No logic in shifting gang-rape survivor, say Delhi doctors

As the 23-year-old gang-rape survivor struggles for life in Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital, doctors in the national capital said moving her abroad in such a condition was "unusual". There was "no logic" behind it, they said.

"I can't understand the logic behind it, or rather it is unusual to transfer the girl from Delhi to Singapore when the patient has suffered a cardiac arrest, as I have been informed by the media," Samiran Nundy, chairman, department of surgical gastroenterology and organ transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told IANS.

The 23-year-old survivor was brutally beaten and raped by six men on a moving bus in Delhi Dec 16. She now fights for life with severe multiple intestinal, abdominal and other injuries. She was flown to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital late Wednesday night.

"My suggestion would have been to stabilise her in India and get her out of the crisis; then do her intestinal transplant later. One cannot think about intestinal transplant at this moment. First, the infection spreading in her should be stopped, then one can think about transplant," Nundy said.

Another senior doctor from the trauma centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, requesting anonymity, said: "Maybe it was politically logical to shift the patient. But as a doctor, I would say it is totally insensitive to shift the patient with her infection spreading. Shifting now, that too within a few hours of cardiac arrest, is thoughtless."

Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where the woman is being treated, on Thursday confirmed that she had a cardiac arrest in the early hours of Wednesday.

Nundy also said that in case of intestinal transplant, chances of survival are five years in 60 percent of cases, and one year in 80 percent.

Meanwhile, doctors treating the woman at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore have said she had suffered "significant brain injury" and continued to be in an "extremely critical condition".

Besides a prior cardiac arrest, the woman also had infection in her lungs and abdomen, "as well as significant brain injury", Kelvin Loh, the hospital's chief executive officer, was quoted as saying by the Straits Times.

"The patient is currently struggling against odds, and fighting for her life," he said.

He said a multi-disciplinary team of specialists has been working round-the-clock to treat her since her arrival Thursday. They were "doing everything possible to stabilise her condition over the next few days", he added.

Chinese and Syrians Are in Prayers of the Pope

 

ROME — Speaking from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI called on Tuesday for religious freedom in China and peace for the “defenseless” in Syria in his Christmas message.

 “May peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims,” Benedict said. “I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.”

Wearing a short red cape lined with white ermine and trimmed with gold embroidery, Benedict smiled as he offered Christmas greetings in 65 languages to thousands in St. Peter’s Square. Bands from the Italian armed forces and the Carabinieri police played festive anthems. During Christmas Eve Mass, the 85-year-old pontiff appeared tired and his voice hoarse, but on Tuesday he seemed more energetic as he delivered the traditional message, “Urbi et Orbi,” to the city and the world.

He also addressed China, where in recent weeks the Vatican has been increasingly at odds with the government over the ordination of bishops, who cannot hold office without approval from the authorities, to the dismay of the Vatican.

“May the King of Peace turn his gaze to the new leaders of the People’s Republic of China for the high task which awaits them,” Benedict said. “I express my hope that in fulfilling this task, they will esteem the contribution of the religions, in respect for each, in such a way that they can help to build a fraternal society for the benefit of that noble people and of the whole world.”

Obama tapping Biden to lead multi-agency gun violence policy review

President Obama is launching an administration-wide effort to curb gun violence, underscoring the growing political consensus over tightening gun restrictions following the horrific massacre at a Connecticut elementary school.

Sources confirm to CBS News correspondent Major Garrett that Mr. Obama is tasking Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime gun control advocate, with spearheading the effort.

In remarks from the White House on Wednesday, Mr. Obama will outline a process for pursuing policy changes following the school shooting, though he is not expected to call for specific measures.

The president has vowed to use "whatever power this office holds" to safeguard the nation's children after Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. Twenty children and six adults were killed at the school by a gunman carrying an arsenal of ammunition and a high-powered, military-style rifle.

US school massacre: Obama says yes to assault weapons ban

 Washington: In the aftermath of the massacre at Connecticut school, US President Barack Obama has decided to back a ban on assaults weapon, White House spokesperson Jay Carney said on Tuesday.

After the heinous shootings at Connecticut school reignited the debate over gun control laws in America, White House has listed a slew of measures in order to tackle the situation, that President Obama will be supporting.

One of the measures included a bill on reinstating an assault weapons ban as suggested by US Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Jay Carney said Obama was “actively supportive” of the Senator’s idea of crafting a legislation to reinstate an assault weapons ban and would also back any law to close a loophole related to gun-show sales.

"He is actively supportive of, for example, Senator Feinstein's stated intent to revive a piece of legislation that would reinstate the assault weapons ban," Mr Carney said on Tuesday.

Mr Obama would also look into other gun legislations, including on high-capacity ammunition clips and against a loophole that allows for gun purchases at gun shows without a background check, the White House said as per the BBC report. Obama spoke earlier in the day with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a gun rights advocate who said he would now be open to more regulation of military-style rifles like the one used in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday.

"He is heartened, I should mention, by what we have all heard from some members of Congress who have been longtime opponents of gun control measures, common sense gun control measures like the assault weapons ban and the like," Carney said.

On Monday, Obama met with senior administration officials including Vice President Joe Biden, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the issue.

"It's the beginning of a process where ... we will look for ways to address this problem in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown," Carney said.

Talaash: Aamir Khan's film enters the Rs 100 crore club

 Aamir Khan-starrer suspense thriller 'Taalash' has made it to the Rs 100 crore club. The film has raked in Rs 131.78 crore worldwide.

