Month: January 2013

Being plump may not be so bad after all!

A bit of extra weight could actually help you live longer, according to new research which found that men and women who are slightly plump have longer lives than those who are slimmer.

US researchers analysed results of almost 100 studies and found that those judged to be slightly overweight were 6 per cent less likely to have died by the end of the study period than those of normal weight.

However, those who were any bigger were around a third more likely to die during the months or years they were being studied than those of normal weight.

Contrary to the popular perception, smoking does not relieve stress, while quitting does, a new study has found.

British researchers measured anxiety levels in almost 500 smokers before and after they tried to give up and found the claims of benefits associated with nicotine are a myth.

One in five people said they smoked to help them deal with stress.

All took part in an National Health Service (NHS) smoking cessation programme, which involved being given nicotine patches and attending two-monthly appointments.

Pregnant women who regularly see the dentist and hygienist may reduce their risk of a premature birth by a third, a new research has suggested.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine found that women with gum disease who were at high risk of having a premature birth benefited from having a procedure called scaling and root planing.

Having a scale and polish removes the build-up of tartar from near the gumline, in turn reducing the risk of severe gum disease, they said.

Just like learning to play a musical instrument, losing weight requires behavioral changes and a certain amount of discipline, says an expert.

“People need a motivation to lose weight and the New Year is an opportunity to start fresh,” said Dr. Jessica Bartfield, internal medicine and medical weight-loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System.

Obesity is actually a hormonal issue, triggered by eating too much sugar, according to a respected U.S. obesity expert.

In a fascinating new book, Robert Lustig, a professor of clinical paediatrics at the University of California, argues that the urge to overeat and lounge around doing nothing is not a sign of weakness, the Daily Mail reported.

He blamed the hormone leptin, which acts like an appetite thermostat.

As one of two ‘hunger hormones’ in the body, leptin works to decrease the appetite (its partner, ghrelin, increases appetite).

People Against Corruption, the group active against corruption, is going to conduct a round table meeting on ‘Corruption and Cabinet Accountability,’ on Wednesday, January 2, at Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram, Baghlingampally, 6 p.m. onwards.

Retired Justice Ambati Lakhshman Rao, MLC Chukkaramaiah and Prof. M Sridhar will address on the occasion.

Siasat news

Home Minister Mrs. Sabita Indira Reddy has said that to reduce the crime against women, self-defence courses will be introduced in the schools and colleges under which training of martial arts will be given.

She said measures will be taken, to make self defence course compulsory as part of the curriculum from the new academic year in the academic institutions. She asserted that government will take every possible measure to ensure that the girls can defend themselves on their own.

New Year was celebrated in Hyderabad amidst fun and frolic. Groups of youngsters from old city were seen shouting crazily on the roads. Several people got injuries because of unruly revelers. 6 injured have been admitted to Osmania Hospital. In an upshot of New Year celebration, a youth named Abubakar, resident of Chandrayangutta, lost his 3 toes.

An Afghan warlord has launched an attack on Prince Harry describing him as a ”jackal” who wants to kill ‘innocent Afghans while he is drunk’.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar heaped insults on Harry.

During an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, he also vowed to kill as many troops as possible before the UK”s withdrawal in 2014.

Hekmatyar said that Prince Harry comes to Afghanistan to kill innocent Afghans while he is drunk.

‘But hunting of Afghan lions and eagles is not that easy, Jackals cannot hunt lions’, he added during the interview.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has described the menace of terrorism as the biggest challenge for the country in the year 2013.

Khan called upon the government, political parties and all other stakeholders to sit down and chalk out a comprehensive strategy to flush out terrorists from Pakistan.

The former cricketer pointed out that terrorism was the main cause for the prevailing economic crisis, and added that the government should take immediate steps to provide protection to the people, which was its constitutional obligation, the Express Tribune reports.

Congress leader Mr. Khaleequr Rahman regretted president Pranabh Mukherjee’s participation in P V Narsimha Rao Memorial Lecture’ and said that it has hurt the sentiments of Muslims and secular minded people.

Mr. Khaleequr Rahman claimed that PV Narsimha Rao who was responsible for Babri Masjid demolition is a blot in the history of free India. He should have been removed from the list of personalities who had been the prime minister of India.

Two men were arrested in New Delhi after a 17-year-old complained on New Year’s eve that she was raped allegedly by them earlier, police said on Wednesday.

One of the arrested is an engineer working with an IT firm and another an executive with a human resources company.

The girl alleged that she was raped by one of them in 2011 and another in early 2012 and approached the Sarojini Nagar Police Station on December 31, police sources said.

The victim is a Class XI student of a south Delhi school.

The accused were produced before court and sent to judicial custody.

–PTI–

Hadith:

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir will inaugurate a fast-track court here on Wednesday, which will hear the case of the 23-year-old Delhi gang-rape victim.

The fast-track court set up in Saket is among the four that are being set up to handle all cases related to crime against women.

