Less childhood sleep has fat risk

LONDON: Children who get insufficient sleep at night are more likely to become overweight, according to researchers in New Zealand.

A study followed 244 children between the ages of three and seven.

It said more sleep was linked to a lower weight, which could have important public health consequences.

UK experts said there was "no harm" in drawing attention to the link between reduced sleep and ill health.

The children were seen every six months when their weight, height and body fat were measured. Their sleeping habits and physical-activity levels were recorded at ages three, four and five.

The researchers found that those children who had less sleep in their earlier years were at greater risk of having a higher Body Mass Index at age seven. 

This link continued even when other risk factors, such as gender and physical activity, were accounted for in their research.

Suggested reasons for the link include simply having more time to eat and changes to hormones affecting appetite.

In an accompanying analysis, Professors Francesco Cappuccio and Michelle Miller, from the University of Warwick, said future research should "explore and validate new behavioural, non-drug based, methods to prolong children's and adults' sleeping time. 

"In the meantime it would do no harm to advise people that a sustained curtailment of sleeping time might contribute to long-term ill health in adults and children."

Dr Ian Maconochie, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: "Children under five generally average at least 11 hours sleep at night and in daytime naps. 

"However, 20% of children at this age experience problems sleeping, and we already know that inadequate sleep has a significant impact on attention, memory, behaviour, and school performance. This paper is a useful addition to our knowledge of children's sleep patterns."

Raising good cholesterol has little impact

WASHINGTON: Raising the blood levels of good cholesterol does nothing to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients already taking statins to lower their bad cholesterol, a federally-funded study has determined. Scientists at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which led the study of some 3,400 Canadians and Americans, said Thursday they had prematurely terminated the trials after the results became clear. During the 32-month study, half the patients took extra doses of niacin, also known as vitamin B3, to raise their levels of good cholesterol, as well as a statin to lower their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. The other half took a placebo instead of the niacin, while continuing with the statin treatment. While it is well known that lowering the level of bad cholesterol with statins like Lipitor or Zocor reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers were surprised to find that when patients also took high dose, extended-release niacin, there was no additional drop in heart disease or stroke. "Although we did not see the expected clinical benefit, we have answered an important scientific question about treatment for cardiovascular disease," said Susan Shurin, the NHLBI's acting director. "Seeking new and improved ways to manage cholesterol levels is vital in the battle against cardiovascular disease," she added. It is estimated that one American out of seven has high blood cholesterol, a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease, which kills some 800,000 people in the United States every year. (APP)

Afghanistan in the 1950's and 1960's

Intercontinental Kabul, Built in 1969.


















"Recording room pre-records many interviews, special service programs for delayed broadcast."





"A villager welcomes visiting nurses to his compound."




Khyber restaurant Kabul Afghanistan 1960's

Modern Kabul in the 1970's with an up to date electric bus system.



King Zahir and other officials in Kabul airport to welcome President Dwight Eisenhower during a good-will tour to Afghanistan in Dec.1959



Ariana airlines airline attendant













Paghman, City of Gardens

Kolkata Knight riders Vs Mumbai Indians score;

kolkata Knight Riders 44/4 (9.2/20 ov)

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field

• Kolkata Knight Riders RR 4.71
• Last 5 ovs 28/1 RR 5.60

Refresh scorecard			Current time: 20:47 local, 15:17 GMT										Twenty20 career
	Batsmen	Runs	B	4s	6s	SR	This bowler				Last 5 ovs			Mat	Runs	HS	SR
	*Ryan ten Doeschate(rhb)	19	17	2	1	111.76	0 (1b)				19 (17b)			92	1611	102	130.33
	Yusuf Pathan(rhb)	8	14	0	0	57.14	1 (1b)				7 (9b)			89	1791	100	159.05
	Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s		4s	6s	This spell			Mat	Wkts	BBI	Econ
	*Harbhajan Singh(ob)	1.2	0	6	1	4.50	5		1	0	0.2-0-1-0			84	75	5/18	6.61
	Kieron Pollard(rmf)	1.0	0	3	0	3.00	3		0	0	1-0-3-0			103	96	4/15	7.79

Recent overs . . . . 4 1 | 1 1 . 1 1 6 | . 1 . . 1 1 | 1 . Current partnership 24 runs, 3.5 overs, RR: 6.26 (Pathan 5, ten Doeschate 19) Last Bat MK Tiwary lbw b Kulkarni 4 (7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 57.14 Fall of wicket: 20/4 (5.3 ov); Partnership: 5 runs, 2.1 overs, RR: 2.30 (Pathan 3, Tiwary 2)

Atleast 14 injured in Peshawar Blast!

