Month: May 2010

Malaysia minister: God made animals for testing

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Kuala Lumpur, May 31: A Malaysian minister defended an Indian company’s plans to build an animal testing medicine lab in his state, saying Monday that God created monkeys and rats for experiments to benefit humans.

The plans by India’s Vivo BioTech Ltd. to set up a biotechnology center in southern Malacca state has come under fire by activists because it will conduct tests on dogs and primates to make medicines. The activists say Malaysia has no regulations on animal research, which could lead to test subjects being abused.

Police hunt Maoists after deadly train crash

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Kolkata, May 31: The police were searching on Saturday for Maoist rebels believed to be responsible for a crash involving a crowded passenger train, as rescuers continued pulling bodies from the wreckage.

The train derailed and smashed into an oncoming goods train on Friday, killing 114 people and injuring at least 200. The death toll is expected to rise.

“We have identified the people who are behind the incident. These are Maoists and we are trying to trace them and bring them to justice,” said Manoj Verma, a senior police official.

Pregnant women should eat two portions of fish a week

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London, May 31: Expectant mothers should eat two portions of fish a week to reduce the risk of their children developing brain disorders, say experts.
Recent research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids, also known as docosahexaenoic acid, found in fish, is essential for the brain to function properly.

Fish consumption among women of child bearing age in Britain is currently restricted due to concerns about the presence of potentially harmful contaminants.

Man killed for demanding Rs.20

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New Delhi, May 31: A 21-year-old man was arrested Sunday for allegedly killing a person who demanded Rs.20 from him following an act of sodomy, police said.

Mukesh was arrested from Inderpuri in south Delhi’s Naraina area, where Ajay’s body was found near a railway station May 27, a police official said.

According to the police, the victim was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital where doctors declared him dead. “In post-mortem examination report, it has been revealed that an act of sodomy was committed on the deceased,” a senior police officer said.

Sri Sri Ravishankar escapes unhurt as gunman fires at convoy

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New Delhi, May 31: Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar today escaped bid on his life when an unidentified gunman shot at his car when he was returning after delivering a discourse, an ashram official said.

“I am absolutely safe,” the 54-year-old founder of the Art of Living said shortly after the incident.

One of his devotees sustained a minor injury on the thigh with the bullet brushing past, ashram spokesperson Charu said.

The incident took place around 6.15 PM when Ravishankar was returning to his ‘Kutir’ by car after addressing a gathering at the ‘Satsang’, she told.

India dismisses UN pitch for signing NPT

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New Delhi, May 31: India on Sunday ruled out signing the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty ( NPT). Dismissing a UN suggestion in this regard, New Delhi said it could not be party to an agreement that it regarded as “ discriminatory”. “ Our position on NPT has been clearly articulated before. We want complete, verifiable and universal disarmament,” a source said.

EU hails Constituent Assembly extension in Nepal

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Kathmandu, May 31: The European Union (EU), including a parliamentary delegation on a visit to Nepal, has welcomed the accord between major political parties of the country to extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly for one more year.

EU member countries including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and Britain have emphasized “the urgent need for the parties to work together, in the interest of the people of this country, in a spirit of consensus and do whatever it takes to implement the Comprehensive Peace Accord”, EuAsiaNews reported Sunday.

Colombia presidential vote heads for run-off

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Colombia, May 31: Colombia’s former defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos of the ruling National Unity party received the most votes on Sunday’s presidential election, but not enough to avoid a runoff against his main rival Antanas Mockus of the Green party.

With more than 95 percent of the votes counted, Santos had 46.6 percent of the vote. Mockus was in a distant second place with 21.5%. Any candidate needs a majority in first round to win outright and avoid the June 20 runoff.

Cong MPs want Jagan out of party

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Hyderabad, May 31: Several Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh want late chief minister Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy’s son and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy dropped from the party for defying the high command and going ahead with his consolation tour in the Telangana region.

His tour triggered widespread violence in the volatile region. Given the situation, as many as nine out of the 11 Congress MPs from Telangana, most of whom were hitherto staunch supporters of Jagan, have allegedly asked the high command to expel him.

“ Jagan has clearly violated party discipline.

Tropical storm Agatha kills 40 in Guatemala

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Guatemala City, May 31: At least 40 people were killed and 30 missing as tropical storm Agatha battered the Pacific coast of Guatemala, officials said Sunday.

More than 74,000 people have been evacuated from the affected areas. Properties were also damaged.

Agatha made landfall Saturday at Tecun Uman city, near the border with Mexico, affecting the provinces of San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Solola, Chimaltenango, Quiche and Totonicapan. The Guatemalan capital is also affected.

Mayor of San Aldres Palopo town Andres Cumes said 13 people have died in western Solola province.

Kareena’s ‘Heroine’ to have snippets of Hollywood beauties

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Mumbai, May 31: Eva Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Vivien Leigh… these are four legendary Hollywood beauties whom director Madhur Bhandarkar will use as reference points for Kareena Kapoor’s character in upcoming film “Heroine”.

And to make Kareena’s job easier, Bhandarkar has prepared a three-hour documentary on the quartet of Hollywood greats. But unfortunately he couldn’t get enough visual material on the classical Indian screen beauties to put into the documentary for Kareena’s reference.

‘Raajneeti’ about family, politics and power

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Mumbai, May 31: Power equations, strained relations, the murky tactics of politics and bitterly-fought elections … Prakash Jha claims to offer all these in his much-awaited political thriller “Raajneeti”, which releases Friday.

A behind-the-scenes look at politics, scandals and much more, the film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpai, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Sarah Thompson. Arjun Rampal too plays a pivotal role in the movie.

