0 Exposed! Obama used to smoke tub

Michelle Obama has opened up about her husband’s past drug use during an appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to promote her new cookbook. The First Lady said Barack Obama gave up drugs at a young age because he realised he ‘could do more with his life’. She made the revelation when the show’s host Jon Stewart asked her about recent claims of the President’s smoking habit during his high school and college years, the Daily Mail reported. It follows excerpts released from a forthcoming biography of the President by David Maraniss that portrayed him as a party-loving pot smoker. The book, titled Barack Obama: The Story, reveals how...

Read More

0 Britney Spears On ‘The X Factor’: Preview the Pop Star As A Evaluator

Britney Spears no doubt has the star quality Simon Cowell was searching for when he went on the lookout for new judges for The X Factor‘s second season. But does the pop star have what it takes to be a judge? Many (including us) are dubious of Brit’s ability to give helpful, pointed and smart criticism to aspiring singers, as Spears hasn’t exactly been all that articulate or in-depth in her own interviews. Giving us a bit of a preview ahead of the show’s Season 2 premiere are four recently surfaced audio clips of the “Criminal” singer interacting with contestants and giving critiques of their performances. And since we abide by the rule “Judge...

Read More

0 US again inflict clean-energy tariffs on China

The Obama administration moved Wednesday to impose stiff new tariffs on wind-energy towers made in China, the latest strike in an escalating trade war over clean energy. The Commerce Department said in a preliminary decision that Chinese companies have received government subsidies on steel wind towers ranging from about 14 percent to 26 percent. The decision could result in tariffs of those amounts being imposed on about a dozen Chinese companies that export large steel towers used in U.S. wind farms. The decision follows a Commerce Department decision earlier this month to impose tariffs averaging about 31 percent on solar cells and panels...

Read More

0 Israel may decide Middle East crisis unilaterally

Israel may take up "unilateral actions" if the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks do not move ahead, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said. This comment prompted speculation that Israel may unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank like it did in 2005 in Gaza Strip. Barak said that if the Palestinian-Israeli talks "prove to be impossible, we have to consider a provisional arrangement or even unilateral action". He, however did not specify which "unilateral actions" he meant. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, evacuating 8,500 settlers and thousands of soldiers from the occupied territory. The talks stalled in September...

Read More

0 Team Anna says regretful for 'Shikhandi' comment

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday apologised to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the 'Shikhandi' remark made by Prashant Bhushan. "Some people had raised questions about the language used by Prashant Bhushan. We apologise for that. There's the difference of opinion on Prashant Bhushan's 'Shikhandi' remark in Team Anna," he said. According to Team Anna, the allegations were levelled based on a CAG report, which threw light on irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks, when PM Singh held the coal portfolio. "There is no need for a change in the law to auction coal blocks but the Prime Minister's Office insisted and proceeded...

Read More

0 US election: Mitt Romney grows Republican nomination with Texas crucial win

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney addresses supporters in Las Vegas after clinching the Republican presidential nomination with a win in the Texas primary on Tuesday. It's a triumph of endurance for the candidate who fought hard to win over sceptical conservative voters he must now fire up for the campaign against President Barack Obama. Mr Romney, 65, outlasted a carousel of Republican rivals who dropped out of the state-by-state primary contest. Employment was a strong theme in Mr Romney's Las Vegas address.(Google) He accused the current president of being out of touch with the needs of small enterprise."This president doesn't...

Read More

0 Modi, BJP tactics to get more minorities’ votes in Gujarat

In his bid to wean away Muslim voters from Congress’ fold in election year, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is making efforts that include experimenting social engineering and even shedding his saffron persona to woo the community towards BJP. In what appears to be a well thought out strategy, Modi is holding a meeting of the state BJP Minority Cell at Staff Training College in Gandhinagar today to “ponder” over the ways to bring Muslims to BJP, a party functionary said. “We will try to bring the minority community towards BJP’s call of nationalism and inform them of Congress’ divide and rule policy,” BJP spokesperson Jagdish Bhavsar...

Read More

0 Victoria Beckham is too chic too smile

Victoria Beckham knows she doesn't appear happy in pictures. The fashion designer - who is married to soccer star David Beckham - is famous for looking demure and hardly smiling for photographs, but insists she is happy in her daily life. She told German edition of Interview magazine: "Yes, I created this persona and I'm very different from that. "I don't feel like I have to scream and shout about it - I know I am a happy person. So I don't get upset when people comment on the fact that I look quite miserable all the time. But people think I am. "And you know, sometimes I think the same thing when I look at the pictures." Beckham, 38,...

