Month: July 2009

Four killed, 34 injured in China train accident

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Nanning, July 29: Four people died and 34 were injured after a train derailed in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region early Wednesday, authorities said.

Train 1473, from Xiangfan of central Hubei province to Zhanjiang of Guangdong province, derailed at 4.22 a.m. in a valley in Liuzhou city of Guangxi.

The locomotive and its first four sleeper cars derailed, said the Nanning Railway Bureau.

Of the 34 injured, 11 were in serious condition, said Xiang Jun, a government official in Liuzhou.

Microsoft and Yahoo ‘close to alliance’

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Washington, July 29: Microsoft appears to have finally locked up rival Yahoo in a long-awaited internet search partnership aimed at narrowing Google’s commanding lead in the most lucrative piece of the online advertising market.

The details of the Microsoft-Yahoo alliance are expected to be announced Wednesday local time, according to The Wall Street Journal and a technology blog affiliated with the newspaper, All Things D, which both cited undisclosed people familiar with the discussions.
–Agencies

Surprise Visit To Nadra Centre: PM

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Islamabad, July 29: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Wednesday paid a surprise visit to National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) centre here and directed the staff on duty to increase the number of counters to entertain maximum number of applicants at a time.

In his visit to the Nadra centre at Sector G-8/4, the Prime Minister inquired the people standing in long queues about the problems they faced in applying for the Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs).

Economy to maintain growth rate of 6.7 pc: Pranab

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New Delhi, July 29: The economy is expected to maintain a growth rate of 6.7 per cent in 2009-10, same as last fiscal, as some signs of pick-up are visible, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said.

“We have ended 2008-09 at 6.7 per cent. I do hope, this level of growth, we will be able to maintain (in 2009-10),” he said while commending the Finance Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

He said although some signs of recovery are visible, it is too early to point out that whether they would be steady.

Do worm-like structures cause tooth decay?

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Washington, July 29: For years, scientists have debated the exact nature of the worm like structures inside a human tooth. The structures are not worms, but what they are is still in question.

Micro-images in a dissected molar suggest they caused tooth decay.

Studies by University of Maryland (U-M) Dental School researchers’ revealed cylindrical objects extending or ‘growing’ out of the natural pores or tubules of teeth.

Indian scientists design yawn alert for dozing drivers

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Washington, July 29: We’ve all been through the familiar experience of feeling sleepy while driving. But what if your car could nudge you when you started yawning and warn you to pull over and take a break?

That’s the aim of a new in-car yawn-detection system being developed by an Indian-American and two other budding Indian scientists.

Teacher disrobes girls, takes measurements with his fingers

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Vidisha, July 29: In a shocking incident, a teacher allegedly half-disrobed eight Adivasi girl students of fifth standard of a government school in the district’s Tyonda on the pretext of taking measurements for their uniforms.

The shameful act of the teacher has now forced the eight girls of Ganjbasoda’s Nurpur Education Guarantee Scheme School to discontinue their studies.

The incident that took place on July 24, about five km from Tyonda, came to light when the girl students complained to their parents about it, district education officer, Manish Verma said on Wednesday.

97 new polio cases in Uttar Pradesh

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Lucknow, July 29: Out of the 136 fresh polio cases detected in the country, as many as 97 were in Uttar Pradesh this year, according to a new report.

Alarmed by the report, the state government hurriedly convened a high level meeting here last Sunday to chalk out a new polio immunization programme.

Under the plan, a fresh round of polio drops will be given to infants across the state on August 9.

Common food dye can help repair spinal injuries

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New York, July 29: A common food dye used in popular candies can help repair spinal injuries and prevent permanent paralysis, US researchers claim.

Researchers report that the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) found in blue colour dye used in candies blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area after an injury.

The new findings by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Centre here are based on earlier research by the team.

Author, publisher arrested for Prophet’s picture in textbook

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Lucknow, July 29: The author and publisher of a controversial textbook, that carries a picture of Prophet Mohammad, were Wednesday arrested in Uttar Pradesh for “hurting the religious sentiments” of people, police said.

Karan Singh, author of Udayimaan Bhartiya Samaj ke Shikshak (Teachers in Emerging Indian Society), and R.P. Singh, owner of Lakhimpur-based Govind Prakashan, were arrested in Lakhimpur, about 100 km from state capital Lucknow. Karan Singh is a retired professor of the Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University in Faizabad district.

Qutub mosque row: ASI says won’t allow prayers

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New Delhi, July 29: The Masjid-e-Qutub Minar is not the only historical monument being used for prayers by the Mehrauli Muslim Samaaj Sudhaar Society.

The Archaeological Survey of India has identified four other protected monuments in the Mehrauli area that are being used for Friday prayers without its permission.

“According to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, if a monument is not being used for any worship at the time of taking over by ASI, we cannot allow worship of any kind there,” an ASI official said.

‘Pak can’t prosecute Saeed for 26/11 sans solid proof’

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Lahore, July 29: JuD chief and LeT founder Hafiz Mohd Saeed cannot be prosecuted for involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks without “concrete evidence” against him, Pakistan’s top law official said on Wednesday.

Stop questioning; prosecute Saeed: PC to Pak”The government has the evidence provided by the UN Security Council that can only keep Saeed behind bars for a certain period of time under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law,” said Attorney General Latif Khosa, an aide of President Asif Ali Zardari.

US lawmakers warming up to rising India

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Washington, July 29: Reflecting the growing importance of India-US ties, some two dozen senators across the political divide rubbed shoulders with Indian Americans from across the US to welcome Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar on the Capitol Hill.

