Ali Khan

Meet Dr Shah Rukh Khan now

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London, July 10: The Bollywood superstar is to be presented an honorary doctorate in arts and culture by Britain’s Bedfordshire University at a ceremony in London for his contributions to culture.

Shah Rukh was nominated by Routes to Roots, a non-government organisation that works across the SAARC region to bring South Asian people together.

“Shah Rukh Khan needs no introduction – being a superstar his contribution to arts, culture and media is well recognised. He has a huge fan following not only in India but across the globe,” said a spokesperson for Routes to Roots.

Slaughter House Files

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THE EVENTS of that night are only too well known, they are etched in the nation’s conscience. That night, on 26/11, terror unfolded, step by step and went something like this — ten well-armed terrorists got off a dinghy and walked ashore in the posh Gateway of India area and broke up into pairs. Trained to navigate the high seas and wage high-tech urban jehad, each pair had been tasked to separate locations. The first bullet rang out at Colaba’s popular Leopold Café, just after 9.30.

In Egypt, Invoking Islam to Combat Sexual Harassment

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Cairo, July 10: Doaa Kassem, like most Egyptian women, is used to being catcalled and grabbed at by men in the crowded streets of Cairo. The 24-year-old executive secretary is well versed in women’s rights, having studied the subject in Sweden, and she is bolder than most when it comes to dealing with her harassers. “I’m brave enough to stop them and tell them [what they’re doing is wrong],” she says. Sometimes she even chases them down.

Active duty Army suicide rate on record-setting pace

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Washington, July 10: Suicides in the US Army are on the rise with 88 suspected cases in the first six months of the year, compared to 67 in the same period in 2008, according to Pentagon figures issued.

The latest figures confirmed warnings from top US military officers that the number of suicides among active-duty soldiers this year was on track to surpass a record level set in 2008.

Last year 128 soldiers took their lives, up from 115 in 2007, amid increasing strain on Army troops serving repeated combat tours.

Aussie court cancels Friday prayers for Muslims

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A Muslim center in Australia can no longer hold Friday prayers in Cannington, Perth, a court ordered Tuesday, citing complaints that the faithful jam the neighborhood on a weekly basis and exceed the center’s designated limit.

The court complained Muslims attending the congregational prayer, held once every week, exceed their numbers and take over all parking spots in the industrial neighborhood in Perth,western Australia,where the Daawah Association of Western Australia prayer center is located.

Muslim world grieves for Michael Jackson

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Michael Jackson’s sudden death at age 50 provoked an outpouring of emotion from Muslims and Arabs who paid tribute to the pop star whose conversion to Islam and brief residence in the Gulf helped cement his popularity among a global fan base.

Jackson lived like king but died awash in debt

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Los Angeles, June 26: Michael Jackson the singer was also Michael Jackson the billion-dollar business.

Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, the “King of Pop” died Thursday at age 50 reportedly awash in about $400 million in debt, on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal.

A Withdrawal in Name Only

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On November 17, 2008, when Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker signed an agreement for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, citizens from both countries applauded. While many were disappointed about the lengthy timeline for the withdrawal of the troops, it appeared that a roadmap was set to end the war and occupation. However, the first step — withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009 — is full of loopholes, and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers will remain in the cities after the “deadline” passes.

Taiwan welcomes prostitution

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Taipei, June 26: Taiwan began a process of legalizing prostitution Wednesday making the island the latest place in the world to decriminalize the world’s oldest profession.

In six months, authorities will stop punishing Taiwan sex workers after prostitutes successfully campaigned to be given the same protection as their clients, a government spokesman said.

“Now the client gets off free, but the prostitute gets punished, and that’s not fair,” spokesman Su Jun-pin said.

‘Hidden’ girl goes to court

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London, June 25: A PRETTY shop assistant who claims she was made to work in a store’s stockroom because of her prosthetic arm arrives at an employment tribunal yesterday.

Riam Dean, 22 – who was born with her left forearm missing – said she was hidden from customers at trendy Abercrombie & Fitch.

She said bosses let her wear a cardigan at first, but then told her it did not match the store’s “look policy”.

A manager allegedly told the law student she could return to the shop floor only if she removed the cardigan.

Saudi women train to sell lingerie

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Riyadh, June 25: A group of Saudi woman launched a campaign aimed at bringing in female sales personnel at lingerie stores. Only men are allowed to sell underwear in almost all stores in this ultraconservative kingdom, making the experience of shopping for intimate apparel for most women embarrassing.

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Italian PM paid for sex?

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Rome, June 25: Embattled Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he has never paid a woman for sex, the subject of an embarrassing investigation under way in southern Italy. “I have never paid a woman,” Berlusconi said in an interview to appear today.

