Washington, Oct 30: The first direct archaeological evidence of the consumption of hallucinogens in pre-Hispanic Andean populations has emerged in the form of Andean mummy hair.

Indirect evidence for psychoactive drug use in South America''s ancient populations abound, ranging from the discovery of drug equipment to the identification of hallucinogenic herb residuals in snuffing kits.

However, there wasn''t direct evidence that the ancient Andean people actually consumed mind-altering drugs.

Himachal Pradesh-based Himalya International has signed an agreement with US-based grocery chain ALDI to sell its products under "Himalya Fresh" brand name in America.

Under the arrangement, ALDI grocery stores would sell Himalya Fresh products like frozen vegetables, baby potatoes and breaded appetisers through 1,000 retail stores across the US, company Chairman Manmohan Malik said in a statement here.

The company is expecting exports to the US to grow by 60% and touch USD 10 million during the current financial year.

Popular Hollywood actress Hilary Swank has made an appeal to the women to donate their hair to help make wigs for women suffering from cancer.

Tokyo - Nintendo Co slashed its net profit and operating profit forecasts for the fiscal year that runs through March 31 after a stronger yen offset robust sales of game consoles, the company said Thursday.

The Japanese gaming company revised its net profit down by 16 per cent to 345 billion yen (3.54 billion dollars) and operating profit by 3 per cent to 630 billion yen from its August estimates.

But Nintendo maintained its sales forecast for the year at 2 trillion yen.

For the first half of this fiscal year, the company said it saw its net profit rise 9.4 per cent from the same period a year ago to 144.83 billion yen.

Manama, Bahrain - The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) said on Thursday that it would cut its key policy interest rate by 25 basis points, after reviewing the decision taken by the US Federal Open Market Committee a day earlier.

"Effective immediately, the CBB's rate on the one-week deposit facility is 1.50 per cent, down from 1.75 per cent previously," a statement by the CBB said.

According to the statement, the CBB's lending standing facilities remain available for its banks at their initiative to assist them to meet their liquidity needs. The Bahraini dinar is pegged to the dollar.

State-run power producer National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting has approved the proposal for initiating discussion with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) for entering into an MOU for formation of Joint Venture Company for setting up a Nuclear Power Project.

In the said proposed Joint Venture Company, NTPC would hold 49 per cent of the stake while the balance 51 per cent would be held by NPCIL.

The company would raise up to Rs 4,500 crore from domestic as well as international markets for meeting its expansion plans in the current financial year. The power producer plans to build 2,000 MW nuclear capacity by the year 2017.