Washington, March 30 : A new research has indicated that micro-organisms occurring naturally in coastal mudflats have an essential role to play in cleaning up pollution by breaking down petrochemical residues.

The research, by Dr Efe Aganbi and colleagues from the University of Essex, reveals essential differences in the speed of degradation of the chemicals depending on whether or not oxygen is present.

Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Mar. 30 : At least 22 people were killed and 132 were injured when a wall came down on them before a football match between the Ivory Coast and Malawi in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

According to The Sun, many of the victims were trampled as they attempted to flee the crush which happened as fans tried to get into the stadium.

Ivory Coast Sports Minister Dagobert Banzio said fans tried to push in without tickets at the Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan.

Washington, Mar. 30 : The United States has no plans to militarily pre-empt the launching of a long-range missile by North Korea, but has added that it would act only if the missile or its parts appeared to be headed toward American territory.

US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Sunday said that Washington could give a calibrated military response with cooperation from Japan and South Korea, but reminded one and all that diplomatic action would be pursued first.

Recent study revealed that children exposed to anesthesia during first three years of their life are at higher risk of developing learning disabilities when they grow up. Previous studies have shown that anesthetic drugs can lead to abnormalities in the brains of young animals.

Research team led by Randall Flick, a paediatrician at Rochester's Mayo Clinic analyzed data collected from studied the medical records of 5,357 children from Olmsted County who were born between 1976 and 1982.

Miami  - Roger Federer polished his mighty game at the continued expense of Nicolas Kiefer as he hammered the German 6-4, 6-1 to rip into a third-round place on a cloudy, muggy Sunday afternoon at the Miami Masters.

The Swiss second seed and two-time winner at Crandon Park spent little more than an hour in the rout and never faced a break point as he beat the veteran for the 11th consecutive time.

US health regulator Food and Drug Ad