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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 …

Cruising a blue streak

PITTSBURGH — The Cubs have a long way to go before proving this isn't just another meaningless tease.

But Thursday's 7-6 comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates gave the Cubs a historic finish to their road trip.

The season-high five straight wins not only puts them just one shy of matching their longest streak in three years but is starting to evoke fond and distant memories for the embattled manager.

''There's been a lot of stuff, really, in the last 20 games, that have gotten better,'' manager Mike Quade said. ''A few of those games have gotten away from us. But we get [closer Carlos Marmol] back right and then we pitch it the way we have, and I feel like I …

Placing WMD in Context

If things go according to plan, a conference on a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East is due to take place in 2012. The considerable political challenges involved in convening this conference have become much more complicated of late in light of the political turmoil that has been rocking the Middle East since early this year. Although the date of the conference may get pushed back, unofficial Track II discussions already have begun to consider the prospects and logic of such a conference, which has effectively renewed the debate over the meaning and future of regional WMD arms control efforts in the Middle East.

These discussions indicate the serious …

Canada's Bombardier launches new planes

Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc. issued a challenge to bigger rivals Boeing Co. and Airbus with the launch a new aircraft range on Sunday.

The C-series aircraft will carry 110-145 passengers and is designed to compete against the aging Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 jets _ as well as the 98-114 seat ERJ 190 by regional jetmaker Embraer, or Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA.

Bombardier's largest plane currently flying, the CRJ-900, has a maximum of 88 seats.

The launch on the eve of the Farnborough air show in southern England marks the Canadian company's entry into a key market for Airbus and Boeing.

German airline Lufthansa said it …

Catholic girls don't like class change

Nobody likes to say "uncle," and give up.

That is why it is understandable that the players on theCharleston Catholic girls soccer team wish they had another shot ata State Tournament through the defunct one-class postseason.

"I would have preferred to stay with (Class) AAA," Irish seniorCarly Treister said. "I think we can compete with them."

That is not youthful cockiness talking. It is experience.

The last three seasons have ended in heartbreaking losses tocrosstown George Washington in sectional play - 1-0 in 2005, 1-0 in2006 and 2-1 in a shootout in the sectional final.

That final postseason loss to the Class AAA Patriots wasespecially …

UN meeting weighs China's request to import African ivory

A U.N. meeting starting Monday will decide whether China should be allowed to import more than 100 tons of elephant ivory in a one-off sale of African government stockpiles.

The United Nations body charged with monitoring trade in endangered species says China qualifies for the import because it has sufficiently enforced rules on the sale of ivory.

"It's very evident that China has made an enormous commitment," said Tom Milliken, a senior investigator at Traffic, the world's largest wildlife trade monitor. "Seizures are occurring at a very fast clip these days. The government is putting a lot more in enforcement efforts."

But some environment groups disagree and say their case has been the strengthened by the Chinese government's revelation that it lost track of 121 tons of ivory over a dozen years that probably was sold on illegal markets.

China told the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 2003 that the "shortfall" _ equal to the tusks from about 11,000 dead elephants _ was accumulated between 1991 and 2002. The Associated Press obtained the document last week from the Environmental Investigation Agency, a watchdog based in Washington and London that is seeking to prevent China from gaining permission to trade ivory.

Elephant ivory is a booming black market commodity, with tusks, jewelry and trinkets bringing in millions of dollars for smugglers and sellers after it was banned globally in a 1989 U.N. accord. Since then, some one-time sales by African nations have been allowed on a case-by-case basis, but only Japan has been approved to buy it. China now also wants approval from the 172 other nations that have signed onto CITES.

"There are just huge questions that are unanswered, and we believe the Chinese government has the responsibility to provide answers to the international community," Allan Thornton, EIA's chairman, said last week. "The ivory trade is out of control."

The group argues that China lacks control of its ivory and that allowing it to import more ivory legally would only lead to additional slaughter of elephants and greater illegal smuggling and trade for their valuable ivory tusks.

It says more than 20,000 elephants a year are killed illegally in Africa and Asia for the ivory black market, and that Chinese nationals have been implicated in illegal ivory seizures in more than 20 African nations.

Milliken, who was part of CITES' original mission to China in 2005, countered: "Does illegal trade continue? Yes. But that's probably inevitable. China is clearly rising to the occasion and putting out all the stops."

He rejected that one-off ivory sales have any correlation with a rise in illegal smuggling, noting the example of Japan.

Trade in elephant ivory far eclipses any demand for other animals' tusks. Much of the ivory destined for China is carved into jewelry and ornaments bought by tourists from other parts of Asia.

The U.N. body authorized Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe last year to make a single sale of 108 tons of government stocks. After the sale, the countries will not be allowed to export ivory again for nine years.

The U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species also will discuss the farming of tigers in Asia, which is being sought by Chinese businessman as a way around a 1993 ban on trade in tiger parts _ a valued ingredient in traditional medicine believed to cure ailments from convulsions to skin disease, and to increase sexual potency.

Conservationists, who say there are only about 5,500 tigers remaining in the wild, argue that the farms would spur illegal poaching of tigers because the parts are indistinguishable and it is always cheaper to kill a wild animal.

The U.N. meeting, scheduled through Friday, also plans to look into sales of mahogany timber from the Amazon basin and illegal poaching of rhinoceroses in Congo, India, Mozambique, Nepal, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Activists send new boat to challenge Gaza blockade

Pro-Palestinian activists said Tuesday they had sent another boat to challenge the Gaza blockade as Israel faced outrage abroad and questions at home over its botched raid on an aid flotilla in international waters that ended with soldiers killing nine activists.

The raid provoked the most ferocious international condemnation of Israel since its war with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip a year and a half ago and appeared likely to increase pressure to end its blockade that has deepened the poverty of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the strip. The U.N. Security Council condemned the "acts" that resulted in the deaths and called for an impartial investigation.

Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the flotilla, said another cargo boat was off the coast of Italy en route to Gaza. A second boat carrying about three dozen passengers is expected to join it, Berlin said. She said the two boats would arrive in the region late this week or early next week.

"This initiative is not going to stop," she said from the group's base in Cyprus. "We think eventually Israel will get some kind of common sense. They're going to have to stop the blockade of Gaza, and one of the ways to do this is for us to continue to send the boats."

Protests have erupted in a number of Muslim countries including Turkey, which unofficially supported the flotilla, Indonesia and Malaysia, where a Palestinian man slashed himself outside the American Embassy.

Within Israel, the raid sparked intense debate over why the military operation went awry.

Israel sent commandos onto the six ships carrying nearly 700 activists after mission organizers ignored the government's weeks-long call to bring the cargo to an Israeli port, where it would be inspected and transferred to Gaza. In most cases, the passengers quickly surrendered. But on the largest ship, the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the forces encountered resistance.

Israeli commandos rappelled on ropes from a helicopter one by one and amateur videos showed them being attacked by angry activists with metal rods and one soldier being thrown off the ship. Others jumped overboard to escape the angry mob. Israeli authorities said they were attacked by knives, clubs and live fire from two pistols wrested from soldiers. The soldiers then opened fire, killing nine.

Israeli military analysts said it was a mistake to send commandos to board the ship and the military could have used non-lethal weapons such as tear gas. They also said the intelligence-gathering was faulty.

Retired general Shlomo Brom asked why the ships' engines weren't sabotaged instead.

"There were certain objectives to this operation. One was not to let the vessels get to Gaza, but the other objective was to do it without any damage to Israel's image," Brom told The Associated Press. "Certainly it failed."

The daily Maariv, in a front-page headline, called the raid a "debacle." But it said the soldiers on the ships who were taken off guard were brave.

A military analyst for the daily Haaretz blamed intelligence officials.

"The entire intelligence community had all the time it needed to follow the protesters' plans and preparation. Drones provided constant streaming videos of the ships, and it's safe to assume other means of tracing and sabotage were used: Signal jamming, signal tapping, possibly even live agents," wrote Amos Harel.

