The Hindu : New Delhi News : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 20, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Briefly

Caution for smokers

NEW DELHI: Cancer-causing chemicals or carcinogens have been found in urine samples of nearly half the infants born of parents who smoke, according to research conducted by a professor at the University of Minnesota.

Commenting on the research finding, Heart Care Foundation of India president K.K. Aggarwal said here on Friday that the study conducted by Stephen S. Hecht revealed detectable levels of a lung carcinogen specific to tobacco that came from second-hand cigarette smoke in the urine of nearly half of the infants. Exposure to smoke increases respiratory problems and middle-ear infections in infants, Dr. Aggarwal said, suggesting that parents should avoid smoking around their infants.

Call for a cyber security system

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallamraju said on Thursday that India needs a national cyber security response system to combat growing cyber crimes.

Inaugurating a seminar on "Promoting Global Cyber Security" organised by the Institute of Engineers India here, he said the system would serve as a platform for State Governments, public sector companies, corporates and individuals to exchange ideas and skills to fight these constantly evolving threats due to globalisation.

Rally against child labour

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Chapter of Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) held a rally at Jantar Mantar here earlier this week demanding changes in child labour laws. Several child labourers and social activists participated in the rally and demanded that the State guarantee the right to education to all children and allocate adequate finances accordingly. Stating that children are not supposed to perform repetitive work for long hours, CACL also called for an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit children up to the age of 18 from working in any sector.

Award presented

NEW DELHI: The Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu has presented R. Venkatakrishnan with the L.V. Prasad Endowment Award for "Best Editor". The award is given to one student at the Institute for the best performance in academics and projects.

Mr. Venkatakrishnan is a gold medallist in film technology and television production from Chennai. He is currently teaching video editing in television production at the Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication.

Chain snatchers held

NEW DELHI: Three persons allegedly involved in chain snatching have been arrested by the West Delhi police. At their instance, the police claim to have recovered three gold chains and seized two stolen motorcycles which were being used by them.

The police said the accused, Vishal Sharma, Amit Seth and Jitender Kapoor, were arrested at Nangloi on Wednesday.

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