US debt crisis: Senate Democrats block Republican cuts bill

The frenzied legislative manoeuvring to avert a crippling US debt default is continuing as Tuesday's deadline to raise the country's debt ceiling looms and Congress remains split down party lines.

Late on Friday night the Republican-controlled House finally approved a bill to raise the debt ceiling in return for billions of dollars in spending cuts, but the Democratic Senate quickly rejected it.

The back-to-back votes broke weeks of political inertia in efforts to lift the $14.3tn (£8.7tn) US debt limit by Tuesday, after which the world's largest economy will be unable to pay all of its bills.

The Democratic Senate leader, Harry Reid, ceded some ground when he revised his own deficit-reduction proposal to incorporate parts of a "back-up plan" first proposed by the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell. Reid is seeking a vote on the new proposal on Saturday. "Unless there is a compromise or accept my bill we're headed for economic disaster," Reid said.

The new version would essentially give Barack Obama the authority – and the blame – for raising the debt ceiling in three stages to cover US borrowing needs through the 2012 elections when he is running for a second term. Obama and the Democrafts had hoped to avoid multiple votes before the election.

Speaking after dismal figures for US growth increased the pressure on politicians to prevent a fresh meltdown in global markets, Obama said: "I am confident we can solve this problem. I am confident we will solve this problem.

"For all the intrigue and all the drama that's taking place on Capitol Hill right now I'm confident that common sense and cooler heads will prevail."

But Congress remained in disarray for much of Friday with the Republican leader in the House, John Boehner, in a dangerous mood after failing to quell a humiliating revolt by the Tea Party wing.

Boehner scheduled a vote on Thursday on a Republican bill to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending, but hardcore conservatives refused to back it and the vote had to be temporarily abandoned. The bill was substantially rewritten to meet conservative rebels' demands.

The febrile mood in Washington was matched on Wall Street and in the City of London, where news that the US grew at an annual rate of just 1.3% in the three months to June prompted renewed concern that the world's biggest economy could lapse back into recession if ratings agencies downgrade its debt.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve might need to embark on a third round of quantitative easing – the creation of electronic money – intensified after revisions to past figures for US gross domestic product showed the recession was deeper than originally believed and the subsequent recovery weaker. America's peak-to-trough drop in output between 2007 and 2009 is now put at 5.1% rather than the 4.1% originally estimated.

With the International Monetary Fund warning the US that a continued impasse risks reigniting Europe's debt crisis, bond yields in Italy and Spain rose. The interest rate on 10-year Italian bonds rose to 5.89%, while that for Spain – where the government called a general election – climbed to 6.09%.

Shares in London closed 1% lower, a drop of 58.02 at 5815.19, while the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 96.87 points at 12,143.24, completing a week of daily falls.

Sources close to George Osborne, the British chancellor, said the new figures from the US showed that the American and British experience during and after the global downturn had been similar, weakening the argument for the coalition to revisit its tough austerity plans.

If the US does not raise its debt ceiling by 2 August it risks being unable to continue borrowing and pay its bills. Obama has said that default is not an option so the US treasury will prioritise keeping up interest payments, which could mean cuts elsewhere. The president reiterated that the victims could be people expecting federal cheques for welfare, and military veterans and government contractors awaiting payments.

"This is not a situation where the two parties are miles apart," Obama said. "There are a lot of crises in the world that we can't always predict or avoid: hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks. This isn't one of those crises. The power to solve this is in our hands."

READ MORE - US debt crisis: Senate Democrats block Republican cuts bill

X Games' safety a question as tricks get more dangerous

At X Games 17 on Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, Jackson Strong won the Moto X best trick contest with a trick no one had pulled off in that event's history: a front flip.

The Australian native had practiced it for three years on a dirt bike and landed it here in a gold-medal performance.

But soon after the event, he looked ahead.

"One day, somebody is probably going to be doing a double front flip on a dirt bike," Strong said. "I hope I'm not around when that happens."

The culture of action sports has long been for its athletes to push higher, harder, faster, farther.

At the X Games, the athletes push even more when competing against their sport's finest on their sport's biggest stage. Combine that culture and that stage, and serious injuries are bound to occur.

In the same event Strong won, action sports star Travis Pastrana suffered a broken right foot and ankle when he attempted a trick he has failed to complete for years.

