Month: November 2013

Dubai Cruise Tourism expects 300,000 tourists

by

Dubai Cruise Tourism (DCT), an entity of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), expects more than 20 leading global cruise lines to bring in as many as 300,000 tourists to this metropolis in the 2013-14 season.

From tours of the Arabian Gulf taking in the region’s most majestic cities to longer voyages to the Far East, India and the Mediterranean, cruises from Dubai will continue to offer a diverse selection of destinations for holiday-makers seeking adventure and relaxation over the coming season.

Allahabad Bank hikes deposit rates by up to 1.2 percent

by

The government-run lender Allahabad Bank said it has hiked interest rates on domestic term deposits by up to 1.2 percent per annum effective from Monday.

“Bank has decided to revise the interest rate upward up to 1.20 percent on different maturity on domestic retail term deposits schemes less than Rs.1 crore, with effect from Nov 4, 2013,” Allahabad Bank said in a statement.

The bank, however, did not announce any change in lending rates.

The public sector bank’s decision to hike term deposit rates came days after the Reserve Bank of India hiked its key policy rate.

Singapore uses anti-stick paint against illegal billboards

by

Singapore is using an anti-stick paint to prevent illegal advertisements at train stations, along roads and on pillars and lamp posts.

The land transport authority has floated a tender to apply the solution at 367 locations on the island by 2017 after learning that anti-stick paint is effective in tackling the problem, reports Xinhua.

The tender is for a clear coating that can be applied on glass or plastic.

It is illegal to paste advertisements, which range in size from Post-It notes to A4, at undesignated places such as subway stations, pillars and lamp posts.

`Rowing` newest exercising trend

by

Rowing offers incredible workouts in a short amount of time, and can easily tone your body, it has been revealed.

Josh Ozeri, founder of Brooklyn Crew, said that rowing engages one’s core, abdominals and lower back, and tones one’s leg and sculpts the upper body, the New York Daily reported.

Ozeri added that during a 45-minute class, a rower will do the equivalent of 1,200 leg presses, burning roughly 850 calories. (ANI)

U.N. approves network to monitor near-Earth objects

by

The U.N. General Assembly has reportedly set up an international network to monitor near-Earth objects and alter their trajectories to prevent impact.

The General Assembly approved the plan, after Yasushi Horikawa, technical counselor of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and chairman of the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space presented it to the U.N. in October, which will allow countries to respond jointly for the first time to threats posed by near-Earth objects, the Japan Times reported.

Pamela Anderson’s brother joins her for fundraiser NYC Marathon

by

Pamela Anderson was joined by her brother for the New York City Marathon.

The 46-year-old Canadian-American actress’ brother Gerry joined her for the 26.2-mile race through the streets of the Big Apple as she raised money for charity, Contactmusic reported.

The former Baywatch star managed to raise more than 75,000 pounds for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization’s ‘The Long Run for Haiti’ campaign, which boosted donations to Sean Penn’s charity, which was set up in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake. (ANI)

Katie Price denies sleeping with Netherlands’ footie ace Fernando Ricksen

by

Katie Price has slammed former footballer Fernando Ricksen’s claim that she slept with him.

Price took to Twitter to say that Ricksen is a beautiful man and was devastated to hear of his illness, Motor Neurone Disease, and that he only had about 5 years to live.

She said though the couple spent great nights, they didn’t have sex, the Mirror reported.

Ricksen had earlier made a statement that he slept with her and had to pay a fine of 25,000 pounds for the act to his bosses. (ANI)

US says $90mn aid to Pak at risk of `waste or misuse`

by

The United States Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has reportedly pointed that the country’s 90 million dollar Kerry-Lugar aid to Pakistan is at an ‘increased risk of waste or misuse’ as the NGO appointed for disburse isn’t competitive.

The OIG has highlighted that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) chose the Agribusiness Support Fund (ASF), a local NGO, for implementing the project despite knowing its capacity constraints.

Indian-origin man punched in Auckland passes away

by

The 25-year-old Indian man, Tarun Asthana, who was fatally punched in Auckland, took his last breath on Monday after his life support was switched off.

Asthana, a trained teacher, was punched outside McDonald’s in downtown Queen St early on Saturday morning after he was returning from a night of clubbing.

According to stuff.co.nz, the offender allegedly approached Asthana after a woman got upset when he complimented her on her dress and the punch was so fatal that he had to be put on a life support at the city hospital.

€1bn worth cache of `looted art` by Nazis found at art dealer’s home in Germany

by

A cache of looted paintings by the Nazis before the World War II has been reportedly found at an 80-year-old art dealer’s home and has been estimated to be worth whopping one billion euros.

The ‘lost art’ includes some 1,500 works by world-renowned artists including Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and Klee.

According to the Independent, Bavarian customs police discovered the art treasure from the home of Cornelius Gurlitt, son of pre-war art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt and had hoarded the paintings in his Munich apartment for over half a century.

Army sends 23 girl students on educational tour

by

Army today sent a group of 23 girl students of Poonch district on an educational-cum-motivational tour under ‘Operation Sadbhavana’.

The 15-day tour named “Deedar-e-Watan- Kashmir se Kanyakumari” was flagged off by Family Welfare Organisation
(FWO) president Harshita Rajeshwar from Palma in Rajouri district, a defence spokesman said here.

The tour has been organised by the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion under the aegis of Counter Insurgency Force (Romeo),
he added.

These college students are scheduled to visit New Delhi, Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum, wherein

Pak committee recommends effective monitoring of ISI by parliament

by

The Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights has reportedly has called for an effective monitoring of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency by the parliament.

The committee had approved of the recommendation which called for setting up a bicameral intelligence and security committee to suggest ways of addressing the issue of enforced disappearance of citizens.

