Canadian economy up 3.4 pct in qtr on strong spending

Canadian consumers kept spending strongly in the second quarter and were the biggest contributor to stronger-than-expected 3.4 percent annualized economic growth in the quarter, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
A surge in oil and gas exploration boosted June gross domestic product by 0.2 percent, down from 0.3 percent in May.
Analysts had expected growth to moderate to 2.8 percent in the second quarter, and they had expected the economy to stagnate in June.
Statscan said the economy grew 3.9 percent in the first quarter, revising its previous estimate of 3.7 percent.
The government statistics agency noted strength throughout the economy. Personal spending, particularly purchases of durable goods such as cars and household appliances, was the main motor of growth. But exports, business investment and housing construction also posted healthy gains.
Even the beleaguered manufacturing sector, reeling from job losses and a strong Canadian dollar, registered its first quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2005. Industrial production was up 0.4 percent.
Compared to the first-quarter of this year, Canada's economy grew 0.8 percent.

The hard, fast life of a greenback

Chances are you take me for granted, as much time as we spend together. Moola, bucks, greenbacks -- you make it, you spend it, right? I understand. No hard feelings.
But as the song says, you don't know me. Not really.
Here's an example. I have a face, just like you. Can you tell me, without peeking, whose face is on the $10 bill? The $20 bill? The $50 bill? It's only been in recent years that old Ben Franklin became famous, thanks to the street slang "Benjamins" for $100 notes. And he isn't even a dead president. Answers are below, by the way.
Where do I come from? What is my life expectancy? Who determines when I retire? And how might your office desk turn out to be my final resting place?
I'm Bill. This is my life story. This is your money talking.
Birth of a bill I was born in the Washington, D.C., facility of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or BEP, a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department. A second BEP facility opened in 1991 in Fort Worth, Texas (bills produced there are designated by the initials "FW" on their face side).
You think of me as paper money, but cloth money would be more accurate. I'm composed of a special blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen with blue and red synthetic fibers -- no wood pulp at all. Crane, a private printer in Dalton, Mass., has produced my special paper for more than a century. An embedded metallic security strip, introduced in 1990, reveals the paper's ultimate denomination.
It takes numerous steps, at least three separate press runs and a highly proprietary blend of Old World and cutting-edge technology to produce me. If it didn't, counterfeiting would be a growing industry, right? In fact, the more colorful "next generation" of $10 (Hamilton), $20 (Jackson) and $50 (Grant) bills are packed with new security features, including microprinting, portrait watermarks, a security thread that glows under ultraviolet light and special ink that changes color when I'm tilted.

Stock Futures Point to Higher Open

U.S. stocks looked to rebound Monday after central banks around the world pour billions into the markets to stave off a credit crunch.After enduring sharp swings to the downside, the Dow Jones industrials and other major indexes ultimately finished the week with a gain, and stock futures on Monday pointed to an extension of those gains when trading begins. Investors will be eyeing this week's economic data, as well as any further moves by the Federal Reserve or European Central Bank to cushion the global banking system with additional liquidity.Asian financial markets stabilized on Monday after central banks in the region added modestly to the liquidity injections.Dow futures expiring in September rose 70, or 0.50 percent, to 13,307, while Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10.00, or 0.69 percent, to 1,461.00. Nasdaq 100 index futures advanced 10.25, or 0.53 percent, to 1,939.25.Although investors seemed to be in a better humor Monday, there was still a great deal of uncertainty in the market because there is still no way of knowing the extent of problems in the subprime mortgage sector. Defaults among subprime mortgage holders -- people with poor credit -- began the chain of events that led to the turmoil on Wall Street and other stock markets the past few weeks.The dollar was mixed against other major world currencies. Gold futures slipped in premarket activity, while crude oil prices rose in electronic trading.In economic news, the Commerce Department on Monday reports retail sales for July and business inventories for June. Investors will also monitor two key barometers of inflation -- the Labor Department's Producer Price Index on Tuesday and Consumer Price Index on Wednesday. Because the Fed has made it clear as recently as last week that its primary concern is fighting inflation, Wall Street could react poorly if the PPI or CPI comes in higher than expected.In corporate news, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP is scheduled to report results for the second quarter on Monday. The company's much-anticipated initial public offering in June raised about $4 billion, but the stock has fallen short of expectations.

H&R Block Inc (HRB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it is renegotiating the planned sale of its Option One Mortgage Corp subprime lending unit to Cerberus Capital Management LP, a move that casts doubt on the largest U.S. tax preparer's ability to complete the sale.
Kansas City, Missouri-based H&R Block agreed in April to sell Option One to Cerberus, a private equity firm, for an estimated $1 billion, but on Thursday said some closing conditions have not been met.
It is in talks to divest or wind down Option One's mortgage lending business, and might incur costs in doing so. Cerberus would buy Option One's loan servicing operations.
The company also said its quarterly loss more than doubled to $302.6 million, or 93 cents per share, from $131.4 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier, hurt by Option One losses. The loss from continuing operations, excluding Option One and two other businesses, was $109.8 million, or 34 cents per share.
H&R Block is also seeking waivers of conditions requiring Option One to fund $2 billion of loans within 60 days of closing, and have at least $8 billion of so-called warehouse lines of credit.
The company is trying to complete the transaction ahead of the December 31 termination date, but said if talks fail, "there can be no assurance" the transaction will close.
Subprime lenders make loans to people with weaker credit histories. Dozens have quit the industry this year, including many that went bankrupt. Rising borrowing costs and stagnating home prices led to increases in delinquencies and defaults, while tight capital markets deprived lenders of needed cash.
Shares of H&R Block closed Wednesday at $19.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. They began the year at $23.04.

