Yankees’ Rodriguez hits 599th career home run

July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez belted his 599th career home run on Thursday, exuding a sense of calm and enjoyment that he lacked three years ago when trying to reach the 500 milestone.

That was a different A-Rod, a player who was affected by the constant distractions that went with being the highest paid player, in the New York glare, and playing in the shadow of local hero and team captain Derek Jeter.

It was also before his admission of past steroid use and his first World Series championship, which came last year — developments that Rodriguez said have liberated him, allowing him to enjoy the game more.

He said there was no question his life has changed since 2007, when he was stuck on home run number 499 for nine days.

“Night and day. So much has changed,” Rodriguez told reporters after the 10-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals in which he drove an 0-2 pitch from reliever Robinson Tejeda just over the right field wall in the seventh inning.

“I’m enjoying the game more now than I ever have. … I’m in a much better place now. That stuff (the steroid admission and World Series title) liberated me,” Rodriguez said.

After hitting 599, he had one more chance to hit number 600 in the eighth inning but lined an RBI double to right-center off Blake Wood. From the batter’s box he noticed fans around Yankee Stadium wanting to capture the moment.

“I’m enjoying it. … The fans really got into it. I saw the light bulbs going off,” Rodriguez said.

His pursuit of the milestone is the latest session in the public psychoanalysis of one of the sport’s most gifted and complicated players, one who opposing fans love to boo, whether for his contract, his gossip-page social life, or steroid history.

A-Rod is trying to become the seventh major leaguer to hit 600 home runs and the youngest ever to reach the milestone at 34. He turns 35 on July 27. Babe Ruth was the previous youngest, hitting his 600th at 36 years and 196 days.

Rodriguez, the highest paid player in baseball at $33 million this year, is on pace to catch career home run leader Barry Bonds, who hit 762 from 1986 to 2007 and hit his 600th at age 38.

A-Rod’s home run on Thursday was his 16th of the season.

Rodriguez averaged more than 40 homers a season over his first 14 full years in the big leagues and would reach Bonds in four more seasons at that rate. Even without another home run this year he could match Bonds by averaging about 23 homers a season over the final seven years of his contract.

His 10-year contract — worth at least $275 million but with a series of bonuses paying another $30 million if he passes Bonds — expires after the 2017 season, when he would be 42.

(Editing by Steve Ginsburg)

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45-year-old smashes record for continuous round of Scotland’s 283 mountains

June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Edinburgh (Scotland), June 6(ANI): A 45-year-old Scottish fell-runner, Stephen Pyke, has beaten the record for the fastest continuous circuit of the country’s 283 Munros, or mountains over 3,000fts.

Pyke, also known as Spyke, beat the last record, set by Glasgow postman Charlie Campbell ten years ago, when he touched the trig pillar on Ben Hope in Sutherland on Thursday.

The 45-year-old managed to run up every one of Scotland’s 283 Munros in 39 days, nine hours and six minutes, beating Campbell’s record by nine days and two hours.

“This seemed like a good excuse to spend 40 days in the mountains, and I’m really pleased to have broken the record. I’ve enjoyed every day of the journey,” The Scotsman quoted Pyke, as saying.

Starting on 25 April with Ben More on Mull, Pyke finished his arduous journey on Thursday by climbing Scotland’s most northerly Munro, Ben Hope.

His journey involved the equivalent of a marathon and a 10,000ft climb every day for more than five weeks.

Meanwhile, talking about the achievement, John Hutchison, Chairman of the John Muir Trust, which owns and protects several Scottish mountain areas, including Ben Nevis, said: “Spyke’s achievement is an awe inspiring example of the kind of challenge wild land has to offer.”

“We are extremely proud to count Spyke as one of our members, and I am delighted that he chose to use this challenge to raise money and awareness for our work,” Hutchison added. (ANI)

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At home in Dubai, Sania trains with Malik for Big W

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Sania Mirza is finding Dubai to be a home away from home. The other day she was training on the courts of an academy housed in a star hotel in the UAE metropolis when the temperature touched 41 degrees Celsius at 9.30 in the morning. By afternoon she got to hear that it was 45 degrees in Hyderabad. Just like at home, a few heads — mainly from Pakistanis and Indians — turn in her direction as she begins sparring with her hitting partner, Zeeshan Ali, the former India player.

