Acupuncture may increase chances of success in IVF

LONDON, Feb 9: Acupuncture may boost success rates in fertility treatment, latest research says.

Acupuncture stimulates the blood flow to the uterus and boost the production of endogenous opioids, inducing the body to relax, according to the study.

Women undergoing Invitro Fertilisation (IVF) were 65 per cent more likely to become pregnant after combining the procedure with the ancient complementary technique using needles, The Independent reported.

The study involved 1,366 women after seven acupuncture trials, which were delivered either just before or just after embryo transfer-- when the embryo fertilised in the laboratory attaches itself to the wall of the womb to establish a pregnancy.

Acupuncture stimulates the neurotransmitters that trigger the production of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, which controls the menstrual cycle and a woman's ovulation.

The research carried out by scientists from the University of Maryland in the US and the VU University Amsterdam in Holland claimed acupuncture to be cost effective as it costs only about 50 pounds per session compared to 6,000 pounds per cycle for IVF, offering cheap, safe and efficient fertility treatment.

It has been used in China for centuries to regulate fertility and has also been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic pain. (UNI)

'British youths should acquire new training to get top jobs

LONDON, Feb 9: Prime Minister Gordon Brown has asked the British youths to acquire "new training" to head off challenges from fast-growing economies like India and China for the world's leading jobs.

"Good global jobs are going to be created, the opportunities for social mobility are there in a greater way than at any time since 1945," he said addressing British and German academics at the International Institute for Strategic Studies here yesterday.

"But the young people needed new training if Britain is to head off the challenge from China, India and other fast-growing economies for the world's leading jobs."

The UK's big challenges include security, climate change and dealing with the power of the internet, but helping everyone to "unlock their potential to the full" is key, he said.

The Prime Minister called on Britons to seize a larger share of the world's top jobs, promising a surge in employment training and education.

"We used to talk about national economies in terms of there being limited room at the top and therefore the opportunity for social mobility was itself limited. In a global economy there's no limit to the national room at the top.

"We can build in our countries a higher aspiration culture. The opportunity revolution is one that is unlocking all of the potential of all of the people," Brown said.

His speech and question and answer session coincided with the publication of a major new report into the key long-term strategic challenges for the country. (PTI)

Australian murderer kept body for 23 years

CANBERRA, Feb 9: An Australian man was convicted today of killing his wife and then hiding her body in a metal drum in his garage for 23 years.

A Supreme Court jury in the southern Victoria state found Frederick Boyle, 58, killed his 30-year-old wife Edwina Boyle in October 1983, and then hid her body in the large metal drum.

The trial heard the murder came to light when Boyle's son-in-law opened the drum and found a bag of women's clothing during a clean-up of the family home in 2006. Two weeks later he found human remains in a garbage bin in the garage.

Boyle had pleaded not guilty to the murder and said he hid the body after finding his wife dead in bed. He told their children his wife had left him and run off with a truck driver.

But prosecutors said Boyle shot his wife in the head.

Boyle remains in custody and will be sentenced later this month.

(AGENCIES)

South Korea to keep ministry on North:Media

SEOUL, Feb 9: South Korean lawmakers have agreed to spare the ministry responsible for relations with North Korea and reject a call for its closure made by the president-elect, local media reported today.

President-elect Lee Myung-bak, who takes office on Februay 25, wanted to get rid of the Unification Ministry, saying it had drifted too far off its original course, and transfer most its functions to the foreign ministry.

''We have come up with a compromise for the Unification Ministry,'' Ahn Sang-soo, a senior member with Lee's conservative Grand National Party (GNP), told Yonhap news agency.

The compromise allows the Unification Ministry to stay while lawmakers try to strike a deal to shut other ministries in a plan backed by Lee to streamline government, local media reported lawmakers as saying.

Liberal forces who oppose closing the Unification Ministry have a majority in Parliament and the GNP needs their support to pass Lee's legislation on reforming Government.

Party officials were not immediately available for comment.

Critics say Lee's proposal to close the ministry primarily responsible for relations with North Korea could send the wrong signal to Pyongyang, which has long accused Lee's conservative party of plotting to keep the peninsula divided.

The Unification Ministry has been at the centre of criticism that the outgoing government had been too soft on the impoverished North, pouring aid across the border despite internationally condemned missile and nuclear tests.

Lee, an ex-business chief executive, said he would review inter-Korea cooperation projects and make it harder for the North to receive aid by linking handouts to progress in the communist nation's nuclear disarmament.

Other ministries that would be closed, merged or downgraded under the Lee plan are maritime affairs, information, science and gender equality. The Finance Ministry will absorb the budget ministry.

(AGENCIES)

Actor Health Ledger mourned at private funeral

PERTH, Feb 9: Family and friends of actor Heath Ledger bade farewell at a private service in his Australian home town today with the media kept away and Ledger's father appealing for mourners to be allowed to grieve in peace.

Ledger, 28, best known for his role as a conflicted gay cowboy in the 2005 movie ''Brokeback Mountain'', died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in his New York apartment on. January 22.

