Month: March 2011

Tobacco smoking negatively affects teens’ brains

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Washington, March 04: A new study has concluded that tobacco smoking can affect teenagers’ brains.
While studies have linked cigarette smoking to deficits in attention and memory in adults, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers wanted to compare brain function in adolescent smokers and non-smokers, with a focus on the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that guides “executive functions” like decision-making and that is still developing structurally and functionally in adolescents.

March to Hyderabad not to be postponed: Telangana JAC

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Hyderabad, March 04: The Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) said the ‘million march to Hyderabad’ will be held on March 10 as announced earlier.

JAC convener Kodandaram told reporters that there is no change in the date of the event on March 10 when about a million people would come to Hyderabad in support of separate Telangana.

The government and others had appealed to the JAC to postpone the programme as year-end examinations of intermediate and some national level tests are scheduled on March 10.

TDP members ready to quit for cause of unified AP

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Hyderabad, March 04: TDP yesteday appeared divided over the Telangana issue with a section of its MLAs and MLCs expressing readiness to quit for a unified Andhra Pradesh even as party legislators from the region threatened to resign if a separate state was not created.

The TDP legislators from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions met this afternoon to discuss their latest strategy after they forced adjournment of the Assembly today by raising the demand for a unified state.

Friday protests set to shake Arab world

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Tripoli, March 04: People in North African and Middle Eastern countries are set to join massive “Day of Rage” protest rallies planned Friday against their unpopular regimes.

Demonstrations are to take place in Tunisia and Egypt, where popular revolutions have already toppled the decades-long autocratic rule of their Western-backed dictators, setting off a whole host of anti-government protest movements in a number of other Arab countries.

AP Congress minister sends resignation to Sonia over Telangana

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Hyderabad, March 04: In a bid to mount pressure on the Centre for formation of a separate state of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Endowments Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Thursday sent his resignation letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

“I had announced earlier that I am ready for any sacrifice for the sake of Telangana. Accordingly, I am sending my resignation letter to Sonia Gandhiji, explaining the prevailing situation in Telangana and the strong demand being made by the people for a separate state. I am giving a copy to the chief minister (N Kiran Kumar Reddy)”, he told reporters.

Mumbai college postpones exam following hoax call

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Mumbai, March 04: Searches were conducted and exams were postponed at the SNDT women’s college in suburban Malad here today after a hoax phone call stating that an explosive was kept inside the college premises was received, police said.

As the exam was about to start, the college’s telephone operator received the phone call on the institute’s MTNL landline number, with an unidentified person warning about a bomb planted in the college premises.

Aguilera to play coach on music reality show

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London, March 04: Singer Christina Aguilera will soon appear as a singing coach on a new music reality series “The Voice”.

The show will be aired on NBC, starting April 26. She will join rapper and record producer Cee Lo Green and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine as a musical coach on the show, and is extremely excited, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Six arrested for betting on World Cup matches

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Jabalpur, March 04: City police yesterday claimed to have busted a betting racket with the arrest of six persons from Phutatal area here.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house at Phutatal and arrested six persons including a local corporator’s brother Jagga Mehdele, while another accused and brother of a Congress MLA is absconding, police said.

Bets were being accepted on the ongoing World Cup matches and a large number of slips containing details of transactions worth Rs 22 lakh was recovered from them, they said.

Further investigations are on.

——-PTI——

Pranab, Moily meet Telangana Congress MPs

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New Delhi, March 04: With the Telangana issue assuming centrestage, senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Veerappa Moily yesterday held consultations with MPs from the region in Andhra Pradesh who today made a common cause with MPs from other parties in Parliament over the demand.

Mukherjee and Pranab met all MPs from the region barring Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy this evening and got to know their views on the Telangana statehood demand.

The meeting comes hours after the MPs joined lawmakers from TRS and BJP in forcing the adjournment of Lok Sabha six times yesterday.

Somaliland clashes leave 123 dead

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Somalia, March 04: At least 123 people have been killed after troops from the self-declared republic of Somaliland attacked and opened fire on local clan militia in the Buhodle district.

The conflict erupted late Wednesday as Somaliland forces based in the village of Kalshale in the Buhodle district launched an attack against local clan militia called SSC (Sool, Sanaag, Cayn),

Fierce skirmishes broke out in the aftermath and heavy weapons — including artillery — were used in the fighting. Some 149 people were also injured in the clashes.

50 ill after consuming contaminated flour

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Jaipur, March 04: Around 50 people were taken ill after they consumed contaminated flour in Sanganer and nearby locality here during the ‘Mahashivratri’ festival.

The victims had eaten ‘kuttu ka aata’ yesterday and later complained of abdomen pain and vomit. 30 of them were discharged and the rest are undergoing treatment in various hospitals here, officials said yesterday.

——–PTI———

Beyonce donates Gaddafi cash to Haiti

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Los Angeles, March 04: Superstar Beyonce performed a private concert in the Caribbean for the family of Muammar Gaddafi, but her publicist said Thursday the singer/actress had donated the proceeds to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti as soon as she discovered the identity of her client.

“All monies paid to Beyonce for her performance at a private party at Nikki Beach St. Barts on New Year’s Eve 2009, including the commissions paid to her booking agency, were donated to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, over a year ago,” the statement said.