The old saying that the rich get richer is very true. As long as you manage your money well, it's far easier to make money if you've already got some cash socked away than it is to start from scratch. The reason is simple: compounding.
When you've already got money working on your behalf, each percentage point of return simply adds that many more dollars to your account balances. After all, if a stock you own goes up in value, it's far better to own 10,000 shares than it is to own 100.
Start smallFortunately, anyone with even a little cash to invest can take advantage of the power of compounding. It just takes a little while longer for the rest of us to get to the point where it can really work its magic.
To show how it works, here are a few charts that showcase how many years it takes to reach each $1 million threshold given that you regularly invest and earn a decent rate of return.

Net income for the quarter ended June 27th totaled 20.6 million dollars, or 38 cents per share, versus a loss of 17.2 million dollars, or 12 cents per share, in the prior-year quarter.
Revenue rose nearly 2 percent to 1.68 billion from 1.65 billion dollars last year.
Same-store sales grew 1.3 percent during the quarter. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
Winn-Dixie currently operates 521 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. The company said it predicts fiscal 2008 same-store sales will see slight growth, and gross margin also is expected to improve.

Murray fit for US Open challenge

Andy Murray says is ready to go out and hit the ball as hard as ever at the US Open having got over his wrist injury.

He said: "It's time to go back out on the court and start giving 100%. I feel confident that I can do that."
The British number one revealed he had consulted a sports psychologist to help with the mental side of his recovery.
"I wouldn't say it was totally mental, but I just needed to work on that one shot and get the confidence back where I feel like I can hit it 100% again."
Murray is seeded 19th for the US Open at Flushing Meadows, which starts on 27 August, and faces Uruguyan qualifier Pablo Cuevas in the first round.
The 20-year-old Scot suffered a right wrist tendon injury in May at the Hamburg Masters and has lost two of three matches since making his comeback.
But he said: "I feel much better now than I did 10 days ago. I've got confidence back in my shot. I've played really well in practice, hitting the ball much harder.
"This is one of the hardest things I've had (to deal with) in my career, but I'm looking forward to getting back onto the court and getting into it.
"I might take a set, maybe a couple matches, before I'm hitting it absolutely perfect again, but I'm playing much better than I was before Cincinnati and Montreal."
Murray has reached the fourth round of his past three Grand Slam starts, including last year's US Open, but he is not looking too far ahead.
"I haven't even looked at my draw," he said. "It's the first time I've not seen who my second or third round opponent is. I'm trying to focus on one match at a time."
Murray's coach Brad Gilbert is also pleased with his charge's recent progress.
"The last couple of days we have had our best practice in a long time," Gilbert told BBC Radio 5live.
"We are hoping every day will get a bit better and hopefully he will be able to work his way into the tournament.
"The pain is gone and now it's about muscle memory and getting back out there and getting back into a good daily routine of what we had before.
"Andy is feeling good, nothing is bothering him and now it's not about the injuries, it's about the tennis, which is much more important."

