LOS ANGELES, Calif. — “Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford says he was happy to step into the lead role in the “Footloose” remake after Zac Efron stepped down to pursue movies with a little less song and dance. “I know Zac and we’re actually friends,” Chace told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s gotta make the best choice .
TOKYO: Japan’s industrial production jumped at the fastest pace in 56 years in April, with predictions for further gains in May and June – convincing signs that manufacturers are recovering from the country’s steepest recession since World War II. But the pain continues to deepen for workers, families and the thousands of non-manufacturers who employ .
PETALING JAYA: Mr “Lonely” will feel the warmth of Malaysian hospitality as thousands are expected to turn up for his concert here on July 2. R&B star Akon, known for his single Lonely, will be belting out his hits in the “Akon Freedom Beach Party 2009” organised by Marctensia Sdn Bhd at the Sunway Lagoon .
NEW YORK: Chrysler Chief Executive Robert Nardelli said he expects the sale of the bulk of Chrysler’s assets to a group headed by Italy’s Fiat Group SpA to close Friday, assuming the judge overseeing the automaker’s bankruptcy protection case approves the deal. Nardelli testified in court Thursday that he expects the required U.S. regulatory approvals .
By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday ratcheted up pressure on Israel to freeze settlements as he sought to reassure visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of U.S. support for Palestinian statehood. Faced with an Israeli rebuff of Washington’s latest appeal to halt settlement building, Obama held talks with Abbas 10 days .
By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Honduras on Thursday, killing at least six people, knocking down flimsy homes and causing damage in neighboring Guatemala. The offshore quake destroyed some 60 houses and damaged scores of other buildings across the north of Honduras, a poor country of 7 million people, .
By Jon Herskovitz SEOUL (Reuters) – Tearful South Koreans lined the country’s streets on Friday for a glimpse of a hearse carrying the body of former President Roh Moo-hyun who leapt to his death from a cliff about a week after being snared in a corruption scandal. Roh’s body left his southeastern hometown early Friday .
By Jon Herskovitz SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States raised the military alert level for the peninsula on Thursday after the communist North warned the truce ending the Korean War was dead and it was ready to attack. North Korea ramped up tensions this week with a series of provocations rarely seen .
By Zahra Hosseinian TEHRAN (Reuters) – An explosion at a prominent Shi’ite Muslim mosque in the southeast Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday killed 30 people and wounded 60, the semi-official news agency ILNA reported. The agency said the blast was a suicide bombing but no person or group had claimed responsibility. Provincial Governor Ali .
PETALING JAYA: One of the city’s earliest landmarks, Jaya Supermarket, collapsed while demolition work was going on, killing two Indonesian workers. Two bodies were recovered at 6.44pm and 10.25pm and another worker was feared dead. Two other workers were pulled out alive at about 5.45pm and 6pm, while four more are still trapped beneath a .
