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A disgruntled Tiger Woods has lashed out at an Irish magazine for falsely linking his Swedish wife Elin, a former model, to pornographic websites. "It's unacceptable and I don't want it to detract from the beauty of this event," the American world number one told a news conference on Wednesday in the build-up to this week's Ryder Cup at the K Club in County Kildare. "It's hard to be very diplomatic about this when you have so much emotion involved. I just hope it was the right thing to do to speak about it because I don't want this to detract from this event. "I am very disappointed in how the article was written. Yes, my wife has been a model and she did do some bikini photos but to link her to porn websites and such is unacceptable. I do not accept it and neither does our team." The September edition of the Dubliner, a listings magazine, carries bogus nude pictures of Elin, as well as a story on some of the U.S. Ryder Cup wives headlined 'Ryder Cup filth for Ireland'. Part of the article read: "Most American golfers are married to women who cannot keep their clothes on in public. Is it too much to ask that they leave them at home for the Ryder Cup?" "Consider the evidence -- Tiger Woods's wife can be found in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites." CLEAR INCIDENCE Woods, the game's leading player who married Elin at the Sandy Lane luxury resort in Barbados in 2004, added: "Sometimes they don't let the facts get in the way of a good story and I think this was a clear incidence of that. "My wife is an extension of me. We're in it together, we're a team and I care about her with all my heart." In a statement issued later on Wednesday, publishers of The Dubliner acknowledged "the satirical article was inappropriate" and offered sincere apologies to Woods and other Ryder Cup players and their families. "The publishers believed readers would not be left with the impression that there was any truth in the assertions," the statement added. "If any contrary impression was given, it certainly was not intended." Asked if the magazine article and pictures would affect his concentration at the 36th Ryder Cup, Woods replied: "You just go out there and play. I have a team mate with me and the Irish people here have been absolutely fantastic." The three-day Ryder Cup starts on Friday. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/sp_nm/...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

Something always gets lost in translation, but usually not an entire city. "Jerusalem. There is no such city!" the Jerusalem municipality said in the English-language version of a sightseeing brochure it had published originally in Hebrew. The correct translation: "Jerusalem. There is no city like it!" Carrying a photograph of the brochure, Israel's Maariv newspaper said Wednesday tens of thousands of flyers had been distributed before city hall realized its mistake. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/od_nm/...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

The chairman of the publicly funded Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has resigned after remarks about bestiality and ruminations about defecation, Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda said on Tuesday. Guy Fournier created an uproar in Canada's Lebanese community and in the media when he claimed that Lebanon allowed men to have sexual relations with female animals, but reserved the death penalty for those who did so with male animals. In comments made in May, and replayed in a CBC weekend interview, he talked at length about the joys of bowel movements. "He has increasingly lost the confidence of Canada's new government," Oda told the House of Commons. "I inform this House that I have received the voluntary resignation of Mr. Fournier effective today." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/od_nm/...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

A drunken Chinese migrant worker jumped into a panda enclosure at the Beijing Zoo, was bitten by the bear and retaliated by chomping down on the animal's back, state media said Wednesday. Zhang Xinyan, from the central province of Henan, drank four jugs of beer at a restaurant near the zoo before visiting Gu Gu the panda on Tuesday, the Beijing Morning Post said. "He felt a sudden urge to touch the panda with his hand," and jumped into the enclosure, the newspaper said. The panda, who was asleep, was startled and bit Zhang, 35, on the right leg, it said. Zhang got angry and kicked the panda, who then bit his other leg. A tussle ensued, the paper said. "I bit the fellow in the back," Zhang was quoted as saying in the newspaper. "Its skin was quite thick." Other tourists yelled for a zookeeper, who got the panda under control by spraying it with water, reports said. Zhang was hospitalized. Newspaper photographs showed Zhang lying on a hospital bed with blood-soaked bandages and a seam of stitches running down his leg. The Beijing Youth Daily quoted Zhang as saying that he had seen pandas on television and "they seemed to get along well with people." "No one ever said they would bite people," Zhang said. "I just wanted to touch it. I was so dizzy from the beer. I don't remember much." Ye Mingxia, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Zoo, confirmed the incident happened but would not give any details. She said Gu Gu was "healthy." "We're not considering punishing him now," Ye said in a telephone interview. "He's suffered quite a bit of shock." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060920/ap_on_...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE- http://www.postershare.hostmatrix.org/foru...p?showtopic=481

