The Indian Panorama

Month: October 2015

  • NOW, LEARN HOW TO GROW FOOD ON MARS

    NOW, LEARN HOW TO GROW FOOD ON MARS

    WASHINGTON (TIP): US scientists are helping students figure out how to farm on Mars, much like astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, attempts in the critically acclaimed movie ‘The Martian’. Washington State University (WSU) physicist Michael Allen and and University of Idaho (UI) food scientist Helen Joyner teamed up to explore the challenge.

    Their five-page study guide was published at the National Centre for Case Study Teaching in the journal Science.

    Allen and Joyner have students identify potential challenges to producing crops indefinitely and develop criteria for selecting crops. Students then use a scoring system to select three optimal foods. In some 30 trial runs with students and teachers, “no two people have ever gotten the same answer”, said Allen. One particular challenge is that scientists have little idea of what Martian soil is actually like, he said. Probes have detected little carbon, the central element to life as we know it, or nitrogen, which is needed to make protein.

    Water is also likely to react with peroxides in the soil, bubbling off as gas. Like real astronauts, the tabletop astronauts are limited in what they can bring, so they won’t have a lot of tools to farm with. “You are starting with nothing. If I had to eat a single food for the rest of my life, could I do it?” Joyner said.But in a sense, farming and dining on the Red Planet is beside the point, Allen said. “I’m not teaching about growing food on Mars. I’m teaching about living with choices. I’m teaching about problem solving,” he said.

  • China lists sins for partymen: Gluttony, sex, golf

    China lists sins for partymen: Gluttony, sex, golf

    BEIJING (TIP): China’s Communist Party has banned its members from “extravagant eating and drinking”, engaging in “improper sexual relationships with others” and playing golf, state media reported on Thursday. The ruling party’s political bureau adopted new rules on clean governance and discipline earlier this month, the official Xinhua news agency said, describing the measures as “a moral ethical code that members must abide by”.

    Party members were already barred from “keeping paramours and conducting adultery” but the new rule on sexual activity was stricter, Xinhua said. Playing golf and excessive eating and drinking were explicitly listed as violations of discipline for the first time, it added. The regulations which apply to everyone in the 88 million-strong Communist Party -also forbid forming cliques within the party and nepotism. Since ascending to the party leadership in 2012, President Xi Jinping has launched an austerity drive and a crackdown on corruption, with thousands of officials falling from power. But critics of the campaign liken it to a political purge targeting Xi’s opponents.

    The document did not detail punishments for violating the new rules, but the party maintains its own feared internal disciplinary system, which operates without judicial over sight. Party discipline superseded criminal law, Xinhua said.

    The Communist Party has long had an ambivalent relationship with golf, which is a lucrative opportunity for local authorities and a favoured pastime of some officials, but is also closely associated with wealth and Western elites.

    Central authorities ordered a nationwide moratorium on new golf courses in 2004, but development continued as revenue-minded local officials went their own way , even offering tax breaks for operators of new courses in places such as Hainan province.

  • Masked man kills two in sword attack at Sweden school

    Masked man kills two in sword attack at Sweden school

    TROLLHATTAN (SWEDEN) (TIP): A masked man brandishing a sword and reported to have far-right sympathies killed a teacher and a student and seriously wounded two other people at a school in Sweden Oct 22 before police shot and killed him.

    Pictures taken by students and circulating in the media showed the assailant wearing black clothes and a Darth Vader-like mask, with school children initially thinking it was a prank or a Halloween costume.

    Media reports identified the attacker as Anton Lundin Pettersson, describing him as a quiet 21-year-old opposed to Islam and immigration.

    “He was a loner. He played video games, lived in his own world,” a former classmate told daily Expressen.

    The attacker, who went from classroom to classroom at the school for six to 15-year-olds, including many newly-arrived immigrants, in the southwestern town of Trollhattan.

    The attack shocked a nation where such violence is rare.

    One teacher was found dead at the school — described in the media as a “problem school” — while a young male student and the assailant both died in hospital several hours later.

    “The assailant knocked on two classroom doors and he attacked the two students who opened the doors,” police investigator Thord Haraldsson said.

    Hospital staff had previously confirmed that two boys, aged 11 and 15, were in critical condition with stab wounds, while another teacher who was seriously wounded in the attack also underwent surgery.

    The assailant was from Trollhattan.

    Police have not disclosed his identity nor given any further information about him or the possible motive for the attack.

    He did not have a criminal record and was not known to police, said law enforcement officials as police searched his home for clues.

    However, Swedish news agency TT and daily Expressen reported that he had a YouTube account where he posted material glorifying Hitler and Nazi Germany and critical of Islam and immigration to Sweden.

    The anti-racism magazine Expo meanwhile reported that its police sources said they were investigating a “political motive”.

    Police were alerted to the attack at 10:10 am (0810 GMT).

    “When we first saw him, we thought it was a joke. He was wearing a mask and black clothes and (carrying) a long sword. Some students wanted to take their picture with him and feel the sword,” one student identified only as Laith told Swedish television SVT.

    When the man started attacking people, he quickly realised it wasn’t a joke and fled as the assailant went from classroom to classroom looking for victims. Another student, 14-year-old David Issa, told media he was sitting in the school’s cafe when he saw the attacker approach.

    “We were sitting in the (school’s) cafe and then this guy came up who was wearing a mask and carrying a sword and he stabbed my teacher. I panicked and ran away,” he said.

    “Then the police came. And he started stabbing others in the classrooms, banging on the classrooms and stabbing people in there,” he said.

    Aster Caridad, a 15-year-old student at the school, said one of the two wounded students was her friend.

    “The teacher ordered us not to leave the classroom as someone was murdered and others (were) injured,” she said.

    “I never expected or even imagined this could happen in my school,” she added.

    The Kronan school has around 400 pupils, and Swedish media described it as a “problem school”.

    It had been criticised by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate for its lax security and on account of a number of disruptions which prevented the pupils from learning.

