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Teen binge drinking has ‘long-lasting’ impact on memory, learning skills

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A team of researchers has found that repeated alcohol exposure during adolescence results in long-lasting changes in the region of the brain that controls learning and memory.

The Duke Medicine study provides new insights at the cellular level for how alcohol exposure during adolescence, before the brain is fully developed, can result in cellular and synaptic abnormalities that have enduring, detrimental effects on behavior.

Al-Qaeda branch allegedly claims it murdered American blogger Avijit Roy in Bangladesh

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The SITE Intelligence Group has said that the Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has claimed responsibility for the murder of American atheist blogger Avijit Roy in Bangladesh over two months ago.

According to a Daily Star report, AQIS leader Asim Umar is quoted, as saying in a video posted on Jihadist forums that his organization was responsible for the attack.

Roy was hacked to death by two assailants with machetes on the streets of Dhaka in February while returning from a book fair with his wife.

The SITE is a website in the United States that monitors extremist groups.

Hot Sunday in Delhi, Monday to be similar

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The week ended on a hot and sunny note for the residents of the national capital as the maximum temperature settled at 38.9 degrees Celsius, average for this time of the season. Similar weather is likely Monday, the Met Office said.

According to the India Meteorological Department, on Monday, the sky will remain clear and the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 39 and 21 degrees Celsius.

Sunday’s minimum temperature was recorded at 21.7 degrees Celsius – three notches below the season’s average while the day’s maximum humidity was recorded at 76 percent.

Nepal to send back 4,050 foreign rescue personnel

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Nepal’s disaster panel on Sunday recommended that 4,050 foreign rescue and search personnel be sent back as its own security personnel can handle the task of recovering the remaining bodies of people killed in the April 25 earthquake, an official said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Central Natural Disaster Committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam, who also holds the home portfolio.

Indian-origin clerk in US shot dead

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An Indian-origin store clerk who was shot in the face in the US state of South Carolina has died, a media report said.

Mradulaben Patel was shot at a store in Anderson County Thursday night. She died on Saturday, WSPA news reported.

The woman was found lying on the floor by a customer.

County deputies said the suspect — a black male, wearing a white shirt, dark pants, tennis shoes and a fishing hat — was recorded on surveillance video entering the store, purchasing cigars and then pulling out a gun and shooting the clerk on the face.

Inflation to range at 3.7 percent in 2015-16: Report

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Inflation is likely to average 3.7 percent in the current fiscal, which is higher than the 2 percent recorded in the last fiscal, a Dun & Bradstreet research report said.

“D&B expects WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation to edge up to 3.7 percent in financial year 2016 up from 2.0 percent in fiscal year 2015,” Dun & Bradstreet said in a note made available to media on Sunday.

Though declining crude oil prices and lower demand side pressures will help ease inflation, D&B listed factors which may push up WPI inflation.

Shot by colleague, Mumbai police station chief dies

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A police station head who was shot at and critically injured by his junior colleague on Saturday night, died of his bullet injuries here in the early hours of Sunday, officials said.

Vilas Joshi (53), the senior inspector of Vakola police station in Santacruz East suburb of Mumbai, was fired upon by Assistant Sub-Inspector Dilip Shirke (55) with his service revolver, following a brawl over absenteeism.

105-year-old rescued 8 days after Nepal quake

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A 105-year-old man was among four people rescued alive on Sunday from under the rubble of buildings that collapsed on April 25 in the massive earthquake that rocked Nepal killing more than 7,000 people.

Three people from a family were rescued in Sindhupalchok district, while 105-year-old Fanchu Ghale was brought out alive from beneath the rubble of his own house in Kimtang-8 in Nuwakot district.

Ghale was rescued by a joint team of Nepal Police and Japanese rescue personnel.

Apart from minor injuries in his limbs, his health was fine, rescuers said.

Republic of Congo bans full face-veils to prevent violent extremism

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The president of the Republic of Congo’s Islamic High Council has announced that full face-veils will be banned to prevent violent extremism in the country.

According to the Independent, Muslims form the minority in the Republic of Congo, in central Africa, bordered by Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda.

The Islamic council leader said that around 80,000 Muslims were reacting positively to the news in the country.

Boxer Mayweather beats Pacquiao, remains undefeated

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Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Manny Pacquiao by a unanimous decision in the “Fight of the Century” to improve his overall fight record to 48-0 here.

Mayweather survived an early assault by the Filipino and then won the later rounds to finish ahead on all three judges’ scorecards in a welterweight showdown on Saturday that is expected to be the most lucrative fight of all-time, reports Xinhua.

Mayweather is guaranteed at least $120 million from the title bout that had been dubbed the “Fight of the Century” and he said in the ring that his next fight will be his last.

Combining energy drinks with booze heightens abusive drinking in teens

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Mixing energy drinks with booze increases risk of abusive drinking in teenagers by 4 times, claims a new study.

Led by James D. Sargent, MD, at Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the team looked at a sample of 3,342 adolescents and young adults aged 15-23 years old recruited across the U.S., and found that 9.7 percent of adolescents aged 15-17 years old had consumed an energy drink mixed with alcohol.

Analyses showed that group to have greatly increased odds of not just binge drinking, but also clinically defined criteria for alcohol use disorder.

How to motivate yourself to hit the bull’s eye

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Do you tend to put off an important task till the eleventh hour, often resulting in embarrassment and loss? Well, you can get rid of this habit by thinking of deadlines in terms of days, and not months or years, suggests a new study.