The film, directed by Reema Kagti, and co-produced by Farhan Akhtar-Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertaiment and Aamir Khan Productions, earned Rs.85.38 crore at the domestic box office within 13 days of its release, Nov 30.

The film has grossed Rs 46.40 crore overseas. 'Talaash' also features Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor.

It was made on a budget of Rs 40 crore, and released across 2,500 screens. Its satellite rights were sold for Rs 40 crore.

India successfully test-fires Agni-I ballistic missile

 BALASORE: Sharpening its missile prowess, India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile with a strike range of 700 km from a test range off Odisha coast.

The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher at about 0830 hrs from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from here, defence sources said.

Describing the test as successful, ITR Director MVKV Prasad said, "It was a practice trial conducted by the Strategic Force Command of the Indian Army."

Agni-I, a single-stage missile powered by solid propellants, has a specialised navigation system which ensures that it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision, a defence scientist said.

Weighing 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-I, which is capable of carrying payloads up to 1000 kg, has already been inducted into the Indian Army.

Agni-I has been developed by advanced systems laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

The last trial of the Agni-I missile was successfully carried out on July 13, 2012 from the same test range.

NASA adds $30 million for space taxi work

  

The U.S. space agency awarded $10 million to privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp, $9.99 million to Boeing and $9.59 million to privately owned Space Exploration Technologies to help the firms get their vehicles certified to fly to the station.

 

Since the retirement of the space shuttles last year, NASA has been dependent on Russia to fly astronauts to the $100 billion orbital outpost, a research laboratory owned and operated by 15 countries that flies about 250 miles above Earth.

The companies have separate agreements with NASA to develop space transportation systems, with the aim of breaking Russia's monopoly by 2017. Boeing was awarded $460 million for its CST-100 capsule, Space Exploration Technologies received $440 million to upgrade its Dragon cargo capsule to carry people and Sierra Nevada was awarded $212.5 million for work on its winged Dream Chaser.

The earlier awards were to help fund the spaceship designs, while the new awards will help fund the process of certifying that they meet NASA safety requirements to carry humans.

"These contracts represent important progress in restoring human spaceflight capabilities to the United States," Phil McAlister, who oversees NASA's commercial spaceflight programs, said in a statement.

"NASA and its industry partners are committed to the goal of safely and cost-effectively launching astronauts from home within the next five years," he said.

The contracts run from January 22, 2013, through May 30, 2014.

Strong earthquake hits Indonesia, wakes up residents in Darwin, Australia

A LARGE earthquake has been reported off the coast of Indonesia.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.1 on the Richter Scale. It says  the quake struck offshore, with the epicentre 236km northwest of the city of Saumlaki. The quake was reported at a depth of 155km.

GeoScience Australia measured the tremor as 7.3 on the Richter scale.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had no immediate tsunami warning.

There were no initial reports of damage to areas around the site in Indonesia.

The quake hit shortly before 4am AEDT today.

It woke up residents in Darwin with several taking to social media to report the tremor.

"Did you feel that earthquake too?" asked one on Facebook.

"Woke, me up .. the whole house was rocking," said another.

Territorians jumped on to the NT News Facebook to share their quake experiences, some even as it was happening.

"I'm on a 5th floor apartment and it woke me up," posted Kylie Nicholson from the CBD.

"I'm out on Croker Island... brought back memories of 2011 Christmas in Christchurch... scary," wrote Clare Schoeller.

"Oh my god, it sounded like a train," said Shelley Carter in suburban Jingili.

Indonesia is located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

Barack Obama leads 2012 Forbes power list, Manmohan Singh 19th

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have been named among the top 20 most powerful persons in the world by Forbes magazine in its annual power rankings which placed US President Barack Obama as number one for a second year in a row.

India's richest businessman Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Arcelor Mittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal also feature in the list that comprises 71 mighty heads of state, CEOs, entrepreneurs and philanthropists who "truly run and shape the world of 7.1 billion people."

Gandhi dropped a notch from last year's list and ranks at number 12 this year ahead of Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and French President Francois Hollande.

Forbes said the 65-year-old leader of India's ruling political party has the reins of the world's second-most-populous country and tenth-largest economy.

"Son Rahul is next in line to take over India's most famous political dynasty," it added.

Coming in at the 20th spot is Singh, the Oxford and Cambridge-educated economist who is the architect of India's economic reforms.

Singh had ranked 19th in the list last year.

"But Singh's quiet intellectualism is increasingly seen as timid and soft," Forbes added.

Ambani, owner of the world's most expensive private residence, ranks 37th in the list.

Forbes said the petrochemical billionaire is India's richest and Reliance Industries is the nation's most valuable company. It however described Ambani's support for disgraced former Goldman Sachs Director Rajat Gupta as a "low point" for him in 2012.

Mittal, ranked 47th in the most powerful people list, has a net worth of USD 16 billion but also has "lots of headaches, including S&P and Moody downgrades of his company's debt to junk status. " A highlight for Mittal during the past year was carrying the Olympic flame in the 2012 Torch Relay. 

Three Tibetan self-immolations take November toll to 20

 

Three Tibetans on Monday set themselves on fire in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai to protest Chinese policies, overseas groups said, even as several hundred Tibetan students were reported to have carried out a protest in a medical college in north-western China in a reflection of continuing unrest in many Tibetan areas.

With Monday’s protests, more than 80 Tibetans have carried out self-immolation protests, bringing fresh security restrictions across many Tibetan areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu. In November alone, more than 20 self-immolations have been reported, mainly in Qinghai and Sichuan.