“The last three weeks have been good with regard to training,” Sania told The Indian Express on Wednesday, while talking about her injured wrist that has kept her out of action since February. “My wrist has bothered me for the last two years. It is a chronic wrist injury but at the moment it is not hurting. I have been training in Dubai for the past nine days and it feels good,” Sania said.

Sania and her husband, Pakistan batsman, Shoaib Malik are busy setting up their house in Dubai. The couple whose marriage attracted controversy are now happy that the hullabaloo surrounding them has died down. Dubai is a neutral venue for both of them.

“Whatever happened just before our wedding was disturbing and difficult for both of us and for the families. When it was all over, I said to Shoaib ‘we have come through this. I think we can come through more things in my life rather easily now’. We both faced what people never face in their lives probably. We were not even married when all the controversy happened. It is great to be together. After all that happened, we are both back to being happy again and that really counts.”

Sania believes not much has changed since the wedding. “I have to get used to sharing my bathroom and bedroom,” she said jokingly. “Shoaib and I have been working out together. We play sports in which we have to be lean but also strong. It helps that we are from sporting backgrounds,” Sania added.

“Just yesterday, when we were watching a movie, we were telling each other that we can’t believe we are married. One good thing is that we never fight over watching soap operas or serial. I am not the ‘girly’ types so I watch sport and so does he.”

Good news came in the form of Malik’s name being in the probables list for the Asia Cup. The former Pakistan skipper is undergoing a one-year ban for ‘indiscipline’. “I have heard that things can change overnight in Pakistan cricket. I never used to follow Pakistan cricket earlier but now I do. Shoaib didn’t follow too much of women’s tennis but now he has no choice.”

Sania will kick-start her return with the event in Birmingham before heading to Wimbledon. “I didn’t take time off because I was getting married. I got married because I had time on my side due to my wrist injury. Somehow, people don’t understand that. Everyone goes through rough patches and Shoaib himself has had a roller-coaster year. He understands what it means to make a comeback after an injury.

“Grass is the most difficult surface to make a comeback, especially after a wrist injury, as the surface is uneven and one has to make lot of adjustments with the wrist. If I had a choice I would have made a comeback on a hard court. But that said I have played well on grass.”

Ranked 91 in singles and 75 in doubles, Sania knows that she’ll realise how match fit she is only after playing a couple of games. “I am not going in hoping to make the quarterfinal of Wimbledon. It is not going to be that easy. It doesn’t work like that. I want to get on court and play a few matches. And then we will see.”

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Wrestling accident leaves Rourke with permanent damage

May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 5 (ANI): Mickey Rourke’s right arm has suffered permanent damage after a failed surgery on a torn muscle, which was ripped from the bone during an arm wrestling match with a rugby team player.

The 57-year-old wrestler star had been crowned International Man of the Year at last September”s (09) GQ Man of the Year awards in London when he met the members of a rugby team.

The incident occurred during a round of friendly arm wrestling matches between one of the players on the Huddersfield Giants team and Rourke.

“They treated me like their long-lost brother. We started arm wrestling. I did OK with two of them and they were very surprised. Another guy came walking through the door – he was the size of a house. I did him with my left hand and then he just killed me with the right. I didn”t go all the way down and it (the muscle) ripped in half. The next day it all turned black,” The Daily Express quoted Rourke as saying.

As the surgery happened too late, there is no hope of reattaching the arm properly again.

He explains, “I was in the hospital eight or nine days. Two weeks ago I found out it (the surgery) didn”t work. The tendon didn”t take because you”re supposed to do it a day or two afterwards, but I waited six months… It got atrophied. I have full use of the arm and I can do whatever I used to do, it just looks a little retarded.” (ANI)

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Minister says rockets not fired from Jordan

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jordan said on Thursday a rocket that hit a warehouse in Jordan was fired from outside the country, targeting the kingdom, and said no rockets had been launched from within its territory.

“After an investigation, the cause of the explosion was the fall of a (Soviet-made) Grad rocket from outside Jordanian territory. The rocket was not launched from Jordanian territory,” Nabil Sharif, minister of state for information, told Reuters, without giving further details.

Witnesses and a Jordanian security source earlier said two rockets were fired from the Jordanian port of Aqaba, just east of Israel’s resort city of Eilat, but landed on the empty warehouse. The minister did not mention a second rocket.

Hours after Jordan confirmed that an explosion took place at a warehouse causing minor damage, Sharif told Reuters that “there was nothing so far that indicated that any rockets were launched from Jordan”.

