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Monday, February 01, 2010 QUEENSLAND: Strong gales whip up seas along the coast causing beach erosion from Townsville to the Gold Coast. Emergency services were expecting the severe weather and king tides to cause major flooding and widespread damage to homes and property. Wayne Coutes from Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) says the former cyclone and a monsoon trough have drenched the top half of state but that is about it. Mr Coutes says there was a lot of flash flooding but not much damage. "Generally not too bad at all and it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been," he said. Strong gales of up to 90 kilometres an hour have whipped up seas along the coast causing beach erosion from Townsville to the Gold Coast. Weather bureau forecaster Ben Annells says the system will continue to head across central and southern Queensland over the next few days. "We are seeing quite a few showers coming through the far south-east corner of the state as th...

Monday, February 01, 2010 BAGHDAD: A female suicide bomber mingling among pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt Monday, killing at least 54 people, officials said. The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a holy day. It came as a security official warned of a possible increase in attacks by insurgents using new tactics to bypass bomb-detection methods. The bombing raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to Karbala to mark on Friday the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered Islamic figure. The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya, a black cloak worn from head to toe by women, as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad's neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad's top military spokesman. The bomber set off the blast as she lined up w...

Monday, February 01, 2010 VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE: The Air Force says a missile-intercept test failed when a long-range missile launched from California missed a target missile launched from a Pacific island because of radar problems. A statement posted on the Vandenberg Air Force Base Web site says the target missile was launched from the Kwajale in Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Sunday at about 3:40 p.m. local time (2340 GMT) and the long-range interceptor missile was launched from California's central coast shortly after. The statement says both missiles launched and flew without trouble but the system's sea-based X-band radar did not perform as expected and the interceptor missed its target. The statement says officials from the Missile Defense Agency that conducted the test will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure.

Monday, February 01, 2010 HYDERABAD: The Melody Queen of India and Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar bagged Kalasaraswathi award for her outstanding contribution to Indian music for the last six decades. “After listening to the speakers on the stage, I felt I should learn Telugu,” Lata expressed her wish. The award, given by the Andhra Pradesh Kala Vedika in association with the Department of Culture, Government of AP, carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a gold bracelet, veena and a citation. “I am a big fan of ANR. Though I don’t watch south movies much, I saw the Telugu Devdas 10 times. I cannot understand the language but the acting by the cast stands out,” the living legend said. Lata, who of late is keeping away from mainstream playback singing, said, “Nowadays, I do not sing for movies much. I am dedicating more time to singing bhajans and devotional hymns. I have recorded Annamayya songs and was in Tirupati on Saturday in this connection.“ Not to disappoint her fans, Lata ...

Monday, February 01, 2010 JAKARTA: Thirty-three people including 25 Chinese nationals are feared to have drowned after their speedboat sank in heavy seas off eastern Indonesia last week, police said Monday. Maluku province police spokesman John Huwae said the 12-metre (40-foot) long vessel was travelling from Aru to Tual islands when it sank on Thursday due to bad weather.

Monday, February 01, 2010 CANBERRA: Australia's population is projected to grow by more than half to 36 million by mid-century, mainly through immigration, a government report said Monday. The additional 14 million people that Australia anticipates adding to its current population of 22 million by 2050 is cited in a report aiming to help lawmakers plan for the future challenges of an aging population, escalating health costs and urban overcrowding. In releasing the report, Treasurer Wayne Swan said that while a population of 36 million was not a target, such population growth could help pay for upcoming generations of retirees. The number of Australians over the retirement age of 65 is expected to double by 2050, while its GDP is expected to slow to an annual average of 2.7 percent by then. GDP has averaged 3.3 percent over the last 40years. ``To some extent, the higher population growth would help us manage the challenges of an aging population,'' Swan told the Nat...

Monday, February 01, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Following are the big winners at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. A complete list of winners in all 109 categories can be found at the website of Grammys. ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Fearless - Taylor Swift RECORD OF THE YEAR - Use Somebody - Kings of Leon SONG OF THE YEAR- Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) -Thaddis Harrell, Beyonce Knowles, Terius Nash & ChristopherStewart, songwriters (Beyonce) BEST NEW ARTIST -Zac Brown Band BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE- Halo - Beyonce BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE- If You Don't Know Me ByNow - Seal BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS - IGotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM- The E.N.D. - The Black Eyed Peas BEST DANCE RECORDING - Poker Face - Lady Gaga BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM- Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden - Michael Buble BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE - Working On A Dream -Bruce Springsteen BEST ROCK ALBUM - 21st Century Bre...

Monday, February 01, 2010 DHARAMSHALA: Envoys of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama returned to India on Monday, after talks in China on the future of the troubled Himalayan region, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama said.

