Zulqarnain Threaten To Suicide After His Family Stopped At Airport

Former Pakistani wicket keeper Zulqarnain has threatened to suicide if his family will be forced to stay away from him. He is currently in UK and has applied for asylum. He said that he has life threaten in Pakistan and wants his family to stay with him in UK.

Zulqarnain’s wife Shazia and his two daughters were stopped from boarding at Lahore airport. The officials told them to contact British High Commission in Islamabad and PCB. His wife said that they have no right to stop them as they have valid visa with them.

She added that she wants to see her husband and her daughters are missing their father and they want to be with him in UK. In recent past the relations between Zulqarnain and PCB was not good and he threaten to sue PCB. PCB lawyer said that Zulqarnain should come Pakistan first and have to answer all the questions of PCB.

FIA authorities has took the passport of Shazia and said that they have orders from British Council not to allow them travel to UK. Shazia said that now they will contact PCB and British Council on Monday and came to know the original situation. The matter is getting complex after Zulqarnain threaten to suicide.

Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen turns 35

MUMBAI: Bollywood beauty and former Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen is all set to celebrate her birthday this year in Dubai with her family, reports said.

Sen will turn 35 on Friday and will celebrate the occasion with her daughters and her mother, reports said.

The glamour queen of B-town has mentioned that she is not in a hurry to get married and will dedicate time to her lovely daughters, Renee and Alisha.

The first woman to win the Miss Universe crown in 1994, she had made her Bollywood debut in the film, ‘Dastak’.

She gained success in the movie ‘Biwi No.1’, directed by David Dhawan and had also won the ‘Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award’ in 1999. ‘Biwi No.1’ which happened to be was the highest grossing movie of 1999.

In that year, she had also got a nomination in the same category for the film ‘Sirf Tum’.

She was appreciated

Farah’s triplets reluctantly shoot for Tees Maar Khan

Farah Khan’s kids – Diva, Czar and Anya – have perhaps not been bitten by the glamour world yet. Even though they were enticed enough to face the camera by their mother Farah Khan (who is the one of the most unabashed ‘masala’ film lover that Bollywood boasts of today), the triplets weren’t excited enough. This resulted in a funny shoot for Tees Maar Khan when the director (softly) called ‘action’.

“Poocho mat. I guess the toughest part of my shoot was to capture my kids well on camera”, Farah says in her inimitable manner, “Shirish and my production house is called ‘Three’s Company’ because of these three kids. As is the tradition with my films, I wanted to feature them for the end credit title roll of Tees Maar Khan. However, they just didn’t seem interested.”

What followed was quite some ‘improvisation’ that the Diva, Czar and Anya indulged in.

“Here I was pampering them with all the nice dresses and goodies. There was a special tuxedo that I had got designed for Czar. On the other hand, my daughters Diva and Anya were made to wear these beautiful birthday party dresses”, informs Farah, “While they were getting all dressed up, they were all fine and smiling. However, when I wanted them to put on their best show for camera, they just walked around at their own will.”

“Guess my famed command didn’t quite work with my own kids this time around”, she jokes, “The kind of expression that the three of them had on their faces, they seemed to be wondering who these monkeys behind the camera were.”

Eventually, Farah and Co. decided to retain the shots as is to lend a natural feel to the entire proceeding. “I was glad that the film’s shooting had come to an end”, she smiles.

Would she care to reveal these pictures for audience to know what to expect from the kids? “Well, watch the film for that”, she responds.

India seeks clarification on Sino-Pak N-deal

TORONTO: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed happiness over the success of the talks between India and Pakistan in Islamabad.

Singh, who reached Toronto on Saturday for the G20 summit, said Pakistan”s approach towards India had improved and New Delhi hopes to sustain the talks.

He added that India would welcome the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status by Pakistan but also asked for clarification from Pakistan on its nuclear deal with China.

It may be mentioned; India has been seeking better trade and economic ties with Pakistan, though no formal dates have been fixed on the trade talks.

Father, 2 daughters shot dead in Mardan

TAKHTBAI: A father and his two daughters were gunned down while a minor kid sustained injuries over a family feud in Takht Bhai locality in Mardan district on Saturday night, Geo news reported.

According to police sources, a marriage row of a person namely Mukhtar led to firing.

Unknown miscreants opened fire on their house late on Saturday night besides; they also hurled hand grenades at house, which resulted in immediate deaths of Mukhtar and two his daughters, witnesses told police.

Police said firing also left a minor kid wounded who was rushed to hospital for medical treatment.

Moderate quake hits India”s Andaman Islands: seismologists

NEW DELHI: A moderate 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit India”s Andaman Islands early Saturday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.

The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of 27 kilometres (17 miles), with the epicentre 180 kilometres (112 miles) from Port Blair on the Andaman Islands, in the Indian Ocean.

The Andamans were badly hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra that sent giant waves crashing into countries around the Indian Ocean.

