Luxembourg - Top European Union diplomats on Monday dismissed as "nonsense" a claim by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the EU is planning to build a sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union, just 24 hours before a meeting with him. On March 21, Lavrov said that the EU was trying to build a "sphere of influence" in Eastern Europe by setting up a so-called "Eastern Partnership" with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Is John Abraham doing a film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali? “I’d love to! I’ve met him. But not for Chenab Gandhi, as reported. I don’t know who started this. I’ve met Mr Bhansali for a completely different project .And if all goes well, we’ll be working together very soon. Just meeting him is such an enriching experience. I wonder what working with him would be like!”

Ankara - Seven police officers and a television cameraman were injured in Istanbul Monday in a shootout between police and three members of a left-wing group that began after police raided a number of houses in the Turkish city early Monday. Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said the raids started at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) and the shootout in the suburb of Bostanci on the Asian side of the city was continuing some five hours later.

Guler said the far-left group was planning a "sensational operation".

In a raid on a house in the suburb of Bagcilar, police seized weapons, ammunition and bomb-making materials

Islamabad - A pro-Taliban cleric suspended talks with Pakistani authorities Monday, a day after paramilitary troops began an offensive against the militants in the restive north-western region. The new push began early Sunday in Lower Dir district, part of the Malakand Division where the regional government introduced Islamic sharia law this month under a truce with Taliban.

"No peace negotiations will take place with the government until a halt in the Dir operation," said Amir Izzat Khan, a spokesman for hardline cleric Sufi Mohammad, who brokered the peace pact.

London, Apr 27 : English model Sophie Dahl has blasted "stick-thin starlets" for inspiring others to diet.

Dahl, 31, who is very curvaceous, and had been a size 14 when she began modelling aged 19, warned people not to follow the "paranoid and unhappy" stars.

"Starving is not sexy," the Sun quoted her as saying.

"It is bleeding gums, acrid breath, brittle bones, osteoporosis, infertility and complication. It saps and withers.

Manila- Philippine security forces have lost track of an ailing Italian Red Cross worker held by Muslim militants on a southern island for over 100 days, a Marine spokesman acknowledged Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo appealed for public "patience and understanding" as security forces tried to determine the exact location of Eugenio Vagni, a staffer of the International Committee of the Red Cross.