Washington, Nov. 8 : Two former White House chiefs of staff have praised President-elect Barack Obama’s choice of Representative Rahm Emanuel for the same job.

Ken Duberstein, the former chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan, and Leon Panetta, the former California congressman who held the post in the Clinton White House, said Emanuel’s appointment suggested that Obama was serious about getting results from his administration.

“Rahm is exceptionally well-qualified for that job,” Politico quoted Duberstein, as saying while lauding Obama for choosing a chief of staff so early in the transition process.

New Delhi - Indian domestic airlines Jet airways has terminated the contracts of at least 25 expatriate pilots, news reports said Saturday.

A major hike in aviation fuel earlier this year combined with the impact of high inflation has led to a downturn in India's aviation sector and the sackings are part of an effort to cut costs and streamline operations.

The foreigners among the staff who had been sacked included captains of Boeing 737 aircraft, a Jet Airways spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI news agency. The airlines had earlier grounded five of these aircraft.

Baghdad  - One person was killed and seven injured on Saturday in a bomb blast in northern Baghdad, police said.

The bomb went off in the al-Qahira neighborhood, damaging nearby shops and vehicles, the Voices of Iraq news agency reported.

Meanwhile, a prominent al-Qaeda-in-Iraq leader was killed in the north of the Iraqi capital during an operation by Iraqi forces, Sahwa fighters and coalition forces, a US army statement said on Saturday.

Wellington- New Zealand's new Prime Minister, John Key, 47, who steered his conservative National Party to victory in Saturday's general election, is a classic example of a poor boy made good.

Brought up by his mother in a state house after his alcoholic father died when he was seven, he made a fortune overseas as a foreign currency dealer before returning home to enter parliament a multi-millionaire and its richest member.

Shanghai - Proud Roger Federer has pronounced himself massively dissatisfied with his current label of "second best" in tennis after losing the number one ranking last August to Rafael Nadal.

Sana'a, Yeme