POP KING MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD

POP KING MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD


Michael Jackson, the child star turned King of Pop, who had set the world dancing and whose musical genius was overshadowed by a bizarre lifestyle and sex scandals, died on Thursday, 25 Jun 2009. He was 50 years old.


MICHAEL JACKSON - DIED IN LOS ANGELES

Jackson's sudden death had been reported earlier by U.S. media, which said he was taken ill at his home and rushed to the hospital by paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived. Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:26 p.m. PDT (2126 GMT) after arriving at a Los Angeles hospital in full cardiac arrest, said Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy would likely take place on Friday, he said.

MICHAEL JACKSON - SOLD MUSIC WORTH 750 MILLION DOLLARS

He transformed music videos and his lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, made him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

MICHAEL JACKSON - LOVED CHILDREN

Jackson, who had lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation, had been scheduled to launch a comeback tour from London next month. But Jackson's belief that "I am Peter Pan in my heart", his preference for the company of children, his friendship with a chimp, his high-pitched voice and numerous plastic surgeries also earned him critics and the nickname "Wacko Jacko."

Quincy Jones, who helped arrange the music on the album "Thriller" and produced the "Off the Wall" album, told MSNBC: "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news." Known as the "King of Pop," for hits that included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," Jackson's dramatic, one-gloved stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.

MICHAEL JACKSON - DEATH SHOCKS NEW YORK

New Yorkers and tourists in the city's Times Square were shocked at the news of Jackson's death. "I don't know what to say. It's sad, it's really, really sad," said Nicole Smith, an 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, New York, in Times Square. "My mother was a fan. I listened to his music." "I'm shocked. I thought someone was lying to me when I first heard it. I was a fan from when he was a little boy and then he got weird," said Sue Sheider, 51, a teacher from Long Island. "For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

MICHAEL JACKSON - THE CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR

Jackson was born on Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys -- Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael -- first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.

MICHAEL JACKSON - MARRIAGE

In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together. Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

MICHAEL JACKSON - MARRIAGE

Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released "Thriller" in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide. The next year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance move while performing "Billie Jean" during an NBC special.

MICHAEL JACKSON - "SOLD OUT SHOWS"

"Rarely has the world received a gift with the magnitude of artistry, talent, and vision as Michael Jackson," said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy in a statement. Jackson had been due to start a series of concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March. "He was a true musical icon whose identifiable voice, innovative dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and sheer star power carried him from childhood to worldwide acclaim."

Outside the hospital in Los Angeles about 200 fans and reporters gathered on Thursday, waiting for confirmation of Jackson's death or condition. There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors. Some fans were crying and hugging each other, and others were climbing atop fences to get a better look at a microphone stand where a news conference was supposed to take place.

"I just feel like I'm paying tribute to him," said Dawn Burgess, 42, a fan who said she had posters of Michael pinned to her bedroom wall when she was a child. "I hope he's gone to God, and I hope that he's free of all the troubles he's been plagued with," Tonya Blazer, 50, who said she had been a fan going back more than four decades to his days as a child star.

India Wins Bronz in Beijing China Olympics News India News Head Lines

How Sushil won the bronze for India, New Headlines Story

Beijing: It may be the ultimate rural sport in India, but the rules and the format of how the entire wrestling competition takes place at the Olympics and Asian Games level is still a mystery for most followers.

In fact, so little is known about the wrestling format that numerous media reports after Sushil Kumar's loss in the morning round said he had been eliminated, though he was still alive in the competition.

Sushil Kumar's bronze medal will probably highlight the format of the sport.

All wrestlers who lose against the finalists get Repechage matches. There are two separate groups of Repechage: one group of wrestlers who had lost against the first finalist, and another group of wrestlers who had lost against the second finalist.

Sushil's fate hung in the balance till his Ukrainian conqueror Andriy Stadnik reached the final, at which point Sushil got an entry into the Repechage contest and a chance to fight for the bronze. He went on to win three bouts and grab the bronze, which was India's second medal after Abhinav Bindra's gold in shooting.

In the case of Sushil Kumar's category, there were 21 wrestlers. So, after giving a bye to 11 wrestlers - by draw numbers - the other 10 were paired off, with the numbers drawn at random.

