Zardari, Nawaz tried to clip Pak judiciary’s power: Imran

Lahore, Apr 26(ANI): Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that by passing the 18th Amendment, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif made an attempt to clip the judiciary’s power.

Addressing a rally against loadshedding and price-hike in Lahore, Khan said he would thwart the government’s design against the judiciary.

“If Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are true patriot, why don’t they bring their money from abroad?” The News quoted Khan, as saying.

“Despite the fact that Pakistan has no water, no electricity, people are jobless, factories are lying closed, a hefty amount of Rs. 30 million is being spent on the President of this poor country,” he added.

Khan further said that criminals are ruling the country due to which the people were suffering, and insisted that there would be no changes if people cannot fight for their rights.

“Imran called upon the nation to rise up in unison against this diabolical system of oppression and wage a crusade against forces of darkness to steer the country out of this maelstrom crisis,” The Nation quoted a PTI statement, as saying. (ANI)

David Hasselhoff to headline show in Las Vegas

London, April 01 (ANI): David Hasselhoff is set to follow in the footsteps of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra by having a headline show in Sin City.

“I think it’s going to be very soon now that I’m back here with my own show.

“I have a musical show. We just performed it and it went great. We’re getting offers. I’m talking with hotels here.

“Maybe I’ll start downtown. I like it here. It has the old Vegas vibe and then [I’ll] move it to the Strip later,” The Daily Star quoted him as saying.

“I’m the busiest I’ve been in a long time. I’m going over to Germany, where my music business is still extraordinarily big.

“I’m recording a new romantic songs CD and for (US television network) PBS, we will shoot a special in the castles of Ireland, with the Celtic women dancing in unison with me,” said Hoff, who quit his role as a judge on America’s Got Talent. (ANI)

Soon, robot controlled by human brain cells

London, Sept 10 (ANI): Scientists from University of Reading are working on developing a robot that would be controlled by human brain cells.

Lead researchers Kevin Warwick and Ben Whalley have already used rat brain cells to control a simple wheeled robot.

During the study, the researchers grew around 300,000 rat neurons in a nutrient broth and device producing spikes of electrical activity were connected to the output of the robot’s distance sensors.

The neurons could successfully steer the robot around a small enclosure.

Based on the findings rat models, the researchers are now working on steering the robot with the help of human brain cells.

The researchers believe that understanding how the neuron culture responds to stimulation could lead to deeper insights of neurological conditions such as epilepsy.

For instance, the way large numbers of neurons sometimes spike in unison – a phenomenon known as “bursting” – may be similar to what happens during an epileptic seizure.

The research team suggests if the behavior could be altered by changing the culture chemically, electrically or physically, it might pave way for potential therapies.

To make the system a better model of human disease, a culture of human neurons will be connected to the robot once the current work with rat cells is completed.

They will analyze the differences in the behavior of robots controlled by rat and human neurons.

“We’ll be trying to find out if the learning aspects and memory appear to be similar,” New Scientist quoted Warwick as saying. (ANI)

Meet the twin sisters who look the same and score the same

New Delhi, June 27 (ANI): Twin sisters Zang Jiahuan and Zang Jiale left people in their village in Shaoxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province, wondering after they got the same scores on this year’s national college entrance examination.

The sister duo took the annual college entrance exams at the beginning of this June.

But when they received the results showing that both of them had scored 644 points, they were shocked.

Their marks even left villagers wondering whether the two girls could read each other’s minds, according to a story on Zjol.com.

When asked whether anything like that had ever happened before, the girls said in unison: “We never expected it. This is the only case.”

In fact, the girls repeatedly finished each other’s sentences, triggering telepathy-related speculation.

As part of an experiment, the sisters were asked questions about their lives, and they always answered in one voice.

That stunned onlookers, and it was concluded that telepathy did exist between the sisters, reports www.chinaview.cn.

But, Xu Yi, a doctor in Zhejiang No. 1 Hospital denied the conjecture.

He said that it was not unusual for twins to get the same or similar scores on tests because identical twins are born with the same genes, which decide their personality, intelligence and ways of thinking. (ANI)

How brain waves fire in unison while paying attention

Washington, May 29 (ANI): While the neurons in human brains are known to start firing in unison when a person pays attention, scientists have now found the brain centre that controls this neural chorus.

