Comments on Irish 'yes' to Lisbon Treaty

Reaction to Ireland's 'yes' vote to the Lisbon Treaty:

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Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU presidency:

"Today is a good day for Europe. It has been a long journey."

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Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt:

This is "an important victory for Ireland _ and for all of Europe!"

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Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, who directed the 'yes' campaign:

"I'm absolutely delighted for the country. It's good for Ireland, because I do passionately believe our future is in the European Union."

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European …

Moon Stamp Star of Auction

Ghostly figures plant an American flag on the Moon on a stampthat could bring more than $3,000 at an auction Memorial Day,following the COMPEX '95 show.

The stamp is a $2.40 priority mail Moon Landing stamp withoutthe black printing that gives detail and shadows to the space suitsand the moon's surface.

It's valued at $3,500 in the Postal Service Guide to U.S.Stamps, 1995 edition. The auctioneer, Richard E. Drews, of StampKing, 7139 W. Higgins, estimated that it will bring in $1,800 to$3,000.

His auction will be held May 29, after the three-day COMPEX'95 show, which is expected to attract more than 70 dealers.

COMPEX is being held at The …

Ceremony honors Jews killed by Polish neighbors

JEDWABNE, Poland (AP) — Poland's president made a repeated apology during ceremonies on Sunday marking 70 years since Polish villagers murdered hundreds of their Jewish neighbors in a World War II massacre that caused painful soul-searching in Poland when it was revealed in 2000.

An agonizing debate at the time forced Poles to modify their belief, shaped by decades of communist-era propaganda, that they were always heroic victims — never collaborators — in Nazi-era atrocities.

The date of the massacre in the village of Jedwabne, some 190 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Warsaw, has entered Poland's remembrance calendar and the state and church leaders have apologized. But …

NATO: Developments now favor alliance war effort.

NATO's chief says developments in Afghanistan are turning in favor of the alliance and that the handover of security responsibilities to local authorities could begin by year's end.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told alliance defense ministers Friday that the Afghan government and international authorities will agree on how to start handing over security, province by …

Michigan at a Glance

COACH: Lloyd Carr, second season. 1995 RECORD: 9-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten. LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Lost to Texas A&M 22-20 in 1995 Alamo Bowl. STARTERS RETURNING: 14; offense 5, defense 9. PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Scott Dreisbach, LB Jarrett Irons, K RemyHamilton. NEWCOMERS TO WATCH: TB Chris Howard, TB Clarence Williams. GOOD NEWS IF: Scott Dreisbach continues promising start before hewas injured last season and new skill players step in well. BAD NEWS IF: Difficult early schedule takes its toll and defensedoesn't carry a big load. OUTLOOK: Michigan is a perennial Rose Bowl contender, and this yearis no different. The offense has some huge shoes to fill, especiallythe skill positions. …

STUDY: U.S. STRUCTURES WOULD COVER OHIO

If all the highways, streets, buildings, parking lots, and other solid structures in the 48 contiguous United States were pieced together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, they would almost cover the state of Ohio. That is the result of a study by Christopher Elvidge of NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, who along with colleagues from several universities and agencies produced the first national map and inventory of impervious surface areas (ISA) in the United States.

As calculated by the researchers, the total impervious surface area of the 48 states and the District of Columbia is approximately 43,480 mi^sup 2^ (the total area of Ohio is 44,994 mi^sup …

Somali pirates free Yemeni ship without ransom

A Somali minister in the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland says pirates have freed a Yemeni cargo ship and its eight crew members without receiving any ransom.

State minister Ali Abdi Aware says the pirates released the ship Tuesday night after an appeal by local clan elders and regional officials.

Aware said Wednesday that "no ransom was …

KANAWHA-CHARLESTON BOARD OF HEALTH: ; Panel considers letter grades for restaurant scores

Kanawha County restaurants could soon be getting letter gradesfrom the health department.

Members of the Kanawha-Charleston Board of Health votedunanimously to explore the idea of assigning letter grades torestaurants based on inspection results at a regular meetingWednesday.

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper has been in favorof the idea for some time. Grades would correspond to a restaurant'sadherence to cleanliness and safety standards.

Several states use similar systems, Carper told board members.

The health department currently uses a report that lists allviolations at the restaurant. The report is to be posted in …

Lawyer: Nifong Knew About DNA Results

RALEIGH, N.C. - Shortly after receiving a massive pile of raw DNA test data from the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse rape case last fall, defense lawyer Brad Bannon bought a textbook in an attempt to decipher the results.

He eventually determined that genetic material from several males had been found in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player. It was information District Attorney Mike Nifong had apparently known while spending the summer insisting he had turned over all his evidence.

The finding not only helped lead to the dismissal of the criminal charges against three players, it also led to Nifong's ethics trial, at which Bannon testified …

Pitino denies rumors that he's returning to NBA

Louisville coach Rick Pitino says there is "absolutely no truth" to the rumors that he is returning to the NBA.

Pitino released a statement Saturday saying neither he nor anyone representing him has contacted the Sacramento Kings' about their vacant coaching job.

He says the rumors are hurting the Kings and misleading players he is attempting to recruit to …

Day at Beach for Kiraly, Steffes

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. The top-seeded team of Karch Kiraly andKent Steffes capped a record-breaking season Sunday by winning the$250,000 U.S. pro beach volleyball championships at the Hermosa BeachPier.

Kiraly, of San Clemente, Calif., and Steffes, of PacificPalisades, Calif., defeated the team …

Muslim groups plan rally after NY police report

NEW YORK (AP) — Muslim groups and interfaith leaders are rallying Friday in the wake of a report about New York Police Department intelligence.

A secret police document shows that the NYPD recommended increasing surveillance of thousands of Muslims and their mosques based solely on their religion.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the May 2006 NYPD …

GM, Toyota in virtual dead heat in global sales in 2007 _ sharing title GM held for 76 years

General Motors Corp.'s 76 years of global sales supremacy is ending, as totals for 2007 released on Wednesday showed the automaker in a virtual tie with Toyota Motor Corp.

GM said it sold 9,369,524 vehicles worldwide last year, up 3 percent from 2006. Earlier this month, Toyota reported global sales of 9.37 million vehicles, but the Japanese automaker did not release a number down to the last vehicle, leaving the sales race too close to call.

Detroit-based GM has held the title of world's largest automaker since the 1930s, but Toyota's strong U.S. growth and GM's U.S. sales decline helped Toyota move closer to the top spot in recent years.

John Middlebrook, GM vice president for global sales, service and marketing operations, said sales in China, Russia and Brazil helped drive the gain.

"This is the kind of emerging market growth that fuels our global performance," Middlebrook said in a statement. "Customers are responding to our fuel-efficient and dynamically-designed product lineup around the world."

GM said 2007 sales were the second best global total in the company's 100-year history and marked the third consecutive time, and fourth time ever, that GM sold more than 9 million vehicles a year.

Toyota's share of the U.S. market has more than doubled since 1990, when it controlled only 7.5 percent of the market with just over 1 million in sales, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. Its sales have grown briskly in recent years, sometimes by double digits, as people bought its smaller, fuel efficient cars with a reputation for reliability. By 2007, Toyota controlled 16.3 percent of the U.S. market, selling 2.6 million vehicles.

GM, while still the U.S. sales leader, has seen its U.S. market share drop dramatically since 1990, when it controlled about 35 percent by selling nearly 5 million vehicles. Last year GM's share was roughly 23.8 percent, with sales of 3.8 million vehicles.

GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has pledged to defend his company's title, but said it would not abandon its U.S. strategy of reducing incentives and low-profit sales to rental car companies in order to win.

"Great cars, smart marketing, growth in the emerging markets. And hopefully that will keep us on top. If not, we'll come back to work the next day and work even harder," Wagoner said earlier this month.

