Daily Times India

Gaza, March 20 (DPA) Israeli F16 warplanes Friday night carried out two successive airstrikes on southern Gaza Strip, wounding at least 10 people, in response to earlier rocket attacks on southern Israel, witnesses and medics said.

The witnesses said Israeli warplanes targeted the inoperative Gaza airport east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. After a short while, Israeli warplanes struck two smuggling tunnels under the Gaza Strip-Egypt borders.

Medics at Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah town said that 10 Palestinians were injured in the second airstrike that targeted the two tunnels. Three were seriously injured, they said.

Gaza airport was built in 1999 with German and Spanish donations as well as loans from Arab Bank in Egypt. However, the airport became inoperative after the Palestinian Intifada, or Uprising, erupted against Israel in September 2000.

Since then, Israeli warplanes and tanks destroyed most of the airport buildings as well as the runway, mainly during last winter’s 22-day military offensive by Israel against the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Friday in the predawn hours, Israeli planes carried out six successive airstrikes on different targets in the Gaza Strip, including a metal workshop in Gaza City and smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza Strip.

The Palestinians have dug thousands of tunnels under the borders between Gaza Strip and Egypt, used for smuggling after Israel tightened the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The blockade was tightened after Hamas seized control of the impoverished enclave by force in June 2007 and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The intensive Israeli airstrikes on the enclave early Friday and Friday night came after radical pro-Al Qaeda militants fired a rocket at southern Israel Thursday, which killed a Thai worker near the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

London, March 20 (IANS) Australian actress Toni Collette is glad her acting career is not based on her normal looks because she prefers to play “rich and complex” roles.

The 37-year-old who has played quirky roles such as Sheryl Hoover in “Little Miss Sunshine” and Muriel Heslop in “Muriel’s Wedding” prefers meatier roles based on her ability as an actress rather than vapid roles which are given to beautiful female stars, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“My career has never been based on how I look, and I don’t want it to be. I like my work, like my life, to be much deeper than that – that’s something I’ve managed to escape. I think it’s a dangerous pressure,” she said.

“I would rather play somebody complex and rich and real than some feckless handbag,” she added.

London, March 20 (IANS) Former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston has revealed it is her “dream” to settle down and start a family with a “great man”.

The 41-year-old actress who is rumoured to be dating her “The Bounty Hunter” co-star Gerard Butler has admitted her main goal in life now is to settle down and become a mother and is looking for an eligible man, reports gossipblender.com.

“I’ve had some wonderful experiences. I hope I’ve reached a point where I’m ready to enjoy being with a great man and having a family together. That’s always been my dream,” she said.

Aniston has dated several famous guys since she split from her ex-husband Brad Pitt in 2005, including John Mayer, Vince Vaughn and Paul Sculfor.

London, March 20 (IANS) Hollywood actress Kristen Stewart who took up the offer to play Joan Jett in “The Runaways” had to face difficulty during singing in the movie.

The 19-year-old actress knew she wanted the role of rocker Joan in the movie, but had problems with the singing aspect of the film, reported contactmusic.com

“I said that I wanted to do it as soon as someone said, ‘There’s a Joan Jett movie, and they want you to play her.’

“The most difficult thing was the performances, because I’m not a performer. The singing stuff, you learn so much about yourself. I don’t know how to be more specific about it,” she said.

London, March 20 (IANS) In a novel study, Oxford scientists have developed a gel that may soon heal the misery of cleft palates in kids.

Although they can be corrected through surgery, those most severely affected can suffer problems with their speech and appearance for years to come.

According to researcher David Bucknall, the gel is “significantly better than anything we can do now”.

The gel is similar to the one used in soft contact lenses. It slowly absorbs water, swelling to 10 times its original size, reports dailymail.co.uk.

The researchers plan to insert small discs of the gel under the skin, close to the cleft, which expand as they take in water from the body and new skin grows over them. The discs are removed after six or eight weeks and the fresh skin used to stitch up the cleft.

The researchers hope the technique could be in use by 2013.

Los Angeles, March 20 (DPA) The stripper and tattoo model linked to this week’s split between Oscar winner Sandra Bullock and her husband posed for pictures in Nazi regalia and had racist symbols inked on her legs, the celebrity website TMZ.com reported Friday.

The website published photos of Michelle “Bombshell” McGee sporting a swastika armband and Nazi hat and said that the letters W and P were tattooed on her legs, which the model claimed stood for White Power.

