Washington, Apr. 18 : A former top adviser to former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Steve Schmidt, has warned the Grand Old Party (GOP) against becoming a `religious party'.

Schmidt told a Washington, D. C., convention for the Log Cabin Republicans -- a grassroots group for gay and lesbian Republicans, that the GOP must shift their views on gay marriage.

Washington, Apr 18 : Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke has revealed that he was reduced to tears when he received a letter from Kim Basinger, stating that she utterly loved his performance in `The Wrestler'.

Rourke, who acted alongside Kim in 91/2 Weeks, revealed that letter to him was like winning accolades.

"Coming from her, it was very special and it was very generous and heartfelt letter. It brought me to tears, really," Contactmusic quoted Rourke as saying.

Washington, Apr 18 : Model Donna Feldman, who is known for her exotic looks, insists that although Brazilian models have always reigned the swimsuit modeling industry, Israeli women can give them a run for their money.

Donna strongly believes that Israeli women are much more exotic looking, and can take the modeling industry by storm.

Cairo- US special envoy George Mitchell is holding talks with Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak on Saturday in Cairo as part of his Middle East tour to promote peace in the region.

Mitchell arrived in Cairo on Friday night, coming from Israel and the Palestinian territories, and met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

After the meeting Mitchell praised the Egyptian role in establishing peace in the Middle East and told reporters that the US was committed to "comprehensive peace" in the region.

Washington, Apr. 18 : A high-profile attorney has claimed that the declassified Department of Justice memos detailing interrogation techniques prove the U. S. did not torture, even as the ACLU and some lawmakers claim the memos are proof positive the Bush administration did.

Constitutional lawyer David Rivkin said: "This data is analyzed in great detail to establish that the use of these techniques does not inflict either physical or psychological damage."

Vienna - The US would be in breach of international law if it does not prosecute CIA officials for torturing alleged terrorists, the United Nations' monitor on torture Manfred Nowak said in a newspaper interview published Saturday in Austria.

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture was reacting to the announcement by US President Barack Obama that CIA operatives who used harsh interrogation tactics authorized by the Bush administration should not be held responsible.