Israel to US: No building halt in east Jerusalem

Aides to Israel's prime minister said Thursday that he has officially rejected President Barack Obama's demand to suspend all construction in contested east Jerusalem, a move that threatens to entrench a year-old deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

The aides said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his government's position to Obama over the weekend, ahead of the scheduled arrival later Thursday of the U.S. president's special Mideast envoy, George Mitchell. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the contact between the two leaders was private.

Washington had put Mitchell's shuttle diplomacy on hold for more than a month as it …

Advance Life keeps plugging in the lab; Hopes the money holds out while it works on a multitude of drugs, including a new antibiotic

Michael Moore's "Sicko" alleges that pharmaceutical companies aregouging America. Maybe some of them are.

But consider the gamble being made by small biotech developmentcompanies that are enduring years of steady losses until the momentthat -- perhaps -- they can perfect the magic pill or potion thatbecomes the next penicillin. The fact is that these companies andtheir shareholders -- not the giant pharmas -- are the folks takingmost of the risk on today's front lines of medicine.

To show you how much is wagered by fledgling labs and howsignificantly they're contributing to fighting disease, look atAdvanced Life Sciences in suburban Woodridge (Nasdaq: ADLS). …

FIFA chief says clubs will never overshadow national teams

Money-spinning soccer clubs, especially in Europe, are unlikely to sound the death knell for national teams, the head of the sport's world body said Tuesday.

FIA president Sepp Blatter told reporters there is a growing movement to stop the "overwhelming presence of non-national players" in different leagues and clubs, which would ensure that national teams remain a viable force.

"I cannot see that the national team will disappear in favor of club," said Blatter, who is in Kuala Lumpur to attend a women's soccer meeting organized by the Asian Football Confederation.

Blatter's comments are the latest salvo in his continuing tiff …

Boettcher, Wilfried

Boettcher, Wilfried, German cellist and conductor; b. Bremen, Aug. 11, 1929; d. Uzes-Saint Siffret, France, Aug. 22, 1994. He studied cello with Arthur Troester at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik (diploma, 1955) and with Fournier in Paris (1955–56). He was first cellist in the Bremen Radio Orch. (1948–50) and in the Hannover Opera orch. (1956–58). From 1958 to 1965 he was a prof, of cello at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1959 he founded Die Wiener Solisten, which he conducted until …

Body of 11-Month-Old Found in N.C. Attic

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The body of an 11-month-old girl reported missing after her soldier father returned from a deployment in Iraq was found in the attic of her home, authorities said.

Harmony Jude Creech apparently had been dead for weeks, Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins said late Saturday night. Rollins said the child's mother, Johni Michelle Heuser, told investigators she had found the baby dead in its crib and put the body in the attic of her home.

Neighbors said they had been bothered by a foul smell for several weeks and that the smell only subsided recently when overnight temperatures dropped. Several neighbors said they had searched their yards for dead animals because of the smell.

Harmony's father, Ronald Earl Creech II, returned from a 15-month deployment in Iraq on Friday hoping to see his daughter. Harmony was born while he was overseas, police said.

Creech is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Bragg.

Rollins said Creech was picked up at Pope Air Force Base on Friday by his mother and driven to his daughter's home near Spring Lake. They awakened the baby's mother and found the baby missing.

An Amber Alert was issued after the baby was reported missing.

Rollins said investigators were still interviewing Heuser, and the investigation continues.

An autopsy will be performed on the child's body to determined how she died, police said.

Spanish League Glance

A glance at the 20 clubs ahead of the new Spanish season, which begins Aug. 30:

ALMERIA

Founded: 1989

Colors: red and white

Stadium: Estadio Juegos Mediterraneos (capacity 22,000)

Coach: Gonzalo Arconada (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 8th

Key acquisitions: Hernan Pellerano (Velez), Esteban Solari (Pumas), Pablo Piatti (Estudiantes), Michel (Flamengo)

Significant departures: Felipe Melo (Fiorentina)

Prospects: New coach faces tough task to repeat last season's surprise placing.

ATHLETIC BILBAO

Founded: 1898

Colors: red, white and black

Stadium: San Mames (capacity 40,000)

Coach: Joaquin Caparros (second season)

Honors: 8 leagues, 23 cups

Last season: 11th

Key acquisitions: Inigo Velez (Murcia)

Significant departures: Daniel Aranzubia (Deportivo La Coruna), Luis Prieto (Valladolid)

Prospects: Caparros' drive will again keep team out of relegation dogfight.

ATLETICO MADRID

Founded: 1903

Colors: red, white and blue

Stadium: Vicente Calderon (capacity 54,851)

Coach: Javier Aguirre (third season)

Honors: 9 leagues, 9 cups, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Last season: 4th

Key acquisitions: Paulo Assuncao (FC Porto), Gregory Coupet (Lyon), Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva), John Heitinga (Ajax), Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina)

Significant departures: Ze Castro and Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer (both Deportivo La Coruna), Jose Antonio Reyes (Benfica), Braulio Nobrega (Zaragoza)

Prospects: Another top-four finish within reach.