The title in coming years likely will be decided by sales in burgeoning markets such as China, Russia, South America and other regions with a growing middle class.

Mature markets in North America and Europe, meanwhile, are likely to post slower growth, analysts say, and Japan's auto market is shrinking.

Toyota is setting up overseas plants to achieve growth in new markets _ aiming to sell 9.85 million vehicles worldwide this year, up 5 percent from last year, under an ambitious plan it announced last month. Toyota executives also said they projected better vehicle sales in the U.S. this year.

Shoichiro Toyoda, a member of the founding family and former Toyota president, said gaining the top spot in the auto industry could be transient.

"We are not No. 1," he said when asked recently by The Associated Press how he felt about becoming the world's biggest automaker.

"It's just one moment," he said at a reception for auto manufacturers this month. "We need to just keep working harder."

Other Toyota executives have also consistently brushed off questions about becoming the global sales leader.

Some company officials acknowledge they are even nervous about wresting the honors because of fears about a U.S. political backlash reminiscent of the "Japan-bashing" in the 1980s and 90s, when the nation was accused of taking jobs from American workers.

Earlier this month, Toyota deposed Ford Motor Co. as the No. 2 auto-seller in the U.S. in 2007.

GM shares fell 31 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $23.34 in morning trading Wednesday, while Toyota's U.S. shares fell $2.85, or 2.9 percent, to $94.06.

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On the Net:

General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com

Toyota Motor Corp. http://www.toyota.com

US stocks advance moderately after sell-off

Wall Street moved cautiously higher Friday, with investors taking a breather from the heavy selling of recent days. Energy, utility and technology stocks showed some advances, but bank stocks declined sharply.

A decrease in selling pressure wasn't necessarily a surprise given the scope of the declines in the past two days. On Thursday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.7 percent to its lowest close since April 1997, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 445 points, or 5.6 percent, to its lowest finish since March 2003.

Still, analysts were quick to note that Friday's gains might not be sustainable.

"The market looks good right now, but anything can happen," said David Katz, chief investment officer of Matrix Asset Advisors.

The market "has been acting irrational and manic depressive on a daily basis, and after two gruesome days of sell-off, you're just getting a bounce up," he said. "There is really no great rhyme or reason, or new news that's driving the market."

Energy names advanced as oil prices moved off their record lows from earlier this week. Exxon Mobil Corp. rose $2.93, or 4.3 percent, to $71.44, while Marathon Oil Corp. rose $1.20, or 6.1 percent, to $20.78.

A recovery in other commodity prices helped stocks like aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., which rose 95 cents, or 14 percent, to $7.80.

Among technology stocks, Microsoft Corp. rose $1.37, or 7.8 percent, to $18.90, while Hewlett-Packard Co. rose $1.59, or 5 percent, to $33.42.

Bank stocks fell, however, led by Citigroup Inc. The stocks initially rose following a report that the banking giant was considering a sale to boost investor confidence. The bank was scheduled to hold a board meeting Friday to discuss whether to sell all or part of itself, The Wall Street Journal reported. But as no hard news emerged from the company about that possibility, Citigroup's shares tumbled to below $4 a share _ their lowest level in more than 15 years.

Bank of America Corp. fell 62 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $10.63, while Merrill Lynch & Co. fell 22 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $7.74.

"Obviously, one of the biggest issues today is Citigroup, and will that bank survive in its current form," said Joe Heider, president of Dawson Wealth Management in Cleveland. "I think we would get a bounce if it wasn't for the fact that it's Friday and the concern of having long positions over the weekend with the uncertainty of Citigroup."

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 84.34, or 1.12 percent, to 7,636.63. The Dow's rise followed a drop in the blue chips of 10.4 percent Wednesday and Thursday, the biggest two-day slide since October 1987.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.01, or 1.60 percent, to 764.45, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 13.18, or 1.00 percent, to 1,329.30.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.52, or 0.65 percent, to 382.79.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.05 billion shares. The expiration Friday of some options contracts for November could add to the market's volatility during the session, particularly in the final hour.

With the steep pullbacks this week, the Dow began Friday's session down 43.1 percent this year, while the S&P 500 index _ a benchmark for the overall U.S. stock market _ was down 48.8 percent. The Nasdaq composite index has lost 50.4 percent this year.

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago, contends the array of questions facing the market are a sign that volatility will remain a major force on Wall Street for some time to come. He said worries about marquee companies from General Motors to Citigroup are unnerving investors.

"Investors need closure. There are so many unanswered questions either before Congress, in front of the markets, in corporate boardrooms that it makes investing for the next three months virtually impossible let alone for the next five years," Ablin said. "What we're seeing is these symbols of American business history really suffering and prompting investors to call into question the viability of the system."

Investors have grown increasingly anxious this week that losses from souring debt will swamp banks, even those given financial support through the government's $700 billion rescue plan. Citigroup, in particular, is a concern for Wall Street because the company hasn't booked a profit in the past four quarters.

Investors have also worried about the fate of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. The heads of the companies, warning that automakers are perilously low on cash, have been asking Washington for $25 billion in loans. But lawmakers have likely put off a vote on whether to extend a lifeline until next month and have asked the automakers for detailed plans about how they would use the money. The prospect of a bankruptcy filing by one or more of the companies has added to Wall Street's worries about the state of the economy.

Bond prices fell Friday as credit markets eased somewhat following a freeze-up Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, jumped to 3.23 percent from 3.00 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.02 percent from 0.01 percent late Thursday.

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On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Woman sues RR for injuries while taking pictures

Helen Gable was taking pictures on the railroad tracks in Tupelo in 2006 when a train nearly cut off her leg as she tried to get out of the way.

Gable and her husband are suing the railroad company for nearly $6 million.

Gable says the company should have posted trespassing signs to keep people away.

The lawsuit also claims the train was exceeding federal speed limits and that a cable was hanging off the side and cut her.

BNSF Railway Company spokeswoman Suann Lundsberg said the company is investigating and is sympathetic to Gable's injuries, but "she admits in her lawsuit filing that she was trespassing" to take photos on the track.

Lundsberg also said BNSF has equipment that detects if something is hanging or dragging from a train.

Jimenez wants to play winter ball again

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez says he wants to play winter ball again in hopes of strengthening his arm to avoid a repeat of the rocky start he had this season.

Jimenez tells The Associated Press he hopes to play for the Dominican Republic's Licey Tigers, and the Rockies are on board with those plans, general manager Dan O'Dowd said Thursday.

Jimenez last played winter ball in 2009, before his best season in the majors. Of course, it may all end up being a moot point as far as the Rockies are concerned if O'Dowd trades the 27-year-old right-hander.

O'Dowd is listening to offers but says he'll have to be overwhelmed to part with his best pitcher, who has six wins since June 1 after starting 0-5.

Boulder police still hope to solve 12-year-old JonBenet case

BOULDER, Colo. - The investigation of JonBenet Ramsey's slayinghas been returned to Boulder police, who say they will apply newtechnology and expertise in hopes of solving the 12-year-old case.

The decision, announced Monday, came six years after policetransferred the probe to the district attorney amid criticism of howit was handled.

"Some cases never get solved, but some do," Police Chief MarkBeckner told the Camera newspaper in Boulder. "And you can't giveup."

JonBenet, a 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant, was foundbludgeoned and strangled in the basement of her Boulder home inDecember 1996.

L. Lin Wood, an attorney for JonBenet's father, John Ramsey, saidthe decision was a "positive sign in terms of my hope that theBoulder Police Department will take not only a new review in termsof a cold case review, but that it will go in this time with anobjective review."

Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother, died in 2006 after a long battlewith cancer.

Pastor among suspects in illegal snake bust

The pastor of a Kentucky church that handles snakes in religious rites was among 10 people arrested by wildlife officers in a crackdown on the venomous snake trade.