Procrastination is defined as the practice of putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the last minute before a deadline.

Denied ‘incentive’, 17 reconvert to Islam in UP

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The conversion controversy resurfaced after a brief lull in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district, about 350 km from here, when as many as 17 Muslims, who had converted to Hinduism, “returned” to their old faith.

According to sources, the reconversion rituals were performed at the Mahuar Lathia village in the district during a religious ceremony by a Muslim cleric on Friday.

Reports said all 17 men and women had to again solemnise their “nikah” (Muslim marriage) as the cleric told them their earlier “nikah” had become null and void when they converted to Hinduism last December.

NOT possible for me to Perform Like my Parents: Shruti Haasan

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Actress Shruti Haasan, daughter of legendary actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, is fed up of comparisons with her parents and says it’s impossible for her to perform like them.

Asked how she reacts to comparisons with the separated duo, Shruti said: “It’s impossible for me to perform like my parents. You can’t compare — be it a father and daughter or anyone else. Everyone has their own quality.

Gold biggest fall in 8 weeks

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Gold edged down towards key chart support on Friday after its biggest one-day loss in eight weeks, as disappointment at its failure to maintain a push this week above $1,200 an ounce undermined investor confidence.

Prices held above support at $1,180 an ounce and remained on track to end the week marginally firmer as the dollar remained under pressure against the euro, but it failed to attract fresh interest after Thursday’s 1.7 percent fall.

SC stays defamation proceedings against Kejriwal

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The Supreme Court on Friday stayed defamation proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on complaints filed by Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s son Amit Sibal and Sheila Dikshit’s ex-political secretary.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and P C Pant, which had earlier stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case against him filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, turned down the plea of Sibal not to restrain the trial court from hearing the case.

“We will not deviate from our own order,” the bench said while referring to its earlier order.

Karat demands Ramdev’s prosecution under two laws

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CPI(M) on Friday demanded prosecution of yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly branding of a medicine manufactured by his pharmacy as one which helps conceiving a male child under laws on sex determination and consumer protection.
Party’s Politburo member Brinda Karat, who had taken on Ramdev earlier too, said there was an online discussion on the ‘Putrajeevak Beej’ medicine suggesting that it helps produce a son, and this was “branding on part of Ramdev”.

1.26 Lakh pregnant women in Nepal to be cared

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This is one crisis that quake-devastated Nepal would want to avoid at any cost as a health scare stares at 1.26 lakh pregnant women in the country.

Around 21,000 women are expected to deliver in the next three months while over one lakh pregnant women are awaiting medical care in the Himalayan nation where 90 per cent of rural health infrastructure have been damaged and city hospitals are over-crowded.

Additionally, international agencies fear that another 40,000 women are at “immediate risk of sexual and gender-based violence”.

‘I just want justice’ and not 20 Lakhs , says Moga victim’s father

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Sukhdev Singh, who lost his teenage daughter in the Moga bus incident, on Friday appealed for justice and strict punishment for the culprits.

“I just want justice. Whoever did that to my wife and daughter must be punished. I don’t want any money, I just want justice,” said Singh.

“If I don’t get justice, what will I do with Rs 20 lakh? They have offered me a job and Rs 20 lakh but I don’t want that. I just want justice,” he added.

The 13-year-old girl died after she and her mother were allegedly pushed off a moving bus after being molested on April 29.

Nepal quake: They survived an eight-storey fall

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Two young people, who survived when the iconic Dharhara tower collapsed here during a massive earthquake, can scarcely believe their good luck.

Ramila Shrestha, 19, and her friend Sanjeev Shrestha were the survivors in the Dharhara tower collapse after the earthquake ravaged Nepal on April 25. The toll in the temblor has now risen to over 6,000.

“It came crashing down. I could hear people shouting and running but we could not escape because of the falling debris,” Ramila, who has suffered head injury, bruised left cheek and fracture on her left hip, told IANS here on Friday.

Rahul visits Nepal embassy; condoles quake deaths

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited the Nepal embassy here nearly a week after the devastating earthquake struck the Himalayan nation and condoled the deaths.

“Over the last week the world has watched in horror as the true scale of the tragedy in Nepal unfolded before us. Some wounds will never heal, but as Nepal faces the hard task of rebuilding each broken life and broken buildings, the people of India stand with you in strength and solidarity.

Sikhs explain meaning of turban to US lawmakers

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Sikhs have to explain to American people what the turban means because that is the immediate source of their identification, according to the author of a new report on Sikhs in America presented to US lawmakers.

“Sikhs have to explain what it symbolizes and what values it represents,” said Geoff Garin, former political strategist for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton presenting the key findings of the report at a briefing arranged by the National Sikh Campaign (NSC).

Extra two minutes walking can add years to your life

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Adding just two minutes of walking each hour to your routine can offset the health hazards of sitting for long periods of time, says a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

A “trade-off” of sitting for light intensity activities for two minutes each hour is associated with a 33 percent lower risk of dying, the findings showed.

Numerous studies have shown that sitting for extended periods of time each day leads to increased risk for early death, as well as heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions.

1,000 Europeans still missing in Nepal quake

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At least 1,000 Europeans who came as tourists to Nepal prior to the April 25 devastating quake are still missing, European Union’s ambassador to the Himalayan nation Rensje Teerink said here on Friday.

Those unaccounted for were mostly trekkers in the Langtang and Lukla areas of the country, Teerink said.

Twelve Europeans have died in the devastating quake and subsequent avalanches in various parts of the country.