Month: October 2013

Depression could raise Parkinson’s disease risk

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A new study has suggested that people suffering from depression may be thrice at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than others.

Study author Albert C. Yang, MD, PhD, with Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, said that their study suggests that depression may also be an independent risk factor for Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers analyzed the medical records of 4,634 people with depression and 18,544 free of depression over 10 years.

Mechanism behind herpes discovered

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Researchers have for the first time been able to measure the internal pressure that enables the herpes virus to infect cells in the human body.

The discovery has now paved the way for the development of new medicines to combat viral infections.

A virus comprises a thin shell of protein, within which are its genes. A long-standing theory has been that a virus has high internal pressure because it is so tightly packed with genetic material.

The pressure means that they can infect a cell by ejecting the genes at high force and speed.

KCR thanks Centre for T-decision

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Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday thanked the Congress-led UPA Government for its decision on Telangana formation.

Welcoming the Union Cabinet’s nod for Telangana formation by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, KCR said that the decision was historic. However, he said that the statehood struggle would continue till the Telangana Bill gets passed in the Parliament.

It may be mentioned that the Union Cabinet has given its nod for the formation of Telangana State with Hyderabad as the joint capital for two States for 10 years. (INN)

Digvijay taunts Modi’s ‘build toilets first and temples later’ remark

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Taking a jibe at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over his new mantra: toilets first and temples later, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Thursday asked whether the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate had experienced the spiritual pleasure and satisfaction of cleaning toilets.

“What is so great about it? He has been shifting stance every 15 days. I think there is nothing new in it. The BJP has to respond, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has to respond to Mr. Narendra Modi’s comment,” Singh told media here.

My language was wrong but sentiment was honest: Rahul on ordinance row

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Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday spoke about his sensational outburst against the government’s questionable bid to shield convicted lawmakers.

“My mother (Sonia Gandhi) told me words I used were wrong, but my sentiment was not,” Rahul Gandhi said about trashing the ordinance as nonsense.

“I have the right to voice my opinion; a large part of Congress party wanted it,” Rahul Gandhi said on the withdrawal of the ordinance on convicted lawmakers.

Cabinet clears formation of Telangana, Hyderabad to be joint capital for 10 years

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In a significant development, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the formation of Telangana as a separate state by bifurcating the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The big decision was taken during the Union Cabinet meeting held at the residence of the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

According to reports, the Cabinet approved the formation of GoM to look into the process of bifurcation of the state. Another important decision taken by the Union Cabinet was that Hyderabad will remain the joint capital of Telangana and Seemandhra.

Congress will win next general election: Rahul Gandhi

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While refraining from speaking about BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said here that Congress will win the next general election.

“That is the matter of strategy…You will see that after the elections. We will win next elections,” a confident Gandhi said when asked about how his party would counter Modi’s campaign onslaught.

“You people had said in 2004 and 2009 that we will lose. But our track-record is good.

“Congress party’s campaigning has not started. You will see once our campaign starts,” Rahul added.

Sharif seeks stringent anti-terrorism laws

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Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday called for stringent anti-terror laws in the country so that those involved in such activities are punished.

Chairing a meeting of the Anti-Terrorism Legislation at PM House here, Sharif said that the lacunaes in the country’s anti-terror laws should be removed, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

“There should be no gap and loophole in the anti-terrorism laws which allow the terrorists to get away with dreadful crimes,” Sharif said.

Pakistani authorities ban Skype, Whatsapp

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Authorities in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Thursday banned instant messaging and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications like Skype, Whatsapp, and Viber for three months to facilitate security operations.

The decision to enforce the ban was made at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah to review the law and order situation.

Following the meeting, provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon announced that a ban would be imposed on the use of Skype, Whatspp, Tango and Viber.

Cabinet clears Telangana, Hyderabad to be joint capital

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The cabinet Thursday formally cleared the formation of Telangana state by breaking up Andhra Pradesh, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde announced, adding that Hyderabad will be joint capital for 10 years.

“The cabinet has decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to create the new state of Telangana,” Shinde told reporters after a two-hour cabinet meet presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He said a Group of Ministers (GoM) would study the modalities of creating the 29th state in the Indian union.

YSR Congress calls for 72-hour shutdown

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YSR Congress party has called for 72-hour shutdown in Seemandhra to protest the decision taken by the union cabinet to carve out separate Telangana state.

Addressing a press conference Thursday evening, YSR Congress party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy said the decision to divide Andhra Pradesh had pained him. He vowed to take all steps to stall the bifurcation.

Jagan, as the MP from Kadapa is popularly known, said his party would also approach the court to challenge the central government’s action.

Indian charged in US with raping teenaged girl

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An Indian man, extradited to the US following an international manhunt for allegedly raping a 14-year old American girl, has been charged with rape, sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Long Island, New York, resident Amit Singh, arrested in India for the 2009 rape of a girl who was walking past his house in Elmont on her way to school, was arraigned Monday in Mineola, in Nassau County, according to local WABC.

If convicted, he faces 25 years in prison.

Dec 16 gang-rape: High Court unhappy with govt forensic lab`s slow …

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New Delhi: High court on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the time taken by the Delhi government’s forensic laboratory to examine criminal evidence cases.

A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justice Manmohan said, “if the forensic lab takes years to examine a case and send a report, how do you expect the courts to dispose of the criminal case.”

The court’s observation came after Delhi Government, through an affidavit, said that the only state-run Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in the city, at Rohini, gets a large number of cases for examination, leading to backlogs.

