Month: March 2013

Ninety-two Asiatic lions died in Gujarat in last 2 yrs

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Ninety-two Asiatic lions have died, including 83 of natural death, in the past two years in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region while there has been no case of poaching.

In a written reply to a question asked by Congress MLA from Lathi, Bavku Unghad, Minister of State for Forest and Environment Govind Patel told the state assembly recently that nine lions died of accidents, including by falling in open wells.

As per the government data, 46 lions each died in 2011 and 2012. Out of the total 92 lions dying in the past two years, 43 were cubs, 29 female and 20 male felines.

Three Indian scientists played a role in mapping universe

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The most-detailed map of the universe created through the observations made by Planck space telescope has an Indian element to it.

Three Indian scientists– Sanjit Mitra, Tarun Souradeep and their graduate student Aditya Rotti — from the Inter- University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, were a part of the team.

On March 21, the most-refined picture of the early cosmos after the Big Bang, measured by the European Space Agency’s Planck mission, was released in ESA headquarters, Paris.

MLAs’ suspension issue: Maha Assembly adjourned

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The proceedings of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday saw repeated adjournments over the suspension of five MLAs, accused of thrashing a cop in the Vidhan Bhawan premises last week.

As soon as the House assembled at 11 AM after the weekend recess, Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse said group leaders in the Lower House were called for a meeting in the Speaker’s chamber at 10 AM to find a solution to the issue.

Child killed after imitating TV hanging scene

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An eight-year-old boy was killed in Bihar’s Buxar district after he and his three elder brothers were trying to imitate a hanging scene they had seen on a TV programme, police said Monday.

Murari Yadav, a Class three student, was found hanging from rope at his home in Kasia village.

“Murari’s three brothers told their mother that he insisted repeatedly to imitate a hanging scene they had seen in a TV show. When they hanged him with a rope, he died,” a police official said.

Ekta will slowly open her cards: Kangna

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Kangna Ranaut has been absent from “Shootout at Wadala” promotions raising a lot of questions. However, the actress says there is nothing to worry, as the film’s co-producer Ekta Kapoor will unveil things strategically.

Directed by Sanjay Gupta, the crime thriller also starring John Abraham and Anil Kapoor is likely to come out May 1. Kangna feels that there is enough time for her to show up at promotional events.

SRK, Katrina and Pitbull to perform at IPL opening ceremony

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Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, will reportedly add glamour and extravaganza to the opening ceremony of the sixth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) with his performance.

SRK`s `Jab Tak Hai Jaan` co-star` Katrina Kaif is set to join the actor for her maiden performance in Kolkata and the organisers, Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt Ltd, have also roped in international rapper, Pitbull.

The ceremony will take place at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on April 2.

Vidya`s `Ghanchakkar` fashion puts designer in dilemma

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Actress Vidya Balan, who is playing a Punjabi housewife in her next film ‘Ghanchakkar’ says her fashion sense in the romantic comedy is bizarre, and that her designer had a tough time trying to put together the look.

“I had great fun playing Nitu Bhatia in `Ghanchakkar`. She`s the hatti-katti (hefty) Punjabi housewife, who we all know, somehow! She is the cats` whiskers, when it comes to fashion,” Vidya said here.

Married man commits suicide

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A 28-year-old married man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling at his house in Almaspur area of the district, police said today.

According to the police, a note was recovered from the victim, Lokesh’s possession yesterday in which he alleged that he was harassed by his wife, Seema.

A case has been registered against Seema and her two brothers– Mahesh and Sandeep, a police constable, for abatement of suicide, they added.

In a separate incident, an 18-year-old girl, Tanya committed suicide by jumping before a train here today.

Hit-and-run case: Salman fails to appear before court

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Hearing of the 2002 hit-and-run case involving Salman Khan was today deferred to April 8 by a Sessions Court which accepted his lawyer’s prayer for time to file a document even as the actor did not make a personal appearance.

The actor, who had returned from the US in the early hours yesterday, was widely expected to appear before the court since it was the first day of hearing in the case, which has already been tried by a Magistrate’s court.

The actor’s return from the US, just a day ahead of hearing, had fuelled speculation in the media that he would make a personal appearance.

Smoking pot may lead to nicotine addiction

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People who smoke marijuana are at a higher risk of developing nicotine addiction if they try cigarettes, according to a new study.

In the study, researchers first exposed mice to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) or a placebo for three days.

Then, they attempted to train the mice to self-administer nicotine, which was delivered into their blood when they poked their noses through a hole in the cage.

Perfect diet fetish could lead to dangerous disorder orthorexia

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Orthorexia is a relatively new term for a disorder where a person becomes obsessed with the ” perfect diet,” the cleanliness of food and eating on a highly regulated regime.

Recent studies were unable to determine who can fall into the orthorexic trap, but it seems women are a high-risk group, Fox News reported.

Orthorexics can be under pressure to stay fit and young while experiencing life stress on an intense, long-lasting level.

Want to lose weight? Eat lunch at 3 pm!

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People lost 25 percent less weight if they ate lunch after 3 pm, a new study has found.

The study followed 420 Spanish people in a weight-loss program.

However, the study doesn`t mean that you should eat earlier-in fact, you might want to do the opposite.

The Spanish are known for making a late lunch the biggest meal of the day, so the study`s authors couldn`t say that the findings would apply in the US.

That said, other new research does show that when you eat-not what you eat-can turn on your body`s fat-fighting genes.

Amniotic fluid stem cells could help repair gut damage in babies

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Scientists have used stem cells taken from amniotic fluid to restore gut structure and function following intestinal damage in rodents, paving the way for a new form of cell therapy to reverse serious damage from inflammation in the intestines of babies.

