'We stole Vishnu idols for precious stone

DHAKA, Jan 1: Two persons accused of stealing two 1,500-year-old Vishnu idols from Bangladesh, have claimed that they stole the statues believing they were made of precious stones, officials said today.

Arrested Abbas Ali, alleged ringleader of "Abbas- Nasir" smuggling gang of Zia International Airport (ZIA), said he and his colleague, Nasir, broke the statutes in two in front of some neighbours, including a woman lawmaker of Jatiya Party, and realised that those were earthen.

He said he later dumped the fragments at a garbage dumping point.

Officials at the Anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said as the media started covering the theft incident, he got frightened and hid himself in a house in Khilgaon.

RAB later arrested Ali and several of his accomplices and also detained former lawmaker Anwara Begum.

They said Abbas was the gang leader of a smuggling syndicate operating through the airport, while the gang was also involved in money laundering.

The statues went missing from the Zia International Airport on December 22 minutes ahead of their shipment to Paris by a cargo plane, defying protests by archaeologists, historians, connoisseurs and civil society leaders.

Later, National Museum officials identified 27 pieces on the spot as parts of the stolen idols. (PTI)

Foreign journalists still face interference in China: Media group

BEIJING, Jan 1: Foreign journalists are facing official interference while reporting in China, despite Olympic-related rules aimed at allowing greater press freedoms, an international media group said today.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China said it welcomed rules that went into effect a year ago today, but had recorded more than 180 incidences of journalists' work being interfered with in 2007.

"While the year-old regulations have improved overall reporting conditions for foreign journalists, we are particularly troubled by repeated violations in several areas," club president Melinda Liu said in a statement.

She cited areas in Beijing and China's northern Hebei province "where plainclothes thugs have intimidated or physically assaulted foreign journalists," and demanded that such incidents be investigated.

In one case, three reporters were assaulted in two separate incidents while investigating a make-shift prison in suburban Beijing where petitioners who had come to the capital to air their grievances were allegedly being illegally detained.

Journalists working in Tibet and China's western-most Xinjiang region also said they were followed or detained, or their sources were intimidated, the group said.

Other journalists were being routinely detained, roughed up and questioned while investigating social unrest or local disturbances, it added.

The new rules were meant to allow foreign reporters freedom to conduct interviews with consenting Chinese parties, rather than having to first seek government permission.

Under the new rules, journalists are also to be allowed to report outside the city for which they are accredited.(AGENCIES)

Movie on Bhutto to be made in collaboration with Mahesh Bhatt

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: A Pakistani film company is rushing into the production of a movie based on the life of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto in collaboration with noted Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.

Well-known Pakistani writer and poet Aqeel Ahmad Ruby would write the script of the movie that is already in its pre-production phase, Karachi-based Skies Unlimited Films said.

The film will be released across the world, it said. The film will be completed in collaboration with Bhatt, Aneela Khan, a producer with the company, told the Daily Times.

Khan said the director of the film "will soon be announced" though the makers had not yet decided who would play the charismatic Bhutto.

"We have not decided yet. It could be someone famous or a completely new face. There are possibilities that some of the scenes would be shot in India, but we are not sure," she said.

"The project is running through its pre-production phase and we will soon be on the set," Khan said. Aamir Rizvi will be the film's associate producer and Indu Mirani its official coordinator in India, she said.

"The film is going to be released internationally and we don't want to create any controversy with this film. The basic motive behind this announcement is just to dedicate this film to Benazir Bhutto," Khan said.

Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27. She was 54. (PTI)

'New Year revelry injures more than 220 in Philippines'

MANILA, Jan 1: New Year firecrackers and stray gunfire injured more than 220 people as the Philippines welcomed in 2008, a police chief said today.

The number is significantly lower than the 518 cases recorded in 2006, and more than 1,200 recorded the year before that.

Ten of those injured were from stray bullets, police said. Last year, one person was killed by gunfire.

"It was generally peaceful and orderly," said national police chief Avelino Razon said.

Setting off firecrackers is a tradition in the belief that the loud noise will drive away bad spirits, but indiscriminate gunfire has evolved into a big problem because of the number of unlicensed firearms, authorities say. (AGENCIES)

Restless legs 'can cause heart attack

LONDON, Jan 1: Do you have an irresistible urge to move your legs particularly when you are not engaged in any activity? Well, if yes, then just consult a doctor as you might be suffering from restless legs syndrome which can up your risk of getting a heart attack.

A team of international researchers has carried out a study and found that the sufferers of restless legs syndrome (RLS) -- a common sleep disorder -- are more than twice as likely as non-sufferers to have a stroke or heart attack, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported today.

"Most people with RLS have as many as 200 to 300 periodic leg movements per night of sleep. These leg movements are associated with substantial acute increases in both blood pressure and heart rate, which may, over the long term, produce cardiovascular disease," according to lead researcher Dr John W Winkelman of the Harvard Medical School in Boston.

The team came to the conclusion after analysing over 3,400 people with an average age of 68. The participants were questioned about RLS symptoms and their cardiovascular health. Seven per cent of women and three per cent of men had symptoms associated with the condition.

