Month: January 2010

Israel OK’s new Jewish residences in East Al-Quds

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Jerusalem, January 06: Israeli authorities have approved construction of four new residential buildings in the eastern part of Jerusalem Al-Quds, despite international calls for a cessation of activity where Palestinians hope to set up the capital of a future state.

The buildings, which are intended to house 24 families, will be built beside the decades-standing Beit Orot yeshiva in the contentious area east of the Old City walls, according to a report released by Israeli Haaretz newspaper.

Insects, other animals have similar call signs

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Washington, January 06: Scientists comparing hundreds of calls of insects and other animals have discerned common threads tying all of them.

Compiling data from nearly 500 species, researchers at the University of Florida (UF) and Oklahoma State University have found that the calls of crickets, whales and other creatures are controlled by their metabolic rates – their uptake and use of energy.

All is not well with Samajwadi party; Amar Singh Resigns

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New Delhi, january 06: The inputs came are certainly not good for the Samajwadi party, as his General Secretary and senior leader Amar Singh has resigned from the party and its parliamentary board membership.

According to PTI, the decision shows that all is not well within party, and rift between the leaders have been exposed now.
–Agencies

TN Govt. appeals Centre to endorse Women Reservation Bill

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Chennai, January 06: Appealing to endorse the Women’s Reservation Bill, providing 33 per cent quota for women in Parliament and State Legislatures, the Tamil Nadu Government has asked the centre to make it veracity without any further delay.

Addressing to the State Assembly, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala asserted that the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation that the Law for providing 33 per cent quota for women should come into reality as it was a matter of great happiness and throw some ray of hope.

Abhishek calls me ”jiggly poo”: John Abraham

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New Delhi, January 06: Bollywood hunk John Abraham, who is back to playing his gay self in the sequel to ”Dostana” with Abhishek Bachchan, says that the junior B has named him “jiggly poo”. The actors became friends while working together in the gay comedy and continue to share the same equation.

“After we starred together in ”Dostana”, Abhishek has nicknamed me as his ”jiggly poo”. He sends me messages on my birthday saying ”Happy Birthday Jiggly Poo”!,” said John.

59-year-old woman passes higher secondary exam

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Kolkata, January 06: She is 59 but her enthusiasm towards studying is as fresh as any teenage student. Nurjahan Begum from Cooch Behar passed her higher secondary examination this year from Rabindra Open School in the district.

Squeezing time out of domestic preoccupations, Nurjahan managed to appear for the exam to fulfil her long-cherished dream. She had passed her secondary exam in 1969 and then had to leave school after her marriage to Saidul Haq.

But Nurjahan did complete a short training course in nursing and got a job of a health supervisor in the state health department.

Rahul did magic for Congress in UP

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Lucknow, January 06: The Congress witnessed a turnaround in Uttar Pradesh in 2009 after having remained politically insignificant for almost 20 years in the state, thanks to the efforts of Rahul Gandhi to revive the party.

Besides other factors, it was the Centre’s special Bundelkhand package, which was pushed by Rahul, and his mass contact programmes that laid the foundation for the party’s resurgence.

In the run-up to last year’s Lok Sabha polls, Congress tried to cobble together an alliance with Samajwadi Party but it did not work out and it ultimately went it solo in the polls.

Three soldiers killed, 11 hurt in suicide attack in PoK

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Islamabad, January 06: A suicide bomber struck an army barrack in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir today, killing at least three soldiers and wounding 11 more in the latest in a wave of terrorist attacks across the country.

The bomber targeted the barracks close to an army hospital at Tararkhal, over 90 km from PoK capital Muzaffarabad, police said.

Part of the barracks was destroyed by the blast.

There were about 35 soldiers in the facility at the time of the attack this morning. Three soldiers were killed instantly and 11 more injured.

The wounded were taken to the army hospital.

Sydney Test: Hussey, Hauritz star as Australia beat Pakistan by 36-run

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Sydney, January 06: Australia came back superbly after being outplayed for the first three days to snatch a memorable 36-run victory over Pakistan on the penultimate day of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz star for the host with bat and ball in the second innings to pave the way for the victory.

Hussey added 123-run for the 9th wicket with Peter Siddle (38) and scored an unbeaten 134 to set Pakistan a modest target of 175 for victory.

Govt tells Indian students in Australia to be cautious

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Melbourne, January 06: The government has cautioned Indian students in Australia to take certain “basic precautions” and be alert while moving around to maintain their own safety. New Delhi has also said there has been an “increase in violence” on streets in Melbourne “without any discernible pattern or rationale” behind it.

Phenomenally powerful computing closer to reality

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Sydney, January 06: Phenomenally powerful quantum computing, the stuff of science fiction, has edged closer to reality, thanks to recent breakthroughs.

Quantum computing relies on controlling and observing the behaviour of quantum particles or single electrons, to deliver phenomenal processing power at blinding speeds.

A team of Andrew Dzurak, professor, University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Andrea Morello, at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computer Technology, achieved these breakthroughs.

Foggy morning for Delhiites

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New Delhi, January 06: Delhiites woke up to a foggy morning today with the minimum temperature plummeting to 5.6 degree Celsius due to icy winds blowing from the Himalayas. The sharp fall from yesterday”s minimum of 9.3 degree Celsius resulted in intense cold conditions in the morning.