His death shocked film fans and actors around the world and prompted warnings about mixing prescription drugs, particularly pain killers, tranquillisers and sleeping pills.

Among the mourners at Saturday's memorial service, in Perth, were Ledger's former partner and Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams, who arrived with Ledger's sister Kate but without the couple's two-year-old daughter Matilda.

Also among the hundreds of mourners at the service, at a private girls school in the Western Australian city, was model Gemma Ward, with whom Ledger had been reportedly linked, as well as Australian actors Cate Blanchett, Bryan Brown and Joel Edgerton.

Williams, 27, and Ledger's father, Kim Ledger, had both pleaded to be allowed to grieve in private.

A large media pack had camped outside the Ledger family home, prompting Kim Ledger on Saturday to tell reporters the service would be followed by a ''very, very private'' funeral with only 10 family members to attend.

''It's a pretty sad time and we are finding it difficult to cope by ourselves,'' he said.

He said the family appreciated the massive outpouring of grief and support from the public following Ledger's death.

Local media said Ledger would be buried in a family plot, next to his grandparents, in a Perth cemetery.

Ledger starred in 18 movies in Australia and Hollywood, and received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a gay cowboy opposite co-star Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. (AGENCIES)

France's Lagarde says euro rise excessive: Paper

TOKYO, Feb 9: The current strength in the euro is excessive and undesirable as rises in the European single currency hurts the competitiveness of French firms, French economy and finance minister Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying on Saturday.

''Because of the euro's rise, French companies are losing their competitiveness against firms outside Europe, such as those in the United States and the Middle East, causing the problem of expanding France's trade deficit,'' Lagarde told Japanese business daily Nikkei in an interview.

''The current strength in the euro is excessive and undesirable. Europe as a whole is on heightened alert.''

The interview was conducted in Tokyo on Friday and her comments were translated by the paper into Japanese.

Croup of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors are gathering in Tokyo on Saturday to discuss the global economy amid U.S. Recession fears, international market turmoil and exchange rate swings.

The euro edged up 0.2 percent on Friday to $1.4505 <EUR=> but was fell 2 percent for the week, the largest weekly decline in 1-{ years.

Market analysts saw the euro weakening more in coming days on growing expectations the European Central Bank will cut interest rates later this year despite stubborn inflation pressures.

Lagarde also said it was time to review the supervision system of global financial market.

She added that there was a plan in Europe to set up a single supervision agency for all banks in the region and that she would make efforts to set it up by the end of this year.

Lagarde noted that there has been speculation that some banks may bid for Societe Generale, but it would be desirable for any merger and acquisition proposal to be a friendly one.

On Jan. 24, SocGen revealed 4.9 billion euros ($7.1 billion) ($7.2 billion) of losses which it said were caused by rogue trades conducted by Jerome Kerviel, a 31-year old trader at the bank.

($1=.6894 Euro)

(AGENCIES)

Waterboarding should be prosecuted as torture: UN

MEXICO CITY, Feb 9: The controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding and used by the United States qualifies as torture, the UN human rights chief said.

''I would have no problems with describing this practice as falling under the prohibition of torture,'' the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, told a news conference in Mexico City yesterday.

Arbour made her comment in response to a question about whether US officials could be tried for the use of waterboarding that referred to CIA director Michael Hayden telling Congress on Tuesday his agency had used waterboarding on three detainees captured after the September 11 attacks.

Violators of the UN Convention against Torture should be prosecuted under the principle of 'universal jurisdiction' which allows countries to try accused war criminals from other nations, Arbour said.

''There are several precedents worldwide of states exercising their universal jurisdiction ... To enforce the torture convention and we can only hope that we will see more and more of these avenues of redress,'' Arbour said.

The US Congress is considering banning the practice, in which prisoners are immobilized and water is poured into their breathing passages to simulate drowning.

Arbour referred to an arrest warrant issued in 1998 by a Spanish judge for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who died in 2006, on charges of torture, murder and kidnapping in the years that followed his 1973 coup.

Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s were known to use waterboarding on political prisoners. (AGENCIES)

Citgo sees no impact from PDVSA asset freeze

HOUSTON, Feb 9: Citgo Petroleum Corp said court orders won by Exxon Mobil Corp freezing parent company PDVSA's assets won't affect Citgo's U.S. Refining and marketing operations.

''In the meantime, to avoid any confusion, none of the orders obtained by Exxon Mobil relate to Citgo and none have any impact whatsoever on Citgo's business,'' the Houston-based company said in a statement, late on Friday.

Exxon, the world's largest oil company, won court orders in Britain, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, each freezing $12 billion of the Venezuelan state-owned oil company's assets worldwide.

The orders guarantee Exxon's payment should it win arbitration over Venezuela's nationalization of the Cerro Negro heavy oil project.

''Citgo understands that PDVSA is confident that it will prevail in the legal battle with Exxon Mobil and will take all steps necessary to defend itself against the actions taken, and any future action Exxon Mobil may take,'' Citgo said in the statement.

