Ajmal Kasab a hero, hanging will inspire more attacks: LeT

Islamabad: Hours after 26/11 attacker Ajmal Kasab was executed, terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba on Wednesday described the Pakistani national as a “hero”.

A senior commander of the LeT reportedly said Kasab was a "hero" who will inspire more attacks.

"He was a hero and will inspire other fighters to follow his path," the commander of the Pakistani militant group accused of masterminding the attack told news agency Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.executed at 7.30 am this morning at Pune's Yerwada Jail.

The November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were carried out by 10 terrorists of the LeT.

Fish oil heals bed sores too

Fish oil promotes healing in bed sores of critically ill patients, too, says an Israeli research.

Bed sores result from constant pressure on the skin and underlying tissue due to prolonged sitting or lying down by such patients.

Painful and prone to infection, these sores need to be healed, says Pierre Singer, professor at the Tel Aviv University`s Sackler Faculty of Medicine.

With doctoral candidate Miriam Theilla at the Rabin Medical Centre, Singer designed a randomized experiment to test the impact of dietary fish oil supplements on bed sores, the British Journal of Nutrition and the American Journal of Critical Care reported.

After a three week period of adding eight grams of fish oil to their patients` daily diet, researchers found not only a significant easing of pain and discomfort from bed sores - a 20 to 25 percent improvement, according to the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing - but also a more efficient immune system and a reduction to inflammation throughout the body.

Inspired by the results of a previous study showing that dietary fish oil supplements also raised oxygen levels in body tissues, Singer and fellow researchers sought to determine whether the supplement could also help heal bed sores, which are also formed by a lack of oxygen, reduced blood flow, and skin wetness, according to a Tel Aviv statement.

To test this theory, the researchers developed a randomized study with 40 critically ill patients. Half the patients were given standard hospital diets, and the rest had a daily addition of eight grams of fish oil added in their food, said a university statement.

After a three-week period, the patients in the fish oil group had an average of 20 to 25 percent improvement in the healing of their bed sores compared to the control group.

Fish oil, chock-full of Omega-3 fatty acids and anti-oxidants, can also help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation in the skin and joints, and promote healthy foetal development.

Scientists create dissolvable condom to protect against HIV

London: Researchers have developed a female condom which they claim can protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV by dissolving inside the body and releasing chemicals.

Besides blocking the sperm, the condom could time-release a potent mix of anti-HIV drugs and hormonal contraceptives, the `Daily Mail` reported.

Experts claim the `discreet protection` can safeguard people from HIV and unwanted pregnancy by `melting` inside the body.

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) developed the condom from tiny microfibres through a method called `electrospinning`.

The cloth-like fibres can be woven from medicine into extremely thin `webs`. They are then designed to dissolve after use, either within minutes or over several days.

The team was given USD 1 million to develop the technology, which uses an electric field to charge fluid through air to create the very fine, nanometre-sized fibres.

"Our dream is to create a product women can use to protect themselves from HIV infection and unintended pregnancy," Kim Woodrow, a UW assistant professor of bioengineering, said."We have the drugs to do that. It`s really about delivering them in a way that makes them more potent, and allows a woman to want to use it," Woodrow said.

"This method allows controlled release of multiple compounds. We were able to tune the fibres to have different release properties," co-author Cameron Ball said.

One of the fabrics dissolves within minutes, offering users immediate protection, while another fabric dissolves gradually over a few days, providing an alternative to the birth-control pill, to provide contraception and protect against Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
While the researchers agree the technology is more discrete, they admit that people may have some doubts.
"At the time of sex, are people going to actually use it? That`s where having multiple options really comes into play," Krogstad told the University of Washington.

China to open first subway through longest river

Beijing: China's first subway line to cross the Yangtze River, the country's longest waterway, is expected to start test run this month in the central city of Wuhan, local officials have said.

Over the past three months, subway trains have run through the 27.73-km tunnel for Wuhan Line 2, which links Wuchang and Hankou, the two major areas of the city.

Passengers, however, will only be allowed to board the trains on December 28 when the test run starts, officials with the Hubei provincial transportation bureau said.

The subway line has recently passed the experts' assessment, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

It will be Wuhan's first subway, which is estimated to transport at least 6,00,000 passengers daily by 2015.
As a key transportation route, the line is expected to handle half of the city's cross-Yangtze traffic flow, easing gridlock on bridges over the river.