MIT neuroscientists have found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex – the brain’s planning centre – fire in unison and send signals to the visual cortex to do the same, generating high-frequency waves that oscillate between these distant brain regions like a vibrating spring.

The waves, also known as gamma oscillations, have long been associated with cognitive states like attention, learning, and consciousness.

“We are especially interested in gamma oscillations in the prefrontal cortex because it provides top-down influences over other parts of the brain. We know that the prefrontal cortex is affected in people with schizophrenia, ADHD and many other brain disorders, and that gamma oscillations are also altered in these conditions.

Our results suggest that altered neural synchrony in the prefrontal cortex could disrupt communication between this region and other areas of the brain, leading to altered perceptions, thoughts, and emotions,” said senior author Robert Desimone.

The researchers explained this neural synchrony by using the analogy of a crowded party with people talking in different rooms-if individuals raise their voices at random, the noise just becomes louder.

But if a group of individuals in one room chant together in unison, the next room is more likely to hear the message, and if the people in the other room respond in the same way, the two rooms can communicate.

In the study, the researchers looked for patterns of neural synchrony in two “rooms” of the brain associated with attention – the frontal eye field (FEF) within the prefrontal cortex and the V4 region of the visual cortex.

By training two macaque monkeys to watch a monitor displaying multiple objects, and to concentrate on one of the objects, the researchers monitored neural activity in both the above regions of the brain.

They analysed the timing of the neural activity and found that the prefrontal cortex became engaged by attention first, followed by the visual cortex-as if the prefrontal cortex commanded the visual region to snap to attention.

The delay between neural activity in these areas during each wave cycle revealed the speed at which signals travel from one region to the other, which indicated that the two brain regions were talking to one another.

The study has been published in the journal Science. (ANI)

Nikkei set to rise on Wall St gain, NEC Elec eyed

TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei average is likely
to rise on Thursday, with banking shares expected to gain ground
after Wall Street climbed on several signs that the U.S.
recession could be abating.

NEC Electronics Corp (6723.T) will be in focus after sources
said it and Renesas Technology Corp are in the final stage of
talks on a merger in a bid to survive as sales slump amid global
economic turmoil. [ID:nT223191]

“After a steady performance on Wall Street, Japanese stocks
will likely gain, with financial shares stabilising,” said Yoku
Ihara, manager at Retela Crea Securities.

“The merger news between NEC Electronics and Renesas is also
positive. When there’s a strong leader in an industry, that
promotes efficiency and gradually leads to more strength in
negotiating prices,” he said.

Hope that the economic slump was abating rose after the U.S.
Federal Reserve’s Beige Book indicated the economy continued to
weaken, but the contraction’s speed was fading.

Adding to the upbeat tone, data from American Express (AXP.N)
signaled that the ability of some consumers to pay their bills is
stabilising. [.N]

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 8,925 on
Wednesday, 185 points above the Osaka close, pointing to
a higher opening.

Market participants expect the benchmark Nikkei .N225 to
move between 8,700 and 8,900 on Thursday. It fell 1.1 percent the
previous day to end at 8,742.96 for its third consecutive day of
losses — its first such run in nearly two weeks.
———————-MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2258 GMT ————

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S and P 500 .SPX 852.06 1.25% 10.560
USD/JPY JPY 99.24 -0.13% -0.130
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.768 — 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU 889.3 -0.15% -1.300
US CRUDE CLc1 49.62 0.75% 0.360
DOW JONES .DJI 8029.62 1.38% 109.44
————————————————————-
> Wall St climbs on signs recession easing [.N]
> Dollar gains as economic concerns persist [USD/]
> Bonds mostly up on economic worries, tame inflation [US/]
> Gold rises in quiet trade as inflation eyed [GOL/]
> Oil falls slightly as stockpiles weigh [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

— Aderans Holdings Co Ltd (8170.T)

The wig maker’s board will approve a tender offer for at
least 33.4 percent of its shares by Unison Capital Inc at a
meeting on Thursday, the Nikkei business daily said.
[ID:nN15509722]

– Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (4502.T)

The drugmaker’s operating profit for the year ended last
month is expected to have fallen 31 percent, the Nikkei business
daily said.

That is an improvement over earlier projections as a delay in
getting drugs, including a key diabetes drug, approved in the
United States led to a decline in market research and promotion
expenses, the paper said.

