US coastline faces new storm threat

THE center of Tropical Storm Lee stretched across the central US Gulf Coast early yesterday, dumping torrential rain that threatened flooding in low-lying communities as a taste of what cities further inland could face in coming days.

Early yesterday, Lee boasted maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center. The storm is crawling northeast at 5kph.

By yesterday, 15 to 25 centimeters of rain had fallen in some areas along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, and the National Weather Service warned there was a threat of extensive flooding and flash floods because of the storm's slow movement inland.

The flash flood threat could be more severe as the rain moves from the flatter Gulf region north into the rugged Appalachians, National Hurricane Center specialist Robbie Berg said.

Closer to the Gulf, the water is "just going to sit there a couple of days," he said. "Up in the Appalachians, you get more threat of flash floods, so that is very similar to some of the stuff we saw in Vermont."

Vermont, in the northeast US, is still cleaning up and digging out dozens of communities damaged and isolated by heavy rain from Hurricane Irene last week.

Lee could dump up to 50cm of rain in some areas.

No injuries were reported so far from the storm. But even before Lee swept ashore, there were scattered instances of water entering low-lying homes and businesses in Louisiana's bayou country - a region of fast-eroding wetlands long vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms.

The storm prompted evacuations in bayou towns such as Jean Lafitte. Thousands were without power.

Profits were hit at many coastal businesses that depend on a strong end-of-summer weekend.

Alabama beaches that would normally be packed were largely empty, and rough seas closed the Port of Mobile. Mississippi's coastal casinos, however,,digital scales supplier, were open and reporting brisk business.,hair weave,

The storm was denting offshore energy production. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said 237 oil and gas production platforms and 23 drilling rigs have been evacuated.

The agency estimates about 60 percent of oil production in the Gulf and almost 55 percent of natural gas production has been shut down.

Meanwhile, in the open Atlantic, Katia has regained hurricane status, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Katia has shifted between tropical storm and hurricane status while moving across the open Atlantic, according to the center's Berg.

Berg said that the storm strengthened recently and now has maximum sustained winds of about 120 kph,,Roger Vivier flat shoes, the lowest-level category 1 storm.,Air Jordan Shoes,

Early this morning, Katia's center was about 600km northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands, moving at 19 kph toward the northwest.

Berg said Katia poses no threat to land over the next 48 hours, but he urged those on the US East Coast and in Bermuda, a British territory in the mid-Atlantic, to remain watchful.

Eight out of ten Greeks reject exit plan,,Jogos Quentes Gold, snap elections: opinion polls

Eight out of ten Greek citizens reject the government's exit plan from the debt crisis, favor by a widening margin the main opposition conservatives, but do not support calls for snap general elections, according to opinion polls published in three Greek Sunday newspapers.

As Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's socialist administration struggles to tackle a crisis that led the eurozone member country to the brink of default last year,,Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys, an 81.,nfl throwback jerseys from china,4 percent of respondents seem yet unconvinced of the effectiveness of the recipe to stability and return to growth, according to a survey of "Kappa Research" carried out for newspaper "To Vima."

According to the same survey the ruling PASOK party now trails the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party by 21.2 percent of votes to 21.8 percent. Similar surveys conducted for newspapers "Proto Thema" and "Real News" after the summer holidays, showed an ND lead of up to 5 percentage points.

Despite the shift of voters' preference and the start of a new round of protests and strikes this fall over the painful austerity and reform measures to counter the crisis, the majority of participants in all three opinion polls do not support calls for early general elections or a national unity government.

A 56.2 percent of respondents in the "Kappa Research" survey wishes to see the current government completing its four-year term in office until 2013, despite problems. The percentage against snap elections reaches up to 67 percent in the two other polls released on Sunday.,digital scales supplier,

Nadal wins, but felled by cramps at U.S. Open

Rafael Nadal sent a scare through the U.S. Open Sunday when he collapsed during his post-match news conference because of severe cramping in his leg in a dramatic ending to the first week at the last grand slam of the year.

The defending champion was speaking to reporters after his third round win over David Nalbandian when he suddenly stopped talking,Nfl bears jersreys cheap then covered his face with his hands and slumped to the floor.

Journalists were ordered to leave the room and the lights were turned down as medical staff were called to treat the Spaniard, who slid from his chair on to the floor.

He was obscured by a desk but closed circuit television showed a trainer massaging his right leg while another man gave Nadal ice and fluids. Nadal remained on the carpet for about 10 minutes before he was eventually helped to his feet.

He returned to the conference room shortly after to explain what happened, smiling and playing down the incident.

