Case, the architect of the troubled mega-merger of America Online and Time Warner, in a statement said his role as chairman had become a "distraction" for the world's largest media company in the face of disappointment with its post-merger performance.

The company said Case notified Chief Executive Dick Parsons and the board of directors of his decision over the weekend. Case will remain a member of AOL Time Warner's board of directors and continue as co-chair of its strategy committee.

The embattled executive said that under a new leadership team AOL Time Warner could focus on executing the company's various strategies.

"Given this progress and the fact that we're moving into more of an execution phase, this seems like an appropriate time for me to announce that I will step aside," Case said

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Venezuela Alleges Oil Sabotage

Embattled Venezuelan officials on Sunday accused striking oil workers of sabotaging the country's energy industry, while assuring fellow OPEC states the government would restore output swiftly.

State oil company chief Ali Rodriguez said he would start criminal prosecutions against workers he said had sabotaged oil fields, refineries and computer systems during the six-week-old strike that has brought the industry to its knees.

"There are criminal and civil cases to answer in this and of course we will apply the law in Venezuela," Rodriguez told a press conference after an OPEC meeting in the Austrian capital.

Striking executives of Petroleos de Venezuela, many of whom have now been sacked by Rodriguez, say incompetence by replacement workers is to blame for a recent spate of accidents, including oil spills in the western Lake Maracaibo.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries met on Sunday in emergency session to deal with the Venezuelan stoppage, lifting quotas by 1.5 million barrels a day, seven percent.

In response to Venezuelan assurances that output would resume swiftly, OPEC included the South American country in the production hike despite its current inability to fill its quota.

OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah said OPEC was hopeful that Venezuela would return to full production soon and said the other cartel members would reverse the hike when that happened.

 

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Buccaneers beat San Fran!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Quarterback Brad Johnson and Mike Alstott carried hosts Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-6 divisional playoff victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. It was the most points ever scored by the traditionally defensive-minded Bucs in post-season play.

Tampa now travels to Philadelphia for next Sunday's NFC title game against the top-seeded Eagles, who have knocked the Buccaneers out of the playoffs the past two years.

Johnson, who handed out autographed cards of himself as he reported to the stadium in the morning, was more than happy to talk to reporters after winning for just the second time in five playoff starts.

"I was excited," he said. "There was a lot of emotion out there. It's awesome for this town. "These players deserve so much credit. We got a great bunch of guys."

Johnson masterminded a 12-play, 76-yard scoring drive as Tampa took a 7-0 lead. With defensive tackle Warren Sapp in as tight end to beef up the Bucs' line, Alstott barrelled over from two yards. Johnson then hooked up with Joe Jurevicius in the corner of the end zone for Tampa's second touchdown five minutes into the second quarter. Not yet done, he found backup end Rickey Dudley from 12 yards for his second TD toss of the day just over two minutes later. Johnson was knocked to the turf after releasing the ball, but pumped his fist while prone to show his delight.

The 49ers, now in a hurry-up mode, then coughed up the ball, leading to another Tampa score. After a big gainer by Michael Pittman, Alstott walked into the end zone for his second touchdown 50 seconds from the break.

The 49ers then squandered a chance to get back in it when they ran out the clock despite having good field position and two time outs.

Jeff Chandler accounted for all of San Francisco's first-half scoring with two field goals, the longer from 40 yards.

The Niners started the second half in the worst possible way when quarterback Jeff Garcia was picked off for the second time. With Johnson back in the dressing room after sustaining a gash to his forehead on a quarterback keeper, the Bucs put another three points on the board on Martin Gramatica's chip-shot field goal to complete the scoring. Garcia had the ball slapped from his hand late in the third period for another turnover, then was intercepted again late to complete a very forgettable day for the Pro Bowl passer.

 

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OPEC Lifts Production to Tame Oil Prices

OPEC Sunday agreed to raise production to stave off an oil price shock threatened by a strike in Venezuela and war in Iraq.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lifted output by seven percent, adding 1.5 million barrels a day for a new 10-member limit of 24.5 million bpd, at the top end of expectations.

"We hope the agreement will produce a reasonable price for consumers and send a very strong message to the market to prevent panic," said OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah.

