Mother Teresa's birth centenary

A series of events and special mass in parts of India as well as across the world marked Mother Teresa's birth centenary.

Mother Teresa, born on August 26, 1910 in Agnes Gonxha in Macedonia has been an iconic figure in humanitarian activities and has set an example for India and countries around the world. She dedicated over four decades of her life to serve the poor, sick and the orphaned.

Initially a school teacher in Calcutta, Mother Teresa is believed to be increasingly interested in social work even before she had come to Calcutta.

She won several awards including the Nobel Peace Prize and the Bharat Ratna but for her the greatest reward was the satisfaction that came from her efforts towards the people who needed them the most.

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Srinivasan denies IPL auction fixing charges

A  fresh controversy that has hit the Indian Premier League shows that BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and former IPL chief Lalit Modi worked in cohoots to rig the auction in the second season.

According to letters in possession of NDTV, Chennai Super Kings' owner and BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi could have been involved in ensuring specific players for the Chennai franchise.

The two, who are now sworn enemies it seems colluded to rig the bidding process for the 2nd IPL auction. Lalit Modi, on a request from Srinivasan, got the Rajasthan Royals to opt out of bidding for Andrew Flintoff even though captain Shane Warne was very keen on having him.

BCCI secretary and Chennai Super Kings franchise owner N Srinivasan on Thursday rubbished reports that he tried to 'fix' the IPL 2009 player auction and insisted that he won the bid "fair and square".

"I have not manipulated the auction purse. We bought out Kapugedera hence had money left to buy Flintoff. Regarding Pollard, we followed the rules. Nothing was done outside the IPL rule book", he said.

Srinivasan further said he didn't do anything wrong and his franchise outbid Rajasthan Royals as only they had the full purse of USD 2 million.

"I didn't need anybody's favour. Rajasthan Royals bid for USD 1.5m for Flintoff, I beat them at USD 1.55m. So where is the deal? How can I have any deal? How can Modi have control of Shane Warne unless he is the owner of the Rajasthan Royals," he said.

"Hundred per cent I'm telling you, we did nothing wrong. We won fair and square. We were the only one who could have bought only player because I had the full purse. I didn't need anybody's favour," he added.

"The Chennai Super Kings is the only team which had the 2 million in the purse. Everybody else had less, so we didn't need anybody's favour to buy Flintoff," he added.

A TV report on Wednesday quoted an email purportedly written by Modi to Srinivasan, which read "what a nightmare to convince them not to terminate (Sohail) Tanvir and also not to take Flintoff. Warne went off the handle. But have managed it by using stick and carrot strategy. Thus they have USD 1.875mn. Much love Lalit".

This is not the first time that Srinivasan has found himself in a controversy. A few days back, the BCCI secretary was accused of 'fixing' umpires for Chennai Super Kings matches during the IPL.

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With IPL, India have lost World Cup home advantage

South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl feels India will not have much of a home advantage at next year's World Cup as foreign players have adapted themselves to the conditions there, courtesy the Indian Premier League.

van Zyl thinks that the experience the world's top players have gained in terms of getting used to the playing conditions and dealing with the intensity of crowds, means that India's home advantage has been negated.

"India has traditionally been a difficult place to tour but more recently teams have learnt to win in Indian and sub-continent conditions," he said.

"India in particular, where most of our preliminary matches will be played, is a wonderful place to play cricket as the people love the game and the support is phenomenal. Teams have learnt to embrace the atmosphere rather than be wary of it and we are looking forward to playing in these packed stadiums," he said.

"This is also the first major ICC event in the subcontinent since the IPL was launched. Players from around the world have now played a lot of limited overs cricket in India. This may reduce India's home ground advantage. Delhi, for example, is like a second home to AB de Villiers."

South Africa will prepare for the tournament with ODI series against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India and van Zyl wants his side to carry the winning form from these matches into the event.

"We will prepare and use the upcoming series that we have to play on the ICC calendar as preparation but at the same time not lose the focus on taking each series as a campaign on its own," he said.

South Africa will begin their World Cup campaign against the West Indies and speaking six months ahead of the match on February 24, van Zyl said it was vital that his team get off to a winning start.

"Playing the West Indies in Delhi means that we have to do our home work regarding the ground and its history and how this will affect our play against the West Indies. We obviously need to see how Delhi suits them and how we need to use our strengths to have the advantage in these conditions," he said.

The 50-overs cricket World Cup will be co-hosted by India, Sri lanka and Bangladesh in February- March next year.