FC BARCELONA

Founded: 1899

Colors: navy and crimson

Stadium: Camp Nou (capacity 98,772)

Coach: Pep Guardiola (first season)

Last season: 3rd

Honors: 18 leagues, 24 cups, European champion 2 times, 4 Cup Winners' Cups, 3 Inter City Fairs Cups, 2 European Supercups

Key acquisitions: Alexander Hleb (Arsenal), Seydou Keita and Dani Alves (Sevilla), Martin Caceres (Recreativo Huelva), Gerard Pique (Manchester United), Henrique (Sao Paulo)

Significant departures: Ronaldinho and Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan), Deco (Chelsea), Edmilson (Villarreal), Giovani Dos Santos (Tottenham), Santiago Ezquerro (Osasuna), Oleguer Presas (Ajax), Lilian Thuram (retired)

Prospects: A good start under inexperienced Guardiola could lead to a return to honours.

DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA

Founded: 1906

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: Riazor (capacity 34,600)

Coach: Miguel Angel Lotina (second season)

Honors: 1 league, 2 cups

Last season: 9th

Key acquisitions: Daniel Aranzubia (Athletic Bilbao), Ze Castro and Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer (both Atletico Madrid), Omar Bravo (Chivas),

Significant departures: Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle)

Prospects: Encouraging prospects after brilliant second half of last season.

ESPANYOL

Founded: 1900

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: Lluis Companys Olympic (capacity 56,000)

Coach: Bartolome "Tintin" Marquez (first season)

Honors: 4 cups

Last season: 12th

Key acquisitions: Roman Martinez (Arsenal Sarandi), Cristian Alvarez (Rosario), Gregory Beranger (Numancia)

Significant departures: Clemente Rodriguez (Spartak Moscow), Fredson Camara (Goias)

Prospects: Another respectable placing likely.

GETAFE

Founded: 1946

Color: blue

Stadium: Alfonso Perez Coliseum (capacity 17,000)

Coach: Victor Munoz (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 14th

Key acquisitions: Esteban Granero and Roberto Soldado (both Real Madrid), Jaime Gavilan (Valencia), Joffre Guerron (Universidad de Quito), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Eugen Polanski (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Significant departures: Pablo Redondo (Gimnastic Tarragona), Luis Garcia (Tenerife)

Prospects: Midtable.

MALAGA

Founded: 1994

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: La Rosaleda (capacity 22,800)

Coach: Antonio Tapia (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: Promoted

Key acquisitions: Miguel Angel Lozano and Fernando Fernandez (both Real Betis), Welington (Grasshoppers), Iban Cuadrado (Murcia)

Significant departures: Paulo Jorge (Benfica), Antonio Hidalgo (Zaragoza)

Prospects: Little cause for confidence.

MALLORCA

Founded: 1916

Colors: red and black

Stadium: Son Moix (capacity 23,142)

Coach: Gregorio Manzano (fourth season)

Honors: 1 cup

Last season: 7th

Key acquisitions: Jose Luis Marti (Sevilla), Josemi Gonzalez (Villarreal), Alhassane Keita (Al Ittihad), Ayoze Diaz (Racing Santander), Enrique Corrales (Osasuna)

Significant departures: Dani Guiza (Fenerbahce), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Ariel Ibagaza (Villarreal), Fernando Navarro (Sevilla), Angelos Basinas (AEK Athens)

Prospects: Lack of firepower may prevent repeat of last season's eyecatching form.

NUMANCIA

Founded: 1945

Colors: red and blue

Stadium: Los Pajaritos (capacity 9,700)

Coach: Sergio Kresic (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: promoted

Key acquisitions: Alberto Montejo (Zaragoza), Alvaro Anton (Valladolid), Antonio Guayre (Celta Vigo)

Significant departures: Gregory Beranger (Espanyol)

Prospects: In danger of swift return to second division.

OSASUNA

Founded: 1920

Colors: red and black

Stadium: Reyno de Navarra (capacity 19,800)

Coach: Jose Angel Ziganda (third season)

Honors: none

Last season: 17th

Key acquisitions: Santiago Ezquerro (Barcelona), Masoud Shojaei (Al Sharjah), Tiago Gomes (Benfica), Roversio Rodrigues (Pacos Ferreira), Krisztian Vadocz (NEC Nijmegen)

Significant departures: Enrique Corrales (Mallorca), Rodolofo Arruabarrena (Legia Warsaw)

Prospects: Survival is again principal aim.

RACING SANTANDER

Founded: 1913

Colors: white and green

Stadium: El Sardinero (capacity 22,251)

Coach: Juan Ramon Muniz (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 6th

Key acquisitions: Laszlo Sepsi (Benfica), Vitorino Antunes (AS Roma), Ze Antonio (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Significant departures: Aldo Duscher (Sevilla)

Prospects: Unlikely to reproduce best-ever season last time round.