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took aim at U.S. policies in Iraq and Lebanon on Tuesday, and accused Washington of abusing its power in the U.N. Security Council to punish others while protecting its own interests and allies. He addressed the annual U.N. General Assembly hours after President Bush spoke to the same forum. But while Ahmadinejad harshly criticized the United States, Bush directed his remarks to the Iranian people in a clear insult to the hard-line government. In his speech, Bush pointed to the Iranian government's rejection of a Security Council demand to stop enriching uranium by Aug. 31 or face sanctions. "The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons," the U.S. leader said. "Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions," he said. "Despite what the regime tells you, we have no objection to Iran's pursuit of a truly peaceful nuclear power program." He also said he hoped to see "the day when you can live in freedom, and America and Iran can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace." Ahmadinejad insisted that his nation's nuclear activities are "transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eye" of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog. He also reiterated his nation's commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Earlier this month, Ahmadinejad proposed a debate with Bush at the General Assembly's ministerial meeting after the White House dismissed a previous TV debate proposal as a "diversion" from serious concerns over Iran's nuclear program. But even though the two leaders were addressing the same forum, they skipped each other's speeches and managed to avoid direct contact during the ministerial meeting. Ahmadinejad also accused the United States and Britain of using their veto power on the Security Council to further their own interests and he said it had become an "instrument of threat and coercion." "If they have differences with a nation or state, they drag it to the Security Council," and assign themselves the roles of "prosecutor, judge and executioner," Ahmadinejad said. "Is this a just order?" The U.S. and Britain played central roles in helping craft a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in July that gave Iran until Aug. 31 to suspend uranium enrichment and asked the IAEA to report on Tehran's compliance, dangling the threat of sanctions if Iran refused. Tehran made clear even before the deadline expired that it had no intention of suspending uranium enrichment. The IAEA last week rejected a recent American report on Iran's nuclear capability, saying the Islamic republic has produced material only in small quantities that is far below the level that can be used in nuclear arms. Ahmadinejad also criticized the Security Council for failing to call for an immediate cease-fire after war broke out between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. A truce was only reached on Aug. 14 to end the 34-day conflict. "The Security Council sat idly by for so many days, witnessing the cruel scenes of atrocities against the Lebanese ... Why?" asked Ahmadinejad, whose government is one of Hezbollah's main backers. He said the answer is self-evident: "When the power behind the hostilities is itself a permanent member of the Security Council, how then can this council fulfill its responsibilities." The United States and Britain refused to call for a cease-fire during the monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah, declaring it part of war on terror. Only after Israel's failure to defeat Hezbollah and the deaths of nearly 1,000 Lebanese civilians did Washington and London agree to push for a truce by the U.N. Security Council. The Iranian leader had harsh words about U.S. efforts in Iraq, saying "the occupiers are incapable of establishing security in Iraq" and every day hundreds of people get killed "in cold blood." Ahmadinejad claimed that numerous terrorists apprehended by the Iraqi government were "let loose under various pretexts by the occupiers." Domestically, Ahmadinejad, who doesn't enjoy widespread popularity among his people, has been able to use America's uncompromising stand against Iran's nuclear program to his own benefit. Many Iranians, including those who are against the president's domestic policies, support him in his showdown with the United States on the nuclear issue. In an interview with "NBC Nightly News," Ahmadinejad was asked about Bush's appeal to the Iranian people. "We have the same desire ... to be together for the cause of world peace," he said through a translator. "We think that the American people are like our people. They're good people, they support peace, equality and brotherhood," he said. He said his issue was with the U.S. administration. "I explicitly say that I am against the policies chosen by the U.S. government to run the world because these policies are moving the world toward war," he said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060920/ap_on_...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

Dear Abby - DEAR ABBY: I am a 13-year-old girl entering the eighth grade. Even though I have friends, I feel like I am invisible. Many of the people who claim I am their "friend" don't even take the time to call me. I could take the first step and call them, I suppose, but then I always feel like I'm not really their friend.

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20060...STnpoGC4AriQg-- AP - New York remained the safest of the nation's 10 largest cities in 2005, with about one crime reported for every 37 people, according to FBI statistics.

