Angelina Jolie visits displaced Iraqis

Families tell actress they can't afford to send their children to school

Angelina Jolie speaks with a boy at a makeshift camp northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, July 23. Jolie was on a day trip in Iraq to bring attention to the plight of displaced people within the country.
BAGHDAD - Angelina Jolie on Thursday visited a settlement for displaced Iraqis in northwest Baghdad in her role as a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR.

The actress met four families whose members said their children could not go to school and they could not afford to pay for medical treatment, the U.N. refugee agency said.

Jolie said during her one-day trip that there is progress in returning Iraqis to their homes after years of war, but more needs to be done, according to UNHCR.

"This is a moment where things seem to be improving on the ground, but Iraqis need a lot of support and help to rebuild their lives," the agency quoted Jolie as saying. It was the actress's third trip to Iraq.UNHCR estimates that 1.6 million Iraqis were displaced within the country by sectarian violence, and that 300,000 have returned home amid improving security. It says hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees live in neighboring countries, mostly in Syria and Jordan

Katrina Kaif: Bollywood queen

Every era of Hindi Cinema had its share of talented actresses fighting it out for the top slot, but there had been few actresses, rather heroins, who ruled the arena solely due to their beauty. Katrina Kaif is surely one of them

WHO IS your choice for most fascinating beauty in India? For me, without any hesitation, it's Katrina Kaif! She is a perfect blend of Indian and Western beauties. With her incredible beauty with equally voluptuous body, she is simply far ahead of her contemporaries. In fact, she is entirely in a different zone, clearly out of the cat race with no competition at all.Every era of Hindi Cinema had its share of talented actresses fighting it out for the top slot, but there had been few actresses, rather heroins, who ruled the arena solely due to their beauty. They over-owed their generations merely for their beauty. Madhubala and Hema Malini can be named in the same bracket, who were the queen of silver screen, not for their acting skills, but more for their impeccable beauty. Their looks hypnotised the audiences to the extent that there was no time or relevance for analysing their acting, for whatever they did on screen was loved by the audiences.So there should not be any raised eyebrows for Katrina’s western accent or her acting skills. Her accent has found the same acceptance among masses as was the case with Hema Malini whose lacking accent proved to be her USP in the long run. The success of Katrina’s films has proved that she sells at box office.

In fact, she blasts at box office and there is no dearth of people who just go to the multiplexes for watching her.

No one can deny her contribution in reviving the fading career of Akshay Kumar. The success of Race and now the New York speaks about her growing popularity. Popularity-wise she can even be put ahead of the actors, forget about actresses. She has certainly reached the level, where she can propel the film entirely on her shoulders.
I may be harsh on the other damsels of silver screen but they have to bear the truth. No other contemporary actress seems to be near to her. They can thrive to get better films, better roles, etc, to fight it out with each other but should forget competing with Katrina! She is beyond competition now simply because of her mesmerising beauty, which can’t be acquired, it’s simply a gift from the God. Moreover, in Bollywood its always the looks which rules, acting is just a secondary requirement to it. Lastly, I must thank Salman Khan for introducing Katrina to Bollywood. He has indeed gifted the Indian Cinema with one of its most precious gems.

Michael Jackson's death .....Dozens of doctors probed

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California's attorney general said on Wednesday his office has run dozens of doctors' names, some of them thought to be aliases, through its prescription drug database to aid police investigating the death of Michael Jackson.
Attorney General Jerry Brown said his office was not the lead agency in probing Jackson's sudden death -- a role it took in the fatal overdose of Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith in 2007 -- but was assisting other agencies as they try to track down prescription drugs that may have killed the King of Pop.
"We've found some things, but this is early on" to provide details, Brown told Reuters.
Brown's office monitors all over-the-counter prescription transactions in California, using a database that contains the name of each doctor, patient, medication and quantity.
He said his investigators were given "dozens" of doctors' names to run through its system by police probing Jackson's sudden death, although some are considered to be aliases.
The findings could be used to show that "there were drugs in quantities and character that are lethal in combination," which in conjunction with the official autopsy could lead investigators to determine exactly what killed the 50-year-old singer and dancer.
Brown declined to say if he thought murder or manslaughter charges could be brought in the case, but said those kinds of crimes could not be ruled out "any time you've got a dead body and you've got chemicals in large quantities."
Jackson died at his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest. Official autopsy results are pending toxicology tests, but rampant speculation has centered on Jackson's use of prescription drugs.
On Tuesday, an official from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office visited the office of Dr. Arnold Klein, the singer's longtime dermatologist, to obtain Jackson's medical records as part of its investigation.
Brown, a former California governor who is said to be considering a run for that job again in 2010, said his office took the lead in investigating prescription drug use in Anna Nicole Smith's death because no other agency had done so.
In the Jackson case, he said, Los Angeles Police and coroners investigators were involved

