Ajmal Kasab death penalty appeal adjourned

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court adjourned an appeal hearing on Tuesday into the death sentence handed down to Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to Mumbai in attacks which lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people, has appealed for his sentence to be overturned after he was convicted in May 2010.

The 24-year-old was found guilty of a series of crimes, including waging war against India, murder and terror acts.

The November 2008 attacks saw 10 heavily-armed gunmen storm targets including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and a train station.

One of the two Supreme Court judges due to hear the appeal was unavailable on Tuesday, forcing the adjournment, officials said. No date was immediately set for the next hearing.

Kasab’s court-appointed lawyer Raju Ramachandran told AFP that his job was “a call of duty”, but declined to talk further about the case.

Kasab’s death sentence was confirmed by a state high court in Mumbai last year. If he loses his Supreme Court appeal, he will be able to appeal for clemency from the president.

Ujjwal Nikam, who prosecuted the case in Mumbai on behalf of the Maharashtra state, is seeking to push through the death sentence. “This is the rarest of rare cases,” Nikam told AFP. “He should not be entitled to any mercy.”

At the trial, the prosecution produced fingerprint, DNA, eyewitness and television evidence showing him opening fire and throwing grenades at Mumbai’s main railway station in the bloodiest episode of the attacks.

Kasab — who is in jail in Mumbai — initially pleaded not guilty but later made a confession, admitting to being one of the gunmen allegedly sent by the banned militant group.

He then reverted back to his initial denial and said he was framed by the police.

Pakistan has indicted seven alleged perpetrators over the attacks but they have not been brought to trial, triggering Indian accusations that the process is a sham.

Pakistani investigators and lawyers will visit India next month to gather more evidence ahead of any trial in Islamabad.

Most death sentences in India are commuted to life imprisonment, and convicts can sit on death row for years awaiting a final decision. AGENCIES

Uzma Ayub rape main accused arrested

 

Nassebullah Khan allegedly raped Uzma Ayub a year ago, and reportedly served a security force before being caught.

 

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan had constituted a judicial committee a few days ago to probe the 18-hour disappearance of a newborn of rape victim Uzma Ayub, who is at the centre of a high-profile rape case involving senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officials.

 

The brief disappearance of the baby girl was seen as an attempt to remove the most crucial evidence to establish the rape charges against the accused police officials, as the DNA test of the baby was to be carried out.

 

The victim gave birth to a baby girl who she said was a result of rape by Takht-e-Nasrati police station officials in Karak district. Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Seth Waqar Ahmed are hearing the case.
 

Coffee addiction ‘in your genes’

Coffee buffs, you can now blame your genes for downing another cup of the hot beverage, for a new study has claimed that genetic factors could explain why some people consume large amounts of caffeine.

Researchers scanned genetic variations in over 40,000 individuals to search for links with high caffeine intake. And they found two stretches of DNA associated with high intake of tea, coffee, chocolate, softdrinks and other caffeine sources.

Study author Dr Neil Caporaso of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said people with the high consumption genetic variation consume more caffeine — about 40 mg – or a third of a cup of coffee or a can of cola — than others.

“There are hundreds of genes known for specific medical conditions – for dietary consumption we know very little. Now, for the first time, we know specific genes that influence the amount of caffeine that individuals consume,” he was quoted as saying by the  BBC .

The two stretches of DNA linked with high caffeine consumption contain two genes thought highly likely to be involved in the way the body processes caffeine.

The study s co-author, Dr Marilyn Cornelis of the Harvard School of Public Health, said there has always been some anecdotal evidence that everyone responds differently to caffeine, but most research has focused on environmental factors. “For caffeine at last we have been able to find some genetic factors.”

Second wife, son of burnt police inspector arrested

The police inspector was reportedly burnt in his jeep in an area of Faisalabad in early morning hours. Earlier police accounts said Inspector Abdul Razzaq Gujjar left his house after Sehri when unknown men intercepted him, tied him up and burnt him inside the police vehicle, which they said was fully burnt. The body of the man killed in the police van was burnt beyond recognition. The incident took place in Samundri Police Station area.

Inspector Abdul Razzaq was suspended as Station House Officer (SHO) Daj Kot lately, police said.