More than 100 snakes, many of them deadly, were confiscated in the undercover sting after Thursday's arrests, said Col. Bob Milligan, director of law enforcement for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.

Most were taken from the Middlesboro home of Gregory James Coots, including 42 copperheads, 11 timber rattlesnakes, three cottonmouth water moccasins, a western diamondback rattlesnake, two cobras and a puff adder.

Handling snakes is practiced in a handful of fundamentalist churches across Appalachia, based on the interpretation of Bible verses saying true believers can take up serpents without being harmed. The practice is illegal in most states, including Kentucky.

Coots, 36, is pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, where a Tennessee woman died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in 1995. Her husband died three years later when he was bitten by a snake in northeastern Alabama.

Coots was charged Thursday with buying, selling and possessing illegal reptiles. He had no listed telephone number and couldn't be reached for comment. There was no phone listing for the church.

"It is disturbing to me that individuals would keep such dangerous wildlife in their homes and in neighborhoods where they put their families, visitors and neighbors at such high risk," Milligan said.

The snakes, plus one alligator, were turned over to the nonprofit Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade. Most appeared to have been captured from the wild, with some imported from Asia and Africa.

Zoo Director Jim Harrison said some of the animals would likely have become exotic pets had they not been seized.

"There's been a large trade in exotics for years," he said. "Some people are just fascinated with them."

Undercover officers purchased more than 200 illegal reptiles during the investigation, some of which were advertised for sale on Web sites. One such Web site lists copperheads for $50 each and cobras for $450.

"You can purchase anything off the Internet except common sense," Harrison said. "A venomous snake isn't a pet. You don't play with it. If you do, you're an idiot."

N.J. Court Opens Door to Gay Marriage

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's highest court opened the door Wednesday to making the state the second in the nation to allow gay marriage, ruling that lawmakers must offer same-sex couples either marriage or something like it, such as civil unions.

In a ruling that fell short of what either side wanted or most feared, the state Supreme Court declared 4-3 that gay couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual ones. The justices gave lawmakers 180 days to rewrite the laws.

The ruling is similar to the 1999 high-court ruling in Vermont that led the state to create civil unions, which confer all of the rights and benefits available to married couples under state law.

"Although we cannot find that a fundamental right to same-sex marriage exists in this state, the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state Constitution," Justice Barry T. Albin wrote for the four-member majority.

The court said the Legislature "must either amend the marriage statutes to include same-sex couples or create a parallel statutory structure" that gives gays all the privileges and obligations married couples have.

The three dissenters argued that the majority did not go far enough. They demanded full marriage for gays.

Gay rights activists had seen New Jersey as a promising place because it is a largely Democratic state in the Northeast. The only state to allow gay marriage is Massachusetts. The only states allowing civil unions are Vermont and Connecticut. New Jersey is also one of just five states that have no law or constitutional amendment expressly banning gay marriage.

If the court had legalized gay marriage outright, the effect could have been more far-reaching, and New Jersey could have become more of a magnet for gay couples than Massachusetts, which has a law barring out-of-state couples from marrying there if their marriages would not be recognized in their home states. New Jersey has no such law.

A clear-cut ruling legalizing gay marriage this close to Election Day could also have been a political bombshell, galvanizing Republicans and the religious right. Eight states have gay marriage bans on their ballots in November.

New Jersey Republicans, who are in the minority in the Legislature, said they would work to ban same-sex unions by enacting a constitutional amendment.

For gay rights advocates, there was debate over whether the ruling was a victory.

Lara Schwartz, legal director of Human Rights Campaign, said if legislators have to choose between civil unions and marriage, it is a no-lose situation for gay couples. "They get to decide whether it's chocolate or double-chocolate chip," Schwartz said.

Steven Goldstein, executive director of Garden State Equality, New Jersey's main gay rights group, said his organization wants nothing short of marriage. "We get to go from the back of the bus to the middle of the bus," he complained.

The New Jersey high court castigated the treatment same-sex couples receive under the law.

"The seeming ordinariness of plaintiffs' lives is belied by the social indignities and economic difficulties that they daily face due to the inferior legal standing of their relationships compared to that of married couples," the court said.

Outside the court, news of the ruling caused confusion, with many of the roughly 100 gay marriage supporters outside asking each other what it meant.

"I'm definitely encouraged," said Chris Lodewyks, one of the plaintiffs who gathered at a Newark law office. But he added, "I'm not sure what this exactly means in terms of marriage."

Another plaintiff, Saundra Toby-Heath, was more effusive: "I feel they were listening and paying attention to us as human beings who wanted to have the same rights."

Garden State Equality, New Jersey's main gay political organization, quickly announced that three lawmakers would introduce a bill in the Legislature to give full marriage rights to gay couples.

"New Jersey is a progressive state and has a tradition of tolerance," said one of the lawmakers, Democratic Assemblyman Reed Gusciora.

GOP Assemblyman Richard Merkt said he would seek to have all seven justices impeached. "Neither the framers of New Jersey's 1947 constitution, nor the voters who ratified it, ever remotely contemplated the possibility of same-sex marriage," Merkt said.

Gay couples in New Jersey can already apply for domestic partnerships under a law passed in 2004. Among other things, domestic partnerships give couples the right to inherit possessions if there is no will and health care coverage for partners of state employees.

Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine supports domestic partnerships, but not gay marriage.

Former Gov. James E. McGreevey, who resigned in 2004 after announcing that he was gay and had an affair with a male staff member, praised the court's decision. "I applaud the court's courage," McGreevey said. "I regret not having had the fortitude to embrace this right during my tenure as governor."

Supporters pushing for full gay marriage have had a two-year losing streak in state courts, including those in New York, Washington state, and both Nebraska and Georgia, where voter-approved bans on gay marriage were reinstated.

They also have suffered at the ballot boxes in 20 states where constitutions have been amended to ban same-sex unions.

Cases similar to the one ruled on Wednesday, which was filed by seven gay New Jersey couples, are pending in California, Connecticut, Iowa and Maryland.

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Associated Press writers Beth DeFalco and Chris Newmarker in Trenton and Jeffrey Gold and David Porter in Newark contributed to this report.

Earthquakes salvage draw against Crew

Chris Wondolowski's blast from the top of the box in the 79th minute saw the San Jose Earthquakes salvage a 2-2 home draw against Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer on Wednesday.

It was Wondolowski's sixth goal of the season, putting him equal third in the rankings behind Los Angeles' Edson Buddle (nine) and Toronto's Dwayne De Rosario (eight).

Columbus opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Eddie Gaven headed in a Jason Garey corner.

That advantage only lasted a minute before Arturo Alvarez equalized for San Jose, set up by Andre Luiz.

Chad Marshall put the Crew back in front in the 70th minute before Wondolowski again tied it up.

Red Bulls 2, Dynamo 1

In Harrison, Juan Pablo Angel scored with seconds remaining in stoppage time to give New York a dramatic win over Houston, ending a four-game losing streak.

The former Aston Villa frontman's goal was his sixth of the season and came from a direct free kick in the fourth minute of added time. It sailed past lunging Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad.

Sinisa Ubiparipovic gave the Red Bulls _ who are yet to play a draw in 11 games _ a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute off a pass from the outside from Chris Albright.

Houston equalized in the 65th minute through captain Brian Ching.

Comics tread lightly with Palin pregnancy

The pregnancy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's unwed daughter was fair game for late-night comics, but they tread lightly.

Three of the comics, in fact, made Democrat John Edwards the butt of their jokes about the situation. Edwards, the former presidential candidate, admitted this summer to an affair after first denying it.

"Governor Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months' pregnant," Jay Leno said near the top of his "Tonight" show monologue. "And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it."

Both Craig Ferguson and Conan O'Brien, who compete against each other in the early morning hours, went down the same road.

