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End of the road for gold?

September 26, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

No, surely not. However it is time to be cautious for sure. What are the risks in gold? Or is it that there are no risks at all, as some readers would like to believe?
Well let us look at some of the risks:

1. It is not an essential commodity: You cannot eat gold. If prices go beyond a point, people will just not consume it! It is not air or water.

2. Remember in the year 2008 gold lost MORE THAN 30% of value — clearly the hedge theory goes. A hedge asset SHOULD move in the other direction, not in sympathy.

3. In the 1980s gold lost about 65% of its value in about 2 years time! Remember both these events happened against a not very strong currency — the US dollar!!

4. When fear subsides, and things return to normal, the law of demand and supply will apply to all assets — including gold.

5. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has a very high margin now for gold — and CME is a good reader of volatility. Expect volatility, margin calls, and sales by the lenders — all these do not sound good.

6. No income generating capability: If you go wrong in a portfolio of good shares (i.e. prices have fallen!) at least you are sure of getting a 2% to 4%p.a. return in dividends. This is not great, but will FORCE lenders / investors to discount the cashflow and arrive at a new price. If the company does well, dividends will increase, forcing the value to go up. Sadly in case of gold, I have to hope that there is a GREATER FOOL THEORY and I will be able to find him, so that I can sell. This is not easy.

The author P V Subramanyam is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a financial trainer by profession. Writing being a passion he also regularly pens his thought in his blog Subramoney.com

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: chartered accountant, chicago mercantile exchange, end, greater fool theory, law of demand and supply, point, volatility, water

How to stay fit in flu season

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 20 (ANI): As cold and flu season approaches, giving up junk food for more healthy options would help maintain a strong immune system.

Dr Ara DerMarderosian, professor of pharmacognosy for University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and an expert in nutraceuticals and natural foods, have provided guidance to change how you eat and break habits that pack on the pounds and compromise immunity.

? Don’t play “food police”

Be conscious of what and how much you eat, but don’t overdo self-monitoring to the point that a healthy lifestyle shifts from being a choice to becoming overwhelming, pushing other activities away and interfering with relationships.

? Pay attention to true hunger

Listen to your hunger signals and refrain from eating when you’re not hungry. Eating when your body doesn’t need food can cause you to overindulge.

? Eat slowly

Eat like a gourmet – enjoy each bite to have, chewing methodically, and truly enjoy the taste of your food. Eating slowly gives your body time to break down the food, which can prevent post-meal indigestion and feeling bloated.

? Focus on eating

Do not watch television, read or work while you eat. When you’re not focused on eating, it’s unlikely you’ll notice how much is going in your mouth.

? Avoid eating when stressed

Stress is a well-known cause of overeating and digestive issues, such as heartburn. A relaxing atmosphere, enjoyable company and conversation, and not feeling rushed for time makes for a healthy meal.

? Everything in moderation

Eating food is pleasurable, so enjoy a few morsels of candy, but limit the quantity. (ANI)

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US army set for “hopping rotochut” that hops to avoid rubble trouble

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 19 (ANI): The U.S. army’s fleet of robots will soon be enhanced with the addition of forthcoming reconnaissance craft called the ‘hopping rotochute’, which will be capable of travelling deep into obstacle-ridden spaces like caves and rubble-laden buildings to video what it finds.

The self-righting probe is being developed for the Army Research Lab in Aberdeen, Maryland, by Eric Beyer and Mark Costello, a pair of robotics engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

The project attains significance because present-day military robots, which run on small tank-style tracks, cannot cope with irregular surfaces and obstacles such as rubble or boulders.

“They usually have trouble and get stuck with even low obstacles and walls a couple of feet high,” says Costello.

Although small helicopters are one alternative, continuous flying drains the batteries fast.

Thus, Costello stresses the need for a rotor-powered, bottom-heavy, self-righting vehicle that spends most of its time on the ground, conserving battery power.

AS to whether repeated hopping might harm the craft, a spokesman for the Impact Centre at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, UK, said: “From a crashworthiness point of view this concept looks perfectly feasible. There should be no problem with the vehicle surviving hundreds of impacts, which is roughly equivalent to dropping a mobile phone from waist height.” (ANI)

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Pak Army’s plans to use private militia against Taliban may backfire: Report

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.18 (ANI): The Pakistan Army’s initiative to sponsor local militias, or the lashkars, as they are commonly known, may have been working in its favour against the Taliban, however some people feel such move could back fire in future.

