Pirate of London Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp is sailing down the River Thames in London by luxury yacht to get to the set of his latest movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'.

 

Johnny Depp is commuting to work everyday by boat.
 

The Hollywood star has chartered a yacht to sail down the River Thames in London so he can get to the set of new movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' on time.
 

He boards the luxury vessel - nicknamed The Jolly Roger - from Battersea before winding his way up the waterway to Greenwich, where he is reprising his role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the fourth instalment of the Disney franchise.
 

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Johnny chose to charter a boat for the week because it's the easiest and quickest way to get there.
 

"He's been flying in from his home in France some mornings and hopping on the yacht at Battersea.
 

"He's been enjoying the views from the water."
 

Depp's newfound love of water comes from his joy at playing character Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie series.
 

The 46-year-old star - who is reportedly earning £21 million to appear in the sequel - admits the eccentric seafarer has stolen a place in his heart.
 

Speaking about the role, he said: "Sometimes you fall in love with who you are playing. As filming winds down, you hear the clock ticking because you know you are going to leave your character behind and a kind of odd separation anxiety kicks in. You get irritable and just sort of melancholy."
 

Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan, Taliban leader captured

Kandahar, Afghanistan - Two NATO soldiers died in southern Afghanistan in separate attacks, officials said Thursday.

One ISAF soldier was killed in an insurgent attack in the southern province of Kandahar, while another died when a roadside bomb exploded, the military said in separate statements, without disclosing the nationalities of the deceased.

More than 530 international soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan so far in 2010, the bloodiest year for the approximately 150,000 NATO forces in the country since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Separately, Afghan and NATO forces detained a suspected Taliban leader in Kabul on Thursday, the military said.

The alleged commander had come from central province of Wardak to Kabul to plan an attack on the presidential palace, the statement said, adding, "He has also planned and participated in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces."

The statements came hours after a suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy near Kandahar airport, killing three civilians and injuring 12 others according to NATO and Afghan officials.

Thailand's economic growth forecast revised upward

 Bangkok - The Thai economy

was predicted to grow 7.3 per cent this year, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTTC) said Thursday, up from an earlier forecast of 6.9 per cent.

After unexpected rapid growth in the first half of the year, the economy was expected to slow to a 4.2-per-cent growth in the third quarter and 3.2 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, said Thanawat Polwichai, director of the UTCC's Economic and Business Broadcasting Centre.

Thanawat said that despite the baht appreciating, private consumption, tourism and exports had continually improved.

The UTCC's outlook is close to the forecasts the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released earlier in the week.

The ADB increased their forecast for Thailand's economic growth for the year from 4 per cent projected in April, to 7 per cent.

The uncertainty of the recovery in the world economy was the biggest risk for the Thai economy and others in the region, Jean-Pierre Verbiest, the ADB's Thailand country director said Tuesday.

For 2011, the UTCC predicted the Thai economy would expand by 4.4 to 5.4 per cent year-on-year, while the ADB forecast growth of about 4.5 per cent .