London, Aug 20 (IANS) Pop diva Madonna is in talks for a $1 billion deal by signing up for a five-year residency in Las Vegas, which can make her the third richest female entertainer in the world.

The “Frozen” singer is said to be in discussions with promoters to establish a run of shows in the US gambling capital, and if she signs the deal, she will be following in the footsteps of other performers such as Elton John, Cher and Celine Dion, who have all made huge sums through Vegas contracts, reports contactmusic.com.

If the rumours of the contract being worth $1 billion are true, it would push the 52-year-old up the list of highest earning women in the world. Currently, with an estimated fortune of 208 million pounds, she is in fourth place behind talk show host Oprah Winfrey, host and publisher Martha Stewart and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

London, Aug 20 (IANS) Australian lingerie model Miranda Kerr has confirmed she is four months pregnant with her first child with actor husband Orlando Bloom.

Kerr, who married long-term boyfriend Bloom in secret last month, is due to give birth in January, reports contactmusic.com.

“Yes, I’m pregnant. Four months along,” she said.

Rumours that the 27-year-old beauty was pregnant emerged last month, when a source claimed she had been telling all her friends about her baby bump.

Frankfurt, Aug 20 (DPA) A malfunction at Europe’s joint air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol, disrupted flights over northern Europe Friday.

Brussels-based Eurocontrol said around 700 flights were affected, most of which experienced delays of around 20 minutes.

The disruptions were caused by technical problems at the Eurocontrol centre at Maastricht in the Netherlands between 2.50 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. (1250-1430 GMT).

Maastrict is responsible for the surveillance of high-level airspace in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and north-west Germany.

Germany’s Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe’s busiest, said a number of northbound flights took off up to 40 minutes late because of the problem.

Eurocontrol said the situation was more or less back to normal by early evening.

London, Aug 20 (IANS) Former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston is under fire from disability groups after describing herself live on US television as a retard.

The actress was promoting her new movie “The Switch” on “Live with Regis and Kelly” when she said: “Yes, I play dress up! I do it for a living, like a retard!”, reports contactmusic.com.

The statement angered disability groups including The Arc, an organisation set up to provide support to those with intellectual disabilities.

“She is using language that is offensive to a large segment of the population in this country. Every time folks hear that word, it kind of reminds them of all the discrimination and oppression they’ve experienced in their lives,” said Peter Berns, chief operating officer, The Arc.

London, Aug 20 (IANS) Movie executives behind the successful Harry Potter franchise are taking legal action against a Swiss condom brand for allegedly naming their products after the boy wizard.

Bosses at the Warner Bros. studio filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the company making Harry Poppers, whose packets feature an illustration of a condom wearing round glasses and waving a magic wand, reports imdb.com.

The legal action is said to come in a bid to banish the brand from stores ahead of the release of the next installment of the movie franchise, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I”, in November.

A lawyer for Warner Bros. said: “The image of my client is in danger.”

Shillong, Aug 20 (IANS) The Meghalaya government Friday appointed S.P. Rajkhowa, a retired judge of the Guwahati High Court, to probe last year’s Shillong jailbreak, an official said.

Chief Secretary W.M.S. Pariat said Justice Rajkhowa would take over charge soon.

The judicial inquiry was left mid-way by Justice (retd) D. Biswas, who took up a new assignment of the Assam government on April 10, just months before the commission was to submit its report to the government.

“Everything depends on Justice Rajkhowa, whether he takes over from where Justice Biswas left or if he would start a fresh probe. But if he (Justice Rajkhowa) feels the inquiry should be from the beginning, the government would accept it,” he said.

Seven people, including two undertrials, escaped from the Shillong jail May 31 last year. Most of them were caught again while Fullmoon Dhar, the ringleader, was gunned down by police in the Jaintia Hills.

The commission constituted by the previous D.D. Lapang-led government July 23 last year, was asked to complete the probe, including an alleged politician-criminal nexus, and submit its findings to the government by May 31.

Several social groups under the banner ‘Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy (SCAMoD)’, pressurised the government to probe the incident.

On Thursday, SCAMoD threatened to agitate if a new judge was not appointed soon and claimed Justice Biswas’ sudden resignation was due to vested interest.