Practising on onions makes tattoo art perfect

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New Delhi, May 31: Before the advent of artificial skin pads, tattoo artists had to rely on white onions, volunteers and their own skin to hone their skill – an art that can only be perfected with practice.

Practising how to make a tattoo is very important because it gives an idea of the depth of the needle – how much it should penetrate the skin – for comfortable hand movement and to cause the least pain to the client.

His family wanted dowry: Airhostess

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Mumbai May 31: The 22-year-old airhostess from Jet Airways, who had alleged that she had been raped by a pilot from the same airlines on the false promise of marriage, claimed his family had made demands for dowry.

The victim’s family alleged that the pilot discontinued the relationship as his father had threatened to disown him if he married the girl without dowry.

The Powai police arrested Varun Agrawal (27) on Saturday after his flight landed in Mumbai. Both the accused and the victim are from the same town in Uttaranchal.

Mexico oil spill: US prepares for worst

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Washington, May 31: The US government is preparing for a months-long disaster in the Gulf of Mexico after the latest attempt by oil giant BP to plug a gushing well were declared a failure.

“What we’re doing is we’re going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst,” Carol Browner, an Obama energy advisor, told the CBS television programme Face the Nation Sunday. “The worst is that we have oil leaking until August, until these relief wells are done. And we will be prepared for the worst”.

Japan factory output up 1.3 pct in April on-month

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Tokyo, May 31: Japan’s industrial output rose 1.3 percent in April from the previous month, official data showed Monday, as strong demand from China and emerging Asian nations help buoy the economy.

However, the reading, which was the second consecutive month of growth after rising a revised 1.2 percent in March, missed average market expectations for an increase of 2.5 percent.

Shipments gained 1.6 percent from March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said, as inventory stockpiles rose 0.3 percent.

India, China should take care of each other’s concerns: Patil

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Shanghai, May 31: India and China need to develop models of economic cooperation which will take into account each other’s concerns, President Pratibha Patil said here Monday.

On the last day of her six-day state visit, she spoke to a group of Indian and Chinese businessmen at the India-China business forum and urged them to further boost ties between the two Asian giants.

China develops fastest super computer

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Beijing, May 31: China has developed a super computer that runs at more than one quadrillion (one thousand million million) calculations per second, making it the fastest one in the country, experts have said.

The super computer named “Xingyun”, has been developed in Tianjin, and works at double the speed of “Tianhe-1″, the previous fastest machine in China.

The Tianhe-1 was developed by the National University of Defence Technology in October 2009, Li Jun, president of the Dawning Information Industry Co. Ltd., was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Sporadic clashes in ‘ peaceful’ Bengal civic polls

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Kolkata, May 31: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation ( KMC) elections passed off peacefully barring some stray incidents of clashes and police firing in which a CPM activist was injured on Sunday.

The poll, which is being seen as a semi- final before the 2011 Assembly elections, was held in 81 civic bodies and in the 141- ward KMC involving an electorate of 85 lakh.

Quran: A Teacher to Modern Scientists

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Ours is an era of space probes, computer chips, laser surgeries and cloning. If we were to label any book as a revelation from God, we couldn’t help but to scrutinize this Scripture using modern scientific knowledge. It could not be that a revelation, proclaiming itself from God, could constitute aspects contradicting established scientific facts. How could we assume otherwise, when God is the one who created the universe and the laws operating within it.

Sri Sri Ravishankar escapes unhurt as gunman fires at convoy

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Bangalore, May 31: Art of Living founder and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar escaped unhurt today when an unidentified gunman shot at his convoy at the ashram here as he was returning after delivering a discourse, an ashram official said.

Tragedy at Mangalore AirportOne of his devotees sustained a minor injury on the thigh with the bullet brushing past, ashram spokesperson Charu said.

The incident took place around 6.15 PM when Ravishankar was returning to his kutir by car after addressing a gathering at the satsang, she told PTI.

NIA three- member squad chosen to grill Headley is a mix of youth and experience

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New Delhi, May 31: An interesting mix of young officers from the National Investigation Agency ( NIA) makes up the team that will interrogate David Coleman Headley in the US, along with a law officer.

The team will be lead by inspector- general Loknath Behera. A 1985- batch IPS officer of the Kerala cadre, Behera is a crack investigator with a long innings in the CBI. Behera will be accompanied by two young SPs — Sajid Farid Shapoo and Swayam Prakash Pani.

Support for Japan PM plummets to new low

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Tokyo, May 31: The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has plunged to its lowest level since his party’s landslide election victory in August, a poll released Monday showed.

Support for the cabinet fell to 17 percent in a survey conducted on Saturday and Sunday, the Asahi Shimbun poll showed, down four percentage points from two weeks ago. The disapproval rating rose to 70 percent.

The pressure on the embattled Hatoyama increased when Japan’s small socialist party Sunday walked out of the ruling coalition in a row over a US military base in Okinawa.

Govt colleges allowed to increase MBBS seats

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New Delhi, May 31: To overcome the shortage of qualified doctors, the Central government has increased the ceiling on MBBS seats in a government medical college from 150 to 250, provided the hospital has a bed capacity of 1,000 or more.

The increase in the ceiling will come into effect in the 2011-12 academic session. “But the raise in the ceiling is not automatic; it is subject to verification of infrastructure and human resource,” Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told TheHindu.

Focus on assembly elections with an eye on 2014 LS polls

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New Delhi, May 31: Uttar Pradesh, with 80 Lok Sabha seats, is crucial to Rahul Gandhi’s plans to install a Congress government in Delhi after the 2014 general elections.

From 147 in 2004, the Congress tally went up by 60 in 2009. Now, party mandarins are working to notch up at least 300 seats in 2014 when Rahul is set to take over as Prime Minister. He is reportedly keen to head a government without the aid of allies.