the Baltimore Orioles 11-0 Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Dodging Another Upset, U.S. Holds Off Greece Nobody heard the American players exhale when the buzzer sounded to end a 77-71 victory, because 12,000 delirious fans saluted Greece, the home team that had come close.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Humes Sits One Out With a showdown against preseason No. 1 USC on the horizon, tailback Cedric Humes rested his sore ankle and sat out Tuesday's scrimmage.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Sox's Guillen Hospitalized Chicago White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen entered a Chicago hospital on Tuesday with symptoms that suggest kidney stones.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Effort by Bush on Education Hits Obstacles Since President Bush signed No Child Left Behind, the law has imposed undeniable changes on public education, but it has also faced a backlash.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Cleric in Najaf Refuses to Meet Iraqi Mediators The delegation hoped to convince Moktada al- Sadr to disarm his militia, to leave the shrine and to join the political process.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Who's Behind the Gold Medalist's Mask? Gosh, an American! Mariel Zagunis crushed Tan Xue of China, 15-9, in the final of the women's saber Tuesday, earning the first American gold in a recognized fencing event.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Windows XP SP2 update delayed BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft Corp. has delayed automatic update of Windows XP Service Pack 2 to American company users until Aug. 25.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Cassini found two little Saturn moons BEIJING, Aug.18(Xinhuanet) -- NASA #39;s Cassini spacecraft has spied two new moons around the satellite-rich Saturn.$LABEL$3,0,-100
It can #39;t fly and sounds like a trumpet, but new bird delights ornithologists The mystery bird was certainly distinctive: dark brown, red bill, red legs, call like a trumpet, pretty hopeless at flying. You couldn #39;t miss it if you knew it was there.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Accused pair to tell their side of story This morning as Britain awakes, Kostas Kenteris and his training partner, Katerina Thanou, will be asked three questions by the disciplinary commission of the International Olympic Committee. These will determine whether they deliberately ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Edwards #39; appeal against two-year ban fails Torri Edwards, the American sprinter, was shown no mercy here last night when the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld her two-year doping ban.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Terror charges London, Aug. 17 (Reuters): Britain charged eight men today with conspiracy to murder and other terrorism charges, some of them relating to plans of US buildings that could have been used to organise attacks.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Senior Hamas leader wounded An explosion tore through the home of a senior Hamas leader in Gaza yesterday, killing at least five people and wounding him and about a dozen other Palestinians, medics said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
US Hopes Influence Can Quell Russian - Georgian Tensions WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (AFP) - The United States is eyeing tensions between Georgia and separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia while hoping US influence with Georgia #39;s new president can halt broader armed conflict in the Caucasus.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Seven dead in Baghdad blast Interior Ministry officials had earlier said the blast on Tuesday was caused by a car bomb. At least five cars were ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Japan Stocks Turn Lower on Oil Worries TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo's Nikkei average turned lower by  late morning on Wednesday as concern over surging oil prices  and their possible impact on the global economy hit exporters  such as Toyota Motor Corp.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Paes-Bhupathi overcome Federer-Allegro (Reuters) Reuters - World number one Roger Federer's top target for the year -- an Olympic tennis gold medal -- was taken away from him in a ""terrible day"" on Tuesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Najaf Fighting Continues Amid Peace Push BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi delegates delivered a peace proposal to aides of Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf on Tuesday, but the militant cleric refused to meet with them as explosions, gunfire and a U.S. bombing run persisted in the holy city...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Cabrera Leads Red Sox Past Blue Jays 5-4 BOSTON - Orlando Cabrera hit a run-scoring double off the Green Monster in the ninth inning on reliever Justin Speier's second pitch of the game, giving the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.    Pinch-hitter Dave Roberts drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and was forced out at second base on Johnny Damon's grounder off Kevin Frederick (0-2)...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google flotation still dogged by last minute complications Google #39;s public share offering is expected to go ahead as early as today following a request for final regulatory approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Alcoa to shutter Ohio automotive components plant PITTSBURGH Alcoa said today it will take a seven (m) million dollar charge to close an automotive components plant in Ohio due to overcapacity.$LABEL$2,0,-100
The latest on SP2 The long-awaited Service Pack 2 for the Windows XP Home Edition is expected to start rolling out to PC users Wednesday via Microsoft #39;s Automatic Update service. The company says it is also planning to make the update available for order on a CD, for ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ATHENS, Greece -- It began with Allen Iverson -- The Answer, the captain, the leader of Team USA -- forgetting about the fractured bone in his right thumb and courageously hitting the floor against Greece in full regalia.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Ancient Site a Throwback for Select Few Athletes THENS, Aug. 17 - Earlier this week, John Godina, a shot-putter from the United States, walked into the ancient stadium at Olympia, about 200 miles southwest of Athens, and the history he had studied in college came to life.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Flash floods force huge rescue bid LONDON: Rescue workers combed an English coastal village in north Cornwall yesterday for people missing after a flash flood caused by torrential rain hit Britain #39;s southwestern Atlantic coast.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Parliamentarians Not To Compromise Governance For Personal Gains: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Pakistan : Aug 18 (PID) - President General Pervez Musharraf Tuesday urged the Parliamentarians not to compromise governance for personal gains and work selflessly to serve the people and earn a rightful place for the country in the comity of ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Offering Waits For SEC Approval Google Inc.'s initial public offering of stock remained on hold Tuesday after the Securities and Exchange Commission delayed final approval of the company's prospectus. The  delay did not appear to involve any major new issues, and the company continued to maintain  that its IPO is on track. <FONT face=""verdana,MS Sans Serif,arial,helvetica"" size=""-2""\ color=""#666666""><B>-The Washington Post</B></FONT>$LABEL$3,0,-100
Dot-Coms Anxious to Get Back in IPO Game The successful bidders for Google shares won't be the only ones watching eagerly to see how much the IPO excites the stock market. Dozens of dot-com companies are hoping that Google's initial public offering marks a reawakening of all things Internet. <FONT face=""verdana,MS Sans Serif,arial,helvetica"" size=""-2""\ color=""#666666""><B>-The Washington Post</B></FONT>$LABEL$3,0,-100
Antiwar Protesters Told  Shop Till You Drop, Too New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided that if antiwar protesters are to descend on his city by the hundreds of thousands for the Republican Convention, he may as well turn them into shoppers. <BR><FONT face=""verdana,MS Sans Serif,arial,helvetica"" size=""-2""\ color=""#666666""><B>-The Washington Post</B></FONT>$LABEL$3,0,-100
Fairfax Tempts Foreign Firms to Branch Out Fairfax County is hoping to counter the exodus of U.S. jobs to other countries by persuading overseas companies to open branches in Fairfax, where they can hire Americans.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Manning Gets Early Go-Ahead to Start Eli Manning, the No. 1 pick in this year's N.F.L. draft, will make his first professional start on Thursday when the Giants take on the Carolina Panthers.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Sheffield Should Be Able to Play On The Yankees' Gary Sheffield has a pulled muscle and bursitis in his troublesome left shoulder, but can continue to play.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Hudson Handcuffs O's Jermaine Dye began the fireworks in the sixth with a two-run home run and Tim Hudson baffled the Orioles as Oakland rolled, 11-0, Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Cust Slogs Through Season With less than three weeks left in the Class AAA Ottawa Lynx's season, Jack Cust is counting down the days until his two-year stay with the Baltimore Orioles organization ends.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Caps' Witt Wins Arbitration Washington Capitals defenseman Brendan Witt was awarded \$2.2 million for the 2004-05 season in his arbitration hearing on Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bailey Tries WR Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey practiced with the offense at wide reciever during the Denver Broncos' practice on Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Dot-Coms Get Back in IPO Game (washingtonpost.com) washingtonpost.com - The successful bidders for Google shares won't be the only ones watching eagerly to see how much the IPO excites the stock market. Dozens of dot-com companies are hoping that Google's initial public offering marks a reawakening of all things Internet.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Production Grew, Prices Fell in July The nation's factories cranked out more products in July, miners dug more minerals and builders broke ground on more homes, the government said yesterday in three reports that showed some rebound in economic activity last month.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Mills Buys Into Lakeforest Mall Mills Corp., the Arlington-based retail developer, said yesterday it plans to buy half of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg and eight other malls around the country in a billion-dollar deal that gives it a new portfolio of shopping centers to redevelop in the years ahead.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Airlines Agree to Cuts at O'Hare Airlines operating at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport have agreed to cut flights  to reduce delays that ripple across the country, sources familiar with the talks said yesterday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
U.S. Brokers Halt to Afghan Infighting (AP) AP - The U.S. ambassador helped broker a cease-fire Tuesday to halt the latest bloody infighting in Afghanistan, persuading a warlord to pull away from a provincial capital as U.S. warplanes circled overhead.$LABEL$0,0,-100
GOP Rep. Cubin Wins Wyoming Primary (AP) AP - U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin fended off four Republican challengers in Tuesday's primary election, securing a shot at a sixth term in this fall's general election.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Crude rises on Iraq troubles SEPTEMBER oil prices rose yesterday on US economic data showing that inflationary pressure was held in check in July. However, continued disruption in Iraqi supplies and strong world fuel demand and ongoing trouble at Russian oil giant Yukos underpinned ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Bankruptcy fears as Yukos #39; half-year loss hits \$2.65bn YUKOS has reported a net loss of US\$2.65 billion (1.45bn) for the first half of 2004, a period of record oil prices, prompting speculation that the Russian oil firm is on the verge of declaring bankruptcy.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Halliburton hit THE US army will withhold payment on 15 per cent of future invoices from Halliburton, the logistics support group which is feeding and housing its troops in Iraq and Kuwait.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Wall Street takes heart from positive economic reports A NEW record high for oil took some of the shine off Wall Street trade yesterday. An upbeat picture of inflation and good housing data boosted the mood early on and strong earnings from several retailers, led by Home Depot, also helped to keep the major ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
E-Mail Viruses Getting Smarter, Report Says SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Computer viruses spread by e-mail are growing more sophisticated as virus writers and  quot;spammers quot; are thought to be joining forces in an effort to make smarter bugs, a computer security group said on Tuesday.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Games Business Needs Mergers, Price Cuts-Report LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Video game executives believe consolidation will be crucial to their future, but they also want further cuts to hardware prices to boost short-term growth, according to a report set for release this week.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Event of the Day -- Men #39;s and women #39;s shot put Why you should watch: Given the longstanding American hegemony in the shot put, it #39;s plausible that the three-man US delegation could sweep the competition. But the most compelling reason to watch is the unparalleled setting.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Fellow Jets Are Getting to Know No. 89 EMPSTEAD, NY, Aug. 17 - It has become a recurring part of the practice-field banter at Jets training camp. Jerricho Cotchery, the rookie wide receiver, hauls in another bomb on a post route or makes another touchdown catch, and ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
LOOKING BACK 8-Day Battle for Najaf: From Attack to Stalemate AJAF, Iraq, Aug. 16 - Just five days after they arrived here to take over from Army units that had encircled Najaf since an earlier confrontation in the spring, new Marine commanders decided to smash guerrillas loyal to the rebel Shiite ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Soldier dies as British troops clash with Sadr #39;s Basra army A BRITISH soldier was killed and at least one other injured during a fierce firefight with militia fighters in the southern Iraqi city of Basra yesterday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Outgoing Ambassador Of Qatar Meets Musharraf ISLAMABAD, Pakistan : Aug 18 (PID) - The outgoing Ambassador of Qatar, Mr. Abdullah Falah A. Al-Dosari paid a courtesy called on the President General Pervez Musharraf here on Tuesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Raiders' Gallery Misses Camp With Injury (AP) AP - Left tackle Robert Gallery, the second player taken in the NFL draft, didn't practice Tuesday morning with the Oakland Raiders because of an elbow injury, leaving his status uncertain for Saturday's preseason game against Dallas.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Rockies Pitcher Frets Health, Not Baseball (AP) AP - The blood clots that went from Aaron Cook's shoulder to his lungs might threaten his career.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Still No Movement in N.H.L. labor Talks The N.H.L. and the players association moved no closer to a collective bargaining agreement during a five-hour meeting Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
What Next for Venezuela? President Hugo Chavez is riding high after his overwhelming victory in a recall vote this week, but analysts say his triumph may have limited impact on the deep economic and political problems threatening this major oil-producing country.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Offering Waits for Approval Google Inc. #39;s initial public offering of stock remained on hold yesterday after the Securities and Exchange Commission delayed final approval of the company #39;s prospectus.$LABEL$2,0,-100
AMP Returns to Profit After Spinoff Australian financial services group AMP Ltd. on Wednesday reported a return to profit in the first half of the year after cutting loose its loss-making British insurance operations.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Japan Stocks Fall on Oil Worries TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo #39;s Nikkei average fell 0.59 percent by midday on Wednesday, erasing initial gains, as exporters like Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. declined on concern over the possible impact on the global economy of surging oil prices.$LABEL$2,0,-100
TGn Sync Coalition Outlines Proposal for 802.11n TGn Sync, a coalition of more than a dozen vendors, will submit a joint proposal to the IEEE 802.11 Task Group N (TGn) for the next generation 802.11n standard.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Hamstring latest setback for Kupets There are favorites and there are expectations, but to compete in the Olympics is to hazard the risk of being outfought, outscored, out-happied.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Veteran hurler Beck released by Padres San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - The San Diego Padres requested unconditional release waivers for righthanded reliever Rod Beck on Tuesday, ending the 36- year-old #39;s run in Southern California.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Sheffield Should Be Able to Play On INNEAPOLIS, Aug. 17 - The Yankees #39; Gary Sheffield has a pulled muscle and bursitis in his troublesome left shoulder, but can continue to play, according to a diagnosis provided on Tuesday by Dr. Frank Jobe, the noted orthopedic surgeon who ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
NFL ROUNDUP Eagles #39; Kalu Will Be Out for the Year Philadelphia Eagles defensive end ND Kalu will miss the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee at yesterday #39;s practice.$LABEL$1,0,-100
AL Capsules Orlando Cabrera hit a run-scoring double off the Green Monster in the ninth inning on reliever Justin Speier #39;s second pitch of the game, giving the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China Battles to Keep N.Korea Nuclear Talks Alive BEIJING (Reuters) - China battled on Wednesday to keep alive six-way talks on dismantling North Korea #39;s nuclear programs, saying it hoped all parties would stay calm and flexible and resume negotiations despite inevitable problems.$LABEL$0,0,-100
McKenry doesn #39;t back Scrafton: PM Prime Minister John Howard said a former public servant had not backed the claims by former adviser Mike Scrafton about the children overboard affair.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Twins Collect Rare Victory Over Yankees (AP) AP - Brad Radke pitched seven solid innings, Corey Koskie drove in three runs and the Minnesota Twins beat the New York Yankees in the regular season for the first time since 2001 with an 8-2 victory Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China tries to shut down phone sex lines in anti-porn campaign (Canadian Press) Canadian Press - SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China has ordered severe punishment for phone sex operators as part of a sweeping crackdown on electronic pornography, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Dollar Stuck After CPI Fails to Inspire TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar idled on Wednesday after the  latest round of U.S. inflation data failed to substantially  alter the outlook for gradual increases in interest rates.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Yukos, Iraq push oil higher NEW YORK -- Oil prices have moved to fresh record highs of almost \$47 a barrel on concerns about potential supply disruptions in Russia and Iraq.$LABEL$2,0,-100
US Stocks Gain for a Third Day, Led by Home Depot, Retailers Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- US stocks rose for a third straight day after an unexpected drop in consumer prices encouraged investors that the Federal Reserve may be able to slow the pace of interest rate increases. Benchmark indexes pared gains as oil prices ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Australia #39;s Pacific Hydro FY04 Net A\$40.7M, Up 39 CANBERRA (Dow Jones)--Renewable energy generator Pacific Hydro Ltd. (PHY.AU) reported Wednesday a 39 jump in net profit, including a one-time tax benefit, to A\$40.7 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, up from A\$29.3 million in the previous year.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Warehouse offers cut-price coffins A US discount warehouse chain known for piling  #39;em high, and selling  #39;em cheap, is offering cut-price coffins along with the buckets of sauce and tubs of ice-cream under a new pilot program.$LABEL$2,0,-100
RealNetworks Launches Music Download Price War RealNetworks is sending a real message to Apple, their largest competitor in the online music market. On Tuesday, RealNetworks announced that it was launching the biggest music sale in history, offering single music downloads for just 49 cents, and most ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
WinXP SP2 Home Edition To Be Available On Automatic Update Aug 18 Microsoft #39;s channel partners are getting set to put out fires when Windows XP Service Pack 2 becomes available to consumers over the Windows Update service on Wednesday.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sutton #39;s Ryder Cup selections are solid MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Hal Sutton will get second-guessed, which is the main by-product of the captain of Ryder Cup teams having two at-large selections and one month before the 35th version of the matches are played at Oakland Hills Country ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Owners, players talk, but nothing resolved Five hours of talks Tuesday brought owners and players no closer to resolving labor disagreements that will lead to a lockout when the collective bargaining agreement ends Sept. 15.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Padres release former all-stat Rod Beck, recall Freddy Guzman SAN DIEGO (AP) - The San Diego Padres released reliever Rod Beck on Tuesday and recalled centre fielder Freddy Guzman from triple-A Portland.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Mariners Race Past Royals 16-3 (AP) AP - Ichiro Suzuki went 4-for-4 and drove in a career-high five runs, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 16-3 rout of the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Twins Collect Rare Victory Over Yankees MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Brad Radke pitched seven solid innings, Corey Koskie drove in three runs and the Minnesota Twins beat the New York Yankees in the regular season for the first time since 2001 with an 8-2 victory Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Colombian Government Won't Halt Offensive (AP) AP - Colombia's government on Tuesday shrugged off warnings from Marxist rebels that a massive offensive is endangering the lives of dozens of hostages, including three Americans.$LABEL$0,0,-100