"And still, based on the commandos' testimonies yesterday, it's clear they were not prepared for what awaited them on the deck."

Military analyst Reuven Pedatzur, also writing in Haaretz, said he didn't understand why soldiers weren't ordered not to open fire with live ammunition under any circumstances. Commandos said they carried paint guns _ a non-lethal means to help control crowds _ and that the pistols they carried were meant to be used as a last resort.

The military "has sufficient means for gaining control over rioting mobs using non-lethal force," Pedatzur said. The fact that the operation was carried out at night likely contributed to the commotion on the ship, he added.

The flotilla was the ninth attempt by sea to breach the blockade Israel and Egypt imposed after the militant Hamas group violently seized the territory in 2007. Israel allowed five seaborne aid shipments to get through but snapped the blockade shut after its 2009 war in Gaza.

Still, there was little call in Israel for an end to the 3-year-old Gaza blockade. Israelis have little sympathy for Gaza, which sent thousands of rockets and mortars crashing into Israel for years before last year's war.

Israeli officials have not identified the nine dead but said they would later Tuesday. They said 50 of the 679 activists aboard the flotilla were taken to Israel's international airport for deportation. The others, they said, have refused to identify themselves and would remain in detention in a prison in southern Israel.

Israel has not allowed access to the activists who were taken off the six boats, but a handful who were deported had arrived home by Tuesday morning, including a Turkish woman and her 1-year-old child, six Greeks and three German lawmakers.

The Turkish woman, Nilufer Cetin, offered one of the few glimpses by activists into what went on during the bloody confrontation.

"There was a massacre on board," said Cetin, whose husband, Ekrem, is the ship's engineer and was still in Israeli custody Tuesday. "The ship turned into a lake of blood."

Turkey said it was sending three ambulance planes to Israel to return 20 Turkish activists injured in the operation and had other aircraft ready to fly back other activists. About 400 Turks took part in the flotilla.

Tensions along the Israeli-Gaza border were tense following the naval raid. On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said Gaza militants infiltrated Israel and exchanged fire with troops. Israeli rescue services said two militants were killed, but the military would not immediately confirm that.

> ---

AP correspondents Karin Laub, Grant Slater and Matti Friedman contributed to this report.

Oil hovers above $81 after surging to 3-month high

Oil prices hovered above $81 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after surging stock markets and a weaker dollar helped boost crude to nearly a three-month high.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 5 cents to $81.39 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.39, or 3 percent, to settle at $81.34 on Monday, the highest since May 4.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2 percent Monday on better than expected manufacturing results in the U.S. and Europe. Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday, a key signal oil traders watch as a gauge of overall investor sentiment.

A weaker dollar also helped boost crude since that makes commodities cheaper for investors with other currencies. The euro rose to $1.3214 on Tuesday from $1.3176 on Monday and the dollar eased to 86.03 yen from 86.46 yen.

Investors will be closely watching weekly U.S. crude inventory data later Tuesday and Wednesday and July employment figures Friday.

"The more important price driver will be forthcoming at week's end in the form of the monthly employment report," Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report.

In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil rose 0.78 cent to $2.1616 a gallon, gasoline was steady at $2.1693 a gallon and natural gas jumped 2.7 cents to 4.728 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent crude was up 4 cents to $80.86 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.

Living to 100 // Sensible diet, exercise help get you there

Live to be 105? Possibly. Play with your great-grandchildren?Very likely. Medical researchers are finding ways to slip the bondsof old age - and let future generations enjoy their lives as neverbefore.

People are living longer. The average life span today is 75,compared with 47 in 1900. In the next 10 years, the number of100-year-olds is expected to more than double, U.S. Census Bureaustatistics say.

About two-thirds of Americans want to live 100 years and believethey will enjoy life more as they get older, says Daniel Perry,executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research in Washington,D.C. "People seem to be taking responsibility for their own longevityto a large degree, and chances are they're going to get there," hesays.

The key to longevity is medical self-care, which experts believecan add 10 or more years to the average American's life span. Thepremise is simple. While genes play a role in determining how wellyou age, you "can significantly lower any risk by altering yourlifestyle in meaningful ways," explains Dr. Reuben Andres, directorof the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Bethesda, Md.

"Dull as they may sound, ample exercise, good nutrition andhealthy habits are the keys to successful aging," says Andres."These things will slow the aging process better than any longevitypill."

In his book, Prime Time (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,1993), 77-year-old John Eichenlaub, M.D., says it's never too late,or too early, to benefit from self-care measures. Older people whostop smoking cigarettes return their risk of heart attack to averageafter only two years.

Weight training and exercise programs can reverse physicaldeclines associated with "normal" aging - loss of bone mass, musclestrength and organ reserve - and help to keep joints, ligaments andtendons flexible. Exercise also lowers blood pressure, boosts "good"cholesterol, or high-density lipoproteins, aids in weight control andkeeps the heart and lungs strong. As a result, active people have amuch lower risk of heart disease, stroke, adult-onset diabetes andosteoporosis.

"With the right exercise, you can look and feel as fit at 50 asyou did at 30," says James Rippe, M.D., cardiologist and director ofthe exercise physiology laboratory at the University of MassachusettsMedical School, Worcester.

Which forms of exercise are easiest to master and mostbeneficial in middle age and beyond? Experts suggest walking,swimming, jogging or running. A little tougher to learn, but worththe effort, are racquet sports, skating and weight-lifting.

Exercise provides an additional benefit. Sleep trouble has longbeen considered an inevitable part of aging, but a recent Gallupsurvey reveals that active retirees have fewer problems sleeping thantheir less active contemporaries. Other causes of sleep troubleinclude arthritis, depression, drugs, alcohol and caffeine.

One of the most tantalizing clues to longevity involves researchin nutrition. Scientists have isolated the phytochemicals ineveryday foods like garlic and broccoli that have anti-aging as wellas cancer-fighting properties.

Jeffrey Blumberg, at the Human Nutrition Center on Aging atTufts University in Medford, Mass., is one example. Blumberg isstudying antioxidants, which sop up rogue oxygen atoms (known as freeradicals) in the bloodstream that wreak havoc on cells and vitalorgans. His findings are related not to the stress of aging but toprevention of ailments such as asthma, diabetes, emphysema andcataracts.

Unfortunately, older people often find it hard to follow dietaryguidelines. "Ideally, a diet should provide all of the necessarynutrients such as calcium, zinc (and) selenium," says Blumberg. "Asupplement formulated at one or two times the recommended dailyallowance can be helpful."

A positive attitude is another important key to successfulaging. You can keep old age at bay with the "divide and conquer"technique, notes Eichenlaub. "Fight off (aging's) harmful effectsone at a time," says Eichenlaub. "If you feel, look and act youngeras the years go by, you'll have . . . effectively stretched yourprime."

There's no formula for being happy, but it helps to beenthusiastic. To stay mentally engaged, try taking adult-educationcourses, traveling or volunteering. "They provide more experiences,more energy and more mind power to your life," Eichenlaub says.

Studies show that mentally active people can stave off mostage-related declines in mental functioning. "Brain tissue is likemuscle tissue," adds Andres. "It needs to be exercised or it willlose some of its ability."

"People are interested not only in living longer, but in stayingproductive and making those years really golden," says Eichenlaub.He foresees a future where people can pursue a hobby or second careerinto their 80s.

Increasingly, experts believe that boosting the immune systemcan help fend off illness and disease. This doesn't mean you shouldbe taking megadoses of vitamins and minerals in the hope of"superpowering" your immunity beyond its normal capabilities,however. What you can do is try to remove the factors that keep ahealthy immune system from working at peak efficiency: undue stress,lack of sleep, not enough exercise and a nutritionally poor diet.

Life insurance statistics reveal that living alone is stressfuland may shorten one's life span. Statistics also indicate thatgender equality does not extend to longevity - yet. Men can expectto live to be 72 and women to an even riper age of 78. With ahealthy lifestyle, however, your "medical" age can be younger thanyour years.

