Washington, Dec 18 : President-elect Barack Obama's path to the White House included beating one of the United States most powerful families, but his election last month is helping accelerate the trend toward dynasty politics.

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of a former president and the niece of two senators is pursuing the seat vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former president, Politico. com reported.

Patna, Dec 18 : The sudden dip in temperature during last four days has brought about a chill in the weather, making life difficult for people in Bihar.

Locals covered in woollens made their way through the blanket of fog, which enveloped Patna.

People could be seen huddled around fires to keep themselves warm and those sleeping on roadside were wrapped in quilts and blankets to protect themselves from the biting chill.

"It is very cold in Patna these days. We are surviving somehow in this biting cold by lighting fires and warming ourselves," said Prabhat Kumar, a resident.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang Thursday appealed to Beijing to allow more tourists from mainland China into the former British colony to help revive its flagging economy.

Tsang made the appeal at a meting with the chairman of the national Tourism Administration, Shao Qiwei, during a three-day duty visit to the Chinese capital.

The Hong Kong leader said a combination of the global financial crisis and the introduction of direct flights between China and Taiwan, which means that Chinese visitors to Taiwan no longer need to transit via Hong Kong, had affected tourism.

Tsang told Shao a further relaxation in the regulations on mainland visitors to visit Hong Kong would compensate for the recent drop in tourist arrivals.

Paris - French bank BNP Paribas disclosed Thursday that it is postponing its planned takeover of the troubled bank and insurance company Fortis, citing a Brussels court ruling.

On its website BNP Paribas cited a December 12 ruling by a court in Brussels ordering a 65-day freeze on any transaction involving Fortis in a case involving a suit filed by some 2,000 shareholders challenging the selloff of the bank.

BNP Paribas also called off an extraordinary shareholders meeting which had been set for Friday to vote on the Fortis takeover.

In late September, a joint rescue plan by The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg was announced effectively to nationalize Fortis and then break up the company into separate units in each of the countries.

Islamabad - Pakistani police have unearthed a plot to assassinate ex-president Pervez Musharraf and the revelation forced the former strongman to flee the country, a media report said Thursday.

Police have alleged the conspiracy was masterminded by Sheikh Omar, a militant linked to al-Qaeda, who is on death row in a prison in the southern city of Hyberabad for the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Melbourne, Dec 18 : Legendary spinner Shane Warne should be made an honorary South African citizen after providing the secret information about dethroning Australia's top batting order.

Warne has always been a deep thinker on the game and couldn't help himself when Graeme Smith asked for his counsel during the Indian Premier League this year, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The leg-spin king is far from being a traitor - in retirement he can say and do what he wants - but it is obvious Smith listened breathlessly to every Warne word and some of his advice has worked spectacularly.

Warne is renowned for being generous with his knowledge and has helped spin bowlers from all over the world, even when they are in competition with Australia.