Month: October 2009

$5-bn plan for new medical research: Obama

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Washington, October 01: The US will provide $5 billion in new grants for medical research, which will also create thousands of new jobs, President Barack Obama announced Wednesday.

The funds will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as the $787-billion economic stimulus package passed in February is known, to “conduct cutting-edge research all across America, to unlock treatments to diseases that have long plagued humanity, to save and enrich the lives of people all over the world,” Obama said at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) outside Washington.

Google wave invites volunteers to start preview

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New York, October 01: Google is all set to offer a wider preview of its Google Wave as a compelling platform for real time streaming communication. The company (Google) is all set to send out invites for preview to those individuals that have signed up for feedback.

Declare cow as national animal, demand Hindu groups

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Chandigarh, October 01: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Hindu groups, supported by leaders of other faiths, Wednesday urged the government to declare the cow as a national animal.

Members of the groups said they had started a 108-day national campaign that will cover about 20,000 km, starting from this holy Hindu town and culminating at Nagpur in Maharashtra.

The campaign, called Vishwamangal Gau Gram Yatra, was initiated here amid the chanting of holy mantras by the Shankaracharya of Shimoga, Jagatguru Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati.

India out of Champions Trophy

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Johannesburg, October 01: India defeated West Indies by seven wickets in their last Group A match here Wednesday, but the win came little too late for them as Australia’s tense two-wicket victory over Pakistan earlier in the day knocked them out of the Champions Trophy.

Australia became the second team from Group A to qualify for the semi-final after Pakistan. In the semi-finals, Pakistan will face New Zealand while Australia will take on England.

Democrats introduce climate-change bill in US Senate

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Washington, October 30: Democrats introduced ambitious climate-change legislation Wednesday in the Senate with the goal of reducin greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels, a larger reduction than the 17-percent approved in June by the House.

The bill introduced by Democratic Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer outlines a plan to curb toxic emissions by creating a market for companies to buy and sell pollution permits.

If no terror in pak then aid: US House

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Washington, October 01: The US Congress has passed a bill to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to $7.5 billion in the next five years, but with stringent conditions demanding action against extremist groups on its soil and prevention of attacks into neighbouring countries.

Though the compromise bill passed by House of Representatives Wednesday does not specifically mention India so as not to hurt Islamabad’s sensitivities, it specifically lists extremist movements like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the outfit behind 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

I get angry, but don’t show it: Big B

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Mumbai, October 01: Amitabh Bachchan has learnt to live with controversies. But India’s biggest star admits they sometimes get under his skin — and when that happens he says he takes care not to show his irritation, particularly before the media.

“For celebrities, when you create a controversy, it happens and even when you don’t create one, it still happens. Like if I sneeze, it can cause a controversy; if I don’t, then also it causes one,” Bachchan told IANS in an exclusive interview.

There’s no Karan Johar element in ‘Wake Up Sid’: Karan Johar

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Mumbai, October 01: Once the script of “Wake Up Sid” was ready, the star cast finalised and shooting of the film commenced, producer Karan Johar says he completely backed off and let first time director Ayan Mukerji run the entire show.

“There isn’t any Karan Johar element that you would see in ‘Wake Up Sid’. It doesn’t have any gloss, glamour or grandeur that one associates with me. In fact, it doesn’t have any pre-requisite that one expects from a Dharma Productions,” Karan told IANS.

Earthquake hits Indonesia’s Sumatra island

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Jakarta, October 01: At least 200 people were killed and many were still trapped under collapsed buildings one day after a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia’s West Sumatra province, officials said Thursday.

“The death toll may increase because there are many people still trapped in buildings, shops and hotels,” said Priyadi Handoko from the National Agency for Disaster Management in the capital Jakarta.

“We have received reports that up to 200 people were killed in the quake in West Sumatra,” Handoko said, adding that at least 500 buildings were destroyed in the quake.