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Champagne cake bubbles with taste

For wedding parties, showers or school graduations, a toweringChampagne cake is a delicious choice. The recipe doesn't include anybubbly, but imagine four cake layers filled with sherry andrum-flavored cream and covered with a buttercream frosting.

If you like, you can make the cake layers in advance and freezethem. The cake should be filled and frosted a few hours beforeserving, to make slicing it easier.

I was just planning to try the recipe for Champagne cake when Inoticed Maggie Kriz' request in Swap Shop, so I'm sharing it. CHAMPAGNE CAKE

2 1/4 cups cake flour 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided 1tablespoon baking powder Pinch of salt …

EU Leaders Endorse Reform Treaty

LISBON, Portugal - European Union leaders endorsed a reform treaty Friday to replace their failed European constitution and give the 27-nation union a more influential say in world affairs, diplomats said.

The new treaty will take effect in 2009 if it passes national parliamentary votes and referendums.

"With this new treaty, Europe has overcome an impasse that lasted for several years," said Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who hosted the EU summit.

"Europe has emerged stronger from this summit, stronger to face global issues, stronger to take its role in the world and also to increase confidence in our economy and in our citizens," he told reporters. …

Russian economy continues to slide

Russia's economic downturn showed no signs of slowing in May, with preliminary figures released Tuesday revealing an 11 percent annual contraction in the economy during the month.

The slide in gross domestic product was worse than the 10.5 percent annual drop in April. During the first five months of the year, the economy shrank by 10.2 percent compared with last year, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said.

Russia has been the hardest hit of the major developing economies as oil prices plunged last year and demand for metals dropped off. It is widely expected that second quarter GDP figures will show the economy is in a technical recession _ often …

Henry E. Norton, 64, Chicago Chop House Owner

Henry E. Norton, 64, owner of the River North area's Chicago ChopHouse restaurant, died Tuesday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Norton, of the Near North Side, left the advertising tradein 1959 to begin a career operating lounges and restaurants. Hisfirst venture was Easy Street, a downtown area watering hole. Forthe next 25 years, he operated establishments including Alfie's, Gateof Horn, Le Pub and Shuckers.

In answer to trendy nouvelle cuisine, designer pastas and aproliferation of Asian restaurants, he founded the Chicago ChopHouse, a meat and potatoes eatery, in a rehabbed graystone buildingat 60 W. Ontario, in 1986.

A Chicago Sun-Times …

INTERNATIONAL TWIST

Auntie Anne's grows globally

The pretzel is arguably an icon of Central Pennsylvania, from the hard pretzels at Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery - the first commercial pretzel bakery in the country - to the soft, salty creations sold at farmers markets and street fairs.

So it's only fitting that a Lancasterbased company has taken the soft pretzel and gone global, making it possible to snag one in places as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and South Korea.

"In most cases - maybe all cases - we've been the first pretzel to come into that market," said Michael McCoy, director of franchise development and international relations for Auntie Anne's Inc. 'And when we do that, …

Hundreds of activists stage protest in Malaysia against Myanmar referendum

About 500 Myanmar activists demonstrated Saturday outside their country's embassy in Malaysia, demanding that Myanmar's military regime call off its constitutional referendum even as voting began despite a devastating cyclone.

The protesters, who included dozens of women and children, waved placards saying "We want democracy", "No is our vote", "Stop the junta" and "Don't hold the referendum during mourning days."

Most of them wore red T-shirts bearing the word "No". Several people gave speeches and the crowd kept silent at one point to pray for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the Myanmar coast a …

Blacks shut out of Ryan rehab planning, complaint to feds says

State transportation officials are violating federal guidelines byshutting off African Americans from the planning of the $450 millionreconstruction of the Dan Ryan Expy., a group of South Side residentscharge in a complaint to the U.S. Justice Department.

The Committee to Save the Dan Ryan will file a formal complaintMonday accusing the Illinois Department of Transportation of doinglittle to seriously seek community input for the project, which willpermanently close 10 ramps in black neighborhoods between 43rd and59th streets.