    Teachers had complained to the inspectorate about the school library and cafe being open to the public and creating an insecure environment for the children, Swedish news agency TT reported.

    Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven visited the town after the attack.

    “What should never happen happened here today,” he told reporters, adding that he wanted all children to know that “I will do everything in my power to make sure you feel safe in school.”

    Crisis teams were at the school assisting parents and students.

    But some parents outside the school were unhappy at the way it handled the attack.

    “No one from the school called me. I found out what happened from a neighbour when I was carrying out the trash. I got into my car and came here,” one father told TT after being reunited with his young daughter.

    The girl, who was identified only as Emilia, said the headteacher had come into her classroom and told them to stay inside and lock the door.

    “We didn’t know what was happening,” she said.

    Trollhattan is an industrial town of 57,000 and home to the former Swedish carmaker Saab which filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

  • Nearly 5,000 cholera cases, 74 deaths in Tanzania: WHO

    Nearly 5,000 cholera cases, 74 deaths in Tanzania: WHO

    GENEVA (TIP): Tanzania is facing a major cholera outbreak, counting nearly 5,000 cases and dozens of deaths, the World Health Organization said on Oct 22, calling for urgent action to stop the disease from spreading to neighbouring countries.

    The UN health agency said that from August through Wednesday October 21, 4,922 cases of cholera had been tallied in 12 regions of Tanzania, and 74 deaths.

    The east African country’s largest city Dar es Salaam was most affected with some 3,500 cases, said Dominique Legros, head of WHO’s cholera unit.

    The fact that the disease had reached the city, which is home to more than four million people, sparked great concern, he said, adding that Dar es Salaam’s size and its numerous slum areas was “making things more complicated in terms of access to water and to build latrines.”

    The UN health agency said that from August through Wednesday October 21, 4,922 cases of cholera had been tallied in 12 regions of Tanzania, and 74 deaths (AFP Photo/Daniel Hayduk)
    The UN health agency said that from August through Wednesday October 21, 4,922 cases of cholera had been tallied in 12 regions of Tanzania, and 74 deaths (AFP Photo/Daniel Hayduk)

    Cholera, which is transmitted through contaminated drinking water and causes acute diarrhoea, most recently spread to an island in the Zanzibar archipelago, which in a matter of days tallied 140 cases, Legros said.

    Cholera is endemic in the region, and Legros warned that the looming rainy season, with a “very bad” weather forecast, threatened to push the outbreak beyond Tanzania’s borders.

    “We have to really be ready for this and try to control the outbreak as soon as possible in Tanzania,” Legros said.

    The last time there had been a massive outbreak in eastern Africa in the late 1990s, some 200,000 people had been infected across four countries, including 8,000 deaths, he said.

    Only a few months before the latest outbreak hit, cholera briefly spread among Burundian refugees in Tanzania, killing more than 30 people.

    WHO says USD 2 million (1.8 million euros) are needed to urgently ramp up efforts to control the outbreak, including water trucks, chlorinating water and treatment for the sick.

    But Legros insisted that efforts must go beyond the emergency response.

    “What we see each time (there is a cholera outbreak) is a sort of fire brigade approach, and then the outbreak is over and everybody disappears,” he said.

    “The water trucking will stop and people will go back to the previous situation where they were taking water from the river and the wells that were contaminated,” he said, insisting that this “it is that circle that we must break.”

  • Indian American Marine Killed in Jet Crash in UK

    Indian American Marine Killed in Jet Crash in UK

    LONDON:  An Indian-American marine has been killed after a single-seat aircraft he was flying crashed shortly after take-off near a US airfield in England.

    The crash occurred on Wednesday when San Diego-based Major Taj Sareen was piloting his F/A-18C Hornet to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in the US after a six-month deployment in the Middle East, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. This was Sareen’s third deployment. But whenever he was away, he’d speak with his family every day.

    “The aircraft went down near the Lakenheath Royal Air Force base,” the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing was quoted as saying by the daily.

    The aviation wing is headquartered at Miramar. The Hornet crashed shortly after take-off, descending into farmland about six miles northwest of Lakenheath in the Cambridgeshire county of eastern England, it said.

    Major Sareen was the only casualty, British officials said.

    They also said he was ejected from the jet, although Marine officials have not verified that detail.

    Other personnel from the “Red Devils” Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 have returned to Miramar this week, concluding their deployment in the Central Command area of military operations, the report said.

    Major Sareen had deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and was an instructor with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101.

    He was a native of Hillsborough. He was commissioned in the Corps in 2005. He graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2004.

    U.S. Marine Maj. Taj Sareen’s family in Hillsborough is heartbroken. They discussed his final, heroic moments and the decision Taj made that may have saved many other lives. His parents and sister want people to know what kind of man Sareen was. They told ABC7 News about the last conversation they had with him that they will never forget. “I’ll see you in two days dad,” K.B. Sareen said. Those last words echo in a home Sareen was about to come back to.

    The Marine fighter pilot was in one of six jets coming back to the states from the Persian Gulf when it crashed in England. He ejected, but did not survive.

    Initial reports say one of his final moves was to avoid crashing into homes on the way down. “That’s the kind of person he was,” K.B. said.

    A GoFundMe account has been set up. Click here if you would like to make a donation.

  • Limited H-1B visas may force companies to skip placement season at IITs

    Limited H-1B visas may force companies to skip placement season at IITs

    Facebook may not be coming to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) this year, both for internship and final placement, according to sources from IIT placement cells, reports ET.

    At least five IITs confirmed that the online social networking service, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, was not visiting them this year. Facebook had made about a dozen offers at three of these institutes last year with salaries going upwards of a crore and even touching Rs 2 crore for positions of software engineers in California.

    “Visa is an issue for US based technology companies that hire from India,” said former placement manager at IIT Bombay, Mohak Mehta. The current quota for H1B visas is 65,000 which is exhausted in a matter of days of the annual allocation becoming available at the beginning of April each year. US demand for talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is estimated to go up to a million by the year 2020.