Witnesses had said that at least one rocket was fired from the mountainous ridge overlooking the port of Aqaba and hit a refrigerated warehouse and caused no injuries.

“The rocket came from the direction of the eastern mountains,” said one witness.

ISRAEL UNTOUCHED

“We saw a ball of fire that struck a warehouse at the entrance of the city,” said another witness who was performing dawn prayers at a mosque in the early morning.

Another said he heard an explosion minutes after he saw what resembled a rocket hit a warehouse. “There was a strong explosion but we couldn’t see anything beyond that,” he added.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military said security forces searched Eilat after explosions and flashes of light were reported, but found no evidence of a security-related incident.

The incident took place nine days after Israel told its nationals holidaying in Egypt’s Sinai, across the border west of Eilat, to leave, saying militants planned to kidnap Israelis.

Israeli media reports said earlier that Israel suspected the rockets were fired by militants in the Sinai. Egyptian sources denied that rockets were fired from there.

In 2005, rockets were fired at U.S. warships in Aqaba’s port but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.

Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through the Sinai and killed three people at an Eilat bakery.

Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, is one of a handful of Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel. Those ties were frayed by Israel’s crackdown in 2000 on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Anti-Israeli feeling has risen in recent years and many politicians have repeatedly demanded the severing of relations with Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem and Missy Ryan in Cairo; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Rockets fired at Israel fall in Jordan – source

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Two rockets were fired from the Jordanian port of Aqaba towards Israel on Thursday but landed on an empty warehouse in Jordan, a Jordanian security source and witnesses said.

The security source said two rockets were launched from an undisclosed location in Aqaba, which is adjacent to the Israeli city of Eilat. The source gave no details.

Witnesses said at least one rocket was fired from the mountainous ridge overlooking Aqaba and hit an empty warehouse.

“The rocket came from the direction of the eastern mountains,” said one witness.

“We saw a ball of fire that struck a warehouse at the entrance of the city,” said another witness who was performing dawn prayers at a mosque in the early morning.

Another said he heard an explosion minutes after he saw what resembled a rocket hit a warehouse. “There was a strong explosion but we couldn’t see anything beyond that,” he added.

Jordan’s Minister of State for Information Nabil al-Shareef, who earlier told the state news agency Petra that an explosion took place at a warehouse causing minor damage, told Reuters that “there was nothing so far that indicated that any rockets were launched from Jordan”.

He said authorities were investigating the incident.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military said security forces searched Eilat after explosions and flashes of light were reported, but found no evidence of a security-related incident.

The incident took place nine days after Israel told its nationals holidaying in Egypt’s Sinai, across the border from Eilat, to leave, saying militants planned to kidnap Israelis.

Israeli media reports said earlier that Israel suspected the rockets were fired by militants in the Sinai, but Egyptian sources denied that rockets were fired from there.

In 2005, rockets were fired at U.S. warships in Aqaba port but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.

Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through the Sinai and killed three people at an Eilat bakery.

Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, is one of a handful of Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel. Those ties were frayed by Israel’s crackdown in 2000 on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Anti-Israeli feeling has risen in recent years and many politicians have repeatedly demanded the severing of relations with Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

(Additional reporting by Jeffery Heller in Jerusalem and Missy Ryan in Cairo; Editing by Diana Abdallah)

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Man U loves playing away games: Ferguson warns Bayern

March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar 30 (ANI): Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Bayern Munich that they love playing away, and tonight’s victory for the Red Devils would establish a Champions League record of seven successive victories away from home.

Ferguson said: “I think we have matured as a team in Europe, our away form has been fantastic. I think it’s 16 games undefeated away from home. That’s an indication of the maturity and understanding of how to play in Europe now.”

“There have been some big challenges in those games. We accepted the weaknesses we had away from home some years back and have addressed them properly now,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Ferguson also claimed his team have peaked for the nine days that will define their season.

A potential title decider with the visit of Chelsea on Saturday follows tonight’s match against Bayern.

“I think it’s a massive week for us. Nine days when we have two big games against Bayern and a great game against Chelsea. You have to enjoy it and at the same time know it’s crucial,” Ferguson said.

“You hope you don’t make any mistakes and hope they will happen to your opponents to win games for you. It’s going to be an exciting week,” he said.

