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Pakistan Vs India in Semi Final of World Cup 2011 – Are You Ready?

India has made to semi-finals of the cricket world cup 2011 to face Pakistan by defeating world champions Australia today. The semi final which is scheduled for 30th of March is one of the most awaited day for the people of sub-continent.

Six days before the match takes place and the time has frozen on us. As much as I am excited, this is also making me nervous. The craze is in the air. Pakistan vs India is all our twitter timelines and Facebook news-feeds read. 144 hours before it all begins, and this is trending worldwide on twitter.

Pakistan has never beaten India a single match in the history of cricket world cup but has India beaten Pakistan a single match at Mohali? The history shall repeat but which one?

Will you make a really good excuse to ditch college/work this day? Or would you just say Pakistan vs India!

Who prevails in this game? Are you ready?

A detailed look at the India vs. Australia World Cup quarterfinal

AHMEDABAD, India - Sachin Tendulkar continues to chase a World Cup title that has eluded him in five previous trips to the quadrennial tournament.

The world's leading batsman played his first World Cup match in February 1992 at Perth, Australia, at the age of 18.

If India loses to Australia in this quarterfinal there will be heartbreak for a nation of a billion-plus people which hasn't had a World Cup champion since 1983. Australia has contested the last four finals and won the last three in succession.

Both teams have played patchy cricket in the group stages.

India is yet to beat a major side, with wins over Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands and West Indies. They lost to South Africa, despite a Tendulkar hundred, and failed to defend 338 against England in a high-scoring tie. That was India's fourth-highest World Cup total.

India's famed batting has let it down twice in the last two matches. Against South Africa in Nagpur the last nine wickets fell for 29 runs and against West Indies in Chennai the Indians lost seven wickets for 50.

Australia has beaten Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Kenya and Canada. The much-awaited match against Sri Lanka — a rematch of the 2007 final — was washed out. Australia finished the group round with a loss to Pakistan, ending a run of 34 unbeaten World Cup matches going back to 1999.

Australia is weakened by the lack of a class spinner. Jason Krejza has so far picked up five wickets at 46.60, including two each against Zimbabwe and Canada. Steve Smith has one wicket for 139 runs. Australia has been the most settled team in the group stages, using only 12 players as opposed to 15 by India, but there has been growing public pressure to recall David Hussey at Cameron White's expense.

India's sole triumph was in 1983 at Lord's when Kapil Dev's squad stunned hot favourite West Indies in the final. India reached the 2003 final in South Africa but lost to Australia by 125 runs.

Australia has featured in six of the nine World Cup finals to date and has won four titles: 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

The Australians lost the inaugural final in 1975 to the West Indies and the 1996 decider to Sri Lanka.

The two narrowest victories in terms of runs in the World Cup have been from matches between these two sides. In 1987, Australia won by one run at Chennai. Kapil Dev sportingly agreed with the Australians that one of Dean Jones' shots had cleared the boundary, despite it being signalled four originally. In 1992 at Brisbane, Australia again won by one run on a revised target.

ODIs: Played 104; Australia 61, India 35 NR 8

World Cup: Played 9; Australia 7, India 2

At Ahmedabad: Played 2; 1-1.

Australia is familiar with this ground, having played its opening game of the tournament at Ahmedabad on Feb. 21 against Zimbabwe, winning by 91 runs.

India has won five of its 12 ODIs on the ground. India's last ODI match here was a year ago and ended in a 90-run loss to South Africa. India's last win at the ground was against the West Indies in November 2002.

The average first innings score is 240, which rises to 258 in floodlit matches. It is the ground where Sri Lanka racked up 760-7 declared in the a test match against India in November 2009.

Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut for India in November 1989 and hasn't stopped scoring runs since. That he has 99 international hundreds is the best known stat in cricket at present. In total he has 32,657 runs at 49.70 from a combined 628 test and ODI matches. That is 6,709 more runs and 31 more hundreds than his nearest rival, Ricky Ponting.

His ODI tally is 17,955 ODI runs at 45.11 with 48 centuries, including 3,005 runs against Australia at 46.23 with 9 hundreds. That is an ODI record for runs by any batsman against one country.

He has scored 326 runs at 54.33 at a strike rate of 99.69 in this tournament with hundreds against South Africa and England. An entire nation would love him to follow them up with one against Australia to go with the nine he has already.

If Ricky Ponting scores runs his team can win, but he is a man under pressure following reports he could be stripped of the captaincy ahead of next month's limited-overs series in Bangladesh.

He is third in the list of leading ODI run-scorers with 13,184 runs at 42.39, with 29 hundreds and 79 fifties at a strike rate of 80.40.

In the 2007 World Cup he scored 539 runs at 67.38, with one hundred. In 2003 he made 415 at 51.88 with two hundreds, including an unbeaten 140 off 121 balls in the final against India at Johannesburg.

It is a tribute to his fitness that this will be his 46th consecutive appearance in the World Cup since February 1996.

Australia has won 38 out of the 45 World Cup games he has played.

Ponting has been struggling for runs so far in this campaign with 102 runs at 20.40 at a strike rate of 61.45 and a highest score of only 36 against Kenya.

He last made an ODI hundred 13 months and 19 innings ago against West Indies.

In the group stages, India asked for nine reviews and Australia asked for eight, resulting in two decisions being changed for each side.

Ricky Ponting has been the subject of four reviews when batting and given not out. In two cases, against Kenya and Pakistan, the decision was reversed and was given out.

Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould are the umpires for this match and out of eight and six reviews so far in the tournament, Erasmus had to reverse one decision — involving Ponting against Pakistan. All six of Gould's were confirmed as correct by the replays.

Tendulkar needs 45 runs to become the first batsman to score 18,000 ODI runs. If he kicks on to make a hundred he will become the first batsman to score 100 international hundreds.

It will be Yuvraj Singh's 250th innings. He needs 27 for 8,000 runs and 95 for 1,000 against Australia.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs 74 for 6,000 runs.

Brett Lee needs three wickets for 350 and Mitchell Johnson five wickets for 150    

Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif hottest Bollywood couple – Poll

New Delhi, (BollywoodWorld.com) Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif may be tight-lipped about their relationship status, but they have been voted the hottest couple of the decade in a poll by MSN India that also declared superstar Shah Rukh Khan the actor of the decade.

The two have beaten the likes of Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu-John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor.

MSN India had conducted an online poll and invited its readers to vote for their favourite Bollywood actors under various categories as part of their Decade Special for Bollywood.

Of the 38,648 readers who responded for ‘Hottest couple of the Decade’ category, 36 percent opined that Salman and Katrina made for a greater couple than Abhishek-Aishwarya who got 27 percent votes, followed by Bipasha and John with 13 percent votes while Kareena and Saif got only six percent votes.

Katrina also topped the ‘Hottest Body of the Decade’ poll with 33 percent votes and proved that her curves are more attractive than Bipasha, who got 13 percent votes, Aishwarya Rai Bachcan (10 percent) and Priyanka Chopra (9 percent).