The exiled Tibetan administration in Dharamsala said a man in his twenties called Wangyal, who was a former monk, set himself on fire in Serthar, in Sichuan. This followed reports that a Tibetan nun had set herself on fire in Malho, in northwestern Qinghai, a province where several immolations were reported this past month in the monastery town of Rebkong, or Tongren in Chinese.

An 18-year-old named Kunchok Tsering was reported to have died on Monday in Amchok, close to the famous Labrang monastery in Gansu province, sources in Dharamsala said citing their contacts in the region.

On Saturday, a top Communist Party of China (CPC) official in Sichuan, where many protests have been reported in the predominantly Tibetan county of Aba, called for strengthening supervision of monasteries and "fighting separatism". The Chinese government has accused exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and exiled groups in Dharamsala of encouraging the protests and of plotting to split Tibet. Officials in Beijing have also questioned how Dharamsala has been able to access videos and photographs of the self-immolations, often within hours of the events, alleging a conspiracy.

The Dalai Lama has strongly denied the Chinese accusations, and has said that the widespread unrest in many Tibetan areas was because of restrictive Chinese policies. The Tibetan spiritual leader has also called for an international fact-finding mission to establish the root of the problems. Chinese officials at the recently concluded CPC National Congress ruled out allowing any foreign observers into Tibetan areas, blaming separatists for the unrest.

Wang Dongming, the CPC Party Chief in Sichuan, in a speech in Aba on Saturday stressed that the government would not tolerate instability. "Our struggle with the Dalai [Lama] splittist clique is long-term, arduous and complicated. In fighting separatism and upholding stability we can never relax our work in the slightest," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "We must strengthen and be innovative in accordance with law in our management of the monasteries," he added, "and unite the people in the common task to fight separatism and maintain stability."

Savita's death: Abortion requests missing from medical file

 

LONDON: Praveen Halappanavar, husband of an Indian dentist who died due to pregnancy-related complications after being denied abortion in Ireland, says the medical notes made available to him do not contain their repeated pleas for a termination, but mention trivial requests for tea and toast.

"They have all the other information including requests for tea and toast and for an extra blanket, all of that is in the notes, but the important information about requesting the termination is not," Praveen, whose 31-year-old wife Savita died on October 28 at Galway University Hospital, said.

The detailed medical records from the hospital, which were made available to Praveen, do not include doctors' notes for Monday, October 22 — the day the couple first requested a termination. While doctors' notes are available for Tuesday, October 23, they make no reference to the requested termination which was reiterated on that date.

Praveen described how the missing information had destroyed his faith in the Irish Republic's Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

"It's time to get the facts and the truth for Savita," he was quoted as saying by Belfast Telegraph.

"I don't have any faith in the HSE. I saw (the files) earlier this week. It was a blow and that was the reason why we never wanted the HSE inquiry," said Praveen, who has been demanding a full public probe.

It has also emerged that a number of clinical notes were added to the file after Savita's death.

However, none of these refer to the termination request. Tony O'Brien, head of the HSE, has asked the patient safety watchdog, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), to begin a separate investigation.

Meanwhile, Irish President Michael D Higgins, who earlier said the probe into Savita's death must meet the needs of her family as also the State, defended his intervention in the row.

UN 'failed Sri Lanka civilians', says internal probe

  

The United Nations failed in its mandate to protect civilians in the last months of Sri Lanka's bloody civil war, a leaked draft of a highly critical internal UN report says.

"Events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN," it concludes.

The government and Tamil rebels are accused of war crimes in the brutal conflict which ended in May 2009.

The UN's former humanitarian chief, John Holmes, has criticised the report.

Mr Holmes said the UN faced "some very difficult dilemmas" at the time and could be criticised for the decisions it had taken.

"But the idea that if we behaved differently, the Sri Lankan government would have behaved differently I think is not one that is easy to reconcile with the reality at the time," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.

The UN does not comment on leaked reports and says it will publish the final version.

The 26-year war left at least 100,000 people dead. There are still no confirmed figures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the last months of battle. An earlier UN investigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people had been killed in the final five months alone. Others suggest the number of deaths could be even higher.

India 'concerned' over pregnant woman's death in Ireland

 

NEW DELHI — India on Thursday expressed "concern" over the death of a pregnant Indian woman in Ireland after doctors allegedly refused her an abortion because it was against the laws of the country.

Savita Halappanavar, who was 17 weeks pregnant, died of septicaemia on October 28, a week after she was admitted to University Hospital Galway in the west of the country.

"We deeply regret the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar... The death of an Indian national in such circumstances is a matter of concern," foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told a news conference.

"We understand that the Irish authorities have initiated two inquiries (and) we are awaiting the results of these inquiries and we will take it from there," he said in New Delhi.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny described the death of the 31-year-old dentist as a "tragedy".

Halappanavar repeatedly asked staff at the hospital to terminate her pregnancy because she had severe back pain and was miscarrying, her family said.

Doctors allegedly refused her demand, telling her that "this is a Catholic country".

The hospital said it would begin a review of her death as soon as it could consult with her family, who are in India for her funeral.

Abortion is illegal in Roman Catholic-dominated Ireland except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.

Ireland's abortion laws have been the subject of debate for years.

Under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, women in Ireland are legally entitled to an abortion when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. But legislation has never been passed to reflect this.

A 1982 referendum acknowledged the "right to life of the unborn... with due regard to the life of the mother", while a second in 1992 added an amendment that permitted the right to travel abroad for an abortion.

