SLIGO, Ireland, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - France's Sebastien Loeb tightened his grip on the Rally of Ireland, the penultimate leg of the 16-race world championship, after Saturday's stages held in pouring rain.

The triple world champion's Citroen C4 clocked the fastest time in four of the day's specials to take a 59sec lead over his Spanish teammate Dani Sordi with Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford Focus) 2min 8s back in third.

SLIGO, Ireland, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Standings from the Rally of Ireland, the 15th and penultimate leg of the world championship, following Saturday's stages:

1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 2hr 30min 35.2sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 59.3s, 3. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 2:08.8, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Ford Focus 2:37.6, 5. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 2:53.2, 6. Guy Wilks (Britain) Subaru Impreza 5:52.0, 7. Matthew Wilson (Britain) Ford Focus 9:23.3, 8. Gareth MacHale (Ireland) Ford Focus 10:07.7

MOSCOW, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, who returned to Russia this week for the first time in 10 years, accused ex-KGB officers of 'destroying' democracy at a rally in Moscow on Saturday.

'The power of the Chekists is destroying what remains of democracy,' Bukovsky told some 200 supporters, using a term commonly used for ex-KGB officers such as President Vladimir Putin.

AJACCIO, France, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Results from the Rally of France here on Sunday after the final day's racing:

AJACCIO, France, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - French reigning triple world champion Sebastien Loeb claimed the Rally of France in Corsica on Sunday ahead of world championship leader Marcus Gronholm and Spaniard Dani Sordo.

The Citroen C4 driver Loeb won nine of the 15 stages to finish almost 24 seconds ahead of Ford Focus driver Loeb, with his Citroen team-mate Sordo a further 20 seconds back.

Loeb had opened up a small lead on Friday and extended it Saturday as Gronholm, a twice former world champion, settled for second place and concentrated on not making any mistakes.

AJACCIO, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - France's Sebastien Loeb increased his lead in the Rally of France in Corsica on Saturday from world championship leader Marcus Gronholm of Finland.

Loeb, the reigning three-time world champion, was just five seconds ahead of the flying Finn overnight but after winning five of the day's six special stages had increased that to nearly half a minute.

The cat-and-mouse scenario between the two drivers is mirrored in the rivalry between them in the overall title race.

AJACCIO, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Standings in the Rally of France, the 13th leg of the 16-race world championship, following Saturday's second day:

TAIPEI, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands from Taiwan's gay and lesbian community marched through the streets of Taipei Saturday demanding more rights for homosexuals, organisers said.

The parade took a carnival-like mood with marchers waving rainbow flags, colourful balloons and signs. Some were dressed in flamboyant period costumes while others only wore swim trunks despite the cool weather.

'We have to make our voices and demands heard so that the government will do more to promote gay rights,' said Way Chao, a 22-year-old serviceman from southern Kaohsiung.

YANGON, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people were bussed in to Yangon's main sports ground early Saturday for a rally to cheer the Myanmar junta's plan to build a 'discipline-flourishing' democracy, residents said.

Officials ordered participants arrive at 3:00 am, four hours before the carefully orchestrated event started, residents said.

With Yangon still under a curfew, that meant many people had to sleep at factories or offices, where buses were sent to ferry them to the stadium on the southern outskirts of the city, they said.

AJACCIO, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, driving a Citroen C4 and chasing his third consecutive rally victory, lead the first day of the Rally of France on Friday, only 4.8 seconds ahead of Finland's Marcus Gronholm.

'It's a great duel', said Loeb, third at midday but winner of three special stages in the afternoon.

Gronholm, 39, and two months away from retirement, did well on the asphalt and won two special stages of the event being held on the island of Corsica.

'It was a good day, even though the afternoon wasns't perfect,' said Gronholm.

AJACCIO, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Standings after Friday's opening stages in the Rally of France:

AJACCIO, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Standings after Friday's opening stages in the Rally of France:

1. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus 24min 49.4sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 2.9s, 3. Sbastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 4.1, 4. Francois Duval (BEL) Citroen C4 26.9, 5. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 27.7, 6. Chris Atkinson (Australia) Subaru Impreza 29.5, 7. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 33.4, 8. Xevi Pons (Spain) Subaru Impreza 48.9

Special stage winners (SS1 - cancelled): Gronholm 2 (SS2, SS3)

AJACCIO, France, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Three-time reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb of France has the advantage of home soil when the Rally of France starts in Corsica on Friday.

Loeb, in second place overall behind Finland's Marcus Gronholm by six points before this 13th race of the 16-leg world championship, knows the Corsican roads well and is expected to excel once more on this Mediterranean Island.

Loeb won the event in both 2005 and 2006 and is expected to complete a third consecutive victory, as he managed last week in Catalonia.

