Bangladesh mourns 117 killed in massive fire

Flags in Bangladesh were lowered to half-staff Saturday as the country mourned 117 people killed in a massive fire.

The country's deadliest blaze in recent memory broke out Thursday night in the narrow alleys of the old section of Dhaka, when an electrical transformer exploded soon after a rainstorm swept the city. About 100 others were injured.

As of Friday, a total of 117 bodies had been found.

Dhaka's Deputy Commissioner Muhibul Haque said earlier Saturday that 39 injured people, many in critical condition and on life support, were still being treated at the state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Later, 14 patients with …

Ginseng diggers ready to harvest their crop, Most will be exported, primarily to China

Wild ginseng diggers are getting ready to trudge deep into thehills. If the crop is anything like last year's, more than $2 millionworth of the perennial herb is laying ready in the soil.

The cash crop grows in all 55 counties of West Virginia. Last yearnearly 4,800 pounds of ginseng were harvested.

Much of West Virginia's ginseng is exported, mostly to China, saidRichard Strickland, a forester for the West Virginia Division ofForestry. The root is popular in Asia and is often brewed in teas tocure digestive ailments, headaches or act as an aphrodisiac.

Strickland said the root grows best east of the Mississippi andparticularly well in a region like the …

Japan projects 2 pct growth in fiscal 2008, but minister says that may hinge on US economy

The Japanese government on Wednesday projected the economy would grow 2 percent next fiscal year even as the economy minister warned that target would be hard to reach if the U.S. economy slows and oil prices remain high.

Economy Minister Hiroko Ota also said a slowdown in domestic construction could drag on growth.

"If these risks (persist), the next fiscal year's growth rate may be lower than the projection," Ota told a news conference.

The U.S. economy, struggling with a housing slump and credit crisis, is Japan's biggest export market, so a slowdown there could hurt Japanese companies.

In the latest annual outlook …

Vick signing means no Eagles picks from NJ camel

Philadelphia Eagles fans thirsty for predictions on whether their team will win or lose each week won't get them from a New Jersey pigskin-prognosticating camel.

Princess, the star of Popcorn Park Zoo, won't predict the results of any Eagles games this season to protest the signing of quarterback Michael Vick. Vick spent 18 months in prison for organizing a dogfighting ring.

The 2,600-pound camel went …

Feds find huge cache hidden by bank fraud

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Three 55-gallon drums with an estimated$805,000 in silver coins hidden by convicted bank fraud artist C.H.Butcher Jr. were recovered Tuesday in a rented truck at a suburbanairport.

Federal authorities also said they recovered $732,000 in U.S.Treasury coupons which Butcher had hidden from bankruptcy creditors,who have claims of $237 million against him.

Found with the coins was a rosary, wrapped in plastic.

The coins - damp, dirty and most still in rotting bank bags -were turned over pursuant to Butcher's guilty plea to bankruptcyfraud, bank fraud, tax fraud and money-laundering, said U.S. AttorneyJohn W. Gill Jr.

Although …

Dollar Falls to New Low Against Euro

BERLIN - The dollar fell to a new record low against the euro on Thursday, with the euro buying $1.4305 after trading opened in New York.

The dollar weakened amid negative U.S. economic data. The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits …

Oil slips to $71 as investors take profits

Oil prices slipped to near $71 a barrel Friday as the crude market took a breather from its recent daily gains. But the mood remained bullish as investors eyed signs that the global recession may be easing.

Benchmark crude for July delivery fell $1.60 to $71.08 a barrel by afternoon European time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, it rose $1.35 to settle at $72.68, the highest since October.

Reflecting expectations of continued global economic weakness, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries forecast Friday that demand for its crude this year would average 28.6 million barrels a day _ 2.2 million barrels …