Washington, Mar 11 : Women who suffer from asthma during pregnancy are at a greater risk of giving birth prematurely if they suspend their asthma treatments, according to a new study.

The Université de Montréal study, published in Respiratory Medicine, showed that the probability of suffering from hypertension during pregnancy also increases for women who interrupt their asthma treatment.

Washington, Mar 11 : Extra workplace decibels increase the risks of both work-related accidents and road collisions, says a new study.

The findings by the Université de Montréal, the Université Laval and the Institut national de santé publique du Québec will be reported in three journals: Occupation Environmental Medicine, Accident Analysis and Prevention and Traffic Injury Prevention.

To reach the conclusion, researchers studied a sample of 53,000 workers.

Washington, Mar. 11 : The five men charged with playing a significant role in perpetrating the terror strikes on the United States on September 11, 2001, have emphatically claimed that they "are terrorists to the bone".

In their most detailed response to U. S. war crimes charges, the five Guantanamo prisoners justified the attack that killed nearly 3,000 people.

They included self-proclaimed mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

Washington, Mar 11 : Megan Fox and actor Brian Austin Green are seeking professional help to save their relationship, it has emerged.

The pair’s pals have blasted reports stating that the two are not together, insisting that they have "hit a rough patch", Contactmusic reported.

A source tells In Touch Weekly magazine, "They didn’t break up. They hit a rough patch."

Fox was spotted taking Brian’s son, Kassius, to school, and the pair was also seen holding hands in public.

A friend tells the publication, "These two are very much in love and plan to be together for a long time.

Washington, Mar. 11 : Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Maples and National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair have respectively told the US Congress that Somalia''s extremist al-Shabaab is poised to formally merge with Al Qaeda and that China is adopting a more aggressive military stance.

While Lt. Gen. Maples briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee on the issue of Somalian terrorists, Blair told the same body that China''s alleged harassment of an unarmed U. S. Navy craft is the "most serious" he''s seen in eight years.

Are, Sweden  - Lindsey Vonn of the United States clinched a second straight overall World Cup title in alpine skiing in style on Wednesday by winning a downhill ahead of German title rival Maria Riesch.

Vonn, 24, clocked 1 minute 42.49 seconds on the 2,638-metres Olympia course at the World Cup finals.

Riesch had 1:42.89 and Austrian veteran Renate Goetschl was third on the podium in 1:43.75 minutes.

Vonn has 1,688 points and, with a victory worth 100 points, can not be caught by Riesch (1,299) in the final three season races. She also dominated the downhill World Cup with a final tally of 502 points from Austrian Andrea Fischbacher (326).