AP - Former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey said he has no desire to return to politics since he left office two years ago amid a [bleeped!] scandal but hopes his new tell-all book leads to public acceptance of his homosexuality.

AP - One-time JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr was offered a plea deal Tuesday on child pornography charges that would free him on probation.

AP - A woman was tied to a vehicle with a rope and dragged through suburban streets in a gruesome crime that left a trail of blood more than a mile long, police said.

Eminem, his estranged wife and their lawyers met privately in a judge's chambers Tuesday but failed to agree to terms for the couple's second divorce. "We didn't settle it, so all we did was set it for mediation," Macomb County Circuit Judge Antonio Viviano told reporters after the conference, which lasted about an hour. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, filed for divorce from Kimberley Mathers on April 5, 82 days after their second wedding. The couple had daughter Hailie in 1996, married in 1999, divorced in 2001, remarried on Jan. 14 and then quickly separated again. The 33-year-old rapper has used his sometimes tormented relationship with his high school sweetheart as a source of some of his angriest lyrics. Kimberley Mathers, 31, has another daughter and is raising her sister's daughter. Eminem has been legal guardian of his half brother. Kimberley Mathers declined comment on her way out of the courthouse. Eminem wasn't seen leaving the building. His lawyer, Harvey Hauer, and Kimberley Mathers' lawyer, Michael J. Smith, wouldn't discuss the hearing but expressed optimism for a settlement. "Mr. Mathers' only concern is the welfare of his children," Hauer said. "Hopefully, we'll put the matter behind us." "Like Marshall ... what she really wants is the welfare of the children," Smith said. "The parties are hopeful that it will be settled amicably." Eminem has won nine Grammy Awards, including best rap album for "The Slim Shady LP," "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "The Eminem Show." He won an Oscar for the song "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile," the semi-autobiographical 2002 film in which he starred. His latest recording project, "Eminem Presents: The Re-Up," will be released in December. Initially expected to be a street mixtape project designed to help launch new artists on his record label, Shady Records, the CD now will be offered for sale in record stores by Interscope Records. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_en_...e&printer=1

Southern California formally complained that ABC-TV's Brent Musburger revealed privileged information in play-by-play commentary during Saturday's game against Nebraska. The university sent a letter to ESPN, which oversees sports programming on ABC, saying Musburger, with less than 10 minutes to play and the Trojans leading 21-10, began describing how USC quarterback John David Booty lets receivers know he has spotted a certain kind of coverage. "John David told us that his signal when he finds one-on-one and they're coming, it's that 'hang loose,' that familiar sign you've seen surfers use," said Musburger, referring to the sign where the thumb and little finger are raised. USC sports information director Tim Tessalone sent a formal complaint to ESPN/ABC game producer Bill Bonnell on Monday and sent a copy to the Pacific-10 conference office. "We're supposed to be partners in this, but this is certainly going to make us think twice about trying to help them have as good a broadcast as possible," Tessalone said. "What he did was unconscionable." Last Friday, announcers and producers met with coaches and star players as part of their game preparation. During the meeting, there was discussion about how a replay of the Ohio State-Texas broadcast showed Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith tapping the top of his helmet to let receiver Ted Ginn Jr. know he's noticed one-on-one coverage. Booty was asked if Southern California had a similar signal, and Booty told Musburger about his "hang loose" signal. "We are very mindful of what we learn in pre-game meetings in terms in what is appropriate for broadcast and what is for our background. We're sorry this led to an unfortunate misunderstanding, which was never our intention," ESPN said in a statement released by spokesman Josh Krulewitz. Musburger said in a statement late Monday that the network regretted the confusion. Asked about Musburger's on-air revelations, USC coach Pete Carroll said with a laugh, "Just wondering what they're going to tell us next. I'm not worried about it. There's a million signals, a million ways to do it." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_...5&printer=1

