Urging his fans to refrain from celebrating his birthday on November 7, as he was "deeply hurt by the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka", Kamal Haasan asked them to 'redirect' their energy and enthusiasm towards human compassion.

The South superstar said that he would feel proud if his birthday can be used as a tiny fulcrum to leverage public opinion against the genocide. Expressing solidarity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Kamal said: "Many are dying for a reason so unbelievably simple. They speak the same language - Tamil - as I do."

After running into trouble with the forest officials for violating agreement with the Kerala Forest Division, Mani Ratnam has finally begun the shooting schedule in Kochi, for his film 'Ravana', starring Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan in lead roles.

The multilingual film, for which Abhishek shed his weight, and got his hair trimmed to give the character a real feel, is being shot in the forests of Malayatoor - a prime spot for eco-tourism.

According to sources close to the film the forest officials had given Mani Ratnam's team to shoot for 20 days in the well preserved eco-tourism spot.

Yen crosses were the focus overnight as the world equity markets gave back Wednesday's gains; traders continue to buy Yen against all major pairs putting a bit of upside pressure on the USD. However, the big news today is the surprise 1.5 BP cut in interest rates by the BOE. In the statement the BOE said that inflation pressures were dropping and that the need for stimulus was apparent.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Mariposa Meats issuing a public warning have asked for ham products distributed in Ontario to be recalled, as they could be contaminated with listeria.

According to the federal agency, the only product affected by the recall is Old Style brand's Thin Sliced Honey Ham that is sold in 450-gram packages with a best-before date of 17th November 2008 and UPC symbol 6 28292 50001 7.

Making history, on 4th November Democrat Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. History was again made the morning after when Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host, longtime panelist of 'The View' - a five-woman talk show and a vocal support of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, did not feel any outrage over Obama winning the election. When Joy Behar, her Democratic co-host asked: 'Are you saying I was right all along?', Hasselbeck not only smiled, she also gave Behar a fist bump.