For the ‘Actor of the Decade’ poll, Shah Rukh topped with 29 percent votes followed by Aamir Khan with 26 percent and Amitabh Bachchan with 16 percent votes.

Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Aag’ was voted ‘Flop of the Decade’ and it won hands down with 48 percent votes followed by ‘Drona’, ‘Love Story 2050′ and ‘Tashan’.

For the ‘Hottest Lip Lock of the Decade’ poll 39 percent thought that Emraan Hashmi and Mallika Sherawat’s kissing in “Murder” was more sincere than Hrithik-Aishwarya in “Dhoom 2″ (21 percent). It was followed by Saif-Kareena in “Kurbaan” (16 percent) and R. Madhavan-Vidya Balan in “Guru” (7 percent)                     .

Obama: US Will Turn Over Control Of Libya Effort

WASHINGTON — The four-day air assault in Libya will soon achieve the objectives of establishing a no-fly zone and averting a massacre of civilians by Moammar Gadhafi’s troops, President Barack Obama said Tuesday, adding that despite squabbling among allies, the United States will hand off control of the operation to other countries within days.

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“When this transition takes place, it is not going to be our planes that are maintaining the no-fly zone,” the president said at a news conference in El Salvador as he neared the end of a Latin American trip overshadowed by events in Libya. “It is not going to be our ships that are necessarily enforcing the arms embargo. That’s precisely what the other nations are going to do.”

Obama said he has “absolutely no doubt” that a non-U.S. command entity can run the operation, although perhaps the most obvious candidate – the NATO military alliance – has yet to sort out a political agreement to do so. The president said NATO was meeting to “work out some of the mechanisms.”

Despite the cost – not only in effort, resources and potential casualties, but also in taxpayer dollars – Obama said he believes the American public is supportive of such a mission.

“This is something that we can build into our budget. And we’re confident that not only can the goals be achieved, but at the end of the day the American people are going to feel satisfied that lives were saved and people were helped,” he said.

Obama spoke as one senior American military official said the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar was expected to start flying air patrols over Libya by this weekend, becoming the first member of the Arab League to participate directly in the military mission. Obama and NATO had insisted from the start on Arab support.

The president also suggested the administration would not need to request funding from Congress for the air operations but would pay for them out of money already approved.

Administration officials briefed lawmakers during the day about costs and other details to date.

Domestic criticism of the operation has been muted so far, with the president out of the country, but is likely to increase once he flies home on Wednesday – a few hours earlier than had been scheduled.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, said the administration is getting reports – of questionable credibility – that some in Gadhafi’s inner circle may be looking for a way out of the crisis. She said some of them, allegedly acting on the Libyan leader’s behalf, have reached out to people in Europe and elsewhere to ask, in effect, “How do we get out of this?”

“Some of it is theater,” Clinton said in an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer. “Some of it is, you know, kind of, shall we say game playing.” She added: “A lot of it is just the way he behaves. It’s somewhat unpredictable. But some of it we think is exploring. You know, `What are my options? Where could I go? What could I do?’ And we would encourage that.”

The Pentagon said two dozen more Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from U.S. and British submarines late Monday and early Tuesday against Libyan targets, raising the total to 161 aimed at disabling Gadhafi’s air defenses.

Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said Libyan ground troops will be more vulnerable as the coalition grows in size and capability, but he declined to provide details of future targeting. He spoke to reporters at the Pentagon from aboard his command ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

The president and Pentagon officials have stressed since the military campaign began that America would quickly give other countries the lead.

“I think fairly shortly we are going to be able to say that we’ve achieved the objective of a no-fly zone. We will also be able to say that we have averted immediate tragedy,” Obama said.

Aflac Seeks New Voice For Its Duck

NEW YORK — Want to take a quack at doing the new voice of the ever-abrasive Aflac duck? Now’s your chance.

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Aflac Inc. will begin accepting submissions on Wednesday in its search for a unique voice to replace Gilbert Gottfried’s signature squawk. Gottfried was ousted last week after voicing the duck for more than 10 years because he made insensitive remarks on Twitter about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Anyone interested can submit a 30-second audio or video file belting their best version of the “Aflac” squawk at www.quackaflac.com. A 2006 ad featuring the Aflac duck in a silent movie — with no dialogue at all — was re-edited to promote the search and will begin airing Wednesday.

The submission deadline is midnight on April Fool’s Day.

Chris Brown Plays Basketball In NYC After GMA Outburst

NEW YORK — After Chris Brown stormed out of the ABC studios, losing his shirt and breaking a window in the process, he was seen playing a pick-up basketball game at “The Cage,” New York’s famed West 4th street courts.

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Daily News reports:

    The volatile R&B singer hit the typically crowded West 4th street courts just hours after throwing a tantrum at ABC‘s studios following his interview with Robin Roberts, who asked him about his infamous attack on former girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

Bomb Blast Wounds 25 In Jerusalem

JERUSALEM – A bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop Wednesday in central Jerusalem, wounding at least 25 people in what appeared to be the first militant attack in the city in several years.

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The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses.

Rescuers were seen removing bloodied people from the area on stretchers.

Israel’s national rescue service said 25 people were wounded, including 15 seriously. No deaths were reported.

Meir Hagid, one of the bus drivers, said he heard a loud explosion as he drove by the site, located near the main entrance to Jerusalem and its central bus station.

“I heard the explosion in the bus stop,” he said. He halted his vehicle and people got off. He said nobody in his bus was hurt.

Jerusalem suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants during the second Palestinian uprising last decade. But the attacks have halted in recent years. Jerusalem last experienced a suicide bombing in 2004.

The bombing came amid rising tensions between Israel and the Hamas militant group, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks in recent years.

Census Shows Massive Exodus From Detroit

DETROIT-Thousands of people are leaving Detroit, demoralizing the city.

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The New York Times reports:

    It was the largest percentage drop in history for any American city with more than 100,000 residents, apart from the unique situation of New Orleans, where the population dropped by 29 percent after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said Andrew A. Beveridge, a sociologist at Queens College.

    The number of people who vanished from Detroit — 237,500 — was bigger than the 140,000 who left New Orleans

Blacks Differ On Obama’s Decision To Bomb Libya

In a recent NewsOne/Black Planet poll, we asked African Americans across the country their thoughts on President Obama bombing Libya and President Qaddafi. Their thoughts split across our various answers.

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Close to 35 percent of African Americans believe Obama is doing so because of Gadhafi’s treatment of Libyans. Twenty-one percent believe that Qaddafi and his army are a serious threat to the nation.

On the flip side, it’s fair to assume that many think this is just political posturing by Obama. Close to 15 percent of Blacks believe he is just doing this to appease republicans. Twenty-three percent believe this is all about oil. Seven percent believe he is bending down to the Jewish population by showing his loyalty and commitment to protecting Israel.

