The Degobot is excited to read the following comics today:

CABLE AND X-FORCE # 7 (by Dennis Hopeless and Salvador Larroca)

Cable and his team of outlaw mutants have been on the run from the law since the series’ first issue.  This week’s should be a good read in that it’ll feature the first meeting between Cyclops and Cable since “Avengers VS X-Men”.  Digital readers should help keep their local comic book shop in business and purchase a print copy of this book; it costs the same and comes with a free digital copy.   (Published by Marvel Comics)

AGE OF ULTRON # 6 (by Brain Michael Bendis, Carlos Pacheco, and Brandon Peterson)

“Age of Ultron” is a 10-issue crossover event which involves the return of Ultron and his conquest of the Earth.  Last week’s issue was a real turning point in the series, and readers have been waiting patiently all week for issue six!  Digital readers should help keep their local comic book shop in business and purchase a print copy of this book; it costs the same and comes with a free digital copy.   (Published by Marvel Comics)

NOVA # 3 (by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness)

After last issue’s cliffhanger, how could anyone not want to read this book?  This week Sam Alexander meets the Watcher.  Will Loeb and McGuinness have him punch Uatu as well?  Digital readers should help keep their local comic book shop in business and purchase a print copy of this book; it costs the same and comes with a free digital copy.  (Published by Marvel Comics)

The Degobot also plans on picking up the following comics:

Astonishing X-Men # 61

Captain America # 6

Daredevil: End of Days # 7

Iron Man # 8

The Savage Wolverine # 4

The Superior Spider-Man # 8

Thunderbolts # 8

X-Factor # 254

X-Men: Legacy # 9

Wolverine and the X-Men # 27 A.U.

Ultimate Comics: Wolverine # 3

Cyber Force # 4

Justice League # 19

Wonder Woman # 19

All of these comics are for sale today at your local comic book store or on the Comixology App on Apple and Android devices.  These are not the only comics being released this week however.  For a list of all the comics available in stores this Wednesday April 17, 2013 click on the link below:

http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/952

Degobot!

In Portland?  Buy your comics at Floating World Comics located at 400 NW Couch Street Portland, OR97209 (503) 241-0227

A Supreme Court order that could impact Sanjay Dutt’s case

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of Zaibunissa Kazi, who is 70, and had asked for some more time before being imprisoned for her role in the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai.
 
The verdict could impact actor Sanjay Dutt, who was convicted for illegally possessing an AK-56 supplied by men convicted for the terror attack. The court had ordered him to return to jail by April 18. Yesterday, Mr Dutt asked for another six months so that he could finish shooting Bollywood films. The court will hear his plea tomorrow.

Those whose petitions were rejected today – two convicts in addition to Zaibunnisa had said that they are too old and sick to handle a jail sentence and that their petitions for pardon are pending with the President of the country.  
 

Mr Dutt, who is 53, was given a five-year sentence by the  Supreme Court last month, but because he has already spent 18 months in prison before being granted bail in 1995, he will spend a little over three years in jail.

At an emotional press conference last month, Mr Dutt said he would accept the verdict and surrender to prison authorities before his deadline.

He was found guilty by the Supreme Court of possession of an automatic rifle and a pistol, which he insisted were only meant to protect his family. The serial bombings in Mumbai in 1993 killed more than 200 people and nearly 700 were injured.

Don’t want award from government which can’t act against graft: Anna Hazare

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

 

File picture of Anna Hazare

Dehradun/Roorkee: Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare today threatened to return the Padma Bhushan conferred upon him, accusing the UPA of betraying the nation on the issue of Lokpal.

“This is an unpardonable betrayal of the nation…I don’t want any awards from a government which does not act against corruption,” Anna said, addressing people at the parade ground in Dehradun on the conclusion of the first phase of his Jantantrik yatra.

He said despite two years after the resolution on Lokpal was passed in Parliament the anti-corruption institution was still an elusive dream.

