Priyanka Chopra has the Perfect Skin and Hair

Priyanka Chopra has the perfect skin and hair: Blossom Kochhar Interview

Blossom Kochhar is a pioneer in the field of aromatherapy for long. The lady has been a stalwart in promoting healthy lifestyle with her indigenous products, the beneficiaries of which include top-class national and international clientele. Mrs Kocchar turned her belief in the therapeutic properties of essential oils and natural fragrances into a lifestyle concept and industry with great success.
The beauty expert had a chit chat with Bikas Bhagat of Spicezee.com and gave some valuable information on the benefits of aromatherapy and tips to enhance beauty. Following are the excerpts:

Q: What inspires you to create natural products?

Blossom: Your skin inspires me to create natural products. Your skin is breathing…living and is a part of you. What you eat should have the property that it can be put on your face and whatever you put on your face should be edible. My products go through many-many years of testing before they are introduced.

Q: How does aromatherapy help in enhancing beauty?

Blossom: Aromatherapy is excellent for the body, mind and soul. You can use essential oils for massage, for instance, you can use them in your bathwater, after shower, and for any stress related ailments like body ache, hormonal problems, sinus, headache and migraine. Or you can try lavender for stress and ache. Then there is ‘ylang ylang’ to pep you up and Jasmine to lift you from depression. Sandal wood is also excellent oil.

Q: With monsoons coming what are the special things that one should keep in mind for perfectly healthy hair and skin?
Blossom: During the monsoons, cleanse your skin regularly with a good face wash. Don’t use any heavy moisturizer or creams; exfoliate twice a week with a good scrub. Cleaning hair is very important. Shampoo often as hair tends to get dirty, and dry your hair before braiding to avoid fungal infections.

Q: How would you define beauty?

Blossom: Beauty is holistic, it has to deal with your body, mind and soul and when everything is in harmony the person is beautiful.

Q. What’s your take on cosmetic surgery and Botox treatment? Are there any side effects?

Blossom: Well, they are basically beauty enhancement treatments and in most cases, they are adopted only if there is dire need for it. I mean if you are in a line of work which demands you to look glamorous, say like in showbiz, then there is no harm. However, these operations should only be done after a certain age and youngsters should refrain from such procedures instead they should rejuvenate themselves with aromatherapy.

Q: What can people do to reduce stress? Please suggest.

Blossom: We would recommend you to go for aromatherapy. Get yourself a diffuser, add a little water on the top of the diffuser, light a candle and add a few drops of Peach or Lavender oil. The oils can also be used in bath water, on the pillow and you can also use it in a potpourri.

Q: Can you tell us something about yourself? What all do you do - only aromatherapy or regular beauty treatment and makeup also?

Blossom: I also do make up, beauty and hair as well as skin care and spa therapy. I teach Reiki and play golf.

Q: Which celebrity do you think has the perfect skin tone and hair?

Blossom: Priyanka Chopra and…yes this pretty girl Katrina Kaif.

Q: We have heard that there are some international stars visiting your store for beauty and essential oils…

Blossom: It was only some time back that at our Qutub Colonnade store, we had a surprise visitor one day - Richard Gere. He walked into the store once and picked up ‘Dreams` (an essential oil). Ever since, whenever he’s in Delhi on his way to Dharamshala, he drops by at the store.

Dhaka - Bangladesh - EuroNews - No Comment

Residents of Bangladesh prepares to celebrate the first day of Eid al-Adha.

Floating Boat Bridge In Dhaka

Bangladeshi commuters cross the Buriganga River on a floating boat bridge in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Lindsay Lohan spends less than a day in LA jail

LOS ANGELES – Lindsay Lohan was freed from a suburban Los Angeles jail late Friday night, well short of the nearly monthlong stay a judge had intended for the actress following a failed drug test.

Lohan was released at about 11:40 p.m. after posting $300,000 bail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said early Saturday.

Celebrity website TMZ.com reported her release just before midnight.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden Fox had ordered Lohan held without bail during a brief hearing Friday morning, But his ruling later was overturned after the "Mean Girls" star's attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, filed a late-afternoon appeal seeking bail.

Judge Patricia Schnegg, who is an assistant supervising judge of LA's criminal courts, issued a ruling shortly before 6 p.m., saying that since the starlet had been convicted of misdemeanors, she was entitled to bail.