Below are the poll numbers:

* Oil 23%
* Re-election appeal to Republicans 15%
* Prove loyalty to Isreal 7%
* Gadhafi’s treatment of Libyans 34%
* Gadhafi’s a threat to the U.S. 21%

Tiger Back On The Dating Scene With 22-Year-Old Woman

Florida – Tiger Woods has stepped back on the dating scene with a young 22-year-old he’s known since she was eight years old.

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The golfer who recently appeared on Good Morning America talking about his comeback and personal life, is back on the scene with a girl he used to live in the same neighborhood as.

Lahti is the daughter of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Lahti.

Miami Police Chief Under Fire After Deaths Of 7 Black Men

Miami, Florida– Miami city commissioners and community leaders are calling for the dismissal of  police chief Miguel A. Exposito after seven African-American men were shot and killed by his officers within eight months.

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All the men killed were shot by Hispanic officers; prompting concerns by community leaders that the shootings are racially charged.

“These shootings have us sitting on a time bomb,” City Commissioner Richard P. Dunn II said. “Everyone wonders: When is the next one going to happen? And the fact the chief is still here just makes Miami look like a banana republic.”

Australian Bollywood actress Tania Zaetta arrested

SYDNEY: Australian Bollywood actress Tania Zaetta was arrested Monday for obstructing police and public nuisance over an alleged disturbance at a Queensland nightclub.

Zaetta, who recently moved back to Australia after several years based overseas, was detained in Surfers Paradise early Monday, the Gold Coast Bulletin said.

"It seems a 41-year-old woman from New South Wales was arrested for obstructing police and also public nuisance," a spokesman for Queensland police told AFP, without naming the woman.

According to a statement released by her management, Zaetta will "protest her innocence to the charges and strenuously defend the matters in Court".

"She looks forward to mounting her defence and to clearing this matter up through the appropriate channels," the statement said.

"Any inference or suggestion through media reports that alcohol has played any role in this matter are ludicrous and baseless."

Zaetta rose to prominence in Australia as a host of the game show Who Dares Wins, a program modelled on its British counterpart which required her to perform daredevil stunts.

More recently, she has worked on a number of Bollywood productions including the Charlie's Angels-style hit "Mr Black, Mr White" and one featuring Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan "Bunty aur Babli".

Oil up in Asia on Libya tensions

SINGAPORE: Crude rose in Asian trade Tuesday as the turmoil in Libya continued to rattle investor sentiment, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained 30 cents to $102.63 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for May was up 43 cents to $115.39.

"Currently, we still have tensions in the Middle East underpinning oil prices. Investors are expecting that Libyan oil is not returning to the markets any time soon," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Oil-rich Libya was producing 1.69 million barrels a day before the unrest, according to the International Energy Agency. It is now producing 400,000 barrels a day.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's Tripoli compound was rocked by blasts late Monday, his southern strongholds targeted and a navy base bombed as the US-European coalition sought to pin down Kadhafi's military and protect Libya's civilians and opposition.

The intervention by French, American and British forces in Libya has hobbled loyalist forces but offers little hint of how the situation will be resolved.

"A stalemate at current positions leaves most of the oil export ports in the hands of the Kadhafi regime," noted PetroMatrix analyst Olivier Jakob in Zurich.

In London, the Centre for Global Energy Studies warned that the tightening market is in danger of repeating the 2008 price surge, when crude futures topped $147 a barrel.

It said the oil market needed "a clear unambiguous signal" from the OPEC cartel that the lost Libyan production would be replaced. (AFP)

Akshay upbeat on Indo-Pak cricket team

TORONTO: Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who was here Friday to promote his film "Tees Maar Khan", said the joint team of India and Pakistan would prove the best team in the world, Geo News reported Monday.

Talking to Geo News correspondent Badar Muneer Chaudhry, the star said his movies earn the most in Pakistan and love which he receives from Pakistan is unmatched anywhere else.

Kumar said he loved Lahore cuisines saying, ‘I happened to eat some Lahori specialties which I relished a great deal.’

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar said he expected the film to repeat the success of his previous hits and called Canada a heaven on earth.

"What you are going to see in 'Tees Maar Khan' is total entertainment. It is a Bollywood masala movie which will appeal to everyone,'' said the actor. The film is due for release next week.

In the film, directed by Farah Khan and jointly produced by his wife Twinkle Khanna, Akshay plays a con man named Tabrez Mirza Khan, with Katrina in the role of his girlfriend Anya.

"I play the role of an uneducated con man who plans to rob a train containing 10,000 kg of antiques. The script is so good that all characters come along with me and I am conning all of them. I rob the train with their help but no one among them knows that they are helping me,'' said Akshay Kumar, rating Katrina as his favourite actress.

The actor credited Farah Khan with doing an excellent job of directing the film. "She did a great job. Because of its excellent script, the film has created new 'muhawara' (idiom) in dialogue,'' he said, reciting a few lines used in the film.

About his own role, he said, "I have been an entertainer for the past 22 years. I have done it in this film and will keep doing it in the future.''

Asked why he chooses Canada more than other countries for shooting and releasing his films, he said he has fallen in love with this country. "I love Canada since I did my first film here 17-18 yeas ago. I have been here hundreds of times, but every time I love coming here again. I tell people in India that if they want to see 'jannat' (heaven) on this planet, they should visit Canada,'' said the actor who is currently serving as a brand ambassador in India for the Canadian Tourism Commission.

The star, who finished shooting his first Hollywood film 'Break Away' here some time ago, said, "The film will be released in May-June. We have sold its distribution rights to Alliance Atlantis."

Shot in Toronto, the film revolves around Canada's national game ice hockey to address issues of cultural conflicts among new immigrants to this country.

Asked whether Bollywood standards were declining, he said, " No, Bollywood's standards are going up. While they used to release up to 500 prints, now these numbers are up to 2,500.''

He also expressed ignorance about his role in Deepa Mehta's proposed film "Komagata Maru". "I don't know anything about the film. Nobody has approached me.''

Asked to rate his favourite hero and heroine, he said, "I like watching Sanjeev Kumar...... and Katrina Kaif."

'Source Code' an intriguing sci-fi saga

LOS ANGELES: His career is only two movies old, but director Duncan Jones seems to specialize in science fiction that reminds you very much of other movies.

"Moon" (2009) certainly evoked "2001" for many critics and now he delivers "Source Code," a dead-ringer for "Groundhog Day," only without the laughs. Still if you're going to redo a classic -- after 18 years that's not too far-fetched a designation, is it? -- "Source Code" makes several clever adjustments, the most important being the insertion a ticking clock into a series of events running in a continual loop.

Its four main actors play sharply delineated characters, not with much depth but, hey, who has time for depth when Chicago is about to blow up? "Source Code," which premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in Texas, could develop into a minor hit for Summit Entertainment, thanks to the fine casting, a sense of claustrophobia and an intriguing race against time. The film opens April 1.