Even after adjusting their results for factors such as age, body mass index, blood pressure and smoking, those with RLS were found to be more than twice as likely to have heart problems than those who did not have the condition.

"The association of RLS with heart disease and stroke was strongest in those people who had RLS symptoms at least 16 times per month. There was also an increased risk among people who said their RLS symptoms were severe compared to those with less bothersome symptoms," Dr Winkelman was quoted as saying. (PTI)

NKorea calls for stronger military, economy in 2008

SEOUL, Jan 1: North Korea vowed today in a New Year policy message to strengthen its military and its economy in 2008 but made no mention of its failure to meet a year-end denuclearisation deadline.

The hardline communist state said it was committed to world peace but urged the US to drop its "hostile" policy -- a precondition it often cites for scrapping its nuclear weapons programme.

A joint editorial in newspapers published by the party, military and youth militia made only one reference to the nuclear issue which has preoccupied the world since the October 2006 atomic test.

It called for efforts to fully utilise "the mental power of all the soldiers and people, which is more powerful than nuclear weapons."

Under a six-nation pact the North was supposed to have disabled its main atomic plants and declared all its nuclear programmes by December 31 in return for one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent energy aid and diplomatic benefits.

The US, Japan and South Korea -- members of the negotiations along with Russia, China and the North itself -- expressed disappointment at the missed deadline.

Disablement work started in November but has reportedly slowed down.

The State Department said its top nuclear envoy Christopher Hill was now expected to hold talks with officials from Japan, South Korea, China and Russia on the next steps.

The editorial, without elaborating, hailed 2008 as a year "when a great change will be brought about in the history of our country and our revolution." (AGENCIES)

Aussie Oppn leader pitches for Uranium sale to India

SYDNEY, Jan 1: Australian Opposition leader Brendan Nelson has reiterated the calls for the country to sell Uranium to India to help New Delhi reduce its carbon footprint.

The call comes at a time when fears of instability on the subcontinent were being raised following last week's assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

In August, the Howard Government made an in-principle agreement to sell uranium to India on the condition that it will be used for peaceful purposes and that India sign a civil nuclear co-operation agreement with the United States.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, however, has vowed not to proceed with uranium sales to India until it becomes a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

''India was a major emitter of greenhouse gases with growing energy needs, so it's important that we proceed with uranium sales,'' he was quoted by The Age as saying.

''I don't believe Australia selling or not selling (uranium to India) will make any material difference (to the stability of the subcontinent,'' he said.

He said Mr Rudd could not on one hand agree to interim and long-term targets for cutting emissions without ''assisting a nation like India, with burgeoning energy demands, to reduce its carbon footprint''.

He said it was important that Australia proceed with the agreement made with India by the Howard Government. (UNI)

Japan births fell in 2007, ageing trend on track

TOKYO, Jan 1: Japan is expected to report fewer babies born in 2007, a Government report said today, kicking off the new year with a bleak reminder of the long-term risks the economy faces as its population ages at an unprecedented pace.

Japan's rock-bottom birth rate has raised concerns about a shrinking workforce, slower economic growth and troubles ahead for Government efforts to fund its ballooning pension needs.

The Health Ministry report, based on preliminary figures of births and deaths registered at Japanese municipal offices, estimated the number of babies born in 2007 was likely to have fallen by 3,000 from a year earlier to 1,090,000.

The decline would follow an increase in babies in 2006, the first rise in six years, which was attributed to a rise in marriages helped by an improving economy.

A ministry official said both births and Japan's population of 128 million were likely to decline in coming years, given the outlook for a decline in the number of women able to bear children.

''The number of babies will probably fall or steady going forward while the number of deaths will rise,'' she said. ''So the long-term trend is for the population to decline.''

The same report estimated the number of deaths in 2007 rose by 22,000 to 1,106,000.

Japan's fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, stood at 1.32 in 2006, far from an estimated 2.07 needed to keep a population from falling.

Experts say Japan has lagged countries such as Sweden and the United States in helping parents balance work and family. Long working hours, late-night business meetings and the high cost of child care have all put couples off having babies.

The phenomenon threatens to squeeze the economy by shrinking the labour force and leaving fewer workers to support a growing number of pensioners.

Separate Government data last year showed a tenth of Japan's population was aged 75 or older, a historical high, while another report showed the proportion of those 65 or older would double to 40 percent by mid-century.

(AGENCIES)

Bhutto dossier: 'ISI diverting US aid to rig coming polls'...

LONDON, Jan 1: Benazir Bhutto was scheduled to meet two senior US lawmakers to hand over a "confidential" report on diversion of US aid for fighting militants to rig the upcoming parliamentary polls the day she was assassinated, her top party official has claimed.

The report alleged that the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was using some of the USD 10 billion American aid to run a covert election operation from a safe house in a central district of Islamabad, senior Pakistan People's Party official Sarfraz Ali Lashari told 'The Times'.

According to the official, who works in PPP's election monitoring cell, the operation's aim was to undermine Bhutto's party and to ensure victory for the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) which supports President Pervez Musharraf, in the polls slated for January eight.