Asked if they were going into those games playing better than at any time this season, Ferguson added: “Yes, I think we are. The return of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van Der Sar has made a big difference.” (ANI)

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Ghost fair in Jharkhand witnesses a sea of humanity

March 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Palamu (Jharkhand), March 27 (ANI): Though people all over the world visit religious places to seek blessings for happiness and a good fortune for themselves, an annual fair held in Jharkhand’s Palamu district attracts people who wish to free themselves of the suspected evil spirits’ influence.

Hundreds of devotees of tribal and non-tribal families participated in a unique the ‘Ghost fair’ hosted in the vicinity of Sheetala Mata temple here recently.

The large presence of believers during the annual fair felt like a literal sea of humanity near the temple located in the Haider Nagar. It is held during the nine days of Navratri festival here.

Devotees camped in tents in front of the temple and persons ”possessed” by ghosts were escorted to the temple where the priests and Tantriks (sorcerers) would perform various rituals and offer prayers before the Goddess.

During these rituals, the persons who are in trance, are believed to have been influenced by the divine power of the presiding deity.

People at the fair said that they arrived here after being unsatisfied by doctors for their respective medical problems.

“This is an age-old mystic temple. People have been visiting this temple for 50 to 60 years. They come here to fulfill their wishes, get rid of the evil spirits or any problem they are facing. The presiding deity of temple goddess relieves them of all the problems,” said Surendra Nath Tyagi, priest of Sheetala Mata temple, Hairderpur.

It is believed besides obviation from evil spirits, the devout visitors also have a belief that their all wishes will be realized after praying here by a pure heart and deep faith.

“After noticing such a sea of devotees at this temple, one can make out that there has to be some reality in this ritual, otherwise people would not visit this temple. I feel that this temple has some powers, that is why people come here to get rid of their problems,” said Meera Devi, one of the devotee.

This fair has been a popular event for several decades. (ANI)

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Hindus celebrate ”Ram Navami”

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ayodhya/New Delhi, Mar 24 (ANI): Hindu devotees celebrate the festival of Ram Navami, the birth anniversary of Lord Rama on Wednesday.

The festival marks the end of the nine-day long fasting and Navaratri festival in north India.

At Ayodhya, which is considered to be the birthplace of Rama, hundreds of devotees took holy dip in river Saryu and visited temples to offer special prayers on the occasion.

“Besides the main place where Rama was born, the festival is celebrated with great fervour in Hanuman temple and the Valmiki temple as well. So, we have come here to participate in that,” said Shivnarayan Prasad, a devotee.

Devotees of all age groups thronged the temples in New Delhi since dawn with offerings of sweets, flowers and fruits. The temples were lit with decorated lamps for the day.

“On the occasion of Navami, we offer special prayers and keep fast during the nine days of Navaratri. After performing rituals on the Navami, we break our fast and the Lord fulfils all our wishes,” said Pradeep Kumar, a devotee.

According to the Hindu legend, Rama was born as an incarnation of Vishnu (a part of the divine trinity of Brahma Vishnu Maheshwara – creator, protector and destroyer).

It is believed that Rama was born to eradicate evil from the earth. His saga is depicted in the Ramayana scripture.

Ram Navami falls on the ninth day of the moonlit fortnight in the Chaitra as per Hindu almanac, which usually coincides with the spring season and falls in the month of March or April.

Most people consider it an auspicious day and some even observe a strict fast on the day.

They believe that fasting will secure them a place in heaven. It is also observed as a day of thanks giving. (ANI)

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Security beefed up at Vaishno Devi

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Katra (J-K), Mar 16 (ANI): Security has been beefed up at the famous Vaishno Devi Temple near Jammu due to nine-day ”Navratri” festival, which began with religious fervour today.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, Superintendent of Police, Katra, said keeping Navratri festival in mind we have alerted our forces.

“We have a very good liaison with the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and all the teams are out. The traffic coming from Jammu will be checked at Mori and the traffic coming from Uddhampur is being checked at Kaithal and Sarli,” said Sharma.

All pilgrims are frisked properly with metal detectors.

“We had come to seek blessings in the temple on the occasion of first day of Navratri and we are very happy with the security arrangements in the city,” said Sahil, a pilgrim from Delhi.

Navratri”, which literally means nine nights, is observed twice a year.
The festival lasts for nine days in honour of nine manifestations of Durga, goddess of power.

