Israel unveils huge drones that can reach Iran

Israel's air force has introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes that can remain in the air for a full day and fly as far as the Persian Gulf, putting rival Iran within its ra

The Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 26 metres, making them the size of Boeing 737 passenger jets and the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel's military. The planes can fly at least 20 consecutive hours and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying diverse payloads.

At the fleet's inauguration ceremony at a sprawling air base in central Israel, the drone dwarfed an F-15 fighter jet parked beside it. The unmanned plane resembles its predecessor, the Heron, but can fly higher, reaching an altitude of more than 12,000 metres, and remain in the air longer.

"With the inauguration of the Heron TP, we are realising the air force's dream," Brigadier General Amikam Norkin, head of the base that will operate the drones, said on Sunday. "The Heron TP is a technological and operational breakthrough."

Israeli officials refused to say how large the new fleet was or whether the planes were designed for use against Iran, but stressed it was versatile and could adapt to new missions. The plane's maker, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, has said it is capable of reaching the Persian Gulf, which would put Iran within its range

"The Heron TP has the potential to be able to conduct new missions down the line as they become relevant," said Major General Ido Nehushtan, commander of Israel's air force.

Israel believes Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons and has repeatedly hinted it could strike Iran if diplomatic efforts to curb the nuclear program fail

Israeli defence officials said the Heron TP could be a useful tool against Iran, whose leaders have repeatedly called for the Jewish state's destruction. In addition to providing surveillance, the aircraft can jam enemy communications as well as assist in communications between ground control and manned air force planes.

The officials requested anonymity because they were discussing sensitive military technology.

The Heron TP has been in development for about a decade. The aircraft first saw action during Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip just over a year ago.

Palestinian witnesses have long claimed Israeli drones fire missiles in Gaza, both before and during the Israeli offensive. Israel has never confirmed its unmanned aircraft can fire missiles.

Israel first began using drones in the early 1970s, and its fleet has steadily increased since then. The unmanned planes are now considered an integral part of the military and tend to accompany air and ground forces on various missions.

Dubai hit shows Israel won't be safer with exiled terrorists

If Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were sitting in an Israeli prison instead of posthumously starring in the international media, his name would be on the list of prisoners whom Hamas is demanding in exchange for Gilad Shalit. He would almost certainly be one of the "arch-terrorists" that Israel, for its own security, is insisting be barred from the Palestinian territories after their release, a condition that Hamas has refused to accept. On top of this snag, the American government is strenuously opposed to the exchange, on the grounds that a Hamas success in securing the release of hundreds of prisoners would bolster the organization's prestige and highlight the impotence of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

Yet both these arguments are utterly specious, and merely lay bare the obtuseness and shortsightedness prevalent in both Jerusalem and Washington. The wantonly negligent handling of the plight of a young soldier languishing in captivity is characteristic of the policy, or lack thereof, regarding Israel's fate as a Jewish and democratic state.

The Mabhouh case has knocked the bottom out of the argument that Israel will be safer if the worst of the freed terrorists are exiled to Damascus as part of a deal for Shalit. The huge effort put into assassinating Mabhouh in Dubai and the diplomatic and security risks - surely calculated ones - taken by whoever did it are indications of the man's standing in the world of terrorism. Exile, it transpires, can be an ideal hothouse for breeding arch-terrorists.

Concern over Afghan civilians slows NATO advance

That caution is guiding a NATO and Afghan military offensive designed to break the Taliban's grip on their last major stronghold, in Helmand province, without alienating the local population.

But while the strategy may raise chances of local government officials winning the trust of Afghans as they try to stamp their authority, it may also delay the end of the assault in Marjah district and put NATO forces in danger.

"The key to this whole thing is to get the people on our side. To make them understand it's a safe place. If we secure the people, the Taliban become irrelevant," said Marine Captain Ryan Sparks.

"It is frustrating but it's the right way to do it because it protects the people.

NATO forces are taking preventive measures, including sending A-10 jets to kill Taliban militants planting explosives. A-10s are designed for close air support for ground forces, meaning they can hit targets without firing large ordnance.

The Taliban are digging in for a fight to the death, the Pentagon has said, increasing the chances of heavier fighting that could endanger civilians.

Four NATO troops were killed on Thursday, bringing the Afghan-NATO coalition's death toll to 13 since the assault began on Saturday and underscoring the threat from hidden bombs and snipers.

NATO and Afghan troops have hit pockets of stiff resistance in Marjah and may need another month to fully secure the area, a NATO commander said on Thursday.

COMPENSATIO

Abdelkareem, 70, is one example of why the Marines cannot afford to speed up their operations if they want to avoid intense battles, especially since NATO told Marjah residents to stay home.

Tearful, he lifted the edge of a pale blue sheet from his daughter's corpse, revealing her dead three-week-old baby by her side. A mortar hit the house in which he and his family were staying.

It is not clear whether the Marines or Taliban fired the mortar but the Marines provided compensation.

"It pains us all to know what you're going through with the loss that you just suffered," said a Marine Sergeant before handing out compensation.

The Taliban, Afghan military officials say, are firing on troops from houses in residential areas, inviting heavy retaliation

"We have to clear and search houses from where we get shots fired, and that also slows down our efforts," Afghan army General Sher Mohammad Zazai said.