Committee members have said the ramp closures will disrupt trafficpatterns in surrounding neighborhoods and choke the flow of …

How art teachers can enhance artmaking as a therapeutic experience: Art therapy and art education

The national organization of the American Art Therapy Association in 1994 celebrated 25 years as an organization at its annual conference. Today, training in the field is, in most cases, comparable to other mental health counseling professions such as clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, or mental health counseling. Like other counseling professions, art therapy is a master's level entry profession in which training and national board certification as an art therapist requires supervision both before and after graduation. Similar to other therapists, art therapists are also required to qualify for licensing or certification in some states where they practice.

The …

ConocoPhillips, Abu Dhabi win Kazakh oil rights

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips say they have signed a deal with Kazakhstan's national oil company to drill in a potentially lucrative oil and gas region in the Caspian Sea.

The memorandum of understanding tentatively gives Houston-based ConocoPhillips …

Ghostly festive entertainment

From the team that brought A Christmas Carol to Cheddar comesanother festive ghost story.

Charles Dickens has been swapped for Oscar Wilde by the Rain OrShine Theatre Company of Gloucester when they put on The CantervilleGhost.

Shortly before Christmas, 1884, the Otis family from America moveinto the ancestral home of Sir Simon de Canterville, a …

2 Penn State Players to Stand Trial

BELLEFONTE, Pa. - Two Penn State football players were ordered to stand trial Friday after authorities said they were involved in an off-campus fight, while charges were dismissed against four other players.

Centre County District Judge Carmine Prestia ruled at a preliminary hearing that there was enough evidence against Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker in the April 1 melee at an apartment that their cases should go to trial.

Scirrotto, called by Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane the "first lynchpin of responsibility," and Baker face charges including burglary, criminal trespass, simple assault and harassment.

A formal arraignment is scheduled within a …

Portuguese Soccer Results

Results from the 20th round of the Portuguese first-division soccer league (home teams listed first):

Friday's Game

Guimaraes 1, Naval 0

Saturday's Games

FC Porto 3, Pacos Ferreira 0

Belenenses 1, Maritimo 3

Amadora 4, Leiria 2

Sunday's Games

Benfica 1, Sporting Braga 1

Setubal 1, Sporting 0

Nacional 1, Leixoes 0

…

Pro Picks: Some more gift ideas from political consultants and junkies

"You can't beat Stephen Colbert's 'I Am America (And So Can You).'What we think is important, as political consultants, is actually important to five or 10 percent of America. Colbert is a reality check on what we do every day."

-John Anzalone, Anzalone Liszt Research

"I'm giving Republican candidates 'Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't' by Jim Collins, so when the GOP wins back the House they will know how to restore some business sense to Congress." -Jeff Roe, Axiom Strategies

"I usually give 'How to Win a Local Election' by Lawrence Grey to anyone who's thinking about running for office."

-Brian Hanf, Trailblazer Campaign Services

"I give 'You Are the Message' by Roger Ailes. It provides a lot of information on how to present yourself, how others perceive you and how to get a point across very clearly."

-Maurice Bonamigo, Maurice Bonamigo & Associates

"This year I'm giving 'The Death of Common Sense' by Philip K. Howard. It's very relevant today, when we're looking at major social issues we can't seem to solve."

-Melanie Brenner, freelance communications strategist

"All my political friends this year will get Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations.' Bourdain has become a great voice for many diverse cultures, socially and politically. Those of us who live inside the Beltway Bubble could learn a lot from such a worldly person."

-Joe Mathieu, program director, XM Radio's POTUS '08

Army reviews troop use after fatal Ala. shootings

The Army has launched an inquiry into whether federal laws were broken when soldiers were sent to an Alabama town after 11 people died in a shooting spree.

The Army confirmed Wednesday that 22 military police and an officer from Fort Rucker were sent to the nearby town of Samson after slayings last week. The town's tiny police force and county officers were stretched to the limit after a gunman killed 10 people and himself.

Authorization from the governor or president is typically required for the deployment of federal troops on U.S. soil. It's not clear who ordered the troops sent to Samson.

An Army spokesman says the military is trying to determine what happened. Among the questions is why the troops were sent and what they did while there.

High-flying ticket prices

Airline moguls seem to be hiking ticket prices every other day to cover "fuel costs." Why bother with pricing schedules? Just publish that the ticket price is to be determined by market conditions, and airline management plans to charge as much as they can get, if they actually have an approved aircraft that flies that day.