    “Considering that a million of STEM workers would be needed by the US in some years, they are likely to fall short by almost 50 per cent. India has a good supply of talent in this space, which also includes the young IITians,” said Shivendra Singh, VP, NASSCOM.

    Facebook declined to comment. But sources close to the company said it had visa problems last year too. It was forced to position its IIT hires at the UK for almost a year before getting visas in place for the US.

    “Facebook did not come this year for undergraduate interns at our IIT,” confirmed Atal Ashutosh Agarwal, Vice President, Technology Students’ Gymkhana at IIT Kharagpur. It is the same story at other IITs.

     

  • LOC ceasefire Violation Continues in J&K

    LOC ceasefire Violation Continues in J&K

    After over a month-long lull, ceasefire violations have started again across the international border and on the LoC between India and Pakistan. As usual, both sides have accused each other for violating the cease fire.

    In the last 36 hours, the cease fire has been violated thrice.

    2 civilians have been killed & 3 injured in the fresh spate of firing after Pakistan targeted civilian areas.

    Several villages, particularly Sujanpur, Mawa, Bhati and Bobiya were hit by mortar shells, security officials said, adding, a school bus, private mini bus and tractor also suffered damages.

    The ceasefire violations which were almost a routine affair for several weeks, had stopped after the Director General (DG)-level talks between BSF and Pakistan Rangers in Delhi on September 12.

  • Indian-Origin Student among 4 Killed in Oklahoma State homecoming crash

    Indian-Origin Student among 4 Killed in Oklahoma State homecoming crash

    A ‘drunk driver’ rammed her car into a crowd of spectators at Oklahoma State University homecoming parade, killing at least four people and injuring 47 others, Stillwater police said.

    Adacia Avery ChambersThe accused driver of the vehicle – Adacia Avery Chambers, 25, has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol that resulted in the tragic collision in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She is due to appear in court Monday morning.

    Nikita Prabhakar, 23 - Facebook Pic
    Nikita Prabhakar, 23 – Facebook Pic

    Indian-Origin Nikita Prabhakar and married couple Bonnie Jean Stone, 65, and Marvin Lyle Stone, 65 were pronounced dead at the scene. The 4th Victim a two-year-old Nash Lucas’s died from his injuries at Oklahoma University Medical Center Children’s Hospital, according to a Stillwater Police Department statement.

    Nikita Prabhakar, 23, was from Mumbai and was doing her MBA from University of Central Oklahoma.

    “Our students come to Central with their unique goals, hopes and dreams, and Nikita was undoubtedly no different,” the University of Central Oklahoma’s president, Don Betz, said in a statement.

    Of the 47 people treated after the crash, 17 remained hospitalized and five were in critical condition, police said.

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  • HOT STARS FOUND LOCKED IN FINAL DEATH DANCE

    HOT STARS FOUND LOCKED IN FINAL DEATH DANCE

    Scientists have discovered two extremely hot and big stars locked in a death dance with a dramatic and violent end the only way out. They found the strange pair in the Tarantula Nebula, some 160,000 light years away.

    The international team of scientists used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in Chile’s Atacama Desert to find this pair.

    The VLT is managed by the multi-government European Southern Observatory (ESO) headquartered near Munich, Germany.

    The two star system, called VFTS 352, is composed of two very hot, bright and massive stars that orbit each other in little more than a day. The centres of the stars are separated by just 12 million kilometers and their surfaces have started overlapping. The combined mass of the pair is about 57 times that of the Sun and its surface temperatures are above 40 000 degrees Celsius. This makes it the biggest and hottest ‘overcontact’ double star systems found.

    Such a system is very rare because this phase in the life of the stars is short, making it difficult to catch them in the act. Because the stars are so close together, astronomers think that strong tidal forces lead to enhanced mixing of the material in the stellar interiors.

    “The VFTS 352 is the best case yet found for a hot and massive double star that may show this kind of internal mixing,” explains lead author Leonardo A. Almeida of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. “As such it’s a fascinating and important discovery.”

    Astronomers predict that VFTS 352 will face a cataclysmic fate in one of two ways. The first potential outcome is the merging of the two stars, which would likely produce a rapidly rotating, and possibly magnetic, gigantic single star. “If it keeps spinning rapidly it might end its life in one of the most energetic explosions in the Universe, known as a long-duration gamma-ray burst,” says the lead scientist of the project, Hugues Sana, of the University of Leuven in Belgium.

    The second possibility is explained by the lead theoretical astrophysicist in the team, Selma de Mink of University of Amsterdam: “If the stars are mixed well enough, they both remain compact and the VFTS 352 system may avoid merging. The components would likely end their lives in supernova explosions, forming a close binary system of black holes. Such a remarkable object would be an intense source of gravitational waves.”

    But, regardless of how VFTS 352 meets its demise, this system has already provided astronomers with valuable new insights into the poorly understood evolutionary processes of massive overcontact binary star systems.

  • Police warn parents not to post photos of their children on Facebook…

    Police warn parents not to post photos of their children on Facebook…

    Police in Germany are warning parents not to post photos of their children on Facebook in case they are stolen and used by paedophiles, Hagen Police said, in a message on their own Facebook page.

    Parents were advised to ensure that privacy settings allowed only their Facebook friends to view the photos – The advice has been shared nearly 200,000+ times.

    “A snapshot on the beach or naked in a paddling pool: Many of you publish pictures of your little ones on Facebook and is not uncommon for them to be visible to everyone, completely lacking appropriate safety precautions in privacy settings,” the post said.

    A police officer and spokesman for Hagen Police told the BBC that the response to the post had been “amazing” and that they estimated it had been viewed by more than 12 million people.

    “We want to tell all users that it is important to be careful with everything they do on the internet,” said Hanki Ulrich.

    “It’s better to think twice – the internet never forgets.”

    Mr Hanki added that the post had not been inspired by any recent criminal cases or paedophile activity in Hagen.