Fisher-Price, a unit of Mattel Inc., on Tuesday took the wraps off T.M.X. Elmo, ending months of unprecedented secrecy that's had the toy industry abuzz. Until the unveiling, only about 50 people had seen it. He's still red, fuzzy and really ticklish, but now Elmo's laughing fits have him slapping his knee, falling to the floor, rolling over and pounding his arm. Predicted to be a hot holiday seller, the new and improved Tickle Me Elmo made its debut on ABC's "Good Morning America" as customers lined up at Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and KB Toys. The "X" in T.M.X. stands for extreme. "When I originally saw a picture of how it moves, I really thought there were some sort of wires, like a puppet, moving it," said Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of Toy Wishes, a trade publication. "We've never seen a stuffed animal that has this type of movement." The debut of T.M.X. Elmo was timed to the 10th anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo, the must-have toy of Christmases past that giggled when its stomach was pressed. In the new version, Elmo's squeaky laugh and body movements grow more pronounced with three successive tickles. Mattel president Neil Friedman had been president of Tyco Toys, now a unit of Mattel, when it launched the original Tickle Me Elmo, which had parents of preschoolers elbowing each other in the aisles. "With today's technology, this one is even more incredible," Friedman said. "You really have to see it to believe it." Executives at KB Toys Inc. and Toys R Us Inc. said pre-orders for the toy, which retails for $39.99, have exceeded expectations. Silver expected demand to be high, not only for the buzz and novelty, but because the advanced technology could limit the number produced. "If there are Elmos around December first, I will really be surprised," said Silver. He said the excitement built by the stealth marketing will be good for the entire toy industry, which has struggled in recent years as children have sought out video games and other gadgets at a younger age. Before Tuesday, the Fisher-Price Web site pictured T.M.X. Elmo only in shadow. Much of East Aurora-based Fisher-Price's own sales staff had not been allowed to see T.M.X. Elmo, even when they pitched it to retailers. Each year since the original Tickle Me Elmo, the company has come up with another incarnation with a new skill like doing the Chicken Dance or Hokey Pokey or singing Rock 'n Roll. Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy maker, in July reported a second-quarter profit due to reduced tax expenses. Gross sales for the Barbie brand slipped 1 percent, while Hot Wheels sales fell 7 percent and Fisher-Price sales rose 10 percent. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_...5&printer=1

More than 5,000 people, including the prime minister, are expected to cram the "Crocoseum" at the Australia Zoo on Wednesday to say farewell to "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin at a memorial service. Flags on the Sydney Harbor Bridge were to fly at half-staff, and giant television screens were set up in Irwin's home state of Queensland for people to watch the service. Irwin, 44, was killed Sept. 4 when the barb from a stingray pierced his chest while he was filming a TV show about the Great Barrier Reef. His family held a private funeral service Sept. 9. His death set off an outpouring of grief. Tens of thousands of people traveled to the zoo near Brisbane to drop off flowers and other mementoes, many of them signing Irwin-styled khaki shirts instead of a condolence book. There has been a surge of donations to the Irwin-instituted charity Wildlife Warriors, and millions of people have visited his Web site to find out more about Irwin and his conservation efforts. Irwin's widow, American-born Terri Irwin, was expected to make her first public appearance since his death at Wednesday's memorial service. The couple's daughter, Bindi, 8, and son Bob, 2, were expected to accompany their mother. Prime Minister John Howard also was expected to attend the service, and country singer John Williamson planned to sing "True Blue," a song that Irwin loved. John Stainton, Irwin's manager and close friend, said the service would be a celebration of the naturalist's life. "There will be one seat alongside of the family for Steve because he loved the Crocoseum, he built it," Stainton said. "And his Australia Zoo cap that he always wore watching all the shows with his daughter will be on the seat." Stainton said there would be visual tributes to Irwin, with some "memorable film clips" and "funny moments" from his television career. Actor Russell Crowe reportly be among those paying tribute by video. "The one thing I hope everyone will take away from it is what a diverse character he was," Stainton said. Three of Australia's main television networks planned to carry the ceremony live and provide feeds to U.S. and international networks. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_en_...r&printer=1