— Asahi Glass Co Ltd (5201.T)

Asahi Glass said on Wednesday it will end production of auto
glass at one of its three factories in Japan in response to
slumping demand. [ID:nT173168]

— Santen Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4536.OS)

Santen Pharmaceutical agreed to license to Merck and Co Inc
(MRK.N) its glaucoma and ocular hypertension drug tafluprost, in
a move to help drive global sales of one of Santen’s key
products. [ID:nT186326]
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Tokyo bourse halts trade in NEC Elec, Aderans

TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) – The Tokyo stock exchange halted on Thursday trade in shares of NEC Electronics Corp (6723.T) and Aderans Holdings (8170.T).

Sources said NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology Corp are in the final stage of talks on a merger in a bid to survive as sales slump amid global economic turmoil. [ID:nT223191]

The Nikkei business daily said that wig maker Aderans’s board will approve a tender offer for at least 33.4 percent of its shares by Unison Capital Inc at a meeting on Thursday. [ID:nN15509722] (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi)

Aderans works with Unison vs Steel Partners-sources

TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) – Japanese wig maker Aderans Holdings (8170.T) is working with private equity fund Unison Capital to build a defence against U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Steel Partners, Aderans’ top shareholder with a 27 percent holding, has proposed that most of Aderans board members be replaced.

The two are considering plans such as buying Aderans stake, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak publicly. (Reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by Taiga Uranaka, Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

UPDATE 2-Unison Capital to bid for Aderans stake – Nikkei

Unison Capital aims to buy at least 1/3 stake – Nikkei

* Aderans teams up with Unison to fend off Steel Partners

* Aderans shares untraded with glut of buy orders

TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) – Japanese private equity fund Unison Capital is set to bid for a stake of at least one-third of wig maker Aderans Holdings (8170.T), raising the prospect of a proxy fight with U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.

Aderans shares were untraded due to a glut of buy orders after a brief suspension by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Two industry sources told Reuters that Unison Capital and Aderans were working to come up plans to ward off Steel Partners, which is Aderans’ top shareholder with a stake of about 27 percent and has proposed replacing most of the board of the struggling firm at a shareholders meeting next month.

Aderans has said it is likely to report a net loss of 2.1 billion yen for the year ended in February, with its main wig business hurt by the economic slump.

Steel Partners, dissatisfied with efforts by Aderans to turn arounds its business, has been pressuring it to go private so it can focus on restructuring.

As early as June, Unison Capital would offer to buy a stake in Aderans for 1,000 yen per share, 30 percent above its average share price for the past three months, costing the fund at least 14 billion yen ($141 million), the Nikkei said.

Aderans and Unison Capital were considering buying the Aderans stake held by Steel Partners and pursuing the firm’s turnaround efforts led by Unison, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak publicly.

Aderans said nothing had been decided on the matter and declined to comment further.

A Unison Capital spokeswoman declined to comment.

Steel Partners succeeded at a shareholders’ meeting last May in ousting most of Aderans board of directors, in the first such case of Japanese management being ejected under pressure from an activist fund.

A nominee from Steel Partners joined the new board. It now wants to nominate replacements for most of the eight board members.

The company is scheduled to announce its results at 0600 GMT on Thursday.

Shares in Aderans were bid at 1,045 yen, up 10.6 percent. ($1=99.32 Yen) (Reporting by Taro Fuse, Gerald E. McCormick and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Michael Watson)

Sex workers in WB to boycott polls if their demands are not met

Siliguri, Apr 12 (ANI): Complaining of neglect and subjugation by the mafia, police and political leaders, the sex workers in Siliguri district of West Bengal have united to boycott polls if their demands are not fulfilled.

More than 3,000 sex workers, who residing in the brothels of Siliguri, claim that they have been fighting for years for their recognition.

Since they never received any positive response, now they have given in unison call for ‘No Status, No Vote’ ahead of the elections.

“We have our problems. How to feed our children? How to pay our rent? f all demands not met, we will boycott polls. We have a huge association,” said Sikha Dutta, a sex worker.

Some of the sex workers even mentioned that they are fed up of the same empty promises made to them by the politicians of all hues before the elections.

