Havana/Miami - Cuba was battening down its hatches for the third powerful hurricane this season as Hurricane Paloma barrelled toward the Caribbean island Saturday with category 4 winds.
The center of the storm was expected to approach the coast of south-central Cuba Saturday evening and emerge into the Atlantic Ocean late Sunday, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami reported.
Maximum sustained winds were 230 kilometres an hour, making Paloma an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the centre said.
Wellington - After nine years of liberal centre-left government, New Zealand has taken a decided swing to the right in Saturday's general election, but how far remains to be seen.
The conservative National Party's leader and prime minister-elect John Key says the organisation is "arguably more centrist and probably a little more pragmatic" since he became its leader two years ago.
Madrid - Real Madrid went to the top of the Spanish Liga on Saturday, albeit temporarily, with an epic ten-man 4-3 home win over midtable Malaga.
Real needed four goals from the in-form Gonzalo Higuain and one from to break the resistance of Malaga, who took the lead three times in the Estadio Bernabeu.
Bernd Schuster's injury-hit side had to play with 10 men from the 44th minute onwards, thanks to the sending-off of Euro 2008 hero Sergio Ramos.
Wellington - New Zealand awoke Sunday to the prospect of a new centre-right government to steer the country out of its worst recession for years after a general election dumped the Labour-led coalition that had ruled since 1999.
Saturday's election produced a sharp jump to the right, leaving prime minister-elect John Key, 47, leader of the conservative National Party, and his free market allies in the ACT party, to govern for the next three years.