The mother of a man accused of abducting and assaulting a 14-year-old girl who eventually was able to send a text message for help was charged Tuesday with helping her son elude authorities and survive in underground bunkers, a sheriff said. The man, Vinson Filyaw, 36, was charged this weekend with kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl and holding her in an underground bunker. She was rescued Saturday. On Tuesday, Sheriff Steve McCaskill said Filyaw's mother, 55-year-old Ginger Nell Cobb, was arrested after police learned she was working with Filyaw's common-law wife to provide him food, water and other supplies. Filyaw's common-law wife, Cynthia Hall, was arrested last week. Police had been looking for Filyaw since November, when an arrest warrant was issued in the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. But he used an elaborate system of bunkers in the woods near his home to elude authorities and survived on supplies he received from the two women, the sheriff said. Cobb would bring the items to Hall, who would then leave them for Filyaw to retrieve from an abandoned vehicle near his bunkers, McCaskill said. "He would come out of the woods and get it ... at night or whenever," the sheriff said. Cobb would not answer questions as she left the sheriff's office Tuesday. She was being held in jail, and a bond hearing was scheduled for Wednesday. Filyaw was captured early Sunday and was being held at the county jail without bond. He also faces charges of possession of an incendiary device and impersonating an officer. Police say Filyaw, wearing a shirt with the image of a sheriff's badge on it, abducted the girl as she walked home from a school bus stop Sept. 6. The teen was found 10 days later in a booby-trapped, roughly 8-foot-deep hole carved out of the side of a hill. Authorities said the girl sent a text message to her mother on her captor's cell phone as he slept: "Hi mom," it read. "I'm in a hole across from Charm Hill where the big trucks go in and out. There's a bomb. Call police." According to an incident report released Tuesday in the suspected November assault on the 12-year-old girl, Filyaw woke the girl, who was sleeping in the same bed as her mother, and threatened to hurt the mother if she said anything. He then took the girl to another room and sexually assaulted her, the report said. The girl said she told her mother about the incidents, but nothing happened, according to the report. Authorities were alerted when the girl told a school guidance counselor. It was unclear Tuesday whether Vinson Filyaw had been assigned a public defender. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_...e&printer=1

Callous wealthy nations are indifferent to the plight of the poor as they pursue selfish policies which enrich the few at the expense of the many, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday. "These billions of poor people are increasingly becoming impatient because every year they hear us adopt declaration after declaration and yet nothing practical is done to assuage the hunger pains that keep them awake at night," he told the United Nations General Assembly. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders at the United Nations agreed a series of goals to aid development. They vowed to cut extreme poverty -- defined as living on less than $1 a day -- by half by 2015 as well as reversing the spread of AIDS. But Mbeki said poverty was increasing "during an era of unprecedented wealth accumulation and technological advances" and pointed the finger at rich nations, who he said insisted on an unequal relationship with the poor. "The majority of the human race is entitled to ask the question whether the rich are responding the way they do because the further impoverishment of the poor is to the advantage of the rich," he said. The Commonwealth of mainly former British colonies, many of them in Africa, last week urged rich nations to keep their promises to end poverty. Only a handful of developed nations have achieved the goal of spending 0.7 percent of their gross domestic product on international aid. Mbeki said the rich had directed an "uncaring declaration to the poor of today ... even when they are acutely aware that many in their neighborhood die of hunger, of preventable diseases and abject poverty." Mbeki's South Africa is in many ways a microcosm of the global wealth divide, with some of the starkest income disparities in the world and widespread poverty. But Mbeki himself has been accused by foreign and domestic critics of embracing market-friendly policies at home which have enabled a few blacks to accumulate vast wealth and some to enter the middle class while millions remain stuck in squalor. Mbeki said the solution to increasing poverty is to reform the United Nations and thereby help overcome "the cold reality of the indifference of the many among the rich and powerful." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060919/wl_nm/...c&printer=1

