The Daily Business Digest

One of the co-founders of the Medellin drug cartel has written to the Colombian president asking to be returned to his home country.

Carlos Lehder was extradited to the US in 1987, where he is serving a 55-year sentence for drug smuggling.

Lehder argues he should have been released two years ago.

He says he struck a deal to have his sentence reduced in return for his testimony against the former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.

A suicide bombing at a crowded market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 23 people, police and officials say.

The bomb went off in the centre of the city as police watched over a protest rally against power cuts.

One of the city’s most senior police officers was killed. No group has claimed the attack – the Taliban have carried out dozens of recent bombings.

Earlier, a bomb blast outside a city school killed a boy and wounded others.

The volcanic ash eruption in Iceland this week has hindered the air travel through that zone since it has posed danger to both the aircraft and human lives on board. When the ash falls to Earth, it may affect the health of people on ground, but not much to worry says the experts. Ash has small parts of fragmented volcanic rock and may cause eye, lung and skin irritation.

Mostly, the effect of ash volcano is very low, almost with no health hazards. People may experience itchy eyes, soar throat, or dry cough in minimal degree. These health effects are short term and disappear easily. But people with asthma and other respiratory problems may be affected by fine particles getting blocked in their lungs, respiratory tracts etc, causing them to get the attack, compress and the lining can produce more secretion and coughing.

The US military has warned that Iran could produce enough highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb in one year.

But it would take another three to five years to actually produce a “deliverable weapon that is usable,” a senior general told Congress.

The warning came as Iran said it had produced its first significant batch of more highly-enriched uranium.

Meanwhile, negotiations have resumed at the UN on a possible Iran sanctions resolution over its nuclear programme.

China has been sifting rubble for survivors of the deadly quake which hit the remote Qinghai region as thousands spent a freezing night in the open.

Rescuers used bare hands and picks to search debris as night fell, with little heavy lifting equipment in the mountainous, mainly Tibetan area.

Officials say 589 people died and 10,000 were injured when the quake struck Yushu county early on Wednesday.

But the death toll is expected to rise and further aftershocks are feared.

Relief flights carrying medical workers and supplies have been landing in Yushu airport but the road to the town of 70,000 people has been blocked by a landslide, the Associated Press news agency reports from Qinghai’s provincial capital, Xining.

Three Italian medical workers are among nine men arrested in Afghanistan in connection with an alleged plot to kill a provincial governor, officials say.

The detentions came after suicide bomb vests and weapons were discovered at a hospital run by a Milan-based charity in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand.

Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal said the devices had been brought to the clinic “with the help of the foreign staff”.

But the charity, Emergency, said it was confident its employees were innocent.

US President Barack Obama has called for an investigation into a mining disaster in West Virginia that killed 29 people.

Mr Obama said the cause of the blast at the Upper Big Branch mine should be determined, to prevent similar accidents from occurring.

The bodies of four missing workers were found on Saturday, ending hopes that any missing miners had survived.

The disaster was the deadliest US coal mining accident in 40 years.

The cause of the blast has not yet been confirmed but officials believe it could be related to high levels of methane in the mine.

Many of us may be thinking how the popularity of Spencer’s Gifts rose to such heights and that too so fast. The answer for this may be the availability of unique gift items, the huge stock of items, the competitive pricing of the products or the hard work of Steven Silverstein, the present CEO of Spencer’s Gifts. In fact, the popularity has risen to such extent that the online store opened by them too has now emerged to be one of the most renowned online store for gift items. With such fame, they haven’t lowered the quality or the uniqueness of their products and have maintained the same standard all through.

Now, you can just go through the blog of Steven Silverstein Spencer’s CEO. The post says that they know what a girl wants. In my opinion, they know everything that a person wants, be it a guy or a girl. No one can be in a serious mood all the while, and hence to lighten the situations they have evolved such unique gag gifts such as the fart machine and sparking pen that they are sure to bring laughter to everybody. From conventional gifts such as a lava lamp to unique dance poles, they have everything that will surely match the taste of someone or the other.

The UN’s wildlife trade organisation has turned down Tanzania’s and Zambia’s requests to sell ivory, amid concern about elephant poaching.

The countries asked the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting to permit one-off sales from government stockpiles.

The ivory trade was banned in 1989, but two sales have since been granted to nations showing effective conservation.

Kenya withdrew a bid to ban sales for 20 years, after finding little support.

Most conservation groups were delighted that the Tanzanian and Zambian bids were turned down.

Around 12 paintings of Raja Ravi Varma are missing. The original oil paintings of Ravi Varma are worth several millions of Dollars. The paintings were missing from the government owned gallery in India. The art gallery of the paintings is situated in Kerala in Thiruvanthapuram. The great grand daughter of Raja Ravi Varma Archana Narayan found this.

Archana has asked for a investigation from CBI for this reason. The paintings are always exhibited in the different parts of the country often. The palace and gallery of paintings were owned by Travancore royal family to which Raja belongs. Raja Ravi Varma died in 1906 and his paintings are very famous. After the independence of India the gallery was handed over to the Kerala government.

Around 63 original paintings of Ravi Varma are left out in India. Archana feels the loss of paintings is not just a family matter but also a loss to the nation. Some paintings are being smuggled across the country and further investigation is going on. The paintings of Raja Ravi Varma describe the Indian mythology.