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June 11 (Reuters) – Kansai Electric Power Co (9503.T), Japan’s second-biggest utility, said on Friday it plans to restart the 500-megawatt No.2 reactor at its Mihama plant in late June.
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The unit has been shut since April 24 due to a problem related to the unit’s cooling system. (Reporting by James Topham and Osamu Tsukimori)
Kolkata, May 11 (ANI): Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said the bank would come out with a report on food inflation in a few weeks time.
Talking to reporters here, Gokarn said that the paper would study the impact of monsoon on the food price rise and whether the rise in excessive demand for sugar, milk and pulses indicated a shift in the nutritional choices of the people.
He also said a good monsoon should augur well for the food prices.
“I have no control over the monsoons, I have no idea as to how the monsoon process will play out. We are getting initial forecast of the monsoons being normal but ultimately the process, the path of the food prices in the short term over the next few months will depend significantly how good the monsoons are,” he said.
“So, if we have a normal monsoon across the country we should see the food prices started to come down over the course of the next few months,” he added.
According to the government data, India”s annual food inflation hovered around 16.04 percent for the week ended April 24.
Inflation is spreading to non -food manufactured items, which may keep pressure on overall inflation. Last month, RBI tightened its monetary policy with a view to arresting food inflation from spreading to other sectors.
Last year, the government”s forecast of a normal monsoon proved wrong and the country grappled instead with a baking drought caused by its driest monsoon in 37 years.
Good rainfall would help India”s farm output rebound after last year”s drought, which triggered a sustained rise in inflation that boosted food prices 17.7 percent in the 12 months to April 10, and fuel prices by 12.5 percent. (ANI)
New York, May 5 (ANI): Faisal Shahzad, the 30-year-old Pakistani origin terror suspect who has been accused of planting an explosive device in a parked SUV at New York’s Times Square, has told investigators that he received bomb-making training during a five-month trip to Pakistan.
He disclosed that the training was imparted to him in Waziristan, a tribal region close to the Afghan border and a Taliban bastion. He also admitted that he was the one who carried out the failed attack.
Connecticut resident Shahzad said he was the only individual involved in the foiled bombing attempt.
Authorities apprehended Shahzad while he was trying to flee New York for Dubai on an Emirates flight.
US Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference in Washington that Shahzad’s act was a “terrorist plot aimed at killing Americans.”
Despite Shahzad”s claims that he acted alone, authorities “will not rest until we have brought everyone responsible to justice,” the New York Post quoted him, as saying.
“Based on what we know so far, it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in our country,” he added.
Holder claimed that Shahzad, a naturalized US citizen, had admitted to the crime and was talking to authorities.
“The investigation is ongoing,” he said without elaborating further.
According to the charges, Faisal bought the SUV on April 24 for 1,300 dollars, using thirteen 100-dollar bills.
When the cops secured the car, they found a set of keys inside — one of which opened the front door of his Bridgeport home, the other was for an Isuzu owned by him.
Using a pre-paid cell phone, Faisal called a fireworks store in Pennsylvania and received several calls from Pakistan, according to court papers.
Meanwhile, authorities in Pakistan raided four different locations and have rounded up at least ten suspects, some of whom may be related to Shahzad.
Pakistani police told NBC News that Shahzad travelled from the US to Karachi on July 3, 2009, and returned to New York on August 8, 2009.
During that time, he is believed to have travelled to Peshawar, a city in the region bordering Afghanistan.
According to New York Post, the explosive device found inside the SUV had alarm clocks connected to a 16-ounce can filled with fireworks, which were intended to detonate gas cans and set propane tanks afire in a chain reaction.
Cops said the bomb could have produced “a significant fireball” with enough force to kill pedestrians and destroy nearby buildings.
Melbourne, April 29 (ANI): The reports of UFO sightings in Australia have gone up with at least seven separate incidents having been reported in the past week.
The sighting of some “unexplained phenomena” has been happening almost every night since the first was reported last week, and most have taken place in Darwin’s rural area.
A woman, who wants to be identified as only Shirel, reported the first sighting on April 21, saying that she saw the strange lights from her Humpty Doo home hovering over Howard Springs.
“The lights were really low in the sky, really bright, with flashing dots,” the Daily Telegraph quoted her as saying.
“Three of them formed a semi-circle and they hovered over the area for at least half an hour,” she revealed.
