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Swine
flu death toll in Pune rises to 25
Pune:
One more swine flu death was reported in Pune on Wednesday,
taking the city toll to 25. Shabana Shaikh, a middle-aged
woman, died here at the Sassoon General Hospital. She had
been put on ventilator since her admission to the Hospital
on August 22. On Tuesday, a 44-year-old woman died at the
Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, taking the city
toll to three and national toll to 76. Usha Jain, a resident
of Faridabad, was admitted to the hospital on August 21
with symptoms of fever, breathlessness and joint pain. Immediately
after being admitted, she was shifted to the ICU and put
on a ventilator. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) is urging people around the world to brace themselves
for a second wave of the swine flu pandemic as the heavily
populated northern hemisphere edges towards the cooler season
when flu thrives.
Chandrayaan-1,
NASA join hands to search for water on moon Top
London:
A joint collaboration between India's Chandrayaan-1 and
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which are orbiting
the moon, could turn up evidence for valuable lunar water.
Some scientists suspect water ice, which would be a precious
resource for future explorers, may be trapped in permanently
shadowed craters at the moon's poles. Water ice can be distinguished
from other materials by the way its radar echoes vary according
to the position of the listener. In 1994, the US Clementine
spacecraft bounced radar signals off the moon and found
hints of the water-ice signature. But, it listened for the
reflections jointly with a radio observatory on Earth, and
getting unambiguous evidence for water requires more closely
spaced listening posts. According to a report in New Scientist,
a recent joint experiment involving the US and Indian space
agencies has provided a unique opportunity to get that data.
"It's a unique experiment that can only be conducted by
two spacecraft in orbit at the same time," said Jason Crusan
of NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. On August 20, NASA's
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Chandrayaan-1 were manoeuvred
to within a few dozen kilometres of each other, which required
close communication and coordination between NASA and the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Once in proper
formation, Chandrayaan-1 fired its radar beam at a crater
near the moon's north pole, while both spacecraft listened
for the echoes. Crusan said that scientists were still analyzing
the data to make sure the experiment worked, but added that
both spacecraft were in the right positions at the right
time for it to go as planned. This is probably the only
time the two spacecraft will perform this kind of joint
radar measurement, since LRO will soon move to a lower orbit
than Chandrayaan-1 in order to begin its main observing
phase. But last week's experiment marks a new level of space
cooperation between the US and India. "I hope this is a
sign of the future for how we will do cooperative exploration,"
Crusan said. "I think it's a good first step," he added.
Salman
Khan 'interested' in buying new IPL team Top
Mumbai:
Salman Khan is reportedly in talks to a stake in the Indian
Premier League. The actor on Wednesday met IPL chairman
Lalit Modi here to understand the bidding process. "Yes,
Salman came to see me with the possibility of buying an
IPL team. We were just exploring the possibility of what
the process would be. And he has been interested for quite
a while. He is interested in a new team. He talked to me
in the past. I think he is a serious buyer," Modi said.
Two new IPL teams are to be introduced in 2011. Early reports
say Khan is interested in bidding for the Nagpur or Kochi
team. Last year, the average bid was 150 million dollars
per team, so Salman will need a serious amount of cash.
Bidding for the new teams will take place in January. The
big IPL players will also be back on the market next year.
Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta
are the other star owners of IPL teams. Shah Rukh Khan owns
Kolkata Knight Riders, a team that has been at the bottom
of the table in both the IPL seasons. The team is co-owned
by Juhi Chawla. Shilpa Shetty took over as co-owner of the
Rajasthan Royals in the second season. Preity Zinta was
seen cheering her team Kings XI Punjab through both the
seasons.
Ted
Kennedy dies of brain cancer aged 77 Top
Massachusetts
(US): Senator. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the
first family of Democratic politics, died late Tuesday at
his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after a lengthy
battle with brain cancer. He was 77. "We've lost the irreplaceable
center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but
the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance
will live on in our hearts forever," a family statement
said. "We thank everyone who gave him care and support over
this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many
years in his tireless march for progress toward justice,"
CNN quoted the statement as saying further. Kennedy, nicknamed
"Ted," was the younger brother of slain President John F.
