Malala Yousufzai discharged from UK hospital

LONDON: Almost four months since she was shot in the head, Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai has been released from a UK hospital where she was being treated after being attacked by the Taliban. Yusufzai had made a good recovery from a five-hour operation she underwent on her skull and ear at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Medical staff said she was well enough to be discharged as an in-patient following the surgery last weekend, Sky News reported. The hospital said the 15-year-old will now continue her rehabilitation at her family's temporary home in Birmingham and will visit occasionally for outpatient appointments. It said her family had asked for the media to respect their privacy and dignity at this time. Malala was shot in Pakistan's conservative Swat Valley on October 9 and was air-lifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on October 15 for further specialist treatment. She received bullet wounds just above her left eye. Malala had earlier this month undergone two successful operations to attach a titanium plate and cochlear implant. The procedures carried out on her included Titanium cranioplasty which is repairing of the missing area of skull with a titanium plate that has been moulded to accurately replicate the skull. The other procedure was the Cochlear implant which is fitting a small, complex electronic device that provides a sense of sound to someone who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.

Malala Yousufzai discharged from UK hospital

LONDON: Almost four months since she was shot in the head, Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai has been released from a UK hospital where she was being treated after being attacked by the Taliban. Yusufzai had made a good recovery from a five-hour operation she underwent on her skull and ear at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Medical staff said she was well enough to be discharged as an in-patient following the surgery last weekend, Sky News reported. The hospital said the 15-year-old will now continue her rehabilitation at her family's temporary home in Birmingham and will visit occasionally for outpatient appointments. It said her family had asked for the media to respect their privacy and dignity at this time. Malala was shot in Pakistan's conservative Swat Valley on October 9 and was air-lifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on October 15 for further specialist treatment. She received bullet wounds just above her left eye. Malala had earlier this month undergone two successful operations to attach a titanium plate and cochlear implant. The procedures carried out on her included Titanium cranioplasty which is repairing of the missing area of skull with a titanium plate that has been moulded to accurately replicate the skull. The other procedure was the Cochlear implant which is fitting a small, complex electronic device that provides a sense of sound to someone who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.

Nine police officers shot dead in Mexico

Mexico City: Gunmen killed nine state police officers and wounded a tenth law enforcement agent in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, prosecutors said.

The officers were ambushed in the city of Apaxtla, the Guerrero state Attorney General's Office said.

The state police officers were on a routine patrol when the gunmen opened fire on them on the road that leads to the town of Tepoxtepec, the AG's office said in a statement.

Federal, state and municipal police responded to the shooting, sealed off the area and removed the bodies from the crime scene, the AG's office said.

The officers killed in the ambush were participating in 'Operation Safe Guerrero', which was launched in 2011 with federal government support in an effort to reduce the soaring crime rate in the state, the Novedades de Acapulco newspaper reported.

The state police officers were attacked around 9.30 p.m. Tuesday by about 30 armed civilians, who engaged them in a shootout that lasted about 20 minutes, the newspaper said, citing official sources.

The gunmen fled the scene in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles and their whereabouts is not known, Novedades de Acapulco said.

The surviving officers, whose numbers have not been released, radioed for help and several units headed to the scene from Chilpancingo, the state capital. 

Nine police officers shot dead in Mexico

Mexico City: Gunmen killed nine state police officers and wounded a tenth law enforcement agent in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, prosecutors said.

The officers were ambushed in the city of Apaxtla, the Guerrero state Attorney General's Office said.

The state police officers were on a routine patrol when the gunmen opened fire on them on the road that leads to the town of Tepoxtepec, the AG's office said in a statement.

Federal, state and municipal police responded to the shooting, sealed off the area and removed the bodies from the crime scene, the AG's office said.

The officers killed in the ambush were participating in 'Operation Safe Guerrero', which was launched in 2011 with federal government support in an effort to reduce the soaring crime rate in the state, the Novedades de Acapulco newspaper reported.

The state police officers were attacked around 9.30 p.m. Tuesday by about 30 armed civilians, who engaged them in a shootout that lasted about 20 minutes, the newspaper said, citing official sources.

The gunmen fled the scene in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles and their whereabouts is not known, Novedades de Acapulco said.

The surviving officers, whose numbers have not been released, radioed for help and several units headed to the scene from Chilpancingo, the state capital. 

Hafiz Saeed lives in the open in Pakistan: NY Times

Washington: Despite a $10 million US bounty on his head, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, whose group attacked Mumbai in 2008, lives openly in Pakistan, the New York Times said Thursday.

'I move about like an ordinary person - that's my style,' Saeed told the Times in an interview at his home in Lahore.

'My fate is in the hands of God, not America,' he was quoted as saying by the influential US daily.

'Saeed's very public life seems more than just an act of mocking defiance against the Obama administration and its bounty,' the Times said citing unnamed analysts.

At his Lahore compound - a fortified house, office and mosque - Saeed is shielded not only by his supporters wielding Kalashnikovs outside his door, but also by the Pakistani state, the Times said.