China Appeals to N. Korea for Nuke Talks (AP) AP - China appealed to North Korea on Tuesday to join working meetings before a new round of six-party talks on dismantling its nuclear program, despite the North's declaration that it saw no point in attending.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Haiti court acquits rebel leader A court acquits ex-paramilitary leader Jodel Chamblain of murder in a trial criticised by human rights activists.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Intel backtracks on offering chips for projection TVs now In another product postpone-ment, semiconductor giant Intel Corp said it won #39;t be offering a chip for projection TVs by the end of this year as it had announced earlier this year.$LABEL$3,0,-100
China tries to shut down phone sex lines in anti-porn campaign SHANGHAI, China (AP) - China has ordered severe punishment for phone sex operators as part of a sweeping crackdown on electronic pornography, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Produce less beef and save water The Stockholm International Water Institute in Sweden claims it takes 15 cubic metres of water, or 15,000 litres, to produce one kilogram of grain-fed beef.$LABEL$3,0,-100
US Men Squander Lead, But Hold Off Thorpe to Win ATHENS, Aug. 17 -- Rarely has a huge lead disappeared so quickly. Largely unheralded US swimmer Klete Keller jumped in the pool for the final leg of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay a second-and-a-half ahead of Australian legend Ian Thorpe.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Teixeira cycles his way to history ARLINGTON -- Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira made history Tuesday at Ameriquest Field in Arlington against Cleveland when he became the second player in franchise history to hit for the cycle.$LABEL$1,0,-100
LaCassie, Price qualify for US Amateur Match Play Two of the three Australians who made the field for this week #39;s US Amateur Championship at the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, have made it into the top sixty four who will fight out the Match Play phase of the Championship.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Jordanian hostage freed in Iraq A Jordanian who disappeared in Iraq two weeks ago and was believed to have been kidnapped has been freed and is in the custody of Iraqi police, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Ayed told reporters yesterday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Fall Season Looks Solid for Retailers, but Holidays Could Be Another Story Against a background of lackluster retail sales in June and July, analysts and merchants still predict a decent, possibly strong, fall selling season for clothes, accessories and home furnishings.$LABEL$2,0,-100
So Google Is Almost Public. Now Comes the Hard Part. Google, whose initial stock offering was delayed by the S.E.C., must prove that its success is not an accident.$LABEL$2,0,-100
After Circulation Scandal, a Move to Build Trust Belo Corporation has set aside \$23 million to compensate advertisers for exaggerated circulation figures at The Dallas Morning News.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nevada officials back e-vote systems for primary, general election Nevada election officials are confident that an electronic voting system being used in the Sept. 7 primary and the November election will work as expected, despite a problem that occurred during a demonstration of the technology in California.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Motorola rolls out database management software Motorola is using the Application Data Management suite from OuterBay Technology to manage data growth in its Oracle e-business applications.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Warriors, Mavs Close on Five-Player Trade (AP) AP - The Warriors and Mavericks are close to completing a five-player trade that would bring forwards Eduardo Najera and Christian Laettner to Golden State and send centers Erick Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau to Dallas, an NBA source aware of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Must-See TV Lacks Must-Have Buzz Empty seats in Athens offer a bizarre television backdrop for the Olympics - one that cannot be avoided by NBC.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Manning Gets Early Go-Ahead to Start Eli Manning, the No. 1 pick in this year's N.F.L. draft, will make his first professional start on Thursday when the Giants take on Carolina.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Vazquez and Yankees Buckle Early Because Javier Vazquez fizzled while Brad Radke flourished, the Yankees sustained their first regular-season defeat by the Minnesota Twins since 2001.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Still No Movement in N.H.L. Labor Talks The N.H.L. and the players association moved no closer to a collective bargaining agreement during a five-hour meeting.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China Hints U.S. Must Return Guantanamo Separatists (Reuters) Reuters - Beijing has hinted that if the United\States releases any Guantanamo Bay detainees from its restive\Muslim far west Xinjiang region, they should be handed over to\Beijing and not sent to a third country.$LABEL$0,0,-100
China Hints U.S. Must Return Guantanamo Separatists BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has hinted that if the United  States releases any Guantanamo Bay detainees from its restive  Muslim far west Xinjiang region, they should be handed over to  Beijing and not sent to a third country.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Architectural Benefactor J. Irwin Miller Dies J. Irwin Miller, 95, the industrialist and philanthropist who guided Cummins Engine Co. to international prominence and helped shape his home town of Columbus, Ind., into an architectural gem, died Aug. 16 at his home in Columbus. No cause of death was ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Delta May Offer Its Pilots Equity Stake to Get Cuts Delta Air Lines, in an effort to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, is considering giving its pilots an equity stake in exchange for pay and benefit cuts, a Delta pilot spokeswoman said yesterday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
The Ballad of Shaikh Ahmed THE guy exudes an aura of sure-fire confidence - the confidence that is based on his burning desire to excel. Shaikh Ahmed Mohammed Hasher Al Maktoum expects to be successful - and he invariably is.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Eriksson urges more rest for top players SLALEY, England, Aug 17 (Reuters) - England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has thrown down to gauntlet to the international soccer authorities to preserve the health of the world  quot;superstar quot; footballers for major tournaments.$LABEL$1,0,-100
US, Jamaica wait to tip hands KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Twenty-four hours before the US National Team takes on the Jamaicans in their first CONCACAF World Cup qualifying semifinal round match, and the Americans were nowhere to be found.$LABEL$1,0,-100
An irregular regular loss MINNEAPOLIS -- Considering how much the Yankees have dominated the Twins during the regular season in recent years, it was easy to assume Javier Vazquez picked the right time to return from a nasty two-week bout with conjunctivitis.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Santos holds Cubs to one run for win Santos allowed just one run in 6 1-3 innings to win for the first time since beating Chicago on July 16, and the Brewers defeated the Cubs 3-1 Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Swimmers, gymnasts lift NBC #39;s early ratings Boosted by strong results from US gymnasts and swimmers, NBC #39;s ratings for the Athens Olympics #39; first four days have topped the disappointing viewership levels of the 2000 Sydney Games.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Peace team urges Sadr to call off uprising: Militia positions pounded NAJAF, Aug 17: An Iraqi peace delegation urged Shia leader Moqtada Sadr on Tuesday to call off his uprising in Najaf, and on the battlefront US troops pounded militia positions near the country #39;s holiest sites.$LABEL$0,0,-100
China appeals to North Korea to go ahead with nuclear talks BEIJING (AP)  China appealed to North Korea on Tuesday to join working meetings before a new round of six-party talks on dismantling its nuclear program, despite the North #39;s declaration that it saw no point in attending.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Maoist Rebels Block Land Routes to Nepali Capital KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Maoist rebels, fighting to topple  Nepal's constitutional monarchy, cut off all land routes to the  Himalayan kingdom's capital on Wednesday, disrupting food and  supplies to the city of 1.5 million people.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Michael Jackson in legal setback Michael Jackson's lawyers fail in their attempt to have evidence seized in a raid on his ranch thrown out.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Cox Forms Committee to Consider Buyout NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cox Communications Inc., the No. 4  U.S. cable television provider, said late on Tuesday  it formed  a committee of independent directors to consider a \$7.9 billion  offer from its controlling family to take the company private.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Mavs Acquire Dampier The Associated Press reports that the Warriors and Mavericks are close to completing a deal that would bring Eduardo Najera and Christian Laettner to Golden State and send Erick Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer and Dan Dickau to Dallas.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Teixeira Bats for Cycle Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira hit for the cycle and drove in a career-high seven runs in a 16-4 rout of the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Analysis: Venezuela off oil market #39;s front burner LOS ANGELES, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Oil futures reached a record high Tuesday as the market fretted over simmering potential pitfalls other than last weekend #39;s vote in Venezuela that kept controversial strongman Hugo Chavez in the presidency.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Production, housing rise while consumer prices decline Washington - The nation #39;s factories cranked out more products in July, miners dug more minerals and builders broke ground on more homes, the government said Tuesday in three reports that showed some rebound in economic activity last ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Charley may cost insurers \$14bn Chicago - Insured losses from Hurricane Charley could be between \$10 billion (R66 billion) and \$14 billion, according to industry estimates released as insurers received thousands of claims from Florida.$LABEL$2,0,-100
BJ #39;s will fight banks #39; \$16M claim BJ #39;s Wholesale Club Inc. is gearing up for legal battles with credit-card-issuing banks, which are demanding \$16 million to offset fraudulent credit card charges and other costs related to a security breach apparently involving BJ #39;s ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Winning is Greek to US: Outlasts h ATHENS - Larry Brown found out some things about his team last night. Among them was that Allen Iverson apparently shoots better with a fractured right thumb than he does with two healthy paws.$LABEL$1,0,-100
A Throwback to Olympia ATHENS -- Today, Olympians will be in the ancient stadium at Olympia for the shot put competition. Been there, but haven #39;t done that.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Agassi overcomes Goldstein in Washington opener NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Number-one seed Andre Agassi survived a surprisingly tough first set test before he eventually coasted to a 6-4 6-2 win over Paul Goldstein at the Washington Classic on Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
A gold medal in the ratings Olympic laurels. NBC swept the Nielsen ratings medals, with its first three nights of coverage in Athens taking the top three prime-time spots last week (Aug. 9-15) in viewers and advertiser-coveted young adults. The surge ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Warriors, Mavs close on five-player trade The Warriors and Mavericks are close to completing a five-player trade that would bring forwards Eduardo Najera and Christian Laettner to Golden State and send centers Erick Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau to Dallas, an NBA source aware of ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Result knot all bad for US: Wins group after tie with Aussies ATHENS - Playing without suspended forward Abby Wambach, the US women #39;s soccer team battled to a mutually beneficial 1-1 draw with Australia last night at Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki. The result was not unexpected, as the ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
When it comes to Israel... At first glance it was just another prosaic headline.  quot; #39;Militants #39; prevent resumption of work in the seaports, quot; Haaretz said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
NL Wrap: Walker Grand Slam Helps Cards Beat Reds Again NEW YORK (Reuters) - Larry Walker hit a grand slam home run  to key a six-run eighth inning as the Cardinals stayed hot with  a 7-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds in St Louis on Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Cave Linked to John the Baptist Found in Israel (Reuters) Reuters - A British archeologist has dug up\evidence linking John the Baptist to a cave used for bathing\rituals in hills near Jerusalem in what he said could be one of\the biggest recent finds for Christian history.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Chasing the SUV vote SPORT UTILITY vehicles roared into stump speeches this month, flattening all common sense. At a speech last week introducing President Bush, Virginia #39;s Governor George Allen juiced the crowd by ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
SI.com ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Cincinnati Reds continue to find new ways to lose to the St. Louis Cardinals.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Eight terror suspects charged in UK British police have charged eight terrorist suspects with conspiring to commit murder and use radioactive materials, toxic gases, chemicals or explosives to cause  quot;fear or injury quot; in a case involving an alleged top al-Qaeda operative at the centre of a US ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Five Palestinians dead in Israeli attempt to kill Hamas activist Israel #39;s air force launched an attack on a Gaza City building early Wednesday, killing at least five people, according to witnesses and officials on both sides. Seven people were also wounded, four critically.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Army, in Shift, Will Pay Halliburton The Army reversed a decision to withhold payment on 15 percent of future payments to the Halliburton Company on its contracts in Iraq and Kuwait.$LABEL$2,0,-100
The Guy From Green Day Says He Has Your Mother on the Cellphone Ringtones have proved to be such a lucrative side business for cellular phone companies that record labels in the United States have decided they want a piece of that revenue.$LABEL$2,0,-100
ING to Withdraw \$5 Bln from Janus Funds NEW YORK (Reuters) - ING U.S. Financial Services said late  on Tuesday it will withdraw about \$5 billion from Janus Capital  Group Inc. funds by year-end.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Gas Price Drop Lowers CPI Moderate news on the inflation front and a Labor Department report showing that consumer prices actually fell in July gave comfort to investors who are worried about potential price hikes.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Costco Is Accused of Sex Bias n employee at the Costco Wholesale Corporation filed a national class-action lawsuit against the company yesterday, accusing it of discriminating against women in promotions to store manager.$LABEL$2,0,-100
US Wants a Trustee Named to Oversee United #39;s Pensions ASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (AP) - A legal overseer will be appointed to represent participants in United Airlines #39; pension plans now that the company has halted contributions, the Labor Department said on Tuesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
RealNetworks drops music-download price BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- With competition heating up in the online music business, the American digital media group, RealNetworks Inc. yesterday declared war on Apple Computer and its popular iTunes in ternet music store by lowering prices for ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Cash for emails - script kiddies use spam to make their fortunes Money the prime motivator as viruses and spam converge  63.5 of all email during the first six months of 2004 was spam  Over 1.5 million phishing emails intercepted  Spyware makes its first appearance in the spam attack arsenal Sydney. 17th ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
NL Wrap: Walker Grand Slam Helps Cards Beat Reds Again NEW YORK (Reuters) - Larry Walker hit a grand slam home run to key a six-run eighth inning as the Cardinals stayed hot with a 7-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds in St Louis on Tuesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Web page to help with installation of WIndows anti-hacker security patch Information Technology Systems and Services (ITSS) has created a Web page that will walk Microsoft Windows XP users on campus through a major update being released worldwide this month to make the operating system less vulnerable to computer hackers and ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Oil Prices Hold Firm Near  #36;47 (Reuters) Reuters - Oil prices held steady near  #36;47 on\Wednesday, a day after striking another record peak as U.S.\inflation stayed in check despite scorching energy costs and\ahead of weekly data expected to show a drop in crude stocks.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Talking with ... Vijay Singh, PGA Tour Vijay Singh, 41, shot a final-round 76 but still won the PGA Championship on Sunday at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis.$LABEL$1,0,-100
America pays big price for small mistakes She was shaking her hips, twirling her hands, letting that high-wattage smile shine and turning the arena into her own little disco.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Teixeira hits for the cycle ARLINGTON, Texas  Mark Teixeira became the second player in Rangers history  and first in more than 19 years  to hit for the cycle, leading Texas to a 16-4 rout of the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
SI.com KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners made their first appearance at Kauffman Stadium this season, much to the dismay of the Kansas City Royals .$LABEL$1,0,-100
British Soldier Killed in Iraq A British soldier has been killed and another injured after clashes with militia forces in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, said the British Army.$LABEL$0,0,-100
UN asks Myanmar to engage opposition parties, release Suu Kyi United Nations, Aug 18 - The United Nations has told the ruling military Junta in Myanmar that its process for transition to democracy and national reconciliation will lack  quot;credibility quot; unless it engages the opposition political parties and releases ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
China Sighs in Relief as Yao Scores High BEIJING (Reuters) - China breathed a measured sigh of  relief after the skills of its basketball giant Yao Ming  dwarfed New Zealand to sweep his team nearer to their goal of  reaching the Athens Olympics semi-finals.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Giants Edge Expos J.T. Snow singled in the winning run in the ninth to lead the Giants to their sixth straight victory, 5-4, over the Expos on Tuesday night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Wednesday's preview Day five of the Games will see 21 golds on offer with Kate Howey and Pippa Funnell aiming for medals.$LABEL$1,0,-100
UK terror suspects due in court Eight men charged with conspiracy to murder and plotting to use toxic materials or explosives are due in court.$LABEL$0,0,-100
ING to Withdraw \$5 Bln from Janus Funds NEW YORK (Reuters) - ING US Financial Services said late on Tuesday it will withdraw about \$5 billion from Janus Capital Group Inc. funds by year-end.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Applied shares flat on lower outlook SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Applied Materials beat Wall Street #39;s third-quarter financial estimates late Tuesday, but shares of the chip equipment company stalled after the company #39;s earnings targets for the fourth quarter came in lower than expected.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Investment firm Leucadia holds about 5 pct of MCI WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Investment company Leucadia National Corp. (LUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it had bought a 4.96 percent stake in MCI Inc. (MCIP.O: Quote, Profile, Research) for about \$245.9 million.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nortel hints it won #39;t tell all Nortel Networks Corp., which plans to shed some light tomorrow morning on its financial performance for the first half of the year, hinted yesterday that those long-awaited results could be short on details.$LABEL$2,0,-100
New bird species found in Philippines The bird, dubbed the  quot;Calayan Rail quot;, is the size of a small crow and has dark brown plumage and bright orange-red legs and beak, said Carl Oliveros, who helped lead the expedition that found it.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Plan for global observation would aid in forecasting of disasters WASHINGTON - What if scientists could forecast Texas floods a full year in advance? Or predict when and how air pollution from Asia or Mexico will settle over Los Angeles or Houston? Or pinpoint the location of the next West Nile virus ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Americans rebound to eke out win over Greece ATHENS, GREECE - The crowd danced and sang and chanted  quot;Hellas, Hellas, Hellas quot; and a taunting refrain of  quot;Puerto Rico quot; loud enough to stir the ancients or heal Lamar Odom #39;s pained and poisoned stomach.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Devers and Moore Called Up by USA Gail Devers and LaShaunte #39;a Moore will replace Torri Edwards, the USA #39;s suspended world champion, in the Olympic 100 and 200 metres races in Athens.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Mariners 16, Royals 3 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- If Ichiro Suzuki keeps hitting at his second-half pace, Seattle Mariners manager Bob Melvin believes there may be a new addition for the dictionary.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Damon #39;s play top choice In the first inning last night at Fenway Park, Red Sox stats, schedule leadoff hitter Johnny Damon stats, news jump-started his team #39;s offense by hitting a home run to right field.$LABEL$1,0,-100
US women settle for tie The United States women #39;s soccer team needed only a tie yesterday and that #39;s all it got -- settling for a draw against a team it always had beaten.$LABEL$1,0,-100