Stars thrive as vampires, sucking hydrogen from others

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Toronto, January 06: Like Hollywood villains, stars in distant galaxies too seem to bank on vampirism to thrive, new research says. The stars appear in two groups — those which suck fresh hydrogen from the bigger stars and others that rejuvenate from cosmic collisions.

Astronomers say there are age-defying stars that act as ‘vampires’ and suck fresh hydrogen from the bigger stars. There are some evergreen stars in Messier 30 – a cluster of hundreds of thousands of stars that formed 13 billion years ago – who defy age and always appear younger than the rest.

Shahid, Genelia to spend night together in a car

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Mumbai, January 06: Out of all different movie promotion ideas, this one seems new. Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza will be spending Wednesday night together in a car here to promote their forthcoming film ‘Chance Pe Dance’.

‘Shahid and Genelia will be spending a full night in a small car at the Kamalistan Studios today. There will be vada pao (bun) vendors and khatiyas (string cot) nearby for the people. We want to make this the most talked about promotional activity in Bollywood and it’s being done on a major scale,’ a source from the film unit told IANS.

Eight policemen get life imprisonment in Uttar Pradesh

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Lucknow, January 06: After five policemen in Uttar Pradesh were given life imprisonment for killing two innocent men from Jharkhand, a court in the state sentenced eight more cops in the same case, an official said Wednesday.

‘Additional Sessions Judge A.K. Dwivedi sentenced the eight constables to life imprisonment Tuesday after they surrendered before the court,’ prosecution lawyer Vikas Shakya told reporters Wednesday in Sonbhadra, about 250 km from here.

Brains working for an intelligent brain

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London, January 06: An artificial mind! Yes, a machine brain, perhaps much more intelligent than your own may someday be a reality, if scientists are to be believed.

A Swiss team, led by Professor Henry Markram, claims to be working on the world’s first artificial conscious and intelligent mind, made of silicon, gold and copper, which they say would be ready latest by 2018.

‘Spider-man 4’ hits roadblock

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London, January 06: The fourth instalment of the ‘Spider-man’ series has been stalled over a script issue.

Production on ‘Spider-man 4’ was set to start in February, but it has been put on hold, reported contactmusic.com.

‘We will not start until we have it (script) right. The feeling is we are not going to rush it to make the date,’ said a source.
–IANS

John Hopkins University warn quitters

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London, January 06: Contrary to popular belief that giving up smoking is good for diabetics, a new study claimed that kicking the habit sharply increases the risk of developing the disease.

American researchers found that quitters had a 70 per cent increased risk of developing type-two diabetes in the first six years as compared with non-smokers because they tend to put on weight.

The Johns Hopkins University team, however, stressed that smoking is a well known risk factor for type-two diabetes — as well as many other health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.

DiCaprio’s girlfriend strips for lingerie ad

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London, January 06: Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend Bar Refaeli has stripped for a lingerie ad.

The Israeli model, who spent New Year with DiCaprio in a Mexican hotel, shed her clothes to promote Bonita De Mas’ new range, reported thesun.co.uk.

The pair recently re-united after their break-up in June last year.
–IANS

Reliance Insurance launches two new schemes

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Mumbai, January 06: In a bid to tap different market segments, Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) announced the launch of two new products – Reliance Jan Samriddhi plan and Reliance traditional super invest plan – here Tuesday evening.

“These new products are in line with RLIC’s mission to offer a comprehensive range of insurance products to satisfy the needs of our increasing number of customers across all segments,” RLIC president Malay Ghosh told reporters here Tuesday.

Two dead in Chicago cargo plane crash

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Washington, January 06: A small cargo jet crashed Tuesday outside Chicago, killing the pilot and co-pilot, CNN reported.

Laura Witlox, an official at Chicago Executive Airport, told DPA that the Learjet 35A crashed on its final approach to the runway at about 1.30 p.m.

The airport is located in Wheeling, Illinois, about a 45-minute drive west of downtown Chicago.

The plane, which crashed just south of the airport in a forest preserve, belonged to a Michigan-based company, Royal Air Cargo.

—–Agencies

Two dead in Chicago cargo plane crash

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Washington, January 06: A small cargo jet crashed Tuesday outside Chicago, killing the pilot and co-pilot.

Laura Witlox, an official at Chicago Executive Airport, told DPA that the Learjet 35A crashed on its final approach to the runway at about 1.30 p.m.

The airport is located in Wheeling, Illinois, about a 45-minute drive west of downtown Chicago.

The plane, which crashed just south of the airport in a forest preserve, belonged to a Michigan-based company, Royal Air Cargo.
–Agencies

Reliance Insurance launches two new schemes

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Mumbai, January 06: In a bid to tap different market segments, Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) announced the launch of two new products – Reliance Jan Samriddhi plan and Reliance traditional super invest plan – here Tuesday evening.

“These new products are in line with RLIC’s mission to offer a comprehensive range of insurance products to satisfy the needs of our increasing number of customers across all segments,” RLIC president Malay Ghosh told reporters here Tuesday.

Did not facilitate access for gatecrasher: Indian Embassy

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Washington, January 06: The Indian Embassy on Wednesday said it did not facilitate the entry of a third gatecrasher to US President Barack Obama’s State Dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after the Secret Service claimed that the individual sneaked in by boarding an Indian delegation bus.

US media has identified the gatecrasher as Carlos Allen, a 39-year-old entrepreneur whose web site identifies him as chief executive of Hush Galleria — “an exclusive and luxurious private social club whose members enjoy unparallelled access to elite movers and shakers“.