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Substantial amounts of aid on Saturday began reaching tsunami victims in remote areas of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, as the United Nations said the death toll from last weekend’s disaster is approaching 150,000.

Jan Egeland, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, said he expects the number of dead in Indonesia alone to reach 100,000, based on estimates from U.N. workers in the field, according to CNN.

”We will never have an exact figure because of all the nameless fishermen who are gone,” Egeland said.

”The (overall death toll) may be approaching 150,000 dead. The vast majority of those are in Indonesia and Aceh, which is the least assessed area because of logistical constraints, and it may therefore rise further,” he said.

He predicted that 5 million people ultimately will be affected by the disaster, including 1 million homeless.

Thousands remain missing after a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake struck off Sumatra on Sunday, sending giant waves smashing into coastlines from Malaysia to East Africa.

The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrived at Sumatra, and its military helicopters have set off from for Aceh Province, BBC News reported. The helicopters dropped relief supplies into parts of the hard-hit province virtually cut off from the rest of the world.

The disaster is now known to have killed more than 80,000 people on the northern part of Sumatra, mostly in Aceh.

Supplies had started pouring into the airport at Aceh’s provincial capital Banda Aceh on Friday, but much of it failed to get out to the nearly 110,000 made homeless, Reuters news service reported.

In Banda Aceh, tractors were being used Saturday to extract bodies spreading the smell of death across the city and clear away the rubble of buildings. Hopes remain that more survivors can be found.

People scoured refugee camps looking for loved ones or checked rotting bodies lying on the streets.

In the city’s markets, some traders resumed business, selling what remaining merchandise they had.

India raised its estimate of tsunami fatalities on Saturday to 12,709 dead or feared dead, its second significant upward revision of the day, according to Reuters.

An Indian Home Ministry official said the rise was due to a sharp jump in the number of missing and feared dead in the country’s remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, from 3,000 to 3,754, according to the report.

In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday that the government will investigate why warnings of the deadly tsunami largely failed to get through to officials and tourist resorts, according to the Associated Press.

Thailand’s death toll from the tsunami disaster was raised Saturday from 4,560 to 4,812, with just more than half of them foreign tourists, the AP said. Another 6,541 were still listed as missing.

In his weekly radio address, Thaksin warned the eventual Thai death toll could be as high as 8,000.

In Sri Lanka, authorities on Saturday put the nationwide tsunami death toll at 28,729.

The AP quoted K. Wijethunga of the National Disaster Management Center as saying that 16,525 people were injured and 5,240 remained missing.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged Saturday $500 million in grant aid for the countries badly affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

In a statement, Koizumi also said he will participate in a meeting of world leaders Thursday in Jakarta to discuss aid for these countries.

Koizumi is expected to pledge Japan’s help in preventing the spread of infectious diseases in the affected areas in light of a warning issued by the World Health Organization that quake and tsunami sufferers are under threat from diarrhea, malaria and other infectious diseases.

On Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush said he is boosting U.S. aid to help the tsunami victims to $350 million from $35 million.

Bush drew criticism for his handling of the crisis because of his protracted response to the disaster and an initial U.S. pledge of only $15 million in assistance.

Singapore said Saturday it will make available its air force and naval bases for use by the United States, Japan and other foreign countries to ship relief supplies to Sumatra.

LAS VEGAS — Empire Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY) today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2006.

Net revenue for the third quarter was a record $28.7 million, up 12.0% from the $25.6 million reported in the third quarter of 2005. Revenue from racing increased by approximately $0.5 million, or 11.8%, reflecting simulcasting of races to a greater number of facilities, while revenue from the company’s video gaming machine (VGM) business rose by approximately $2.5 million, or 12.2%. Revenue from the sale of food, beverages and other services also increased - by approximately $0.6 million, or 36.5%. Empire’s VGM operations experienced an uptick in daily visits of roughly 1%, and the daily win per unit rose to $159.70 for the quarter from $123.17 in the third quarter of 2005.

Total operating costs and expenses rose by $1.5 million, or 5.8%, for the quarter versus 2005, reflecting the rise in revenue. The company posted operating income of $1.9 million this quarter, versus $0.3 million in the prior-year period. EBITDA improved to $2.1 million from $0.6 million in the third quarter of 2005. The company posted a net loss for the third quarter of $(0.2) million, or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(1.6) million, or $(0.06) per diluted share, in 2005.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2006, Empire reported net revenue of $77.3 million versus $64.3 million in the same period last year. EBITDA was $3.8 million for the three quarters of 2006, as compared to $(2.2) million in 2005. Empire’s net loss for the period was $(3.2) million, or $(0.12) per diluted share, versus a net loss of $(8.0) million, or $(0.31) per diluted share, last year.

