Study blames two genes for aggressive brain cancer

Scientists have discovered two genes that appear responsible for one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

Glioblastoma multiforme rapidly invades the normal brain, producing inoperable tumours, but scientists have not understood why it is so aggressive.

The latest study, by a Columbia University team, published in Nature, pinpoints two genes.

The researchers say that the findings raise hopes of developing a treatment for the cancer.

It means we are no longer wasting time developing drugs against minor actors in brain cancer - we can now attack the major players Dr Antonio Iavarone Columbia University

The genes - C/EPB and Stat3 - are active in about 60% of glioblastoma patients.

They appear to work in tandem to turn on many other genes that make brain cells cancerous.

Patients in the study whose tumours showed evidence of both genes being active died within 140 weeks of diagnosis.

In contrast, half of patients without activity from these genes were alive after that time.

Master controls

Lead researcher Dr Antonio Iavarone described the two genes as the disease's master control knobs.

He said: "When simultaneously activated, they work together to turn on hundreds of other genes that transform brain cells into highly aggressive, migratory cells.

"The finding means that suppressing both genes simultaneously, using a combination of drugs, may be a powerful therapeutic approach for these patients, for whom no satisfactory treatment exists."

When the researchers silenced both genes in human glioblastoma cells, it completely blocked their ability to form tumours when injected in a mouse.

The Columbia team is now attempting to develop drugs they hope will achieve the same effect.

Using state-of-the-art techniques, they effectively mapped out the comprehensive and highly complex network of molecular interactions driving the behaviour of glioblastoma cells.

Dr Iavarone said: "The identification of C/EPB and Stat3 came as a complete surprise to us, since these genes had never been implicated before in brain cancer

"From a therapeutic perspective, it means we are no longer wasting time developing drugs against minor actors in brain cancer - we can now attack the major players."

Nell Barrie, science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "This research is exciting, as it sheds light on the key changes that drive cells in the brain to become glioblastoma cells.

"By finding out exactly how healthy cells turn into cancer cells, scientists hope to find clues for preventing or reversing the process.

"The technique used in this study should help scientists to understand these changes in other types of cancer, leading to new and more personalised treatment approaches in the future.



source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8426015.stm

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Turkish soldiers held in 'deputy PM assassination plot'

Eight Turkish soldiers have been detained over an alleged plot to assassinate Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, the army has said.

It said the soldiers were taken to the army headquarters in Ankara after being interrogated by a prosecutor on Friday.

The arrests follow an inquiry which was launched last week after Mr Arinc said a car with two officers had been spotted several times near his house.

The Turkish military denied being part of any plot.

It said the officers were investigating a military official living nearby.

The detentions come amid renewed speculation that there is mounting tension between the governing AK Party, which has its roots in political Islam, and the powerful armed forces.

The Turkish army sees itself as the guardian of the country's secularism.

Earlier this year, dozens of people, including two retired generals, journalists and academics, went on trial in Turkey accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

Prosecutors argue that they were members of a shadowy ultranationalist network - dubbed Ergenekon - which allegedly aimed to provoke a military coup.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8431418.stm

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Beirut car bomb explosion 'targets Hamas official'

At least one person has died in a bomb in the south of Lebanese capital Beirut that may have targeted an official from the Palestinian group, Hamas.

Security sources say that explosives went off under a vehicle in a stronghold of Lebanon's Islamist militant group Hezbollah.

A number of people were also wounded in the explosion, one of them seriously.

The Lebanese state news agency says that "three bombs tied to each other" were placed under the vehicle.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press Saturday's blast had occurred in a neighbourhood that houses a Hamas office.

Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, was not available for comment, according to a person who answered his mobile phone, AP adds.

Hamas, which effectively controls the Gaza Strip inside the Palestinian territories, has representatives both in Beirut and in neighbouring Syria.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8431447.stm

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Europe's Goce satellite probes Earth's gravity

A first glimpse at the data coming down from Europe's Goce satellite More details

Europe's Goce satellite is returning remarkable new data on the way the pull of gravity varies across the Earth.

