An earthquake of moderate intensity shook northern parts of Pakistan, including the federal capital, before dawn on Sunday.

The met office said the quake, which measured 6.2 on the Richter scale, was felt in Dir, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Nowshera, Mansehra, Attock, Peshawar and Momhand Agency.

The epicentre of the temblor was somewhere in the Hindu Kush mountainous region in Afghanistan.

There were no reports of loss of life or property.

However, people came out of their houses in fear at several places.

More than 70,000 people fled vulnerable coastal areas of Japan Sunday as a tsunami churned up by the huge earthquake in Chile slammed into the country’s long Pacific coastline.

“Please do not approach the coast at any cost,” Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in nationally televised comments as Japan, one of the world’s most quake-prone nations, went on its first major tsunami alert in 15 years.

The first tsunami wave, 30 centimetres high, hit Nemuro on the northern island of Hokkaido in the early afternoon, the Meteorological Agency said.

Far bigger waves of up to three metres could hit northern areas of Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, south of Hokkaido, the agency said.

Hatoyama urged extreme caution even as fears of destructive waves eased across the rest of the Pacific.

“We should not drop our guard,” the sombre-looking prime minister said. “I would like people to take all possible measures.”

The Meteorological Agency also issued warnings for waves of up to two metres along the entire Pacific coastline of the Japanese archipelago, from Hokkaido through to the southern island chain of Okinawa.
Tsunami warnings flashed across all television channels as authorities rushed at least 70,000 people living on Japan’s east coast to schools and other public facilities located on higher ground.

Evacuation sirens wailed across the archipelago. Massive steel gates slammed shut across the entrances to several fishing ports and coastguard vessels fanned out to search for stray ships still at sea.
Officials in northern Japan said more than 50,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate, while many regional railway services were halted and public broadcaster NHK issued non-stop warnings to people to take shelter.

“We have not witnessed any panic among residents, but we are trying hard to work on a smooth evacuation,” said Shigeru Suzuki, a local official in the northeastern city of Sendai.

Masanori Kitamura, an official at Hachinohe on the northern tip of Japan’s main island Honshu, said: “Now, our firefighters are patrolling out there to check whether any residents remain near the coast.”
Saturday’s quake in Chile, which killed at least 300 people, revived raw memories for Japan.

In 1960, a 9.5-magnitude earthquake in Chile - the largest on record - sent a tsunami hurtling across the Pacific, leaving more than 140 people dead in Japan.

However, construction standards and safety drills have vastly improved and Japan is today a world leader in disaster preparedness.

“Last time (in 1960), waves that hit after the first one became even more powerful,” said Yasuo Sekita, a Meteorological Agency official in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis.

The second major attack in Kabul this year by the Taliban killed 9 Indians, mostly government officials and 2 Army officers. With a spurt in insurgency, the demand for security guards has gone up especially for gorkhas who have served the Indian Army.

Sandeep, who came to Afghanistan 9 months ago from Dehradun, lives there along with 200 others.

“I feel every soldier has to protect his whole country which means there are several homes, several districts and states. Here we have to protect just one villa,” he says.

Sandeep came to Afghanistan in search of a better future even if it means staying in a war zone.

“I’m satisfied, because I think I’m getting a little bit more salary to make my daughters future good. She lost her mother 8 years ago,” he added.

Security companies have mushroomed all across Afghanistan. Over 60 firms are now registered like the one Sandeep works for.

It was set up by a Briton who worked for the Gorkha regiment in the British army. Its main client is the United Nations - a known Taliban target.

“Of course our families are scared, we are too. Bombs blow up here, like in films but we need to earn the money. Then we will settle down in our villages,” said Dewa, another security guard.

Calling home in the morning is a ritual for these guards assuring people back home that they are safe. Wajahat, an Afghan, guards the villa the gorkhas live in. But he feels he could do the job Sandeep does - protecting rich clients for a decent salary.

Every office, building, guest house in Kabul is guarded, but while Afghans are hired, western clients prefer non afghan guards.

“If anybody asks us to provide third country nationals, and especially gorkhas, then we have to provide,” says the coordinator of IDG Company.

