Monday, January 2, 2012

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

Imran Khan indicates political tie-up with Musharraf

Posted:

The political scene in Pakistan appears to be hotting up, with the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf party indicating that it is open to an alliance with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

The party's new vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said a decision on forming an alliance with Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League will be taken in due course of time after considering circumstances.

His comments come in the wake of political ripples triggered by the 'memogate' scandal, which has put the country's powerful army and the executives at loggerheads, leading to speculation of possibility of early polls and new political alignments.

Musharraf, who has been living outside Pakistan in self-exile since early 2009, recently announced he would return to the country later this month.

Musharraf is expected to set the date for his homecoming while addressing a rally in Karachi by phone on January 8.

During an interaction with the media in Multan yesterday, Qureshi said: "People from every political party are joining the Tehrik-e-Insaf." The party is not "just a trend" as it represents "an ideology against the status quo", he said.

Qureshi further said that if all lawmakers of the main opposition PML-N decided to resign from parliament, the Pakistan People's Party-led government would be left with no option but to call an early election.

The Tehrik-e-Insaf, however, is in no hurry to gain power, said Qureshi, a former Foreign Minister who recently broke away from the PPP.

Royal names top 2011's newborn baby list

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Royal names including William and Harry have topped the list of most popular names for newborn baby boys for 2011

Of the 1,330 births announced in The Times newspaper this year, the royal brothers each recorded 31 entries, the Daily Mail reported.

Isabel was certainly the most popular girls name, followed by Alice, Emily and Sophia.

The royal theme continued with the names of former English kings - George, Henry and Edward making it to the boys' top five list.

The popularity of William comes in the year of the royal wedding but according to The Times, there were only two Catherines with a C in the list, two more with a K, and not a single Kate.

Isabel, and all its variants, including Isabella dominated the girls' list with 29 entries recorded.

Top boys names:
Harry: 31
William: 31
George: 28
Henry: 28
Edward: 24

Top girls names:
Isabel: 29
Alice: 14
Emily: 14
Sophia: 13
Matilda: 12

Brand-Perry split as she chose 'career before kids'

Posted:

Russell Brand reportedly filed for divorce from Katy Perry because she refused to settle down and have his children.


Perry sad: The 14-month marriage came to an end owing to Katy Perry
refusing to settle down and have children, said a source. File pic

The couple had a series of huge bust-ups over her partying and boozy lifestyle in the run-up to the collapse of their 14-month marriage.

Comedian Russell has beaten booze and drugs addictions and apparently wanted to shun the Hollywood clubbing scene and start a family with the singer.

But Katy reportedly didn't want to become a "Hollywood housewife". A source close to the couple said that Katy took off her wedding ring and handed it back to Russell after one last devastating row a week before Christmas.

The singer thought she had called her husband's bluff and he would come running back. But it was apparently the final straw for Russell, who simply shrugged his shoulders and flew home to his mother Barbara.

The couple spent Christmas 7,000 miles apart -- Katy in Hawaii, Russell in Cornwall -- before he instructed his lawyers to start divorce proceedings on Friday.

Insiders also added that couple had marriage counselling to try to avoid a divorce while keeping up a public pretence that they were happy together.

It remains unclear whether the decision to end the marriage was mutual.


Kate performs 34 royal engagements

Posted:

The Duchess of Cambridge has thrown herself into the working life of the Royal Family since marrying into it in April, new figures show.



Since her first entry in the Court Circular of June 4, following her marriage to the Duke of Cambridge, Kate has undertaken 34 engagements including 19 overseas.

William carried out 90 official engagements, of which 59 were overseas.


Prince Harry set to climb Mount Everest

Posted:

Prince Harry will make good on his promise to the wounded servicemen he joined on their trek to the North Pole to join them on their next challenge -- the world's highest mountain. The third in line to the throne is adamant that 2012 will also see him realise his long-held ambition to conquer Everest.


Scaling new heights: Prince Harry dropped a broad hint at the end
of his trek to the North Pole last year that he wanted to join the group
of wounded servicemen on their next challenge in May, which will see
them climbing the world's highest mountain. File Pic/Getty images

The 27-year-old prince dropped a broad hint at the end of his trek to the North Pole last year to raise money for Walking With the Wounded, the charity of which he is patron, that he wanted to join the group of wounded servicemen on their next challenge in May, which will see them climbing the world's highest mountain.
Buckingham Palace has since declined to comment on whether it would be possible to fit the climb into his schedule.

Now, however, Mollie Hughes, the 21-year-old mountaineer who plans to become the youngest British woman to climb Everest when she makes her own ascent in May, and who has been co-ordinating their climb with that of the Walking With the Wounded group, has said that she has been told that the prince will also be going up.
"He won't be doing the full climb as it will take a long time and it requires rigorous training so I think he'll be joining at a base camp," she said.

The climb does not conflict with any of the prince's existing engagements with his spokesman saying that his first solo official tour has still to be put in his diary. The prince struck up a quick rapport with the group of servicemen that he joined for four days last April on their trip to the North Pole. "I think for me, personally, I'm hugely proud to be a British soldier, to walk alongside these guys," he said. "What these guys have done -- and what they will continue to do throughout their lives -- is just truly inspirational." He assured them he would see them on their next challenge.


Posted by Harshad at 7:03 AM

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