Scientists say its first maps clearly show details not seen in previous space and ground measurements.

Goce was launched by the European Space Agency (Esa) in March from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north-west Russia.

Its information is expected to bring new insights into how the oceans move, and to frame a universal system to measure height anywhere on the planet.

Researchers who study geological processes, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, will also make use of the data.

The first maps built from Goce observations were presented at the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) recent Fall Meeting, the world's largest annual gathering of Earth scientists.

More or less

Although they represent just 47 days of operation following the start of the satellite's science campaign on 30 September, the maps prove Goce is attaining an exceptional level of performance.

GRAVITY - A MOVING TARGET The 'standard' acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface is 9.8m per second squared In reality the figure varies from 9.78 (minimum) at the equator to 9.83 (maximum) at the poles

"There is a tremendous amount of geophysics in these plots," explained Rune Floberghagen, Esa's Goce mission manager.

"You see where there are big variations, for example in the mountain range of the Andes, or the Mariana Trench, or the Indonesian Arc, or the Himalayas. In fact, on most of the continents, you see a lot of variation," he told BBC News.

The maps reproduced on this page illustrate "gravity gradients".

The red colours indicate a positive variation in gravity moving from one place to another - i.e. places where Earth's tug becomes greater.

The blue colours indicate a negative variation in gravity - places where Earth's tug is a little less.

Simply put, if you were to take some bathroom scales to these locations you would weigh fractionally more in red places and weigh less in blue ones.

Compared to existing models, it is clear Goce has something new to offer More details

Most people are taught at school that the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface - known as g - is about 9.8m per second squared. But, in truth, this figure varies around the planet depending on the nature of the material underfoot.

The planet is far from a smooth sphere; the radius of the globe at the equator is about 20km longer than at the poles.

Goce has been described as the most beautiful satellite ever built 'Supermodel' satellite set to fly

This ellipsoid is then marked by tall mountain ranges and cut by deep ocean trenches.

The Earth's interior layers are also not composed of perfect shells of homogenous rock - some regions are thicker or denser.

Such factors will cause g to deviate from place to place by very small but significant amounts.

The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce) maps these differences with a state-of-the-art gradiometer produced by the French Onera company.

The instrument is sensitive to accelerations of about one-tenth of a millionth of a millionth of g.

And the gradiometer measures these accelerations across all three axes of the spacecraft to obtain a multi-dimensional view of the Earth's gravity field.

"These are by far the smallest accelerations ever measured from orbit," said Dr Floberghagen.

Ocean shape

The first maps not only record the three components but also compare their signals to the best available gravity field models assembled from existing space- and ground-acquired data-sets.

Again, in this challenge to the existing models the Goce gradients appear most pronounced in high latitude and continental regions. The gradients seem less marked over the oceans where a lot of gravity field information has already been determined by spacecraft that measure sea-surface topography.

The Goce team stresses that its data is not yet fully homogenous; some areas of the Earth are currently covered better than others. This is evident in the diagonal stripes that can be seen in a number of the maps. The scientists say that some work also remains to be done in understanding how best to process the data.

Nonetheless, it is hoped that sufficient high-quality information will have been gathered in the opening months of the science campaign to construct what geophysicists call a geoid.

This is a special type of Earth model which traces its idealised "horizontal" surface - the plane on which, at any point, the pull of gravity is perpendicular to it. If you could put a ball on this hypothetical surface, it would not roll - even though it appears to have slopes.

The geoid is of paramount interest to oceanographers who study the causes of the "hills" and "valleys" on the sea surface.

If local gravity differences are not pulling water about to create these features, then other factors such as currents, winds and tides must be responsible.

Extended mission

The mission team also announced at the AGU meeting that Goce is likely to keep flying far longer than anyone had envisaged at launch.

