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MUMBAI: Priyanka Chopra seems to have it all - from the best endorsement deals, dashing B-town hunks to filmmakers vying to sign on this ‘Fashion’-able lass. Stars are shining bright on her, showering her with luck and success. But all this glory and extol has come at a price and is costing her dearly in terms of her health.The swishy babe recently scared the unit of her forthcoming flick as she fainted during a scene. One look at Priyanka’s 2009 diary and it explains it all. Besides shooting round-the-clock, Priyanka is also keeping busy looking after her parents. Giving a proof of her drained self, the actress passed out while shooting a scene with her ex-beau and current co-star Hurman Baweja.However, it wasn’t Hurman’s drab act that passed her out, but her low energy level. Talking of the incident, a daily quoted a source as saying, “While shooting at a bungalow at Khar, Priyanka unexpectedly collapsed and it was so sudden that none of us moved for a while. We were all shocked and ...

NEW DELHI: The shoe hurled by journalist Jarnail Singh at home minister P Chidambaram today has become a valued symbol for Sikh organisations who are ready to cough up Rs.5 lakh for it. “In the land of Mahatma Gandhi which hails non-violence, we expected justice in favour of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims. But after waiting for 25 years the decision comes out in favour of the main accused in the riots. So we think that the ‘shoe incident’ is justified,” said Babu Singh Dukhiya, president of National 1984 Victims Justice Association. “We are ready to buy the shoe for Rs.5 lakh,” he added. “Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, the main accused of the 1984 riots, should be banned from contesting the Lok Sabha elections. Otherwise, the entire Sikh community will surely stage protests during the elections,” said a riot victim, Amar Singh. “I was only 22 when the riots happened in which my father and brother were killed and the whole responsibility of my family came on my shoulders so I could n...

WASHINGTON: US first lady Michelle Obama joined her husband's likeness as a wax figure in Madame Tussauds' Washington museum. She is the third first lady to be in the museum, joining Hillary Clinton and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Museum visitors appeared to have a warm reaction toward the statues.

SANTA MARIA: Twelve people were killed in an explosion at a factory in the Philippine capital and one is missing, feared dead, police said on Wednesday. Six other people were injured in the explosion at the Styrofoam Packaging Corp. late Tuesday, said Senior Superintendent Marcos Rivero. A police report said the blast, which caused the building to collapse, burying many workers, was caused by an overheated tank connected to a steam boiler.Police earlier said the rescue efforts were hampered by a lack of proper equipment and a power outage caused by the explosion.

ISLAMABAD: The visiting United Nations (UN) initial investigative team on a fact- finding mission met the officials of the ministry of interior here. Geo news correspondent reported that the Interior Advisor, Rahman Malik received the UN initial investigative team headed by Mark Quarterman at the MoI office. The interior advisor briefed the UN initial investigative team about the findings of the investigations thus far conducted besides the team was also taken into confidence about the Scotlandyard investigations report. The UN initial investigation team would also be getting in touch with the law enforcing agencies here.

BANGKOK: Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Bangkok Wednesday in their biggest bid yet to topple premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, sparking fears of a violent new twist to Thailand's political crisis.Security forces guarded key government locations as supporters of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra massed here, one day after activists spiked tensions by attacking Abhisit's car and smashing a window.Police said around 40,000 red-clad protesters chanting "Bring Thaksin back, Abhisit get out!" had gathered outside Abhisit's office in the capital, where demonstrators have been staging a sit-in for the last two weeks.

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama returned to Washington in the early hours of Wednesday after an eight-day European tour and a surprise visit to Iraq.He stepped off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, outside the US capital, shortly after it touched down at around 1:29 am (0629 GMT). Wearing a long coat, he crossed the tarmac to a waiting helicopter.Obama's first major trip abroad as president -- he earlier made a day trip to Ottawa -- saw him attend a Group of 20 summit on the global economic crisis in London and the 60th anniversary NATO summit in France and Germany. He also went to the Czech Republic for an EU-US summit and major speech on nuclear disarmament, before proceeding to Turkey -- where he said his father's Islamic faith and a childhood in Indonesia made him a different kind of president -- and then unexpectedly to Iraq.

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai promised on Wednesday to make changes to a new law for Shi'ite Muslims, if any part is found to violate the constitution, after provisions on women's rights caused an international uproar. Karzai said he had met the justice minister and the country's most senior religious leaders to discuss the law, which has already been passed by parliament and signed by Karzai but has not yet come into effect. The law is meant to legalise minority Shi'ite family law, which is different than that for the majority Sunni population.But it has provoked an outcry among Afghanistan's Western allies concerned about its potential impact on women's rights in the former Taliban state. U.S. President Barack Obama has called the law "abhorrent."

TEHRAN: Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted on Wednesday that Tehran has no plans to build a nuclear bomb, in a speech on the eve of its annual national atomic energy day.Addressing a large gathering in the central city of Isfahan where Iran has a uranium conversion facility, Ahmadinejad referred to US President Barack Obama as saying Iran has no right to have an atomic bomb. "Recently, you (Obama) said that Iran can have nuclear technology for peaceful purpose, but does not have the right to have a bomb," Ahmadinejad said. "I am telling you that the Iranian nation was never seeking a bomb as the era of bombs and armies is over," he said as the crowd cheered with chants of "Death to America."Ahmadinejad said Iran was still waiting for "fundamental and real changes" from Obama and the United States, with whom Tehran has had no diplomatic ties for three decades. "If you are talking of change ... bismillah (In the name of...

