Child rape victim needs reconstructive surgery: Doctors

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The five-year-old girl undergoing treatment here after she was brutally raped for two days has suffered severe injuries in her private parts, and will need reconstructive surgery, doctors said Saturday.

Doctors said the girl’s condition had stabilised, and she was talking.

“She has suffered injuries in her private parts and will need to undergo corrective and reconstruction surgery,” said D.K. Sharma, medical superintendent at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Tendulkar’s wax statue unveiled at SCG

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Amid enthusiastic singing and chanting by his fans, Sachin Tendulkar’s wax statue was today unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground just a few days before his 40th birthday. Tendulkar’s waxwork was unveiled at the SCG where he has played some memorable innings.

The statue shows Tendulkar, who will turn 40 on Wednesday, clad in an India ODI jersey with his hands raised in a celebratory pose.

His waxwork, a replica of the one in Madame Tussauds in London, will be a fixture at at the scenic Darling Harbour, museum alongside those of Donald Bradman and Shane Warne.

Duchess Kate to move to her parents place after baby is born

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Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge is to move back in with her mother, temporarily, after her baby is born in July, media reported today.

In a break with royal tradition, Kate, 31, will live with her parents for at least the first six weeks after leaving hospital.

The decision means the newborn, third-in-line to the throne, will be starting life in a commoner’s home in Berkshire rather than in the splendour of a royal residence.

Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, recently bought a spacious Georgian manor in rural Berkshire for a reported sum of GBP 4.85 million.

Abhi-Ash complete six years of togetherness

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Popular Bollywood couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai completed six years of marital bliss Saturday.

Actress Bipasha Basu took to Twitter to wish the much-loved couple a “happy anniversary”.

“Happy Anniversary to the beautiful couple Junior Bachchan (Abhishek) and Ash! Happiness forever, together,” tweeted Bipasha.

Aishwarya and Abhishek tied the knot April 20, 2007 as per Hindu rituals at a ceremony at Bachchans’ Juhu residence Prateeksha. It was a lavish affair, and attracted media attention from all quarters.

Super Kings restrict Kings XI to 119/9

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Chennai Super Kings restricted Kings XI Punjab to 119 for nine in 20 overs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens here Saturday.

Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan struck 25 each while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja got three for 20.

Kolkata Knight Riders: 119 for nine in 20 overs (Gautam Gambhir 25, Yusuf Pathan 25; Ravindra Jadeja 3/20).

The Super Kings retained the same side that had beaten Delhi Daredevils in the last match.

Teams:

India receives $69 bn in remittances; tops global list

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India received $69 billion remittance in 2012, the highest in the world, followed by China with $60 billion and the Philippines $24 billion, World Bank data showed.

Other major recipients of foreign remittances were Mexico with $23 billion and Nigeria and Egypt with $21 billion each, according to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief released here Friday.

Def Min firms up new procurement policy to check scams

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Stung by scams in acquisition from foreign vendors, the Defence Ministry today finalised a new procurement policy under which Indian public and private sector will be given first priority for military procurements and will help in plugging loopholes that allow corruption.

To avoid scams such as the AgustaWestland chopper deal and enhance transparency, the Ministry also approved a proposal under which Services headquarters would be required to freeze specifications of the desired products before they are approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

Edible malarial vaccine can help protect against cholera

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Biologists at UC San Diego demonstrated last May that algae can be engineered to produce a vaccine that blocks malaria transmission.

The same method may work as a vaccine against a wide variety of viral and bacterial infections.

In their most recent study, researchers fused a protein that elicits an antibody response in mice against the organism that causes malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, which afflicts 225 million people worldwide, with a protein produced by the bacterium responsible for cholera, Vibrio cholera, that binds to intestinal epithelial cells.

Spike in brain activity may deter Alzheimer`s

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Short bursts of brain activity may help protect from Alzheimer`s, says a study conducted by researchers in Israel.

Evidence indicates that the accumulation of amyloid-beta proteins, which form the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer`s patients, is critical for the development of Alzheimer`s disease, which impacts 5.4 million Americans. Not just the quantity, but also the quality of amyloid-beta peptides is crucial for Alzheimer`s initiation.

Ranbir in every frame of my `Bombay Talkies` film: Dibaker

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Filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee says his short film in ‘Bombay Talkies’ couldn`t have happened without actor Ranbir Kapoor, who he says appears in every frame of the movie.

Banerjee has directed one of the four short films in ‘Bombay Talkies’.

Talking about it, Banerjee told reporters: “He (Ranbir) is totally associated. He is a shadow of god associated with the film. He is there in every frame. He is there as the ultimate hero against this average common man. Without Ranbir this could not have happened.”

Microsoft working on ‘Windows powered mobile devices’

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Software giant Microsoft is working with manufacturers to produce a line of small touch-screen devices powered by Windows.

Peter Klein, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, told investors and analysts on a conference call that the new devices will be available in coming months at competitive prices.

The new device is apparently intended to compete with 7-inch tablets like the iPad Mini and Amazon Kindle Fire, Fox News reports.

Charcoal from wildfires pouring copiously into oceans via rivers

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Wild fires not only destroy millions of trees each year but the residue is transported to the sea by rivers which penetrates the carbon cycle, a recent study has revealed.

Team of researchers led by Thorsten Dittgar from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and Rudolf Jaffe from Florida International University’s Southeast Environmental Research Center in Miami have proved that the earlier theory that the charcoal from wild fires gets decomposed in the soil is invalid.