Beckham's air miles

The Galaxy also suggested he could miss some England friendlies.
Beckham, 32, faces at least 22 games, almost 80,000 air miles - across 128 time zones - and nearly a week in the air over the next three months.
"I'm not going to deny there comes a point when your body can't do it anymore," said Galaxy boss Alexi Lalas.
"If at any point we felt it was detrimental to his health or ability to help our team we would take action."
Beckham, who has been struggling with an ankle injury, flew back to LA and played all 90 minutes in the Galaxy's 3-0 defeat against local rivals Chivas on Thursday - just 30 hours after appearing for England.
"I wasn't going to play him at all," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "But he wanted to play and realises the situation that the team is in.
"We need points and he's that kind of a guy - at 2-0 down he could have a bit of magic and make a difference.
"At the end, he looked a bit hobbled and he should have been rested."
It capped a busy few days for the midfielder, who made his long-awaited first start for his new team in New York on Saturday before flying to London for England's friendly against Germany on Wednesday.
This week has just been a taste of what is to come as Beckham throws himself into his American adventure whilst trying to help England qualify for next year's European Championships.
Of particular concern are two blocks of four games in nine days and a run of seven games away from his new home in LA in 21 days. His diary is especially crowded around what promises to be a crunch game for England in Moscow on 17 October.
And Beckham will face more games - and travel - if the Galaxy reach the MLS play-offs, which are scheduled for the weeks before England's final qualifier against Croatia.
Sports doctors consulted by BBC Sport have said the former Manchester United and Real Madrid maestro will find it increasingly difficult to perform at his peak as the short-term and long-term effects of air travel mount up.
They have also warned he will become more susceptible to injury - and his body will be less able to recover from injury - as he criss-crosses the globe.
But Beckham's spokesman, Simon Oliveira, told BBC Sport: "We are not worried. David is very confident he will be in peak condition - both for England and his club."
And Lalas said he thought the player would relish the challenge of combining international duty with his Galaxy exploits.
He did, however, warn there could come a time when the club would have to say no to their star's trips back to England for friendly matches.
"We would never stand in the way of a player representing their country," Galaxy boss Lalas told BBC Sport.
"And David's love of England and the honour that it is for him to represent his country is evident from the first time you talk to him.
"But there will certainly be moments when we need to sit down with him and do what's best for our organisation and him.
"There are Fifa dates that we have to abide by and will continue to do so. But if it is a friendly game that doesn't fall on a Fifa date that is obviously something we will have to discuss with the player.
"We have a vested interest in this player and we have spent a tremendous amount of money to retain his services. We want to make sure we get our money's worth and that he is healthy and both physically and mentally ready to go when he plays for the Galaxy."
Wednesday's game against Germany was on a Fifa-sanctioned date and 6 February and 26 March are the two dates set aside for next year's build-up to the European Championships. If England qualify for the tournament they would normally play at least five warm-up games in the preceding months.
Lalas added that no special provisions have been made by the club for Beckham's travel commitments and that he would be expected to fly to games in the US with the rest of the squad.
Major League Soccer rules stipulate that all teams must fly "commercial" flights to prevent the richer clubs from gaining any unfair advantage - the Galaxy do occasionally charter flights but only under exceptional circumstances.
"David Beckham is a part of the Galaxy so he will be expected to be a part of that team and how we travel," said Lalas.
He also confirmed Beckham, who signed a five-year contract with the Galaxy worth a reported £128m in January, would be expected to join the team on their trip to Australia at the end of November for an exhibition match against Sydney FC.

Women, children taken in Iraq battle

Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 15 Iraqi women and children after rival Sunni Arab militants repelled their attack on two villages in a fierce battle on Thursday in which 32 people were killed, police said.
The fighting, rare on such a large scale, underscored the growing split between Sunni Arab militant groups and al Qaeda that U.S. forces have sought to exploit as they try to quell sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands.
U.S. President George W. Bush, under pressure to show progress in the war or start bringing troops home, on Wednesday compared Iraq to Vietnam in urging Americans to be patient. His administration had previously avoided such comparisons, saying there were few parallels.
Many U.S. Democrats have likened Iraq to Vietnam, calling the war a quagmire that has exacted a toll in American lives and money without furthering U.S. interests.
About 200 al Qaeda fighters raided the villages of Sheikh Tamim and Ibrahim Yehia in restive Diyala province, north of Baghdad, in the early hours of Thursday after launching a mortar attack on the area, police said.
The attack came despite a U.S. offensive in Diyala targeting al Qaeda. U.S. troops launched an operation in June to oust fighters who had taken over large parts of the provincial capital, Baquba. Many escaped to fight on.
Brigadier-General Ali Delayan, the police chief of Baquba, told Reuters that 22 residents had been killed in the fighting along with 10 al Qaeda fighters.
Several wounded residents said villagers were loyal to the Sunni Arab insurgent group, the 1920 Revolution Brigade.
Delayan said the attackers had escaped with eight women and seven children as hostages.
A mosque that served the two villages was destroyed in the fighting and its imam was among those killed, he added.
Delayan said the al Qaeda attackers mortared the villages before storming into them. Rocket-propelled grenades were used in the fighting, in which three houses were destroyed.
He said the gun battle with fighters loyal to the 1920 Revolution Brigade, which has recently distanced itself from al Qaeda, was triggered by the execution of four men, including the mosque imam.
Police said they arrested 22 of the attackers.
LUKEWARM SUPPORT FOR MALIKI
The Shi'ite-led government and the U.S. military still view al Qaeda as the main threat to peace in Iraq, despite the fact that is fighters make up only a small percentage of Sunni Arab militants and many of its leaders have been killed or captured.
The group is foreign-led, although many fighters are Iraqi. Most suicide car bomb attacks responsible for large-scale casualties are blamed on al Qaeda. The U.S. military says the bombers are normally foreign and cross into Iraq through Syria.
Washington has built up its forces in Iraq to 160,000 to help curb sectarian violence and give Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government breathing space to forge a political compromise among the warring sects.
But the U.S. ambassador this week criticized the pace of political progress as "extremely disappointing", and Bush himself offered only lukewarm support for Maliki, saying there was frustration over the slow pace of reform.
Analysts, however, note that there are few viable alternative leaders to Maliki, who hit back at the criticism by saying no one outside Iraq had the right to set timetables.
In arguing for perseverance in Iraq on Wednesday, Bush said it was in U.S. interests not to withdraw from Iraq too soon. He raised the example of the emergence of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and violence in Vietnam after U.S. troops pulled out.
"Like our enemies in the past, the terrorists who wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places seek to spread a political vision of their own: a harsh plan for life that crushes freedom, tolerance and dissent," he said.

