11 AugIndia’s Parvathy Omanakuttan narrowly missed out on winning the Miss World 2008 crown which went to Russia’s Ksenya Sukhinova at a glittering African extravaganza held in Johannesburg on Saturday.
“Miss World 2008 is Russia,” announced Julia Morley, head of the Miss World committee that organises the event.
Twenty one-year-old Parvathy, who hails from Kottayam in Kerala, finished first runner up and failed to join five Indian glamour queens Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and Priyanka Chopra (2000) who had won the title.
This was the first time in eight years that an Indian reached the finals of the Miss World competition.
Parvathy, who had won this year’s Miss Femina contest in April, said she was happy that she could go this far in the contest but was disappointed a little at not having won the crown.
“I had expected that I will win. But there is a little disappointment. After many years, India reached the top five. It’s been eight years since an Indian has reached the finals of Miss World contest and this makes me happy,” Parvathy said.
“But I cannot say that I’m very happy as I had expected to win. I’m a little disappointed. But it is said that destiny has a big role to play in one’s life and God might have something better in stock for me,” the Kerala girl told NDTV.
The second runner up was Gabriel Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago. More than 100 international beauties participated in this year’s Miss World pageant hosted by South Africa.
(L-R) Miss India Parvathy Omanakuttan, Miss Russia Ksenia Sukhinova and Miss Trinidad & Tobago: Gabrielle Walcott
13 DecCancer will overtake heart disease as the world’s top killer by 2010, part of a trend that should more than double global cancer cases and deaths by 2030, international health experts said in a report released Tuesday. Rising tobacco use in developing countries is believed to be a huge reason for the shift, particularly in China and India, where 40 percent of the world’s smokers now live.
So is better diagnosing of cancer, along with the downward trend in infectious diseases that used to be the world’s leading killers.
Cancer diagnoses around the world have steadily been rising and are expected to hit 12 million this year. Global cancer deaths are expected to reach 7 million, according to the new report by the World Health Organization.
An annual rise of 1 percent in cases and deaths is expected — with even larger increases in China, Russia and India. That means new cancer cases will likely mushroom to 27 million annually by 2030, with deaths hitting 17 million.
Underlying all this is an expected expansion of the world’s population — there will be more people around to get cancer.
By 2030, there could be 75 million people living with cancer around the world, a number that many health care systems are not equipped to handle.
“This is going to present an amazing problem at every level in every society worldwide,” said Peter Boyle, director of the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Boyle spoke at a news conference with officials from the American Cancer Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Cancer Institute of Mexico.
The “unprecedented” gathering of organizations is an attempt to draw attention to the global threat of cancer, which isn’t recognized as a major, growing health problem in some developing countries.
“Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you live,” said Hala Moddelmog, Komen’s chief executive.
The organizations are calling on governments to act, asking the U.S. to help fund cervical cancer vaccinations and to ratify an international tobacco control treaty.
Concerned about smoking’s impact on cancer rates in developing countries in the decades to come, the American Cancer Society also announced it will provide a smoking cessation counseling service in India.
“If we take action, we can keep the numbers from going where they would otherwise go,” said John Seffrin, the cancer society’s chief executive officer.
Other groups are also voicing support for more action.
“Cancer is one of the greatest untold health crises of the developing world,” said Dr. Douglas Blayney, president-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
“Few are aware that cancer already kills more people in poor countries than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. And if current smoking trends continue, the problem will get significantly worse,” he said in a written statement.
Source – Yahoo News
10 DecObama won the election, but did he beat Britney and Miley for top Web searches of 2008? See who are in the top 10 positions
1 Britney Spears
The singer’s steep trajectory to redemption restored her to the top of searches. Her year began with a police visit, hospital stay, and psych evaluation. She returned under her father’s shelter and, by summer, settled custody with her ex. Professionally, she guested on a sitcom, won thrice at the MTV Video Music Awards, broke records with “Womanizer,” relaunched her site, and released a documentary detailing her fall and comeback…by age 27.
2 WWE
A June explosion destroyed a World Wrestling Entertainment stage and “injured” chairman Vince McMahon, unleashing a sweaty soap opera of chaos that included his kids appealing for cooperation in difficult times. The stunt could’ve symbolized the sporting empire’s battles against the economy’s fall and mixed martial arts’ rise. WWE produced more events, video games, and movies to make up for fewer paying fans, and faithfuls kept track online to maintain its Top 2 status.
