Mulaqat

Religiosity in Hindus and Sikhs — but not Muslims — appears to be an independent factor associated with being overweight or obese, a new study has suggested.

Asian Indians are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, and roughly half a million people of Indian ancestry live in California — more than any other state.

Individuals from this group are strongly predisposed to obesity-related conditions like diabetes and heart disease, due in large part to physical inactivity, diets low in fruit and vegetables, and insulin resistance.

Grounding her research on Karl Marx’s observation that, “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their social existence, rather on the contrary it is their social existence that determines their consciousness,” Salma Ahmed Farooqui said on Wednesday that people during the era of the Nizams were cosmopolitan by nature.

While people in India presently speak in 780 different languages, the country has lost nearly 250 languages in the last 50 years, an expert said here Tuesday.

The People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) has completed a comprehensive linguistic survey of the country and would publish its reports in 50 volumes contained in 72 books in September.

This is the first linguistic survey carried out in the country after Irish linguistic scholar George Abraham Grierson conducted the Linguistic Survey of India from 1898 to 1928.

In a remarkable feat, a visually challenged student in an Islamic studies centre here has memorised the Holy Quran entirely using the Braille script.

Twaha Mahboob, a 21-year-old student of the College of Tahfeelul Quran under Ma’din Academy, came in for praise from a gathering scholars and students when he recited verses from the Quran at a conference at the campus recently.

Though it is not rare for blind people to memorise the Quran, learning the holy text through Braille script is rare, according to some scholars at the conference.

Faced with public outrage at growing incidents of crime against women, the Uttar Pradesh government Friday said it was considering slapping the National Security Act (NSA) on those attacking and assaulting women.

Principal Secretary (Home) R.M. Srivastava told reporters that action was also being taken against errant police officials for failing in their duties.

Referring to a case in Etawah where a girl was gang-raped and then set ablaze, he said a magisterial probe had been ordered and officials have been directed to arrest the culprits as soon as possible.

Ahlan wa sahlan, wa Ramadan mubarak! (Welcome friends, and Happy Ramadan!)

My name is Marissa Parra. I go to school in Washington D.C., I live in Baltimore, and I’m a Latina Buddhist celebrating my first Ramadan this year.

Yes, you read that correctly. What can I say! I enjoy breaking boundaries and defying stereotypes. I’m a strong believer in the power of communication, so allow me to share with you the reasons behind my decision and hopefully inspire some of you.

A New York hospital has been sued for 22,000 dollars after a “dead” patient opened her eyes as doctors were readying themselves for organ harvesting.

According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, the New York State Health Department found St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center negligent and rebuked them for not adequately looking into how the mistake of such proportion was made, CBS News reported.

Colleen S. Burns, who overdosed on Xanax, Benadryl and a muscle relaxant, was reportedly admitted into St. Joseph’s emergency department in 2009.

When British High Commissioner Sir James Bevan in a send-off to Pinki Sonkar had remarked that the Indian girl would prove lucky for Britain at the Wimbledon, he would not have thought that his words would really turn true.

And, as the 11-year-old girl lit up the Centre Court with her smile at the coin-tossing event, Lady Luck smiled on Andy Murray and more so on Britain, which ended its 77-year men’s singles title drought.

World No 2 Murray defeated World No 1 Novak Djokovic in a straight three sets as the wait of over seven decades came to end on the seventh day of the seventh month.

A rare hormone disorder has left an Indian woman traped in a body of a 6-year-old

Laxmi Yadav, who resides in Gurgaon, Haryana is 20-years-old, and stands at just 3ft 3in and weighs just three stone, the Mirror reported.

Yadav has not grown tall since she was five and wears clothes of six-year-olds. (ANI)

Having sex on a regular basis can take five to seven years off your face, an expert has claimed.

A study by British psychologist, Dr. David Weeks showed that sexual pleasure is a “crucial factor” in preserving youth, the New York Daily News reported.

The report found that lovemaking releases the human growth hormone, which helps keep the skin elastic and thus less likely to wrinkle.

Weeks asserted that sex also released endorphins, which are the body’s feel-good chemicals and natural painkillers that ease anxiety and make it easier to sleep.

People who have handicaps or obstacles can also find ways to overcome these obstacles and achieve their intended goal. This was proved right by Mr. Mohammed Yousuf, who is serving as research engineer in Department of Transportation Washington DC. Mohammed Yousuf has been suffering from polio since the age of two and a half years. But despite suffering from polio, he never felt sorry for himself and struggled to achieve his goal through his high spirits. Parents and maternal grand mother’s love and cooperation of community sympathizers encouraged Mohammed Yousuf to stand on his own.