Air support from the Americans may be wishful thinking.

"The approval process takes a long time," said Sparks.

Before carrying out strikes, Marines take time to conduct aerial surveillance to determine whether there are women and children on the ground, he said.

NATO says its main focus now is clearing improvised explosive devices and mines. Some projects are also underway such as finding a location for the deputy district governor's office.

But some civilians have more immediate concerns, putting more pressure on the troops in addition to battling the Taliban

"We are running out of food, and we can't go out due to heavy fighting and landmines," said a shopkeeper in Marjah, holding a satellite phone.

"I speak to you with extreme fear. If the Taliban see me with a satellite phone, they won't spare me, thinking I am a spy."

(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

(Additonal reporting by Hamid Shalizi: Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by Bryson Hull and Janet Lawrence)

Israeli soldiers clash with Palestinian protesters

HEBRON, West Bank -- A crowd of Palestinian youths pelted Israeli soldiers with stones and empty bottles on Monday, drawing tear gas and stun grenades in the most serious violence to rock this volatile West Bank city in mont

The clashes erupted a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enraged Palestinian residents by adding a disputed Hebron shrine to Israel's list of national heritage sites. The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank as part of a future state, and saw the Israeli move - a largely symbolic gesture - as a provocation.

Hebron merchants shuttered their stores to protest the decision, and some 100 youths burned tires and threw stones and bottles at Israeli forces in the city. The Israeli military said one soldier was lightly wounded, while Palestinians said three protesters suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Hebron has been a flashpoint for decades. Several hundred ultranationalist Jewish settlers live in heavily guarded enclaves in the midst of some 170,000 Palestinians. Under accords signed in the 1990s, the Palestinians control 80 percent of the city and the Israeli military controls 20 percent.

Netanyahu's move heightened long-standing tensions around the shrine.

Jews revere the site as the Cave of the Patriarchs, where the Bible says the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were buried along with three of their wives. Muslims call it the al-Ibrahimi mosque, reflecting the fact that Abraham is considered the father of both Judaism and Islam.

Dutch move toward Afghan exit, early ballot looms

Balkenende's fourth cabinet in the last eight years fell apart on Saturday morning after the Labour Party pulled out of government, insisting it could not support a NATO request to extend the Dutch mission past this year.

NATO had asked the Netherlands, among the top 10 contributing nations to the mission, to look into the possibility of a longer stay.

"If nothing else will take its place, then it ends," Balkenende told Dutch current affairs television program Buitenhof in an interview on Sunday.

The 2,000-strong Dutch contingent is due to start leaving the Afghan province Uruzgan in August and Balkenende bemoaned the impact of the pullout on the Dutch standing internationally. "The image of the Netherlands is far from flourishing abroad. They do not understand what we are doing," he said.

"The moment the Netherlands says as sole and first country we will no longer have activities at the end of 2010, it will raise questions in other countries and this really pains me."

POLLS FAVOR PULLOUT

However, the first poll to come out following the cabinet's fall indicated the public supported Labour's move to end both the mission and the current government.

The Maurice de Hond poll showed Labour gaining four seats in the next parliament to 19 compared with a week ago. Balkenende's Christian Democrats (CDA) lost one seat, to 26. However, the CDA still leads the poll, with Labour a firm fifth.

Balkenende's personal support, however, is much less than that of his party. The poll showed only 16 percent support for Balkenende as the next prime minister.

More clarity on the next government is expected this week when the leaders of the fallen cabinet and other top officials meet Queen Beatrix on Monday to discuss next steps.

A general election is widely expected to be held in May or June. In the meantime, the parties will also be campaigning aggressively for municipal elections on March 3.

Balkenende said there was a constitutional possibility that elections will not be held until the originally scheduled May 2011 date, but added that this was a matter for the Queen's advisers and the political leaders in parliament.

"We will get elections, a new government will come and then it will be a question of making the Netherlands stronger and let's put our energy into that," Balkenende said.

BUDGETS OVER AFGHANISTAN

Labour leader Wouter Bos, also the incumbent finance minister, is already making the budget and not Afghanistan the main issue for those elections.

"I think this will be the big theme in the next few months," Bos said in an interview on the Dutch TV current affairs program Nova on Saturday night.

Some 20 panels are supposed to present the results of a "taboo-free" review of the budget soon. The aim is to find up to 40 billion euros in budget cuts to rein in the deficit, which is expected to top 6 percent of gross domestic product this year.

The Dutch government has already pledged to its European counterparts that the deficit will come down 50 to 75 basis points a year, every year, from 2011 through 2013.

The new government will have to present its 2011 budget on September 21, leaving it relatively little time to prepare, but Bos said much of the work has already been done.

"In many ways we had already prepared the 2011 budget. We were smart to prepare measures for next year when we were discussing the crisis measures for 2010," Bos said.

Australia in great shape in big year: Ponting

Captain Ricky Ponting says Australian cricket is in great shape entering the countdown to their next two major assignments, winning back the Ashes and chasing a fourth-straight World Cup triumph.

Australia are unbeaten in all formats at home this summer, and have developed new-found depth in their fast-bowling ranks.

The likes of Doug Bollinger, Ryan Harris and Clint McKay again performed well in Friday's 125-run thumping of the West Indies in the fifth one-dayer, at the MCG, while fringe batsmen James Hopes and Adam Voges also starred.

