Japan confirms dozens more swine flu cases

Japan confirmed dozens more swine flu cases overnight bringing its tally to 176, health officials said Tuesday, as the government considered scaling down quarantine checks at airports while focusing on its domestic outbreak.

The outbreak in Japan surged from just four cases over the weekend after infections were confirmed in the port city of Kobe and nearby Osaka, which is Japan's second-biggest urban area. The 41 added to the list overnight included high school students and small children as the outbreak jumped to three more cities in the region.

The new wave of infections did not have a clear connection to foreign travel, as the initial one did, and …

Quebec official grapples with Canada unity crisis

MONTREAL Quebec politicians like Joe Clark, the new federalminister assigned the daunting task of holding Canada together, butthey say he may have been given an impossible assignment.

Clark, a former Conservative Party prime minister, was appointedminister for constitutional affairs in last week's reshuffling of thefederal Cabinet.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's decision to shift him from theExternal Relations Ministry reflects the government's recognition,possibly overdue, of the forces pulling the country apart.

Clark is well liked in Quebec, the French-speaking province,which is considering a bid for independence. He has learned to speakFrench, and he …

Suu Kyi party mulls registering for elections

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Senior members of Aung San Suu Kyi's party are meeting to decide whether to register it as a legal body so that it can take part in future elections.

The National League for Democracy leaders, meeting in Yangon, are likely to approve the move now that the military-aligned government has lifted a restriction that had barred her from contesting.

The NLD refused to …

Pelican attacks Australian weatherman on live TV

An Australian weatherman has found himself the butt of his colleagues' jokes after a pelican repeatedly bit his backside during a live broadcast.

Steve Jacobs of Channel 9's Today Show was describing pelicans at Sydney's Taronga Zoo before his national weather report earlier this month when one of the birds lunged at him.

Jacobs kept …

Creator of Jimo's starts two more Wicker Pk. restaurants

If the name John Grbac doesn't mean anything to you, wait a bit.The restaurateur who started the now wildly successful Jimo's Cafe at1576 N. Milwaukee and is a partner in Jim and Johnnie's now has twomore Wicker Park spots: Uncle Frog's, an intimate 32-seat room at1507 N. Honore, and Cha Cha Cha, 2011 W. North.

More on Grbac at a later date, but his two new restaurants bothbear watching. Frog's, which opened about a month ago, features thecooking and personality of "Uncle Frog" Ken McAuliffe, a nativeEasterner who made his mark at the Merc, then traveled the world,learning to cook.

The affable McAuliffe wants his place to be "like entertainingfriends in my …

A bonding experience

DaimlerChrysler has released new weld bonding procedures that may cut panel replacement times by as much as 50 percent.

We've all seen ads for tools and procedures designed to "double your productivity!" or "Speed up production!" Even if you're not from Missouri, such claims usually provoke a skeptical "Show me" reaction.Well, if seeing is believing ... get ready to believe.

The results are in: Replacement times can be cut by 50 percent on some cosmetic body panels by using new procedures approved by DaimlerChrysler Corporation. In addition to the time savings, other advantages include increased strength of the repair and closer duplication of the factory process.Weld …

Thai parliament postpones prime minister vote

Thailand's parliament has postponed until next week a vote to elect a new prime minister after it failed to obtain a quorum in the House of Representatives.

The house speaker initially said the session Friday would be delayed for a lack of quorum but opened it after saying there were enough members for the vote.

However, a recount showed there were only 161 lawmakers present in the 480-member house.

The vote is now scheduled to be held Wednesday.

The low turnout was the result of a boycott by the opposition Democrat Party and some coalition partners of the ruling party to protest ousted leader Samak Sundaravej's decision to re-contest the …