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8 hostages killed on hijacked Philippine bus, gunman shot

Manila, Philippines:  An angry ex-policeman hijacked a bus full of Hong Kong tourists in the Philippine capital, holding them for 12 hours, before a police raid that ended with eight hostages and the gunman dead.

Local hospitals reported eight bodies of hostages were brought in, and police said the gunman himself had been shot dead by a marksman taking part in the police operation.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang told reporters Monday that two of the hostages were wounded in serious condition. He expressed shock and anger at the police response.

At least six captives survived, four of whom were seen crawling out of the back door of the bus after Philippine police stormed it on Monday evening when the hostage-taker started shooting at the 15 Chinese tourists inside, said police Senior Superintendent Nelson Yabut.

He said the hostage-taker was killed with a sniper shot to the head after he wounded a police sharpshooter.

Police and ambulances were lined up next to the vehicle in the pouring rain after the standoff ended. Local hospitals reported seven bodies of hostages were brought in. One other hostage was hospitalized in critical condition, and five others were unharmed.

Officials have yet to disclose the fate of the two other hostages.

The crisis began when the dismissed policeman, Rolando Mendoza, 55, armed with a M16 rifle seized the busload of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force.

According to newspaper reports from 2008, he was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging the policemen falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money.

The gunman released nine hostages during the afternoon -- leaving 15 inside -- and demanded his job back to free the rest. Despite hopes that negotiations might bring the stand-off to a peaceful conclusion, tensions escalated as night closed in.

Police said they stormed the bus after they saw Mendoza open fire on hostages.

Moments before the commandos moved in, the Filipino driver fled. Police officer Roderick Mariano cited him as saying Mendoza had opened fire at the tourists.

Randiv gets one-match ban, Dilshan fined too

The Sri Lanka Cricket Board took a stern decision on Wednesday and handed spinner Suraj Randiv, who had denied Virender Sehwag a century with a deliberate no-ball, a one-match ban, also fining him 100 per cent of his match fee.

The ban means Randiv will miss Thursday's match against New Zealand in Dambulla.

Senior Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, who apparently asked the bowler to bowl a no-ball, has also been fined 100 percent of his match fee.

"As such Sri Lanka Cricket has taken a stern decision against Suraj Randiv and TM Dilshan, for their actions during the 3rd ODI of the Micromax Tri-Series held on August 16, 2010, wherein Virender Sehwag was deprived of scoring his century due to the delivery of a no-ball by Suraj Randiv," the press release by the Lankan Board said.

The Board has also advised captain Kumar Sangakkara to ensure that such incidents do not occur again as they bring disrepute to cricket, affecting the spirit of the game.

The decision to take disciplinary action against the players was taken by the six-member committee which met on Wednesday afternoon to take action on the recommendations of team manager who probed the 'no-ball' controversy.

"Sri Lanka Cricket is extremely proud of its team and their achievements over the years. It is of paramount importance to maintain the discipline of the Gentlemen's game, especially with Sri Lanka Cricket being winners of the 'ICC Spirit of the Game' award for two consecutive years," the statement said.

"As such Sri Lanka Cricket has taken a stern decision against Suraj Randiv and TM Dilshan, for their actions during the 3rd ODI of the Micromax Tri-Series held on August 16, 2010, wherein Virender Sehwag was deprived of scoring his century due to the delivery of a no-ball by Suraj Randiv," the press release by the Lankan Board said.

In the ODI on Monday, Sehwag was batting at 99 with India needing just one run for victory in the third ODI of the tri-series against Sri Lanka.  He struck Suraj Randiv for a huge six over long-off and raised his bat in celebration, only to realise a moment later that it was a big no-ball from the off-spinner and his runs would not be counted. The no-ball was the winning run.

The Indian team and cricket fans across the world were livid. Former cricketers slammed Randiv and the Sri Lankan team.

The young off-spinner, however, apologised to Sehwag after the match. The Sri Lankan board too offered their apologies, which prompted the Indian team management to declare the episode a "closed chapter" while the BCCI also made it clear that it would not pursue the case any further. (Read: Randiv has apologised to me: Sehwag)

SANGAKKARA TAKES RESPONSIBILITY

Earlier in the day, Lankan skipper Sangakkara also said that his team took full responsibility of the incident. He added that it was the duty of all teams to keep the spirit of the game alive. (Watch: Sangakkara takes the blame)

"That (playing in the spirit of the game) is a grey area and it is not in black and white. It is for all the teams in the world. All the teams have experienced something or the other. Presenting yourself well on and off the field and making efforts to play fair are, I think, part of our job," he said.

