Simon wants Britney in American Idol

Simon Cowell wants Britney Spears to make a guest appearance on US talent show American Idol! ‘As far as I’m concerned, she can produce or direct American Idol if she likes,’ he says. ‘She’d bring in 50 million viewers.’

The pop mogul believes that Britney has what it takes to make a successful comeback. ‘She’s got the talent but has got to make a record as good as Baby One More Time again,’ he said. ‘Even though she made that record 10 years ago, we’re still talking about her.’

‘Part of her charm is that she gets as many things wrong in her life as she gets right.’

 I don’t know about Simon but personally, her wrongs have over-shadowed her rights for quite some time now. Would she be the ideal candidate to help judge upcoming new talent? This should be an interesting American Idol season to watch out for.

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“I ‘brought’ Nawaz back” claims Benazir

According to a news clip in Daily Times, the PPP chairperson, Benazir Bhutto said on Sunday that Nawaz Sharif had returned to Pakistan because of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), 2007, which was a result of HER initiatives.

She was talking to reporters at the office of the provincial Election Commission where she had come to submit her nomination papers for a NA seat reserved for women. Benazir welcomed Nawaz’s return to Pakistan, and said Nawaz’s homecoming was made possible because of her dialogue with the regime. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in Islamabad that Benazir would also file nomination papers from two National Assembly constituencies in Larkana, NA-204 and NA-207, today.

Musharraf to step down as army chief within ’48 hrs’

Amid tight security, the Pakistan army has began preparations for a ceremony, expected to take place within 48 hours, at which President Pervez Musharraf will formally step down as army chief and his hand-picked deputy will assume the post.

According to the Dawn News channel, the ceremony at the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi is expected to be held “within the next 48 hours” and ahead of Musharraf taking oath as a civilian president.

Attorney General Malik Qayyum has said Musharraf will doff his army uniform and take oath for a second presidential term on Thursday.

Musharraf is expected to step down as army chief and hand over charge to Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani on November 28. General Kiyani, a former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), was appointed as the vice chief of the army a month or so ago.

The military ruler had said he would quit as army chief as soon as the Supreme Court validated his re-election in the October 6 presidential poll. The apex court issued an order upholding his election victory last week and directed the Election Commission to formally notify the result.

Dawn News further said that Musharraf will chair a meeting of the corps commanders before stepping down as army chief. His security will remain with the military even after he quits the army chief’s post. An elite Special Service Group (SSG) unit headed by a brigadier will be responsible for guarding Musharraf.

Nawaz Sharif registers for Jan polls

As expected, Pakistan’s former ‘ex-exiled’ Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, fresh from a triumphant return to the country after 8 years, has registerd as a candidate for Pakistan’s crucial parliamentary elections to be held on Jan 8, 2008 today.However, he maintained a threat to boycott the January vote and said that, even if he did take part, he would not lead any government under Pakistan’s embattled military president.

Musharraf is expected to step down as chief of Pakistan’s powerful army this week and continue as a civilian – a key demand of his domestic and international critics.

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Hrithik to debut with Penelope

 Lollywood has GOT to get it’s booty shaking (not literally for the love of God please!) and learn from their counterparts from across the border!

Bollywood heroes are all set to adorn the billboards with their Hollywood projects. The latest rumour says that Hrithik Roshan is making his Hollywood debut with none other than Penélope Cruz.

The film will be extensively shot in Hollywood. Penélope’s agent, who had asked for Hrithik’s profile, was ‘bowled over‘ by his international look and recommended him to the Spanish actress. Even the actresses aren’t far behind. After Ash, now Rani Mukherjee has been offered a role in Hollywood. But the queen bee is extremely tight-lipped about the whole issue. Rani says that she is not willing to go west just for the sake of acting in a Hollywood movie. She wants to do interesting roles and the country she works hardly matters.

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WeCite is …glad that Facebook is removing ‘is’ from status updates!

Don’t know if this is already known to many but heck, just read it out here again even if you already know!

Good news!! The word ‘is’ will no longer be a constant in the status updates that we (the ardent facebook junkies) have to set about!

