shameen

Cyber crime targets 5.4 mn Australians

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About 5.4 million Australians were targeted by cyber crimes, which cost the country 1.65 billion Australian dollars ($1.68 billion) in the past 12 months, according to Norton’s Cybercrime report 2012 released Thursday.

Hackers and cyber criminals were diverting their attention to new platforms such as smart phones and social networking, the report by the anti-virus company revealed.

Globally, there were more than 556 million victims and the cost were $110 billion, reported Xinhua.

‘Aliens could be discovered within 40 years’

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Alien life beyond our solar system could be discovered within the next 40 years, a top British astronomer has said.

According to Lord Martin Rees, the president of the Royal Society of London, developments in astronomy mean that astrophysicists could be able to view images of distant planets outside of our solar system as soon as 2025, and potentially discover whether there is some form of life on them, the Daily Mail reported.

The question of whether earth is alone in supporting living organisms has puzzled scientists, philosophers for centuries.

‘Precipitation, river discharges increase climate change’

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Increased precipitation and river discharge in the Arctic Ocean has the potential to speed climate change as it can lower salinity and cause warmer surface temperatures, says a US study.

“As the Earth’s climate continues to change, the high-latitude North is becoming even wetter than before,” says study author Xiangdong Zhang, scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Centre (IARC).

Sporting bald look wasn`t easy: Nia Sharma

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At a time when actresses are not even willing to go for de-glam roles, young Nia Sharma went ahead and donned a bald look to play a cancer patient in her TV show ‘Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai’. She admits it wasn`t easy to do so.

“Frankly speaking, it wasn`t easy for me to sport such a look. I remember I cried in front of my mother saying I don`t want to do something like this,” Nia, who plays Maanvi in the Star Plus show, told IANS.

`Raaz 3` costliest Bhatt film in years: Mukesh Bhatt

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With 35 sets and real 3D making, ‘Raaz 3’ is the costliest film coming out of the Bhatt camp in years, says producer Mukesh Bhatt.

More than a decade after their last biggie “Ghulam”, the Bhatt trio of Mukesh, Mahesh and Vikram is back with `Raaz 3`, which is the most expensive film they have made ever since.

Alia Bhatt: I`m no one-film wonder

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She`s got the movies in her genes, and acting is all she ever wanted to do. Alia Bhatt, just 19, daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan, is all set for a Bollywood debut with ‘Student of the Year’ (SOTY) and wants to play a long innings in showbiz.
Despite her youth, there are certain things Alia is quite clear about: “I don`t want to be a one-film wonder and then be re-launched after many years,” Alia says.

Is she quite the actor yet? It`s too soon to call herself an actor, Alia says, even though she`s already clear about what she needs to keep at it.

Rani`s `Aiyyaa` character fan of Sridevi, Madhuri, Juhi

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Rani Mukerji`s character in ‘Aiyyaa’ takes inspiration from not one, or two but three actresses – Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla.

“My character is a huge fan of Sridevi, Juhi and Madhuri. She dreams about them and goes into a fantasy world all the time,” Rani said at the first look of her film held here Thursday.

She came dressed as her character, Meenakshi Deshmukh, in an elegant yellow and green traditional Maharashtrian nauvari sari.

Rani revealed that her character is not “normal at all”. “She is completely mad and very filmy woman.”

New blood test detects deadly calcium deposits

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A new test could identify individuals who are likely to develop potentially deadly calcium deposits in their tissues and blood vessels, a precursor to chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Heart disease is the number one killer of patients with CKD and vascular calcification is thought to play a major role in it. Such patients often have abnormally high blood calcium levels due to their compromised kidney function and the effects of commonly used medications.

Chemotherapy can affect the brain: Study

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Scientists have discovered that chemotherapy can adversely affect the brain causing thinking and memory problems in patients.

Researchers from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida found that chemotherapy drugs could lead to the phenomenon called `Chemo brain` in which cancer patients experience mental fogginess during and after chemotherapy, the Daily Mail reported.

Chemotherapy is a drug or combination of drugs that kill cancer cells, the new study suggested that it can cause cognitive impairment.

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

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Classic chicken noodle soup is a comfort food suitable for any time of the year, but especially during cold winter months and when you are ill. There is a reason why it is called Jewish penicillin! This version is made from scratch, so allow time to cook the chicken. Feel free to use this recipe as a guideline, using canned broth and pre-cooked chicken to save time. The soup may be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen.
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped

Serious crime against women on rise: Shinde

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Crimes of “serious” nature against women have increased in the last few years and appropriate measures need to be adopted for salutary punishment to those who commit them, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday.

He also asked the country’s police brass to take stern steps to check child trafficking.

Parliament paralysed for 12th day

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Uproar over coal blocks allocation issue paralysed proceedings of Parliament for the 12th consecutive day on Thursday, drowning most of the Monsoon Session which ends tomorrow.

As soon as Parliament met for the day, BJP members were on their feet in both Houses and raised slogans demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over the coal block allocation issue.