The best way to enjoy a long, healthy life is to start makinghealth lifestyle changes now. For starters, quit smoking. It's themain cause of avoidable death in North America. Smoking plays amajor role not only in cancer, but also in heart disease andrespiratory problems such as chronic bronchitis.

While driving, wear your seat belt and turn down the stereo.Excessive noise can lead to hearing impairment. If you drink, do soin moderation. If you regularly use tranquilizers, stimulants orother drugs, consider seeing a professional counselor. Stayup-to-date on medical tests, have a working smoke detector in yourhome and minimize sun exposure to avoid skin cancer.

Lower your fat intake, and know how many calories you need basedon your level of physical activity. Being overweight stresses theheart, muscles and bones, which increases the likelihood of joint andback problems. Eat on a regular schedule, preferably three smallmeals, and avoid a heavy dinner.

"Use it or lose it" works as well for the brain as it does forthe rest of the body, since mental activity requires a certain levelof endorphins, which are produced by exercise. "It's anotherargument for getting and staying active," says Eichenlaub.

Butter isn't better // A little pat means a lot of fat and calories; and beware of substitutes, too

Most people would place butter high on a list of unhealthfulfoods. It's high in calories and almost 100 percent fat. Plus,there's strong evidence that a diet high in cholesterol and saturatedfat - the kind in butter - can clog your arteries and steal yearsfrom your life. A high-fat diet also increases the risk of cancer.With all that in mind, American consumers have started backing awayfrom butter. Since the mid-1980s, butter use has dropped by about 10percent.

Meanwhile, the market for butter substitutes has blossomed toinclude all sorts of buttery-tasting spreads, sprinkles and sprays.They come in such dizzying variety that sorting out what's in themand their relative health merits can be daunting.

For example, stick margarines contain at least 80 percent fat,while spreads contain 50 percent to 60 percent. Newer butterlikespreads, including Le Slim Cow and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!,achieve a natural taste by using buttermilk and other lower-fat dairyingredients as substitutes for milk fat. "Light" spreads, such asLand o' Lakes Country Morning Blend Light, are diluted with water.

Confused about which is best? You're not alone. In a 1987British survey, almost 75 percent of people who used spreads in placeof butter incorrectly assumed that they were free of artificialadditives. More than half of them thought spreads were always lowerthan butter in fat and calories. In fact, some of the spreadscontain the same amounts.

Considering the confusion and that the average American,according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, eats a mere teaspoonof butter a day, would you be no worse off if you indulged yourselfwith a dab of the real thing?

Butter is loaded with calories - 36 per teaspoon - but so areall fat-rich products, including vegetable oils, shortenings andmargarines. The more complicated issue is fats and cholesterol.

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 300milligrams of cholesterol a day. A pat of butter contains only 11milligrams, half as much as 1 ounce of chicken breast without theskin. However, use butter heavily and the total cholesterol consumedquickly adds up. Five pats a day will put 55 milligrams ofcholesterol into your body. Most non-dairy butter substitutes arecholesterol-free.

Cholesterol is the artery clogger, but saturated fats contributeto its production. And in saturated fats, butter takes a beating:Each pat contains a whopping 2.5 grams of saturated fat. Only thenotorious tropical oils, coconut and palm, have more. (The HeartAssociation recommends a maximum of 22 grams of saturated fat a dayfor someone taking in 2,000 calories.)

Margarines and butter substitutes have far less saturated fatthan butter does. A pat of stick margarine has only 0.8 gram.Butter-substitute sprinkles and sprays have none at all. Amongspreads, lowest in saturated fat are those that list vegetable oil asthe first ingredient and contain higher percentages ofpolyunsaturated fat. Among them are soft margarine at 0.6 gram ofsaturated fat per teaspoon and diet margarine at 0.3 gram.

That doesn't mean you can slather on "high-poly" buttersubstitutes with abandon. "Studies on animals have shown thatpolyunsaturated fat by itself has a relationship to the developmentof cancer," says Dr. John Weisburger, a senior member of the AmericanHealth Foundation. What's more, typical Americans get about 40percent of their calories from fat. Experts would like to see thatreduced to 20 percent.

Although the amount and type of fat in butter substitutes is ofprimary concern for the longevity-conscious consumer, the number ofcalories is no trifling matter. The average American gets about 150calories a day from one pat of butter and three pats of margarine.Cut that in half and you could lose a pound a month. Some of the"light" and "diet" spreads, with less than 20 calories per pat,nearly halve the calories for you. Better yet, the sprinkles andsprays add almost no calories.

However, many people like the taste of butter too much to giveit up completely. If you're among them, save your butter budget forfoods that cry out for the real thing: baked potatoes, corn on thecob and fresh bread. For sauteing, Jayne Newmark, a spokeswoman forthe American Dietetic Association, suggests using a spray first toprevent food from sticking to the pan, then adding just a bit ofbutter for flavor.

Would you be no worse off with a daily dab of butter? Mostpeople get far more fat than is good for them already. According toexperts, the typical American diet includes about 100 grams of fat aday, almost twice the recommended maximum. Every bit of fat that'snot taken in counts. Because many foods contain fat that can't beremoved, the easiest way to lower the fat in your diet is not to addany fat when you cook or eat, and that includes the fat in a dab ofbutter.

Mindy Hermann is a nutrition consultant based in Mount Kisco, N.Y. Copyright 1989 Longevity Publications Inc.

FOOTBALL

JUNIOR HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL

Today's games

Clendenin vs. Stonewall Jackson, 7, Laidley Field

CHEMICAL VALLEY MIDGET LEAGUE

A Team

Poca 14, Sissonville 8

Hurricane 14, Winfield 0

Pinch 8, Nitro 6

Elk District 32, Belle 20

Tornado 8, Buffalo 0 (OT)

South Hills 26, Campbells Creek 0

B Team

Poca 26, Sissonville 14

Hurricane 26, Winfield 16

Pinch 50, Nitro 18

Belle 46, Elk District 0

Tornado 18, Buffalo 0

Campbells Creek 28, South Hills 8

C Team

Poca 6, Sissonville 0

Hurricane 6, Winfield 0

Nitro 20, Pinch 8

Belle 34, Elk District 0

Tornado 18, Buffalo 12 (2 OT)

Campbells Creek 30, South Hills 6

COLLEGE MEN

NCAA DIVISION II Men's Rankings

Team, Record Pts Pv

1. Southern Connecticut, 9-0 400 1

2. Barry (Fla.), 7-0-2 380 2

3. Southhampton (N.Y.), 8-0-1 366 3

4. Lynn (Fla.), 9-1-1 350 4

5. Franklin Pierce (N.H.), 8-0-2 326 5

6. University of Charleston, 10-0 314 8

7. Seattle Pacific, 7-2-1 304 7

8. Presbyterian (S.C.), 8-1-0 274 21

9. Dowling (N.Y.), 8-2-1 260 9

10. Fort Lewis (Colo.), 7-1-1 25016

11. UC-Davis, 10-1-1 244 10

12. Lewis (Ill.), 7-2-2 238 11

13. Francis Marion (S.C.), 7-2-1 172 RV

14. New Hampshire College, 5-2-1 168 15

15. St. Edwards (Texas), 9-0-0 162 23

16. Truman St. (Mo.), 6-2-1 140 T-18

16. East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 9-2-0 140 17

18. Wheeling Jesuit, 6-3-1 138 NR

19. Grand Canyon (Ariz.), 9-2-0 134 25

20. Florida Southern, 6-1-1 120 T-18

21. West Virginia Wesleyan, 8-1-0 86 13

22. Gardner Webb (N.C.), 8-2-1 84 NR

23. Colorado Springs, 8-3-0 40 12

(tie) Ind.-Pur.-Ft. Wayne, 8-2-1 40 NR

25. Florida Tech, 8-1-1 28 20

TODAY'S MATCHES

University of Charleston at Alderson-Broaddus, 4

COLLEGE WOMEN

Today's matches

Concord at University of Charleston, 7

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Today's matches

Ravenswood at St. Albans, 7

Tuesday's results

Hurricane 4, South Charleston 0

Hurricane goals: Jill Gibson 2, Jamie Young 2.