Anna asked the people to think of not only changing a government while voting in 2014 Lok Sabha polls but also changing the system.

“People should rise above self-centred thinking and expand the ambit of their thought to include the larger interest of the nation,” he said.

Citing his own example, he said he had taken a pledge at the age of 26 to serve the nation and society and has lived up to that pledge to this day.

Exhorting people to work for the nation and society with an unflinching sense of commitment, he asked them to be alert and fight the system to build the society of their dreams.

Anna also announced that the next phase of the Jantantrik yatra will begin on May 5 saying, “We will keep on fighting till the creation of corruption free society.”

Earlier, addressing a public meeting at Roorkee as his yatra entered Uttarakhand, Anna reminded people that they held the key to change.

“Every five years we think of a change of government but this time round (2014 general elections) we have to think of changing the system,” he told a public meeting at Subhash Nagar ground in Roorkee.

Accompanied by former Army Chief General VK Singh, Anna asked people to understand the value of their votes and take a vow not to elect corrupt people responsible for bringing the country to such a sorry pass when graft had hit an all-time high.

“You must take a pledge that this time you will not vote for corrupt people, plunderers and those who cannot curb rising prices,” the social activist said.

Moderate 4.6-magnitude earthquake hits northeast India

Shillong: A slight intensity earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale shook India’s northeast Tuesday morning. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property.

The quake occurred at 6.53 am.

According to the Regional Seismological Centre here, the epicentre was in Assam’s Darrang district.

India’s northeast is considered the sixth major earthquake-prone belt in the world.

34-carat diamond, once owned by Nizam of Hyderabad, up for auction in US

 
New York: An extraordinary 34-carat ‘Princie’ diamond from the mines of Golconda in South Central India, once owned by the world’s richest man – the last Nizam of Hyderabad – may fetch up to USD 50 million at an auction in New York.

Christie’s auction house in New York will today auction The Princie Diamond, an extraordinary 34.65-carat Fancy Intense Pink cushion-cut facet diamond.

Experts say the diamond may fetch up to USD 50 million, becoming the costliest gemstone sold at auction in history, according to ‘The Independent’.

The diamond was once owned by the Royal family of Hyderabad, rulers of one of the wealthiest provinces of the Mughal Empire, Christie’s said in a statement.

First offered at auction in 1960 as “Property of a Gentleman” – later revealed to be the Nizam of Hyderabad himself, Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan – the diamond was purchased by the London branch of Van Cleef & Arpels for a mere 46,000 pounds.

The Nizam was proclaimed as the richest man in the world by Time magazine in 1937.

The diamond’s unique name was bestowed at a party at the firm’s Paris store, where it was christened the “Princie” in honour of the 14-year-old Prince of Baroda, who attended the party with his mother Maharani Sita Devi.

This is the first time in more than fifty years that this special diamond has appeared at auction, marking an unprecedented opportunity for collectors of the world’s finest gemstones.

The day-long auction features almost 300 jewels, including top-quality coloured and colourless diamonds, rare gemstones, natural pearls and a great selection of signed vintage creations from the best houses.

Vijender is drugs free, says sports ministry

Controversial Indian boxer was under the scanner for a drug-related case. The Beijing Olympic Games medalist had been skipping training at NIS, Patiala

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

The sports ministry has confirmed that boxer Vijender Singh is drugs free. Recent tests conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Vijender and four others have proved a blank.

A ministry release on Tuesday says: “The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is glad to announce that none of the boxers were found to have used any banned substances in the recent past.”

Vijender and four others were subjected to an out-of-competition test for banned substances. A full menu test was conducted which included testing for psychotropic substances. Tests were only carried out on blood and urine samples.

Vijender found himself in quandary when his name cropped up in a massive drug haul where the police had recovered 26 kg of heroin, estimated around Rs 130 crore, from an NRI’s house in Shivalik Vihar in Zirakpur on March 7. The presence of a car used by Vijender’s wife Archana near the NRI’s house only raised more doubts.