MLB: Texas 16, Cleveland 4 Arlington, TX, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Mark Teixeira had seven RBI Tuesday to help Scott Erickson earn his first win in over two years as Texas Rangers pounded the Cleveland Indians, 16-4.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Miscues Cost U.S. Women Gymnastics Gold (AP) AP - They're the kind of errors only judges see, little things that seem so inconsequential. But those mistakes added up, and they cost the U.S. gymnastics team a gold medal. The Americans settled for silver Tuesday night, done in as much by their own sloppiness as Romania's sheer superiority.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Iraqis aim to decide new assembly The Baghdad conference on Iraq's future goes into an unscheduled fourth day as a peace bid fails in  Najaf.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Inflation #39;s Summer Vacation? At first glance, July #39;s muted price data seems to undercut inflation fighters #39; rate-hike strategy. But the softness isn #39;t likely to stay ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Season far from running course With the PGA Tour #39;s major championships concluded for 2004, we look for other story lines to sustain the golf season. The back nine: ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Federer #39;s Olympics end unexpectedly early with two losses Roger Federer gathered his racket bag and trudged off the court, ignoring fans #39; autograph requests as he headed straight for the exit.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Iraqis aim to decide new assembly The national conference on Iraq #39;s future is going into an unscheduled fourth day as delegates hammer out the shape of the first post-war parliament.$LABEL$0,0,-100
More hospital tests for Latham OPPOSITION Leader Mark Latham is undergoing further tests at Sydney #39;s St Vincent #39;s Hospital after being diagnosed with pancreatitis.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Saved from the saw, ancient Japanese forests now threatened by tourism (AFP) AFP - A generation ago, a battle was successfully waged on this rugged island to preserve what was left of its primeval forests, home to giant trees millennia old. Now tourism spawned by this natural heritage is threatening its survival.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Asian Shares Mixed as Oil Steady Near \$47 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - High oil prices kept Asian stock  markets in check on Wednesday as investors fretted over the  impact of energy costs on corporate earnings, but an upbeat  outlook from Applied Materials lifted some tech issues.$LABEL$2,0,-100
'Afghanistan needs security help' UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says Afghanistan needs help with security to ensure its presidential elections are successful.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Worker alleges sex bias An assistant manager at Costco Wholesale accused the company of discriminating against female workers by failing to promote as many as 650 women to high-paying management jobs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
AMP profits beat forecasts SYDNEY (Reuters) - Insurer and fund manager AMP has reported a better-than-expected profit for the first half on higher investment returns and improved margins after casting off its British operations.$LABEL$2,0,-100
BHP Billiton doubles H2 net profit SYDNEY, (Reuters) - Aug 18, 2004 The world #39;s biggest mining group, BHP Billiton Ltd./Plc. said on Wednesday its second-half net profit more than doubled on strong demand for industrial raw materials, and forecast sustained high prices for commodities.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Clinton #39;s story boosts Borders The Ann Arbor-based bookseller reported Tuesday an 88.9-percent boost in profits for the second quarter and said sales grew more than expected, driven by strong sales of Clinton #39;s book  quot;My Life. quot; ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
New species of flightless bird #39;s days may be numbered TWITCHERS should book their plane tickets as soon as possible. Wildlife experts yesterday claimed to have discovered a new species of bird in the Philippines. But they immediately warned that the flightless Calayan rail could be driven to extinction by ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
AOL releases Netscape 7.2 quot;Corporate execs are more comfortable with a known brand name. Even though Mozilla (and FF, Camino, K-Meleon, etc.) are based on the same code, they are not  quot;Netscape quot;. When execs are made aware of the faults and deficiencies of IE, they may think  quot;I wish ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
palmOne announces SD wi-fi card for Tungsten T3 and Zire 72 palmOne, Inc. is at last bringing a SD wi-fi solution for a couple of its handheld models. To date, palmOne #39;s Wi-Fi option was the Tungsten C, which comes with built-in wireless, incorporates a keyboard and a 320 x 320 transflective TFT display. palmOne ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Olympics: Greek Sprinters Finally Get Chance to Put Case ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece #39;s top two sprinters should finally get to put their case on Wednesday in a drugs investigation that has shamed and angered the Olympic host nation.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Two-Year Suspension of American Sprinter Is Affirmed The sprinter Torri Edwards of the United States was knocked out of the Olympics for good yesterday when an arbitration panel upheld her two-year drug suspension, saying she should have known tablets provided by her doctor contained ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Shot put: Birthplace of Games becomes field of play again Back when he was a shot putter at Dartmouth, he showed up for practice one day just as a freshman girl learning a new rotation let loose with an errant toss that caught Nelson right in the forehead.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Reds #39; bullpen struggles after lefty #39;s strong start The result, however, was all too familiar as the Reds fell to the Cardinals, 7-2, in the middle tilt of a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Tuesday evening.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Rumsfeld says US forces  quot;unlikely quot; to storm holy places in Najaf WASHINGTON : The United States pulled its punch in Iraq as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced US forces arrayed in Najaf against Shiite militants of firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr were  quot;unlikely quot; to storm the town #39;s holy places to deal the militia ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Asian Shares Mixed as Oil Steady Near  #36;47 (Reuters) Reuters - High oil prices kept Asian stock\markets in check on Wednesday as investors fretted over the\impact of energy costs on corporate earnings, but an upbeat\outlook from Applied Materials lifted some tech issues.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Tokyo Edge: More Video Options Hard-drive video recorders support HDTV, while Blu-ray and HD-DVD wait in the wings. Plus: pricey headphones and cheap megapixels.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google faces bumpy IPO road, analysts say NEW YORK -- Google Inc. faces serious headwinds as it prepares to launch its long-anticipated initial public offering despite a lacklustre equity market and questions about the company #39;s business plan.$LABEL$2,0,-100
US inflation falls for first time in 2004 US inflation fell by 0.1 per cent in July -- the first decline since late last year -- on a drop in gasoline prices, the US Department of Labour said yesterday in a report that suggests underlying price pressures in the world #39;s biggest ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Merrill survey of fund managers finds them more pessimistic, risk averse Global fund managers have become increasingly risk averse and significantly more pessimistic about corporate profits and the US stock market, according to the latest monthly Merrill Lynch  amp; Co. Inc. survey.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Staples posts 39 jump in second-quarter profit FRAMINGHAM, MASS. -- Riding strong sales across its office products portfolio, Staples Inc. yesterday reported a 39-per-cent jump in second-quarter profit that topped Wall Street forecasts.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nortel probe one of Canada #39;s biggest In what will be one of Canada #39;s largest white-collar crime investigations, the RCMP will assign as many as two dozen officers and forensic accountants to the criminal investigation of Nortel Networks Corp., a source familiar ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Microsoft lifts the lid on SP2 SOFTWARE FIRM Microsoft has revealed how many fixes and updates are under the bonnet of its megapatch Windows XP Service Pack 2.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Hackers join dark side SECURITY EXPERTS MessageLabs say that there is evidence that virus writers are working hand in hand with spammers.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Lumber rises on Florida #39;s need to rebuild VANCOUVER -- An already buoyant lumber market is getting a psychological boost from the combined impact of hurricane Charley and reports of surprisingly strong US housing construction activity.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Back in the swim: Peirsol, Coughlin give Americans much needed splash ATHENS - As the final leg of the men #39;s 4 x 200 freestyle relay began last night at the Olympic pool, the United States held a lead of at least 1 1/2 body lengths - which, considering the final 200 meters was being swum by 6-foot-6 Klete ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Two Georgians Killed in Breakaway Region TBILISI (Reuters) - At least two Georgian soldiers were killed and five wounded in artillery fire with separatists in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, Georgian officials said on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Murdoch to face trial on Falconio murder Bradley John Murdoch was ordered to stand trial over the alleged murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio beside a remote Northern Territory highway three years ago.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Banned Sprinter Chambers Trys Football (AP) AP - Dwain Chambers will be studying pass patterns and playbooks instead of competing against the world's top sprinters in the Olympics this weekend.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Uzbekistan Military Boost May Spark Unrest (AP) AP - Washington's plans to beef up its military base in Uzbekistan as part of a troop realignment abroad could whip up tensions between the impoverished ex-Soviet republic's secular government and radical Islamic groups, analysts and opposition politicians say.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Tokyo Edge: More Video Options (PC World) PC World - Hard-drive video recorders support HDTV, while Blu-ray and HD-DVD wait in the wings. Plus: pricey headphones and cheap megapixels.$LABEL$3,0,-100
U.S. Troops Training for Iraq in Israel -Paper (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. troops from Iraq are being\trained by the Israeli army in urban and guerrilla warfare\tactics at a military base in Israel, a local newspaper said on\Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Warring Afghan Factions Say Cease-fire Holding (Reuters) Reuters - A renegade Afghan militia commander and a\spokesman for the governor of the western province of Herat\said on Wednesday their forces were honoring a cease-fire\brokered a day earlier by the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan.$LABEL$0,0,-100
U.S. Troops Training for Iraq in Israel -Paper JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. troops from Iraq are being  trained by the Israeli army in urban and guerrilla warfare  tactics at a military base in Israel, a local newspaper said on  Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
British Terror Suspects to Appear in Court LONDON (Reuters) - Eight British terror suspects charged  with conspiracy to commit murder in a plot linked to security  alerts at financial targets in New York, New Jersey and  Washington make their first appearance in court on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Virtual 3D heart to treat babies Virtual reality techniques are helping Danish doctors diagnose heart defects in newborn babies.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Coxless four into final Britain's rowers cruise into Saturday's final of the men's coxless four at the Olympics.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Three Georgian soldiers killed in breakaway region clashes (AFP) AFP - Three Georgian soldiers have been killed and five wounded in clashes in Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia, Rustavi 2 television reported, quoting an unnamed official with the Georgian interior ministry.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Oil prices edge lower in Asian trading, still near record highs (AFP) AFP - Oil prices were slightly lower in Asian trading on easing concerns over supply disruptions but were still hovering near record highs, dealers said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Iraq's Najaf Tense After Cleric Snubs Peace Envoys NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Fears of heavier fighting in Najaf  grew on Wednesday after an Iraqi peace delegation failed to  defuse a confrontation between U.S. troops and militiamen holed  up in a revered shrine in the city.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Between Faith and Medicine, How Clear a Line? How will South Africa accredit ""traditional healers"" as legally recognized physicians?$LABEL$0,0,-100
Cheaper gas lowers price index Falling gasoline prices in July helped push consumer prices lower for the first time in eight months, indicating that the recent surge in inflation is subsiding.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Why Hugo Chavez Won a Landslide Victory When the rule of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was reaffirmed in a landslide 58-42 percent victory on Sunday, the opposition who put the recall vote on the ballot was stunned. They obviously don #39;t spend much time in the nation #39;s poor neighborhoods.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Costco faces sex discrimination suit An assistant manager at one of Costco #39;s Colorado warehouses filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the Issaquah-based company yesterday, alleging that it overlooks women for promotion.$LABEL$2,0,-100
BHP Billiton 2nd-Half Net Doubles on Commodity Prices (Update2) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton, the world #39;s biggest miner, more than doubled second-half profit as Chinese demand boosted commodity prices. The company is considering returning as much as \$2 billion to investors, including share buybacks.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Info on car safety off-limits to public The federal agency that oversees auto safety has decided -- based largely on arguments from automakers and their Washington, DC, lobbyists -- that reams of data relating to unsafe automobiles or defective parts will not be available ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Music fans sound off RealNetworks Inc. urged digital-music lovers yesterday to stand up for their freedom of choice. They responded by exercising their freedom of speech -- much to the company #39;s chagrin.$LABEL$3,0,-100
China to crack down on telephone sex BEIJING (Reuters) - China #39;s communist leaders, in a fresh move to eradicate pornography, have targeted the telephone sex industry, ordering severe punishment for anyone offering the service, the official People #39;s Daily says.$LABEL$3,0,-100
More Video Options The Olympic Games in Athens are pushing many people to finally buy that plasma or LCD television that they #39;ve been dreaming about. Also, the time difference between Japan and Greece is helping sales of video recorders, particularly those that use hard ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Notebook: Sprinter Edwards #39; drug suspension upheld ATHENS  US sprinter Torri Edwards was knocked out of the Olympics for good yesterday when an arbitration panel upheld her two-year drug suspension.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Finish tarnished by silver ATHENS, Greece -- It was death by a thousand cuts. If you can describe taking silver instead of gold as  quot;death. quot; ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Roddick escapes, but not Federer ATHENS, Greece  Andy Roddick #39;s biggest obstacle to winning the gold medal was Roger Federer, the world #39;s No. 1 player and winner of two of the past three Grand Slam tournaments. So Tuesday, when Federer uncharacteristically lost the magic ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Torri finally out of Olympic Games ATHENS - US sprinter Torri Edwards was knocked out of the Olym- pics for good yesterday when an arbitration panel upheld her two-year drug suspension, rejecting arguments she took banned stimulants by accident.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Finley pays dividends in victory Their supposed new pitching staff ace is on the disabled list and their late-inning bullpen situation has the potential to be a mess, but those problems were easy to ignore Tuesday night, thanks in part to Steve Finley.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Agassi Opens With A Win In Washington No. 1 seed Andre Agassi overcame a sluggish start to the first set to eventually beat compatriot Paul Goldstein in straight sets at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington.$LABEL$1,0,-100
British charge 8 tied to terror conspiracy LONDON -- The British police yesterday charged eight men with conspiracy to murder and violations of the Terrorism Act after finding that two of them possessed surveillance information on the financial centers in Washington, New York ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Falconio suspect to stand trial An Australian court has ordered lorry driver Bradley John Murdoch to stand trial over the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, who has been missing for three years.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Hundreds of Fleet layoffs expected Bank of America Corp. plans to lay off hundreds of tellers and other branch employees at Fleet banks today, asking them to leave the building immediately as part of the process, according to documents obtained by the Globe and Fleet branch managers told of the decision.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Swipe hype: Debit the small stuff Dana Conneally walked into Starbucks at Faneuil Hall one recent morning in desperate need of a coffee fix. The employee at a local law firm handed his debit card to the Starbucks worker, who swiped it, then handed it back -- no signature or personal identification number required.$LABEL$2,0,-100
MetLife seen near sale of Hub invest unit MetLife Inc. is in late-stage negotiations to sell one of Boston's oldest investment firms, State Street Research  amp; Management Co., to another New York financial giant, BlackRock Inc., according to two executives briefed on the talks.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Lawsuits challenge unequal fund fees Fidelity Investments charges two-tenths of 1 percent to manage a \$484 million stock portfolio for the Massachusetts state pension fund. It charges investors in its flagship Magellan fund seven-tenths -- more than three times as much.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nortel accounting faces probe Canadian officials are opening a criminal investigation into accounting at Nortel Networks Corp. Shares in the telecom equipment maker edged lower yesterday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
LoJack buys Canadian tracking company LoJack Corp., which makes devices for recovering stolen cars, agreed to buy Boomerang Tracking Inc. for about \$48 million to expand into Canada. LoJack will pay about \$4.32 a share in cash or a combination of cash and stock for the Montreal maker of stolen vehicle recovery equipment, LoJack said. Westwood-based LoJack also gets Boomerang's cash balance of \$12 million. ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Brazilians attack money laundering Brazilian police arrested more than 60 people yesterday in a massive operation to crack down on money laundering, targeting currency changers who illegally transfer money abroad.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Europe 'must adapt on climate' Europe must find ways of adapting to a climate that may change drastically by mid-century, the European Environment Agency says.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Welcome change for Cabrera Let's say Boston is the sun of the baseball universe, where hope and criticism burn bright, where a city revolves around the game.$LABEL$1,0,-100
He gets some credit for this victory As hard as Pedro Martinez went in his previous outing, when he morphed into vintage Pedro and hurled nine shutout innings, the real toll came this week.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Giants make it six in row J.T. Snow singled in the winning run with one out in the ninth to lead the San Francisco Giants to their sixth straight victory, 5-4, over the visiting Montreal Expos last night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
NL notables Larry Walker was 3 for 4 and is 10 for 27 (.370) with 11 RBIs since joining the Cardinals.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Youkilis, McCarty go on DL A season of extraordinary medical adversity posed yet another series of challenges yesterday for the Red Sox as Kevin Youkilis and David McCarty joined the likes of Trot Nixon , Mark Bellhorn , Pokey Reese , and Ellis Burks on the disabled list.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Texas rides cycle Mark Teixeira became the second player in Rangers history -- and first in more than 19 years -- to hit for the cycle, leading host Texas to a 16-4 rout of the Cleveland Indians last night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Stops and starts in the fast lane Michael Jennings was a track star at Florida State who also wanted to play football but wasn't confident enough to forgo a track scholarship and try the sport as a walk-on for  quot;a team that good. quot;$LABEL$1,0,-100
Old college try from Moreland Earthwind Moreland signed with the Patriots Aug. 5, but University of Massachusetts football fans may have heard of him before that. He was a starting cornerback for the Georgia Southern squad that entered the 1998 Division 1-AA national championship game undefeated and then lost to the Minutemen, 55-43.$LABEL$1,0,-100
LBs are built from ground up For Bill Belichick, it isn't a preference. In his mind, turning NCAA defensive ends into NFL linebackers is practically a necessity.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Knee injury benches Eagles' Kalu for season Philadelphia Eagles defensive end N.D. Kalu will miss the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during yesterday's practice.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Jumbo dough for Joe Joe Thornton didn't make the score he was looking for yesterday, but the Bruins captain will earn \$6.75 million, the most of any player in the club's history, if the National Hockey League has a full 2004-05 season.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Philo is in the know Normally, there are few sure things in golf, but here's something we can be certain of: The lads in today's final pairing at the 84th New England PGA Championship at Brae Burn Country Club will not require introductions.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Northern N.E. reaches peak With some late heroics, Northern New England knocked off undefeated North Shore, 3-2, in the championship game of the Hockey Night in Boston Summer Showcase at Merrimack College last night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China tells US not to send wrong signal to Uighur 'terrorists' (AFP) AFP - China has appealed to the United States not to send the ""wrong signal"" after Washington said a handful of detained Uighurs being held at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay would not be returned to China.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Pope Visit Leaves Lourdes with Hefty Deficit PARIS (Reuters) - Pope John Paul's visit to Lourdes last  weekend left the Roman Catholic shrine with a 1.2 million euro  (\$1.47 million) deficit because pilgrims keen to get good seats  at his mass rushed past collection boxes.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Haiti ex-rebel head cleared of murder PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A jury yesterday acquitted a leader of a paramilitary group accused of killing thousands, after a 14-hour murder trial that angered human rights groups and provoked criticism of the new US-backed government.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Witness says suspect was close to hijackers HAMBURG -- A Moroccan being retried on charges he aided the Sept. 11 plotters was part of lead hijacker Mohamed Atta's inner circle and knew of the group's arguments for turning to violence, a witness testified yesterday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Venezuela's Chavez faces political gulfs CARACAS -- Fresh from victory and emboldened by a decisive mandate, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has the opportunity to extend an olive branch to a seething opposition and a suspicious US administration, but the rifts may have grown too deep to be mended.$LABEL$0,0,-100
