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US-ELECTIONS

OXFORD, Mississippi _ In their first presidential debate, Republican John McCain declared Friday night that his Democratic opponent did not have the "knowledge or experience" to keep the United States safe. Barack Obama shot back that the Arizona senator was out of touch and showed flawed judgment by supporting the Iraq war. AP Photos.

US-FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

WASHINGTON _ The Bush administration and Congress anxiously revived negotiations Friday on a $700 billion financial bailout, one day after the largest bank collapse in U.S. history provided a brutal reminder of the risks of failure. Democrats …

Make the most of Advent this year ; WEEKENDING

Prebendary Angela Berners-Wilson Chaplain at the University ofBath Advent started on Sunday and the word "advent" literally means"coming".

It is the season when Christians wait with expectation andexcitement for the coming of Christ at Christmas. Traditionally inthe Church it is a time of abstinence; people would fast inpreparation for one of the most important Christian festivals of theyear.

This is in marked contrast to the secular world around us whereover-indulgence in both food, drink and spending are the order ofthe day, with riotous office parties. Perhaps this year, with thespending review and our savings plummeting, we may perhaps findourselves …

Gunmen Kill 7 on Bus Headed to Baghdad

BAGHDAD - A group of gunmen in two cars attacked a minibus heading to Baghdad from a Shiite town north of the capital Monday, killing seven passengers including a child, police said.

The attack underscored the sectarian violence and instability that continues to plague Diyala province north of Baghdad despite the three-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad and the surrounding areas.

The bus, which left the town of Khalis, was driving near the violence-wracked city of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, about 11:30 a.m. when it was ambushed outside the town of Hibhib, police said.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb detonated near a group of Iraqi soldiers patrolling …

French Football Results

Results from the 30th round of the French first-division football league (home teams listed first):

Saturday's Games

Le Mans 1, Lyon 3

Bordeaux 1, Nancy 0

Nantes 0, Lille 2

Valenciennes 2, Auxerre 0

Monaco 0, Le Havre 1

Grenoble 1, Lorient 3

Caen 0, Toulouse 0

Sunday's Games

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nice

…

Intel buying German chipmaker's wireless unit

Intel Corp. is buying the wireless communications unit of Germany's Infineon Technologies AG for $1.4 billion in cash, the second deal in as many weeks that allows the chipmaker to spread its wings beyond the struggling personal computer market.

Infineon's unit makes chips for smart phones including Apple's iPhone. Silicon Valley behemoth Intel scooped up security software maker McAfee Inc. earlier this month for $7.68 billion, marking the biggest acquisition in Intel's 42-year history.

Both deals signal a shift away from Intel's traditional market of providing chips to power personal computers. Intel's microprocessors are used in 80 percent of the world's …

U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal Advances

The United States and India completed negotiations July 27 on a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, edging them closer toward erasing long-standing U.S. and international nuclear trade restrictions on India. But before realizing that goal, the two governments must still win over their own lawmakers and other countries, some of which, most recently Australia, are already angling to do business with India.

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh two years ago launched the initiative to expand U.S. and global nuclear trade with India. In broad terms, the United States pledged to help India shed its roughly three-decade status as a nuclear trade pariah. New …

Shares of Brazil's Petrobras soar on news of huge new natural gas discovery

Shares of Brazil's state-run oil company soared Tuesday, a day after the company announced it discovered a huge natural gas reserve off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

Petrobras shares skyrocketed 9.3 percent on Sao Paulo's Bovespa exchange in afternoon trading, substantially higher than the 4.5 percent gain for the exchange's main index one day after steep losses brought on by fears of a U.S. recession.

In New York, the company's American depository shares were up 1.3 percent, or US$1.27 (euro0.88) to US$95.64 (euro65.99).

Petroleo Brasileiro SA said late Monday that the potential reserves in the new field were located about 5,100 meters (16,800 …