PARTICIPANTS OF AZERBAIJAN-RUSSIA HUMANITARIAN FORUM VISIT PUBLIC TV.

Baku, 23 January (AzerTAc). The participants of the first Azerbaijan-Russia forum on humanitarian cooperation have today visited the Public Television and Radio Company where they met director general Ismayil Omarov. Omarov said mass media play an important role in development of relations between our countries and peoples. He briefed the visitors on the public television`s workings, saying within short time it gained a lot of accomplishments. Russian President`s special envoy for International and Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi praised the …

KNOW IT ALL.(MAIN)

Q From time to time I see the phrase ``six flags over Texas.'' What are the six flags?

A: From 1519 to the present day, six different flags have flown over at least a part of the second-largest state in the United States. From 1519 to 1685, it was a Spanish flag. In 1685, and for the next five years, the flag was French. The Spanish flag flew again from 1690 until 1821, when it was replaced by the Mexican flag -- the third one. From 1836 to 1845, the flag was that of the Republic of Texas. In 1845, when Texas became part of the United States, the state flew the American flag. Then, from 1861 to 1865, the sixth flag was the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy. Finally, …

Profit growth demonstrates longs is 'gaining traction'.(Longs Drug Stores Corp.'s sales and earnings)

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Although meaningful sales growth remained elusive, Longs Drug Stores nevertheless rang up strong gains in reported and adjusted earnings for the quarter and fiscal year ended January 26, due largely to strengthened gross margins, lower operating expense ratios and sharply reduced interest costs.

Net income for the final 13 weeks of fiscal 2006 soared 99.4% to $35.3 million, or 92 cents per diluted share, from $17.7 million, or 47 cents per share, a year ago. Bottom-line results in the most recent quarter were bolstered by a $6.6 million after-tax net gain on the sale of the company's Lathrop, Calif., distribution facility and a $3.7 million after-tax favorable actuarial adjustment to self-insurance reserves due to a decline in workers' compensation claims and lower costs per claim.

Earnings in the fiscal 2005 period benefited from a $2 million after-tax favorable actuarial adjustment to self-insurance reserves. Excluding those items, adjusted profits for the 13 weeks climbed 59.2% to $25 million from $15.7 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share of 64 cents beat the 60-cent consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Fourth quarter retail sales rose 2.4% to $1.22 billion from $1.19 billion, while pharmacy benefits service revenues more than tripled to $25.4 million from $8.46 million. With that, total revenues for the 13 weeks advanced 3.8% to $1.24 billion from $1.20 billion.

Same-store sales increased 2%, as a 5.2% gain in pharmacy was diluted by a 0.7% downturn at the front end. Prescription drugs accounted for 47.1% of Longs' retail sales during the period, up from 45.7% a year ago.

In the pharmacy benefits segment --which is now reported as a …

Pilot whale calf moved from Keys to Orlando

KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — A pilot whale calf that stranded May 5 off the lower Florida Keys has recovered and is being transported from a Keys-based marine mammal rehabilitation facility to Orlando.

The 600-pound (272-kilogram), 9-foot (2.74-meter)-long female was placed in a water-filled transport unit Friday night and loaded into a refrigerated truck for the almost 300-mile (483-kilometer) trip from the Marine Mammal …

Steve Schwaid is promoted at NBC. (Station Break).(named vice president of news programming for the NBC Television Stations Division)(Brief Article)

Steve Schwaid, who has been NBC's man in San Jose, overseeing KNTV(TV)'s transition from an independent to NBC affiliate, has been named vice president of news programming for the NBC Television Stations Division.

In his new role, NBC said, Schwaid will be responsible for program development, …

AMD gives Malta a surprise: Company shows interest in opening more factories during briefing on $3.2B chip fab proposal.

Byline: Larry Rulison

May 4--SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Company executives for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. meeting in the Spa City to discuss the $3.2 billion computer chip factory planned for Malta announced Thursday that the company may be interested in opening a second, or perhaps third, factory in the Luther Forest Technology Campus.

The announcement came as other company executives attended the annual meeting in San Jose, Calif.

The news was a shocker unveiled at the Saratoga Economic Development Corp.'s annual dinner at the Saratoga City Center.

SEDC, after all, is the nonprofit group that is developing the Luther Forest Technology Campus, just a few exits south on the Northway.

So while AMD chief executive Hector Ruiz was on the West Coast fielding questions from shareholders upset with the chip manufacturer's recent poor performance, other AMD executives were here assuring locals …

A multilayered, self-sensing diaphragm for metering pumps.(ChementatoR)

Mechanically driven diaphragm pumps (MDDPs) are widely used for metering applications in the chemical process industries. But because the pressure difference between the drive and the delivery side gives rise to tensile loads in the flexing zone of the diaphragm, MDDPs are limited to low-pressure (<12 bar) applications, and the additional stress reduces the lifetime of the diaphragm. Whereas hydraulically driven diaphragm pumps (HDDPs) can operate at pressures in excess of several hundred bars and have a service life in excess of 10,000 operating hours, users have to pay 50-80% more for these advantages compared to the cost of using MDDPs, says Bernd Freissler, product manager …