Month: February 2013

Pistorius” slain girlfriend”s father says Bladerunner must suffer if he killed his daughter

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London, Feb 24 (ANI): Oscar Pistorius” slain girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp”s father has said the Bladerunner must suffer if his version that he accidentally shot dead his daughter isn”t true, adding the Paralympian will have to live with his conscience if he has lied about her death. In an interview after Pistorius was released on bail, Barry Steenkamp voiced fears that the Paralympic champion was not telling the truth, the Telegraph reports.

Ian Chappell says India”s refusal to use DRS cost them dearly during Oz first innings

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Sydney, Feb 24 (ANI): Former Australia captain has claimed India”s refusal to use the Decision Review System (DRS) cost them dearly on day one of the first Test match against Australia in Chennai, as captain Michael Clarke scored a brilliant century after getting reprieve from the umpire in the initial stage of his innings. “Michael Clarke is a successful leader and he had a stroke of good fortune when he won the toss in the first Test in Chennai,” Chappell wrote in his column for News.com.au.

Pak awaiting India”s response on request to cross-examine Mumbai attacks witnesses

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Rawalpindi, Feb. 24 (ANI): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan has said it is awaiting a response from Indian authorities on its request to allow it to cross-examine Indian witnesses in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case. Special Public Prosecutor SPP FIA Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali told the Anti-Terrorism Court said that following the order of the court, the government of Pakistan had asked the Indian side to allow the cross examination of the four witnesses and resend the earlier notification disallowing the questioning by the Pakistani lawyers, reports The Nation.

Romanians warn fellow migrants of Pakistanis, Indians in Britain

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London, Feb. 24 (ANI): Romanians preparing to swamp Britain next year are insulting British towns and cities and making racist comments about fellow immigrants on the internet. Many would-be settlers criticise Britain, targeting the likes of Scotland, London and Liverpool, while insisting they do not want to live near Indians, Arabs, Chinese or black people, reports Express.co.uk. The slurs were made on a popular Romanian chat forum in a discussion about the pros and cons of relocating to Britain when border rules are relaxed on January 1 next year.

Jayalalithaa’s supporters celebrate her 65th birthday in Chennai

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Chennai, Feb.24 (ANI): Supporters of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa celebrated her 65th birthday at the office of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) here on Sunday.

A party worker Sundari said: “It is our Amma’s (Jayalalithaa) 65th birthday. She has celebrated it in a grand manner and has made arrangements to help the needy. She hopes and helps in the upliftment of the poor. She has blessed us all and thus we hope and pray for her to live a long life on her birthday.”

Rapping American-born terrorist accused of plagiarizing lyrics

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New York, Feb. 24 (ANI): Omar Hammami, one of the most notorious Americans to join an Al Qaeda affiliate, who is already on the FBI”s most-wanted terrorist list, is now accused of a different sort of crime – plagiarizing his rap lyrics. Hammami, who now goes by the name Abu Mansour al-Amriki (The American), released a series of rap songs over the past few years that are now being attributed to another American-born Islamic extremist, reports the New York Daily News.

Jermaine Jackson misses bro Michael

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Melbourne, Feb 24 (ANI): Michael Jackson’s elder brother Jermaine has said that even when they were touring the world as The Jackson 5 with his siblings, they still found time to be kids.

He said that when he thinks of Michael then, what he remembers most is all the clowning around and practical jokes.

Touring Australia in 1973 was such an adventure, he said.

People in vegetative state may feel pain

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London, February 24 (ANI): People with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) – also known as vegetative state – are clinically considered unable to understand pain, and doctors do not give anaesthetic while operating them.

But Alexandra Markl at the Schon clinic in Bad Aibling, Germany, and colleagues have studied people with UWS and identified activity in brain areas involved in the emotional aspects of pain, according to New Scientist.

New model predicts more snow in poles, less elsewhere due to global warming

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Washington, February 24 (ANI): A new climate model developed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) has predicted an increase in snowfall for the Earth’s polar regions and highest altitudes, but an overall drop in snowfall for the globe, as carbon dioxide levels rise over the next century.

The decline in snowfall could spell trouble for regions such as the western United States that rely on snowmelt as a source of fresh water.

The model was analyzed by scientists at GFDL and Princeton University.

President calls on ISKCON to dedicate itself to the cause of humanity

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Pune, Feb.24 (ANI): President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Vedic Cultural Centre of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) here on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukherjee deeply appreciated the contribution made by ISKCON and called upon the center to dedicate itself to the cause of humanity by spreading the message of peace, harmony, love and compassion.

He described the progress and growth of ISKCON as a movement of high velocity and representative of the saying that nothing can prevent an idea whose time has come.

Hanging out with academic friends makes kids smarter

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Melbourne, February 24 (ANI): Clever is contagious and “hanging out” with like-minded academic achievers will boost your brainpower, a new study has suggested.

Parents need to understand that their children”s friends have more of an impact on their attitude than they think, said Child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg.

“You are who you hang out with,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Dr Carr-Gregg as saying.

According to Dr Carr-Gregg, if an average kid associate with others who love learning and going to school, then they are more likely to become smarter.

Being obese significantly reduces quality of life in boys

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Washington, February 24 (ANI): Boys who are overweight or obese have lower quality of life scores than their normal weight peers, researchers including an Indian origin have found.

However, overweight/obese and normal weight girls did not show significant differences in quality of life, they said.

The researchers also found that youngsters of either sex whose weight status changed from overweight/obese to normal also saw their quality of life (QOL) scores improve.

Britain’s top cardinal accused of ‘inappropriate acts’ by priests

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London, Feb. 24 (ANI): , Cardinal Keith O”Brien, the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain to the Vatican has been reportedly involved in inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years, three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported.