Sangakkara, who is the representative of current players in the ICC Cricket Committee, also said, "It's not just Sri Lanka, it's the responsibility of all cricketers of the world. This incident was unfortunate, it's not Sri Lanka Cricket that has to take the sole proprietorship of whole unsavoury incident. All sides have gone through such incidents including India," he said.

Sangakkara was also not happy with Sehwag speaking in two voices on the controversy and "sensationalising" the issue. (Read: Fear of defeat led to no-ball: Sehwag)

"We can't expect just one side to keep making advances and holding out the hand while it has been sensationalised by other players. I think everyone has got the responsibility to move on from this incident," he said when asked if the Sri Lankan team has anything to say to Sehwag.

"He said one thing at match presentation and there was a marked contrast in the press conference with regard to that no-ball. I have spoken to Mahi (M S Dhoni) and Gary Kirsten. Sehwag has tweeted that there have been other approaches made to him. I think if you all talk of the spirit of the game, once you set right things in motion, it's the responsibility of all players to be within that spirit," he added.

There was much speculation yesterday on whether Sangakkara himself had a role to play in the no-ball being bowled and the captain emphatically said he at first thought Sehwag would get the runs after the Randiv no-ball was hit for a six only to realise later that it was not so under MCC Laws of Cricket.

"We were under the impression that in normal situations of the game even in a no ball, you get the runs. I was under the impression that Sehwag was on 105. There was no instance we thought he was denied a 100. Tony Greig asked me at the post-match presentation, Sehwag was denied a hundred. That was a surprise to me, I don't think anyone understood intricacies of the law in first place," he said.

"We had no inclination to deny Sehwag a hundred. If you need three runs to win and four runs to get a hundred, if you score a boundary, you do get a hundred. I would have thought that if he was stumped off a wide, we would have denied him. Maybe it's something to remember that if someone bowls a wide with one run to win you can charge down the wicket and miss it if it is wide," said Sangakkara.

The hosts play New Zealand on Thursday, while India's next game is on Sunday, again against Sri Lanka.

Uttarakhand cloudburst: 18 children killed in school roof collapse

Kapkot, Uttarakhand:  At least 18 little children have died and nearly 30 other school children are still trapped under the rubble of a school building which collapsed in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district on Wednesday.

In the middle of the heavy rain, rescue workers are trying to get to these trapped children. The terrible tragedy happened at Kapkot, a few hours from Nainital.

The roof of the Saraswati Shishu Mandir at Sumgad village collapsed when the children were studying, burying them under the debris.

Three teams of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police are involved in the rescue and have managed to bring out and save six children but many more are still trapped, the heavy rain is making rescue work very difficult.

The children were in the age group of six to 10 years, Anup Nautiyal, CEO of Emergency Response Service said, adding the rescued children who were injured were safe and were being treated by doctors.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank said the search and rescue teams have recovered the bodies of 18 children from the debris of the collapsed building in Kapkot area, about 450 km from Dehradun.

Nautiyal said according to reports around 50 children were inside the classes when the tragedy occurred. Fortunately, several children were in the open compound area, he added.

The Chief Minister also announced ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 each to the families, which have lost their children.

Despite bad weather, the rescue and search operation is going on in the affected area, said official sources.

Bageshwar District Magistrate D S Garbiyal said the tragedy occurred due to heavy landslides triggered by torrential rains at the hill where the school is situated.

Rescue teams from the district headquarters had a tough time reaching the spot after the bridge linking the area with Kapkot also collapsed due to heavy rains last night, Bageshwar District Development Officer S K Singh said.

However, locals sprang into action immediately after the incident and safely brought six children out of the rubble, he said.

Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva expressed grief over the death of children in the tragedy at Kapkot area of Bageshwar district.

In her message, Alva has also prayed to God to give strength to the family members of the children to bear the loss, a Raj Bhavan release said.

Nautiyal said that rescue operations are continuing despite bad weather and poor connectivity in the area.

"We have already deployed few ambulances on the spot and relief work continues as we speak now..," he said.

PM sanctions Rs. one lakh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed grief at the unfortunate incident and sanctioned Rs. one lakh each for the kin of the victims.

"The Prime Minister is grieved to learn of the unfortunate demise of 18 children of a primary school in
Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district," a PMO statement said.

