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Michael Jackson's Ghost

2009-11-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

In Never-land Michael Jackson's Ghost Explained

How fish oil supports heart health

2009-10-22T21:41:00.001-07:00

Breaking News: How fish oil supports heart health
By Mara Betsch

When it comes to heart health, there is one fat that won't work against you -- fish oil

While most of us need more fish in our diets, heart experts recommend that people at risk for or with coronary artery disease should consume about one gram of fish oil per day. That's the same amount in three ounces of wild salmon (farmed fish may have less heart-healthy fats than wild).
Healthy people should aim for 500 milligrams a day, according to Dr. James O'Keefe, a cardiologist with the Mid-America Heart Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
Research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and fish oil as well as some plant foods, can decrease the likelihood of cardiovascular disease.

Eating at least one fish meal a week was associated with a 52 percent reduction of risk for sudden cardiac death, according to a 1998 study of over 20,000 U.S. male physicians. Specifically, it can help prevent arrhythmias, lower triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), slow down the buildup of plaque in the arteries, and slightly lower blood pressure.

Experts recommend eating fresh fish at least once a week

Nutritionists recommend taking a food-based approach to fish oil before turning to capsule supplements, because fish is also a good source of protein and other nutrients.
Joyce Baber, 54, from New Egypt, New Jersey, is trying to do just that to help lower her high cholesterol, 233 (LDL, 174; HDL, 59) and slightly elevated blood pressure.
"My doctor recommended omega-3," she says. "My LDL should be 130 or less and my HDL should be closer to 100." Patients with high cholesterol patients who consumed EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid, daily showed a 19 percent decrease in non-fatal coronary events, including heart attack, according to a 2007 Japanese study of over 18,000 people.
How much fish should you eat?

People with a history of cardiovascular disease should include fatty fish, such as mackerel, trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon, in their diet two to three times per week. Those without a history of heart disease are advised to eat fish at least one to two times per week. Health.com: Five fab fish dishes
Pregnant women should consume two fatty fish meals a week, while avoiding shark, tile fish, king mackerel and swordfish, which may contain some environmental contaminants such as mercury, according to the FDA.

Eat with your mind as well as your mouth, and pay close to attention to how the fish is prepared. Fried fish and fish from fast food restaurants do not offer the same heart health benefits as baked and broiled fish. Health.com: 20 meals that won't kill your cholesterol
Tofu and other forms of soybeans, canola, walnuts and flaxseeds, and their oils, are also rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid, which is converted to omega-3 fatty acid in the body. Omega-3-enriched eggs are also available in supermarkets.
Fish versus fish supplements

While the American Heart Association recommends oily fish as the preferred source of omega-3 fatty acids, supplements are a convenient source for people who don't like fish or are unable to consume the advised dosage. Side effects from the supplements are uncommon, but some report a fishy aftertaste, nausea, bloating and belching. (Try storing the supplements in the freezer to minimize the taste.) Health.com: Supplements for cholesterol: What works?
Baber admits she has not started taking the fish oil capsules, which her doctor recommended, because she has a hard time swallowing them.

"I am not good at swallowing large pills and I'm looking for ones that are a reasonable size. I also have acid reflux and I know there are possible GI side effects. But I will give this a try because I would like to avoid taking a statin drug, if possible."
Rene Colwell, 50, of New York, says "fish burps" turned her off to supplements after her 2006 heart attack, but she tries to take at least half of the four capsules her doctor recommended.
"Research actually supports combination therapy of omega-3 supplements and medication for people at risk for heart disease," says Dr. O'Keefe. Fish oil and statins are a safe and effective way to improve cardiovascular health -- more so than the use of statins alone, he says. Health.com: 10 ways to cut cholesterol, not taste

Breaking News: How fish oil supports heart health

Balloon not capable of lifting off

2009-10-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

Breaking News - Balloon 'not capable of lifting off' with the boy, Colorado police say

(CNN) -- As authorities confirmed the "balloon boy" saga was a hoax, they checked the vessel created by Richard Heene to see whether it could have actually carried his 6-year-old son Falcon.

The balloon is displayed at the sheriff's department in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Sunday

During the incident Thursday, when Heene said his 37-pound son may have been inside the flying-saucer-shaped balloon, the sheriff's department contacted a specialist at Colorado State University to determine whether it could carry the child.
Based on the dimensions for the balloon that Heene provided at the time, the specialist "determined that it was, in fact, possible for this balloon to have launched," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters Sunday.
But after they recovered the balloon and checked the actual measurements, authorities discovered "it was not capable of lifting off" with the boy on board, Alderden said.
The reason, according to the sheriff, is that the contraption weighs 18 pounds more than what Heene said.
Authorities have also tested the base part of the balloon, into which Heene said his son may have crawled.

Ichard Heene has told reporters that a runaway balloon incident involving his son was "absolutely no hoax."

Alderden said that section consisted of a very thin piece of plywood and cardboard sides held together by string and duct tape.

"Certainly we wanted to question whether that was strong enough to support the weight of Falcon," he said.Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden tells reporters Sunday the "balloon boy" incident was a hoax

Alderden said they came to a "bizarre" finding, that the section actually could handle 37 pounds without breaking. However, in order to go airborne with those 37 pounds inside, the base would need to be attached to a more powerful balloon, he said.

Breaking News - Balloon 'not capable of lifting off' with the boy, Colorado police say

Power vacuum fuels vicious drug war

2009-10-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

Breaking News Power vacuum fuels vicious drug war

By Karl Penhaul
CNN

Editor's note: This article contains profanity that some may find offensive. This is part one of a three part series showing different aspects of life inside Colombia's drug gangs.

MEDELLIN, Colombia (CNN) -- A young man with tattoos covering one arm rolls hundreds of marijuana joints in the half-light of a shack, perched on a hillside in a Medellin slum.
A 9mm pistol and a .38 revolver lie on his work bench. An old battery-powered radio blares out the salsa music classic, "Todo Tiene Su Final" or "Everything Comes To An End."
"I'm getting calluses on my tongue rolling all these spliffs," he laughs, telling me has enough marijuana for about 1,000 joints. He and his comrades plan to sell them for about 50 cents apiece.

A few doors away, two other gang members have raided their mother's kitchen for soup plates, drinking glasses and a blender.
They've just taken delivery of a kilogram (2.2 pound) brick of pure cocaine. Their job now is to cut it and package it in gram bags to peddle on street corners they control.
A female gang member shows up with two more bags, one containing powdered caffeine and the other lidocaine, a dental anesthetic used to dilute the pure cocaine.
They mix business with pleasure. Every now and again one of the gang members pulls off the top of the blender and breathes in a cloud of pulverized cocaine.
One of them coughs and keels over in the kitchen. Seconds later, he's back on his feet snorting cocaine off a spoon.