The Times of India newspaper said Praveen, the women's 34-year-old husband, had blamed New Delhi for failing to extend timely help to his wife.

Speaking from his home in the southern state of Karnataka, he said Indian authorities had not been "willing to go out of their way to help" the family.

US declares support for united Syrian opposition

WASHINGTON: The United States late Sunday declared its support for the united Syrian opposition after various groups opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad decided to come together following talks in Doha, Qatar.

"We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad's bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve," State department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

Petraeus scandal broke as lover was celebrating birthday

While America's most famous soldier was enduring a dramatic fall from grace last Friday, the woman who brought about his downfall carried on seemingly regardless.

Paula Broadwell, a mother of two young children, was preparing to celebrate her 40th birthday with her husband and friends at a venue just miles from the CIA chief's headquarters.

The small group were reported to have dined at The Inn at Little Washington, an exclusive restaurant in rural Virginia not far from Washington DC, on Friday evening despite the headlines rolling across US television screens.

Sandy’s wrath lingers in US

NEW YORK: A grim routine set in Friday as superstorm Sandy's US victims struggled to adjust to gas lines, power outages and temporary housing while the death toll from the monster cyclone approached 100.

New York's famed subway lurched back to life with limited service Thursday, offering some relief from the storm-battered city's gridlock, but East Coast residents faced long lines at filling stations and lingering blackouts.

 At least 92 people have now been reported dead across the 15 states hit by Monday night's unprecedented storm, including 40 in , while some economists have estimated the disaster will cost up to $50 billion.

 More bodies are being found as police and firefighters continue "their lifesaving mission, going block-by-block and door-to-door in the areas devastated by the hurricane," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.

 With about 650,000 people still without power in New York, Bloomberg said the city would start handing out food and water, while National Guard officers and police would go into high-rise buildings to help the elderly.

 The Con Edison power company said some New Yorkers would have to wait until November 11 before electricity is restored, and the National Guard was still rescuing people trapped in flooded homes in nearby Hoboken, New Jersey.

 The floodwaters receded slowly, leaving scenes of desolation. A yacht, thrown up by the storm, blocked one street near the Hoboken ferry terminal.

 The Harman family on Thursday was bailing out the flooded garage they had used as a storage space. Already, they had filled a dumpster with ruined belongings, and a new pile -- children's toys, furniture and household equipment -- gathered on the sidewalk.

 Christine Harman, a 43-year-old lawyer, said Hoboken residents were trying to keep their spirits up despite the lack of heat, power and in some apartments, water.

 "We're sticking together. In our building we had a party last night. We had a grill on the roof and we cooked the meat that was going to go bad and drank the beer that was going to go off," she told AFP.

 New Jersey, which President Barack Obama visited on Wednesday, saw the most widespread destruction, with entire communities along the coast flooded and some 1.8 million people still without power days after the storm.

Obama and Republican White House challenger Mitt Romney resumed full campaigning on Thursday five days out from a nailbiter election, although the tone of their attacks was more muted in the aftermath of the tragedy.

 As he launched an ambitious swing through four vital battleground states, Obama took the time to call the governors of worst-hit states New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from aboard Air Force One, the White House said.

 Meanwhile, the first subway trains brought some cheer to New York City.

 A skeleton service started just before dawn and trains were quickly packed. Train rides were to be free on Thursday and Friday. "It is not comfortable, but it is a huge relief to get moving again," said commuter Dave Stetman.

In a bid to avoid traffic gridlock, Bloomberg said that until Friday cars entering Manhattan must carry at least three people. Police set up checkpoints at bridges and turned back hundreds of vehicles.

 Some heartbreaking stories have emerged from the storm.

 Two brothers, aged two and four, were swept from their mother's arms in the floods as the family tried to escape the rising seas in the New York City borough of Staten Island.

Glenda Moore's car became stuck in the water, and she was carrying the boys to seek help when they were swept away, the New York Post said. The boys, Connor aged four and Brandon aged two, were later found dead.

Cyclone Nilam expected to make landfall between Puducherry and Chennai this evening: 10 latest developments

Chennai:  Cyclonic storm Nilam is expected to make landfall between Puducherry and Chennai this evening. The Meteorological Department has said that the cyclone will hit the coast anytime between 4 and 6 pm today.

Here are the 10 latest developments on this story:

The cyclone is currently 250 kilometres away, and is moving towards Chennai. They city has been witnessing incessant rain and strong winds since Tuesday morning.

Under the influence of the system, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh over the next 24 hours. Besides Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore and Villupuram too have been witnessing rains. Schools and colleges across several districts, including Chennai and Cuddalore, remained closed for the second day today on account of incessant showers. 

In Andhra Pradesh, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and Ongole districts are on high alert. A warning signal has been issued in Krishnapatnam, Vadarevu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam ports while fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea.  Nellore and Prakasam are expected to face a major impact of the cyclone.

Heavy rain in Bangalore today also has been attributed to cyclone Nilam.  The sudden dip in temperature in the city and also several other parts of Karnataka are also due to cyclone Nilam, the Met Department has said. The rain has also resulted in traffic jams at several places in Bangalore. 

Though Nilam has been categorised as a "marginal cyclone", authorities in coastal Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh say they are prepared for the worst and all preparations are in place. Tamil Nadu government has deputed 13 IAS officers to supervise preparations and relief work.

The cyclone is expected to reach wind speed of up to 90 kilometres per hour at the time of landfall. Low-lying areas of Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts could be inundated due to the storm surge, officials have warned.