“We being in the society never got any recognition from the government unlike other people. We are cursed. We also demand some respect,” said Shibani Karmakar, another sex worker.
Although prostitution is illegal in India, it is a thriving profession. Voluntary groups estimate that there are about two million women sex workers living on the fringes of the society. (ANI)

Nawaz says he “forgot his anger” in national interest

Lahore, Apr. 4 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has claimed that he has forgotten his anger in the national interest and agreed to work with other parties for building Pakistan.

Addressing party workers in Raiwind, he said he wanted to support the government for fulfilling the national agenda, but linked his working with the government to the implementation of the Charter of Democracy.

“The politicians should not engage in fighting and work in unison for resolution of the serious problems being faced by the country,” The News quoted Nawaz Sharif, as saying.

He said the long march was launched in the national interest, which led to the restoration of the deposed judges overnight. Had it been for personal interest, the objective might not have been achieved, he added.

Sharif said the people of Pakistan would themselves have to confront the elements attempting to derail the democracy. (ANI)

Fascists may have used marching together to bend millions to their will

London, Feb 5 (ANI): Marching in unison may have been used by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini to bend millions of people to their fascist will, suggests a new study.

Dr Scott Wiltermuth, of Stanford University in California and colleagues have found that if groups perform tasks in unison, such as marching, dancing and chanting, they show more loyalty towards each other and are less likely to go against the norm.

The research has been published in the New Scientist.

“It makes us feel as though we’re part of a larger entity, so we see the group’s welfare as being as important as our own,” the Telegraph quoted the researcher, as saying.

To reach the conclusion, Wiltermuth’s team separated 96 people into four groups who were then asked to perform different tasks together.

They included listening to a song while silently mouthing the words, singing along, singing and dancing, or listening to different versions of the song so that they sang and danced out of synchronisation.

In a second experiment, when asked to decide whether to stick with the group or strive for personal gain, those in the non-synchronised group behaved less loyally than the rest.

The research helps explain why fascist leaders, amongst others, use organised marching and chanting to whip crowds into a frenzy of devotion to their cause, say researchers. (ANI)

Brit Tory slammed for hanging Page 3 calendar in office

London, Jan 29 (ANI): The Nottinghamshire County Council has slammed a politician for hanging a charity Page 3 calendar in his office.

The council dubbed Tory David Taylor’s behaviour “inappropriate”, and ignored the fact that all profits from each one of the Sun calendars sold goes towards Forces charity Help for Heroes.

“It’s inappropriate for someone in his position,” the Sun quoted council leader David Kirkham as saying.

“It’s a public area. Staff go in there and people deliver mail there.

“It’s something I would not accept in the Labour group corridor,” he said.

Unison representative Ravi Subramanian added: “I am staggered by the fact he thinks it’s OK.”

But ex-soldier Coun Taylor, who did national service in the Korean War, is all for it.

“People are entitled to have what they want in their own office. It is having a go at political correctness,” he said.

Local Tory leader Kay Cutts backed him, saying: “It’s David’s way of taking a stand against the PC brigade who are so busy telling us what to do. He’s had enough of it. I’m not offended. It is not in a public area, it’s in a private office.” (ANI)

Gilani says Parliament is supreme, denies rift with Zardari

Islamabad, Jan 13 (ANI): Dispelling the impression of Pakistan National Assembly being a rubber stamp, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that they believed in the supremacy of the Parliament and all the decisions would be taken in the House with consensus.

Addressing the National Assembly on Monday, Gilani said that Pakistan People’s Party wanted to see political system rolling and for that reason they were taking all the stakeholders into confidence on all the major issues.

He also dispelled the impression of rift between the Presidency and the Prime Minister House, and said that both the offices were working in complete unison in accordance with the rules of business for strengthening the political system.

Gilani further said that the National Assembly was a people’s representative institution and not a rubber stamp and held out an assurance that the government would uphold sovereignty and supremacy of the parliament and all decisions will be made by the Parliament.

“There is no difference between me and President Asif Zardari. We together want to consolidate this system. We will continue to play our role for strengthening the parliament”, he said.

Gilani also said that he had not shown indifference to the cause of independence of judiciary and had just said that the decision of participation in the lawyers’ long march was the internal affair of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz).

He said that the PPP was fully committed to the independence of judiciary and recalled the countless sacrifices for the supremacy of judiciary by the party in the recent past.(ANI)