3 face trial in slaying of KU student
A judge on Friday ordered two men and a woman to stand trial on premeditated murder charges in the slaying of Shannon Martin, a University of Kansas biology student who was stabbed to death two years ago in Costa Rica.

Pedro Irigonegaray, a Topeka lawyer representing Martin's mother, Jeanette Stauffer, said he was pleased that the three would be tried.

"We hope justice will be served," Irigonegaray said during a telephone interview Friday in Topeka.

Martin, a 1996 graduate of Shawnee Heights High School, went to Costa Rica in 2000 as part of a study-abroad program, then returned one week before she was to graduate to gather more specimens of a tree-dwelling fern she was researching.  Complete Story

WHO team to go to Taiwan after sharp rise in SARS cases
HONG KONG (AFP) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was sending a team to Taiwan, where SARScases have tripled over the past 10 days, as the island's president called off state visits for fear the epidemic may worsen.

As concern about the disease grew on the island, President Chen Shui-bian's office announced he had put off visits to Costa Rica, Belize, Haiti and Dominican Republic due this month to stay at home and deal with the crisis.  Complete Story

OPEC oil price falls to less than 24 US dollars per barrel

The crude oil price controlled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell and was kept under 24 US dollars per barrel in the past four days, statistics released here showed.

The Vienna-based OPEC Secretariat said in a report that OPEC's reference price basket of seven of its crudes reached 23.85 US dollars per barrel on Friday, although rose 13 cents than Thursday, but still below the cartel's central 25 dollar target. Complete Story

US terminates Operation Northern Watch in Turkey

The US military on Thursday put an end to Operation Northern Watch in Turkey amid speculations that Washington might shift its strategic focus in the region from Turkey to Iraq.

The US military wrapped up Operation Northern Watch at the Incirlik Air Base in the southern Adana province, from where it has already withdrawn some 50 warplanes, refueling aircraft and 1,400 personnel. Complete Story

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HEALTH NATURAL WAYS TO LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE What causes high blood pressure? High blood pressure is largely self-induced by the way we live. I believe there are mainly four major factors which cause high blood pressure. They are: Insufficient water, lack of exercise, poor diet and stress. In this article I will be covering insufficient water and lack of exercise. In the next article I will cover diet and in a future article I will be doing a two part series on stress. Complete Story