`Dominatrix` Britney Spears gets kinky in racy new video

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Britney Spears has released the video of her latest single ‘Work Bitch’, where she can be seen donning the role of a dominatrix and whipping her personal army of “slaves”.

In the video, the ‘Toxic’ hitmaker can be seen gyrating with four other dancers, while showing off her curves in bondage straps, metal studs and dog collar, the Daily Star reported.

The clip, which has garnered 8.5 million hits on Vevo till now, next moves to a desert where the mum-of-two, 31, can be seen sitting in front of a vanity table.

Michelle Keegan voted `hottest woman on TV`

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Michelle Keegan, who had lost the 2012 ‘sexiest woman in the world’ title by four places, has now been crowned ‘hottest woman on television’.

The brunette beauty beat off competition from the likes of Jorgie Porter, 30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden, ‘The Newsroom’ actress Olivia Munn and Emily Atack of the ‘Inbetweeners’, with 22.3 percent votes, the Daily Star reported.

The 26-year-old actress, who recently got engaged to former TOWIE hunk Mark Wright, said that her win was unexpected, but very flattering.

Billionaire adopts girlfriend to safeguard wealth in wrongful-death lawsuitt

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The billionaire founder of the International Polo Club, who was about to go on trial for DUI manslaughter, has adopted his own girlfriend as his third child in an attempt to protect his massive fortune in the wrongful-death lawsuit.

Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Kelley said that 48-year-old John Goodman’s adoption of his 42-year-old girlfriend, Heather Hutchins, of four years is “surreal” and moves the case into “a legal twilight zone,” the New York Post reported.

Scientists `prove` Bigfoot’s existence after five yrs of research

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American researchers have claimed that they can prove that the legend of Bigfoot, also called sasquatch, is real, after spending half a decade and 300,000 pounds on their research.

Scientists have alleged that they have found DNA evidence to prove that the creatures exist, the Mirror reported.

The team of researchers was led by Dr Melba Ketchum, a qualified vet, who stressed that the Sasquatch Genome Project was a “serious study”.

Ketchum asserted that she has seen the “human hybrid” for herself.

Ketchum said that the team had at least one tissue sample from a Bigfoot.

Obama ”hugely impressed” with Pope Francis

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US President Barack Obama has said he is ‘hugely impressed’ with Pope Francis.

Obama made the remarks as he welcomed Pope Francis’ recent remarks that the Catholic Church must get over an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuals.

Obama was asked in a CNBC interview about the pope”s recent remarks that the Catholic Church had become obsessed with issues like gay rights and abortion. Francis had said the church should emphasize compassion over condemnation.

Wait for `retina display` iPad mini to get longer

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Apple will not be rolling out its new version of the iPad Mini with a high-resolution ‘retina’ display anytime before the next year amidst speculations of delayed certification of panel producers.

The retina display technology is already in use on rival tablets from Google and Amazon and Apple was scheduled to unveil its iPad Mini with the technology this month.

Arab countries drafting religious defamation law to prosecute non-resident violators

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The Arab countries are reportedly working on drafting a religious defamation law, which would allow them to prosecute even the non-resident violators.

Under the draft, presented by Qatar, all forms of defamation, derision or denigration of religions and prophets will be considered crimes.

The Qatari justice ministry assistant undersecretary for legal affairs, Ebrahim Mousa Al Hitmi said that the main feature of the draft is that it gives every state the right to put on trial those who abuse and hold in contempt religions even if they are outside the country, Gulf News reports.

Facebook reveals it has 5.6mn active users in Middle East and North Africa

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Facebook has revealed that it has 56 million active users in the Middle East and North Africa.

The social media giant’s regional chief Jonathan Labin said that half of the users in this region where activists used the social media network to organize Arab Spring uprisings, return to the website on a daily basis.

According to Fox News, every month, 56 million people are active on Facebook across the MENA region, and 50 percent of those return to the site on a daily basis.

Cerberus shows interest in acquiring BlackBerry

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Cerberus Capital Management is speculated to be interested acquiring the sinking Blackberry business, as the private equity firm reportedly sought a confidentiality agreement to examine the company’s internal operations.

BlackBerry has already agreed to a preliminary and conditional offer by Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings in Toronto, but it remains free to seek a better offer.

Australia to resettle 500 Syrian refugees in country

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The Australian government has reportedly agreed to settle 500 Syrian refugees in the country under its strengthened humanitarian program which guarantees more resettlement places for refugees.

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison announced that the resettlement will commence in 2013-14 and Australia would join 16 other countries in a resettlement program driven by the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

America”s biggest newspapers slam Republicans over shutdown

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America’s biggest newspapers have slammed the Republicans for the government shutdown, which would the country millions.

Of the ten most widely-read papers in America, not even a single editorial board thinks that the House GOP caucus was going about things the right way, the Huffington Post reports. Below are excerpts from a few papers” editorials: The Wall Street Journal: “We support the Republican effort to get the best deal they can, especially in the face of Mr. Obama”s cynicism.

Chelsea Clinton wants to have a baby next year

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Chelsea Cilton has revealed that she wants to have a baby next year.

The former first daughter said that mum Hillary keeps asking her and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, about it every single day, People Magazine reported.

Clinton said that ever since her grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, passed away, she has been very lost.

She said that her loss pushed her and Mezvinsky to sit down and talk about their future plans.

The 33-year-old said that that their list was simple as they wanted to start a family and have decided to call the year 2014 the ‘Year of the Baby’. (ANI)