This increase in lifetime is a result of the unusually quiet behaviour of the Sun at the moment. In periods of reduced solar activity, the Earth's atmosphere is less extensive and this means satellites do not experience quite so much drag.

Even at its ultra-low altitude of just 254.9km, Goce requires little effort from its propulsion system to maintain a steady orbit and keep itself from falling out of the sky.

Esa had been expecting the satellite to stay aloft for about two years. Current solar conditions suggest Goce will still be orbiting and gathering science data in five years' time.

"The air drag that we have experienced on orbit after launching has been very different from what any model was able to predict pre-launch," said Dr Floberghagen.

"And that in turn means there is a lot of new science not only in the gravity field measurements but also in the measurements of the surface forces acting on the spacecraft.

"So we plan to generate another product from this mission which will serve modellers of the thermosphere, people who model the air density in the upper layers of the atmosphere."

GRAVITY FIELD AND STEADY-STATE OCEAN CIRCULATION EXPLORER 1. Goce senses tiny variations in the pull of gravity over Earth 2. The data is used to construct an idealised surface, or geoid 3. It traces gravity of equal 'potential'; balls won't roll on its 'slopes' 4. It is the shape the oceans would take without winds and currents 5. So, comparing sea level and geoid data reveals ocean behaviour 6. Gravity changes can betray magma movements under volcanoes 7. A precise geoid underpins a universal height system for the world 8. Gravity data can also reveal how much mass is lost by ice sheets

1. The 1,100kg Goce is built from rigid materials and carries fixed solar wings. The gravity data must be clear of spacecraft 'noise' 2. Solar cells produce 1,300W and cover the Sun-facing side of Goce; the near side (as shown) radiates heat to keep it cool 3. The 5m-by-1m frame incorporates fins to stabilise the spacecraft as it flies through the residual air in the thermosphere 4. Goce's accelerometers measure accelerations that are as small as 1 part in 10,000,000,000,000 of the gravity experienced on Earth 5. The UK-built engine ejects xenon ions at velocities exceeding 40,000m/s; the engine throttles up and down to keep Goce at a steady altitude 6. S Band antenna: Data downloads to the Kiruna (Sweden) ground station. Processing, archiving is done at Esa's centre in Frascati, Italy 7. GPS antennas: Precise positioning of Goce is required, but GPS data in itself can also provide some gravity field information source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8408957.stm

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Pakistani air strike kills 10 in tribal area

Pakistani fighter jets have targeted suspected militant hideouts in the Orakzai tribal agency, south-west of Peshawar, killing at least 10 people.

Officials say the dead were militants, but eyewitnesses told the BBC the bombs destroyed the home of a tribal chief, killing three women and four children.

Pakistani troops have been engaged in an major offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, further south.

The army believes many insurgents fled from there to areas such as Orakzai.

A number of air strikes have targeted militant targets in Orakzai in recent weeks.

The UN says more than 40,000 civilians have left their homes in Orakzai and are in need of humanitarian assistance.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8430635.stm

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Fire on Greek cargo ship off Venezuela kills nine crew

The blaze reportedly broke out early on Friday in an engine room of the Aegean Wind and spread upwards.

The vessel, which was carrying iron ore from Brazil to Texas, was about 160km (100 miles) north of Venezuela, near Margarita Island.

Venezuela's navy helped in the rescue. Five injured people were airlifted and taken to hospital on the mainland.

Admiral Carlos Maximo Aniasi, commander of Venezuela's navy, said the blaze had spread upward on the vessel which had a 24-strong crew.

"Nine bodies were found in different compartments of the Greek ship," he told Venezuelan state media.

The bodies belonged to nine sailors - six Filipinos and three Greeks - reported missing earlier in the day.

Two Philippine nationals suffered third-degree burns on their face and hands and three Greek crewmates had less severe burns, said Rafael Lugo, the national commander of Venezuela's Maritime Rescue and Aid service.

The 10 surviving crew members, including a woman, were on the deck, Mr Lugo told Reuters news agency.