Later, the police suspected involvement of Abdul Razzaq’s second wife and son in the murder. They interrogated the duo and found divergence in their statements. Both told police that the inspector had a spat with them last night and left the house. Abdul Razzaq had three marriages.

A DNA test on the burnt body may be done to determine the identity and carry out further investigation.

Amelia Earhart Clue Found

Scientific investigations have revealed that human DNA may be present in fragments of material that could provide crucial information about the fate of Amelia Earhart, the legendary pilot who disappeared 74 years ago while flying over the Pacific Ocean in a record attempt to circle the world at the equator. Scientists at the University of Oklahoma attempted to detect human DNA from three bone fragments recovered last year by a group of aviation enthusiasts on an expedition to Nikumaroro Island, 2,900km south of Hawaii.

A doctor in Fiji determined the bones were of a human male, but the remains disappeared.

“There is simply no way that the Earhart aircraft could be anywhere near Papua New Guinea,” he said.

Mr Gillespie says radio transmissions and other evidence indicate Earhart landed on an atoll in the central Pacific and perished from a lack of food and water.

A Minute With Nicole Kidman working on "Rabbit Hole"

LOS ANGELES: Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman has scored positive reviews, and a Golden Globe nomination, for her role as a mother dealing with the death of her child in the independent film “Rabbit Hole.”

The film was released last week in major US theaters and expands around the country starting on Christmas day.

“Rabbit Hole” is based on the Pulitzer prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Kidman stars alongside Aaron Eckhart as grieving couple Becca and Howie. Kidman also produced the film, marking it the inaugural project from her company, Blossom Films.

Kidman, who lives in Nashville with her country star husband Keith Urban and their daughter Sunday Rose, spoke about the film, her family and being a mother.

Q: How did you come across the play?
A: “I read the review of ”Rabbit Hole” in the New York Times. Living in Nashville, I get the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. That”s my contact with the city because that”s where I used to live and I”m a theater buff. When I read the review, I thought, ”Gosh, that sounds like rich material.””

Q: As a mother, you felt for Becca”s pain?
A: “When we first optioned the play, I wasn”t pregnant. This has been years in the making, so there wasn”t a thought of being pregnant. I thought I”d never get pregnant. But I get what she goes through. I get her relationship with her mother, her sister, God. I get the way in which she is so angry.”

Q: How did you prepare to play a woman who goes through something no parent should ever have to face?
A: “I read stuff. I tried to go to a grief group but I was told ”No, you”re not allowed. You can only step into these rooms if you lost a child.” I totally get it, yet for whatever reason, that rawness was available to me. Maybe it was from giving birth (to daughter Sunday Rose) 11 months prior.”

Q: The subject must have made for a difficult shoot.
A: “It was more like there was a big thrust to honor the people who are going through this right now. There”s almost something lifting you up, going ”Come on, if someone can actually be living this, I can be living this.””

Q: How has motherhood impacted your career?
A: “Time is the most precious thing. I”m very particular about how I spend it. I”m more reluctant to leave my family. Keith and I are very tight, and we”re never separated. If we are, it”s no more than three days.”

Q: How is motherhood today different than it was when you were raising Connor and Isabella (with ex-husband Tom Cruise)?
A: “I raised two kids when I was in my 20s, but that was a different thing. I was a kid and still so young mentally and emotionally — a totally different mom.”

Q: And now?
A: “There is something about mothering late in life. A lot of it is I want to stay alive for Sunday. There is plenty of deep fear and emotion. Sunday has healed an enormous amount in me. It”s a very private thing, but she just has.”

Q: What”s Sunday like now?
A: “She”s two and a half and in what we call ”the raccoon” stage because she”s into everything. She”s into this, she”s into that. She”s just really hard to wrangle at this stage.”

Q: Were you like that as a kid?
A: “I don”t think so. I was more placid. But Keith rode BMX bikes and grew up in a pretty rambunctious family. Sunday”s got a lot of her dad”s face and a lot of his DNA.”

Q: You and Keith were both raised in Australia and you”re now living the country life in the United States. Does Sunday have any of your Aussie roots in her?
A: “Our daughter is a Tennessee girl, but she still says ”G”day mate.” She says both ”Hi y”all” and ”G”day mate.””

