Mexico City - Seventeen high-ranking police officers have been fired for their role in a police raid on a disco last week that left nine teenagers and three police officers dead in a stampede, Mexico City authorities said Tuesday.

The city's Public Safety Minister Joel Ortega and police Internal Affairs boss Alberto Peralta said the officers held responsible include directors and deputy directors in several areas of the police department, including Alejandro Garmino Tejeda, who was named "police officer of the year" in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

A recent study by the researchers at Columbia University revealed that turmeric plays a major role in the prevention of Type-2 diabetes.

The endocrinologists discovered that turmeric-treated mice were less susceptible to develop Type 2 diabetes.

Moreover, the researchers also found that obese mice that were given turmeric showed considerably reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver as compared to controls.

Dubai - An Arab resident of the United Arab Emirates hired a professional killer from India to murder a man who harassed his wife, media reports said Thursday.

The plan was discovered when Sharjah police discovered the body of a man who was stabbed to death, while another was severely injured, according to the UAE Khaleej newspaper.

It said investigations showed that a man contacted a professional killer in India and agreed for him to go to the UAE to murder a man who harassed his wife in return for
4,000 Dirham (1,090 dollars).

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell by 0.53 dollars, according to data released by OPEC on Thursday.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 128.45 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, down 0.53 dollars from 128.98 dollars on the previous day.

An increase in oil output by OPEC members was not needed as the current supply level exceeds demand and spiralling prices are mainly caused by speculators, OPEC officials said Wednesday.

Naples, Italy  - Italian police Wednesday arrested at least 30 people suspected of obtaining finance for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebel group.

The suspects, all Sri Lanka citizens, were picked up in raids in several cities including Naples, Rome, Genoa, Bologna and Palermo, police said.

"The suspects extorted sums from fellow Sri Lankan nationals working as housekeepers or minders for the elderly in Italy," Naples' anti-terrorism police chief, Antonio Sbordone, said.

A new study conducted by the US researchers revealed that diabetics are more prone to hearing loss than other people.

The study researchers said that it may be a good idea for diabetes patients to have a hearing test on a regular basis.

An editorial published with the study agrees, noting that "in many cases of mild to moderate hearing loss, patients are not aware of what they cannot hear."