Read More

0 Chicago summit: Khar vindicate Pakistan’s involvement

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has described Pakistani delegation’s participation in the recently-concluded Nato summit in Chicago as successful. “When there is debate about Afghanistan taking place, should Pakistan, a responsible regional player, an important neighbour and a country that has huge stakes in peace and stability in Afghanistan, not participate?” she told The Express Tribune in an exclusive interview. She claimed that Pakistan had the highest stakes amongst 60 countries participating in the summit. “The spill-over effect of instability in Afghanistan is instantaneous in Pakistan and if there is stability in Afghanistan,...

Read More

0 Pippa Middleton evades point out Queen's Diamond Jubilee in Latest Party Tips

Pippa Middleton posted a new article on her online site, The Party Times, giving party tips for big events taking place in Britain. The sister of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was cautious in her approach by not mentioning the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It's fairly obvious she's referring to a milestone celebration with the Jubilee in June. Pippa wrote: "Lots of big events are planned across the nation this summer to celebrate all things British, providing everyone with a great excuse to get out there and join in the fun. "Here are a few ideas for inspiration if you're planning a bumper British knees-up on your street, to share...

Read More

0 Congress Must distribute Postal Fix

The United States Postal Service does not take one dime of taxpayer money. You've heard this, I've heard this, and it is something postal employees say to me time and time again. For the most part, it is absolutely true. It is what postal unions won't tell you that should scare every taxpayer. Before I scare you, let me say that the USPS is home to hundreds of thousands of dedicated, hard-working American citizens. Many veterans wear the uniform of the Postal Service with as much pride as they wore the uniform of the armed services. Unfortunately, they and the taxpayer, are being fleeced by politicians, union leadership and a service unwilling...

Read More

0 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan grips her head high in Cannes following baby weight review

She may have been criticised in her native India for not losing her baby weight fast enough, but Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looked nothing short of dazzling at the AmfAR Cinema Against Aids gala in Cannes this week. Baby weight or not, the Bollywood actress, 38, lived up to her title of "the world's most beautiful woman" in a gold embroidered sari and co-ordinating tailored jacket with Mandarin collar. Her hair was piled high on her head and adorned with a slender gold band, while her make-up was understated, save the dark eyeliner around her eyes. The former Miss World gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in November last year. But an...

Read More

0 Israel Is nervously Watching Egyptian Vote

Both candidates for Egypt's presidency have pledged to respect the country's peace treaty with Israel, but they differ greatly in their approach, especially regarding the Palestinians. In addition to preserving the peace with Israel, Ahmed Shafik, a former Egyptian Air Force general, is expected to continue Egypt's patronage of the mainstream Palestinian faction Fatah. Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority, cooperates with Israel. Mr. Shafik's military background and his role as the last prime minister to have served under the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, suggest that he would approach Hamas, the Islamist faction that controls Gaza,...

Read More

0 Poll illustrates Romney with little lead in NC

Republican Mitt Romney holds a slight lead over Democrat Barack Obama in North Carolina, according to a new poll. Romney leads Obama 47 percent to 45 percent, a gap that is within the margin of error, according to the Civitas Poll, which was conducted by a polling firm for a Raleigh-based conservative advocacy group. The results were similar to a poll taken for WRAL which showed Romney up 45 percent to 44 percent. The Civitas Poll found that Romney had moved up substantially in North Carolina since a February survey. This is largely because he is doing well among unaffiliated voters. The survey found that Romney is leading Obama among the...

Read More

1 Men in Black 3 [MIB-3] Review

Men in Black 3 (stylized as MIB3) is a 2012 American 3D science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This film is the sequel to the 2002 film Men in Black II released on May 23, 2012, almost ten years after its predecessor and fifteen years after the release of the original Men in Black.It also stars Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Jemaine Clement, with Barry Sonnenfeld returning as director, and Steven Spielberg returning as executive producer. The film is the third installment in the Men in Black film series which is based on the Malibu / Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. Principal...

Read More

0 Is NATO Still considered necessary?

Street protests in Chicago targeted a NATO summit where President Obama was promoting a gradual military withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, protesters challenged the continued need for this expensive alliance designed for the Cold War, reports Lawrence S. Wittner. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (better known as NATO) is in the news once again thanks to a NATO summit meeting in Chicago over the weekend of May 19-20 and to large public demonstrations in Chicago against this military pact. NATO’s website defines the alliance’s mission as “Peace and Security,” and shows two children lying in the grass, accompanied by a bird, a flower...

