Shania Twain talks about her relationship with ex-secretary’s hubby

Washington, Aug 30 (ANI): Canadian singer Shania Twain has finally spoken out about her relationship with her ex-secretary’s husband.

The Grammy winner posted a video to tell her fans that she’s doing well and talked about her “dear friend”.

Twain marriage to Robert “Mutt” Lange fell apart in May 2008 following his affair with her best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud, a longtime secretary and manager of the couple’s chateau in Switzerland.

In a nearly 15-minute video travelogue of her past year, the singer is seen enjoying skydiving and riding camels in Egypt.

“I want you to see for yourself that we are doing fine. I feel very alive and well, ready to take on the gift of another year,” People magazine quoted her as saying.

While Twain does not clarify whether she and Fred Thiébaud are an item, she called him as “a dear friend and true gentleman.”

“[He] has been the most constant companion and support for both Eja and I. And having gone through the suffering of his family splitting apart at the same time and under the same extreme circumstances, he understands me better than anyone.

“We leaned on one another through the ups and downs, taking turns holding each other up. We’ve become stronger and closer through it all, as have our children, Eja and Johanna, Fred’s 8-year-old daughter,” she added.(ANI)

Oz man claims his pet moggy can swear, speak in English!

Melbourne, Aug 29 (ANI): An Aussie man claims that he owns a pet cat that can speak a total of seven different English words, including the F-word.

Mischief the ‘talking’ cat belongs to Robert ‘RJ’ Duncan, 34, an ex-boxer of Palmerston, in the Northern Territory, and his wife Sandra, 32, and he also claims that his budgie Picininny can speak.

According to the Northern Territory News, Mischief had at the first declined to utter a single word, but during a second visit he was much friendlier, and everyone around heard him calling Sandra, “mum”.

Duncan said the two-year-old cat, which he and his wife adopted from his feral mother in Katherine, was most vocal at night.

“He starts mouthing off when he wants his food _ when we start cooking,” the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

“He can say seven words all up: mum, no, now, what, f**k, prick and why.

“He can’t say ‘dad’ yet, which is a bit of a prick. That’s how he got the word ‘prick’ I reckon, because I say it a lot,” he said.

Duncan said that Mischief’s first word was ‘mum’, which he started saying about the age of six months, and that he was not mimicking the words either, as he knew what he was saying.

“He calls out to (Sandra) and everything _ he’ll sit at the back window, while she’s in the garden, calling out ‘mum’,” he explained.

“In the evening time, if you don’t drop whatever you’re doing and pay attention to him, he calls you ‘f**k prick’.

“If he really cracks the s**ts, he’ll piss in his drinking water just to let you know he’s really s**ty,” he added.

Duncan will now be trying to film Mischief to prove the moggy can really talk.

“He’s a character … he’s one of these cats that’s a bit too brainy for his own good,” he added. (ANI)

Girl nicknamed Human Tortoise finally comes out of her shell

London, Aug 26 (ANI): A Brit girl, who earned the nickname Human Tortoise for the body cast she had to wear, has finally been able to get rid of it after 12 years.

Megan Parker, who lives with mum Tina, dad Robert and brother Zac in Colchester, Essex, was diagnosed with curvature of the spine at just six weeks old, and, at 18 months, she was given the “shell” to help correct her twisted back.

She has had to undergo more than 40 operations, including repeated surgery to tighten titanium rods as she grew.

But now, at age 14, she is free to look forward to a normal life.

“There is so much that I want to do now, but I have to take things steady because it’s still early days,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

“It has completely opened up the world to me.

“I could never wear girly clothes before – and I had never had my hair cut at a salon because I couldn’t bend my head over the sinks. It just shows why you should never give up hope,” she said.

Megan has even proved that she’s on track for a full recovery by taking up go-karting.

“Driving a go-kart was one of the first things she had wanted to do and it brought tears to our eyes when she finally did it,” Tina, 39, said.

“She is my miracle girl – she’s been through so much. The surgeons have been incredible and have transformed her life.

“She can play with friends as she has always wanted to. I feel like my little girl has finally come out of her shell – in both ways,” she added. (ANI)

Robert Pattinson denies saying he is single

Washington, Aug 20 (ANI): Actor Robert Pattinson has denied tabloid reports that he is single.

The Twilight star claimed that he never spoke to British newspaper, The Mirror, which quoted him saying he has not seeing anyone, reports Contactmusic.