Monday, February 01, 2010 WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department is investigating whether officials of security firm Blackwater Worldwide tried to bribe Iraqi government officials in hopes of retaining the firm’s work in Iraq, The New York Times reported late Sunday. Citing unnamed current and former government officials, the newspaper said that the department’s fraud section opened the inquiry late last year to determine whether Blackwater employees violated a federal law banning US corporations from paying bribes to foreign officials. The inquiry is the latest fallout from the 2007 shooting in Nisour Square in Baghdad, which involved Backwater security guards and left 17 Iraqis dead, the report said. A federal judge in December dismissed criminal charges against five former Blackwater guards implicated in the episode, but Vice President Joseph Biden recently announced that the administration of President Barack Obama would appeal that decision. The investigation was confirme...

Monday, February 01, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Science-fiction epic "Avatar" topped the North American box office for the seventh week running, taking in 30 million dollars one week after it broke the all time ticket sales record set by "Titanic," weekend estimates showed Sunday. Director James Cameron's groundbreaking 3-D spectacular raised its North American takings to 594.5 million. Its international ticket sales on Tuesday broke the 1.841 billion set by "Titanic," also made by Cameron. Opening this weekend in second place was revenge thriller "Edge of Darkness," featuring Mel Gibson's first screen appearance since 2002. It raked in 17.1 million dollars. Romantic comedy "When in Rome," starring Kristen Bell as a New Yorker seeking love in the Eternal City opened in third place, taking in 12 million dollars. Dwayne Johnson comedy "The Tooth Fairy," retained fourth place in its second week of showing, with 10 millio...

Monday, February 01, 2010 MEXICO CITY: Mexico's rich diet of tacos, tortillas and tortas (large sandwiches), which is jokingly nicknamed "Vitamin T," has steered its children to the top of world obesity charts. The concerned government last week launched a new campaign to battle obesity, which it estimates to cost the health system some 3.2 billion dollars per year. "Obesity and excess weight are one of the biggest health challenges that Mexico is facing today," President Felipe Calderon said as he introduced the national public-private plan to improve eating habits, mainly among children. Nine-year-old Diego attends a school in a middle-class neighborhood of Mexico City, and he said the food was healthier than it was three years ago, when there were many fried dishes made from corn. But he added that they still sell "quesadillas" -- rolled corn pancakes filled with cheese and sometimes fried in fat -- as well as popcorn layered in butter and...

Monday, February 01, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Indian music maestro A R Rahman won the first Grammy of the pre-show at the Staples Center in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture category before his "Jai Ho" won in the best motion picture song category moments later. Rahman's rivals in the soundtrack category included Steve Jordan for "Cadillac Records," Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds", and the producers of "Twilight" and "True Blood." In the best song category Rahman's beaten rivals included Bruce Springsteen for his song "The Wrestler", from the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name. The Grammy success comes after Rahman earned two Oscars for his music in "Slumdog Millionaire" at last year's Academy Awards. The talented music maestro picked up the best original score statuette before scooping the best song Oscar.

Monday, February 01, 2010 CAIRO: One of the great remaining mysteries of ancient Egypt, the lineage of the boy-pharaoh Tutankhamun, may soon be solved, the country's antiquities supremo hinted on Sunday. Zahi Hawass said he has scheduled a news conference for February 17 in the Cairo Museum to unveil the findings from DNA samples taken from the world's most famous pharaoh. The announcement will be "about the secrets of the family and the affiliation of Tutankhamun, based on the results of the scientific examination of the Tutankhamun mummy following DNA analysis," Hawass said. The tomb of the boy king, who reigned from the age of nine and died under as yet unknown circumstances at about 19, was unearthed by British archaeologists in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, causing an international sensation. In August 2008, Egypt's antiquities authorities said they had taken DNA samples from Tutankhamun's mummy and from two foetuses found in his tomb to dete...

Monday, February 01, 2010 MELBOURNE: Roger Federer stayed up all night, drinking champagne with friends and returned to his hotel as the sun rose Monday to cap the celebration of his Australian Open victory by holding one of his baby girls in his arms. Looking remarkably refreshed after a couple of hours sleep, Federer said that winning his 16th Grand Slam victory was different from the past 15. He's now married with six-month-old twins and everything, including his tennis, feels more meaningful. By Federer's own accounting, he played some of the best tennis of his career in the past two weeks, particularly in the final against Murray, who dashed Britain's hopes of winning the first men's Grand Slam title since 1936.

Monday, February 01, 2010 VALENCIA: The Sauber team unveiled their new car for the 2010 Formula One season, the C29, here on Sunday. It will be driven by Spanish veteran Pedro de la Rosa and Japanese newcomer Kamui Kobayashi. The team is still registered under the name BMW Sauber F1, but German car-making giant BMW pulled out of the sport last season for strategic reasons and has not met any of the construction costs surrounding the C29. A spokesperson confirmed that the new car will be powered by a Ferrari engine, although the Italian manufacturers' name will not be associated with the team. Sauber, who finished sixth in the 2009 constructors championship, aim to maintain the same level this season despite the departures of last season's drivers. Robert Kubica of Poland has joined Renault, while German Nick Heidfeld is currently without a team. Former McLaren test pilot De la Rosa, 38, will provide support for 23-year-old Kobayashi, who made a promising start to his F1 c...