New York - US stocks fell sharply on Wall Street's opening bell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve agreed to make an 85-billion- dollar emergency loan to struggling insurance giant American International Group Inc (AIG).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points, some 2 per cent, within minutes of trading. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 was down as much as 25 points.

Shares in financial firms were among the worst performers to start the day.

The US central bank late Tuesday agreed to make a two-year, 85- billion-dollar bridge loan to AIG and will take a controlling stake in the company, which had been threatened with insolvency if it could not raise the needed capital.

New York, Sept. 17 : Diverting scarce fertile farmland to industry is not a new phenomenon in India, and the present agitation in Singur, West Bengal, involving the grant of land to the TATA’s for the manufacturing their 2,500 dollar car is a prominent example of a “dark cloud looming over India’s economic transition,” claims the New York Times.

At the heart of the challenge, one of the most important facing the Indian government, is not only how to compensate peasants who make way for India’s industrial future, but also how to prepare themfor the new economy India wants to enter, the paper says.

In recent years, clashes over land have dogged several major industrial projects in virtually every corner of the country.

New York, September 17 : ‘Titanic’ star Leo DiCaprio is said to have split with Bar Refaeli once again.

The couple have been observed to be partying apart over the past few weeks.

Sources have revealed that DiCaprio enjoyed a good time with an exquisite brunette at a Chelsea club, though they did not exchange phone numbers.

He and Bar were said to have hit their first bump in January 2007, and there were reports in British tabloids in April that the couple were expecting a baby and talking marriage.

In October of the same year, sources revealed that the pair were taking a breather, but they reunited shortly after Bar''s fling with surfer Kelly Slater.

New York/Washington  - US stocks made strong gains after a wild day of trading Tuesday, pulling back from the worst day on Wall Street since the September 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3 per cent, largely on investors' hopes that the government would come to the rescue of American International Group Inc (AIG), the largest US insurer. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index surged 1.75 per cent.

New York  - The new UN General Assembly president, a Nicaraguan Roman Catholic priest, strongly attacked western dominance and the power of the UN Security Council over the world body as the UN General Assembly opened Tuesday.

Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, 75, said in his speech opening the 63rd session of the General Assembly that the United Nations should be democratized, and high-level talks should be held to put an end to Western power.

New York  - A United Nations humanitarian mission will visit areas affected by last month's conflict between Russian and Georgian forces, including South Ossetia, which has seceded from Georgia, the UN said Tuesday.

The mission will be in the region from Wednesday to Saturday "to gain first-hand knowledge of the humanitarian and human rights situations and needs on the ground, including the position of those displaced by the conflict and other vulnerable groups," the UN said.