    Doctored photos

    Child protection charity the NSPCC said in a statement: “All parents should feel free to enjoy taking photos of their children and sharing them with friends and family. However, we should all be careful when posting photos online.

    “We know that sex offenders are able to doctor innocent family photos of children, and developments in photo editing software have made this easier.

    “So if parents do publish photos of their children online, they should take care to ensure that they have checked their privacy settings and are happy about who can see and share them.”

    The statement added that if parents were worried a photograph of their child had fallen into the wrong hands, they should contact the Internet Watch Foundation, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) or NSPCC helpline.

  • LED Lights to become the new Wi-Fi

    LED Lights to become the new Wi-Fi

    New technology created at Oregon State University can boost the bandwidth of Wi-Fi systems by about 10 times, using LED lights to transmit information.

    The technology uses ordinary LED room lights to transmit data around the house.

    The disadvantage of traditional Wi-Fi routers is that multiple devices in a space can interfere with each other. Li-Fi however can use multiple lights in a room without interference.

    As connected devices become more popular it is predicted that Wi-Fi networks will not be able to cope with demand.

    Li-Fi enables devices to use their in-built stand by LED lights to transmit data. The technology could be integrated with existing WiFi systems to reduce bandwidth problems in crowded locations, such as airport terminals or coffee shops, and in homes where several people have multiple WiFi devices.

    As LED lights become more popular, multiple companies are looking into using Li-Fi including, Disney Research and the Berlin-based, Fraunhofer Institute.

    The system can potentially send data at up to 100 megabits per second. Although some current WiFi systems have similar bandwidth, it has to be divided by the number of devices, so each user might be receiving just 5 to 10 megabits per second, whereas the hybrid system could deliver 50-100 megabits to each user.

    In a home where telephones, tablets, computers, gaming systems, and televisions may all be connected to the internet, increased bandwidth would eliminate problems like video streaming that stalls and buffers.

    The receivers are small photodiodes that cost less than a dollar each and could be connected through a USB port for current systems, or incorporated into the next generation of laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

    A provisional patent has been secured on the technology, and a paper was published in the 17th ACM International Conference on Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Wireless and Mobile Systems. The research has been supported by the National Science Foundation.

  • BRIDGE OF SPIES

    BRIDGE OF SPIES

    BRIDGE OF SPIESSTORY: USAF pilot Gary Powers is sent on a spy mission to overfly the USSR on a reconnaissance-cum-spy operation and take a bunch of photographs of sensitive areas in that country. A lawyer from Brooklyn, James Donovan (Hanks) is corralled by the CIA to help negotiate a spy exchange release, after Powers is captured.

    REVIEW: That Tom Hanks has been taking a great interest in past global conflagrations, be it his series The Pacific or Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, holds much delight for viewers who are fans of this genre. But then, when you add the Steven Spielberg touch to it (not to mention Ethan and Joel Coen’s writing), you are left with something that is dusted with Oscar gold-dust. Make no mistake though; this isn’t Hanks-grade confection that’s meant to stimulate your tear glands. Nor does it play to any political gallery. What we have here is an honest-to-goodness retelling of a tense incident that occurred during the Cold War.

    Rudolf Abel (Rylance) was arrested on charges of conspiracy by FBI agents in 1957 for stealing sensitive documents pertaining to the US military. It was during the apex years of the Cold War, and anyone who elicited even the slightest bit of suspicion, was castigated by American society as well as hounded by the authorities. Donovan was assigned to the task of brokering Powers’ release. But just when it seems like it is a straightforward (in as much as such an operation can actually be straightforward) mission in delicate diplomacy, it turns out that another American, has been captured not by the Russians, but by the East Germans. It is now up to Donovan to not only secure the exchange release of Powers in exchange for Abel, but also free another American who has been detained by the East Germans. A gripping thriller, this one is bold, audacious and shocking.

  • KAREENA KHAN IN A PAKISTANI FILM?

    KAREENA KHAN IN A PAKISTANI FILM?

    While Pakistani actors Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan have been banned in Maharashtra by Shiv Sena, Begum Kareena Kapoor Khan is considering to work in a Pakistani film.

    KAREENA KHANThe Tashan actress has been in talks with Pakistani filmmaker, Shoaib Mansoor, for quite some time now and while the lady is in Dubai for a Ki And Ka event, it is rumoured that she might also sign on the dotted line for the Pakistani film, as reported by Bollywoodlife.com. It is believed that Kareena has a very strong role in the film which will be her next release after her Arjun Kapoor-starrer Ki And Ka.

    Confirming the presence of the 35-year-old actress in Dubai, her friend Faraz Manan revealed that she is still reading the script, so her acceptance is not yet confirmed, reports the Dawn.

    However, Mansoor has denied any plans of working with Kareena. He says, “She (Kareena) had written to me praising my films and expressed her wish to work with me, and that’s it. There is nothing concrete as yet.”

    On the possibility of collaboration with India, Mansoor had said, “I’d like that. I feel the predicament regarding religious bigotry is the same in both the countries. I feel Pakistan and India are casualties of wrong policies. I wish to address these issues through my films. It’s important to bring about an awakening in people…. Not that I feel cinema can change mindsets.”

    Mansoor admits he has encountered cultural and religious discrimination all across the world. “If you and I travel together, you can sail through customs. But I’ll be grilled although I dress conventionally. Intolerance is a way of life in every culture,” he adds.

  • App that hurts Android phones’ performance the most

    App that hurts Android phones’ performance the most

    There’s a new king of the apps that utterly destroy the performance on your phone: Snapchat.

    Online security company AVG Technologies analyzed data from over a million Android users, and found that Snapchat’s use of your camera, data, GPS, and more combined to make it the number one overall performance drain.

    The app dethroned previous performance drain heavyweights like Facebook and Spotify. And it definitely explains why Snapchat sucks your battery life down so fast.