Gold price rallies to regain Rs 27,000 per 10 gm level

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Gold prices rallied to regain Rs 27,000 per 10 gm level in the national capital Saturday on brisk buying by retail customers after recent steep fall amid short-covering by speculators on firming global trend.

The gold, which had suffered biggest ever losses following a meltdown in global bullion prices, recovered by Rs 500 to Rs 27,100 per 10 gm. It had gained Rs 250 in the previous session.

Traders said the recovery in gold prices was backed by emergence of retailers buying at attractive low levels, as the metal suffered the biggest loss of Rs 3,250 in four sessions earlier this week.

PE funds consortium in talks to acquire Reliance Globalcom

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Reliance Communications Ltd, India’s third-biggest telecom company, on Saturday said it is in advanced stage of talks for selling a stake in its enterprise business unit to a consortium of PE funds that includes Samena Capital.

Anil Ambani Group firm, which was previously in talks with Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) for selling a stake in Reliance Globalcom Ltd, hopes to conclude a deal with the consortium of PE funds by May-end, Reliance Communications (RCom) said in a statement.

Imran Khan to kick-off poll campaign Sunday

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Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will Sunday launch the election campaign of his Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) party, a media report said.

The general election is scheduled to be held May 11.

Imran will address rallies across the country and ask voters to cast their decision in favour of “change”, the Dawn reported.

An official statement from the party said that though the campaign was to be launched April 16, an intra-party row over the distribution of poll tickets, and an attack at Imran Khan’s home by the party’s protesting workers resulted in the delay.

Pak SC forms bench to hear treason case against Pervez Musharraf

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Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Saturday constituted a three-member bench to hear petitions seeking directions for initiating high treason trial against former President Pervez Musharraf for subverting the constitution and imposing emergency in 2007.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja will head the bench that will include two other members, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, a Supreme Court statement said.

The bench will hear petitions in the case on Monday.

Sabita Away From Duties, Files Gathering Dust

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Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy has not been attending to her duties ever since her name was mentioned as an accused in the Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s illegal assets case.
Uncertainty is continuing over her future as Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has asked her to withdraw her decision to quit the cabinet.

Britain ready to work with any government in Pak

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Britain is ready to work with any government that emerges after the upcoming general elections in Pakistan, British High Commissioner Adam Thomson has said.

“This year is particularly important as the upcoming elections are a crucial milestone in Pakistan’s democratic history… the first time in decades that there will have been a democratic transfer of power between one civilian government and another,” the Daily Times quoted the British envoy as saying.

The elections are scheduled to be held May 11.

Musharraf’s party calls on Army to save him from ‘judicial activism disgrace’

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A spokesman of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), and a close associate of former president Pervez Musharraf, has urged the military leadership to intervene in the issue immediately.

Rashid Qureshi said that top military leadership would come into action as an ex-general is being denied justice.

According to the Express Tribune, the official said that judicial activism will not be tolerated anymore, adding that Musharraf will continue to face courts until he gets justice.

He also recalled that earlier this year in Dubai he had told Musharraf not to fly to Pakistan.

‘Female suicide bomber kills four in NW Pakistan’

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A female suicide bomber blew herself up outside a hospital in a lawless tribal area of northwest Pakistan Saturday and killed at least four people and wounded four others, officials said.

The attack took place in Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan where the military has carried out several offensives against Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants.

“At least four people were killed and four others were wounded in the blast outside the main gate of the hospital,” Mohammad Riaz, chief doctor at the government hospital, told a news agency.

Pervez Musharraf sent to judicial custody

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Former President Pervez Musharraf was today remanded to judicial custody for a fortnight by an anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani capital, a day after his arrest in a case over the imposition of emergency rule in 2007. Musharraf will be detained at his farmhouse which has been declared as ‘sub-jail’.

Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi of the anti-terrorism court remanded the 69-year-old former military ruler to judicial custody after hearing arguments by Musharraf’s lawyer and the counsel of several persons who filed petitions against him.

China quake: Soldier dies as relief vehicle falls off cliff

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A military vehicle carrying 17 soldiers to China’s quake-hit Sichuan province plummeted off a cliff Saturday, killing one soldier, military officials said.

At least 71 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured Saturday when a massive earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan, Xinhua reported.

The driver of the military vehicle lost control on a winding road in Ya’an around 12.40 p.m..

Witnesses said the driver may have been trying to evade something before hitting the road edge and losing control.

Singapore hit by bomb hoaxes after Boston attacks

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A 34-year-old man has been arrested in Singapore over an online threat to bomb several locations in the city-state in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon attack, police said Saturday.

The man, whose name and nationality were not disclosed, was arrested on Thursday after posting the threat as a comment on a news article about the deadly bombings in Boston, police said in a statement.

“Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had no intention or means to carry out his threats,” said the statement.

Peacekeeper shot dead in Darfur attack: UN

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A UN peacekeeper was shot dead and two others were injured by unidentified gunmen in Sudan’s state of East Darfur, the United Nations said.

The slain man was Nigerian, the UN spokesman’s office said. The United Nations says it is working with Sudan’s government to investigate the yesterday attack on the peacekeeping team’s site near Muhajeria in East Darfur State.

Prince Harry to ‘race to South Pole’ with wounded

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Prince Harry has announced that he will be taking part in a 208-mile race across Antarctica with a team of wounded British servicemen and women in November and December.

The 28-year-old will take on teams from the United States and the Commonwealth in the 335km ‘Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge’ this year, Sky News reported.

“It just remains for me to say to Soldier On Canada, Soldiers To Summits from the US and Soldier On Australia – welcome to the party,” Harry said at a conference in London during which the teams were announced.