The actress is not entirely free. She will be required to wear an ankle alcohol monitor and stay away from establishments that primarily sell alcohol.

She is also due back in court on Oct. 22, when the judge who curtly sent her to jail will decide what her punishment will be for failing a drug test roughly two weeks after he released her early from rehab.

At that hearing, Fox will formally determine whether Lohan, 24, violated her probation by failing a court-mandated drug test. The positive result came after the judge released Lohan early from inpatient rehab at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Fox did not say why he had ordered no bail for the actress Friday morning, or state what drug appeared in her system during the recent test.

Friday marked the third time Lohan has been sent to jail in a three-year-old drug and drunken driving case. She spent 84 minutes at the jail in 2007 and 14 days of a three-month sentence earlier this summer.

After news of her positive drug test broke last week, Lohan seemed to acknowledge an addiction problem on her Twitter feed.

"Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn't go away over night," Lohan posted on Twitter on Sept. 17. "This is certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I'm prepared to face the consequences."

Fox had laid out a strict 67-day course of counseling, substance abuse meetings, monitoring and drug testing for Lohan in August. He asked probation officials on Friday to report how the actress had progressed on the treatment programs before Lohan's next court hearing.

The judge has said Lohan would be sent to jail for 30 days for each drug screening she skipped or failed and appeared to make good on the promise with his no bail order.

If he sentences her to jail in October, the amount of time he orders her to serve would be whittled down because of jail overcrowding and various credits.

Despite her release Friday, Lohan's continued court troubles have cast a pall over her career. She has been slated to star as Linda Lovelace in a biopic about the porn star, but the production schedule already was altered when Lohan was sent to jail in July.

In an e-mail sent before Lohan was granted bail, Matthew Wilder, the writer-director of the film titled "Inferno," said the film's producers "want her to do well." He did not address whether Lohan's role would be recast or the film further delayed.

An Umbrella Condom .....Funny Video

Adventurous Photos, Funny Photos, Adventurous Sports Moments, Funny Sports Moments, Adventurous Quotes

Adventurous Photos, Funny Photos, Adventurous Sports Moments, Funny Sports Moments, Adventurous Quotes

ADVENTUROUS QUOTES

* “Security is a kind of death.” -Tennessee Williams

* ~ Life is either a great adventure or nothing. ~
share this Adventure saying   Helen Keller

* "Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist
in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger in the long run is no safer that outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing."
Helen Keller

German foreign minister 'marries' gay partner

Berlin: German Foreign Minister and Deputy Chancellor Guido Westerwelle has married his long time gay partner at a secret registry office wedding in Bonn.

48-year-old Westerwelle and businessman Michael Mronz entered the wedlock on Friday when Bonn's Mayor Juergen Nymptsch personally performed the ceremony as the registrar, local media reports said.

Neither Chancellor Angela Merkel nor any of Westerwelle's Cabinet colleagues were present when the foreign minister gave his 'ja' or 'yes' to Mronz, 43, and the ceremony was attended only by a handful of closest family members and friends of the couple, the reports said.

Westerwelle and Mronz, a promoter of sporting events, later celebrated the formalisation of their partnership in a restaurant in Cologne.

They met for the first time at a horse racing championship in the city of Aacnen in 2003 and since then they have been living as a couple.

In Berlin, a government spokesman said on Friday night that Chancellor Merkel telephoned Westerwelle shortly after his wedding to wish the two men good luck.

Westerwelle's liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) is a junior partner in Merkel's centre-right coalition, which came to power after the general elections in September last year.

Germany eased restrictions on same sex marriage in 2001 and allowed gay and lesbian couples to form "registered partnerships”, which give them the same rights in many areas as heterosexual couples.

However, homosexual marriages are still not treated as equal to a marriage between a man and a woman.

Westerwelle has set new standards in German politics by becoming the first openly gay politician to lead a major political party and later assuming one of the highest offices in this country.

After nearly a year at the helm of Germany's diplomacy, he earned respect from his critics, who had expressed doubts about the suitability of a gay politician as the nation's chief diplomat.

Prabhu Deva to tie the knot with Nayanthara

Actor-cum-director Prabhu Deva has finally confessed his love for actress Nayanthara after two years of courting and much media speculation.

Prabhu Deva, who is currently shooting for Santosh Sivan's Urumi, says that he is in love with Nayanthara and that the couple will be getting married soon.

