Pakistan's post-Musharraf ruling coalition splits

The ruling coalition that just a week ago drove U.S. ally Pervez Musharraf from the presidency broke apart Monday, throwing Pakistan into political turmoil just as it faces an increasingly difficult fight against Islamic militants.

The collapse of the fragile alliance threw more power to Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated ex-leader Benazir Bhutto and a corruption-tainted former polo player who now becomes the front-runner to replace Musharraf.

Fulfilling a threat he made last week, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pulled his party out of the coalition after a dispute with Zardari over whether to restore the chief justice of the Supreme Court, …

Ripley 32, Capital 20

Capital (20-2) FG FT Points

Tavia Franklin 1 0-0 3

Lasha Fortson 1 0-0 2

Milan Cary 2 0-0 4

Lisa Lee 1 0-0 2

Rae Rae Sayles 3 0-2 7

Erica Reese 1 0-0 2

Totals 9 0-2 20

Ripley (19-6) FG FT Points

Jay …

4 U.N. Peacekeepers in Sudan Sent Home

UNITED NATIONS - Four U.N. peacekeepers in southern Sudan have been sent home in the past year following investigations of alleged sexual abuse and the United Nations is looking into reports that more than 20 children were raped and abused, the U.N. spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Michele Montas said the United Nations was "deeply concerned" by a report in a British newspaper alleging that U.N. personnel in Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, were involved in sexual exploitation and abuse. The U.N. was trying to determine whether the allegations were new or involved existing cases already under investigation.

The Daily Telegraph, citing an internal report by the U.N. …

Hummel sends No. 24 Purdue past Illinois 66-56

Robbie Hummel looks healthy, and Purdue is playing like the team that was picked to win the Big Ten title.

Hummel finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds Saturday, and JaJuan Johnson had 20 points and three blocks to lead the Boilermakers past Illinois 66-56 Saturday and into the Big Ten tournament championship game.

The victory ends third-seeded Purdue's three-game losing streak to the Illini (24-9) and sets up a rematch with fifth-seeded Ohio State, an 82-70 upset winner over No. 7 Michigan State. The Boilermakers and Buckeyes split the first two games this season, each winning at home.

It's the first time since 1998 that Purdue (24-9) will play …

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NOWCAST: TECHNOLOGY

NIGHT VIEWS OF MEDITERRANEAN IMPROVE OCEAN HEAT MAP

The European Space Agency (ESA) has made significant enhancements to their Medspiration project, which uses satellites to take the daily temperature of Europe's seas. The products are designed for near-real time ingestion of numerical ocean forecasting models to keep their outputs "coupled" to reality. An ultra-high-resolution sea surface temperature (SST) map focused on the Mediterranean Sea with an accuracy of less than 0.3�C is being made available daily. The most significant change to the product is the acquisition of data at night.

Satellite instruments can only measure the "skin" SST (the top 10-20 microns) rather …

Federer-Djokovic Set for Semifinal Match

Top-ranked Roger Federer will meet No. 3 Novak Djokovic in a semifinal match Friday that will determine who faces unheralded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open final.

Rafael Nadal, ranked No. 2, was dominated in stunning fashion Thursday by Tsonga, who won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal played well against the 38th-ranked Tsonga, who had never gone beyond the fourth round in his four previous Grand Slams. But the Frenchman was virtually untouchable, smashing 17 aces against one of the best serve returners in the game.

Nadal finished with just 12 unforced errors _ four combined in the first two sets _ while matching the fewest games he …