Hurricane assists: Gibson.

Record: Hurricane 7-4-2, SC 0-11-0.

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS

COACHES ASSOCIATION RATINGS

School Record Rating

1. Nitro 12-1-1 20.82

2. St. Joe 10-1-1 19.62

3. Parkersburg 10-2-1 19.48

4. Morgantown 12-2 18.00

5. Wheeling Park 9-2-2 17.23

6. Cabell Midland 9-1-3 17.11

7. Bluefield 8-2 16.60

8. Beckley 7-2-3 16.54

9. Parkersburg South 11-2-1 16.42

10. Charleston Catholic 9-3-1 16.34

11. University 9-1-1 16.04

12. Brooke 8-2-3 14.45

13. South Charleston 8-3-2 14.42

14. Jefferson 9-2 14.27

15. Bridgeport 10-2-1 13.88

KANAWHA VALLEY STANDINGS

(Through Saturday)

School W L T

Nitro 12 1 1

South Charleston 9 3 2

Charleston Catholic 9 3 1

Capital 7 5 4

Sissonville 4 8 1

Hurricane 4 9 0

Poca 1 10 0

(Note: George Washington, Herbert Hoover, Riverside, SouthCharleston and St. Albans did not report statistics).

MOUNTAIN STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STANDINGS

Team Record Points Rating

Nitro 9-0-1 122.5 12.25

Parkersburg 6-0-1 89.5 11.18

Cabell Midland 7-1-3 106.5 9.68

South Charleston 7-2-2 98 8.90

Capital 5-2-3 82 8.20

Spring Valley 4-3-1 56.5 7.06

George Washington 3-4-2 46.5 5.16

Ripley 2-4 24 4.00

Huntington 2-5-1 26.5 3.31

St. Albans 1-7-2 23.5 2.35

Riverside 2-7 21 2.33

Herbert Hoover 0-5 0 0.00

Hurricane 0-8 0 0.00

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Goals

Player, school Goals

1. Patrick Humphreys, Nitro 16

2. Bradley Maddox, Nitro 14

3. Joe Butcher, Sissonville 11

4. Whitney Polites, Capital 10

5. Evan Anthony, Poca 8

(tie) Alex Howard, Hurricane 8

(tie) Brian Young, Nitro 8

8. Cyrus Maher, Catholic 7

(tie) B.J. Reiter, Catholic 7

10. Four players tied with 6

Assists

Player, school Assists

1. Patrick Humphreys, Nitro 9

2. Cody Freas, Capital 8

(tie) Whitney Polites, Capital 8

(tie) Bradley Maddox, Nitro 8

4. Ben Sanger, Poca 7

(tie) Derek Jones, Hurricane 7

(tie) Brian Young, Nitro 7

Shutouts

Player, school Shutouts

1. Tony Ashworth, Catholic 5

(tie) Justin Burgess, Nitro 5

3. Mike Balsamo, Hurricane 3

(tie) Brad Clark, Capital 3

Tuesday's results

Riverside 1 0 1 1 - 3

Nitro 3 7 2 1 -13

Nitro goals: Bradley Maddox 5, Patrick Humphreys 2, Michael Moore2, Justin Burgess, Michael Schreck, Brian Hendren, Chuck Boggs.

Riverside goals: Chad Duermberger 2, Paul Yeager.

Nitro assists: Humphreys 3, Brian Young 5, Moore.

Record: Nitro 13-1-1.

Cross Lanes Christian 3, Teays Valley Christian 2

Cross Lanes goals: Ricky Boggess, Andy Young, Phillip Reustle.

Teays Valley goals: Andrew Doss 2.

CLC assists: Adam George.

Record: Teays Valley 6-3-0.

Winfield 12, Boyd County, Ky. 2

Winfield goals: Chris Horvath 5, Mick Fewell 3, Shane Oliver 2,Shawn Walls, Craig Eggleton.

Winfield assists: Horvath 3, Fewell 3, Oliver.

Record: Winfield 9-4.

Calvary Baptist Academy 4, Monroe County 4

Calvary Baptist goals: Jamin Fagin 3, Steven Gateke

Calvary Baptist assists: Brian McClure 3, Fagin.

Record: Calvary Baptist 2-1-3.

South Charleston 3, Hurricane 2

SC goals: Scott Kautz, Omar Ahmad, Mark Broyles.

Hurricane goals: Alex Howard, Derek Jones.

SC assists: Bo Moody.

Record: SC 10-3-2.

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

COACHES ASSOCIATION RATINGS

School Record Rating

1. Wheeling Park 13-0 23.30

2. Morgantown 13-1 20.07

3. Winfield 9-2-1 19.04

4. Buckhannon-Upshur 11-2-1 16.96

5. Beckley 7-1-3 16.27

6. George Washington 11-4 16.20

7. Jefferson 10-2-1 15.57

8. Brooke 12-2 15.07

9. Parkersburg 9-3 13.83

10. Parkersburg South 9-5-1 13.63

11. Princeton 6-2-3 13.00

12. Oak Hill 9-3-2 12.89

13. Ripley 8-2-1 12.81

14. Charleston Catholic 5-3-4 12.37

15. University 9-5 12.21

KANAWHA VALLEY STANDINGS

(Through Saturday)

School W L T

George Washington 10 3 0

Winfield 9 2 1

Sissonville 7 2 3

St. Albans 7 3 2

Poca 7 5 1

Hurricane 6 4 2

Charleston Catholic 5 3 4

Nitro 5 5 2

Riverside 4 7 0

(Note: Capital and South Charleston did not report statistics).

MOUNTAIN STATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STANDINGS

Team Record Points Rating

Parkersburg 9-0 116 12.88

George Washington 5-1 66 11.00

Ripley 3-0-1 41.5 10.37

St. Albans 5-2-2 73.5 8.16

Huntington 4-2-2 61.5 7.68

Hurricane 4-3-1 58 7.25

Nitro 4-3-2 59 6.55

Cabell Midland 3-5-1 39 4.33

Capital 3-6-1 41 4.10

Riverside 1-5 10 1.66

Spring Valley 1-8 10 1.11

South Charleston 0-9 0 0.00

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Goals

Player, school Goals

1. Meredith Jividen, Poca 22

2. Amy Myers, Nitro 19

3. Amanda Elam, Sissonville 14

3. Sarah Hanks, Winfield 14

3. Katie Paschall, SA 14

6. Ciara Chic, Riverside 10

7. Joanie Campbell, GW 9

8. Emiley Roberts, GW 8

9. Sarah Facemyer, Sissonville 7

9. Cindy Petry, Riverside 7

11. Katie Murphy, Winfield 6

11. Kelly Knight, SA 6

11. Annie Schuerger, Catholic 6

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Assists

Player, school Assists

1. Sarah Facemyer, Sissonville 10

1. Tara Hammond, Nitro 10

1. Lindsay Valleau, Nitro 10

4. Alyssa Peal, Riverside 8

5. Becky Molinini, GW 7

6. Lindsey Henley, Winfield 5

6. Arin Ingraham, Winfield 5

6. Kim Spencer, Winfield 5

6. Megan Wojcik, SA 5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Shutouts

Player, school Shutouts

1. Rachel Chafin, Winfield 5

2. Emily Groves, Catholic 4

2. Mandy Resvaloso, Nitro 4

2. Carrie Taylor, Hurricane 4

2. Katy Taylor, GW 4

2. Stefani Workman, Poca 4

7. Heather Faber, Riverside 3

7. Emily Facemyer, Sissonville 3

9. Katie Berg, SA 2

Tuesday's games

Riverside 0 0 1 0 - 1

Nitro 0 2 3 0 - 5

Nitro goals - Tara Hammond, Katie Begley, Amy Myers 2, CarisaMcKee.

Nitro assists - Lindsey Valleau, Amy Myers 2.

Riverside goal - Ciara Chic.