On April 1, Punjab Police said Vijender allegedly bought heroin for personal consumption on 12 different occasions from a Canada-based NRI drug dealer.

The police said that the heroin was first procured by Vijender’s sparring partner Ram Singh in December from alleged drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon. Both boxers subsequently went together to Kahlon’s house near Chandigarh for procuring the drug in January and February, police added.

Police sources said both Kahlon and Vijender knew each other well and even exchanged SMS-es. After examining Vijender’s call records, sources confirmed that he was in touch with Kahlon since August last year and the two have spoken to each other on phone about 80 times. However, they did not actively connive with the smugglers in their activities and nothing was recovered from them, the police said.

Vijender was initially reluctant to share blood and hair samples for tests, but after the sports ministry insisted, the boxer relented. The Olympic bronze medalist has been skipping training and was subsequently dropped from the national team for a training stint in Cuba.

Remember the tutorial on Thursday will cover some example questions that may come in both the test and the final end of semester exam

General characteristics

• Muscle tissue contracts (shortens and thickens),
• moves structures attached to it (contractile)
• Sometimes called muscle fibers – elongated
• Three major types of muscle tissue are skeletal, smooth, and cardiac

Skeletal Muscle Tissue

• Forms muscles that attach to bones
• Can be controlled by conscious effort (voluntary muscle tissue)
• Long (up to 40 mm in length)
• Narrow (less than 0.1mm)
• Have alternating light and dark cross-markings called striations
• Each cell has many nuclei
• Function: Moves the head, trunk, limbs, enable us to smile, write, talk, sing, chew, breathe

Smooth Muscle

• Called smooth muscle because its cells lack striations (alternating light and dark cross-markings)
• Shorter than skeletal muscles
• Spindle shaped
• Each cell has a single nucleus, which is centrally located
• Comprises the walls of hollow internal organs – stomach, intestines, urinary bladder, uterus, blood vessels
• Involuntary muscle – cannot be stimulated to contract by conscious effort
• Functions: Moves food through the digestive tract, constricts blood vessels, empties urinary bladder  

Smooth Muscle Tissue

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

• Only found in the heart
• Makes up the bulk of the heart
• Cells are striated (alternating light and dark cross-markings), branched, joined end-to-end and interconnected in complex networks
• Each cell has only one nucleus
• Intercalated disc – intercellular junction – where one cell touches another
• Controlled involuntarily – can continue to function without nervous stimulation (heart still pumps in brain dead people)
• Function: Pumps blood through the heart chambers and into the blood vessels

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt to skip Asian Wrestling Championship

Amit Dhankar (66kg) and Bajrang (60kg), who were named as reserves, will replace Suhil and Yogeshwar for the championship starting April 18 in New Delhi.

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

New Delhi:  Olympic medal winning grapplers Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt have pulled out of the upcoming Senior Asian Wrestling Championship as the two have not yet recovered from their respective injuries.

Amit Dhankar (66kg) and Bajrang (60kg), who were named as reserves, will replace Suhil and Yogeshwar for the championship starting April 18 in New Delhi.

“Both Sushil and Yogeshwar are nursing their injuries. During the trials last month, they had said that they will be fit for the competition. But we can’t force them to participate. They are consulting their doctors and will hopefully return to the arena soon,” Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, Brij Bhushan Singh said.

“Events such as this are a test for the new crop of wrestlers. It gives them an opportunity to perform. And that too in front of their home crowd,” Bhushan added.

In the championship, more than 225 wrestlers from 19 countries will be competing in the three disciplines –Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Female in the five-day event.

Asian powerhouses such as China, Japan and Kazakhstan, besides hosts will be fielding wrestlers in every weight category at the K D Jadhav Wrestling Stadium.

The Pakistan team was also invited by the organisers for the continental championship, but its federation did not send any representation.

“We had sent an invite and also spoke to the Pakistani federation. They cited lack of funds as the reason for not sending entries. We would have wanted them to participate as well,” Managing chairman of the Asian championship, G S Mandher said.