A gang member sniffs in a cloud of cocaine dust as he cuts the drug with other substances

"Breathing that cocaine cloud mellows me out so I need a line to take me back up," he says.
Standing in the background, snorting lines of pure cocaine off a pocketknife is the gang leader, a man in his mid-20s. His cohorts call him "Chief."
He tells me they'll sell the heavily cut cocaine for $1.50 a gram. Higher purity powder goes for about $4 a gram. That's much cheaper than the $50 or $60 a heavily cut gram costs on most U.S. and European streets, according to estimates from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

I agree to conceal Chief's true identity to protect him from the police and rival gangs. As we chat, he dismantles a small caliber pistol.
"Around here the only law is the rules of the street," he explains. "The rules don't change; they always will be the rules, here or anywhere else."
A trusted source, who made the introduction for me, tells me Chief is a "total animal living on borrowed time," who has earned so many enemies he cannot risk stepping outside the few hundred square yards of his home turf.
"I'm only human, of course I get afraid," he says. "Afraid my life will end suddenly before I can do anything to get out of this war."
Since the time when undisputed cocaine king Pablo Escobar held sway here, the "northeastern commune" district has forged a fearsome reputation as a recruiting ground for drug cartel hit men and violent gang wars.

Thousands of marijuana joints are prepared by the gang who will sell them for as little as 50 cents each

Medellin is once again in the grip of a vicious drug war. In January to September this year, city authorities say the murder rate has more than doubled with almost 2,000 killings.
Officials at the Medellin public prosecutor's offices say the vast majority of victims were shot, likely victims of rival drug gangs and cocaine capos.
That makes Medellin as dangerous as Ciudad Juarez, the frontier town dubbed Mexico's most dangerous city as a result of the ongoing cartel war there. Authorities in Juarez say killings are up from last year and are hitting record highs.
Colombian authorities estimate there are around 130 street gangs -- known as "combos" -- in Medellin, totaling some 6,000 members. Their only real loyalty is to the money that drug capos dole out to hire a gang's services.
Capos will supply them with drugs to retail on street corners and occasionally issue them weapons to take on rival gangs loyal to another crime boss.
Until earlier this year, Medellin's drug underworld was ruled by the so-called "Office of Envigado," named after a district of the Medellin metropolitan area. The "office" was a syndicate of the top cocaine bosses who agreed on the basic rules of doing business in the area. They shared smuggling routes and acted as the ultimate enforcers if cartel members reneged on deals or debts.

Locals watch from a roof as another murder investigation begins in Medellin

But the "office" has been ripped apart by infighting. Some senior members were arrested, some of those already in jail were extradited and others cut cooperation deals with U.S. authorities. That left the lower ranks fighting to fill the power vacuum.
It's an internal battle that is still raging.

"The ones fueling this war are the ones from the other side. They've fed up Medellin," Chief says. "They're from Medellin but they're traitors."
"They want to get control of all Medellin so they're shooting up one gang then another. They're getting paid to fight. These are wars between the big capos and we're paying the price out here on the streets," he adds.

Chief and his allies have stopped rivals intruding on their turf by strictly enforcing what they call "street rules." A day before our meeting, Chief says he helped bury one of his friends who had been gunned down when he ventured into the heart of Medellin with a girlfriend.
"I couldn't even bear to take a look inside the coffin," he began explaining. "We don't really know who did it. But it was that crack head girlfriend who persuaded him to go down there. So we killed the bitch.
"You see that's street rules. You have to answer for our friend and the only way you can do that is pay with your life," he says.

Chief shies away from questions about which cartel boss is bankrolling his gang. But clearly somebody has been supplying them with guns. They pose with a Czech-made .22-caliber rifle and an assortment of semi-automatic pistols -- as well as the wholesale supply of drugs they then sell on the streets.

Some seized semi-submersibles that were used to transport drugs internationally

My conversation with Chief is interrupted when another gang member arrives at the improvised drug den. He mumbles to his boss that a local man has been beating up his wife. Chief authorizes his underling to go and thrash the accused man with a pool cue.
"I don't think we need cameras for this one please," he requests.
As I get ready to leave I have one last question for Chief: I want to know if he ever had any dreams.

"I've tried to get out of this but it's never quite worked out," he says. "I'd like to sail away in a sailboat. Alone and far away."

Breaking News Power vacuum fuels vicious drug war

Landslides kill 122 in Philippines

2009-10-08T22:44:00.001-07:00

Recent Landslides kill 122 in Philippines !!!

Landslides unleashed by tropical depression Parma across the Philippine province of Benguet have killed at least 122 people and left 31 missing, officials said Friday.

our people had been found alive in debris and at least 22 had been injured by landslides that started Thursday afternoon and continued all night, affecting several municipalities, said Elmer Foria, police senior superintendent.

A boatman transports three empty wooden coffins near Manila on Thursday.

Flooding had inundated 32 towns and two cities, Dagupan and Urdaneta, according to Rocky Baraan, provincial administrator of Pangasinan. Some 35,000 people had fled to evacuation centers, the official Philippines News Agency reported, citing the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.
The worst-hit areas included Bayambang, Alcala and Basista, the news agency reported.
People clambered onto rooftops as floodwaters rose, calling and texting for help. Rescue trucks were hampered by floodwaters that reach the roofs of single-story houses, Baraan said. About 16 rubber rescue boats had been deployed.

A man gets a haircut at a flooded barber shop on the edge of Laguna Lake east of Manila on Thursday.

The U.S. Navy was expected to join rescue operations in Pangasinan, according to the agency.
In the last several days, water has become the Philippines' biggest enemy, as Parma, locally known as "Pepeng," dumped as much as 36 inches (91.4 centimeters) of rain in some parts of the nation of islands, compounding misery in areas already flooded by earlier storm Ketsana.
Parma was forecast to have winds of no greater than 39 mph (63 kph) by Friday.

Recent Landslides kill 122 in Philippines !!!

Argentian Higuains dream come true

2009-10-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Young Higuains dream come true !!!

The Argentinean public has long been clamouring for Gonzalo Higuain to be called up to the national team and, at long last, Diego Maradona has included the young forward in his 22-man squad for La Albiceleste's crucial final two qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay. Higuain himself could hardly conceal his delight and told FIFA.com that the long-touted call-up was a dream come true.
The 22-year-old, who left River Plate for Real Madrid three seasons ago, has avoided controversy and endeavoured to do his talking on the pitch. Now, with two La Liga titles and a Spanish Super Cup to his name, Los Merengues' top scorer last season is eager to help Argentina secure a direct berth at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.
FIFA.com: Gonzalo, what's your take on Argentina's current position in South American qualifying?
Gonzalo Higuain: I'm sure that Argentina will manage to get the job done. We're going to make it to the World Cup, of that I have no doubt. I've followed every game closely because it's my country and I'm very passionate about it. I hope that, together, we can all do our bit for the team and qualify for South Africa.

How does it feel to finally become a part of Maradona's squad?
It's a dream come true! I've been waiting for this moment ever since I first kicked a ball in Argentina and have thought about it every day I've been here. I'm going to take full advantage of this opportunity.

I'm sure Argentina will manage to get the job done. We're going to make it to the World Cup, of that I have no doubt.
Gonzalo Higuain
The media and the supporters in Argentina had been pushing for your inclusion for quite a while...
I take great pride in that - it's recognition for doing my job well. Now I hope I can repay that support with effort and goals.
You said you have dreamt of this moment ever since you first kicked a ball...
We all have dreams. Since first arriving here in Madrid I have tried to become a player the fans love and now I can feel the warmth of the people. This is such a beautiful feeling because it means they appreciate the job you're doing. I have absolutely no regrets in deciding to come here. To be honest, everything has happened really quickly; in three years here I've been lucky enough to win three trophies and to play a lot. I'm very happy with how things have turned out for me, because it's not always easy at a big club like this. I just hope it can continue.
You enjoyed success in your first two years but last year Bareclona's dominance must have been hard to swallow.