German leader adopts Russian child MOSCOW -- Thousands of Russian children are adopted by foreigners every year -- but few go to such high-profile homes as the leader of Germany.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Burundi, Rwanda threaten Congo invasion BUJUMBURA, Burundi -- Burundi and Rwanda threatened yesterday to send soldiers into neighboring Congo to hunt down Hutu extremists responsible for slaughtering more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees at a UN camp in Burundi -- deployments that could reignite a regional conflict in this part of Africa.$LABEL$0,0,-100
No SEC Decision on Google IPO Paperwork (AP) AP - Google Inc.'s plans to move ahead with its initial public stock offering ran into a roadblock when the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't approve the Internet search giant's regulatory paperwork as requested.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Pakistan Publishes 'Most-Wanted Terrorists' List (Reuters) Reuters - Pakistan published pictures of six\""most-wanted terrorists"" on Wednesday and offered rewards for\information leading to the arrest of two al Qaeda-linked\militants wanted over assassination attempts on the president.$LABEL$0,0,-100
MacGowan to play at jazz landmark Legendary singer Shane MacGowan is to play a mini-residency at London's famous Ronnie Scott's jazz club.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Insurers escape Hurricane Charley It #39;s hard to see the silver lining to the clouds over Florida at the moment. Soaking debris and destroyed homes, bereaved families and a rearranged landscape are the testament to Hurricane Charley #39;s power.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Sex-bias suit filed against Costco A Costco Wholesale assistant manager sued the warehouse-club chain yesterday in federal court, alleging the company #39;s promotion policies keep women from seeking out the top two positions at its stores.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Funds turn negative on global profits LONDON (Reuters) - Fund managers #39; views on corporate profitability worldwide have turned sharply negative over the past month for the first time in three years, a Merrill Lynch survey of fund managers shows.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Australia #39;s Lend Lease Returns to Profit Property group Lend Lease Corp. on Wednesday announced a return to full-year profit and forecast earnings-per-share growth of more than 15 percent in the current year.$LABEL$2,0,-100
HP denies Itanium change cost it sales HP BOSS Ann Livermore said that the move to Itanium was not responsible for HP #39;s sales slump. Livermore, who managed to avoid an axe wielding Carly Fiorina this week as sales in the bits of the company she manages plummeted, said that killing the Alpha ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Digital signatures  #39;could be forged #39; Encryption circles are buzzing with news that mathematical functions embedded in common security applications have previously unknown weaknesses.$LABEL$3,0,-100
With this effort, they #39;re silver belles ATHENS -- How many gilded fairy tales do you want? There was the Magnificent 7 in Atlanta in 1996 and the Fantastic 5 in Anaheim last summer. Was anyone really counting on dethroning the Romanians at an ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Canadian arrested for  #39;interrupting the Games #39; after diving into pool ATHENS (CP) - Olympic organizers increased security inside all sports venues Tuesday after a Canadian spectator climbed out of the stands and jumped off one of the boards into the pool.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Say slams teammates #39; relay effort ATHENS -- The meltdown continues in the pool for Canada #39;s swimmers. Only this time, it #39;s talk and not just times that are creating heat. Rick Say, who has posted Canada #39;s best individual showing in the pool with a sixth-place finish in the highly ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
White Sox #39;s Guillen hospitalized with what may be kidney stones Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was hospitalized last night and might have kidney stones. Guillen, serving the first game of a two-game suspension, left the ballpark about three hours before the game against Detroit and went to a Chicago hospital ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Last laugh Oh, those wacky Red Sox. Nothing like a little levity to take the edge off a playoff race. That #39;s why Terry Francona #39;s merry pranksters last night let Manny Ramirez lead the charge out of the dugout in the ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Agassi downs crowd favourite TOP seed Andre Agassi cruised into the next round of the ATP Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington with a 6-4 6-2 win over fellow American Paul Goldstein.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Sadr refuses to meet with peace delegation NAJAF, Iraq -- Radical Shi #39;ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr refused yesterday to meet with a delegation of Iraqi political figures that had rushed here from Baghdad with a last-ditch offer for peace, ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Five Palestinians killed Israeli attack that targeted Hamas activist in Gaza City JERUSALEM Israel set off a mysterious explosion in an olive grove near the house of a senior Hamas activist Wednesday, killing five Palestinians and wounding seven. The strike came just before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced a key party test linked to ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Warring Afghan Factions Say Cease-fire Holding HERAT (Reuters) - A renegade Afghan militia commander and a spokesman for the governor of the western province of Herat said on Wednesday their forces were honoring a cease-fire brokered a day earlier by the US envoy to Afghanistan.$LABEL$0,0,-100
5 die as Hamas chief survives Israeli strike GAZA CITYA senior Hamas leader survived an Israeli assassination attempt early today but at least five other Palestinians were killed in the explosion that tore through his Gaza home.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Farewell to American friends President Bush #39;s plan to begin pulling most of the US troops out of Europe nearly fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall has many Germans worried.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Nepalese Rebel Blockade Cuts Roads to Kathmandu, Reuters Says Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Road traffic to Nepal #39;s capital, Kathmandu, stopped as communist rebels began a blockade of the city to demand the release of insurgents, Reuters reported.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Squaddie Is Killed In Gun Battle A BRITISH soldier was killed and another seriously injured in clashes with Iraqi rebel gunmen in Basra yesterday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Politician #39;s arrest stirs suspicions in Hong Kong BEIJING - The arrest of a Hong Kong pro-democracy candidate in mainland China on charges of soliciting a prostitute touched off a media furor in the former British colony yesterday and fueled suspicion that Beijing was trying to influence ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Greek Sprinters Withdraw from Games ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Olympic 200 meters champion Costas  Kenteris, the focus of an Olympic doping scandal, withdrew from  the Athens Games on Wednesday ""out of a sense of  responsibility.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Dollar Mired Near Lows After Weak Data LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar hovered near multi-week lows  on Wednesday as investors questioned whether the U.S. central  bank would raise interest rates next month in the light of  another round of weak U.S. data.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Google Cuts IPO Price Range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc., the Web search engine, on  Wednesday slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited  initial public offering to between \$85 and \$95 per share from  \$108 to \$135 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Update 1: Philippine Shares Close Lower Philippine shares finished lower Wednesday on selling triggered by a clutch of negative financial news and the steep fall of blue-chip Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. #39;s American depositary receipts, traders said.$LABEL$2,0,-100
ING withdrawing from Janus Financial services firm ING has been identified as the company that plans to yank \$5 billion from the hands of Janus Capital Group.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Oakville plant #39;s fate is still up in the air Ford is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Canada today amid uncertainty over the future of the automaker #39;s Oakville assembly plant.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Benefits Seen in Earth Observation Data WASHINGTON Aug. 17, 2004  Scientists are planning to take the pulse of the planet and more in an effort to improve weather forecasts, predict energy needs months in advance, anticipate disease outbreaks and even tell fishermen where the catch will be ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Greek sprinter Kenteris quits Games ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Olympic 200 metres champion Costas Kenteris and his fellow Greek Olympic silver medallist Katerina Thanou say they are withdrawing from the Athens Games.$LABEL$1,0,-100
UAE joins Olympics gold medal winners UAE joins Olympics gold medal winners ABU DHABI, 18 Aug. 04 (WAM) -- A UAE paper said today that Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashar Al Maktoum #39;s winning of the gold medal in double trap shooting had taken the UAE to the pinnacle of sporting glory at the Olympics.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Federer crashes out of Olympics World number one Roger Federer of Switzerland crashed out of the Olympic tennis tournament on Tuesday when he lost to unseeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.$LABEL$1,0,-100
2 steps back in Texas ARLINGTON, Texas -- All of a sudden, the Indians #39; prolific offense has been reduced to shambles. And, remember phenom left-hander Cliff Lee, who won 10 games before the All-Star break? He #39;s seemingly forgotten how to pitch.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Southern Cal faces sex assault probe A member or members of the USC football team is being investigated for alleged sexual assault, the Los Angeles police department said last night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Mechanic must stand trial for British backpacker #39;s murder A mechanic was ordered today to stand trial for the alleged murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio in the Australian Outback three years ago.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Cuts IPO Price Range (Reuters) Reuters - Google Inc., the Web search engine, on\Wednesday slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited\initial public offering to between  #36;85 and  #36;95 per share from\ #36;108 to  #36;135 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Bank of America Plans Big Layoffs -Paper (Reuters) Reuters - Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N), plans\on Wednesday to lay off hundreds of tellers and other employees\at Fleet bank branches, and ask them to leave immediately, the\Boston Globe said on Wednesday, citing documents it obtained\and Fleet branch managers.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Oil Prices Hold Near \$47 on Iraq Threat LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices held steady near \$47 a barrel  on Wednesday a day after setting yet another record when the  United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, said inflation  had stayed in check despite rising energy costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Greek Sprinters Withdraw From Olympics (AP) AP - Top Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou withdrew Wednesday from the Athens Games, nearly a week after the duo missed a drug test and were hospitalized after a mysterious motorcycle crash.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Teixeira Hits for Cycle in Rangers' Win (AP) AP - Mark Teixeira needed only a single to hit for the cycle, and his Texas Rangers teammates wanted to see him make some baseball history.$LABEL$1,0,-100
De Bruijn Leads the Way in 100 Freestyle Heats ATHENS (Reuters) - Triple Sydney Olympic champion Inge de  Bruijn, who lost her 100 meters butterfly title on Sunday,  posted the fastest heat time as she opened the defense of her  100 freestyle crown on Wednesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Mayo Likely to Miss Tour of Spain MADRID (Reuters) - Leading Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo will  probably miss next month's Tour of Spain because of a suspected  viral infection, his team manager said on Wednesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
China Detains Eight Roman Catholic Priests -Group BEIJING (Reuters) - China has detained eight Roman Catholic  priests in northern Hebei province, continuing a crackdown on  those loyal to the Pope, a U.S.-based religious right group  said on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
No SEC Decision on Google IPO Paperwork SAN JOSE, Calif. - Google Inc.'s plans to move ahead with its initial public stock offering ran into a roadblock when the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't approve the Internet search giant's regulatory paperwork as requested...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Eight Terror Suspects Face British Charges LONDON - Two of the suspects allegedly had surveillance plans of the Prudential Building in Newark, N.J., mentioned in the Aug. 1 U.S...$LABEL$0,0,-100
BHP Announces Record Annual Profit Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton on Wednesday announced Australia #39;s biggest ever annual net profit, US\$3.51 billion (euros 2.84 billion), thanks to soaring demand.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nestle Profit Rises; Commodity Prices to Crimp Growth (Update4) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA, the world #39;s largest food company, said first-half profit rose 2.1 percent, less than forecast, as sales in Western Europe declined and costs for sugar, energy and packaging materials increased.$LABEL$2,0,-100
CA acquires PestPatrol Over the past year, spyware has become an increasing problem. Every time that you visit a web site, you must run the gauntlet of a variety of pop-up adverts, any of which can be programmed to place spyware on your computer.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Greek duo quit Olympics The two Greek sprinters who missed drug tests prior to the start of the Athens Olympics today withdrew from the games.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Keller leads relay upset of Aussies ATHENS - Klete Keller says he likes to run with the bulls. Talks a little bull, too. But he doesn #39;t kid around in the water.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Americans bounce back Athens -- Allen Iverson scored 17 points, even with the broken thumb on his shooting hand, as the United States rebounded from a shocking opening-game loss to beat Greece 77-71 at the men #39;s Olympic basketball tournament yesterday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Just 16 centuries later, we return to Olympia You remember, of course, Armenian Prince Varazdates and the spectacle of his boxing triumph. And who can forget Zopyros of Athens, wrestling-boxing his way to the junior pankration crown.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Selig to get 3-year extension Major League Baseball #39;s owners will convene in Philadelphia today for two days of meetings that will culminate with a coronation of sorts.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Downer up-beat on North Korean nuclear talks Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has offered an up-beat assessment at the end of talks in Pyongyang about the North Korean nuclear crisis.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Australian opposition leader hospitalised with pancreatitis CANBERRA : Australian opposition leader Mark Latham is in hospital with an inflamed pancreas, his office said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
US sweeps away slide in volleyball The United States had lost nine straight Olympic matches, dating to the Atlanta Games in 1996. Clay Stanley made sure it didn't continue.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Olympics sport solid ratings Gyms worldwide were dark in anticipation of the Olympic gymnastics competition, NBC's Al Trautwig said this week in a dramatic introduction -- and then the cameras pulled back to reveal row after row of empty seats in Athens.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Google Slashes IPO Price Range (Reuters) Reuters - Google Inc., the Web search engine, on\Wednesday slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited\initial public offering to between  #36;85 and  #36;95 per share from\ #36;108 to  #36;135 per share.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sprints More Fun Without Jones, Says Ferguson ATHENS (Reuters) - With no clear-cut favorite, the women's  sprints at the Athens Olympics will be more exciting than they  were four years ago when Marion Jones dominated, according to  Caribbean sprinters Debbie Ferguson and Veronica Campbell.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bomb found near Berlusconi villa Italy police defuse a  bomb  near Silvio Berlusconi's holiday villa, hours after a visit by the UK's Tony Blair.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Slashes IPO Price Range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc., the Web search engine, on Wednesday slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited initial public offering to between \$85 and \$95 per share from \$108 to \$135 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Prices drop in July WASHINGTON  Con-sumer prices in July fell nationally by 0.1 percent and in the New York metro region by 0.2 percent as gasoline prices dropped, the US Labor Department said yesterday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Bank of America Plans Big Layoffs -Paper NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , plans on Wednesday to lay off hundreds of tellers and other employees at Fleet bank branches, and ask them to leave immediately, the Boston Globe said on Wednesday, citing ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Air France raises ticket prices PARIS (Reuters) - French flag carrier Air France is raising its ticket prices by up to 12 euros (8 pounds) per flight leg, joining a number of other airlines in passing on higher jet fuel costs to passengers.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Netscape Revamped With Mozilla 1.7 Netscape Communications has released Netscape 7.2, successor to the older version 7.1, which was released in mid-2003. The new release is based on version 1.7 of Mozilla, the most recent version of the Mozilla Internet application suite.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Two golds make Phelps #39; day Michael Phelps showed no signs of either yesterday, swimming to two gold medals in the span of an hour at the Athens Olympic Games.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Olympia oozes Games history OLYMPIA, GREECE -- Great players will walk upon a historic stage today at the Ancient Olympia Stadium.$LABEL$1,0,-100
US choose Devers to replace Edwards Gail Devers and LaShaunte #39;a Moore will replace banned world champion Torri Edwards in the Olympic 100 and 200 metres races.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Top players need more rest, says Eriksson WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has urged the international soccer authorities to preserve the health of the world superstar footballers for major tournaments, who expressed his will in Slaley of England on Tuesday ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Rae got what he deserved - Dadu The player kicked in the head by Alex Rae believes the five-match ban imposed on the Rangers midfielder was just.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Britain arrests 8 suspects linked to US terror alert Accused of conspiring to commit murder. Alleged Al-Qa #39;ida operative charged with possessing plans of US financial institutions ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Israel #39;s Likud faces major vote after controversial settlement decision JERUSALEM : Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon #39;s Likud party votes on Sharon #39;s intention to bring the opposition Labour party into government, the day after he gave the green light to the construction of 1,000 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Police defuse bomb after Blair #39;s visit Police have defused a bomb near the Sardinian holiday home of Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, just hours after a visit by Tony Blair.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Girlfriend #39;s Family Welcome Backpacker Murder Trial The family of Joanne Lees today welcomed the announcement that a mechanic is to stand trial in Australia for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Euro Stocks Slip LONDON (Reuters) - High oil prices weighed on investor  sentiment across financial markets on Wednesday as the price of  crude stuck stubbornly close to \$47 a barrel.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Arafat Says Palestinians Made 'Mistakes' (AP) AP - In a rare admission, Yasser Arafat suggested Wednesday that the Palestinian leadership has made ""mistakes"" and promised to correct them.$LABEL$0,0,-100