The entry for the general public will be through complimentary tickets which would be available at the WFI’s offices besides the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

Actor Sanjay Dutt asks Supreme Court for six months to surrender

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

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New Delhi: Actor Sanjay Dutt has asked the Supreme Court to give him six more months before he is imprisoned to allow him to complete his film commitments. His appeal has been listed for hearing by the top court at 2 pm today.

The 53-year-old was sentenced in March to serve five years in jail for illegally owning weapons including an AK-56 in a case linked to the 1993 bomb blasts. He will have to serve a little over three years of that as he has already spent 18 months in prison.

The Supreme Court had ruled that he should be jailed by April 18. At an emotional press conference last month, Sanjay Dutt had said would not appeal against his sentence.

The actor is currently in the midst of several film shoots – according to some reports, between Rs. 70 to 100 crore are tied up in Bollywood projects fronted by him.

On March 21, the actor was convicted for  possessing an automatic rifle and a pistol that were supplied to him by men subsequently convicted in the 1993 bombings in Mumbai, in which more than 200 people were killed. But Mr Dutt was acquitted of the more serious charges of terrorism and conspiracy.

He has maintained that he knew nothing about the bombing plot and that he asked for the guns to protect his family after receiving threats during the city’s communal riots.

Three other petitioners in the Mumbai blasts case, including a 71-year-old woman, have also sought more time to surrender. Their cases, too, will be heard by the court today.

Supreme Court should appoint Special Investigation Team on coal scam, suggests BJP

 
New Delhi: BJP today demanded the resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar over allegations of government’s interference in CBI’s probe into coal blocks and suggested that the Supreme Court appoint a Special Investigation Team to bring out the truth.

The party alleged that the new reports of the government “vetting” a CBI report on the coal scam make it clear that it has “abused and misused” the agency and sought to know whether the Law Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office vet every charge sheet of CBI as a matter of “procedure”.

“We demand that Ashwani Kumar should resign and an SIT be constituted under the auspices of Supreme Court for investigating the coal scam thoroughly and properly. Law minister should resign. SIT has to be constituted as without it the probe is not going to reach its logical conclusion,” BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said.

She charged that law and police officers are being misused for serving certain purposes and rubbished the government’s claim that the contents of the report were not shared with any “political executive”.

Meenakshi Lekhi pointed out that the apex court has asked the CBI to give an affidavit that it has not prepared the report under any pressure.

The BJP leader maintained that these allegations appear to be true as the government had not denied them.

The main Opposition also charged that CBI’s role is increasingly coming under the scanner amid reports of government interference in its functioning.

“CBI was misused even in the Jagdish Tytler case (1984 anti-Sikh riots),” she said.

Narendra Modi moves into his new Rs. 150 crore office

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

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Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi moved into his new office in Gandhinagar today, and no, it is not bullet-proof, his staff has emphasised to quash what they describe as “wild speculation.”

The modest looking, four-storey building has two blocks, and has been built for Rs. 150 crore in about a year’s time. The blocks are named Swarnim Sankul 1 and 2. Swarnim Sankul-1 consists of offices for ministers and secretaries. It has a room for cabinet meetings, a data centre and a work space for 1,000 employees.

The Chief Minister sat in his third-floor office of Swarnim Sankul 1 today going through files. The rest of his ministers have offices on the second floor of the same block.

On the ground floor of the block, the Chief Minister chaired his first Cabinet meeting. The ground floor also has a conference room with video conferencing facilities.

Mr Modi, who was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term last year, was so confident of his victory that he performed the bhoomi pujan or foundation-laying ceremony for the office before the Assembly elections were held in December last year. He won handsomely.

Departmental heads will sit in the the second block of the complex. The complex can seat 1000 employees.

Honour our sacrifice, let this never recur: Delhi braveheart’s family

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

 

New Delhi: Delhi’s braveheart, the 23-year-old medical student who died after being brutally gang-raped in a Delhi bus in December last year, was honoured today at the NDTV Indian of the Year 2012 ceremony. She was honoured with Daughter of India Award. Scholarships were announced in her name.