This sounds like a foreign language to many of us, but the blog states the following:

“The return value will now start with a verb, so prepending “is ” is no longer required. So in order to construct a full status message it is now $name + ‘ ‘ + $message, instead of $name + ‘ is ‘ + $message.”

Get the drift? Do ya?

Click on the Facebook Developers Blog for more news on this!

Ex-CJ, deposed judges asked to vacate official residences

The Pakistan government has asked all deposed judges of the Supreme Court, including sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to vacate their official accommodation by November 30. 

“All deposed judges should leave their official accommodation by November 30 and return to their houses,” said the Caretaker Interior Minister, Hamid Nawaz Khan last night.

The judges will be provided necessary help to facilitate their shifting. The Interior Minister also stated that if the judges do not shift out of their official accommodation, the government would not cooperate with them.

It is for the first time since the sacking of the judges and the imposition of emergency on November 3 that the government has asked them to leave their official residences.  

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BB files nomination papers for elections. Nawaz to follow soon.

Despite strong threats and claims by opposition parties to boycott the scheduled January elections, all the major players and political parties are in the process of enrolling their nominations. While Nawaz Sharif is expected to file for his nominations later today, Dawn has reported that Pakistani former prime minister and main opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has already filed for her nominations today for National Assembly elections in the southern central city of Larkana.

She submitted her nomination papers for the National Assembly Seats to the local election commission returning officer today in Larkana, her home town in northwest of Sindh province. Monday is the last day decided by the Election Commission for submitting nomination papers for the National and Province Assembly elections, which is scheduled for January 8, 2008.

Nawaz Sharif, who has been the most recent running mill with regards to boycotting the elections is said to file his papers today in Lahore.

Tightened Security for India vs Pakistan Test

Security was tightened at the ongoing Test match between India and Pakistan here on Sunday after an e-mail threat targeting the visiting team was reported by media outlets. An e-mail sent to a television channel on Saturday, a day after a series of blasts in three northern Indian cities killed 13 people and wounded at least 40, threatened the safety of the visiting Pakistani team. “Don’t think it’s a joke. We will attack you if you play (a) Test match with India,” said the e-mail, according to excerpts published in the Indian Express Sunday, the fourth day of the first Test. “Go back to your country.” Authorities were taking the threat seriously because a similar one was sent to lawyers around the same time as the blasts outside local courts in Uttar Pradesh state on Friday, said a Delhi and District Cricket Association official who did not want to be named.

[Read more here]

Pakistan lose to India by 6 wickets.

India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the first cricket Test against Pakistan at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi.

Chasing 203, India reached the target in 61.1 overs losing four wickets. The hosts now lead the three-match series 1-0.

Brief scores: Pakistan 231 and 247

India 276 and 203 for 4 in 61.1 oevsr (S Tendulkar 56 not out, W Jaffer 53, Sourav Ganguly 48; S Akhtar 4/58).

Indian film: GOAL to be released in Pakistan

An upcoming Indian film by the name of “Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal” will have it’s official release in Pakistan on Friday.

This Mumbai-based UTV Motion Pictures’ football drama starring top actor John Abraham and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, received clearance from the Pakistan Censor Board, making it the first Indian film to get a release in that country.

“We got the permission because ‘Goal’ is technically a U.K. production which was funded via a specially set up London-based banner, Aim Films,” UTVMP chief operating officer Siddharth Roy Kapur said in an interview. “The Pakistan distribution deal with Lahore-based Eveready Pictures was worked out via our Dubai-based distributor, Al Mansoor Films. Expectedly, there is a lot of excitement in Pakistan given the huge popularity of Bollywood stars there.”

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The Sharifs (??) are back in town

After eight years in exile, former prime minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif has returned to Pakistan amidst an ecstatic welcome from thousands of his supporters on Sunday at the Lahore airport. Today he plans to register his candidacy ahead of the deadline for Pakistan’s upcoming elections in Jan 2008.

The arrival on Sunday of one of Musharraf’s harshest critics was a fresh challenge for the president, who has faced intense domestic and international condemnation since he declared a state of emergency on Nov. 3, locking up thousands of opponents, purging the Supreme Court and muzzling the media.