Ramos 'snubbed huge Spurs offer'

Sevilla coach Juande Ramos says he rejected a "dizzying" offer to take over from Martin Jol at Tottenham.
Jol's future as manager was in doubt after Spurs lost their first two games of the season before beating Derby.
"They made an excellent, dizzying offer, but I'm under contract and my decision is to fulfil it," said Ramos.
But Spurs have denied making any offer and said: "No individual was or has been offered the position while that position has been held by Martin Jol."
Spurs were reported to have met the Ramos camp over the weekend before telling Jol his job was safe providing he delivered Champions League football.
"There was not the slightest possibility that I would accept it because I'm under contract. It did not interest me or the club," added Ramos.
"I wasn't in a meeting with anyone, what happened was that I met with a person and that person went on to meet other people who were surely Tottenham."
Ramos, whose current contract expires next summer, is regarded as one of the most promising coaches in European football after guiding Sevilla to back-to-back Uefa Cups.
Sevilla beat Spurs on the way to their success in last season's Uefa Cup, while Ramos also led his side to third in La Liga and victory in the Copa del Rey - Spain's top domestic cup competition.
The Andalucian club are now primed to qualify for the group stages of this season's Champions League after a 2-0 win over AEK Athens in the first leg of their third round qualifier.
Ramos has already won the club's first trophy of this season after a 6-3 win on aggregate over league champions Real Madrid.
He said: "We are in the middle of a great project with Sevilla and there is still work to do."
Meanwhile, Jol, 51, has led Spurs to fifth place in the Premier League in the past two campaigns, while going out in the last eight in the FA Cup to Chelsea and Sevilla in the Uefa Cup last season.
BBC Radio 5live football correspondent Jonathan Legard said: "It would seem to confirm his worst fears that he is living on borrowed time as Spurs manager, as if he didn't know that, after last night's board meeting."

Dean lashes Mexico's coast

Hurricane Dean, a huge Category 5 storm, lashed Mexico's Caribbean coast on Tuesday, with heavy rain and howling winds that battered beach resorts where thousands of tourists huddled in shelters.
Seas churned as the storm, which has already killed 11 people on its rampage through the Caribbean, began to whip Mexico's "Mayan Riviera" hotel strip.
Tourists squeezed into a hotel serving as a shelter for 400 people in the resort of Playa del Carmen, where winds violently shook palm trees. As many as 12 people were sharing some rooms.
"We could be two or three days without water or electricity," said Italian vacationer Emanuela Beriola, 41, who stockpiled tinned meat, energy drinks and cans of tuna fish.
Category 5 hurricanes -- the strongest possible -- are rare but there were four in 2005, including Katrina, which devastated New Orleans. The higher number of powerful storms in recent years has reinforced research that suggests global warming may increase the strength of tropical cyclones.
Out to sea, Dean was packing winds of around 160 mph (260 kph), and the eye of the storm was 100 miles from the shore.
"I'm not scared. I telephoned my daughter and my mother and they are more worried than me," said German tourist Christian Muller, an engineer.
The center of Dean was due to make landfall within hours in a marshy zone near Mexico's border with Belize. Troops and police patrolled the area to enforce a curfew declared by the state government.
Store windows were boarded up along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, a strip of beach resorts with bright white sands that is yet to fully recover from the devastation of Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
The strongest Atlantic storm recorded, Wilma wrecked Cancun and other beach resorts. It washed away whole beaches, killed seven people and caused $2.6 billion in damages.
BELIZE THREATENED
Mexico's state oil company was closed and evacuated all of its 407 oil and gas wells in the Campeche Sound, meaning lost production of 2.65 million barrels of crude per day.
Heavy rain drenched Belize, a former British colony that is home to some 250,000 people and a famous barrier reef.
"Absolutely this is one of the most dangerous and biggest hurricanes we have had so far," said Robert Leslie, cabinet secretary of the Belizean government.
Dean swiped Jamaica at the weekend with roaring winds and pelting rain. Roads were blocked by toppled trees and power poles and police said two people were killed.
That took the death toll from Dean to eleven. Haiti was worst hit with four people dead there.
Poor local residents with badly built homes are often the worst hit by hurricanes in Mexico.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon planned to cut short a visit to Canada, where he met President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to return home to oversee the emergency effort.
Dean was due to cross the Yucatan Peninsula and come out in the Gulf of Mexico before hitting land again in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