On stage, her mother stood alongside India’s Prime Minister, tears filling her eyes as she folded her hands and almost whispered, “My only request is, fix things so this never happens to anyone else. And hang all the five men. Also the minor.”

Her father recounted how the family lived on potatoes for months so that they could educate their daughter. “Relatives told us why bother, just get her married. But she wanted to study,” he said.

On December 16 last year, the young woman and her friend boarded a bus in south Delhi. Six men on the bus gang-raped her and also brutally attacked her causing grievous injury. They also beat up her friend, before throwing them out of the bus. She died in a Singapore hospital 13 days later.

The young man who was with the medical student that day, was also on stage today as she was honoured. “I have lost my friend. No law can bring her back. But let this not recur. Honour our sacrifice in that way, please,” he said.

The Prime Minister promised, “We should all pay tribute to her by resolving that we will not let the loss of her life go to vain. We should resolve to enhance the security of women in the country.”

Of six men accused in the case, one has committed suicide in jail. Another is a minor and is being tried by a juvenile court. Four other accused are being tried by a fast track court in Delhi.

Another anti-Taliban party leader killed in Pakistan

 
Mingora: A bomb blast killed a local leader of an anti-Taliban political party on Sunday in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley, the fourth such attack targeting members of secular-learning parties during their campaigns for next month’s parliamentary election.

The bomb planted near Mukarram Shah’s car exploded in the village of Banjot, said Abdullah Khan, police chief of the city of Mingora where the village is located. He said the device appeared to have been set off by remote control.

Shah is from the secular Awami National Party, which supported military operations against militants in the region.

The ANP is among three secular-leaning political parties that the Pakistani Taliban have threatened to attack during campaigns for the May 11 parliamentary elections. The other two parties are the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

In a video message, the Taliban have warned people to stay away from rallies held by the three political parties the Taliban consider enemy for their anti-militant stance.

The three dominated Pakistan’s last government, dissolved in preparation for the elections. The ANP also headed the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Swat is located.

It was fourth such attack since the Taliban issued the threat against the three parties several weeks ago. Earlier, two ANP’s candidates survived bomb attacks by the militants in the northwest and a Taliban shooter killed an MQM candidate in southern city of Hyberabad.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. “The three parties are on our hit list,” he told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Right-leaning and religious parties not being targeted by the Taliban have been holding their election campaign rallies without fear.

Also on Sunday, gunmen attacked a NATO supply convoy near Jamrud in Khyber tribal region, killing a truck driver and wounding another, said a local government administrator Iqbal Khan. The Khyber Pass is one of the two main routes in Pakistan for the NATO supplies headed to neighboring Afghanistan.

German bakery blast: Pune court to give verdict today

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

 

Pune: A court in Pune will give its verdict today on a man who allegedly plotted the bomb blast at the city’s German Bakery in February 2010.

17 people were killed and 64 were injured in the powerful blast at the bakery in Koregaon Park on February 13, 2010.

Mirza Himayat Baig, from Udgir in Maharashtra, is the only suspect arrested in the case. He was arrested in Pune on September 7, 2010. Investigators say they found 1,200 kg of explosives from his home in Udgir in Latur district.

The chargesheet filed in court names five others as conspirators and absconding – Mohsin Choudhary, Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Faiyaz Kagzi.

The prosecution has said in court that the blast was planned at a meeting in Colombo in 2008, where Baig was trained to make a bomb. He assembled the bomb at his cyber cafe in Udgir.

The defence says Baig was not in Pune at the time of the blast.

The German Bakery was popular with locals and foreigners alike. It has been taken over by a new management but is yet to reopen.

Indian-origin woman, daughters found dead in UK: report

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

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London: An Indian-origin school laboratory technician and her two daughters have been found dead under mysterious circumstances at their home in northwest London.

