Thai politicians seek spiritual escape in Indian Buddhist shrines

BANGKOK, Jan 14: Senior Thai politicians, including a top coup leader, have visited historic Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India to seek spiritual solace from the political troubles at home.

The Thai Bodh Gaya temple in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh is the main pilgrimage site for Thai political personalities, some of them spending time ordained as monks and performing menial tasks, the Bangkok Post reported.

These include General Saprang Kalyanmitr, a key figure in the September 2006 coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra following months of street protests against alleged corruption and abuse of state authority by Mr Thaksin's administration.

Key figures of Mr Thaksin's now disbanded Thai Rak Thai party have also been visiting the temple over the past year.

Thai Buddhist cleric settled in Kushinagar said some senior Thai military officers, government officials and politicians had become novice monks at the temple.

Among these were former election commissioner Wasan Permparp, an influential Thaksin political ally Newin Chidchob and another top politician Sanoh Thienthong.

Former Thai navy chief Admiral Prasert Boonsong, former defence permanent secretary General Ood Buangbon and former deputy interior minister Pracha Maleenont also visited the temple in Kushinagar.

Temple staff told the newspaper that General Saprang also volunteered to clean the temple toilets during his stay there.

A former senior member of Mr Thaksin's disbanded Thai Rak Thai party, Sutham Saengprathum who spent 23 days as monk at Kushinagar told the Post that it was important to be ordained as a monk in India.

''I feel that I was closer to Lord Buddha and that inspired me to focus deeply on studying Buddhism. The environment helped me better follow Buddhist precepts,'' he said.

Phra Rat Ratanarangsee, the Thai priest at Kushinagar said several Thai politicians found happiness after coming there.

''Some politicians had experienced frustration. They came here and found real happiness, refrained from competition, shared and had freedom in their minds,'' he added.

According to Phra Thep Phothiwithes, the 70-yer-old abbot of Thai Bodh Gaya temple in Kushinagar, ''A pilgrimage allows them to be reborn. Washing themselves in the Ganges river or with water from the Ganges river is like washing away sins.'' (UNI)

Youngsters stoop low to abusing cough syrup for getting high

WASHINGTON, Jan 14: It's not just marijuana or opium that are used by addicts but many of them are resorting to cough syrups and cold medicines as cheap and available options to get high.

About 3.1 million people in the US aged 12 to 25 have abused these medicines at least once in their lifetimes, a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has stated.

Newly analysed data show the number was comparable to those who say they have used LSD (3.1 million), and was significantly greater than the number who reported having tried methamphetamines (2.4 million).

Overdosing on many cough and cold medications may result in serious life-threatening adverse reactions. Adverse reactions include blurred vision, loss of physical coordination, intense abdominal pain, vomiting, uncontrolled violent muscle spasms, irregular heartbeat, delirium and death.

Nearly 67,000 people from around the nation, including almost 45,000 aged 12 to 25 were interviewed. It was reported that women aged 12 to 17 were more likely than their male counterparts to have misused these drugs within the past year. But among those aged 18 to 25, more males had misused these drugs.

''The scope and danger posed by these medications requires a broad scale public health campaign involving everyone, including the medical community, industry, parents and young people,'' SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline said.

Although non-prescription cough and cold medications are generally safe when taken for medicinal purposes and as directed on their labeling, they can induce severe dissociative, ''out-of-body'' experiences when they are consumed in amounts far in excess of their recommended dosages.

(UNI)

"Atonement," Day-Lewis win drama Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, Jan 14: ''Atonement,'' a World War Two romance about two lovers torn apart by a family betrayal and the conflict in Europe, and actor Daniel Day-Lewis won Golden Globe awards in the dramatic film categories.

''Atonement'' won the award for best film drama yesterday, and Day-Lewis took the honor for best actor in a dramatic movie for his role as a hardscrabble oil prospector who gains enormous wealth in ''There Will Be Blood.''

The Golden Globe Awards are given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and are a key stop on the road to Oscars, the world's top film honors, which are handed out in February by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

(AGENCIES)

Beijing car ownership soars along with traffic woes

BEIJING, Jan 14: More than 400,000 new cars hit the roads in China's capital in 2006, state media said today, or more than 1,000 a day, snarling Beijing's efforts to control the city's notorious traffic ahead of the 2008 Olympics.

Beijing authorities expect the number of cars in the city to continue to grow by about 10 per cent a year for the forseeable future, Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite the increase, authorities would not limit the number of private cars on the roads, but instead focus on improving the road network, the report said.

Beijing is rapidly expanding its network of subway lines and has experimented with taking cars off the road to try to curb traffic jams, clear smog and ensure smooth transport for the Olympics, which it will host in August.