Jake Gyllenhaal awakens to find himself on a commuter train approaching the Windy City. A pretty and chatty seatmate, Michelle Monaghan, takes up a conversation begun apparently several minutes earlier but the man has two problems: He has no idea who she is and, much worse, who he is. A quick trip to a toilet mirror confirms his worst fears: He is in another man's body. The last thing the Air Force captain remembers, he was flying a plane in Afghanistan.

The film gradually reveals the hero's true situation: His mind is in the control of a government project dubbed "Source Code," which allows him to relive the last eight minutes in the life of a man who died on that commuter train, as did all passengers, when a bomb exploded. His mission is to continue to relive those eight minutes until he can identify the bomber and prevent a much greater attack threatened against the city later that day.

Putting him through these minutes over and over again is a slightly cold and cerebral scientist (Jeffrey Wright), and therefore a slightly sinister one, and his loyal-to-a-point assistant (Vera Farmiga), who is much better at empathizing with the poor captain than her boss.

As in "Groundhog Day," the protagonist can change events within the prescribed time frame so that in each go-around he comes away with more clues about the mystery of the bomber. Each foray into the immediate past also further insinuates the man into the lives of both his fellow passenger and his female government controller.

The question hanging over all this, of course, is whether the hero can prevent the deaths of the passengers as well as capture the bomber. Wright's scientist insists this is not possible, as "Source Code" does not represent time travel but rather "time reassignment." No prevention of disaster is possible; all the captain can do is identify the culprit so he can be captured before reaching Chicago.

The Gyllenhaal character, despite exhaustion over having to be killed time after time, believes otherwise. Farmiga's skeptical officer isn't so certain either way and Monaghan, of course, is clueless about her impending fate.

Ben Ripley's screenplay gives Jones plenty of tension to work with, enough so that the director throws in aerial shots of the train and a few exterior scenes in train stations to relieve the audience of what amounts to a three-set movie -- the train, control station and a weird capsule where Gyllenhaal's character retreats between episodes aboard the train.

In the end, filmgoers will either buy into the implausible events or not. Not helping in this matter is an ending that renders much of this nonsensical, one that strives for a "feel good" moment, but at the expense of too much logic flying out the window.

As a consequence, "Source Code" reminds you somewhat of an old B sci-fi'er where ideas trump VFX and sci-fi dazzle. The small nuances -- a spilled cup of coffee or a wallet left behind -- mean more than a fiery bomb or the unwieldy explanation behind this government experiment. The movie boils down to one character, acting under enormous pressures of space and time, racing to solve a mystery. In this case, that may be good enough.

Man broke into Madonna's UK home

LONDON: A Polish national has been charged with burglary, London police said on Monday, after British newspapers reported that he broke into the home of pop star Madonna.

According to the newspapers, Madonna and her children were in the United States at the time of the break-in, after the death of her grandmother.

A police spokesman confirmed that Grzegorz Matlok, 29, of no fixed address in the United Kingdom, was arrested on Saturday morning in central London and charged with burglary on Sunday.

He was due to attend a London court on Monday.

Madonna's maternal grandmother, Elsie Mae Fortin, died on Wednesday in Bay City, Michigan, aged 99. (Reuters)

Coffee lowers stroke risk in women: Study

LONDON: Drinking a cup or more of coffee each day may help women reduce their risk of stroke by as much as 25 percent.

Researchers from Sweden have discovered that not only could the consumption of at least one cup of coffee daily lower a woman's stroke risk, but also found that women who don't partake in a regular cup of coffee could actually be increasing their chances of stroke.

“Women showed that consumption of 1 to 5 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with consumption of less than 1 cup a day," according to lead researcher Susanna Larsson, of the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Larsson also noted that small amounts of coffee may also provide some benefit in the reduction of stroke risk.

For their analysis the researchers monitored the health of 34,670 women ranging in age from 49 to 83 for an average of 10 years. All of the women were participants in the Swedish Mammography Cohort, a long-term investigation of the association between diet, lifestyle and disease development.

During the period between 1998 and 2008, a total of 1,680 women suffered a stroke. However, the researchers found that those women who drank coffee were 22 percent to 25 percent less likely to have a stroke. The benefits seen were similar whether the women reported consuming 1-2 cups each day, 3-4 cups a day, or 5 or more cups daily in comparison to women who consumed less than a cup on a daily basis.

It must be noted that the women in the study were not asked to report whether or not they consumed decaffeinated coffee. However, Larsson pointed out that the majority of Swedes drink coffee containing caffeine.

Dalton Stevens – The Button King

NEW YORK: Dalton Stevens, from Bishopville, South Carolina, has earned the title of ‘Button King’ after he spent 15 years stitching and gluing thousands of buttons on all different of objects.

The Button King’s story began one night in 1983, when his insomnia prevented him from falling asleep. So he had to find something to pass the time. Searching through his old things, he found an old denim jumpsuit and started sewing buttons on it. Two years and ten months later, Dalton was still a chronic insomniac, but his jumpsuit was covered with 16,333 buttons and weighed 16 pounds.

Even after completing his button tracksuit, Stevens kept attaching thousands of buttons on various stuff. He glued 3,005 buttons on his guitar and 517 buttons on his shoes. His banjo, piano and his 1983 Chevette soon followed, and before long, his unique occupation grabbed the attention of the media.


In 2008, Dalton Stevens opened his Button Museum, where all his button masterpieces are set on display for everyone to see. Here you’ll see his famous Chevette, covered with 150,000 buttons, a hearse donated by a local funeral home, covered with 600,000 buttons , two button-covered coffins, a public out house covered with buttons, and many other artworks he has created over the years.

Fan of Julia covered his body with 82 Tattoos

SANTIAGO: A man in Chile showed his love for Oscar winning Julia Robert by covering his body with 82 astonishing tattoos of hers.

Miljenko Parserisas Bukovic said that he is saving up to get yet another tattoo of his favorite actress though his back, chest and arms are already almost completely covered.

This man has spent $4000 and 10 years to get inked with these tattoos.

Nuclear wake-up for Merkel in state vote

BERLIN: Voters handed German Chancellor Angela Merkel a wake-up call Sunday on nuclear power after the Japan crisis as the Greens more than doubled their score in the second of 2011's seven state elections.

The result will give the ecologist party high hopes for a much bigger prize: success in an election next Sunday in the wealthy southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the most important of the year's electoral tests.

Projections in Saxony-Anhalt indicated Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) came first and were likely to stay in power in coalition with their sworn enemies at national level, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

This was despite the CDU's share of the vote slipping some three percentage points to 32.7 percent. The SPD's share of the vote was little changed on 21.5 percent, behind the far-left Die Linke, on 23.8 percent, also little changed.

But the big winners of the vote in the impoverished eastern state -- unemployment stands at 13 percent -- were the Greens, who more than doubled their score to seven percent.

The far-right NPD won 4.5 percent, below the five percent needed to enter the state parliament. The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), Merkel's coalition partners at federal level, will also be unrepresented, scoring 3.5 percent.