"I don't think that a young lady getting pregnant should even be news," said Ferguson, of CBS' "Late Late Show." "Unless John Edwards is the father. Then that is kinda news."

NBC's O'Brien joked that Palin said that "we should never have introduced her to John Edwards."

David Letterman, on CBS' "Late Show," made the pregnancy the subject of only his fifth and last joke about the selection of the Alaska governor as John McCain's running mate.

"Here's good news, ladies and gentlemen," Letterman said. "The Palin family crisis that we were talking about on Sunday and Monday, that has been solved now and, today, the baby is being adopted by Angelina Jolie."

Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" kept his lacerating wit away from the topic. There was only one allusion to it in a Samantha Bee weather forecast skit, when a cloud in the shape of a pregnant woman floated by.

Leno, before moving on, touched on the situation with three gentle jokes. He said that apparently Palin's daughter is named "Juno," a reference to the movie about a hip unwed teenager who gives birth to her child.

His third joke was about telling McCain about the pregnancy, but "into his bad ear."

O'Brien's monologue made reference to the opening of the Republican National Convention.

"The theme for tonight's Republican convention is `Who is John McCain,'" O'Brien said. "Tomorrow night's theme is, `Who forgot to check if the vice president's daughter is pregnant?'"

Congress Returns, Ready to Battle Bush

WASHINGTON - Congressmen returning from their Independence Day break are ready for battle with the White House, with Democrats decrying President Bush's commutation of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence and fighting Bush's latest claim of executive privilege.

Both events occurred around Congress' vacation, inflaming an intense battle between Democrats and Bush over his use of executive power. There was relatively high tension on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue as majority Democrats - and increasing numbers of Republicans - challenged Bush's Iraq war policy.

Meanwhile, several Democratic-run investigations are playing out this week as they head toward contempt of Congress citations and, if neither side yields, federal court:

-Monday is the deadline for the White House to explain why Bush is refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for e-mails and other documents on his aides' involvement in the firings of eight federal prosecutors last winter. The White House is not expected to comply with the deadline.

-In a pair of hearings Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will look at Bush's commutation last week of Libby's prison sentence for obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hear from former White House political director Sara Taylor about the prosecutor firings, according to Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

-The next day, the House panel is expected to turn to the prosecutor firings and has scheduled testimony from former White House Counsel Harriet Miers. It's unclear whether she will appear.

On Iraq, Democrats expect to resume legislative challenges to Bush's policy on the war as the Senate this week takes up a major defense spending bill. The administration has been concerned about an escalation of Iraqi war fervor. So much so that Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled a four-nation South American tour this week to work with the White House on Iraq policy.

In Baghdad Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned that a quick American troop withdrawal could lead to civil war and the collapse of the Iraqi state.

He said the U.S. has a responsibility to build Iraqi forces so that they can take over the country's security. But he also told reporters that the Iraqis "understand the huge pressure that will increase more and more in the United States" ahead of a September report to Congress by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and military commander Gen. David Petraeus.

The weeklong Fourth of July break did not cool disputes between Congress and the White House. In fact, Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence teed up a new project for Democratic investigators.

Leahy and others said they suspect that Bush commuted Libby's sentence to keep Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff from revealing internal White House discussions.

So they are talking to the prosecutor in the CIA case, Patrick Fitzgerald, about testifying before Congress, several senators said Sunday.

"I think you may very well see Mr. Fitzgerald before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Leahy said on CNN's "Late Edition."

Through White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Bush declared executive privilege on the documents subpoenaed by the committees. He argued that releasing them would damage the confidential nature of advice given the president. The Judiciary Committee chairmen demanded that the White House explain the decision more fully by Monday.

The Washington Post, citing unidentified sources, reported Sunday that Fielding was expected to tell lawmakers that he already has provided the legal basis for the executive privilege claims and does not intend to hand over the documentation sought.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on Leahy's committee, defended the White House.

"There comes a point where the White House has to say, 'Hey, look there are certain confidential things in the White House that we're not going to share with Congress, just like there are certain confidential things in Congress that we're not going to share with the White House,'" Hatch, R-Utah, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Both Leahy and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., have said they would move toward holding those named in the subpoenas in contempt of Congress if they do not comply.

Pining for Loveswept novels? They're coming back

NEW YORK (AP) — A romance imprint that helped started the careers of such writers as Janet Evanovich and Tami Hoag is being revived.

The Random House Publishing Group announced Wednesday that Loveswept will be back in business this summer as a digital-only imprint after a 12-year hiatus.

Loveswept was highly popular in the 1980s and 1990s and will relaunch in August with eight new works. They include one by best-seller Iris Johansen.

Popular Loveswept titles from the past will be re-issued and even the tagline will return: "Love stories you'll never forget by authors you'll always remember."

Other Loveswept authors have included Sandra Brown and Kay Hooper. Hoag is now known for her suspense novels and has credited Loveswept with making her a faster and more disciplined writer.

He lights up your life ; Acquiring Havells for the princely sum of Rs 10 lakh in 1971, he moved up from being a trader in electrical equipment to a manufacturer of switchgear.

The year was 1958. Qimat Rai Gupta, a young school teacher fromMalerkotla in Punjab, had reached Delhi to pursue his dream ofstarting his own business. He invested his entire savings of Rs10,000 a substantial amount then to launch a small trading businessin cables and wires at the Bhagirath Place wholesale electricalgoods market.

Over the next decade, the school teacher's business acumen andperseverance yielded rich dividends and he took the next step:backward, into manufacturing. But he needed a brand. What betterthan Havells, with its vaguely foreign twang? Acquiring Havells forthe princely sum of Rs 10 lakh in 1971, he moved up from being atrader in electrical equipment to a manufacturer of switchgear.

Indeed, that laid the foundation for the success story that isHavells India today. Reminisces Gupta's son Anil, who is now theJoint Managing Director of Havells India: "What sets my father apartis his calculated risk taking abilities. He is never satisfied andis always looking to do something new. That is why he moved on tomanufacturing, even though the trading business had taken root.

Over the next couple of decades, Qimat Rai Gupta aggressivelyexpanded his manufacturing base in Delhi. In the '70s and '80s,Havells started making changeover switches, HBC fuses, and miniaturecircuit breakers (in a JV with Geyer, Germany). By 1990, revenueshad hit Rs 30 crore.

But the turning point for Havells came in 1992, when Anil joinedthe family business armed with an economics degree from Delhi's ShriRam College and an MBA from Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Anil had global ambitions for the group: "I felt that the grouphad to adopt a two-pronged strategy. One, our products should beworld class in terms of quality and technology. Two, we shouldrapidly scale up our distribution network, both in India and abroad,to gain market share.

To achieve this, he gradually shut down the old manufacturingplants. All the ten plants that Havells today has are new and havethe latest technologies. At the same time, he expanded the productportfolio. Today, Havells makes industrial cables and wires,switches (Crabtree), fans, compact fluorescent lamps and lightingfixtures. It's among the top three in most of its products and isincreasing market share with some aggressive brand building.

Now, Anil and his core team are planning to take the Havellsbrand global. The acquisition of Sylvania, the world's fourth-largest lighting and fixture brand, has given it a distributionnetwork spanning 50 countries, mainly in Latin America and Europe,and a diverse product portfolio.

Today, the school teacher lords over a Rs 5,400-crore businessemploying over 7,000 people. Its strong brands, large distributionnetwork and diverse product portfolio will be its key strengthsdriving its growth internationally.

Britain lowers terror alert level

British officials have downgraded the country's terror alert level to its lowest level in at least three years.

Britain's Home Office says its Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, which is responsible for tracking the threat from international terrorism, has reduced the U.K.'s terror alert level from "severe" to "substantial."

"Severe" means there is a "high likelihood" of future terror attacks, according to the Web site of MI5, Britain's domestic spy agency. "Substantial" means that such an attack remains a "strong possibility."