U.S. foreign policy experts oppose surge

More than half of top U.S. foreign policy experts oppose President George W. Bush's troop increase as a strategy for stabilizing Baghdad, saying the plan has harmed U.S. national security, according to a new survey.
As Congress and the White House await the September release of a key progress report on Iraq, 53 percent of the experts polled by Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for American Progress said they now oppose Bush's troop build-up.
That is a 22 percentage point jump since the strategy was announced early this year.
The survey of 108 experts, including Republicans and Democrats, showed opposition to the so-called "surge" across the political spectrum, with about two-thirds of conservatives saying it has been ineffective or made things worse in Iraq.
Foreign Policy, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the experts polled on May 23 to June 26 included former government officials in senior positions including secretary of state, White House national security adviser and top military commanders.
The findings were published in the form of a Terrorism Index in the magazine's September/October issue, to be released on Monday. The magazine published similar indices in July 2006 and in February.
Bush has deployed 30,000 additional U.S. forces in and around Baghdad to quell sectarian violence in a bid to foster political reconciliation between Iraqi's Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish communities.
The strategy was announced early in the year but U.S. forces did not reach their intended strength in Baghdad until mid-June.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, are due next month to provide Congress with a progress report that could prove vital in determining how long U.S. troops stay.
Democrats and some Republicans in Congress say it is time to begin bringing troops home.
Foreign Policy said seven of 10 experts supported the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. Experts have increasingly cited the war as the root cause of what they believe to be U.S. failure to win in its war on terrorism.
Ninety-one percent of those polled said the world has grown more dangerous for Americans and the United States, up 10 percent from February.
More than 80 percent of the experts said they expected another September 11-scale attack on the United States over the next decade, despite what they described as significant improvements among U.S. security, law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
A decade from now, the Middle East still will be reeling from the ill-effects of the Iraq war, particularly heightened Sunni-Shi'ite tensions in the region, 58 percent said.
Thirty-five percent believed Arab dictators will have been discouraged from pursuing political reforms as a result.
Only 3 percent believed the United States will achieve its goal of rebuilding Iraq into a beacon of democracy within the next 10 years.

Hurricane batters Jamaica's south

Jamaica has taken a battering from Hurricane Dean, being hit by severe winds and heavy rain as the storm passed south of the island overnight.
The Category Four storm is pushing winds of up to 145mph (230km/h).
A Jamaican reporter told the BBC that many people who had chosen to remain in their homes were forced to flee, such was the severity of the storm.
Dean is now expected to pass close by the low-lying Cayman Islands, before hitting Mexico later on Monday.
Dean has already claimed at least six lives in the eastern Caribbean.
Areas of the Cayman Islands and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula are being evacuated, amid meteorological reports the storm could intensify into a Category Five hurricane in the next few hours.
As of 0200 (0600GMT) Dean was located about 150 miles (240KM) south-east of Grand Cayman, travelling west at 20mph, the US National Hurricane Center reported.
The eye of the storm was some miles out to sea as it passed by Jamaica, but it still caused widespread damage as it careered along the south coast.
Trees have been uprooted and roofs ripped off houses in southern Jamaica, as Hurricane Dean's devastating journey through the Caribbean continues.
PM Portia Simpson Miller declared a month-long state of emergency, widening the powers of security forces.
The country's general election was due to take place on 27 August, but the storm has cast doubt over that date.
Rhian Holder from Christian Aid described to the BBC the scene as the storm moved in:
"It's very, very loud, the wind is roaring and shrieking. The trees are breaking, you're hearing branches snapping, you're hearing thuds, things falling, you're not sure what it is."
As heavy rain began to fall, there were reports of mudslides north of Kingston and the St Mary area on the island's north-east coast.

Hurricane Dean poised to hit Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaicans headed inland and tourists fled the country hours before a large and powerful Hurricane Dean appeared poised to make a direct hit on the island Sunday after a deadly and destructive march across the eastern Caribbean.
Jamaica converted schools, churches and the indoor national sports arena into shelters and authorities urged people to take cover from a storm that could rake the country with winds of 150 mph and dump up to 20 inches of rain.
"It's going to be very, very serious," said Lawrence Samuel as he shopped for emergency groceries while his wife and son went to the hardware store for plywood and other supplies.
The storm, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, rolled through the Caribbean to the south of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where heavy rain and surging seas caused flooding Saturday in coastal areas.
In Gonave, an island with no electricity west of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, thousands of people huddled in shelters as the storm brought heavy rain and fierce winds, said Samuel Menager, an employee of the international aid group World Vision who helped evacuate people from the coast.
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said late Saturday the country was confronting a national emergency and urged people in flood-prone areas to head for shelter.
"Do not wait for the last minute to make the decision to move from where you are," Simpson Miller said. "Decide now and begin to make arrangements to leave now."
Thousands of alarmed tourists were not waiting. They jammed Caribbean airports for flights out of Hurricane Dean's path as the fierce storm that has claimed at least six lives began sweeping past the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The storm's wrath could be felt Saturday in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, where a boy was pulled into the ocean and drowned while watching waves strike an oceanfront boulevard, the Dominican emergency operations center reported.
Rough surf churned by Dean destroyed five houses and damaged 15 others along the Dominican coast, emergency officials said.
In Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, which was also in the path of the Category 4 storm, fear gripped many islanders and tourists alike.
People jammed supermarkets and hardware stores in Kingston to stock up on canned food, bottled water, flashlights, batteries, lamps and plywood. In malls in the Jamaican capital, storeowners hammered plywood over windows.
Elaine Russell recalled Hurricane Ivan's destruction in 2004.
"I can't take it," she said. "The storm is bad enough but it's what happens afterwards — there's no light, no water."
Farther west, the low-lying Cayman Islands were expected to take a direct hit on Monday. Tourists there jammed Owens International Airport in snaking lines that stretched outside onto a lawn. A police officer with a bullhorn kept order.
Cayman Airways added 15 flights to Florida from the wealthy British territory, and they were quickly sold out.
The government ordered a mandatory evacuation by noon Sunday of Little Cayman, which is the smallest of the territory's three islands and has a population of about 150.
Authorities in the eastern Caribbean were assessing the damage after Dean hit on Friday as a Category 2 storm with winds of near 100 mph.
In the island of Martinique, an overseas department of France, authorities on Saturday confirmed two deaths, including a woman who apparently fell and drowned in her home.
Officials there estimated that up to $270 million is needed to repair infrastructure. Agriculture Minister Louis Daniel Berthome said all banana crops were destroyed.
Dean was on course to clip Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and enter the Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters said it was too soon to say whether it will strike the United States.
Playing it safe, NASA shortened the last spacewalk for astronauts aboard the shuttle Endeavour and ordered the spacecraft to return to Earth on Tuesday — a day early — fearing the storm might threaten the Houston home of Mission Control.
At 5 a.m. EDT, Dean was centered about 245 east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 155 miles south-southwest of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. The storm was moving west-northwest at 18 mph and had maximum sustained winds near 145 mph.
The Cuban government issued a tropical storm warning and said it was evacuating 50,000 people from three central and eastern provinces.

