S. Korea to demand North end nuke program High-level talks to open today; U.S. eyes call for UN sanctions

SEOUL, South Korea--On the eve of crucial Cabinet-level meetingsbetween the two countries, South Korea said Saturday it will demandthat North Korea abolish its nuclear weapons programs, while thecommunist state vowed to stand up to "U.S. imperialists."

A five-member South Korean delegation was scheduled to fly todayto Pyongyang, North Korea, for three days of talks.

The meetings come just days after a senior U.S. official saidNorth Korea claimed in talks last week in Beijing to have atomicweapons that it might test, sell or use, depending on U.S. actions.

South Korea "will strongly urge North Korea for the abolishment ofits nuclear development and change of …

Grebel dedicates 'stunning' new atrium

Waterloo, Ont.

On November 9, with the sun streaming in through the huge windows, Conrad Grebel University College had a service of dedication for its new facilities, including a new four-storey atrium.

The new facilities include a student apartment building, residence extension, renovations and, tying it all together, the John E. Toews Atrium. Toews was honoured because of his success in development and fundraising as Grebel president from 1996 to 2003.

[Graph Not Transcribed]

Renovations generated student lounge space and more music studios. The apartment building houses 32 students in 8 apartments. Together with the 26 new beds in the residence, the …

Fact checking the presidential debates

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain stretched the facts in accusing each other of kowtowing to the oil industry and sprinkled other dubious assertions across the landscape of public policy in their first presidential debate.

McCain's plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent across the board so as to spur job creation was boiled down by Obama into a $4 billion tax break for Big Oil, as if no other companies or workers would benefit.

McCain similarly cut corners with context when he accused Obama of voting for huge subsidies for the oil industry. Obama voted to strip away those subsidies and, when that failed, backed broad …

Crafty artists achieve object by using everyday materials

'Material Difference'

- Through Jan. 7

- Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Randolph

- (312) 744-6630

GALLERIES

The notion of valuing the valueless is an idea contemporaryartists have embraced heartily; witness the Richard Tuttle show atthe MCA in which raw materials are presented in perplexingcombinations meant to be meditated on for their essentialobjecthood. "Material Difference," now on view at the ChicagoCultural Center, likewise values sometimes-valueless materials butapproaches them from the opposite direction. Each object here iswrought and rendered unto preciousness through a process oncehonorably known as craft.

Indeed, in …

College-bound kids leave empty space for parents to fill

Hundreds of parents in the Chicago area are hitting a milestonethis week: sending their kids to college for the first time.

After they help haul their teens' computers and clothes into dormrooms on moving day, many parents go home to a quiet house and "emptynest syndrome."

Parents often find it difficult to let go of the child they stillremember learning to walk and talk. And fathers sometimes have anespecially hard time saying goodbye to daughters.

"I'm in denial," said Neil Chertack, 53, who will see his onlychild, Kasey Ann, off to the University of Iowa on Thursday. "It'stough for both of us."

Chertack and his wife, Mary Pat, 50, of Deerfield, have …

Serbia center released after basketball brawl

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Serbia basketball player Nenad Krstic, a center with the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, was released Friday after being held in police custody overnight following a remarkable brawl during a match with Greece.

The last game of the Acropolis tournament was abandoned with 2:40 to go and Greece leading by one point when the fight broke out.

The incident occurred just a week before the basketball world championship in Turkey, where both teams will play.

A stunned crowd of about 5,000 at the Athens Olympic Arena watched players from both teams exchange punches and kicks. Two or three spectators entered the fray but were quickly shoved out of the …

Ericsson more than doubles profit in Q2

Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson AB says its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter, mainly thanks to a dramatic cut in costs.

Net profit for the three-month period reached 1.9 billion kronor ($258 million), up from 831 million kronor in the same three months a year ago.

Stockholm-headquartered Ericsson said revenues dropped, however, to 48 billion kronor, compared with …