The construction costs around CNY 14.9 billion (USD 2.37 billion), according to estimates by previous reports.

The 6,300-km Yangtze River, which originates in northwest China's Qinghai Province and flows through 10 provinces and municipalities before emptying into the East China Sea, is a major transport link between the west and east China.

More than 100 bridges across the river are in use.

Wuhan lies at the intersection of the Han and Yangtze rivers and its city proper is divided into three major areas by the rivers.

Mumbai on list for big weather disasters

Washington: A new scientific report warns that global warming is causing more extreme storms and droughts and that the world should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly disasters.

The report says the greatest danger is in highly populated, poor regions of the world, but no region is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges and droughts.

The 594-page report released Wednesday blames a combination of man-made climate change, population shifts and poverty.

The scientists say that some places, particularly parts of Mumbai in India, could become uninhabitable from floods, storms and rising seas. Other cities at lesser risk include Miami, Shanghai, Bangkok, China's Guangzhou, Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and India's Kolkata.

Monsoon finally arrives in Himachal

Shimla: The delayed southwest monsoon finally reached Himachal Pradesh Thursday, bringing respite to the people. Showers lashed capital Shimla, Dharamsala, Manali and other towns, leading to a sharp fall in temperatures across the state.

Gaggal town recorded the highest rainfall of 152 mm.

"The southwest monsoon has arrived at various areas of the state and is advancing in other parts," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office, said.

He said the conditions were favourable for further advance of the monsoon to neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana during the next two-three days.

Singh said the monsoon normally hits the state by June 27.

Last year it was well in time and reached here by June 24, but rainfall during the season was eight percent deficient.

Meanwhile, widespread rains caused a sharp fall in temperatures across the state with Gaggal town recording the highest rainfall of 152 mm in the state, the weather office said.

"The entire hill state witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall, bringing down temperatures by two-three degrees Celsius," Singh said.

Shimla town recorded 66.6 mm of rain, while Dharamsala, Palampur, Manali and Kalpa towns saw rainfall respectively of 102 mm, 124 mm, 30.6 mm and 0.4 mm, according to Singh.

Himachal to turn temple gold into mementoes

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh is set to allow gold-rich temple trusts to melt tonnes of the precious metal in their coffers to turn them into mementoes as is done at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Kashmir.

The government is shortly going to sign an agreement with the public sector Mines and Minerals Trading Corp (MMTC), according to an official.

"An MMTC team will be in Shimla next week to finalise the nitty-gritty before signing the agreement," Rakesh Kanwar, director of the Language, Art and Culture department, told to a news agency.

He said both gold and silver lying in the treasuries of 20 government-controlled Hindu temples would be used for making souvenirs for sale.

"But the conversion of the metals into souvenirs would be done only after its purification," he said.

Besides souvenirs, gold coins weighing between two grams and 20 gm and silver coins from 20 gm to 200 gm would be minted. The coins and the mementoes would have inscriptions of the respective temple deities.

According to government estimates, more than 300 kg of gold and 22,500 kg of silver are with the 20 temples.

The government last year amended the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1984, that allowed conversion of 50 percent of the metal reserves in temples into mementoes.

An official said the conversion would help temples part with loads of gold and silver lying for decades and also check pilferage.

"Keeping the precious metal in safe custody is a costly affair. The income from the sale of coins and mementoes will be used for temple development and social activities," state temple administrator Prem Prasad Pandit said.

The hill state, also known as the "Land of the Gods", has 28 prominent Hindu temples that have a combined cash reserve of Rs.100 crore.

The shrine of Mata Chintpurni in Una district is the richest.

Other rich temple trusts include those of Naina Devi in Bilaspur, Baba Balak Nath in Hamirpur, Jwalaji, Chamunda Devi and Brajeshwari Devi in Kangra and Bhimakali and Hateshwari in Shimla.

According to the government proposal, only 50 percent of the total gold and silver lying with a temple would be converted into coins and mementoes.

"Of the remaining 50 percent, 10 percent is to be kept with the temple trust, 20 percent will be invested in gold bonds of the State Bank of India and the remaining will be used to adorn the deities," said an official.