It said the Prime Minister has sanctioned ex-gratia assistance of Rs. one lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 each in case of seriously injured from the PM's National Relief Fund.

The mishap occurred in Kapkot area of Bageshwar district this morning following heavy rains. (With PTI Inputs)

Pregnant woman beaten to death in Delhi

Delhi:  A love story with a rather tragic ending. A 22-year-old pregnant woman was found beaten to death in a park in New Delhi on Thursday. The police suspect the involvement of her husband in the murder.

Neetu, the victim had married Amit Chandra (25) two years ago after they fell in love. The parents of the couple were against the union. The victim's parents claim that Amit started demanding money from their daughter after the marriage and that they would only speak to Neetu. Amit reportedly works with a private firm. Neetu was missing since Wednesday night. She was found dead the next morning.

The body was discovered lying in a pool of blood behind Shalimar Bagh Palace flats. The couple was living in a rented accommodation in the area. One of the neighbours informed the police when he saw Neetu's body. Police sent the body for post mortem and lodged a murder case.

Delhi school boys discover new asteroid

New Delhi: Wonders never cease to exist. Two Delhi students have discovered a new asteroid as part of a unique astronomy project connected to the US space agency NASA.

Amanjot Singh and Sahil Wadhwa, both Class 12 students of Ryan International School, discovered a main belt asteroid (2010 PO24) on Aug 6 as part of the All India Asteroid Search Campaign (AIASC).

Asteroids are very small planet-like objects that generally go around the sun in orbits located between Mars and Jupiter. Sometimes these are nudged by gravitational forces out of their orbits and can come into contact with Earth.

"I am really excited about it," Sahil, who wants to pursue a career in astronomy, said.

"Our task was to sift through the data and analyse it. Every day we used to send our findings to scientists in NASA and they used to tell us if we were successful in discovering an asteroid, a near earth object or a second time confirmation of the asteroid," he added.

The campaign conducted between May 17 and June 30 and from July 1 to August 13, was introduced in India for the first time and about 30-45 schools were be involved in it. This year 11 countries on four continents participated in it.

Behind involving school students in the project was the Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) along with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), an international educational outreach programme.

The students went through exclusive data files of the sky provided by the IASC using astronomical data analysis software. The data files had images of the sky taken in the night with 24-inch and 32-inch telescopes at the Astronomical Research Institute (ARI) Observatory in the US.

Sahil and Amanjot are looking forward to naming the asteroid discovered by them, though the process will take almost six years as per the international rule.

Three other students from Navrachana School in Vadodara, Gujarat, have made a Virtual Impactor Observation (VIO) discovery of a Near Earth Object (NEO) discovered during the same programe July 19.

An NEO is an object in the solar system whose orbit brings it in close proximity to Earth. A VIO is carried out to determine whether the NEO is likely to hit the Earth or not.

When NEOs are first discovered, the impact risk with Earth is evaluated. If that risk is high enough, the NEO is placed on to the potentially hazardous asteroid list maintained by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"The observation made by students has led to NEO being officially removed from the list. This is a very rare and important observation," C.B. Devgun, SPACE director, told IANS.

Devgun said asteroids larger than about 50 metres could be expected to reach the Earth's surface at an interval of about 100 years, causing local disasters.

"These collisions are unlikely, but programmes such as NEO at NASA precisely track these objects as, if predicted in advance to be in a trajectory that collides with Earth, warnings can be generated and methods to avert them can be sought," he said.

Super-bug named after New Delhi bugs India

New Delhi: There's a new bug in town, a superbug that can spread rapidly. It is extremely immune to antibiotics claim researchers in Britain.

So what exactly is this Bug.

It's called NDM1, that stands for New Delhi Metallo-1. Considered to be extremely infectious in nature, the bug is completely resistant from all antibiotics known at present.

"It's not a single superbug, rather, it's a type of resistance that's been spreading about among different bacteria. The bacteria that pick up this resistance are resistant to virtually all the good antibiotics," said Professor David Livermore, Health Protection.

But what's bugging India is that it is stinking of a conspiracy. A Conspiracy that could damage India's flourishing medical tourism that attract thousands of patients from the west. Most come to India in the lookout for high quality treatment at cheaper costs.

Questions are now being raised about why the research was sponsored by two big pharmaceutical companies that may gain from the findings?

Moreover, the Indian Health Ministry says the research is not supported by scientific data and has rubbished the conclusions. Also, furious about the bacteria named after the capital of the country, India is only reiterating the conspiracy theory.