There have been no major evacuations so far. However all arrangements are in place. In Chennai, 282 schools will serve as relief centres. Community kitchens have also been arranged. Cyclone shelters have also been organised in Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts with essential supplies. The government plans to send generators and sand bags to vulnerable areas in the districts.

According to officials, the sea will be "very rough to high" and fishermen in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts have been advised to stay off the sea. Boats have been moved to low-lying areas.

The Chennai port on the southeast coast has stopped cargo operations after a cyclone. The port handles about 10 percent of traffic passing through India's major ports, covering a variety of cargoes including crude oil, petroleum products and agricultural commodities.Windspeeds can reach upto 90 km in Chennai and there could be some disruption in communication lines, say officials. Danger signals ranging from five to seven have been hoisted at Chennai, Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Puducherry ports.

IRDA asks health insurers for indicative premiums for five years on new products

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked health insurance companies to indicate premium to be paid by the policyholder in the first five yearswhile filing new products for its approval.

Typhoon-triggered flooding leaves 70 boats missing on China-Vietnam border river

NANNING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Son-Tinh has brought strong wind and downpours to south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region since Sunday, sinking six boats and causing another 70 to go missing on a China-Vietnam border river, police said Tuesday.

No casualties have been reported so far, said a spokesman with the public security bureau of the city of Fangchenggang.

The typhoon caused a flood on the Beilun River, with 70 boats reported missing, six sunken and another one stranded in Vietnamese territory, the spokesman said.

The region's flood control and drought relief headquarters said heavy rains are still pounding the city of Dongxing. The headquarters has asked the local government to take precautionary measures to prevent mudslides or other disasters.

Typhoon Son-Tinh has killed one person and left another five missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

It weakened to a strong tropical storm on Monday morning after sweeping across south China's Hainan province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and north Vietnam, forcing the relocation of tens of thousands of residents.

Maritime authorities in Guangxi rescued 26 Vietnamese women and children who were trapped on their boats on the Beilun River on Monday morning.

Apple: Innovative IPad Mini

Apple has unveiled its widely-anticipated 7.9in tablet, the iPad Mini. The iPad Mini will compete straight with cheaper similar-sized tablets lately launched by Google, Amazon, Samsung and others. The iPad Mini launch ends years of speculation that Apple was considering launching a new, smaller version of its bestselling iPad range.

During the presentation, Mr. Schiller stressed out the importance of being able to hold the device in one hand a nod to the more travel-friendly appeal of the slighter devices. However, Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum, said he had expected the iPad Mini to be more competitively priced. It forecast that Apple would hold a 68% share of the marketplace in 2012, compared to 29% for Android tablets.

Android application: leaks private facts

Research indicates Millions of people are using Android apps that can be tricked into enlightening personal data. Scientists tested 13,500 Android apps and establish almost 8% failed to protect bank account and social media logins. Google has yet to remark on the study and its findings. An invader could even re-direct a request to transfer funds, whereas making it look to the app user like the transaction was proceeding unmoved.

These apps unsuccessful to apply standard scrambling systems, allowing man-in-the-middle attacks to expose data that passes back and forth when devices communicate with websites. Most prominently, investigate is needed to study which counter-measures offer the right amalgamation of usability for developers and users, security benefits and economic incentives to be deployed on a large scale.

American Muslims overwhelmingly support Obama: Poll

 

American Muslims overwhelmingly support President Barack Obama in his re-election bid, according to a new poll. 

Sixty-eight per cent of the respondents said they will vote to re-elect Obama, while only seven per cent said they will vote for his Republican rival Mitt Romney, the poll released by Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

The poll, conducted by an independent research firm on behalf of the Washington-based CAIR, also indicates that 91 per cent of registered Muslim voters will go to the polls on November 6.

The random survey of 500 registered Muslim voters, conducted in the first two weeks of October, has a margin of error of five percent. 

The survey also indicated that 25 per cent of American Muslim registered voters are still undecided about whom to vote for in this November's presidential election. 

"These results indicate that a large percentage of American Muslim voters are still open to appeals from presidential candidates and that American Muslims are potentially in a position to decide this year's election," said CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad. 

According to the survey, the top five issues of importance to American Muslim voters are jobs and the economy, education, health care policy, Medicare and Social Security, and civil rights. 

As many as 55 per cent of Muslim voters consider themselves moderate and 26 per cent liberal, while 16 per cent consider themselves conservative, it said. 

The percentage of those who said they are closer to the Democratic Party grew from 49 per cent in a similar poll taken in 2008 to 66 per cent today.

New York bomb plotter son of Bangladeshi banker

London: A Bangladeshi student who allegedly planned to blow up the US Federal Reserve is the son of a prominent banker who spent all his savings sending him to the US, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis travelled to the US in January after he reportedly talked his father, vice-president of a bank in Bangladesh, into financing his education in Missouri.

But he left after just one term and moved to New York City, claiming he hoped to transfer his studies - when in fact he began plotting how to "destroy America".

His family, from a middle-class neighbourhood of Dhaka, wept as they called the arrest "a racist conspiracy" and referred to Nafis as their "pride and joy", the Mail said.

He was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly tried to remotely detonate a fake 1,000-pound car bomb outside the building in lower Manhattan.

Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah said his son, who he said was a devout Muslim, had asked him to finance his education in the US, telling him it was worth the money.

"I spent all my savings to send him to America," Ahsanullah told reporters from his home. He called on the Bangladesh government to intervene to get his son back.

