Month: February 2010

A device to monitor patients’ drug adherence

by

Washington, February 04: A new high-tech device that keeps a tab on whether a person has taken medicines on time or not is being developed by American scientists.

Researchers at California-based Proteus Biomedical are using wireless technology — the same mechanism used to operate a cell phone and the Internet — to develop the device that monitors a person whether he has taken pills or not and then transmits the information to the patient, his doctor and a designated family member.

Suspicion on dead Andhra liquor baron’s first wife

by

Vijaywada, February 04: After taking into custody two more persons in connection with the gruesome murder of 10-year-old Vaishnavi, police investigators are trying to figure out the role played by liquor baron Palagani Prabhakar Rao’s first wife Venkateswaramma.

Now, Raj tries to take over the Marathi agenda

by

Mumbai, February 04: Even as Shiv Sena has gone on the offensive on its ‘Mumbai only for Maharashtrians’ agenda, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, too, has started to reignite his party’s Marathi manoos plank.

“Where was Rahul Gandhi when Mumbai was attacked? Who are these babus from Delhi to come and lecture us in Mumbai? Maharashtrians participated in Operation Bluestar. But do we go about claiming Maharashtrians saved Punjab. Indians are being attacked in Australia. When will Rahul speak for them?” asked Raj while addressing a rally on Wednesday.

Britain’s Muslim Marriages Chaos

by

London, February 04: Many Muslims who tie the knot in Britain do not register their nikah, Islamic marriage, with the authorities, creating a legal loophole that comes to surface in the case of divorce or death of one of the spouses.

“It’s a rising trend for Muslim couples to have marriages that are not legally recognized,” Aina Khan, a family lawyer, told.

“The problem is extremely widespread and it’s an increasing time bomb because it’s affecting mostly young Muslims, who are under 30 or in their early 30s.”

Muslim Gandhi

by

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was so close to India’s peace icon Mahatma Gandhi as both shared vision and struggle, but unlike his friend, the Pashtun champion of non-violent struggle against the British rule has been almost forgotten by his people.

“He was a 6’5 giant of the human spirit, that is what attracted me to him,” Canadian filmmaker Teri McLuhan told.

She recently tried to dust off the history of the man, nicknamed “Frontier Gandhi”, and his role in India’s independence.

Vegetative patient “talks” using brain waves

by

London, February 04: A man in a deeply unconscious state for five years has been able to communicate with doctors using just his thoughts in a study scientists say is a “game changer” for care of vegetative state patients.

British and Belgian researchers used a brain scanner called functional magnetic resonance imaging to show the man, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in a road accident in 2003, was able to think “yes” or “no” answers to questions by wilfully changing his brain activity.

Indo-Pak talks during Saarc ministers’ meet

by

New Delhi, February 04: Home minister P Chidambaram is set to travel to Pakistan — the first visit by an Indian minister since the stalling of the composite dialogue in 2008 — for the Saarc home ministers’ conference, scheduled from February 25 to 27 in Islamabad.

The decision of the minister to travel to Islamabad came amid indications that a cost-benefit analysis was being undertaken by the government over starting a limited dialogue with the neighbour.

Obese people struggle with their genes

by

Paris, February 04: Debate over the obesity epidemic sweeping parts of the world has focussed on whether lifestyle — too much junk food and couch-potato living — is the big culprit or whether genes are also to blame.

A new study may help tip the balance in favour of those who claim that fat runs in their family and there is little they can do about it.

People who are morbidly obese lack a tiny stretch of DNA containing around 30 genes, according to the investigation released on Wednesday by the British journal Nature.

‘Telangana panel nothing but delaying tactics’

by

Hyderabad, February 04: The Opposition TDP leaders from both Telangana and Andhra regions have expressed doubts over the Centre’s five-member committee on Telangana.

While, the Telangana leaders doubted whether the committee was intended to delay the process, the Andhra leaders felt that the Committee was to divide the State and o p p o s e d t h e same.

Urvashi Sharma in love with gutka king’s son?

by

Mumbai, February 04: “Naqaab’ actress Urvashi Sharma hasn’t been seen in a film for a while now. The development in her love life seems to be the reason behind it. Apparently, she’s dating gutka king Jagdish Joshi’s son, Sachin Joshi.

According to sources, Urvashi and Sachin met at a party and got along really well since then. Their friendship blossomed into a relationship just recently.

Indian cabbie in Aus charged for assault

by

Melbourne, February 04: Victorian police on Thursday arrested and charged an Indian cabbie who allegedly knocked off his passenger.

According to AAP report, the 25-year-old passenger was involved in a heated argument with the cab driver around 10 pm (AEDT) yesterday as they pulled over in Acland Street in southern Melbourne.

The report said a witness said the passenger tried to walk away but the cab driver chased him down and had to be restrained by security staff working at a nearby business.

10-Crore Fee For Aishwarya Rai

by

Mumbai, February 04: Bollywood pay cheques have hit the ceiling and crossed dizzy heights. Last week, film industry pandits wah-wahed when news broke out that Kareena Kapoor had hit the Rs 7-crore mark.