It is believed that during the Navratri, Goddess Durga descends on earth to rid it of the demons and blesses her devotees with happiness and prosperity. (ANI)

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Nine-day ‘Navratri’ festival begins all over India

September 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi/ Faizabad/Allahabad, Sept 19 (ANI): The nine-day ‘Navratri’ festival began across India with religious fervour on Saturday.

Thousands of devotees queued up at various temples dedicated to Goddess Durga.

In New Delhi, devotees converged at Jhandewalan to offer prayers prior to dawn and observed fast throughout the day.

“We observe fast on the first day of Navratri. On the first day, we pray for the whole day and meditate on Goddess Durga,” said Madan Gehlot, a devotee.

Meanwhile, at Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, people made a beeline to the temple of Goddess Badi Devkali.

The devotees believe their wishes are fulfilled if they pray to Goddess Badi Devkali during the festival.

“People believe that coming here redeems them from their sins. Since the Goddess Devkali is the deity of Lord Rama’s dynasty, her significance is all the more. That’s why people come here to offer prayers to the Goddess,” said Poonam, a devotee.

Earlier on Friday, a day prior to the commencement of Dusshera, a unique annual horse procession was taken out through the streets of Allahabad.

The belief is that the horse representing sage Vyasa would relate the Ramayana.

Musical bands led the attractively decorated white horse procession organised by a leading Ram Lila committee of the city.

“Legend says that when Maharishi Valmiki narrated the story of Lord Rama to Luv and Kush then this horse standing next to them also listened to the story. The horse in the form of sage Vyasa tells the story of Rama to people during the Navratri celebrations,” said Ajay Kumar Shukla, secretary, Ramlila Committee.

“Naaratri”, which literally means nine nights, is observed twice a year.

The festival lasts for nine days in honour of nine manifestations of Durga, goddess of power, and fall in the months of April-May and September-October.

It is believed that during the Navratri, Goddess Durga descends on earth to rid it of the demons and blesses her devotees with happiness and prosperity. (ANI)

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Tight security at Vaishno Devi shrine ahead of “Navratri”

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Katra, Sept 18 (ANI): Security has been beefed up at the famous Vaishno Devi Temple near Jammu ahead of the nine-day “Navratri” festival.

Paramilitary and police personnel are patrolling and frisking people at important points in Katra, which is thronged by thousands of devotees every year, especially during Navratri.

The nine-day Navratri festival will begin from Saturday and the authorities claim to be in full control of the situation.

“There is much fanfare in Katra during Navratra festival and the inflow of tourists also rises manifold during those days. We have made proper security arrangements. We have taken the help of the CRPF. This time, we also have one contingent of Haryana police,” said Ashok Sharma, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

The devotees making their way to the shrine were also put through rigorous checking, a routine, exercised with extra care, considering the sensitive nature of the shrine and keeping recent threats in mind.

The devotees complied without complaining.

“There was not much trouble during the security check. We were checked several times but we did not face any problem. It was all done very safely,” said Vijay Kumar, a devotee.

‘Navratri’, which literally means nine nights, is observed twice a year.

The festival lasts for nine days in honour of nine manifestations of Durga, goddess of power ,and fall in the months of April-May and September-October.

It is believed that during the Navratri, Goddess Durga descends on earth to rid it of the demons and blesses her devotees with happiness and prosperity. (ANI)

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High-fat diets ‘make us lazy, forgetful’

August 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 13 (ANI): Eating hotdogs and French fries might be a great treat, however, these high fat diets can significantly reduce our exercising ability and lead to short term memory loss, reveals a new study.

The research conducted using mouse model showed that in less than 10 days of eating a high-fat diet, rats had a decreased ability to exercise and experienced significant short-term memory loss.

“Western diets are typically high in fat and are associated with long-term complications, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart failure, yet the short-term consequences of such diets have been given relatively little attention,” said Andrew Murray, co-author of the study and currently at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

“We hope that the findings of our study will help people to think seriously about reducing the fat content of their daily food intake to the immediate benefit of their general health, well-being, and alertness,” he added.

Study leader Murray fed rats with low-fat diet (7.5 percent of calories as fat) and high-fat diet (55 percent of calories as fat).

He discovered that the muscles of the rats eating the high-fat diet for four days were less able to use oxygen to make the energy needed to exercise, causing their hearts to worker harder-and increase in size.