SALOU, Spain, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Results from the Rally of Catalunya after Sunday's final four special stages here:

1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 3hr 22min 50.5sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 13.8s, 3. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus 39.8, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Ford Focus 1:25.8, 5. Francois Duval (BEL) Citroen C4 2:28.7, 6. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 2:54.1, 7. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 3:38.2, 8. Chris Atkinson (Australia) Subaru Impreza 4:22.4, 9. Xevi Pons (Spain) Subaru Impreza 5:04.1, 10. Henning Solberg (NOR) Ford Focus 10:32.2

SALOU, Spain, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Defending world champion Sebastien Loeb boosted his hopes of retaining his drivers' crown with success in the Rally of Catalunya here on Sunday.

Loeb's Citroen C4, in the lead from day one, beat home his Spanish teammate Dani Sordo and the Ford Focus driven by his main title rival, Marcus Gronholm.

This was the French rally ace's sixth win of the season after Monte Carlo, Mexico, Portugal, Argentina and Germany and his 34th, a record, in all.

SALOU, Spain, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Defending world champion Sebastien Loeb boosted his hopes of retaining his drivers' crown with success in the Rally of Catalonia here on Sunday.

Loeb's Citroen C4, in the lead from day one, beat home his Spanish teammate Dani Sordo and the Ford Focus driven by his main title rival, Marcus Gronholm.

MOSCOW, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of Russian opposition activists rallied in central Moscow under a heavy security presence on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Demonstrators waved flags from the opposition People's Democratic Union party led by former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who has declared he will run for president in elections in 2008.

MOSCOW, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of Russian opposition activists rallied in central Moscow under a heavy security presence on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Demonstrators waved flags from the opposition People's Democratic Union party led by former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who has declared he will run for president in elections in 2008.

SALOU, Spain, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - Sebastien Loeb boosted his drivers' title chances by maintaining his overnight lead after Saturday's eight specials in the Rally of Catalonia.

The French Citroen driver ended the middle day with a near 13sec advantage over his Spanish teammate Dani Sordo with his main title rival Marcus Gronholm over 40sec adrift in third.

Gronholm holds a 10-point lead in the race for the 2007 WRC drivers' title but three of the five remaining legs of the championship are on sealed roads - Loeb's preferred surface.

SALOU, Spain, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - Results from the Rally of Catalonia after Saturday's eight stages here:

1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 2hr 30min 45.5sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 12.9s, 3. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus 43.6, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Ford Focus 1:12.5, 5. Francois Duval (BEL) Citroen C4 1:58.1, 6. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 2:31.8, 7. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 2:58.6, 8. Chris Atkinson (Australia) Subaru Impreza 3:27.2, 9. Xevi Pons (Spain) Subaru Impreza 4:19.0, 10. Henning Solberg (NOR) Ford Focus 8:04.0

SALOU, Spain, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - Results from the Rally of Catalonia after three of Saturday's eight stages here:

1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 1hr 53min 59.3sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 15.4sec, 3. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus 48.5, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Ford Focus 59.2, 5. Francois Duval (BEL) Citroen C4 1:35.0, 6. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 2:04.3, 7. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 2:32.7, 8. Chris Atkinson (Australia) Subaru Impreza 3:05.4, 9. Xevi Pons (Spain) Subaru Impreza 4:03.2, 10. Henning Solberg (NOR) Ford Focus 6:57.6

SALOU, Spain, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Results from the Rally of Catalonia after Friday's six stages here:

1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 1hr 22min 16.5sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 11.3, 3. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus 50.6, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Ford Focus 53.2, 5. Francois Duval (BEL) Citroen C4 1:25.8, 6. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 1:35.4, 7. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 2:09.2, 8. Chris Atkinson (Australia) Subaru Impreza 2:20.2, 9. Xevi Pons (Spain) Subaru Impreza 3:18.3, 10. Henning Solberg (NOR) Ford Focus 5:43.3

MADRID, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Barcelona defender Oleguer Presas is in hot water with the Spanish side after taking part in the shakedown for the Rally of Catalonia as co-pilot to Xevi Pons despite it being against club rules to participate in dangerous activities, sports daily Marca reported on Friday.

Pons and Presas clocked the second fastest time behind triple world champion Sebastien Loeb of France.

'It was an interesting experience, I'm very happy to have done it,' said Presas who arrived late at training in the Nou Camp afterwards.

SALOU, Spain, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Results from the Rally of Catalonia after two stages here on Friday:

1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen C4 26min 56.1sec, 2. Dani Sordo (Spain) Citroen C4 at 3.7sec, 3. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Focus 4.4, 4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) Ford Focus 27.1, 5. Petter Solberg (NOR) Subaru Impreza 34.2, 6. Francois Duval (BEL) Citroen C4 46.6, 7. Xevi Pons (Spain) Subaru Impreza 49.7, 8. Manfred Stohl (Austria) Citroen Xsara 51.2, 9. Jan Kopecky (Czech) Skoda Fabia 51.6, 10. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) Ford Focus 57.3

NEW YORK, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Monday above 14,000 points for the first time since July as investors hoped for easier credit in the fourth quarter.

Around 1420 GMT, the blue-chip index was up 0.73 percent at 13,997.32 points, shortly after peaking at 14,008.70.

The last time the Dow had climbed above the psychological 14,000-point barrier was July 19, when it closed at 14,000.41 points.