No New Closures of Japan Nuclear Reactors Needed (Reuters) Reuters - No more Japanese nuclear reactors need to\be closed for inspections, electric power companies said on\Wednesday after submitting reports ordered by the government\following a reactor accident that killed four workers last\week.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Invasion alert in DR Congo town Security is stepped up in the border town of Bukavu after Rwanda and Burundi said they could send troops into Democratic Republic of Congo.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Blair's 'Freebie' Summer Holidays Irk Britons (Reuters) Reuters - Two continents. Three luxury mansions\courtesy of friends. Endless sun and sea. And a front-row seat\for the Olympics to boot.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Karzai Promises Afghans Security for Election KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai  promised Afghans greater security when they go to vote in the  country's first ever democratic election during an independence  day speech on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Blair's 'Freebie' Summer Holidays Irk Britons LONDON (Reuters) - Two continents. Three luxury mansions  courtesy of friends. Endless sun and sea. And a front-row seat  for the Olympics to boot.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Medical Experts Fear Charley's Aftermath PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Bill Nylander survived Hurricane Charley, but the storm still managed to hurt him days after it cut a swath of destruction through his hometown...$LABEL$0,0,-100
BHP Billiton 2nd-Half Net Doubles on Commodity Prices (Update3) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton, the world #39;s biggest mining company, more than doubled second-half profit as Chinese demand boosted commodity prices and said it may return as much as \$2 billion to investors, including through share buybacks.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Update 2: Philippine Shares Close Lower Philippine shares finished lower Wednesday on selling triggered by a clutch of negative financial news and the steep fall of blue-chip Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. #39;s American depositary receipts, traders said.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Qualcomm drops licensing suit against TI LOS ANGELES (Reuters)  Qualcomm has dropped an \$18 million claim for monetary damages from rival Texas Instruments for publicly discussing terms of a licensing pact, a TI spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Palm extends Wi-Fi range The PalmOne Wi-Fi SD card has finally arrived, but only for users with the most up to date models. The card is only compatible with two top of the range handsets, the Zire 72 and Tungsten T3.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Heavy fighting erupts in Najaf NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavy fighting has broken out between US troops and Shi #39;ite militiamen in the Iraqi city of Najaf after a peace delegation failed to broker a truce to end nearly two weeks of clashes.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Making Free IPods Pay Off The FreeiPods.com website looks as phony as a \$3 bill. In fact, it's at the forefront of performance-based marketing, as advertisers discover it's more effective to spend \$50 million on gifts than to blow the cash on TV ads. By Leander Kahney.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Explosion Hits Iraq Foreign Ministry (AP) AP - A large explosion hit central Baghad on Wednesday close to a convention center where a key national gathering of political, religious and civic leaders entered its final day.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Maoist Rebels Block Land Routes to Nepali Capital NAGDHUNGA, Nepal (Reuters) - Maoist rebels, fighting to  topple Nepal's constitutional monarchy, cut off all land routes  to the Himalayan kingdom's capital on Wednesday, disrupting  food and supplies to the city of 1.5 million people.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Slashes IPO Price Range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc., the world's most popular  Web search engine, on Wednesday slashed the price range on its  eagerly awaited initial public offering (IPO) to between \$85  and \$95 per share from between \$108 and \$135 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Arafat Urges Palestinians to 'Correct Mistakes' (Reuters) Reuters - Palestinian President\Yasser Arafat, under pressure to enact anti-corruption reforms,\said on Wednesday that some officials had misused their posts\and urged efforts to correct ""all the mistakes.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Two bombs discovered in Sardinia after Berlusconi-Blair meet (AFP) AFP - Police discovered two bombs near the Sardinian villa of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, just hours after he met his British counterpart Tony Blair on the island.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Global miner BHP Billiton posts record net profit as demand soars (AFP) AFP - Global mining giant BHP Billiton posted the biggest net profit in Australian corporate history as soaring commodities prices and strong demand from China pushed net profit up 83 percent to 3.51 billion US dollars.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Arafat Urges Palestinians to 'Correct Mistakes' RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President  Yasser Arafat, under pressure to enact anti-corruption reforms,  said on Wednesday that some officials had misused their posts  and urged efforts to correct ""all the mistakes.$LABEL$0,0,-100
China Detains Eight Priests and a Living Buddha -Groups BEIJING (Reuters) - China has detained eight Roman Catholic  priests in a crackdown on those loyal to the Pope and arrested  a ""Living Buddha"" for arousing superstition at the re-opening  of a temple, U.S. groups said on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Walker Slam Leads Cardinals Past Reds (AP) AP - Larry Walker has learned quickly that St. Louis Cardinals' fans know how to celebrate.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Fighting Rages in Najaf After Peace Bid Fails NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavy fighting broke out between  U.S. troops and Shi'ite militiamen in the Iraqi city of Najaf,  where Iraq's interim defense minister said he expected a  ""decisive battle"" to take place on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Crypto researchers abuzz over flaws ZDNet UK: Encryption circles are buzzing with news that mathematical functions embedded in common security applications have previously unknown weaknesses.$LABEL$3,0,-100
UA #39;s Beard swims to silver in medley debut ATHENS - American swimmer Michael Phelps collected two more gold medals Tuesday, but even he knew he wasn #39;t the story of the day from the Summer Olympics in Athens.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Celebrating human spirit, in all its impurity What if the Olympic Games --started here 2,780 years ago, right in this fertile, ancient town in the western Peloponnesus some 200 miles from Athens -- really mean something? ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Security tightened after fan takes a plunge More security will be placed around the fields of play at the Olympics after a man who wanted to send  #39; #39;a loving message to his wife #39; #39; jumped into the diving pool, the Athens Organizing Committee said.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Labor determined to reopen children overboard inquiry Labor says there appears to have been pressure from the Prime Minister #39;s office on a public servant and it #39;s reaffirmed its determination to reopen the Senate inquiry into the matter.$LABEL$0,0,-100
4 killed, 2 missing as Typhoon Megi hits western Japan TOKYO, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Four people were killed and two others missing as Typhoon Megi hit west Japan #39;s Kagawa and Ehime prefectures on Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Wall Street Set to Open Down (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. shares were expected to open lower\on Wednesday after crude oil pushed to a fresh high overnight,\while Web search engine Google Inc. dented sentiment as it\slashed the price range on its initial public offering.\In a statement posted on its IPO Web site, Google said it had\cut the range on its IPO to  #36;85- #36;95 per share from  #36;108- #36;135\previously, a 26 percent reduction at the mid-point of the\range.$LABEL$2,0,-100
U.S. Crude Sets New Record  #36;47 a Barrel (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. oil futures set a new record  #36;47.01\a barrel on Wednesday after a new threat against Iraq's oil\sector by rebel Shi'ite militia.  U.S. crude traded up 26 cents\to set a new high in the 21-year history of the New York\Mercantile Exchange contract.$LABEL$2,0,-100
First Look at Microsoft Money 2005 This Web-savvy update syncs with MSN accounts, but you'll want to be aware of some functionality requirements and service limitations.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google slashes IPO price range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google, the world #39;s most popular Web search engine, has slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited initial public offering to between \$85 and \$95 per share from between \$108 and \$135 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Canada begins probe of Nortel #39;s accounting TORONTO -- Shares of Nortel Networks edged lower yesterday after Canadian officials said they were opening a criminal investigation into accounting practices at the telecommunications equipment maker.$LABEL$2,0,-100
PalmOne Wi-Fi card: a first look Want to add Wi-Fi connectivity to your PalmOne Tungsten T3 or Zire 72 handheld? Your wait is almost over.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Kenteris and Thanou Quit Games After an hour of interrogation by a three-man IOC disciplinary panel at the Hilton Hotel this morning, Kenteris emerged amid chaotic scenes to declare that in the national interest he would not be defending the 200metres title he won in Sydney four ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bomb found near Berlusconi villa Italian police today said they had defused a bomb near the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi #39;s Sardinian holiday villa, only hours after a visit by the prime minister, Tony Blair.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Burundi Urges Sanctions on Rebels Over Massacre DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Burundi will urge regional leaders at a summit on Wednesday to impose sanctions against the rebel Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL), blamed for the slaughter of more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Australian foreign minister ends  #39;productive #39; North Korea talks Australia #39;s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has wrapped up talks in North Korea on the stand-off over the country #39;s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Australian terrorist seeks deal to testify in foreign trials SYDNEY : Australia #39;s first convicted terrorist, who confessed to conspiring with Al-Qaeda to blow up the Israeli embassy in Canberra, wants a deal in exchange for testifying against terror suspects in foreign courts.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Wall Street Set to Open Down LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. shares were expected to open lower  on Wednesday after crude oil pushed to a fresh high overnight,  while Web search engine Google Inc. dented sentiment as it  slashed the price range on its initial public offering.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Google reduces IPO price range; SEC approval awaited NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings)  Google Inc has reportedly reduced its expected IPO price range to \$85-\$95 per share, from the previously expected price range of \$108-\$135 per share. The company is unlikely to price its shares until the market closes ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Crude Oil Prices Climb to Record Before US Inventory Report Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices rose to a record in New York before a government report that #39;s expected to show the third straight weekly drop in US crude oil inventories.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Phelps #39; gold rush ATHENS, Greece - The night before, Michael Phelps had stood by the pool with a strained smile and a bronze medal, his quest for Olympic immortality dashed, his million-dollar bonus lost, his gold medal count stuck on one.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Games go eons back in time today ATHENS, Greece  The slogan for these Olympics is,  quot;Welcome Home. quot; But the Games really go home today, when the men #39;s and women #39;s shot put are held in the excavated stadium of ancient Olympia, which started all this madness in 776 BC ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
NHL: No progress in talks With less than a month remaining before the current collective bargaining agreement expires, representatives for the NHL and the Players #39; Association met for nearly 4 1/2 hours yesterday without making any progress on a new CBA.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Fighting Rages in Najaf After Peace Bid Fails NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavy fighting broke out between US troops and Shi #39;ite militiamen in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where Iraq #39;s interim defense minister said he expected a  quot;decisive battle quot; to take place on Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Internet pharmacies get go-ahead The government gives the green-light to internet-only pharmacies in England.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Karzai urges neighbours to stop militants crossing borders (AFP) AFP - President Hamid Karzai has called on neighbouring countries to prevent militants crossing into Afghanistan through poorly monitored borders and cooperate in the ""fight against terror.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Poll: Kerry Continues to Hold Edge in Pa. (AP) AP - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is maintaining a slight lead over President Bush in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with crucial support from veterans and military families, according to a poll released Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Najaf clashes as truce talks fail Fighting resumes in the Iraqi city of Najaf between US troops and Shia militias after an abortive peace bid.$LABEL$0,0,-100
N Korea food prices 'rocket' Changes in North Korea's economy have led to spiralling food prices many people cannot afford, the UN says.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Two die in South Ossetia fighting Clashes with separatists in the breakaway region of South Ossetia kill two Georgian soldiers.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Iraq Won't Send New Delegation to Najaf BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's National Conference refused Wednesday to send a second delegation to the holy city of Najaf to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a day after he rebuffed their demand for a meeting...$LABEL$0,0,-100
A DIFFERENT SPIN (SiliconValley.com) SiliconValley.com - As surely as CDs followed vinyl, there was bound to be a successor to the DVD spinning around in research labs.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sex spam clogs summer in-boxes Summer is associated with romance and spammers are trying to cash in by bombarding inboxes with porn.$LABEL$3,0,-100
US children 'abandoned in Africa' Texas authorities are investigating claims that a US mother left her seven adopted children in Nigeria and went to work in Iraq.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Pakistan issues \$1m al-Qaeda list Pakistan offers rewards totalling more than \$1m for the capture of six top al-Qaeda suspects.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Sex spam clogs summer in-boxes Summer is traditionally associated with romance and spammers are trying to cash in by bombarding inboxes with porn.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Update 14: Google Lowers Its IPO Price Range In a sign that Google Inc. #39;s initial public offering isn #39;t as popular as expected, the Internet search giant lowered its estimated price range to between \$85 and \$95 per share, down from its earlier prediction of \$108 and \$135 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Oil hits new record on fresh Iraq threat LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices have surged to a new high of \$47 a barrel after a new threat by rebel militia against Iraqi oil facilities, and as the United States says inflation has stayed in check despite rising energy costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Halliburton gets more time to justify bills to US Army NEW YORK, August 18 (New Ratings)  The Halliburton Company (HAL.NYS) has reportedly gained more time to justify its bills to the US Army, regarding the company #39;s contract to provide logistic services to the US troops in Iraq.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Swisscom Confirms Possible Merger Talks Telecommunications companies Swisscom AG and Telekom Austria AG are in talks over a possible merger, Swisscom said in a statement late Tuesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
AOL releases Netscape browser update Version 7.2 is the first update since mid-2003. The new release is based on version 1.7 of Mozilla, the most recent version of the Mozilla internet application suite.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Attachmate Heightens Security, Centralises Management and Brings Microsoft Usability to Host Access with EXTRA! ... Specialist in productivity-enhancing host access, Attachmate, today announces the launch of  #39;next generation #39; emulation with EXTRA! Mainframe Server Edition version 8.0 for Windows XP. EXTRA! Mainframe Server Edition offers: 1) complete security framework ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Save The Whales! Then What? AP DE BON DESIR, Quebec, Aug. 11 - A few miles from this spit along the pink granite coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there is a sheltered cove that has witnessed the full span of the human relationship with whales.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sprinters #39; Withdrawals Lift Cloud Over Games ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece #39;s top two sprinters pulled out of the Olympics on Wednesday after inflicting six days of embarrassment on their country over a hide-and-seek contest with anti-doping enforcers.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Shot put history in Olympia ANCIENT OLYMPIA (Reuters) - American Kristin Heaston launched the shot 16.41 metres to become the first woman to compete at Olympia in the first athletics meeting in the tree-lined grove since the ancient Games were abolished in AD 393.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bomb found near Berlusconi villa POLICE defused a bomb near Premier Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa on the island of Sardinia early today following a tip-off from a radical leftist group, shortly after a visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Three Georgian servicemen killed in South Ossetia MOSCOW, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Three Georgian servicemen were killed while five others were wounded in overnight fighting in Georgia #39;s breakaway province of South Ossetia, Russian news agencies reported, citing Georgian officials.$LABEL$0,0,-100
OPEC: 'Very Small' Impact from Surge LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC producers have said they see little  impact on economic growth so far from oil's relentless price  surge, which Wednesday racked up yet another record high.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Pakistan Mobile Phone Firms Vie for Pent-Up Demand (Reuters) Reuters - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis\endured hours of stifling heat this week to accept an offer of\free mobile phone connections, a sign of the pent-up demand in\a country where cell phone usage has remained low.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Pakistan Mobile Phone Firms Vie for Pent-Up Demand ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Pakistanis  endured hours of stifling heat this week to accept an offer of  free mobile phone connections, a sign of the pent-up demand in  a country where cell phone usage has remained low.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Huge waves erode British coast Waves over 20m high are getting bigger, more frequent and are eroding Britain's Atlantic coast, experts say.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Chinese Official Sentenced to Death (AP) AP - An official once in charge of guarding cultural relics has been sentenced to death in China's biggest antiquities theft case since the start of communist rule in 1949.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Iraq Won't Send New Delegation to Najaf Iraq's National Conference refused today to send a second delegation to negotiate an end to fighting between U.S. troops and loyalists of Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Sharply Reduces IPO Share Price Google, Inc. significantly cut the expected share price for its initial public stock offering this morning, signaling lower-than-anticipated demand for the most highly publicized new stock since the late 1990s.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Stocks Are Seen Off a Touch at Open US stocks are seen off a touch at the open Wednesday as the price of oil continues to plague investor sentiment.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Bank Of America Announced Layoffs BOSTON (AP) -- The layoffs are a result of Bank America #39;s merger with FleetBoston Financial Corporation.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Cassini finds two little Saturn moons The two newly spotted, faint moons are about 3 miles and 4 miles across, and roughly 200,000 kilometres from Saturn #39;s centre.$LABEL$3,0,-100
IBM #39;s New Midrange Server Allows Multiple OS Environments IBM #39;s new eServer allows users to run multiple OS environments at the same time to increase efficiency. Customers can purchase the machine based on the processing power they need. The server comes in configurations from one to four-way and ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Phelps Advances in 200-Meter Medley ATHENS, Greece - Michael Phelps, seeking his sixth medal of the Athens Olympics, advanced in the 200-meter individual medley Wednesday with a conservative swim.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Ump says Ozzie threw spitter According to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, umpire Hunter Wendelstedt filed a claim that said Guillen spat on him during an Aug. 9 argument, a big reason Guillen was dealt with so severely by Major League Baseball.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Najaf truce offer rejected Militia fighters loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr today continued to battle US soldiers in Najaf, hours after a delegation from Iraq #39;s national conference had left the city empty-handed when its truce offer was turned down.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Bomb Found on Island Hours after Blair Visit Police defused a bomb near Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa in Sardinia early today shortly after Tony and Cherie Blair ended a visit to the Italian leader.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Don #39;t use Pearl as electoral pawn, family tells politicians The family of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl has appealed to American politicians not to use his name in their election campaigns.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Mortgage Applications Jump in Aug 13 Week (Reuters) Reuters - New applications for U.S. home loans\rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage\interest rates fell to their lowest level in over four months,\an industry group said on Wednesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Mortgage Applications Jump in Aug 13 Week NEW YORK (Reuters) - New applications for U.S. home loans  rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage  interest rates fell to their lowest level in over four months,  an industry group said on Wednesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