In the name of religion, caste and race, no one is allowed to carry on genocide and this law of the jungle is not existed anywhere in the world than why Myanmar? It is the duty of Human rights commission to prevent such incidents.

Mr. M Suryanarayana Raju, chairman, Nalanda Educational Institutions, VR Nagar Hyderabad in a press note stated that 3 students of his institution, Hajera Begum, P Navita and Y Srineja, got Pratibha award for their outstanding performance.

State government allotted 30 Pratibha awards to each district for students who excelled in SSC March 2013. Hyderabad District collector Mr. Murtaza Ali Razvi gave away the said 30 awards to the meritorious students on June 27, including the three students of Nalanda School.

Siasat news

Persistent efforts over the past more than 10 days have succeeded in the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, including locals, from the rain and flood-hit areas of Uttarakhand as authorities cremated more bodies in Kedarnath Thursday. Around 1,800 people are still stranded in the state.

With 12 days elapsing since the flood-rain tragedy hit the state, a clearer picture of the massive losses has began to emerge. Over 1,500 roads have been swept away, while around 2,000 houses and 154 bridges have been damaged.

: The popular photo-sharing app ”Snapchat” which allows users to send images which automatically ”self-destruct” after ten seconds has been reportedly valued at 800 million dollars, higher than Facebook or Twitter”s valuation. The app developed by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, was launched in 2011 and allows smartphone users to send photos or video clips which disappear within ten seconds and are supposedly deleted from the servers, the Independent reports.

Seven our of 23 student from Rahmani 30 have cracked the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) – Advanced 2013.

Rahmani 30 continues its success for the fifth consecutive year. JEE conducted for entry into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

The candidates are 1) Sajid Iqbal, 2) Maa’z Haider, 3) Munwwar Hameed Nazri, 4) Aatif Gulbaaz, 5) Irshad Ziya, 6) Khushnoor Qadir and 7) Mohd Danish Hussain. One more old patern student Mohd. Tahseen Aalam also cleared the IIT-JEE.

Prominent legal activist Amrit Singh has been honoured for her groundbreaking work in the field of human rights law, along with a number of other noted Indian-Americans including US Congressman Ami Bera and USAID chief Rajiv Raj Shah.

Singh, 43, the youngest daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a senior legal officer for National Security and Counterterrorism at the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative.

Satyam Kumar, a Bihar farmer’s son who is just 13-years old, has cleared the fiercely competitive Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) for which 150,000 candidates had appeared this year.

Satyam, who passed his class 12 exam last year, secured an impressive all-India rank of 679.

“We are proud of him. He has done something special at this age,” Satyam’s father Sidhnath Singh, a farmer, told IANS.

IIT-JEE (Advanced) results for admission into IITs were declared Friday.

Sameera Aziz a journalist, a writer, news editor and now the first Saudi filmmaker at Bollywood. I met Sameera when she was working with Urdu News and became a truly close friend with her. Sameera is a warm personality, particularly friendly and helpful to ladies.

Smita Bellur was initiated into Hindustani classical vocal music in the Khayal Style, at the age of twelve by her guru late Shri. P. R. Bhagwat, a renowned musician and recipient of the Sangeet Natak Academy award.After the demise of Shri. Bhagwat, she started learning from ‘Sangeet Ratna’, late Pt. Arjunsa Nakod, a doyen of the Gwalior – Kirana Gharana, training under him for few years.

An Islamic superhero, ‘The 99’ is becoming popular worldwide. The comic series contains 99 superheroes whose powers are based on the Quran’s 99 Virtues of Allah, some of them being strength, courage and wisdom.

It was the wake of 9/11, when, Islamic religion and culture had become a global talking point, and Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa decided to create Islamic superheroes to represent his culture.

Talking to CNN he said that every time something terrible happened in the name of his culture, he wanted to change the perception of the people.

Farman Ahmad Khan is an eleven-year-old boy who is learning in standard six now in a local Urdu medium school in Pusad in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. He is the son of an Urdu, Hindi, Persian and English poet and writer, Khan Hasnain Aaqib who is well known with regard to his creative writings in poetry and prose.

A chance encounter, a discovery of kin on opposite sides of the world

Prince William, second-in-line to the throne, will be first British king with proven Indian ancestry, DNA analysis has revealed.

The DNA analysis of saliva samples taken from the Duke of Cambridge’s relatives have established a direct lineage between the 30-year-old prince and an Indian housekeeper on his mother Princess Diana’s side.

It is his only non-European DNA and means he will become the first Head of the Commonwealth with a clear genetic link to its most populous nation – India.

A UC Berkeley senior who majors in social welfare and has been active in student government and Mideast issues is expected to become the next University of California student regent, joining the board that sets policies for the 10-campus system.