"This phenomena is not India centric, the superbug is everywhere. It is wrong to blame India, its hospitals, and our drug policy. Indian hospitals are world class. This gives a very wrong message. We will register protest," said V M Katoch, Secretary, Department of Medical Research.

However, the medical journal that published the study, Lancet, is highly respected and the report is being taken seriously.

In case, there is a new highly resistant bacteria then it could affect millions of people in India.

The most asked question at the moment is, what steps should India and Indians take to ensure it doesn't spread?

The superbug theory is making headlines and the debate seems to be only heating up. Amidst all, a set doctors believe that the need of the hour is to gather more information about this virus. They say that the Indian government should order a detailed investigation into the matter rather than just rejecting the findings outright.

Also, steps should be taken immediately to counter the possible spread of the bacteria.

Arjun Singh: Was surprised by Anderson's arrogance at Bhopal airport

New Delhi: Arjun Singh has said he was surprised by Warren Anderson's "arrogance" when Anderson landed at the Bhopal airport hours after his company - Union Carbide- caused a gas leak which led to thousands being killed. He has also said that Rajiv Gandhi did not intervene to help Anderson in any way.

Singh was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh when the Bhopal gas tragedy took place. Anderson was arrested when he arrived in Bhopal but was released within hours and flown to Delhi on the Chief Minister's plane. The CEO of Union Carbide then flew to America and has never returned, defying multiple summons from Indian courts.

"I take full responsibility for Anderson's arrest," said Singh in Parliament today, speaking publicly on the issue for the first time since a Bhopal court earlier this year pronounced a verdict that incensed the country because of the nano-punishment it delivered: seven Indian executives of Carbide were found guilty of criminal negligence, all of them were granted bail immediately.

" Someone told me that Warren Anderson was coming to Bhopal. I was amazed at the audacity of a person who was aware of what his factory was manufacturing... but he was coming to Bhopal ... for what ? At that very moment, I made up my mind that as soon as he lands he should be arrested. I did not share my decision with anybody .. I did call in the officers concerned and briefed them to arrest Anderson on his arriving. As soon as he stepped down from the plane, the police SP escorted him in a car and told him that he was under custody and they are taking him to his own rest house for detention. He was so surprised when he was told this ... he kept asking ... Why is the CM not here to receive me ... Imagine the arrogance of the man," said Singh.
Singh said that then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi "did not utter a single word in the next two days either in support of Mr Anderson or try to mitigate his problem. " Instead, he suggested that the Home Ministry in Delhi may have tried to rescue Anderson. "The Chief Secretary informed me that there have been persistent calls for granting bail to Mr Anderson from Home Ministry officials in Delhi," Singh said. At the time, Narasimha Rao was the country's Home Minister.

"It became my responsibility to ensure that no physical harm came to him. I knew that people would lynch him from the nearest lamppost. Today, 26 years later, I can tell you ... it breaks my heart," said Singh, justifying the decision to let Anderson leave Bhopal even as hundreds of people in the city's hospitals were gasping for breath.
Singh said after the Bhopal tragedy, he offered his resignation to Rajiv Gandhi, who was then Prime Minister. "Rajiv ji said it was uncalled for, he said."

Kalmadi announces inquiry after allegations of forged documents

New Delhi: As the allegations of corruption get larger and louder for those involved with the Commonwealth Games, the trouble-shooting for Suresh Kalmadi is becoming tougher.

Kalmadi, the Chairman of the Organising Committee, has denied that his team has indulged in financial or other irregularities. But today brought another dent to the claim that Team Kalmadi has played completely by the book

9 killed in US warehouse shooting: Official

Manchester, Connecticut: Nine people are dead after an employee summoned for a disciplinary hearing opened fire at a beer distributor in Manchester, Conn., on Tuesday morning, the police said.

One of the dead was the suspected gunman, said Sgt. Sandy Ficaro of the Manchester Police Department. Investigators had been at the company, Hartford Distributors, throughout the day trying to determine the number of fatalities.

"We do know that there are eight deceased and the suspect as well," Sergeant Ficara said. "That is the final count."

Lt. J. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police, which is conducting the investigation with the Manchester Police, said the suspect went on a rampage in the warehouse, then "probably" turned the gun on himself. "We're still piecing a lot of it together now," he said earlier.

Sergeant Ficara said, "It's been a crazy scene out there."

He identified the suspect as Omar Thornton, who is 34.