There were three separate sightings on April 23 including British backpacker Kylie Myers who said she had “never believed in anything like UFOs” before her strange encounter.
Myers, 27, said she stopped her car on the side of the road to grab her camera from the glove box, but the light disappeared.
“It was pretty spooky,” she stated.
There were more sightings at Coolalinga on April 24, Acacia Hills on April 25 and again in Howard Springs on April 27.
But astronomer Geoff Carr told the Northern Territory News he was “far from believing any of this UFO stuff”.
“Unless aliens have found a way to travel faster than light speed, it’s a doubtful thing to believe they came to visit us,” he said.
Carr added he believed 99.9 per cent of all the UFO sightings could be explained as simple weather phenomena. (ANI)
Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), Apr 27 (ANI): Eight Indian horse riders have been selected for the ensuing Asian Games at the National Equestrian Trials conducted in Uttar Pradesh”s Meerut city on Tuesday.
Scores of riders from all over the country with 102 individuals and 18 teams competed for the honors in the Pre-Novice category and 34 individuals and 7 teams tried their luck in the Novice category.
“Today probable selection of the eventing trial took place. Today, the selection for the riders and the horses that would take part in the Asian Games, which are to be held in Guangzhou in China in October, took place,” said Lieutenant General J K Srivastava.
“A national level team of equestrians and the horses were selected that would compete in the Games. Today is the third day of the selection. This eventing trial started on April 24,” he added.
Lieutenant General Srivastava further said that he is hopeful that the equestrians selected would win gold medals in the games and do India proud.
Riders from Remount Veterinary Corps, 61 Cavalry, ASC, Indian Military Academy, President Body Guard, DG Assam Rifles, Haryana Police and many a civilians took part in both individual and team events.
The 16th Asian Games also known as the XVI Asiad are to be held in Guangzhou in China from November 12 to November 27 in 2010.
Guangzhou will be the second city in China to host the games after Beijing in 1990. (ANI)
Washington, Apr 27 (ANI): A class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may improve cardiovascular health by affecting the way platelets, small cells in the blood involved in clotting, clump together, say researchers.
In a study of 50 adults, the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood researchers found that platelets were slower to clump together, or aggregate, in participants who were taking an SSRI to treat depression.
As depression is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, this finding could indicate a beneficial side effect for people who take SSRIs to treat depression, said Evangelos Litinas, MD, Research Associate in the Center”s Pathology Department.
Dr. Litinas will present the team”s research at the American Physiological Society”s annual Experimental Biology 2010 conference being held in Anaheim, CA from April 24-28. (ANI)
Peshawar, Apr 26(ANI): The Swat Taliban has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s suicide bombing in Timergara, and the recent killings of five anti-Taliban activists in different parts of the region.
Ten cops were injured in the suicide attack on April 24, when an explosives-laden car rammed into the police vehicle transporting Swat Police personnel on the Timergara Bypass.
Omar Hasan Ahrabi, the spokesman of the Swat Taliban, said that a Taliban bomber carried out the attack, but declined to reveal his identity.
Ahrabi also claimed responsibility for target killings of anti-Taliban activists in Mingora, Kuza Bandai and Dherai in Swat.
He further warned that anyone opposing or spying on the Taliban would not be spared by the organisation, and threatened the military that the death of every Taliban militant would be avenged.
“Allah’s writ, instead of government’s writ, would be restored in Swat
London, April 24 (ANI): David Hasselhoff is so tired of the attention being paid to his alcohol related problems that he said in the olden days getting drunk used to be “normal” in Hollywood.
Hasselhoff, 57, has endured a public battle with booze for years and has been taken to hospital on several occasions, including for alcohol poisoning in October 2007.
But he is so put off by the scrutiny he is getting that he said no one ever gave screen legend Humphrey Bogart any grief.
“Back then things were different,” the Sun quoted Hasselhoff, who is currently in Germany to promote his autobiography ‘Making Waves’, as telling Bunte magazine.
“Back then every star smoked and drank. Think of Richard Burton or Humphrey Bogart.
“But nobody scrutinised them. Every kind of consumption was normal,” he added. (ANI)
London, April 24 (ANI): A British man has claimed that he is Britain”s unluckiest motorist after going through five car crashes, three hit-and-runs and also being struck by a bus while cycling.
John Child, 45, a mechanical design engineer from Milton Keynes, Bucks, who has even been mowed down on a zebra crossing, is scared to leave his home.
