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Sunday, January 03, 2010 NEW YORK: It seems parents have long been right. Going to bed early is key to getting enough sleep and helping adolescents feel on top of the world, a new study reported. A lack of sleep among youngsters may trigger depression and suicidal thoughts, according to the study by the Columbia University Medical Center. "Our results are consistent with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression, working with other risk and protective factors through multiple possible causal pathways to the development of this mood disorder," said lead author James Gangwisch. "Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression," he added in the study published in the Friday issue of Sleep magazine. The study followed the nightly habits of some 15,659 college and high-school students, and found those who consistently went to bed after midnight had a 24 percent higher risk...

 Sunday, January 03, 2010 BEIJING: Heavy snow hit Beijing on Sunday, stranding thousands of passengers at the Chinese capital's main airport and casting an unusual quiet over normally busy streets as people stayed out of the freezing weather. A British news agency journalist at Beijing's Capital International Airport, the country's busiest, said dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed, though a few were still able to take off. State television said most the highways out of Beijing were closed too, with several centimetres (inches) of snow blanketing roads and temperatures expected to touch lows of -14Celcius (6.80F). Beijing, which over the past few years has seen little winter snow, has experienced several bouts so far this season, including at least one man-made snowstorm to help ease a prolonged drought. The bad weather is also affecting large swathes of the rest of northern and northeastern China, with snow and plunging temperatures expected to continue in...

Sunday, January 03, 2010 BOGOTA: The Galeras volcano in southern Colombia erupted on Saturday, shooting rock and ash and prompting authorities to order the evacuation of about 8,000 people. No one was killed or injured in the eruption. But officials warned that the volcano could remain volatile. Galeras, located in the Andes mountains near Colombia's border with Ecuador, erupted 10 times in 2009. Most people living in the vicinity have grown used to the alerts and refuse to evacuate when ordered to by local authorities. Thousands of revelers celebrating the annual Black and White Carnival in the nearby city of Pasto were startled by Saturday's eruption but the festivities carried on. A massive eruption of the Galeras volcano killed 10 people in 1993.

 Sunday, January 03, 2010 WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama has blamed a Yemen-based al Qaeda group for the attempted Dec. 25 bombing of a Detroit-bound plane. In his weekly Internet and radio address, Obama focused on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian who is accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, and his journey to Yemen. "We're learning more about the suspect," Obama said. "We know that he travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies. It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group -- al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America." "This is not the first time this group has targeted us," he said. "In recent years, they have bombed Yemeni government facilities and Western hotels, restaurants and embassies, including our embassy i...

 Sunday, January 03, 2010:: SYDNEY: The opening bowling pair of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sami produced a lethal attack routing the Aussies for a mere 127 runs in the first innings on the opening day of the second Test match here at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Pakistan in reply were 14 for no loss with Imran Farhat (9) and Salman Butt (3) at the crease when the play ended early due to bad light. Mohammad Asif grabbed six wickets for 41 runs, his career best, while Mohammad Sami, playing for the first time in more than two years, dismissed Australia’s three top-order batsmen and Umar Gul claimed the last wicket. The main scorers for Australia were Mitchell Johnson (38), Michael Hussey (28) and Nathan Hauritz (21) while Marcus North was the only other batsman to reach double figures. Captain Ricky Ponting and opener Phillip Hughes, coming in for the injured Simon Katich, were got out for a duck as both were removed by Sami on successives deliveries. Shane Watson, fre...