Samad

US again delays releasing CIA interrogation report

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Washington, July 02: The US government has again delayed the release of a full report on the CIA’s controversial interrogation programme. The government had earlier intended to complete its review of the 2004 report and release it two weeks ago.

But continued inter-agency debate about how much of the secret report could be made public pushed back the deadline.

Last week, the Justice Department sent a letter to the Judge overseeing the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit saying it needed until July 1 to complete the process.

Pak says Swat offensive in final phase, 50 killed in fighting

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Islamabada, June 30: Pakistan on Monday said its anti-Taliban operations in Swat had entered the final phase with troops having “totally dismantled” the militants’ infrastructure, even as over 30 rebels and 16 soldiers were killed in fresh fighting in the unruly NWFP and Waziristan.

The operations in Swat are in their final stage and expected to end in a few days as only a little area remains to be cleared of militants, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told a news briefing.

Salman Khan ignores Katrina KaifComments Off

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Mumbai, June 30: While the entire world is raving Katrina Kaif’s performance in ‘New York’, she is finding hard to convince her boyfriend Salman Khan to watch the film. It is not only ‘New York’ but Salman Khan ignores every film of Kat and has watched none of her films till date. Says a close friend of Katrina, “It really really puzzles and hurts her as to why Salman chooses to ignore all her films. It isn’t as if he doesn’t watch any films.

Katrina Kaif breaks downComments Off

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Mumbai, June 30: Katrina Kaif could not hold her tears on watching her performance in ‘New York’ at a special screening at Yashraj studio. Her performance has impressed her so much that she could not believe that she has actually done this. To Kat, this is the finest performance of her till date. “It was embarrassing. This has never happened to me before. I was deeply moved by the film. And I couldn’t believe what my director Kabir Khan had achieved in my performance. I kept staring at myself.

Katrina Kaif is wrongly using her star power!Add

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Mumbai, June 30: They say you need to act like a star to feel like one. And Katrina Kaif by that definition, should be feeling every bit of a star. The actress was recently signed up to launch a luxury designer brand that will make its way to Indian shores soon and has also been paid a queen’s ransom for the endorsement.The foreign agents who sealed the deal with Katrina’s managers must have felt they sailed through the tough part once she was on board.

Deepika Padukone shines with love biteComments Off

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Mumbai, June 30: There are two things that you notice instantly when you see Deepika Padukone. One is that she is pencil-thin; and, two, she has a love-bite on her neck that is still to fade away.The actress who has returned to badminton and yoga with a vengeance, has lost five kilos. And, as she stands before you in a short green dress, she looks dishy.

Who did Bipasha Basu give a kick with coffeeAdd

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Mumbai, June 30 : Now that we’ve chanced upon talking about Bips… a little something on the guy she has been having coffee with these days. Christiano Ronaldo maybe a thing of the past, these days it’s coffee and conversations with Maradona for the sexy Bipasha Basu! Now before the gossip ball gets rolling, we really aren’t talking about the footballer! Bipsy stunned Maradona Rebello recently when she invited him over for a cup of coffee to make him feel comfortable around her! A unit member revealed the sweet story.

Freida Pinto is breathing down Aishwarya’ throat!Comments Off

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Mumbai, June 30: The last updation we got from Aishwarya Rai’s front was that even a fairly new actress like Sonam Kapoor was proving to be a competition for Mrs Bachchan but the latest news doing rounds in the film industry is that ‘Slumdog’ sizzler Freida Pinto is Ash’s competitor now! According to reports, a big brand that has Ash as its international brand ambassador and Sonam as the Indian brand face is now signing Freida Pinto as one of their international models.

Amrita Rao slaps Esha DeolComments Off

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Mumbai, June 30: Amrita Rao who always had only nice things to say about everyone, including Esha Deol who once reportedly slapped her, is finally showing some displeasure. She is apparently upset with the promos of her film Shortkut.But her complaints have fallen on deaf ears and things haven’t still gone her way.

Shah Rukh Khan Enter The Small Screen With Rishta.com

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Mumbai, June 30 : Known for their trademark romantic films, Yash Raj Films is all set to enter the small screen with a comedy show titled Rishta.com. Although YRF is trying its best to keep the project a secret, Mumbai Mirror ferreted out that Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh, Tabu, Rani Mukerji, Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj and others will have cameo roles in the show. It will also feature several new faces.

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Dubai, June 30: The planned merger between Emaar Properties and three units of Dubai Holding is likely to unleash a wave of consolidations in a property sector beset by excess supply, shriveling demand and an abundance of developers, UAE property analysts say. Mergers and buyouts could help real estate companies streamline their operations and trim payrolls and thus reduce their costs during the downturn, analysts said. “Consolidation is inevitable, whether for big or small companies,” said Charles Neil, Chief Executive Officer of Landmark Advisory, a property consultancy.

‘Mild’ Recovery Seen in 2010: Morgan Stanley

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Dubai, June 30: economy may have bottomed out, but any recovery will probably be slow in coming. That’s the sobering message from investment bank Morgan Stanley, which announced its latest economic forecast for the UAE on Monday. In a research report, the bank revised downward its growth estimate for the fifth largest oil-exporting country.