The Mirror had quoted him as saying: “I don’t have a girlfriend. I don’t know why. You always think you’re going to get more girls after you’ve made a movie and it never happens.

“You sit there and you’re like ‘I’m a big movie star and I want to go out with some models’ but I don’t know why that doesn’t happen.”

He reportedly added: “It’s especially different in L.A. Most of the women there are actresses and by default that makes them a little bit nuts – not that that’s a bad thing.

“But I don’t really have a type. Whenever I get asked who my favourite celebrity crush is, I have no idea.”

However, his publicist has now denied that the heartthrob made any such statement.

The reps said: “I will only comment on matters regarding Robert’s professional life, but in order to set the record straight, Robert did not speak to the Mirror, and their claim that they spoke to him a few days ago is manufactured along with any information that they claim to have as an exclusive directly from him.”

In the recent past, Pattinson has denied reports that he is secretly dating Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart. (ANI)

Money helps people feel better, but doesn’t necessarily improve quality of life

Washington, August 9 (ANI): Money may help people feel better about their lives, but it may not necessarily improve their quality of life, say two of the world’s leading psychological experts on happiness.

Dr. Ed Diener, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, of the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology in Milwaukee, said so while speaking at the 117th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association on Saturday.

“People should avoid the trap of over-emphasizing financial matters and consider a complete portfolio of resources. This will help them cope when hard times are imminent,” said Diener.

He also referred to a poll for which the Gallup Organization surveyed more than 136,000 people in 132 countries from 2005 to 2006.

The researcher revealed that the poll looked at several economic factors, such as income and the wealth of the respondents’ countries, in connection with each person’s psychological needs, such as respect, happiness, personal life evaluation and support from family and friends.

The poll showed that the average person was relatively happy and satisfied with his or her life, but a larger income was more directly related to a stronger sense of happiness than with any other factor.

The researchers observed that the people who thought they had a great life reported higher income, but larger salaries die not mean that such persons felt happier on a day-to-day basis.

According to Diener, this may surprise some people who have long heard that money can’t buy happiness.

“Money is an object that many or most people highly desire and pursue during most of their waking hours. It would be surprising if making more money had no influence whatsoever when people are asked to evaluate their lives,” said Diener.

The survey, however, also revealed that a larger income did not necessarily contribute to a person’s day-to-day feelings of happiness, stronger social relationships or feeling of respect.

“Essentially, we have two forms of prosperity: economic and psychological. I don’t know if one is better than the other. But what we’ve found is that while money may be able to make people lead more comfortable lives, it won’t necessarily contribute to life’s pleasant moments that come from engaging with people and activities rather than from material goods and luxuries,” said Diener.

Biswas-Diener said it’s this kind of “psychological wealth” that can help people get through the recent financial downturn.

Some scientifically proven coping methods include learning a new skill, meeting new people, using humour and prayer, and having supportive friends.

“Adaptation to both good and bad events is part of our psychological wealth because it helps us to move forward in life,” said Biswas-Diener. (ANI)

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Former star NFL quarterback Steve McNair 36 years old and  Saleh Kazemi, 20 years old has been identified as the woman found dead near him, was his girlfriend or some other jealous ex lover. It is believed that McNair had been dating Saleh Kazemi for several months. McNair, with Peyton Manning won the league’s  the Most Valuable Player award in 2003.

Saleh Kazemi was recently cited for DUI while driving a car registered  in the name of McNair.

As reported before Steve McNair was found by friends Wayne Neely and Robert Gaddy, dead of multiple gunshot wounds. A pistol laid near the body of Sahel Kazemi. Played 13 seasons on the NFL, and most of the time for the Tennessee Titans.

Worrying about paying bills can make you ‘fat’

Washington, July 8 (ANI): A new study has found that taking a lot of stress can cause people to pack on pounds.

The study looked at the relationship between weight gain and multiple types of stress-job-related demands, difficulty paying bills, strained family relationships, depression or anxiety disorder-in the U.S. population.

“Today’s economy is stressing people out, and stress has been linked to a number of illnesses -such as heart disease, high blood pressure and increased risk for cancer. This study shows that stress is also linked to weight gain,” according to Jason Block, M.D., M.P.H., who conducted the research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar(r) at Harvard University.

Women’s waistlines are affected by more types of stress. In addition to weight gain associated with financial problems or a difficult job, women also added pounds when grappling with strained family relationships and feeling limited by life’s circumstances.