Record: Nitro 6-6-2.

Poca 1, Charleston Catholic 0

Poca goals: Meredith Jividen.

Record: Poca 8-5-1, Catholic 5-4-4.

HIGH SCHOOL

Today's matches

Capital, Van, St. Albans at Shawnee

At Deer Run

Wahama 161, Buffalo 195

Medalists: Wahama - John Smith 38. Buffalo - Clark Combs 42.

At Sleepy Hollow

Hurricane 167, George Washington 171

Medalists: Hurricane - Ronnie Donahoe 37; GW - Justin Richard 40.

At Sandy Brae

George Washington 164, Sissonville 171

Medalists: GW - Steve Cuervo 36; Sissonville - Phil Holley 38,Matt Hicks 38.

COLLEGE

WVU Tech def. Fairmont State (6-15, 8-15, 15-9, 15-11, 15-12).

HIGH SCHOOL

Ripley def. Calhoun Co. 15-6, 15-2.

Ritchie Co. def. Calhoun Co. 15-1, 15-1.

Ripley def. Ritchie Co. 15-3, 15-9.

RUNWV COACHES POLL

Class AAA Girls

1. Fairmont Senior

2. East Fairmont

3. Elkins

4. North Marion

5. University

6. Hampshire

6. Morgantown

6. Parkersburg

9. Cabell Midland

10. Wheeling Park

Class AA-A Girls

1. Grafton

2. Doddridge County

3. Williamstown

4. Charleston Catholic

5. Ritchie County

6. Winfield

7. PikeView

8. Magnolia

9. Berkeley Springs

9. Gilmer County

Class AAA Boys

1. Fairmont Senior

2. Morgantown

3. Hampshire

4. Preston

5. Cabell Midland

6. St. Albans

7. George Washington

8. Capital

9. Wheeling Park

10. Huntington

Class AA-A Boys

1. Doddridge County

2. Williamstown

3. Ritchie County

4. Gilmer County

5. Weir

6. Grafton

7. Ravenswood

8. Charleston Catholic

9. PikeView

10. Sissonville

Vonlanthen joins Zurich on loan deal from Salzburg

FC Zurich has signed Switzerland winger Johan Vonlanthen on a season-long loan deal from Red Bull Salzburg.

Zurich said Monday on its Web site that it had an option to make the move permanent next June.

The switch brings the 23-year-old Vonlanthen back to Switzerland for the season leading up to the 2010 World Cup.

National team coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has asked his players to prepare for the tournament in South Africa by taking on leadership roles at their clubs, and for some to consider returning to Switzerland.

Vonlanthen played in Switzerland's first three games after Hitzfeld took charge a year ago, but has not featured since the Swiss were beaten 2-1 by Luxembourg in a home qualifier last September. That upset is Hitzfeld's only loss in nine matches.

Vonlanthen made his international mark aged 18 at the 2004 European Championship when his goal against France broke Wayne Rooney's record as the youngest scorer at a Euro tournament.

He missed the 2006 World Cup through injury but played in all three Switzerland matches when it hosted Euro 2008.

Open dump closings have human impact

Brazil's estimated 16,000 open dumps are gradually being upgraded to controlled landfills, according to Cempre, a nonprofit recycling organization supported by Brazilian industry. While this is good for the environment, the modernization presents the problem of what to do with "catadores" who depend on scavenging as a way of life. City officials agree that alternative work must be found for catadores, who historically live and work in squalid conditions. One strategy is employing them in recycling programs.

In the city of Porto Alegre, 500 catadores used to live in the old dump on the city's north side. The Catholic Church and the city government now employ 120 ex-catadores who separate materials collected through the curbside recycling program, one of Brazil's largest. The city of Santos also has opted for professional training of catadores displaced when the dump closed in 1989. They now wear uniforms and collect recyclables in the streets with standardized carts. In Rio de Janeiro, a similar plan is being developed. Nearly 500 catadores at the city's gigantic Gramacho dump will have a chance to be retrained and employed at a mixed waste processing plant that will recover materials from 5,500 tons/day of refuse

Metro center a step closer

Groundbreaking today; construction to start in spring

The turning of dirt today at Southridge Business Park is only aceremonial groundbreaking but it's the first physical sign of theconstruction that will eventually yield a new $3.6 million MetroEmergency Communications Center for Kanawha County.

The real construction will begin next spring and the building isto be ready for operation by the spring of 2005, Director CarolynCharnock said.

The new center will provide four times as much space as thecurrent center in Charleston City Hall, which Charnock said isappropriate because the agency's duties have quadrupled since itbegan 17 years ago. Metro handles 911 emergency calls for all of theunincorporated portions of Kanawha County and every municipalityexcept for South Charleston and St. Albans, and some communitieswould like the center to handle non-emergency calls as well.

"So we're building a center that will last into the future,"Charnock said.

The building will have a total of 13,500-square-feet, including a4,000-square-foot call center, which is four times the size of thecurrent call center. It will also include a 1,100-square-foot "warroom," or command center, that would be used during times ofemergency, Charnock said. The rest of the center will includeoffices, equipment rooms, bunk areas, showers and a kitchen.

"When other areas of the county are experiencing outages, we haveto be able to sustain," Charnock said.

Kanawha County officials had held up work on the new center in thehope that the state might be able to join in the project. Stateagencies that had considered moving there included the Office ofEmergency Services and the fire marshal's office.

But Charnock said the state and the county were turned down for agrant that might have paid for that consolidation, so the county isgoing ahead on its own. "I would say there's still opportunity forcooperation," she said, although not for the full consolidation,which would have required more land than the county has obtained atSouthridge.

Charnock would at least like the new Metro 911 center to be ableto serve as a backup for the state Office of Emergency Services. Shesaid there is room for the war room to be expanded to accommodatethat.

The structural and technical aspects of the center have beendesigned with homeland security requirements in mind, Charnock said.Without going into detail, she said that compared to the currentcenter, it will be "more durable and more likely to sustain disastersboth natural and manmade."

Other improvements over the current center will include moresophisticated equipment to locate callers and better radiocommunication with field units, Charnock said.

The whole facility will be named the Ned Chilton 911 Center forthe late Charleston Gazette publisher who is credited with gettingCharleston and the county to operate a combined center instead of twoseparate centers. The war room will be named the G. Kemp MeltonEmergency Operations Center after the late mayor of Charleston whowas instrumental in the effort to establish a board separate fromcity government to operate the emergency communications system.

Writer Jim Wallace can be reached at 348-4819 or by e-mail atjimw@dailymail.com.

-30-

The days after...Creating a disaster plan - there's no time like now

Then - a storm rages, streets are flooded and phone lines are down. Now - two planes slam into the World Trade Center's twin towers and another into the Pentagon and a third into a remote field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11. Dealing with natural disasters like fires and floods used to be somewhat normal, yet unpredictable. Now disasters are more than unpredictable; they are scenes straight out of a Stephen King novel. A business has only one chance - therefore it is important to establish a disaster plan or rethink the one currently in place.

But, where does a financial institution begin? A business contingency plan is the answer to the unexpected business interruption. According to Larry Herriott, in the article "Business Contingency Planning Is ..." written for the Disaster Recovery Journal, the business contingency plan's objectives are to ensure continuity and survival of the business, provide protection of corporate assets, provide management control of risks and exposures, provide preventative measures where executed will permit an effective resumption of interrupted business functions or computer operations.

To begin the process, Jane Applegate in an article Guard Against Disaster written for the financial subsidiary of CNN Network, CNNfn, a financial institution should ask the following questions:

* Where would your bank's employees work if the office lost all power or was damaged by fire or flood?

* Can your institution arrange to share space temporarily with another business?

* Does your institution have copies of all its essential business records in case computer systems are damaged?

* How would the bank keep in touch with its customers, clients and suppliers if the office was closed?

* How would the institution keep in touch with each other?

The mission: create a disaster plan that makes sense.