Jerry Wilkerson, Crete

Channel 9's new acquisition; Hires Bartel to help

WGN-Channel 9 is beefing up its investigative efforts. The station has hired away the well-respected investigative producer Marsha Bartel, 52, from WFLD-Channel 32, where she had been working on investigative pieces with reporter Dane Placko, whose contract was just renewed. Bartel's last day at WFLD was Monday. She starts at WGN on Sept. 7.

WGN's move to hire Bartel comes after a period when investigative reporting was apparently not a high priority at the station. But WGN lead anchor Mark Suppelsa said Tuesday he has been pushing for WGN to do more investigative work because he believes it will help attract viewers, and perhaps not coincidentally, help boost the station's late news ratings, which have been sinking in recent months. WGN is currently in third place in the late news ratings competition

Suppelsa said he encouraged WGN news director Greg Caputo to consider hiring Bartel, because Suppelsa has been impressed with Bartel's work since both were at WMAQ-Channel 5 in the early 1990s. Bartel was a producer with WMAQ's Unit 5 investigative team, which at the time included Peter Karl, Paul Hogan, Rich Samuels and Carol Marin. Suppelsa was not part of that investigative unit at Channel 5, but he said he wants to work directly with Bartel at Channel 9.

"I'd love to take the time to work on something with Marsha," said Suppelsa. Caputo did not respond to a request for comment.

Bartel said her passion in the TV news business is only investigative reporting. "It's all I've ever been interested in," said Bartel, who spent 10 years doing investigations at WMAQ, then 13 years at NBC, working for the network "Dateline" show. When she was axed during an NBC news department downsizing, Bartel briefly reunited with Suppelsa at WFLD, where he had moved from WMAQ. Suppelsa moved to WGN about a year after Bartel arrived at WFLD.

Shortly after exiting NBC, Bartel filed a breach-of-contract suit against the network claiming she was laid off because of concerns she had expressed about some of the investigative practices being used on "Dateline." The suit was dismissed, however, before it got to trial. Bartel now says she never expected to prevail in her lawsuit. "I just wanted to make sure my concerns about how investigations were being handled were made public," Bartel said.

Now that she is at Channel 9, Bartel said, it's possible she will work on some investigative pieces in conjunction with the Chicago Tribune. "We'll have to see how that relationship evolves," said Bartel, who believes it's important for good stories to get exposure in as many different media as possible. "The more people who see the stories, the better it is for everybody," she said

Bartel's move to WGN leaves WFLD suddenly without a key behind-the-scenes producer just as it is trying to put in place the final pieces of a revamped 9 p.m. newscast with more in-depth, longer stories. The pieces from Bartel and Placko were apparently to have been a key part of the new newscast. At the very least, Channel 9's hiring of Bartel signals it intends to aggressively counter WFLD's efforts to pull in news viewers during the 9 p.m. hour, when the two stations' newscasts compete head to head.

Photo: Mark Suppelsa

Friday, November 2

Today is Friday, November 2, the 306th day of 2007. There are 59 days left in the year.

Highlights in history on this date:

1483 - The Duke of Buckingham is executed after leading a failed rebellion against King Richard III of England, whom he helped to the throne four months earlier.

1687 - Ottoman ruler Mohammed IV is deposed in revolution in Constantinople and is succeeded by Suleiman III.

1783 - Gen. George Washington issues his "Farewell Address to the Army" near Princeton, New Jersey.

1841 - The Second Afghan War starts when Afghans massacre British army officers.

1917 - In the Balfour Declaration, the British government declares that it favors the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

1930 - Haile Selassie is crowned emperor of Ethiopia.

1947 - Howard Hughes pilots his huge wooden airplane, known as the Spruce Goose, on its only flight, which lasts about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.

1951 - Bolivia receives a US$1 million U.S. Export-Import Bank loan to expand production of tungsten to be sold to the U.S.

1956 - Gaza, Egypt falls to British in Suez War; Hungarian government renounces Warsaw Treaty and appeals to the United Nations against Soviet invasion.

1959 - Charles Van Doren admits to a U.S. House subcommittee that he had the questions and answers in advance for his appearances on the NBC-TV game show "Twenty-One."

1962 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces an end to the Cuban missile crisis, saying the Soviet Union is dismantling bases in Cuba.

1963 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated by his own troops during a coup.

1964 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia is deposed, and Faisal is proclaimed king.

1967 - White mercenaries and black troops invade Congo from Portuguese Angola.