This year, have Real Madrid got the quality to topple Barca?
Yes, for sure. We're a proper team this year and we're going out to challenge for three competitions. We have a big squad with a great depth of quality, I'm positive we can challenge for all three so let's see if we're the ones lifting trophies next summer.

Is the UEFA Champions League the one you really want to win considering the final will be held at the Santiago Bernabeu?
We can't let it slip by this year. Madrid have got to get back to where they belong in Europe and we have the team to do it. We've started well and we plan to keep going all the way to the final.
It has been said that the squad is laden with talent, and particularly in the midfield and attacking positions.

Is it more difficult now for you to hold down a place in the team?
Yes, it's more difficult. But at the same time it's good for the team because, in the long run, with so many players of that level of quality, the team will become like a well-oiled machine. We should be able to rotate the personnel without having to alter the structure of the team or our style of play.

The coach has indicated that he intends to use a rotation system.
Of course, it may well be that it doesn't happen quite yet but by the time January and February come around and we start entering the business end of the season, with so many games played the legs will start to feel it. With a bit of luck our quality and strength in depth can see us through.

What has Manuel Pellegrini brought to Madrid?
He's a coach who likes to play two-touch football, to defend quite far up the pitch and keep the formation tight. I think we've done this as well as possible so far but we'll improve further. We still lack a little cohesiveness, there are seven or eight new faces in the team and we all have to settle in together, but the team is getting better with each game.
Your father, Jorge Higuain, was also a professional footballer.

How has that affected you in your own career?
For me it was always positive. My father has experienced a lot in the game and he was able to help me avoid making some of the same mistake he did. He's been very important in the progress I've made in my career.
He was a solid, tough defender.

How did he manage to produce such a capable forward for a son?
(Higuain laughs at this point.) They are always joking, saying there must have been some break in the DNA because we're not one bit alike! In the football sense, that is! He always played football with us as boys, but like all fathers and sons we get along well. I have always been very close to him and have tried to learn from his personality and pursue my career like he did. He had a great career in Argentinean football even if he did only get to play one year in France.
One of your brothers also plays professionally [Federico Higuain plays for Godoy Cruz of Mendoza].

Does your family ever speak of anything other than football when you all get together?
Ah, yes, the only one not involved in the game is the youngest, the rest of us have all played. But we always try not to allow football take over everything - there are other things that are more important.

What about your poor mother?
Yes. (Higuain laughs again here.) We really are all very proud of her for everything, for taking care of us and for putting up with us, which wasn't so easy.

Do you still follow Argentinean football? Do your friends at River Plate ever ask you to come back and lend them a hand?
Yes, I still follow it because I've played for those colours. It's a pity looking at where they are now but they'll find a way out of it. Maybe one day I'll go back and play for River, but that day is still some time away. Right now, I have a lot to do here at Real Madrid.

Young Higuains dream come true !!!

Earthquakes rock South Pacific

2009-10-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

A Major Earthquakes rock South Pacific !!!

Three major earthquakes struck within an hour and 10 minutes Thursday morning near Vanuatu in the South Pacific, prompting a tsunami warning that was quickly lifted.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck at 9:03 a.m. (6:03 p.m. ET) at a depth of 35 km (22 miles) and an epicenter 295 km (180 miles) north-northwest of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
A second quake, with a magnitude of 7.7, struck 15 minutes later at the same depth and an epicenter of 340 km (210 miles) north-northwest of Luganville.

The third quake, with a magnitude of 7.1, struck at 10:13 a.m. (7:13 p.m. ET) at about the same depth and an epicenter of 280 km (175 miles) north-northwest of Luganville.
An aftershock, with a moderate magnitude of 5.7, struck 25 minutes after the third quake in about the same location, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued and then quickly lifted a regional tsunami warning and watch for parts of the Pacific near the first earthquake's epicenter.
The first data from a buoy at Luganville on Vanuatu detected a tsunami wave of 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) at Luganville on Vanuatu, said Victor Sardina, a geophysicist with the center. Have you been affected? Share photos, video on iReport

A second pulse of the wave was 10 centimeters (3.9 inches), he said. "It looks like a very small wave," he told CNN in a telephone interview.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, Sardina said.
The two major quakes that followed the first one were aftershocks, Sardina said. When there's a big quake, the pattern they follow is after the first quake, a second and then a third," he said. "Those are obviously related," he said.

At the Hotel Le Paris in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, the manager told CNN that she felt the shake but had not seen any damage.
On Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu, dive-shop owner Rehan Syed said he was aware of no reports of damages or injuries.
"We have the sun out and winds are pretty normal," he told CNN. "Pretty cloudy skies but nothing more than that."

"We felt the quake (my chair and my keyboard moved) but did not take too much notice as we live with shakes every week," said John Nicholls of Vanuatu Hotels in an e-mail.
At the New Caledonia Hotel, guests were evacuated to higher ground, General Manager Torani George told, adding that he had felt "nothing, nothing at all."
"There is no panic, nothing," he said

A Major Earthquakes rock South Pacific !!!

Another strong earthquake rocked Indonesia early Thursday

2009-10-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

The 6.8 magnitude quake Thursday !!!

Another strong earthquake rocked Indonesia early Thursday as the Southeast Asian nation was reeling from an earlier jolt that killed more than 500 people and caused widespread destruction.

The 6.8 magnitude quake Thursday hit South Sumatra at 8:52 a.m. local time (9:52 p.m. Wednesday ET), about 89 miles (143 kilometers) from Bengkulu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. The earlier quake Wednesday was 7.6 magnitude.

At least 529 people were dead and more than 500 were injured, said Tugiyo Bisri, spokesman for the Indonesian Social Affairs Ministry's Crisis Center said Thursday. The worst hit was the West Sumatra capital of Padang, where 376 people perished, he said.

Officials had little information on those who were missing and feared the death toll would climb into the thousands. Rustam Pakaya, the head of the Ministry of Health's crisis center said that thousands of people may be trapped by collapsed buildings and houses.

Officials were expecting casualties to surpass those of the massive Yogyakarta earthquake three years ago, given the intensity and the spread of the damage this week. The second temblor Thursday only magnified the scope of the disaster.
The second quake was on a smaller scale than the first, said meteorology official Fauzi, who uses only one name. There were no damage reports yet.

In May 2006, a 6.3 magnitude quake centered in the central Java city of Yogyakarta quake killed more than 5,000 people and triggered fears of an eruption of a nearby volcano.
Wednesday's quake struck around 5 p.m., about 33 miles (53 kilometers) from Padang, a city of more than 800,000 people.

Family members mourn in front of a collapsed school in Padang on Thursday

It reduced buildings to rubble. People used hammers, chisels and even bare hands to dig through debris for survivors and belongings. Staff at a local hospital treated the injured outside the semi-collapsed building as bodies of the dead lay in makeshift morgues.
The earthquakes caused widespread power and phone outages, making it difficult for authorities and aid organizations to evaluate damage.