Kennedy and New York Senator Robert Kennedy, who was gunned
down while seeking the White House in 1968. However, his
own presidential aspirations were hobbled by the controversy
around a 1969 auto accident that left a young woman dead,
and a 1980 primary challenge to then-President Jimmy Carter
that ended in defeat. The longtime Massachusetts senator
was considered one of the most effective legislators of
the past few decades. Kennedy, who was known as the "Lion
of the Senate," played major roles in passage of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1993 Family and
Medical Leave Act, and was an outspoken liberal standard-bearer
during a conservative-dominated era from the 1980s to the
early 2000s. Kennedy recently urged Massachusetts officials
to change a law to allow for an immediate temporary replacement
should a vacancy occur for one of his state's two Senate
seats. Under a 2004 Massachusetts law, a special election
must be held 145 to 160 days after a Senate seat becomes
vacant. The winner of the election would serve the remainder
of a senator's unexpired term. Kennedy asked Governor Deval
Patrick and state leaders to "amend the law through the
normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial
appointment until the special election occurs," according
to the letter, dated July 2. Kennedy suffered a seizure
in May 2008 at his home on Cape Cod. Shortly after, doctors
diagnosed a brain tumor -- a malignant glioma in his left
parietal lobe. Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center
in Durham, North Carolina, removed as much of the tumor
as possible the following month. Doctors considered the
procedure a success, and Kennedy underwent follow-up radiation
treatments and chemotherapy. A few weeks later, he participated
in a key vote in the Senate. He also insisted on making
a brief but dramatic appearance at the 2008 Democratic convention,
a poignant moment that brought the crowd to its feet and
tears to many eyes. "I have come here tonight to stand with
you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to
our best ideals and to elect Barack Obama president of the
United States," Kennedy told fellow Democrats in a strong
voice. Kennedy's early support for Obama was considered
a boon for the candidate, then a first-term senator from
Illinois locked in a tough primary battle against former
first lady Hillary Clinton. Kennedy predicted Obama's victory
and pledged to be in Washington in January when Obama assumed
office -- and he was, though he was hospitalized briefly
after suffering a seizure during a post-inaugural luncheon.
Kennedy was one of only six senators in U.S. history to
serve more than 40 years. He was elected to eight full terms
to become the second most-senior senator after West Virginia
Democrat Robert Byrd. He launched his political career in
1962, when he was elected to finish the unexpired Senate
term of his brother, who became president in 1960. He won
his first full term in 1964. He seemed to have a bright
political future, and many Democratic eyes turned to him
after the killings of his brothers. But a July 18, 1969,
car wreck on Chappaquiddick Island virtually ended his ambitions.
After a party for women who had worked on his brother Robert's
presidential campaign, Kennedy drove his car off a bridge
on Chappaquiddick, off Cape Cod and across a narrow channel
from Martha's Vineyard. While Kennedy managed to escape,
his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. In a coroner's
inquest, he denied having been drunk, and said he made "seven
or eight" attempts to save Kopechne before exhaustion forced
him to shore. Although he sought help from friends at the
party, Kennedy did not report the accident to police until
the following morning. Kennedy eventually pleaded guilty
to leaving the scene of an accident. In a televised address
to residents of his home state, Kennedy called his conduct
in the hours following the accident "inexplicable" and called
his failure to report the wreck immediately "indefensible."
Despite the dent in his reputation and career, Kennedy remained
in American politics and went on to win seven more terms
in the Senate. Kennedy championed social causes and was
the author of "In Critical Condition: The Crisis in America's
Health Care." He served as chairman of the Judiciary and
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committees and was
the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary and Armed Services
committees during periods when Republicans controlled the
chamber. Obama named Kennedy as one of 16 recipients of
the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest
civilian honor. A White House statement explained that the
2009 honorees "were chosen for their work as agents of change."