The cause of the blaze was unknown and the Aegean Sea would be towed to Margarita, Adm Aniasi added.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8430663.stm

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Brittany Murphy husband says she had been unwell

The husband of US actress Brittany Murphy has told a US TV show his wife was suffering from laryngitis in the days before she died.

An autopsy has been carried out but the cause of death will not be known until the results of toxicology and tissue tests come out in four to six weeks.

"My world was destroyed yesterday," Simon Monjack told Access Hollywood. He also said Murphy had "been tired".

Murphy collapsed at home in Los Angeles and died in hospital on Sunday.

The assistant chief coroner, Ed Winter, confirmed Murphy's family had reported she had been ill in the run-up to her death.

"It appears to be natural," he said.

Shining star

The autopsy found no signs of trauma to the body.

"We went to the scene to see if there was anything that suggests foul play, and there wasn't," said Los Angeles police detective Wendi Berndt.

A family statement said the "loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy. She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star."

It added: "We ask you to respect our privacy at this time."

Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, said: "She was just an absolute doll since she was born.

"Her personality was always outward. Everybody loved her - people that made movies with her, people on a cruise - they all loved her."

Murphy was pronounced dead at 1004 (1804 GMT) on Sunday at a hospital near Beverly Hills.

She had been taken there after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call at the Hollywood Hills home she shared with her husband.

The actress, best known for roles in clueless and 8 Mile, was reported to have been found unconscious in the shower.

'Warm and sweet'

Actor Ashton Kutcher, who played opposite Murphy in 2003's Just Married and later dated her, paid tribute on Twitter: "See you on the other side kid... 2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine.

"My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany's family, her husband, and her amazing mother Sharon," he added.

Monjack said he was moved by Kutcher's message.

"I loved what Ashton wrote on Twitter. It was comforting to me. I couldn't have said it better," he told Access Hollywood.

Alicia Silverstone, who starred with Murphy in high school comedy Clueless, told People magazine: "I loved working with Brittany. She was so talented, so warm, and so sweet.

"I always felt connected to her as we shared a very special experience in our lives together.

"I feel love in my heart for her - and hope she is at peace. This is truly sad."

Murphy left the production of indie film The Caller earlier this month. Her agent said she had quit because of "creative differences".

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8426065.stm

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Pupils 'bypassing school internet security'

Many young people are using 'proxy servers' to get round their schools' internet security systems. The free services offer instant access to banned websites, including online games and social networking. Figures suggest the use of proxies has risen sharply in recent years. Security experts are warning that pupils who log on put themselves at risk of cyber crime.

It sounds like an obscure, techy area of computing that only geeks would know about.

But when we asked pupils in one secondary school classroom who had heard of proxy servers, every hand went up.

These 'secret tunnels' to the internet are a way of life for teenagers across the UK.

As schools employ increasingly sophisticated software to stop them accessing 'non-educational' websites, the proxies offer a quick, easy way to bypass those restrictions.

“It's just a box that says 'type in the website that is blocked'. You type it in and it brings it up,” said a senior pupil, who wanted to remain anonymous.

Web-based proxy servers disguise a user's activity from school monitoring software.

'Cat-and mouse' game

A student will appear to be visiting only one site, that of the proxy itself. Any internet surfing they do after that is effectively invisible.

Ironically, what pupils are usually trying to work-around are other types of proxy servers, commonly used in schools to protect their machines from online threats.

Schools can take action against web-based proxies, by blocking them. However because of the sheer number that exist, it becomes a game of cat-and-mouse.

“When the blocked proxy server you were using got banned, you had another one ready and everyone had at least four that they knew and everyone shared them about,” said one pupil.

Statistics on the use of proxy servers are hard to come-by. One useful measure is the number of them being flagged-up by proxy-blocking systems.

'Security risk'

M86 Security monitors such sites. In 2006 it was tracking 7,111 proxies. By 2009 that had risen to 91,490.