Tharoor`s twitter account crosses 10,000 followers

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New Delhi, June 30 : “Minister Twitter” – that is how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi greeted Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on a Dubai stopover last week.

“In Dubai my old friend Sheikha Lubna, UAE foreign trade minister, hosted a friendly lunch at which she greeted me as ‘Minister Twitter’!” he tweeted June 24.

The title was apt as Tharoor collected over 10,000 followers on his account (@shashitharoor) – the micro blog social networking tool, which is the current internet flavour.

Arab tourists flock to shopping centers

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Istanbul, June 30 : Not many Turkish citizens can afford to go on a shopping spree nowadays, as they have to watch each penny they spend. But money is still not an issue for visitors from the oil-rich Gulf nations, as increased spending by Arab tourists shows.

Many tourists from oil-rich countries are on a spending spree in Turkey and morale has lifted around the country’s shopping malls, as Middle Eastern and Central Asian visitors flock en masse to the compounds.

Kingdom vows to stand by Lebanon

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Jeddha, June 30: Saudi Arabia yesterday welcomed the election of Nabih Berri as speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and Saad Hariri as prime minister and said the moves would strengthen the country’s security and stability.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, said Saudi Arabia would stand by Lebanon in order to bolster its stability and sovereignty.

Al-Rabeeah briefs WHO experts on measures against swine flu

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Jeddha, June 30 : Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah yesterday met with experts from WHO and other international agencies and discussed precautionary measures to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, such as swine flu, among pilgrims.

The experts were in the Kingdom to attend a workshop on precautionary health measures during Haj and Umrah seasons, which was organized on the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

Swindler Madoff gets 150 years

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New York, June 30 : Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison yesterday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

progress made but long way to go in Pak: US

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Washington, June 30: The United States on Tuesday said that there has been “some progress” in the war against terrorism in Pakistan, but there is still a long way to go to eliminate the threat from extremists groups.

“I think we have seen some progress,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters at his daily press briefing.

“I think there seems to be, I think the events that have happened in Pakistan over the past several weeks have united many in the cause against extremism,” he said.

Polish engineer’s refusal to convert costs him his life

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Islamabad, June 30: Piotr Stanczak did not exhibit the slightest hint of hesitation when the Pakistani Taliban asked him to choose between execution and conversion to Islam.

Whether the Polish geologist acted out of pride or religious conviction, he decided to pay through his blood to save his faith, a choice that bewildered his killers and keep them talking about him with respect after his murder.

Pak “will not” shift troops from Indian border

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Islamabad, June 30: Pakistan has ruled out any possibility of shifting its troops from the eastern Indian border to the western border with Afghanistan.

Addressing a joint press conference with the ISPR spokesman Major General Athar Abbas here, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said Pakistan will not remove its military from the Indian border and deploy it along the western border with Afghanistan.

“We cannot and will not do it. Pakistan could not remain oblivious to the conventional threat,” The Dawn quoted Kaira, as saying.

Both Katrina, Kareena have sexy bodies: Akshay Kumar (Interview)

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Mumbai, June 29: Akshay Kumar has worked with both Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in several films, but can’t decide who is better. The action king says both are ‘wonderful actresses’ and have ‘sexy bodies’.

‘Both Kareena and Katrina are really good but who is the better among them depends on their roles in the films. Otherwise, both of them have sexy bodies and are absolutely wonderful actresses,’ said Akshay when asked to choose his favourite of the two.

Katrina Kaif in a Street Fight!!

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Mumbai, June 29: Katrina Kaif was scared to death while shooting for her film New York in Philadelphia. A little birdie revealed that right after spending some nice food time, when the actress stepped out of a restaurant on to the streets of the city, she was caught bang in the middle of a mad scene. People were jumping up and down on top of the cars and smashing beer bottles.

Well as found out, it was not really a street fight at all.

Priyanka quotes 5 crores, loses film

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Mumbai, June 29: Is Priyanka Chopra getting too big for her boots? According to reports, when approached by Sanjay Gadhvi for 7 Days In Paris, co-starring Imran Khan, she demanded Rs. 5 crore. Gadhvi and the producer, who were already reeling under the shock of Katrina’s obvious disapproval of the script, were flabbergasted. Consequently, Priyanka lost out on the film.

A source said, “The producers were shocked when Priyanka asked for such a huge fee. They tried to reason with her but she refused to relent.”

Katrina-Ranbir make a hat-trick

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Mumbai, June 29: After Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor could be Katrina Kaif’s next hit partner. The actress, who is already starring in Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani and Rajniti opposite Ranbir, is on the verge of signing yet another film opposite him. This film will be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and will be a serious one unlike his Ajab Prem…

While the actress plays a smooth operator and an articulate orator in Prakash Jha’s Rajniti, she plays a hysterical character in Ajab Prem…

SRK, Preity, Rani on Yash Raj’s TV show

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Mumbai, June 29 : Known for their trademark romantic films, Yash Raj Films is all set to enter the small screen with a comedy show titled Rishta.com. Although YRF is trying its best to keep the project a secret, Mumbai Mirror ferreted out that Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh, Tabu, Rani Mukerji, Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj and others will have cameo roles in the show. It will also feature several new faces.