Later Thursday night, BMX rider Chad Kagy fell from about 45 feet into a quarterpipe and broke his right femur.

These injuries represent a small sample size, but Bill Moore, a performance psychologist who has worked with dozens of athletes, said that given the culture of action sports and of the X Games, proper oversight is a must.

"If left to their own devices, athletes will continue to push it and suffer consequences down the line," said Moore, president of Moore Performance Consulting. "That is the culture of what these guys are coming from. What's happened is, the tricks have outgrown the culture."

Jamie Bestwick, who won his fifth straight gold medal in the BMX freestyle vert Friday, described how the games have changed.

"Years ago, you could pump the ramp and settle for one big trick and maybe win the contest," he said. "Now it's back-to-back-to-back, you're stringing big tricks with filler tricks and then going back to big tricks. It's really tough, and it's really easy to have a lapse in concentration."

Like all sports, the X Games is certainly much different from when it began, but Moore said it's unlike other sports.

"The difference with these guys is mistakes really matter," Moore said.

A small mistake can result in disaster, such as when Jake Brown attempted a 540-degree spin above the 27-foot tall quarterpipe wall in the skateboard big air competition in 2007.

Later, Brown said he was too far left as he approached the quarterpipe. He ended up plummeting from about 45 feet in the air onto the flat part of the ramp, a landing that could have killed him.

Scott Guglielmino, ESPN's senior vice president of programming and Global X, said that when an audience that isn't too familiar with action sports sees a crash, "they think that it's more inherently dangerous than it is."

"They're athletes, not daredevils," he added.

Nate Adams, who won the gold medal in Moto X freestyle Friday, agreed that athletes do think about their well-being, but said he competes in about 15 action sports events annually and none compare to the X Games in terms of pressure.

READ MORE - X Games' safety a question as tricks get more dangerous

Stunning move to add Nnamdi Asomugha caps whirlwind 2 days for Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — With one big move after another over two wild days, the Philadelphia Eagles became strong favorites to reach the Super Bowl.

Trading Kevin Kolb was expected. Signing Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin was no surprise. Even getting two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Vince Young to back up Michael Vick hardly turned heads

But the stunner came when the defending NFC East champions swooped in from nowhere and landed Nnamdi Asomugha, the biggest prize on the NFL’s free-agent market.

The two-time All-Pro cornerback was seemingly headed elsewhere — the New York Jets courted him aggressively — before the Eagles quietly moved in and signed him to a $60 million, five-year deal on Friday.

No one anticipated that being the major announcement when general manager Howie Roseman and coach Andy Reid took the podium shortly after teams were allowed to officially announce free-agent signings at 6 p.m.

“This has been fast and furious, but good things have come out of it,” Reid said. “I mentioned to you before that I thought Howie had a great plan for free agency and trades, so this is what we have here so far and it’s a pretty good list.”

Babin, who had 12½ sacks last year in Tennessee, bolsters the pass rush. Young, who was 30-17 as a starter in five seasons with the Titans, provides insurance if Vick goes down. Asomugha and two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, acquired from Arizona in the Kolb trade, join Asante Samuel to form perhaps the best cover secondary in the NFL.

Last season, the Eagles allowed a franchise-record 31 touchdown passes in the regular season, and three more in a 21-16 loss to Green Bay at home in the first round of the playoffs.

It won’t be so easy throwing against this star-studded trio.

“It’s always been a priority position for us,” Roseman said. “Corners, pass rushers, and we felt like last year, we were in a situation where maybe we got a little short-handed, and we thought it was a place that we wanted to go heavy and have a lot of talent at.

“You can never have enough cover corners. That helps your pass rush and when you have an opportunity to add the players we added, we just thought we had to add those guys.”

Asomugha spent his first eight seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He had a career-high eight interceptions in 2006, and went to the Pro Bowl after each of the past three seasons.

Even though he had just three interceptions in the past three years — mainly because teams don’t throw to his side — Asomugha is widely regarded the best cover cornerback in the NFL, and was courted by several high-profile teams, including the Jets and Dallas Cowboys.

“He’s one of the best — if not the best — cornerback in the National Football League,” Reid said. “He’ll be a great addition to our cornerback corps.”

There’s speculation the Eagles may not keep Samuel, who was excused from training camp at Lehigh University the first two days. If Samuel is trade bait, Roseman certainly isn’t letting on, however.