The wrestling competition is held by arriving at an ideal number of wrestlers - that is 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and so on. If there is no ideal number of wrestlers in a category, qualification matches take place.

The Repechage matches feature all wrestlers who lost in the first round - including in matches to obtain the ideal number - against one of the two finalists up to the losers in the semi-finals, by direct elimination.

Sushil was one of the 11 wrestlers who drew a bye in the first round, while Stadnik came through the qualification, where he beat Dug Schwab.

The winners of the two Repechage groups each receive the bronze medal.

The main competition begins with a weigh-in one day before the actual competition and then on the day of the event, it starts with the Qualification round (if required) to arrive at an ideal number (4,8,16,32,64) and then the elimination rounds. The Repechage stage is arrived at after the two finalists have been identified.

Each weight category begins and ends in a day.

DRUG REISISTANT TUBERCULOSIS EPIDEMIC SPREADING NEWS HEADLINES STORY

DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS SPREADING FAST - WHO NEWS HEADLINES STORY

TUBERCULOSIS SPREADING FAST: -

WHO LONDON TUBERCULOSIS NEWS HEADLINES Drug-resistant tuberculosis is spreading even faster than medical experts had feared, the World Health Organization warned in report issued Tuesday. The rate of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB patients infected with the Drug-resistant tuberculosis strain topped 20 percent in some countries, the highest ever recorded, the U.N. agency said. Though the report is the largest survey of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB, based on information collected between 2002 and 2006, there are still major gaps: Data were only available from about half of the world's countries.


MISTAKES IN DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT

"Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable to see rates like this," said Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of WHO's "Stop Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB" department. "This demonstrates what happens when you keep making mistakes in Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB treatment." In Africa, where experts are particularly worried about a lethal collision between Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB and AIDS, only six countries provided information.


DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS OUTBREAK UNPRECEDENTED

"We really don't know what the situation is in Africa," Raviglione said. "If multi-Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB has penetrated Africa and coincides with AIDS, there's bound to be a disaster." Raviglione said it was likely that patients — and even entire outbreaks of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB — were being missed.


DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS VIRTUALLY UNTREATABLE IN POOR COUNTRIES

Experts also worry about the spread of XDR-TB, or extensively Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB, a strain virtually untreatable in poor countries. When an XDR-TB Drug-resistant tuberculosis outbreak was identified in AIDS patients in South Africa in 2006, it killed nearly every patient within weeks. WHO's report said XDR-TB Drug-resistant tuberculosis has now been found in 45 countries.


HALF A MILLION DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS CASES EVERY YEAR

Globally, there are about 500,000 new cases of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB every year, about 5 percent of the 9 million new Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB cases. In the United States, 1.2 percent of Drug-resistant tuberculosisTB cases were multi-drug resistant. Of those, 1.9 percent were extensively drug-resistant. High rates of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB were also found in China and India, the world's two most populous nations that together are home to half the world's cases.


HIGHEST RATE OF DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS IS IN EASTERN EUROPE

The highest rates of drug-resistant TB were in eastern Europe. Nearly a quarter of all tuberculosis TB cases in Baku, Azerbaijan, were drug-resistant, followed by about 20 percent in Moldova and 16 percent in Donetsk, Ukraine, WHO said. That is not the case in China, however, where the government says 94 percent of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB patients complete their first TB treatment. Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB arises when primary tuberculosis TB treatment is poor. Countries with strong treatment programs, like the U.S. and other Western nations, should theoretically have very little Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB.


DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS COULD BECOME AN EPIDEMIC

"There's a huge, gross discrepancy there if they are then reporting 25 percent of the world's multi-Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB cases," said Mark Harrington, executive director of Treatment Action Group, a public health think tank. "They are clearly nurturing a multi-Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB epidemic and failing to report XDR-TB at all." "We are totally off track right now," said Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer, executive director of Medecins Sans Frontiere's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. He said only 30,000 multi-drug TB resistant patients were treated last year. With growing numbers of Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB patients, there is concern some national health systems will soon be overwhelmed.


DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS COULD BECOME A THREAT TO EVERYONE ON EARTH

Experts said new drugs are needed if the outbreak is to be curbed, along with new diagnostic tests to identify Drug-resistant tuberculosis TB strains faster — current tests take about a month for results. "Multi-Drug-resistant tuberculosist TB is a threat to every person on the planet," Harrington said. "It's not like HIV, where you are only infected through specific actions. TB is a threat to every person who takes a train or a plane." WHO said a new diagnostic test able to provide results within a day is being tried in South Africa and Lesotho. If successful, the test could be introduced across Africa in a few months, though new labs would be needed to run the tests.

KRILL IN ANTARTICA WATERS

KRILL FOUND IN ANTARTICA WATERS NEWS HEADLINES STORIES

SHRIMP KRILL DISCOVERED IN ANTARTICA WATERS

Shrimp-like krill can thrive in icy waters 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep off Antarctica as well as near the surface, according to a study on Monday that shows krill stocks can survive far deeper than previously thought. "Scientists have found Antarctic krill living and feeding down to depths of 3,000 meters in waters around the Antarctic peninsula," the British Antarctic Survey said of a study by a robot submarine to the sea floor.


SHRIMP KRILL DISCOVERED IN ANTARTICA WATERS CHANGE SCIENTISTS UNDERSTANDING

The British researchers said, however, that the discovery of krill in the depths does not mean that stocks of the crustaceans sometimes called "pink gold" are far bigger than previously expected nor that trawlers can expect bigger quotas. Krill, which spawn near the surface, were previously thought to live only in waters down to about 150 meters. Traveling down to 3,000 meters deep means exposure to crushing pressure shifts. "The discovery completely changes scientists' understanding of the major food source for fish, squid, penguins, seals and whales," it said in a report with the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.

KRILL IS PHYSIOLOGICALLY FLEXIBLE

"There aren't many organisms that will travel over that depth range. Krill is a lot more flexible physiologically and a lot more flexible behaviorally than we ever imagined," said Andrew Clarke of the British Antarctic Survey. Clarke, who co-authored the paper in the journal Current Biology, speculated that krill travel mainly to the sea floor to feed on algae falling from surface waters at the end of the Antarctic summer. "Maybe that's why it's so successful," he told.


KRILL FOUND IN ANTARTICA IS USED FOR HEART MEDICINES

If so, that would mean there was probably not a vast hidden stock of krill permanently in the depths. Krill, which grow up to about 6 cms (2.4 inches), would probably take about four hours to swim up to the surface again. Krill is used for everything from heart medicines to fish feed. Catches total about 120,000 tonnes a year -- led by Norway's Aker BioMarine. And krill in the depths would be too costly to catch. "Whether this has any practical significance in terms of fisheries, the honest answer is that we don't know but our suspicion is that it is no big deal," he said.


KRILL POPULATION DROPPED IN ANTARTICA

The British Antarctic Survey said that the total weight of Antarctic krill is calculated between 50-150 million tonnes but stocks seem to have dropped sharply since the 1970s, apparently because of a decline in winter sea ice. "The effort involved for the return would not balance out," he said. "It's like looking for oil (in the Arctic) -- you don't look there first. But as the price goes up you do things in tougher environments." Krill grow under the ice, partly because algae also grow there and because it offers protection from predators. Other estimates put the total krill stock at up to 500 million tonnes.

HIGH HEELS BOOST WOMEN SEX LIFE

HIGH HEELS CAN IMPROVE SEXY LOOKS AND BOOST WOMEN'S SEX LIFE


HIGH HEELS BOOST SEX LIFE OF WOMEN

Wearing high heels not only makes a woman look sexy, but also improve her sex life, says a new study. The study found that wearing a pair of moderately high heels could tone the body, condition muscles, and even improve a woman's sex life without the need for onerous exercise sessions. Lead researcher Maria Cerruto, a urologist at the University of Verona, said that she conducted her tests because she wished to tackle "bizarre" non-scientific theories blaming high heels for a range of ills, including schizophrenia.

During the study, the researcher studied 66 volunteers aged under 50 and measured the electrical activity in the pelvic muscles of the women. "As a woman who loves heeled shoes, I tried to find something healthy in them. In the end I achieved my goal. Heels affect pelvic floor activity, reducing pain and improving your health. We now hope to prove that wearing heels during daily activity may reduce the need for pelvic exercises," Times Online quoted her as saying.