"I just have cramping in my leg. That's all," he said.

"I just have cramping in front and behind. That's why. It was so painful. That's all."

Nadal had just beaten Nalbandian 7-6 6-1 7-5 on a baking hot day at Flushing Meadows to book his place in the fourth round and was not the only player struggling with the heat.

Italy's Flavia Pennetta was so overcome by the humidity that she began dry retching when she was serving for the match in the second set against China's Peng Shuai.

Pennetta, who had upset Maria Sharapova in the third round, suddenly started to unravel.

She failed to hold her serve then fell behind 6-2 in the tiebreaker.

But the 29-year-old Italian regained her composure in the nick of time, reeling off the next six points in a row to win 6-4 7-6 and advance to a quarter-final meeting with unseeded German Angelique Kerber.

"I was feeling really bad," said Pennetta. "My body just need to breathe.

"I started having the sensation to throw up. But there was nothing inside, so it didn't come out."

Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, also wilted in the steamy conditions, losing 4-6 7-6 6-2 7-6 to Frenchman Gilles Simon on a bad day for the Argentines. As well as Nalbandian and Del Potro, Juan Ignacio Chela also departed, losing to American wildcard Donald Young 7-5 6-4 6-3.

Young will face Britain's Andy Murray, the fourth seed, who turned in his best performance of the tournament to defeat Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-1 6-4 6-2, two days after he was pushed to five sets and the brink of an early exit.

Andy Roddick, the 2003 champion, sailed through with a 6-1 6-4 7-6 victory over Julien Benneteau of France, ensuring the U.S. will have four men in the last 16,Anime toys merchandise distributor joining Mardy Fish, who won his third round Saturday, and the big-serving John Isner, who beat yet another local, Alex Bogomolov Jr, 7-6 6-4 6-4.

There was no sign of what was to come from Nadal as he eased his way past Nalbandian in straight sets,Human hair Full lace wigs although the pair played at the hottest part of the day and were soaked in sweat almost as soon as they started.

By his own lofty standards, it was not a great performance by Nadal but he survived against an experienced and streetwise opponent and has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

His title defense remains on track although the second seed needs to keep improving. His serve, which provided the foundations for his win last year, remains shaky and he is still struggling to regain his confidence after losing the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic.

"I think I have played better every day," Nadal said.

"Today, for moments, I played, in my opinion,Moncler jackets at a very, very positive level, very high level."

Nadal's next opponent is Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who beat Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 6-1 6-4 6-4.

About 14 kidnapped, killed by armed groups in Syria

About 14 people were kidnapped and brutally cosplay store killed by "terrorist" groups over the last few days in the central province of Homs, the official SANA news reported Wednesday.

The corpses were moved to the National Hospital in Homs, Cosplay Costumes aid SANA, adding that they were tortured and mutilated.

Some of the dead were shot in the head and the chest while others were cut by machetes and axes, said SANA.

Homs has spearheaded rallies against Syrian President Bashar al- Assad since protests erupted on March 15.

Syria has been in unrest since mid-March when anti-government protests broke out in the southern province of Daraa and spread to other cities.

The Syrian authorities blamed Ball Gown Wedding Dresses the unrest on "armed groups and foreign conspiracy," and stressed that it would track down gunmen who have intimidated people and damaged public and private properties.

Analysts cut global growth forecasts

MORGAN Stanley has slashed its global growth forecast for 2011 and 2012, saying the US and the eurozone are "dangerously close to a recession."

The bank also criticized policymakers in Washington and Europe for not acting more decisively to contain the sovereign debt crisis.

The bank cut its global gross domestic product growth forecast to 3.9 percent from 4.,air jordan,2 percent for 2011,,MBT SHOES, and to 3.8 percent from 4.5 percent for 2012.

Joachim Fels, who co-heads Morgan Stanley's global economics team, said: "Our revised forecasts show the US and the euro area are hovering dangerously close to a recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction - over the next six to 12 months."

That was not the bank's base-case scenario, he said, noting the corporate sector still look healthy and lower inflation will ease pressure on consumers' pockets, while central banks such as the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank could try to loosen policy further.

However, he said: "It will not take much in the form of additional shocks to tip the balance. A negative feedback loop between weak growth and soggy asset markets now appears to be in the making in Europe and the US."

Germany has reported its economic growth came close to stalling in the second quarter, while data from France showed its growth has ground to a halt, raising questions over how much drive can be expected from Europe's top economies.

The clouded growth outlook puts further pressure on European politicians who have been haggling over ways to stop the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis from engulfing larger member countries such as Spain and Italy.