After nine days on a high-fat diet, the rats took longer to complete a maze and made more mistakes in the process than their low-fat-diet counterparts.

The researchers also studied the cellular causes of these problems, particularly in the mitochondria of muscle cells.

They found increased levels of a protein called uncoupling protein 3, which made them less efficient at using oxygen needed to make the energy required for running.

The new research is published online in The FASEB Journal. (ANI)

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Mayawati faces flak for hush-hush statue inaugurations

June 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lucknow, June 26 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is facing flak from Congress leader Digvijay Singh and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for unveiling a series of statues, memorials and parks across the state.

He said this while speaking to media persons at New Delhi on Friday.

On Thursday, Mayawati had formally inaugurated over 15 memorials in Lucknow, nine days ahead of schedule.

It is being speculated that a PIL filed by Delhi based lawyer Ravi Kant against such projects prompted the BSP chief to unveil the memorials in a hush so that the Supreme Court does not put the projects on hold.

“Mayawati is constructing huge structures in the same lines as it used to be in Roman Empire and Mughal Empire. An inquiry should be made from which mine the stones for the construction have been procured, who is the owner of the mine or has leased the mine. The public money is being wasted. Yesterday, the inauguration was done in a hurry as on July 3, public interest litigation (PIL) has to come-up for hearing in the Supreme Court. Public won’t forgive Mayawati,” said Singh.

Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief of regional Samajwadi Party said that the state government in Uttar Pradesh is scared to face the public as such Mayawati had hurriedly inaugurated the memorial project.

“Such a Chief Minister doesn’t have the guts to face the public. She is scared. Her government is in distress. She wants to run the government quietly. We have razed a statue using a bulldozer at Lohia junction. Such acts are bound to happen,” said Yadav.

However, Mayawati has refuted allegations that she is misusing public funds to construct memorials, parks and museums dedicated to Dalit leaders. (ANI)

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs has had liver transplant during medical leave

June 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 20 (ANI): Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly had a liver transplant during his medical leave that started in January this year, and is expected to return to work later this month.

The Wall Street Journal has published a news story regarding this, though the publication has neither cited any particular source of information nor got any direct comment from Apple itself.

The report says that “a person familiar with the thinking at Apple” has revealed that Jobs would have a diminished schedule at first when he returns to work.

“At least some Apple directors were aware of the CEO’s surgery (as part of an agreement Jobs made with the board before he went on leave),” the Wired News quoted the familiar person as saying in the story.

According to the journal, Jobs’ surgery took place two months ago in Tennessee, where there are three facilities that can perform such a procedure.

The subject of Jobs health has been a front burner item since he announced, on August 1, 2004, that he had undergone surgery for pancreatic surgery.

On January 5, Jobs told the “Apple Community” in an open letter that the cause of his weight loss was not a recurrence of his pancreatic cancer but a treatable hormone imbalance.

Jobs also said in the letter that he had already begun a “relatively simple and straightforward” treatment for the condition, that he would remain on as Apple CEO during his recovery, and that he expected to be noticeably improved in a matter of months.

Just nine days later, Jobs announced his medical leave. (ANI)

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Steve Jobs (Apple Inc. CEO) has had liver transplant during medical leave

June 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 20 (ANI): Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly had a liver transplant during his medical leave that started in January this year, and is expected to return to work later this month.

The Wall Street Journal has published a news story regarding this, though the publication has neither cited any particular source of information nor got any direct comment from Apple itself.

The report says that “a person familiar with the thinking at Apple” has revealed that Jobs would have a diminished schedule at first when he returns to work.

“At least some Apple directors were aware of the CEO’s surgery (as part of an agreement Jobs made with the board before he went on leave),” the Wired News quoted the familiar person as saying in the story.

According to the journal, Jobs’ surgery took place two months ago in Tennessee, where there are three facilities that can perform such a procedure.

The subject of Jobs health has been a front burner item since he announced, on August 1, 2004, that he had undergone surgery for pancreatic surgery.

On January 5, Jobs told the “Apple Community” in an open letter that the cause of his weight loss was not a recurrence of his pancreatic cancer but a treatable hormone imbalance.

Jobs also said in the letter that he had already begun a “relatively simple and straightforward” treatment for the condition, that he would remain on as Apple CEO during his recovery, and that he expected to be noticeably improved in a matter of months.

Just nine days later, Jobs announced his medical leave.

