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Negar Khan deported for visa violation

     Mumbai: Norwegian model Negar Khan, who has acted in some films and the popular remix `Chadti Jawani`, was deported today for visa violation, a senior police official said today. "The Iran-born Khan was sent back to Norway on the first available flight," Additional Commissioner of Police Bipin Bihari told report here. "She was on a visitor`s visa but she has been engaged in commercial ventures," Bihari said adding, the model was issued notices last year, in view of which she had gone back to Norway, but returned this year. Khan has been visiting the country for the past three-four years and has starred in some dance sequences in films including `Shaadi ka Laddoo`.

Stop sending unsolicited calls, SC to mobile operators (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: If the Supreme Court gets its act together, very soon cell phone subscribers will not receive any unsolicited calls on their mobile. In a judgement today, the SC issued notices to the Centre, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and cellular operators to stop a number of unsolicited calls made by business ventures to mobile phone subscribers. The notice was issued on a PIL seeking enactment of a law to stop number of unsolicited calls. In the PIL, the petitioner has requested the court to issue a direction to respondents to check, regulate and stop the "endemic" invasion of privacy of the subscribers of mobile telephone services at all times and hours by such unsolicited calls.

India begins AIDS vaccine trial on humans (Go To Top)

     New Delhi/Pune: India, home to the world's second- largest HIV population after South Africa, began its first ever human trials of a new vaccine against the deadly virus on Monday. A vaccine, the best hope for the developing world where drugs remain out of reach for millions, is considered the Holy Grail in the battle against the AIDS epidemic, but efforts to find one have been hampered by HIV's uncanny ability to mutate. Human trials of vaccines against different strains of the virus are already being conducted in the United States, Europe, Africa and South America. "We have come to stage today, 10 minutes we are going to start the trial phase I for AAV vaccine. Mid this year we will also start the clinical trial for MVA vaccine in Chennai (Madras) where facilities are going to be tuned up," said Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss. India has more than 5.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS and experts say the number could quadruple by 2010. The World Bank has warned the disease would become the single largest cause of death in the world's second-most populous country unless there is progress on prevention.

      The first phase of human trials in India is being conducted on 34 adult volunteers at the government-run National AIDS Research Institute in Pune along with the International Aids Vaccine Initiative, health department officials said. "This process will continue for two to three weeks and after that the whole procedure will end. For the first dose, there are 10 volunteers. Today by the end of the day, three people will have volunteered for the vaccine programme," said Sanjay Mehendale, chief investigating officer of the vaccine project. The trial is aimed at fighting the strain C, the subtype most commonly found in the country. Health officials said the first phase of trials would take about two years and it would be at least eight to 10 years before a vaccine could finally be developed. India's HIV problem has assumed serious proportions despite health programmes to halt its spread. Over the years, HIV/AIDS has moved beyond traditionally high-risk groups such as homosexuals, commercial sex workers and drug users. The virus is spreading into families, infecting mothers and children, and many people do not even know they are infected because of the widespread lack of awareness about the disease. Experts say the most alarming trend is the spread of the disease to villages, with rural India accounting for 59 percent of infections compared with 41 percent in cities.