PESHAWAR: At least 14 people were injured in a powerful blast occurred near CID police station at University Road in the wee hours of Wednesday, Geo News reported. Relief and rescue teams have rushed to the site and initiated their work. The injured are being shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital. Security forces have cordoned off the area. It is said that the blast was heard across Peshawar city. Windowpanes of the nearby buildings were smashed in the blast.

Pakistan Beats West Indies ! :)

BASSETERRE, SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS: Pakistan beat West Indies by 196 runs in the second and final Test to square the series here on Tuesday at Warner Park.

Score summary:

Pakistan

1st innings: 272 (Azhar Ali 67, Tanvir Ahmed 57, Umar Akmal 56; R Rampaul 3-68, D Bishoo 3-80)

2nd innings: 377 for six dec (Taufeeq Umar 135, Misbah-ul-Haq 102 not out, Azhar Ali 53; D Bishoo 2-149)

1st innings: West Indies 223 (M Samuels 57; Mohammad Hafeez 3-23, Saeed Ajmal 3-56)

2nd innings: 230 (D Bravo 50; Abdur Rehman 4-65, Saeed Ajmal 3-79)

Sources : http://tribune.com.pk/story/175093/windies-tour-pakistan-level-test-serie

Supreme Court takes notice of Kharotabad incident

 ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken notice of the killing of five Chechens in Kharotabad, Quetta and asked the security agencies to present a report on the incident, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry remarked that seeing the law and order situation in country, it seems as if the government has miserably failed in delivering its responsibilities.

CJ remarked these while hearing the case of missing persons in Balochistan. 

Dismissing the report of Chief Secretary Balochistan on the development in rescue of missing persons, Iftikhar Chaudhry said, as per report, there is no progress seen in situation.

He said the government should take concrete measures for betterment of law and order situation in province, adding that the latter should not be waiting for the time when it becomes impossible to do any good.

“If the killers of Nawab Akhber Bugti had been brought to justice so the situation would not have been as bad as it is now, ” the CJ remarked.

The administration has failed to safeguard the lives and property of people in Balochistan, as it is incumbent upon the state to make sure provision of protection to its citizens.

He said whatever is happening in Karachi is evident of the fact that the situation has gone completely out of control.

“Five innocent foreigners were killed in cold blood but the government took notice against none, ” Iftikhar remarked.

The Kharotabad incident has brought bad name to Pakistan in international community, he said adding that the armed assault on PNS Mehran, naval base in Karachi, is another example to tarnish image of Pakistan.

The provincial government has formed a judicial commission to probe into Kharotabad killing, the apex court was told.

Adjoining the hearing of the case for two weeks, the court directed presentation of commission’s report on Kharotabad incident.

Dairy products don’t raise heart attack risk

LONDON: Cheese and butter eaters worry no more as researchers found that eating dairy products do not raise the risk of heart attack. The nutritionists examined thousands of old-aged people and came to know that even those who ate more than half a kilo of cheese did not put them under increased risk. Things like milk and cheese are very complex substance, explained researcher Stella Aslibekyan from Brown University, Rhode Island, where the study was carried out. The study suggested that nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and potassium present in the dairy products may protect against heart disease for all but those who ate the most of them.

Source :Geotv

US would act unilaterally again inside Pakistan: Obama

WASHINGTON: US President Obama has indicated he would order an Abbottabad type operation that killed Osama Bin Laden early this month if another militant leader was found in Pakistan. He said the US was mindful of sovereignty issue but said the US could not allow "active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action". He was speaking to the BBC ahead of a European visit. Asked what he would do if one of al-Qaeda's top leaders, or the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was tracked down to a location in Pakistan or another sovereign territory, he said the US would take unilateral action if required. "Our job is to secure the United States," Obama said. "We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people or our allies' people. "We can't allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action."