The results suggest the muscles are more relaxed when women wear higher heels, increasing their strength and ability to contract. She discovered that women who held their feet at a 15-degree angle to the ground, the equivalent of a 7cm heel, showed up to 15 per cent less electrical activity in their pelvic muscles. "Women often find it difficult to complete their exercises. This may prove a solution," Cerruto said.

Matt Roberts, a personal trainer whose clients have included Madonna, Naomi Camp-bell, Natalie Imbruglia, Mel C and John Galliano, said: "A woman wearing high heels will hold the muscles tight to compensate. When you are standing on tiptoes you have to clench the buttocks, the inner thighs and the pelvic floor muscles. It would potentially give them a short-term tension and toning. But the negative effects can outweigh the positive." He added: "The knees and metatarsals are put under strain, the hips are out of position. It can lead to long-term health risks."

The study is published in the journal European Urology.

Rwanda Earth Quake Kills 39 News Headlines

MAJOR EARTH QUAKE IN RWANDA CONGO ON SUNDAY NEWS HEADLINES

RWANDA CONGO EARTH QUAKE KILLS 39 PEOPLE NEWS HEADLINES STORY

Two earthquakes struck hours apart in Rwanda and neighboring Congo on Sunday, killing at least 39 people and injuring hundreds of others, officials said. Some of the victims died when the church they were attending collapsed. Thirty-four people were killed and 231 wounded in Rwanda Earth quake, according to a Ministry of Health hot line. Frank Mugambage, an official in the president's office, said some of the victims died when a church collapsed in the Rwanda Earth quake. Rescuers were searching for more victims, he said.


Rwanda Earth Quake Measures 6.0 on Richter Scale

The first, 6.0-magnitude Earth quake struck Congo early Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The second quake, which registered 5.0, hit a few hours later near the countries' border, in Rwanda's rural Rusizi district. Across the border in the lakeside city of Bukavu, Mayor Raisi Kunda said five people were killed and 149 wounded there. Kunda said many homes, as well as schools and churches, were damaged in Rwanda Earth quake in the city but the extent was not immediately clear.

The area where the Rwanda Earth quake hit is part of Africa's Great Rift Valley, which includes a seismically active fault line. The Rwanda Earth quake temblor rattled the capital, Kigali, some 125 miles away.

INDIA STOCK MARKET TRADING HALTED INDIA NEWS HEADLINES STORY

INDIAN STOCK MARKET HALTED FOURTH TIME IN HISTORY INDIA NEWS HEADLINE STORY

INDIAN STOCK MARKET HALTED FOURTH TIME IN INDIAN HISTORY.

The 30-share barometer tumbled 2,029.05 points to 15,576.30 within minutes of start of trading. The 30-share barometer had on Monday lost 1,408 to 17,605.35 points on concerns regarding the US economy going into recession. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty plunged 12.10 per cent or 639.30 points to 4,569.50.

INDIAN STOCK MARKET INVESTORS LOSE TRILLIONS

After a sharp fall in Sensex triggered a trading halt, market re-opened with Sensex recovering 750 points from day-low. The BSE resumed trading at 1055 hrs. Sensex on Tuesday tumbled by 2,029 points, or 11.53 per cent, leading to suspension of trading on the bourse for an hour.Nifty too recovered 200 points from day-low. According to norms, if the stock market witnesses a movement of 10 per cent on either side, the trading has to be suspended for an hour. Based on the closing level of 20,286.99 points on December 31, the circuit limit is 2,028 points.