1972 - Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter defeats Republican incumbent Gerald R. Ford, becoming the first U.S. president from the Deep South since the Civil War.

1978 - Two Soviet cosmonauts who established a new endurance record by staying in space 139 days and 15 hours land safely in Kazakhstan.

1983 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill establishing a federal holiday on the third Monday of January in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

1988 - Government imposes nationwide night curfew in Sri Lanka after attacks by radical Sinhalese leave at least 16 people dead. The group opposes an accord that would grant a measure of autonomy to Tamils if the guerrillas lay down their arms.

1990 - Militiamen in the Soviet republic of Moldavia shoot and kill six people and wound 30 during an ethnic clash.

1991 - Yugoslav army renews attacks on Croatia.

1992 - Basketball star Magic Johnson retires for a second time from the Los Angeles Lakers, just five weeks after the guard, who has HIV, announced he would return to the NBA.

1993 - Sarajevo shivers in frigid temperatures as Bosnian Serbs block United Nations engineering crews from repairing vital electrical lines.

1994 - A river of fire ignited by an oil tank explosion surges through a village in southern Egypt, killing more than 410 people.

1995 - Suicide attackers set off back-to-back car bombs near Israeli buses in the Gaza Strip, injuring 11 Israelis in apparent retaliation for the slaying of a radical.

1996 - A United States Air Force F-16 fighter plane fires a missile at an Iraqi radar site while in the "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq.

1998 - Chaos and looting erupts in Central America after Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 7,000.

1999 - Prominent Zulu prince Cyril Zulu, the mayor-designate of Durban, South Africa is assassinated by an unknown gunmen.

2000 - One American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts move into Alpha, an international space station, for a four-month stay.

2001 - Northern Ireland's Catholic-Protestant government faces imminent suspension or collapse after two Protestant lawmakers refuse to support their leader, David Trimble's re-election bid as government leader.

2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush calls Saddam Hussein a "dangerous man" with links to terrorist networks, as U.N. Security Council members await a revised U.S. resolution to disarm Iraq.

2003 - The U.S. Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire installs as its bishop Reverend V. Gene Robinson, consecrating the first openly homosexual Anglican bishop and drawing censure from numerous provinces within the worldwide Anglican Communion.

2004 - A filmmaker who was the great-grandnephew of Vincent van Gogh is slain in a daylight attack, and police arrest a Dutch-Moroccan man after wounding him in a shootout. Theo van Gogh made a movie criticizing the treatment of Muslim women.

2005 - Clashes between police and protesters in Ethiopia's capital erupt in gunfire and grenade explosions, with police killing at least 33 people during a second day of renewed demonstrations against disputed elections.

2006 - Iran test-fires dozens of missiles, including the Shahab-3 that can reach Israel, in military maneuvers that it says are aimed at putting a stop to the role of world powers in the Persian Gulf region.

Today's Birthdays:

Marie Antoinette, wife of France's King Louis XVI (1755-1793); Luchino Visconti, Italian film director (1906-1976); Odysseus Elytis, pseud. of Odysseus Alepoudelis, Greek poet and Nobel laureate (1911-1996); Burt Lancaster, U.S. actor (1913-1994);David Schwimmer, U.S. actor (1966--); K.D. Lang, Canadian singer (1961--).

Thought for Today:

Vanity is as ill at ease under indifference, as tenderness is under the love which it cannot return _ George Eliot, English author (1819-1880).

Chiarelli Biographical Information

NAME _ Peter W. Chiarelli

AGE-BIRTHDATE-LOCATION _ 57; March 23, 1950; Seattle.

EXPERIENCE _ senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, 2007-present; special assistant to the commander, United States Central Command for the Development of Regional Military Capability, 2007; commander, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, 2006; commanding general, 1st Cavalry Division, 2003-05; director of operations, readiness and mobilization, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-3, 2001-03; assistant division commander (support) 1st Cavalry Division, 2000-01; executive assistant and later executive officer to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, 1998-00; commander, 3d Brigade 2d Infantry Division, 1996-98; deputy G-3 (operations) and director for plans, training and mobilization, III Corps, 1995-96; G-3 (operations), 1st Cavalry Division, 1993-95; commander, 2d Battalion 1st Infantry 9th Infantry Division, 1990-92; assistant operations officer G-3 (operations), I Corps, 1989-90; S-3 (operations), 2d Brigade 3d Armored Division United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, 1987-89.

