Month: July 2012

London Olympics means $26 bn boost for Britain

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As the sporting extravaganza of London Olympics 2012 started Saturday, irrespective of the medals’ tally for Britain, the country’s stuttering economy is all set to benefit from a 17 billion pounds (over $26 billion) bounce from the Games.

According to Daily Express, business experts believe the Games will deliver a much-needed boost which should help lift the country out of the double-dip recession. They reckon the positive impact on jobs and growth will continue to be felt for five years.

Odisha IFS official arrested in US

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An official of the Odisha forest department who is on training in the US was taken into custody by police in Pennsylvania for allegedly wrongfully confining a woman, an official said here Thursday.

Surendra Prasad Mohapatra, 53, a 1986 batch Indian Forest Service officer, was accused of wrongfully confining a woman in the hotel where he was staying, Odisha Principal Chief Conservator of Forest P.N. Padhi told IANS, citing preliminary information received by the government.

Stroke hits women harder than men, says study

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A stroke in any form hits women harder than men, robbing them of the very meaning of life, says a study from Sweden.

Researchers at Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, asked all patients attending an out-patient clinic over a 16-month period to complete the Nottingham health profile, a generic quality of life survey used to measure subjective physical, emotional and social aspects of health.

A total of 496 patients agreed to take part – 379 were stroke patients and 117 had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA), often known as a mini stroke, the Journal of Clinical Nursing reports.

Tween texting subverts grammar, language skills

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Text messaging offer tweens a short cut to send notes to friends and family, but it could also subvert language and grammar skills, point out researchers.

When tweens write in techspeak, they often use shortcuts, such as homophones, omissions of non-essential letters and initials, to quickly and efficiently compose a text message.

New drug limits brain damage in stroke

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Anakinra, a drug already used for rheumatoid arthritis, has shown promising results in stroke patients by dramatically limiting the amount of brain damage, according to a study.

Dame Nancy Rothwell and Stuart Allan, both professors at the University of Manchester and their team have spent the last 20 years investigating how to reduce damage to the brain following a stroke and testing the effectiveness of Anakinra (IL-1Ra).

Russia denies plans to grant asylum to Assad

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(IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia has no plans to provide asylum to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“We are not even thinking about it. Those who are trying to plant this idea into the minds of the international community, pursue their dirty goals,” Lavrov said.

“It’s just provocations by those who want to put the entire blame for what is going on in Syria on Russia and China, allegedly because we have been blocking something,” he said.

Olympics: Medals tally

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The following is the medals tally of the 2012 London Games here Saturday.

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

China 2 0 1 3
Italy 1 1 0 2
Brazil 1 0 1 2
South Korea 1 0 1 2
Kazakhstan 1 0 0 1
Russia 1 0 0 1
Japan 0 2 0 2
Colombia 0 1 0 1
Poland 0 1 0 1
Romania 0 1 0 1
USA 0 1 0 1
Belgium 0 0 1 1
Hungary 0 0 1 1
Norway 0 0 1 1
North Korea 0 0 1 1
Serbia 0 0 1 1
Uzbekistan 0 0 1 1

Olympics swimming: Rochte claims gold, Phelps off podium

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US swimming sensation Ryan Lochte stole the headlines at the London Olympics swimming Saturday with a emphatic win in the men’s 400 metres individual medley, while the illustrious Michael Phelps was shut out of a medal.

Lochte, a three-time Olympic champion, led from the very beginning to touch wall first at 4:05.18. Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira finished second at 4:08.86, while Japanese Yuya Horihata settled for a bronze at 4:08.94, Xinhua reported.

Phelps was shut out of medals with a fourth place at 4:09.28.

Olympic boxing: Vijender powers his way to pre-quarters

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India’s strong medal contender Vijender Singh sailed into the pre-quarter final in the men’s middleweight (75 kg) boxing competition with a clinical 14-10 win over Danabek Suzhanov of Kazakhstan at the London Olympics here Saturday.

Vijender, who became the country’s first ever Olympic medal winner in boxing by grabbing the bronze in the Beijing Games four years back, seemed confident as he let in some lethal punches to pierce the defence of his rival.

The Indian led in each of the rounds, though the Kazakh fighter also landed a few good blows at the Excel arena.

Olympics: Kashyap brings cheer on a mixed day for India

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Olympic debutant Parupalli Kashyap brought some smiles back on the faces of India’s supporters winning his first round badminton singles on a day when other shuttlers, archers and shooters disappointed at the London Games here Saturday.

Kashyap’s win came after his teammates Jwala Gutta and V. Diju had lost their mixed doubles match and the men archers bowed out of the team event in a tie-break here Saturday.

Hasina warns of possible terrorist threat from Mynmarese refugees

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Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned of possible terrorist connections among thousands of Muslim refugees trying to enter her country from neighbouring Myanmar.

In an interview with the Sunday Express, Hasina said that her government had passed on concerns about a number of unidentified “incidents” to the authorities in Myanmar where there have been clashes between Buddhists and Muslims.

Abid Rasool Khan raps Devender Goud for criticizing Aurangzeb

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APCC general secretary Abid Rasool Khan today condemned the statement of TDP leader and Rajya Sabha member T. Devender Goud dragging Mughal emperor Aurangazeb’s name while criticizing the Congress government. He said that “great Moghal emperor” is held in high esteem by all the Muslims.