Saeed has over the past year addressed large public meetings and appeared on prime-time television, and now even gives interviews to Western news media outlets he previously eschewed.

'The militant struggle helped grab the world's attention,' he told the Times. 'But now the political movement is stronger, and it should be at the forefront of the struggle.'

Pakistan's generals insist they have abandoned their dalliance with jehadi proxy groups, the daily said. 'But for all that, there is ample evidence that parts of the military remain wedded to jehadi proxies.

'And Saeed's freedom to roam around Lahore - and, indeed, across Pakistan - suggests some generals still believe the 'good' jehadis are worth having around,' it said

Western intelligence officials cited by the Times said Lashkar's training camps in northern Pakistan have not been shut down.

One of those camps was the training ground of David Headley, a Pakistani-American citizen recently sentenced to 35 years in jail by a Chicago court for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attack.

Hafiz Saeed lives in the open in Pakistan: NY Times

Washington: Despite a $10 million US bounty on his head, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, whose group attacked Mumbai in 2008, lives openly in Pakistan, the New York Times said Thursday.

'I move about like an ordinary person - that's my style,' Saeed told the Times in an interview at his home in Lahore.

'My fate is in the hands of God, not America,' he was quoted as saying by the influential US daily.

'Saeed's very public life seems more than just an act of mocking defiance against the Obama administration and its bounty,' the Times said citing unnamed analysts.

At his Lahore compound - a fortified house, office and mosque - Saeed is shielded not only by his supporters wielding Kalashnikovs outside his door, but also by the Pakistani state, the Times said.

Saeed has over the past year addressed large public meetings and appeared on prime-time television, and now even gives interviews to Western news media outlets he previously eschewed.

'The militant struggle helped grab the world's attention,' he told the Times. 'But now the political movement is stronger, and it should be at the forefront of the struggle.'

Pakistan's generals insist they have abandoned their dalliance with jehadi proxy groups, the daily said. 'But for all that, there is ample evidence that parts of the military remain wedded to jehadi proxies.

'And Saeed's freedom to roam around Lahore - and, indeed, across Pakistan - suggests some generals still believe the 'good' jehadis are worth having around,' it said

Western intelligence officials cited by the Times said Lashkar's training camps in northern Pakistan have not been shut down.

One of those camps was the training ground of David Headley, a Pakistani-American citizen recently sentenced to 35 years in jail by a Chicago court for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attack.

Eat healthy to sleep better

Washington:People who eat a large variety of food have the healthiest sleep pattern, say American scientists.

Now, a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows for the first time that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration.

'Overall, people who sleep seven to eight hours each night differ in terms of their diet, compared to people who sleep less or more. We also found that short and long sleep are associated with lower food variety,' said Dr. Grandner of the research team, Science Daily reported.

According to the study published in the online journal Appetite (ahead-of-print) the team found that very short sleep was associated with less intake of tap water, lycopene (found in red-and orange-coloured foods), and total carbohydrates whereas short sleep was associated with less vitamin C, tap water, selenium (found in nuts, meat and shellfish), and more lutein/zeaxanthin (found in green, leafy vegetables).

Long sleep was associated with less intake of theobromine (found in chocolate and tea), dodecanoic acid (a saturated fat), choline (found in eggs and fatty meats), total carbohydrates, and more alcohol.

Eat healthy to sleep better

Washington:People who eat a large variety of food have the healthiest sleep pattern, say American scientists.

Now, a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows for the first time that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration.

'Overall, people who sleep seven to eight hours each night differ in terms of their diet, compared to people who sleep less or more. We also found that short and long sleep are associated with lower food variety,' said Dr. Grandner of the research team, Science Daily reported.

According to the study published in the online journal Appetite (ahead-of-print) the team found that very short sleep was associated with less intake of tap water, lycopene (found in red-and orange-coloured foods), and total carbohydrates whereas short sleep was associated with less vitamin C, tap water, selenium (found in nuts, meat and shellfish), and more lutein/zeaxanthin (found in green, leafy vegetables).

Long sleep was associated with less intake of theobromine (found in chocolate and tea), dodecanoic acid (a saturated fat), choline (found in eggs and fatty meats), total carbohydrates, and more alcohol.

Three dead as under-construction bridge collapses in Mumbai

  MUMBAI: Three persons were killed late Wednesday night while several others injured after a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed near the international airport here, officials said.

The injured were admitted to Cooper Hospital and Desai Hospital, they said.

Eight fire tenders and four ambulances have been rushed to the spot and rescue operations are underway, they said.

The officials said that those trapped beneath the debris are mostly workers.

The reason behind the collapse was being probed, they said.

   

Three dead as under-construction bridge collapses in Mumbai

  MUMBAI: Three persons were killed late Wednesday night while several others injured after a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed near the international airport here, officials said.

The injured were admitted to Cooper Hospital and Desai Hospital, they said.

Eight fire tenders and four ambulances have been rushed to the spot and rescue operations are underway, they said.

The officials said that those trapped beneath the debris are mostly workers.

The reason behind the collapse was being probed, they said.