Read More

0 Israel steps up protection ties with China

After a prolonged chill, security ties between Israel and China are warming up. With Israel offering much-needed technical expertise and China representing a huge new market and influential voice in the international debate over Iran's nuclear program, the two nations have stepped up military cooperation as they patch up a rift caused by a pair of failed arms deals scuttled by the U.S.(Bing) The improved ties have been highlighted by this week's visit to Beijing by Israel's military chief and a training mission to Israel by the Chinese paramilitary force that, among other things, polices the restive Tibetan and Muslim Uighur regions. Prime...

Read More

0 Prince William wakeful before wedding

Britain's Prince William barely slept the night before his wedding. The future king married his long-term love Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in April last year. The royal wedding attracted interest from people around the world and thousands flocked to see the newlyweds on their special day. William admits that the well-wishers who gathered in London were in such great spirits that he struggled to get any rest. "I hadn't slept at all that night because obviously all the crowds were on The Mall," he explained in an interview for Elizabeth: Queen, Wife, Mother, which airs in the UK on June 1. "They were singing and cheering all night...

Read More

0 Obama stress Romney to explain Bain

At an Iowa campaign rally, President Obama pressures Mitt Romney to explain how Bain Capital prepared him for the presidency. MSNBC's Krystal Ball, E.J. Dionne, and Ari Melber join MSNBC's Martin Bashir to discuss the week in Bain and Romney's upcoming Vegas event with Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich. >> good evening, i'm martin bashir in for lawrence o'donnell, tonight on the campaign trail, president obama rallied support in iowa where he pressured mitt romney to explain how bain capital prepared him for the presidency. >> he doesn't really talk about what he did in massachusetts . but he does talk about being a business guy....

Read More

0 MPs heed announcement on G8 and NATO Summits

We'll be hearing a lot from David Cameron today. He's got PMQs, and then he's giving a statement in the Commons about the recent G8 and Nato summits in the US. The G8 summit seems to have been one of the least productive in recent years, but, with the eurozone on the brink of collapse, MPs will have plenty to ask Cameron about. And there are at least three stories in the news today that are likely to come up in some form. Nick Clegg has told the Financial Times (subscription) that the government is planning a "massive" increase in state-backed investment in housing and infrastructure. It sounds suspiciously like Plan B. Here's an extract. In...

Read More

0 US Asked to discard Cold War Nuke Approach

In run-up to the NATO Summit in Chicago on May 20, a new report is calling for abandoning the Cold War rationale and ushering in a systemic change in U. S. nuclear force structure, strategy and posture in order to address the security threats in the 21st century. The impassioned plea has been made by the U.S. Nuclear Policy Commission of Global Zero, an international movement for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. According to General James E. Cartwright, who heads the Commission, the U.S. nuclear deterrence could be guaranteed with a total arsenal of between 500 and 900 warheads, and with only half of them deployed at any one time. Even...

Read More

0 Pursue in Kate Middleton’s fashion path with peplum dresses from Shelikes

Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is well-known for her impeccable style, and those that would like to follow in her fashion footsteps can now find Kate-inspired peplum dresses at online fashion retailer Shelikes. Peplum dresses seem to be a favourite of Kate Middleton’s, as she’s been spotted in more than a few of them. The dresses certainly suit her shape and style, and any ladies wanting to convey some of the elegance and poise of the nation’s favourite Duchess should take a look at the wide range of peplum dresses available at Shelikes right now.  Shelikes has taken inspiration from the catwalks in order to create its new...

Read More

0 U.S. Tattered between Israel’s Nuclear Demands Versus Iran’s

U.S. negotiators going into Iranian nuclear talks today are under pressure to reconcile two fundamental and seemingly irreconcilable demands before the clock runs out on a diplomatic solution. Iranian leaders want the international community to accept that their nation has a right to enrich uranium on its soil for peaceful use. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Jewish state will never be safe unless Iran ceases all enrichment so it can’t secretly build an atomic bomb. That puts the U.S. in a difficult position as it heads into a second round of nuclear talks in Baghdad with its five partners -- the U.K., France, Germany,...

Read More

0 South Korea to manufacture 500-600 additional Missiles

South Korea plans to increase the number of ballistic and cruise missiles with a view to incapacitating North Korea's nuclear weapons and long-range missiles in an emergency. The government and military aim to spend some W2.5 trillion (US$1=W1,170) over the next five years to secure 500-600 new cruise and ballistic missiles. A government source on Sunday said, "Given the mounting threat of provocations from the North since Kim Jong-un took power, the Defense Ministry reported to President Lee Myung-bak last month a plan to increase missile capabilities in response to asymmetric threats from the North." The military will boost the number of...

Read More