Backed by the Army, which had initiated an all out operation against the Taliban in Swat and Malakand Divisions in April, more than 8,000 villagers living across the region have joined these militias to try to keep the Taliban away from their villages.

Military officials are encouraging people to join hands with the troops against the extremists and carrying out special drives for forming such lashkars.

“The military is going village to village, speaking with elders and encouraging them to form their own lashkars and unite with existing ones,” said Swat military spokesman Major Mushtaq Khan.

While the Army considers that its initiative would yield positive results and prevent the Taliban’s onslaught in the region, experts have raised questions over it saying the move could have catastrophic effect in future.

“They could be temporarily used in some areas where the Taliban are weak or heavily resented, like in Swat. But at the end of the day, the villagers need to do their work; they can’t be armed every night,” The Christian Science Monitor quoted, Rahimullah Yusufzai, a well-known journalist, as saying.

“Creating these private militias may work in the short-run, but what if they later turn on each other to settle personal scores?” usufzai asked

Experts said the military should think twice before trying to extend the experimant into Pakistan’s other tribal agencies, where the Taliban still maintains a strong grip.

“It’s a very interesting experiment. But if it works in Swat, this can’t be replicated anywhere else, because the guys that they were pitted against were way too powerful, the murder of Qari Zainuddin was a case in point,” said Rifaat Hussain, an analyst at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. (ANI)

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Some Americans think opposition to Obama’s policies is based on racism

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep. 18 (ANI): Some Americans, including former President Jimmy Carter, believe that those who are opposing US President Barrack Obama’s policies have a racial element against him instead of simple disagreement.

According to a recent Fox News poll, 65 percent Americans think that opposition to Obama’s policies is based on honest disagreements, while 20 percent say it is mostly motivated by racism.

However, Black voters are twice as likely to say the opposition is motivated by race, with 63 percent citing racism as the reason for opposition and 27 percent say it is based on honest disagreements.

Most white voters (71 percent) say the opposition comes from honest disagreements.

Most Republicans (87 percent) and independents (69 percent) believe that opposition to Obama’s policies is based on honest disagreements, while 48 percent Democrats say honest disagreements and 34 percent say it is motivated by racism, the poll found.

Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters with a 3-point margin of error.

The poll also found that 54 percent of Americans think Obama is a “new kind” of politician, while a large 39 percent minority says he is a “typical” politician.

As for Obama’s handling of health care, 44 percent approved and 48 percent disapproved.

Obama received better ratings on his handling of the economy (55 percent approve) and on the war in Afghanistan (51 percent).

By a wide 60 percent to 27 percent margin, Americans think the country has become more divided rather than more united since Obama took office in January, the poll found. (ANI)

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Planck spacecraft obtains first peek of big bang’s ‘afterglow’

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 18 (ANI): European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Planck spacecraft has obtained its first peek at the afterglow of the big bang, revealing it in unprecedented detail.

The ESA spacecraft was launched into space on May 14 this year. It is observing the glow of hot gas from just 380,000 years after the big bang, called the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

According to a report in New Scientist, the detailed properties of this background may contain hints of hidden extra dimensions or multiple universes, as well as providing clues to what caused a brief, early period of incredibly rapid cosmic expansion.

Planck began surveying the microwave background on August 13, a few weeks after reaching its planned perch 1.5 million kilometres from Earth at a point called L2 and cooling its detectors to within 0.1 degrees Celsius above absolute zero.

Now, the Planck team has released the probe’s first image, an observational strip covering about 5 per cent of the sky.

Slight variations in temperature from place to place in the early universe give the image its mottled appearance.

“With a few per cent of the data in, you can see it’s working well and delivering good stuff,” said team member George Efstathiou of the University of Cambridge.

Planck is expected to provide the most detailed all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background yet, improving on the best current map, obtained by NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), which launched in 2001.

Planck’s detectors have more than 10 times the sensitivity of WMAP’s, and about 2.5 times the angular resolution.

“Every strip that Planck scans, we’re getting data that is many, many times more sensitive than WMAP,” Efstathiou told New Scientist.

Although Planck was only designed to observe the sky for 15 months, the team believes it could last for more than 30 months, based on new estimates of how long its coolant will last.

