Month: November 2013

Pakistan Taliban appoint Asmatullah Shaheen as interim chief

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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have appointed Asmatullah Shaheen as their interim leader after differences emerged among the ranks on a successor to Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike, local media quoted unidentified sources as saying Sunday.

Earlier reports said that Khan Syed alias Khalid Sajna had been appointed as the new chief of TTP, but a spokesman from Pakistan Taliban’s South Waziristan chapter later denied the report and said the new chief of TTP will be elected in the next couple of days, Xinhua repoted citing local media.

Riot erupts in Saudi prison

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Inmates at a Saudi prison rioted overnight, torching offices before security forces quickly brought the situation under control in violence that left four people injured, officials said today.

The mutiny broke out late yesterday during weekly visiting hours at the jail in the northern city of Buraydah,
the prisons authority spokesman told the official SPA news agency.

Three administrational offices at the prison were torched during the riots caused by some inmates,” said the
official.

Dubai court upholds death sentence for Indian

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A Dubai court has upheld the death sentence awarded to an Indian national for killing a woman, from whom he had bought a washing machine, by slitting her throat.

The 28-year-old Indian man, identified by the initials of his name AM, admitted in a court of appeal in Dubai to attacking the woman with a knife and stealing her jewellery Sep 26 last year, The National reported Sunday.

Swetha Menon withdraws complaint, controversy blows over

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After two days of standing her ground, popular Malayalam film actress Swetha Menon has withdrawn her complaint against Congress MP Peethamabara Kurup for allegedly groping her.

In an email to the media late Sunday evening, she said she was not interested in pursuing her complaint and was not going ahead with any legal steps, in the wake of repeated apologies by Kurup, which has been accepted.

The email states she took this step after consulting her guru, father, husband and not under any pressure.

Former Congress MLA arrested for daughter-in-law’s suicide

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Four people, including a former Congress MLA, were arrested in the national capital in connection with the suicide of 27-year-old Rekha, the MLA’s daughter-in-law, police said Sunday.

Rekha was found hanging at her house in Delhi’s Sarai Rohilla area Saturday. Her family alleged that she had been killed over dowry.

“Shadi Ram, former Congress MLA from Kamla Nagar, his wife Dharamwati, Rekha’s husband Sudhanshu (30) and her sister-in-law Maneesha were arrested from their house Sunday,” a police officer said.

Sensex scales new high on special Diwali trading

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The Indian equities markets key indices closed at record high in the special Diwali trading Sunday led by good buying support in auto, FMCG and oil and gas stocks.

The 30 scrip sensitive index S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 21,278.08 points, ended the session at 21,239.36 points, up 0.20 percent or 42.55 points from its previous close at 21196.81 points.

This is the record closing high for the benchmark Sensex. The previous record high was 21196.81 points hit Friday.

Gravity may be behind male pattern baldness

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Gravity may help explain the apparently paradoxical effects of testosterone in male pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia (AGA), a new research has revealed.

Dr. Emin Tuncay Ustuner, a plastic surgeon in Ankara, Turkey said that the “force of downward pull caused by the gravity on the scalp skin” is the key contributor to the events leading to progressive hair loss in male pattern baldness.

He said that the new theory’s unparalleled ability to explain even the details of the hair loss process and the formation of the pattern in AGA is apparent.

How bacteria can cause diabetes

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The connection between fat, bacteria, and diabetes is inflammation, which is the body’s normal reaction to infection or injury.

However, inflammation is beneficial in small, controlled doses but can be very harmful when it persists and becomes chronic.

Senior author Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D., UI professor and head of microbiology, said that the idea is that when fat cells (adipocytes) interact with environmental agents-in this case, bacterial toxins-they then trigger a chronic inflammatory process.

High blood-sugar makes Alzheimer’s more deadly

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A new study has revealed that high blood-sugar levels, such as those linked with Type 2 diabetes, make beta amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease dramatically more toxic to cells lining blood vessels in the brain.

The Tulane University study supports growing evidence pointing to glucose levels and vascular damage as contributors to dementia.

56-hour countdown to India’s maiden Mars mission begins

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The countdown for the India’s ambitious Rs 430-crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) began Sunday 6.08 am at Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh, a space agency official said.

The countdown to the flight of Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) will be for 56.30 hours which is expected to blast off at 2.38 pm. Tuesday, said an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official who did not wish to be named.

Kohli is top-ranked ODI batsman

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Virat Kohli on Sunday became the number one batsman in one-day cricket after a superb batting show against Australia in the just-concluded series.

Kohli has now become the third India batsman to hold the top rank in ODI cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

Kohli now leads South Africa’s Hashim Amla by 13 ratings points. Amla had been holding the position since November 2010.

Australian skipper George Bailey jumped six places to claim the number three position for the first time in his career.

JFK assassinator’s widow claims husband was innocent

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John F. Kennedy’s assassinator Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow has claimed that her husband was innocent and didn’t shoot the president.

Marina Oswald, who had earlier told the Warren Commission that her husband was indeed guilty, has changed her mind after reading some of the 40,000 books and conspiracy theories and is convinced there is a much more complex assassination conspiracy and cover up, the Mirror reported.

The 72-year-old now insists that her husband was set up as “a patsy” to take the fall for plotters in the CIA and the Mafia.

