Archive for: August 2008

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Havana, Hurricane Gustav continued its destructive path through the Caribbean Saturday, reaching Cuba as weather forecasters warned that the storm could strengthen yet further.

The Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported that officials in the low-lying western provinces, where more than 60,000 people had been evacuated as the storm approached overnight, were moving to assess damage. No reports of casualty levels were immediately available.

Officials from the Cuban National Weather Institute warned the provinces of Habana, Ciudad de La Habana and Matanzas in the west of the country to be on …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Michael Jackson, the self proclaimed “King Of Pop”, turned 50 and almost no one seemed to care. Fans don’t know if the day should be celebrated or if they should pity the man.

Jackson had been in the spotlight ever since he was 11. In his late teens he blossomed. In is 20s he peaked as a performer, songwriter and singer. But starting from his late 30s, he has been dogged by scandal and now as he hit 50 Friday, he is a limp example of a fallen star.

There …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Washington, US President George W. Bush Friday applauded John McCain’s “exciting decision” of picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, and described her as “a working mother with a track record of getting things done”.

“Governor Palin is a proven reformer who is a wise steward of taxpayer dollars and champion for accountability in government,” Bush said in a statement, adding that her “success is due to her dedication to principle and her roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic, and serves as a wonderful example of the spirit of America”.

Republican …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he hopes the next government of the US “respects” the sovereignty of the people of the Americas and brings about “true change” in the White House.

“The only thing we aspire to in a new government in the United States is that it respects the dignity of the people of our Americas and respects the sovereignty of our people, of our governments,” Chavez said at a Venezuelan oil field in the Orinoco Basin.

The controversial leader was accompanied by fellow left-wing populist Rafael Correa, …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

New Delhi, Smokers beware! The government is empowering school principals, postmen, railway stationmasters, even your boss to book you if you’re caught smoking in a public place after Oct 2 - the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The health ministry has already sent the rule for gazette notification and will make it public in the second week of September.

“The government is yet to approve a fine of Rs.2,000 for those caught smoking in public,” said a senior health ministry official. “So we are implementing the new Smoking in Public …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Mumbai, Actor-director Farhan Akhtar is elated with the cast and composers of “Rock On” making it to the cover of popular music magazine Rolling Stone.

The September issue of the magazine features Farhan, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Purab Kohli and composer trio Shankar-Ehasaan-Loy on the cover - all looking dapper in black.

“Doing a film where I play a rock musician is a dream come true. But being on the cover of Rolling Stone? Man, that’s beyond a dream,” Farhan remarked.

“As a teenager I used to dream of being in …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Colombo, An explosion in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital Saturday morning wounded at least 44 people, including four women and two children, police and hospital sources said.

According to police, the explosion occurred near a small watch outlet at Olcott Mawatha in Colombo Pattah around 12.15 p.m.

Hector Weerasinghe, director of the Colombo National Hospital, said there were four women and two children among the 44 wounded who have been taken to the hospital from the blast site.

“Only a couple of them have suffered major injuries while others …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Beijing, As the 2008 Beijing Olympics ended in a splendour of fireworks, concerns over a post-Games downturn for the Chinese economy re-emerged.

History shows that some host countries - Japan and South Korea, for example - had experienced post-Olympic declines in investment.

Japan witnessed a drastic fall in growth the year after the 1964 Games, down to 5.2 percent from the previous year’s 13.1 percent. South Korea saw the rate slip from 10.6 percent to 6.7 percent in 1989.

Will the Chinese economy follow the same pattern?

Beijing city’s gross domestic product …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Kuala Lumpur, Canadian pop-rock star Avril Lavigne’s concert held amid protests by Islamist youths went off peacefully before an estimated 15,000 crowd, with sections of the media saying that the controversy was unwarranted.

“All the fuss over Canadian teen pop-rock star Lavigne’s concert proved completely unfounded as she belted out a measured performance,” the Star newspaper said Saturday.

“It was a pop concert all right, with no element of a rowdy punk-rock performance as feared by some quarters who had objected to her coming here,” it said.

Parti Islami SeMalaysia (PAS) …

Updated - 31/8/2008 - IANS.

Karachi, Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan hopes that the new office-bearers of the Pakistan Cricket Board will lift the ban on players playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Moin, who is coach of Lahore Badshahs, the only Pakistani team to play in the ICL, said the players have every right to earn their livelihood.

PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf has quit his post after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf and a new set-up is expected to take over in September.

“All players featuring in the ICL are professional cricketers and …