Devices with next-generation screens: HTC and Sharp

HTC and Sharp have unveiled devices featuring next-generation screens. This offers 25-40% higher decree than comparable devices from Samsung, Apple, Nokia and LG. Sharp's new Aquos Pad tablet is the initial to use its new Igzo technology which promises sharper metaphors while using less power. Sharp suggests at least one of its consumers also intended to incorporate the modernization in its devices.

The Taiwanese firm is marketing both the size and resolution of its screen as being ideal to watch 1080p movies. Its size spaces it anywhere between a typical smart phone and tablet in a category some term a "phablet". Over the next fortnight Microsoft, Apple and Google have all planned major product launches. According to Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe, Screen decree has become a differential point for many manufacturers.

10 Worst Polluting Countries

They're responsible for emitting more carbon dioxide than the rest of the world combined, these are the 10 worst polluting countries.

Afghans protest against French cartoons, US film

KABUL — Hundreds of Afghans on Thursday protested for the first time against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in France and staged fresh rallies against a US-made anti-Islam film.

About 300 students chanted "death to France, death to America" in a western neighbourhood of the capital Kabul, an AFP photographer said.

Nearby, hundreds more gathered on a flyover and chanted "death to America" and "long live Islam, long live Afghanistan", another AFP photographer said.

Both demonstrations were peaceful, condemning new Mohammed cartoons published by a French satirical magazine on Wednesday and the low-budget film "Innocence of Muslims", which has triggered protests around the world.

Similar rallies have been held across Afghanistan in the last four days.

On Monday, a protest of more than 1,000 residents in eastern Kabul turned violent when the crowd set fire to cars and threw stones at police. About 50 officers were slightly wounded.

Afghanistan is a devoutly Muslim nation and perceived insults to religion are taken very seriously, often with violent consequences.

Earlier this year 40 people were killed in street unrest over the burning of copies of the Koran by US soldiers on a base.

France has said that on Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, it will close diplomatic missions, cultural centres and French schools in around 20 Muslim countries for fear of violent protests over the cartoons.

More than 30 people have been killed worldwide in attacks and violent protests linked to "Innocence of Muslims", including 12 people who died in an attack by a female suicide bomber in Kabul on Tuesday.

The crudely made film produced by US-based extremist Christians has triggered protests in at least 20 countries since excerpts were posted online.

In reaction to the uproar, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons mocking the film and caricaturing the Muslim prophet, including two drawings showing him naked.

Charlie Hebdo's editor, Stephane Charbonnier, described those getting irate over the cartoons as "ridiculous clowns" and accused the French government of pandering to them by criticising him for being provocative.

The left-wing publication's offices were firebombed last year after it published an edition "guest-edited by Mohammed" that it called Sharia Hebdo.

US ambassador to Libya killed, Obama calls it 'outrageous attack'

BENGHAZI: The US ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack on their car, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a US-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad. 

US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the "outrageous attack" that killed ambassador and three other Americans. 

Gunmen had attacked and burned the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, a center of last year's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, late on Tuesday evening, killing one US consular official. The building was evacuated. 

The Libyan official said the ambassador, Christopher Stevens, was being driven from the consulate building to a safer location when gunmen opened fire. 

"The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them," the official in Benghazi told Reuters. 

There was no immediate comment from the state department in Washington. US ambassadors in such volatile countries are accompanied by tight security, usually travelling in well-protected convoys. Security officials will be considering whether the two attacks were coordinated. 

Libyan deputy prime minister Mustafa Abu Shagour condemned the killing of the US diplomats as a cowardly act. 

The consular official had died after clashes between Libyan security forces and Islamist militants around the consulate building. Looters raided the empty compound and some onlookers took pictures after calm returned. 

Build-up to London 2012 Olympic Ceremony

 The opening ceremony of the London Olympics is due to take place later after seven years of preparations 

The Olympic torch is on the final day of its 70-day UK journey, travelling down the Thames and finally lighting the cauldron during the Opening Ceremony

Researches Says Antarctic rift: speeding ice thaw

According to researchers, a rift in the Antarctic rock as deep as the Grand Canyon is increasing ice melt from the continent. The panel writes in Nature journal that the gorge is bringing more warm sea water to the ice sheet, speeding up melt. The rift lies under the Ferrigno Ice Stream on a stretch of coast so far-off that it has only been visited once formerly.

A UK team establishes the Ferrigno rift using ice-penetrating radar, and showed it to be on 1.5km deep. The team towed ice-penetrating radar kit at the rear a snowmobile, traversing an overall of about 2,500km. A total melt of either piece would raise sea levels internationally by some metres.The scientists propose that throughout Ice Ages, when sea levels were much lower than at present, the rift would have channelled a major ice stream from side to side.

First spiral galaxy stuns astronomers

Astronomers have dappled the first known spiral galaxy, dating to just three billion years after the Big Bang. They first speckled BX442 as the one and only spiral-looking object in a study of 300 galaxies carried out by the Hubble space telescope, when they were shocked to see what looked to be a spiral galaxy. Those observations confirmed a hint apparent in the Hubble data: that BX442 was being orbited by a smaller dwarf galaxy at its edges.

To get a closer look at BX442, the team went on to use the OH-Suppressing Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph at the Keck observatory in Hawaii which can take away the effect of all the water that lies between the Earth and galaxies at such astronomical distances. The observations confirmed a hint apparent in the Hubble data: that BX442 was being orbited by a lesser dwarf galaxy at its edges.