"The situation is quite devastating," said Amelia Merrick, the operations director for World Vision Indonesia.
"Bridges have gone down, phone lines are in total disrepair; it's difficult for us to assess the situation," she said. The organization had said it would send assessment teams to the area Thursday morning.

A resident stands next to building that collapsed onto a car in Padang, Indonesia, on Wednesday

"We know there's no electricity tonight ... many of the families will be spending the night outdoors, in pitch black. I'm very afraid of what might happen next," she said, referring to the possibility of aftershocks.

State-run Antara news agency cited Pakaya as saying he had received reports that part of a hospital had collapsed and that people were buried under the debris.
Wayne Ulrich, the Red Cross disaster management coordinator in Indonesia, said hundreds of houses were damaged, the extent still unclear.

"We have concerns that a hospital has been partially damaged; a market has caught on fire; the airport was closed down for inspection because of the fear if they landed any planes," it might cause problems, Ulrich said.
He said access to the affected areas was obstructed in parts.

It's "blocked by all kinds of problems: frightened people out in the streets, cars, and people trying to get out of the city ..." Watch Ulrich discuss rescue efforts »
The earthquake was felt in nearby cities, such as Medan and Bengkulu, where people panicked and ran outside in search of higher ground, fearing a tsunami.
But it was also felt as far away as Singapore and Malaysia.
"I did feel the tremor in office today somewhere between 5-6 p.m.," said Ratna Osman, who works in a single-story office building in Petaling Jaya, just outside Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.

"I asked [a co-worker] if there's an earthquake somewhere -- either that or I was hallucinating."
"At first, I thought the chair I was sitting on had a screw loose or something," Osman said.
The region is accustomed to earthquakes, and locals have been taught to identify safe places in case of a tsunami, according to Sean Granville-Ross, the Mercy Corps country director for Indonesia.
"We hope that preparation is now paying off," he said.
But if many homes have been destroyed, people may be spending the night with no shelter, he said.

Earlier this month, an earthquake in West Java killed 57 people.
Indonesians trying to find out more about the quake flooded the Internet, including Twitter. Some expressed concern for relatives and friends in Padang.
"Dear God, please send down your angels to hug and protect my grandpa in Padang," said one Twitter post.
The Web site for one of Indonesia's main newspapers, The Jakarta Globe, crashed for a while, partly as a result of the heavy traffic from people trying to find out about the quake, the paper said in a Twitter post.
Aid agencies kicked into gear to help those in need.
"We had aid ready because this area of Indonesia is susceptible to this type of tragedy," said Jane Cocking, humanitarian director for Oxfam. "Communications with the quake-zone are difficult and we are hoping for the best but having to plan for the worst."
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a tsunami watch for Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia, but canceled it soon after.

The quake did generate a tsunami just under one foot high, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
On Tuesday, a magnitude 8.0 quake-triggered tsunami killed at least 111 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga. Read the latest on the Samoa quake and tsunami
The tsunami waves swept across a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean, killing dozens and flattening or submerging villages.
The U.S. Geological Survey declined to say whether the two quakes were linked.
"The simple answer is we can't speculate on a connection," said Carrieann Bedwell of the USGS. "Both are in highly seismic areas."

Australia reach semis after thriller

2009-10-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

Australia reach semis after thriller !!!

Australia 206 for 8 (Hussey 64) beat Pakistan 205 for 6 (Yousuf 45) by two wickets

Pakistan's bowlers were magnificent in their defence of a modest total, but could not deny Australia a thrilling last-ball victory that ensured their progression to a fourth consecutive Champions Trophy semi-final. The Australians were at one stage coasting at 140 for 2 in pursuit of Pakistan's target of 206, only to lose six wickets for 47 in a dizzying 12-over sequence that temporarily opened the door for India to leap-frog them into the next round of the tournament.

Shahid Afridi was promoted up the order after Australia put Pakistan in

In the end, Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz guided Australia to a two-wicket win that secured them a rematch with England, and made a dead-rubber of India's match against the West Indies down the road at the Wanderers. It was anything but convincing though. Mohammad Asif, playing his first international in 18 months, claimed two wickets in an excellent second spell to draw Pakistan back into the contest, and Saeed Ajmal continued to mesmerise the Australians with 2 for 31 from 10 superb overs. Adding to the intrigue was Naved-ul-Hasan, who at one stage conceded a solitary run from three overs at the death, turning Australia's comfortable stroll into a nerve-shredding climb.

Australia entered the final over requiring five runs for victory, and Umar Gul gave them a torrid time. Bowling full, straight and with a hint of movement, Gul forced the Australians to edge and scamper for their runs, with victory eventually coming from a frantically-run bye from the last delivery of the match. Lee, who had played an instrumental role in restricting Pakistan's batsmen earlier in the day, finished with an unbeaten 12, highlighted by a dancing drive to an Ajmal doosra in the 48th over that broke Australia out of their funk.

Shane Watson and Tim Paine seemed set to make short work of Pakistan's total, frequently hitting and clearing the boundary to kick-start the Australian innings. Watson cast aside memories of his recent run of ducks by blasting 10 runs from Umar Gul's opening over, and Paine followed with a neatly clipped six over midwicket from Mohammad Asif, who bowled without venom on his return to international cricket.

Neither opener made it through the first 12 overs - Watson edged a quicker Gul delivery to Akmal, while Paine was trapped leg-before by Afridi - but Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey ensured there would be no top-order capitulation with an 81-run third-wicket stand. Ponting contributed a stoic 32 from 64 deliveries, and Hussey a more energetic 64 from 87 as Australia eyed an early shower.

Their dismissals, however, triggered a collapse that evoked painful Ashes memories in several members of the squad. Callum Ferguson, Cameron White, James Hopes and Mitchell Johnson were all dismissed for single-digit scores as Pakistan roared back into the contest on a difficult Centurion pitch. But their resurgence fell just short, allowing Australia safe passage through to the semi-finals.

Earlier, Mitchell Johnson claimed his 100th ODI scalp, but run-restriction rather than wicket-taking proved the key to Australia's strong bowling performance. Pakistan's batsmen laboured through the middle stages of their innings and batted with little urgency with wickets in hand at the death, leaving Australia a modest run-chase on a flattening wicket.

Mohammad Yousuf (45 off 69) and Kamran Akmal (44 off 63) were the most prolific of the Pakistan batsmen, however neither mastered the conditions nor the bowlers. Misbah-ul-Haq looked more assured during his knock of 41 from 53 deliveries, but his dismissal - stepping on his stumps to a Watson wide in the final over - summed up a Pakistan innings that faltered out of the blocks.
Alex Brown is deputy editor of Cricinfo

Washout hits India's semis chances

2009-09-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Washout hits India's semis chances !!!