The surge in the Greens' support was seen as being in large part down to Merkel's stance on nuclear power after Japan's earthquake and tsunami on March 11 pushed reactors at the Fukushima plant to the brink of a meltdown.

People "want to know, particularly after the tragedy in Japan, what a responsible energy policy will look like", Greens co-head Claudia Roth said.

The result, although driven to a large extent by local issues, "showed one thing: that the rise of the anti-nuclear movement is only boosting the Greens", the Stuttgarter Zeitung daily said in a Monday editorial.

Baden-Wuerttemberg, where the CDU have ruled since 1953 -- the year before Merkel was born, is home to four nuclear reactors. Saxony-Anhalt has none, but has several wind farms.

Germany decided a decade ago to go nuclear-free by around 2020 but Merkel last year postponed the switch-off until the mid-2030s despite strong public unease about atomic energy.

But Japan's nuclear emergency prompted her last week to announce a three-month moratorium on the postponement and the temporary shutdown of Germany's seven oldest reactors pending a safety review.

She also said she would speed up the transition to renewable energy.

This has not gone down well with voters, however, with a survey Friday showing that nearly seven out of 10 voters thought her moves were "pure electioneering".

A YouGov poll the day before showed that 81 percent of voters thought her actions over nuclear power were "not credible".

"Merkel: no one believes her any more" ran the front-page headline in the Berliner Kurier tabloid.

"What Merkel has started is a risky game and there is little to suggest at the moment that she will emerge as the winner. Her change has been too abrupt, too poorly prepared," Spiegel magazine said this week.

Polls suggest the Greens are also set to double their vote in Baden-Wuerttemberg, raising the possibility that one of Germany's 16 states might have something no other state has ever had: a Green premier.

Guido Westwelle, FDP leader, deputy chancellor and foreign minister, called on middle class voters to turn out and vote in Baden-Wuerttemberg and SPD-controlled Rhineland-Palatinate, which also has an election next Sunday.

Prince William winds up trip to flood-hit Australia

KERANG: Britain's Prince William winds up his Australian tour Monday with a visit to flood-hit parts of Victoria as the state government announced more money to help those worst affected.

In a trip so far seen as a public relations success, the second-in-line to the British throne turns his attention to people whose homes and farms were flooded in mid-January when the Loddon River broke its banks.

Ironically, he could get a first-hand feel for what they experienced, with a severe weather warning issued for western and central Victoria -- including the area he will visit.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned of storms and heavy rain, with a flood watch in place for the Loddon River.

The Victoria leg follows a weekend of touring disaster-affected communities in Queensland, which was hit this year by massive floods that swept away entire homes, killing more than 30 people, and then by Cyclone Yasi.

The prince, who marries his fiancee Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, will be briefed by local emergency services personnel in Kerang before touring the area and attending a traditional Australian barbecue.

Local shire mayor Max Fehring said he was confident William would get a good understanding of what Victorians had been going through.

"I'm going to do my utmost to make sure that he meets with ordinary men and women who have a great story to tell about how they've conquered this whole event," Fehring told reporters.

To coincide with his visit, the Victorian government announced an extra 12 million dollar (11.9 million US) package targeting flood support.

"We are standing by these communities and families so they get the help they need to get back on their feet," state Premier Ted Baillieu said.

The personable prince arrived in the former British colony on Saturday after an emotionally charged two-day visit to New Zealand in which he paid tribute to more than 200 people killed in recent earthquake and coal mine tragedies.

His relaxed manner won friends over the weekend, including at a fundraiser at the Brisbane Convention Centre on Sunday evening in which he thanked those who helped in the disaster aftermath.

"As a search and rescue pilot myself, I am full of admiration for their courage and skill. Queenslanders are renowned for their true grit, for their resilience and courage," he said, according to Sky News.

"In the past two days, I have met many Queenslanders who have been struck by the brutal force of nature at its cruellest.

"On behalf of the Queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of my family, I would like to extend heartfelt condolences to all in Australia who have lost family members and friends in these terrible natural

Manmohan misleading public: Assange

NEW DELHI: The head of whistleblower website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday of deliberately misleading the public by claiming that leaked US diplomatic cables allegedly pointing to payoffs to MPs during a 2008 parliamentary trust vote were not authentic.

"The comments I have been hearing from Prime Minister Singh these, to me, seem to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the public by suggesting that governments around the world do not accept the material," WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange told in an interview to a leading TV channel.

As per the WikiLeaks cables published in newspaper, a US diplomat was told that Rs 50-60 crore was kept aside by the Congress party to get some opposition members of the Lok Sabha on board before the trust vote in July 2008 during the first tenure of the UPA government.

The prime minister said in parliament that the government could not "confirm the veracity, contents or even the existence of such communications", and added that many persons mentioned in the cables have "stoutly denied the veracity of the contents".

Assange asserted that there "is no doubt, whatsoever, that the cables are authentic", which was the reason why the US government has been very upset over the leak of the diplmomatic cables

Gunfire, explosions rock Tripoli for 3rd night

TRIPOLI: Anti-aircraft fire and explosions reverberated across Tripoli for a third night on Monday and state television said several sites had come under attack in the capital.

Western powers had no immediate confirmation they had launched fresh strikes on Tripoli in a campaign to target Libyan air defenses and enforce a no-fly zone.

A US general said, however, that attacks on Libya - launched in a UN mandated operation to stop attacks on civilians by Muammar Gaddafi's forces - were likely to slow in the coming days.

Despite the campaign, residents in two besieged rebel-held western cities, Misrata and Zintan, said they had been attacked by government troops, some of whom were expected to try to force their way into civilian areas to escape attack from the air. Rebels, who had been driven back towards their eastern Benghazi stronghold before the air attacks halted an advance by Gaddafi's forces, have so far done little to capitalize on the campaign, raising fears the war could grind to a stalemate.

Washington, wary of being drawn into another war after long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has ruled out specific action to overthrow Gaddafi, although France said on Monday it hoped the Libyan government would collapse from within.

"My sense is that, that unless something unusual or unexpected happens, we may see a decline in the frequency of attacks," General Carter Ham, who is leading US forces in the Libyan operation, told reporters in Washington.

He added, however, that "we possess the capability to bring overwhelming combat power to bear, as we have done in the initial stages of this, where it's been required".

Libyan state television reported that several sites in Tripoli had been subjected to new attacks by what it called the "crusader enemy".

"These attacks are not going to scare the Libyan people," state television said.

Anti-aircraft gunfire rang out throughout the night and pro-Gaddafi slogans echoed around the city centre. Cars sped through Tripoli streets honking wildly.


Al Jazeera television said coalition forces had struck radar installations at two air defense bases in eastern Libya late on Monday. However, a French armed forces spokesman said France, which has been involved in strikes in the east, had no planes in the air at the time.

In Misrata, residents said people had gone out into the streets to try to stop Gaddafi's forces entering the city.

"When they gathered in the center the Gaddafi forces started shooting at them with artillery and guns," said the resident, who gave his name as Saadoun. He said nine people were killed.