LONDON, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - Nearly 200 mourners gathered Wednesday for the funeral of Scottish former world rally champion Colin McRae and his five-year-old son Johnny who died in a helicopter crash.

Family members, Formula 1 racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart, Rangers and Scotland football captain Barry Ferguson and IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti were among those at the service at Daldowie Crematorium, near Glasgow.

The bodies of McRae, 39, and his son lay in the same coffin which arrived in a three-car cortege.

YANGON, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - More than 1,300 Buddhist monks on Thursday marched in the rain in Yangon in their largest demonstration in the country's main city since they launched their protest movement in force this week.

Witnesses said several thousand onlookers watched the monks marching and praying in three separate rallies, in what a Western diplomat said marked an escalation of the pressure on the regime.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Former world rally champion Colin McRae and his five-year-old son were among four people killed in a helicopter crash this weekend in southern Scotland, police said Sunday.

Scotsman McRae, his son Johnny and two family friends including a six-year-old boy were killed when the 39-year-old driver's Squirrel Two aircraft crashed in the grounds of his Lanark home on Saturday.

Tributes poured in from the sporting and political arenas in honour of McRae, who in 1995 was the first Briton to win the world rally championship.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Formula One driver David Coulthard has spoken of his sadness over the tragic news that former world rally champion Colin McRae has been killed in a helicopter crash.

McRae, 39, was piloting the helicopter carrying his five-year-old son Johnny, a six-year-old friend Ben Porcelli and 27-year-old family friend Graeme Duncan which crashed in the grounds of his Lanark home in southern Scotland on Saturday.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Colin McRae, who has died in a tragic helicopter crash alongside his five-year-old son Johnny, was born with his foot firmly on the accelerator.

Rallying, and indeed daredevil pursuits, was in the blood for McRae, who was born in Lanark in southern Scotland on August 5, 1968. His father Jimmy was a five-time British rally champion. His brother Alister is also former British rally champion.

Colin McRae competed in his first rally on the World Rally Championship circuit in Sweden in 1987, earning his first win in New Zealand in 1993.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Here is a timeline of the life and career of Colin McRae, the British former world rally champion who was confirmed on Sunday to have died in a helicopter crash.

1968: Born August 5 in Lanark, southern Scotland.

1986: Began rallying in a Talbot Sunbeam.

1987: Competed in his first world championship rally in Sweden in a Vauxhall Nova.

1989: Finished 15th in the world championship, driving a Ford Sierra.

1991: Won the British rally championship in a Prodrive Subaru.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - British rally driver Colin McRae and two children -- including his five-year-old son -- were among the four passengers killed in a helicopter crash this weekend in Scotland, police said Sunday.

Strathclyde Police confirmed that the 39-year-old driver, his son Johnny, and two family friends were killed in the incident in Lanark, Scotland, on Saturday afternoon.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - British rally driver Colin McRae and two children -- including his five-year-old son -- were among the passengers killed in a helicopter crash this weekend in Scotland, police said Sunday.

Strathclyde Police confirmed in a statement that the 39-year-old driver, his son Johnny, and two family friends were killed in the incident in Lanark, Scotland, on Saturday afternoon.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Colin McRae, the first Briton to win the world rally championship, was believed Sunday to have been among those killed in a helicopter crash near his home.

The Sunday Times newspaper, citing McRae's agent Jean-Eric Freudiger, said the 39-year-old Scot had been piloting the helicopter himself.

McRae's son Johnny, another adult and another child were also believed to have been on board, according to the weekly paper.

LONDON, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - Colin McRae, believed to have been killed Saturday in a helicopter crash, was born with his foot firmly on the accelerator.

Rallying was in the blood for McRae, who was born in Lanark in southern Scotland on August 5, 1968. His father Jimmy was a five-time British rally champion. His brother Alister is also former British rally champion.

Colin McRae competed in his first rally on the World Rally Championship circuit in Sweden in 1987, earning his first win in New Zealand in 1993.

LONDON, Sept 15, 2007 (AFP) - British former world rallying champion Colin McRae was believed to have been killed in a fatal helicopter crash at his home on Saturday, police told AFP.

Four people died in the crash at Jerviswood near the town of Lanark in southern Scotland, Strathclyde Police said.

There were no survivors and formal identification of the bodies was not expected until Sunday.

LONDON, Sept 15, 2007 (AFP) - A helicopter registered to British former rally driver Colin McRae has crashed in Scotland, television reports said Saturday.

A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP only that one person had died in the crash but could not say who the helicopter belonged to and that 'formal identification' of the body was not expected before Sunday.

'There are no survivors. At least one person has died. We believe others may have been on board but we don't know how many,' the Strathclyde Police spokeswoman told AFP.

HELSINKI, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - Two-time world rally champion Marcus Gronholm of Finland confirmed on Friday that he will retire at the end of the season.

Gronholm, 39, won the world title in 2000 and 2002 and is currently leading reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb of France in the drivers' standings in this season's championship.

'Over 20 years of rallying has given me a lot and I've always dreamed of ending my career on its' top,' Gronholm said in a statement.