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Doctors say that the childhood illness that Oscar-winning Hollywood star John Travolta’s son Jett had been suffering from, scientifically called Kawasaki disease, could not be blamed for his death because it was unlikely to cause the boy’s reported seizure.

"Seizures are not part of Kawasaki disease," the New York Daily News quoted Dr. Stanford Shulman, a specialist in the disease at Northwestern University''''''''''''''''s Feinberg School of Medicine, as saying.

"If a teenager had a seizure and died, that would not commonly be due to Kawasaki disease," the expert added.

Two buses were reportedly set ablaze today by protesting Trinamool Congress-backed auto-rickshaw operators who were agitating against a court ban on ageing public transport vehicles in the city.

The strike turned violent with irate auto drivers vandalising a government bus at Park Circus.

The agitators turned violent, and stoned and set fire to a West Bengal Transport Corporation bus. The bus was only partially damaged as locals managed to douse the flames. No one was injured.

Unexpected rains have affected Rajkot''s onion crop severely causing a sharp rise in the prices of the product.

Just a month ago, onions were priced at seven rupees per kg. Now it is soared to 22 rupees per kilogram.

Untimely rains have also affected the production of the crop in other parts of Gujrat and Nashik and Maharashtra.

Rajesh Parekh, an onion trader blamed on the excess shortage of onions in various cities for the recent price rise.

Earlier the onion crop demand in the state used to be 5000 kg a day, but it has dropped to 1500 kg.

A US airline has apologized to nine Muslim American passengers from the Washington area who were removed from a flight out of Reagan National Airport.

But a Muslim civil rights group has said that it intends to press a discrimination complaint against the airline for its treatment of the passengers, The Washington Post reported.

A Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed in an encounter between militants and security forces in Bhati Dhar forest area of Mendhar in Jammu and Kashmir''s Poonch District on Saturday.

According to official sources, SPO Naresh Kumar was killed in an encounter, which was resumed around midnight.

An encounter has been going on for the last two days in the area.

JCO Rakesh Kumar and Naik P K Singh, and four militants were killed in a gunbattle, which started on Thursday evening.

The bodies of the slain militants have not been recovered so far, the official sources added. (ANI)

Hungry drivers now won’t have to turn their cars towards a restaurant, for a new microwave has been designed for motorists.

According to The Sun, the 12-volt oven plugs into a car’s cigarette lighter.

In four minutes, it can cook a pie or heat a cup of coffee in six minutes.

Times are halved if the 130 pounds appliance is hooked up to the motor’s battery.

A spokesman for suppliers Maplin Electronics said: “You no longer have to worry about searching for places to eat as the microwave ensures that you can plan your day as you want and eat when you are hungry.” (ANI)

Agitated over the transfer of two fellow members, prisoners at a correctional home in West Bengal''s Howrah District vandalised and set fire to the place.

In all, 55 inmates of the Howrah Correctional Home damaged furniture, tore official papers and set fire to the premises.

The incident led to the transfer of two inmates named -- Sajjan Mallik and Rahul Mallik to the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata.

The prisoners also reacted in this manner to protest against the inferior quality of food being served to them.

Popular online computer games like World of Warcraft and Second Life can be used as a powerful tool for educating children, say scientists.

The researchers believe that these video games can be used to teach science-based subjects where students are able to carry out imaginary experiments and improve their ability to "learn to learn".

Moreover the "immersive" aspect of the interactive games means that the brain is particularly engaged and can absorb complex issues.

These games can teach students practical skills that can be used in real life.

New York psychics have predicted, among other things, that 2009 will have its share of bad and good moments.

The one question on everybody’s mind right now is when will the economy rise up again.

But psychics, like the economists, cannot agree on the answer, with some predicting that it will get better in late spring or summer, while others say it won''t improve until 2010.

Serena Stanley, a Manhattan psychic, has predicted that the economy will worsen in 2009 by “five percent”.

An Indian rock python near Pune city of Maharashtra State attracted a lot of pubic attention on Thursday when it swallowed a 40 kilogram deer alive!

The python was first noticed by a farmer couple in Mulshi, a village 50 kms from Pune. They were taken aback after noticing 12-feet python in their field with a hugely swollen abdomen. It looked quite lethargic, lying motionless for long.