Washington, Mar 13: Facemasks can help prevent adverse cardiovascular effects caused by pollution, scientists have shown.

Researchers discovered that pollution from car exhausts caused arteries to stiffen, resulting in higher blood pressure and reduced blood flow to the heart, reports BioMed Central''s open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.

Nicholas Mills from the University of Edinburgh worked with a team of researchers to investigate the cardiovascular damage that can be caused by inhaling diesel smoke.

Washington, Mar 13 : Popstar Chris Brown's lawyer has urged the court to hold an `in chambers' hearing before the final hearing on April 6th.

According to TMZ. com the hearing, which will take place on March 23rd, will involve Rihann's testimony.

However Jane Robison of the Los Angeles District Attorney''s office revealed that, as it is an `in chambers' hearing not much will be revealed about the happenings.

"Since it''s in chambers, we can''t comment on anything that happens," US Weekly quoted Jane, as saying.

Washington, Mar 13: Tennis ace Roger Federer and girlfriend Miroslava "Mirka" Vavrinec are expecting their first child together.

The 27-year-old Swiss star confirmed the news on his blog.

“Mirka and I are excited to let you know that we will be parents this summer!" People quoted Federer as writing on his blog.

"Mirka is pregnant and we are so happy to be starting a family together. This is a dream come true for us.

Washington, Mar 13: A new study has found that kids living in greener neighbourhoods are more active.

Researchers from Universite de Montreal, Canada have shown that the presence of nearby parks was strongly associated with girls walking to school and boys engaging in leisure walking.

For every additional park located within a half mile of their home, researchers found, the likelihood of walking to school more than doubled among girls and leisure walking by boys increased by 60 percent.

Washington  - The United States named a veteran diplomat Thursday to oversee the closure of the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay and the potential transfer of prisoners to other countries.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named Daniel Fried, currently the department's top official for European relations, as the envoy for shutting Guantanamo, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

Washington  - The number of US households in some stage of foreclosure rose nearly 30 per cent in February from a year earlier despite government efforts aimed at keeping people in their homes, according to data released Thursday.

Foreclosures rose 6 per cent from January with 290,631 properties - one in every 440 homes - having received notice from their banks or being in some stage of the foreclosure process in February, industry tracker RealtyTrac said in a monthly report.