He revealed he has been in ten accidents in the last ten years, and in every case he has had to fight to clear his name after being accused of being at fault.
Child has suffered from whiplash, severe bruising all over his body and even a torn shoulder ligament, and he has also had to fork out for more than 4,500 pounds for repairs to his cars and bike.
“I”ve seen my doctors so many times now after crashes I”ve told them I”m allergic to cars,” the Sun quoted him as saying.
And to add to his woes, the out-of-luck engineer was made redundant from his job at Jaguar in Warwickshire last year.
His catalogue of disasters began on January 24, 1999, when a woman pulled out and drove into the passenger side of his VW Golf as he drove across a roundabout.
“I have been driving since I was 18 for 28 safe years and I have never caused a collision,” he said.
“I used to cycle 25 miles in the evening after work to clear my head, but I”ve given that up now. It”s just not safe to cycle on the roads anymore.
“I still can”t work out why this keeps happening to me,” he said.
Colour-blind Child has managed to clear his name in nine out of the ten disputes but is still fighting a legal battle from an incident in March last year.
His luck may finally be changing though, as he was recently offered his old job back and will return to Jaguar later this year.
“It”s great news getting my job back. I hope this means my luck is turning,” he said.
Adding: “After everything that”s happened to me, I”m lucky to be alive.” (ANI)
London, April 24 (ANI): A charity has earned itself the ire of a mother after it offered condoms to her daughter and eight-year-old nephew, as part of a safe sex campaign.
Samantha Fuller only discovered what had happened when she found a stash of condoms in her 13-year-old daughter”s bedroom.
Taxpayer-funded charity health workers, who hand out condoms on park bushes for homosexuals who meet for public sex, spotted the children playing and began handing out the contraceptives.
Fuller, 38, who said the incident totally undermined her role as a parent, said her nephew was also in the park in Beverley, East Yorks, at the time the condoms were offered, but he refused to take them as he had “no idea what they were”.
“My daughter”s sexual health is my responsibility. It”s not that of a stranger giving out condoms,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.
“I feel she is being encouraged to have sex and she is being encouraged to be deceitful.
“It”s not right. I was fuming when I found out she has access to condoms without me knowing about it,” she stated.
The contraceptives had been handed out by outreach workers from the Yorkshire Cornerhouse project and East Riding Youth Service during a visit to public spaces in Beverley.
Cornerhouse, formerly known as Aids Action, receives the vast majority of its funding from local authorities.
They confirmed they handed out condoms but insisted they were only offered to children over the age of 13.
Fuller, who has lodged a formal complaint, wants parents to know children are being given condoms on the streets without being asked for proof of age or identity.
“This person said ”We are handing out free condoms if you are interested”,” she said.
“My nephew, who”s eight years old, was offered them at the park,” she revealed.
Fuller said her daughter is not sexually active but had taken the condoms from the health workers “for a laugh”.
“I am not opposed to sexual education but as parents we need to know what services are available so if our children come to us we can say ”If you don”t feel comfortable speaking to me you can go here or there”,” she said.
“She”s my daughter – she”s not the Government”s daughter, the council”s daughter or the youth centre”s daughter.
“They will not care about my daughter if anything happens. It”s my responsibility,” she stated.
The staff at the Yorkshire Cornerhouse project said chief executive Tish Lamb was unavailable to speak.
But in a statement she said: “The idea of street-based projects is to enable people who maybe don”t have access to mainstream services having access to support, advice and anything they might need to know about sexual well-being.”
East Riding Youth Service manager Jackie Brewis responded to the complaint and said: “Whilst also encouraging young people to delay sex and speak to their parents and carers, we also have a responsibility to offer them confidential advice and support with the aim of reducing teenage pregnancy.” (ANI)
Melbourne, April 24 (ANI): It has emerged that an Ivanhoe woman has put her struggling poet husband “up for sale” on eBay.
Sonya Semmens decided to offer up the chance to become patron for her husband, Cameron, 35, to give him much-needed financial support after son Spencer’s birth.
For 25,000 dollars, the buyer will get one year’s patronage of Semmens, a book of poetry dedicated to him or her, a complete set of Semmens’ catalogue of works and acknowledgement of their support at performances.
