Irene begins destructive run, kills 8 in NC

At least Eight people, including an 11-year-old boy and a 55-year-old surfer, have died in storm-related incidents since Hurricane Irene slammed into the US east coast, officials said.

The child died Saturday when a tree fell on an apartment complex in Virginia, while the surfer died Friday when he took to his board in treacherously high surf off the Florida coast, emergency officials told AFP.

Hurricane Irene opened its assault on the Eastern Seaboard on Saturday by lashing the North Carolina coast with wind as strong as 115 mph and pounding shoreline homes with waves. Farther north, authorities readied a massive shutdown of trains and airports, with 2 million people ordered out of the way.

The center of the storm, which was estimated to be some 500 miles wide, passed over North Carolina s Outer Banks for its official landfall just after 7:30 a.m. EDT. The hurricane s vast reach traced the East Coast from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to just below Cape Cod. Tropical storm conditions battered Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, with the worst to come.

On Saturday afternoon, forecasters said Irene s effects could be felt as far north as Canada even after it weakens. A tropical storm warning extended from the U.S. border to Nova Scotia s southern coast.

Irene weakened slightly, with sustained winds down to 85 mph from about 100 a day earlier, making it a Category 1, the least threatening on the scale. The National Hurricane Center reported gusts of 115 mph and waves as high as 7 feet.

At least three deaths were directly caused by the storm. In Nash County, N.C., emergency officials said a man was crushed by a large limb that blew off a tree. In Newport News, Va., a city spokeswoman said an 11-year-old boy was killed when Irene s winds sent a tree crashing through his apartment building. Winds had been gusting well above 60 mph in the area. Also in Virginia, someone was killed when a tree fell onto a car.

Hurricane-force winds arrived near Jacksonville, N.C., at first light, and wind-whipped rain lashed the resort town of Nags Head. Tall waves covered the beach, and the surf pushed as high as the backs of some of the houses and hotels fronting the strand.

“There s nothing you can do now but wait. You can hear the wind and it s scary,” said Leon Reasor, who rode out the storm in the Outer Banks town of Buxton. “Things are banging against the house. I hope it doesn t get worse, but I know it will. I just hate hurricanes.”

Tropical Storm Matthew hits Nicaragua, Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA: Tropical Storm Matthew hit Honduras and Nicaragua on Friday, forcing hundreds of residents and tourists to evacuate and threatening damage to Central America’s coffee and sugar crops.

Rains soaked Honduras’ isolated Mosquitia coast, only accessible by boat or plane, where poor indigenous groups live in precarious wood houses on riverbanks or near the sea. Many people left their homes to wait out the storm in temporary shelters.

“I’m stocking up on food because they say the storm will cause serious damage. Later on we won’t be able to leave the house, or there won’t be any goods in the stores,” Zoila Solorzano said at a shop in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.

Matthew, with winds of 45 mph (75 kph), moved inland over Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast near the border with Honduras and is set to bring six to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of rain over the

Anupam shocked over Lamhaa ban

MUMBAI: Veteran actor Anupam Kher is shocked and upset with the treatment meted out to his forthcoming movie Lamhaa.

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Anupam shocked over Lamhaa ban

France was timebomb at WCup, says Anelka

PARIS: Nicolas Anelka, the Chelsea striker at the eye of the storm that rocked the French team at the World Cup, described Thursday the tensions between the squad and coach as a timebomb waiting to go off.

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France was timebomb at WCup, says Anelka

Tens of thousands to march for democracy in Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Tens of thousands of people were expected to hit Hong Kong”s sweltering streets Thursday for a pro-democracy rally on the 13th anniversary of the former British colony”s return to China.

Organisers were expecting around 50,000 protesters to turn out for the July 1 march, down from 70,000 last year, underscoring fears that a deep split in the city”s opposition camp has deterred potential supporters.

The march has become an annual opportunity for campaigners to show the strength of opposition to Beijing and the local authorities.

Hurricane Alex makes landfall in Mexico

MATAMOROS: Hurricane Alex made landfall Wednesday in northeastern Mexico as a Category Two storm, lashing residents of the Mexican Gulf coast and south Texas with heavy rains and winds.

The first Atlantic hurricane of the 2010 season roared ashore at about 0200 GMT, thrashing the Mexican coast with its eye located some 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of La Pesca, Mexico and 110 miles south of Brownsville, Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Alex rose one notch on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale Wednesday as it churned across the warm waters of the Gulf, the Miami-based center said, after Mexico evacuated 17,000 people from fishing towns south of the US border in the state of Tamaulipas.

Giant waves and strong winds were expected as Alex gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico. It hit the coast with sustained winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour, according to the latest NHC report.

Mexican authorities have already reported one storm-related death, but could consider themselves fortunate in that the storm slammed into the coast in an area with a relatively small population. They evacuated all 2,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of La Carbonera, close to the storm”s center, with Mexico”s national meteorological service SMN warning of “intense and torrential rains.”

Imran travels economy class

MUMBAI: Imran Khan is one of the few actors who have no qualms leaving his stardom behind at times.

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Imran travels economy class

Storm Alex makes landfall in Belize

MIAMI: Tropical Storm Alex weakened slightly after it made landfall in Belize, but the storm continued to produce gusting winds and heavy rain, the U.

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Storm Alex makes landfall in Belize

Pak Army sends relief goods for Gwadar, Pasni

ISLAMABAD: Pak Army has dispatched relief goods and food on board two helicopters and a C-130 plane aircraft of PAF for the cyclone-hit people in Gwadar and Pasni, Geo News reported Monday.

According to a press release issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the relief goods dispatched by the Pak Army include medicine, food.

Relief items will be distributed at the Relief Camps established by the Army in the area.

Relief goods and food items include 400 blankets, 413 pillows, 500 tents and 400 jackets. While, there are 15,200 kgs bags of dry milk powder, tea, sugar, salt and dates.

It is worth mentioning that more C-130 Flights carrying relief items (worth one crore rupees) will be dispatched in next two to three days for the affectees in Gwadar and Pasni.

50 Gwadar villages hit by cyclone

GWADAR: At least 50 villages of the port city of Gwadar were adversely affected by the tropical cyclone and its associated downpours, which have left devastation trail behind, Geo News reported Monday.

Water is still standing in most of the areas with government officials unaware of the havoc wrought by the storm and subsequent flood-like situation in the city.

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