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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 RANCHI: A young man named Pilu Sahay of Bansjhal village in India’s Chhattisgarh Jashpur district has a bizarre addiction of consuming snake venom.To fulfill his need for venom, Sahay first catches a snake from the forests or other open fields in the vicinity of his village, extracts venom and stores it for his use.Sahay, now in his thirties, claims to have been consuming venom for the past two decades, 21 years to be precise.He also catches poisonous snakes from the adjoining villages and later frees them in the forests for the safety of fellow villagers."I have an addiction for snakes, I get myself bitten from the snakes. I eat the venom by mixing it with uncooked rice. The bites do not scare me, in fact, I love being bitten by the snakes. For me, consuming snake venom is like consuming any other food like pulses," Sahay said.Sahay further mentioned that he learnt this skill from his master whose name was not disclosed and who also had a habit of ...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 WASHINGTON: US scientists have successfully restored partial vision in a 50-year-old woman, diagnosed with blinding disease at the age of 13, with the help of an electronic eye implant.The bionic eye was developed by Second Sight under the lead of Dr. Mark Humayun.It is a component of the Argus II Retinal Stimulation System and is designed to stimulate retinal cells directly. Argus II comprises three components: the implanted part, which is placed inside the patient’s eye; a tiny camera and transmitter, mounted on a pair of sunglasses; and a wireless microprocessor and battery pack, to be worn on a belt. The implant itself contains 60 tiny electrodes that are attached to the retina via a micro-wire roughly the width of a human hair. These administer electrical impulses to retinal cells, allowing the brain to perceive light.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 BRUSSELS: A Belgian man diagnosed as comatose for 23 years was in fact awake and conscious the whole time, doctors have revealed.Rom Houben, 46, had no way to tell his family and doctors he could see them and hear what they were saying after waking up following a bad car accident in 1983. He spent more than two decades in excruciating isolation until a neurologist realised he was not in a coma just unable to communicate. The former engineering student and martial arts enthusiast, now 46, told German newspaper that he meditated to pass the long years trapped in his own body. He remains haunted by the moment he first woke from the accident and realised something was wrong. Mr Houbens is now in care in a hospital near Brussels and able to communicate through a computer.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 BRASILIA: Visiting Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Monday that US and Israeli military threats against Iran were a thing of the past, and that, in any case, "they don't have the courage" to attack Iran."The age of military attacks is over, now we've reached the time for dialogue and understanding. Weapons and threats are a thing of the past," the Iranian told a joint press conference with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, closing his one-day visit.Ahmadinejad's visit was greeted Sunday in Rio de Janeiro by a 1,000-strong rally of members of Jewish, anti-racist and gay rights groups who protested his past tirades against Israel and other groups.Fielding a question on whether he feared an attack from Israel or the United States, Ahmadinejad said armed confrontation was no longer a possibility.That's clear "even for mentally challenged people," he said with a smile.Besides, he added, "those you ment...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 PARIS: It's lights-on for the Christmas season in Paris Monday. A flick of the switch and the famous Champs Elysees is ready for the Christmas season. It's more than a million Christmas lights and 415 trees along a mile-and-a-half stretch of the famous street. The illumination officially marks Paris' entry to the holiday season. A large crowd gathered for the lighting, and because a climate summit in Copenhagen is only days away it was fitting that the majority of the decorations were LED greener lights. It's said they consume only a tenth of the electricity used in 2006.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 BRAZILIA; The Brazilian president has backed Iran's rights to peaceful nuclear energy and called for a “just solution” to Tehran's nuclear dispute with the West. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was welcomed by his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday. Lula reiterated that Brazil backed Iran's plans to use “peaceful nuclear energy in full respect of international accords.” He further called on Iran to "continue contacts with interested countries for a just solution on the nuclear issue in Iran." Brazil has repeatedly voiced its support of Iran's nuclear plan and opposed sanctions against the country. Negotiations on Iran's nuclear program led to a major breakthrough when the UN nuclear watchdog proposed that Iran should send most of its domestically produced low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad in exchange for metal fuel rods for its Tehran medical research reactor. Iran has officially announced that it wi...