For men, the numbers on the scale did not go up when facing difficult family relationships or feeling constrained by life circumstances. Among men, lack of decision authority at work and lack of skill discretion was associated with greater weight gain. Skill discretion can be defined as the ability to learn new skills on the job and to perform interesting job duties.

Overall, this study found that people who reported increased psychological stress gained more weight if they already had higher body mass indexes (BMI). A similar weight-gain pattern was not found among lower-weight people who were dealing with the same types of stress, according to the study.

When coping with life’s stressful periods, individuals may change their eating behaviours, which can lead to changes in weight. Stress-induced weight gain is influenced by a person’s gender, what types of foods people eat when they change their eating behaviours, and whether the person is already overweight or obese.

These factors may cause some people to gain more weight under stressful circumstances, while others may gain less weight or even lose weight when stressed.

The study appears in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. (ANI)

New York women ‘terrify’ Robert Pattinson

New York, July 6 (ANI): British actor Robert Pattinson, who is shooting for his new film “Remember Me” in New York, is said to be scared of the city’s women.

On-set sources have revealed that the actor is homesick for London.

“Robert is dying to get back home. He’s so over everything. He’s overwhelmed by all the girls – they terrify him,” the New York Daily News quoted an insider as saying.

“He says girls grab his neck and clothing all of the time, and he’s not used to that. Fans don’t do that to him in London. Everyone there is a little cooler about the fame thing, which is what he’s used to,” the insider added.

Clearly Pattinson, who shot to fame as teenage vampire Edward Cullen in “Twilight,” isn’t enjoying his heartthrob status or the female attention.

“Robert doesn’t understand why everyone is going so crazy over him,” the insider said.

“He’s embarrassed by the way girls throw themselves at him. The girls here are stalking him. He stayed in two different hotels over the course of four days just to try to escape the fans who were following him. He’s afraid that if he gives a hand, they’ll take the whole arm. He’s being advised by security not to encourage the crowd, so he doesn’t even look up anymore,” the insider added. (ANI)

Pattinson finds fame ‘strange’, says co-star Bower

New Delhi, July 6 (ANI): Robert Pattinson may have won many hearts around the world after playing vampire Edward Cullen in the film ‘Twilight’, but he finds the attention a little strange, according to his co-star Jamie Campbell Bower.

Bower, who plays Caius in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, said that Pattinson was trying to get accustomed to being a worldwide star, reports the China Daily.

He told BANG Showbiz: “Robert is coping with it all very well. I think he is finding all the attention a bit strange. I met all the cast for the first time when we started shooting the second film. It was fun.”

He added: “I hung out with them and they are lovely people. There is always a connection with actors that you work with – it doesn’t matter it you like them or not. There is always a connection.” (ANI)

Scots fought in bright yellow war shirts, not ‘Braveheart kilts’

London, June 29 (ANI): A new research has suggested that medieval Scottish soldiers fought wearing bright yellow war shirts dyed in horse urine rather than the tartan plaid kilts depicted in the film ‘Braveheart’.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the research, done by historian Fergus Cannan states that the Scots armies who fought in battles like Bannockburn, and Flodden Field would have looked very different to the way they have traditionally been depicted.

“Instead of kilts, they wore saffron-coloured tunics called “leine croich” and used a range of ingredients to get the boldest possible colours,” said Cannan.

“What the Scottish soldiers wore in the country’s greatest battles is an area that, up until now, has not been properly studied,” he added.

“A lot of historians quite rightly stated that the film Braveheart was not terribly accurate, but what they didn’t admit was that they didn’t have a clue what would be accurate,” he explained.

Cannan, a military history specialist, scoured original medieval eye-witness accounts, manuscripts, and tomb effigies for his research.

Using these and other sources, he built up a picture of what members of Robert the Bruce’s forces would have worn in 1314.

Numerous accounts cited by Cannan in his new book, ‘Scottish Arms and Armour’, refer to the distinctive linen tunics, usually worn with a belt round the middle.

“Forget about the plaid and tartan,” he said. “The yellow war shirt is never shown in any film or popular image and yet it is something that all the original writers comment on,” he added.

“Highlanders wore the tunics throughout the Middle Ages and right up until the end of the 16th Century,” he said.

Because Saffron was expensive, poor clansmen dyed the linen with horse urine or bark and crushed leaves to get the rich yellow colour.