Study Says Iceberg breaks off from Greenland's Petermann Glacier

According to scientists The Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland has calved an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan. NASA satellite images show the island breaking off a tongue of ice that extends at the end of the glacier. Glaciers do calve icebergs obviously, other than the level of the changes to the Petermann Glacier in current years has taken many experts by shock.

 Some other observers have gone further. "It's dramatic. It's disturbing, University of Delaware's Andreas Muenchow told the Associated Press. In 2010 an ice island measuring 250 square km broke off the same glacier. According to the Canadian Ice Service Icebergs from the Petermann Glacier sometimes get to the coast off Newfoundland in Canada, posturing a danger to shipping and navigation. 

US Approves Truvada: HIV-prevention medicine

Truvada, the HIV prevention drug approved by US health regulators. The opinion of the Food and Drug Administration is that Truvada can be used by persons at high risk of disease and anyone who may hold in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners. There have been concerns the circulation of such a drug could engender a false sense of security. Present have also been worries that a drug-resistant strain of HIV could expand.

Studies since 2010 showed that Truvada reduced the risk of HIV in healthy gay men and among HIV-negative heterosexual partners of HIV-positive people by between 44% and 73%. A number of health workers and groups active in the HIV society opposed a green light for the once-daily pill. Truvada, made by California-based Gilead Sciences, is previously backed by the FDA to be in use with existing anti-retroviral drugs for people who contain HIV.

Guwahati: School girl molested by 20 men, only 4 arrested

 

Guwahati: India is outraged over the shocking molestation of a girl by a group of jeering men in full public view in a busy area.

The incident occurred on July 10 (Monday night) in front of a bar on the Guwahati-Shillong Road, which led to a public outcry after a video of the shocking incident was uploaded on Youtube.

Director General of Police Assam has said 11 of the 12 accused have been identified. While three people were arrested last night, one more person was held by the police today in connection with the shameful incident.

The arrested included a contractual employee of Assam Electronic Development Corporation Ltd, Amarjyoti Kalita. The other two arrested were Dhanonjoy Basfor and Bulbul Das. The identity of the fourth accused is yet to be ascertained.

"One more person has been arrested and 12 others have been identified," Assam Director General of Police, Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury, told a news agency today. is outraged over the shocking molestation of a girl by a group of jeering men in full public in a busy public area.

The incident, which occurred on July 10, came to light after the video of the incident went viral on the Internet.

As per reports, the girl along with a friend had gone to bar located on the Guwahati-Shillong road to attend a birthday party there on July 10. However, she entered into a brawl with her friend, following which a group of men took advantage of the situation and molested her.

"Thanks to the prompt media coverage, we have got the video clip of the brawl and have identified 12 of them. We will take strong action against the guilty,” the DGP said.

Narrating the sequence of events, Chowdhury said, “Four girls and two boys, apparently known to each other, entered the bar on Monday night, where they subsequently had a brawl and were forced outside by the establishment’s security.”

"When the six came out on the streets, local people taking advantage of the situation pushed and pulled one of the girls and attempted to strip and molest her," the DGP said.

"The police were alerted and they reached the scene immediately after the incident and rescued the girl," he said.

Asked about the safety of women in Guwahati, the DGP said, "This incident does not prove that there are predators lurking in the city".

"This is just an isolated incident when local people took advantage of the situation and indulged in the crime," the DGP said.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the incident should not have been allowed.

The accused were framed under Sec 341 (wrongful restraint) 143 (unlawful assembly), 294 (obscene act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC following a written complaint filed by girl's mother.

Chairperson of Assam State Commission for Women, Neera Barooah, said that the commission had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and will decide on the next course of action based on police action and report.

Face book "likes"Fake users hurts

According to a study, companies are wasting large sums of money on adverts to gain likes from Face book members who have no real interest in their products. The opinion of the security expert has said some of the profiles appeared to be fakes run by computer programs to spread spam. The vast majority of Face book’s revenues come from advertising and its performance will be scrutinized when it releases its financial results on 26 July - the first such report since its flotation.

Likes are highly valued by many leading brands marketing departments. Graham Cluley of the security firm Sophos said that Spammers and malware authors can mass-produce false Face book profiles to help them extend dangerous links and spam, and trick people into befriending them. All of these companies have access to Face book’s analytics which allow them to see the identities of people who have liked their pages, yet this has not been flagged as an issue.

Smartphone sales: Samsung profits surge 79% boosted

According to Samsung Electronics, it expects its profits to surge 79% in the second quarter as sales of its smart phones continue to grow. Samsung overtook Nokia as the world's largest maker of mobile phones earlier this year. Samsung launched the Galaxy S III, the latest version of its Galaxy range of smart phones, in May this year, and the gadget has been well received in the market. The opinion of Park Jong-Min a fund manager with ING Investment Management is that we expect a alteration in Samsung's earnings in the fourth quarter, as the launch of the new iPhone will lead to a decline in Samsung's profit in the high-end Smartphone business.

 

 

Earlier this month, a court banned sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus Smartphone and also its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet PC in the US, until it decides on the continuing patent case between the two firms. But Analysts said the biggest fear for Samsung is that the dispute may become bigger and impact other Samsung products, including the Galaxy S III.

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3D-PRINTED SUGAR SET-UP TO HELP OUT GROW SIMULATED LIVER

Researchers have motivated a step closer to creating an artificial liver, following a US team fashioned a template for blood vessels to grow into, using sugar. The technology, in which a 3D printer uses sugar as its construction material, could one day be used for transplants. Sugar is a very nice material that can be dissolved away in the presence of living tissue very responsive to organic tissue.