“We do consider the third corner a starter,” he said. “This is a passing league. We think it’s important to be able to defend the pass and pressure the quarterback. When you have cover players and pass rushers, and we added a couple of those today and yesterday, I think that helps you do that.”

The Eagles also signed tight end Donald Lee and wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins to one-year deals on Friday.

Few noticed those moves, of course.

Adding Young got lost in the hoopla surrounding Asomugha’s acquisition, too. But Young could prove to be equally important if Vick gets hurt. Considering the way Vick recklessly throws his body around, Young might see plenty of action.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2006 draft, Young went 30-2 as a starter at Texas and led the Longhorns to a national championship in his final game there only to have an up-and-down tenure with the Titans.

Young has completed 58 percent of his passes with 42 touchdowns and as many interceptions. He’s rushed for 1,380 yards, with a 5.2-yard average, and 12 more touchdowns.

Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg helped develop Vick into an MVP candidate and Pro Bowl starter last year. They’re hoping to do the same with Young.

“It’s going to be a positive effect.” Vick said. “I think Vince will mature as a player, and I think he’ll get better. (Being in Philadelphia) will help him long term. So get him in here and make him a better player, and if we ever need him, he’s there for us. If you have a roster full of good quarterbacks, then you have a great chance of winning.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

READ MORE - Stunning move to add Nnamdi Asomugha caps whirlwind 2 days for Eagles

Eagles bring back Babin

Bethlehem, PA — 

The Philadelphia Eagles have brought back defensive end Jason Babin, who spent the 2009 campaign with the club and last season had 12 1/2 sacks for Tennessee. 

The contract is for five years and the Tennessean reported earlier in the week that it's worth $28 million, with about $5 million guaranteed. 
Babin is reunited with new Eagles defensive line coach Jim Washburn, who was the 31-year-old veteran's line coach with the Titans last year.

Prior to 2010, Babin had just 17 1/2 sacks in his first six NFL seasons. He had just 2 1/2 sacks in 12 games as a reserve with the Eagles in 2009.

The Western Michigan product was selected by Houston with the 27th overall pick of the 2004 draft and spent three seasons with the Texans. He has also played for Seattle and Kansas City.

Philadelphia also signed wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins and tight end Donald Lee to one-year deals on Friday.

Higgins recorded 57 receptions for 779 yards and four touchdowns over four seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He also has racked up 973 yards and three touchdowns on 115 punt returns.

Lee has played in 124 career games (64 starts) with the Dolphins (2003-04) and Packers (2005-10). The eight-year veteran has compiled 198 receptions for 1,875 yards and 19 touchdowns. 

READ MORE - Eagles bring back Babin

China's Sun Yang puts heat on 1500m freestyle record

SHANGHAI — Chinese teen sensation Sun Yang cruised through to the final of the world championships 1500m freestyle as he eyes an assault on Australian Grant Hackett's 10-year-old record.

The host nation are second behind the United States at the top of the swimming medals table in Shanghai on four golds compared with the Americans' haul of nine, but Sun looks a virtual certainty to win Sunday's 1500m final.

The 19-year-old, who clocked 14min 48.13sec to top the timings in the heats on Saturday, has already won gold in the 800m freestyle and silver in the 400m as he continues his meteoric rise.

"It's an easy race this morning. As for the final, I hope I can do my best and surprise everybody, but nobody knows what will happen," said Sun.

On the last night of pool action on Sunday, Sun is expected to mount a challenge to Hackett's world record time of 14:34.56 set in 2001, after missing out on the mark by less than a second at last year's Asian Games in Guangzhou.

So far just one world record has fallen in Shanghai, to America's Ryan Lochte in the 200m individual medley, after a glut of 43 at the 2009 worlds when swimmers wore the high-tech, polyurethane swimsuits which are now banned.

Also in Saturday's heats, America's Rebecca Soni qualified joint second quickest for the semi-finals of the 50m breaststroke in 30.72sec with Russian Yuliya Efimova as she seeks a third title after winning the 100m and 200m.

But she played down her chances in a strong field including the likes of world record-holder Jessica Hardy of the United States and defending champion Efimova.

"I'm really happy. It's been a great run so far and now it's the fun stuff, the (4x100m medley) relay and 50m," said the Olympic 200m breaststroke champion.