-ANI

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Heart protein helps save skeletal muscles

May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 26 (ANI): A new study has shown that a heart muscle protein can compensate for its missing skeletal muscle counterpart to give mice suffering from muscular disease an active life.

It also increased the long-term survival of the study mice.

The contraction machinery protein, actin, exists in different forms in the adult heart and skeletal muscles.

The heart form, ACTC, is the dominant form in skeletal muscle of the fetus.

However during development, the skeletal form, ACTA1, increases in production and by birth has taken over.

The researchers suggested that mutations to the ACTA1 gene cause a rare but serious myopathy or muscular disease.Most patients die within the first year of life and some are born almost completely paralyzed.

Lead researcher Nowak showed that mice lacking ACTA1 died within nine days after birth.

The team sought to determine if ACTC could compensate for a lack of ACTA1.

They crossed Acta1 mutant mice with transgenic mice that express human ACTC at high levels in skeletal muscle cells.

The resulting mice didn’t die at nine days. In fact, almost 93.5pct survived more than three months, and some more than two years.

Moreover the mice’s locomotor performance was comparable with wild-type, as was their overall muscle strength and their endurance was actually higher-they ran faster and for longer.

The findings were published in the Journal of Cell Biology. (ANI)

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Breakthrough in ‘floppy baby’ syndrome

May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 26 (ANI): Australian researchers have successfully treated mice with a devastating muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome.

The breakthrough could ultimately help thousands of families across the globe.

The research, published online today in the Journal of Cell Biology, reveals how a team at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) has restored muscle function in mice with one type of Floppy Baby Syndrome – a congenital myopathy disorder that causes babies to be born without the ability to properly use their muscles.

The currently incurable genetic diseases render most of the affected children severely paralysed and take the lives of the majority of these children before the age of one.

Dr Kristen Nowak, lead author on the publication, said the team was extremely encouraged that it had been able to cure a group of mice born with the condition.

“The mice with Floppy Baby Syndrome were only expected to live for about nine days, but we managed to cure them so they were born with normal muscle function, allowing them to live naturally and very actively into old age,” she said.

“This is an important step towards one day hopefully being able to better the lives of human patients – mice who were cured of the disease lived more than two years, which is very old age for a mouse,” the expert added.

Dr Nowak said the team was able to cure the mice with the recessive form of the genetic condition by replacing missing skeletal muscle actin – a protein integral in allowing muscles to contract – with similar actin found in the heart. (ANI)

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Two foreign aid workers released in Somalia

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Nairobi/Mogadishu – Two European aid workers employed by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who were kidnapped in Somalia over a week ago have been released, reports said Tuesday. The BBC cited militant Islamist group al-Shabaab as saying it had released the Danish nurse and Belgian doctor.

However, a regional spokeswoman for MSF in the Kenyan capital Nairobi could not immediately confirm the reports.

The pair were taken nine days ago on the way to Hudur, the capital of the Bakol region in south-west Somalia.

A bloody insurgency is ongoing in Somalia, where al-Shabaab is fighting the western-backed government.

Aid workers and journalists have been regular targets for abduction and murder. According to the UN, 35 employees of aid agencies were killed and 26 kidnapped in Somalia last year.

Over 15,000 civilians have died in since early 2007 in the insurgency, which began after Ethiopian troops helped kick out the Union of Islamic Courts from power.

Somalia has been mired in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. (dpa)

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Taliban in Pak’s Swat arranging ‘love marriages’

April 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Apr 19 (PTI) Taliban militants in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat valley have set up a special bureau for arranging “love marriages” for couples barred by their families from tying the knot with partners of their choice. The bureau named ‘Shuba-e-Aroosat’, which is headed by Taliban commander Abu Ammad, has arranged 11 “love marriages” in the past nine days, militant spokesman Muslim Khan was quoted as saying by BBC Urdu service.

Another 300 men and women are waiting for their turn to marry. “The love marriage aspirants contact the bureau on a fixed telephone number.

The Taliban collect their particulars and then contact their families to arrange these marriages,” Khan said. Islam allows every adult to marry according to his own choice, he said.

“Most of the girls or their families who contacted us wished to marry militant Taliban,” Khan claimed. Some analysts said the Taliban were paving the way for militants to marry women of their choice.

Some people have also questioned how the militants could allow the flogging of men and women for being seen together in public while at the same time facilitating the youth to marry according to their own choice. PTI.

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