August 31, 2004

Italian government's budget allows for building amnesty, chance for people to declare their sins, pay small fee and absolve their illegal construction; amnesty is among budget measures totaling 24 billion euros that were approved by Prime Min Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet in late July and is intended to keep Italian deficit this year under 3 percent of gross domestic product, limit set by European Union; government is selling chunks of Italy's cities, coastline and countrywside for 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) it expects to collect; people have until Dec 10 to apply; photo (M)

Japan's Supreme Court gives approval for troubled UFJ Holdings to continue talks to be taken over by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, removing last major legal hurdle in talks aimed at creating world's largest bank; turns down appeal of lower court ruling by Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co, which had argued that takeover talks between UFJ and Mitsubishi Tokyo violated agreement that UFJ made in May to sell its money management unit to Sumitomo Trust; court's decision is setback for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which is also trying to buy UFJ; photo (M)

Growing public outcry over culling of animals has created major problem for industries and individuals negatively impacted by various loveable and prolific pests; dilemma has generated research into contraception for ferel cats, parakeets, deer, coyotes, wild horses and Canadian geese, among others; various contraceptive measures and delivery methods described; Florida's exploding monk parakeet population nests on power lines causing blackouts and line fires; deer and coyotes, which have been robbed of natural environment by urbanization, are coming closer and closer to humans in search of food sources necessary to survive; photos; graph (M)

Radio Dijla, Iraq's first talk radio station, is putting Iraqis' opinions directly on the air; in all, about 15 private radio stations have sprung up since American occupation began, but Dijla is first to serve only talk; station receives average of 185 calls an hour from listeners, far more than it can handle; most calls are about nuts and bolts of life, complaints that are not addressed by government officials; station forces officials to listen; local and federal officials come as guests and are grilled by listeners, an uncomfortable situation for them that would have been unheard of in time of Saddam Hussein; photo (M)

Golan Sipel, former aide to Gov James E McGreevey of New Jersey, decides not to file lawsuit accusing McGreevey of sexual harassment and assault; it is unclear whether decision will affect federal investigation into McGreevey's extortion complaint against Cipel; photos (M)

Millions of American homeowners unknowingly have woeful shortfall in insurance coverage; experts cite shift in way property insurance has been sold in recent years; say that in move to cut costs from claims, insurance companies began in late 1990's to phase out coverage that guarantees replacement of destroyed homes, regardless of expense to insurers, and to substitute similar-sounding policy with crucial difference: it pays only amount stated on policy plus, typically, additional 20 percent to 25 percent; old policy was called guaranteed replacement policy; new one, which most Americans now have, is called extended replacement policy; California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi says insurance companies and agents, under pressure to make sales, often aim low in valuing houses in effort to keep premiums down; dozens of owners of homes in Southern California that were destroyed say, in interviews, that they had been led to believe they bought enough coverage to rebuild their homes and are stunned to find out they were wrong; photo (M)

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn sets up hot line for people to report sexual abuse by priest, but it appoints a lawyer to take calls, angering some victim advocates, who says lawyers lack professional compassion needed by abuse victims; lawyer named by diocese, John M Kurkemelis, came under scrutiny for billing practices in 1980's (M)

Indian truck drivers called off week-old countrywide strike on Aug 28 after reaching agreement with government; nearly three million trucks were off Indian roads after union called strike protesting 10 percent service tax that was imposed on freight agents by government in its recent budget (S)

Canada's second-quarter current account surplus rose to 10.4 billion Canadian dollars ($7.9 billion), up from 8.8 billion Canadian dollars in first quarter; trade surplus reached 20 billion dollars, up from 3.6 billion dollars during previous three-month period; services trade deficit shrank slightly, to 2.9 billion dollars; graph (S)

Article on continuing popularity of Star Trek television and movie series as fans convene in Los Angeles to honor James Doonan, who played Star Trek engineer Scotty; original cast members, including Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, attend; Doonan's family says he is showing signs of Alzheimer's disease and that this will be his last convention; graph; photos (M)

Radiography camera contaminates Midtown Manhattan post office with low-level radiation for two days, exposing handful of people, forcing closing of surrounding streets and disrupting mail delivery; device is somewhat like X-ray machine and was being used by contractor to find out what lies behind walls and ceilings as part of renovation to building, which houses Franklin D Roosevelt Station on Third Avenue near 55th Street; photo (M)

Serena Williams defeats Sandra Kleinova in first round of US Open; Andre Agassi defeats Robby Ginepri; photo (M)