NEW DELHI: US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has asked India to reduce tension with Pakistan and resume dialogue with its neighbouring country.US envoy Holbrooke and Admiral Mike Mullen arrived in New Delhi from Islamabad where they held talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and National Security Adviser R.K Naraynan.The US officials exchanged views on regional security with Menon. On this occasion, Holbrooke stressed that India should deescalate tension with Islamabad and scale down its troops along the Pakistan’s border. While Indian officials reiterated concerns over US announcement to provide more financial and military aid for Pakistan in order to combat terrorism.

L'AQUILA: The death toll in central Italy's earthquake has risen to 260 including 16 children, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday.Civil protection services have set up 31 tent cities and 24 field kitchens and deployed 14 mobile medical units, he said during his third visit to the quake zone since the disaster struck Monday.Nearly 18,000 people are sheltering in some 3,000 tents at the camps dotted around the Abruzzo capital L'Aquila, he said in televised remarks."Of the 260 victims, nine have yet to be identified," the prime minister said, confirming that a state funeral would be held Friday in L'Aquila."The rescue operations and personnel are working satisfactorily and we have around 8,500 people on the ground, including 2,000 firefighters, 1,500 soldiers, 2,000 police officers and 3,000 volonteers," Berlusconi said.The Italian leader hailed what he called "a real competition" among well-wishers in Italy and abroad to help tho...

BAGHDAD: A bomb hidden in a plastic bag near a Shiite shrine on Wednesday killed seven people and wounded 23, including women and children, in the third straight day of attacks in Baghdad, officials said.The mid-morning explosion occurred at a security checkpoint only 200 metres (yards) from the Musa Kadhim mosque, security officials told a foreign news agency."The bomb was inside a bag filled with screws and nails," said a police official, asking not to be identified."(The attacker) couldn't pass one of the checkpoints to take the bomb to the nearest place to the shrine, so he left it in that place and ran away."Yasser Abdul Hussein, a shop owner whose goods were damaged and scattered by the force of the blast, said: "Someone came and placed the bag in the street. We don't know if it was a man or a woman. They ran away immediately." Only hours before US President Barack Obama flew into Baghdad on Tuesday on a surprise visit and said that Iraq woul...

WASHINGTON: The United States will join five other countries in direct talks with Iran to find a diplomatic resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.After meeting with European Union officials in London Wednesday, Britain, the U.S., China, France, Germany and Russia appealed to Iran to engage in talks on what they termed a "critical issue."The countries fear Iran is looking to enrich uranium with the goal of building nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied, insisting it only wants to harness nuclear energy for use in power plants."We strongly urge Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect," the six said in a joint statement.U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood confirmed Wednesday the United States would be at the table from now on when senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany meet with Iranian officials to discuss ...

LONDON: The United States and other key powers are to invite Iran for direct talks on its nuclear activities and other issues, they said in a joint statement, as efforts to engage Tehran gained pace.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will be tasked with extending the invitation to Tehran, said the statement by the United States, China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the European Union. The United States' allies welcomed the new direction of US policy towards Iran under President Barack Obama, and its decision to "join in any future meetings with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran." "We strongly urge Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect," they said after talks in London."To that end, we shall ask Solana to extend an invitation to the Iranian government to meet representatives of the E3+3, so that together we may find a diplomatic solution to this critical issue.

TOKYO: Police arrested a man for throwing hot coffee on American Consul General Kevin Maher in Urasoe City, Okinawa Prefecture. According to police, Maher had gone to a coffee shop near the American Consulate, when a 43-year-old man who had just purchased hot coffee suddenly threw the beverage at him, yelling “Get out of Okinawa.” The suspect forcefully pushed the consul general in the chest.Maher held the man until police arrived, and the suspect was charged with assault. Maher was unharmed in the incident, police said.

ALGER: Algerians go to the polls to vote in a presidential election which opposition groups have described as a charade. The incumbent, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is standing for a third term in office against five little-known opponents. Observers say his victory is a foregone conclusion. Voters may stay away from the polls, analysts say, boosting rivals who say the election is a charade. Opposition candidates include two nationalists, two moderate Islamists and a woman veteran left-winger.

LONDON: An elephant likes to give people the brush-off - by using her trunk to paint pictures of them.Five, an African elephant has been likened to a “young Picasso” after apparently developing a real flair.Sixteen-year-old Five happily spends her days at West Midland Safari Park in Bewdley creating bold and colourful abstract pieces, zoo keepers say.Five is an extremely intelligent elephant, who picked up a paintbrush one day with her trunk and appeared to try to paint. Staff then thought they would take her ability further and she surprised everyone.

SWAT: Maulana Sufi Mohammad announced end of Swat peace in protest.Talking to media, Sufi Mohammad criticized the federal government and said provincial government is sincere regarding peace deal, however, federal government is not in favour of Nifaz-e-Shariat. He said peace is not possible without Shariat. Maulana Sufi Mohammad said he is not withdrawing from peace deal, however, ending camp in protest.He urged President Zardari to implement Shariat as soon as possible and said government will be responsible if law and order situation deteriorate in the area.