Ponting said the competition within the squad was a great pointer ahead of next summer's challenge to regain the Ashes from England, while it is now under a year before the next World Cup begins on the subcontinent.

"We're heading in the right direction in all forms of the game and with the exposure that we've been able to give a lot of the younger guys as well, a lot of them aren't so young any more in terms of having games of cricket under their belts," he said.

"So we're in great shape as far as the next 12 months is concerned with the Ashes series back here and the World Cup (looming)."

Australia won the Test series against the West Indies 2-0, whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 in Tests, 5-0 in one-dayers and in the sole Twenty20, and beat the Windies 4-0 in the one-day series, with one wash-out.

Michael Clarke's Twenty20 side will now aim to complete an unbeaten home season by beating the West Indies in the two Twenty20 games, in Hobart on Sunday and at the SCG on Tuesday.

The Twenty20 matches should spark interest in the cricket following a string of low attendances across the country in one-dayers this season.

Only 15,538 fans attended Friday's match at the MCG, which was about half as much as the size of the crowd that watched St Kilda and Collingwood play an AFL pre-season game across the city at Etihad Stadium.

Ponting was disappointed with Friday's attendance, and felt the low turn-out was attributable to an overdose of one-day games, not the lopsided nature of the series.

"I'm not sure if the lack of contest had anything to do with it at all," he said.

"I just think we've played a whole lot, you look at all the days of cricket that the public have had to pay and go and watch through the summer, that's probably the reason why the numbers have dwindled off in the last week.

"One thing Australian crowds have always done, they've always come and supported their team and watched their team win, so I don't think we can be blaming that (a one-sided series) for (low crowds)."

Shaun White: the snowboarder's new tricks

Last winter, as part of his preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, snowboarder Shaun White embarked upon a scheme of Bond- villain proportions. It was bold, it was unfeasibly expensive, and it would seal his domination of the sport for years to come. It even had a villainous name: Project-X. Unlike a Bond villain's plot, however, it had every chance of success.

The plan was simply this: White and his principal sponsor, Red Bull, would build a private, million-dollar Olympic-size half-pipe in the Colorado back country. It would be hidden away from the avaricious eyes of his fellow competitors, and it would include a giant soft-landing area – in the form of a steel cage filled with foam rubber – for White to develop and perfect a range of extraordinary new tricks. In short, it would be a secret laboratory for new moves that would ensure a win in the most acrobatic of Olympic snowboarding disciplines, the half-pipe.

A site was chosen in an avalanche zone in a remote valley in the back country of the San Juan mountain range in the Rockies, behind the old mining town of Silverton. In the months before work on the half-pipe began, a team from Silverton's ski area flew around the site after each snowstorm in a helicopter, dropping 25lb explosive charges to trigger avalanches and build up the amount of snow in the area where the pipe would be. The snow debris, packed hard by the violence of each avalanche, was perfect material to press into an icy-walled pipe.

White's team employed Frank Wells, a man with the reputation of being the best half-pipe architect in the world, to cut the 550ft-long tube, and Wells and his team of snow-sculptors worked long into the night for a week, moving 250,000 cubic yards of snow. Then they brought up the foam pit. This open-topped steel cage, 20ft wide, 30ft long and 8ft deep, weighed four tonnes and had to be hauled 1,000 miles from Lake Tahoe where it was built. It was towed and pushed the last seven miles to the site on skids through a snowstorm.

IPL security fears are growing among players says cricketers' union

The world cricketers' union chief executive, Tim May, has revealed his organisation is being contacted by increasing numbers of players with security concerns over the Indian Premier League.

Safety fears are already threatening to overshadow the third edition of the tournament, which gets under way in Mumbai on 12 March. May, the Federation of International Cricketers (Fica) chief executive, feels those concerns could persuade players not to participate.

"There is an extremely high level of concern from a number of players from a number of countries about the IPL and security," May said. "I think you'll find that some players are more risk-averse than others and will probably stay at home.

"It's up to the individual players whether they go to the IPL. All we can gauge an opinion on is the number of concerned calls we have received in the last few weeks. Let's just say those calls are increasing by the day."

The IPL is the second of three high-profile international sporting events taking place in India this year, in between the Hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, both of which are being staged in Delhi. All three were threatened in a statement, reportedly from an operational arm of Al-Qaida, delivered to Asia Times Online yesterday.

May added: "I must admit this [the reported threat] doesn't come as a surprise to us. We had previously been advised by security experts that a high-profile event such as the IPL, leading up to the Commonwealth Games, may represent a significant target for terrorism."

May also expressed concerns the IPL is refusing to discuss security arrangements directly with the players or Fica. "It's in everybody's interests to be totally open and transparent with these security arrangements, because it doesn't serve any other purpose to do something else," he said. "But quite simply, the IPL won't supply Fica or the players directly with their security arrangements.

"It's very, very frustrating and the only emotion that comes out of that is distrust and suspicion about what exactly are they hiding from us," May told BBC Sport.

The IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, though, pointed to India's home series with South Africa, which is taking place at the moment, as evidence security is not an issue. "We are in touch with all the boards and they are in touch with their players," he told BBC Sport.