Analysts warn the political wrangling and failure to deliver concrete pledges to increase the size of Europe's rescue fund risks a renewed attack on heavily indebted countries and a further blow to business and consumer confidence.This Anime wholesale is comfortable just like the others based on technology such as the Nike Shox 5 columns

The US economy also stumbled badly in the first half, coming dangerously close to contracting in the first quarter. High unemployment, the political battle over the debt ceiling and spending cuts, and a stock market slump all helped push US consumer sentiment to its lowest level in more than 30 years.

Morgan Stanley said: "Recent policy errors - especially Europe's slow and insufficient response to the sovereign debt crisis and the drama around lifting the US debt ceiling - have weighed financial markets down and eroded confidence.Moncler women's jackets"

Growth will also be hit by the prospect of fiscal tightening in the US and Europe, it added.

Turkish military jets bomb PKK bases in N. Iraq

Turkish F-16 jet fighters started bombing the main online gift store stronghold of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Wednesday night, local media reported.

Multiple Turkish F-16 jet fighters took off from the Diyarbakir 2nd Air Command to bomb PKK bases in northern Iraq, the report said.

No official confirmation of the air raids was immediately available.

Ten F-16 jets took off in immediate succession and eyewitness reports suggested their flying into northern Iraq, according to the Turkish DHA news agency.

Turkish media quoted internet websites known to be close to the PKK as confirming raids on the main base of the PKK in the Qandil mountain range and other PKK bases near the Iranian and Turkish borders.

Seven Turkish soldiers and one birthday gift ideas security guard were killed early Wednesday morning in the southeastern district of Hakkari in the latest attack carried out by the PKK.

The PKK has intensified its attacks on Turkish troops in recent times and Turkish officials have vowed to reciprocate with absolute determination.

Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK over the past over two decades.stronghold of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Wednesday night, local media reported.

Multiple Turkish F-16 jet fighters took off from the Diyarbakir 2nd Air Command to bomb PKK bases in northern Iraq, the report said.

No official confirmation of the air raids was immediately available.

Ten F-16 jets took off in immediate succession and eyewitness reports suggested their flying into northern Iraq, according to the Turkish DHA news agency.

Turkish media quoted internet websites known to be close to the PKK as confirming raids on the main base of the PKK in the Qandil mountain range and other PKK bases near the Iranian and Turkish borders.

Seven Turkish soldiers and one security guard were killed early Wednesday morning in the southeastern district of Hakkari in the latest attack carried out by the PKK.

The PKK has intensified its attacks on Turkish troops in recent times and Turkish officials have vowed to reciprocate with absolute determination.

Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, Cheap Prom Dresses the United States and the European Union, the PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK over the past over two decades.

Rescue for abducted sex workers

POLICE have freed 22 women forced to become sex workers in a south China city, local authorities said. Six suspects have been arrested.

The women were lured by job promises to the city of Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian Province, where the suspects forced them to work in an entertainment parlor as sex workers, police allege.
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Police raided the parlor in downtown Xiamen on Saturday after being tipped off by two abducted women who fled from a rented house on the outskirts of the city. The women were kept in the house when they were not working.,air Jordans,

Police said the women they rescued were abducted from other parts of Fujian, as well as Henan, Sichuan and Chongqing.,Metallic Classic Short 5842,

Young rural women, eager for high-paying jobs in the cities, have become easy prey for human traffickers.This Anime wholesale is comfortable just like the others based on technology such as the Nike Shox 5 columns

Agassi inducted into Hall of Fame

Andre Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, almost five years after he retired from the game.

A former world No. 1 who captured eight grand slam singles titles,shadow play puppets Agassi was enshrined at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island, along with Fern Lee 'Peachy' Kellmeyer, a trailblazing administrator in women's professional tennis.

Agassi's achievements on the court ensured he would be remembered as one of the sport's greats but he tarnished his legacy with an admission in his autobiography that he used recreational drugs and once lied to escape a positive test.

Now 41, the American was in a reflective mood at his induction, admitting he made mistakes but was grateful for everything the sport gave him.

"I fell in love with tennis far too late in my life. But the reason I have everything I hold dear is because tennis has loved me back," he said.

"If we're lucky in life, we get a few moments where we don't have to wonder if we made our parents proud. I want to thank tennis for giving me those moments."

Agassi won his first grand slam title at Wimbledon at the All England Club in London in 1992 and his last in Melbourne, Australia, in 2003.