Elsewhere, British world record holder Liam Tancock reached the semi-final of the men's 50m backstroke, qualifying joint 10th fastest in the heats.

"It was nice to get in and post a decent time to put me through to the semi-final, which was the main aim," he said.

Highlights later Saturday, on the penultimate night of action, include Michael Phelps going for his third gold in Shanghai in the 100m butterfly after a mixed championships in which he has twice lost to Lochte.

Phelps, the 14-time Olympic gold-medallist, has struggled to find his peak after long periods neglecting training, although he has two golds including the 4x200m freestyle -- thanks to Lochte's anchor swim -- and the 200m butterfly.

And dope row swimmer Cesar Cielo of Brazil will seek to add a second successive 50m freestyle title to his 50m butterfly gold won earlier in Shanghai.

The reigning world and Olympic 50m freestyle champion escaped a ban on the eve of the competition despite testing positive for a banned diuretic, a ruling which drew an irate response from fellow swimmers.

READ MORE - China's Sun Yang puts heat on 1500m freestyle record

Reflections on the Horn of Africa Drought: Jesus, Stalin and Casey Anthony

                                                                                           "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink ..." 

Jesus' words are a powerful and inspiring reminder as I sit in my office browsing on news websites the stories and images of the staggering tragedy unfolding in the Horn of Africa.

Nearly 10 million people are "critically short of food," according to the United Nations, due to what UN officials say is the region's worst drought since I was born 60 years ago. Those 10 million people live in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti and war-ravaged Somalia.

For some, the stories and images will be reminders of the Ethiopian famine. Twenty-five years ago, the images of bloated, dying children, images unlike any others seen before by millions of Americans, prompted a massive outpouring of donations and offers to help. That outpouring culminated in the "Live Aid," concerts in Philadelphia and London, the latter of which brought a group I had never heard of before to the world's attention -- U2.

For others, the name "Somalia" brings back the events of 1991-1994 when hundreds of thousands of Somalis were starving, prompting a U.S.-led peacekeeping force to intervene. That effort led to a military operation against Somali warlords and, regrettably, the deaths of 42 American soldiers.

I am reminded of two things.

First, the faces, the voices and the stories of people I've met in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. Kenya was the first nation I visited after joining World Vision in 1998, and where I learned one of the most important lessons of my life: Poverty is not an image, or a statistic; poverty has a face, a name and a story.

Second, I am reminded of the powerful and provocative quote from Josef Stalin: "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic."

I fear that for many Americans -- Christians and people of other faiths or no faith -- will devote little time or attention, let alone resources, to the people suffering in the Horn of Africa. Rather they are preoccupied with "First World problems":

• How fluctuations in the stock market are affecting my 401(k) investments;
• Where to go on my next vacation;
• Whether to buy "name brand" or "store brand" items in the supermarket;
• Which diet and workout regimen will enable me to lose 10 pounds in a month; or
• The struggle over my next computer -- a notebook, a laptop, or the new iPad2?

Or worse, they are obsessed with finding out where Casey Anthony might be living, now that she's been released from jail after being acquitted of charges that she murdered her daughter, Caylee. Thousands of Americans followed Ms. Anthony's trial closely, and expressed outrange when she was found not guilty. They wanted justice for Caylee's death. Where's their outrage or sense of justice for the millions of children at-risk of dying in the Horn of Africa? Their lack of attention proves the late Soviet premier's admonition.

Many "First World" Americans have never met a person with "Third World problems":

• Whose income is2 a day and who has never heard of a 401 (K);
• Whose only travel plans are traipsing by foot from Somalia into Kenya to a refugee camp;
• Whose primary source of drinking water is infested with animal feces, and has never been inside a supermarket;
• Who lost 10 pounds in the last week because of too little or even no food, and who has no use for a health club membership; or
• Who has no access to electricity, and does not need -- and maybe has not ever seen -- a computer.

I have the privilege of knowing people facing both First World and Third World problems. It is a privilege because, I believe, Jesus would consider it a privilege. He met with, ate meals alongside and learned from those His society considered its lowest and its outcasts -- prostitutes, tax-collectors, the poor and victims of injustice.

He would have been honored to meet and serve people like Hawo, a woman believed to be about 75-years-old who lives in Kalabeyr, a remote town in northern Somalia. Thanks to my World Vision colleagues working in the region, I know more about Hawo, than I ever will know -- or even want to know -- about Casey Anthony.