“Cameron Semmens, Ivanhoe performance poet who has dedicated his life to the wit and wisdom of well-crafted words, and brought meaningful entertainment and thoughtful inspiration to thousands of Australians for more than 20 years,” the eBay product description read.
“For the right patron, he’s a good investment,” the Herald Sun quoted Sonya as saying.
“Without patronage there would have been no Beethoven, no Michelangelo, no Shakespeare,” she stated.
On Semmens’ website, he sums up the pleasures and sorrows of his art/poetry life, quoting English poet Robert Graves.
“There’s no money in poetry, but then there’s no poetry in money either,” he wrote. (ANI)
Melbourne, April 24(ANI): A Facebook page, praying for the death of US president Barack Obama, has received criticism for its insensitive content.
More than 28,000 people have joined a group on the site called “Petition to remove facebook group praying for President Obama”s death.”
The page, created by an anonymous user, reads: “DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN.”
Close to 950,000 Facebook users have “liked” the page.
However, more groups on the site have emerged, expressing disapproval.
‘Stop Promoting HATE! (In response to the death prayer of the President)’ has attracted more than 1,000 supporters
Also, ‘5 MILLION AGAINST THE FRIVOLOUS OBAMA DEATH PAGE’ has found 900 people joining in.
Many people, such as Sarah Seelen Donovan, a 64-year-old who lives outside Atlanta are concerned about such hate campaigns.
“To me, it speaks to the divisiveness we”ve had in this country. It concerns me that these extreme opinions are starting to become mainstream,” ABC News quoted her, as saying. (ANI)
London, April 24(ANI): ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ judges Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan were thrilled to watch fire eating singer Tia Brodie strip on the show.
Brodie gave a steamy performance, singing Kasabian’s song ‘Fire,’ while running flames across her body.
“The question always is, would we like to see more? The answer is, I would,” the Sun quoted Morgan, as saying.
Also, Cowell added: “I loved it, I like the idea of being on fire and singing.”
Meanwhile, female judge, Amanda Holden said: “You two are shameless!” (ANI)
London, April 24(ANI): Director Gurinder Chada, who launched Keira Knightley in her hit film ‘Bend It Like Beckham’, didn’t think the actress would be so successful.
However, the helmer admitted that she found something special in Knightley, who has starred in hits such as ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’.
“There was something very special about Keira when she walked through the door,” the Mirror quoted her as saying.
She added: “And I knew there was because I cast her, but I didn”t realise she would be perhaps the most bankable star in Britain today.” (ANI)
London, April 24(ANI): Gemma Arterton has revealed that the crewmembers of her new film ‘The Disappearance Of Alice Creed’ used to gag her to stop her from talking.
The hottie’s role in the film required her to wear a gag in most scenes.
“I”m quite a chatty person and we had the props guys on set who would have to handcuff me and tie me up and sometimes I”d be chatting and they”d be like, ”Oops, okay now” and put the gag in. It was funny,” the Mirror quoted her as saying.
She said: “There were times when it did get a bit much and I would say, ”Look guys, can we take a break” but you know, it was a really trustworthy situation and I never felt at any point that I was being taken advantage of or anything bad was going to happen.
“I was in such good hands and I trusted J [Blakeson, the writer-director] so much.”
‘The Disappearance Of Alice Creed’ is set to hit screens on April 30. (ANI)
London, April 24 (ANI): Lindsay Lohan has claimed that her father Michael once threatened to kidnap and kill her.
The 23-year-old singer retaliated after her father turned up uninvited at her residence with the police saying that he wanted to check if Lindsay and her 16-year-old sister Ali were alright, reports The Sun.
Michael said that Lindsay was in “life-threatening danger” due to her addiction to painkiller drugs – and begged Ali to return home.
“Ali is being exposed to nightlife and the people Lindsay surrounds herself with. Ali is just 16. Lindsay is not in the right frame of mind to deal with Ali,” he added.
“She had bloodshot eyes, make-up all over her face. She started shouting, ”Get out! Get out!” A so-called friend comes out of the room, looking like a walking zombie,” he said about Lindsay.
Lindsay, however, denied it and called Michael a “pathological liar”.
She posted numerous messages on her Twitter account claiming that her father is a drug-stricken “stalker” who will go to any level to gain some attention. “The only one in need of police protection here is me and Ali from our pathological, lying ex-father,” one of her posts read.
She violently denied that she is not able to care for her sister Ali. Lindsay said that Michael”s never contributed- financially or otherwise, for the upbringing of his children.