Senate majority leader Harry Reed, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, former Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman were among those who dropped by as Senate India Caucus leaders dilated on the importance of the relationship between the two great countries at the event Tuesday.

Update Two killed in Pak blast

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Islamabad, July 29: A powerful bomb planted in a car ripped through the parking lot of a district court in Pakistan’s troubled northwest today, killing two men guarding a Shia lawyer and injuring several others.

The blast triggered by a remote control took place in Dera Ismail Khan city, which over the past few months has been hit by clashes between Shias and Sunnis and Taliban-related violence.

Two men, who were guarding a Shia lawyer were, killed in the blast, police said.

Pop and mom’s genes hold tug-of-war inside baby

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Washington, July 29: An analysis of rare genetic disorders in which children lack some genes from one parent shows that maternal and paternal genes engage in a subtle tug-of-war well into childhood.

This striking new variety of intra-family conflict is the latest wrinkle in the two-decades-old theory known as genomic imprinting, which holds that each parent contributes genes that seek to nudge his or her children’s development in a direction most favourable.

Space tourism port to be sited in Abu Dhabi

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Abu Dhabi, July 29: Tourists will be able to journey to outer space via Abu Dhabi as part of a deal by a local investment group to take a stake in the world’s first commercial space travel operator, the two companies said on Tuesday.

Aabar Investments said it plans to build a space port in Abu Dhabi, capital of the seven-member United Arab Emirates federation, after agreeing to buy about a 32 per cent stake in the holding company of Virgin Galactic for USD 280 million, valuing the business at around USD 900 million.

B’desh takes one day series from West Indies

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Roseau, July 29: Half-centuries from Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful trumped a maiden One-day International hundred from Travis Dowlin, and inspired Bangladesh to a three-wicket win over West Indies in the second ODI to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series.

Shakib, the Bangladesh captain, struck 65 from 61 balls to earn the Man-of-the-Match award, and his predecessor as skipper Ashraful scored 64 from 77 balls, as the Tigers successfully chased 275 in the match at Windsor Park on Tuesday.

Smokeless tobacco safer than smoking, says study

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Washington, July 29: Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not seem to increase cancer risk, according to the latest research.

A comprehensive analysis has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers.

Products used in the past in the US may have increased the risk, but any effect that exists now seems likely to be quite small.

Peter Lee and Jan Hamling, from PN Lee Statistics and Computing Ltd of Britain, carried out the analysis of 89 studies from the US and Scandinavia.

Hubble image shows debris from Jupiter collision

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Baltimore, July 29: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is offering a glimpse of atmospheric debris from an object that plunged into Jupiter in a rare collision with the planet.

Scientists used the telescope Thursday to capture what they call the “sharpest visible-light picture” so far of the expanding gash. An amateur stargazer in Australia spotted the impression last Sunday.

Pressure forces Taliban chief into talks with Pakistan

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Islamabad, July 29: Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, whose grim rule in Pakistan’s tribal district of South Waziristan is marked by suicide bombings and throat-slitting, has contacted the government through mediators for peace talks, official and tribal sources say.

The pleading might have come partly from a near perfect stranglehold the security forces have on him and partly because his fellow Taliban leaders are advising him to be on good terms with the Pakistani government and avoid spoiling their game plan in Afghanistan.

Nigerian troops bid to rout Islamist sect

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Maiduguri, July 29: Fighting raged for a fourth day running in northern Nigeria on Wednesday as troops tracked down remnants of an Islamist sect after clashes that have left at least 250 dead.

Sounds of gunfire were heard through the night in Maiduguri city, the base of the self-styled Nigerian Taliban, following orders from President Umaru Yar’Adua for the armed forces to crush the movement “once and for all”.

I am not dating Chris Brown, says Rihanna

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Los Angeles, July 29: Umbrella hitmaker Rihanna has dismissed reports that she has secretly rekindled her romance with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. The former couple sparked romance rumours when they recently checked into the same hotel, but the R&B superstar insists that it was nothing but a mere “coincidence”, Access Hollywood reported.

Sudanese woman faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers

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Nairobi, July 29: A woman Sudanese journalist and United Nations worker could face up to 40 lashes Wednesday for wearing trousers.

Lubna Ahmed Hussein, a columnist and public information officer at the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), was arrested in Khartoum along with 13 other women in early July.

Ten of the other women were given 10 lashes for breaching Islamic law, but Hussein demanded a lawyer and delayed her trial.

She has invited local and foreign journalists to view her flogging should she be convicted.

Honda’s net profit plunges 95.6 percent

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Tokyo, July 29: Honda Motor Co saw its net profit plunge 95.6 percent to 7.56 billion yen ($80 million) in the April-to-June quarter because of a global decline in auto sales, the Japanese carmaker said Wednesday.

Although cost-cutting measures showed some positive effects in earnings results in Honda’s first quarter, Japan’s second-largest carmaker said production cuts and a stronger yen reduced operating profit in those three months.

Honda’s operating profit tumbled 88 percent to 25.16 billion yen, and sales fell 30.2 percent to 2 trillion yen from the same period a year earlier.

Sweet tooth leads to more diabetics in Malaysia

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Kuala Lumpur, July 29: An average Malaysian eats the equivalent of 26 teaspoons of sugar a day. Doctors say this is leading to a rise in the number of diabetics in the country.

This is worrying health planners who want the government to discourage advertising of food products, particularly those aimed at children.

Health officials believe the sugar content in a product should be mentioned on the label in red, orange or green.