Mid Day International News |
- Mohammed is most popular name for baby boys in UK
- Obama's Asia tour itinerary finalised: India to be the first destination
- Berlusconi gave me cash after sex, claims teenage Moroccan model
- 1928 Charlie Chaplin film shows woman using mobile phone
- James Bond's Aston Martin fetches 2.6 million pounds
- Bond's Aston Martin up for grabs
- Berlusconi's gift to Blair sold online by Cherie
- A Pakistan school runs in graveyard
- A Pakistan school runs in graveyard
- Top UK all-girls school bans skirts over 'indecent' flesh show
| Mohammed is most popular name for baby boys in UK Posted: Topping the list for the most popular name given to newborn boys in Britain is Mohammed, followed by Oliver, Jack, Harry and Alfie. Mohammed had been placed third last year, but now has come first after overtaking the name Jack, which had topped the list for the past 14 years and is now in third spot, the Daily Mail reported. A total of 7,549 newborns were given 12 variations of the Islamic prophet Mohammed's name last year, such as Muhammad and Mohammad, with the spelling of Mohammed topping the list for the West Midlands. In order of popularity, the variant spellings used were, Muhammad, Mohammad, Muhammed, Mohamed, Mohamad, Muhamed, Mohammod, Mahamed, Muhamad, Mahammed and Mohmmed. The second most popular boy's name, Oliver, was given to 7,364 babies, and Olivia topped the list for little girls for the second year in a row, behind Ruby and Chloe.
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| Obama's Asia tour itinerary finalised: India to be the first destination Posted: The White House has said that it regards India as the cornerstone of its Asia policy, and is therefore, attaching great importance to President Barack Obama's four-day visit to India in the first week of November. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said: "We believe that Asia is critical to our foreign policy strategy. It's the fastest-growing markets in the world. It's fundamental to our export initiative. So India is a cornerstone of our broader Asia approach, which is focused on, again, expanding exports for U.S. goods, deepening partnerships in important part of the world, partnering together in the G-20 and other forums." He said the President would make his first stop in Mumbai where he will commemorate the Mumbai terrorist attacks victims at the Taj Hotel. "India is a close counter-terrorism partner of the United States. India has shown remarkable resilience in responding to terrorism. And the Taj, where the President is staying, was, of course, a centerpiece of those attacks in Mumbai. So, the President wanted to take the time to pay his respects to the victims who lost their lives and to sign the guest book there, but also to make some brief remarks to an assembled group of people who are connected to those attacks," Rhodes said. Thereafter, he said, President Obama would visit the Gandhi Museum. "I think it's important to note here that obviously one of the things that the United States shares with India is they're the two world's largest democracies. We believe that that''s fundamental to our relationship; it makes it a qualitatively different relationship in the sense that we have shared interests and shared values," he added. "And of course, the example of Gandhi is one that has inspired Americans, inspired African Americans, including Dr. King, and it's very personally important to the President. So we''re looking forward to visiting the Gandhi Museum to underscore those shared experiences and shared values," Rhodes said. He said that Obama would then move on to a business summit that the U.S.-India Business Council is putting together. Mike Froman, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, said: "The President will participate in three events at the business summit. The first is a roundtable with entrepreneurs. The second is a roundtable with some U.S. CEOs where they'll be able to discuss the On November 7, President Obama would take part in a number of events that would be focused on the future partnership that the US is trying to build with India. Rhodes said that Obama would begin the day by visiting a school in Mumbai, a local school, and help children to participate in celebrations around the Diwali holiday. He would also address university students at the town hall and take part in a series of roundtables -- that focus on particular areas of the partnership that the U.S. and India are pursuing. One of them would be on agriculture and food security, Rhodes said. Rhodes said that Obama would reach New Delhi on the evening of November 7. He said that the President's first stop would be at Humayan's tomb. He would then have a private dinner with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur at the latter's official residence. On November 8, Rhodes said that Obama would pay homage at Rajghat, the memorial of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. This would be followed with a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Singh and possibly a joint press conference thereafter. He said the President could have a number of meetings, the schedule for which is yet to be decided. In the afternoon, Obama would address a joint session of the Indian parliament on a broad range of issues on which the U.S. and India can cooperate. He would then attend a state dinner hosted by Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil. On November 9, the U.S. entourage would leave for Indonesia.
