Washington, April 27 : In a new research, scientists in Japan have reported the development of a new type of ice that may provide a more efficient, environmentally-friendly method for putting out fires, including out-of control blazes that destroy homes and forests.

Toshihisa Ueda and colleagues note in the new study that firefighters have used water and carbon dioxide (CO2) as fire extinguishing agents for decades.

That knowledge led the scientists on a quest to see if carbon dioxide hydrates, frozen crystals made of water and CO2 bonded together, may serve as promising fire-suppressing materials.

Such icy chunks occur naturally in some parts of the world, including hydrates containing methane.

Hindus have asked Australia to create a “bill of rights” as a high-priority.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Australia was one of the few Western countries that did not have a charter of rights.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, says that although Australia does have a National Action Plan for Human Rights, but according to a report of Australia Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a statutory organization that reports to the federal Parliament, this “plan however does not adequately identify positive, forward-looking measures to address the human rights issues…”

New York, Apr 27 : It looks like Mel Gibson's Russian lover is a good friend of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Oksana Grigorieva's, who also has a son with former 007 star Timothy Dalton, met the senator in Washington during a fund-raiser for Bill Clinton, and seems to have left good impression on him.

Just six weeks later, when her parents in Russia attempted to get a visa to visit her and their new grandchild, they were refused.

And it was Kennedy, who helped Grigorieva's parents get their visas.

Washington, April 27 : In a new research, scientists have challenged the theory that a meteor impact 65 million years back killed off the dinosaurs in a mass extinction event.

The crater, caused by the meteor, was discovered in 1978 in northern Yucutan and measured about 180 kilometers (112 miles) in diameter, proof of a massive extra-terrestrial impact.

Washington, Apr 27 : Statins, drugs widely prescribed to lower cholesterol, could protect against prostate cancer and other related diseases, according to a new study.

In the large Mayo Clinic cohort study, researchers looked at three different aspects of urological health-prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction and prostate enlargement.

Washington, April 27 : Actress Mandy Moore is reportedly taking cooking lessons for a new magazine spread.

The 25-year-old wrapped an apron on April 22 to pick pointers at her favourite restaurant The Spotted Pig for a feature in New York Magazine.

The fashion designer attended a lesson on how to make the restaurant's signature dish gnudi, reports Contactmusic.

Moore, who tied the knot with rocker Ryan Adams last month, shot to fame at the age of 15 after the 1999 release of her debut `So Real'.