High oil prices not hurting German economy: Schroeder (AFP) AFP - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that the hike in oil prices was not currently hurting the eurozone's biggest economy but that he was closely watching the cost of crude.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Rocket Slams Into Iraqi Market, Killing 5 (AP) AP - A rocket slammed into a busy market in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, killing at least five civilians, a U.S. military spokeswoman said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Sharply Reduces IPO Share Price Google, Inc. significantly cut the expected share price this morning for its initial public stock offering, signaling lower-than-anticipated demand for the most highly publicized new stock since the late 1990s.$LABEL$3,0,-100
E-passports to put new face on old documents Countries begin test programs--get ready for a facial scan the next time you take an overseas flight.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Eight to appear in London court on terror plot charges (AFP) AFP - Eight men arrested in anti-terrorist raids two weeks ago were set to appear in a high-security court in London on charges of conspiracy to murder and plotting radioactive, chemical or explosive attacks.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Arafat admits 'mistakes' to MPs Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat makes a rare admission that ""unacceptable mistakes"" have been made under him.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Stocks Are Seen Off a Touch at Open NEW YORK - U.S. stocks are seen off a touch at the open Wednesday as the price of oil continues to plague investor sentiment...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Arafat Admits Palestinians Made Mistakes RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat acknowledged Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority had made mistakes, but the rare admission appeared to be aimed more at deflecting criticism about his corrupt government than making real changes.    In a decade at the helm of the Palestinian Authority, Arafat has resisted attempts to get him to fight official corruption, reform the security services and relinquish some of his near-absolute powers...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Slashes IPO Price Range NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc., the world #39;s most popular Web search engine, slashed the price of its share offering Wednesday, as what had been touted as the hottest dot-com listing in years fell prey to worry about a slump in ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nortel shares down on news of criminal probe News of an RCMP criminal investigation of Nortel Networks and its financial accounting practices sent the company #39;s shares down slightly on Tuesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Florida may be insurance bellwether The palm trees that narrowly missed Leo Berard #39;s pondside condominium in Naples, Fla., when they toppled Friday spared him from major repairs on his second home.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Taxing bodies must approve lawsuit GALESBURG - Knox County State #39;s Attorney Paul Mangieri, discussing a lawsuit he plans to file against Maytag Corp., said Tuesday he was shocked when the company announced in October 2002 it was closing the Galesburg Refrigeration Products ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Spammers in bed with virus carriers The majority of viruses intercepted by MessageLabs since January have the potential for spam distribution, according to a report by the e-mail security firm. It suggests that the virus authors are now making money by collaborating with spammers.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Microsoft unveils mainframe integration tool Microsoft has unveiled Host Integration Server (HIS) 2004, claiming that the legacy integration application will lower the cost of integrating existing IBM mainframe and midrange systems with Windows.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sewage waters a tenth of world #39;s irrigated crops A tenth of the world #39;s irrigated crops - everything from lettuce and tomatoes to mangoes and coconuts - are watered by sewage. And much of that sewage is raw and untreated, gushing direct from sewer pipes into fields at the fringes of the developing ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Ford scraps Oracle-based purchasing system Car giant Ford is reportedly abandoning a \$200m web-based purchasing project because it can #39;t get the software to work properly.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sprinters Withdraw from Olympics Amid Swirling Controversies Two of Greeks most adored athletes have pulled themselves out of their host country #39;s Olympics. Sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou missed an International Olympic Committee mandatory drug test last week. Thanou and Kenteris were then involved ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Tarnished silver for US women ATHENS, Greece -- The American women #39;s gymnasts were in contention for the team gold medal Tuesday night, needing a big finish to beat the Romanians. Courtney Kupets, who had to be replaced on the balance beam because of a pulled hamstring, decided to ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Preview: England-Ukraine With 17 days to go before their World Cup qualifying campaign begins, England are back in action with plenty to prove after the disappointment of Euro 2004 elimination.$LABEL$1,0,-100
USA gets silver in kayak singles Athens, Greece (Sports Network) - American Rebecca Giddens captured the silver medal today in the Women #39;s K1 kayak singles competition at the Summer Olympics in Athens.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bomb defused after Blair #39;s Italy visit ROME (Reuters) - A bomb has been defused overnight near the Sardinian holiday villa of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hours after a visit by Tony Blair, Italian police say.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Downer upbeat after North Korea meetings MARK COLVIN: The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has met North Korea #39;s Foreign Minister and the President of the Supreme Peoples #39; Assembly in Pyongyang. As one of the few Western nations with diplomatic relations with the isolated totalitarian state, ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Nepal #39;s Maoist Rebels Blockade Paralyzes Kathmandu Nepal #39;s capital, Kathmandu, has been paralyzed by Maoist rebels, who have imposed a virtual blockade of the city.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Pakistan Offers Bounties on Six Wanted Terror Suspects Pakistan has announced bounties and published photographs of six wanted terrorist suspects, including a senior al-Qaida operative accused of masterminding two attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Home users get key Windows update Microsoft is making its important security update for Windows XP available on auto-update servers today.$LABEL$3,0,-100
BioVeris Still May Lose Its Investment BioVeris Corp. stands to lose most or all of its \$41.2 million investment in a joint venture with its chief executive's son if he doesn't raise money to keep it operating, the company said yesterday in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.$LABEL$3,0,-100
3 Georgian Soldiers Slain in South Ossetia (AP) AP - Three Georgian peacekeepers were killed in overnight shooting in South Ossetia, officials said Wednesday, while Russia scoffed at Georgia's appeal for foreign mediation in the breakaway region where daily exchanges of gunfire have stoked fears of war.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Slavery's Harsh History Is Portrayed in Promised Land At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, slavery's evil becomes palpable; so does a sense of progressive enlightenment.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Brookstone Posts a Narrower Loss (Reuters) Reuters - Brookstone Inc. (BKST.O), a retailer\specializing in gadgets and personal electronics, on Wednesday\posted a narrower quarterly loss on strong Father's Day sales\and raised its profit forecast for the full year.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Stocks to Watch on Wednesday, August 18 APPLIED MATERIALS INC. <A HREF=""http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=AMAT.O target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"">AMAT.O</A>:$LABEL$2,0,-100
U.S. Men Qualify for Final in Shot Put (AP) AP - Two U.S. men advanced to the final of the shot put Wednesday, hoping to make even more history at the ancient site that gave birth to the Olympics 2,780 years ago.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Garda quiz two over African death Police in Ireland question two men arrested in Dublin in connection with the murder of the daughter of Malawi's chief justice.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Complaints follow Haiti acquittal The US and rights groups condemn the acquittal in Haiti of an ex-paramilitary leader accused of murder.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Unanimous vote to raise British interest rates: official minutes (AFP) AFP - The Bank of England's nine-member monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent earlier this month, official records showed.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Talbots Profit Meets Lowered Forecast (Reuters) Reuters - Clothing retailer Talbots Inc. (TLB.N)\on Wednesday posted a slight increase in quarterly profit,\meeting its lowered forecast, as it sold more merchandise at\full price and recorded a tax benefit.$LABEL$2,0,-100
High oil costs hit more airlines Air France becomes the latest major airline to raise ticket prices in response to higher fuel costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Million more in broadband's reach BT is lifting distance limits on broadband enabled exchanges, so that 1m more can get high-speed net.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google Lowers Price Range The search-engine giant, which was expected to go public as early as Wednesday, instead has slashed the deal #39;s expected price range and cut the number of shares being sold by existing shareholder in half. The new parameters suggest a newly public Google ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Pentagon flipflops, will pay Halliburton fully WASHINGTON - The US army said it had suspended its decision to partially withhold payments to Halliburton, the biggest US contractor in Iraq.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Report: Bank of America to lay off Fleet workers BOSTON A published report reveals that Bank of America plans to lay off hundreds of tellers and other branch employees at Fleet banks today.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Applied doubles revenue Applied Materials, the world #39;s largest manufacturer of chip-making tools, said on Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue doubled, leading to \$441 million in profit.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Sony Develops New Chip for More Real and Refined High Definition Video quot;DRC quot; was developed in 1997 as a technology that changed a standard television signal format to a high-definition signal format, based on the concept of establishing a higher definition signal format from scratch. The foundation of this technology was ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Athletes Return to Olympia Home After 1,611 Years (Update3) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Olympia, home of the Olympics for more than 12 centuries, hosted a track and field event for the first time in 1,611 years when the shot-putters of the Athens Games arrived at Greece #39;s most sacred sporting site.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Dampier headed to Mavericks? Longtime Warriors center Erick Dampier could be on the verge of finding a new home, 2 1/2 months after becoming a free agent.$LABEL$1,0,-100
SI.com LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Wilson Alvarez continues to pitch his best when the Los Angeles Dodgers need it most.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Rwanda, Burundi threaten with Congo invasion afrol News, 18 August - The governments of Rwanda and Burundi may again send troops into Congo Kinshasa (DRC) if Kinshasa does not finally take action against the militias still slaughtering Tutsis. Both claim Friday #39;s massacre was masterminded by ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Soldier Killed in Action Named A British soldier killed after clashes with militia forces in the southern Iraqi city of Basra was today named as Lance Corporal Paul David Trevor Thomas.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Seiyu posts first half net loss on slower sales, higher costs (AFP) AFP - Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu, controlled by US retail giant Wal-Mart, said it incurred a net loss in the first half to June on the back of slow sales and early retirement costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Dollar Fights to Keep Off August Lows LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar struggled to pull away from  August lows on Wednesday as investors wondered whether the  Federal Reserve would raise interest rates next month after  another round of weak U.S. data in the previous session.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Japanese bank taps RFID for document security NEC Corp. has signed a contract with a Japanese bank for an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) -based document management system, the company said Tuesday in a statement.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google drops target price, extends auction to Wednesday Google Inc. lowered the target price per share for its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, and asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to give buyers additional time to reconsider their bids, according to a notice on the company's IPO Web site.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Summer storms lash Europe, deaths in France (AFP) AFP - Freak storms packing howling winds and heavy rain that lashed Britain and France this week were set to continue after already causing significant destruction and the deaths of at least four people.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Before-the-Bell: Taser Climbs NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Taser International Inc.  <A HREF=""http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=TASR.O target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"">TASR.O</A> rose before the bell on Wednesday after the company  said it had received five orders totaling more than \$741,000  for its stun guns.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Google slashes target stock launch value (AFP) AFP - Internet research engine giant Google Incorporated slashed billions of dollars from the target launch valuation of its stock in a major upset for the biggest technology flotation since the dot.com bubble burst four years ago.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Singapore Suspends Some Poultry Imports (AP) AP - Singapore said Wednesday that it has suspended the import of all poultry and poultry products from neighboring Malaysia after avian influenza was discovered at a farm there.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Religion Experts Ask How Jesus Would Vote (AP) AP - Just a few miles from George W. Bush's former office at the state Capitol, a panel of religious experts weighed a question with relevance to many people of faith: How would Jesus vote?$LABEL$0,0,-100
Oil tops \$47 a barrel Crude oil prices reached a record high of \$47.04 (US) a barrel in pre-market trading Wednesday in New York on lingering concerns about supply from Iraq and Russia.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Refinancings soar 21 as rates slump Demand for new home loans and refinancings jump as interest rates slide amid weak economic reports. NEW YORK (Reuters) - New applications for US home loans rose last week while refinancings surged, as 30-year mortgage interest rates fell to their lowest ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
High oil costs hit more airlines Air France and KLM ticket prices are to rise after the carriers imposed further surcharges to counter high fuel costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nestle Reports First Half Net Profit Nestle, the world #39;s biggest food and drink company, on Wednesday posted a first-half net profit of \$2.28 billion, up 0.02 percent on the year-earlier figure of \$2.03 billion.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Georgia Power wins ruling on research study Georgia Power and Savannah Electric will not have to pay for new research into energy-efficiency programs, the state Public Service Commission ruled Tuesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Home users get key Windows update From today home users will be able to get hold of Microsoft #39;s long-awaited update for Windows XP. The version of the SP2 security update for the Home Edition of XP has become available via its auto-update service.$LABEL$3,0,-100
This information has been provided by the State Statistics Committee The Cassini spacecraft has discovered two new moons at Saturn that may be the smallest bodies seen so far around the ringed planet, according to a NASA press release.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Greek sprinters #39; withdrawals lift cloud over Games ATHENS, Greece -- Greece #39;s top two sprinters pulled out of the Olympics today after inflicting six days of embarrassment on their country over a hide-and-seek contest with anti-doping enforcers.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Germany #39;s Schroeder confirms adopting Russian toddler German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder confirmed on Wednesday that he and his wife have adopted a child, reported to be a girl from a Russian orphanage, but has called on the media to respect his family #39;s privacy.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Before-the-Bell: Taser Climbs (Reuters) Reuters - Shares of Taser International Inc.\(TASR.O) rose before the bell on Wednesday after the company\said it had received five orders totaling more than  #36;741,000\for its stun guns.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Dillard's Posts Narrower 2nd-Quarter Loss (Reuters) Reuters - Dillard's Inc. (DDS.N) on Wednesday\reported a narrower quarterly loss as the department store\operator cut costs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Gartner revises PC market forecast, warns of downside (MacCentral) MacCentral - The PC market won't grow as fast in 2004 as originally predicted by Gartner Inc. analysts, as concerns about the overall health of the U.S. economy weigh on the market, the market research company said.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Medical Experts Fear Charley's Aftermath PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Until the electricity hums again and the debris is cleared, health officials are worried that there could be more deaths and injuries in Hurricane Charley's aftermath than during the storm itself...$LABEL$0,0,-100
8 Terror Suspects Appear in British Court LONDON - Eight men accused of plotting to commit murder and cause mayhem with radioactive materials, toxic gases, chemicals or explosives appeared in court Wednesday in a case linked to a U.S. terror alert this month...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Greek Sprinters Withdraw From Olympics ATHENS, Greece - Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou pulled out of the Athens Games on Wednesday, nearly a week after they missed a drug test and were later hospitalized following a suspicious motorcycle crash.   ""I'm withdrawing from the Olympics,"" Kenteris said after meeting with the International Olympic Committee's disciplinary commission...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Cuts Its IPO Price Range SAN JOSE, Calif. - In a sign that Google Inc.'s initial public offering will not be as hot or big as expected, the Internet search giant reduced the number of shares to be sold by insiders and slashed its estimated per-share price range...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Slashes Price of Shares in Initial Public Offering Google cut the price of its share offering today as the new listing fell prey to worry about a slump in demand.$LABEL$2,0,-100
How Old is the Milky Way? Observations by an international team of astronomers with the UVES spectrometer on ESO's Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory (Chile) have thrown new light on the earliest epoch of the Milky Way galaxy.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google Lowers IPO Price, Limits Shares Google Lowers IPO Price, Limits Shares\\Google's IPO wasn't as popular as expected, apparently not as many fish bit at the Dutch Auction bait.  Google will be lowering its estimated price range to between \$85 and \$95 per share, down from its earlier prediction of \$108 and \$135 per share ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
American Swimmers Fired Up by Relay Win ATHENS (Reuters) - The U.S. swimming team was slow off the  blocks but is heading for home at full speed propelled by  Tuesday's dramatic relay victory, U.S. women's head coach Mark  Schubert said on Wednesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
U.S. Rowers Advance Americans Aquil Abdullah and Henry Nuzum row their double scull furiously down the stretch to cross the line in a dead heat with Norway on Wednesday, winning both teams a spot in a rare seven-boat final.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Google Confounds European Investors (Reuters) Reuters - Web surfers from Beijing to Berkeley\have made Google their search engine of choice, but some of\Europe's institutional investors have gone sour on the dot-com\on the eve of its initial public offering.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Home users get Windows update Microsoft is making its important security update for Windows XP available on auto-update servers today.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Assam strike over rebel attacks A general strike called by students in the state to protest against rebel bombings brings life to a standstill.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Slashes the Size of Its IPO NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc. slashed the size of its closely watched initial public offering nearly in half to less than \$2 billion on Wednesday, splashing cold water on what has been touted as the hottest Internet IPO in years.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Yukos sells gas stake YUKOS has sold a 56 per cent stake in a Siberian natural gas company to the Anglo-Russian joint venture TNK-BP to pay off its crushing tax bill, Western oil sources and media reports said today.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Futures point lower US stock futures pointed to a weaker start Wednesday as rising oil prices and a major price cut for Google Inc. #39;s highly anticipated initial public offering raised investors #39; eyebrows.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Airlines under pressure from soaring fuel price PARIS (Reuters) - Europe #39;s largest carrier Air France-KLM has joined rivals in raising its ticket prices to offset soaring jet fuel costs, but a leading bank has questioned how effective the surcharges will be in protecting airline profits.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Costco Tests Casket Market NEW YORK (Reuters) - From the cradle to the grave. You can buy baby food, groceries, computers, furniture and a whole host of things at Costco -- now you can even find caskets at some of its stores.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Global miner BHP Billiton posts record net profit as demand soars SYDNEY : Global mining giant BHP Billiton posted the biggest net profit in Australian corporate history as soaring commodities prices and strong demand from China pushed net profit up 83 percent to 3.51 billion US dollars.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nestle Net Rises 2.1, Less Than Forecast, on Costs (Update6) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA, the world #39;s largest food company, said first-half profit rose 2.1 percent, less than forecast, as sales in Western Europe declined and costs for sugar, milk and packaging increased.$LABEL$2,0,-100