"The plans are sensitive though and that's why we cannot discuss them with the media. But we do not recognise Tim May and Fica and we aren't discussing anything with them. South Africa are playing here as we speak and I rest my case on this issue for now."

Last year's tournament was moved to South Africa because of security concerns ahead of India's general elections.

Australia and New Zealand could step in as hosts if 2011 World Cup needs to be moved, says Kiwi chief

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand could host next year's World Cup if the security situation on the subcontinent deteriorates, according to the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, Justin Vaughan.

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the official tournament hosts - Pakistan were stripped of co-hosting rights due to the ongoing security threat in the country - however, Vaughan said Australia and New Zealand, which are scheduled to host the World Cup in 2015, could be mobilised to host next year's event in an emergency.

''You cannot move the timing of the tournament, in March-April, so really there's only Australia-New Zealand and South Africa who could host it,'' Vaughan told New Zealand's Sunday Star Times. ''We've got to find a way to make this work because Asia is the heartbeat of cricket in the present day. Obviously, players need to be safe, but we cannot run away when a threat is made.''

Meanwhile, Indian Premier League champions Deccan Chargers say they will not blacklist players who withdraw from the tournament in the face of terrorism threats, but their chairman has hinted that the IPL itself could ban players who bow out.

The comments by the chairman of the Hyderabad team, V. Shankar, came as details emerged of a split in the international intelligence community regarding the legitimacy of last week's threats by al-Qaeda's 313 Brigade against the IPL, the hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The Herald understands that while one agency regards the threats as not credible, two others have deemed them serious.

The split could prompt a revision of the report filed on Sunday by security consultant Reg Dickason to the Australian Cricketers' Association. Dickason is understood to have sought overnight further clarification from intelligence agencies over the legitimacy of the 313 Brigade threat, after which he was scheduled to discuss his findings with players' associations from Australia, England and South Africa.

The chief executive of the ACA, Paul Marsh, will in turn brief IPL-bound players on Dickason's findings in Sydney today.

Those players will then decide on an individual basis whether to participate in the lucrative Twenty20 league, which begins on March 12.

Shankar, meanwhile, said he would understand if any of Deccan's eight overseas players decided to withdraw from the IPL over security fears. But he hinted that players who did pull out in light of last week's al-Qaeda threat on the tournament could be struck out of the IPL auction later this year, after all existing contracts at the eight franchises will have expired.

''If their safety makes them believe that they should not play, life is more important,'' Shankar told the Herald. ''But when it comes to selection for the fourth auction … if the IPL decides to blacklist them, I can't do anything. If IPL says, 'We will not take them into the register of players,' Deccan Chargers cannot pick them.''

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, who has the power to exclude particular players in the auction, is yet to reveal whether a future ban will be imposed on anyone who withdraws. Modi recently sent a Twitter message to Lara Bingle, the fiancee of Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke: ''Hope you coming for the IPL this year. Call me.'' Clarke, however, is not playing in the tournament.

Shankar said he expected no one to withdraw from his team, which includes Australians Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris and Mitchell Marsh, or his staff, which includes coach Darren Lehmann.

''I have no communication from any of my players that they are not coming to India,'' he said. ''They will come and we will take care of them.''

All Australians signed to IPL franchises have been invited to the meeting with the ACA today, during which they will hear the conclusions made in Dickason's report.

Test opener Simon Katich, signed with Kings XI Punjab, said he expected that players would have differing views on whether to forgo their lucrative deals and stay at home.

''It's going to be a big decision because obviously there's going to be guys that might think it is fine to go, and others that probably don't,'' Katich said. ''But tomorrow we'll find out for sure where everyone stands.''

Meanwhile, the Australian men's hockey team has arrived in India for the World Cup, but a New Zealand player has pulled out of the tournament citing security fears.

While Australia's 18 players and six support staff settled into New Delhi, New Zealand star striker Simon Child opted not to fly with his teammates from Perth yesterday. Hockey New Zealand said it respected the decision of the 21-year-old, who described his withdrawal as ''extremely tough, probably the toughest decision I've had to make in my life''.

Ashley is like a stranger to me know

Cheryl Cole's glittering career has put her at the pinnacle of the showbiz world.

But the string of sordid allegations about husband Ashley have plunged her into the depths of despair.

And those close to the 26-year-old X Factor judge are worried that the scandal is taking a terrible toll.

A source said: "Friends are becoming increasingly concerned for Cheryl.

"She is eating very little. She is beset with worry. And she is hardly sleeping.

"How much more can she take? She must be asking herself when will all these girls stop speaking out? Could she honestly ever trust Ashley again?

"Cheryl is measured in everything she does and never takes decisions lightly.

"But he has made her look a complete fool and Cheryl knows it.

BRAVE

"She doesn't now want to look a total mug by accepting his behaviour."

The tearful Girls Aloud beauty told one friend: "I've had enough. It feels like there is no way back. I simply just don't know which way to turn any more. He feels like he's a stranger to me."

Two new women came forward at the weekend to claim they had slept with Cole, who earns £100,000 a week.

It means he is accused of bedding four different girls and sending indecent pictures of himself to another.

Cheryl, who flew to America last week, has put on a brave face in public. But in the privacy of her Los Angeles hotel room she is said to be so distraught friends are having to comfort her. Yesterday she emerged for a recording session in Santa Monica. On an earlier visit she had worn a T-shirt with the words "I left my heart in Beverly Hills".