Power of US declining: Chinese daily

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China does not want the US to perish nor does it want to dominate Asia, said a state-run Chinese daily, warning that if America launched a bid for strategic containment of China it would be strategic choice that it “could not bear”.

As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded her visit to China on Wednesday, an editorial in the Global Times said: “Having a solid understanding of the two powers is critical for the future of regional politics in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Outsourcing is here to stay: Barack Obama aide

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Notwithstanding the charges being levelled by the Obama Campaign against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney of outsourcing jobs overseas, a top Obama aide has said that both outsourcing and insourcing are here to stay in this highly-globalised world.

‘Declaring Haqqani network as FTO would undercut financial capability’

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Designating the Haqqani network a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the US would undercut its financial capability, an American think-tank has said.

Under a Congressional legislation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has to make a determination in this regard by September 10.

Travelling in Asia, Hillary Clinton told reporters that she would meet the deadline.

‘Pak counter-terror betrays utter lack of strategy’

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Pakistan’s fresh effort to tackle domestic terrorism “betrays an utter lack of strategy”, said a Pakistani daily that called for a wholesome zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism itself.

An editorial in the News International on Thursday said it was about time the country’s security tsar decided to sit down and put together a “sell-able, do-able and believable domestic counterterrorism strategy”.

Taliban may attack Pakistan nuclear facility

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Pakistani authorities have deployed large contingents of soldiers and policemen at one of the country’s largest nuclear facilities in Dera Ghazi Khan following “serious” threats from the local Taliban, a media report said on Thursday.

Besides the deployment inside and around the nuclear installation, three Army divisions in the southern part of Punjab have been asked to launch a crackdown against banned groups, The Express Tribune reported, quoting its sources.

SBI says no quick solution to Kingfisher woes

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Sounding pessimistic about the fate of its exposure to Kingfisher Airlines, State Bank of India chairman Pratip Chaudhuri on Wednesday said solution to the airline’s problems was unlikely to come anytime soon.

“I think this is a difficult case, so nobody should expect a quick solution,” said Chaudhuri, whose bank has the largest (Rs 1,500 crore) exposure in the Rs 8,000 crore bank loans of the airline promoted by Vijay Mallya.

Air India to take delivery of first Dreamliner on Saturday

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Air India’s long wait for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is finally over, with the first of these long-haul planes set to arrive here on Saturday, sources said on Thursday.

The national carrier, which had placed orders for 27 of these aircraft six years ago, would get its first Dreamliner on Saturday, which is to be followed by the delivery of two more within the next few weeks.

However, the fate of the Delay Compensation Agreement, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet in August and is being fine-tuned by the Union Law Ministry, is still not clear, the sources said.

Recognition, job is what Girisha wants after winning silver

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Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda has dedicated his silver medal winning feat at the London Paralympic to the disabled community in the country and asserted that their hard work and sacrifice was no less than the medal winners at the Olympics.

Girisha, who has an impairment in his left leg, sailed over a height of 1.74m in the Men`s High Jump F42 event in London finishing second.

US Open 2012: Roger Federer crashes out in quarters

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Tomas Berdych knocked world number one Roger Federer out of the US Open on Thursday to set up a semi-final clash against Olympic Gold medalist Andy Murray.

The sixth seed handed Federer a 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 3-6 6-3 defeat, his earliest exit at Flushing Meadows since 2003.

Berdych had beaten Federer in their last grand slam meeting at Wimbledon two years ago.

Agencies

Hackers post Apple data online after hacking FBI laptop

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A hacking group today said it has obtained a million identification numbers for Apple mobile devices after breaking into the laptop of an FBI agent, a claim which the federal probe agency said has “no evidence”.

Anonymous affiliate – AntiSec – released a file on the internet which allegedly contained a million identification numbers for the Apple devices.

The group said they obtained the data by hacking into the computer of an FBI agent in March.

Potential habitable exoplanet found around a red dwarf

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Astronomers have discovered a new super-earth in the habitable zone around the red dwarf star Gliese 163.

The exoplanet ‘Gliese 163c’ has a mass of 6.9 times that of Earth and an orbital period of 26 days.

Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory HARPS telescope (or High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) found it orbitting a red dwarf star 49 light years away in the Dorado constellation, the Daily Mail reported.

“Gliese 163c could have a size between 1.8 to 2.4 Earth radii, depending if it is composed mostly of rock or water, respectively,” researchers said.

Rare Vietnamese box turtle born in British zoo

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One of the world’s rarest species of turtle has hatched at a British zoo.

The tiny seven-week-old Vietnamese box turtle is so precious that it is being kept in a climate-controlled room at Bristol Zoo Gardens and is hand-fed chopped worms to give it the best possible start in life, a newspaper reported.

It is the first time a British zoo has ever bred this critically endangered species and is only the second in Europe, after a zoo in Germany, to have done so.

The youngster, which keepers have named Vernon, weighs just 28 g and measures around 5 cm long.