He also added that it is a personal decision and he prefers not to talk about it to the media.

Rumours are rife that the couple will get married before the end of the year.

Reports also suggest that Nayanthara might quit acting and look after Prabhu's life and career post marriage.

Incidentally, the actors had refused to make their relationship public even after Nayanthara had gotten Prabhu's name tattooed on her wrist.

The actor, who first met Nayanthara while shooting for Villu, gushes that the beautiful actress is like an oasis in his desert and that she has stood by him in difficult times.

Nadal completes career Slam by winning US Open title

NEW YORK: World number one Rafael Nadal completed a career Grand Slam title sweep on Monday by capturing his first US Open crown, defeating Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

The 24-year-old Spanish left-hander overwhelmed Djokovic with uncanny shotmaking to win the 1.7 million-dollar top prize as well as his third consecutive Grand Slam crown and his ninth Grand Slam title overall.

Nadal became the seventh man to complete a career Grand Slam sweep, joining Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry in having won Wimbledon and the US, French and Australian Open titles.

"That's more than what I dreamt," Nadal said. "Just to be in this final was amazing."

Showers pushed the final to Monday for the third year in a row and halted the match for one hour and 48 minutes, but rain only delayed Nadal's reign on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts despite losing his lone set of the fortnight.

"To have the trophy right here in my hands in a few seconds is going to be unbelievable," Nadal said at the on-court award ceremony. Seconds later, he was smiling and hoisting the trophy above his head.

A ninth Slam title moved Nadal alone into seventh on the all-time list, passing Agassi, Perry, Ken Rosewall and Ivan Lendl and moving only seven shy of Federer's all-time record, three crowns ahead of Federer's Slam-title pace.

"Right now he's the best player in the world and he absolutely deserves this title," Djokovic said.

After winning Wimbledon and the French Open earlier this year, Nadal joined Federer, Laver and Pete Sampras as the only men to win three Slams in a row in the Open Era that began in 1968.

Nadal, third-youngest on the Slam sweep list, would join Laver and Budge as the only men to hold all four Slam crowns at once by winning the 2011 Australian Open.

No Spanish man had won the US Open title since Manuel Orantes in 1975 and the only other Spanish US Open champion was Manuel Santana in 1965. Not since John McEnroe in 1984 had a left-hander had won the US Open men's title.

Nadal was broken only five times in the tournament, matching the mark for fewest broken serves by a US Open men's champion set by Andy Roddick in 2003.

Djokovic, whose lone Grand Slam title came at the 2008 Australian Open, had won his three prior matches against Nadal, all on hardcourts, but has still never defeated the Spaniard in a final or at a Grand Slam event.

Nadal improved to 9-2 in Slam finals, his only losses coming to Federer at Wimbledon in 2006 and 2007, and 15-7 lifetime against Djokovic, who could not combat the top seed's relentless performance.

After dropping a set for the first time in the tournament, Nadal responded with exceptional shotmaking in the third set, breaking Djokovic for a 2-1 lead when the Serb sent a forehand wide.

Djokovic fought off three break points in the fifth game and five more in an epic seventh game as each man fired impressive shots time and again, those who stayed through the rain giving both men a standing ovation after Djokovic held.

Nadal held twice more to claim the third set, forced Djokovic to save a break point to open the fourth set and then broke Djokovic in the third game, his forehand winner setting up a break that came when the Serb's forehand hit the net cord and landed beyond the baseline.

Djokovic netted a forehand to surrender a break that handed Nadal a 4-1 lead but the speedy Serb kept fighting and had a break chance in the sixth game, missing long with a forehand, before Nadal held to reach the brink of history.

Nadal swatted a forehand on the baseline to reach match point and the magical moment came after three hours and 43 minutes when Djokovic hit a forehand wide.

The Spaniard put his face in his hands and fell to the ground on his back, then rolled over and savored the moment. After receiving congratulations from Djokovic at the net, Nadal dropped to his knees on the court and raised his hands in victory.

Nadal fired a forehand winner to break Djokovic in the opening game of the match, but Djokovic answered by breaking back to 2-2, the Spaniard swatting a forehand wide to surrender his serve for only the third time in the tournament.

Djokovic, who will rise to second in the world rankings, denied Nadal on five break points in the fifth game but succumbed on the sixth, the Serb smashing his racket in anger after Nadal's serve-swiping winner.