Loss of power should also be of concern to an institution, notes Dorothy N. Gray, president, Data Control Specialists, Inc., in an article on her company's web site, "Disaster Plan Should Address Routine Electricity Needs." When asked what institutions would do in case of an outage, many bankers said they would arrange to bring in a power generator. That's the logical answer, but if an entire community is affected there won't be enough generators to serve everyone in the community, Gray added.

A bank disaster recovery plan should include a list of companies that supply generators, along with their locations and telephone numbers. Gray also notes that the plan should specify the generator type and capacity the bank requires, as well as the type of fuel it uses. It is suggested to call the telephone numbers listed in the plan to verify the companies are still in business and the numbers are correct.

Keeping the financial institution's data stored in an off-site location so that it can recover more quickly is also essential, in the article How to Protect Your Business from Disasters released by SafeBackup.net in Tampa, Fla.

For example, Bank of America demonstrated how beneficial it is to store data in safe houses during the week of the attacks. Bank of America was fully operational within less than one hour and had not lost any transactions in the process.

SafeBackup.net poses several questions to consider when locating storage space for data that include:

* Is the facility open to the public?

* What kind of physical and digital security does the provider supply?

* Is the building designed to withstand the forces of nature?

* Does the company keep the location of their storage buildings secret?

Disaster recovery planning can be expensive. For most institutions, monies must be allocated for personnel, alternate sites, network recovery and off-site storage. Further increasing the cost of recovery is the fact that the traditional role of disaster recovery planning has now evolved into corporate contingency planning, according to John Watkins in the article Justifying the Contingency Plan written for the Disaster Recovery Journal. Plans are written so that not only will the data center be recovered but all vital business function, as well, added Watkins.

How does an institution determine the money and resources to devote to contingency planning? The answer, according to Watkins, is the business impact analysis, which serves the following purposes: identify the potential risks; estimate the effects of a disaster on the organization; and determine the requirements for a recovery strategy.

"Hard dollar figures with an emphasis on estimates of lost revenues and productivity will make a more lasting impression on management than a hazy and subjective analysis," Watkins said.

The impact analysis should identify the key computer systems and business functions that are vital to an organization and specify how fast those systems and functions need to be brought back online so that business will not be severely interrupted. Many departments will need to become involved and be interviewed as to their needs and what impact each has on the institution. The impact analysis will then rank the order in which different systems will be brought back online. The analysis can save an institution money by ranking the order of importance. Since not every computer application or business function is mission critical to an institution, an institution might find that there are quite a few functions that fall under the "restore later" category.

"With senior management looking at all projects with an eye toward the bottom line, the business impact analysis is an important tool to justify the contingency planning," adds Watkins.

Many resources are available for financial institutions that are looking to create a comprehensive disaster plan or expand its current plan to include areas previously left out. There are also seminars and events nationwide that focus on contingency planning. Events like the International Disaster Recovery Symposium and Exhibition or the Contingency Planning Association with chapters in Oklahoma that hold monthly meetings in Tulsa. Other chapters are located throughout the United States.

Crackdown on money laundering

As a proactive move following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the Bush administration has unveiled a new strategy to fight money laundering targeting mainly the big illicit operations that could potentially be used by terrorist groups.

The fight against money laundering - the process of moving money from illegal sales of arms or drugs, political corruption, prostitution and other illicit activities through a series of bank accounts or disguise them as proceeds from a legitimate business - has obviously gained new urgency since the attacks almost a month ago. The launderer might choose to invest the funds in real estate, luxury assets or business ventures.

The International Monetary Fund has stated that the aggregate size of money laundering in the world could be somewhere between 2% and 5% of the world's gross domestic product.

According to the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, money launderers generally tend to seek out areas, which is a low risk of detection due to weak or ineffective anti-money laundering programs. Because the idea is to get the illegal funds back to the individual who generated them, launderers usually prefer to move funds through areas with stable financial systems.

If funds from the launderers can be easily processed through a particular institution, the institution could be drawn into activity and become a part of the criminal network itself. Evidence of such complicity will have a damaging effect on attitudes of other financial institutions and regulatory authorities, as well as customers, according to the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

The Financial Action Task Force adds that economies with growing or developing financial centers, but inadequate controls are particularly vulnerable. Launderers, who tend to move their networks to countries and financial systems with weak or ineffective countermeasures, will exploit the differences in national anti-money laundering systems. As with the damaged integrity of an individual financial institution, there is a damping effect on foreign investment when a country's commercial and financial sectors are perceived to be subject to the control of organized crime.

Fighting money laundering gets to the criminal where he or she is vulnerable. Without a usable profit, the criminal activity will not continue.

To aid in this task, the Treasury Department will direct a newly formed interagency program called the Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTAT). The FTAT will aim to develop a "big-picture profile of the financial infrastructure of terrorist groups," said Jimmy Gurule, treasury under secretary for enforcement. "We will be following the money trail wherever it leads."

The Treasury is also discussing the possibility of attaching anti-money laundering elements to an antiterrorism bill expected to be introduced soon. Among those elements are:

* expanded authority for the Secret Service to work with the FBI in money laundering investigations related to terrorism; and

* exemption to current law to allow the Internal Revenue Service to share certain tax-related information with investigators looking into terrorist activities.

Osama Bin Laden, whom the U.S. government has identified as the No. 1 suspect in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. is believed to use the Hawala, an ancient underground banking system in the Middle East and Far East, which shifts large amounts of cash between small teams of people in different locations. It can only be exposed if a link in the human chain deposits funds in a financial institution. With everything done verbally on a personal trust basis, it is easy to obscure the money trail.

According to government sources, this system is similar in concept to the Western hemisphere's biggest money-laundering network, the black-market peso exchange, used by drug cartels.

The FBI has asked all U.S. financial institutions and foreign banks with operations in this country to check their records for any relationships or transactions with the individuals who have been named as being under investigation by the law enforcement agency.

Investigators are also looking at Suspicious Activity Reports filed by financial institutions in the U.S. and other countries that would signal account records or financial institutions that would have facilitated in the movement of funds that financed the terrorist attacks.

A hotline has been established by the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for financial institutions to voluntarily report suspicious transactions that may relate to the terrorist activity of Sept. 11. The number is 866-556-3974.

[Author Affiliation]

by Amy Buck-Lanter, associate editor

ESPN to use video conferencing for WCup interviews

ESPN will use video conferencing to interview coaches and athletes from the most remote World Cup sites.

The network announced Thursday that it will set up Cisco TelePresence systems in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth for the tournament in South Africa starting next month.

That will allow ESPN to produce more reports on off days from the two far-flung cities as part of its expanded World Cup coverage instead of being limited by using expensive satellite trucks.

Eight of the 10 venues for the tournament are clustered loosely around Johannesburg in the country's northeast, while Port Elizabeth and Cape Town are on the southern and southwest coast.

Brazil bank may loan $700M to Argentine airline

Brazil's national development bank is looking to loan up to $700 million to Argentina's national airline to buy Brazilian-made planes.

A spokesman with the development bank says Aerolineas Argentinas requested the loan and the bank is studying it.

But the spokesman _ who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter _ said nothing is finalized.

The airline would use the money to buy planes from Embraer.

The jet maker recently laid off 4,200 employees _ 20 percent of its work force.

Trainer expects Kauto Star 4th King George VI win

Kauto Star's trainer expects jump racing's highest-ever rated horse to become the first ever to win the King George VI Chase title four years in a row on Saturday.

Kauto Star has already equaled the three straight wins of legendary gray Desert Orchid in the 4.8-kilometer (3-mile) jump race and is rated an 8-13 favorite by bookmakers to go one better.

That makes him an even stronger favorite than last year and trainer Paul Nicholls will be more surprised if he fails than wins. Officials at Kempton racecourse have already printed No. 4 cards for spectators to wave in honor of the 9-year-old horse.

"Kauto is in great form," Nicholls said. "It is all systems go and there really are no excuses.

"He has been in training a long time. He looks better and is sharper and I couldn't be happier with him at the moment."

