Radio sportscaster in Parkersburg recovering from brain surgery

PARKERSBURG - A longtime radio sportscaster and voice of theParkersburg High School Big Reds is in a Morgantown hospital wherehe is recovering from surgery for a brain aneurysm.

Steve Daugherty was listed in critical condition Wednesdayafternoon at Ruby Memorial Hospital where he underwent brain surgeryon Tuesday, a spokesman said. He was flown by medical helicopter toMorgantown after going to the emergency room on Monday withcomplaints of a headache and that he couldn't hear, said MarkMcCullough, who until recently was an assistant football coach atParkersburg High and was president of the boosters.

"He's not doing too good," McCullough said Wednesday just …

Miami DE Bryan Pata Shot and Killed

University of Miami defensive end Bryan Pata was shot and killed Tuesday night, shortly after leaving the practice field, according to a university official with knowledge of the situation.

The official, speaking on condition of …

World Bank negotiates on loan to Serbia

The World Bank said Thursday it was closer to granting a US$388-million (euro308 million) loan to Serbia for the construction of a major highway.

The World Bank and Serbia have finished "a key step" in the negotiations on the financing of the so-called Corridor 10, the World Bank said in a statement from its Belgrade office.

It said that the credit would contribute to the financing of 84 kilometers (52 miles)of the highway leading to the Bulgarian border and 74 kilometers (46 miles) toward Macedonia.

"The two sections represent two of the main missing links on the highway network of the region," Martin Humphreys, World Bank's …

Leonard I. Horwitz

Leonard I. Horwitz, 80, a retired executive, died Tuesday inHumana Hospital Biscayne, Miami.

Mr. Horwitz, of Hallandale, Fla., formerly of the North Side,had been president of Leonard Electric Co., 7435 N. Western.

He founded the company in 1945 and retired in 1969 when heremarried and moved to California. He moved to Florida about …

Suicide attack on Somalia's gov't foiled

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A police officer in Somalia says a suicide bomber who attempted to attack the presidential palace in Mogadishu has been shot dead.

Police officer Abdi Aden says the attacker jumped on the back of an African Union peacekeeping vehicle late Monday and managed to pass some security checkpoints at the palace.

Aden says that at …

At least 135 dead in Kenya in 3 days of violence over president's disputed re-election

Kenya's president threatened a tough crackdown Monday as rioters rampaged for a third day to protest what they called his sham re-election _ a bloody convulsion threatening what has been East Africa's most stable and prosperous democracy.

At least 135 Kenyans were reported killed in violence that flared from the shantytowns of Nairobi to resort towns on the sweltering coast. Opposition leaders set the stage for more turmoil by calling for a million people to rally against President Mwai Kibaki.

In the slums of Nairobi, rioters waved machetes and shouted "Kibaki must go!", while police beat protesters with clubs, fired off tear gas and shot live …

Trefeurig, Wales: A lovely place to visit

Here is a portrait of a farming community in Wales in which the people, animals and crops live together in pastoral harmony. It's the sort of place you might fall in love with if you stayed there in a bed and breakfast and had a picnic under a tree on a hilltop. If you had to live there, however, I suspect you might start scheming to move to the bright lights of Cardiff.

"Sleep Furiously" is a lovely film, but maddeningly complacent. Let me begin with the loveliness. It was filmed in and near Trefeurig, where its director, Gideon Koppel, was born, and where his mother still walks her dog. Here the year rotates through the seasons, calves and piglets are born, the choir sings in …