The extra time will allow Planck to measure the radiation with even greater precision, since it will scan the entire sky four times – two more than originally planned. (ANI)

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Researchers operate biomedical robots from different locations worldwide via Internet

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 18 (ANI): Experts from the University of Washington and SRI International have jointly developed a new software protocol, to standardize the way biomedical robots are managed over the Internet.

Nine research teams from universities and research institutes around the world recently made a successful demonstration of biomedical robots operated from different locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia with the help of the ‘Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol’.

In a 24-hour period, each participating group connected over the Internet, and controlled robots at different locations.

The tests performed demonstrated how a wide variety of robot and controller designs can seamlessly interoperate, allowing researchers to work together easily and more efficiently.

The demonstration also evaluated the feasibility of robotic manipulation from multiple sites, and was conducted to measure time and performance for evaluating laparoscopic surgical skills.

“Although many telemanipulation systems have common features, there is currently no accepted protocol for connecting these systems. We hope this new protocol serves as a starting point for the discussion and development of a robust and practical Internet-type standard that supports the interoperability of future robotic systems,” said SRI’s Tom Low.

The protocol is expected to allow engineers and designers that usually develop technologies independently, to work collaboratively, determine which designs work best, encourage widespread adoption of the new communications protocol, and help robotics research to evolve more rapidly.

Its early adoption may encourage robotic systems to be developed with interoperability in mind, and avoid future incompatibilities.

“We’re very pleased with the success of the event in which almost all of the possible connections between operator stations and remote robots were successful. We were particularly excited that novel elements such as a simulated robot and an exoskeleton controller worked smoothly with the other remote manipulation systems,” said Professor Blake Hannaford of the University of Washington. (ANI)

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Adebayor lifts lid on his abusive treatment by Arsenal

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 18 (ANI): Emmanuel Adebayor has criticized Arsenal after getting a three-match ban for his stamp on striker Robin van Persie.

“There is only so much abuse a man can take until he reaches breaking point,” Adebayor said.

Adebayor lifted the lid on his treatment by the Gunners and their fans that led to his outrageous behaviour in Saturday’s 4-2 win, and insisted: “Arsenal players refused to shake his hand before the game.”

He suffered 60 minutes of non-stop abuse from away fans before he turned the tables on them with his goal, The Sun reports.

Arsene Wenger completed his 25 million pounds summer move from Arsenal behind his back.

Adebayor, banned for Sunday’s Manchester derby, said: “I could not understand some of the Arsenal players being disrespectful towards me.”

“I was being abused by people who six months ago were singing my name. The abuse was for no reason. It wasn’t my fault I left, it was Arsene who wanted to accept the offer for me,” he added. (ANI)

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Government approves amendments in ASA between India and Saudi Arabia

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 17(ANI): The Government on Thursday gave its approval to the amendments in the Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Saudi Arabia.

In the MoU signed, the provision of the incorporation of ‘multiple designation clause’ has been agreed and, therefore, each side can now designate any number of airlines as they wish.

The capacity entitlement for the designated airline of each side has also been enhanced from the existing 8,500 seats per week with frequencies not exceeding 31 services to 20,000 seats per week with frequencies not exceeding 75 services per week.

Bangalore, Calicut and Lucknow have also granted additional points of call for the Saudi designated carriers apart from the existing Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Cochin and Hyderabad.

While, Medinah has been granted as additional point of call for India designated carrier apart from the existing Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.

The capacity to be operated by the Indian designated carriers to and from Dammam for which the Government of Saudi Arabia has declared an open sky policy, shall not be counted against the capacity entitlements available to the Indian carriers.

Both sides have also agreed for the open sky with regard to all cargo services with full third and fourth freedom traffic rights.

As per the summer schedule of 2009, Saudi Arab Airlines fly 39 services per week – 9 to Mumbai, 5 to Hyderabad, 7 to Delhi, 5 to Chennai, 4 to Kochi, 2 to Bangalore, 4 to Calicut and 3 to Lucknow.

Air India flies 46 services per week – 16 services per week to Riyadh, 14 to Jeddah and 16 to Damman. (ANI)

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Zardari being unnecessarily targeted for his overture to India: Editorial

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep.17 (ANI): An editorial in one of the leading English dailies of Pakistan has highlighted that President Asif Ali Zardari is being unnecessarily targeted and criticized by certain quarters in the country even if he attempts to address the long pending issues with India in his bid to de-escalate tension between the two neighbour countries.

The Daily Times editorial said while Zardari is condemned for his overture to India, similar actions taken by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif goes unnoticed in the country.

