New Delhi, -Breaking into a group of
officials and journalists, a youth today attacked Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar after a public event here shouting
slogans against corruption and price rise, an action that was
roundly condemned by political parties.
Pawar, who went to a literary function at a
public auditorium on Parliament Street, was caught unawares
when he was slapped by Harvinder Singh, a local transporter in
his thirties who had assaulted former Telecom Minister Sukh
Ram outside a court on Saturday after he was sentenced in a
corruption case.
The NCP veteran, who has very little security, lost his
balance for a moment but regained composure after the assault,
moved towards the exit of the auditorium and got into his
waiting car.
Private security guards immediately overpowered the youth
who was shouting "he is corrupt" and an official landed some
blows on Singh.
"I came planned to the event to slap the minister," Singh
told reporters who had gone to cover the literary function.
"All of them are corrupt," he shouted when he was removed
from security and policemen.
Youth said things could have
been worse but for the observance of martyrdom day of Guru
Tegh Bahadur today.
Pawar himself sought to play down the incident saying he
was not sure of what the intentions of the attacker could be
and left it to police to handle the issue.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Pawar after the
incident and condemned the attack. Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee also said that the attack on Pawar was "totally
condemnable".
Protests in Maharashtra after attack on Pawar
Mumbai,-The attack on Union Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar in Delhi today sparked protests in his
home state Maharashtra and invited strong condemnation from
political parties.
`Rasta roko' protests were held in Solapur and Nasik to
condemn the attack on Pawar, who was slapped by a youth at a
public function claiming he was angry with corruption and
price rise.
NCP Minister Laxman Dhoble led the rasta roko at
Mohol in Solapur district. The protesters shouted slogans,
condemning the attack.
NCP workers blocked vehicular traffic at Trimbak Road and
Kalwan in Nashik district to condemn the attack on their
party chief.
In adjoining Navi Mumbai, the agro produce market was
closed in protest. In Baramati, Pawar's native place in Pune
district, traders observed spontaneous bandh.
Political parties were quick to denounce the assault.
Maharashtra BJP President Sudhir Mungantiwar condmed
the attack, describing it as cowardly.
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Eknath
Khadse said, "In a democracy, such attacks are condemnable.
One can protest using non-violent means but such an attack
cannot be justified."
Home Minister and NCP leader R R Patil said Pawar's
security needs to be stepped up in the aftermath of the
incident.
Pawar, who went to attend a literary function
at a public auditorium on Parliament Street, was slapped by
Harvinder Singh, a transporter in his thirties who had also
assaulted former Telecom Minister Sukhram outside Rohini Court
on Saturday after he was sentenced in a corruption case.
The NCP workers also held protests at Mulund and Worli
areas of Mumbai.
Some party workers were taken into custody in suburban
Mulund for trying to disturb law and order, said a police
official.
Tight security is being maintained across Mumbai
following the incident, said police.
Fish can halve wheezing in kids - Study
London,-Babies who eat fish before they turn
nine months are 50 per cent less likely to suffer from
breathing problems, a new study has found.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden
found that infants who were fed fish before they complete nine
months were half as likely to report wheezing later in life
compared to those who weren't.
It is hoped the findings, to be published in the Acta
Paediatrica journal, will encourage parents to reassess their
children's eating habits, the researchers said.
"Recurrent wheeze is a very common clinical problem in
preschool children and there is a need for better medical
treatment and improved understanding of the underlying
mechanisms," said Dr Emma Goksor, who led the study.
"The aim of our study was to identify both important risk
factors and protective factors for the disease," Dr Goksor was
quoted as saying by the Newspaper.
For their study, the researcher looked at 4,171 randomly
selected families and assessed each child's diet along with
their health at six months, 12 months and four-and-half years.
At the final checkup one in five had experienced at least
one episode of childhood wheezing and one in 20 had recurring
wheezing. Of those, more than half were diagnosed with asthma.
But those who had been fed fish before nine months --
usually white fish, salmon or flat fish,were half as likely
to report wheezing, the researchers said.
Fish is a good source of protein, vitamins and rich in
omega-3 fatty acids that can benefit the heart. Currently,
adults are recommended to include at least two portions of
fish in their diet a weak.
In 2009 another team of Swedish researchers discovered
that babies whose mothers consumed fish oil during pregnancy
were 16 per cent less likely to develop eczema and a 13 per
cent less likely to develop food allergies.
Dreaming helps ease bad memories : Study
-Want to get rid of those traumatic
experiences? Well, go to sleep and start dreaming, it can
help you deal with bad memories, scientists say
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley,
found that our brains process emotional experiences during
dreams, which is the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase of sleep,
and this takes the painful edge off difficult memories.
"During REM sleep, memories are being reactivated, put in
perspective and connected and integrated, but in a state where
stress neurochemicals are beneficially suppressed," study
author Els van der Helm was quoted as saying by 'Daily Mail'.
For their study, the researchers recruited 35 healthy
young adults and divided them into two groups. Each of them
was showed about 150 emotional images twice in 24 hours while
an MRI scanner measured their brain activity.
Half of the participants viewed the images in the morning
and again in the evening, staying awake between the two
viewings, while the other half saw the images in the evening
and again the next morning after a full night of sleep.
Those who slept in between image viewings reported a
significant decrease in their emotional reaction to the
images, the researchers said.
MRI scans, they said, showed sleep caused a dramatic
reduction in reactivity in the amygdala -- a part of the brain
that processes emotions. This allowed the brain's "rational"
prefrontal cortex to regain control of the participants'
emotional reactions, the researchers said.
In addition, overnight recordings of the participant's
electrical brain activity showed levels of stress
neurochemicals reduced during sleep.
Co-author Professor Matthew Walker, said: "The dream
stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition,
provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm
that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional
experiences."
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