The new pictures surfaced a day after Bullock’s husband Jesse James apologized publicly for the alleged affair. Reports also said that McGee had been paid $30,000 by In Touch magazine for divulging the details of her affair with James, who became a reality TV star thanks to his business of customising motorcycles.

McGee’s claims prompted Bullock to cancel plans to attend the London premiere of her hit film The Blind Side and also to leave the family home, according to People magazine.

In a statement to People.com, James, 40, insisted that the “vast majority of allegations reported are untrue and unfounded”.

But he went on to accept responsibility for the imbroglio.

“There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me. It’s because of my poor judgment that I deserve everything bad that is coming my way,” he said.

“This has caused my wife and kids pain and embarrassment beyond comprehension and I am extremely saddened to have brought this on them. I am truly very sorry for the grief I have caused them. I hope one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

The marital crisis came less than two weeks after Bullock won a best actress Oscar for The Blind Side. In her winning speech, she lavished praise on her husband. Ironically it was while she was away filming that the alleged affair took place.

The incident prompted tabloids to report about an “Oscar curse” that befalls winners of the best actress prize. Previous winners who split from their partners within a year of their victories include Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts and – after her 2009 win – Kate Winslet.

Susan Sarandon, who won in 1996, has also split from her partner.

London, March 20 (IANS) “Hanna Montana” star Miley Cyrus was welcomed by boyfriend Liam Hemsworth’s family. He revealed his parents “loved” his girlfriend.

“Yeah, they loved her. It was really cool to show Miley where I’m from and how I grew up, and it’s a completely different world to where she’s from. We don’t have shopping centres or traffic lights or anything like that, where I live at least,” dailystar.co.uk quoted him as saying.

“It was awesome, I really like Australia. You know what? The media’s really cool there, too. Even though there’s paparazzi, they kind of stay their distance; it was kind of like Nashville by the sea actually, the town he’s from,” Cyrus said.

London, March 20 (IANS) Japanese scientists have developed a genetically modified mosquito that vaccinates as it bites and could help prevent the spread of malaria.

The research team has created an insect producing a natural vaccine protein in its saliva, which is injected into the bloodstream when it bites.

The “prototype” mosquito carries a vaccine against Leishmania, another potentially fatal parasite disease spread by sand flies, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Leishmania infection can cause painful sores, fever and weight loss and if untreated may destroy the liver and spleen.

The findings revealed that mice bitten by the vaccinating insect generated antibodies against the Leishmania organism, indicating immunisation.

“Following bites, protective immune responses are induced, just like a conventional vaccination but with no pain and no cost,” said study leader professor Shigeto Yoshida, from Jichi Medical University in Shimotsuki, Japan.

“What’s more, continuous exposure to bites will maintain high levels of protective immunity, through natural boosting, for a life time. So the insect shifts from being a pest to being beneficial,” Yoshida added.

Scientists are still working on developing an effective malaria vaccine, so Yoshida’s study was very much a “proof of concept”.

However, ethical considerations may also get in the way of using “flying vaccinators” to control malaria, he said.

The study was published in the journal Insect Molecular Biology.

New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) Three members of a family died and one was battling for life after they consumed some poisonous substance in an apparent suicide in Mahavir Nagar area of west Delhi, the police said Friday.

“According to initial reports, the couple – Pramod, 37, and Sonali, 35, – committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance alongwith their two children. Pramod, his two-year-old daughter Jiya and seven month old son Sachin died. Sonali is still battling for life,” a senior police officer said.

“The reason behind their suicide is not clear yet. Further investigations are on,” the officer added.

The police suspects they took the extreme step due to financial reasons.

London, March 20 (IANS) Socialite Nicole Richie has revealed she is still undecided on her wedding dress.

The reality TV star-turned fashion designer who announced her engagement to Joel Madden last month admits she has even thought about what gown she wants to wear when she walks down the aisle, reports celebrifi.com.

“I have not decided on a dress. I haven’t even thought about it,” she said.

Although she is yet to look for a dress, Richie recently revealed she is ready to start planning her nuptials.

“I’ve been on the road. I just got home, and so it’s really going to be now that’s the time for me to sit down and think about what I want,” she said.

Although the 28-year-old beauty is ready to start organising her wedding she and Madden who raise two children together, daughter Harlow, two, and six-month-old son Sparrow are yet to pick a date.