Meanwhile Cole is recovering from a broken ankle at home in Guildford, Surrey. Mum Susan is with him. American Ann Corbitt and model Alexandra Taylor yesterday became the latest women to claim they had slept with the defender.

He is said to have bedded Ann last July while Chelsea were on a US tour.

The 28-year-old local government worker said Cole sent her an explicit picture of himself before sneaking her into the team hotel for unprotected sex.

She said: "I was very taken aback by how intimate he was and how needy he was. It was like having sex with a boyfriend, someone who loves you.

"Ashley took my clothes off and was incredibly attentive.

"He was a creative and adventurous lover. When we went to sleep he wanted to snuggle up close.

"I don't like sleeping like that and he made me too hot. But even when I moved to the other side of the bed Ashley still wanted to hold hands and have contact. It was very sweet."

Ann said she was introduced to Cole, 29, by a friend at a Seattle hotel before Chelsea played a local team. Ann claimed she was not initially impressed by Cole and had no idea he was famous.

But she said he was persistent and she ended up kissing him after a trip to a bar.

When the evening was cut short because of a curfew imposed on the players, Cole allegedly begged her to go to his room.

Ann said that when she later asked him about using a condom Cole looked completely shocked.

Deepika Padukone’s wish to work with Salman Khan

The gorgeous Deepika Padukone began her Bollywood carrier with King Khan in `Om Shanti Om` but now she wants to work with Salman Khan. She will be sooner seen with Farhan Akhtar in `Karthik Calling Karthik`.

Deepika has already worked well with Akshay Kumar in `Chandni Chowk To China` and Saif Ali Khan in `Love Aaj Kal` and now will be seen opposite Abhishek Bachchan in `Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se`, Imran Khan in `Break Ke Baad` and Neil Nitin Mukesh in YRF`s untitled film.

God knows what happened to the movie `Kick` that was rumored to feature Salman and Deepika together. The film was supposed to be directed by AR Murugadoss of `Ghajini` and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala.

Aishwarya Rai undergo training to sing classical Indian for Raavan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a thoroughly professional actress and she is ready to go the extra-mile to get under the skin of her character. For her upcoming movie, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan underwent training in Indian classical singing.

According to news reports, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is going to play the character of Sita in Mani Ratnam’s movie, Raavan.

The movie is based on famous Indian epic, Ramayana. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be playing the character of Sita and hubby Abhishek Bachchan will play the character of Ram and Govinda will play the role of Hanuman.

In real life, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is quite a good singer but not good enough to sing classical songs. For her role, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wants to sing all the songs by herself. She will take lessons from a guru.

Currently, Farhan Akhtar has become hugely popular by singing songs in Rock On!!but there are several actors and actresses in Bollywood who sang for their roles.

Farhan Akhtar’s step mother, Shabana Azmi also underwent training to sing her songs in Morning Raga. Among the Khans, Aamir Khan became very much popular singing ‘Aati Kya Khandala’ in Ghulam. Shah Rukh Khan tried his luck in Josh (2000).

Last but not the least, mega star Amitabh Bachchan sang several songs in his movies and some of them are very much popular even today.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan are also going to star in the remake of famous classical movie, Abhimaan (1973). In the original version, the centralcharacters were played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s in-laws; Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan. Jaya Bachchan played the role of a singer and so will Aishwarya Bachchan.

When Vatsal Seth sang Ruk ruk for Tabu

Vatsal Seth, who shared screen space with Tabu in Toh Baat Pakki, says he had fun on the sets when he sang Ruk ruk ruk, the famous dance number from the leading lady's 1994 film.

Tabu, who played an older sister's role, took Vatsal and Sharman Joshi under her wings and looked after them on location. She regularly gave tips to Vatsal on how to handle his scenes.

Vatsal one day mustered the courage to break into Tabu's Ruk ruk rukdance item from the film Vijaypath.

"That's quite true. At first I was quite intimidated by Tabu. I mean she is... My God! The ultimate. But as we shot for the film far away in Ooty where there was no life except shooting we began to know her better. Far from her stern, aloof image, Tabu is loads of fun when you get to know her," Vatsal said.

There came a time when Tabu and the two boys were totally at ease. That's when Ruk ruk happened.

"We were playing antakshari with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. When I got a chance to sing a song beginning with 'R' I saw it as a god-sent. I had been waiting to sing 'Ruk ruk' to Tabu. It was one of my favourite songs on television when I was younger," recalled Vatsal.

"Tabu loved my performance. At the end of it she pretended to be serious and said, 'Naughty boy'! She's the best. I will never forget the experience of working with her in 'Toh Baat Pakki'...Such a legend and so hassle-free and so much fun," he added.

OneWest bank profit: $1.6 billion

The billionaires' club of private financiers who took over the remains of IndyMac Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. turned a profit of $1.57 billion last year on the failed mortgage lender -- more than they invested less than a year ago.

Yet under the sale agreement, the federal deposit insurance fund still could lose nearly $11 billion on bad loans that the Pasadena institution made before it was sold last March and renamed OneWest Bank.

"This is one hell of a deal for those owners, but hardly a good deal for the banking industry, which pays the FDIC's bills," said Bert Ely, a longtime consultant to banks.

