KANDAHAR : Operations to push the Taliban out of their iconic Afghan stronghold of Kandahar are underway and will steadily build in the months ahead, military officials said on Thursday.

The military and political efforts against the Taliban around Kandahar, Afghanistan’s third biggest city and the militia’s spiritual capital, are the next step in the US-led strategy to end a war now in its ninth year.

“We have been making preparation and plans concerning Operation Omaid,” said General Sher Mohammad Zazai, Afghan army commander in the country’s south.

“We’re still working on the plan,” he said, without giving further details.

Kandahar is the next target in major military operations to eradicate the Taliban from areas they have controlled, in many cases in tandem with drug cartels, over the years since their regime was overthrown in 2001.

The commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, US General Stanley McChrystal, said the offensive had begun with initial military and political efforts, including operations to secure key roads and districts.

DHAKA : A blazing fire lit up the night as it swept through a Dhaka slum in the early hours of Thursday, razing hundreds of dwellings to the ground in just over half an hour.

There were no immediate reports of serious casualties or fatalities.

The fire was under control within 40 minutes, but almost three quarters of the homes gutted, said a witness at the scene.

John Hughes Death, Many are talking about the John Hughes death tribute at the Oscar’s. Many are saying that it was not tribute enough because it was too short. Hughes has contributed much to entertainment industry and he deserved to have a longer tribute at the Oscar’s. But actually the lenght of the tribute does not really matter, what matters is the tribute and that Hughes is recognized for what he has given to the industry.

Ron Silver Cause of Death: Ron Silver had battled esophageal cancer for over two years before he finally succumbed to his illness on March 15, 2009. He was 62 years old.

Who was Ron Silver : Silver was an actor, director, producer and political activist. He made his acting debut in 1976 with the film Tunnel Vision.

Silver had a very diverse career, some of his work consisted of Timecop, Mr. Saturday Night, Ali, and the recurring role as political adviser Bruno Gianelli on The West Wing.

Though he was a democrat, Silver was an avid supporter of George W. Bush. He was even asked to speak at the 2004 Republican National Convention. President Bush appointed Silver to the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.

Mark Linkous, Mark Linkous (d. March 6, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best-known as leader of Sparklehorse. Originally from Virginia, Linkous lived in North Carolina where he established the Static King Studio in Hayesville, NC. He was the first in his entire family to not be a coal miner.

Linkous cofounded indie band Dancing Hoods in the 1980s. Following their breakup, Linkous continued writing songs (notably “Sick of Goodbyes” with David Lowery, which appeared on Kerosene Hat by Cracker). Linkous founded Sparklehorse in 1995, who have since released four records.

In 1996, while supporting Radiohead on the first Sparklehorse tour, Linkous overdosed on alcohol, Valium and antidepressants and possibly other substances in his London hotel room [1]. Unconscious and with his legs pinned beneath him for almost fourteen hours, the resulting potassium buildup caused his heart to stop for several minutes after his body was lifted up. He was treated at St Mary’s Hospital, London. The following surgeries nearly caused him to lose both legs and left him wheelchair-bound for six months.

Most recently, Linkous released Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain in September 2006 through Sparklehorse, and the much anticipated Dark Night of the Soul album with the producer Danger Mouse, the director David Lynch and ten other musicians was released on the Internet in May 2009, as was a book of photographs by David Lynch to accompany the music.

Linkous committed suicide on March 6, 2010 with a single shotgun blast to the head. Linkous’ family members initially found him (still alive) after the shotgun blast. With extensive facial and cranial trauma to Linkous’ head (Linkous suffered a particularly devastating “blow-out”-type wound wherein the blast evacuated the back portion of his head), his family called police and an ambulance crew. Linkous lived for an additional three hours after the shotgun blast, but was later pronounced dead by ambulance EMT workers.

Night on Bald Mountain, Have you heard the rendition of the Night on Bald Mountain? It will be played by the Minot Symphony Orchestra. As the conductor Dennis Simons had said, they will start with that musical. This will be very interesting.

The Minot Symphony Orchestra’s Family Concert on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. continues the “Myths and Legends” theme chosen by conductor Dennis Simons for this season’s offerings. It might better be called “Fantasies and Histories.”

“We begin with ‘A Night on Bare Mountain,’ ” Simons said. “It’s been called ‘A Night on Bald Mountain,’ but this title is from an older translation from the Russian, and I think it describes the feeling more accurately. The difference is between ‘bald,’ meaning having no trees, and ‘bare,’ which suggests a haunting emptiness.”