Rihanna goes naked for ad

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London, March 03: Singer Rihanna posed naked for an advertisement to mark the 100 years of cosmetic brand Nivea.

The “Umbrella” singer sports her trademark red hair and covered her modesty with her arms in the advertisement, reports thesun.co.uk.

Rihanna has been enjoying herself in Australia. She took out time to buy lingerie in Sidney and even stepped into the Louis Vuitton for some new purchases.

–IANS–

3 more special AI flights from Libya return with 1034 Indians

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New Delhi, March 03: A total of 1,034 Indians arrived here by three special flights of Air India today from strife-torn Libya, taking the number of evacuees from the north African country to 3,262.

Today, the first special flight (AI-160), an Airbus 330 aircraft carrying 251 passengers and 10 infants, landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here at around 02:20 AM, an airline official said.

U.S. wants to know who’s in charge of Libyan revolution

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Washington, March 03: U.S. efforts to identify the leaders of Libya’s revolution and their long-term goals yield no clear answers. The push comes as the U.S. is trying to determine how to provide humanitarian relief and whether to assist Moammar Kadafi’s foes.

The Obama administration has emphatically called for Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi to step down and has pledged assistance to the rebels seeking to overthrow him.

Yet the U.S. has far less clarity on a key issue: Who’s in charge of the Libyan revolution?

Rebels Rout Gadhafi Mercs in Failed Attack on Brega

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Tripoli, March 03: Though early reports from the city indicated that the attacks were a serious threat, more recent reports indicate that rebel forces have totally routed the mercenaries loyal to Moammar Gadhafi who attacked Brega.

Indeed, the attack on the central oil city was seen as one of the first major counterattacks by the regime, which have lost virtually the whole country at this point, and the hundreds of Gadhafi troops were chased out of town to a nearby university campus, which was quickly surrounded by rebel troops.

U.S. mulling military options in Libya

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Washington, March 03: The United States is weighing a possible military role to help the Libyan revolt against leader Moammar Gadhafi, but top U.S. officials warn that the issue is controversial.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Senate panel Wednesday that “there may well be a role for military assets to get equipment and supplies into areas that have a need for them” and in areas where the United States is welcome.

Report: Gadhafi, Arab League OK peace-talk plan

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Brega, March 03: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and the president of the Arab League agreed to a peace plan from Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez to end the crisis in the North African country, a news network said on Thursday.

Chavez spoke to Gadhafi on Tuesday and laid out his proposal to seek a negotiated solution to the violence in Libya, Venezuela’s Information Minister Andres Izarra said, without giving more details.

Algeria keeps lid on social unrest _ for now

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Algiers, March 03: Demonstrators confront riot police officers as they demand the ouster of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in Algiers, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. The protest on central Martyrs Square comes two days after the government ended a 19-year state of emergency born of Algeria’s bloody Islamic insurgency. The move aimed to ease tensions after weeks of anti-government strikes and protests.

UNESCO suspends cooperation with Libya

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Paris, March 03: UNESCO’s chief says the organization is stopping all cooperation with Libya’s government and suspending a partnership with a charity group headed by Moammar Gadhafi’s son.

The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says director-general Irina Bokova took the measures after recent U.N. actions critical of Libya’s human rights record.

PA: 150 states to recognize Palestine by Sept.

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Gaza, March 03: Maliki claimed that 10 more states in the Caribbean region will be declaring their recognition of Palestine this month.

In an interview with The Media Line last week, the PA foreign minister said the Palestinians were on track to declaring an independent state by September.

“Yes we are ready (for statehood). Are we ready for September? Absolutely,” al-Maliki said. “I think our issue will be raised not only by us but by the international community as a whole, including the United States of America.”

Too Late, Qaddafi Seeks the Aid of Muslim Clerics

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Cairo, March 03: Libya’s embattled leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, who crushed his country’s Islamic movement during his 41-year rule, turned in the past week to Saudi Islamic scholars in a bid for religious backing in the face of the spreading rebellion against his regime.

His requests have so far been turned down.

Colonel Qaddafi’s attempt to woo religious leaders came after several moral figures, both inside and outside Libya, backed the pro-democracy protesters.

US Army major convicted for bribery on Iraq contracts

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Washington, March 03: A former US Army major and his wife have been convicted of bribery and money laundering in a huge scheme that illegally funneled some $60 million in Iraq war contracts, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Eddie Pressley and his wife Eurica engaged in “an audacious plan to take bribes in exchange for official contracting action on behalf of the US Army, and together they accepted nearly $3 million in illegal payments,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a statement.

Bomb explodes near U.S. convoy

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Baghdad, March 03: A bomb went off on Wednesday targeting a U.S. convoy in al-Qanat street in eastern Baghdad, without leaving casualties, according to a security source.

“The bomb exploded near al-Mashtal bridge, eastern Baghdad, causing material damage only to the U.S.
convoy’s vehicles,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

U.S. army spokesman, Nader Soliman, confirmed the incident, saying that an explosive charge went off on Wednesday targeting U.S. army in al-Qanat street, without leaving casualties.

–Agencies