There are fears that the use of proxy servers amongst school pupils may be putting more than their education at risk.

Some can carry viruses, malicious software, and may even be under the control of cyber criminals, according to security experts.

Con Mallon from Symantec carried out a scan on a random selection of free proxies.

“There is a site which is hosting what we call a trojan. It may invite you to install some software onto your machine.

“Once that is installed, it allows the bad guys to come back to your machine at any time... what they would probably then do is install something called a keylogger.

“It will sit there and monitor what you are typing-in. What they are really looking for is passwords and logins.”

Proxy 'problem'

Such information, once harvested, can be sold online.

Amongst our school pupils, the news comes as a surprise: “I didn't have a clue that people could get my information if I was putting it in,” said one girl.

“I kind of had an idea that it stays there. But I didn't know it was that big – that it could log everything,” added her classmate.

The problem of proxies is recognised by most of the bodies responsible for providing schools with internet access.

A spokesman for JANET, which carries data traffic between many local school networks, said: “I would agree that proxy servers to get around security systems is indeed a problem.

“Technical solutions need to be used as one aspect of a wider approach to protecting users, including educating children, teachers, and parents in how to use the web safely.”

BECTA, the government agency that looks after school ICT, said: “...currently there is no single technology or method that can address this issue fully”.

However, it seems newer security systems are helping schools catch up with the proxy users.

Most of the young people interviewed for this article agreed that monitoring systems had made it harder for them to find usable proxies, but said their efforts to get round school security would continue.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_10000000/newsid_10003500/10003579.stm

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Lithuania hosted secret CIA prisons

The CIA used at least two secret detention centres in Lithuania after the 11 September 2001 terror attacks on the US, a Lithuanian inquiry has found.

The report by a Lithuanian parliamentary committee says that in 2005 and 2006 CIA chartered planes were allowed to land in Lithuania.

It says that no Lithuanian officials were allowed near the aircraft, nor were they told who was on board.

At least eight terror suspects were held at one centre, the report says.

The centre, on the outskirts of the capital Vilnius, was formerly a riding school. The suspects were reportedly held there between 2004 and 2005.

In August this year, US media reports claimed that Lithuania, along with Poland and Romania, was the location of a secret CIA interrogation centre.

But the parliamentary report appears to absolve Lithuania's political leaders of responsibility for any human rights violations that may have been committed by the CIA.

It says even the president was unaware of exactly what the US intelligence service was doing.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8426028.stm

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Kangaroo 'plague' follows Australian rains

Farmers in northern Australia say a plague of kangaroos is overrunning their properties.

They have said it is causing tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Recent heavy rainfall in parts of Queensland has prompted large numbers of marsupials to flock to the newly green countryside.

Further south, however, a long-standing drought has forced authorities to suspend the culling of kangaroos in parts of New South Wales.

Extinction puzzle

In outback Queensland, grazier Stephen Tully said his sheep farm had been invaded by thousands of kangaroos.

Recent rains have brought his brown fields back to life. The prospect of a lush meal has proved to be irresistible to mobs of marsupials, which have been munching their way through the vegetation.

"It's grass that we need to feed to our own stock but it's also grass. If that grass goes, environmentally it's terrible. We see dust. When the wind comes up our dust goes to Brisbane. That's the stuff that we want to try and stop," Mr Tully said.

It is not only wet weather that has boosted marsupial numbers but also Russia's suspension of kangaroo meat imports earlier this year because of hygiene concerns.

The decision means fewer animals are being hunted under licence.

The mayor of the Murweh Shire in western Queensland, Mark O'Brien, is keen for the trade to clean up its act and drive out rogue operators.

"It's one of those industries that we describe out here as alternate economic engines that we've been looking for to replace a very quickly declining sheep and wool industry. When we open it up again, the cowboys will find that they won't be able to sell the product," he explained.

While kangaroo populations may have increased sharply in Queensland, officials in New South Wales say a severe drought has caused numbers of two species - eastern and western greys - to fall significantly.