“President Zardari is pilloried if he makes a friendly overture to India; a similar overture made by Mr Nawaz Sharif is either ignored or actually praised,” the editorial said.

It also brought to light how several retired army officials and bureaucrats have suddenly jumped out of their retirement to denounce Zardari’s every action.

“Retired generals and retired bureaucrats whose ‘stand-still’ strategy with India in the past has brought Pakistan to its present crisis point, have crept out of their retirement to express their shock at how President Zardari is harming Pakistan through his diplomacy with China, the United States and the European Union,” the editorial stated.

The editorial went on to add that Zardari is right in his part to woo the international community, especially China and the US.

“Pakistan needs a lot of placatory diplomacy, not hostile ‘action’, given its past failed strategies,” it concluded. (ANI)

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Scientists map melting history of Greenland’s ice sheet

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 17 (ANI): Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have mapped the history of the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.

Numerous drillings have been made through both Greenland’s ice sheet and small ice caps near the coast.

By analyzing every single annual layer in the kilometres long ice cores, researchers can get detailed information about the climate of the past.

But now, the Danish researcher Bo Vinther and colleagues from the Centre for Ice and Climate at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with researchers from Canada, France and Russia, have found an entirely new way of interpreting the information from the ice core drillings.

“Ice cores from different drillings show different climate histories. This could be because they were drilled at very different places on and near Greenland, but it could also be due to changes in the elevation of the ice sheet, because the elevation itself causes different temperatures,” explained Bo Vinther about the theory.

Today, the ice sheet is more than three kilometres thick at its highest point and thinning out towards the coast.

Four of the drillings analyzed are from the central ice sheet, while two of the drillings are from small ice caps outside of the ice sheet itself.

By comparing the Oxygen-18 content in all of the annual layers from the four drillings through the ice sheet with the Oxygen-18 content of the same annual layers in the small ice caps, Bo Vinther has calculated the elevation course through 11,700 years.

Just after the ice age the elevation of the ice sheet rose slightly because when the climate transitions from ice age to warm age, there is a rapid increase in precipitation.

But at the same time, the areas lying near the coast begin to decrease in size, because the ice is melting at the edge.

When the ice melts at the edge, it slowly causes the entire ice sheet to ‘collapse’ and become lower.

The calculations show that in the course of about 3,000 years, the elevation changed and became up to 600 meters lower in the coastal areas.

But in the middle, it was a slow process, where the elevation decreased around 150 meters in the course of around 6,000 years.

It then stabilized.

The new results show the evolution of elevation of the ice sheet throughout 11,700 years and they show that the ice sheet is very sensitive to the temperature.

The results can be used to make new calculations for models predicting future consequences of climate changes. (ANI)

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Clark hopes next generation of Oz cricketers value country above the dollar

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep.17 (ANI): Experienced Australian seamer Stuart Clark has warned that he can only hope the next generation of Australian cricketers values playing for their country ahead of chasing the almighty dollar on offer in the Indian Premier League and next month’s Champions League.

Skipper Ricky Ponting, who said he expected more people to follow in the footsteps of English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and pursue the shorter version of the game, backed up Clark.

According to the Daily Telegraph, former one-day star Michael Bevan also weighed into the money-v-country debate when he questioned how much longer cricketers would be prepared to support the Test scene now that there were lucrative alternatives.

“What scares me the most is where does it leave the game if people just go chasing large sums of money for a bit of hit-and-giggle,” Clark told The Big Sports Breakfast.

“I think we as players all owe it to Test cricket to try and keep it afloat. I know the administration is working hard at it, but I personally hold grave fears for where the game is heading,” he added.

Clark said he had noticed youngsters at NSW getting excited about the money at next month’s Champions League in India, which offers a three million dollar purse to the winner and could earn the players 130,000 dollars each – the equivalent of a top-end state contract.

Ponting said more players could snub Test cricket to copy Flintoff.

“I think it probably could happen more and more especially with guys retiring from Test match cricket and wanting to play only the shorter versions of the game,” he said.

Bevan, who scored nearly 7000 runs in 232 one-dayers for Australia, told The Daily Telegraph: “I’d like to hope there is a strong allegiance shown by the players to Test cricket, but up until what point they continue to do that I’m not sure.” (ANI)

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Dial auto service launched in Chandigarh

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chandigarh, Sept 17 (ANI): In a bid to provide quick, hassle free and reasonably charged mode of transportation, a dial-an-auto service equipped with GPS navigation system has been launched for the first time in Chandigarh.

