Colorful conservative in bid to become Japan's PM

A tough-talking former foreign minister emerged Tuesday as the top candidate to replace Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, whose sudden resignation has plunged Japan's ruling party into a leadership scramble and strengthened opposition demands for nationwide elections.

Fukuda, in office less than a year, shocked the country and much of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party by announcing in a late night news conference Monday he had decided to resign because he was unable to break a stalemate with the opposition that has slowed most of his policy objectives.

Fukuda _ also plagued by chronically low public support ratings _ was the second Japanese prime minister in a row …

LOCAL

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS

Today's games

Charleston Catholic vs. Huntington St. Joe (at Cox's Landing), 5

South Charleston at Hurricane, 7

Riverside at Nitro, 7

Herbert Hoover at Spring Valley, 7

Cabell Midland at George Washington, 7

Parkersburg at Ripley, 7

Nicholas County at Poca, 5:30

COACHES' ASSOCIATION RATINGS

School Record Rating

Morgantown 11-1 22.00

Cabell Midland 10-1 20.27

Parkersburg 10-2-2 17.78

Huntington 7-1-2 17.05

Charleston Catholic 10-3-2 16.86

Bridgeport 8-0-3 16.09

Buck-Upshur 10-4 15.92

Nitro 10-3-1 15.85

University 12-2 15.28

Beckley …

Iran Bars 38 IAEA Nuclear Inspectors

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country, the foreign minister said Monday in what appeared to be retaliation for the U.N. sanctions imposed last month.

The rejected officials are on a list of potential inspectors drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit and monitor Iran's nuclear facilities.

"The act of rejecting some inspectors is legal and in accordance with the agency's regulations," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the official Islamic Republic News Agency. He said others on the U.N. nuclear watchdog's list remain eligible, but did not explain how Iran decided which inspectors …

Online game gets real-world banking license

With banks around the world foundering, the idea of moving your bank account to another planet might have some appeal.

Interstellar banking isn't here yet, but at least you can pretend. The publisher of the online science-fiction game "Entropia Universe," set on the planet Calypso, received a banking license from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority last week and plans to open a real bank within a year, albeit one without physical, walk-in branches.

Players of "Entropia" already exchange real money for a virtual currency that is used for their expenses on Calypso. And virtual money they make in the game, through hunting, mining, …

Sunni militants threaten to kill 100 Shiite hostages Iraqi security forces surround town as GI, 16 others slain elsewhere

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi security forces surrounded a central Iraqivillage today after Sunni militants took as many as 100 ShiiteMuslims hostage and threatened to kill the captives if other Shiitesdid not leave town.

The explosive sectarian standoff played out as 17 people --including an American soldier -- were killed in insurgent attackselsewhere in Iraq.

Late Saturday, insurgents fired mortar rounds at a U.S. Marinebase near Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the military said, addingthat there were no American casualties. Residents said dozens ofarmed fighters moved through the city after dark. They reported loudexplosions when the militants tried to force their way …

Caulking, for a fresh 'new' look in your home

Remodeling is a wonderful way to make a tired home look like new. But not every budget or schedule allows for tackling a major project - even when it is needed. However, there are ways to spruce up your household and to give it a fresh "new" look, without breaking the bank, by investing just a few hours on a much-needed home maintenance task such as caulking.

Caulking is that stuff that builders and contractors use to fill and seal seams where two surfaces meet, to prevent water and weather from entering and causing damage. And if your home is five to 10 years old (or more) chances are good that many of those seams are both looking shabby and probably no longer doing their job to …

Oil Hovers Near $91 a Barrel

Oil prices hovered near $91 a barrel Tuesday as traders waited for signs on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again this week.

The Fed _ scheduled to open a meeting later Tuesday to plot its next move _ is widely expected to lower its key rate, now at 3.5 percent, by as much as one-half percentage point to 3 percent when policymakers wrap up the meeting on Wednesday.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 11 cents to $91.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

In London, Brent crude rose 27 cents to $91.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil investors …