Philippine floods death toll rises to 277: govt

STAFF WRITER 9:2 HRS IST

Manila, Oct 1 (AFP) The death toll in the Philippines from flooding unleashed by tropical storm Ketsana has risen by more than 30 to 277, the government said today.

Aside from the 277 people confirmed killed, 42 people remain missing, the National Disaster Coordination Council said.

Tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than 40 years on Manila and neighbouring parts of Luzon island on Saturday.

The number of people affected by the storm has climbed to 2.5 million people, the council said, up nearly 300,000 from the previous day's estimate.

US Senate passes bill to triple aid to Pakistan

Lalit K Jha and Betwa Sharma

Pittsburgh/New York, Sep 25 (PTI) The US Senate today unanimously passed the revised version of the Kerry-Lugar bill which triples non-military aid to Pakistan to USD 1.5 billion per annum, pledging America's long term commitment to its key ally against extremism.

An identical version of the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives and is expected to be passed any time now. The announcement in this regard was made by US President Barack Obama during his address to a meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan at the UN headquarters in New York.

"For the first time in modern era the US congress has made a multi-year commitment to Pakistan," Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in New York.

Pakistan has already received a billion dollars pledged in Tokyo and 330 million dollars raised to support the country's refugees.

Nirupama Rao meets William Burns in Washington

STAFF WRITER 6:44 HRS IST

Washington, Sept 22 (PTI) Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met with her US counterpart William Burns and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including counter-terrorism and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposed visit to America in November.

Rao, who arrived here from New York late Sunday, had detailed discussion with Burns, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, yesterday.

The two diplomats reviewed the Indo-US dialogue architecture after the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India in July and preparation for the State visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November, sources told PTI.

Rao visited Washington at the invitation of Burns. The special invitation to visit Washington at a time when the entire Obama Administration is in New York is seen as a "special gesture" from the US State Department.

Car bomb kills at least 10 in Kabul

Car bomb kills at least 10 in Kabul
KABUL: A suicide car bomb hit vehicles carrying foreign troops near the US Embassy and an American military base in Afghanistan's capital on Thursday, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

The suicide bomber rammed his explosives-filled car into two vehicles of the NATO-backed international force, said Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, head of Kabul's criminal investigations unit.

The blast occurred shortly after noon and smoke could be seen rising from the site soon after. An Associated Press reporter saw two bodies on the ground, both burned and later covered with plastic sheets.

At least six vehicles were burned, including at least one Humvee with an Italian flag painted on the side. Sirens rang through the area as emergency vehicles arrived.

In Rome, the Italian Defense Ministry said at least six people had died in the attack, but the number of Italians was unclear.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said at least 10 Afghan civilians were killed and 52 wounded. Sayedzada said foreign forces also were killed but he did not know how many.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying in a text message that an insurgent had carried out a suicide attack against foreign forces.

US military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said they were aware of the blast but did not have more information. NATO forces also said they did not have further information.

The explosion was the fourth major attack in the capital in five weeks.

On Sept. 8, a car bomb exploded near the entrance to the military airport in Kabul in an apparent attack on a NATO convoy that killed three civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

TOI

Mohammed second most common boys' name in UK

Mohammed

LONDON: Mohammed, in all its various spellings, is now the second most common boys' name in the UK, next only to Jack.

Jack and Olivia were the most popular names for babies last year - but the Office for National Statistics was accused of being "disingenuous" for listing various forms of Mohammed as different names.

Three variations of Mohammed originally featured in the list of the top 100 names released by the ONS, but none of them made the top ten.

Mohammed was placed 16th with 3,423, Muhammad 37th with 2,068 and Mohammad 65th with 1,100.

Figures for five other spellings - Muhammad (496), Mohamed (428), Mohamad (40), and Mohammod (10), were later released.

That made a total of 7,576 and put Mohammed and its alternatives ahead of the official second placed name, Oliver, of whom there were 7,413.

There were 8,007 Jacks, ensuring the name topped the list of boys' names for the 13th year running.

"When we have done our research, mothers tell us Jack suggests honesty, trustworthiness and hard work. A Jack will be popular and have a strong character, but he will also be good," said Faye Mingo, who compiles the research on names for Bounty.com, a parenting club.

Olivia was top name for girls in 2008, replacing Ruby.

TOI

Michael Jackson set to be 2010's highest earning star

Michael Jackson set to be 2010's highest earning star

LONDON: Even after his death, Michael Jackson has proved that he is still the 'King of Pop' as the pop icon is set to become the highest earning
celebrity of 2010.

The experts are predicting that the 'Thriller' hitmaker will bring in an estimated $240 million in revenue this year, Contactmusic reported.

The 'Black or White' hitmaker's music shot back into the charts following his sudden death in June due to a drug overdose.

Moreover, the executors of his estate are planning to launch an official range of merchandise as well as a touring exhibit of the star's memorabilia.

AEG, the company behind Jackson's comeback concerts is set to release a movie featuring rehearsal footage of his 'This Is It' tour.

The ventures are tipped to make Jackson the highest earning celebrity in 2010, ahead of Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Lady Gaga and Harry Potter actors Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe.

Also featuring in the top ten is British super couple David and Victoria Beckham, Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton, 'Twilight' star Robert Pattinson, Rock 'n' Roll legend Elvis Presley and pop princess Britney Spears, according to a survey of licensing and merchandising experts across Europe.

TOI

Obama says he would like to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi,

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has said given a chance he would like to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi, whom he considered a real hero.

Obama expressed his desire in response to a question from a student Lilly during his discussion with 9th graders at Wakefield High School in Arlington Virginia where he, accompanied with the Education Secretary, gave a national speech welcoming students back to school. ( Watch Video )

Obama called for students to take responsibility and to learn from their failures so that they succeed in the end.

"Hi. I'm Lilly. And if you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be," Obama was asked by one of the students.

"Dinner with anyone dead or alive? Well, you know, dead or alive, that's a pretty big list," Obama responded amidst laughter. The next moment he was serious.

"You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine," Obama said. "Now, it would probably be a really small meal because he didn't eat a lot," he said amidst laughter. But Mahatma Gandhi is someone who has inspired people across the world for the past several generations, he said.

Terming the iconic figure as the source of inspiration for many, Obama said "he (Mahatma Gandhi) is somebody whom I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr King (Martin Luther), so if it hadn't been for the non-violent movement in India, you might not have seen the same non-violent movement for civil rights here in the United States."

"What was interesting was that he ended up doing so much and changing the world just by the power of his ethics, by his ability to change how people saw each other and saw themselves -- and help people who thought they had no power realise that they had power, and then help people who had a lot of power realise that if all they're doing is oppressing people, then that's not a really good exercise of power," Obama said.

Expressing his belief in the way of change proposed by Gandhi, the President said, "I am always interested in people who are able to bring about change, not through violence, not through money, but through the force of their personality and their ethical and moral stances. That is somebody that I would love to sit down and talk to," said Obama.

Mahatma Gandhi has always been a source of inspiration for this first African-American President of the United States of America.

"In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things," he wrote in the ethnic India Abroad newspaper last year.

"That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate office; to remind me that real results will not just come from Washington, they will come from the people," Obama said.

TOI