The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican”s ambassador to Britain, and demanded O”Brien’s immediate resignation.

A spokesman for the cardinal said that the claims were contested.

US Senator will go to war against sexual assault in military in upcoming hearing

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Washington, Feb. 24 (ANI): Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has said she wants Congress to tackle the ‘reprehensible problem’ of sex assaults, and so she will summon sexual assault victims and military brass to a hearing to explore what to do about it.

It will be her first hearing in her new role as chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel.

She told the New York Daily News that 19,000 sexual assaults a year were happening, and only a small handful of perpetrators being prosecuted and discharged.

Beyonce’s UK tour tickets gets sold out in 12 mins

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London, Feb 24 (ANI): Fans of Beyonce were left fuming and disappointed after tickets to her UK tour sold out in just 12 minutes, only to appear on auction sites for hundreds of pound over their face value just moments later.

Bitter complaints flooded Twitter after fans missed out on their chance to see the diva on her eight-date arena jaunt that begins in Birmingham on April 26.
Many of those who missed out on the 80,000 tickets blasted those who were quick to re-sell theirs on sites such as ebay.

Money can’t buy you good life but loving relationships can

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London, February 24 (ANI): Happy families are the key to a good life, according to a new research.

The study, reported in the Journal of Happiness Studies, found that wealth, celebrity status and power are the lowest priorities on most people’s list of what really matters, the Independent reported.

As part of the study men and women were asked to imagine themselves as being 85 and near the end, and to rank the 30 things they regarded as important for a good, worthwhile life.

New Yahoo CEO orders telecommuter employees to work from office for better quality work

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Washington, Feb. 24 (ANI): The relatively new CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, has decided she wants her employees showing up to the offices from June, and not just telecommuting from home all the time.

According to All Things D’s Kara Swisher, in an internal memo, she said that ‘to become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side.

US, British armies make contingency plans to seize Syria’s chemical weapons

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London, Feb. 24 (ANI): American and British military commanders have planned to seize or destroy Syria’s chemical weapons if the country slides into further chaos.

They fear that nerve agents and chemical weapons held by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime could fall into terrorists’ hands if the government collapses entirely.

According to the Telegraph, senior officers have also held talks on a range of ‘rogue state’ contingency plans to prevent chemical, biological or nuclear weapons from being seized by terrorists.

Vatican denounces reports claiming Pope quit over gay sex scandal

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Washington, Feb. 24 (ANI): The Vatican has hit out at rumours that Pope Benedict XVI was forced to resign because of a scandal involving a ‘gay network’ within the Catholic Church’s senior ranks.

The Vatican insisted that the reports were false, and simply an attempt to influence the next pope’s election.

Italian newspapers have reported that an internal Vatican investigation produced a 300-page dossier charging that priests were being extorted by gay laymen with whom they had relationships of a ‘worldy manner’.

Ahmadinejad admits to ‘economic difficulties’ being faced by Iran

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Washington, Feb. 24 (ANI): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made a rare acknowledgment about the economic challenges his country is facing.

During a television interview, Ahmadinejad said that this was a very difficult year for the country’s economy, outlining his government’s budget plan for the coming fiscal year.

He accused the United States of using its vast economic might to exert unfair pressure on the much smaller Iranian economy, the Washington Post reports.

N Korea warns US of ”miserable destruction” if it carries out S Korea drills

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Washington, Feb. 24 (ANI): North Korea has warned the top American commander in South Korea of “miserable destruction” if the U.S. military presses ahead with routine joint drills with South Korea set to begin next month. Pyongyang”s official Korean Central News Agency said that in a rare direct message, Pak Rim Su, chief of North Korea”s military delegation to the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone, sent the message to General James Thurman, reports Fox News. The threat comes as the U.S.

Pakistan resolves to go ahead with Iran gas pipeline project despite US objection

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Islamabad, Feb. 24 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said the country is keen to go ahead with the proposed gas pipeline project with Iran in order to overcome its energy crisis. The Dawn quoted Ashraf, as saying that Pakistan is facing a serious energy crisis and the government wants to end it as soon as possible. He, however, avoided commenting specifically on a statement by a US State Department spokeswoman warning Pakistan of sanctions if it went ahead with the Iran gas pipeline project, reports The Dawn.

Afridi vows to play and quit on own terms

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Lahore, Feb. 24 (ANI): Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said he would play on his own terms and quit on his own terms after being given a possible last chance to improve his performance in one-day matches. Afridi, who quit Test cricket in 2010, was recalled for Pakistan”s five-match one-day series against South Africa, with the country”s chief selector Iqbal Qasim warning it could be the last chance for some players, including Afridi, reports The News. Afridi has been under pressure to perform after being dropped from the one-day team for the India tour in December last year.

Iran claims ”capturing” foreign ”enemy drone”

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Washington, Feb. 24 (ANI): Iran”s powerful Revolutionary Guard has said it has captured a foreign unmanned aircraft during a military exercise in southern Iran. General Hamid Sarkheili, a spokesman for the military exercise, said the Guard”s electronic warfare unit spotted signals indicating that foreign drones were trying to enter Iranian airspace, reports Fox News. Sarkheili said Guard experts took control of one drone”s navigation system and brought it down near the city of Sirjan where the military drills began on Saturday. Sarkheili did not say whether the drone was American.

Visitors throng Tattapani hot water spring to take a dip for better health

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Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir), Feb.24 (ANI): Visitors converged at Tattapani over the weekend to take a dip in the hot water spring, which is believed to possess healing powers for treatment of various ailments.

Tattapani is situated in Kalakote village, about 35 kilometres south east of Rajouri district in the Jammu region.

Water emanating from the Tattapani spring is very hot, and is considered to be the best for skin disorders and joint pains.