VHR ends ‘Mouna Deeksha’ Dy CM’S assurance

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Following Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha’s assurance that a brainstorming session would be conducted as demanded by him, Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao, who launched “Mouna Deeksha” on Saturday at 11.10 am called off his ‘Mouna Deeksha’ at 2.30 pm.

The Deputy Chief Minister motored down to Gandhi Bhavan at 2 pm where Hanumantha Rao was going on Mouna Deeksha and asked him about his demands. Hanumantha Rao revealed his demands on paper.

Poor must get speedy justice: CJ Ghose

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High Court Chief Justice Mr Justice P. C. Ghosh has observed that the people would give more respect to the judiciary only when it dispensed justice to the poor and downtrodden sections expeditiously.

The Chief Justice was inaugurating Special Lok Adalat in the Anantapur District and Sessions Court on Saturday.

Centre’s decision on Telangana by september end:Kesav Rao

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Stating that Congress high command was thinking that favorable decision on Telangana would benefit the party immensely, Telangana senior Congress leader Dr K Keshav Rao has strongly felt that Centre’s decision on Telangana may come by the end of September this year.

Secret tunnel found in Indo-Pak border

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Authorities today discovered a 400-mt long tunnel, running between India and Pakistan, along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir. “We have discovered a tunnel running between Pakistan and India in Samba district,” SSP (Samba) Israr Khan told reporters.

The tunnel was detected after an area caved-in at two or three places due to rains near the BSF’s Chillayari Border Out Post (BOP), he said. “After the cave-in, the area was dug out to know the reason. But, the authorities were surprised to find a tunnel,” the SSP said.

Anna supporters protest outside PM’s house, detained

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Team Anna’s anti-graft protest Saturday reached near Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s heavily guarded residence here after more people joined the ongoing agitation at Jantar Mantar over the weekend.

Within minutes, dozens of Anna Hazare’s slogan shouting supporters holding placards with anti-government slogans were rounded up near the 7 Race Course Road, packed in vehicles and detained, police said.

Haj is not for making profits, says apex court

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The Supreme Court Friday said private tour operators (PTOs) engaged in travel and stay arrangements of Haj pilgrims going to Makkah and Madina could not undertake their enterprise with an eye to profits.

“Haj is not for making profits,” said the apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai in the course of the hearing of a batch of petitions by PTOs, seeking to be registered for the allocation of Haj seats.

While declining to interfere with the Haj policy related to PTOs for 2012, the court said there was a lot of scope for improvement.

Pakistani daily not so sure about car running on water

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Despite the considerable hype over a car in Pakistan running on water, a Pakistani daily cautioned that it is always better to wait until all tests are complete before one comes up with a declaration about a scientific discovery.

An editorial in the Dawn Saturday said this wasn’t the first time a local version of a car purportedly run on water was being displayed in Pakistan.

Thapa India’s first casualty in Olympic boxing

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India’s young medal hope Shiva Thapa made a first round exit in the men’s 56kg category of the 2012 London Olympics at the Excel Arena here Saturday after he was given a severe beating by Mexico’s Oscar Valdez Fierro.

The 18-year-old, the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics, saw his dream crushed by the Mexican fighter, who defeated him 14-9.

Thapa lost the first round 2-4 but showed his mettle as he came back strongly taking the second 4-3. However, the third round was a one-way traffic as the 21-year-old Mexican decimated the Indian fighter 7-3.

Chinese teacher sacked for stripping students

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A university lecturer in China has been sacked from his post for asking women students to expose their private parts and touch themselves during a test, reported Shanghai Daily.

According to Guangzhou Daily, employed with the University of south China in Hunan province’s Hengyang city, Yu Xiaohua asked women students of the School of Nursing to take off their clothes, including pants, during a test.

The test simulates the physical examination for patients.

Beckhams plan fifth baby during Olympics

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Soccer ace David Beckham and his wife Victoria are planning their fifth and final baby during the 2012 London Olympics.

“Both Victoria and David are very patriotic and would love it if she got pregnant while they are in London for the Olympics, especially as it is also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year,” dailystar.co.uk quoted David’s friend as saying.

“Their other children were conceived overseas, so the duo are hoping that their final child will have a ‘Made In Britain’ tag,” added the friend.

Paris Hilton’s brother under arrest

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Hotel heiress Paris Hilton’s youngest brother Conrad is reportedly behind bars after testing positive for marijuana.

Conrad, 18, is in the juvenile hall in Downtown here, according to law enforcement sources, reports tmz.com.

The Friday arrest is a result of a violation of his probation stemming from a previous marijuana arrest.

Hilton will remain in custody until he gets before a judge. But considering it is the weekend, he might be stuck behind bars until Monday.

‘Kya Super Kool…’ earns Rs.7.12 crore on opening day

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Ekta Kapoor is happy with ‘gaalis’ (criticism) and ‘taalis’ (applause) for “Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum”, which has drawn a decent response at the box office with an opening day collection of Rs.7.12 crore.

“We got gaalis (criticism) from the critics and taalis (appreciation) from the audience. That is the recipe for sure-shot box office success,” Ekta said in a statement.

“Kya Super Kool Hain Hum”, featuring Tusshar Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Neha Sharma and Sarah Jane Dias, is the sequel to 2005 film “Kya Kool Hain Hum”.