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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.

MUMBAI: The name ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ needs no introduction in India as well as abroad. This man seems to grip in him a charm that remains matchless and is also frequently known by his bynames such as Big B, Muno Bhai, Amit Ji and an Angry Young Man. He is an enterpriser, brand ambassador, political leader, game show host, a vocalist, voiceover artist and a performer. He is a demi-god and a large number of honors and appreciation gravitates to him continuously, the characters he played are commemorated and adored, year after year after year.The superstar of the Hindi film industry has turned 67 on 11th October.Mr. Bachchan said that he'll be glad to follow in the footsteps of well-known actor Ashok Kumar, who played sturdy characters even at the age of 80.On the eve of his birth anniversary, Big B said, “When I was a four-year-old I used to ask for gifts on my birthdays but that phase is over now. I think the biggest gift for me at this point of my life would be that I continue gett

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say Pakistan faces a serious threat from terrorism, but the country's nuclear arsenal is not at risk. Taliban militants have launched a series of increasingly audacious attacks on military and political targets on Pakistan. On Saturday militants attacked the army headquarters, taking dozens of hostages. At a news conference Sunday, Miliband said Pakistan faced a ``mortal threat,'' but there was not a risk of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands. Clinton said the U.S. had confidence in Pakistani authorities. She said terrorists were ``increasingly threatening the authority of the state, but we see no evidence they are going to take over the state.''

MUMBAI: India is not responsible for terrorist activities in Pakistan's Balochistan province, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared on Sunday. "We are not in the business of exporting terrorism to Pakistan or any other country," he said. "The people and government of Pakistan jolly well know that this is a false accusation." He was replying to a specific question on Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik's allegations that India was arming militants in Balochistan. Replying to questions, the Prime Minister said, "We have to make adequate preparations to deal with the consequences of this overflow of terrorism from neighbourhood to our country. "We are taking all necessary steps in that direction but it is still my belief that particularly Pakistan and the people and government of Pakistan should realise the great harm and (their) patronisation of terror groups have done to the South Asian region," he said. Singh said if the countries

ZURICH: Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark agreement Saturday to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.The contentious issue of whether the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted to genocide is only hinted at in the agreement."There were several times when I said to all of the parties involved that this is too important," Clinton said. "This has to be seen through. We have come too far. All of the work that has gone into the protocols should not be walked away from."The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the accord in the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three hours later than scheduled and there were no spoken statements.Clinton and mediators from Switzerland intervened t

Sunday, October 11, 2009 HELD AL-QUDS: US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday, a Palestinian official said.No statement was issued after the meeting, which was held at the US Consulate General.Mitchell, who is struggling to get Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks, is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu's office announced.Israeli public radio said the US envoy should also be meeting later Saturday with two advisors to Netanyahu.On Friday, the former US senator had stressed Washington's commitment to a Palestinian state after meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, at a time when hopes of a peace breakthrough appear dimmer than ever."We discussed our common vision for a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory," Mitchell told journalists after his talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.&quo

Monday, October 12, 2009 BEIJING: Novak Djokovic captured his third ATP title of the year at the China Open on Sunday, outlasting giant killer Marin Cilic of Croatia, while Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova breezed to the women's title.The Serbian second seed capitalised on a 90-minute rain delay at 2-2 in the first set, returning to centre court at the Beijing Olympic tennis venue with renewed focus to win the blistering baseline battle with Cilic, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).The big-hitting Cilic -- who beat fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko and top seed Rafael Nadal en route to the final -- pummeled Djokovic with a barrage of huge backcourt shots but the Serb successfully mixed up the pace to throw him off.After holding serve to go up 3-2 in the first, Djokovic broke Cilic twice to take the set, with the 21-year-old Croatian the victim of two unlucky net cords in the final game.In the second, Cilic -- a wild card entry here -- and the 22-year-old Serb traded breaks three times to force a tiebrea

Monday, October 12, 2009 RAWALPINDI: Director General (DG) ISPR Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas the plot of attacking GHQ was chalked out in South Waziristan while five of the terrorists belonged to the area of Baitullah Mehsud.Giving briefing to the media here on Monday, DG ISPR said the objective of the militant’s action was to hold senior military officials hostage and get their demands fulfilled. “They gave a list of 100 people, which included names of some very dangerous terrorists, and demanded their release,” he said. Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the apprehended terrorist Aqeel alias Dr. Usman is not in a condition of giving statement.He said 10 terrorists, clad in military uniform and riding a white car, attacked GHQ on October 10 at 11:30 AM.Six army personnel were martyred in the incident. The security personnel immediately surrounded the GHQ building where 42 people were taken hostage.DG ISPR said rescue operation ‘Janbaz’ was launched and 30 hostages were rescued in the first phase. B