Chief Minster Mukul Sangma assured that necessary clauses would be incorporated during appointment of the new judge so that he/she completes the probe and doesn’t leave mid-way like Justice Biswas.

In March, two undertrial prisoners who had appeared before the Biswas Commission, claimed that Dhar, the ringleader who is now dead, was in touch with a “Congress Lok Sabha candidate” before he escaped from prison.

Synsharlang Thongni and Khrawborlang Marbaniang were two undertrials who, along with Dhar and four others, escaped from the Shillong jail.

A Congress district council member from Jaintia Hills, Thomas Nongtdu, is also alleged to have financed the jailbreak.

Jerusalem, Aug 20 (DPA) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Friday an invitation to begin direct peace talks with the Palestinians, a statement issued by the prime minister’s office said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Middle East Quartet of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU, issued the invitation separately Friday, after weeks of wrangling over between Israelis, Palestinians and mediators over the terms of the proposed negotiations.

The Israeli response, which referred only to the invitation issued by Clinton in Washington, said Netanyahu “expressed satisfaction” at the US clarification that the talks would be conducted without preconditions. The talks are due to begin Sep 2.

“Achieving peace is a difficult challenge but a possible one,” the statement quoted Netanyahu as saying. “We approach the talks with a genuine will to reach a peace agreement between the two peoples, while safeguarding Israel’s national interests, first and foremost security.”

The last incarnation of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, begun at the end of 2007, was suspended in late 2008 as Israel headed into an election campaign.

Negotiations between the sides were not renewed until indirect talks began in spring this year, with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell shuttling the short distance between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) Accepting India’s offer of $5 million assistance towards flood relief, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Friday sent a box of mangoes to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a goodwill gesture.

“Yes, we did get the box of mangoes. It was with the best compliments from the people of Pakistan,” a top official at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told IANS when asked about the fruity gift from across the border.

According to officials, the box was delivered at the PMO by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Dhaka, Aug 20 (IANS) At least 38 people have been detected with anthrax, three weeks after they consumed beef from two infected cows in a village in Bangladesh, an offical said.

The incident happened in Sirajganj district, 134 km from Dhaka, Xinhua reported.

“The preliminary signs and symptoms show that the people have been infected with anthrax,” local livestock officer Altaf Hossain was Friday quoted as saying by official news agency BSS.

The outbreak is the second in the country. The first anthrax case was detected in August last year after 35 people fell sick in Pabna district after eating meat from an infected cow.

Two expert teams from the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research visited the spot Friday, and urged people not to panic.

Sirajganj district civil surgeon Nurul Islam Talukdar said steps have been taken to provide treatment to the sick people and vaccinate livestock.

Anthrax, a bacteria, commonly infects grazing animals, which ingest or inhale the bacteria. Diseased animals can then spread the bacteria to humans, either by direct contact or through consumption of the meat.

Washington/Brussels, Aug 20 (DPA) Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to resume direct negotiations next month in hopes of reviving the long-stalled Middle East peace process, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the European Union confirmed Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will begin the talks in Washington Sep 2, with the aim of reaching a peace deal in one year. The leaders of Egypt and Jordan will also be invited to the gathering.

Clinton said the talks would be aimed at resolving “all final status issues” in order to reach a final resolution of the Middle East peace conflict.

“Without a doubt we will hit more obstacles,” Clinton said. But she argued the talks should “be characterised by good faith and a commitment to their success”.

In Brussels, the EU issued a formal statement on behalf of the Mideast Quartet, which consists of Russia, the UN, the US and the EU.

“The Quartet calls on the Israelis and the Palestinians to join in launching direct negotiations on September 2 in Washington, DC, to resolve all final status issues and fulfil the aspirations of both parties.”

The body said it was determined to support Israelis and Palestinians through the talks, “which can be completed within one year”.

It also urged both sides “to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric”.

The resumption of talks marks the culmination of months of shuttle diplomacy between both sides by US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.

The last round of direct talks had been suspended in late 2008 as Israel entered its election campaign. Indirect talks led by Mitchell resumed in spring of this year.

Negotiations between the two sides have been started and halted many times in the last decade. This will mark the first time Abbas and Netanyahu are leading the effort.