“Once again, we are pleased with the performance of our existing gaming and racing operations in Monticello, even as we make final preparations for bringing a St. Regis Mohawk casino to the Catskills,” commented David Hanlon, CEO and president. “We continue to wait patiently for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to complete its review in regards to issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI, after which the federal government can begin the process of transferring our land into trust for the Tribe. We are putting the finishing touches on the engineering plans and architectural drawings for a truly world-class casino that will create 11,000 new jobs and finally place New York in a competitive position with contiguous and expanding gaming operations that now benefit New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

“We transformed Monticello into a regional entertainment venue in 2004 with the opening of our VGM operations, and we now stand on the verge of creating one of New York’s leading resort destinations. Empire Resorts and the St. Regis Mohawks are poised to lead an economic renaissance in the Catskills. Clearly - with this significant recent development - it now looks as though, finally, it’s New York’s turn to win big.”

The company makes use of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) as a financial measure which it believes is a useful performance indicator. EBITDA is not a recognized term under generally accepted accounting principles, or “GAAP,” and should not be considered as an alternative to net income/(loss) or net cash provided by operating activities, which are GAAP measures. A reconciliation of EBITDA to net income/(loss) appears at the end of this release, as do both actual results for the quarter and year-to-date periods.

About Empire Resorts, Inc.

Empire Resorts operates the Monticello Raceway and is involved in the development of other legal gaming venues. Empire’s Mighty M Gaming facility now features over 1,500 video gaming machines and amenities including a 350-seat buffet and live entertainment. Empire is also working to develop a “Class III” Native American casino and resort on a site adjacent to the Raceway and other gaming and non-gaming resort projects in the Catskills region and other areas. Additional information can be found at www.empireresorts.com.

Statements in this press release regarding the company’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties, including the need for regulatory approvals, financing and successful completion of construction. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1994, and as such, speak only as of the date made. To the extent the content of this press release includes forward-looking statements, they involve various risks and uncertainties including (i) the risk that the various approvals necessary as described herein and other approvals required to be obtained from the United States Congress, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission, the Governor of the State of New York and various other federal, State and local governmental entities are not received, (ii) the risk that financing necessary for the proposed programs or projects may not be able to be obtained because of credit factors, market conditions or other contingencies, (iii) the risk that sovereign Native American governments may exercise certain broad rights with regard to termination of its agreements with the company (iv) the risk of non-compliance by various counterparties of the related agreements, and (v) general risks affecting the company as described from time to time in it’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For a full discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the company’s Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

Today, the Royal Indian Raj International Corporation announced that it has engaged the prestigious law firm of Greenberg Traurig as its lead counsel for all of its Real Estate Operations, Land Development, Hotel, Resort and Club Operations, Corporate and Securities Compliance, Franchise Operations, Entertainment and Project and Infrastructure Finance needs.

The addition of Greenberg Traurig further entrenches RIRIC’s position of complete transparency for investors wishing to participate in the nascent Indian marketplace.

“We are delighted to be associated with a prestigious law firm of the caliber of Greenberg Traurig and we look forward to a long-term association with these first class professionals. The association with Greenberg Traurig in New York represents a significant step in first class legal representation for Royal Indian Raj International Corporation in its capital market raises and its continued, expansion of its world wide operations and its India-centric focus.” - Manoj C. Benjamin, Chairman and CEO Royal Indian Raj International Corporation

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP:

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, full-service law firm with 1,675 attorneys and governmental affairs professionals in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm is ranked seventh on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 listing of the largest law firms in the U.S., based on number of lawyers.

Greenberg Traurig serves clients from offices in: Albany, NY; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Atlanta, GA; Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Morristown, NJ; New York, NY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Sacramento, CA; Silicon Valley, CA; Tallahassee, FL; Tampa, FL; Tokyo, Japan; Tysons Corner, VA; Washington, D.C.; West Palm Beach, FL; Wilmington, DE; and Zurich, Switzerland. Additionally, the firm has strategic alliances with the following independent law firms: Olswang, London and Brussels; Studio Santa Maria, Milan and Rome; and Hayabusa Kokusai Law Offices in Tokyo.

For additional information, please visit the firm’s Web site at www.gtlaw.com .