Born in Boston on February 22, 1932, Edward Moore Kennedy
was the last of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, a prominent
businessman and Democrat, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Joseph
Kennedy pushed his sons to strive for the presidency, a
burden "Teddy" bore for much of his life as the only surviving
Kennedy son. His oldest brother, Joe Jr., died in a plane
crash during World War II when Kennedy was 12. John was
assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963, and Robert was killed
the night of the California primary in 1968. Ted Kennedy
delivered Robert's eulogy, urging mourners to remember him
as "a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right
it; who saw suffering and tried to heal it; who saw war
and tried to stop it." The family was plagued with other
tragedies as well. One sister, Kathleen, was killed in a
plane crash in 1948. Another sister, Rosemary, was born
mildly retarded, but was institutionalized after a botched
lobotomy in 1941. She died in 1986 after more than 50 years
in mental hospitals. Joseph Kennedy was incapacitated by
a stroke in 1961 and died in November 1969, leaving the
youngest son as head of the family. He was 37. "I can't
let go," Kennedy once told an aide. "If I let go, Ethel
(Robert's widow) will let go, and my mother will let go,
and all my sisters." Kennedy himself survived a 1964 plane
crash that killed an aide, suffering a broken back in the
accident. But he recovered to lead the seemingly ill-starred
clan through a series of other tragedies: Robert Kennedy's
son David died of a drug overdose in a Florida hotel in
1984; another of Robert's sons, Michael, was killed in a
skiing accident in Colorado in 1997; and John's son John
Jr., his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette
died in a 1999 plane crash off Martha's Vineyard. In addition,
his son Edward Jr. lost a leg to cancer in the 1970s, and
daughter Kara survived a bout with the disease in the early
2000s. Like brothers John and Robert, Edward Kennedy attended
Harvard. He studied in the Netherlands before earning a
law degree from the University of Virginia Law School, and
worked in the district attorney's office in Boston before
entering politics. Kennedy is survived by his second wife,
Victoria Ann Reggie Kennedy, whom he married in 1992; his
first wife, Joan Bennett; and five children -- Patrick,
Kara and Edward Jr. from his first marriage, and Curran
and Caroline Raclin from his second.
Is
Musharraf planning another coup in Pakistan? Top
Islamabad/Dubai:
Sources close to Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez
Musharraf have revealed that he may consider seizing power
again, only a year after a marathon 9-year innings at the
helm. "Musharraf is planning a return to power. He is discussing
it with his close aides. He is not done yet," a source close
to the former president said. Sources said Musharraf, who
quit in August 2008 under immense national and international
pressure, has called a meeting of his aides in Dubai to
discuss his return. "The date for the meeting has not yet
been finalised but Mr. Musharraf will be flying to Dubai
from London this week and then will summon his close aides
there," the source said. Musharraf recently held meeting
with his close political aides and some mayors in London
to discuss his future political ambitions, The Pakistan
Daily reports. Musharraf also met senior Pakistan Muslim
League -Quaid (PML-Q) leader Humayun Akhtar. Meanwhile,
former Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has rejected
Musharraf's request to work together to unify the different
factions of the Pakistan Muslim League- Quaid (PML-Q). "I
can't do it for Musharraf. He is clearly backing the rebel
group," Hussain said. Musharraf had reportedly told his
close aid Moonis Elahi during their meeting in London that
he was ready to resolve the PML-Q's infighting if Hussain
resigns from the party president's post paving the way for
him to the top slot. When asked about the issue, PML-Q Secretary
General, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, said his party has a clear
cut agenda according to which there was no role for the
former dictator in the country's political arena. Sayed
said Musharraf is on a foreign tour and is unlikely to return
to the country to fulfill his political desires. "I think
he (Musharraf) has gone and has no plans to return to the
country. There is no chance for his return to the political
field and we wish him good luck," he said.
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