The Home Office announced the change in a brief e-mail sent to journalists Monday. It did not detail the reason for the change, saying only that its analysis center makes judgments based on a broad range of factors.

10th BAMMI all ready to get rolling on Sunday

As the countdown continues to the Aug. 10-11 Chicago Sun-TimesGrand Prix and U.S. Pro Criterium Championship, another cycling eventmerits attention this weekend.

The Chicago Lung Association's BAMMI ride starts its 10thanniversary celebration Sunday.

BAMMI stands for Bicycle Across the Magnificent Miles ofIllinois, and that's what about 350 cyclists are going to do nextweek.

The ride, patterned after one in Iowa, has taken cyclists morethan 5,000 miles - touring Illinois from end to end - and has raisedmore than $700,000 over the years.

This year's milestone ride will start at a new location,Logan's Monument (Michigan and Balbo), because Buckingham Fountainwill be busy as the site of the Shoot-The-Bull 3-On-3 RoundballClassic.

The ride again will cover about 500 miles before concluding inMetropolis on Aug. 11 - the day the Sun-Times Grand Prix and U.S. ProCriterium climax in Downers Grove.

BAMMI participants will travel 71 miles, to Kankakee, onSunday. Other overnight stops are at Rantoul, Mattoon, Effingham,Mt. Vernon and Carbondale. Along the route are the Shawnee NationalForest and Massac State Park.

Ride chairman Ed Curran of WGN Radio completed the trek inBAMMI's first year but can only ride three days this year.

"It was a wonderful experience that transformed me," Curransaid. "I came back so cooled out. It's more than the distance andthe scenery. It sucks every drop of stress out of your body. It's agreat personal and social adventure."

Two riders - Ralph Bechtold of Orland Park and Steve Baker ofUrbana - have done all of the previous BAMMIs. Bechtold and his wifeSara will ride a tandem bicycle next week.

"I see bicycle touring as an opportunity to get a close-up ofthe land and the people," Bechtold said. "Physically, it's a goodfeeling . . . but I really enjoy meeting different people. You canexperience the success of living."

"I'm not really an avid cyclist," said Baker, 46. "But thesupport system is really great and if I ever doubted my ability tocomplete the ride, they convinced me that I could."

This year's ride has some other notables. Tom Dickey, ofCarbondale, is 81 and blind. But Lung Association officials have nodoubt he will make it to Metropolis.

John Stafford of St. Charles raised more than $7,000 in pledgesthe last few years and is expected to do the same this year. He isthe leading fund-raiser in the history of the event.

Mike Bechtel of Wheeling has set a goal of raising $10,000 thisyear, which would be a one-year record. Last year he raised morethan $6,000 in his first BAMMI.

Al Chapman made his first BAMMI at 68 and will ride again. Joeand Kathy Starzynski of Woodstock will ride with their son Sam, 5, onanother tandem. Gary Glowacz and his son Kevin also will ridetandem, as well as provide bicycle support for the other riders.They are connected with The Bike Rack of St. Charles.

Virgil Kemp will do double duty, too, working as a BAMMIvolunteer and riding two days as part of his training for the Aug. 25Sun-Times Triathlon.

Others include Prat Morvan, an exchange student from France whocan speak only limited English, and a Crystal Lake Cub Scout troopconsisting of four boys and several troop leaders.

While entering the full week's ride would require some lastminute hustling (entrants must pay a $200 registration fee and get atleast $100 in pledges), cyclists can easily get the flavor of BAMMIon Sunday. The Lung Association will register riders for just theleg to Kankakee through tomorrow. Registration is $15, plus $10 inpre-paid pledges. Call (312) 243-2000.

The Lung Association also will stage The Great Ride on Sept.14-15. It starts after a breakfast at Bikes Plus in ArlingtonHeights and includes a visit to Great America before the ride back.Fee is $50, plus a minimum pledge of $200, for adults. Registrationis $40 for children under 12, with a minimum pledge of $50.

QUESTION: Where are the best places to ride, away from thebustle of the city and suburbs?

ANSWER: The rails-to-trails movement - a drive to convertabandoned railway corridors to recreational paths - has more thandoubled its mileage in the past four years. There are now 292 suchtrails, covering about 3,300 miles.

One of the best trails in the U.S. is the 45-mile IllinoisPrairie Path, which has a crushed limestone surface suitable for anybike. It recently was named one of the 10 best trails in the U.S. byBicycling Magazine.

Wisconsin has two good rails-to-trails facilities. The ElroySparta State Park Trail is a 32-miler near LaCrosse and the GlacialDrumlin State Park Trail is a 47.2-mile route from Madison towardMilwaukee. Both have crushed limestone surfaces.

Send questions to Sports Adviser, Sun-Times Sports, 401 N.Wabash, Chicago, Ill. 60611.

Petition protest

FERRYSIDE A petition has been launched in the village tosafeguard the job of a pensioner who has looked after the villagepublic toilets for the past two decades.

Page 5

Barca the team to beat in Champions League

LONDON (AP) — Seeking a third Champions League title in four years, Barcelona will again be the team to beat when Europe's elite club competition kicks off this week.

Led by Lionel Messi, the Spanish giants produced a football clinic to dispatch Manchester United 3-1 in last season's final at Wembley and few would bet against them being anointed European champions for a fifth time in May's showpiece at Munich's Allianz Arena.

Spanish rival Real Madrid, English sides United, Chelsea and big-spending newcomer Manchester City plus Italian champion Milan are among Barcelona's rivals for the title.

It's at home against Milan where Barcelona begins its title defense.

Festival helps shed light on city streets

The streets of Bath are taking on a fresh look after dark for anew festival of light.

The Illuminate Bath project was launched this week at Green ParkBrasserie.

People were entertained by outdoor projections that used light totransform everyday objects in Green Park Station.

A separate event saw 15 cyclists taking to the streets and usingtheir bikes to create a light show.

Illuminate Bath will be transforming the city's streets for twoweeks, and will see more than 50 artists and performers showcasingtheir work.

The festival has been organised by students, graduates and stafffrom Bath Spa University and Regional Education Legacy in Arts andYouth Sports (Relays), a London 2012 Olympic charity project workingacross the South West.

It includes projections, dance, animation, theatre, and poetryinspired by the theme of kinetic energy and light.

Festival coordinator Arilda Tymko said of the ride: "It was areally great event, and a brilliant way to kick off the festival.

"We had about 15 people taking part in the cycle ride, which wasgood as we didn't want a large number.

"The bikes looked good all lit up, and people stopped to watch asthey went by."

Until Saturday, November 13, people will be able to see art inunexpected places around the city centre, such as outdoorprojections at the Pump Room and illuminated trees at the Circus.Designer Dan Maier will be holding lantern-making workshops thisSaturday and Sunday, where participants can decorate their own lightshades. The finished designs will then be displayed from the ceilingof Green Park Station.

For more information, visit www.illuminatebath.org.

Lingo Media Featured in Ivey Business School Case Study

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 9, 2006) - Lingo Media Inc.(TSX VENTURE:LMD)(OTCBB:LNGMF) is pleased to announce that it hasbeen profiled in a Richard Ivey School of Business Case Studyentitled "Competing By the Book: Destination China". This case studyis being used as an example of how a small Canadian company cansuccessfully enter the challenging China market. MBA students wereasked to dissect Lingo Media's business model and growth strategy aspart of Professor Cyril Bouquet's Schulich School of BusinessStrategic Management class. The focus of this case study is aimed atdeveloping new product ideas and expansion strategies for LingoMedia. What these Schulich MBA students found when they "opened up"Lingo Media, is a company with a successful market entry strategythat dominates its market as a leading co-publisher of Englishlanguage learning programs in China and has numerous avenues ofgrowth.