Justin Bieber `spotted at brothel` in Brazil

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Justin Bieber reportedly spend hours in a Brazil brothel, as he was spotted sneaking trying to sneak out, according to reports.

According to the New York Post, Bieber who was seen leaving brothel Centauros in Rio de Janeiro, tried to cover himself up underneath a bed sheet, Us Magazine reported.

According to reports, the ‘Boyfriend’ hitmaker and a friend were inside the sex den for three hours, and when he came out to leave, his bodyguards began to spray water at photographers.

D Raja asks Election Commission to convene all party meet to discuss opinion polls

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Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja on Sunday said that the Election Commission (EC) should convene a meeting of all political parties to discuss the issue of opinion polls. “The question of ban on opinion polls needs to be further discussed. Election Commission cannot take a decision like this. It should convene a meeting of all political parties and discuss these issues on the basis on consensus before taking the decision,” he said. “The poll surveys are done by several media organizations and individual groups. We do not know how they are sponsored.

`Hugely addictive` Candy Crush making pockets lighter

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Smartphone app Candy Crush is notoriously addictive and has huge effect on the brain in addition to one’s pockets.

Technology blog Gamasutra calls the addiction to this game a “fun pain”, where so-called reward mechanisms defeat a person’s ability to make informed choices about the costs and value of these products, News.com.au reported.

Sudhir Kale, a marketing and gaming expert from Bond University, said that only a small number of people become addicted to games like Candy Crush and addicts become stimulated by a secretion of dopamine by the brain.

Stranded man ate pet dog after it saved him from bear attack

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An adventurer, who was stranded in Canada’s frozen north, was forced to eat his faithful dog that saved him from a bear attack.

Marco Lavoie had to save himself from starvation, after a bear raided his camp and left him without food and his canoe, the Daily Express reported.

The dog had driven off the bear, but Lavoie was so desperate for food days after the attack that he had to use a rock to kill the animal.

Arthur warns Clarke, Watson to `fire` or risk seeing Oz lose winter Ashes 2-1

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Sacked Australian coach Mickey Arthur has warned Australia that unless captain Michael Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson show a ”fiery form” then England will win this summer”s Ashes series 2-1. Although England is the favourite to win a fourth straight Ashes series, but the team has a number of concerns heading into the five-Test bout, including Tim Bresnan”s back issues and the poor form of Chris Tremlett, Steven Finn and Boyd Rankin in the three-day tour match against the WACA Chairman”s XI.

Miley Cyrus `makes out` with Paris Hilton’s ex Benji Madden

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Miley Cyrus was spotted “making out” with Paris Hilton’s ex Benji Madden at Adam Lambert’s Halloween party.

According to a source, the 20-year-old singer was introduced to the ‘Good Charlotte’ guitarist through a friend and they seemed really into each other, Metro.co.uk reported.

He added that they soon started flirting and talking very closely and eventually shared a kiss.

The duo left the party at 1 am, and tried to be discreet by sharing a car with some other friends but it seemed clear that they were leaving as a couple. (ANI)

8 dead as train runs over passengers in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram District

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Atleast eight people died and several others were injured after being run over by a speeding train in Vizianagaram District in Andhra Pradesh. The incident occurred on Saturday night after Bokaro-bound ”Dhanbad-Allapuza” train was stopped at Gotlam station, when some passengers pulled the chain following rumours that one of the compartments had caught fire. As people started getting down in panic, they were run over by the Rayagada-Vijayawada fast passenger train on the adjacent track. “They tried to stop the train by pulling the chain and around twenty five passengers got down.

JD-U taunts Modi, says ‘Biharis know how to get rid of communal forces’

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Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Ali Anwar on Sunday said that the Bihari community knows how to get rid of communal forces. Reacting to the Patna visit of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Anwar asked why he did not visit the blast victims in the hospital after the rally on October 27. “Today is Deepawali. It is a festival that signifies good over evil. The communal forces, the forces that divide the nation will be cleaned. The Bihari community knows how to get rid of these communal forces.

BJP hits back at opposition for criticizing Modi’s Patna visit

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday criticized the opposition for attacking the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, after he visited the family members of the Patna serial blast victims. “The blasts that happened in Patna was a terror attack. And if Narendra Modi has gone to Patna to visit the victims, where is it written that this is wrong?” he questioned. The opposition has maintained that Modi’s Patna visit is politically motivated. Earlier in the day, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Ali Anwar said: “Where was Modi that time?

New hope for paralyzed people

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Biomedical engineers are set to give people suffering from complete paralysis new hope.

By implanting electrical stimulators in the lower spinal cord, they are bypassing the injury site and directly activating spinal neurons that control the lower body.

The early experiments have met with great success. With the help of this spinal stimulation, the first human test subject was able to stand on his own and move his legs voluntarily on the very first day of the experiment.

Ex-Congress MLA arrested after daughter-in-law found hanging

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A former Congress MLA has been arrested after her daughter-in-law was found hanging under mysterious circumstances at a house in Delhi’s Sarai Rohilla area.

Sadiram’s wife and his son Sudhanshu have also been arrested.

Victim’s family alleged that their daughter was killed for dowry. Her in-laws, however, claimed that she had committed suicide.

Rekha, 27, was found hanging inside her in-law’s house on Saturday morning.

Rekha’s father Ashok Chaudhary, in his complaint, said in December 2012, he had organised her daughter’s marriage with the son of former MLA Sadiram.