"The report was done by some people who we've got in the services. They directly dealt with Benazir Bhutto, She was planning to share the contents of the report with the British Ambassador and the senior US politicians," Lashari was quoted as saying.

The British newspaper claimed that the two senior politicians -- Patrick Kennedy, a Democratic Congressman for Rhode Island, and Arlen Specter, a Republican member of the Senate Sub-committee on Foreign Operations -- have confirmed that they're planning to have dinner with Bhutto on Thursday.

Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari, the new co-Chairman of the PPP, has also confirmed the existence of the report and its basic contents as well as the former Premier's plans to meet the US lawmakers last Thursday.

Asked if the report contained evidence that the ISI was using US funds to rig the elections, he said: "Possibly so", but declined to give further details. (PTI)

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Dreams are shaped by past week's events rather than childhood trauma ..........

LONDON, Jan 1: Dreams are much more likely to be shaped by events of the past week than a childhood trauma, a new research reveals.

The study claims that although dreams are bizarre and otherworldly, they are as likely to be moulded by mundane, humdrum and everyday activities as by life-changing events.

Robert Stickgold, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School’s Centre for Sleep and Cognition, believes that dreams give profound insights into the mind’s workings.

An online survey's findings did not fit with the psychoanalytic/Freudian presumption that early life experiences were a primary source of dream content.

In fact, they were much more likely to be shaped by events of the past week. ''Overall, mundane, unimportant events were as likely to be identified as more significant life events-- a TV commercial they had seen, or something boring that a friend said to them,'' said Dr Erin Wamsley.

Indeed, even among these recent events, we failed to dwell on the most interesting in our dreams. ''Contrary to the folk-psychological belief that we dream only of the most important events in our lives, the memory sources identified by participants were not necessarily events of any significance to the dreamer,'' Dr Wamsley explained.

The findings showed that dreams are never exact replays of a conscious experience. Instead, we take real-life events as a source for our fantasies.

The study also revealed that older people are more likely to have disturbed sleep, and thus remember their dreams. (UNI)

Forensic anthropologist to examine infant skeleton...........

GREENSBURG, US, Jan 1: An infant's skeleton found in a dead woman's suitcase was born at 35 weeks gestation, but authorities do not know its gender or how long it had been there.

There was no sign of trauma to the fetus, whose remains were found on Saturday in Hempfield Township, said Westmoreland County chief deputy coroner Paul Cycak.

The cause and manner of death will likely be ruled undetermined, he said.

The remains also will be examined by a forensic anthropologist at Mercyhurst College, state police said. It remains unclear when that examination will take place. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Forensic pathologist Dr Cyril Wecht used bone measurements and other techniques to determine the fetus' age, Cycak told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The fetus was wrapped in a "smock," its arms folded across its chest and its knees tucked into its chest in a fetal position, Cycak said.

State police said adult siblings cleaning out their elderly mother's house after she died in early December found the skeleton in an "old style" suitcase stored under the woman's bed. Cycak said the suitcase appeared to be from the 1950s.

The siblings did not recognise the suitcase as their mother's, but said clothes found inside belonged to her, Trooper Lisa Jobe said. Police did not immediately release the dead woman's name.

No charges have been filed. The coroner did not immediately return calls for comment from The Associated Press yesterday. (AGENCIES)

Mourners throng Bhutto’s grave.........

ISLAMABAD , Jan 1: Hundreds of mourners are thronging Naudero, the ancestral village of slain former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto, to pray at her grave and offer condolences to her family.

The mourners, from all walks of life, have been meeting Bhutto’s 19-year-old son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the newly appointed chairman of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and his father Asif Ali Zardari to offer their condolences.

PPP workers from across the country are also visiting Garhi Khuda Bux, where Bhutto was laid to rest in her family’s mausoleum near her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, The Dawn reported today.

Scores of mourners are offering "fateha" (special prayers for the dead) and laying wreaths at Bhutto’s grave. Emotional scenes were witnessed when Bilawal and his sister Asifa visited Bhutto’s grave yesterday to offer prayers and read from the Quran.

In Larkana district of Sindh province, a tense calm prevailed as a large number of people offered funeral prayers- in-absentia for the late PPP chairperson at Jinnahbagh Gate.

Paramilitary Pakistani Rangers continued to patrol the city’s roads to avert any untoward incident. Shops remained closed for the fourth consecutive day. So did petrol pumps, forcing cars to stay off the roads.

Former caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi and his son Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, Sardar Taj Mohammed Jamali, Sardar Yar Mohammed Jamali and Mian Abdul Haque were among the political leaders who visited Naudero yesterday.

Addressing the gathering at Jinnahbagh, PPP leaders Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and Ayaz Soomro said anti-social elements were behind the incidents of looting in Larkana. They said the PPP had nothing to do with such elements.

They urged people to transform their grief into strength and take courageous decisions in the upcoming polls by supporting PPP candidates.

"You (people) will have to prove that you are the real guardians of the PPP and participate in the election and stamp on (the party’s symbol of the) ‘arrow’ to inflict defeat on opponents," a PPP leader said.

The district bar association of Larkana has announced it will boycott court proceedings for seven days. Association president Ayaz Soomro said a black flag was hoisted at the bar’s office. (PTI)