Michael Jackson's Death Still Not Being Treated as Homicide

Los Angeles The investigation into Michael Jackson's death marches on, and with it, so do the rumors.
Despite several reports, the quest for answers has not turned into a homicide investigation.
"Nothing has changed," Los Angeles District Attorney's office spokeswoman Jane Robinson tells E! News. "It's still an ongoing investigation."
Likewise, the LAPD echoes that statement, simply saying the investigation continues.
Neither party is throwing the words criminal or homicide around, although the LAPD and the district attorney's office have spoken to each other.
"As far as [the LAPD] contacting us a few times, that's true," Robinson says.
She adds that reports that the investigation has become a criminal one are false, and that she cannot comment on whether or not the LAPD is approaching the death as a homicide.
A source close to the investigation tells E! News that they haven't ruled out homicide, but have made no conclusions. They continue to question and seek information from at least five doctors with knowledge of Jackson's health condition and treatments.
Hopefully, the results of the toxicology report being announced next week will provide us all—law enforcement, reporters and fans—with some much needed clarity.
—Additional reporting by Maureen Heaton

Michael Jackson's sister La Toya says he was 'killed'

LONDON (AFP) – Michael Jackson was killed by a band of greedy hangers-on, his sister La Toya alleged in interviews with British Sunday newspapers.
The King of Pop's sister spoke about her younger brother's death and the aftermath with The Mail on Sunday and the News of the World weeklies.
"I believe Michael was murdered, I felt that from the start," the 53-year-old said.
"Not just one person was involved, rather it was a conspiracy of people. He was surrounded by a bad circle. Michael was a very meek, quiet, loving person. People took advantage of that.
"Less than a month ago, I said I thought Michael was going to die before the London shows because he was surrounded by people who didn't have his best interests at heart.
La Toya said she had ordered a private autopsy.
Jackson, one of the world's most popular entertainers, died on June 25 at the age of 50.
"Michael was worth more than a billion dollars. When anyone is worth that much money, there are always greedy people around them. I said to my family a month ago, 'He's never going to make it to London'. He was worth more dead than alive."
Murder under Californian law can include killings that are not premeditated.
La Toya accused a "shadowy" group of cutting her sibling off from his family and friends and forcing him to sign up for 50 comeback concerts at London's O2 Arena, shows billed "This Is It".
They saw him as a "cash cow" and "got him hooked on drugs... I think it shocked his system so much it killed him," she claimed.
"I am not going to stop until I find out who is responsible. Why did they keep the family away? It's not about money. I want justice for Michael. I won't rest until I find out what -- and who -- killed my brother."
La Toya said Jackson was found in the bedroom of his physician Doctor Conrad Murray.
"Michael walked from his room to Doctor Murray's room. What happened in there we don't know," she said.
La Toya said she was driving to see Jackson in hospital when her mother screamed down the phone: "He's dead!".
"I nearly crashed my car," she said. "My legs went weak... They took me up to the area where Michael had been taken. Mother was crying and Michael's kids were crying."
She also claimed jewellery was missing from his house and no cash was found, despite the fact he regularly kept more than a million dollars around.
La Toya said the family had an open coffin viewing before the public memorial in Los Angeles' Staples Center arena.
She put one of his sequined gloves in the coffin, while his daughter Paris, 11, put a one half a heart-shaped "mood necklace" around his wrist, keeping the other piece.
La Toya said it was Paris's idea to speak at the memorial.
Of Jackson's children, she said Paris wanted to be an entertainer, Prince Michael was "assertive", while Blanket was "very funny, a real prankster like his father."
La Toya said her brother would "absolutely not" be laid to rest at his Neverland ranch and added that Jackson's brain, removed in the autopsy, had been put back in his body.
La Toya said Jackson wanted to give up music and become a film director.
"The first one was to be a horror film called 'Thriller'," she said. "'This Is It' really was the end. He didn't want to perform any more."
She said Jackson updated his will roughly every five years, "so we expect another one to emerge from 2007".

Michael Jackson's sister La Toya believes He was effectively Murdered