"This was an enlightening exercise for our MBA students for twoimportant reasons. First, they were given unprecedented access toLingo Media on all levels and then they were forced to consider abusiness strategy aimed at a non-domestic market", said SchulichSchool of Business Professor Cyril Bouquet.

Dan Wiseman, Lingo Media's Vice President of Corporate Developmentcommented, "The MBA students did an excellent job of understandingthe critical factors that led to our market entry success and howLingo Media successfully tackled the cultural and politicalconstraints of doing business in China. We received some excellentstrategic plans that we are now considering as part of our ChinaExpansion Plan."

About Richard Ivey School of Business Publishing

The Richard Ivey School of Business is the second largest producerof business case studies in the world with nearly 2,000 cases in itsactive collection and with approximately 200 new business casestudies being added each year. Ivey Publishing markets Ivey BusinessCases and Ivey Business Journal reprints to its students,institutions, and corporations in over 60 countries around the world.This collection offers an outstanding assortment of current,relevant, classroom-tested case materials, most with accompanyingteaching notes. In addition, Ivey Publishing is the Canadiandistributor of Harvard Business School materials (including Harvardbusiness cases and Harvard Business Review reprints), as well as aninternational distributor of business cases from Thunderbird andNanyang.

About Lingo Media

Lingo Media is a leading publisher of English language learningprograms in China, incorporating print, audio/video cassette and CD-based products for students and teachers from pre-school throughuniversity. Founded in 1996, Lingo Media has an established presencein the Chinese educational market of more than 200 million Englishlanguage students. To date, over 100 million units from Lingo Media'slibrary of more than 275 program titles have been published and soldin China. While Lingo Media remains focused on its royalty-basededucational publishing business, it is advancing its China ExpansionPlan to establish itself as a distributor of educational print mediaincluding books, newspapers and magazines in China.

Portions of this press release include "forward-lookingstatements", which may be understood as any statement other than astatement of historical fact. Forward-looking statements contained inthis press release are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisionsof the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Thesestatements are based on management's current expectations and aresubject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual resultsmay vary materially from management's expectations and projectionsexpressed in this press release. Certain factors that can affect theCompany's ability to achieve projected results are described in theCompany's Annual Report 20-F and other reports filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission.

Lingo Media Featured in Ivey Business School Case Study

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 9, 2006) - Lingo Media Inc.(TSX VENTURE:LMD)(OTCBB:LNGMF) is pleased to announce that it hasbeen profiled in a Richard Ivey School of Business Case Studyentitled "Competing By the Book: Destination China". This case studyis being used as an example of how a small Canadian company cansuccessfully enter the challenging China market. MBA students wereasked to dissect Lingo Media's business model and growth strategy aspart of Professor Cyril Bouquet's Schulich School of BusinessStrategic Management class. The focus of this case study is aimed atdeveloping new product ideas and expansion strategies for LingoMedia. What these Schulich MBA students found when they "opened up"Lingo Media, is a company with a successful market entry strategythat dominates its market as a leading co-publisher of Englishlanguage learning programs in China and has numerous avenues ofgrowth.

"This was an enlightening exercise for our MBA students for twoimportant reasons. First, they were given unprecedented access toLingo Media on all levels and then they were forced to consider abusiness strategy aimed at a non-domestic market", said SchulichSchool of Business Professor Cyril Bouquet.

Dan Wiseman, Lingo Media's Vice President of Corporate Developmentcommented, "The MBA students did an excellent job of understandingthe critical factors that led to our market entry success and howLingo Media successfully tackled the cultural and politicalconstraints of doing business in China. We received some excellentstrategic plans that we are now considering as part of our ChinaExpansion Plan."

About Richard Ivey School of Business Publishing

The Richard Ivey School of Business is the second largest producerof business case studies in the world with nearly 2,000 cases in itsactive collection and with approximately 200 new business casestudies being added each year. Ivey Publishing markets Ivey BusinessCases and Ivey Business Journal reprints to its students,institutions, and corporations in over 60 countries around the world.This collection offers an outstanding assortment of current,relevant, classroom-tested case materials, most with accompanyingteaching notes. In addition, Ivey Publishing is the Canadiandistributor of Harvard Business School materials (including Harvardbusiness cases and Harvard Business Review reprints), as well as aninternational distributor of business cases from Thunderbird andNanyang.

About Lingo Media

Lingo Media is a leading publisher of English language learningprograms in China, incorporating print, audio/video cassette and CD-based products for students and teachers from pre-school throughuniversity. Founded in 1996, Lingo Media has an established presencein the Chinese educational market of more than 200 million Englishlanguage students. To date, over 100 million units from Lingo Media'slibrary of more than 275 program titles have been published and soldin China. While Lingo Media remains focused on its royalty-basededucational publishing business, it is advancing its China ExpansionPlan to establish itself as a distributor of educational print mediaincluding books, newspapers and magazines in China.

Portions of this press release include "forward-lookingstatements", which may be understood as any statement other than astatement of historical fact. Forward-looking statements contained inthis press release are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisionsof the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Thesestatements are based on management's current expectations and aresubject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual resultsmay vary materially from management's expectations and projectionsexpressed in this press release. Certain factors that can affect theCompany's ability to achieve projected results are described in theCompany's Annual Report 20-F and other reports filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission.

Lingo Media Featured in Ivey Business School Case Study

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 9, 2006) - Lingo Media Inc.(TSX VENTURE:LMD)(OTCBB:LNGMF) is pleased to announce that it hasbeen profiled in a Richard Ivey School of Business Case Studyentitled "Competing By the Book: Destination China". This case studyis being used as an example of how a small Canadian company cansuccessfully enter the challenging China market. MBA students wereasked to dissect Lingo Media's business model and growth strategy aspart of Professor Cyril Bouquet's Schulich School of BusinessStrategic Management class. The focus of this case study is aimed atdeveloping new product ideas and expansion strategies for LingoMedia. What these Schulich MBA students found when they "opened up"Lingo Media, is a company with a successful market entry strategythat dominates its market as a leading co-publisher of Englishlanguage learning programs in China and has numerous avenues ofgrowth.

"This was an enlightening exercise for our MBA students for twoimportant reasons. First, they were given unprecedented access toLingo Media on all levels and then they were forced to consider abusiness strategy aimed at a non-domestic market", said SchulichSchool of Business Professor Cyril Bouquet.

Dan Wiseman, Lingo Media's Vice President of Corporate Developmentcommented, "The MBA students did an excellent job of understandingthe critical factors that led to our market entry success and howLingo Media successfully tackled the cultural and politicalconstraints of doing business in China. We received some excellentstrategic plans that we are now considering as part of our ChinaExpansion Plan."

About Richard Ivey School of Business Publishing

The Richard Ivey School of Business is the second largest producerof business case studies in the world with nearly 2,000 cases in itsactive collection and with approximately 200 new business casestudies being added each year. Ivey Publishing markets Ivey BusinessCases and Ivey Business Journal reprints to its students,institutions, and corporations in over 60 countries around the world.This collection offers an outstanding assortment of current,relevant, classroom-tested case materials, most with accompanyingteaching notes. In addition, Ivey Publishing is the Canadiandistributor of Harvard Business School materials (including Harvardbusiness cases and Harvard Business Review reprints), as well as aninternational distributor of business cases from Thunderbird andNanyang.

About Lingo Media

Lingo Media is a leading publisher of English language learningprograms in China, incorporating print, audio/video cassette and CD-based products for students and teachers from pre-school throughuniversity. Founded in 1996, Lingo Media has an established presencein the Chinese educational market of more than 200 million Englishlanguage students. To date, over 100 million units from Lingo Media'slibrary of more than 275 program titles have been published and soldin China. While Lingo Media remains focused on its royalty-basededucational publishing business, it is advancing its China ExpansionPlan to establish itself as a distributor of educational print mediaincluding books, newspapers and magazines in China.