According to Dr Miller's colleague Prof Sangeeta Bhatia, from MIT, the technique was comparable to creating the shape of a vase in wax, neighboring it with molten metal and then melting the wax away. Sugar is a very good material that can be dissolved away in the presence of living tissue very forthcoming to organic tissue. The body's cardiovascular system blood vessels resolve this problem with natural cells and tissues.

GOOGLE: NEXUS TABLET MADE BY ASUS AND PROJECT GLASS PRE-ORDERS

Google has unveiled the Nexus 7 - its first own-brand tablet. The device is ready by the Taiwanese industry Asus rather than the firm's own Motorola hardware unit. It runs the novel Jelly Bean version of Android. An 8GB version will be sold for $199 from mid-July plunging it directly against Amazon's Kindle Fire. The firm also showed off its internet-connected enlarged reality glasses revealing the first models would ship in 2013.

The Google Play site said the 8GB model would sell for £159 in the UK, and the 16GB version for £199. Tech players recognize that given the increasing importance of tablet campaign, they can no longer risk selling their software and services solely through other people's products. The second, to overlay information onto what they are seeing in front of them such as how fast they are stirring or the best way to get to one more place. The firm described the US-manufactured item as the "world's first ever social streaming device.

RESEARCHES REVEALS TWISTED LIGHT CARRIES 2.5 TERABITS OF DATA PER SECOND

Researchers have clocked light beams made of warped waves carrying 2.5 terabits of information the capability of more than 66 DVDs per second. The method relies on manipulating what is known as the orbital angular momentum of the waves. Angular momentum is a greasy thought while applied to light, but an analogy closer to home is the Earth itself. Current work suggests that the deception could greatly increase the data-carrying ability in Wi-Fi and optical fibers.

Orbital angular momentum has only recently come to the fore as a promising means to achieve the similar trick. Most recently in Italy Bo Thide from Swedish Institute of Space Physics and a team of colleagues established the principle via sending beams made up of two dissimilar OAM states crosswise a canal in Venice, an experiment they described in the New Journal of Physics. According to Alan Willner a number of robust tools would be wanted to manipulate OAM states and to generate and deliver beams made up of quite a few of them.

LEBRON JAMES: GREAT CHAMPIONSHIP AS HEAT WIN NBA FINALS

These used to be the moments that suffocated LeBron James. End of a game, the world watching, 

everybody expecting greatness. A TV camera would catch James sitting on the bench, gnawing on his fingernails throughout a rest. He'd take the court, and the ball and the match would find their way into his large hands. The pressure, the accountability to live up to his enormous faculty, was too much for him to shoulder.

No longer is James haunted by his demons. He embraces these moments nowadays, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock late Thursday, James was lastly free of the burden he had carried for so long. Finally, the world could call him a champion. 

James always required a challenge to validate his greatness. It most likely won't change everyone's perception of him, but it will help, as will the way in which James has conceded himself this season. He's displayed a level of humility and openness he'd infrequently shown.

US apology for ‘death camp’ remarks insufficient

 Embassy spokesman ‘surprised’ that US leader would misidentify Nazi camps as ‘Polish’ in speech honoring resistance fighter Jan Karski.

BERLIN – US President Barack Obama’s use of the term “Polish death camps” while awarding a posthumous Medal of Freedom to Polish-American resistance fighter Jan Karski sparked the Eastern European country’s prime minister to call for a more explicit apology and historical correction.

The White House expressed regret on Tuesday after Poland took offense at the term.

“Fluent in four languages, possessed of a photographic memory, Jan served as a courier for the Polish resistance during the darkest days of World War II,” the US president said in honoring Karski. “Before one trip across enemy lines, resistance fighters told him that Jews were being murdered on a massive scale, and smuggled him into the Warsaw Ghetto and a Polish death camp to see for himself. Jan took that information to president Franklin Roosevelt, giving one of the first accounts of the Holocaust and imploring to the world to take action.”

US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor stated that Obama “misspoke” by referring to “Polish death camps” rather than “Nazi death camps” inside occupied Poland.

Vietor’s statement came after Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski tweeted that Obama “will apologize for this outrageous error,” ascribing it to “ignorance and incompetence,” according to BuzzFeed.

Poles insist on the term “Nazi death camps” to describe facilities such as Auschwitz and Sobibor.

“We regret this misstatement, which should not detract from the clear intention to honor Mr. Karski and those brave citizens who stood on the side of human dignity in the face of tyranny,” Vietor said.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that “this truth about World War II is important and must also have importance for every other nation. I am convinced that today, our American friends are capable of a stronger reaction – a clearer one, and one which perhaps eliminates, once and for all, these types of mistakes – than just the correction itself and the regret which we heard from the White House spokesperson.”

Sky Broadband blocks right to use to The Pirate Bay

Sky Broadband has started blocking access to file-sharing site The Pirate Bay. A sixth worker, BT, has been specified additional time to compose the essential preparations. It is expected to proceed within the next fortnight. This is the second court order of its type that Sky has complied with subsequent its building block on Newzbin 2 during December.

Temporarily, O2 is put to go back to the High Court on Thursday for a hearing into a split patent objection. A judge will listen to proof in a argument with Golden Eye intercontinental, a partial corporation which trades as Ben Dover Productions making pornographic pictures. According to Julian Becker, director of Golden Eye, in our initial letter we seek to locate out more information concerning evidence of an infringement of our copyright.