In taking over IndyMac's assets, the investor group, led by Steven Mnuchin of Dune Capital Management, put up $1.55 billion to revitalize the bank. Other investors included hedge-fund operators George Soros and John Paulson, bank buyout expert J. Christopher Flowers and computer mogul Michael S. Dell.

OneWest's financial results were filed with regulators Friday. Regulators and the investors declined to comment on the profit.

IndyMac failed in July 2008 after depositors, worried about its souring portfolio of complex mortgages, rushed to pull out cash. IndyMac specialized in loans that didn't require much borrower documentation, such as verification of income. And it became one of the earliest high-profile meltdowns in the mortgage market, which helped lead to a crisis that threatened to undermine the nation's financial system.

The run on deposits occurred too quickly for the FDIC to find another bank to take over the failing institution, forcing the agency to operate IndyMac for eight months. During that time, FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair oversaw the creation of an anti-foreclosure effort that became the model for the Obama administration's loan-modification program.

In selling the lender, the regulator agreed to absorb a large majority of the potential losses not yet recorded in IndyMac's loan portfolio.

The investors pledged to continue to restructure borrowers' loans.

They also said they would expand OneWest into a larger, solid retail bank. In December, they bought First Federal Bank of Los Angeles when it failed. OneWest's financial results for the fourth quarter do not include FirstFed figures.

The OneWest profit was reminiscent of those earned by aggressive investors who paid low prices for assets of numerous savings and loans that failed in the 1980s. But this time, such profit may make the FDIC a lightning rod for criticism of the government's efforts to clean up the latest debacle.

"It makes you wonder whether the [FDIC] loss is due to the acquirer getting too sweet a deal," Ely said.

As a privately held bank, OneWest does not have to report its financial results to shareholders. But like all U.S. banks and savings and loans, it makes regular reports to regulators. Its fourth-quarter results were released Friday by the Office of Thrift Supervision.

This and previous reports show that OneWest made after-tax profits of $194.9 million in last year's first quarter, $202.7 million in the second quarter, $495.2 million in the third and $680.3 million in the fourth. The entire earnings were retained at the bank; no dividends were paid out.

The huge gains included a fourth-quarter entry of $830 million for assets other than a bank's main source of income, interest on loans. There was no explanation for the huge gain on the report, which has far fewer details than a public company's financial reports.

"I'm dumbfounded," Ely said. "These are just incredibly sweet numbers, but you can't see what's behind [them]. The public policy question is, why are they so good? Particularly given the magnitude of the loss estimated at the FDIC."

Andrew Gray, an FDIC spokesman, wouldn't comment on the results. But he said that the FDIC invited "80 or 90" institutions to bid for IndyMac's remains, at the height of fears of a systemic financial meltdown, and that it took the offer that represented the smallest loss to the insurance fund.

Should OneWest's losses turn out to be less than expected, the deposit insurance fund would lose less than anticipated, he said.

The FDIC found itself defending its arrangement with OneWest under unusual circumstances last week when a video on YouTube kicked up a stir by accusing it of cutting a loss-share deal that was overly favorable to the investors.

In the video, two men discussed a specific example of a foreclosure sale that they said was motivated by the desire to profit from the loss-sharing arrangement.

But the FDIC issued a statement noting that the investors must shoulder the first $2.5 billion in losses on OneWest loans and that the insurance fund has yet to pay a penny for any OneWest losses.

Rusal says aluminium output down 11 percent in 2009

The world's largest aluminium producer reduced its total aluminium output to 3.9 million tonnes, compared to 4.4 million tonnes in 2008, the company said, calling 2009 "one of the toughest years on record for the global economy."

In the same period, the company slashed its alumina production by 36 percent and bauxite production by 41 percent.

The company predicted an upturn in 2010, saying in a statement that if demand grows as forecast, it plans to produce three percent more aluminium and seven percent more alumina than in 2009.

The company plans to increase aluminium production at its plants in Siberia, Nigeria and Sweden, it said.

Experts forecast a 12.6 percent growth in demand for aluminium in 2010 compared to 2009, "driven primarily by continuing economic growth in China and India," the company said.

"We are seeing the first signs of a recovery in demand," Rusal chief executive Oleg Deripaska said in the statement, adding that the company is receiving "increasing orders" from clients in Europe and the United States.

"We believe that the stabilisation that is now being seen will lead to consumption growth exceeding the pace of production increases," Deripaska said.

The economic crisis has left Rusal billions of dollars in debt, which the company has been in complex talks with its creditor banks to restructure.

The heavily-indebted company, whose majority shareholder is Deripaska, last month listed on the Hong Kong and Paris bourses. It was the first Russian company to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Earlier this month Rusal announced that it had paid Russian and international creditors 2.14 billion dollars from the proceeds of its share listings on the Hong Kong and Paris stock exchanges.

German airline Lufthansa cancels hundreds of flights as pilots begin 4-day strike

Europe's biggest airline by sales said many long-haul flights to the U.S., including New York and Denver, were cancelled because of the strike organized by the Cockpit pilots' union. However, it said it was still running many domestic flights and short-haul routes across Europe.

Other flights to the U.S., including Newark, New Jersey, Dallas and Chicago were scheduled Monday, as were flights to destinations in Africa, South America and Asia.