EDUCATION _ B.S. in political science., Seattle University; M.P.A. in international relations and economics, University of Washington; M.A. in national security and strategic studies, National War College.

FAMILY _ Wife, Beth; three children.

Gabriele Basilico

MILAN

Gabriele Basilico

STUDIO GUENZANI

Two threads emerged from this sophisticated mini-retrospective devoted to Gabriele Basilico: the investigation of the nature of the photographic medium and the discovery of a new identity for the figure of the author-photographer. The exhibition, organized in two rooms, presented a selection of twenty-six vintage black-and-white prints, linked to three documentary and interpretive projects that Basilico undertook in the 1980s and early '90s. In the first room were photographs from the "Beirut 1991" series, bearing witness to the devastation of the Lebanese city at the end of the civil war there. Apart from showcasing the artist's desire to eliminate all formal acrobatics in favor of a style of photography that embraces every minute detail of reality, the sequence is also a powerful postmodern scenario, in which detritus and rubble are the source of reflection on the monument, habitable space, and urban entropy.

A still more contemplative stance characterizes the project "Bord de Mer 1984-85" (Seaside 1984-85), tied to a commission from the French government, which had invited twenty-eight photographers of different nationalities to interpret and recount the transformation of the country's coastal landscape. The images that were produced are the artists' responses not only to the country itself but to categories of geography and ways of describing and building the landscape. Traveling for six months, Basilico painstakingly photographed the territory comprising the regions of Normandy, Picardy, and Nord-Pas-de-Calais. working with great freedom of action, the artist identified his own photographic method with the analysis and representation of a region - an approach he has never abandoned. The experience of travel becomes the means by which Basilico reflects on the medium he has and to which he gives a personal stamp. The result is undoubtedly a reflection on transformations in the region and on the distortion of its future, evidenced by the postindustrial crisis that has left the area scarred with abandoned sites, great voids, and a workforce waiting to be retooled. Seen as an ensemble, the photographs convey the cinematic of Basilico 's work; seen individually, however, they function as portraits of expanded spaces, of the idea of the horizon, of landscape's aspect, and of the gestures and rituals that take place in public space - all attesting to a vision that is lyrical yet devoid of sentimentality. And it was a brilliant touch to also exhibit, on a worktable, six albums of photographic contact prints for the project. These not only the importance of the process of constructing the image shots, reconsiderations of the image, corrections), but also conthe project's full richness, where the complete sequence of the functions like a navigational log or a storyboard for a film.

The exhibition concluded with a third photographic series, "Porti Mare 1982-88" (Seaports 1982-88), Basilico's personal investigaof the port cities of Europe. Here more than anywhere else he not only his training as an architect and his interest in the legacy Bernd and Hilla Becher - their taxonomic approach, objective framwithout people, sculptural rendering of forms - but also his affiliwith humanist culture, which, from the Renaissance on, has at landscape as a mirror of the soul.

- Paola Nicotin

Translated from Italian by Marguerite Shore.

Clearing Firms Battle Move To Lift CBOT Emergency Fund

A decision to bolster the Chicago Board of Trade's emergency fundhas sparked an outcry among several clearing firms, including chargesof waste and extravagance.

The controversy revolves around an obscure affiliate of the CBOT,the Board of Trade Clearing Corp., a back office operation thatsettles the exchange's trades and is responsible for safety.

Earlier this year, the CBOT moved to bolster its reserve fundsand make other changes in the wake of the crisis that took placeearlier this year when Barings Bank rogue trader Nick Leeson lost $1billion, jeopardizing the Singapore International Monetary Exchange.

Specifically, the BOTCC voted to phase out the practice ofallowing CBOT clearing members to deposit clearing corporation stockto meet margin requirements. Instead, clearing members next yearwill be required to keep cash in reserve, lessening the possibilityof collapse caused by stock devaluation.

Burt Gutterman, a BOTCC governor, last month wrote a letterblasting that proposal as arrogant and called for an overhaul of theorganization.

"They have a concentration of power that they have abused,"Gutterman said. "They've dictated a policy, and the process shouldbe open."

Since its formation 70 years ago, the BOTCC has been technicallyseparate from the CBOT, owned by its clearing members, although theLa Salle Street exchange is its only customer and the twoinstitutions are closely intertwined.

