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MUMBAI, American singer Jermaine Jackson, the late Michael Jackson’s older brother, got a taste of Indian cuisine and Bollywood at the party organised by Adnan Sami at his Andheri residence yesterday. Jermaine is in Mumbai to record two songs with Adnan for an album. The guest list for the party includes the two Bachchan couples, Amitabh and Jaya and Abhishek-Aishwarya, and the three Khan superstars, Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman (who’s a very dear friend of Adnan). Initially, it was planned as an exclusive sit-down dinner but later it was changed to a buffet party. Adnan has personally called each of the 50 VIP guests from the film industry. The chefs were instructed, for Jermaine’s sake, to go easy on the chillies. Adnan says, “Jermaine wanted to meet ‘Bollywood’. At the end of the Friday we’re all one big family, aren’t we?” Till late last evening, Adnan was trying to convince Lata Mangeshkar to drop in at least for a while. Lataji, a fan of Michael, apparently wanted to meet Jermain...

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 MELBOURNE: Every October, Dave "Spike" Stewart travels to Bali to mark another year since his 29-year-old son Anthony died inside the Sari Club.Seven years have passed since Jemaah Islamiah terrorists murdered 202 people in Kuta, including Anthony and 87 other Australians. But it never gets any easier, Spike says."It's still very hard. Why did it happen, why did He take my son? I still ask myself that."But the past 12 months have brought some relief. Last November, the three main planners of the 2002 attacks - Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas - were executed.Since then, Indonesian police have killed terror mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top - responsible for the subsequent 2005 Bali attacks, among others - and many of his acolytes."It really makes you happy every time they get another one," Spike says softly."I wish they'd shoot more of the bastards. I just hate them."Spike was one of about 40 Australian survivors ...

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 AJACCIO: French authorities rescued six people who survived in the Mediterranean Sea for more than five hours Monday after their small plane crashed off the coast of Corsica, officials said. The first two survivors were found thanks to a distress beacon and were plucked from the choppy sea by a helicopter. They were treated for hypothermia at a beach before being taken to hospital, a medical source said. A third person was rescued later by an army helicopter. The last three survivors were found at 10:00 pm near a lifeboat that was dropped by a reconnaissance aircraft, according to the rescue operations centre in the Corsican city of Ajaccio. The plane was flying from Propriano in southern Corsica to the French Riviera city of Cannes when it crashed in the sea in the Gulf of Porto. The pilot, who is in his 50s, reported engine failure to air control and announced he would try to land in the sea one hour after take-off, officials said.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 CALIFORNIA: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill recognising gay marriages sanctioned in other states during the nearly five months such unions were legal in California. Schwarzenegger said the action is consistent with a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the marriages of same-sex couples who tied the knot in California before voters approved Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is a state constitutional amendment passed in November that limits marriage to a man and a woman. The bill signed by the governor late on Sunday also said gay and lesbian couples who were married in other states after Proposition 8's passage have the same rights and benefits that California grants domestic partners.

LAHORE: Lollywood actress Meera and her purported husband Attiqur Rehman have agreed to withdraw cases against each other, a private TV channel reported on Saturday. According to the channel, Defence Police Station In-charge Amanullah presented the reconciliation draft to Lahore Additional District and Sessions Judge Shafiqur Rehman. Meera’s lawyer told reporters that the agreement was finalised after police officials and close friends of Meera and Attiq intervened. Both parties have agreed not to register any case against each other in the future. However, the channel reported that Meera said she had not reconciled yet. Talking to the channel, Attiq claimed that Meera was his wife, but said he would have no reservations if she sought dissolution of the marriage (khula). Earlier, the actress’s marriage was revealed on August 30 when a dispute arose over Meera’s mother shifting antique furniture belonging to the film star’s ‘husband’ Attiqur Rehman. Defence-A Police Station House Offic...

NEW DELHI: Flood situation remained grim in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, as major rivers continued to swell in the state, official sources said.According to Central Water Commission, Ghagra continued to play havoc in eastern part of the state and was flowing above danger mark at Elgin Bridge (Barabanki), Ayodhya and Turtipar in Ballia district.Nearly 173 villages in eastern districts of the state were affected by flood, of which 94 had been marooned, they said.District officials in Basti said that people in flood affected areas were being relocated to safer places.Though Sharda had started receding, it was still flowing above danger mark at Palliakalan and Sharda Nagar (both in Lakhimpur district), the report said.

Monday, October 12, 2009 TEHRAN: The president of Iran says failure of upcoming nuclear talks would hurt the West more than Iran.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says October 19th conference in Vienna will be a test for additional "fruitful" work on the issue of Iran's nuclear program.Western nations are continuing to urge Iran to curtail any nuclear efforts toward weaponry.Sanctions have already been imposed on Iran, and there's talk of stiffer measures if Tehran doesn't abandon disputed elements of its nuclear program.Iran has insisted its nuclear efforts are geared solely toward energy production.