About Royal Indian Raj International Corporation:

Royal Indian Raj International Corporation, (RIRIC), incorporated in Nevada, USA, in March 1999 with offices in Vancouver, London, and Bangalore, India, maintains a country-specific, 5-sector heavy infrastructure orientation, focused on the free world’s largest emerging market, India. The company’s goal is to develop the New India by modernizing housing and businesses and realizing self-sustaining cities of the future. RIRIC implements leading-edge technologies and products in strategic alliance with world-class international corporations. Partnered with these international leaders in their respective fields, RIRIC is focused on five of India’s priority infrastructure sectors using a vertically integrated business strategy: Urban Infrastructure & Housing, Road Building & Recycling, Broadband Communications & IT Networks, eCommerce/IT & Education Applications, and Broadcast Content, Entertainment & Theme Parks.

RIRIC’s city projects, Royal Garden City - Bangalore, and the Royal Garden Marina City and Financial Harbor - Mumbai, are the first of six cities planned by the company. RGC Bangalore is a 3,000 acre sub-city development situated between downtown Bangalore and the new Bangalore International Airport. The USD $8.97 billion integrated Live/Work/Play development features over 146.36 Million Sq. Ft. of residential, commercial and industrial space to accommodate the burgeoning Bangalore market and has been planned and designed by the former Singapore Public Works Dept. The project is fifteen times the size of Canary Wharf in London, England.

Royal Garden Marina City and Financial Harbor, covering an area of 5,000 acres, is situated 16 nautical miles from the Gateway of India in downtown, Mumbai. It will be Asia’s largest real estate development and India’s first smart city, with 22.8 million square meters of high-tech retail, medical, education and housing facilities. The project comprises over 50,000 residential units, a central business district, industrial district, entertainment district, parks, restaurants, shopping, educational facilities and civic amenities. An estimated 400,000 to 600,000 people are expected to live, work and play within the city daily.

Royal Indian Raj International Corporation (RIRIC) is currently selling Phase I of its inaugural Royal Garden Villas & Resorts project in Bangalore. Phase II and III will hitting the markets in Q2 of 2007 as will its Royal Garden Villas and Resorts Hyderabad development situated on 450 acres near the new Hyderabad International Airport. RIRIC will also be launching its Royal Garden Villas and Resorts brand in Mumbai, Goa, Delhi, Chennai and Pune over the next 12-18 months.

Great Southern Land: A New History of Australia. Frank Welsh. Allen Lane. [pounds sterling]25.00. xxxviii + 720 pages. ISBN 0-713-99450-9. The (English) author’s enthusiasm for Australia–’probably the most successful society in the world and the most agreeable to live in’–should reassure any suspicious Aussie afraid of Pommie superiority.

He supports his assertion with UN statistics and uses his book to ‘explain the reasons for Australia’s success’. His references, however, are wider than his subject and he writes to explain Austrialia’s history to the rest of the world. All, however, is not perfect: there is a continuing sense of ’spiritual isolation’, an over-powerful Senate (at least to the author) and the question of the Aborigines: what is needed is a Commission to advise on a partial reconstruction of government. Mr Welsh has given us an exhaustive, and occasionally, exhausting, account of Austrialia’s history which is fully rounded and on the whole, quite balanced. (R.L.H.)

Our northernmost people are frequently mentioned on the business pages of Canada’s newspapers. We read that the partners in the $5 billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline, who already include the Inuvik-based Aboriginal Pipeline Group, are being asked multimillion dollar land-access fees by native bands along the pipeline route. At the other end of the country, benefit agreements between Inco and the Innu Nation for development of the Voiseys Bay, Labrador, nickel deposit are said to hold good prospects of steady jobs and a productive future for the indigenous people. Things seem to be looking up for our long neglected northerners. So how did this come about?

This aptly titled book provides answers that apply to the inhabitants of that vast part of Arctic Canada, 20 percent of our landmass, now known as Nunavut. It describes the events of three or more decades that led to the Land Agreement between the Inuit people and the Government of Canada in 1993. It tells of the motivations that drove a scant, widely scattered population to organize, demand and eventually win control and ownership rights. This account of history in the making is by one who knows whereof he writes. Robert McPherson spent his career in mineral exploration and the last 20 years of it in the north. He was an adviser to the Inuit on the land selection process as it pertained to subsurface mineral rights. He wrote his book in retirement while an Associate with the Arctic Institute of North America.