REAL BETIS

Founded: 1907

Colors: green and white

Stadium: Manuel Ruiz de Lopera (capacity 55,500)

Coach: Paco Chaparro (second season)

Honors: 1 league, 2 cups

Last season: 13th

Key acquisitions: Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Achille Emana (Toulouse)

Significant departures: Toni Doblas (Villarreal), Francisco Maldonado (Sporting Gijon), Miguel Angel Lozano and Fernando Fernandez (both Malaga)

Prospects: Lower half of the standings again.

REAL MADRID

Founded: 1902

Color: white

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu (capacity 80,000)

Coach: Bernd Schuster (second season)

Honors: 31 leagues, 17 cups, European champion 9 times, 2 UEFA Cups, 3 World Club Championships, 1 European Supercup

Last season: 1st

Key acquisitions: Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)

Significant departures: Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Esteban Granero and Roberto Soldado (both Getafe), Javier Balboa (Benfica)

Prospects: Favorite for a third straight title.

RECREATIVO HUELVA

Founded: 1899

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: Nuevo Colombino (capacity 19,860)

Coach: Manolo Zambrano (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 16th

Key acquisitions: Andres Lamas (Montevideo), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos), Sebastian Nayar (Boca Juniors)

Significant departures: Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Martins (Benfica), Pampa Calvo (Boca Juniors), Stefano Sorrentino (Cagliari), Gerard Lopez (PAOK Salonika)

Prospects: Another struggle ahead.

SEVILLA

Founded: 1905

Color: white

Stadium: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan (capacity 45,500)

Coach: Manolo Jimenez (second season)

Honors: 1 league, 4 cups, 2 UEFA Cups, 1 European Supercup

Last season: 5th

Key acquisitions: Fernando Navarro (Mallorca), Abdoulay Konko (Genoa), Lautaro Acosta (Lanus), Koffi Ndri Romaric (Le Mans), Sebastien Squillaci (Lyon), Aldo Duscher (Racing Santander)

Significant departures: Daniel Alves and Seydou Keita (Barcelona), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray), Christian Poulsen (Juventus), Jose Luis Marti (Mallorca)

Prospects: Another top-five finish if replacements for transferred players gel.

SPORTING GIJON

Founded: 1905

Colors: red, white and blue

Stadium: El Molinon (capacity 25,885)

Coach: Manuel Preciado (third season)

Honors: None.

Last season: Promoted

Key acquisitions: Francisco Maldonado (Real Betis), Juergen "Colin" Romero (Ajax)

Significant departures:

Prospects: Back in top flight but probably not for long.

VALENCIA

Founded: 1919

Colors: white and black

Stadium: Mestalla (capacity 55,000)

Coach: Unai Emery (first season)

Honors: 6 leagues, 7 cups, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 2 Inter City Fairs Cups, 2 European Supercups

Last season: 10th

Key acquisitions: Renan Brito (Internacional de Portoalegre)

Significant departures: Jaime Gavilan (Getafe), Marco Caneira (Sporting Lisbon), Javier Arizmendi (Zaragoza), Santiago Canizares (retired)

Prospects: Boardroom strife and financial woes may again hit aspirations.

VALLADOLID

Founded: 1928

Colors: violet and white

Stadium: Municipal Jose Zorrilla (capacity 27,000)

Coach: Jose Luis Mendilibar (third season)

Honors: 1 league cup

Last season: 15th

Key acquisitions: Marcos Aguirre (Lanus), Justo Villar (Newell's Old Boys)

Significant departures: Joseba Llorente (Villarreal),

Prospects: Relegation possibles.

VILLARREAL

Founded: 1923

Color: yellow

Stadium: El Madrigal (capacity 23,000)

Coach: Manuel Pellegrini (fifth season)

Honors: none

Last season: 2nd

Key acquisitions: Ariel Ibagaza (Mallorca), Josy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Edmilson (Barcelona), Joseba Llorente (Valladolid), Robert Flores (River Plate Uruguay)

Significant departures: Martin Caceres (Barcelona), Josemi Gonzalez (Mallorca), Leandro Somoza (Velez Sarsfield), Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord), Rio Mavuba (Lille)

Prospects: Top four if it avoids Champions League distractions.

Sirius says it now complies with Nasdaq rules

Satellite radio provider Sirius XM Radio Inc. said Monday it's been notified it now complies with the Nasdaq's independent director and audit committee requirements.

Sirius had been notified by the Nasdaq on July 9 that it didn't comply with the requirements in order to stay listed after one of its independent directors resigned.

Now, after the resignation of Gary Parsons as chairman and director, independent directors under the Nasdaq rules now constitute a majority of the company's board, Sirius said.

Parsons founded XM Satellite Radio and was its chairman before the company's merger with Sirius.

Shares fell 1 cents, or 2 percent, to about 66 cents in midday trading.