John Hollis, a legislative affairs representative for the Connecticut Teamsters, said Mr. Thornton had been called in for a disciplinary hearing that could have resulted in his being terminated. Mr. Hollis called the suspect "a bottom guy" because he was the last man hired, and said he brought a union representative from Local 1035 for the hearing.

The death toll increased throughout the chaotic morning. At first, officials confirmed three dead. The total is believed to have increased as investigators searched the family-owned warehouse about 10 miles east of Hartford. Three of the injured, all with multiple gunshot wounds, had been transported to Hartford Hospital, and one victim died later in the morning, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman, Rebecca Stewart, said one patient at the hospital remained in critical condition and another was in fair condition.

Mr. Hollis said Mr. Thornton was a driver for the company, the last to be hired within the previous three years. Public records show that Mr. Thornton, 34, graduated from East Hartford High School in 1996.

Mr. Hollis said Mr. Thornton had run through the warehouse at the busiest time of the morning, right before 7:30 a.m. At that point, more than 100 drivers, sales people and executives would have been in the building during a shift change.

"He came in to meet with the company and after that, all hell broke loose," Mr. Hollis said. "He pulled the gun and ran through the warehouse."

Mr. Hollis said the State Police told him they confronted the suspected gunman and ordered him to drop the gun. The suspect most likely shot himself, Lieutenant Vance said, adding, "There was no police discharge of weapons."

Lt. Joe San Antonio, a spokesman for the Manchester police, said that when officers responded to an emergency call at 7:30, they searched the building and found the suspect shot.

Buses transported employees from the warehouse to Manchester High School, where union representatives and Ross Hollander, the owner of Hartford Distributors, were comforting families of the victims, Mr. Hollis said.

In a statement, Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut called the shootings a "senseless act of violence."

"In the wake of this tragedy," Ms. Rell said, "we are all left asking the same questions: How could someone do this? Why did they do this?"

One man, who did not want to be identified, walked out of the high school on Tuesday afternoon and quickly got into his car. "It was a sad day," the man said. "I was in there."

Pakistan floods 'kill 800' people and affect a million

The UN's Manuel Bessler in Pakistan says many areas are cut off

The worst monsoon floods in living memory have killed at least 800 people and affected one million in north-west Pakistan, a local official has said.

Rescuers are struggling to reach inundated areas where transport and communication are down.

Peshawar, the area's largest city with a 3m-strong population, is cut off.

At least 60 people have died across the border in Afghanistan where floods affected four provinces.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier) province, announced the latest death toll. Earlier, he described the floods as the province's worst ever.

Pakistani soldiers evacuate stranded villagers near Nowshera, Pakistan on July 30, 2010

Manuel Bessler, the head of the UN's Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) in Pakistan, told the BBC about 1m people's lives had been disrupted.

He could not say with certainty the full scale of the emergency in Pakistan, as he was having trouble reaching his own offices in some of the worst-affected areas.

UN aid workers were helping to co-ordinate efforts to provide shelter, health care, drinking water and ready-to-eat food rations, he said.

There was concern, he added, that swollen rivers running south would carry the floods to provinces like Sindh where heavy rain was forecast in coming days.

Aishwarya, Rajnikanth launch Endhiran music

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Tamil superstar Rajnikanth today launched the music of their forthcoming film Endhiran here amid a grand musical extravaganza.

The 36-year-old actress looked ravishing in a maroon churidar-kameez at the event which was also attended by the film's director Shankar and composer A R Rahman. The show had a high tech tone with digital music and men dressed as robots on the stage.

Endhiran (Robot) is a mega budget Tamil film, touted to be one of the most expensive ones ever made and is loaded with special effects.

The music launch, held at the sprawling Putrajaya convention centre outside Kuala Lumpur, was also attended by lyricist Vairamuthu, Sun TV chief Kalanidhi Maran, Tamil stars Jeyam Ravi, Radha Ravi and Ramya Krishnan.

Radha Ravi suggested that Aishwarya should become a member of the South Indian Artiste's Association. Earlier this morning, Aishwarya landed at the international airport and reportedly kicked up a fuss when she could not find her white bag, believed to be containing her make-up kit.

She refused to leave the VIP lounge until the bag was delivered to her two hours later. The bag was actually with one of her minders, reported Star newspaper online. Aishwarya was also not very happy with the star-struck airport ground staff who couldn't stop clicking away.

"How many photos of me do they want to take?" she was overheard asking one of her minders.