Nadal held his serve from there to claim the first set, an ominous note for Djokovic as the Spanish star was 107-1 in prior Grand Slam matches when winning the first set and 91-0 when taking the first two sets.

His urgency aroused, Djokovic broke Nadal at love for a 3-1 lead in the second set but saw his lead erased in a pivotal seventh game, Nadal denying him on two game points then firing a forehand winner on his third break chance.

The second set was at 4-4 with Djokovic serving at 30-all after one hour and 41 minutes of play when rains returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium, halting the match for one hour and 48 minutes.

When play resumed, Djokovic battled through deuce three times before holding to 5-4, then broke Nadal to claim the second set, the Spaniard spraying a backhand wide and netting a forehand for his first lost set of the tournament.

Vodafone approaches SC, challenges Bombay HC order on Rs12,000cr tax

NEW DELHI: Britain's Vodafone today moved the Supreme Court challenging a Bombay High Court order that upheld the Income Tax Department's demand of Rs 12,000 crore tax on the company's over USD 11 billion deal with Hong Kong-based Hutchison in 2007.

"Vodafone remains convinced that there is no tax to pay on the Hutchison transaction and we will continue to defend this position vigorously," Vodafone Group Plc spokesperson said in a statement.

The Bombay High Court had last week dismissed Vodafone International's petition challenging the Indian tax authorities demand of Rs 12,000 crore in tax over the Hutchison deal.

The High Court division bench held that IT had the jurisdiction to tax the transaction.

It, however, gave liberty to Vodafone to argue before the tax department that no penalty should be imposed as they genuinely believed they had no liability to deduct tax at source.

"Vodafone has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in India today. The appeal challenges the recent High Court judgement on the issue of jurisdiction," the company statement said.

The Income Tax department has held Vodafone liable for not deducting tax at source from payment made to Hutchison and claimed around Rs 12,000 crore in tax and penalty in the 2007 deal.

"The transaction has sufficient nexus with India and the IT has the jurisdiction to levy tax on the transaction," Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and Justice J P Deodhar had noted while delivering the verdict.

Two buildings collapse in Ajmer, no one injured

Ajmer: A seven-storey guest house in Ajmer collapsed on Sunday after being declared unsafe by civic authorities. Fortunately, no one was injured as the area had already been evacuated.

The Baba Mahal guest house was illegally built over a shop near the Ajmer Dargah to cater to the visitors who come to visit the place.

Barely 200 metres from the crowded Dargah area, the building was declared unsafe and authorities had evacuated people around the building.

Following heavy rains in Rajasthan this year, the weak foundation of the building started to give way and it started tilting to one side. The building even developed cracks and finally collapsed today at 2 pm on Sunday.

5 best positions to get pregnant fast

Getting pregnant maybe the easiest of all things, however, some couples do find it hard to conceive for several reasons, including weak or insufficient sperm count.

In some cases, as when nature needs a boost, a little push from you and your partner can go a long way in getting pregnant. When it comes to the best position to get pregnant, the general rule is that the male sperm must be deposited as near to the female cervix as possible.

This has something to do with the life spans of the female egg and the male sperm. Once an egg is released from the ovary – a stage also known as ovulation – it begins its path down the fallopian tube to the uterus. A released egg typically survives for only 24 hours, while a sperm can last anywhere from three to five days in the female body. As such, the egg has to be as close to the egg as possible so they can meet and join before the egg dies.

While not a lot of people will agree that the sexual positions have anything to do with getting pregnant, the logical inference is that it makes sense to assume the position that can help the sperm meet the egg in the shortest possible time.

This is especially true when for couples who have problems or difficulty conceiving. Having said this, the first "best position to get pregnant" tip is to avoid positions that least expose the cervix to the male sperm, and that generally defy gravity such as sex while standing up, sitting down, or with the woman on top. When trying to conceive, it is best to limit the amount of sperm that flows back out of the vagina.

The woman's hips should also be positioned in such a way that the sperm released is kept inside, giving it enough time to swim up to the female cervix.

Consider the following positions instead:

1. The missionary position. Or man-on-top is said to be the position that's best for getting pregnant. This is because this particular position allows for the deepest possible penetration, making it possible for the sperm to get deposited closest to the cervix.