The piece is a tone poem by Mussorgsky, designed to be dark, a witches’ sabbath with deep subterranean sounds. The work became famous through its inclusion in the 1940 Disney movie “Fantasia,” where the forces of darkness are finally overcome by the distant echo of the bells of a small church, and everything comes out all right in the end.

NBA Player of The Decade, The NBA Player of the Decade has just been announced on Inside the NBA. Voting has been taking place for the NBA Player of the Decade on NBA.com, and the winner was perhaps no surprise to anybody as it was a fan vote – Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant was the man that fans voted the best player of the decade by the fans on NBA.com, with Lebron James voted second. Shaquille O’Neal was given the third prize, which made some commentators react with amusement – as Shaq was almost universally known as the most dominant player of the ten year period.

Top 6 Players of the Decade (in order)

Kobe Bryant
Lebron James
Shaquille O’Neal
Tim Duncan
Steve Nash
Kevin Garnett
Charles Barkley was outspoken in his defence of O’Neal – ‘That just really shows you fans don’t know anything’.

Kenny Smith added ‘From the middle of the decade to the end’ Kobe probably was the best player, but he agreed with Barkley that Shaq was the player of the decade.

Bryant won four championships during the decade, in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2009.

The announcement came after the NBA All-Star game from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It set a world record for the number of people watching a basketball game, with 108, 713 people in the stadium watching the event.

Even though Kobe Bryant was voted the best player, who was your NBA Player of the Decade?

Watch Olympics Online Live: Where to Watch Winter Olympics Live Streaming Online? – Vancouver Canada, after the recent opening ceremonies of Winter Olympics 2010 yesterday let’s take our focus on the Olympic TV Schedule for the Vancouver 2010 games that may be televised on national TV like NBC and CTV and this is for February 14, 2010.

Right now Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics covers 14 sports event and a few gold quest is on the line so let’s see who will have the first one to get a gold medal. In the meantime you can watch Winter Olympics 2010 online and via live stream from Justin TV and Sopcast.

The Vancouver Olympics kick off tonight with Opening Ceremonies, and a full schedule of events on Saturday.  Danica Patrick will make her NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series, also on Saturday.  The question is, which one is worth watching more? Check out the latest 2010 Winter Olympics Betting Odds.

The Winter Olympics are about to start in Vancouver today, and sports fans of all colors are ready to tune in and count the gold medals. Of course, having the Olympics in Canada is nice, because we don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to catch competitions in real time — but it also means that a number of the snowy events will play out while many of us have to sweat in a cubicle.

Here comes the Internet to the rescue! NBC’s Olympics site will feature a number of live streams, but accessing them will be a little more difficult this time around. Luckily, there’s also going to be video coverage of the games available on other sites.

Watch Winter Olympics Live Online Streaming. And even though the Winter Olympics don’t seem to have as much glamour as its summer counterpart, they do have a lot of excitement and drama.  Definitely worth tuning into. Watch Winter Olympics Live Online Streaming.

You can watch 2010 olympics opening ceremony and all sports live online on your computer by using a stream TV software.With this software,you can watch 2010 winter olympics online live from anywhere around the world!And, after the Olympics are over, you also will gain access to more than 3,500 television stations worldwide for your viewing pleasure.

NBC Olympics will stream around 400 hours live from Vancouver. The live streams will for the first time be restricted to subscribers of cable, satellite or IPTV services, so you’ll be out of luck online if you don’t already pay for some kind of TV service. NBC also once again decided to show some key competitions on TV only, where its family of broadcast and cable channels will air 435 hours of live programming. Check this listing for a complete schedule of the competitions.

The child star of Slumdog Millionaire, Dev Patel would be staring in the new movie “The Last Airbender”. The movie has been directed by American director M Night Shyamalan and would be released in July 2010. The plot of the film revolves around certain people who have the ability to “bend” one of the four elements – earth, water, fire and air.

Nations have developed around those who can control each of the first three elements but a young boy Aang is the last of those who can bend the air — making him “The Last Airbender.”

Taylor Swift Music Video, Taylor Swift has released the music video for her new single, “You Belong With Me.” It’s the third single from her sophomore effort, 2008’s Fearless.

The vid features the dance team from Hendersonville High School, the high school from which she graduated. It also features Lucas Till from Hannah Montana The Movie, which Taylor also appeared in.