China Mobile increases earnings 7.8 HONG KONG China Mobile (Hong Kong), the world #39;s largest cellphone operator by customers, said Wednesday that first-half profit rose 7.8 percent from a year earlier after the company won more new customers than China Unicom by offering cheaper services.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Cassini-Huygens discovers two new Saturnian moons The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, a joint project of the US space administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian space agency (ASI), has discovered two more small moons orbiting the planet Saturn, bringing the total to 33.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Greek Sprinters Withdraw From Olympics ATHENS, Greece Aug. 18, 2004  Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou pulled out of the Athens Games on Wednesday, nearly a week after they missed a drug test and were later hospitalized following a suspicious motorcycle crash.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Can the peace in Najaf be achieved? Delegates to the Iraqi national conference in Baghdad are holding an unscheduled fourth day of talks.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Georgian, South Ossitian Forces Continue Fighting Officials in Georgia say at least two soldiers have been killed and five wounded in the latest battles with separatist fighters in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.$LABEL$0,0,-100
China battles for North Korea nuclear talks quot;We believe the six parties have the willingness to continue to promote the procedure of peaceful talks, quot; China #39;s Foreign Ministry said.  quot;We ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Nepal rebels cut off routes to capital in first-ever blockade KATHMANDU : Maoist rebels cut off routes to Nepal #39;s capital Kathmandu in their first blockade of the city since they launched their insurgency to overthrow the constitutional monarchy eight years ago.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Annan: Burmese Democracy Will Fail Without Participation By Opposition UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says the Burmese military government #39;s plan for democracy will fail without input from the opposition National League for Democracy.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Philippine Rebels Free Troops, Talks in Doubt PRESENTACION, Philippines (Reuters) - Philippine communist rebels freed Wednesday two soldiers they had held as  quot;prisoners of war quot; for more than five months, saying they wanted to rebuild confidence in peace talks with the government.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Stocks Set to Open Lower as Oil Hits High NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks are set to open lower on  Wednesday after crude oil pushed to a fresh high overnight and  Google Inc. slashed its initial public offering price, which  appeared to dampen investor sentiment.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Zoo Separates Baby Rhino from Clumsy Mother (Reuters) Reuters - Vets at a Berlin zoo have been forced to\separate a baby rhino from his mother for fear she may\accidentally trample him to death, zoo officials said on\Tuesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Hong Kong Politician's Detention Condemned (AP) AP - Human rights activists on Wednesday condemned the detention of a Hong Kong pro-democracy politician for allegedly having sex with a prostitute, and his sentencing without trial to six months of ""re-education through labor.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Dillard's Loss Narrows But Off Estimates NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dillard's Inc. <A HREF=""http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=DDS.N target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"">DDS.N</A> on Wednesday  reported a narrower quarterly loss as it cut costs, but a drop  in same-store sales caused the latest results to miss Wall  Street's estimates by a wide margin.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Eurozone inflation rate falls in July BRUSSELS, August 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Eurozone annual inflation fell from 2.4 percent in June to 2.3 percent in July 2004, the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), reported on Wednesday.$LABEL$2,0,-100
US Sighs with Relief But Basketball Concerns Linger ATHENS (Reuters) - The United States men #39;s basketball team could breathe a sigh of relief on Wednesday after its first win but lingering concerns over a lack of outside shooting and team defense have coach Larry Brown scrambling for ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Zijlaard-van Moorsel wins women #39;s road individual time trial ATHENS, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Dutch legendary cyclist Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel won women #39;s road individual time trial at Athens Olympics with a time of 31:11.53 on Wednesday, ahead of Deirdre Demet-Barry of United States and Karin Thuerig of ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Najaf militants given hours to surrender or face lesson BAGHDAD, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Defence Minister Hazem al-Shaalan on Wednesday demanded Shiite militants in the holy city of Najaf surrender within hours, or the Iraqi troops would launch a large-scale attack on them.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Burundi Summit Expected to Focus on Massacre African regional leaders gather Wednesday, in Tanzania for a summit on Burundi #39;s peace process, but the recent massacre of Congolese Tutsi in a UN refugee camp is expected to be high on the agenda.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Monsanto Says Justice Dept Closes Inquiry (Reuters) Reuters - Monsanto Co. (MON.N) on Wednesday said\the U.S. Justice Department has closed an inquiry into\potential antitrust issues regarding a key ingredient used in\its Roundup herbicide.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Brown Shoe Earnings Drop 32 Percent (Reuters) Reuters - Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (BWS.N) on\Wednesday posted a 32 percent drop in quarterly earnings, hurt\by slack sales from its children's unit, Bass wholesale\business and Naturalizer chain.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Brown Shoe Earnings Drop 32 Percent NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brown Shoe Co. Inc. <A HREF=""http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=BWS.N target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"">BWS.N</A> on  Wednesday posted a 32 percent drop in quarterly earnings, hurt  by slack sales from its children's unit, Bass wholesale  business and Naturalizer chain.$LABEL$2,0,-100
SAP users warned of false support calls German business software vendor SAP AG issued a warning to customers not to provide confidential information on the phone to people claiming to be company support staff.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Five killed in Kashmir violence Separatist militants kill four members of a Muslim family while police shoot dead a senior militant leader in Kashmir.$LABEL$0,0,-100
U.S. Men Qualify for Final in Shot Put ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece - Two U.S. men advanced to the final of the shot put Wednesday, hoping to make even more history at the ancient site that gave birth to the Olympics 2,780 years ago...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Cuts Its IPO Price Range SAN JOSE, Calif. - In a sign that Google Inc.'s initial public offering will not be as hot or big as expected, the Internet search giant slashed its estimated per-share price range and reduced the number of shares to be sold by insiders...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Oil Prices Surge to a New High Today Oil prices surged to a new high above \$47 a barrel spurred by concern for the safety of oil facilities in Iraq.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Iraqis Decline to Send 2nd Peace Mission to Najaf The decision was made today after the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr refused to meet with its first peace team on Tuesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google lowers price range, number of shares, for its IPO When Internet search engine company Google, Inc., of Mountain View, begins to sell shares to the general public -- something expected to happen later this week -- the initial price is expected to be between \$85 and \$95 per share. The company had earlier ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
China Mobile Reports Jump in Profits China #39;s largest cell phone service provider, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., reported a 7.8 percent jump in first-half profits Wednesday as its number of subscribers rose by 23 percent.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Intel delays HDTV market debut Intel has delayed its planned entry into the widescreen high-definition television (HDTV) market until next year.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Script kiddies join forces with spammers The firm #39;s E-mail Security Intelligence report, which covers the first half of 2004, highlights the worrying trend of virus writers linking up with spammers; together they are creating a more refined threat to e-mail security.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Microsoft readies Host Integration Server 2004 Microsoft has announced the imminent availability of Host Integration Server 2004 in a bid to compete with IBM #39;s WebSphere.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Cryptography break threatens digital signatures Researchers in the field of cryptography have been successfully breaking the hash functions that are used to secure the privacy of electronic communications, threatening the integrity of digital signatures, according to a report on Slashdot.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Endurance swimmers short-changed at Olympics: Hackett Australia #39;s Olympic 1,500 metres champion Grant Hackett says long-distance swimmers are being robbed of their chance to shine at the Athens Games.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Oil at New Record LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices surged to a new high above  \$47 a barrel on Wednesday on evidence from major economies that  energy costs are not substantially slowing the economic growth  that fuels oil demand. Fresh threats by rebel militia in Iraq  against oil facilities helped underpin price gains.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Radiation and Drug Combo Help With Prostate Cancer By LINDSEY TANNER    CHICAGO (AP) -- Men with prostate cancer that doesn't appear to have spread have better survival chances when they get short-term hormone treatment along with standard radiation, rather than radiation alone, a small study found.    Almost five years after treatment, six men in the radiation-only study group died of prostate cancer; none of the men who got combined treatment died of prostate cancer...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Medical Experts Fear Hurricane Charley's Aftermath By MIKE SCHNEIDER     PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) -- Until the electricity hums again and the debris is cleared, health officials are worried that there could be more deaths and injuries in Hurricane Charley's aftermath than during the storm itself...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Malaysia's Sea Turtles Are in Trouble (AP) AP - Several species of sea turtles in Malaysia could vanish in a few years, largely due to illegal poaching of the creatures and their eggs, scientists warned on Wednesday.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Future Flyers: Pushing Forward for Personal Aircraft (SPACE.com) SPACE.com - Ask science fiction fans about the future and no doubt they'll tell you it's full of flying cars.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Twisted Physics: How Black Holes Spout Off (SPACE.com) SPACE.com - Black holes are complex beasts. Among their mysterious traits are intense jets of matter that sometimes shoot out from the rotational poles at nearly light-speed.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Kerry to Attack Bush Troop Withdrawal Plan (Reuters) Reuters - Democrat John Kerry on Wednesday\planned to attack President Bush's proposal to withdraw 70,000\American troops from Europe and Asia as a threat to national\security that could blunt the war on terror, campaign aides\said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google Cuts IPO Price by a Quarter to \$85-\$95 a Share (Update7) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., on the eve of pricing the second-biggest Internet initial public offering, slashed the value of the sale almost in half amid the worst market for US IPOs in almost two years.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Supply worries push oil to record Oil prices have continued their record-breaking run on Wednesday, busting through the \$47-mark amid concerns that demand will outstrip supply.$LABEL$2,0,-100
8/17/04 - Us Concerned About Yukos US officials have expressed concern about the fate of Yukos, the Russian oil company. Yukos shares have dropped sharply in value since the Russian government demanded it pay nearly three and a half billion dollars in back taxes. Russian authorities accuse ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Dillard #39;s Posts Narrower 2Q Loss Dillard #39;s Inc. posted a narrower second-quarter loss Wednesday due to cost cutting, but missed Wall Street expectations by a whopping 15 cents per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Stocks Open Lower NEW YORK (Reuters) - US stocks fell at the open on Wednesday after crude oil pushed to a fresh high and Google Inc. slashed its initial public offering price, which appeared to dampen investor sentiment.$LABEL$2,0,-100
E*Trade Says Customer Trading Dipped in July NEW YORK (Reuters) - E*Trade Financial Corp. (ET.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , a major online broker, on Wednesday said customer stock trading for the month of July dropped 1.6 percent from June as investors curbed their enthusiasm for trading stocks.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Brown Shoe Earnings Drop 32 Percent NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (BWS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday posted a 32 percent drop in quarterly earnings, hurt by slack sales from its children #39;s unit, Bass wholesale business and Naturalizer chain.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Cendant Steals Home Cendant #39;s (NYSE: CD) got many revenue streams, and apparently they all lead home. So perhaps it #39;s understandable to see the multifaceted company pull back from the pending sale of its mortgage business. Last month Cendant revealed that it was in talks to ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Malaysia turtle nesting sites at risk -scientists KIJAL, Malaysia, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Malaysia, once a major breeding ground, is in danger of losing its ocean-roaming leatherback turtles as humans eat their eggs, trap them in fishing nets and encroach on nesting sites, scientists said on ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
American Swimmers Fired Up by Relay Win ATHENS (Reuters) - The US swimming team was slow off the blocks but is heading for home at full speed propelled by Tuesday #39;s dramatic relay victory, US women #39;s head coach Mark Schubert said on Wednesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Dope scandal athletes withdraw Greek Olympic 200 metre champion Costas Kenteris, the focus of an Olympic doping scandal, has withdrawn from the Athens Games  quot;out of a sense of responsibility quot;.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Renewed focus ends nightmare ATHENS, Greece  It began with Allen Iverson  The Answer, the captain, the leader of Team USA  forgetting about the fractured bone in his right thumb and courageously hitting the floor against Greece in full regalia.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Not quite good as gold THENS - The critical eye, firm hand and warm embrace of Bela Karolyi have molded women #39;s gymnastics for the past three decades, producing the perfection of Romania #39;s Nadia Comaneci in 1976 and the sparkle of America #39;s Mary Lou Retton in ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Burundi police fire tear gas at massacre protest BUJUMBURA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Police in Burundi #39;s capital Bujumbura fired tear gas at crowds on Wednesday, protesting against the massacre of at least 160 Congolese Tutsis at a United Nations refugee camp in the west of the country.$LABEL$0,0,-100
BellSouth:  #36;3.3 Bln Rise in Benefit Costs (Reuters) Reuters - BellSouth Corp. (BLS.N) said on\Wednesday its new labor contract had triggered a  #36;3.3 billion\increase in its estimates of future retiree medical costs,\reducing fourth-quarter earnings by 3 cents to 4 cents a share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Crude Oil Prices Surge Again Crude oil prices surged again Wednesday, rising above \$47 a barrel amid lingering concerns in supply from Iraq and Russia.$LABEL$2,0,-100
UK challenge of India outsourcing The High Street bank could be facing legal action over the transfer sensitive customer data overseas to call centres in India.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Google, Set for Offering, Cuts Share Price by About a Quarter Google cut its price range to between \$85 and \$95 a share, down from \$108 to \$135, valuing the company at as much as \$25.8 billion.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Windows XP Security Update Delayed Microsoft Corp. has delayed automated distribution of a major security upgrade to its Windows XP Professional operating system, citing a desire to give companies more time to test it.$LABEL$3,0,-100
New PC Is Created Just for Teenagers This isn't your typical, humdrum, slate-colored computer. Not only is the PC known as the hip-e almost all white, but its screen and keyboard are framed in fuzzy pink fur. Or a leopard skin design. Or a graffiti-themed pattern.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Violence Tackled at Online Gaming Parlors Six days a week, teens crowd the Blue Screen Gaming cybercafe to hunt each other down with assault rifles inside virtual computer worlds. In these video game halls, nobody gets hurt. But real-life violence has flared around some of these businesses, prompting municipal crackdowns.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Web Site Shows New York Drug Prices New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has sued many big-name drug makers for bilking the government with their drug prices, on Tuesday unveiled a Web site that allows consumers to compare prices at pharmacies in the state.$LABEL$3,0,-100
U.S. Broadband Growth Slows - Analyst <p></p><p> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. telephone and cable companiessaw the growth of high-speed Internet services slow in thesecond quarter to the lowest rate in a year, an industryresearch firm said on Tuesday.</p>$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google Slashes Its IPO Price Range In a sign that Google Inc. (GOOG)'s initial public offering will not be as hot or big as expected, the Internet search giant slashed its estimated per-share price range and reduced the number of shares to be sold by insiders.$LABEL$3,0,-100
GB badminton duo make final Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms reach the final of the badminton mixed doubles.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bomb Found in Town Near Berlusconi Villa (AP) AP - Police defused a bomb in a town near Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's villa on the island of Sardinia on Wednesday shortly after British Prime Minister Tony Blair finished a visit there with the Italian leader.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Just Keep It Peaceful, Protesters; New York Is Offering Discounts In a bid to keep protesters from disrupting the Republican National Convention, the Bloomberg administration is offering ""peaceful political activists"" discounts.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Huge boost to Darfur aid effort The World Food Programme is starting to airlift almost 100 more tons of food a day to Sudan's troubled Darfur region.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Google, Set for Offering, Cuts Share Price by About a Quarter oogle today cut the estimated price range of its initial stock offering by about a quarter, to between \$85 and \$95 a share, valuing the Internet search engine company by as much as \$25.8 billion.$LABEL$2,0,-100
BHP profit rises 78 on Chinese demand BHP Billiton on Wednesday reported its highest profit ever as it beefed up production to meet rising demand from China that bolstered prices for its copper, zinc, silver and lead.$LABEL$2,0,-100
BellSouth: \$3.3 Bln Rise in Benefit Costs WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BellSouth Corp. (BLS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its new labor contract had triggered a \$3.3 billion increase in its estimates of future retiree medical costs, reducing fourth-quarter earnings by 3 cents to 4 ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Military flipflops, will pay Halliburton fully WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has hastily reversed a decision to partially withhold payments to Halliburton, the biggest US contractor in Iraq.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Dillard #39;s misses estimates, shares plunge NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Dillard #39;s Inc. (DDS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday reported a narrower quarterly loss even after it cut costs, but a drop in same-store sales caused the latest results to miss Wall Street #39;s estimates by a wide ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Barclays to Buy CIBC Credit Card Unit for \$293 Mln (Update1) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc, the UK #39;s third- biggest bank, agreed to buy Juniper Financial Corp. from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for \$293 million in cash to help expand its credit card business in North America.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Applied Materials Applied Materials (AMAT: news, chart, profile) shares were off two cents to \$16.05 in trading before the bell Wednesday and had wavered around break-even in late trading Tuesday after the results were announced.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Nestle #39;s 1st Half Net Profit Hits \$2.28B Nestle, the world #39;s biggest food and drink company, on Wednesday posted a first-half net profit of 2.84 billion Swiss francs (\$2.28 billion), up 0.02 percent on the year-earlier figure of 2.78 billion francs (then \$2.03 billion).$LABEL$2,0,-100
