FLORENCE: A team of researchers in Italy has begun a search for the tomb of a woman who may have been the model for Leonardo Da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa.
The team is using a special radar device at the convent in the city of Florence where it thinks the body of the woman, Lisa Gherardini, is buried.
It hopes to find skull fragments and to try to create a facial reconstruction.
The identity of the enigmatic Mona Lisa remains one of the great mysteries of the art world.
PARIS: Heart attacks that occur in the morning are likely to be more serious than attacks at other times of the day, a specialist journal reported on Wednesday.
Spanish researchers looked at data from 811 patients who had been admitted to a Madrid clinic with a myocardial infarction between 2003 and 2009.
They used levels of an enzyme in the blood to measure the extent of dead tissue, known as an infarct, which is caused by blocked blood supply to heart muscle.
Those who had had a heart attack between 6:00 am and noon, during the transition from darkness to light, had a 21-percent larger infarct compared with patients whose attack occurred between 6:00 pm and midnight.
The study, published in the British journal Heart, builds on previous evidence that circadian rhythm -- the famous "body clock" -- influences the heart in many ways such as blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output and the function of cells that line cardiac blood vessels.
Of the 811 patients, 269 had their heart attacks in the period from 6:00 am to noon. More than three-quarters of the patients admitted to the clinic were men. Their average age was 62.
The findings should be useful in assessing the effectiveness of drugs against heart disease, the researchers said.
It's not just prom, it's Disney's "Prom." And so no one smokes, no one sneaks in peach schnapps in a flask and no one - that's right, no one - gets lucky in the back of a limo.
This is all about that magical night when everyone gets together, regardless of the social hierarchy that had been firmly in place for the past four years, and dreams come true. Wholesome, earnest dreams for wholesome, earnest kids - except for the resident bad boy, that is. But naturally, he'll turn out to have a heart of gold.
Yes, director Joe Nussbaum's film, from a script by first-timer Katie Wech, is chock full of high-school movie clichés - sometimes knowingly and amusingly so. There's a tall, misfit character named Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) who resembles "Say Anything ..."-era John Cusack - a tall, misfit character named Lloyd. His awkward attempts at landing a prom date represent the film's most consistent source of laughs.
Of course, straight-arrow good girl Nova (Aimee Teegarden) will get stuck working with motorcycle-riding rebel Jesse (Thomas McDonell), and they will see through their respective prejudices to not only get along but fall for each other. Various other couples will suffer through missed opportunities and miscommunication and come out better for them in the end.
"Prom" is so steadfastly family friendly, even the dude who's clearly stoned the whole time - his nickname is Rolo, like the candy - never even comes close to taking any sort of drugs. He's just laid-back and wisecracking. You're welcome to draw your own conclusions.
There is a plot, sort of. Members of the Brookside High School senior class are getting ready for prom. Along the way, the shed where the decorations are being stored burns down. Nova, the prom coordinator and Molly Ringwald figure here, must reconstruct the whole extravaganza with the help of Jesse, the Judd Nelson figure in the equation who's been thrust upon her because he's a delinquent. Making papier-mâchÃ(c) moons and stars will straighten him out, the principal figures.
Essentially, this feels like a Disney Channel TV show stretched out to fit the big screen. No one pops out as a major star quite like the actors did in the "High School Musical" series, but they're all harmless and good-looking and the school is sufficiently multicultural to make everyone feel comfortable and included.
Still, the sweetness and guilelessness of "Prom" is actually strangely charming, and for its target audience - girls who are several years away from having to pick out that perfect dress - this will be a safe, enjoyable and validating little diversion. The fact that it's not snarky and too-hip is unexpectedly refreshing.
Like the 3-D Justin Bieber movie, you have to look at it through the prism of the viewers for whom it was intended. Adults know prom sucks - they went to prom. Pre-teen girls are still idealistic (we hope). Let them enjoy their vicarious fun.
"Prom" means well - and it grows on you. And it's much less of a hassle than schlepping to the real thing.
KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves eased to $17.18 billion in the week ending on April 23, from $17.38 billion the previous week, a central bank official said on Thursday.
Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $13.68 billion from $13.91 billion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks rose slightly to $3.50 billion from $3.47 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.
Pakistan's forex reserves have grown steadily thanks to higher export proceeds as well as record inflow of remittances, hitting an all-time high of $17.95 billion during the week that ended on March 26.
Reserves have since eased slightly on debt repayments.
Remittances from overseas Pakistanis increased by 22.37 percent to more than $8 billion in the first nine months of the 2010/11 fiscal year (July-June), and in March, a record $1.05 billion was received, according to SBP data.
BIRMINGHAM: Tornadoes and storms carved a trail of destruction across the southern United States, killing over 220 people in one of region's worst weather disasters in years, officials said Thursday.
The severe weather killed 131 people in the state of Alabama alone on Wednesday, authorities said, and President Barack Obama said Washington would be rushing assistance to the battered southeastern state.
States of emergency were declared in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma, and governors called out the National Guard to help with rescue and cleanup operations.
In all, state officials reported at least 227 people dead, but as the residents and emergency workers began to mop up and assess the damage the toll was likely to rise.
The National Weather Service (NWS) had preliminary reports of more than 300 tornados since storms began Friday, including more than 130 on Wednesday alone.
Alabama was especially badly hit, caught by two lines of storms and an evening tornado that tore through the city of Tuscaloosa, home to the University of Alabama.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox told CNN the tornado had "obliterated blocks and blocks" of his city, leaving 36 people dead there.
"Infrastructure has been absolutely devastated," he said Thursday. "When you look at this path of destruction, likely five to seven miles (eight to 11 kilometers) long and half a mile to a mile wide, I don't know how anyone survived.
"There are parts of this city I don't recognize.... It is a dark hour for our city," he added.
A tornado also struck the city of Birmingham. "This has been a very serious and deadly event that's affected our state, and it's not over yet," Alabama Governor Robert Brantley told reporters.
Stunned Birmingham residents assessed the damage early Thursday, some counting their blessings to still be alive, others distraught over the loss of their loved ones or homes.
KARACHI: A roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Pakistani Navy officials on Thursday, killing five people and wounding eighteen others, officials said, the third attack on the navy in less than a week.
Pakistan navy spokesman said four navy officials aboard the bus were killed. A hospital official said a passerby was also killed.
"The bus was taking navy officers to a dockyard when a planted bomb exploded nearby," senior police official said. A civilian car and motorcycle were also damaged.
The bomb was placed in a gutter near the petrol pump on Shahra-e-Faisal near Karsaz Bridge and exploded when the bus arrived around 08:15 am.
About three kilograms of explosives were packed into the bomb which was detonated remotely, senior police official Iftikhar Tarar said.
He said the blast appeared to be the work of the same group behind twin bombings on Tuesday that killed four navy officials and wounded nearly 60 people in the worst attack on military officials in Karachi in years.
On Tuesday morning, two buses of the Pakistan Navy were also targeted when two bombs exploded near them. Four personnel of the Pakistan Navy, including a lady doctor and a junior officer, were killed while around 56 others sustained injuries.