After the drought killed the more than 500 goats and sheep Hawo and her eight children lived on, they were forced to abandon their pastoral way of life and move to Kalabeyr. The nine of them live in a makeshift tukul, a small room within the compound of one of the town residents.

With no more livestock to provide for her family, and no money to buy water for drinking and cooking, she walks to a local market to beg for five or 10 liters of water.

She would love to buy 20 liters, but the price is beyond her reach: 40 cents. That's less than half the change I leave in the jar for tips at my local Starbucks.

It is Hawo whom Mark Bowden, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, might have been thinking of when he said recently: "Resources are woefully inadequate. We have an appeal that is at the moment only 40 per cent met. ... (W)e find ourselves as the humanitarian community in a position that we want and are able to do more, but just don't have the resources with which to do it."

Jesus' words about hunger and thirst, as quoted in Matthew, led me a few years ago to create an NIT version (New Irreverent Translation), one that Americans obsessed with "First World problems" might relate to:

"For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water."

We did not create the desperate conditions of drought and famine threatening the lives of 10 million people in the Horn of Africa. But, as Christians, it is our responsibility to do something about it. It is our moral duty to help our neighbors in need -- here in the U.S. and elsewhere, and God commands us to help those we have the means to help. We cannot look at their situation -- on television, in newspapers or magazines, or on the Internet -- shrug our shoulders, and say, "Not my problem."

READ MORE - Reflections on the Horn of Africa Drought: Jesus, Stalin and Casey Anthony

Cry for Stalin runs into lunch wall

                                                                  Coimbatore, July 24: The DMK’s general council today sought to skirt the sensitive matter of succession in the party by reaffirming its faith in M. Karunanidhi, though some leaders openly expressed their support for Stalin.

“This general council wishes a long life to Karunanidhi so he can continue to lead the Dravidian movement as its singular leader and show the way for Tamil Nadu,” the council declared in the second of its 25 resolutions. It described Karunanidhi as a multi-faceted leader whose reach went beyond electoral politics.

But a few minutes after the resolution was adopted, an impassioned plea to name a reliable leader who can lead the DMK in the future came from K. Ramanathan, an 80-year-old former MP who has stood by Karunanidhi through thick and thin for over five decades.

“The party is more important than all of us. Please touch your conscience and tell us who will lead the party after you,” Ramanathan said at the end of his speech. Immediately there was a collective roar of “thalapathy, thalapathy (general)” — the title Stalin’s followers use to address him — from the nearly 1,800 council members, signalling he is the overwhelming favourite.

But Karunanidhi did not respond to the cry. Instead he announced a two-hour lunch break and drove off to his hotel.

During Saturday evening’s executive committee meeting, at least three speakers urged Karunanidhi to give Stalin a greater role. When an Alagiri loyalist said Stalin already had an important role, he was shouted down by Stalin’s supporters.

At this juncture, Karunanidhi reportedly asked the executive: “Do you want to create a rift between me and Stalin? If you want I will step aside.”

As if on cue, two of the DMK chief’s trusted lieutenants rushed to his support and declared he would continue as the undisputed leader of the party. “There is no DMK without Kalaignar and he will be our leader during his lifetime,” party general secretary K. Anbazhagan said.

There were no cries of anguish from the rest of the executive over Karunanidhi’s offer to step aside, which could be an indication that many in the DMK want a younger and more energetic leader to take over from Karunanidhi if and when he chose to retire.

“Where is the need for the general council to reaffirm its faith in Karunanidhi’s leadership when no one (has) ever disputed it? We are only asking him to name someone to lead the party in the future so there will be no confusion later. Karunanidhi knows very well that 90 per cent of the cadres want Stalin to succeed him. But pressures from within the family — Alagiri and Kanimozhi’s mother Rajathi — are holding him back. He is scared that the family would split if he names Stalin his successor,” a DMK leader explained.

Although party leaders want Stalin to take over effective command, they also want Karunanidhi to play an advisory role.

READ MORE - Cry for Stalin runs into lunch wall

DMK leader MK Stalin detained

DMK president M Karunanidhi's son and party treasurer M K Stalin was on Saturday detained by police for staging a road roko in neighbouring Tiruvarur district. Police said Stalin, former deputy chief minister, and some of his aides were picked up after they squatted on the road when the police wanted to question Tiruvarur DMK district secretary Kalalichelvan in connection with a case.