Ringtones are music to record labels #39; ears Rock bands have long prospered by living - and selling - images of hard living and brash poses. But sex, drugs and rock  #39;n #39; roll are no longer enough. The definition of cool for some acts now includes mobile phone ringtones.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Malaysia #39;s Sea Turtles Are in Trouble KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Several species of sea turtles in Malaysia could vanish in a few years, largely due to illegal poaching of the creatures and their eggs, scientists warned on Wednesday.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Kenteris and Thanou Withdraw; Thorpe Targets 3rd Gold (Update2) Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Olympic sprint medalists Kostas Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou withdrew from the Athens Games, overshadowing the fifth day of competition in which Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe will compete for his third gold.$LABEL$1,0,-100
LeBron, USA Slide By Greece ATHENS, Greece -- Things are clearly far from perfect for the US Olympic men #39;s basketball team. But now, perfection isn #39;t important. Victories are. Against anybody.$LABEL$1,0,-100
US women crush South Korea for third straight blowout win ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Looking for answers to an offense that seemed out of synch, the United States finally found them.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Canadian tutu man gets five months for Olympic plunge A tutu-clad Canadian who jumped into the Olympic diving pool after a competition was convicted Wednesday of interrupting the games and sentenced to five months in jail. He was released pending an appeal.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Howard stands by overboard account PRIME Minister John Howard yesterday said his personal staff witnessed and backed his version of a sensitive phone call with former ministerial adviser Mike Scrafton over the children overboard affair.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Weak Ice Cream Sales Melt Nestle's Profit (Reuters) Reuters - Higher raw material costs and lower ice\cream sales in Europe ate into Nestle's (NESN.VX) first-half\results, sending shares in the world's largest food group down\over five percent on Wednesday amid concerns about its\long-term profitability.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Weak Ice Cream Sales Melt Nestle's Profit ZURICH (Reuters) - Higher raw material costs and lower ice  cream sales in Europe ate into Nestle's <A HREF=""http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=NESN.VX target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"">NESN.VX</A> first-half  results, sending shares in the world's largest food group down  over five percent on Wednesday amid concerns about its  long-term profitability.$LABEL$2,0,-100
ING to Withdraw \$5 Bln from Janus Funds NEW YORK (Reuters) - ING U.S. Financial Services said it  will withdraw about \$5 billion from Janus Capital Group Inc.  funds by year-end.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Tech Goes for Gold in Athens The success of this year's Olympic games in Athens rides on the fruits of high-tech labor, no matter whether it's the security system, events results or studying sharkskin to build a better swimsuit. <FONT face=""verdana,MS Sans Serif,arial,helvetica"" size=""-2""\ color=""#666666""><B>-washingtonpost.com</B></FONT>$LABEL$3,0,-100
Hilton Offers Reward for Lost Chihuahua LOS ANGELES - It's been a rough month for hotel heiress Paris Hilton. First, her Hollywood Hills home was burglarized and now her pet Chihuahua, Tinkerbell, has disappeared...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Arafat Admits Palestinians Made Mistakes RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat acknowledged Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority has made ""mistakes,"" but the rare admission appeared to be aimed more at deflecting criticism about his corrupt government than making real changes.    In a decade at the helm of the Palestinian Authority, Arafat has resisted attempts to get him to fight official corruption, reform the security services and relinquish some of his near-absolute powers...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Air Canada Stock Plunges on Review MONTREAL (Reuters) - Shares of Air Canada  <A HREF=""http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=AC.TO target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"">AC.TO</A> fell by  more than half on Wednesday, after the Toronto Stock Exchange  said it was reviewing the company's stock to determine if it  meets listing requirements.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Pentagon Backs Off Halliburton The Pentagon backed off its threat to withold its monthly payment of about \$60 million a month from a Halliburton subsidiary, which provides services for troops.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Rival Targets Apple's iTunes Customers (AP) AP - For more than a year, Apple Computers Inc. enjoyed singular success selling songs exclusively to users of its iPod portable music player. Now, it's got rival RealNetworks Inc. trying to lure iTunes customers away.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Air Canada Stock Plunges on Review (Reuters) Reuters - Shares of Air Canada  (AC.TO) fell by\more than half on Wednesday, after the Toronto Stock Exchange\said it was reviewing the company's stock to determine if it\meets listing requirements.$LABEL$2,0,-100
U.S. Shooter Wins Gold American Kim Rhode rallied in the final rounds to win the gold medal in double trap Wednesday, staking a unique claim as the first and last winner of the Olympic event.$LABEL$1,0,-100
US says ""getting nowhere"" with crisis in Darfur (AFP) AFP - The international community is ""getting nowhere"" with the crisis in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the US ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Utah's Smith Sets Sights on Heisman Award (AP) AP - So much has changed in Alex Smith's life the past two years, he's still trying to sort through it all.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Economies Not Yet Dented by Oil Prices LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC oil producers and Chancellor  Schroeder of Germany, which is a prominent consumer, agree that  the remorseless rise in the price of crude has so far had  little impact on global economic growth.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Stocks Up; Investors Bottom Fishing NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher on Wednesday  as investors bought beaten-down shares, even as the price of  oil jumped to new 21-year record highs.$LABEL$2,0,-100
England reach for the painkillers as World Cup qualifiers loom (AFP) AFP - England's marketing men must have been tempted to approach the manufacturers of Alka Seltzer, the country's favourite hangover remedy, about sponsoring the international friendly with the Ukraine.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Delegate: Al-Sadr Agrees to Withdraw (AP) AP - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has accepted a peace plan drafted by the Iraqi National Conference, which would include laying down arms and withdrawing his militia from a holy shrine in the city of Najaf, a delegate told the conference Wednesday.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Shanghai's Economy Grows 14.7 Percent (AP) AP - Shanghai's economy grew at a blistering 14.7 percent in the first seven months of the year, seemingly defying efforts to cool off China's economy amid fears of overheating.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Web giant Google cuts IPO prices GOOGLE, the web search engine, has slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited initial public offering to between 47 and 52 per share from 59 to 74 per share.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Record \$4.7bn profit for BHP BHP Billiton #39;s record-breaking profit was driven by China #39;s seemingly insatiable demand for commodities. Picture:Bloomberg ...$LABEL$2,0,-100
Insurers #39; Storm Swirls Around Chubb As hurricanes go, Charley stirred up a lot of trouble. The storm will go down as one of the most destructive in history. But it also stirred up trouble on Wall Street, igniting controversy about whether or not it #39;s a good time to look at insurers.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Dillard #39;s Posts Narrower Loss in 2Q Dillard #39;s Inc. reported that its loss narrowed in the second quarter to nearly half of what it was a year ago, but it was still far more than Wall Street expected as the chain was dragged down by sluggish sales.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Cox Hires Advisers on Parent Bid The Cox Communications (COX:NYSE - news - research) board formed a special panel to consider a take-private bid from the company #39;s controlling shareholder.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Is Upgrading to Windows XP SP2 Worthwhile? Users of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition are scheduled to begin receiving Service Pack 2 via automatic update starting today. But delivery of the Professional Edition has been delayed at least a week while Microsoft and its users grapple ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Google cold shoulder confounds European investors LONDON (Reuters) - Web surfers from Beijing to Berkeley have made Google their search engine of choice, but some of Europe #39;s institutional investors have gone sour on the dot-com on the eve of its ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
A Nokia Smartphone With An Edge NEW YORK - It #39;s a little early to tell which camera phone features will resonate with US users in the long term. Americans may never embrace picture and video messaging to the same degree that consumers in South Korea and Japan have.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Microsoft wants Web designers to use content tagging Microsoft is urging Web designers to take more responsibility for content filtering, after forming a partnership with ICRA (the Internet Content Rating Association).$LABEL$3,0,-100
US comes in second in women #39;s cycling The Dutch rider, who was injured in a crash in the women #39;s road race on Saturday and was unable to defend her Olympic title from Sydney, climbed triumphantly to the top of the podium on Wednesday.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Alonso Next in at Anfield Rafael Benitez #39;s Anfield revolution gathered pace today when the Liverpool manager unveiled one new signing and revealed he was close to completing a deal for another.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Let the Games (and parties!) begin ATHENS  As the delay-plagued build-up to the Olympics illustrated, the Greeks aren #39;t exactly known for organization and punctuality. But now that stadiums, new metro lines, beautified city squares and a vast ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Wilkinson Ready To Take Next Step Along Road Back Jonny Wilkinson #39;s comeback schedule is set to intensify next week with the England World Cup hero targeting two games in six days.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Berry misses cut at US Amateur AMARONECK, NY - Following a opening round 73 Monday, Barden Berry had a rough day, shooting an 83 in the second round of the US Amateur Championships on the West course at Winged Foot Golf Club.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Bomb Found in Town Near Berlusconi Villa ROME -- Police defused a bomb in a town near Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi #39;s villa on the island of Sardinia on Wednesday shortly after British Prime Minister Tony Blair finished a visit there with the Italian leader.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Downer positive over North Korea talks TONY JONES: On a rare visit to North Korea, Australia #39;s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today he #39;s held productive talks on efforts to end the reclusive nation #39;s nuclear program.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Hong Kong pro-Beijing politicians accuse opponents of misleading public over sex scandal Human rights activists on Wednesday condemned the detention of a Hong Kong pro-democracy politician for allegedly having sex with a prostitute, and his sentencing without trial to six months of  quot;re-education through labor. quot; ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Iran retaliation threat to Israeli N-plant Iran will strike the Israeli reactor at Dimona if Israel attacks the Islamic republic #39;s nuclear facilities, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards has said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
N. Ireland deal hinges on IRA disarmament (AFP) AFP - British and Irish Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern were preparing to head to Belfast, hopeful of a breakthrough in the protracted deadlock over power-sharing in Northern Ireland.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Cisco Gets New Partner, Clients, Product in the Core Cisco forged a partnership with Fujitsu wherein the Japanese company will market Cisco #39;s CRS-1 core router to carriers and large enterprises in Japan.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Sportsview: Bills Get Playoff Hunger (AP) AP - Pat Williams is a big man with a big heart and appetite. So imagine his dilemma when the Buffalo Bills were back to their bumbling selves at the start of this season.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Creating Compelling Search Engine Ads and Landing Pages Effective search engine advertising goes far beyond simply bidding on keywords.  With both ads and landing pages, you have scant seconds to capture the imagination and clicks of a searcher.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Iraq Delegates Say Sadr Agrees to End Najaf Crisis BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi delegates to a conference  choosing a national assembly said Wednesday that radical  Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had agreed to demands to end an  uprising in the holy city of Najaf.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Europe Urged to Continue China Arms Sales Ban Europes leaders were urged today to continue a ban on arms sales to China in protest against torture and human rights abuses. The call came on the eve of an$LABEL$0,0,-100
Militants, Israeli Troops Battle in Gaza A period of relative calm in the Gaza Strip was broken by a nearly hour-long battle between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops that left at least one Israeli soldier and one militant dead.$LABEL$0,0,-100
THE UNITED NATIONS The Campaign against Kofi The secretary general of the United Nations fights a war on many fronts in his crusade to bring human rights and peace to the world.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Hamas Militants Kill Israeli Soldier Hamas militants broke three weeks of relative calm in Gaza on Tuesday, setting off a bomb in what they said was an elaborate scheme that included a tunnel and a double agent.$LABEL$0,0,-100
US oil stockpiles drop NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - US stockpiles of crude oil fell by 1.3 million barrels last week, the government reported Wednesday, sending prices to another record high.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Barclays Move Towards US Credit Card Market Banking group Barclays today took the first steps towards establishing its Barclaycard operation in the United States credit card market.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Ford dumps \$200m Oracle system Ford has ditched Oracle #39;s online purchasing system eVEREST, because of flaws in the software. The car manufacturer has reportedly spent more than \$200m trying to get the system to work since it bought it in 2000.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Japan firm unveils world #39;s lightest flying micro-robot TOKYO, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Japan #39;s Seiko Epson Corp. said Wednesday it has developed a 12-gram flying micro-robot, the world #39;s lightest.$LABEL$3,0,-100
China Unicom cuts ties with 45 ISPs to curb web porn BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- China Unicom announced Wednesday that it has severed ties with 45 Internet service providers (ISP) involved in the use of cell phones in pornographic business in the past month.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Fighting Resumes In Al-Najaf After Peace Mission Fails 18 August 2004 -- There has been renewed fighting in the Iraqi city of Al-Najaf between US and Iraqi troops and Shi #39;a militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.$LABEL$0,0,-100
What #39;s behind Israeli construction permits? Timing of new building in West Bank linked to political survival instincts of Ariel Sharon. In a move that caught both the international community and the Bush administration by surprise, the government of Israel Tuesdayissued contract proposals for 1,001 ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Chirac and Schroeder to meet with Putin MOSCOW, Aug 18 (AFP) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Black Sea resort residence at the end of the month, Interfax quoted the top Kremlin spokesman as saying ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
UN concerned by lack of Darfur progress on ground KHARTOUM, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Wednesday it was very concerned by Sudan #39;s lack of practical progress in bringing security to Darfur, where more than a million people have fled their homes for fear of militia ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Get them caught, get 6 crores Pakistan on Wednesday offered huge rewards totalling Rs 6.5 crore for information leading to the capture of six most wanted terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, including a member of the banned Jash-e-Mohammad who is accused of masterminding two suicide attacks ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
Economies Not Yet Dented by Oil Prices (Reuters) Reuters - OPEC oil producers and Chancellor\Schroeder of Germany, which is a prominent consumer, agree that\the remorseless rise in the price of crude has so far had\little impact on global economic growth.$LABEL$2,0,-100
SEC Bars Some Mutual Fund Fees (Reuters) Reuters - The U.S. Securities and Exchange\Commission barred U.S. mutual funds on Wednesday from\channeling brokerage commissions toward Wall Street firms based\on their promotion of the funds' shares.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Google Slashes IPO's Size NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc. slashed the size of its  closely watched initial public offering nearly in half to less  than \$2 billion on Wednesday, splashing cold water on what has  been touted as the hottest Internet IPO in years.$LABEL$2,0,-100
SEC Bars Some Mutual Fund Fees WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange  Commission barred U.S. mutual funds on Wednesday from  channeling brokerage commissions toward Wall Street firms based  on their promotion of the funds' shares.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Stocks Open Lower in Moderate Trading Stock prices are lower in moderate trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 23 points in today #39;s early going. Losing issues on the New York Stock Exchange hold a 5-3 lead over gainers.$LABEL$2,0,-100
BellSouth Sees Higher Benefits Expense ATLANTA (AP)--Telecommunications firm BellSouth Corp. said Wednesday that the new terms of its tentative labor agreement will change how the company #39;s contribution to retiree medical benefits is calculated and will boost benefit expenses by \$3.3 billion.$LABEL$2,0,-100
McDonald #39;s tests MasterCard PayPass NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - McDonald #39;s Corp. announced Wednesday it would launch later this year a new  quot;contactless quot; payment option called MasterCard PayPass, which lets customers simply wave or tap the card to complete a quick transaction.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Chinese boom pays off for BHP BHP Billiton has delivered the biggest profit ever achieved by an Australian company - a \$US3.38billion (\$4.73billion) whopper, up 78 per cent on last year.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Real v Apple music war: iPod freedom petition backfires Hostilities started in late July, when Real cracked Apple #39;s FairPlay code, meaning songs bought from the RealPlayer Music Store could be played on the iPod - a move that went down very badly over at Apple. Real then decided to ratchet up the pressure by ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Security Watch Letter:New MyDoom Piggybacks More Dangerous Worm On Wednesday August 25, Microsoft is rolling out the Windows XP Service Pack 2 to the new Windows Update site so the public can update automatically. For the majority of home users, it #39;s a case of Just Do It. The SP2 update adds security ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
IBM Offers New POWER5 eServer i5 550 IBM has unveiled today a new POWER5 system, the eServer i5 550, aimed at mid-sized businesses. The eServer i5 550 features a new Solution Edition, an offering now available with select software vendors. The new eServer i5 also delivers new capabilities ...$LABEL$3,0,-100
Marriage between security, business needs KUALA LUMPUR: Computer Associates International Inc (www.ca.com) has announced a new technology model that aligns security management with business needs.$LABEL$3,0,-100
Life of Reilly: Athens style Forget democracy, sport and Grecian Formula 16. There #39;s so much more we need to steal from the Greeks -- immediately and maybe sooner. Cheese pies, for instance. Our No. 1 priority should be getting these cheese pies. Lovely, flakey pastries with the ...$LABEL$1,0,-100
Springboks targets scrum THE South Africans have called the Wallabies scrum cheats as a fresh round of verbal warfare opened in the Republic last night.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Dyer up for sale on ebay The 23-year-old midfielder has been all over the back pages this week, following a reported bust-up with Sir Bobby Robson - and one supporter had has enough.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Chicago White Sox Team Report - August 18 (Sports Network) - Jose Contreras tries to stay perfect in a Chicago uniform this evening when the White Sox continue their three-game set against the Detroit Tigers at US Cellular Field.$LABEL$1,0,-100
Iraqi Delegates Say Sadr Agrees to End Najaf Crisis BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi delegates to a conference choosing a national assembly said Wednesday that radical Shi #39;ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had agreed to government demands to end an uprising in the holy city of Najaf.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Howard defiant as attacks mount PRIME Minister John Howard conceded yesterday a fresh inquiry into the children overboard saga would find he had lied.$LABEL$0,0,-100
6 dead in typhoon deluge At least six people died in Shikoku after heavy rains from Typhoon Megi pounded the western Japan island on Tuesday and Wednesday, officials said.$LABEL$0,0,-100
Health hurdle for Latham #39;s campaign MARK Latham #39;s campaign to become prime minister has suffered an unexpected setback after the Labor leader was rushed to hospital suffering stomach cramps, forcing him to cancel all public engagements until next ...$LABEL$0,0,-100
AT amp;T team wins \$1bn network deal AT amp;T, the US telecoms group, and a team of subcontractors have won a contract valued at up to \$1bn to design, build and manage a secure IP-based global network for the US government$LABEL$2,0,-100
Profit Takers Ambush Treasuries NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries turned tail on  Wednesday as recent hefty gains attracted a wave of  profit-taking in an otherwise featureless market.$LABEL$2,0,-100
Steel boom boosts Iscor's profits Shares in Africa's biggest steel producer surge to a record high on the back of strong interim profits$LABEL$2,0,-100