The other fast-track courts will function at Dwarka, Rohini and Tis Hazari. All these courts will start functioning from tomorrow.

Delhi Police will submit its chargesheet in the magistrate court in Saket on Thursday. The case will then be moved to the fast-track court.

The Internet, a revolutionary communications system used daily by billions of people the world over, turned 30 Tuesday.

The computer network officially began functioning when it fully substituted previous networking systems Jan 1, 1983, the Telegraph reported.

On that day, it was the first time the US Department of Defence-commissioned Arpanet network fully switched to use of the Internet protocol suite (IPS) communications system.
This new method of linking computers paved the way for the arrival of the World Wide Web (www).

A total of 1,193 vehicles were burnt on New Year’s Eve in France, according to the French government.

Setting cars ablaze in a display of vandalism has become quite a ‘tradition’ in French suburbs on New Year’s Eve in recent years, reports Xinhua.

“When it concerns insecurity, there is nothing to hide… There is no significant change from torched cars and two-wheelers of recent years,” French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said.

An Afghan warlord has launched a scathing attack on Prince Harry describing him as a ”jackal” who wants to kill ‘innocent Afghans while he is drunk’.

In a rare and exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who has been designated a global terrorist by the United States, heaped insults on the British Royal and vowed to kill as many troops as possible before the UK’s withdrawal in 2014.

‘But hunting of Afghan lions and eagles is not that easy, Jackals cannot hunt lions’, he added during the interview.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who has condemned all incidents of violence and sexual assault against women and emphasized on a dire need to ensure their safety and security, will participate in a ‘ Women Dignity March’ here on Wednesday.

The march, which has been organised by the Delhi Commission for Women, would take place from Pragati Maidan to Rajghat.

At least 13 militants have been killed by Nigerian military, Xinhua reported Wednesday.

According to the Nigerian military’s joint task force, deployed in the troubled city of Maiduguri, it killed 13 Boko Haram Islamists in a clash with the militia Tuesday evening.

At least one soldier died while two others suffered injuries during the encounter, said Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, spokesperson of the task force.

Maiduguri, located in Nigeria’s northeastern region, is a Boko Haram flashpoint, where the Nigerian government had to impose curfews following a wave of militant attacks.

In a setback to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta.

Justice R A Mehta, who was appointed to the post by Gujarat Governor Kamala Beniwal in August 2011, will continue to be the Lokayukta.

The Narendra Modi Government had challenged the Lokayukta’s appointment in the Gujarat High Court, and termed it illegal. The Gujarat Government had accused the Governor of not consulting it.

The pontiff of Madurai mutt, Arunagirinatha Sri Gnanasambanda Desika Paramacharya Swamigal, popularly known as Ma¬du¬¬rai Adheenam, has ap¬pe¬¬aled to women to imp¬ose self-discipline and we¬ar purdah, like Muslim wo¬men, while going out to avoid becoming victims of rape.

Expressing concern over the increased number of sexual assault on women in the country, the Ma-durai Adheenam called for enactment of more stringent laws to curb sexual assaults on women.

Two men were arrested here after a 17-year-old complained on New Year’s eve that she was raped allegedly by them earlier, police said today.

One of the arrested is an engineer working with an IT firm and another an executive with an human resources company.

The girl alleged that she was raped by one of them in 2011 and another in early 2012 and approached the Sarojini Nagar Police Station on December 31, police sources said.

The victim is a Class XI student of a south Delhi school.

The accused were produced before court and sent to judicial custody

PTI

The death toll in the powerful blast following a rally in Pakistan’s port city Karachi has gone up to four, a media report said Wednesday, the day after the explosion.

The blast, in which 42 people were injured, took place after a rally, under the banner of the Muttahida Quami Movement party and the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran.

Sindh Health Minister Sagheer Ahmed confirmed the casualties.

A police official said a motorcycle, with an explosive device strapped to it, had been installed between parked buses which was detonated by a remote control later.

A full day after the New Year deadline, the US Congress has approved a deal to avoid the worst effects of the so-called fiscal cliff, a mix of $ 6 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts.

The Republican controlled House approved the deal with a 257-167 vote with bipartisan support an hour before midnight Tuesday after Republican leaders decided not to try and tack on an amendment to the Senate version of the legislation approved around 2 a.m. Tuesday with an overwhelming 89-8 vote.

Abid Ali Khan Educational Trust, in collaboration with Idara-e-Adabiyat-e-Urdu is conducting Urdu Dani, Zaban Dani, and Insha exams on January 27 from 10 am in Hyderabad Secunderabad, districts and other neighboring states. All exams will be written. Question papers and answer sheets will be issued from the office of Abid Ali Khan educational Trust. Centre in charges who have obtained exam forms must submit the same at the earliest.

The Abid Ali Khan Trust established in June 1994 conducts exams twice a year to promote Urdu education among new generation.