"Usually we have 1,800 flights a day," Deutsche Lufthansa AG said early Monday.

"For today, we foresee about 1,000 flights planned, but there may be more flights that could be cancelled during the day," the airline warned. It offers some 160 long-haul flights to destinations worldwide.

The airline, Germany's largest, estimated the strike could cost it some C25 million ($34 million) per day.

Pilots for Lufthansa Cargo and the low-budget subsidiary, Germanwings, are also taking part in the strike.

Lufthansa said it was trying to rebook travellers on partner airlines or trains. Travellers unable to be rescheduled are being reimbursed for their tickets, it said.

"They're giving us the service and support to get us where we need to go," said Shane Parkinson, who was flying from Germany to Sicily, whose original flight from Frankfurt was scrapped. "They wouldn't upgrade us to business class but it could have been worse."

Germanwings said it was operating several flights over the four-day period to destinations including Britain, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Italy and Croatia, among others, but warned of cancellations, too.

Lufthansa, based in Cologne, owns or holds significant stakes in airlines including Swiss International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, JetBlue of the U.S. and Britain's BMI. Those are not affected.

The pilots are seeking increased work security and want German labour conditions to apply to Lufthansa pilots hired abroad, in an effort to prevent their jobs from migrating to neighbouring countries with cheaper conditions.

Lufthansa denied it was planning to relocate the jobs.

"Not one job has been moved. No Lufthansa pilot's job has been scrapped and no job cuts are planned at the moment," said Christoph Franz, Lufthansa's deputy chairman.

The airline reached out to travellers online, too, posting a strike schedule on its Web site and offering updates on whether flights were cancelled or not on its Twitter feed.

"In Cairo, people had who Lufthansa connecting flights had problems. There were long lines at the Lufthansa counters," said Achmed Abdullah, who flew to Frankfurt from Egypt before changing airlines to fly to Slovenia for a business meeting.

"I fly back Friday," he said. "I hope this will be over."

Zambian president sees relationship with China most honorable

Zambian President Rupiah Banda speaks highly of the efforts China has made in helping his country develop, describing relationship with China as most honorable.

The president made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua prior to his scheduled visit to China late February.

Banda said the visit will strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries which are based on mutual trust, transparency, South-South Cooperation and a win-win relationship.

He said that since Zambia and China established diplomatic relations 45 years ago, the two sides have been experiencing a cordial, warm and brotherly friendship through the whole period, Xinhua reported.

The president noted that China has been an all-weather friend to Zambia. During the current global crisis, while other investors were pulling out and laying off employees, the Chinese investors, instead, continued to invest in Zambia.

The China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Cooperation even offered to run suspended Luanshya Copper Mine and reopened it, creating employment and assisting to secure the livelihood of local people in the mining area.

"As we all know, China is one of the biggest investors and source of financing. All the countries in the world are competing for Chinese investment. My delegation includes some Zambian business houses and therefore I expect that strategic partnerships and stronger ties will be developed between our peoples," said Banda.

Recalling the long history of China-Zambia friendship, Banda said that decades ago, Zambia was in many difficulties until China came to aid the country and constructed the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Line (TAZARA), which was at the time deemed impossible by the rest of the world.

The railway helped Zambia get rid of difficulties to a path of independence and development, the president said.

"Every time we think of TAZARA, we think about the lives of 64 young Chinese sacrificed to build that railway line and to keep Zambia alive through the critical time."

Meanwhile, Banda noted that the 1,700-km long oil pipeline that funnels fuel from Tanzania to Zambia, as well as roads, stadium, medical centers, textile plants, government buildings, which were constructed by Chinese workers from past to now, are considered the new milestones of China-Africa, China-Zambia friendship following TAZARA.

During the same period, Zambia has been benefitting from expert exchange projects and training programs provided by the Chinese government in the fields of health, agriculture and education, he said.

China as a major economy is now among those nations leading the world, the president said. "If the world is looking to China for economic chance, why shouldn't Zambia do the same?"

Commenting on the voice from a few Western media that China and other emerging economies are grabbing Africa's natural resources instead of helping develop African economies, Banda said it was just because of the enormous need on raw materials from such economies' industrial development, many African countries could eliminate poverty via cooperation with them on the basis of mutual benefit.

No one can deny the contribution and help Chinese investors have done in Africa, he said.

"Issues of climate change, underdeveloped financial markets, developing agriculture potential, improving the quality and access to medical care and education continue to remain a great challenge for most African countries," Banda said.

Zambia warmly welcomed the eight new measures announced by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the fourth ministerial conference of the China-Africa Cooperation forum last November, the president said, calling for more countries to come up to help Africa develop.

PM to discuss security, ink extradition treaty with S Arabia

India and Saudi Arabia will discuss security cooperation and combating extremism in the region during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's maiden visit to the oil-rich Kingdom later this week when the two countries will also sign an extradition treaty

Singh will lead a high-level delegation of senior ministers, officials and businessmen to Saudi Arabia from February 27 to March 1, and will hold talks with King Abdullah on a number of bilateral and regional matters of mutual concern.

Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmiz Ahmad told the media that the talks will also focus on Palestine, besides the situation in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

"Security cooperation will constitute the basis of our dialogue. Both countries are extremely concerned about the rise of extremism and violence, directly threatening our security," he said.