Portions of this press release include "forward-lookingstatements", which may be understood as any statement other than astatement of historical fact. Forward-looking statements contained inthis press release are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisionsof the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Thesestatements are based on management's current expectations and aresubject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual resultsmay vary materially from management's expectations and projectionsexpressed in this press release. Certain factors that can affect theCompany's ability to achieve projected results are described in theCompany's Annual Report 20-F and other reports filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission.

Lingo Media Featured in Ivey Business School Case Study

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 9, 2006) - Lingo Media Inc.(TSX VENTURE:LMD)(OTCBB:LNGMF) is pleased to announce that it hasbeen profiled in a Richard Ivey School of Business Case Studyentitled "Competing By the Book: Destination China". This case studyis being used as an example of how a small Canadian company cansuccessfully enter the challenging China market. MBA students wereasked to dissect Lingo Media's business model and growth strategy aspart of Professor Cyril Bouquet's Schulich School of BusinessStrategic Management class. The focus of this case study is aimed atdeveloping new product ideas and expansion strategies for LingoMedia. What these Schulich MBA students found when they "opened up"Lingo Media, is a company with a successful market entry strategythat dominates its market as a leading co-publisher of Englishlanguage learning programs in China and has numerous avenues ofgrowth.

"This was an enlightening exercise for our MBA students for twoimportant reasons. First, they were given unprecedented access toLingo Media on all levels and then they were forced to consider abusiness strategy aimed at a non-domestic market", said SchulichSchool of Business Professor Cyril Bouquet.

Dan Wiseman, Lingo Media's Vice President of Corporate Developmentcommented, "The MBA students did an excellent job of understandingthe critical factors that led to our market entry success and howLingo Media successfully tackled the cultural and politicalconstraints of doing business in China. We received some excellentstrategic plans that we are now considering as part of our ChinaExpansion Plan."

About Richard Ivey School of Business Publishing

The Richard Ivey School of Business is the second largest producerof business case studies in the world with nearly 2,000 cases in itsactive collection and with approximately 200 new business casestudies being added each year. Ivey Publishing markets Ivey BusinessCases and Ivey Business Journal reprints to its students,institutions, and corporations in over 60 countries around the world.This collection offers an outstanding assortment of current,relevant, classroom-tested case materials, most with accompanyingteaching notes. In addition, Ivey Publishing is the Canadiandistributor of Harvard Business School materials (including Harvardbusiness cases and Harvard Business Review reprints), as well as aninternational distributor of business cases from Thunderbird andNanyang.

About Lingo Media

Lingo Media is a leading publisher of English language learningprograms in China, incorporating print, audio/video cassette and CD-based products for students and teachers from pre-school throughuniversity. Founded in 1996, Lingo Media has an established presencein the Chinese educational market of more than 200 million Englishlanguage students. To date, over 100 million units from Lingo Media'slibrary of more than 275 program titles have been published and soldin China. While Lingo Media remains focused on its royalty-basededucational publishing business, it is advancing its China ExpansionPlan to establish itself as a distributor of educational print mediaincluding books, newspapers and magazines in China.

Portions of this press release include "forward-lookingstatements", which may be understood as any statement other than astatement of historical fact. Forward-looking statements contained inthis press release are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisionsof the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Thesestatements are based on management's current expectations and aresubject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual resultsmay vary materially from management's expectations and projectionsexpressed in this press release. Certain factors that can affect theCompany's ability to achieve projected results are described in theCompany's Annual Report 20-F and other reports filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission.

AP IMPACT: As Haiti goes hungry, tons of food rot at its ports and shipments back up in Miami

While millions of Haitians go hungry, containers full of food are stacking up in the nation's ports because of government red tape _ leaving tons of beans, rice and other staples to rot under a sweltering sun or be devoured by vermin.

A government attempt to clean up a corrupt port system that has helped make Haiti a major conduit for Colombian cocaine has added new layers of bureaucracy _ and led to backlogs so severe they are being felt 600 miles (970 kilometers) away in Miami, where cargo shipments to Haiti have ground almost to a standstill.

The problems are depriving desperate people of donated food. Some are so poor they are forced to eat cookies made of dirt, salt and vegetable oil to satisfy their hunger.

An Associated Press investigation found the situation is most severe in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city. One recent afternoon, garbage men shoveled a pile of rotting pinto beans that had turned gray and crumbled to dust as cockroaches and beetles scurried about.

The men had found the putrid cargo by following a stench through stacked shipping containers to one holding 40,000 pounds (18,000 kilograms) of beans. It had been in port since November.

"So many times, by the time (the food) gets out of customs it's expired and we're forced to burn it," said Susie Scott Krabacher, whose Colorado-based Mercy and Sharing Foundation has worked in Haiti for 14 years. "The food is there. It is available. It just can't get to the people."

Though it is unclear how much of Haiti's food supply is tied up in the port delays, the effects could be serious. Haiti imports about 75 percent of its food supply, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And there is little room for error in a country where the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that almost half the population was undernourished in 2002.

The U.N. World Food Program and large-scale U.S. rice growers say they have been able to get their food into Haiti by hiring local agents to handle bureaucratic procedures. But smaller charities, merchants and private citizens have often been forced by the delays to throw away containers of food or pay exorbitant fees.

The problems stem in part from efforts to clean up a port system the World Bank recently ranked as the second-worst in the region, ahead of only Guyana.

Before the changes were implemented last fall, bribes flowed freely and goods passed through unsearched and without duties being paid. That deprived the government of money and helped make Haiti a major transshipment point for Colombian cocaine destined for the United States.

The international community has encouraged Haiti's customs reform efforts, with the U.S. government helping fund port security and U.N. peacekeepers stepping up anti-smuggling patrols along the coast and Dominican border.

But new requirements for licenses and manifests in triplicate have overwhelmed poorly trained workers and the country's archaic, handwritten customs system.

Unlike U.S. ports, where less than 5 percent of containers were scanned last year and only a fraction of those opened up and inspected, Haitian cargo handlers said each container at Cap-Haitien must now be completely emptied and inspected. Customs chief Jean-Jacques Valentin said that policy was Haiti's own decision.

Frustrated by the new procedures and demanding higher pay, striking workers shut down the port at Cap-Haitien for 20 days in December. Graffiti denouncing the port's director still mars its buildings.

And despite the reforms, some say the bribes are continuing.

Jean-Paul Michaud, a Canadian, said he sailed to the capital of Port-au-Prince late last year carrying 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of donated clothing and medicine _ and that port authorities demanded US$10,000 (6,500) in "customs fees," code for a bribe to make the fees disappear.

"I'd have rather thrown the aid in the water," said Michaud. The Canadian Embassy intervened and the fee was later waived.

Krabacher's group says it has paid nearly US$16,000 (10,400) in fees in the first six weeks of 2008 alone, compared to US$23,418 (15,286) for all of 2007.

Lawmakers concerned about the situation questioned Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis about the port delays during a February no-confidence vote.

"There is a lot of work being done in terms of the ports," Alexis maintained. "We are looking at a way to implement a 'fast-track' policy, so people can get their merchandise out more quickly."

He also recommended splitting the National Port Authority into two agencies, one focusing on the logistics of port management and the other overseeing customs, because he does not believe the current agency can handle both tasks.

Haitian President Rene Preval echoed those concerns in a speech to parliament in January, calling for a crackdown on illegal contraband and a lowering of exorbitant container fees that are three times higher than those in neighboring Dominican Republic.

While lawmakers haggle over the answers, precious food rots by the ton.

After opening the door of the orange container filled with rotting beans last month, the workers were hit by a revolting smell. They let the odor dissipate for a week before spending two days loading the beans into a flatbed truck and hauling them away for disposal.