Gutterman said he wanted that governance to change, arguing thatthe BOTCC's payroll has swelled in the last eight years and is morebloated and inefficient than its counterpart at the ChicagoMercantile Exchange. He also complained that the clearingcorporation charges members too much in fees, pays too much in taxesand duplicates tasks the exchange already performs.

"The BOTCC structure remains a legacy of the past," he wrote.

Added Leslie Rosenthal, who runs a CBOT clearing firm: "Youshouldn't have a militant (BOTCC) board of governors saying theydon't care what's in the best interests of the Chicago Board ofTrade."

John Hiatt, president of the BOTCC, insisted his operation wasefficient, and he cited favorable results of a member survey. Headded that the effort to tighten the safety requirements is part of aroutine evaluation that began two years ago after he took over aspresident.

Although only three of the BOTCC's 126 members keep all of theirreserve as stock, more than half use stock for a portion of theirmargin. Hiatt said he moved to abolish the practice because it ispotentially destabilizing to the exchange.

"Our net worth is the ultimate line of defense," Hiatt said."And if every clearing member met 100 percent of their marginrequirement with stock, we would necessarily have no margin in thehouse or no net worth."

Henry scores twice as Red Bulls beat United 4-0

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thierry Henry scored twice in the first half to set up New York's 4-0 win at D.C. United on Thursday, moving the Red Bulls into top spot in the MLS Eastern Conference.

The former France striker scored in the 12th and 38th minutes, with both goals set up by Norwegian international Jan Gunnar Solli.

Estonian international midfielder Joel Lindpere netted in the 76th, and substitute forward Juan Agudelo scored in second half stoppage time as the Red Bulls attack found its scoring touch, having only netted five times in its first five games.

The loss ended a three-game unbeaten run for United, who were held goalless for the first time this season.

Sri Lankan gov't: Tamil Tiger rebel chief killed

Sri Lanka declared Monday it had crushed the final resistance of the Tamil Tigers, killing rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.

State television broke into its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran's death, and the government information department sent a text message to cell phones across the country confirming he was killed along with top deputies, Soosai and Pottu Amman.

The announcement sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing.

Prabhakaran's death has been seen as crucial in bringing closure to this war-wracked Indian Ocean island nation. If he had escaped, he could have used his large international smuggling network and the support of Tamil expatriates to spark a new round of guerrilla warfare here. His death in battle could still turn him into a martyr for other Tamil separatists.

Sri Lanka's army chief, Lt. Gen. Sareth Fonseka, said on television that his troops routed the last rebels from the northern war zone Monday morning and were working to identify Prabhakaran's body from among the dead.

"We can announce very responsibly that we have liberated the whole country from terrorism," he told state television. It was widely presumed Fonseka was waiting for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to announce Prabhakaran's death.

Fonseka and the commanders of the other security forces were scheduled to formally inform the president of the victory Monday evening.

Senior military officials said troops closed in on Prabhakaran and his final cadre early Monday.

He and his top deputies then drove an armor-plated van accompanied by a bus filled with rebel fighters toward approaching Sri Lankan forces, sparking a two-hour firefight, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Troops eventually fired a rocket at the van, ending the battle, they said. Troops pulled Prabhakaran's body from the van and identified it as that of the rebel leader, they said. The attack also killed Soosai, the head of the rebels' naval wing, and Pottu Amman, the group's feared intelligence commander, the officials said.

Suren Surendiran, a spokesman for the British Tamils' Forum, the largest organization for expatriate Tamils in Britain, said the community was in despair.

"The people are very somber and very saddened. But we are ever determined and resilient to continue our struggle for Eelam," he said, invoking the name of the Tamils hoped-for independent state. "We have to win the freedom and liberation of our people."

But in Colombo, which had suffered countless rebel bombings, people set of fireworks, danced and sang in the streets.

"Myself and most of my friends gathered here have narrowly escaped bombs set off by the Tigers. Some of our friends were not lucky," said Lal Hettige, 47, a businessman celebrating in Colombo's outdoor market. "We are happy today to see the end of that ruthless terrorist organization and its heartless leader. We can live in peace after this."

The chubby, mustachioed Prabhakaran turned what was little more than a street gang in the late 1970s into one of the world's most feared insurgencies. He demanded unwavering loyalty and gave his followers vials of cyanide to wear around their necks and bite into in case of capture.