Zintan, near the Tunisian border, faced heavy shelling, two witnesses said, forcing residents to flee to mountain caves. Several houses were destroyed and a mosque minaret destroyed.

"New forces were sent today to besiege the city. There are now at least 40 tanks at the foothills of the mountains near Zintan," Abdulrahmane Daw told Reuters by phone from the town.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Quarter Final Teams Clashes

ICC Cricket World Cup Quarter final(s)/knockout  Schedule and Team vs Team Estimations or Clashes. Which team face which team in upcoming Quarter final Matches

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the match officials that will take charge of the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup.

The quarter-final line-up sees Pakistan take on the West Indies, India host Australia, South Africa play New Zealand and Sri Lanka welcoming England to Colombo.

Billy Bowden and Steve Davis will take charge of the first match between Pakistan and the West Indies in Dhaka while Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould will umpire the clash between India and Australia in Ahmedabad.

The third match between South Africa and New Zealand will be overseen by Aleem Dar and Rod Tucker before the game involving England and Sri Lanka sees Billy Doctrove and Simon Taufel standing.

World Cup quarter-final Umpires

23rd March: Pakistan v West Indies, Dhaka: Chris Broad (match referee), Billy Bowden and Steve Davis (both on-field), Daryl Harper (third umpire), Bruce Oxenford (fourth umpire)

24th March: India v Australia, Ahmedabad: Ranjan Madugalle (match referee), Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould (both on-field), Richard Kettleborough (third umpire), Asad Rauf (fourth umpire)

25th March: Roshan Mahanama (match referee), Aleem Dar and Rod Tucker (both on-field), Kumar Dharmasena (third umpire), Nigel Llong (fourth umpire)

26th March: Jeff Crowe (match referee), Billy Doctrove and Simon Taufel (both on-field), Tony Hill (third umpire), Shavir Tarapore

Tsunami impact on Japan car industry

JAPAN'S seven major carmakers are reeling in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the country.

Production has been stopped at most factories this week, with Honda extending its shutdown through until at least Sunday, despite minimal damage at the big car plants that are located to the south of Tokyo.The problems caused by the quake include everything from damage to component supply companies and power interruptions in the disaster zone to the time needed for workers to re-connect with family members affected by the events. There are also concerns about damage to port facilities needed for exports, including shipments to Australia.

The only direct casualty was a death at Honda's research-and-development centre at Tochigi, although 16 other people were also injured. The Australian outposts of the Japanese brands are still battling to get information and any long-term predictions, although there is at least one chilling story from Nissan.

"Head office in Yokohama is on skeleton staff; many hundreds stayed there on Friday night, some walked 20 kilometres home," says Nissan Australia's Jeff Fisher, speaking soon after the quake. Nissan's port facilities at Hitachi were also badly affected by the tsunami.

But Fisher reassures supporters of the brand's sports cars, which are built at the Tochigi factory which was affected by the quake "We have recently received a major shipment of GT-R and Model Year 2011 Z-car from Tochigi so have supply for the next couple of months or so," he says.

At Honda, the short-term worry is for 113 suppliers in the quake zone and the ongoing interruptions to its operations at Tochigi. It is already predicting the loss of around 16,000 vehicles it was planning to build. Mazda, the biggest pure import brand, says it is not expecting much impact.

"Based on current information, the disaster is unlikely to have any major effect on stock supply to Australia in the short term. Mazda will continue to closely monitor the situation to assess what other effects it may have," says Mazda spokesman, Steve Maciver.

"Mazda's production plants have not been damaged (but the company) will announce any further production changes for March 17 onward as soon as a decision is made. Even so, Mazda is already joining the relief effort.

"As a first response, Mazda is making an immediate donation of 30 million Yen ($368,000) to support rescue efforts and assistance in the region. Mazda plans to monitor the situation and will also make badly needed materials - along with personnel - available as required," the company says.

Toyota is expecting to lose 40,000 vehicles from its short-term production schedule but there is little information yet on the potential knock-on effect in Australia. "It's too early to provide any accurate information. Toyota places utmost priority on ensuring the safety of all team members at Toyota, its subsidiary vehicle manufacturers such as Central and Kanto, and at its suppliers, as well as on confirming the safety of their family members," says Mike Breen, spokesman for Toyota Australia.

Mitsubishi is still waiting for word from Japan but says the one Australian in Japan on business is safe, although it took longer than normal to return to Tokyo for a flight home to Adelaide.

Suzuki has probably done best among the big carmakers. "It appears Suzuki has escaped damage. The earthquake's epicenter was located nearly 400 kilometres north of Tokyo while Suzuki's headquarters are in Hamamatsu City, which is 250 kilometres south of Tokyo," says Suzuki spokesman, Andrew Ellis.

Subaru was also lucky on the location of its Japanese operations. "Our main factory is located at Gunma, northwest of Tokyo. This is inland and a long way from the epicentre.  Our cars are shipped ex Yokohama and the extent of damage between the factory and there is still be assessed," says Dave Rowley of Subaru Australia.

Festival of Motorsport

A parade of Porsches and thundering V8-powered Formula 5000s headline the Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport this weekend.

A Porsche 962 that won Le Mans, as well as the outrageous 911-based 'Moby Dick' sports car, have been freed from the Porsche museum in Germany for hot laps at Australia's biggest historic race meeting.  On the Formula 5000 front, a huge international field with drivers from Europe, the USA, New Zealand and Australia will compete at a track where the single seaters are able to stretch their legs to more than 280km/h. More than 500 cars are entered at Phillip Island in a range of races for everything from pre-war classics through to relatively modern sports and sedan cars.

There are capacity grids for both the historic touring cars and production sports cars. Off the track, there a special displays to celebrate a range of anniversaries - the 60th year of Porsche in Australia, the 50th birthday of the Jaguar E-Type, and the 40th anniversary of the Falcon XY GT and the 1971 Bathurst 500 victory by the famous GTHO.

The best racing is likely to be in the Formula 5000 contests and the races for big-banger sports cars, where four Le Mans Porsches, six V8-  powered Lolas, a Ford GT4 and a Sauber-Mercedes C9 will be battling for first place. Practice and qualifying at Phillip Island starts today (SUBS: Friday) with races tomorrow and Sunday.

2011 Geneva Auto Show

GENEVA -- The air at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show was ... ahem ... electric (with concept cars, that is). From the bottom of the spectrum with the new Toyota Yaris hybrid, all the way to the top with the purely electric Rolls-Royce Phantom-based 102EX, not since the 1881 Exhibition of Electricity in Paris, which congregated electric technologists from all over the world, has so much wattage been on display.

And yet, it wasn't just the electrically powered machines that had the crowd buzzing. Alternative fuels and unconventional propulsion systems have apparently taken deep root in the world's automotive labs. A four-wheel-drive Ferrari? Did you think you'd live to see the day? And who could have imagined a BMW that talks to inanimate objects?