A temporary ban on hunting has been imposed in a 100,000 sq km (38,610 sq miles) area near the town of Griffith.

Animal rights campaigners believe Australia's kangaroos are on the brink of extinction.

They dispute government figures that estimate there are about 25 million of these furry pouched creatures spread across the continent.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8425721.stm

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Thousands trapped in cars overnight due to snow and ice

Thousands of people have been trapped in their cars overnight after snow and ice brought roads to a standstill.

In Basingstoke, 2,000 vehicles ground to a halt leaving about 3,000 people stranded, Hampshire Constabulary said.

Airport runways have been closed and many flights cancelled. But Eurostar has resumed a limited service.

The icy conditions are affecting large parts of England and Wales, although the south east and London have been worst affected.

Five emergency rest centres were set up in the Basingstoke area for those who could not get home.

Thousands of motorists and passengers were also stuck in Berkshire and south Oxfordshire.

Many spent the night in freezing conditions after roads in the counties became gridlocked on Monday afternoon.

South Central Ambulance, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, said there had been a 70% increase in calls.

There were also long delays on the M4, the M3 and the M40, to the north and west of London.

The president of the AA, Edmund King, said the organisation had had its busiest day on Monday in 10 years with its own patrols getting stuck.

He said: "Just trying to get out of Basingstoke onto the ring road was absolutely treacherous - it was like an ice rink. Cars were skidding all over the place.

"My car was skidding and colleagues now are still stuck in Basingstoke - stuck in the office there."

The majority of those stranded in the town were able to move on by 0230 GMT, police said, although some motorists were resting overnight in the rescue centres, set up by Hampshire County Council.

On Monday night one woman told the BBC: "My husband left work in Reading at 1500 GMT and is still to arrive home - it is now 2315 GMT. He has been trapped in traffic for over eight hours and will still have to leave the car and walk the rest of the way home."

'Massive backlog'

There was also widespread disruption to airports across the UK as a result of the ongoing severe weather, with people stranded at the airport or unable to reach the terminals.

Flights were suspended from Luton, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and passengers will continue to face cancellations and delays on Tuesday.

EasyJet flights from Luton are cancelled until 1130 GMT, and Easjet travellers can expect "severe disruption" at Gatwick.

A spokesman for the airline has issued an apology to all those affected by the disruption.

Despite the severe weather in the UK and Europe over the past five days, he added, Easjet had operated more than 80% of its flights, albeit with some delays.

Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, said air passengers should expect cancellations and delays on Tuesday but it was not as bad as predicted.

"Easyjet cancelled 200 flights yesterday, leaving 30,000 people out of position and there could be a similar number today because the planes and the crews are in the wrong places," he said.

He also said Easyjet might, for the first time, operate flights on Christmas Day to help catch up.

All passengers are advised to contact their airline.

The Eurostar train service was preparing to deal with a "massive backlog" as it reopens on Tuesday morning after being closed for three days due to the severe weather in northern France.

The company said it would be concentrating on easing the backlog, rather than selling new tickets.

Eurotunnel said it was managing to clear the backlog of cars and lorries waiting to use its Channel Tunnel car service.

Anyone without a reservation or with a day trip ticket was being advised not to show up as the priority would be to clear those people who were meant to travel over the weekend.

Domestic rail services across the UK were also delayed and buses replaced trains in many areas.

Southeastern trains said it would be operating a Saturday timetable service on mainline, metro and high-speed routes on Tuesday, with a normal weekday service for Thameslink trains run via Blackfriars.

The company said there would be additional high-speed services through the day and a shuttle service between London Bridge and Cannon Street during the morning and evening peak times.

In Scotland, police have advised drivers to take care in the wintry conditions and only make essential journeys.

Freezing temperatures have also affected much of Wales overnight, causing traffic problems and forcing schools to close.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8425718.stm

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Blast outside Peshawar press club kills two

At least two people have been killed after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a club for journalists in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, police say.