“I have never seen the satisfaction that there could be in it without the pleasure of conquest,” he told the celebrity weekly Chi. The 72-year-old billionaire is embroiled in a host of scandals from his links to an aspiring teen model to a messy divorce.

Gangsters can take leave at will: Lapses in Arthur Road jail exposed

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Pune, June 25: No restriction at Arthur Road Jail. A highly confidential inquiry report by the Maharashtra prison department has revealed that several key undertrials, including Mohammad Dossa, underworld don-turned-politician Arun Gawli and DK Rao (the right-hand man of fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan), among others, freely availed of “leave” out of the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai over the last three years.

Ronaldo slept with 80,000 girls: ex. Girlfriend claim

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London, June 25: Cristiano Ronaldo is as famous for his wild escapades with women as he is for his football. So much so that, it’s difficult to keep track of the number of ladies the Portuguese footballer has dated so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s former girlfriend has suggested that the footballer may have bedded 80,000 girls since he dumped her.

His former girlfriend Nereida Gallardo has added another dimension to the debate by furiously suggesting that Ronaldo might have bedded 80,000 women since he dumped her.

A look at Rani Mukherjee’s role in Dil Bole Hadippa

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Mumbai, June 25: Yes, this is Rani Mukerji. As she will be seen in the Yash Raj film Dil Bole Hadippa. The actress essays the role of a Sikh boy from a small village, in this full-on entertainer based in Punjab. The look of the film has been done by Manish Malhotra while Rani’s sardar look has been done by Mike Stringer from UK, who styled the Dhoom 2 look.

The film, directed by Anurag Singh, stars Shahid Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Rakhi Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra. The film is said to be inspired by She’s The Man, smainlining Amanda Bynes.

What it’s about

N Korea threatens to wipe out US ‘once and for all’

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Washington, June 25: “North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days,” the Associated Press reports.

“If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will … wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.

No Obama apology for CIA in Latin America

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Washington, June 24: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday declined to apologize for a past CIA interventions and alleged coup attempts in Latin America, after talks with Chilean leader Michele Bachelet.

“I’m interested in going forward, not looking backward,” said Obama, who has pledged to reinvigorate ties with Latin America, after what his advisors believe was neglect during the previous Bush administration.

“I think that the United States has been an enormous force for good in the world. I think there have been times where we’ve made mistakes,” Obama said in the Oval Office.

People on ‘terror watch’ list able to buy guns: US

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Washington, June 24: Hundreds of people on the FBI’s “terrorism watch list” were able to buy firearms over the past five years because of a gap in US gun ownership restrictions, according to a new report delivered to US lawmakers.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the US Congress, released findings Monday showing that 963 people on the list tried to buy firearms between February 2004 and February 2009 and that 90 percent of them succeeded.

Germany’s Muslims on the rise but feel alienated

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Cairo, June 24: Germany has more Muslims than it originally thought, with nearly half of them holding German citizenship and thus able to vote in elections, according to a government survey released Tuesday, which found Muslims were religious but tended to be less socially integrated.

Muslims make up five percent of Germany’s 80 million population, two percent more than most common estimates, according to the first survey of German Muslims.

60,000 inmates sexually abused every year: Prison rape Commission

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Washington, June 23: A federal commission on prison rape has concluded that the risk of being attacked depends greatly on the type of prisoner, and where the inmate is locked up.

More than 60,000 inmates are sexually abused every year, according to a report being made public Tuesday by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. The eight-member panel was formed under the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Maria Sharapova is enjoying at Wimbledon

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London, June 23: There was a time, not all that long ago, when Maria Sharapova wondered when she would be back at Grand Slam tournaments, let alone winning matches.

Surgery in October on her right shoulder a fairly important part of a tennis player’s body forced Sharapova off the tour for the better part of a year. She returned to singles action last month, and she struggled quite a bit yesterday before reaching the second round at Wimbledon getting past qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4.

Maria Sharapova

Anti-Obama ads on Iran ’shock’ Fox hosts

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Washington, June 23: The conservative attack on President Barack Obama’s Iran strategy warmed up Monday with the release of two ads portraying the president in a negative light for the administration’s commitment to diplomacy with Iran.

Fox News hosts Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson, speaking with conservative pollster Frank Luntz, exclaimed how “shocking” it is that advertising which, truthfully or not, maligns the president’s policies, could possibly trigger a negative perception of Obama.

Scientology leader physically beat staff, paper says

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Washington, June 23: The leader of the Church of Scientology beat staffers, forced a group of key executives to play musical chairs for their careers and allegedly encouraged purchase of “must have items” to prop up church coffers, according to an article Sunday that’s received little followup treatment by other news outlets.

In addition, the article says that one of the leader’s key lieutenants deliberately helped cover up the circumstances of a follower’s death in 1995.