Javed Ch V/s Faisal Raza abdii PPPP

Tomatoes save from high cholesterol

SYDNEY: Tomatoes may be an effective alternative to drugs in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and in preventing heart disease. A bright red pigment called lycopene found in tomatoes and to a lesser extent in watermelon, guava, papaya and pink grapefruit has antioxidant properties that are vital to good health. Karin Ried and her colleague Peter Fakler from the University of Adelaide are the first to summarise the effect of lycopene on cholesterol and blood pressure (BP), analysing the collective results of 14 studies over the last 55 years. "Our study suggests that if more than 25 milligrams of lycopene is taken daily, it can reduce LPD (bad) cholesterol by up to 10 per cent," says Ried, reports the journal Maturitas. Tomatoes have high levels of lycopene, with half a litre of tomato juice taken daily, or 50 grams of tomato paste, providing protection against heart disease, according to an Adelaide statement. "That's comparable to the effect of low doses of medication commonly prescribed for people with slightly elevated cholesterol, but without the side effects of these drugs, which can include muscle pain and weakness and nerve damage," says Ried.

Source : http://www.geo.tv/5-20-2011/81559.htm

Afridi removed as ODI team captain!

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed Shahid Afridi as one-day captain for the forthcoming series against Ireland. Chairman of the board Ijaz Butt told a media conference in Islamabad that senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq would lead the team in the two one-day matches against Ireland on May 28 and 30. "Afridi has been retained as a player in the one-day squad but the captaincy has gone to Misbah," Butt said without elaborating the reason for the decision. Afridi had captained the team to the World Cup semi-finals where they lost to India and recently also guided them to a 3-2 win over the West Indies in the ODI series in the Caribbean. He has been leading the T20 and ODI sides since early 2010. (Reuters)

Source

http://www.geo.tv/5-19-2011/81523.htm

'US killed Bin Laden clone in Pakistan'

The US operation that allegedly killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan has actually led to the death of a clone of the al-Qaeda leader, working under CIA operative Raymond Davis, an American editor says.


"The real bin Laden died years ago after receiving treatment in American hospitals for his various illnesses," said Gordon Duff, senior editor of Ohio-based Veterans Today, in an interview with Press TV's US Desk.

"His [bin Laden] body was frozen and kept in storage for a date when it would be of advantage to the United States to use it for maximum advantage," Duff wrote in a May 9 article titled 'Was Raymond Davis CIA's Bin Laden Handler?'

According to the US intelligence community, bin Laden's body was recovered in 2001 by American Special Forces in Afghanistan, Duff says.

"The CIA maintained a safe house at Abbottabad [where it] kept agents right next to the compound that 'bin Laden' was allegedly [killed] at," Duff said.

Duff went on to say that the CIA facility next door to the alleged bin Laden's compound was filled with armed agents possibly protecting the phony bin Laden.

Duff also emphasized on the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has failed to present any evidence linking bin Laden to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US soil about ten year ago.

Analysts have raised serious questions as to why US officials did not allow for the application of a DNA test to formally confirm the identity of the corpse before his burial at sea. 

Source : http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180564.html

Busting myths about sheesha

There is a common misconception in Pakistan that smoking shisha is not as harmful as smoking cigarettes. This notion exists despite the publication of research conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which shows that an average pipe smoking session of around an hour is equivalent to smoking up to 200 cigarettes.

Cancer, TB and dreary consequences

Scientific studies regarding the adverse health consequences of smoking shisha point to dangers that are similar to, if not worse than, those associated with smoking cigarettes.

Research conducted on shisha use has clearly shown that it has particularly serious health consequences on the lungs and the heart, two vital organs of the body. Lung cancer, cancers of the food pipe, chronic obstructive lung disease, emphysema, low birth weight, precipitation of asthma attacks and pneumonia are some of the health hazards associated with shisha smoking.

Additional dangers not encountered with cigarette smoking are infectious diseases resulting from pipe sharing and the frequent addition of alcohol or psychoactive drugs to the tobacco.

The smoke from shisha, besides other dangerous elements, contains hundreds of potentially dangerous heavy metals like, arsenic, cobalt, chromium and lead. Research has also shown that after 45 minutes of shisha use, levels of expired air, carbon monoxide, plasma nicotine and the heart rate become significantly elevated. Another study has shown that shisha use increases the risk of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Nicotine dependence may also result from repeated inhalation of tobacco smoke from Shisha. Just last week I measured the carbon monoxide (CO) level of a girl who had used shisha 18 hours prior to the test. At that time, her breath CO level was as high as that seen in a smoker who averages 10 cigarettes a day.