The mood in Geneva was also decidedly upbeat, an indication that the auto industry has rebounded from the global economic downturn. At least the major players are showing signs of health, judging from the money they've been spending on R&D. Pardon the pun, but if Geneva's grab bag of tangible alternative-fuel, plug-in electric, and hybrid machinery indicates industry mood, the levity is almost shocking.

2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedan

According to Mercedes, the 2012 C-Class sedan wears a "more distinctive" design front and rear. The more sculpted headlights of the new model are definitely nice, although for the most part the changes in front and back are noticeable only if you have a 2011 C-Class handy for a comparison. Like a navy blue Brooks Brothers suit, the C-Class sedan's new look is conservative, but it should please traditionalists in the luxury car market.



Inside, you'll find a new dashboard that includes a high-resolution color display in the instrument cluster. Cabin trim, and the finish of the materials, should receive a slight boost to keep up with the competition -- although Mercedes' cabins are hardly lacking when it comes to luxury.

To make certain each drive is a safe one, Mercedes includes five new safety features in the 2012 C-Class. These include Attention Assist drowsiness detection system (fitted as standard), along with optional Adaptive Highbeam Assist, Park Assist w/Parktronic, Lane Keeping Assist and Blind Spot Assist.

A new model is also set to enter the C-Class lineup, with the C250 positioned as the new entry-level model. Powered by a direct-injected 201-hp twin-turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the C250 will likely be available with either a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic transmission. Mercedes promises that the new C-Class will be more fuel efficient than before, but official EPA mpg figures have not been released. At the moment, the 2011 C-Class sedan with the standard 3.0-liter V-6 averages 18 mpg city/26 mpg highway. The C250 should improve significantly on these figures.

The C300 with Mercedes 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system carries on with a 228-bhp 3.0-liter V-6 engine. However, the C350 also features a new direct-injection engine, a V-6 delivering 302 hp and 273 ft-lbs of torque. These range-topping models are likely to be only available with the 7-speed automatic transmission.

Prices for the current C-Class lineup range from approximately $34,000 to $40,000 (sans options). The 2012 C-Class, especially the new C250, could lower the entry-level price slightly, although Mercedes-Benz has not released prices. The 2012 C-Class sedan goes on sale in the summer of 2011.

2011 Jeep Compass

I hadn't driven a Jeep Compass in a couple of years, and back then I wasn't impressed -- it looked goofy and was loud inside, plus it had interior plastics and a continuously variable transmission that left much to be desired. What's more, it was a Jeep with no serious off-road credentials.

Now, though, after a day spent driving a new 2011 Compass with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and the optional Freedom Drive II Off-Road Group, I'm pleased to report that the bulk of these issues have been addressed.

In styling, the new 2011 Compass represents a huge improvement, now looking much like the Grand Cherokee's little brother; in fact, the quad-reflector headlights are the same parts in both vehicles. A new hood, front fenders and front fascia, plus a seven-slot Jeep grille, give the compact five-seat 2011 Compass a more serious and refined look, and black lower body cladding does its part to make the vehicle look not nearly as tall as its predecessor.

And it drives like a different vehicle as well. On the icy and snowy roads near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the 2011 Jeep Compass impressed. It's very quiet inside, thanks to added sound-absorption materials in the rear wheel wells, the rear quarter panels and the C-pillars. The 172-hp four-cylinder engine is hard to hear at idle, making its presence known only during acceleration and passing maneuvers, where the mileage-enhancing CVT still exhibits a motorboat sensation in which engine rpm is seemingly unrelated to vehicle speed. On a positive note, the tuning of the Compass suspension (struts in front, multilink in back) is excellent, a bit firmer than before for added nimbleness and generally better control of ride motions, aided in part by a larger rear anti-roll bar.

Improvements continue inside, where high-quality soft-touch materials abound, and a stout new corporate steering wheel shared by other Jeeps gives the Compass a substantial feel. In addition to standard cruise control on all models, the interior features standard side-curtain airbags as well as back-lit switches for the door locks, windows and power mirror controls.

Perhaps most important, the Compass I drove was fitted with the new Freedom Drive II Off-Road Package, a $1,600 option that features a full-time active 4WD system with a special CVT2L that offers 19:1 low-range gearing. Also included as part of the package are a 1-inch-higher ride height, a new front fascia that allows for a 29.6-degree approach angle (stock is 20), skidplates, tow hooks, fog lamps, a full-size spare tire, a manual seat-height adjuster and 17-inch aluminum wheels shod with all-terrain tires.

2012 Ford C-Max

We have already driven the three-row Grand C-Max in Europe and liked what we experienced -- basically a mini-minivan with some clever packaging -- but the cars we drove didn't have the American powertrains installed, perhaps because details of the U.S. engine lineup had not yet been ironed out.

Two Fours and 5+2

Now we know that the base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 168 hp and 167 lb-ft of torque. The optional engine is a 1.6-liter EcoBoost (that means it's turbocharged and direct-injected, for those who haven't received the message) four that puts out the same horsepower as the 2.5 on regular gas, but cranks it up to 180 hp on premium; torque using either fuel is 173 ft-lbs. Ford promises better fuel economy for the more expensive and sometimes-more-powerful EcoBoost four, thereby justifying its higher cost. (A similar scheme is planned for the all-new Explorer.) No matter which powerplant is fitted, a six-speed automatic transmission is the only choice.

The interior has the same "5+2" seating as Europe's Grand C-Max. The second row's middle seat can be folded and stowed inside the seat to its right, creating an aisle for easy access to two small seats in the third row. Buyers will be able to choose a third-row-delete option for 5+0 seating. Sync and MyFord Touch will be available, as will a rearview camera, active park assist, and Curve Control, an evolution of stability control first seen on the new Explorer.

Alfa Romeo Pandion concept

The last three years have been tough for Bertone. After stunning the automotive world with exceptional concepts for decades, the Italian design think tank struggled and fell on hard times, largely due to missed orders. Ermelinda “Lilli” Bertone, the widow of former CEO Nuccio Bertone, was forced to sell the production plant in Grugliasco to Fiat, although she kept the design and R&D facilities in Caprie (which led to an unpleasant fight with her two daugthers). But, the result of her perseverance could finally be seen at the Geneva Auto Show—a fully functional design study called the Alfa Romeo Pandion.

The Alfa Romeo Pandion is a 2+2 sports coupe, and like the eagle it is named after, this concept car folds up its scissor doors like wings. How high? Try 12 ft. Why? “Glamour,” stated Bertone design director, Mike Robinson. The 53-year-old U.S.-born Robinson, who previously worked for Fiat, just stepped into his new position last autumn. He motivated his young and talented team to create a true Bertone concept for Alfa Romeo in less than five months. And not only does this concept look fabulous, but it also incorporates some remarkable details.

The Pandion’s mission is to shift Alfa Romeo into the future as the brand celebrates its 100th birthday this summer. For as beautiful (and dynamically superb) as the Alfa 8C sports car might be, stylistically it’s old fashioned, as it refers back to the Giulietta Sprint that Bertone once produced. With the Pandion, the typical Alfa face gets an LED shape of the future. The rear, on the other hand, which is made up of hundreds of blades, is for show only.