Australia 234 for 4 (Hussey 67, Ponting 65, Paine 56) v India - match abandoned due to rain

Michael Hussey found some form with 67

India and Australia will have their Champions Trophy fortunes decided on Wednesday after a washout in the match between the two sides in Centurion on Monday, when Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey led a strong Australian batting effort. Australia reached 234 for 4 before the deluge that had appeared imminent for more than an hour finally arrived and set in.
It meant the only winner was Pakistan, who are now assured of a semi-final spot. The fate of Australia and India now rests with the final two group matches, both on Wednesday. For India to progress they must thrash West Indies and lift their net run-rate while also hoping Australia lose to Pakistan; any win or no-result for Australia in their remaining match and they are through.
Australia were the frontrunners when the match was abandoned. There was no centurion at Centurion but a string of half-centuries from Ponting, Hussey and Tim Paine, as well as a late flurry from Cameron White set them on a comfortable course. As the players toiled against the backdrop of lightning, White lifted the tempo with an unbeaten 35, including a monstrous six over midwicket off Amit Mishra.
However, it was Ponting and Hussey who controlled the middle of the innings as they kept the scoreboard ticking over with little drama. Hussey was typically unobtrusive in compiling 67 from 65 deliveries, driving through gaps and haring through for single after single. There had been a reverse sweep early in his innings but he'd taken few risks until he lofted a wide ball from Ishant Sharma, who bowled poorly, straight to Sachin Tendulkar at long off.
Ponting was more classical, if slower to score his 65 runs, until he was caught short by a magnificent direct hit from the deep from Gautam Gambhir. Until that moment, Ponting had looked set for a century as he settled into a rhythm with quick singles and the odd cracking cut or drive, as well as one brilliant, high lofted drive for six off a good-length Praveen Kumar delivery.
Ponting was the anchor, combining in an 88-run stand with Hussey and an 84-run partnership with Paine, while India's bowlers battled to make inroads into the top order. Paine was the aggressor early and took plenty of risks. He walked down the pitch to Ishant and turned him over midwicket for four, also pulling him for six as Ishant's first over cost 16 and his first three overs leaked 30.
The risk-reward strategy continued against Harbhajan Singh, whose first ball to Paine was paddle-swept for four from on the stumps and later in the same over Paine reverse-swept another boundary to bring up his half-century. However, Paine's luck expired on 56, when he top-edged another paddle-sweep off Mishra to midwicket.
Mishra and Ashish Nehra were the most impressive bowlers in an Indian effort that lacked bite. There was sharp turn for Mishra but not a great deal of assistance for the fast bowlers, although India could also have used a sharper fielding effort - Paine should've been run out on 6 and on 31 his edge off Mishra flew between MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid at first slip.
After India lost the toss, Nehra gave them the perfect start when he consigned Shane Watson to his third consecutive one-day international duck. Nehra found some extra bounce that surprised Watson, whose top-edged pull lobbed to Harbhajan at midwicket.
There wasn't much more joy for India, although the washout was a reasonable outcome for them given Australia's solid batting. However, India need to find some spark to hammer a West Indies side that has fought well in this tournament, and they must also hope for a Pakistan win against Ponting's men. Australia's fate is in their own hands.

Brydon Coverdale

Rent-A-Friend Agencies Growing in Japan

2009-09-28T01:45:00.000-07:00

Breaking News Rent-A-Friend Agencies Growing in Japan !!!

There are many new ways of making friends in today’s world. The best known of these is meeting new pals online. The Japanese are doing things a little differently. There is a growth in rent-a-friend agencies. The only catch is that the friends you meet will not become your true friends. You simply rent one when you need one for a specific occasion. The friends for rent are professional fakers. They will pretend to be anyone you want them to be. They serve a very useful purpose in Japan, where it’s very important to keep up social appearances. If you do not have a best man for your wedding or you need a rich aunt to seal a business deal, rent-a-friend agencies will provide you with the perfect impersonator.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper reports on Ryuichi Ichinokawa, the owner of the “I want to cheer you up” agency. He has been the best man at weddings, making jokes about happy couples he did not know, and has acted as the uncle of students at school sports days. The Guardian says: “He dutifully cheered them on, recorded their efforts on his handheld video camera and joined in the adult-and-child races.” Ichinokawa charges just over $150 as a rental charge, but says there are extra fees for singing at a karaoke party or making a speech at a wedding. Ryuichi says he plans everything in detail so he doesn’t embarrass his client. He boasts: "In three and a half years I've never once been caught out."

$86,000 monthly allowance for Michael Jackson's mom, kids

2009-09-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

Breaking News - $86,000 monthly allowance for Michael Jackson's mom, kids

LOS ANGELES, California - Michael Jackson's mother and his three children receive an allowance totaling more than $86,000 a month, according to court documents released Thursday.

The money given them by the Michael Jackson estate is in addition to the maintenance of the home -- which is owned by the estate -- in Encino, California, where Katherine Jackson lives with her grandchildren, the papers said.
The Los Angeles County judge overseeing the probate of Jackson's will ordered that the petitions for their monthly allowance be made public -- although with some details removed. Those papers were released Thursday.
Katherine Jackson was granted custody of her son's three children soon after Jackson's June 25 death. She and the children were named beneficiaries, along with unnamed charities, in Jackson's 2002 will.
Control of the estate's assets, however, was given to lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a former music industry executive. Jackson named them as trustees in his will.

Michael Jackson's estate provides $86,000 a month for Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren.

The petitions filed by Branca and McClain in July, and later approved by Judge Mitchell Beckloff, outlined $26,804 in monthly expenses for Katherine Jackson.
The largest amount from that, $4,722, pays for an assistant for her. Another $3,500 each month is budgeted for clothing for Katherine Jackson, who is 79 years old. She's also given $2,000 each for a housekeeper and driver. She has a $1,500 entertainment allowance each month, the documents said.
The details of the children's budget are mostly blacked out at their lawyer's request. Margaret Lodise told the judge there was concern someone could use the financial information to pose as one of the children online. She told CNN the family was aware of people posing as Jackson children with Twitter accounts.
The documents did reveal the three children get a combined $60,000 a month from their father's estate. They pay $14,600 a month for salaries and payroll taxes for people who take care of them, according to the petition.
Michael Jackson's children get $13,260 each month for entertainment and related expenses, the papers said.

The petition estimated Michael Jackson's estate is worth at least $500 million and is growing.
Major deals have been reached in the past month that are expected to add tens of millions of dollars to the estate, including a movie and music deal with Sony.

Breaking News - $86,000 monthly allowance for Michael Jackson's mom, kids

U.S. military shuts largest detainee camp in Iraq

2009-09-17T03:22:00.000-07:00

Today's Breaking News !!!
U.S. military shuts largest detainee camp in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Sep. 17, 2009 (Reuters) — The U.S. military Thursday closed down its largest detention center in Iraq as it continued to release or hand to Iraqi authorities the thousands of people it has held since the 2003 U.S. invasion.

The closure of Camp Bucca, a sprawling prison complex in Iraq's southern desert near Kuwait, was agreed to under the bilateral security pact signed last year obliging U.S. forces to wind down their massive detention program in Iraq.

Bucca once housed as many as 14,000 detainees, the majority held for months or years without any charges made against them and with no access to a lawyer. Some were kept in steel shipping containers with a toilet and air conditioning.

The number of detainees dwindled before the camp's formal closure at 3:22 a.m. (0022 GMT), when a transport plane carrying the last group of 180 detainees left Basra for another military prison in Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said.

The security pact, which also calls for all U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by 2012, obliges the United States to release U.S. detainees who do not face Iraqi arrest warrants or detention orders. Since January, 5,703 U.S. inmates have been released and 1,360 were transferred to the Iraqi government.

Following Bucca's closure, around 8,300 detainees remain in U.S. custody in Iraq in two detention centres around Baghdad.