INDIAN STOCK MARKET REGAINS LOSSES

Finance Minister has said he is hopeful "that there would be a new beginning for the markets at 1055 am".The Sensex has lost 25 per cent since January 10, when it hit its peak of 21,206.77 points. Nifty has come 28 per cent below its high of 6,357.10, reached on January 8. Hong Kong stocks opened down 5 per cent, amid turmoil across Asian markets as investors grow increasingly pessimistic about the US economy. Investors lose Trillions

HEAVY LOSSES IN DALAL STREET BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE

This loss of Rs 6,54,887.85 crore comes on top of over Rs 11 trillion loss suffered by investors on the Dalal Street in the last six days.Investors on Tuesday lost over Rs 6 trillion within minutes of opening of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which was immediately suspended for an hour after the 30-share barometer index, Sensex, hit the circuit limit of 10 per cent. "Better to out when in doubt" he said, adding that there is too much of panic in the markets and it is better to stay away from it. "Small investors should stay away from the markets as of now. Let the market normalise and the volatility reduce," said domestic brokerage firm SMC Global Vice President Rajesh Jain.

INDIAN SENSEX LOSES 5251.15 POINTS

The Sensex lost 5,251.15 points in last seven trading sessions including Tuesday's early morning trade till suspension, while investors' wealth -- measured in terms of cumulative market capitalisation of all the listed companies -- has declined by a whopping Rs 18,40,173.31 crore. As per information available on the Bombay Stock Exchange website, the total market capitalisation stood at Rs 59,53,525.87 crore at the end of yesterday's trading against Rs 71,38,810 crore before bourses began business last week on January 14.

EU EUROPEAN UNION TO DEPLOY POLICE MISSION TO KOSOVO INTERNATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES

EU EUROPEAN UNION DECIDES TO DEPLOY POLICE MISSION TO KOSOVO AS SERBIAN PROVINCE EDGES TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE INTERNATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES STORY

EUROPEAN UNION TO DEPLOY POLICE MISSION IN KOSOVO, BRUSSELS NEWS HEADLINES: -

European Union leaders decided Friday to deploy a vast police mission to Kosovo as the Serbian province edges toward independence, a move that could fuel tensions with Russia. "This is the clearest signal that the European Union could possibly give that it intends to lead on the whole issue of Kosovo's future, its status and its role in the region," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates told reporters after an EU summit in Brussels.


EU EUROPEAN UNION PREPARING 1800 PERSONNEL TO DEPLOY

The EU European Union has been preparing the police and justice operation of around 1,800 personnel that was meant to be deployed under a UN proposal to grant Kosovo "supervised independence" but the move was blocked by Russia. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Serbia had "a future" in the EU European Union "if it respects human rights and the independence of Kosovo".

EU EUROPEAN UNION MAY DEPLOY POLICE AFTER CHRISTMAS IN KOSOVO

In a friendly gesture to Serbia, which implacably opposes Kosovan independence, the European Union EU leaders in their written conclusions also voiced confidence that Serbia's "progress on the road towards the European Union EU, including candidate status, can be accelerated." An EU European Union official said there was no exact date set but "that it could be decided at the council (of EU European Union foreign ministers)" on January 28. Socrates did not say when the police mission would be deployed, but Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said: "Not before Christmas but immediately after."

KOSOVO LEADERS WILL ANNOUNCE INTENTION TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE IN DECEMBER

Kosovo has been administered by the UN since NATO bombed Belgrade in 1999 to end a crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians, and the Albanian majority has been impatient for independence ever since. Western officials and experts believe that Kosovo's leaders will announce next month their intention to declare independence, and then break away by May in "coordination" with its EU and US allies. The mission would help ease the southern province's transition of power from the UN administration, which has been in place since 1999, to the local authorities.

EU EUROPEAN UNION READY TO RECOGNISE KOSOVO WHEN IT BREAKS AWAY

When asked whether the deployment of the mission meant that EU European Union nations were ready to recognise Kosovo when it does break away, Socrates said: "No." The EU European Union must also send a clear diplomatic signal ahead of the security council debate on its position and possible intentions in the weeks and months ahead. After failing to prevent the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the leaders want to show they can meet the credibility test posed by Kosovo. "What we are doing at the moment is undertaking negotiations in the (United Nations) Security Council," which meets on December 19 to debate Kosovo's status after the breakdown of talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

EU EUROPEAN UNION WILL PLAY LEAD ROLE TO STRENGTHEN STABILITY

"The EU stands ready to play a leading role in strengthening stability in the region and in implementing a settlement defining Kosovo's future status," the leaders said in their text of conclusions. "We will not recognise a declaration of independence by Kosovo which is made unilaterally," Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said Friday. "We still believe there is room for a negotiated agreement." But while a core group of European countries and Washington are prepared to recognise eventual independence for Kosovo, EU member Cyprus, concerned about its own divisions, refuses to go along.

KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO BELGRADE

Kosovo's leaders, meanwhile, have been careful to underscore that they intend to break away in "close coordination" with EU European Union nations and the United States. But the EU official said: "The Cypriots could abstain, and abstaining would not be an obstacle. They could even make a declaration" to attach to any final EU European Union position. Serbian President Boris Tadic said Friday that Belgrade would never accept Kosovo's independence, but his country's defence minister has confirmed that no troops would be sent in if Pristina severs ties.

MALAYSIA FLOODS KILLS 12 AND 20 THOUSAND HOMELESS INTERNATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES

FLOODS IN MALAYSIA KILLS 12 AND 20,000 GO HOMELESS INTERNATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES

FLOODS IN MALAYSIA KILLS 12 NEWS HEADLINES: -

Floods in Malaysia have killed 12 people and left more than 20,000 homeless, and more rain is expected, which could push up food and palm oil prices in one of the world's top growers. The monsoon rains have cut off roads in several states including Kelantan and Terengganu in the east and Johor in the south, local media reported. The Meteorological Department has forecast more heavy rain.

Johor was the worst hit, with 13,000 residents fleeing to higher ground, the New Straits Times reported on Thursday. The state is a major oil palm and rubber growing region and a key source of vegetables and poultry. Some economists warn the floods could also drive up food prices, similar to the situation early this year when the country was hit by the worst floods in nearly 40 years.

Plantation officials say heavy rains have slowed down harvest and transportation of palm oil. Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of the edible oil, which is used in products ranging from shampoo and ice-cream to biofuels.

SEHWAG VIRENDER RECALLED FOR TEST SERIES INDIA AUSTRALIA SPORTS NEWS HEADLINES STORY

INDIAN CRICKETER VIRENDER SEHWAG RECALLED FOR INDIA AUSTRALIA TEST SERIES NEWS HEADLINES STORY

SEWAG RECALLED FOR INDIA AUSTRALIA CRICKET TEST SERIES, SPORTS NEWS HEADLINES: -

India recalled attacking opener Virender Sehwag to a 16-player squad on Wednesday for the four-test series in Australia starting on Dec. 26. "Gambhir has a sore shoulder and it requires three weeks' rest," Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah told a news conference. Sehwag, discarded for the last two test series against England and Pakistan due to poor batting form, was included after an injury to his fellow Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir.

The selectors retained Irfan Pathan, recalled for the drawn final test against Pakistan, and impressive teenager Ishant Sharma and called up uncapped Pankaj Singh while naming five specialist new ball bowlers. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was ruled out with injury and Shah said Munaf Patel needs match practice before playing international cricket again. Left-armer Rudra Pratap Singh also returned after missing the home series against Pakistan due to an abdomen injury, shoring up the pace department which has been hit by fitness woes.

The Pakistan series saw almost all of the Indian batsmen come into form, prompting captain Anil Kumble to believe that his team can challenge top-ranked Australia. Second wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik retained his spot despite struggling as a makeshift opener against Pakistan, after hitting a half century in the final test which ended in a draw on Wednesday, giving India a 1-0 series win. "I think in terms of the players, the potential that we have, and the experience, yes, definitely it is probably the best-equipped side to go and compete in Australia," Kumble told a press conference. "We have done well there before."

India drew the test series 1-1 on their previous tour in 2003-04. Although Rahul Dravid's inability to convert starts since quitting the captaincy in September is a cause for concern, opener Wasim Jaffer, Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman and Yuvraj Singh were among runs in the Pakistan series. "We have a couple of injuries which I am sure will be fine by the time we land in Australia." "It's a great comfort to know that all your batsmen are in good form and in great nick," Kumble said.

India - Anil Kumble (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Dinesh Karthik. India play four tests in Melbourne (Dec. 26-30), Sydney (Jan. 2-6), Perth (Jan. 16-20) and Adelaide (Jan. 24-28). The series will be followed by a one-day tri-series also involving Sri Lanka.