Kauto Star won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March by 13 lengths from the Nicholls-trained Denman but was run close in his first race this season before edging Imperial Commander in a photo finish at Haydock last month.

Imperial Commander is rated a 6-1 second favorite at Kempton, and Nicholls said his horse has improved sufficiently since then to prevent such a close race this time.

"He looks great and has come on a ton since Haydock," Nicholls said. "The idea was that race was always going to mentally sharpen him up."

Kauto Star beat Albertas Run by eight lengths last year to match Desert Orchid's 1988-90 streak in the 72-year-old race. Desert Orchid, which also won in 1986, is the only horse to have won four times.

Victory on Saturday would make Nicholls the most successful ever trainer. He also won with See More Business in 1997 and '99.

Madison Du Berlais, the winner of last year's 3.3-mile (5.3-kilometer) Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, is a 10-1 shot and third favorite.

Golf means never taking anything for granted

SANDWICH, England (AP) — Dustin Johnson probably doesn't think he'll have to wait 15 years to win a major.

He already has won four times in his four years on the PGA Tour, and he has played in the final group at three of the last six majors. That doesn't happen by accident. To say Johnson is the most talented American golfer won't get much of an argument.

Then again, a young Darren Clarke might have thought the same thing.

Clarke was among the new faces in European golf that helped inspire a slow revival in the late 1990s. He might not have had the raw skill of someone like Johnson, but a major figured to be in his future. He played in the final group at Royal Troon in 1997. He took down Tiger Woods at the 2000 Match Play Championship when Woods was at the absolute top of his game. Then came another close call a year later in the British Open.

His major finally arrived Sunday, a month before he turns 43, his head full of gray hair and his belly bulging.

But at least he got there.

"The hardest thing with Darren was that he's been slightly labeled an underachiever. And he was," his agent, Chubby Chandler, said in the glowing aftermath Sunday evening. "He had the talent to win a major, an Open, but it didn't happen. For it to happen like this is just amazing. Now he's no longer an underachiever."

Clarke became the third-oldest player to win his first major, trailing only 45-year-old Jerry Barber in the 1961 PGA Championship and Roberto De Vicenzo at 44 in the 1967 British Open.

There are others like Clarke who were on the downside of their prime years when they won a major. Two that come to mind are Tom Kite, who was 42 when he won the U.S. Open, and Mark O'Meara, who was 41 when he won the Masters and British Open.

One reminder from this British Open is that there are no guarantees in golf. The game owes nothing to anyone.

Johnson would seem to be a lock to win a major, simply by the experience he has been gaining, even if it's the kind he'd rather forget. But hard knocks also raise questions.

There was that atrocious start at Pebble Beach last year on his way to an 82, his dubious two-shot penalty on the final hole of Whistling Straits last year at PGA Championship when he didn't realize he was in a bunker, and that 2-iron on the 14th hole of Royal St. George's on Sunday.

Surely, he'll figure it out soon.

But wasn't that also said of Sergio Garcia?

Garcia had it far more difficult, playing in an era when Woods was winning majors just about every year. The Spaniard is only 31, although it seems as though he's been around much longer because he has been in the mix at majors so much. As a 19-year-old rookie, he nearly came from behind to catch Woods at Medinah. He played with Woods in the final group twice more in majors, and when Woods wasn't around, Garcia found another nemesis while losing two majors to Padraig Harrington.

A dozen years after he roared onto the scene, Garcia still hasn't won the big one. And this year, his game reached a point that he was happy just to be playing in the last two majors.

And then there's 38-year-old Lee Westwood.

As happy as he was for one of his best friends winning the Open, part of Westwood had to be asking, "When will it be my turn?"

Twice in the last four years, he missed out on a playoff in the majors by one shot. He had the 54-hole lead at the Masters last year and was beaten by better golf from Phil Mickelson. Westwood kept getting better to the point that he reached No. 1 in the world.

But still no major.

"Lee has done everything he can do to get himself into contention to win," Clarke said. "Unfortunately, he's had guys that have played better than him on quite a few occasions, or they've had the bounce of the ball or things going their way. Right now, things haven't gone his way, but I'm sure that they will go his way because he's too good a player to not go his way."

True.

But the same could have been said of Colin Montgomerie.

He won a record eight money titles on the European Tour. He twice got into a playoff at the majors, losing both of them. Then came what appeared to be a Clarke-type moment at Winged Foot in 2006 when Montgomerie, at age 42, had a chance to win a U.S. Open. From the middle of the 18th fairway, he chunked a 7-iron and made double bogey. That shot might explain why Monty never won a major.

Everyone makes blunders in the majors — Kite, O'Meara, Tom Watson — and they eventually figure it out.

But not always.

"The game is fickle," Clarke said. "It hammers you, it hammers you, and then it gives you something. Of all people, I think Lee Westwood deserves something to be given to him. And I'm very sure that he will win majors, and not just a major."

That's what was said of Rory McIlroy before he won the U.S. Open last month by eight shots with a record score. Some players — with an Irish accent, it should be noted — began the countdown to Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors. Then came the British Open, and a curious complaint from McIlroy that he doesn't like playing in the wind.

Adding to the pressure of Westwood is that four players from Chandler's stable at International Sports Management have won the last five majors — Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, McIlroy and now Clarke.

Everyone but Westwood.

"That will be hard on him," Clarke said. "But if I was a gambling man ... I would have a substantial bet on Lee Westwood winning the PGA in Atlanta. I hope he does."

Hope isn't enough.

Hamas Pressures Reporter's Kidnappers

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen on Tuesday took up positions around the stronghold of the shadowy group holding kidnapped British journalist Alan Johnston, stepping up the pressure to secure the correspondent's release.

Members of Hamas' 6,000-strong militia moved onto rooftops of high-rise buildings and deployed gunmen in streets in the Gaza City neighborhood inhabited by the Doghmush clan. The large, heavily armed family leads the Army of Islam, a little known group that has been holding Johnston for nearly four months.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Abu Hilal said security forces "will not spare any efforts to free the British journalist." Hamas radio also broadcast a toll free phone number, urging people to call in any information about the case. Witnesses said at least four members of the Doghmush clan were detained by Hamas.

Since seizing control of Gaza last month, Hamas has demanded Johnston's release in an apparent bid to gain favor with the West.

The Army of Islam, whose formerly close relations with Hamas have soured, has demanded that Britain first release a radical Islamic cleric with ties to al-Qaida. It also has threatened to kill Johnston if Hamas tried to free him by force.

On Monday, Hamas arrested the spokesman of the Army of Islam, giving it a potentially valuable bargaining chip in its efforts to release Johnston.

Johnston, who was kidnapped on March 12, has been held far longer than any Western journalist abducted in Gaza. Hamas has said it knows where to find him, but has not raided the hideout for fear he will come to harm.

Last week, the Army of Islam posted a video message from Johnston on a militant Web site in which he appeared to be wearing an explosives belt that he said his captors would detonate if there was an attempt to free him.

The same group was involved in the capture of Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was seized more than a year ago in a raid on an Israeli army post near Gaza.

Tell Me About It: ; Parental politics upset girlfriend; Man worried past will hurt potential new relationships

DEAR CAROLYN: I am 29 and have been dating a wonderful man forover two years now. We get along fantastically, even though we arepolitical opposites (yes, people have made the Carville-Matalincomparison many, many times). The problem? His parents. They assumethat, since I'm dating their son, I must feel the same waypolitically that he does. They spend much time slamming causes Ibelieve in. They mock politicians I have voted for. They tell jokesI find offensive. I just sort of say, "Hmmmm ..." every once in awhile and smile mildly. I'm not stupid enough to stand up and say,"For the love of humanity, I am a (insert affiliation here)!" At thesame time, there have been moments when I have been incrediblyuncomfortable. Am I being a wimp? Am I misleading them? Or am Isimply being a polite guest who may one day be a daughter-in-law?

Politically Incorrect

Seems to me you've got plenty in common. You're both being wimps,you're both misleading his parents, and neither of you is beingpolite when you just sit there and pretend nothing's wrong whilethey have the conversational equivalent of spinach chunks in theirteeth.