Besides lung cancer, shisha use is also linked with increased risk of mouth and urinary bladder cancer. There is also some evidence that shisha use may also decrease the sperm count in men. Regular shisha users’ lungs function 25 per cent worse than those who do not use the water pipe.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of shisha use. If they are present in restaurants or at home where shisha is being used, there is an increased risk of them getting lung infections, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome.

Shisha smoking can also transmit infections and viruses such as herpes simplex and hepatitis A.

Being hooked to shisha

Another worrying aspect of the Shisha epidemic is that while it was previously used in countries like Pakistan and India, mainly by the elderly village population, in the past few years its use has markedly increased in the urban areas of the subcontinent. Many restaurants in the major cities of Pakistan now offer shisha to their customers. The price of one shisha session can cost as high as Rs2,000. As a result newly opened restaurants in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad are doing excellent business by serving shisha to their customers. Most restaurant managers tell their customers:

It’s mainly fruity flavour and has very little tobacco in it.

People who use shisha need to ask themselves why manufactures put tobacco in it in the first place. The whole idea of having tobacco present in the shisha is to compel the youth to get hooked onto the powerful addictive substance called nicotine.

Those who use shisha have a higher chance of smoking cigarettes than those who do not. Research conducted by Aga Khan University (AKU) has also shown that shisha users are also more likely to use other tobacco products like gutka and naswar than non-shisha users. For youngsters, smoking shisha is glamorous and fashionable, an enjoyable act which symbolises a ‘modern’ way of life.

Busting shisha myths

Below are some common myths about shisha use and the reality behind them.

Myth 1: Shisha is not worse than cigarettes because you do not inhale it like you do when smoking a cigarette.

Reality: In order to use shisha you have to inhale, otherwise you cannot generate the fumes. In fact, shisha smoke is more dangerous than cigarette smoke. Shisha generates smoke in different ways. Cigarette smoke is generated by burning tobacco, while hookah smoke is produced by heating tobacco mixed with flavours in a bowl using charcoal. The end product is the same: smoke, containing carcinogens

Myth 2: People do not smoke shisha alone. Rather they do it in groups so it’s less dangerous.

Reality: A cigarette finishes in a couple of minutes but a shisha session lasts hours, therefore the user is more likely to inhale toxins for a longer period of time. The risk to health is not just to those who are using the shisha but it also affects the health of those present in the room where the shisha is being consumed.

Having measured tobacco smoke pollution levels of some of the famous shisha cafes in Pakistan (to be published in an international journal next month), we were shocked to see dangerously high levels of toxins present in the air inside these cafes. Children present in these cafes also inhale these toxins even if they do not use shisha themselves.

Myth 3: Shisha is not addictive; cigarettes are.

Reality: There is a sharp increase in the number of young adults who say they cannot live without shisha. A couple recently told me that their son started going to a shisha café every day. According to their son, he could not study unless he smoked shisha every single day, so his parents eventually bought a Shisha for him so he could study at home. This trend indicates that there must be a reason why tobacco is present in the flavour used for shisha.

Myth 4: The water in the base of the shisha works as a filter so the smoke inhaled is not as bad.

Reality: Smoking tobacco through water does not filter out cancer-causing chemicals. Water-filtered smoke can damage the lungs and heart as much as cigarette smoke. Research conducted in Pakistan has shown high levels of carbon monoxide in the breath of shisha users.

Myth 5: There haven’t been any cases where someone has suffered lung cancer or other diseases by smoking shisha.

Reality: Toxic effects of shisha on the human body take time to develop. Reports from the Middle East where shisha use has been common for some time now, show high incidences of lung and food pipe cancer in its users.

Myth 6: Shisha is mostly molasses, not so much tobacco, so it is not so harmful.

Reality: Fruity flavours tend to mask the toxins present in shisha. People are more likely to use it in excess amounts thinking they are only inhaling fruity flavours.

To conclude, I would like to add that our lungs have not been created to enjoy flavours. Their main function is to provide oxygen to the body and to get rid of carbon dioxide. If someone likes a particular flavour, then he or she could enjoy it in the form of a fruit juice or ice cream rather than inhaling it in the lungs with several liters of toxic fumes.