Heena Solanki, 34, was found dead along with Prish, 4, and Jasmine, 9, at their Ruislip home in London on Friday, according to the police.

“Police were called at approximately 6.40 pm on Friday.

The deaths are being treated as unexplained at this stage,” a Scotland Yard spokesman was quoted as saying in the local media today.

Moments after paramedics and police arrived at the house, police ordered neighbours to close all their doors and windows, saying that there had been a “chemical incident” there, according to a report.

Witnesses said police had also taken away what appeared to be a suitcase and a series of tubes.

Heena lived with her 42-year-old husband Kalpesh’s parents who had been on a holiday when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile contradictory reports emerged in the local media with some saying Kalpesh made the grim discovery of their bodies when he returned home while some claimed neighbours called police fearing a gas leak.

Heena worked at a secondary school and would have known how to brew a killer concoction of chemicals. Last night an evidence bag marked ‘caution health hazard’ was removed by officers, the Mirror reported.

Heena’s Facebook page states she studied at South Gujarat University until 2002.

Some media reports claimed that Heena poisoned her daughters before killing herself in what police is terming a “toxic chemical reaction”.

Shocked friends and neighbours gathered outside the house yesterday that has been cordoned off and a probe is on.

“I saw these people go into the house in chemical suits.

I couldn’t believe what was going on. They were a happy family and the children were lovely little kids”, a neighbour said.

Another neighbour who did not want to be named, said, “Last night the police were knocking on doors telling everyone to get inside and close their windows because there had been a chemical incident”.

Kolkata: Hailing from one of the oldest business families of Kolkata, R P Goenka came to be known as the country’s ‘takeover specialist’ who made his mark in diverse businesses, ranging from tyre to music.

The Goenka family’s root in the city goes as far back as 1820 when Ramdutta Goenka came here from Rajasthan and started business with the British East India Company. By 1900s, the family established themselves in diverse businesses.

Born on March 1, 1930, Rama Prasad Goenka, better known as R P Goenka, was the eldest son of Keshav Prasad Goenka and Rukmini Devi.

R P Goenka, graduated from Presidency College in Kolkata and did his management course later from Harvard University, joined the family business.

After a division of assets among his three brothers, he set up RPG Enterprises in 1979 with a total turnover of around Rs. 100 crore. The ‘takeover specialist’ acquired one large company after another during the 80s, expanding the group’s footprint across several businesses – tyre, carbon black, transmission, pharmaceuticals, IT, power generation, music, etc.

The major companies included in his empire are CEAT, CESC, Spencer’s Retail, Saregama, KEC International, RPG Life Sciences and ICML.

In 1990, his sons Harsh Vardhan and Sanjiv took over reins from him as Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively of the group.

Later in 2011, Sanjiv Goenka set up the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group to have his own brand identity, while Harsh Goenka continued as Chairman of RPG Enterprises. R P Goenka remained Chairman Emeritus of both the groups that manage altogether 23 companies.

Of them, 10 companies including CEAT, RPG Life Sciences, KEC International and Zensar Technologies are managed by Harsh Goenka from Mumbai. The total turnover is around Rs. 16,000 crore.

Sanjiv operates 13 company chain and a Rs. 14,000-crore empire from Kolkata. His firms include CESC, PCBL, Music World, Spencer’s Retail and Saregama.

A former member of Rajya Sabha, R P Goenka had served as president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

For several years he was Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Kharagpur, which later conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Other honours received by R P Goenka included ‘The Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold and Silver Star’ from the Emperor of Japan and the Lifetime Contribution Award from the All India Management Association.

Nation pays homage to B R Ambedkar on 122nd birth anniversary

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today led the nation in paying homage to Babsaheb Ambedkar on his 122nd birth anniversary.

Mr Mukherjee, Mr Ansari and Dr Singh paid floral tributes at the statue of Ambedkar at the Parliament House lawns.