Beckham backlash

David Beckham scored his first goal for LA Galaxy in Wednesday's SuperLiga semi-final win over DC United.
The strike, courtesy of a trademark free-kick on 28 minutes, will go some way to placating those supporters who had begun to question his commitment.
But the 32-year-old midfielder knows he has more convincing to do as he attempts to win over hearts and minds following his high-profile move to the United States.
Beckham's move to Major League Soccer has not gone to plan so far.
A persistent ankle injury had severely limited his involvement with the Galaxy prior to the win over DC United, leading to discontent amongst some fans.
A small section had even go so far as to register their frustration with provocative t-shirts and placards.
One banner at a recent match bore the words "Welcome to America where people like you get paid to do nothing", leaving few in any doubt what the writer felt about Goldenballs.
True, the former Manchester United star is being paid millions to strut his stuff in Major League Soccer.
But then he is generating plenty of revenue and publicity for both the league and his club since agreeing to see out his career in the United States.
And that is part of the problem. After all the hype and numerous promotional appearances, people want to see Beckham out on the pitch doing what he does best, not stuck on the bench looking good for the cameras.
Recognising the growing frustration amongst Galaxy fans, Beckham took time out before the game with DC United to plead for their understanding and support.
"Just please be patient because there is nothing I can do injury-wise," he said.
"I can only let nature take its course and hopefully get as fit as I can as quick as possible.
"Keep supporting us, keep supporting me and the players, and keep on coming to see the games because at some point I will be playing every game."
His 63-minute performance against DC United is sure to help alleviate some of the disappointment felt by Galaxy followers.
Speaking before the match, Peter Bowes, the BBC's news correspondent in Los Angeles, made it clear that Beckham's popularity was starting to wane.
"As far as the Galaxy are concerned, if he does make it through even half of this game I think there will be a huge sigh of relief because the fans are indeed getting very impatient," he said.
"You get that sense today that he has to appear on that pitch at least to ease the fears of those fans who feel they've been led down the road by all the hype. They are getting very irritated."
But it is not solely Galaxy fans who have been upset with the hype surrounding Beckham.
MLS supporters in general have been growing increasingly frustrated.
When his move to the Galaxy was confirmed back in January, the MLS bigwigs immediately sought to capitalise on his popularity by selling tickets in blocks.
That meant if fans of Toronto FC or FC Dallas wanted to see Beckham in action they had to buy tickets for several games not just the one against the Galaxy.
When he subsequently failed to show because of his injured ankle some fans understandably felt hard done by.
There is every chance Galaxy supporters will soon forget any grievances they may have had with Beckham once he does eventually put his fitness problems behind him.
Last night's goal will certainly have helped, too.
But it might not be easy for the MLS and the Galaxy to make up ground lost in the publicity stakes.
"A month ago they were the talk of the town during the relatively quiet mid-summer period," said Bowes.
"But now with all this uncertainty surrounding Beckham and competition from other sports as we move into the autumn, there is the sense that they have blown it in terms of capitalising on that surge of initial publicity."
Isaac Lowencron, a reporter with LA sports station KLAC-AM 570 Radio, agreed.
"The biggest problem in southern California is no-one is talking about Beckham and the Galaxy, and when they do it's pretty much scornful talk," he said.
I'd be surprised if they aren't talking about Beckham now.