On top of the leine croich, they would wear a deerskin or cowhide jerkin, which would be waxed or dipped in pitch to make it waterproof.

According to Dr Clare Downham of Aberdeen University said that Cannan’s analysis fitted with her own knowledge of Celtic Scotland.

“The tartan kilt as we know it today is part of a romantic and more modern imagining of Scotland’s past,” she said. (ANI)

Downey Jr. turns real life hero, saves film extra from a rampaging robot

Washington, Jun 28 (ANI): American actor Robert Downey Jr. is said to have stopped shooting on the ‘Iron Man 2′ and rushed to the aid of a movie extra after he was injured by a rampaging robot.

The extra had been involved in a sequence which saw a group of people running away from a group of robotic villains, when he was accidentally hit by a stuntman in an iron costume.

Nobody noticed that the man had been hurt and filming continued, but when Downey Jr., 44, who was not in the scene, saw the man writhing in pain, he rushed to help him.

“Cameras kept cranking until Robert, who wasn’t in the scene, suddenly noticed one extra twisting in pain and moaning, ‘Help, I’ve broken something’,” Contactmusic quoted a source as telling National Enquirer magazine.

“Robert charged into a live scene yelling, ‘Cut! Cut!’ The extra was writhing on the ground in agony after a rampaging evil robot smashed him flat,” the source added.

The actor called for paramedics and comforted the man until they arrived, and at the hospital the injured extra was diagnosed with a broken hip. (ANI)

Gemma Arterton to act in ‘Wuthering Heights’

London, May 16 (ANI): Hollywood actress Gemma Arterton is gearing up to act in a forthcoming flick based on teen drama ‘Wuthering Heights’.

The producers decided to feature Gemma in the flick because they thought that the original stars, Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, were too old to portray the characters in the adaptation of Emily Bronte’s novel.

Gemma, who will portray Cathy, will act opposite Ed Westwick in the flick produced by Robert Bernstein.

“We have cast it as written. Heathcliff is a teen and the story takes him into his early 20s. Cathy is just as young. It’s radical because usually actors playing these characters are much older,” The Telegraph quoted Robert as saying.

The forthcoming flick ‘Wuthering Heights’ will be directed by Peter Webber. (ANI)

Job loss can really make you sick

Washington, May 9 (ANI): Losing a job can lead not just to financial hardships but could also increase the risk of developing health problems such as high blood pressure and heart attacks, says a new study.

Even when people find a new job, there is a raised risk of developing a new health problem as a result of the job loss, the study published in the May 8 issue of Demography claimed.

“In today’s economy, job loss can happen to anybody,” said Kate Strully, who conducted the research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society scholar at the Harvard School of Public Health.

“We need to be aware of the health consequences of losing our jobs and do what we can to alleviate the negative effects,” the expert added.

In the study, Strully found that “job churning,” defined as high rates of job loss but low unemployment, has negative health consequences for workers who were not already sick.

For those who lost their job-white or blue collar-through no fault of their own, such as an establishment closure, the odds of reporting fair or poor health increased by 54 percent, and among respondents with no pre-existing health conditions, it increased the odds of a new health condition by 83 percent.

Even when workers became re-employed, those workers had an increased risk of new stress-related health conditions, the study found.

Unlike the results of job loss due to an establishment closure, when health effects were analyzed based on workers who were fired or laid off, significant differences were found based on the workers’ occupations. While being fired or laid off or leaving a job voluntarily more than doubles the odds of a fair or poor health report among blue-collar workers, such job displacements have no significant association with the health reports of white-collar workers.

The reasons for this disparity are unclear based on the study results.

The study was conducted based on data from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative survey from 1999, 2001 and 2003. The study looked at establishment closures that included a range of occupations, including managerial or professional positions (30 percent displacement), sales, clerical, and craft jobs, (33 percent displacement), a machine operator jobs (20 percent displacement), and service positions (13 percent displacement). (ANI)

Robert De Niro, Edward Norton team up again for forthcoming thriller

Washington, May 8 (ANI): Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and Edward Norton are teaming up again for a forthcoming independent thriller.

Robert and Edward, who worked together in crime drama ‘The Score’, will be teaming up after 8 years, for the psychological thriller ‘Stone’, reports Contactmusic.

According to Variety magazine, Robert will portray a correctional officer who is seduced by the wife of Norton’s character, a convicted arsonist up for parole.