The asset freeze boosted NYMEX crude futures by 4 percent Friday on worries Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez might retaliate by cutting oil exports.

Venezuela has the seventh largest proven oil reserves in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Citgo, PDVSA's U.S. Refining and marketing arm, operates three oil refineries making motor fuels and is selling two asphalt plants.

(AGENCIES)

Italy takes Jewish teachers "blacklist" off Internet .

ROME, Feb 9: Italian police are investigating an anti-semitic blog listing the names of more than 150 ''Jewish university professors'', which was removed from the Internet after protests from politicians and Jewish leaders.

The blog, by an anonymous author, listed the names and workplaces of university professors which it accused of ''publicly and politically'' supporting Israel.

It was taken down in the early afternoon yesterday, said Emanuele Fini, one of the heads of blogsite www.Ilcannocchiale.It, where the blog was first posted on Jan 16.

Interior Minister Giuliano Amato ordered police to investigate the case.

''The Internet has become the main tool for spreading anti-semitic hatred,'' said Alessandro Ruben of the Anti-Defamation League in Italy.

Education Minister Giuseppe Fioroni called the blog a shameful ''kind of Ku Klux Klan of the digital age''.

The blog had links to far-right webistes and themes like Holocaust revisionism, appeals to boycott Israel and war-time fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Some professors listed on the blog are not Jewish but had signed pro-Israel petitions.

There was a heated debate earlier this month on whether Italy's biggest book fair had a right to invite top Israeli writers as special guests.

The Turin annual fair, which this year will run from May 8-12, invited Amos Oz, David Grossman and Abraham Yehousha to mark Israel's 60th anniversary. The decision sparked protests by some leftists, who felt the fair was taking a political stance and called for a boycott of its stands.

(AGENCIES)

First "Hobbit" edition to go under the hammer

LONDON, Feb 9: One of the first editions of J R R Tolkein's classic ''The Hobbit'' is expected to fetch over 30,000 pounds when it goes up for auction next month.

The book, published in 1937 and featuring a range of black and white sketches, was signed by Tolkien and dedicated to his close friend Elaine Griffiths.

Tolkein had first written ''The Hobbit'' for his children but after reading the transcript, Griffiths thought it was so good she handed it to publisher, George, Allen and Unwin.

The story, which follows the quest of Bilbo Baggins to reclaim his stolen treasures from the dragon Smaug, went on to become a cult classic, selling more than 100 million copies in over 40 languages.

Just 1,500 first edition copies were ever printed.

Also in the Bonhams sale will be the first foreign language version, translated into Swedish in 1947, as well as the last known photograph of the author, said to have been taken by his grandson, Michael, in 1973 just before he died. (AGENCIES)

SBT to open representative office ....

DUBAI, Feb 9: State Bank of Travancore, an associate of India's largest public lender SBI, will open its representative office in Dubai to provide services to NRIs in the UAE.

SBT has already got the approval of UAE Central Bank for the move and is expected to open the representative office in two months, SBT General Manager (international banking) A K Basu said.

Basu, who was in Dubai to finalise the opening of SBT's rep office, said with nearly 30 per cent of the bank's NRI business coming from the UAE, "there is a need for a representative office to maintain real-time rapport with NRI clientele at their place of stay and work."

He said a majority of the bank's customers are from the low and middle-income category. Setting up the office nearer to them would help provide services like counselling on deposit products, loan facilities, account opening and investment guidance.

SBT, which has 706 branches, including 574 in Kerala, currently manages City Exchange in UAE and Global Money Exchange in Oman. Besides it has drawing arrangements with 19 exchange houses in the Middle East and Rs 90 billion is remitted to SBT every year through these entities. (PTI)

Gays allegedly discriminated against at Pizza Hut in UK

LONDON, Feb 9: A group of gays and transsexuals were allegedly discriminated against at a Pizza Hut outlet in Blackpool, Britain.

When the group of nine, several wearing women's clothing, asked for a table, they claim they were told the restaurant had run out of pizzas.

Michael Kemp, who was wearing a miniskirt, said, ''A male member of staff approached us with a big smirk on his face and, when we asked for a table, he told us that the restaurant had run out of pizzas and told us to try somewhere else.''

He added, ''We couldn't believe it. Who's ever heard of a Pizza Hut running out of pizzas? It was clear they were embarrassed by us, especially because some of us were wearing women's clothing, and didn't want us in the restaurant.''

Kemp, Paul Barnabas, and his partner Iain Buck are claiming up to 3,000 pounds compensation from the worldwide chain, saying they were discriminated against because of their sexuality, the Daily Mail reported.

It is illegal in Britain for shops, bars or restaurants to refuse to serve anyone because of their sexuality.

Their claim, which is being funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is said to be the first under the legislation.

Pizza Hut has denied any such discrimination and claimed the restaurant had been going through a period of bad management and had run out of food on previous occasions. (UNI)