Top district police officials said Stalin was likely to be "let-off" later.

Police said a case had been registered against Kalaichelvan for allegedly preventing students of a school in Koradacheri, about 30 km from Tiruvarur, from attending their classes on Friday as part of DMK's boycott call over uniform education system, now pending before Supreme Court.

As the students were returning home after being allegedly 'forced out' by the DMK men, a student died in a road accident involving the bus in which he was travelling.

Stalin came to Koradacheri on Saturday to express his condolences to the family of the boy and was accompanied by Kalaichelvan and DMK MP A K S Vijayan.

When police sought to take into custody Kalaichelvan, the DMK men led by Stalin resorted to a road roko leading to their detention.

Shops downed their shutters in Tiruvarur while about 150 DMK men were taken into custody in Thanjavur when they protested against the detention of Stalin, police said.

Chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday blamed the DMK protest for leading to the death of the boy and charged Kalaichelvan with instigating his party workers to prevent students from attending classes.

"I strongly condemn the DMK protest which was responsible for the death of Vijay," she had said in a statement announcing a cash relief of Rs two lakh to his kin.

READ MORE - DMK leader MK Stalin detained

Attending Zara Phillips' Yacht Party, Kate Middleton Recycles Dress Again

Kate Middleton has pulled another outfit repeat for Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall's pre-wedding party. Joining husband Prince William and other guests at the Friday, July 29 bash, the Duchess of Cambridge looked lovely in the same emerald green dress she wore for an event in Los Angeles earlier the same month. 

Boarding the Royal Yacht Brittania in Edinburgh, Scotland, the 29-year-old gave a look at the delicate buttons that run down the back of her silk Diane von Furstenberg "Maja" dress. While she recycled the dress, the older sister of Pippa Middleton did trade the black pumps she wore for her L.A. appearance with a pair of nude heels. 

This isn't the first time Kate re-wore an outfit. An official photo of her and William for their North American tour had uncovered that she donned the same navy blue suit she wore when visiting Blackburn and Darwen on April 11, just weeks before her April 29 wedding to the British royal. 

Zara Phillips herself is William's cousin and the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth. The 30-year-old daughter of Princess Anne will tie thehnotwith rugby player Mike Tindall on Saturday, July 30. It is reported that the ceremony will begin at 3 P.M. at Cannongate Kirk church in Edinburgh. 

On Friday evening after a formal rehearsal for the wedding ceremony, Zara and Mike hosted the cocktail party aboard the Royal Yacht Brittania. They were joined by family and friends, including Zara's father, Captain Mark Phillips and his second wife, Sandy Pflueger, as well as Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. 

READ MORE - Attending Zara Phillips' Yacht Party, Kate Middleton Recycles Dress Again

The importance of being earnest – and Amitabh Bachchan

In his forthcoming film ‘Aarakshan‘, Amitabh Bachchan plays an idealist teacher who despises the caste system, but questions the pertinence of reservations, says The Times of India.

Speaking at St Xavier’s College, Kolkata, the actor said, according to the ToI report, “Since it has been endorsed by the Supreme Court and the Parliament and sanctioned by laws, Indians have no choice but to obey and accept it. But we need to assess whether it’s really helping uplift the backward classes or widening the rift between the privileged and the have-nots. Also, we must find out if commercialisation of education is the result of a mad race for seats triggered by reservation.”

With reservation being an issue that affects the lives of every Indian, and commercialisation of education, too, of significant concern to Indians, Bachchan’s drawing attention to the issues is no small matter.

Unless, of course, he is drawing attention not to reservation and the commercialisation of education, but to the film ‘Aarakshan’, which launches on 12 August.

A few years ago, when the award-winning ‘Paa’ was set to launch, Bachchan underlined that the film, which rested on a character with progeria, was not designed to draw attention to the ailment. “But the film is not about the disease,” Bachchan had then said clearing the air, “It’s about relationships. It just happens that the kid in the film suffers from progeria. We aren’t creating awareness for the disease,” said a report in The Times of India.

Well, that did clear the air. We know that Bachchan’s statements about progeria were only in the context of the film; that he did not consciously intend to draw attention to the disease.