The forthcoming thriller will hit the theatres in 2010.

Norton’s last flick ‘Pride and Glory’ was a thriller, which featured Colin Farrell alongside him. (ANI)

Megan Fox says Robert Pattinson is ‘too pretty’ to date

Washington, May 06 (ANI): Megan Fox has dismissed rumours she once dated Twilight star Robert Pattinson, insisting the young actor is ‘too pretty’ for her.

Rumours that the ‘Transformers’ star was involved with the 22 year old started making rounds after the pair was spotted at a Hollywood hotspot together in March (09).

However, the 22-year-old actress, who recently reconciled with fiance Brian Austin Green, 35, insists that the stories are not true.

“I just randomly asked someone for a light, and it was him. That was the extent of our ‘relationship’. But I’m sure there’s going to be a different guy every week now,” Contactmusic quoted her as telling Elle magazine.

Fox also said that she would never date a teen idol like Pattinson, or Zac Efron – as she prefers older men.

“(Robert) and Zac – they’re just too pretty, with the big hair and the suits. And Rob is, what, 22? Zac is 21? That’s a joke. Boys in their 20s are a waste of time. They have nothing to offer conversationally. They’re immature. I feel like I have a better shot with someone in his 30s,” she said. (ANI)

Megan Fox says Robert Pattinson is ‘too pretty’ to date

Washington, May 06 (ANI): Megan Fox has dismissed rumours she once dated Twilight star Robert Pattinson, insisting the young actor is ‘too pretty’ for her.

Rumours that the ‘Transformers’ star was involved with the 22 year old started making rounds after the pair was spotted at a Hollywood hotspot together in March (09).

However, the 22-year-old actress, who recently reconciled with fiance Brian Austin Green, 35, insists that the stories are not true.

“I just randomly asked someone for a light, and it was him. That was the extent of our ‘relationship’. But I’m sure there’s going to be a different guy every week now,” Contactmusic quoted her as telling Elle magazine.

Fox also said that she would never date a teen idol like Pattinson, or Zac Efron – as she prefers older men.

“(Robert) and Zac – they’re just too pretty, with the big hair and the suits. And Rob is, what, 22? Zac is 21? That’s a joke. Boys in their 20s are a waste of time. They have nothing to offer conversationally. They’re immature. I feel like I have a better shot with someone in his 30s,” she said. (ANI)

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy weakens mum-child bond

London, Apr 22 (ANI): Pregnant women who drink alcohol weaken the bond with their child, claim researchers.

What’s more, expectant mothers who drink take longer to recover after the birth, the study found.

The research, carried out by PhD student Eilidh Duncan at Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University, looked at 130 first-time mothers with varying levels of alcohol intake, reports The Telegraph.fter births, Duncan reviewed issues like delivery type, length of hospital stay, pregnancy and labour complications, maternal attachment and post-natal drinking habits.

In the study, mums were asked a series of questions after giving birth to determine their level of attachment to their child.

From analysis, it was found that the women who drank during pregnancy had significantly lower levels of bonding than non-drinkers.

And even mothers who drank no more than once a month, the study found, had to spend an extra day recovering in hospital.

Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay, lecturer at the university’s School of Applied Social Studies, said: “This research confirms that drinking even small amounts during pregnancy has negative outcomes for women.

“Alcohol use during pregnancy not only lengthens the mother’s stay in hospital, but can be directly associated with lower levels of mother-child bonding.” (ANI)

World’s top architects slam Prince Charles for interfering development

London, Apr. 19 (ANI): World’s leading architects have slammed the Prince of Wales for “using his privileged position” to interfere in the design of a controversial luxury development in London’s most attractive part.

Five Pritzker prize-winning architects alleged that Charles has “skewed” the democratic process by using his royal connections in an attempt to stop modernist plans for the former Chelsea Barracks.

In a letter to the Sunday Times, top architects Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Lord Foster, Zaha Hadid, Renzo Piano and Frank Gehry attacked the traditional architect supporter prince.

They disclosed that the prince had been successful in persuading the Qatari royal family, who own the site, to consider having more traditional brick and stone buildings for the development at the expense of the glass and steel proposals submitted by Lord Rogers, the project’s architect.

“If the prince wants to comment on the design of this or any other project we urge him to do so through the established planning consultation process,” they write.

“It is essential in a modern democracy that private comments and behind-the-scenes lobbying by the prince should not be used to skew the course of an open and democratic planning process that is currently under way,” they added.