    Though this analysis didn’t take iOS users into account, it’s probably not a rosy picture on that front either.

    avg-android-app-performance-report-q1-2015-19-638

  • OILS THAT PREVENT HEART ATTACK

    OILS THAT PREVENT HEART ATTACK

    Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are the world’s number one killers, claiming 17.5 million lives a year globally.

    According to the National Institute of Nutrition India, our diet should consist of 15-30 percent fats.

    One must remember that not all oils are suitable for high-temperature Indian cooking. Using oils such as olive oil (especially extra-virgin) are not recommended for deep frying food items such as samosas and pakodas. The reason for this is that on over-heating these oils lose their nutritional qualities and produce harmful by-products. Alternatively when used in salads as a dressing, the oil does wonders in helping protect the heart. Similarly, sunflower, coconut, mustard oil all have a good heat endurance and can be used for deep-frying. So the choice of oil must be customized for the food you are looking at cooking.

    Different oils are suitable for different cooking conditions and people for instance: Sunflower oil though a good source of monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids is not recommended for diabetic patients since it may increase sugar levels. Canola, avocado, and almond oil are considered good for the heart because they contain healthy fats. However, combining different oils in one’s diet is ideal

    A large section of people are unaware of is that most oils are not meant to be used for cooking at high temperatures. Over-heating oil causes oxidation that leads to the formation of carcinogens, an unhealthy compound. It also demolishes the good nutritional qualities of the oil. The best way to avoid this is to watch the color of the oil. The change in the color of the oil is a crucial sign that indicates that it has started to degrade due to the heat.

    For instance, extra virgin olive oil is not suitable for deep frying or cooking any food product. It should solely be used for dressing or making dips. Most are unaware about this fact and continue to use oils that seem healthier for normal high heat Indian cooking thereby causing more harm than good.

    Another mistake that people often make is that they try and eliminate fats completely from their diet. An ideal diet should consist of 15-30 percent fats, and edible oils are one of the major contributors of dietary fats. Instead of eliminating oil completely from one’s diet, smart oil choices must be made.

    In addition to this, people must get out of the habit of reusing cooking oil. Reusing oil can create free radicals, which cause ailments in the long run. These free radicals can be carcinogenic i.e. can cause cancer and also atherosclerosis that can lead to an increase in bad cholesterol levels, blocking the arteries. If one must re-use oil, then they must make sure the leftover oil from cooking or frying is cooled down and then transferred into an airtight container through a strainer/cheesecloth. This will remove any food particles in the oil as they spoil the oil much sooner than expected. In addition to this, the color and thickness of the oil must be checked. If the oil is dark in color and is greasy/sticky than it must not be re-used.

    People must also be aware that oil can get spoilt. If upon heating the oil is smokey much before than expected, the time has come to discard it it may have accumulated HNE which is a toxic substance that has been associated with a number of diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, liver disease, etc.

    A sample of a healthy diet to protect the heart?

    Consuming certain foods can double your heart disease risks, and it is often tough to change one’s eating habits. It is important to control your portion size, a small plate or bowl can help control the portions one consumes. Consuming larger portions of low-calorie and nutrient-rich foods like, fruits and vegetables and reducing the quantity of food items which are high in trans fat, sodium and sugar content can go a long way in protecting the heart.

    One must understand the difference between good fat and bad fat to minimize the risks of heart disease. A few heart friendly diet practices include:

    • Eating more fruits and vegetables as they are low in calories and rich in dietary fibers
    • Reducing the consumption of red meat is important for heart patients
    • Opting for a sodium and sweet controlled diet since diabetes and hypertension both lead to coronary heart disease
    • Low calorie and high nutrient food must be consumed to keep obesity under check. Obesity is again a major influencer in early incidence of heart disease
    • People must limit the consumption of pre-packaged and canned food as they contain high levels of trans fats and salt content
    • Whole grain products are regarded as a great source of fiber that plays a major role in regulating blood pressure and heart health. One can easily increase the amount of whole grains in their diet by making simple substitutions for refined grain products.
  • WAYS TO GET RID OF TERRIBLE SORE THROAT

    WAYS TO GET RID OF TERRIBLE SORE THROAT

    A sore throat or Pharyngitis is often a forerunner of an impending upper respiratory tract infection.

    It may follow a cold or can be followed by a cold, cough and chest infection. It is contagious and spreads by droplet infection through sneezing and coughing. More often than not, it is due to viral infection but can be caused by bacteria. Microscopic examination of the throat swab confirms the causative organism. Like any infection in the body, Pharyngitis can have local and systemic symptoms. As this condition is so common, there have been easy to follow home remedies that can be used to cure this ailment.

    Common remedies that can be practiced at home:

    Warm saline gargle- Gargling with a pinch of salt in a glass of luke warm water 3-4 times daily helps increase the blood flow to the pharyngeal region, thereby washing away the infection and also reducing the edema associated with the infection. It also loosens the mucus, which can be expelled easily.

    Drink plenty of warm liquids – Tea, lemon tea, ginger-lemon tea, soups, cinnamon tea, warm orange juice with lemon drops, honey + lemon juice + crushed ginger in warm water etc. These are common home remedies that are very helpful in relieving a sore throat.

    Soft diet – Steamed /microwaved apple, mashed with honey acts as a throat soothener and it is easy to swallow without hurting the throat.

    Steam inhalation – With a steamer / hot shower.

    Throat sootheners – Cough lozenges, menthol / eucalyptus oil lozenges, honey + lemon. These help by soothing the throat and menthol also causes temporary numbness to the ailing throat. They also increase saliva secretion, thereby preventing dryness of the throat.

    Local heat – Apply a heating pad to the throat region or wrap your neck with hot air dried warm cloth / towel. This will provide relief to the ailing throat.

    Analgesics Antipyretics – Over the counter analgesics (NSAIDS) can be taken safely if the sufferer does not have any allergy to these medications. These medications give immediate pain relief and also bring down the malaise and fever.

    Avoid:

    Smoking, Cold drinks, Oily and fried food items, Spicy food Exercising.
    They cause harm to the infected throat by drying, irritating, dehydrating the already inflamed mucosa and should be avoided.

