Venezuela orders 1 million laptops from Portugal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday ordered 1 million low-cost laptops from Portugal _ one of several bilateral deals that Portuguese officials valued at more than US$3 billion.

The agreements cover housing, utility infrastructure and energy cooperation.

"We are building a solid relationship" with Portugal, Chavez said at a signing ceremony in Lisbon. "We have negotiated (these deals) with our mutual interests in mind."

The blue-and-white laptops _ based on Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC design _ are manufactured under license in Portugal and are primarily aimed at schoolchildren in developing countries. They contain the …

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL: ; Hoops title would 'mean more' to Irish duo

Less than a month ago, the Charleston Catholic High School girlssoccer team was celebrating its third consecutive Class A statechampionship.

Many of those same athletes would like nothing more than to taketheir successes from the soccer field and carry them over to thebasketball court.

While the Irish might be a long way away from reaching thatchampionship goal, Catholic got its season off to a great start,handily defeating Parkersburg Catholic, 41-24, Thursday at theCharleston Catholic Athletic Complex.

Meg Whelan and Victoria Thomas have played pivotal roles in allthree state championship soccer teams, but are looking for more.

"For …

At Least 100 Iraqis Killed or Found Dead

BAGHDAD - A car bomb exploded Tuesday at an outdoor market in a Shiite area of Baghdad, killing 25 people and wounding at least 60 - the deadliest in a string of attacks that stoked sectarian tension in and around the capital.

The blast occurred in Amil, one of a cluster of neighborhoods in southwestern Baghdad where Sunni-Shiite tension is running high three months after the start of the U.S.-led security crackdown.

Following the blast, terrified survivors ran through the streets hauling buckets and pots of water to try to put out fires in shops that were shattered by the bomb. Volunteers tore through the rubble, searching for survivors.

Sami Hussein, 25, was …

Japan richest man: goverment policy 'superficial'

Japanese billionaire clothing retailer Tadashi Yanai criticized his government's response to a severe recession as too tepid and called for tax cuts to spur domestic consumption.

Yanai, chief executive of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd, said the government should shift Japan's economy away from dependence on exports and provide incentives for domestic producers. He said recent government cash handouts have been ineffective because recipients are saving the money.

"The current policy is very superficial. It's not a fundamental solution to revive the economy," Yanai told The Associated Press on Monday. "The government is focusing too much on the export …

Survivor in western AZ shooting in good condition

A woman who survived a weekend shooting that left five people dead in western Arizona told a 911 dispatcher that she was shot in the neck and wasn't sure whether others around her were breathing.

Deborah Nyland, 44, was listed in good condition Tuesday at Sunrise Medical Center in Las Vegas, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Nyland called 911 just before midnight Saturday to report a gunman had shot several people at a Lake Havasu City home. She tells a dispatcher that a brown-haired man wearing a blue T-shirt entered the home and started firing at people there with a handgun.

"Do you know where they're at?" the dispatcher asks.

…

Understanding e-Body Language: Building Trust Online

BEING YOUR "BEST" ENTREPRENEUR Understanding e-Body Language: Building Trust Online by Robert T. Whipple 2006. Rochester, NY: Productivity Publications 270 pages, Softcover, $8.48

Intended Audience: All

Major Headings from Table of Contents:

Anatomy of an E-mail; Tone; Using e-body Language; Timing Issues; Managing E-mail; Technical Writing Issues; Instant Messaging and Chat; e-xcellence: a Competitive Weapon.

How is the book most useful for its intended audience?

Offers guidance regarding online communications

The top things you learned from reading this book:

That e-body language is being relaying in your electronic communications, even …

Russia Bombers in Exercises Near France

Two of Russia's strategic bombers made a long-range flight to fire missiles during naval exercises in the Bay of Biscay off France, an air force spokesman said Tuesday, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

The exercises in waters off France's southwestern coast reflected Russia's increasing military assertiveness, demonstrating that armed forces once severely undermined by funding shortages are returning to strength as Russia's economy booms.

The two Tu-160s _ called "Blackjacks" by NATO _ were intercepted and then tailed by British and Norwegian jets as they flew over international waters to participate in the exercises, Col. Alexander …