2. Raise the hips. Elevating the hips, which can be done by placing a pillow behind her, can also be helpful because this exposes the female cervix to as much semen as the male can release.

3. Doggy-style. The rear-entry position where the man enters the woman from behind is also a recommended position. In this position, sperm is also deposited closest to the cervix, thereby helping increase the chances of conception.

4. Side-by-side. You can also try having intercourse while lying side by side. This position likewise causes the most exposure of the cervix to the male sperm.

5. Orgasms. Finally, while this has nothing to do with sexual positions, there are also researches that suggest the importance of the female orgasm in conceiving. According to studies, female orgasm leads to contractions that could push sperm up into the cervix. The lesson: have fun while trying to conceive.

Benefits of Yoga

Benefits of Yoga to Your Bones, Muscles, and Joints

•The physical benefits of yoga are myriad. Yoga keeps your body strong, as it involves all the muscles in your body to hold and balance yoga asanas (poses). The various yoga postures strengthen your feet, legs, hands, abdominals, lower back, legs, and shoulders.

•Yoga's stretching and breathing exercises improve your flexibility, helping joints, tendons, and muscles stay limber. People suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis will see a noticeable improvement in their stiffness, pain, and other arthritic symptoms by practicing yoga poses and postures.

•Yoga improves your endurance, especially the more athletic forms of yoga such as ashtanga yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga. These rigorous yoga practices follow a specific sequence of poses (asanas) that become more challenging as you progress. Unlike the more gentle hatha yoga, the forms of ashtagna yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga require you to keep your body in constant motion between poses, resulting in a strenuous cardiovascular workout and improved core strength.

•Hatha yoga can relieve chronic back and neck pain, since the poses and postures gently stretch and strengthen your back and neck muscles.

•Yoga is often prescribed to help heal various injuries, including repetitive strain injuries, knee and back injuries, pulled hamstrings, even minor skin burns. Of course, you should consult your physician before using yoga as a treatment for any injury!

Crab Swarms Overtake Island—Mystery Solved : Pictures

Crab Swarm
 
Migrating Christmas Island red crabs congregate on a beach in the Australian territory of Christmas Island (map) in an undated picture.

A new study solves a longstanding mystery surrounding the crabs: how the the normally sedentary species has the stamina to "undergo one of the most arduous migrations on Earth," in the words of study co-author Lucy Turner.

When the wet season blows into Christmas Island (map) each year, millions of Christmas Island red crabs hike for several days, from a high rain forest plateau down to Indian Ocean beaches, where the crabs mate in burrows.

"It's an amazing feat—going from not being able to exercise for more than ten minutes to walking for several miles," said Turner, a biologist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

But by sampling circulatory fluid—the equivalent of blood—from migrating crabs, Turner and colleagues discovered that a surge in the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone works with glucose, an energy-producing sugar, to fuel the epic trek.

The crab's endocrine system also stockpiles enough sugar to allow the crabs to return to their forest homes, Turner added.

Invasion of the Crabs

Children watch migrating Christmas Island crabs (file photo), which overtake Australia's Christmas Island at the beginning of the wet season, in October or November.

The crab march "completely disrupts most people's daily lives," even shutting down major roads, study co-author Turner said. But Christmas Islanders have "learned to live with it."

Some residents are also "quite protective" of the 8-inch-long (20-centimeter-long) crustaceans--schoolchildren put up signs encouraging people to drive carefully, she said.

"Having said that, there are so many crabs, some get squashed."

Crab Swarm Spawns by the Sea

Once Christmas Island crabs arrive at their beachside mating spots, males dig burrows and defend them from marauders, study co-author Turner said (file photo).

A female mates in a male's burrow, then makes a beeline for the ocean. Her eggs hatch almost immediately after contact with the seawater, Turner said.

The baby crabs develop in coastal sea grasses, eventually coming onto land to repeat the life cycle.

Beach Trip

Of Christmas Island's 14 crab species, the Christmas Island red crab (above, crabs migrating in an undated picture) is the most easily spotted, according to the Christmas Island National Park website.

The crabs burrow in a variety of habitats, including coastal terraces, dense rain forests, and even domestic gardens, according to the website.

During the dry season, a crab will plug its burrow entrance with leaves to keep the space humid—and disappear for up to two or three months.

 Crab Standoff

During their 2007 fieldwork, Turner and colleagues had to deal with curious crabs (above, two Christmas Island red crabs in an undated picture).