    Avoid going to public places lest you become the source of infection to other people. Also, avoid flying as the infection can spread to the ears and cause a middle ear infection.

    Take adequate rest for the body to heal better.

    Rest your voice to prevent exerting the larynx and worsening hoarseness of the voice.

    Seek medical attention if there is:

    • ??Throat pain lasting more than a couple of days
    • ??Very severe pain with chills, fever and body ache
    • ??Pain in the laryngeal region and voice change
    • ??Pain in the ears and blocking sensation in the ears ?
    • ?Neck swelling
    • ??Purulent cough
    • ??Swollen tonsils
    • ??Breathlessness with chest congestion and pain
  • FIND THE PLEASURE SPOTS IN YOUR MAN

    FIND THE PLEASURE SPOTS IN YOUR MAN

    Not the obvious hotspots, but there are some spots which if you identify can make your not the obvious hotspots, but there are some spots which if you identify can make your man go bonkers with experiencing maximum erotic pleasure.

    The body gets its maximum pleasure from the senses and touch makes all the difference when it comes to experiencing erotica. While a lot is said about the male G spot, it varies from man to man on which part of the male body gets titillated the maximum.

    If fathoming the man’s contentment is through his stomach -by good and tasty food, one’s way of excellent foreplay depends a lot on identifying his erotic hotspots that will make him experience the pinnacle of pleasure during your course of intimacy. Here are some places where you can make your man feel absolutely titillated and sexually moved.

    Back

    The G spot need not be centrally located. There are various pleasure hotspots which one can find out. Caress the back gently with your lips, better still with your tongue. Moist tongue or lips will move your partner and the gestures and emotional currents themselves will tell you whether that touch was a major turn on or not.

    Mouth

    A kiss indeed sums it up beautifully. And it is this kiss – the lips, the tongue and the pleasure while the lips gently give each a peck that one can know how the touch of the lips turns your man on. Make it a gentle affair with your lips first and then let your tongue explore those lips and the mouth to make him feel the hotspot.

    Ears

    Not an obvious hotspot, but ears are where lie the points which if titillated can work wonders in your foreplay. Move your tongue close to your ears and explore the outer parts of his ears first gently and do it vigorously if you see him getting turned on.

  • Pakistan PM fails to win US support against India

    Pakistan PM fails to win US support against India

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Pakistan Prime Minister must be a disappointed man. His bilateral with US President Barack Obama is being viewed as a diplomatic failure. India has watched the Sharif-Obama summit in Washington keenly, and while it is clear that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns to Islamabad without any big announcement to show for the bilateral, and no progress on US-Pakistan civil nuclear negotiations, there are many parts to the 2015 joint statement issued by the two that could  be worrisome for India.

    Here are the key statements in the US-Pakistan joint statement which may cause concern to India.

    1.  Hydroelectric projects in PoK/Gilgit-Baltistan 

    President Obama expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts to secure funding for the Diamer Bhasha and Dasu dams to help meet Pakistan’s energy and water needs.

    India has opposed the construction of hydro-electric projects in the disputed region of Kashmir that includes PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Most recently, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) unacceptable because it includes these projects, while India had told the UNGA that “India’s reservations about the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor stem from the fact that it passes through Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan for many years.”

    In recent years, the 4,500 m W Diamer Bhasha dam (DBD) project, that the Pakistan government says will halve its electricity shortfall when constructed, had come to a standstill over funding. In 2013, prospective investors – the ADB, China and Russia – had asked Pakistan to obtain an NOC (No objection certificate) from India before they could proceed on loans. Even after the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor by President Xi Jinping for projects including dams in PoK in April 2015, China has shown a preference for the $1.6 billion Karot project, rather than DBD, which would now cost an estimated $14 billion. It is significant that the US wants to play ‘White Knight’ on these two dams, and for India, the construction of major projects like these endorsed by the US would be a blow to its claim on PoK. Earlier this month, reports suggested India had protested over a USAID event aimed raising funding for DBD, where US firm Mott McDonald has been contracted to perform a technical engineering review.

    2.  Talks with the Taliban
    President Obama commended Pakistan for hosting and facilitating the first public talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in July 2015 and highlighted the opportunity presented by Pakistan’s willingness to facilitate a reconciliation process that would help end insurgent violence in Afghanistan.

    India has felt cut out of the Taliban peace process, and relations with President Ghani’s government underwent a strain when New Delhi learned that Pakistan would be allowed to host the talks in Murree. “This is an open acknowledgement that Pakistan controls the Taliban,” a senior official had told The Hindu at the time, “And rather than castigate Pakistan for not curbing the Taliban’s violence, these talks will legitimize its actions.”

    When the talks collapsed over the announcement of Mullah Omar’s death, it was felt Pakistan’s claim of being a ‘peacemaker’ rather than a sponsor of Taliban-terror would end. However, despite a surge in violence by the Taliban, including the brutal siege of Kunduz that was overthrown by Afghan and US special forces last month, the Joint statement seems to indicate the US is prepared to let Pakistan host the talks again.

    3.  Resume India-Pakistan talks
    President Obama and Prime Minister Sharif stressed that improvement in Pakistan-India bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for lasting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. The two leaders expressed concern over violence along the Line of Control, and noted their support for confidence-building measures and effective mechanisms that are acceptable to both parties. The leaders emphasized the importance of a sustained and resilient dialogue process between the two neighbors aimed at resolving all outstanding territorial and other disputes, including Kashmir, through peaceful means and working together to address mutual concerns of India and Pakistan regarding terrorism.