The pact sets no date for the detainee transfer to be concluded, but U.S. commanders have said they expect it to have occurred either in December or January.

"As a result of the great working relationship between the government of Iraq and Task Force 134, I'm pleased to say the Camp Bucca detention facility is now closed," said Brigadier General David Quantock, commander of U.S. detention operations, referring to the U.S. military unit in charge of detainees.

[A U.S. soldier keeps watch as detainees spend time at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq September 16, 2009. REUTERS/Atef Hassan]

Bucca opened in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004, when pictures of U.S. soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating detainees at the west Baghdad prison shocked the world and helped fuel an vicious insurgency.

Remaining Bucca detainees were either transferred to the U.S. military's Camp Cropper detention facility near Baghdad airport or to an Iraqi-run center at Camp Taji north of Baghdad.
The U.S. policy of detaining suspects without trial has been a major point of anger among Iraqis, especially Sunni Arabs who made up some 80 percent of the inmates.
(Reporting by Michael Christie; Writing by Michael Christie and Tim Cocks; editing by Missy Ryan and Samia Nakhoul)

Today's Breaking News !!!
U.S. military shuts largest detainee camp in Iraq

World’s Oldest Person Dies Aged 115

2009-09-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Breaking News-World’s Oldest Person Dies Aged 115

The oldest person in the world has died in her sleep at the age of 115. Ms. Gertrude Baines from the USA had held the title for most of this year. She became the world’s oldest person in January, following the death of Portuguese Maria de Jesus. She also died at the ripe old age of 115. Ms. Baines was born in Georgia in 1894. She grew up in the southern American state during the time of terrible racial discrimination against black people. She saw many changes in her life, including the civil rights movement that brought greater equality. She got married when she was very young and had a child when she was just fifteen. Gertrude received a Guinness World Records certificate on her 115th birthday.

Ms. Baines had such a long life because of her healthy lifestyle. The AFP news agency reported what she said to her doctor Charles Witt: "She told me that she owes her longevity to the Lord; that she never did drink, she never did smoke and she never did fool around." Dr. Witt said Gertrude had been “in excellent shape” just two days before her death. "She was mentally alert. She smiled frequently," he said. Ms Baines became famous in 2008 for voting for President Obama in the U.S. election. It was only the second time she had voted. The first was for John F. Kennedy in the 1960s. She lived to see 21 different American presidents. She told reporters she chose Mr. Obama “because he’s for the coloured people”.

Breaking News-World’s Oldest Person Dies Aged 115

Entertainment

2009-09-15T04:32:00.000-07:00

'Dirty Dancing' star Patrick Swayze dies at 57 (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into moviegoers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," his publicist, Annett Wolf, said in a statement Monday evening. Swayze died in Los Angeles, Wolf said, but she declined to give further details.
Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting "The Beast," an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot.

Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making "The Beast" because they would have taken the edge off his performance. The show drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season.

When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was "considerably more optimistic" than that. Swayze acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease.

"I'd say five years is pretty wishful thinking," Swayze told ABC's Barbara Walters in early 2009. "Two years seems likely if you're going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I'd better get a fire under it."

C. Thomas Howell, who costarred with Swayze in "The Outsiders," "Grandview U.S.A." and "Red Dawn," said: "I have always had a special place in my heart for Patrick. While I was fortunate enough to work with him in three films, it was our passion for horses that forged a friendship between us that I treasure to this day. Not only did we lose a fine actor today, I lost my older 'Outsiders' brother."

Other celebrities used Twitter to express condolences, and "Dirty Dancing" was the top trending topic for a while Monday night, trailed by several other Swayze films.

Ashton Kutcher -- whose wife, Demi Moore, costarred with Swayze in "Ghost" -- wrote: "RIP P Swayze." Kutcher also linked to a YouTube clip of the actor poking fun at himself in a classic "Saturday Night Live" sketch, in which he played a wannabe Chippendales dancer alongside the corpulent -- and frighteningly shirtless -- Chris Farley.

Larry King wrote: "Patrick Swayze was a wonderful actor & a terrific guy. He put his heart in everything. He was an extraordinary fighter in his battle w Cancer." King added that he'd do a tribute to Swayze on his CNN program on Tuesday night.

A three-time Golden Globe nominee, Swayze became a star with his performance as the misunderstood bad boy Johnny Castle in "Dirty Dancing." As the son of a choreographer who began his career in musical theater, he seemed a natural to play the role.

A coming-of-age romance starring Jennifer Grey as an idealistic young woman on vacation with her family and Swayze as the Catskills resort's sexy (and much older) dance instructor, the film made great use of both his grace on his feet and his muscular physique.

It became an international phenomenon in the summer of 1987, spawning albums, an Oscar-winning hit song in "(I've Had) the Time of My Life," stage productions and a sequel, 2004's "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights," in which he made a cameo.

Swayze performed and co-wrote a song on the soundtrack, the ballad "She's Like the Wind," inspired by his wife, Lisa Niemi. The film also gave him the chance to utter the now-classic line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Swayze followed that up with the 1989 action flick "Road House," in which he played a bouncer at a rowdy bar. But it was his performance in 1990's "Ghost" that showed his vulnerable, sensitive side. He starred as a murdered man trying to communicate with his fiancee (Moore) -- with great frustration and longing -- through a psychic played by Whoopi Goldberg.

Swayze said at the time that he fought for the role of Sam Wheat (director Jerry Zucker wanted Kevin Kline) but once he went in for an audition and read six scenes, he got it.
Why did he want the part so badly? "It made me cry four or five times," he said of Bruce Joel Rubin's Oscar-winning script in an AP interview.

"Ghost" provided yet another indelible musical moment: Swayze and Moore sensually molding pottery together to the strains of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody." It also earned a best-picture nomination and a supporting-actress Oscar for Goldberg, who said she wouldn't have won if it weren't for Swayze.

"When I won my Academy Award, the only person I really thanked was Patrick," Goldberg said in March 2008 on the ABC daytime talk show "The View."
Swayze himself earned three Golden Globe nominations, for "Dirty Dancing," "Ghost" and 1995's "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar," which further allowed him to toy with his masculine image. The role called for him to play a drag queen on a cross-country road trip alongside Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo.

His heartthrob status almost kept him from being considered for the role of Vida Boheme.
"I couldn't get seen on it because everyone viewed me as terminally heterosexually masculine-macho," he told The Associated Press then. But he transformed himself so completely that when his screen test was sent to Steven Spielberg, whose Amblin pictures produced "To Wong Foo," Spielberg didn't recognize him.

Among his earlier films, Swayze was part of the star-studded lineup of up-and-comers in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 adaptation of S.E. Hinton's novel "The Outsiders," alongside Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane.
Other '80s films included "Red Dawn," "Grandview U.S.A." (for which he also provided choreography) and "Youngblood," once more with Lowe, as Canadian hockey teammates.
In the '90s, he made such eclectic films as "Point Break" (1991), in which he played the leader of a band of bank-robbing surfers, and the family Western "Tall Tale" (1995), in which he starred as Pecos Bill. He appeared on the cover of People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991, but his career tapered off toward the end of the 1990s, when he also had a stay in rehab for alcohol abuse. In 2001, he appeared in the cult favorite "Donnie Darko," and in 2003 he returned to the New York stage with "Chicago"; 2006 found him in the musical "Guys and Dolls" in London.