This is essential reading for mineral or energy explorationists. McPherson states that prospecting, exploration and mining activities were the catalysts that brought about the 1993 Agreement. Many examples are given of the abuses that led to Inuit concerns about disruption of their culture, desecration of the environment and impact on wildlife and traditional livelihoods. It tells also of how they came to view government and industry as close partners who had little interest in Inuit concerns and whose consultation processes were a sham. This is what led them to strive for management boards to regulate, impose standards and engage in joint planning procedures. They were not against development but they wanted to be part of it, to have some control over its impact and to enjoy some of its benefits.

The resulting Agreement is a beacon to aboriginal people everywhere and of interest to all thinking Canadians. McPherson’s details of how the Inuit organized to bring it about makes this publication a guidebook. With roots in an Ottawa-based volunteer native rights group, the Indian Eskimo Association (IEA) was founded in 1960 by a wide variety of scholars, educators and church people from across the country to provide research, fund-raising and advocacy for aboriginal people. Generously supported by over 2000 members and by the private sector, its ultimate aim was to produce self-sustaining aboriginal associations. A talented IEA field worker, Coral Harbour native Tagak Curley, brought together Inuit leaders from Keewatin to the eastern Arctic to form the Inuit Tapirisat (Brotherhood) of Canada in 1971. From its beginnings, the Tapirisat (ITC) was interested not only in Inuit culture and independence but also in successful development of the Arctic regions. Much of the book is devoted to the ITC’s interventions and challenges to government and industry. The penultimate chapter “New Owners” is gripping as it describes the long process of consensus building after agreement in principle was reached in 1990. The author and his colleagues played a major role here as they attended meetings in isolated communities and delineated pockets of subsurface rights that they felt should be part of any agreement. The upshot was that the Inuit were awarded ownership of 356,000 square km., 17.7 percent of Nunavut, and they own subsurface rights to a carefully selected 10.8 percent of this. The Agreement makes the Inuit the largest freehold owners in Canada, larger even than the C.P.R.

In a final, short summary chapter, the author agrees with Government negotiator, Tom Malloy, that the agreement is essentially about people working together–not only for the benefit of Inuit but for all of Canada. McPherson goes further and feels that the Inuit may form their own community-based exploration groups and may one day aspire to take on responsibility for all Crown lands in Nunavut. “They will then become the true custodians of the North for the benefit of all Canadians.”

The book is pitched at the intelligent lay reader but offers special appeal to those with interest in mining and geology. Tribute is paid to the early G.S.C. mapping by giants of the past such as J.B. Tyrrell and Lud Weeks. Comprehensive accounts are offered of exploration highlights and the development of producing mines, e.g. Rankin Inlet Nickel, on the west coast of Hudson Bay, which produced from 1955 to 1962 and the Nanisivik base metal mine in north Baffin Island, active from 1976 to 2002. Serious Inuit concerns stem from the Rankin Mine and its aftermath. Serious Inuit involvement (through the ITC) stems from the early years and led to satisfactions in the late years of Nanivisik. Throughout, readers with geological or mining backgrounds will be delighted to see the names of former colleagues and acquaintances (and even onetime classmates!) in Arctic roles that we may not even have guessed. Also, we’ll meet Isaac Attagutsiak “one of the true founders of Nanivisik”, Allie Salluviniq–a survivor of the Government resettlement program at Resolute, and many more colourful bit players in this Arctic pageant.

Clearing Land: Legacies Of The American Farm combines memoir and history, drawing upon the author’s own experience growing up on a family farm with the economic realities that are forcing such farms to extinction in the modern day. Poetic in its reminiscence of a daily life deeply intertwined with nature, cultivating plants and animals, and the joy of simply being alive, Clearing Land is a powerful firsthand testimony sure to evoke memories both pleasant and questionable of those who also lived and worked in agriculture. An emotional and at times spiritual remembrance.

The bare steel and concrete ribs of a massive unfinished power plant tower above a lazy curl of the Euphrates River in the farmlands southwest of Baghdad. The Russian construction crew that worked on the plant for several years dropped everything and left when Coalition forces stormed across the Iraq border four years ago, leaving the huge complex a derelict monument to grandiose plans, halfhearted workmanship and the sudden realization that no more of Saddam Hussein’s checks were going to clear.

Cranes, cable spools, welding sets and boxcar-sized turbines sit rusting in the yard, but the plywood walls of a mess hall, weight room, command post and sleeping areas are recent additions. American soldiers have moved in and cobbled the ghostly complex into an outpost called Patrol Base Dragon. Today, it is home to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry (A/2-14 Infantry) from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry).