The Thai armed forces seized power on Tuesday without firing a shot, dismissed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government, revoked the constitution and promised a swift return to democracy after political reforms. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand's first Muslim army commander-in-chief, took the reins of power without a government title. A coup spokesman said Thaksin was being ousted to resolve a nearly year-long political deadlock and stop "rampant corruption." Initially, Thaksin tried to head off the coup by telephoning a Thai television station from New York to announce a state of emergency. The transmission stopped after 10 minutes while he was still talking, but his spokesman said the army could not succeed and "we're in control." Within hours, however, Thaksin canceled the speech he was to give to the U.N. General Assembly and spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee told Reuters by telephone the situation had changed and Thaksin was "considering whether to return to Thailand." A coup spokesman said the army and police were in firm control after tanks and troops took over Government House in Thailand's first coup in 15 years but its 18th since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. The heads of the armed forces went to the palace to report to King Bhumibol Adulyadej in a motorcade broadcast on television, a move likely to dampen any agitation in the countryside where Thaksin's support is strong but the King is revered. Television also showed documentaries of King Bhumibol in the countryside, promoting his development projects which have added to the reverence in which he is held. That was designed to reinforce the military's insistence it was acting for the good of the country which he embodies. "TEMPORARY REGIME" Armored vehicles and soldiers took up position on many street corners, but life in most of Bangkok continued much as usual with traffic moving through rain drenched streets and the airport operating normally. The seizure would be temporary and power "returned to the people" soon, coup spokesman retired Lieutenant-General Prapart Sakuntanak said on all Thai television channels. "Never in Thai history have the people been so divided," Prapart said. "The majority of people had become suspicious of this administration, which is running the country through rampant corruption," he added. "Independent bodies have been interfered with so much they could not perform in line within the spirit of the constitution." The army told all soldiers to report to base and banned unauthorized troop movements, suggesting the military leadership was worried that Thaksin loyalists might attempt a counter-coup. The armed forces also announced Wednesday would be a government, bank and market holiday in the interests of maintaining calm. Foreign news channels, including CNN and the BBC, were taken off the air. Prapart said the armed forces and police had set up a body to decide on political reforms, ousting billionaire telecoms tycoon Thaksin in the midst of a political crisis stemming from accusations he had subverted democracy. Weerasak Kohsurat, a deputy minister in a previous government, said he believed royal adviser Sumate Tantivejakul would steer the political reform process. Elections would be called when it was done and Thaksin, Thailand's longest serving elected prime minister, would be allowed to take part, he said. "NO ALTERNATIVE" After mass street protests against him in Bangkok, Thaksin, winner of two election landslides, called a snap poll in April, hoping his rural following would counter his metropolitan foes. However, opposition parties argued he had skewed neutral bodies such as the Election Commission in his favor and boycotted the poll. That rendered the election result invalid. Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party was expected to win a re-run tentatively scheduled for late November, increasing pressure on his opponents in the military and the old establishment to resort to removing him by force. The prolonged crisis had slowed economic growth and hit the stock market as consumer confidence waned and the coup was likely to damage investor faith in Thailand further. The Thai baht, one of Asia's strongest currencies this year, suffered its biggest fall in three years within hours of the coup. Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's put Thailand's credit rating on review for possible downgrades as a result of the coup. News of the coup helped lift the dollar and U.S. Treasuries as some investors ducked into safe havens. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060919/ts_nm/...8&printer=1

A top House Republican on Tuesday called for Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record) to resign, days after the six-term GOP lawmaker agreed to plead guilty to federal corruption charges. "He betrayed his constituents, he betrayed the body and there's no place for him in the Congress," said Rep. Deborah Pryce (news, bio, voting record), the fourth-ranking Republican in the House. Last week, Ney admitted improperly accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of trips, meals, sports tickets and casino chips while trying to win favors for a disgraced Washington lobbyist and a foreign aviation company. The Ohio congressman had defiantly denied any wrongdoing for months, but he reversed course and agreed to plead guilty in court papers filed Friday. Prosecutors will recommend he serve 27 months in prison. Ney, who is under treatment for alcohol dependency, was expected to formally plead guilty in court Oct. 13. Mary Jo Kilroy, Pryce's Democratic opponent, has called for Ney to step down and give up his federal pension. Another Republican facing a close re-election race, Steve Chabot of Cincinnati, said through a spokesman that any lawmaker responsible for criminal wrongdoing should step down. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett and Ohio state Sen. Joy Padgett, the Republican running to replace Ney in Congress, have already called for Ney's resignation. But House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, cautioned that Ney hasn't formally pleaded guilty and could change his mind before his scheduled court appearance. He has said repeatedly that resignation is a decision for Ney and his family to make. "Until he has his day in court, I don't think it's up to me to comment what he should or shouldn't do." Barry Bennett, chief of staff for Cincinnati-area Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt, took issue with Ney collecting a paycheck if he isn't actively representing his district. "Short of expulsion, we can't make him leave, but meanwhile nobody is going to be voting for the constituents of the 18th district for the next two weeks and maybe not for two weeks in November and two weeks in December," Bennett said. "It's not right." Ney's chief of staff, David Popp, and lawyer William Lawler could not be reached immediately for comment. Lawler said Friday that Ney was not ready to resign. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_...n&printer=1