Swayze was born in 1952 in Houston, the son of Jesse Swayze and choreographer Patsy Swayze, whose films include "Urban Cowboy."

He played football but also was drawn to dance and theater, performing with the Feld, Joffrey and Harkness Ballets and appearing on Broadway as Danny Zuko in "Grease." But he turned to acting in 1978 after a series of injuries.

Within a couple years of moving to Los Angeles, he made his debut in the roller-disco movie "Skatetown, U.S.A." The eclectic cast included Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormack and Billy Barty.

Off-screen, he was an avid conservationist who was moved by his time in Africa to shine a light on "man's greed and absolute unwillingness to operate according to Mother Nature's laws," he told the AP in 2004.

Swayze was married since 1975 to Niemi, a fellow dancer who took lessons with his mother; they met when he was 19 and she was 15. A licensed pilot, Niemi would fly her husband from Los Angeles to Northern California for treatment at Stanford University Medical Center.
In February, Swayze wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post titled, "I'm Battling Cancer. How About Some Help, Congress?" in which he urged senators and representatives to vote for the maximum funding for the National Institutes of Health to fight cancer as part of the economic stimulus package.

He also appeared in the September 2008 live television event "Stand Up to Cancer," where he made this moving plea: "I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life, a life not lived in the shadow of cancer, but in the light. ... I dream that the word 'cure' will no longer be followed by the words 'is impossible.'"

'Dirty Dancing' star Patrick Swayze dies at 57 (AP)

Sports

2009-09-15T04:14:00.000-07:00

Tendulkar, Harbhajan seal title in thriller !!!

India 319 for 5 (Tendulkar 138, Yuvraj 56*, Dhoni 56) beat Sri Lanka 273 (Kandamby 66, Harbhajan 5-57) by 46 runs

Party like it's the nineties: Tendulkar reaches his 86th international hundred, a completely risk-free effort

The ghost of batting under the R Premadasa lights was almost buried tonight. Sachin Tendulkar's master class, an 86th international century close to his best, almost became a footnote on a night of punches and counter-punches. Sri Lanka knew being ultra-aggressive was the only way of going about this huge chase, and they counterattacked every time a wicket was lost. Thilina Kandamby, batting at No. 7, almost pulled off a heist against India for the second time in his short career, but the loss of early wickets had left him with too much to do.

Don't go by the 46-run margin. India's fielders and fast bowlers were rattled during the frenetic chase. It was their spinners, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, who saved them the embarrassment. They took critical wickets at critical points and Raina's dismissal of Chamara Kapugedera in the 43rd over, with 68 runs and the batting Powerplay to go, proved to be the decisive blow. A pumped-up Harbhajan then finished off what he started, dismissing the last three batsmen in a hurry. He had earlier taken two wickets in the eighth and 10th over of the innings to rein in an explosive start to the chase.

When Harbhajan came on for his first spell, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya had jolted the Indian team out of a dream afternoon. Sixty runs were scored in seven overs and all three fast bowlers were clueless. Harbhajan's first over was a masterpiece. With a slip and leg slip in place, and a strong on-side field, he invited Dilshan to take the risk and hit through the off side. Dilshan took the bait - he didn't have many choices - got one boundary through cover, and was bowled the next ball.

In his next over, Harbhajan got Mahela Jayawardene with a doosra, and India were on all-out attack. Three more bowlers took wickets in the first over of new spells, though failing to bring Sri Lanka's run-rate down, which was helped by Thilan Thushara's pinch-hitting. But after they lost the fifth wicket, Kumar Sangakkara and Kandamby settled in for longer innings.

Sangakkara was unfortunate when his bat slipped out of his hand and landed on the top of the stumps in the 28th over. With four wickets left, and 138 to get, it seemed over but Kandamby and Kapugedera had other ideas. They didn't panic, kept the singles and the odd boundaries coming, and were helped by sloppy fielding - India missed at least two run-outs and an easy catch.

With 80 required in the last 10 overs, five of which would be bowled under field restrictions, India relied on the spinners. Raina and Yuvraj gave nine runs in Nos. 41 and 42 and, in the 43rd, Raina got the ambitious shot out of Kapugedera, ending a 70-run stand in 15 overs. Harbhajan then came on to finish his third five-for in ODIs.

The beauty of the chase was that it overshadowed a classy knock by Tendulkar, who rolled back the years, and then some. He stroked, ran and yearned for runs like it was the 1990s, but unlike those days he didn't need to take any risks on the way to setting what looked like a total safe beyond doubt.

This was Tendulkar's ninth international century since May 2007, to go with seven scores in the 90s. Judging by this form, 100 international hundreds have become a distinct possibility. A measure of the bowlers' helplessness lay in the fact that the first time he hit a ball in the air was to reach his fifty, that too off a free hit. With Tendulkar batting the way he was, who needed aerial shots?

He shared valuable partnerships with Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj, especially crucial being the one with Dravid. Tendulkar and Dravid, walking out with 73 years and 762 ODI caps between them, took charge of what has looked a shaky batting line-up: their 95-run opening stand took them to No. 6 on the all-time partnership aggregates in ODIs.

Harbhajan Singh grabbed his third five-for to help India lift the Compaq Cup

Tendulkar you simply couldn't take your eye off. Albeit on a flat track, Tendulkar and Dravid were prepared to work hard in sapping conditions, their shirts turning to dark blue with sweat even before the shine went off the white ball.

Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara didn't serve up loose half-volleys or long hops; Tendulkar had to work for every forceful shot. The first ball he faced he punched sweetly off his toes, wide of mid-off for three. In the fourth over, he took a similar delivery and wristed it wide of mid-on for three. We were on to something.

A string of lovely boundaries followed, the best being the punches through a tight cover ring, and the late flicks from off and middle stump to midwicket and cow corner. After Dravid's dismissal, Tendulkar added 110 with Dhoni, who kept the tempo up.

By then Tendulkar had started taking the odd chance, stepping out, making room, and hitting Jayasuriya and Mendis over extra cover. One such shot off Mendis, in the 29th over, took him into his 90s and serenely, with ones and twos, came the hundred. After the hundred came the cramps, and when Tendulkar opted for a runner we were reminded for the first time it was in fact the year 2009.

Dravid came back to run, but Tendulkar did most of the calling. The bowlers showed no mercy, Malinga bowling a mix of bouncers and yorkers. Tendulkar's response was to hit Mendis for a six inside-out and reverse-sweep two boundaries in three balls. After he got out in the 46th over, trying one reverse-sweep too many, Yuvraj's big hitting got India 42 runs, which also proved crucial in the end.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Tendulkar, Harbhajan seal title in thriller !!!

Politics

2009-09-15T03:58:00.000-07:00

Obama Pushes for More Financial Regulation in Wall Street Speech

President Warns Execs: 'History Cannot be Allowed to Repeat Itself'

By JAKE TAPPER and KAREN TRAVERS
Sept. 14, 2009

President Barack Obama speaks about the financial crisis on the anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York.
(Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)

On the one-year anniversary of the collapse of financial giant Lehman Brothers, President Obama said the economic storms of the past two years "are beginning to break," but he issued a stern warning to the nation's financial firms that as the economy recovers, they cannot revert to the days of "reckless behavior and unchecked excess."