He may not have intended to, but that’s what he achieved.

“Two brothers, Ikramul Khan and Ali Hussain who are suffering from progeria, a disease that accelerates ageing process, say their last wish is to meet Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and thank him for creating awareness about it,” reported NDTV.

Ali did, finally, get his wish. His brother didn’t, succumbing to progeria. Bachchan later wrote on his blog: “Master Ali, the only surviving member of this progeria ridden family came over from Kolkata, as I had promised. Such a joy to see the actual Auro, to be able to feel his emotion and his spirit and strength. He was cool and suave and most unconcerned about his condition, even though he had just lost his elder brother some months ago, also afflicted by the disease. The father told me a few other children of his had all passed away in similar fashion. His mother kept crying through out the meeting. What can one say at moments like this? It is so difficult to face the moment. You smile and give hope and the confidence that all will be well, when in fact we know that it will not.”

When Bachchan signed a contract as brand ambassador for the Narendra Modi ruled state of Gujarat, there was an instant outcry, provoking Bachchan to write on his blog. “You want to stop me from promoting tourism in a state because you have reason to believe that there are political connotations to the event. This is such rubbish! All I shall be doing will be working in a short film that shall highlight the various places of interest in the state, so that it encourages more tourists to visit the region,” Bachchan posted.

READ MORE - The importance of being earnest – and Amitabh Bachchan

Zara Phillips' royal wedding details

(CBS) Back in April, Prince William and Kate Middleton married in a lavish ceremony broadcast around the world. When William's cousin Zara Phillips marries on Saturday, it will be a much quieter affair.

There will still be a host of royal guests - including Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) - but the wedding will be held in a historic church in Edinburgh, Scotland, and with no television cameras inside.

The Queen's eldest granddaughter (Phillips' mother is Princess Anne), an accomplished equestrian, will marry rugby player Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk. A reception will be held at the royal palace Holyroodhouse, a short distance from the church. BBC News reports that the couple will travel between the sites in cars, not carriages.

It's rumored that the bride will wear a gown by Stewart Parvin, one of the queen's favorite designers. There's no word on who will be in her bridal party.

Edinburgh is readying for the royal wedding ceremony, which is set to begin at 3 p.m. According to the Daily Mail, the church, which is under heavy police guard, has been decked out with more than 400 white roses and hundreds of beech tree branches. Florists have also brought dozens of white carnations and white stargazer lilies into the chapel, along with small box trees and ivy.

On Friday night, guests will gather at a pre-wedding celebration. People Magazine reports that younger guests are expected to party on the Windsor's retired vessel, the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is now moored in Leith docks.

The magazine also reports that the couple will forgo a honeymoon. Phillips has commitments in her career as a show-jumper, while Tindall has to report back to the England rugby training camp on Monday.

READ MORE - Zara Phillips' royal wedding details

Syrian activists vow daily Ramadan protests

Syrian activists have called for daily protests during the Muslim holy month, expected to begin on Monday, as Syrians braced Friday for more anti-government demonstrations, dpa reported.

In a statement posted on Facebook, activists from the restive central city of Homs said that pro-democracy protests would be held every night in Ramadan and continue until dawn.

Ramadan is one of the holiest months in the Islamic calendar during which Muslims have to abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset.

Syrians have recently intensified their protests against the 11-year-old rule of President Bashar al-Assad despite a draconian clampdown by the security and army troops.

Syrian security forces fired at pro-democracy protesters late Thursday in the Deir az-zour region, killing at least two people, activists told the German Press Agency dpa.

A video posted on YouTube and purportedly filmed Thursday in Deir az-Zour showed dozens of people protesting the regime in front of al-Fourat University. The video could not be independently verified.

Omar Idlibi, a Syrian activist based in Lebanon, told dpa that at least two protesters were killed and 10 wounded.

The government crackdown came after Syrian activists called for mass protests on Friday to denounce what they say is Arab silence over the harsh government actions against pro-democracy rallies.

The online activists have dubbed the planned Friday protests "Your Silence Kills Us," which will be the latest in a series of demonstrations against the regime of al-Assad.

More than 1,400 people have been killed since anti-government protests began in mid-March in Syria, local human rights advocates say.

These reports are hard to verify, as Syrian authorities have barred most foreign media and international human rights groups from the country.

READ MORE - Syrian activists vow daily Ramadan protests