The Peshawar Press Club is a well-known landmark in the city and is frequented by many journalists.

The north-western city has seen several bomb blasts over the past few months which have left scores dead.

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence ever since the army began an offensive against the Taliban in Waziristan.

"It was a suicide attack. The bomber wanted to enter the building. The police official at the gate stopped him and he blew himself up," AFP news agency quoted senior police official Karim Khan as saying.

"The guard room outside the gate was badly damaged. Three motorcycles parked inside the compound and one bus on the other side of the road were damaged. Almost all windows of the building were shattered," Mr Khan said.

The dead included a policeman and an accountant of the press club who was at the gate when the explosion occurred.

At least 10 people were injured and taken to hospital.

Peshawar, near the Afghan border, has been targeted repeatedly since Pakistan sent its troops to fight the Taliban in the tribal region of South Waziristan.

On 28 October, at least 100 people died when a huge car bomb ripped through the city's busy Peepal Mandi market.

Hundreds more people have been killed in attacks across the country since the army operation began in the autumn.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8425769.stm

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India survey says Facebook affects productivity

Indian firms are losing productivity because office staff spend too long on social networking sites, a survey says.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) says workers use Orkut, Facebook, Myspace and Linkedin for "romancing" and other purposes.

Office employees questioned in the survey spent on average an hour a day on sites like Facebook, leading to a loss in productivity of nearly 12.5%.

The findings were based on responses from nearly 4,000 corporate employees.

'Dangerous'

"Close to 12.5% of productivity of human resource in corporate sector is misappropriated each day since a vast majority of them while away their time accessing social networking sites during the office hours," according to the findings of Assocham's Social Development Foundation survey.

"As a matter of fact, [the] growing use of browsing sites can be dangerous for overall productivity and IT companies have already installed software to restrict its use," Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said.

The survey questioned 4,000 employees between the ages of 21 and 60 in Delhi, Bangalore, Madras (Chennai), Cochin, Indore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai (Bombay), Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow and Kanpur.

The survey found that 77% of workers who had Orkut accounts used them during work hours.

Nearly half of office employees accessed Facebook during work time.

Moreover, four in every 10 workers built their entire Orkut or Facebook profile at work, the survey found.

Some 83% saw nothing wrong in surfing at work during office hours.

According to the survey, 19% of companies allow use of social networking sites only for business purposes, while 16% allow limited personal use.

Only 40% of the employees interviewed said that their companies allowed staff full access to social networking sites.

The survey also says that 84% of respondents in India's major cities show signs of internet addiction - they do not take breaks at appropriate times, they spend more than a "normal" amount of time online, and can get irritable if they are interrupted while surfing.

In September, Portsmouth City Council in southern England banned staff from accessing Facebook on its computers after it was revealed they spent on average 400 hours on the site every month.

The move was expected to stop the "waste of public cash".

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8423888.stm

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Cold snap wreaks havoc across Europe

Snowstorms and sub-zero temperatures have killed at least 30 people across Europe as well as severely disrupting air, rail and road transport.

At least 29 people froze to death in Poland as temperatures fell far below freezing, while in southern Germany a figure of -33C (-27F) was recorded.

Moscow said it was deploying 9,000 snow ploughs to clear the city's streets.

Flights have been cancelled and Eurostar passenger trains are still not running after electrical failures.

More than 55,000 travellers had journeys cancelled after six trains broke down, in what Eurostar said was unprecedented winter weather in France.

The company hopes to announce on Monday evening when services between England, France and Belgium would resume.

Second wave of snowstorms

In Poland, police appealed for people to help if they came across homeless or drunk people lying outside as temperatures dropped towards -20C in some areas. Most of those who froze to death over the weekend were homeless.

Meanwhile, one restaurant owner offered tens of thousands of homeless people a hot meal in Krakow's main square.

"The food is not the only important thing," restaurateur Janusz Kosciuszko was quoted as telling Euronews.