"The old ways that led to this crisis cannot stand," the president said. "History cannot be allowed to repeat itself."

Obama delivered his remarks at Federal Hall in the heart of New York's financial district, just steps away from the New York Stock Exchange, to an audience that included members of Congress, the financial community and key members of his administration's economic team.
The president said Wall Street firms need to take responsibility for past excesses and learn from mistakes.

"Normalcy cannot lead to complacency," Obama said. "Those on Wall Street cannot resume taking risks without regard for consequences, and expect that next time, American taxpayers will be there to break their fall."

The president spread the blame for last year's economic meltdown, saying it falls on the shoulders of those on Wall Street, in Washington and across America.
"[W]hat took place one year ago was not merely a failure of regulation or legislation; it was not merely a failure of oversight or foresight," Obama said. "It was a failure of responsibility that allowed Washington to become a place where problems -- including structural problems in our financial system -- were ignored rather than solved. It was a failure of responsibility that led homebuyers and derivative traders alike to take reckless risks they couldn't afford."

Obama said Wall Street firms who were bailed out by the government last year now need to play a significant role in rebuilding trust among the American people.
"The fact is, many of the firms that are now returning to prosperity owe a debt to the American people," the president said. "Though they were not the cause of the crisis, American taxpayers through their government took extraordinary action to stabilize the financial industry."
Tens of thousands gathered in Washington this weekend to protest what they said was the Obama administration's irresponsible expansion of government and big spending. Today Obama said the need for government involvement in the financial system is "waning."

"After months in which public dollars were flowing into our financial system, we are finally beginning to see money flowing back to the taxpayers," he said.
Obama called for immediate action on regulatory reform, reiterating his support for new rules to protect American consumers and a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to enforce the rules. With the G-20 economic summit taking place next week in Pittsburgh, Obama said world leaders will address ways "to spur global demand but also to address the underlying problems that caused such a deep and lasting global recession."

Obama defended his administration's recent decision to levy higher tariffs on imported Chinese tires saying that the move was "not to be provocative or to promote self-defeating protectionism" but necessary to maintain an "open and free trading system."
"This administration is committed to pursuing expanded trade and new trade agreements. It is absolutely essential to our economic future," the president said. "But no trading system will work if we fail to enforce our trade agreements."

The president stressed in television interviews on Monday that there will not be a trade war with China over the tire tariffs.
"I think that there are some tensions around this, no doubt about it. But my message is very simple: We have rules on the books," he said in an interview with Bloomberg News. "We've got to establish credibility and enforcement of the rules precisely because I want to further expand trade in the future. And that is something that I think the Chinese government should understand."

National News

2009-09-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

Grabbers feast on beaches !!!

A signboard put up on Kalatoli sea beach in Cox's Bazar says Khadiza Begum inherited a strip of land on the "ecologically critical" beach. Sirajuddoula Helali, husband of Khadiza Begum, told The Daily Star yesterday over phone that his father-in-law purchased the strip of land around 40 years back. But he failed to clarify how his father-in-law bought land on the "ecologically critical" beach. Sirajuddoula said he would have to go through land documents for an explanation. He earlier built a wooden structure there but it was washed away. Now he plans to build a similar structure on the same spot, Sirajuddoula added. Another picture (inset) shows a wooden structure built on the beach to serve as an eatery for tourists.

Morshed Ali Khan -The Daily Star

Influential people continue to plunder the "ecologically critical" beaches in Cox's Bazar, Teknaf and Kuakata by setting up structures there in the name of promoting tourism.

Over 90 percent of the 100-kilometre stretch of the beach from Cox's Bazar to Teknaf has been taken over by influential individuals or big entrepreneurs for setting up shrimp hatcheries and other installations, said Cox's Bazar district administration sources.

The 17-kilometre long beach in Kuakata that experienced rapid erosion has also been subjected to indiscriminate grabbing.

Real estate developers and influential locals have put up signboards along the beach from Kauarchar in the east to Andhar Manik in the west claiming ownership of hundreds of acres of beach area.

Cox's Bazar administration sources said the demand for hotels, restaurants and shops in the beach area rose sharply in the mid-90s. The previous Awami League government first came up with a plan to allocate 100 acres of beach area to facilitate tourism in Cox's Bazar.
But the Department of Environment (DoE) disapproved the plan saying the Environment Protection Act 1995 classifies the area as "ecologically critical" and forbids any human intervention. The DoE recommendation compelled the then government to shelve the plan.
When the BNP-led coalition government assumed power in 2001, it revived the plan quickly and allocated 100 plots among its supporters.

A frantic effort to set up apartments, hotels, shops, restaurants and motels has been witnessed there since then.

A hotel owner recently built a concrete wall stretching up to the sea but was forced to demolish it following intervention by local administration and journalists.

An official of the Cox's Bazar district administration said the present government has already moved to clamp down on the beneficiaries of plots given away during the tenure of previous BNP government.

Each of the 100 plots measuring an acre of land was handed over for Tk 34 lakh. Many of the beneficiaries defied the lease terms and sold their plots at prices up to five times higher than the amount.

Huge investments have been made for building hotels, cafes, restaurants and apartments since then, said the official wishing anonymity.

“There is not much the administration can do now to stop this, other than file cases and wait for years for a verdict. The damage has already been done,” the official said.
In a recent move the DoE in Chittagong has served 22 notices to hotel owners in Cox's Bazar asking them to show cause as to why legal actions would not be taken against them for violating law. As per the law one has to obtain environmental clearance before building any installation in "ecologically critical" areas.

The DoE has also filed cases against two hoteliers in the area on charge of violating the law.
The land ministry about a month ago in an official notification imposed restriction on earth filling and construction on the Cox's Bazar beach until further notice. Local people alleged that some developers continue construction work there at night defying the order.
Gias Uddin Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar, told The Daily Star that his office did not receive any circular from the land ministry. He however said a circular issued by the Planning Commission in 2002 forbids setting up of structures within 300 feet of the Marine Drive that stretches up to Teknaf.

“We have suggested acquiring the entire beach area between Cox's Bazar and Teknaf for the master plan for Cox's Bazar, which is now under preparation,” said the deputy commissioner.
“In the master plan, we are putting emphasise on zoning the whole area and hopefully the master plan will be completed by November this year,” he said.

But if someone builds structure on private land along the beach, the district administration can do nothing about it, he added.

Tekaf presents a different spectacle. A gang of local thugs led by hotelier Abbas Uddin has taken over acres of khas land in the beach area by forging documents and bribing local administration. The gang is allegedly backed by ruling party men.

Over the last one week miscreants have reportedly cleared a ten-kilometre long green belt for installing hatcheries, shrimp enclosures and housing plots.

Real estate developers have taken up mega plans for building structures on Kuakata sea beach, about 280 kilometres off the capital.

A gang of encroachers has also been active in grabbing lands on the beach defying court orders. They have already occupied acres of the beach area, officially earmarked as khas land. Large signboards have also been put up there claiming ownership of demarcated "plots".
The frenzy of grabbing lands on the beach began with a sharp rise in land prices in the area. Many land grabbers have already set up hotels, restaurants and shops in the beach area.

Grabbers feast on beaches !!!