But other Chinese cities, where car ownership is also soaring as the middle class expands, are taking more aggressive measures.

The financial capital Shanghai levies high fees for licence plates and is considering London-style ''congestion fees'' for private cars during peak hours.

(AGENCIES)

Parents snort as China school enforces pig rearing

BEIJING, Jan 14: A Chinese middle school has ordered children to feed pigs three times a day, angering parents who complained it was denying their children a proper education, state media said today amid worries over soaring pork prices.

Chunchang Nanlu Middle School on the southern holiday resort island of Hainan had used 10,000 yuan in poverty alleviation funds to buy 36 piglets, the Beijing News said.

''Besides raising pigs, the students must also grow vegetables as part of a compulsory class,'' the newspaper said.

Some parents were angry because the class was taking time from other studies and had taken their grievances to local media.

''Each pig can be sold for 1,600 yuan with each class splitting the profit of 1,000 yuan, so of course it is advantageous for the school to continue raising pigs,'' the newspaper quoted a parent as saying.

The school maintained that the class was good for students' education.

China's pork prices have been ballooning on the back of high feed costs and an outbreak of blue ear disease that killed as many as a million pigs last year.

Worries about rising prices reached new heights in a southwestern town where a man has been raising three squealing pigs in his apartment, local media reported earlier.

Su Yanshan, a livestock slaughterer, kept the animals on the enclosed balcony of his second-floor home in Chongqing.

Su's wife told the Chongqing Evening News they planned to sell the 100 kg pigs for the Lunar New Year holiday in early February, when pork is in peak demand for dumplings, sausage and other traditional dishes.

(AGENCIES)

Thinking differently: It's in your culture

LONDON, Jan 14: Why westerners kiss to greet, Japanese bow to acknowledge, while Chinese shake hands lightly -- it's all in their culture.

People from different cultures use their brains differently to solve the same visual perceptual tasks, experts have now claimed.

Psychological research studied ten east Asians and as many Americans to make quick perceptual judgments while mapping blood flow changes in the brain that corresponded to mental operations.

The two groups showed different patterns of brain activation when performing the tasks. Americans activated brain regions involved in attention demanding mental tasks during relative judgments, which are harder for them. They showed much less activation of these regions when making the more culturally familiar absolute judgments.

East Asians showed the opposite tendency, engaging the brain's attention system more for absolute judgments than for relative judgments.

The magnitude of the difference between the two cultural groups, widespread engagement of the brain's attention system while making judgments outside the cultural comfort zone is surprising, lead author Trey Heyden said.

The researchers went on to show that the effect was greater in those individuals who identified more closely with their culture. by asking questions on preferences and values in social relations.

Within both groups, stronger identification with their respective cultures was associated with a stronger culture-specific pattern of brain-activation.

(UNI)

Maoists' Kangaroo courts still operational in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Maoists are still operating illegal 'kangaroo courts' and labour camps across Nepal, even after the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed by the rebels in 2006 banned their existence, a human rights organisation has claimed.

At least 39 people are languishing in different labour camps operated by the Maoists in various parts of the country, a group of human rights activists belonging to Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) said.

The INSEC team, which toured the country in the second week of December 2007, has found 6 persons in Salyan, 20 in Rukum, 6 in Jajarkot and 7 in Pyuthan districts serving jail terms in their labour camps, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The victims aged between 16 and 45 have been serving terms for one to six years in their camps. The terms were handed down by Maoist 'kangaroo courts' in the past.

The Maoists have physically tortured the prisoners into admitting crimes and the workers are never paid, one of the captives told the rights activists.

INSEC has demanded that the Government dissolve all the labour camps across the country and take immediate initiative to release all the detainees, the newspaper reported. (PTI)

China still building "energy-guzzling" buildings

BEIJING, Jan 14: China's developers are still building ''energy-guzzling'' buildings, flying in the face of sustainability pledges made during their design, state media reported today.

China, facing an uphill battle to secure energy and resources to feed its booming economy, has set targets to make new buildings 50 pe rcent more energy efficient by 2010.

But only 53 per cent of China's new buildings had met national energy-conservation standards, the China Daily said, citing a construction ministry survey which blamed cost-cutting developers.

''The findings are alarming. More comprehensive measures are needed to achieve the national goal,'' the paper quoted Song Chunhua, president of the China Real Estate Association, as saying.

Song said developers had ''changed their minds'' on implementing energy-saving standards and were ''still building new energy guzzlers''.

Rapid industrialisation and soaring car ownership have borne much of the blame for China's choking pollution and rising emissions, but analysts now point to its booming construction industry as a huge drain on global energy stocks.