Leader of the House in Lok Sabha and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha P J Kurien and Chairman of BJP Parliamentary Party L K Advani led the parliamentarians in paying floral tributes to the architect of the Indian Constitution.

They paid their tributes in the Central Hall of the Parliament.

A booklet, containing the profile of Ambedkar, brought out by the Lok Sabha secretariat, was presented to the dignitaries who attended the function.

A new clinical review article over at the NEJM, summarising medical treatment and surgical indications. As always, a good read.

Check it out here.

source | New England Journal of Medicine

image | ephemeral scraps

Doing a quick run through of his options available at the house for breakfast in my head, I realize there is not a damn thing he’s going to get up and make (which is not to say that there is nothing to make again, another post).

Anyway.

Me: “Anything you think you can eat?”
Translation: Is there anything at all that you can think of that I can grab, between here and home, to either make and/or courier for you, that sounds remotely appetizing? I know you feel like shit, but you are diabetic and you have to eat anyway.

(Yes we read minds. And have massive run on sentences with poor punctuation )

Him: “anything will be alight.”
Translation: it’s all going to taste like shit and I’m not hungry but you are going to make me eat anyway, even though I can’t have anything I want.

This is me. Banging my head on the steering wheel.

Cause I know that what he wants is a hamburger.

Bless his heart.

Seriously though, bless his double-bypassed with nine stents heart. He could use it.

I could use some patience if you’re feeling generous.

Ugadi celebrated with traditional fervour in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: Ugadi, the Telugu new year, was celebrated with traditional fervour and cheerfulness across Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.

Dressed in traditional attire, the Telugu people offered special prayers in the morning and consumed the Ugadi ‘Pachadi’ (chutney).

The ‘Pachadi’ is made with neem flowers, jaggery, pepper or green chillies, salt, tamarind juice, small pieces of raw mango, symbolising that life is a mixture of different experiences, which should be accepted with equanimity throughout the year.

‘Panchanga Sravanam’ (recitation of almanac) was organised in temples and other such places.

Ugadi was also celebrated in the offices of ruling Congress, main Opposition Telugu Desam and BJP.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy attended the official function organised at Ravindra Bharati, a cultural complex of the state government here and also the function at Gandhi Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters.

British ‘test tube baby’ pioneer Robert Edwards dies

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

London: Robert Edwards, a British Nobel prize-winning scientist who pioneered the development of “test tube babies” conceived through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), died on Wednesday after a long illness, his university said.

Edwards, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2010, started work on fertilisation in the 1950s, and the first so-called test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 as a result of his pioneering research.

He founded the world’s first IVF clinic in his home town of Cambridge, eastern England in 1980.

“It is with deep sadness that the family announces that Professor Sir Robert Edwards, Nobel prize winner, scientist and co-pioneer of IVF, passed away peacefully in his sleep,” Cambridge University said in a statement.

It said he would be greatly missed by family, friends and colleagues, adding “his work has had an immense impact throughout the world”.

Delhi gang-rape accused deny being in the bus

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

New Delhi: Two defendants in the New Delhi gang-rape and murder trial on Thursday claimed they were not in the bus on which the 23-year-old student was repeatedly raped, the Press Trust of India said.

Accused Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta made the plea before a special fast-track court hearing the trial in the capital, reported the PTI news agency.

“Vinay’s mobile contains a video recording and photos which can establish that he and Pawan were not in the bus on the night of incident,” the agency quoted defence lawyer AP Singh as telling the judge.

Sharma and Gupta were attending a musical night along with a third friend in their neighbourhood who could be a crucial witness in the case, the counsel said, accusing the police of “falsely implicating” them in the case.

The pair, arrested along with four others shortly after the crime on December 16, have been charged with gang-rape, robbery and murder following the death of the physiotherapy student.

Last month, the main accused in the case and the driver of the bus used in the assault was found dead hanging in his prison cell.

The case has led to months of soul-searching over widespread sexual crime in India, and resulted in tougher laws to punish rapists and focused global attention on violence against women in the country.