The gorkhas feel it’s a risk worth taking. But staying away from home, from their families often irritates them.

Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” hit No. 1 in early 1973, and is still talked about today

Has Carly Simon finally told the world the subject of “You’re So Vain”?

In a new version of the 1972 hit song from her album “Never Been Gone,” the singer whispers a name during an instrumental break. Played backward, the name is revealed to be “David.”

Simon, 64, gave an interview to Uncut magazine about the backward whispering, which prompted the U.K. tabloid The Sun to report that “David” is record executive David Geffen.

But Simon’s publicist disputed the theory.

“The man’s first name is David,” she told CNNRadio, “but it could be one of many Davids.”

The Sun’s theory revolves around the idea that Simon recorded the song to express displeasure at Geffen’s signing of a rival, Joni Mitchell, for his record label, Asylum Records. Simon wasn’t on Asylum, but her label, Elektra, merged with it in 1972, the year her album “No Secrets,” containing “You’re So Vain,” was released. Geffen was put in charge of Elektra/Asylum.

Simon is on record as being uncomfortable with Geffen. In Jac Holzman’s oral history of the label, “Follow the Music,” she said, “[The merger] was devastating. It was like I was a child of divorce — my father was leaving me and now I had David Geffen as a stepfather.”

Simon has long played possum (to paraphrase one of her album titles) about the identity of the “You’re So Vain” character, who travels by Lear Jet to witness an eclipse and, cuttingly, “probably think[s] this song is about you.”

At one point she said he was a composite; other times she has maintained he has certain letters in his name. NBC executive Dick Ebersol paid $50,000 at a charity auction for the revelation and a live performance of the song.

Rumors have focused on Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger and Kris Kristofferson, among others. Beatty has said he believes it’s about him.

In a 2002 interview with CNN.com, Simon said that “You’re So Vain” wasn’t the only song about the man, whomever it might be. “There are always clues in other songs. The guy has repeatedly appeared in my songs,” she said.

Entertainment Weekly’s Simon Vozick-Levinson described the new theories as “speculative.” “There’s not that much evidence that the David she’s talking about is that David. … David is a very common first name and there’s any number of people she could be talking about.”

The interest is timely and promotional, of course: Simon recently announced a contest on her Web site, CarlySimon.com, inviting fans and filmmakers to create a music video using the original or new version of her song. She will screen all entries herself, select a winner and meet the filmmaker, whose winning entry will also be premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.

Whatever the answer is, Simon has been tickled that a song’s puzzle — now almost 38 years old — could still have such a hold on the public.

As she told CNN.com in 2002, “It amuses me that I’m still being asked.”

Entertainment Tonight reports teen battled severe depression

Kevin Winter/dcnyre2010

“My son Michael is an amazing young man, shown through his courage in facing his issues,” Marie Osmond said in 2007.

Marie Osmond’s teenaged son, Michael Blosil, has killed himself by leaping to his death around 9 p.m. Friday in Los Angeles, reports Entertainment Tonight, which quotes Marie’s brother, Donny Osmond, as saying, “Please pray for my sister and her family.”

According to ET, Michael left a note explaining he intended to end his life after a lengthy battle with severe depression that left him, he said, feeling as if he had no friends and could never fit in.

In 2007, Michael, then 16, entered a rehab facility. His mother said at the time, “My son Michael is an amazing young man, shown through his courage in facing his issues. As his mother, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

The reason for the visit to rehab was never disclosed. Michael is one of eight children Osmond has raised with ex-husband Brian Blosil.

By March 2009, Marie told PEOPLE that Michael seemed to be turning his life around. He was finishing up his last year of high school while living with his mom in Las Vegas, where she and Donny headline a show.

“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Marie said at the time. “He’s got a 3.9 GPA in high school. He’s looking at scholarships to some wonderful colleges.”

A rep for Donny and Marie Osmond confirmed to PEOPLE that the show at the Flamingo Hotel was canceled Saturday night. It is being determined how long the hiatus will remain in effect.

Marie Osmond, one of nine Utah-bred Osmond siblings, began performing with her brothers at age 3. She has been outspoken about the trials of her own life in the spotlight.