The zealous climbers got into the research station and even the scientists' houses. "If you leave the door open, you're probably going to find one in there," she said.

The same went for the basketball-size coconut crab (see picture), the world's biggest land crab, of which Christmas Island has the world's largest population.

Playing Throug

Golfers, including these 1980s players, on Christmas Island have learned to cope with the annual crab invasion, Turner noted.

"There's a special rule for golf courses: If the crab knocks the ball one way, you have to go with it," she said.

Fortunately, Christmas Island crabs aren't just a nuisance. Their feces acts as a crucial forest fertilizer, and their burrowing turns and aerates the soil, according to the Christmas Island National Park website.

Crabby Tourist

For the best crab viewing, Australian officials advise tourists (pictured, a Christmas Island visitor in an undated photo) to arrive during the last quarter of the moon in either November or December.

The crabs breed on a strict timetable: Unwaveringly, females spawn before sunrise during the last quarter of the moon, according to the Christmas Island National Park website.

On Track for Disaster

Of the hazards the migrating crabs encounter, human infrastructure is the greatest (file photo).

Christmas Island has erected some "crab crossings": walls or plastic fencing along roads that detour  the crab swarms away from traffic, according to the Christmas Island National Park website.
 source:.nationalgeographic.com

Christmas Island crabs VIDEO


This island gets swamped with crabs every year as hundreds of millions of them migrate and reproduce during their mating season

MINI Countryman TV Commercial: Flow

For this 60-second adventure MINI used dramatic new methods in CG technology to show the versatility of the MINI Countryman in a way that defies the laws of space and time. Watch it now.

Players, officials all involved in match-fixing from head to toe: Veena Malik

ISLAMABAD: Giving a twist to the ongoing controversy, Veena Malik, ex-girlfriend of Pakistan's fast bowler Mohammad Asif, revealed startling news against the national cricket players and its management, saying that all players and the PCB officials, from top to bottom, are involved in the match-fixing mess.

Since the news of match-fixing surfaced during the Lord's test, Veena Malik, a TV comedian, who also appeared in a number of Punjabi movies, became one of the most vocal person, blaming her former lover and the PCB officials on several TV stations. She claimed that her former partner Mohammad Asif had links with the Indian bookies.

Malik said that she will meet the ICC's anti-corruption unit official Reza Hasan in connection with her revelations that Asif has links with Indian bookies. Hasan arrived Pakistan on Wednesday to probe the match-fixing drama.

"I have been called by a senior police officer who told me that an ICC anti-corruption unit official will meet me tomorrow (Thursday) to ascertain the truth of the revelations I made about Asif and his links with Indian bookies," Malik stated.

Veena Malik claimed that Asif had confessed during a phone call from Australia that there were plans to throw the three Test matches against the Australian side.

He allegedly told Ms Malik to "stop praying - we will not win a single match during the tour to Australia".

"When Pakistan started losing matches in Australia, I jokingly said "For God's sake, win a match." And he replied "We won't win anything until 2010," she said.

" Pakistan Cricket Board had proofs of all these irregularities but refrained from going against Asif or others like him. And why will the PCB officials take any action as they themselves are part of the entire dirty game," Malik remarked.

Malik and Asif enjoyed intimate relationship for quite some time. Malik stressed that Asif was involved in match fixing and his links with bookies, particularly, the Indian ones, had come to light when she travelled with him to Bangkok before Pakistan's tour of Australia.

She revealed that Asif had told her that he was offered $40,000 by an Indian bookie to underperform in Australia but he had demanded $200,000.

She said that Pakistani skipper Salman Butt and pacer Mohammad Aamer, the two other players involved in the spot-fixing scandal were not Asif's friends.
"Perhaps the common cause (of match-fixing) has brought them closer," she said.

Malik said that she broke with Asif due to his links with the bookies.

"Being a patriotic Pakistani, I did not want him to indulge in such activities," she said. Malik earlier claimed on TV that Asif was a drunkard and it was difficult to handle him. She also claimed that Asif had to return her money which he borrowed from her. By then, the news in media was that Asif wanted to get rid of her.

A PCB official, wishing not to be named, said that Malik was "heartbroken" after her split with Asif and had been targeting the cricketer since he refused to marry her.

"In the light of this, her allegations should not be taken seriously," the official said.