The study, funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children`s Charity, investigated a new way to treat necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), where severe inflammation destroys tissues in the gut.

NEC is the most common gastrointestinal surgical emergency in newborn babies, with mortality rates of around 15 to 30 percent in the UK.

Cause for Down syndrome found

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Extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome-chromosome 21-alters brain and body development, a study has found.

Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have new evidence that points to a protein called sorting nexin 27, or SNX27.

SNX27 production is inhibited by a molecule encoded on chromosome 21.

The study shows that SNX27 is reduced in human Down syndrome brains.

The extra copy of chromosome 21 means a person with Down syndrome produces less SNX27 protein, which in turn disrupts brain function.

EC to decide on Pakistan Peoples Party’s election symbol

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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), having completed its five-year term in power recently, seemed to be facing a tussle over its election symbol and ownership, as the country’s Election Commission was to take a decision over it Monday.

The need for a reconsideration by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) arose after ousted former party member Naheed Khan, Ghinwa Bhutto, sister-in-law of the late Benazir Bhutto, and Senator Jehangir Badar sought PPP’s registration in their names.

SP rules out any ‘understanding’ with BJP

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Just days after endorsing senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including L.K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Samajwadi Party Monday ruled out any future alignment with the saffron party.

Clarifying the party stand, general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said that “praise should not be seen through (a) political prism”.

“What we have said is true about the BJP leadership, but that does not mean that we will have an association with the BJP in times to come,” Yadav said.

UN chief slams coup in Central African Republic

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the rebels’ seizure of state power in the Central African Republic (CAR) and called for earliest restoration of the constitutional order.

Rebels seized control of Central African Republic’s capital Bangui after President Francois Bozize fled to Cameroon, reports said Sunday.

“The secretary-general condemns the unconstitutional seizure of power that took place in the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013 and calls for the swift restoration of constitutional order,” Xinhua cited a UN statement as saying late Sunday.

Salman’s fitness impresses Madhavan

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It took actor R. Madhavan a workout session with Salman Khan to convince himself that he is not all that super strong.

“All misconception of me being super strong and fit were laid to rest when I worked out with the one and only Salman Khan sir,” posted Madhavan on his Twitter page.

“His training was simple and super effective, but oh it killed me. Oh god, how strong is he, man? I was overwhelmed with gratitude and lactic acid,” he further posted.

The 42-year-old is active in Tamil and Hindi films and his last Bollywood outing was “Jodi Breakers”.

–_IANS

Class X student dies in road accident

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A class X student was crushed to death this morning and his friend critically injured when their motorcycle collided with a speeding truck on Delhi-Dehradun National Highway, near here, police said.

Ankit (16) and his friend Anshu (15) were returning after appearing for their board examination when the mishap occurred near Chapar Inter College, around 15 km from here, they said.

Ankit died on the spot while Anshu was critically injured, they said.

The driver of the truck is absconding, they said.

—-PTI

Australian players face media fury in the wake of debacle

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A livid Australian media labelled their side as “worst” in 34 years and ridiculed the shot selection of their top order batsmen to “insanity” after India inflicted a humiliating 4-0 whitewash on the visitors.

“IT’s official. Australian cricket’s class of 2013 are the worst to tour India … and the nation’s worst Test outfit in 34 years. That is the macabre reputation Michael Clarke’s battered troops will bring home,” a write-up in the Telegraph read.

Alagiri skips crucial DMK executive meet

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In further signs of fissures within DMK, party chief M Karunanidhi’s son M K Alagiri on Monday skipped the crucial executive committee meet, which is likely to take key decisions in the wake of the party’s pullout from the UPA.

Alagiri left for Madurai by a morning flight, sources said.

The Madurai strongman and former union minister’s action assumes significance in the wake of his submitting resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week separately after Karunanidhi withdrew support to the UPA coalition.

FBI joins search for missing Indian-American student in US

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The FBI has joined a search for 22-year-old Indian-American Sunil Tripathi, an undergraduate Brown University student who went missing on March 16.

The police of Providence, Rhode Island, has launched a massive search operation to find Tripathi, while his friends have not only been doing their own search, putting up posters across the city, but also have launched a Facebook page to find him.

Lead investigator detective Mark Sacco said “no solid leads” have been found so far.
Tripathi’s cellphone, credit card, ID and other personal things were found in his room.

Salman gets a breather in hit and run case

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Bollywood actor Salman Khan gets a breather in the 2002 hit and run case as the sessions court deferred the hearing till April 8. Sources said that Salman has already filed a revision application and the court may take the revision application in to consideration on April 8 .

Earlier, Ashok Mundargi, Salman’s lawyer, has also made it clear that the actor is not going to appear in the court in person.

Crime In Hyderabad (25.3.2013)

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Nurse injured in ex-fiance’s attack
(Siasat News): A dejected ex-fiancé of a nurse, attacked her in which she sustained severe injuries. This incident occurred at Kundkur in Hayathnagar.

The nurse Shailaja was standing at the bus stop to catch a bus to home. As per the details, the Shailaja got engaged with one Raju sometime back.

Get ready for polls: Harish Rao

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TRS Leader T Harish Rao said that elections may come at any time and asked the cadre to be ready for it.

Inaugurating the Secunderabad constituency party office here today, he said that Kiran Kumar Reddy has become unpopular by his governance.

The power cuts, hike in power charges have alienated people from the Congress party, he said.

Telangana will be a reality in 2014, he said adding that though people are sacrificing their lives the Centre is unable to assess the seriousness of the situation, he said. (INN)