He won the Australian Open four times, Tibetan accessories the US Open twice and Wimbledon and the French Open once, and is one of just seven men to complete the full set of grand slam events. He also won an Olympic gold medal at Atlanta in 1996.

In a long career in which his ranking and form fluctuated, Agassi won more than 60 ATP titles, including 17 Masters events, and held the No. 1 ranking six times between 1995 and 2003 for a total of 101 weeks.

In 2001, he married fellow tennis Hall of Famer Steffi Graf of Germany. Tibetan silver accessories The couple have two children in Las Vegas.

Fuel import duty cuts to slash oil-firm losses, boost supplies

China's latest import duty cuts on fuel products Chinese Terra-Cotta Warriors could help ensure supplies ahead of the peak summer consumption season and reduce the losses state oil companies suffer from overseas purchase, analysts said.

China will remove import tax on diesel and jet kerosene and cut tariffs on gasoline and fuel oil to 1 percent, effective from July 1, to boost supplies and balance its trade, the Ministry of Finance said last Friday.

"The reduction is meant to ensure refined fuel supplies in the domestic market against the backdrop of high oil prices," Haitong Securities analyst Deng Yong said.

However, the impact on gasoline and diesel will be relatively small because their imports only account for 1-2 percent of China's apparent demand annually and imports are subject to a quota system, he said.

Currently, import tax for gasoline Chinese Marionette and diesel is 5 percent and 6 percent, respectively, making imports of the fuels an unprofitable business under capped fuel prices.

Imported gasoline prices, including tax, are up to 100 yuan (US$15.5) higher per ton than domestic wholesale prices, while imported diesel is 300-400 yuan more expensive, according to China International Capital Corp analyst Guan Bin. With the lower duties, import costs will be 200-300 yuan below domestic wholesale prices for gasoline and up to 100 yuan lower for diesel, he said.

This could ease cost pressure for Sinopec Corp and PetroChina Co, which have lost money this year in their refining business due to high crude oil rates and government-capped fuel prices.

The tax reduction on jet kerosene, from 9 percent to zero, will further boost imports and help airlines. China relied on imports for about 40 percent of its kerosene consumption last year, Haitong's Deng said.

A diesel shortage could hit China in the third quarter due Oxhorn Comb to planned maintenance in a number of major refineries and also because factories are to fire diesel-powered generators amid a power shortage which could be the worst in history.

Rain falls on areas hit by drought

Heavy rains in East, Central and South China over the weekend brought shadow play puppets much-needed relief from a drought, as well as disastrous losses.

In the past two days, warnings about dangerous weather have come from weather bureaus in 82 cities in East China's Shandong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces; Central China's Henan province; North China's Hebei province; South China's Guangdong province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; and other places.

By 3 pm on Sunday, 26 cities had retracted the warnings, even while rainstorms, lightning and hailstorms still threatened Henan, Gansu, Shandong, Guangxi and Chongqing.

In Foshan, Guangdong province, four people died and 17 were injured in a tornado on Saturday. According to the local government's micro blog, two of them died in house collapses and two after being shocked by lightning.

In addition, rainstorms pounded Guilin, Tibetan accessories the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Sunday, prompting authorities to halt road traffic and issue storm warnings.

From the start of the rain on Sunday morning until 2 pm, 100 mm of rain fell on the region, a record amount for the year.

Excessive rain caused a road to collapse in Guilin and road administrators sent out rescue workers in response.

In Heyuan, Guangdong province, nearly four straight hours of rainfall flooded the streets on Saturday.

In some places, the water was as deep as 1.5 meters, and the local flood control department was working around the clock to find ways to get the water to drain.

The heavy rainfall will last until Thursday and will move from Northwest China to the Southeast, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Temperatures are expected to drop by 4 C to 8 C in northern regions.

Meanwhile, experts from the meteorological administration said the rain will go far to end East China's bout of dry weather.

"The precipitation will alleviate the drought in most areas in Shandong," said Gao Liuxi, a senior engineer of the Shandong provincial meteorological bureau.

Shandong has suffered from dry weather since late February, leaving 353,500 hectares of cropland short of water.

Yet, the latest rain, as helpful as it has been, has not ended the drought completely Tibetan silver accessories because it has not fallen on some of the most stricken regions. Linyi, a city in the southeast part of Shandong, has seen nary a drop.

"After long rainless days, the reservoir almost dried up, the wheat fields were parched and the land was just too dry for further sowing," a local villager, Ge Liancheng, said on Sunday.

Besides Shandong, the drought also hit Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces in the spring, leaving 364,000 hectares of farmland stricken, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.