“Let”s not forget, that my father kidnapped me from a court room when I was 4 years old and is crazy. Nor was it for Michael and me when our father threatened to kidnap and kill us in front of our friends,” her Twitter page said. (ANI)
London, April 24 (ANI): American producer and comedian Mel Brooks’ name has been included on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Blazing Saddles actor has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, reports The Mirror.
Brooks got the 2,406th star at a ceremony held in front of the Egyptian Theatre.
His son Max, and friend, Carl Reiner, attended the event.
The 83-year-old veteran has also been awarded with the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards.
Brooks is currently working on a musical version of Blazing Saddles. (ANI)
London, April 24 (ANI): Tina Fey, who won an Emmy for her satirical portrayal of Sarah Palin, says playing the former Alaska governor has been quite lucrative for her.
Fey, 39, stepped into Palin”s shoes once again for Saturday Night Live last week – the first time after 2008.
“Every time I played her I made 400 US dollars, so blammo,” the Mirror quoted Fey, as saying.
Fey also revealed she never thought she looked like Palin.
She recollected: “I looked at her and thought she had brown hair and glasses, we don”t look alike. Then my husband said: ”No, you guys look alike!” And then it became a flood of emails from cousins and calls, and it became apparent that whether or not we did look that much alike, that people thought we looked alike.”
Fey added: “That”s all. It did end up being a gift.” (ANI)
Washington, April 24 (ANI): Shock waves produced due to a bomb blast may electrify the brain and damage it, according to a new study.
“It”s always exciting to look at a phenomenon that may have been missed in the past,” Live Science quoted Steven Johnson, a theoretical physicist at MIT, as saying.
He added: “Moreover, this is potentially an issue that can directly affect the lives of our soldiers, which gives it a special interest for all of us who are involved.”
Several materials produce electricity when they are mechanically stressed. Known as piezoelectricity, this effect is commonly witnessed in guitar pickups and loudspeakers.
Johnson and his team designed a new computer model of the electric fields created in the skull by an improvised explosive device (IED).
The results suggest the generated electric fields could exceed electrical safety guidelines by a factor of 10.
While there are numerous uncertainties at present these electric pulses could help find a new class of medical diagnostic tools for blast-induced head injuries like customized helmets.
Johnson said: “We are looking into whether antennas inside the helmet could pick up the electric field generated when the blast impacts the skull, which would provide a direct measure of the head”s exposure to a blast wave.
“Eventually, the reading could be used for diagnosis,” he added. “If the reading is above a certain threshold determined by injury research, the soldier could be directed to further screening and treatment – MRI scans and so on.” (ANI)
Washington, April 24 (ANI): If you”ve forgotten to charge your iPod and a power plug is nowhere in sight, a simple run could help you get out of the trouble – if new technology being developed is successful.
Every step you take can generate electricity. By packing 20,000 nanowires into three square centimeters, Georgia Tech scientists have developed the world”s first gadget powered solely by piezoelectric materials.
A piezoelectric material when pushed or pulled creates a mild electrical charge.
Within three to five years piezoeleectric nanowires, woven into a cotton shirt or placed in a shoe heel, could charge a cell phone or laptop battery after even a short walk.
“This is a key step to designing technology that will be useful in the near future,” Discovery News quoted Z.L. Wang, a professor at Georgia Tech and co-author of two new papers in Nature Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, as saying.
Wang”s group says piezoelectrics can generate voltages up to 1.26 volts, and can produce even higher voltages.
The team used plentiful and easy-to-manipulate zinc oxide nanowires to come up with their nanogenerator.
An individual zinc oxide nanowire is invisible to the human eye, measuring anywhere between 50 and 200 nanometers across and about five microns in length.
Twenty thousand nanowires, placed side-by-side and end-to-end, cover three square centimeters, with two thin electrodes hanging off either end.
The arrangement maximizes the electricity the piezoelectric nanowires can generate.
The wires work in sync, amplifying the electrical charge to record levels as the single layer is pushed back and forth with the slightest nudge.
Pushing the arranged nanowires harder or faster would enhance the power output up to 30 times without damaging the device.
And if gallium nitride replaced the cheap zinc oxide nanowires the power output could increase almost 10 times.
Piezoelectric-powered devices could also help detect fires and collect weather data in areas that are not within the reach of traditional power grids. (ANI)
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