Month: April 2015

Long-lived dwarf lemurs offer clues to aging

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A team of researchers is trying to obtain clues to aging from long-lived lemurs.

When Jonas the lemur died in January, just five months short of his thirtieth birthday, he was the oldest of his kind. A primate called a fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Jonas belonged to a long-lived clan. Dwarf lemurs live two to three times longer than similar-sized animals.

In a new study, Duke University researchers combed through more than 50 years of medical records on hundreds of dwarf lemurs and three other lemur species at the Duke Lemur Center for clues to their exceptional longevity.

Deadline abandoned in marathon Iran nuclear talks

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The US abandoned late tonight a midnight deadline to agree the outlines of a nuclear deal with Iran but insisted that “enough progress” merited extending marathon talks into tomorrow.

“We’ve made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday. There are several difficult issues still remaining,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

The announcement came late on a sixth day of talks in Switzerland aimed at laying the groundwork for a deal that world powers hope will prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian programme.

Governor backs down, seeks ‘fix’ to Indiana religion law

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Indiana Governor Mike Pence, facing mounting criticism, said today he will seek to tweak a contentious new law that some warn discriminates against gays.

Pence told a press conference that the law he signed last week “does not give anyone a license to discriminate.”

But amid threats of crippling boycotts, the state’s largest newspaper demanded in a front-page editorial that Pence “fix this now” by taking immediate action.

“We’ve got a perception problem,” the embattled Republican governor acknowledged.

Student go on strike after a classmate commits suicide

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Students of an engineering college here today went on a strike demanding action against the principal and some faculty members after one of the student committed suicide due to alleged repeated mistreatment by the institution authorities, police said.

The agitating students refused to budge even when District Magistrate Hem Singh told them that a case has been registered and police was probing the matter, they said.

State Department: Clinton sent only 4 emails about drones

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The State Department says it can find only four emails sent between former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and her staff concerning drone strikes and certain US surveillance programs, and those notes have little to do with either subject.

Clinton has said she exchanged about 60,000 emails while secretary of state, about half of which were work-related. She said none contained classified information, and that her private email system did not suffer any security breaches.

De Villiers becomes 11th batsman to break 900-point benchmark in ICC ODI Batsmen rankings

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South Africa cricket team captain AB de Villiers has become the 11 th batsman overall and second Proteas after Hashim Amla to break the 900-point mark in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, clinching the top spot on the list.

De Villiers achieved the milestone during the semifinal against New Zealand when he scored an unbeaten 65. He is now eighth on the list behind Sir Vivian Richards (935), Zaheer Abbas (931), Greg Chappell (921), David Gower (919), Dean Jones (918), Javed Miandad (910) and Brian Lara (908). Desmond Haynes (900) completes the tally of 11 batsmen.

Iraq PM says Tikrit ‘liberated’ after month-long battle

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Iraq said security and allied forces backed by US-led coalition aircraft “liberated” the city of Tikrit today, its biggest victory yet in the fight against Islamic State jihadists.

The operation to retake the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein began on March 2 and had looked bogged down before Iraqi forces made rapid advances in the past 48 hours.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi “announces the liberation of Tikrit and congratulates Iraqi security forces and popular volunteers on the historic milestone,” his official Twitter account said.

Putin creates new agency to ‘unite Russian nation’

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on today ordered the creation of a new government agency to oversee ethnic issues, according to an official decree.

The proposed agency will “implement measures directed at fortifying the unity of… The Russian nation,” it said.

It will also chalk out “preventive measures” against racial or religious discrimination and thwart attempts to “instigate hatred” the decree said.

Rajnath visit row: BJP says Mamata ‘politicizing issues related to national security’

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Hitting back at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for raising questions over Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Cooch Behar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the former of trying to politicize the issues related to national security.

“On March 25, Home Minister’s office had communicated to the West Bengal Governor, Chief Minister’s office and other departments about Home Minister’s visit to West Bengal…I am surprised that she continues to politicize something which is related to national security,” BJP general secretary Siddharth Nath Singh told ANI.

US releases military aid to Egypt, cites national security

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President Barack Obama today released military aid to Egypt that was suspended after the 2013 overthrow of the government, in an effort to boost Cairo’s ability to combat the extremist threat in the region.

The White House said Obama notified Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in a phone call today that the US would be sending 12 F-16 fighter jets, 20 missiles and up to 125 tank kits, while continuing to request USD 1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt.

Four IAS officers appointed in PMO

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Four IAS officers were today appointed as Director and Deputy Secretaries in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The competent authority has approved lateral shift of Gulzar Natrajan as Director in the PMO, an order issued late at night by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

Natrajan, a 1999-batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, is presently Director in the DoPT.

IAS officers Brijesh Pandey, Mayur Maheshwari and Shrikar Keshav Pardeshi have been appointed Deputy Secretary in the PMO.

Police: 2 hostage takers in Istanbul killed, hostage wounded

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Two members of a banned leftist group who had held a prosecutor hostage in his office inside a courthouse in Istanbul were killed today in a shootout with police that left their captive seriously wounded, police said.

Istanbul’s police chief, Selami Altunok said the prosecutor has been taken to hospital.