The neat and clean pink coloured motor rickshaws, known as Tuk Tuk, are changing the way people travel in the city.

The fleet of 10 dial-an-auto-rickshaw, which is only a phone call away, also boasts of two lady drivers, the first in Chandigarh.

Women passengers, who feel safer traveling with lady drivers, are appreciating their services.

“Chandigarh is one city where people are safe anyway. We have been told we are safe with the service,” said Alka Thapar, a lady auto driver.

One has to just dial 4242424 for calling an auto rickshaw to get it at your doorstep.

The autos are equipped with tamper proof fare meters to assure passengers of not being overcharged.

“We maintain our call center. Whenever any individual requires an auto he rings up and the call centre picks up the call. They record the call and then convey to the driver by selecting the vehicle nearby to pick up the customer. That’s the procedure and customer has to pay from the pick up point to the drive point only,” said VS Dhillon, Managing Director of the Tuk Tuk Auto Rickshaw Company.

The service aims at providing a quick, reliable and safe journey to people who can relax and sit back without the fear of getting fleeced by drivers.

“I’m using it for the first time It’s reasonably priced and I’m really liking it,” says Charanjit, a customer.

The new service is a welcome change for commuters. With the new service in place, passengers can hope for a change in the attitude of traditional auto drivers who are often accused of fleecing customers. By Sunil Sharma (ANI)

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Worst Brit footie team ends 90-match losing streak with victory!

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 16 (ANI): Harraby Athletic, the worst football team in Britain, has finally tasted victory – after a losing streak of 90 matches.

The side has been on a losing spree since three years and was badly mauled in a 19-0 match in 2006.

The team concedes 10 goals a game on an average and their goalie has seen the ball netted over 400 times in less than three seasons.

The under-14 squad celebrated their first win after beating Edenvale Hawks 3-2 at their home ground, Hammond’s Park.

Sky News quoted coach Brett Preston as saying: “Pure determination has got us there and their faces after the game meant everything.

“All week I’ve had other managers phoning me up to congratulate us on our achievement.

“When we lost our first game 19-0, it could have even been a higher score as the opposing manager tried to help us by swapping players around and telling them to ease off.

“They just couldn’t help scoring against us. Gradually over time, the scores have come down, but we’re always bottom of the table and we’ve never even won a friendly match.”

Harraby has only one point in the Longhorn Youth Football League after the opponents did not play the game.

It consists of players who are either playing for the first time or have been rejected by other teams.he coach said: “They know that if they leave, they might not get the chance of a game as they might not get into another team.”

However, Preston also praised the determination of his boys.

He said: “The boys have been prepared to stick at it and been willing to learn. They turn up for training in all weathers and really deserve a win at last.” (ANI)

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Early man used crude version of ‘sat nav’ system to navigate across England

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 15 (ANI): In a new research, a scientist has found that prehistoric man navigated his way across England using a crude version of a satellite navigation system, which was based on stone circle markers.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the research, by historian and writer Tom Brooks, shows that Britain’s Stone Age ancestors were “‘sophisticated engineers” and far from a barbaric race.

Brooks studied all known prehistoric sites as part of his research.

He found that the prehistoric man was able to travel between settlements in England with pinpoint accuracy, thanks to a complex network of hilltop monuments.

These covered much of southern England and Wales and included now famous landmarks such as Stonehenge and The Mount.

New research suggests that they were built on a connecting grid of isosceles triangles that ‘point’ to the next site.

Many are 100 miles or more away, but GPS co-ordinates show all are accurate to within 100 metres.

This provided a simple way for ancient Britons to navigate successfully from point A to B without the need for maps.

“To create these triangles with such accuracy would have required a complex understanding of geometry,” said Brooks.

“The sides of some of the triangles are over 100 miles across on each side and yet the distances are accurate to within 100 metres. You cannot do that by chance,” he added.

“So advanced, sophisticated and accurate is the geometrical surveying now discovered, that we must review fundamentally the perception of our Stone Age forebears as primitive, or conclude that they received some form of external guidance,” he further added.

Brooks analyzed 1,500 sites stretching from Norfolk to north Wales. These included standing stones, hilltop forts, stone circles and hill camps.

Each was built within eyeshot of the next.

Using GPS co-ordinates, he plotted a course between the monuments and noted their positions to each other.

