Presidential Hopefuls Woo Powerful Union

LAS VEGAS - Three Democratic presidential hopefuls tried to show off their union bona fides Friday at a rally of cocktail waitresses, housekeepers and line cooks who make up the state's largest labor union.

"We're not going to let the Republicans in Washington or anywhere else treat working families as if they were invisible," New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told the crowd. "You're not invisible to us, you are not invisible to this union and you're sure not invisible to me."

Clinton spoke to thousands of members of the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, a group expected to be a key organizing force in Nevada's new early caucus.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and …

Some facts about Slovakia

A look at Slovakia, which is holding presidential elections Saturday:

CAPITAL: Bratislava.

GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE: Located in central Europe, the nation of 5.4 million borders Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south and Austria and the Czech Republic to the west.

HISTORY: Slovakia gained its independence in 1993 following the split of Czechoslovakia into two independent countries. The nation joined the EU and NATO in 2004. Slovakia became the 16th nation to adopt the euro currency on Jan. 1.

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Monaghan fulfills her dream of LPGA win

Kris Monaghan posted her first victory in six years on the LPGAtour by shooting a four-under-par 67 Sunday in the $300,000 Red RobinKyocera Inamori Classic in Poway, Calif.

"This is what I've been working for all my life," Monaghan said."I've been playing golf nearly 18 years now and this is what I'vedreamed about - coming out on the tour and being the best for oneweek."

Monaghan finished with an eight-under 276 to win by two strokesat the 6,024-yard StoneRidge Country Club course.

The victory was worth $45,000 for Monaghan, who said she has"really been scraping the barrel" to make ends meet without asponsor.

"Winning is what it's all about, but …

Pakistan vs. South Africa 2nd test

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Scores at tea on fifth day in the second and final test match between Pakistan and South Africa at the Zayed Cricket Stadium Wednesday:

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Scores:

South Africa 584-9 decl. (A.B. de Villiers 278 not out, Jacques Kallis 105; Tanveer Ahmed …

Political foes turn screws on Pakistan's Musharraf

For eight years President Pervez Musharraf dominated Pakistan and charmed the West by presenting himself as a straight-talking ally in the war on terror.

Now his political foes are in the driving seat and the former army chief is a beleaguered figure under mounting pressure to resign. Yet he retains the support of President Bush and Musharraf seems in no mood to give way.

The parties in the new civilian government that took power in February elections are arrayed against him. In a significant shift this week, Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the largest party in the coalition, explicitly called for Musharraf's resignation. He had earlier appeared willing to work …

Workers await merger news

More than 500 Bristol workers must wait to find out what aproposed merger of two of the UK's biggest accountancy firms couldmean for them.

KPMG and Arthur Andersen announced yesterday that they are intalks about the possibility of a tie-up of their operations outsidethe US, where Andersen is reeling from the fallout of the Enronscandal.

The firm's operation in the States was the auditor for the failedUS energy giant and owner of Wessex Water, which collapseddramatically at the end of last year and Andersen's Americanoperation is now facing charges over the alleged destruction of Enron-related documents.

A spokeswoman for KPMG said it was too early to say …

Big times in smallville

ZURICH-When countries as conservative as Switzerland start tossing big bucks at nanotechnology, it's clear that it has become a serious area of research. Earlier this year the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) opened a $19 million micro- and nanotechnology laboratory. The new facility-called FIRST-Lab, for Frontiers in Research, Space, and Time-took ETH's far-flung nanotech facilities and put them under one roof. It also provides scientists and engineers cutting-edge equipment and the type of pristine labs needed for nano-research. FIRST-Lab has a number of "clean rooms" in which there are fewer than 300 dust particles in each cubic meter of air. The facility takes a …