Posters are tacked to the walls; handheld video games, MP3 players and laptop computers lay on cots; and air conditioners are jammed into cutouts. An Internet café is open around the clock, and a jerry-rigged shower drips around the clock, too.

The shaving water is tepid, but steaming breakfasts and dinners are served from a mobile kitchen trailer; boxes of Hot Pockets are set out for lunch. You can get a cold soda from a brace of refrigerators anytime you want-until the week’s soda allotment runs out, which is about the third day after delivery-but soldiers share with each other goodies they receive in care packages from home. You find that selfishness diminishes in direct correlation to how rough soldiers live.

All in all, life’s not bad at Patrol Base Dragon. Certainly, it’s nothing to compare with the relative creature comforts of the big American camps and forward operating bases (FOBs) in Iraq: that would be like comparing a shantytown to Las Vegas. However, the soldiers of A/2-14 Infantry say they would rather be at the patrol base than a super FOB. They say it feels rather strange when they rotate back to Camp Striker for less than 72 hours every nine or 10 days. Most of them feel it is useful only for getting laundry done, grabbing a haircut and restocking snacks. OK, sure, you can grab a milk shake, but you also have to put up with overhearing soldiers who never leave the FOB (called “fobbits” in the current vernacular) talk about how rough they’ve got it.

Morale is exponentially higher among small units at places like Patrol Base Dragon because of the intangibles: a sense of collective self-reliance; making do with what you’ve got; depending on your buddies and taking care of your buddies; only the arms room really needs a lock; everyone talks to each other; everyone pulls his weight; and, if you really need it, somebody will give you his last pair of clean socks … or a pint of blood. There’s no way to name it all, and no price you can put on any of it.

Another thing they have is an around-the-clock, real-world mission -sharp-edged, ground-pounder stuff: finding weapon caches; raiding improvised explosive device (IED) factories; catching bad guys … shooting it out with them if it comes to that; sitting though a rainstorm on a crummy observation post; working to gain the confidence of the locals and joking with their kids. A place like Patrol Base Dragon means soldiering at the retail level. Sure, it’s dangerous, but at the end of a patrol, there’s a good chance there will be something to show for it.

The 2nd BCT, 10th Mountain Division, has patrol bases scattered throughout its area of operations (AO); it focused on establishing them as soon as the brigade arrived in Iraq.

“During our training [for the deployment], we tapped into Vietnam veterans to learn from their experiences,” said Lt. Col. John Valledor, commander of the 2-14 Infantry. “They said you need to live forward in-zone to successfully engage in a classic counterinsurgency operation.”

“The insurgency we’re fighting [in this AO] is strictly … Sunni extremists, who have been here for quite some time,” Col. Valledor explained. “[Among them] we have the 1920 Revolutionary Brigades group, which is involved with al Qaeda. … All told there are probably four distinct and [discordant] Sunni groups, and the fact that they are not working together makes it easier for us. My feeling is that the strong al Qaeda guys have been displaced and that we’re dealing with factionalized Sunni extremist groups that are still here because of the lack of governance. And that is why we are trying very hard to convince the sheiks and everyone else to become involved in the political process.”

“Fighting an insurgency involves being out there with the people, not fighting from an FOB,” Col. Valledor said. “Our soldiers are fighting in-zone. We don’t drive to work.”

A/2-14 Infantry occupied the power plant in late October after a short stint at the nearby Gator Swamp patrol base. The plant had been an off-and-on insurgent training camp and launch point for attacks and kidnappings, but the company took the facility without resistance. An Iraqi Army company has since colocated with the American soldiers at Dragon.

To speak of this land; identity and belonging in South Africa and beyond.

Brown, Duncan.

U. of KwaZulu-Natal Press

2006

214 pages

$35.95

Paperback

DT1754

Brown (literary studies, media, and creative arts, U. of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) uses a series of case studies to consider how people have, historically and in the present, used different textual forms to express, accomplish and enact a sense of what it means to live in a place, in terms of intimacy, ownership, usage, displacement or alienation. Ranging from rock painting and oral storytelling to rap music, the materials examined by Brown cover a range of linguistic, racial, economic and historical contexts, all speaking compellingly to the author of issues that reverberate widely through present-day South Africa and beyond. Distributed in the U.S. by ISBS.

The 2007 Strike, Land Attack & Air Defense (SLAAD) Annual Symposium will be held May 8, 2007, at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The 2007 theme of the conference is Integration and Interoperability with Allies and Coalition Partners in Naval Warfighting. This symposium is classified SECRET for U.S. participants only.