"What is also important is that these people know that someone is thinking about them."

Elsewhere in Europe, two people were reported dead in Austria's southern province of Styria as they tried to get home after nights out.

In France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, airport operators struggled to clear runways amid thick snowfall, with major disruption to flight patterns.

In France, 40% of flights out of Paris's Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports were cancelled as a second wave of snowstorms hit the country's north.

Charles de Gaulle warned as many as one in five flights were likely to be cancelled on Monday.

Germany's third largest airport - in Duesseldorf - was also closed because of Sunday's heavy snow, authorities said.

In Belgium, the three biggest airports - Brussels, Charleroi and Liege - were completely shut. Severe delays and cancellations were reported at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

In Britain, officials at Manchester Airport - the busiest outside the London area - suspended flights for 90 minutes as staff moved snow and de-iced a runway.

The weather also affected rail travel across northern Europe, with Austrian trains brought to a standstill because of frozen points.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8423442.stm

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Brittany Murphy's family pay tribute to 'shining star'

The family of US actress Brittany Murphy have paid tribute to their "shining star" after she died at the age of 32.

Murphy, who starred in Clueless and 8 Mile, collapsed at home in Los Angeles and was pronounced dead in hospital.

The Reuters news agency is reporting that she died of a cardiac arrest.

A family statement said the "loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy. She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star."

It added: "We ask you to respect our privacy at this time."

Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, said: "She was just an absolute doll since she was born.

"Her personality was always outward. Everybody loved her - people that made movies with her, people on a cruise - they all loved her."

Unconscious

Murphy was pronounced dead at 1004 (1804 GMT) on Sunday at a hospital near Beverly Hills.

She had been taken there after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call at the Hollywood Hills home she shared with her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack.

She is reported to have been found unconscious in the shower.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said the authorities were looking into her medical history.

"It appears to be natural," he added.

The official cause of death may not be determined for some time as toxicology tests are required.

Los Angeles police have opened an investigation into the death.

'An absolute doll'

A neighbour, Clare Staples, said she had seen firefighters working to resuscitate the actress on Sunday morning, the Associated Press reports.

The actress's husband, wearing pyjama bottoms and no shoes, appeared "dazed" as the firefighters tried to save her, Ms Staples added.

Actor Ashton Kutcher, who played opposite Murphy in 2003's Just Married and later dated her, paid tribute on Twitter: "See you on the other side kid... 2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine.

"My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany's family, her husband, and her amazing mother Sharon," he added.

Alicia Silverstone, who starred with Murphy in high school comedy Clueless, told People magazine: "I loved working with Brittany. She was so talented, so warm, and so sweet.

"I always felt connected to her as we shared a very special experience in our lives together.

"I feel love in my heart for her - and hope she is at peace. This is truly sad."

Murphy left the production of indie film The Caller earlier this month. Her agent said she had quit because of "creative differences".

Going to California

Born in Atlanta, Murphy grew up in New Jersey but moved to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue acting.

"When I asked my mom to move to California, she sold everything and moved out here for me," Murphy once said.

"I was really grateful to have grown up in an environment that was conducive to creating and didn't stifle any of that."

She started her career with recurring roles in TV series including Blossom, Party of Five and Sister, Sister, but came to attention as Tai Frasier - the "tragically unhip" slacker given a makeover by Alicia Silverstone's character, Cher.

Her most acclaimed role came opposite rapper Eminem in his biopic 8 Mile.

Speaking to the BBC about that film, she said: "What I love is the way it explores the willingness to get out of where you are, and the fact that you actually can make it, no matter what."

Murphy's other movie appearances included Girl, Interrupted, Sin City and Riding In Cars With Boys.

Her on-screen roles declined in recent years but Murphy voiced characters for the hit US television series King of the Hill and animated movie Happy Feet.

She is due to appear in Sylvester Stallone's film, The Expendables, set for release next year.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8424022.stm

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