Styling is one thing, new technologies another. While the Pandion uses a shortened Maserati GT chassis and its 444-bhp V-8 drivetrain as its backbone, many of the body parts are made out of carbon-fiber. With the Pandion’s claimed curb weight of less than 2645 lb., it’s easy to imagine the performance improvement, along with fuel mileage and emissions.

The Pandion’s cabin is spacious, with ultra-thin bucket seats and no dashboard—all controls are arranged around the long steering column, while only the infotainment touch screen is placed between driver and passenger.

Will the Pandion become a reality like the Alfa Romeo Montreal, which transformed from study to production car? Robinson uses a metaphor: “One can lead a horse to the water. But it needs to drink itself.”

14 elderly die after evacuating hospital

Fourteen elderly patients have died after being transferred out of a hospital in the radiation zone near Japan's troubled nuclear power plant.

A government official said two died in transit on Monday and another 12 while staying at a temporary shelter at a high school gym. The remaining patients were moved to other hospitals by Thursday morning.

Fukushima official Chuei Inamura said: "We simply did not have means to provide good care."

The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northeast last week is taking a particularly heavy toll on the elderly. Many perished. Survivors face hospitals without electricity or water and shortages of everything from medicine to adult diapers.

Japan has one of the world's most rapidly aging populations.

Quake dead, missing toll nears 15,000

The official number of dead and missing after a devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened Japan's northeast coast is approaching 15,000, police said on Thursday.

The number of confirmed dead from Friday's twin disasters rose to 5,457 while the official number of missing increased to 9,508, the National Police Agency said in its latest update.

A total of 2,409 people were injured in the disaster.

But reports have indicated that the final toll could be much higher.

The mayor of the coastal town of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture said late on Wednesday that the number of missing there was likely to hit 10,000, Kyodo News reported.

On Saturday, public broadcaster NHK reported that around 10,000 people were unaccounted for in the port town of Minamisanriku in the same prefecture.

Amid a mass rescue effort there were grim updates indicating severe loss of life along the battered east coast of Honshu island, where the monster waves destroyed or damaged more than 55,380 homes and other buildings.

Dubai Property “Investors” Could Lose Everything

Not only have several Dubai developers taken large deposits and folded or vanished with the money over the last few months but now the Sheikh himself cannot afford to support his property development vehicle, Dubai World and he has cut it loose without financial support. Dubai World has now defaulted on its $59 billion of bonds with no chance of Abu Dhabi or anyone else riding to the rescue.

It gets worse, anyone with deposits paid on schemes from “Government owned” developers like Nakheel have already been badly treated when schemes are cancelled – they have either been ignored and deposits retained or at best offered six months to move to a new scheme, and not at bargain prices like the rest of the country. Effectively their deposits are lost.

It gets worse still, even where the scheme isn’t cancelled, the property may not be built for years, or ever. Finance won’t be available on the same terms as when people bought so it may make the property unaffordable from a deposit point of view and even worse the buyers are committed to prices that could now be 3 times the current “value” or worse.

It could get even worse than that – even foreign property owners who now own completed property should beware – the Sheikh has pulling the plug on supporting Dubai World may just be the beginning. Assetz has long distrusted the long time it took for the Sheikh to finally provide a form of freehold instead of leasehold and speculated it could have been because the Sheikh never really intended to offer freehold and really just wanted foreign capital to build the new Dubai and at some point foreign ownership could be revoked at the end of the leases and the value of the built real estate could be taken back.

That time may well be approaching decades sooner than we thought and foreign owned property could be taken back onto a leasehold basis (or worse) to prop up Dubai’s collapsing balance sheet….

The grand reversion to quality, the western world and well established legal regimes continues.

Dubai World’s Debt NOT Guaranteed by Government

Dubai’s government said it hasn’t guaranteed the debt of Dubai World, the state-controlled holding company struggling with $59 billion in liabilities, and that creditors must help it restructure.

“It is correct that the government owns Dubai World, but the decision when it was set up was that it should receive financing based on the viability of its projects, not on government guarantees,” Abdulrahman Al Saleh, director general of the emirate’s Department of Finance, said in an interview with Dubai TV, when asked whether the government was backing the debt. “The lenders should bear part of the responsibility.”

Dubai’s government said Nov. 25 that Dubai World would seek a standstill agreement with creditors and an extension of loan maturities until at least May 30, 2010. The announcement led to the biggest declines in Asian shares in three months last week and Europe’s worst rout since April. Investors were concerned the proposal risks triggering the biggest sovereign default since Argentina in 2001.

Dubai shares tumbled and Abu Dhabi’s stock index today fell the most in at least eight years on the first trading day since the announcement. The Dubai Financial Market General Index dropped 7.3 percent to 1,940.36, the biggest decline since October 2008. Abu Dhabi’s ADX Index fell 8.3 percent, the most since Bloomberg began compiling the data in 2001.

Nakheel Bond Suspension

Nakheel PJSC, Dubai World’s property unit whose $3.52 billion Islamic bond is due Dec. 14, asked the Nasdaq Dubai stock market today to suspend its securities “until it is in a position to fully inform the market.”

“The times of implicit support are clearly over,” said Philipp Lotter, vice-president of Moody’s Investors Service in Dubai. “In the past entities such as Dubai World certainly represented themselves as quasi-government entities, whereas there was no legal obligation on behalf of the government to support, and that has certainly shifted with last week’s announcement.”

In the prospectus for its first Islamic bond sale in October, the government said “certain strategic government- related entities of the emirate have significant borrowings which are not direct obligations of the government of Dubai.” The government raised $1.93 billion from local and international investors in the sale. 

The Obligation OF khilafah

Though the evidences for Khilafah are many, we start with a daleel that perhaps better than any other describes our reality today, a time when no Khaleefah exists. The hadith was reported by Imam Muslim on the authority of Nafi' that the Messenger (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

''The one who removes his hand from obedience he will meet Allah without a proof for himself' and Whosoever dies without a bay'ah on his neck dies the death of Jahiliyyah.''

From this hadith can be deduced the Hukm Shar'i for a situation when Muslims die without the presence of a Khaleefah to rule over them. Perhaps it is the unusual nature of such a situation that explains why so few Fuqahaa (jurists) addressed this hadith while the numerous other evidences which establish the obligation of Khilafah have received greater attention and scrutiny. They could not have imagined a situation when a Muslim would die without the presence of a Khaleefah. Hence most of their discussions tended to centre on the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah after the death of the previous Khaleefah; or that it was obligatory to obey the existing Khaleefah and so having a Khaleefah must be obligatory. Yet, the unthinkable happened, the Khilafah was destroyed, and consequently generations of Muslims have died while having no Khaleefah over them. This noble hadith of the Prophet SAW assumes a relevance that those scholars did not envisage.