The new oil will only go part of the way to compensate for an estimated two-million-barrel-a-day stoppage from Venezuela. That's because Caracas was granted its share of the higher limit and because many others in OPEC have little, or no, spare capacity.

"Lack of capacity means actual additional oil will probably be less than half that promised on paper," said Gary Ross, chief executive of U.S. consultancy PIRA Energy.

"OPEC production will still be less than if had there been no Venezuelan disruption."

Cartel sensitivities mean the extra oil was divided pro-rata among all 10 with quotas, but key to flows now will be how quickly, and how far, leading producer Saudi Arabia opens the taps.

Riyadh will count Sunday's deal as a victory. Most others in OPEC wanted an addition of just one million bpd.

But Saudi wants to be sure to prevent oil spiking to heights that might harm world economic growth and hit crude demand. The United States made a public appeal for more oil after U.S. crude recently hit a two-year peak of over $33 a barrel.

Washington welcomed the pact.

"OPEC's decision to increase production in response to the protracted disruption in oil exports from Venezuela is a welcome step that will help increase global energy supplies and support global economic growth," said U.S. Department of Energy spokeswoman Jeanne Lopatto.

 

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Venezuelan Troops Halt Marchers, Chavez Plays Tough

CARACAS, Venezuela

Venezuelan troops fired tear gas on Sunday to drive back tens of thousands of anti-government protesters as President Hugo Chavez ordered a crackdown against a six-week-old opposition strike that is bleeding the economy.

As the demonstrators in Caracas fled the clouds of gas, the leftist leader sternly warned opponents he would not let them disrupt schools, banks or food supplies in a strike which has already crippled shipments by the world's No. 5 oil exporter.

"They want to break us economically. They are not going to do it. I swear it by God and my mother," Chavez said during his weekly "Hello President" television and radio show.

Waving national flags, the opposition protesters marched toward Fuerte Tiuna military headquarters in Caracas as part of their determined campaign to try to force the populist president to resign and call early elections.

They found their path blocked by barbed wire barricades, armored vehicles and several hundred National Guard troops and military police, who fired a volley of tear gas canisters.

Several people were carried away, apparently overcome by the choking gas.

During his broadcast, Chavez signed a decree creating a special government commission to combat a tax rebellion announced by opposition leaders. By urging Venezuelans not to pay taxes of any kind, the strikers hope to cut government revenues already drained by the crippling oil strike.

The president, elected in 1998, said the strike was costing the country tens of millions of dollars a day. "We should prepare for difficult times," he said, adding that another government commission was drawing up budget cuts.

He condemned his opponents as "fascists and coup mongers" and described them as desperate. "They don't know what to do next," said Chavez, who survived a brief coup in April. He himself attempted a botched coup bid in 1992.

Chavez, who has already sacked 2,000 striking state oil employees, repeated threats to send troops to take over private factories and warehouses if they hoarded food supplies.

He also threatened to revoke the broadcasting licenses of private TV stations that criticize his rule, describing their hostile programming as "worse than an atomic bomb."

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Mideast Weekend Violence Leaves at Least 10 Dead 

JERUSALEM 

Israel's latest crackdown against a Palestinian uprising left at least eight Palestinians dead in a weekend of escalating violence throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Two Israelis were also killed in fighting, as tensions rise on both sides in the run-up to the country's January 28 election. Israel's army has stepped up operations since back-to-back Palestinian suicide bombings in Tel Aviv last week that killed 22 people.

Israeli helicopter gunships fired three missiles into a Gaza Strip orchard on Sunday, killing two Palestinian teenagers and wounding a Palestinian man, witnesses and medical officials said.

A senior Israeli security source confirmed an air strike on the orchard by the road between Khan Younis and Rafah refugee camps in Gaza and said "three wanted men were hit." Palestinian hospital officials said none of the three teenagers killed in the missile strike, nor another youth wounded in the attack, were known to be members of militant groups waging the uprising for statehood.

Two members of the Hamas militant group who appeared to have been the intended target of the missile strike in the Gaza Strip fled the scene unscathed in a car, witnesses and medics said.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment. It has used helicopters to track and kill dozens of Palestinian militants, missions that have sometimes killed civilian bystanders and led to revenge attacks by militants.