He found that they all lie on a vast geometric grid made up of isosceles ‘triangles’. Each triangle has two sides of the same length and ‘point’ to the next settlement.

Thus, anyone standing on the site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire could have navigated their way to Lanyon Quoit in Cornwall without a map.

According to Brooks, many of the Stone Age sites were created 5,000 years ago by an expanding population recovering from the trauma of the Ice Age.

“The triangle navigation system may have been used for trading routes among the expanding population and also been used by workers to create social paths back to their families while they were working on these new sites,” he said. (ANI)

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Faster visa to US under Delhi consular section

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 15 (ANI): The US Ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer on Monday inaugurated the US Embassy’s new Consular (visa) section in New Delhi.

The new facility is the result of a multi-year, 10 million dollar expansion that would permit the embassy to provide faster and better consular service to the Indian community, particularly catering to northern India.

James Herman, Minister Counsellor for Consular Affairs at the United States Embassy, told reporters that new consul section doesn’t mean that more visas would be issued, but it would help clear the backlog.

“The new facilities designed here are to allow us the capability to process more visas. It doesn’t mean that we are issuing more visas. It is simply a matter of making sure that we can process all the visas applicants who want to apply for visas in India,” he added.

“Three years ago the average waiting time in India for a visa appointment was a little bit over six months, that is now down to a well under two weeks. In some place like Chennai for example it’s just a two-day wait. So the point is to give us the capability of processing as many visas as there are applicants,” Herman said.

The new facility doubles the waiting area, triples customer seating, adds a modern queuing system to guide customers through the visa process and adds many interviewing windows to ensure that visa applicants and American citizens can speak to an officer more quickly and in a convenient, modern environment.

The demand for consular services in India has surged to new levels, mirroring the deepening strategic partnership. Over the past five years, the issuance of U.S. non-immigrant visas in India have more than doubled from approximately 275,000 in 2003 to approximately 560,000 in 2008.

Speaking on the recent travel advisory issued to the Americans travelling to India, Herman said that it is routine and just meant for the safety of US citizens.

“The travel alert is for a wider audience. It’s basically says the same things as last two warden messages. So if you look at it it’s the way we communicate with Americans who travel…it’s a fair assessment,” he added.

The travel alert recently posted on US embassy website states that last years Mumbai terror attacks provides a vivid reminder that hotels and other public places being attractive targets for militant groups.

The advisory ask US citizens to maintain heightened situational awareness and a low profile. (ANI)

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Tibetans-in-exile at Leh react strongly to Chinese incursion

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Leh, Sep 15 (ANI): Members of the exiled Tibetan community at Leh reacted strongly to the recent Chinese trespass into India’s border areas in Ladakh region.

Such concern was expressed by functionaries of Tibetan fora based at Leh on Monday.

Warning India of Chinese designs, Kunzang Dechen, President of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Leh, termed China as the biggest threat to India.

“China these days is a great threat to India. I have seen through channels…that the Chinese are entering to the border but when Tibet is an independent nation, when Tibet is in between them, China has nothing to bother even. From Indian point of view, this must be settled through Tibet and not through China,” Deche added.

Sonam Gyatso, President of Tibetan Market Welfare Association, Leh, said that if the recent developments in Ladakh are ignored by the government of India, then Ladakh would also meet the same fate as Tibet.

“The one and half kilometres incursion by the Chinese troops in Ladakh…. written at the border area in Chinese ‘Republic of China’, all these will have a bad impact on Ladakh. In Pangong Lake, first they said 45 kilometres is under China and 45 kilometres is under India, which they (Chinese) have extended to 50 kilometres and if Ladakhi government and the authorities ignore this issue then whatever happened in Tibet, the same would happen in Ladakh also since Ladakh is a very isolated region,” Gyatso added.

Officials sources have said that Chinese troops entered nearly 1.5 kilometres into the Indian territory near Mount Gya, which is recognised as the international border by India and China, and painted the word ‘China’ in Cantonese on the boulders and rocks there with red spray paint. The incursions were reported from the area generally referred in the Chumar sector in east of Leh.

The 22,420 ft Mount Gya, also known as “fair princess of snow” by the Army is located at the tri-junction of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, and Tibet. Its boundary was marked during the British era and is regarded as International border by the two countries.

The border patrol discovered the red paint markings on various rocks and boulders along the Zulung La (pass) on July 31 and the Chinese had entered into the area and written “China” all over the place, the sources said.