Construction and building materials consume 16-18 per cent of China's energy use, analysts have estimated, and around half of the world's new buildings go up in China each year.

Some 400 million people are expected to flock from rural areas to cities by 2020.

China has pledged to spend more than 1.5 trillion yuan in renovations to old buildings, of which 99 percent failed current energy-saving standards, Song said.

But growing affluence poses a threat to efficiency goals as the country's rapidly expanding middle class clamours for larger, more energy-intensive housing.

(AGENCIES)

Left is right to get out of bed....

SYDNEY, Jan 14: Just don't jump out of bed as you get up after a good night sleep but make a habit of leaving your duvet from the left side.

According to a recent study, getting out of bed on the left side is the right side.

Sleep scientists, feng shui experts and psychologists analysed the best way to get up in the morning and have claimed ''Left is best''.

Feng shui expert Jan Cisek said getting out of the bed on the left side led to progress in family, health, money and power.

The left side helped humans to think rationally about the day ahead, the Australian quoted psychologist Pete Cohen as saying.

''The right side of the brain is responsible for emotions like fear and stress which only dilute your potential for having a positive experience,'' he said.

(UNI)

Britons trawl web to diagnose medical problems .........

LONDON, Jan 14: Over a third of Britons are using the Internet to diagnose medical conditions rather than visit their doctor, according to a survey released today.

A poll commissioned by UKTV Style for its new ''Spa of Embarrassing Illnesses'' series found 38 percent of Britons had attempted self-diagnosis by searching the Internet for answers.

Nearly half -- 48 percent -- of the 2,000 people questioned in the survey were reluctant to visit their doctor regarding medically ''embarrassing'' conditions such as sexually transmitted diseases or bowel problems.

The prospect of a physical examination by a doctor also kept 44 percent away from their local surgery.

''Feeling embarrassed about their condition can play a key role in preventing them getting treatment,'' said series presenter Amanda Hamilton in a statement.

''Although it's great the public are more informed, a supportive doctor who has time to listen to patient queries still has a vital role to play,'' she said. (AGENCIES)

Air Arabia sets up low-cost carrier in Nepal to target India

DUBAI, Jan 14: Aiming to tap markets across Indian subcontinent, South and Central Asia, UAE-based Air Arabia has announced to set up Nepal's first international low-cost carrier in Kathmandu.

This will provide Air Arabia with a platform from which to serve markets stretching across Indian subcontinent, South and Central Asia, the Far East, and Middle East.

The new carrier is expected to begin operations with inaugural flight taking off to Sharjah before the end of January, followed by operations to destinations in India, Doha and Kuala Lumpur.

This announcement follows the signing of a joint venture agreement between Air Arabia and Yeti Airlines and approval from Nepal Government's Department of Industries (DOI).

Under the agreement, Air Arabia and Yeti Airlines will jointly establish a new low-cost carrier, based in Kathmandu that will provide affordable service to a broad range of international destinations, a company statement said here.

"This is an enormously significant agreement for Air Arabia, and an extremely timely one," said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia.

"As we set our sights on global expansion, we remain focused on youthful, fast-growing markets where the opportunities for growth are greatest. Nepal, with a population of 29 million and a median age of just 20, is clearly among them," he said.

"With this new hub in Nepal, Air Arabia will cover a new niche market, while continuing to offer the level of superior service that has made us one of the premier airlines in the Middle East," he added. (PTI)

Youngsters stoop low to abusing
cough syrup for getting high

WASHINGTON, Jan 14: It's not just marijuana or opium that are used by addicts but many of them are resorting to cough syrups and cold medicines as cheap and available options to get high.

About 3.1 million people in the US aged 12 to 25 have abused these medicines at least once in their lifetimes, a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has stated.

Newly analysed data show the number was comparable to those who say they have used LSD (3.1 million), and was significantly greater than the number who reported having tried methamphetamines (2.4 million).

Overdosing on many cough and cold medications may result in serious life-threatening adverse reactions. Adverse reactions include blurred vision, loss of physical coordination, intense abdominal pain, vomiting, uncontrolled violent muscle spasms, irregular heartbeat, delirium and death.

Nearly 67,000 people from around the nation, including almost 45,000 aged 12 to 25 were interviewed. It was reported that women aged 12 to 17 were more likely than their male counterparts to have misused these drugs within the past year. But among those aged 18 to 25, more males had misused these drugs.

''The scope and danger posed by these medications requires a broad scale public health campaign involving everyone, including the medical community, industry, parents and young people,'' SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline said.

Although non-prescription cough and cold medications are generally safe when taken for medicinal purposes and as directed on their labeling, they can induce severe dissociative, ''out-of-body'' experiences when they are consumed in amounts far in excess of their recommended dosages.

(UNI)