Q: Any plans on expanding the family?
A: “We”re hoping for another one!”

Cigarette smoke causes immediate damage to lungs and DNA

Cigarette smoke causes immediate damage to a person’s lungs and DNA even in small amounts, including from second-hand smoke, U.S. researchers have said in a new report.

This report concludes that damage from tobacco smoke is immediate. The chemicals in the tobacco smoke reach your lungs very quickly every time you inhale. Your blood then carries toxicants to every organ in your body. And exposure to the tobacco smoke quickly damages the blood vessels throughout the body and makes your blood more likely to clot. The chemicals in the tobacco smoke damages the delicate lining of your lungs and can cause permanent damage, and that reduces your lung’s ability to exchange air efficiently. And that’s what causes the COP, or the chronic obstructive lung disease, which includes emphysema, U.S. Surgeon-General Dr. Regina Benjamin said at a conference.

Inhaling tobacco can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer, Dr. Benjamin said.

The report said tobacco companies deliberately designed cigarettes and other tobacco products to be addictive and that they released new products that are portrayed as safer but that are in fact just as dangerous and addictive.

But quitting smoking can allow a person to recover from at least some of the damage.

Suicide bombers of Abdullah Shah Ghazi incident identified

Suicide bombers who attacked at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Karachi have been identified. Police has arrested the mother of a suspected suicide bomber from Daska.
According to the police officials, one of the suicide bomber has been identified as Badshah Gul who belongs to Waziristan; where as the other bomber has been identified as Ishtiaq who belongs to Tehsil Daska of Sialkot. Police officials say that Ishtiaqs mother identified her son when the CCTV footage was played on tv chanels. Ishtiaq had been missing from his house prior to the Eid-ul-Fitr, the sources added. Police then arrested Ishitaqs mother from the area of Daska and his mother Munawar Bibi claimed that her son had been missing from home since one month. She identified her son through the CCTV footage which was on-aired on tv channels. Munawar Bibi also told that Ishtiaq used to run from house quite oftenly so thats why we did not file a report in the police. DPO Sialkot told that actual investigation will be completed after the DNA.

Ocean census discovers 5,000 new species

The mysteries of the deep have been revealed after a remarkable 10-year survey of the worlds oceans. Altogether, the international Census of Marine Life counted 201,206 different species of which 5,000 are new.
But experts estimate there are a million species living in the sea, so a mere 20% of the huge total have been discovered so far. Dr Jesse Ausubel, co-founder of the census, told a celebration at the Royal Institution yesterday: We have created a baseline of what lives in the ocean, where and when. There was chaos in the records when we set out. But there are decades of work ahead.
Science committee chairman Dr Ian Poiner added: This is a milestone for marine science. We have a benchmark which will serve scientists for years to come. More then 2,700 experts spent 9,000 days at sea on more than 540 expeditions, recording everything from microbes to whales.
Thirty-million observations of 120,000 species have been organised in the global marine life database, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. It will provide a record against which future changes in ocean life can be measured. The scientists found that fish make up 16,764 of the known species. But there are thought to be 21,800, with up to 150 new species discovered every year.
Pacific Bluefin tuna were found to cross the Pacific three times in 600 days. The Atlantic bluefin migrates about 3,700 miles between North America and Europe. But the record goes to puffins which make a 40,000-mile circle every year from New Zealand to Japan, Russia, Alaska, Chile and back. Another discovery was how many sea creatures share a similar DNA, with a maximum 15% difference among fish.
French scientist Myriam Sibuet said: In the deep sea, we found luxuriant communities despite extreme conditions. The discovery of new species and habitats have both advanced science and inspired artists with their extraordinary beauty.

France sends 300,000 euros for flood relief

PARIS: France will give 300,000 euros (395,000 dollars) to three organisations working to provide relief for the victims of Pakistan”s devastating monsoon floods, the foreign ministry said Friday.

In a statement, it said the donation, made after Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner met Pakistan”s President Asif Ali Zardari earlier this week, would be shared by the French Red Cross, Handicap International and Secours Islamique.

This year”s monsoon floods in northern Pakistan have endangered around 4.5 million people, UN officials said Friday, as relief workers warned the amount of aid needed is “absolutely daunting”.

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