Indian soldiers later erased the text, writing ‘India’ instead.

This is not the first such reported intrusion. On June 21 Chinese helicopters had violated the Indian air space along the Line of Actual Control in Chumar region. The Chinese troops also reportedly dropped expired tinned food packets in the area. (ANI)

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Nirupama Rao discusses India, Nepal ties in Kathmandu

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, Sep 15 (ANI): Visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met Nepal Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala and discussed various bilateral issues including greater sharing of vital information between the two countries.

According to Nepalnews, both the leaders also discussed electricity import from India, signing of extradition treaty and the agreements reached during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s visit to India last month.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Koirala said that the discussion basically revolved around building greater cooperation between India and Nepal, Constitution drafting and the peace process.

“India was keen on providing more assistance to help develop Nepal’s poor infrastructures, building transmission lines for the import of electricity from India, signing of the new extradition treaty and address other trade issues,” Koirala added.

Earlier Nirupama Rao met her Nepalis counterpart Gyan Chandra Acharya and discussed joint strategy for implementation of the 34-point agreement signed between the two countries last month.

During the meeting, she assured substantial amount of Indian investment in Nepal if peace is established in the country.

She also called on former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala at his residence and suggested that Koirala has a great role to play in the days ahead to end the political impasse in Nepal.

She also met CPN UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and extended an invitation to visit India on behalf of the government of India. During her meeting she advised Khanal to seek a practical solution on rehabilitation and integration of former Maoist combatants.

Nirupama Rao also met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, Chief of Army Staff Chatra Mansingh Gurung and Maoist leader Babu Ram Bhattrai New Delhi is sending a high-level official to Nepal at a time when the constitution-drafting and peace process has been stalled due to differences among major political parties.

This is Nirupama Rao’s first visit to Nepal after being appointed Foreign Secretary on July 31.

She will also visit Pashupatinath temple and offer her prayers later today. (ANI)

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Amanda Seyfried dismisses ‘Mama Mia!’ sequel reports

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 15 (ANI): ‘Mamma Mia!’ star Amanda Seyfried has dismissed reports that a sequel to the movie musical is being planned, and believes there is “no point” trying to make it.

“I don’t think that’s correct. I don’t think it’s accurate. Because I don’t see the point in trying to top something,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

The actress insists that there is no way a sequel can better the original.

She said: “I mean, maybe if they had a really good idea for a story, but I don’t think they would do it to top the first one. It’s a good movie. It’s an original piece. It’s something that was really popular on Broadway. It’s a great soundtrack; a good, family-friendly movie.”

Rumours of a second instalment started circulating after Meryl Streep recently expressed her desire to sign up for another ‘Mamma Mia!’ movie. (ANI)

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Popular diabetes drug may help fight breast cancer

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 15 (ANI): A popular diabetes drug called metformin has been found to be effective in fighting breast cancer.

The findings of the study from Harvard Medical School showed that metformin, along with conventional chemotherapy, shows promise for treating and delaying recurrence of breast cancer.

“We have found a compound selective for cancer stem cells,” said senior author Kevin Struhl, the David Wesley Gaiser professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at HMS.

“What’s different is that ours is a first-line diabetes drug,” he added.

The drug seemed to work independently of its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar and insulin levels, all of which are also associated with better breast cancer outcomes.

“There is a big desire to find drugs specific to cancer stem cells,” said Struhl.

“The cancer stem cell hypothesis says you cannot cure cancer unless you also get rid of the cancer stem cells. From a purely practical point of view, this could be tested in humans. It’s already used as a first-line diabetes drug,” he added.

Lead researchers Heather Hirsch and Dimitrios Iliopoulos found that the combination of metformin and the cancer drug doxorubicin killed human cancer stem cells and non-stem cancer cells in culture.

In mice, pre-treatment with the diabetes drug prevented the otherwise dramatic ability of human breast cancer stem cells to form tumours.

In cases where tumours were allowed to take hold for 10 days, the dual therapy also reduced tumour mass more quickly and prevented relapse for longer than doxorubicin alone.

“This is an exciting study,” said Jennifer Ligibel, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an HMS instructor in medicine, who was not involved in the study.

“There is a lot of interest in studying metformin in breast cancer, but so far we do not have direct evidence that metformin will improve outcomes in patients,” Ligibel said. “That’s what this trial is for.”

The findings appear online in the journal Cancer Research. (ANI)

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