Russia, Moscow, January 12: After four days of disruption amid freezing temperatures, Ukraine finally signed an agreement with Russia and the European Union on Russian experts monitoring transit gas through its territory, setting the stage for the resumption of supplies to Europe.

ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech researchers say the swarm intelligence of honeybees can be used to improve the efficiency of Internet servers.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology -- inspired by the ability of honeybees to collect large amounts of nectar efficiently with limited resources and no central command -- created a communication system to help Internet servers that would normally be devoted solely to one task, move between tasks as needed, the university said Friday in a release.

The study, published in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, said the honeybee method reduces the chances that a Web site could be overwhelmed with requests and lock out potential users and customers. Researchers said the system typically improves service by 4 percent to 25 percent in tests based on real Internet traffic.

Atlanta -- The Philadelphia Phillies Friday activated first baseman Ryan Howard from the 15-day disabled list.

Atlanta -- Atlanta Braves reliever Mike Gonzalez needs Tommy John ligament surgery on his left shoulder, and is done for the 2007 season.

Duluth, Ga. -- Troy Matteson, one of four rookie winners on the PGA Tour last year, shared the lead with Ryuji Imada Friday midway through the AT&T Classic.