The garbage collectors grumbled about the waste, with one saying he wished he could have taken the beans to his neighborhood before they rotted. The workers then went in search of a container loaded with spoiling rice.

Dimitri Torres, the director of container-handler Cap Terminal SA, said he doesn't even know who shipped the beans. They had already been transferred from one container to another during inspection and the shipping documents had disappeared.

Valentin, the customs chief, blames the backlog on shippers who are trying to skirt the new system. He said some intended to smuggle items into Haiti and avoid customs duties.

"They are people that weren't straight with not bringing contraband, and that's why they're making excuses and that's why things are slow," Valentin said.

Cap Terminal normally has about 50 containers at its yard next to the port, Torres said. More than 200 are now stacked up, at least half belonging to Miami-based Frontier Liner Services.

That company, like several others, has stopped shipping to Haiti until the delays are resolved and its empty containers are returned. Haiti-bound cargo traffic in Florida's Miami River is at a virtual standstill.

"We've had to lay off people," said Munir Mourra, president of Miami-based River Terminal Services. "Pretty much all the stevedores on the vessels have been laid off."

____

Katz reported from Cap-Haitien and Kay from Miami.

Afghan Bombings Kill 24 Over 2 Days

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber in a car struck a NATO-Afghan military convoy Tuesday, killing one civilian and wounding two others, a day after a bomb at a market left 21 civilians dead and 43 wounded, officials said.

Another bomb, detonated by remote control, killed two police on patrol in Helmand province, an official said.

The suicide bomber hit the military convoy on the main road linking Kandahar with the city's airport, said. Col. Sher Shah, who was in the convoy. No NATO soldiers were wounded.

A civilian driving near the convoy died in the blast, while another civilian and an Afghan soldier were wounded, Shah said.

The Taliban have increased suicide attacks this year, borrowing tactics from militants in Iraq. The escalation in the Taliban insurgency has stoked bitter fighting. More than 1,600 people, mostly militants, have died across Afghanistan in the past four months, according to an Associated Press tally of reports by U.S., NATO and Afghan officials.

The remote-controlled bomb hit a police vehicle on patrol in Grieshk district of Helmand province killing two officers, said Ghulam Muhiddin, the Helmand governor's spokesman. He blamed the Taliban.

Another remote-controlled bomb went off in east Kabul shortly after a NATO vehicle patrol drove past, but no one was hurt, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai.

On Monday, a suicide bomber targeting a former police chief killed 21 people and wounded 43 in a market in the Helmand provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. The bomb initially killed 17 people, but four of the wounded later died, officials said.

NATO and the United Nations also characterized the bombing as a suicide attack.

But Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said Monday's attack was conducted with a remote-controlled bomb, and that it targeted a former Lashkar Gah police chief because he had served under the pro-Communist government during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s. The target and his son were killed.

"We are very sad about the civilian casualties," Ahmadi, whose ties to the Taliban leadership are unclear, told an Associated Press reporter in a phone call from an undisclosed location. "We only wanted to kill this former police chief."

It was not immediately clear why Ahmadi's account of the attack conflicted with the other reports that it was a suicide bombing.

The attack was the second major bombing to kill civilians this month in southern Afghanistan, which is undergoing its bloodiest period of fighting since the U.S.-led ousted the hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001 for hosting Osama bin Laden.

Meanwhile, two New Zealand soldiers serving in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province were flown to a military hospital after being injured in a road accident, a New Zealand defense spokesman said Tuesday. The soldiers were injured when the part of the road they were on gave way, causing their vehicle to roll down a 60-foot slope.

Afghan Bombings Kill 24 Over 2 Days

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber in a car struck a NATO-Afghan military convoy Tuesday, killing one civilian and wounding two others, a day after a bomb at a market left 21 civilians dead and 43 wounded, officials said.

Another bomb, detonated by remote control, killed two police on patrol in Helmand province, an official said.

The suicide bomber hit the military convoy on the main road linking Kandahar with the city's airport, said. Col. Sher Shah, who was in the convoy. No NATO soldiers were wounded.

A civilian driving near the convoy died in the blast, while another civilian and an Afghan soldier were wounded, Shah said.

The Taliban have increased suicide attacks this year, borrowing tactics from militants in Iraq. The escalation in the Taliban insurgency has stoked bitter fighting. More than 1,600 people, mostly militants, have died across Afghanistan in the past four months, according to an Associated Press tally of reports by U.S., NATO and Afghan officials.

The remote-controlled bomb hit a police vehicle on patrol in Grieshk district of Helmand province killing two officers, said Ghulam Muhiddin, the Helmand governor's spokesman. He blamed the Taliban.

Another remote-controlled bomb went off in east Kabul shortly after a NATO vehicle patrol drove past, but no one was hurt, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai.

On Monday, a suicide bomber targeting a former police chief killed 21 people and wounded 43 in a market in the Helmand provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. The bomb initially killed 17 people, but four of the wounded later died, officials said.

NATO and the United Nations also characterized the bombing as a suicide attack.

But Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said Monday's attack was conducted with a remote-controlled bomb, and that it targeted a former Lashkar Gah police chief because he had served under the pro-Communist government during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s. The target and his son were killed.

"We are very sad about the civilian casualties," Ahmadi, whose ties to the Taliban leadership are unclear, told an Associated Press reporter in a phone call from an undisclosed location. "We only wanted to kill this former police chief."

It was not immediately clear why Ahmadi's account of the attack conflicted with the other reports that it was a suicide bombing.

The attack was the second major bombing to kill civilians this month in southern Afghanistan, which is undergoing its bloodiest period of fighting since the U.S.-led ousted the hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001 for hosting Osama bin Laden.

Meanwhile, two New Zealand soldiers serving in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province were flown to a military hospital after being injured in a road accident, a New Zealand defense spokesman said Tuesday. The soldiers were injured when the part of the road they were on gave way, causing their vehicle to roll down a 60-foot slope.

German investigators search for clues to cause of deadly fire

Police searched Thursday for the cause of a blaze that killed five children and four adults _ all ethnic Turks _ amid heightened tensions between the Turkish community and German officials.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan was expected to visit the site later Thursday, as part of a previously scheduled trip to Germany, to meet with the injured and the victims' families.

The building in the southwestern city of Ludwigshafen was inhabited by two Turkish families and all nine victims were Turkish citizens or Germans of Turkish descent.

The blaze has unleashed a wave of criticism from some of Germany's 2.7 million-strong Turkish community, while newspapers in Turkey have charged that German rescue workers failed to respond swiftly enough and blamed the incident on far-right extremists.

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged calm, expressing understanding for the Turks' outrage while insisting that Germans were equally concerned by the high number of fatalities.

"Our shock and sadness is not determined by nationality," Schaeuble told the Westdeutsche Allgemeine local daily.

Police found graffiti scrawled on the building _ the German word for hate, "Hass" _ next to the entrance to a ground-floor Turkish cultural center in the building. But they said it had been scrawled well before the fire and was not thought to be related to the blaze.

"At this point, we don't see any connection with it and the fire," said police spokesman Volker Klein.

Turkey called for a thorough investigation has said it would send its own officials to assist. That offer has been rebuffed by some German groups who insisted that local officials need no help.

The blaze comes amid a downturn in German-Turkish relations, soured by a tightened immigration laws in Berlin and a recent state election campaign by a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party, Roland Koch, blaming a rise in youth crime on recent immigrants.

Kenan Kolat, head of Germany's Turkish community, condemned the jump to conclusions and finger-pointing by some, but traced it to the recent political developments.

"It simply should not happen," he told SWR radio. "But the mood, such as it is, is of course due to the many things that have happened in the past months, from changes to the immigration laws and now Koch's campaign in Hesse."

As part of their investigation, police are working with information from two girls, aged 8 and 9, who have said they saw a man setting fire to something with his lighter and then throwing it next to a baby carriage in the hallway of the building.