Buying Belly-Up Banks With FDIC Backing

The banking industry these days, failure can be good news.

Being taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, is never good for a failed bank. It can be excellent news for the bank chosen by the FDIC to acquire its prey.

In November, East West Bancorp (EWBC) in Pasadena, Calif., won the bidding to take over failed San Francisco-based United Commercial Bank, its $9.9 billion in assets, and $6.5 billion in deposits. Over the next five days, East West's stock jumped 55.7%.

FDIC-facilitated buyouts of failed banks have become a major factor driving bank stocks. According to an analysis that SNL Financial conducted for Bloomberg BusinessWeek, there have been 24 government-assisted buyouts of banks with more than $500 million in deposits since July. Eight produced double-digit stock gains in the five days of trading that followed the announcements. In 10 further cases, the acquirers' stocks beat a broad, SNL-developed index of banks and thrifts.

To attract bidders for failed banks, the FDIC sweetens deals by taking part of the credit losses incurred by buyers. The government agency generally pays for 80% of losses up to a certain threshold, and 95% above it. By acquiring failed institutions through the FDIC, banks also win strategic and financial advantages

For example, on Dec. 4, New York Community Bank (NYB), whose operations were previously confined to New York and New Jersey, acquired the $11 billion in assets and $8.2 billion in deposits of Cleveland-based AmTrust Bank. With branches in Ohio, Florida, and Arizona, AmTrust elevated its acquirer's assets by 28%, loans by 26%, and deposits by 55%. The deal is so beneficial to earnings that New York Community was able to issue 60 million shares, raising $780 million, without diluting its earnings per share, says Peter Winter, a banking analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

DON'T OVERLOOK STRATEGIC BENEFIT

The deal "really strengthened the balance sheet," Winter says. In five trading days after the deal was announced, New York Community shares beat the SNL Bank & Thrift index by 8.7 percentage points.

The strategic benefits of FDIC-sponsored deals can be as compelling as the financial boost they provide. "It can enable a bank to overnight pick up a franchise or be in a geography" that could otherwise take years to build, says Raymond James (RJF) analyst Michael Rose.

IberiaBank (IBKC), based in Lafayette, La., bought Century Bank, based in Sarasota, Fla., on Nov. 13. "Overnight, they became the 20th-largest bank operating in Florida," Rose says. "Florida was the place they wanted to be." After the economy recovers, Florida should be fertile ground for banking, with less competition after so much hardship, he says.

The benefits of FDIC-enabled transactions are so clear that many analysts and investors are busy trying to predict which companies will get to gobble up the next big failures. Even a brief slowing in the pace of FDIC bank takeovers threatens to hurt bank stocks. In a Feb. 16 note, Frederick Cannon, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) banking analyst, said that after 15 bank failures in January, the casualty rate slowed in February to one small, $18-million swan dive.Cannon and other banking experts don't doubt that the pace of bank failures will eventually rebound. The FDIC closed 140 banks in 2009. The Independent Community Bankers of America expects an even greater number of bank failures in 2010, followed by a decline in 2011

BMO's Winter notes that the last banking crisis, in the early 1990s, lasted four years, and says that this one could play out for at least three years. "Last year we really just scratched the surface," he says.

For investors who are trying to avoid failing banks while profiting from FDIC-led takeovers, the key question is where and when the next transactions might happen. The FDIC discloses very little information about its bank-takeover process. The bidding process is secret.

The FDIC keeps a list of problem banks—now at its highest level in 16 years—but the agency doesn't release the names of listed banks. The FDIC said there were 552 institutions on its "problem list" at the end of September, with total assets of $345.9 billion. An FDIC spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

The lack of information from the FDIC doesn't stop analysts from trying to make predictions. On Feb. 8, for example, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods listed 387 banks whose finances it said were shaky.

PLUSES: MANAGEMENT, CAPITAL, CREDI

The prime culprit in bank failures so far is the slump in the real estate market, especially problems faced by developers. According to KBW data, 8.4% of loans in the U.S. banking industry are "construction" loans. They represent 26.5% of the loans at the banks that have failed since 2007.

KBW also listed 33 banks "poised to benefit from failed institutions." The healthier banks have "capable management, sufficient capital, above-average credit quality, and regional opportunities," KBW's Cannon wrote on Feb. 16

Raymond James' Rose says banks that have already acquired others through the FDIC may hold an advantage in future transactions.

Analysts also account for geography, figuring that acquisitions are more likely to come in regions hit hard by the banking crisis. Of assets at troubled banks, KBW says 35% are in the Midwest and 34% are in the Southeast. Only 2% are in the Northeast, meaning that the region's banks, such as New York Community Bank, need to look west or south for deals.

As banks recover along with the economy, competition for failed banks could increase. "You're going to start to see competition heat up as more banks want to compete for these deals," says BMO's Winter. Private equity shops are also looking at bank acquisitions, he notes.

More bidders raise the risks that acquirers could overpay the FDIC for failed institutions. Although loss-sharing agreements limit banks' credit risks, "the risk is that, depending on what you pay, you don't get an acceptable return on the investment," Winter says. Buying a troubled bank can mean a lot of work for a bank's staff, which must—under the watch of regulators—work through money-losing loans. "That takes time and resources," Rose says. "You could turn your attention away from your core franchise."