Why didn't one of you, upon the first dinner-table mention ofpolitics, make a "Watch it, you're dining with the enemy" joke?Imagine how the parents will feel at the maybe-someday rehearsaldinner, while the inevitable Carville-Matalinisms fly, uponrealizing that you're not what they'd always assumed. Sure, theyshouldn't have assumed, but will such subtleties as sharedresponsibility really matter whilst they page through their memoriesof all those conversations, all those jokes, all those hmmms, andthink, "Our new daughter-in-law is a squid"?

It's probably too late now for you to rip off the Band-Aidwithout scarring the delicate parent-interloper relationship, butyour boyfriend still could. He could tell them the truth when you'renot around, explaining that you kept quiet both out of courtesy andyour belief that politics are a private matter of conscience - feelfree to wing it here - and that he's the one who lacked the guts tosay something sooner. Clearly both of you are at fault here, buthe's their son and they presumably love him regardless, so let himtake the hit. Besides, as the sole Outsider you've always been inthe more vulnerable spot, so he should have stepped into the breachfor you, upon Offensive Utterance One.

Next, you all need to change the subject. If it comes up, though,you will promise to have a 24-hour sense of humor about it. That'syour penalty for serial inertness in the face of an ongoing socialchallenge. The exception is in the event of hate-basedoffensiveness, which transcends politics and is your cue to call ita night.

DEAR CAROLYN:

I am a 30-year-old guy who had a pretty rough childhood. Therapyhas been really helpful and the next step is attending AdultChildren of Alcoholics meetings two or three times a week. I haven'tdated anyone seriously in the past few years, due to therapy and tohaving moved a few times, but now that I am settled I'm sure I'll bedating more.

My question is: Do people avoid those of us with "baggage"? Idon't want to lie about where I go three times a week (there areonly so many "late meetings" one can have), but I also don't want toreveal too much too soon.

To add to the complexity, I am gay and the men I've met in my newtown seem to be more image-conscious than most. I realize "the rightguy" will accept me as I am, but I am concerned about people ingeneral.

Adam

How can I put this PC-ly. ... If I were on a scavenger hunt and Iwere instructed to locate an emotionally tranquil childhood, Iwouldn't go looking in gay bars.

But that's beside the point, especially when the point is theequal-opportunity less-than-idyllic upbringing. You want to know howpeople feel about baggage? How's "intimately familiar?" We all haveit, whether it's an evening clutch or a steamer trunk, so as long asyou manage it without hogging the entire overhead compartment,people will like you just fine.

Just watch out for the ones who like your baggage just fine. Themore eager you are to be liked, the more vulnerable you'll be topeople who feed off pain. Even if they mean well, that's the lastthing you need when you're trying to leave pain behind.

DEAR CAROLYN:

I have been dating a guy for about two months and we have a tripplanned in November. He has suggested that we return married. I am22 and I feel that I love this guy enough to marry him (yes, evenafter two months) and I know he loves me, too. Everything in life isrisky, right? So why not just go for it? Problem is, I think myparents would disown me - and I think, deep down inside, I wouldlike an old-fashioned wedding and the beautiful dress. But theeloping is so spontaneous and much more like me!! I guess I'm justlooking for someone to say, yes, risky is good, or no, risky is bad.

B.B.

How about: Yes, stupid is stupid. Forget risky - what matters isthat you're weighing the decision to get married in terms of whichceremony best suits your personality. Groom shmoom, let's talkdress!

(Roll ergonomic chair away from desk. Bang head against wall.Weep.)

The only thing worth a bag of seed pearls in this whole weddingprocess is the person you marry. You can try, but you won't persuademe that you can judge someone's long-term compatibility, patiencewith your flaws, emotional consistency, ability to hold down a job,strength under pressure, respect for family, respect for you and,the big one, sheer gut-level tolerability after illness has confinedyou to the same house together for days and days and days all in"about two months."

You're 22, you just took full possession of the keys to the restof your life. Don't drive it into a wall.

Write to "Tell Me About It," c/o The Washington Post, Style Plus,1150 15th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or e-mail:tellme@washpost.com. Chat online with Carolyn each Friday at noonand Monday at 3 p.m., both Eastern time, at www.washingtonpost.com.

An old-fashioned, rip-snorting Arctic yarn

The Ice Master A Novel of the Arctic. By James Houston (McClelland& Stewart, $29.99).James Houston, a Canadian-born novelist, artist, documentaryfilmmaker and master designer for Steuben Glass, takes us to theArctic in The Ice Master, a novel about an encounter between a Yankeewhaler, a young Canadian sea captain, and some Eskimos on a smallisland in the Cumberland Sound off Baffin Island in 1876.

This is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned adventure story, packedwith information about whaling and Eskimo life a century ago, andbeautifully illustrated with the author's sketches.

Caleb Dunston is an overbearing, temperamental whaler who isforced by his employers to sail …

Latvia's 2007 GDP hits 10.2 percent, while annual inflation reaches 16.7 percent

Latvia's gross domestic product jumped 10.2 percent last year while inflation continues to dog the country, growing for the ninth consecutive month in February to reach an overheated 16.7 percent, the statistics agency announced Monday.

The GDP result will likely allow the Baltic state to keep its title as the European Union's fastest growing economy, which it earned in 2006 after GDP expanded 11.9 percent.

Growth was led by the transportation and construction sectors, up 11.6 and 12.4 percent respectively, though manufacturing was down 3.1 percent, Statistics Latvia announced.

For over a year now Latvia has struggled with imbalances from …

Soriano Collects 40 HRs, 40 Stolen Bases

WASHINGTON - Waiting in Alfonso Soriano's locker after Saturday night's game was the final piece of what is surely going to be an impressive display: the stolen base that entered him into the elite 40-40 club. Soriano became the fourth player in major league history to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season when he swiped second in the first inning of the Washington Nationals' 8-5 win over Milwaukee. Soriano has 40 steals to go along with 45 home runs.

Soriano is going to add the base and the spikes he was wearing to his personal collection, which includes the bat and batting gloves he used when he hit his 40th home run Aug. 19.

"I'm going to show them …

Soriano Collects 40 HRs, 40 Stolen Bases

WASHINGTON - Waiting in Alfonso Soriano's locker after Saturday night's game was the final piece of what is surely going to be an impressive display: the stolen base that entered him into the elite 40-40 club. Soriano became the fourth player in major league history to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season when he swiped second in the first inning of the Washington Nationals' 8-5 win over Milwaukee. Soriano has 40 steals to go along with 45 home runs.

Soriano is going to add the base and the spikes he was wearing to his personal collection, which includes the bat and batting gloves he used when he hit his 40th home run Aug. 19.

"I'm going to show them …

Soriano Collects 40 HRs, 40 Stolen Bases

WASHINGTON - Waiting in Alfonso Soriano's locker after Saturday night's game was the final piece of what is surely going to be an impressive display: the stolen base that entered him into the elite 40-40 club. Soriano became the fourth player in major league history to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season when he swiped second in the first inning of the Washington Nationals' 8-5 win over Milwaukee. Soriano has 40 steals to go along with 45 home runs.

Soriano is going to add the base and the spikes he was wearing to his personal collection, which includes the bat and batting gloves he used when he hit his 40th home run Aug. 19.

"I'm going to show them …

Fiserv to acquire three firms

Fiserv, Inc., Brookfield, Wis., has announced an agreement to acquire JWGenesis Clearing Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of JW Genesis Financial Corp., Boca Raton, Fla., and another to acquire two affiliated companies that provide specialized workers compensation administrative software systems for the insurance industry-Progressive Data Solutions Inc. (PDS) and Infinity Software Systems, Inc. (Infinity).

Fiserv said that the acquisition of JWGenesis will complement the growing portfolio of brokerage services available through the Fiserv Securities Processing Group.

"This agreement is part of the Fiserv strategy to build a significant presence in the correspondent …