Skydivers` planes crash mid-air in Wisconsin, none injured

by

In an unbelievable incident, two planes carrying skydivers reportedly crashed mid-air sending all the nine divers and two pilots tumbling towards the ground with none injured.

The two planes collided on Saturday evening in far northwest Wisconsin near Lake Superior and authorities have been unable to trace the cause of the accident.

Deepika Padukone says chemistry cannot be created

by

Deepika Padukone has confessed that chemistry is inexplicable and can never be created, while promoting her upcoming film ‘Ram Leela’ in Dubai.

The 27-year-old actress, who’s rumoured to be dating co-star, Ranveer Singh, said that either you have the chemistry or not, Gulf News reported.

The 28-year-old actor echoed her thoughts by saying that in a film, which is about two people in love, the audience has to buy into the love story and for that to happen, chemistry is the core or driving force that leads the film.

30-cm long alligator found at Chicago airport

by

A small alligator had been reportedly spotted at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

The alligator, about 30cm long, was found under an escalator by a maintenance worker and a police officer captured the reptile by putting a rubbish bin over it.

Chicago Police spokesman, Jose Estrada said that it was one of those random incidents and they were unaware of where the reptile came from and how long it had been residing in the airport facilities, news.com.au reports.

Molecule linking gut microbes and intestinal health identified

by

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a molecule that plays a significant role in the changes in the composition or diversity of bacterial populations in the gut.

David Artis PhD, associate professor of Microbiology, and colleagues report that the enzyme HDAC3 is a key mediator in maintaining proper intestinal integrity and function in the presence of friendly bacteria.

HDAC3 and the genetic pathways are also critical in maintaining a healthy balance between intestinal microbes and their host.

Katy Perry `most popular person` on Twitter

by

Katy Perry has taken the lead by passing Justin Bieber to become the most popular person on Twitter.

The 29-year-old singer presently has 2,000 more followers than Bieber, The Verge reported.

With 40 million followers, Lady Gaga, who was previously the queen of twitter, holds the number 3 slot, followed by President Barack Obama at 39 million and Taylor Swift at 36 million.

According to USA Today, even though Perry tweets a lot less than Bieber but she admitted that being part of her strategy by saying that she feels she has learnt how to tame the social media dragon. (ANI)

UK police hunting for terror suspect who escaped in burqa

by

A 27-year-old terror suspect, under surveillance of Scotland Yard, has escaped from a UK mosque wearing a burqa.

According to a Scotland Yard spokesperson, Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed was last seen on Friday afternoon at a mosque – the
An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre in Acton in west London where he went that morning and later changed into a burqa.

Mohamed was subject to a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure (TPIM) notice, a measure introduced to
replace control orders, which can be used to restrict the movements of individuals and their ability to associate or

Scientists back `nuclear power` to help slow down global warming

by

Top climate scientists have claimed that the development of safer nuclear power can help in decelerating the effects of global warming by cutting down on fossil fuel pollution.

To promote their belief, four scientists, including Tom Wigley from the University of Adelaide, have written to environmentalists and politicians urging them to support nuclear power, News.com.au reported.

Eminem crowned artist of the year at 1st YouTube Music Awards

by

Rapper Eminem, who recently released his eighth studio album, was named the artist of the year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards in NYC.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, while Macklemore and Ryan Lewis bagged the breakthrough award, ‘I Got a Boy’ from Girls’ Generation won the award for video of the year.

Actor Jason Schwartzman and comedian Reggie Watts co-hosted the webcast. (ANI)

Lasers could potentially cure Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

by

Scientists have discovered that photo acoustic therapy might be the long-awaited cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or the mad cow disease.

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the Polish Wroclaw University of Technology found that it is possible to distinguish aggregations of the proteins, believed to cause the diseases, from the well-functioning proteins in the body by using multi-photon laser technique.

Sydney Cricket Ground redevelopment `unlikely to be 100 percent completed` before Ashes

by

The Sydney Cricket Ground”s 186 million-dollar revamp would not be finished in time for the biggest event on this summer”s sporting calendar, the Ashes, with the New Year Test initially announced as its completion date. According to The Age, the latest update from the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust tells fans to expect to see some temporary facilities at the Sydney match on January 3.

Moyes says Rooney fast becoming Man U”s `big leader`

by

Manchester United manager David Moyes has said that striker Wayne Rooney is fast becoming the club”s leader and that he has got leadership qualities that make him a man when he is on the pitch. According to the Mirror, the England star was integral to United”s early blitz, setting up Antonio Valencia”s opener, then tapping in the third, either side of a typical Robin van Persie finish against Fulham. However, for Moyes, Rooney could have done more and he said that the star was a big leader in the team now.

Morsi tells Egyptian court “I am President”, trial adjourned

by

A defiant Mohammed Morsi today appeared at a court here to face charges of inciting murder and violence during the ousted Egyptian president’s year-long rule, even as his high-profile trial was adjourned to January 8.

Morsi, in his first public appearance since the army deposed him in July, called the court “illegal” and asserted: “I am Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the president of the republic…

“This court is illegal,” the 62-year-old Muslim Brotherhood leader said, clad in a suit rather than the customary white detention clothes.

Police bust inter-state gang of vehicle lifters, arrest three

by

With the arrest of three persons, police today claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of vehicle lifters.

Police have recovered five stolen bikes and a scooty from their possession.

The arrested have been identified as Nihal, Ajay and Mukesh, all aged between 24 and 30 years.

The accused, all belonging to Ghaziabad district, were arrested from Indirapuram area last night.

“We got a tip about the gang members and laid a trap,” a police officer said, adding “all three accused have several vehicle theft cases registered against them at different police stations.