    For over a decade, the US has stayed away from openly pushing India towards talks with Pakistan. In the period between 2003-2008, this was because India and Pakistan were engaging each other, and both the composite dialogue and back-channel diplomacy yielded many important confidence building measures between them. After the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, the US recognized India’s legitimate anger over the attacks being planned and funded in Pakistan, and abstained from making any comments on the resumption of India-Pakistan dialogue, restricting itself only to “welcoming” talks between their leaders in Thimphu, Delhi, New York and Ufa. The US-Pakistan joint statement doesn’t just put the importance of “sustained and resilient dialogue process” (codeword for comprehensive dialogue) back in focus, it makes a new mention of “violence along the LoC” which India squarely blames Pakistan for initiating. India believes ceasefire violations are aimed at “infiltrating terrorists”, a charge the government repeated when the NSA talks were cancelled. Of particular worry for India will be the US-Pakistan joint statement’s reference to “mutual concerns of terrorism”, as it comes in the wake of Pakistan’s latest claims of Indian support to terrorism inside Pakistan. Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz had told the press that Indian agency “involvement” in Balochistan and FATA would be taken up during the summit.

    4.  Action on LeT?
    In this context, the Prime Minister apprised the President about Pakistan’s resolve to take effective action against United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and its affiliates, as per its international commitments and obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and the Financial Action Task Force.

    Action against the LeT has been India’s most sustained demand from Pakistan, especially after the 26/11 attacks, when the LeT’s top leadership was charged with planning and executing the carnage in Mumbai. Yet years later, chief Hafiz Saeed is free, LeT operations chief Zaki Ur Rahman Lakhvi is out on bail, and there seems little evidence that Pakistani forces have conducted any sort of crackdown on the Lashkar e Toiba, especially when compared to action against other groups after the Peshawar school attack of December 2014. While the US-Pakistan joint statement doesn’t note President Obama’s acceptance of Pakistan’s claims of keeping its “international commitments and obligations”, it is significant that the US has not raised the obvious violation of the UNSC and FATF requirements earlier this year during the bail process of Lakhvi. Despite Indian representations to the US and UN, there has been little pressure on Pakistan how Lakhvi raised the funds when according to the UNSC 1267 Committee rules, a designated terrorist cannot be allowed recourse to finances.

    5.  Nuclear talks
    The leaders noted Pakistan’s efforts to improve its strategic trade controls and enhance its engagement with multilateral export control regimes. Recognizing the importance of bilateral engagement in the Security, Strategic Stability and Non-Proliferation Working Group, the two leaders noted that both sides will continue to stay engaged to further build on the ongoing discussions in the working group.

    Both, the US and Pakistan, have denied a report in the Washington Post that they had planned what it called a “diplomatic blockbuster”: negotiations over a civil nuclear deal on the lines the US and India signed in 2005. Pakistan’s foreign secretary reacted to the report with a detailed account of Pakistan’s “low-yield tactical nuclear weapons” aimed at India, to calm fears in Pakistan that the government was giving up its weapons program. Even so the details in the Post have left lingering doubts over what the US intends, including pushing for a possible NSG waiver for Pakistan in exchange for limiting Pakistan’s missile capability. The report goaded the MEA into counseling the US on taking a closer look at Pakistan’s past on supplying nuclear weapons to North Korea and Iran, “Whosoever is examining that particular dossier should be well aware of Pakistan’s track record in proliferation. And when India got this particular deal, it was on the basis of our own impeccable non-proliferation track record,” the MEA spokesperson said on October 9, given that India will watch this space closely, particularly the phrase on “engagement with multilateral export regimes” mentioned in the US-Pakistan joint statement.

  • Texas storms snarl flights at Dallas airports

    Texas storms snarl flights at Dallas airports

    DALLAS (TIP): Stormy weather in Texas has snarled flights at Dallas/Fort Worth, creating headaches for travelers flying to, from or through that busy U.S. airport on Friday.

    More than 420 flights – about 180 departures and 240 arrivals – had been canceled there as of 3:50 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. That represented about 20% of the airport’s entire daily schedule. And another 600 of Friday’s flights had been delayed. Together that represents about half of the day’s flights at DFW, according to the FlightAware data.

    DFW, of course, is the biggest hub for American Airlines, now the world’s biggest airline following its merger with US Airways.

    Flight delays also were being reported at Dallas Love Field, the smaller of the two Dallas-area airports. Southwest operates a major base from Love Field.

  • RICHA CHADHA TAKES UP SONAM KAPOOR’S CHALLENGE

    RICHA CHADHA TAKES UP SONAM KAPOOR’S CHALLENGE

    Sonam Kapoor is the darli’ng of social media. From shutting off trolls to indulging in self-deprecating humour, sharing fashion tips and funny videos to turning common people into celebrities — the Kapoor girl knows how it’s done.

    The vivacious actress is currently high on the title track of her forthcoming film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, which has taken the internet by storm. Fans have been posting adorable videos of them imitating Sonam’s traditional dance moves and one of them happens to be actress Richa Chadha, who totally nailed it. We are in love with this ‘Prem-bhara’ initiative, Sonam.

  • KATE WINSLET SAYS NO TO RETOUCHING ADS

    KATE WINSLET SAYS NO TO RETOUCHING ADS

    Kate Winslet, who has always taken a stance against retouching her photographs for magazine spreads and ads, has made a point in her L’Oreal contract that her Lancome ads should be free of any additional edits.

    Explaining why she is adamant on not getting retouched, the 40-year-old actress said that she did this because she thinks that she has a responsibility towards the younger generation of women, reports E!Online.Winslet added that she thinks they do look up to the magazines and to the women, who have been successful in their chosen careers.

    NO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KATE WINSLET, HER CHILDREN

    She is starring in the upcoming film about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, but Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet says she is not good with technology. The 40-year-old actress is mother to a 15-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old son and her youngest son will turn two in December, reported BBC online. Asked if she is strict with her children about how much they can use technology, Winslet said, “Not strict. But you have to have rules I think and we certainly have those, yes.”

  • KATE HUDSON IS WRITING A SELF-HELP BOOK

    KATE HUDSON IS WRITING A SELF-HELP BOOK

    Kate Hudson wants to share her life experiences with her fans but insists that it is not an advice tome but instead, she said it will be about “throwing perfection out the window. It’s about finding what works for you. And I share the things that have worked for me.”