Three rescuers killed as Utah mine caves in

Three of the rescuers attempting to find six workers trapped in a Utah mine since last week have been killed following a cave-in, officials said on Thursday.
Additionally, six rescuers were injured, said Tammy Kikuchi, a spokeswoman with Utah's Department of Natural Resources.
She confirmed the third death, but it was not known at which hospital that rescuer died.
The others died at Castleview Hospital in Price, Utah -- about 20 miles from the mine site at Crandall Canyon in Huntington -- and at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah.
The cave-in, which occurred about 6:35 p.m. MDT (8:35 p.m. EDT), was referred to as a "mountain bump" -- an eruption of rock and coal under increased pressure from overhead rock as drilling removes surrounding rock and material shifts in an area of the mine.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said all rescue workers were evacuated from the mine and were accounted for, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported on its Web site.
The six trapped miners who were the subject of the search have not been heard from since the central Utah mine caved in on August 6.
"Tonight we have witnessed a most unfortunate incident on top of last week's tragedy," Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said in a statement. "I hope the lessons we learn from this week in Utah will be instrumental in improving mine safety everywhere."
Crandall Canyon Mine co-owner Robert Murray said earlier on Thursday the cavity found by a third bore hole had enough oxygen to sustain life indefinitely and that his crews would keep up efforts to contact the missing men.
Rescue crews were preparing to drill a fourth hole into the mine on Thursday. Work on a tunnel that could eventually get them out was proceeding slowly because of seismic activity.
It is not yet clear what caused the mine to collapse. Murray has said it was triggered by an earthquake despite disagreement from geologists.

Paulson says U.S. economy can withstand turmoil: report

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the turmoil in global markets will "extract a penalty" on growth but the financial system and economy was strong enough to withstand it without provoking a U.S. recession.
"The economy and the markets are strong enough to absorb the losses," Paulson told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on its Web site on Thursday.
Paulson also said the repricing of risk in markets should not surprise anyone and was inevitable, and that nothing should be done to guarantee market players against losses or restrain them from taking risks.

Storm Dean becomes first Atlantic hurricane of 2007

Tropical Storm Dean strengthened into the 2007 Atlantic storm season's first hurricane on Thursday as it revved up over warm waters and raced toward Caribbean islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane, with top sustained winds of 75 miles per hour by 5:00 a.m. EDT, was expected to strengthen further over coming days and could pass to the south of Jamaica on Monday as a Category 4 hurricane with 131 mph winds.

Sport and mobiles seek 'dream team'

After four years of trying to sell sport on mobile phones to fans, operators have hit on tactics which they hope will bring success in this new football season.
So far, the majority of mobile phone owners have shown themselves resistant to the idea of turning their devices into miniature TVs to watch sporting action.
Rather, they have preferred to access websites from their phones to catch up on the latest information, or signed-up for score alerts by text.
A hoped-for-breakthrough at the 2006 Fifa World Cup did not take place.
But this season, BSkyB, which owns the mobile Premiership rights, is providing action from top-flight matches for the next three years, and most importantly, at an "all-you-can eat" price of £5 a month.
Post-game highlights are being made available along with goals and key moments from some matches, depending on what time they are being played.
of the cash they splashed out to secure 3G licences, the major mobile networks have got on board with Sky and are hoping that this is the season football on mobiles makes a significant breakthrough.
Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, 3, and O2 are all offering some form of content from Sky Sports' Mobile TV offering - be it full access to Sky Sports, the 24-7 football video clips and highlights deal, or goals on a clip-by-clip basis.
And in another new move, Football League highlights will be available on Virgin mobiles.
'New media markets'
Rachael Church-Sanders, editor of Sport and Technology e-newsletter, observes: "Sky will be looking to get back the money it has forked out to secure the mobile rights.
"Meanwhile, the mobile networks are trying to take customers away from competitors by offering football highlights as part of their mobile TV offering, while at the same time reducing their own churn rate.
At the same time they are also hoping to justify their spending on 3G networks, and are looking for a return on the money they have spent."
Reflecting the importance of mobile rights, the Premiership has just concluded deals for countries such as China, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and, Saudi Arabia, as well as more traditional markets.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore says: "New media markets are an increasingly important part of our international broadcast strategy and landscape."
However, alongside these packages of goals and highlights, perhaps the most intriguing offering this summer comes from Orange, in the form of Frank TV.
This is nothing less than an entire mobile channel dedicated to giving us "fly-on-the-wall" experiences from England and Chelsea player Frank Lampard.
The channel is being made available to the 1.3 million Orange 3G customers on its mobile phone TV service, Orange TV. It will be broadcast alongside other Orange mobile TV channels, including the BBC, Channel 4, Sky and FHM.
It includes Lampard's own video diaries filmed in the last two seasons at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's training ground and Frank's house.
Sprouts and puppies
Orange was an official partner of Chelsea, providing content and behind-the-scenes news, but the deal has ended.
However, Lampard has a separate deal with Orange, which includes personal appearances and the Frank TV video diaries.
Orange claims he is the first footballer to launch his own dedicated mobile television channel.
It includes Lampard's own video diaries filmed in the last two seasons at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's training ground and Frank's house.
Sprouts and puppies
Orange was an official partner of Chelsea, providing content and behind-the-scenes news, but the deal has ended.
However, Lampard has a separate deal with Orange, which includes personal appearances and the Frank TV video diaries.
Orange claims he is the first footballer to launch his own dedicated mobile television channel.
Jake Redford, head of mobile, Orange UK, said: "Frank TV makes for great bite-size viewing and provides our mobile TV viewers unique insight to the life behind the footballer."
Footage shown at the launch mixed football-related material with "Frank at home" material, swinging from the player meeting Brazilian star Ronaldinho to a clip of him explaining how to peel sprouts.
Material featuring the Lampard puppies is perhaps for the diehard fan only. But for those more interested in what goes on at Chelsea, there is footage from behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge, much of it featuring masseur Billy Blood.
"I've enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would," says Lampard. "I'm pleased with the end product and that people can see the real you."
Exclusive content
However, whether the temptation of watching Frank TV would be enough to convince football fans to sign up for sport on mobile TV is another matter.
As Rachael Church-Sanders says: "I think people want to have some sort of access to sport on the move - what the score is, who has scored - and so on.
"What Frank Lampard did previously for Orange was successful and liked by fans.
"And there will always be users who will want to see content that is not available elsewhere. If the channel is to be successful, then they will be hoping to attract a number of new customers."
But she warns: "At the end of the day, many people are still just using their mobiles for texting and phoning."
But for now, the mobile networks will be hoping that the lure of Premiership action - and for Orange, footage of Frank Lampard wrapping his Christmas presents - will be enticing enough to make a growing number of football fans sign up for sport on mobile TV.
If so, this season could be the one that really sees the formation of the "dream team" of sport and mobile networks.

