Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise Races Across Rooftops in Austria

The hills were alive – with the sound of fans rushing to get a
photo of Tom Cruise.
The actor popped up on the main shopping street of Salzburg –
the Austrian city where The Sound of Music was filmed – shortly
after his Gulfstream IV jet landed there on Thursday. Dressed in a
blue and gray plaid flannel shirt, Cruise signed autographs on the
cobblestone street during a break from filming Knight and Day, a romantic
action-comedy with Cameron Diaz.

On Friday, Cruise shot scenes running over roofs in the city's old town.
Next up: a helicopter chase.
Although most of the Americans who visit Salzburg are there for the
Sound of Music tour, Cruise's tastes are apparently more highbrow.
He spent an hour visiting the house where composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born.
Gabriele Ramsauer, who gave Cruise a tour of the residence,
told a local newspaper the movie star was a delightful guest:"He told us all
about his daughter, Suri, that she is so spirited and interested in everything"

Britney Spears



Michael Bublé has a message for the Australian critics who slammed Britney Spears for lip-synching during concerts: lighten up!

"You'd think she killed someone," Bublé, in Australia to promote his album Crazy Love, told Melbourne's Herald Sun

He added, "Does she deserve the way she's been completely bashed by the media here? No."

One report Spears's camp objected to: that fans were so unhappy with her concerts that they walked out of at least one show in droves. Bublé says he find the criticism of Spears "nasty."

Although, the crooner does have a sense of humor about it. "Mind you, I lip-synch all my concerts," he said joking. "I'm the Milli Vanilli of jazz."

Bublé, 34, also discusses one blip in his relationship with his girlfriend, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, 22, a star in her native South America.

"My Spanish is not great," Bublé admits. "I'm learning slowly. She's showing me up. Her English is flawless, I sound like a caveman when I try to talk Spanish." newspaper. "Okay, she lip-synchs her show, people know that, they make the decision if they want to go and see her do that."

Kim Kardashian



Following in the footsteps of such other eye-candy food pitchwomen as Paris Hilton, Padma Lakshmi and Audrina Patridge now Kim Kardashian is taking her salad to bed in a sexy new spot promoting Carl's Jr. Premium Salads. Suddenly, salads are hot.

"I'm always down for a burger, I love them and I eat them," says Kardashian, 28. "But this is the first commercial they've ever done for anything but a burger. The salads are healthy, and it totally fits what I'm about right now."

Barack Obama

President Obama to Attend Copenhagen Climate Talks

The White House announced today that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen on Dec. 9 to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in order to work with the international community to drive progress toward a comprehensive and operational Copenhagen accord. The White House also announced that President Obama is prepared to put on the table a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.

The Washington Post reported that the announcement provides "new momentum" for the talks, saying:

Obama's decision to attend -- and commit to an emission reduction target -- prompted an outpouring of support from the environmental community and its Democratic allies ...

Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is working to fashion a bipartisan compromise climate bill along with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), said the administration's decision to put specific climate goals on the table at the United Nations-sponsored talks amounts to "a global game changer with big reverberations here at home."

"The Obama administration is now undeniably mustering bonafide leadership on climate change, not merely departing from Bush administration intransigence and ideology," Kerry said. "By announcing a provisional target, contingent on the support of Congress, the president has defined a path to an international agreement that challenges the developed and developing nations of the to fulfill their obligations.

Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, said it marked the first time Obama has "signaled that he's ready to roll up his sleeves to make a climate change deal happen."

Underscoring President Obama’s commitment to American leadership on clean energy and combating climate change, the White House also announced today that a host of Cabinet secretaries and other top officials from across the Administration will travel to Copenhagen for the conference. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson are all scheduled to attend, along with Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner.

source-www.barackobama.com

Mahinda Rajapksa

President declares open Ranajayapura mega housing scheme

President Mahinda Rajapksa yesterday handed over Ranajayapura mega housing scheme to war heroes. At a ceremony held at Ipalogma, the President handed over keys of 100 houses to their owners.

Ranajayapura is a concept made a reality under the Mahinda Chintana programme, the President`s vision for the country`s future. The housing scheme at Ipalogama marks the completion of the first phase of the project aimed at building 50,000 houses for war heroes. Ranajayapura is the largest ever housing project built for the war heroes consisting 1509 completed houses with all modern amenities.

The project was planned and implemented by the Ministry of Defence under the leadership of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The cost of each three roomed house with bathroom and a pantry and a ten perch land was Rs. 1.4 million. The government has borne Rs. 600,000 of the total cost and the remaining Rs. 800,000 was given as interest free loans to the recipients which are expected to be recovered within ten to fifteen years.

Also, the housing scheme is provided with a Super Market, a Bank of Ceylon branch, a primary school, a daycare unit and a well equipped hospital.

The Foundation stone was laid for the project on 14 December 2006. The Sri Lanka Navy engineers accomplished the task of completing 1509 houses within 15 months.

source-www.president.gov.lk