    Kate — who has two sons, Ryder, 11, with former husband Chris Robinson and four-year-old Bingham with ex fiance Matt Bellamy — revealed she and her friends motivate each other and try not to focus on life’s negatives. She told a magazine, “I have friends who I’ve told the same story to 500 times. And you’re like, ‘But I need to talk about it, again and again and again.’ One of my girlfriends and I made this decision: We’re going to give ourselves three days. We’re going to talk about a particular subject, ad nauseam. Then we’re done. It was like breaking a bad habit.”

    Kate also revealed that she and her exes have remained friendly just for the sake of their children. She said, “Relationships ending are painful, and you can choose to carry that or you can choose to reframe it. If Matt and I had a great relationship, we would still be together, but we chose to move on because we had different visions of how we wanted to live our lives. That doesn’t mean, though, that we can’t rebuild something that would be the best thing for the kids.”

  • PAK-US NUCLEAR DEAL INDIA THREATENED

    PAK-US NUCLEAR DEAL INDIA THREATENED

    NEW DELHI / KARACHI(TIP): Pakistan’s refusal to rule out use of nuclear weapons in a conventional conflict with India and the military’s belief that a nuclear deterrent allows it to pursue terrorism against India sharply reduces the possibility of a civil nuclear deal with the US that imposes constraints on Islamabad’s atomic arsenal.

    Pakistan’s ambiguous nuclear doctrine that does not make it clear just when the nuclear option could come into operation is rooted in a belief system that the weapons are the only means of countering India’s larger armed forces.

    The threat to use “tactical” or battlefield nukes is supported by elaborate arguments based on conveniently edited history, a dire interpretation of Indian intent and far fetched comparisons with Nato strategies during the cold war.

    Given the military’s belief, shared by elite opinion including strategic affairs experts, that nuclear weapons are part of a triad comprising regular military and anti-India jihadi groups, there is hardly any likelihood of Pakistan agreeing to reduce or contain its armoury to a size that answers to a strategic deterrent.

    Pakistan’s reference to jargon like “full spectrum” deterrence amounts to a determination to use its nuclear weapons as a means to prevent India from using military options in response to terrorist attacks.

    This interpretation of deterrence – of using nuclear weapons to prevent retaliation for terrorist attacks – is uniquely Pakistan’s and has nothing in common with cold war doctrines that the military frequently quotes.

    India’s argument that any attempt to buy off Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is not only not likely to work but may be counter-productive is bolstered by the Nawaz Sharif government’s inability to chart a policy on its own.

    Having buckled to the military’s insistence that Pakistan pitch Kashmir to the top of its engagement with India in order to take the focus away from terrorism, the Sharif regime has even less elbow room on any nuclear deal.

    Though the Pakistan army has been, on the whole, spectacularly unsuccessful in achieving any of its objectives with regard to Jammu and Kashmir, the dispute remains a key rational for maintaining nuclear arms.

    The Kashmir dispute serves to block any real progress with India even if it is quite evident that the most intractable aspect of bilateral ties isn’t the best starting point and that cooperation on terrorism might actually make the region safer.

  • SRI LANKA PRESIDENT CALLS ALL-PARTY MEET ON UN RESOLUTION

    SRI LANKA PRESIDENT CALLS ALL-PARTY MEET ON UN RESOLUTION

    COLOMBO (TIP): Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has called an all-party meeting to discuss the latest UNHRC resolution over the alleged rights abuses committed during the 26-year-old civil war with the Tamil Tigers.

    Some 21 political parties are expected to take part in this evening’s meeting, also to be attended by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, presidential sources said.

    The UNHRC resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka and drafted by the US has called for a domestic internal inquiry involving foreign expertise over the alleged human rights violations during the war that ended in 2009.

    Nationalist groups have called the resolution a betrayal.

    The Sirisena government sees the resolution as its triumph as having been able to prevent an international warcrimes investigation, which might have led to a trial of prominent figures including former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

    It was under Rajapaksa’s tenure that the Sri Lankan forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the separatist group that waged armed insurgency against the government.

    The UN has estimated that 40,000 people died, many of them civilians, during the civil war.

    The objective of the all-party-meet could be to seek the view of the parties on the resolution.

    “If the President’s idea is to tell us that the resolution poses no threat to our sovereignty we will use this chance to bring to his attention the peril faced by the nation,” said Udaya Gammanpila, an opposition member of parliament from the ultra nationalist Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU).

    The Opposition held a public rally earlier this week, faulting the government for “succumbing to dictates of the US” on the resolution.

    Sri Lanka has opted for a local mechanism even after the UN rights chief prescribed a hybrid court to carry out prosecutions.

  • Top Bangladesh opposition politician jailed for 13 years

    Top Bangladesh opposition politician jailed for 13 years

    DHAKA (TIP): A Bangladesh court today jailed a former mayor of Dhaka for 13 years for corruption in absentia, a prosecutor said, a fresh blow to the beleaguered opposition which called the charges politically motivated.

    An anti-graft court found Sadeque Hossain Khoka, now living in the United States, guilty of amassing wealth illegally and of concealing information about his income.

    “He was sentenced to 13 years in jail in total for the two charges,” Mosharraf Hossain, prosecutor for the country’s Anti Corruption Commission, told AFP.

    “The judge also ordered confiscation of 100.5 million taka ($1.3 million) in illegally acquired property,” he said.

    Khoka, 63, is a vice-chairman of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was mayor of the capital Dhaka for nearly ten years until 2011.

    He now lives in New York where he is being treated for cancer, his lawyer Sanaullah Mian told AFP, adding that they planned to appeal against the verdict.

    Mian, who is also a BNP official, called the case “one hundred percent politically motivated”. “It is part of the government’s repression of the opposition,” he said. The BNP and its Islamist allies have accused the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of cracking down on the opposition in recent months after they tried to topple her through a violent transport blockade early this year.