The prince argues that the proposed buildings would look inappropriate adjacent to the Royal hospital, Chelsea, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

The architects, who have attacked prince, have been attributed for the “bird’s nest” stadium for the Beijing Olympics, the Gherkin and Tate Modern in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.

Charles seems to have a particular dislike of designs by Rogers. Rogers put in proposals for the extension for the National Gallery in 1984, which were criticized by the prince.

He famously called one of the plans “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend”. He also objected to Rogers’s ideas to redevelop Paternoster Square, next to St Paul’s Cathedral.

Architect and academic Richard Burdett said: “The prince is basically saying that Rogers should be fired.”

Robert’s famous designs

Lord Foster’s City Hall, housing the London mayor, was nicknamed “the glass testicle”. Boris Johnson rechristened it “the onion”.

Foster’s National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, opened in 1996, has been called “excruciatingly dismal” by critics.

Heathrow’s terminal 5, designed by Lord Rogers, was called “a disaster” after baggage-handling chaos last year. (ANI)

Robert Plant was almost beaten up by Duane Allman in U.S.

New York, April 14 (ANI): ‘Led Zeppelin’ star Robert Plant was almost beaten up by Allman Brothers legend Duane Allman, when the former played in the U.S. for the first time with his band.

The revelation came from Allman drummer Butch Trucks during an interview for a magazine.

“Robert Plant starts running all over the stage with his velvet pants on, and we were all looking at each other, [like] ‘What the [bleep] is this?’” the New York Post quoted Allman drummer Butch Trucks as telling Relix.

“It was as much about the ballet and the costumes as about the music, if not more so . . . Duane got up and said, ‘I’m either going to go up there and kick the [bleep] out of that guy or we’re leaving.’ And we all got up and left. It just infuriated Duane. He was so let down by one of his gods,” he added. (ANI)

Prabhakaran agrees to rescue mission by a Western country: Report

Colombo, April 12 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, who is said to be facing a military rout at the hands of the government troops, has ‘agreed to a rescue mission by a western country’, a state-run media report said Sunday.

The report comes a week after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lost the cream of its fighting cadre, including a dozen battle-hardened leaders in the fight for Puthukkudiyiruppu. It was their last bastion where the rebels had maintained several military and naval bases and armoury over the past three decades.

It said that the ‘diplomatic moves are now on’ to get the LTTE to agree to allow the civilians to move out of the No-Fire-Zone. The government has refused to agree to any ceasefire with the LTTE at this juncture, fearing that ‘the LTTE may use such an opportunity to strengthen itself or to flee the country with the support of outsiders’.

‘Diplomatic sources indicate that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has apparently agreed to a rescue mission by a Western country,’ the state-run Sunday Observer said.

‘He has agreed to this offer after he lost all his top level leaders in the Puthukkudiyiruppu battle as there is no point for him to operate there in the No-Fire-Zone without the ability to give leadership to the remaining cadres,’ it said.

Amid mounting international concern for the safety of thousands of civilians trapped in a small strip of coastal land in the island’s north-eastern Mullaitivu district, US ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert O’Blake had met Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka.

According to the media report, the US ambassador ‘had apparently made a request for him (army chief) to agree to a seven days’ ceasefire to rescue the civilians trapped inside the No-Fire-Zone’.

‘But the army commander has reportedly said that any decision to enter into ceasefire should be taken by the government but has agreed to have a 48-hour pause in firing if there is a guarantee that civilians are allowed to move out of the No-Fire-Zone freely,’ the Sunday Observer said.

Killing over 525 LTTE cadres in 72 hours of fierce battle for Puthukkudiyiruppu, the military said that the troops were ‘close to the last leg of the war’ against the LTTE which has been fighting for a separate state over the past quarter century.

‘As the troops are poised to enter the No-Fire-Zone, it has been reported that Prabhakaran is making an effort to flee the country apparently with the assistance of the Norwegian government,’ the media report said.

It said although there had been no official intimation about the discussions the Tamil Tigers had with the Norwegian government, LTTE’s political leader Nadesan has had a lengthy discussion with the Norwegians about the situation in the No-Fire-Zone.

There is no immediate response from the LTTE in this regard.

A top visiting UN envoy has said that over 100,000 civilians were ‘trapped in the 14 sq km no-fire zone’ and expressed deep concern for their lives.