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| Berlusconi gave me cash after sex, claims teenage Moroccan model Posted: A teenage Moroccan model has apparently claimed that she had sex with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in return for a cash 'gift'. According to Italian press reports, the girl - identified only as Ruby and allegedly an illegal immigrant - has claimed that she had consensual sex with the prime minister at his luxury villa in Arcore, outside Milan, reports the Telegraph. Prosecutors have reportedly opened a dossier on the claims but not a formal investigation. They stressed that Berlusconi is not under investigation and that they are trying to verify the woman's account of the alleged encounter. However, Il Giornale, the newspaper owned by Berlusconi's brother, described the allegations as a potential 'sex scandal' and another 'D'Addario case' - a reference to Patrizia D'Addario, the prostitute who last year claimed that she slept with the prime minister at his mansion in Rome. Magistrates cautioned that the Moroccan woman's claims might be without foundation and could be part of a plot to blackmail the 74-year-old premier, or an attempt at self-promotion by the aspiring showgirl. The teenager, who is now 18, claims that she attended several private parties thrown by Berlusconi at his home between last year and this Spring, at a time when she was trying to break into modelling or television. She was part of a circle of aspiring models and actresses who were allegedly introduced to the prime minister by a prominent show business agent, Lele Mora, although he has denied all knowledge of the case. Investigating magistrates said her accounts were sometimes contradictory and that she had made claims, which she subsequently retracted. The story emerged when she was thrown out of an apartment in Milan after an argument with her Brazilian roommate in May, the Italian press reported. She was stopped by police, who found she had no residence permit, but pleaded for leniency on the basis that she knew the prime minister, and proceeded to tell them of her alleged encounter. One of the magistrates in charge of the case, Antonio Sangermano, has experience in investigating prostitution and extortion cases, but on Wednesday refused to comment on the claims. A member of Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party dismissed the story and predicted that it would prove to be untrue.
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| 1928 Charlie Chaplin film shows woman using mobile phone Posted: A Charlie Chaplin film clip showing a woman using a mobile phone has left viewers stumped. Even her gestures and behaviour as she "talks" will be eerily familiar to modern-day viewers as she appears to stop, mid-sentence, during her apparent conversation. The bizarre anachronism was unearthed by film buff George Clark on his Charlie Chaplin box set. He says he has shown it to more than 100 people and still no one can come up with a convincing explanation. Some viewers have suggested she is listening to a portable radio close to her face, although this would not explain why she appears to be talking. Others say she may be displaying signs of schizophrenia and covering her face to hide the fact that she is talking aloud to herself. It has also been suggested that she is simply trying to hide her face from the camera so she is not filmed. The first device that could be likened to a mobile phone was Motorola's original 'Walkie-Talkie' which was developed in the 1940s, but that was the size of a man's arm and still came more than a decade after the Chaplin film.
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| James Bond's Aston Martin fetches 2.6 million pounds Posted: A silver Aston Martin DB5 sports car driven by Sean Connery in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger sold for 2.6 million pounds ($4.1 million) at an auction on Wednesday. The Aston Martin specially outfitted for the world's most famous spy was the star attraction at a classic car auction in London that also saw rocker Rod Stewart's Lamborghini sell for 600,000 pounds ($946,000). Auctioneer Peter Haynes had earlier estimated the Bond supercar could have snagged as much as 3.5 million pounds ($5.5 million). Bond's gadget master Q outfitted the car with an ejection seat, machine guns, radar and nail-throwing machine. American broadcaster Jerry Lee, who purchased the car in 1969 for $12,000 sold it to raise money for his charitable foundation.
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| Bond's Aston Martin up for grabs Posted: The Goldfinger car, replete with gadgetry, went under the hammer in London yesterday For the discerning driver, it's got an ejector seat, machine-guns and a world-class pedigree. Problem is, it's going to cost a truckload of dough. One of the world's most famous James Bond cars the specially equipped Aston Martin first driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger was auctioned off in London last evening and was expected to fetch one of the highest prices ever paid for an automobile. The unique car, which also has rotating license plates and other spy gear, is expected to go for more than �3.5 million (Rs 25 crore). "This is the only genuine, 007 James Bond car," said Mick Walsh, Editor-in-Chief of Classic and Sports Car Magazine. "You know the reputation of James Bond. The bidding could go mad." He said the fact the iconic Aston Martin has never been auctioned before means it will have tremendous appeal to collectors. "It's never been on the market before, and with the classic car scene it's very important to see something new," he said. "There's going to be some serious action tonight." He said it is likely the car will end up on public display, perhaps as the centerpiece of an upscale office complex in a city like Los Angeles or Moscow. Bond's creator, newspaperman and novelist Ian Fleming, had originally placed Bond in a Bentley, which was his own personal car of choice. But the filmmakers put him in the Aston Martin, which then competed mainly with the Jaguar E-type for the lucrative British and American sports car market. Aston Martin was seen as a heady mix of Italian design and British engineering. The silver Aston Martin DB5 coupe up for auction was used by Connery to elude various villains in both Goldfinger and Thunderball generally regarded as early classics in Hollywood's longest running and most successful film franchise. It is closely associated with the Connery-era Bond films, which are often preferred by aficionados, who rate him above George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and the current 007, Daniel Craig.