At the height of his power, he controlled a shadow state in northern Sri Lankan and commanded a force that including an infantry, backed by artillery, a significant naval wing and a nascent air force.

He also controlled a suicide squad known as the Black Tigers that was blamed for scores of deadly attacks. The rebels were branded a terror group and condemned for forcibly conscripting child soldiers.

Earlier, the military announced it had killed several top rebel leaders, including Prabhakaran's son Charles Anthony, also a rebel leader. The military said special forces also found the bodies of the rebels' political wing leader, Balasingham Nadesan, the head of the rebels' peace secretariat, Seevaratnam Puleedevan, and one of the top military leaders, known as Ramesh.

The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate state for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority after years of marginalization at the hands of the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

Government forces ousted the rebels from their shadow state in the north in recent months and brought the group to its knees. Thousands of civilians were reportedly killed in the recent fighting.

Senior diplomats had appealed for a humanitarian cease-fire in recent weeks to safeguard the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone, but the government refused, and denied persistent reports it was shelling the densely populated war zone.

Diplomats in Brussels said Monday the European Union will endorse a call for an independent war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in Sri Lanka. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions were ongoing.

The rebels were also accused of using the civilians as human shields and shooting at some who fled.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says there have been "very grave allegations" of war crimes on both sides of the conflict adding "they should be properly investigated."

The U.N. said 7,000 civilians were killed in the fighting between Jan. 20 and May 7. Health officials in the area said more than a 1,000 others were killed since then.

On Monday, more than a thousand angry Sri Lankans protested outside the British Embassy in Colombo, pelting it with rocks and eggs and burning an effigy of Miliband and throwing it inside the compound. Protesters held posters calling Miliband a "white Tiger," and several tried to climb the embassy's high walls.

___

Associated Press writers Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report.

Mangotsfield launch major expansion plan

EIGHT new teams will be playing under the Mangotsfield Unitedbanner next season following the Dr Martens League Western Divisionclub's decisions to link up with junior outfit North Bristol Coltsand also launch their own ladies side.

The move follows an approach by Peter Brown and Roger Ridd -secretary and chairman respectively of North Bristol Colts.

North Bristol run an under-11 side in the Hanham Minor League,under-12 to under-16 teams in the Avon Youth League and an under-18side in the Bristol Combination League.

"One of their sides has already progressed through to seniorfootball and play in the Regional Sunday League and they willcontinue to play as North Bristol Colts for the coming season beforechanging their name for the following season, " said Mangotsfieldchairman Roger Pullin.

"Jo Crisp, the player-manager of the newly-formed ladies side,also approached us with plans to form a new team to play in theGloucestershire County League as Mangotsfield United Ladies.

"The directors of the club see these decisions as a big stepforward which will provide us with a close link with youth footballin the area."

North Bristol Colts were formed in 1994 and Ridd said: "Our sideshave always been based on the Mangotsfield, Downend and Staple Hillareas so we see the link as natural progression.

"Two of our youngsters, Martin Nicholls and Nathan Broe, havealready progressed through the age groups and are now playing forMangotsfield Reserves in the Somerset Senior League.

"We have been drifting for the past couple of seasons and we seethe link with Mangotsfield as giving us a big boost and providing thedirection we need to advance the club's fortunes."

North Bristol play all their home games at St George CommunitySchool's ground at Johnsons Lane, Whitehall. But after next seasonthey will be seeking a new base as their ground is being redevelopedfor the school's link up with Bristol City FC "We have spoken toSouth Gloucestershire Council over the possibility of a pitch for ourhome games while the redevelopment of Johnsons Lane takes place, butif it's possible we would like to return there when the work has beencompleted, " added Ridd.

"Hopefully, we will be able to restart under-8- and under-9 sidesnext season to play in the Hanham Minor League and we are looking formanagers to run these teams."

The ladies team, which will have an age range from 15 to 40, willplay home games at Mangotsfield's Cossham Street ground.

They still want new players and anyone interested should contactCrisp on 0117 9099882 or 07788676317.

Player-coach Vicky Rodliffe and Jennie Day both previously playedfor Yate Town, while Dee Heal had a spell with Bristol City.

