Vinyl records keep Mr. Mike spinning

"I'm a junkie when it comes to music," says Mike Albert.

Albert has been in the record retail business for 22 years and has been running his independent record store for 14. Before opening his store, Mr. Mike Records, Harrisburg, he worked in a record store where the Hilton & Harrisburg Towers now stands on Second Street. After his boss went out of business, Albert did not want to travel miles to Philadelphia and buy music not sold in local stores.

Today, he carries urban music, which encompasses R&B, rap, jazz, reggae and gospel music, on compact discs, cassette tapes and vinyl. He is one of the few retailers in Central Pennsylvania to sell urban music on …

KBC bank reassures investors after shares plunge

Belgian bank and insurer KBC Groep NV sought to reassure investors Friday after market rumors that it was to seek government help led to its share price plunging.

The lender said that its capital and deposit base is "very solid" despite the credit crisis. It issued a statement after its share value dropped to euro20.60 (US$26.39) in morning trading on the Euronext exchange in Brussels from its opening of euro28 (US$35.87).

KBC is the only one of Belgium's big four banks _ which include Fortis NV, Dexia SA and ING Groep NV _ that has not sought government guarantees in recent weeks. Together the four banks control some 80 …

Lettings

Property Link Estates has two beautiful period homes to rentMidford, about four miles from Bath city centre.

Both are well presented, spacious and cherished by their owners.Each property has good access to the city centre, schools andamenities and offer individual appeal while retaining their charmand character. The first, Perry Croft, is a fabulous five-bedroomdetached period home in beautiful landscaped gardens with a heatedswimming pool and spectacular views. It has an elegant entrance hallwith wooden flooring and stairwell, a cloakroom, and a kitchen withan Aga and a walk-in larder.

There is also ample space for family/guest suppers, a dayroom/dining …

GOP Defections on Iraq: Who's Next?

WASHINGTON - After the recent defection of prominent Republicans on the Iraq war, the big question in Washington is who might be next.

More than a dozen Republican senators who are running for re-election next year head the list of lawmakers to watch. But others, too, have expressed concerns that the GOP has grown increasingly vulnerable on the issue. As the clock ticks toward Election Day, voter pressure is building against any lawmaker still standing with President Bush on the war.

Potential wildcards include members up for re-election who have broken with the president on other issues such as immigration or who face growing anti-war sentiment in their home states. …

Military: Fighting kills 29 Tamil rebels, 7 soldiers in northern Sri Lanka

Soldiers battled Tamil Tiger rebels across the jungles of northern Sri Lanka on Wednesday in a wave of violence that killed 29 rebels and seven soldiers, the military said.

The attacks came amid a sharp increase in fighting in recent weeks in the volatile north, where the Tamil Tigers control a de facto state. Senior military officials have called for a full-scale offensive to destroy the separatist group after more than two decades of warfare.

In two battles that erupted about 6:30 a.m., separate groups of rebel fighters crossed the front lines and fought with troops near the villages of Adampan and Parapakandal in the Mannar district, just south of …

Report: Myanmar to proceed with controversial dam

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar has decided to go ahead with construction of a major dam along its main river despite opposition from ethnic minorities and environmentalists, reports said Monday.

Ethnic Kachin people and environmental groups say the Myanmar-China Myitsone Hydroelectric Project in Kachin state will damage the Irrawaddy River and submerge a culturally important site where the Malikha and Maykha rivers meet and form it.

The weekly Eleven journal and other media reported that Electric Power Minister Zaw Min said construction of the dam, to be built by China, would proceed despite the objections.

They quoted Zaw Min as saying the dam will take eight years to …

CROSS OF CHANGE: As more female priests infiltrate the church, the Vatican isn't smiling

Victoria Rue remembers the moment it hit her. She was kneeling down on the deck of a boat sailing Canada's St. Lawrence Seaway in the summer of 2005 when she felt as if every cell in her body was being rearranged. As three Roman Catholic bishops laid their hands over her and several other women, the moment she had long been waiting for was about to become more than just spiritual fodder for the history books.

Four women, including Rue, were ordained as priests that day. Performing the ordinations were three Roman Catholic female bishops.

The Catholic Church wasn't totally surprised by the news. Thanks to a landmark event that took place on the River Danube in 2002 - bodies …