3 Barack Obama
The Illinois junior senator faced two hard-fought contests and nearly won a third—although toppling Britney Spears wasn’t on his list. He entered 2008 as a relative newcomer on the national scene and ended the year as president-elect. His campaign defied political wisdom and made history at every turn. His Web strategy set the groundwork to make him the first wired president and, in an unprecedented Search surge, landed him at No. 3.
4 Miley Cyrus
Before 2008, the singer/actress had been better known—and searched—by her Disney persona, Hannah Montana. She appeared on shows like “Idol Gives Back” as Cyrus, but true name recognition came with scandal: a Vanity Fair spread featuring the 15-year-old seemingly wrapped only in a bedsheet. Savvy Cyrus apologized, survived, and closed down Disneyland for a 16th birthday charity bash, and ended up at No. 4.
5 RuneScape
The multi-player role-playing game’s international popularity rests on its cheap access, ability to run on older computers, and compelling play. Its underground success has even led to a real black market, trading actual cash for RuneScape gold—and controversial restrictions to stop it. A new boss, graphics, and touted player-versus-player combat release signal the company’s power play to step up in the RPG battle…and take hold at No. 5.
6 Jessica Alba
Her movies fared none too well, following 2007 missteps that got her three Razzie Worst Actress nominations. Still, she earned Best Movie Actress at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and No. 6 in searches, buoyed by her wedding and baby Honor Marie (who earned a reported $1.5 million in her OK! mag debut). The pregnant pause may have given her impetus to switch to more serious roles—something to watch for in 2009.
7 Naruto
The manga. The game. The anime. Whatever form Naruto Uzumaki takes, the awkward but accomplished young graduate of the Ninja Academy remains the Web’s most popular fictional character in seventh place. His peers and enemies also command their own followings, but the complex tale of Naruto (whose name translates to “maelstrom”), the orphaned misfit who craves recognition, resonates with its generation of fans.
8 Lindsay Lohan
At No. 8, the actress made stumbling progress back from rehab, revolving-door relationships, and rejected roles. On the upside, she settled down (with a monogamous twist), blogged about politics, and recreated Marilyn Monroe’s photo shoot. On the downside, she got booted from “Ugly Betty” and as World Music Awards host. Lohan has had celebs testifying to her talent, but a true comeback may have to wait for 2009.
9 Angelina Jolie
Leading power lists in Forbes and even Guinness World Records, the actress took her place among Hollywood’s elite. “Delicate” condition aside, she underscored her image as a tough-dame throwback with a 21st-century vibe. She earned box-office bucks as an assassin and cartoon tigress, Oscar cred in “Changeling,” and karma by donating her and Brad Pitt’s twins’ $14 mil pictorial payout to charity—moves that muscled her in at No. 9.
10 American Idol
Judges kept declaring its 2008 singers their best ever, but while the Fox reality show ruled ratings, an audience decline since 2007 sent producers into a fit of self-examination. In a season beset with complaints, “Idol” had the last laugh with a smashing finale and iTunes recordbreaker. The show also got “cougar” into household vernacular, unlikely credit for exposing youth to the democratic process, and a top Search 10 nod once again
Source -Yahoo Buzz
1 Dec
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, say that they have found further evidence suggesting that vitamin C supplements can lower concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), a central biomarker of inflammation which is a powerful predictor of heart disease and diabetes.
The researchers have also found in the same study that daily doses of vitamin E, another antioxidant, are not very beneficial.
The findings emerge just days after an eight-year clinical trial, led by researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, failed to confirm that vitamins C or E supplements could prevent heart attacks or strokes.
Gladys Block, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of epidemiology and public health nutrition, said that their study did not close the books on the benefits of vitamin C for cardiovascular health.
She said that the Brigham and Women’s Hospital study did not screen study participants for elevations in CRP, defined by the American Heart Association as 1 milligram per litre or greater, which is an important distinction in determining who might benefit from taking vitamin C.
She insisted that her study showed that for healthy, non-smoking adults with an elevated level of CRP a daily dose of vitamin C lowered levels of the inflammation biomarker after two months compared with those who took a placebo.
However, the study published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine did not find any benefit from vitamin C supplementation for participants that did not start out with elevated CRP levels.
“This is an important distinction; treatment with vitamin C is ineffective in persons whose levels of CRP are less than 1 milligram per litre, but very effective for those with higher levels. Grouping people with elevated CRP levels with those who have lower levels can mask the effects of vitamin C. Common sense suggests, and our study confirms, that biomarkers are only likely to be reduced if they are not already low,” said Block.
