Research undertaken by the Universities of Reading, Cardiff and Bristol has found that drinking milk can lessen the chances of dying from illnesses such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke by up to 15-20%.

In recent times milk has often been portrayed by the media as an unhealthy food.

A Kuwaiti company partly owned by the emirate's sovereign wealth fund is preparing to join other Gulf states in buying up agricultural land in Asia, part of a global land grab to ensure food security.

Unlike the governments and corporations in the Gulf that have been acquiring vast tracts of arable land, mainly in poor countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, to produce food for their own people, the Kuwait China Investment Co. wants to invest on a purely commercial basis, selling its produce to anyone who can pay for it.

Brussels, July 22 (DPA) The European Union is to ban the sale of inefficient TVs, fridges and electric motors as early as next July in a bid to save energy and fight global warming, the EU’s executive said Wednesday.

The EU is the world’s largest single market, making the new rules crucial for technology producers around the world.

In 2003, researchers at a federal agency proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to assess the safety risk posed by cellphone use behind the wheel.

They sought the study based on evidence that such multitasking was a serious and growing threat on America’s roadways.

JALANDHAR: In a major blow to Sikhs in Europe, the European Court of Human Rights has upheld a French ban on turbans by dismissing the first petition
filed against it. France had passed a law in 2004, prohibiting religious symbols in schools.

SHORTLY after Steven Odnoha lost his job at Intel, he drove three days from Rio Rancho, N.M., to the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pa. For months, Mr. Odnoha had been wondering how he could get the time off to join a yearlong meditation program at the nonprofit yoga retreat. His pink slip, in September 2007, provided the answer.

(Bihar, India) Some years ago it was discovered that owners of Vanaspathi oils were putting cow and pig lard into the oil. There was a furor which died down after a few months and no one knows till today what happened to the Jains who owned the enterprise – but I have little doubt that they got off and a few bureaucrats and policemen are richer.

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Gravely ill with heart disease, tethered to an oxygen tank, her feet swollen and her appetite gone, Sister Dorothy Quinn, 87, readied herself to die in the nursing wing of the Sisters of St. Joseph convent where she has been a member since she was a teenager.

She was surrounded by friends and colleagues of nearly seven decades. Some had been with her in college, others fellow teachers in Alabama at the time of the Selma march, more from her years as a home health aide and spiritual counselor to elderly shut-ins.

Think of the zeal many Americans display toward the most inane and inconsequential aspects of their lives.

Take the Macintosh, a brand name that legions of computer users believe offers superior functionality compared to your run-of-the mill PC. A product so excellent, in fact, that it causes advocates to stick the company logo on their cars, proselytize the non-believer and dismiss anyone who fails to submit to its awesomeness as a fool.

Eating vegetables from the cabbage family can reduce the risk of lung cancer for people with a certain genetic make-up, scientists say.

Such cruciferous vegetables had already been linked to reduced rates of lung cancer, but it had not been clear why.

(CNN) -- A Turkish television show is offering contestants what it claims is the "biggest prize ever" -- the chance for atheists to convert to one of the world's major religions.

The show, called "Tovbekarlar Yarisiyor," or "Penitents Compete," features a Muslim imam, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and a Buddhist monk attempting to persuade 10 atheists of the merits of their religion, according to CNN Turk.

Udupi, Jun 29: The Indian epics are replete with stories about Lord Vishnu's love for the double-leafed twigs of the holy basil plant and how He can be appeased by offering the holy basil twigs coupled with the chanting of hymns. Lord Vishnu's incarnations too exhibited His love for this plant.

WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy.

The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which passed despite deep divisions among Democrats, could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

One animal in NSW [New South Wales, Australia] is killed every hour during testing for new medicines and cosmetic products.

The Daily Telegraph has revealed 8813 animals - including birds, guinea pigs and endangered marsupials - were killed during 12 months of trials.

Many of us harbor the “make my day” fantasy, emblazoned into the American psyche by Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. Americans get mad — and get even. However, when people pursue such satisfaction they run the risk of triggering someone else’s thirst for revenge, and so begins a recurring, sometimes escalating, cycle.

Lord Krishna is portrayed in multiple images as the naughty child, divine lover and eternal philosopher. And television producers and filmmakers are cashing in on his aura to woo audiences.

While TV shows like Jai Shri Krishna and the latest animated show Little Krishna have been entertaining viewers, the big screen has also been abuzz with animated movies like Bal Krishna and Krishna: Aayo Natkhat Nandlal in recent times.

The Obama Administration continues to insist, all Congressional evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, that Uncle Sam has no interest in running the U.S. auto industry. About the tobacco industry there is no such Washington scruple on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

President Obama is poised to sign a bill passed by Congress this week that authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products for the first time.

How much faith should the faithless put in Barack Obama?

The president said in his inaugural address that the United States is “a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers.” And in his commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, he said that the Golden Rule binds “people of all faiths and no faith together.”

MATHURA: At a time when Indian students are becoming targets of racial attacks in Australia, a girl from Down Under tied the knot with an Assamese youth in Vrindaban.

Amidst Vedic hymns, the duo got married according to the Hindu rituals at an ashram. The bride's parents were present during the marriage ceremony that took place on Wednesday.

Indian beef production is predicted to increase by 5% in 2009.

This is reported to be due to strong export demand and rising domestic consumption (ZMP and Brazilian Meat Monitor).

According to reports, production of mainly buffalo meat is set to rise to approximately 2.7 million tonnes. Around a third of production (850,000 tonnes) is predicted to be exported, mainly to South East Asia and the Gulf states.