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 LONDON: A panel investigating Britain's role in the Iraq war begins questioning witnesses this week in an inquiry that critics hope will humble former Prime Minister Tony Blair and expose alleged deception in the buildup to conflict.The investigation is the most sweeping probe yet into the war by any nation that was involved.It is expected to consider allegations Blair secretly backed President George W. Bush plan's for invasion a year before Parliament authorized military involvement in 2003.The panel, which opens public hearings Tuesday, will question dozens of officials over several months — including Blair, military officials and spy agency chiefs. It will also seek evidence from ex-White House staff.Bereaved families and anti-war activists have long called for a comprehensive study to consider Britain's role in a conflict that left 179 British soldiers dead and triggered massive public protests.But some worry the hearings will do little to an...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 MUMBAI: Actress Katrina Kaif, a self-professed bathroom singer, will soon be heard sing professionally for AR Rahman. It is an album of nursery rhymes and inspirational songs for children that the composer will release early next year. Initially, the actress was supposed to feature only in the music video. Later it was decided that she will sing the English lines. It now turns out that Kat will sing in Hindi too. Kat, who couldn't speak Hindi fluently when she started her career in Bollywood, has no problem taking the uncomfortable route.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 AMMAN: King Abdullah II of Jordan dissolved parliament on Monday and ordered a general election two years early, after months of press criticism of the ineffectiveness and in some cases alleged corruption of MPs.In a royal decree, the king dissolved parliament from Tuesday and instructed the government to take the necessary steps to organise the snap poll.The outgoing parliament elected two years ago, which was dominated by independent and tribal MPs loyal tom the king, had been increasingly unpopular. Within 30 minutes of the dissolution announcement, websites were awash with postings applauding the decision.The most popular website Ammon carried more than 200."The best news I heard in two years -- our political life was in a coma and this measure was necessary," wrote a man calling himself Irbidaoui.Dozens of readers saw in the royal decree the "best gift for Eid," the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice which starts on Thursday in Jordan.One ...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 BALASORE: India's nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-II missile, test-fired for the first time after sunset on Monday, reportedly failed to get the desired results.The Army test-fired the surface-to-surface Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Wheeler’s Island, Bhadrak district, around 7.50pm.‘‘The liftoff and the first stage separation was smooth. But it faltered just before the second stage separation and behaved erratically, deviating from its coordinated path. Further analysis is on to ascertain the cause,’’ said a source. The entire trajectory of Monday’s trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and a naval ship. The launch, originally scheduled in the first week of this month, was deferred due to some technical snags in its pneumatic system. Though the snags were rectified, another glitch surfaced during Monday’s test, leadi...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 MAKKAH: About 2.5 million Muslims are converging on Mecca this week to take part in the annual Hajj. This year many pilgrims are adding extra step to their preparations - getting the H1N1 vaccine. Soad, a well-educated women in her 50s from Cairo, has made the Hajj several times before.As usual getting ready for the trip, one of the five pillars of Islam, involved arranging visas, finding a travel agency and packing special clothes. But this year there was an added task, a trip to the doctor to get vaccinated against the so-called Swine Flu.The idea of millions of people from all over the world standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing germs as well as spirituality, has health officials alarmed. Saudi authorities say that because it is a religious event, they are not banning anyone from taking part. But they have urged other countries to follow precautions, such as age restrictions and vaccinations, to slow the spread of the disease.Soad, who prefers not to giv...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 LONDON: Robin Soderling of Sweden shocked Rafael Nadal of Spain to qualify for the second round in the ATP World Tour Tennis here on Monday.On the second day of the event, Soderling defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-4 and threw him out of the tournament.The world number two was looking helpless before Soderling.In another match, Novak Djokovic of Serbia after an interesting contest beat Nikolay Davydenko 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.Today in an important match, world number one Roger Federer will play against Andy Murray of Britain.