Now four seats get even sportier makeover ; THE RX-8 has been a huge hit for Mazda. In R3 guise, it's now been updated to keep it at the top of its game. ANDY ENRIGHT reports

THE RX-8's formula of four adult-sized seats, rear-hinged free-style doors, a large boot and a 1.3-litre rotary engine may remainunaltered but in tidying up the cabin, boosting the equipment levelsand making the styling a touch more aggressive, Mazda has enabledthe RX-8 to continue raking in big sales.

The driving experience in this R3 version has been enhanced byfaster steering, chassis and engine responses plus greaterrefinement.

Mazda's position as Britain''s favourite sportscar brand (ittakes 25 per cent of the market), depends a great deal in the UK onthe sales of this RX-8, which is something that you wouldn't havepredicted when it was launched here in 2003. …

Major Powers Closer to Iran Sanctions

UNITED NATIONS - The major powers moved closer to agreement Monday night on a modest package of new sanctions against Iran likely to include an embargo on arms exports and an asset freeze on more individuals and companies linked to Tehran's nuclear and missile programs.

Council diplomats said the new sanctions resolution is also likely to include a ban on government loans to Iran. But a travel ban is out, and there will likely be no ban on arms imports or on export credit guarantees for companies doing business in Iran.

Ambassadors from the five veto-wielding permanent Security Council nations - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - and Germany emerged …

Teen gunman dead after killing 16 in Germany

Police say a girl seriously injured in a school shooting near Stuttgart has died of her wounds in the hospital, bringing the death toll to 17, including the gunman.

Police say 17-year-old Tim K., a former student who graduated from the Albertville high school last year, opened fire in two classrooms early Wednesday morning before fleeing.

He hijacked a car, triggering a manhunt, and was found in a nearby town where he was confronted by police and killed in the ensuing shootout.

The death toll brings the killing on par with Germany's worst school shooting ever, when a 19-year-old killed 12 teachers, a secretary, two students and a police officer and …

50% currency devaluation squeezes Nicaragua's poor

MANAGUA, Nicaragua Nicaragua's two-day-old government slashed inhalf the value of the national currency Friday in an effort to patchup the battered economy.

Prices shot up accordingly, but the wages of most Nicaraguans,many of whom earned the equivalent of $30 a month before thedevaluation, did not.

At the new prices, a pound of rice, one of beans and one of beefcost a total of 205,000 cordobas, or $1.46.

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro assumed the presidency Thursday,inheriting an economy battered by war with the U.S.-backed contrasand by an American trade embargo, which has been lifted.

The unpopular devaluation was an austerity measure that …

CARBON STORED IN FORESTS?

A recent study found that an old-growth forest in China holds an unusually high amount of carbon, raising the possibility that these forests may not be carbon neutral.

Most scientists had thought old-growth forests let off as much carbon through decomposition as they absorbed from branches, leaves, and dying roots. But the new research, which appeared in a recent issue of Science, showed a 68% increase in organic carbon levels taken from samples of the top 8 inches of soil in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve in the Chinese province of Guangdong. The researchers studied 230 samples over a 24-year period (1979-2003).

Xuli Tang of the South China Botanical Garden, a coauthor of …

Thailand's newly elected parliament to convene after legislative body's 2-year absence

Thailand's lower house of parliament convenes Monday for its first session in almost two years, restoring democracy and returning to politics many key allies of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn will preside over the customary opening ceremony of the House of Representatives, the palace announced.

Official work will begin Tuesday when lawmakers nominate a president of parliament, or House Speaker. The selection of a prime minister was scheduled for Friday.

The imminent installation of an elected government in Thailand is expected to bring some short-term political calm after the September 2006 coup that ousted …

Cubs star was NL MVP in 1945

Phil Cavarretta, the 1945 National League MVP who led the Chicago Cubs to their last World Series appearance, has died. He was 94.

Mr. Cavarretta died Saturday evening in Lilburn, Ga., of complications from a stroke, according to his grandson, Jeffrey Brown, of Lubbock, Texas.

Brown told the Associated Press in a phone interview that Mr. Cavarretta died in a hospice care center. Brown said Cavarretta had been battling leukemia and suffered the stroke several days ago.

A first baseman and outfielder, Mr. Cavarretta broke into the major leagues in 1934 and spent the first 20 of his 22 seasons with the Cubs before moving across town to play 77 games for the White Sox …