India celebrates independence day

Delhi's Red Fort echoed to the sound of cannon as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised India's flag, where the British flag was lowered forever in 1947.
He praised the work of those who fought for India's freedom but said the country would only be truly independent once it had eliminated poverty.
Earlier, a huge concert was held at Wagah on the border with Pakistan, which marked independence on Monday.
Partition in 1947 saw 10 million people cross borders in one of history's largest mass migrations.
But freedom for both countries came at a price as hundreds of thousands of people died in the violence that followed.
India looks to future
A military band fired guns and played the national anthem as the Indian flag was raised at the historic Red Fort, in the centre of Delhi.
Hundreds of balloons in the colours of the Indian flag were released into the air.
Amid tight security, Mr Singh reviewed the progress India had made since independence.
India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but Mr Singh said too few Indians enjoyed the benefits.
"Sixty years ago we started a new journey. We were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts and views. In the true sense we will have freedom and independence only when we get rid of poverty."
The prime minister's speech echoed earlier comments from India's first woman president, Pratibha Patil, who said everyone should benefit from the country's economic boom and India had to ensure "equitable growth for all".
"The fruits of economic development must necessarily touch, especially, the living and working conditions of our toiling masses and people below the poverty line," she said.
But despite this, the mood in India is upbeat, with many believing that the country has finally emerged out of its colonial shadow to take its position on the global stage, our correspondent adds.
Major security drive
Earlier, thousands of people attended a huge concert at Wagah, where the only road border between India and Pakistan is found.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead, at Wagah, says there was a sense from people there that they would like to see the community spirit that was alive when this was one country to be born again.
As celebrations got under way across India, a huge security operation swung into action to thwart possible militant attacks.
Aircraft and tens of thousands of security forces have been deployed to fend off what the government says are threats by al-Qaeda and insurgents operating in several states.
In Delhi, around 70,000 policemen and paramilitary troops were posted at government buildings, diplomatic enclaves and main intersections.
Four explosions rocked the north-eastern state of Assam hours before the celebrations began.
No-one was killed or injured in the blasts. The police blamed the explosions on the separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) rebels, who have called for a boycott of the celebrations.
Separatist groups in Indian-administered Kashmiri say that the independence celebrations are a "Black Day".
On previous occasions they have launched attacks aimed at disrupting celebrations.
To herald the celebrations in both countries, Pakistan allowed 134 Indian prisoners to return home on Monday, with India reciprocating by handing over 72 Pakistani prisoners on Tuesday. Pakistan celebrated its independence on Tuesday.

Mattel recalls millions more toys

US toymaker Mattel has recalled more than 18 million toys worldwide, the second such recall in two weeks.
Chinese-made Sarge die-cast toys from the Pixar film Cars have been recalled because their paint contains lead.
It has also recalled toys containing small magnets that can come loose, including Polly Pocket, Batman Magna, Doggie Daycare and One Piece playsets.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) said it had no reports of any injuries from the recalled products.
The earlier recall of 1.5 million toys was by Mattel's Fisher Price unit.
Unauthorised paint
Mattel has recalled 253,000 Sarge toy cars in the US and 183,000 from the rest of the world.

Mattel said that 49,000 of the affected vehicles were in the UK and Ireland.
The company blamed the amount of lead in the paint on a subcontracted Chinese company called Hong Li Da using paint from unauthorised suppliers.
The recall is the latest in a series of alerts about Chinese products in the US, raising fears in Beijing that the "Made in China" label is being seriously damaged.
Chinese officials have announced a series of measures to try to tackle the problems, but analysts say that China's economy has grown so rapidly over the past two decades that addressing the issue will take a long time.
Small magnets
The other toys recalled contain small, powerful magnets.
The CPSC said that there had been 400 reports of magnets coming loose since Mattel recalled 2.4 million magnetic play sets in November 2006.
It is concerned that "if more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal."
The CPSC said that before the initial recall, three children required surgery after swallowing more than one magnet.
Mattel is recalling 18.2 million magnetic toys worldwide, 1.9 million of which were sold in the UK.

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