Other players who have signed on are Katie Harris (BristolRovers), Hayley Golding (Bristol United, Freeway, Fromeside), DebHarris (Freeway, Bristol Rovers), Lisa Hacker (Downend School) alongwith Kay Redman, Hannah Purcell and Rachel Eggbeer.

USO sent 7 entertainment groups to Afghanistan in 2007, asks O'Reilly for support

Bill O'Reilly should support the USO if he wants to help U.S. troops fighting abroad, the charity organization said in a curt letter to the Fox News Channel commentator.

The missive came a day after O'Reilly complained the non-profit charity organization was not sending enough celebrities to entertain troops in Afghanistan.

"If you really want to support America's service men and women and their families, please set the record straight," USO Chief Executive Edward Powell said in the letter, a copy of which was received by The Associated Press.

O'Reilly was traveling and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Speaking from Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, O'Reilly told the AP that he is disappointed the USO "doesn't put anybody out there (in Afghanistan). As far as I know, the only famous people in the past year were (country music singer) Toby Keith and me."

O'Reilly got that impression after meeting with hundreds of troops during a surprise visit to Bagram Air Base and Camp Eggers, in Kabul, last weekend.

The USO said it has sent seven entertainment tours to Afghanistan in 2007, after 12 tours _ including one with O'Reilly nemesis Al Franken _ went to the war-torn country in 2006.

"Putting together each of these tours is complex and requires a match between the troops' interests, celebrity availability and the military's ability to provide logistics and security," Powell said.

The USO _ the organization that famously brought Bob Hope to Vietnam and Marilyn Monroe to Korea _ has also been active sending comedians and professional golfers on entertainment tours to bases in the Persian Gulf.

Fishing boat sinks off France, one rescued, two found dead, 4 missing

A fishing boat sank in rough seas off the northwest coast of France on Monday, and rescuers have found one survivor and two bodies, French coast guard officials said. Four people were missing.

The 24-meter (79-foot) La Petite Julie sent out distress signals early Monday to indicate it was sinking about 54 kilometers (33 miles) north of the small island Ile Vierge off Brittany's coast. Seven people were on board. The search for the four missing people was suspended late Monday, officials said.

"If they didn't succeed in getting into a lifeboat, they are surely dead," said Sylvain Le Berre, a spokesman for the local coast guard. In the area, the water temperature was no more than 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit).

Rescuers found one man suffering from shock, and in the early stages of hypothermia, Le Berre said. Two bodies were found, and empty lifeboats were spotted near the site of the sinking.

Weather conditions were rough, with heavy winds and cold temperatures, as naval vessels, planes and helicopters as well as some fishing boats in the area took part in the search.

Police Want Brandy Charged in Fatality

LOS ANGELES - The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that actress-singer Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a freeway crash that killed a woman motorist last month, a city attorney's spokesman told The Associated Press.

The CHP referred the matter to the city attorney's office for review, said spokesman Nick Velasquez.

"The office is currently reviewing the case and determining whether the evidence warrants the filing of a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter," Velasquez said.

A message seeking comment from Brandy's publicist, Courtney Barnes, was not immediately returned. Earlier this month, Barnes issued a statement saying Brandy "wishes to publicly express her condolences to the family of the deceased."

Barnes also has said Brandy wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, Velasquez said.

Prosecutors couldn't say when they would make a decision about whether to bring a case. If charged, Brandy wouldn't necessarily have to appear in court and could have her lawyer enter a plea, Velasquez said.

Brandy, 27, was driving a Land Rover on Interstate 405 on Dec. 30 when traffic slowed and her vehicle struck the back of Honda driven by Awatef Aboudihaj, 38, according to a CHP report.

Aboudihaj's car hit another vehicle, slid sideways into the center divider and was then hit by another car, the report said. Aboudihaj, a Los Angeles waitress, died at a hospital from blunt-force injuries, according to the coroner's office.

The CHP alleges in a report that Brandy caused the accident by breaking a law against driving at a speed "greater than is reasonable or prudent" or that "endangers the safety of persons or property," according to a part of the report obtained by the AP.

Bill Sayed, an attorney for Aboudihaj's husband, said he supported the CHP's recommendation.

Brandy, who earned a Grammy in 1999, has made five albums. She began her recording career at 14 and acted for film and television, starring on the sitcom "Moesha" from 1996-2001 and most recently as a judge for NBC's "America's Got Talent."