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| Berlusconi's gift to Blair sold online by Cherie Posted: Tony Blair's wife sold the watch, the range of which starts at �300, for a mere �98 While Tony Blair has been earning up to �6,000 (Rs 4.5 lakh)per minute as a speaker, his wife has been adding to the family fortunes by selling a watch thought to have been given to the former prime minister by his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi. Earlier this month, Mrs Blair sold the Locman Mare Titanium timepiece on eBay, the auction website, for �98 (Rs 7,200) after advertising it as "unused in its original box with guarantee". The wristwatch, which would have cost at least �300 (Rs 22,700) when new, was thought to have been one of nine given to the Blairs by the famously generous Berlusconi that they decided to pay for when they left Downing Street three years ago. Nor was the watch the only thing Cherie sold in recent months. Among the more bizarre items she offered was a piece of paper signed by her husband, which fetched �10 (Rs 735) last week. A spokesman for Cherie claimed she had not intended to profit from the autograph, saying she had advertised it to "undermine the market" in Blair signatures, because she was upset that people were selling them for up to �35 (Rs 2,575). She claimed to have refunded the �10 as soon as she had sold the signature. The spokesman said he had "no knowledge" of the sale of the watch. Since leaving Downing Street, Tony has been highly paid for speaking engagements, and as an adviser to foreign rulers and financial institutions. But Cherie is still keen to get a bargain when it comes to furnishing the seven properties the family now own. According to her eBay account, she has snapped up crockery, cutlery and kitchenware at bargain prices. Enthusiastic user This month she bought six Mappin & Webb silver plate soup spoons, a 10-piece fish cutlery set 12 fruit knives, a Magimix food processor and digital bathroom scales at heavily discounted rates. Cherie is known to have been an enthusiastic user of eBay for at least six years, and often uses it to buy Lego and other toys for the couple's youngest son, 10-year-old Leo. Rs 4.5 lakh The approximate amount Tony Blair makes per minute as a speaker E-Bay Addiction? Cherie Blair has been known in the past to love a bargain, famously shopping for 99p trinkets on eBay while her husband was Prime Minister. And the 56-year-old caused quite a stir recently by selling a copy of her husband's autograph for �10 on the website. However far from needing the money, Cherie said she was trying to "make a point".
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| A Pakistan school runs in graveyard Posted: Believe it or not, a government primary school in Pakistan's Rawalpindi city is run at a graveyard. And the school shuts whenever a body is brought for burial. The school has no toilet and no facility for drinking water, the News International reported Tuesday. So students go to neighbourhood houses if and when they feel thirsty. District education officer Naseem Akhtar said the Government M.G. Girls Primary School could get no other land where it could be located. "We have to give holiday to the students whenever a body is brought here for funeral prayers," she said.
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| A Pakistan school runs in graveyard Posted: Believe it or not, a government primary school in Pakistan's Rawalpindi city is run at a graveyard. And the school shuts whenever a body is brought for burial. The school has no toilet and no facility for drinking water, the News International reported Tuesday. So students go to neighbourhood houses if and when they feel thirsty. District education officer Naseem Akhtar said the Government M.G. Girls Primary School could get no other land where it could be located. "We have to give holiday to the students whenever a body is brought here for funeral prayers," she said.
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| Top UK all-girls school bans skirts over 'indecent' flesh show Posted: One of UK's top all-girls school has ordered its pupils to wear trousers after a 'complaint' about 'indecent' length of their skirts. The head teacher of Sandbach High School, Cheshire, has announced plans to ban skirts from next September because pupils are wearing them too short. "To remove the problem of inappropriate short shirts once and for all we are considering banning skirts with effect from September 2011," the Daily Mail quoted John Leigh, Head teacher, as saying. "A combination of current styles and a propensity for some girls to roll up their skirts has led to complaints from staff, other pupils and members of the public, regarding the decency of some skirts being worn. We have placed those with especially short skirts in detention and have written home to individual parents but sadly it seems that the message is not getting through to many girls," he added. Though, the move received a lot of anti-reactions from parents and guardians of the students. Grandmother-of-two Julie Griffith, 49, who has a granddaughter at Sandbach High, said the move was old fashioned. "I can understand the school wanting to do something about this as some of the girls' skirts are really short but I think banning skirts altogether is a bit of a dramatic step. I know a lot of girls roll their skirts up to make them shorter. It''''s a fashion thing," she said.
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