Washington, January 19
The steadily rising Iraq war price tag will reach about 8.4 billion dollars a month this year, Pentagon spokesmen said yesterday, as heavy replacement costs for lost, destroyed and aging equipment mount.

‘Residual tale’ Democrats won the election last November riding on the unpopularity of the Iraq war. England said the financial burden of the conflict would persist for some time. He said even after the war ends, and he did not estimate when that would be, there would be two years of a ''residual tail'' of costs for rebuilding the military.

The Pentagon has been estimating last year's costs for the increasingly unpopular war at about 8 billion dollars a month, having increased from a monthly ''burn rate'' of around 4.4 billion dollars during the first year of fighting in fiscal 2003.

During testimony at a House Budget Committee hearing, Deputy Defence Secretary Gordon England said that nearly four years into the war, the Pentagon's war costs were rising because it was having to replace big-ticket items such as helicopters, airplanes and armored vehicles that are wearing out or were lost in combat. ''We have a backlog and are seeing an increase,'' England told the panel.

When factoring in US combat costs in Afghanistan, the Pentagon will spend about 9.7 billion dollars a month during the fiscal year that ends on September 30, according to Pentagon spokesmen.

Early next month, the administration is expected to ask Congress for a further 100 billion dollars in ''emergency'' war money, on top of the 70 billion dollars already approved for this year. The request comes as President George W Bush has sketched out an increase of 21,500 US troops in Iraq that could cost about 5.6 billion dollars.

House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, a South Carolina Democrat, said he hoped Congress could avoid recurring emergency funding bills for the war.

Since fiscal 2001, Congress has approved 503 billion dollars to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other aspects of the US ''global war on terrorism,'' according to Congressional Budget Office testimony. Of that, 344 billion dollars has gone for military, diplomatic and other security costs in Iraq, the CBO said.

Most of the funds have been provided on an emergency basis, outside regular budget procedures. Critics say that obscures the true cost of the war and results in less congressional oversight. — Reuters

London, January 19
Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty's housemates on UK reality show ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ have apologised for alleged racist attacks on her and she made up with them with hugs.

Jade Goody, a reality TV star who called the actress "Shilpa Poppadam", and former Miss Great Britain Danielle Lloyd apologised to Shilpa last night as their careers appeared to be crumbling as a result of their alleged racism.

Shilpa (31) and Goody had a heart-to-heart last evening that was initiated by the Londoner. Goody said, "I know that what has happened has not been nice for you... and a lot of stuff got said the other day from you and from myself. I don't say it in a racial way... I do not judge people by the colour of their skin."

Shilpa replied, "I know that. I don't think you're racist. I really appreciate that you took the first step." The two then hugged and made up after giggling over how trivial the argument was.

As the housemates went to bed, it was Lloyd's turn to apologise, crouching beside Shilpa's bed to claim she was "disgusted" by her behaviour. She told Shilpa: "I didn't agree with some of the things you said to Jade, but I especially didn't agree with some of the things that Jade said to you. I'm sorry. Cos I'm young and quite naive, I probably took the route where I'll stick with Jade. I feel really disgusted at myself... I'm following the leader, following the group." She then admitted to Shilpa she felt intimidated by Goody.

Shilpa appeared to accept Lloyd's apology, saying: "Give me a hug."

Lloyd has already been dumped from a lucrative modelling contract, believed to be worth six figures, as a result of the row. The girlfriend of Teddy Sheringham signed a 12-month deal at the end of last year to be the face of motorcycle insurance firm Bennetts.

The Perfume Shop too decided to withdraw Goody's best- selling perfume, Shh..., from its shelves because of the controversy, adding that it would review the position when she left the house.

Complaints from viewers about the race row soared to over 36,000 as sponsor mobile phone firm Carphone Warehouse suspended its affiliation with the show yesterday. It used to pay three million pounds a year towards the sponsorship.

Broadcaster Channel 4, however, continued to defend the show. — PTI

Warsaw, January 19
Winds of more than 200 kph tore into Poland and the Czech Republic, uprooting trees and tearing down power lines after leaving a trail of damage across northern Europe that has killed at least 40 people.

Germany and Britain faced further disruptions to rail and air travel today after high winds left thousands of households without electricity. German airline Deutsche Lufthansa said that it expected many flights to be cancelled or delayed, especially at Frankfurt airport, as winds remained strong. National rail operator Deutsche Bahn also expected major disruptions. London's Heathrow Airport said short-haul and domestic flights were suffering some cancellations and delays.

Seven people died in Germany when the storm hit yesterday. In Britain, where winds gusted up to 99 mph (160 kph) in the worst storms in 17 years, eight people were killed. Six deaths were reported in Poland, three more died in the Czech Republic and three people died in the Netherlands.

Strong winds damaged a terminal roof at Prague international airport, causing some flight delays.

More than one million Czech customers faced power cuts and fallen trees disrupted travel on the nation's railways.

Meteorologists reported gusts of wind reaching up to 216 kph at the top of the Czech Republic's highest mountain, Snezka. A lorry driver was killed by a falling tree and one man died when a crane he was operating collapsed, the station said. Another person died when the roof of his house was torn off.

In Szczecin on the western Baltic coast a hotel was evacuated after an uprooted tree fell on a gas tank. The wind is expected to ease as the day progresses. In Hungary, where the strongest winds reached 108 kph mph, the fire brigade was called out more than 400 times, mostly due to fallen trees.

In Switzerland, winds gusted to 130 kph overnight, knocking down trees and delaying flights. Authorities warned people to stay home, but Swiss Television showed thrill-seeking windsurfers out in gale-force winds on Lake Neuchatel.

Overnight, German railways were practically shut down.

''We will now resume services track by track,'' Deutsche Bahn spokesman Volker Knauer told ZDF television.

Berlin central railway station, Europe's biggest rail crossing hub, remained closed after the wind ripped a huge steel support from the facade and hurled it to the ground.

The storm, ''Kyrill'', generated winds of up to 200 kph uprooting trees, damaging buildings and leaving thousands without electricity. In Brandenburg over 150,000 households suffered power cuts overnight. ''There are still 60,000 households without electricity,'' said Hans-Werner Meienberg, head of the centre for disaster control. — Reuters

Bangkok, January 19
Thailand has been voted as the world's best tourist country in the Norwegian Grand Travel Awards 2007 held in Oslo, Norway, earlier this month, according to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry said that the Thai embassy in Oslo reported that it is the fourth consecutive year Thailand won the annual award organised by Travel News Magazine of Norway. Greece, Denmark and Italy ranked second, third and fourth, respectively.

Meanwhile, Thai Airways International was also voted Best International Airlines in the airline category.

To complete the top 10 list, Indonesia, the USA, Turkey, Spain, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Greece and Hungary are included in the rankings.

The awards were divided into 17 catagories. — TNA