Altunok said police had negotiated with the gunmen for six hours before the violent end of the hostage situation.

Yemen civilians shudder, bristle under bombing campaign

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Yemeni civilians shuddered in fear and bristled with anger under an intense Saudi-led bombing campaign against Shiite rebels today, day six of fighting that prompted international aid organisations to express alarm over high civilian casualties from the strikes and violence roiling the country.

Residents of the capital, Sanaa, sought shelter and got little sleep during the night, while some took to the rooftops in anger or frustration, firing automatic rifles skywards toward the roar of warplanes.

Google, Microsoft battle drives down prices for PCs, tablets

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Google is releasing its cheapest Chromebook laptops yet, two versions priced at USD 149 aimed at undercutting Microsoft’s Windows franchise and gaining ground in even more classrooms.

Various PC manufacturers have been working with Google to design lightweight laptops running on the Chrome operating system since 2011. The newest versions are made by Hisense and Haier. Hisense’s Chromebook can be ordered beginning today at Walmart.Com and Haier’s version can be bought at Amazon.Com.

UN rights chief warns Yemen on verge of ‘total collapse’

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The UN rights chief expressed alarm today at the situation in Yemen as Arab warplanes pounded the country for a sixth day, warning it appeared about to collapse.

“The situation in Yemen is extremely alarming, with dozens of civilians killed over the past four days,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement.

“The country seems to be on the verge of total collapse.”

Gunfire, blasts at Istanbul hostage standoff: AFP

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Explosions and gunfire rang out today at the Istanbul court building where a prosecutor was being held hostage by an armed leftist group, an AFP correspondent reported.

Several shots were fired and at least two explosions were heard, as smoke was also seen coming out of the upper floor where Istanbul prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz was being held.

Ambulances were also seen rushing to the entrance of the courthouse but there were no details on casualties.

4 detained from Ludhiana in West Bengal nun rape case

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Four persons were today detained here in connection with the gang rape of a 72-year-old nun in Ranaghat in West Bengal’s Nadia district, police said.

Four persons, all Bangladeshi nationals, were detained from Motinagar locality by Punjab Police, DCP Naveen Singla said.

Kolkata Police has been informed about their detention, he said, adding police was working on further leads.

Earlier, two people were arrested from Mumbai and Habra (North 24 Paraganas) in this connection. Both were identified as Bangladeshi nationals

Hindu couple in SA win damages for not getting pizza franchise

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A Hindu couple in South Africa who were refused a franchise from a national pizza company because they were not Muslim has won substantial damages after taking the company to court.

Anak and Kaskumarie Neerputh brought the action against franchisor Romans Pizza in the Tshwane Equality Court, where Magistrate R Francis yesterday ordered the company to pay them 200,000 rands and publish an apology in newspapers around the area where the couple lived for “offending their dignity”.

Prof C N Rao bats for more investment in scientific research

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Noted scientist and Bharat Ratna C N R Rao today advocated more investment in the field of scientific research if India aims to become a developed country.

“It is a matter of great concern that in countries like India, there is very less investment made in the field of science and a meagre portion of our GDP is kept for the advancement of science which is not going to help if we aim at becoming one of the developed countries of the world,” Professor Rao said at Kashmir University here.

BSF hands back Pakistani national to Rangers

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The Border Security Force today handed over a Pakistani national, who had crossed the international border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur sector inadvertently, to Pakistani Rangers.

The Pakistani national, identified as Sawaj was a resident of Narowal district in Pakistani Punjab and had inadvertently crossed the international boundary yesterday.

He entered into the Indian territory and reached near the BSF fence, BSF Deputy Inspector General P S Jaswal said.

The incident took place near the border outpost Darya Mansoor in Gurdaspur sector.

Women milk bank opens in Jaipur

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A state-run women milk bank has opened in Rajasthan capital Jaipur, which would store milk from donating lactating mothers that can be used for feeding infants who are deprived of it.

The state government launched the bank in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation.

The infants will get free of cost milk from lactating mothers who willingly donate it.

According to officials at the unit, infant mortality rate is very high in Rajasthan due to high non-availability of mother’s milk on time.

EU introduces labels on origin of meat other than beef

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The EU will tomorrow introduce labels showing the origins of pre-packed meat other than beef, but critics had sought even tougher rules in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.

The new rules for fresh, chilled and frozen meat from sheep, goats, pigs and poultry require listing for EU consumers the countries where the animals were raised and slaughtered, said the European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation bloc.

US, Cuba hold technical talks on human rights

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US and Cuban officials held a brief technical-level meeting today to define an agenda for future sessions on human rights as part of the rapprochement between the long-time adversaries, a Cuban source said.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, provided no details on the substance of the talks.

The State Department, which hosted them, had previously described them as “preliminary” in nature and devoted to discussions about the modalities and structure of future conversations on human rights.

UN chief urges protection of civilians in Yemen

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called on all parties involved in military operations in Yemen to ensure the protection of civilians, a media report said on Wednesday.

Ban voiced his deep concern about reports of numerous civilian casualties resulting from ongoing military operations in Yemen, which have left dozens dead and many more injured, among them children, according to a statement issued here by his spokesperson, Xinhua reported.