The Andaman Sea area witnesses frequent earthquakes caused by the meeting of the Indian plate with the Burmese microplate along an area known as the Andaman trench. The islands were hit by a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake on June 1.

Clinton says progress being made in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that the Afghan government and its international backers are “making progress” in stabilizing Afghanistan.

“We think that we”re making progress, we know how hard it is,” Clinton said during a press conference with Foreign Minister Lene Espersen of Denmark, which contributes troops to NATO in Afghanistan.

“The Afghan military and police are improving,” the chief US diplomat said.

“We are looking to see more results from some governmental reforms …but it is just not true that we haven”t seen positive accomplishments,” Clinton said.

“There”s a lot of positive indicators,” she said, citing advances in education, health, government capacity, agricultural output, and economic growth.

“The story is not written yet,” she added.

Clinton also confirmed that she would travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul on July 20 to attend a conference aimed at following up on the international commitments during a summit in London in January.

NATO troops and Afghan security forces have for weeks been engaged in the start of an offensive around the southern city of Kandahar aimed at re-establishing central government authority there.

The insurgency is intensifying despite the reinforcement of NATO forces, which number 142,000 soldiers.

5 NATO troops including 3 US killed in Afghanistan

KABUL: Five NATO troops including three Americans died in fighting Friday in Afghanistan, raising to 34 the number of U.S. troops killed in the war so far this month.

NATO said Friday that two Americans died in an insurgent attack and another died in a roadside bomb explosion, but did not provide further details. The U.S. command confirmed their nationalities but did not specify where they died.

In London, the British Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed by in an explosion in Helmand province.

NATO said a fifth soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan, but did not give the nationality.

June is shaping up to be one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops in the nearly 9-year-old Afghan war, as insurgents have stepped up attacks in response to a NATO push into Taliban strongholds in the south. The deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan was October 2009, when 59 Americans died.

In all, some 52 international troops have been killed in the country so far this month. The deadliest month of the war for international forces was in July 2009 when 75 troops, including 44 Americans, were killed.

Israel reserves right to stop Lebanon-Gaza flotilla

JERUSALEM: Israel told the United Nations on Friday it reserved its right to use “all necessary means” to stop ships that it said planned to try to sail from Lebanon to bring aid to Gaza, blockaded by the Jewish state.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to the Security Council, Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev also called on the Lebanese government to prevent the ships from leaving.

An international furor erupted after the Israeli navy stormed a six-ship aid flotilla heading for Gaza on May 31, killing eight Turks and a Turkish-American on board. Israel said its commandos acted in self-defense after being attacked.

Following the outcry, Israel said on Thursday it was easing its land blockade of the Gaza Strip, which for the past three years has been controlled by Palestinian Hamas militants. But it said the sea blockade would continue.

Shalev said it appeared a small number of ships planned to sail from Lebanon and that while the organizers said they wished to take aid to Gaza, “the true nature of their actions remains dubious.”

Organizers had said they wished to become “martyrs” and there was a “possible link” to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah had called on Lebanese citizens to take part in such flotillas, Shalev said.

“As a result, Israel cannot exclude the possibility that terrorists or arms will be smuggled onboard the ships in question,” the Israeli envoy wrote.

Given the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the state of hostility between Lebanon and the Jewish state, “Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the existing naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip,” she said.

There were “appropriate mechanisms” for sending aid to Gaza, Shalev said, calling on Lebanon to “demonstrate responsibility and to prevent these boats from departing to the Gaza Strip.”

She also called on the international community to use its influence to stop the boats departing and to discourage their nationals from taking part in the action.

US offers $60 million more for Palestinian refugees

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Friday that the United States will contribute 60 million dollars in new aid for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees.

“This contribution will provide critical services such as health care and improve the life of 4.7 million Palestinians,” the chief US diplomat said during ceremonies marking World Refugee Day.

The State Department said the funds will support “reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools in Jordan, Syria, and the West Bank, an afterschool program for refugee children in Lebanon, and a referral system to help refugees facing gender-based violence.”

The new aid comes on top of 95 million dollars already given this year. The State Department said the total US contribution will amount to 225 million dollars to UNRWA by the end of 2010.

Washington contributed 267 million dollars to UNRWA in 2009.

The annual UNRWA budget is about 600 million dollars, but it “currently faces a shortfall of 161 million dollars, including 91 million dollars for core expenses,” the State Department said.

These include salaries for teachers educating nearly 500,000 Palestinian refugee children across the region, it said.

Eric Schwartz, the assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, echoed the concerns.

“We are deeply concerned over adequate resources for UNRWA. They are experiencing steep and significant funding challenges,” he said.

“We are working… to try, frankly, to get other governments who expressed concern about the fate of Palestinian refugees to provide assistance more generously,” he added.

Clinton said the United States is by far the world”s biggest contributor of aid to refugees, with 1.74 billion dollars set aside in 2009.

She said refugees are “a symbol of all of the challenges we face.” The United States has welcomed some 2.5 million refugees since 1980.

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