She reckoned that for people with elevated CRP levels, the amount of CRP reduction achieved by taking vitamin C supplements in the study was comparable to that in many other studies of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.
While several larger statin trials lowered CRP levels by about 0.2 milligrams per litre, she said, the present study showed that vitamin C lowered these levels by 0.25 milligrams per litre.
“This finding of an effect of vitamin C is important because it shows in a carefully conducted randomized, controlled trial that for people with moderately elevated levels of inflammation, vitamin C may be able to reduce CRP as much as statins have done in other studies,” said Block.
The researchers, however, are uncertain as to why vitamin E did not show an effect even though it is also an antioxidant.
Block thinks that the difference perhaps relates to the fact that vitamin E is fat soluble and thus found in cell membranes, while vitamin C is water soluble and found in intercellular fluid.
Though the study lasted for two months only, the researchers insist that there is no evidence to date of adverse effects for longer-term use of vitamin C at high levels.
They agree that further studies are required to see whether vitamin C’s beneficial impact on CRP levels continue past two months.
“This is clearly a line of research worth pursuing. It has recently been suggested by some researchers that people with elevated CRP should be put on statins as a preventive measure. For people who have elevated CRP but not elevated LDL cholesterol, our data suggest that vitamin C should be investigated as an alternative to statins, or as something to be used to delay the time when statin use becomes necessary,” said Block.
Source: ANI
17 NovThis is the Best example of Religious Ignorance
Mary is a pretty five-year-old girl with big brown eyes and a father who kicked her out onto the streets in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. Her crime: the local priest had denounced her as a witch and blamed her “evil powers” for causing her mother’s death.
Children from Crarn accused of being witches and wizards, protesting outside the Governor’s headquarters.
Mary was found by a British charity worker and today lives at a refuge in Akwa Ibom province with 150 other children who have been branded witches, blamed for all their family’s woes, and abandoned. Before being pushed out of their homes many were beaten or slashed with knives, thrown onto fires, or had acid poured over them as a punishment or in an attempt to make them “confess” to being possessed.
12 NovThe man behind one of the world’s most popular digital music players is bidding farewell…
Tony Fadell, referred to as ‘father of the iPod’, is leaving Apple. One of the world’s fastest selling digital music players, the iPod turned around the company’s fortunes.
Seven years ago, it was Tony Fadell who led a team of designers and engineers to introduce the iPod. It was his idea to club a Napster-like music store with a hard drive-based MP3 player. Sleek and stylish, the product soon became one of the most hottest selling products from Apple. For the ambitious Fadell, it has been an incredible journey.
He has now chosen to spend more time with his family.
Apple has announced that the iPod division vice president Tony Fadell and his wife, Danielle Lambert, who is vice president of the company’s human resources department, are leaving to spend more with their family.
Fadell, will however remain as an adviser to CEO Steve Jobs.
9 NovWashington, Nov 5 (IANS) Democrat Barack Obama has won a historic victory in the race for the White House with Republican rival John McCain conceding defeat. TV projections gave Obama an unbeatable 297 to 139 lead in electoral votes even as results kept coming in.
Obama, who would be America’s first African American president, was projected the winner of the epic battle by CNN and ABC at 11 p.m. (9:30 a.m. IST Wed) with wins in crucial battleground states taking him over the 270 vote magic figure.
As polls closed on the West coast, the Illinois senator was projected to win California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii as also Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964.
On the road to victory Obama won Ohio, a key battleground in American presidential politics, and held off assaults by McCain in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, the top two states that Democrats won in 2004 and that McCain had fought to take back.
Obama won victories across the northeast, sweeping every state in New England as well as New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and his home state of Illinois.
McCain won a number of southern states, including West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.
The first exit polls out Tuesday put economy as by far the top issue on the minds of voters.
Sixty-two percent of voters said the economy was the most important issue. Iraq was the most important for 10 percent, and terrorism and healthcare were each the top issue for nine percent of voters.
The economy had dominated the last leg of the campaign trail as Obama and McCain tried to convince voters that they are the best candidate to handle the financial crisis.
Voters expressed excitement and pride in their country after casting their ballots Tuesday in what has proved to be a historic election.
Poll workers reported high turnout across many parts of the country, and some voters waited hours to cast their ballots.
Source – Yahoo News
5 Nov