Thackeray says anti-Mumbai virus has spread

by

Mumbai, February 04: Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Thursday termed as “Goebbels’ propaganda” the raking up the issue of Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad’s visit to his residence here five years ago, saying an anti-Mumbai virus has spread but it would have no impact on his party.

“The Pakistan cricketer’s visit to my house is being capitalised for political gains. I would like to state that it won’t have any impact on Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks,” Thackeray said in an article in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

KJo plans movie on SRK-Gauri romance

by

Mumbai, February 04: Shahrukh Khan, Shiva Sena, My Name Is Khan are the the hottest selling stories in recent past and here is another story which can be added into that list. Yes! Latest buzz is that director Karan Johar has said that, he would like to do a film on Shahrukh Khan-Gauri’s love romance.

Karan Johar says that Shahrukh Khan-Gauri story has all the ingredients of a hit film like passion, love, parental rejection etc. But KJo is in no mood to cast King Khan rather, he is opting for his son Aryan to do his father’s character , when Aryan grows up.

——–Agencies

India’s safeguard agreement with IAEA comes into force

by

Washington, February 04: The safeguard agreement with regard to civilian nuclear facilities between India and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has come into force, US President Barack Obama has said.

Obama said this in a memorandum issued to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as mandated by the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act regarding the safeguards agreement between India and the IAEA.

Jagan to tour across State

by

Kadapa, February 04: Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy today announced that he will tour across Andhra Pradesh to console the family of those who reportedly ended their lives following his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s death in September last year.

The local MP said he will start house visits in April second week and meet all the families numbering about 660.

He said he would strive to fulfil his father’s dreams in the development of the state.

Jagan was speaking at a function where a statue of Rajasekhara Reddy was unveiled by Union Minister of State for Steel A Sai Pratap.

U.S. defends interrogation of airplane bomb suspect

by

Washington, February 04: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday rebuffed criticism that intelligence was lost by giving a lawyer and other legal rights to the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a U.S. airliner.

In a letter to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Holder also said he made the decision to charge the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, with crimes in the regular U.S. court system.

Gunmen attack NATO oil tanker in Pakistan

by

Islamabad, February 04: A NATO tanker carrying fuel for US-led international forces in war-torn Afghanistan has been targeted by gunmen in southwestern Pakistan.

The gunmen attacked the tanker near Luckpas area in Tehsil Matsung, killing the driver on the spot, a local official was quoted by the correspondent late on Wednesday.

Pakistan is the main supply route for the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Yemen says it has killed 16 Houthis

by

Sanaa, February 04: Yemen says its forces have killed 16 Houthis, including some of their leaders, during a crackdown on the fighters’ stronghold in the northern province of Sa’ada.

The Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Yemeni troops launched an offensive on Houthi positions in Sa’ada and seized farms allegedly used as hideouts by the fighters, Reuters reported.

According to the report a Houthi leader was also wounded in the clashes.

Hamas rejects Goldstone report accusations

by

Gaza, February 04: Hamas has rejected accusations leveled against the movement that it had committed “war crimes” during the last year Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip.

A UN Human Rights Council report that was compiled by a team led by the South African judge Richard Goldstone has accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the three week war in the region.

Hamas, which launched rocket attacks to retaliate Israeli air raids and ground incursion into the strip, said a committee it appointed to follow up on the report found no intention to harm civilians.

Israel threatens to ‘use force’ against Iran

by

Jerusalem, February 04: Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon says Israel might use force to prevent Iran from developing “nuclear weapons”, a claim Iran vehemently rejects.

“Iran’s plan will probably be stopped by a regime change or, if there is no other choice, by recourse to force to deprive Iran of its nuclear arms production capabilities,” Yaalon told a security conference in Herzliya.

Attack on Iran could backfire, Petraeus says

by

Washington, February 04: Chief of US Central Command Gen. David Petraeus says any military action against Iran could backfire by increasing “nationalist tendencies” in the country.

“It’s possible (a strike) could be used to play to nationalist tendencies,” Reuters quoted Petraeus as saying on Wednesday.

“There is certainly a history, in other countries, of fairly autocratic regimes almost creating incidents that inflame nationalist sentiment. So that could be among the many different, second, third, or even fourth order effects (of a strike),” he added.

Clinton urges release of Americans detained in Iran

by

Washington, February 04: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Iran to “unilaterally release” three hikers and other Americans in Iranian custody.

“We believe they are being unjustly detained and should be released without further delay,” Clinton told reporters on Wednesday, adding Iran “should unilaterally release” the Americans.

“There are no negotiations taking place,” Clinton said.

The remarks were made although President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had earlier indicated that talks with Washington about exchanging prisoners were underway.

Saudi Interior Ministry accused of torture

by

Riyadh, February 04: A Saudi civil rights group has called on King Abdullah to launch an investigation into alleged abuses the Interior Ministry committed under the guise of “fighting terrorism.”

In an open letter to the King, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Activists accused the ministry of torturing prisoners, saying that the practice was now in use on a larger scale, Reuters reported.

Israel not serious about peace, says Syria

by

Tel Aviv, February 04: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Israel is not serious about achieving peace since all facts point out that Tel Aviv is pushing the region towards war.

“Israel is not serious in achieving peace and that everything shows it is working towards a war,” SANA news agency quoted Assad as saying in a meeting with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Damascus on Wednesday.