China Seeks Military Bases in Pak’s Restive Tribal Region

China has expressed an interest in setting up military bases in Pakistan’s volatile tribal area or the Northern Areas, close to the restive Chinese province of Xinjiang, to counter the activities of extremists, according to a media report.

The Chinese desire is aimed at containing the growing terrorist activities of Chinese rebels of the al-Qaeda-linked East Turkestan Islamic Movement, The News daily quoted diplomatic sources as saying.

The Chinese rebels want an independent Islamic state and are reportedly being trained in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

China’s wish to have a military presence in Pakistan was discussed at length by the political and military leadership of both countries in recent months as Beijing has become more concerned about the Pakistan’s tribal belt serving as a haven for radicals, the report said.

“Beijing believes that similar to the American military presence in Pakistan, a Chinese presence would enable its military to effectively counter the Muslim separatists who had been operating from the tribal areas of Pakistan for almost a decade and carrying out cross-border terrorist activities in the trouble-stricken Xinjiang Province,” the report said.

There were three high-profile visits from Pakistan to China in recent months – by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, President Asif Ali Zardari and Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha.

The Pakistani visits were reciprocated by a visit to Islamabad by Chinese Vice Premier Meng Jianzhu.

This visit was prompted by two bomb blasts in Kashgar city of Xinjiang on July 30 and 31 that killed 18 people, the report said.

The blasts provoked senior government officials in Xinjiang to claim for the first time in recent years that the attackers were trained in ETIM camps being run by Chinese Muslim separatists in Pakistan’s Waziristan tribal region.

The report contended that Beijing believes the Chinese rebels operating from the Pakistani tribal areas are well connected to Al Qaeda, which trains them and provides funding.

“Therefore, Pakistan and China, which have been cooperating for a long time in the field of counter-terrorism, have intensified their efforts to nip the evil of terrorism in the bud, especially after the Kashgar blasts,” it said.

In the aftermath of the May 2 raid by US troops that killed Osama bin Laden in his hideout in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad that Islamabad started playing its “China card aggressively, perhaps to caution Washington against pushing it too hard”, the report said.

Shortly after the raid, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani travelled to Beijing too seek support for Pakistan.

Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, who accompanied Gilani, said on May 21 that whatever requests for assistance the Pakistani side made, the Chinese government was more than happy to oblige, including agreeing to take over operation of the strategically located but underused port of Gwadar upon expiry of a contract with a Singaporean government company.

Mukhtar had further said that Pakistan had asked China to begin building a naval base at Gwadar, where Beijing funded and built the port.

“We would be grateful to the Chinese government if a naval base is constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan,” he said in a statement.

Related articles

• China Vows to Stand by Pakistan (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)

World Population to Hit 7 Billion in Five Days: UN

The world’s population will reach 7 billion in five days, the UN has said as it urged the global community to seize the opportunity and invest in health and education of its youth. Actions taken now will decide whether the future will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous or marked by
inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks, a United Nations report has said.

“The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life,” UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said.

He said that planning and the right investments in people will empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves, but also for a world of 7 billion.

The UNFPA report ‘The State of World Population 2011′ notes that the record population size can be viewed in many ways as a success for humanity because it means people are living longer and more children are surviving worldwide. But not everyone has benefited from this achievement or the higher quality of life that this implies, it added.

Great disparities exist among and within countries and in rights and opportunities between men and women as evidenced by the fact that 215 million women of child-bearing age in developing countries lack access to voluntary family planning, while millions of adolescent girls and boys there have little access to sex education and information on how to prevent pregnancies or protect themselves from HIV.

“Our work is far from done,” Osotimehin said. “We must tear down economic, legal and social barriers, to put women and men and boys and girls on an equal footing in all spheres of life.”

Of the world’s 7 billion, 1.8 billion are young people between the ages of 10 and 24, he noted. “Young people hold the key to the future, with the potential to transform the global political landscape and to propel economies through their creativity and capacities for innovation.

Osotimehin said that the investment in the health and education of our youth would yield enormous returns in economic growth and development for generations to come.

Related articles

• World population hits seven billion and could double within 100 years (calgaryherald.com)

Five Major Hair Care Myths you Shouldn’t Believe

Are you the one who always believes in those age old health belief and myths when it comes to hair care? Then it’s time to hold on and think again. Some of these myths are not always good for your hair. If you want to benefit from the best treatments, make sure you get all the facts straight, in order to distinguish facts from these myths.

Plucking a Grey Hair Causes Two to Grow Back

It is absolutely not true; Plucking hair will actually damage your hair roots. It can even infect the empty root and lead to severe pain by leaving a scar. It, by no means cause more grey hairs to sprout out. If it does, then people would have never faced baldness as it provides the best natural remedy for it.

Brushing your Hair Every Night Makes it Grow and Add shine

There is an age old belief that brushing your hair at night is good compare to combing. In fact too much of brushing could damage your hair by causing split ends. Excessive brushing can lead to breakage or hair fall problems. Always try to use a boar’s bristle brush and avoid brushing when it’s wet. This myth originated in the middle Ages to reallocate scalp oils. Today it’s not relevant as most people use shampoo.

Fixing Split Ends

There is no alternative way to fix your split ends other than trimming. This myth might have started with a company selling a split end fixing product, but split ends are incurable – they can’t be fixed. You have to cut them off. Some products will temporarily seal ends together, making hair softer and more manageable. It will make splits invisible and that’s the end of ‘Fixing’ it.

Regular Hair Washing Causes Hair Damage

It is absolutely wrong unless you’re using a shampoo that leaves scum in your hair, a good shampoo and conditioner will give you nice healthy hair. Make sure that you follow a right method while washing your hair. It’s not advisable to washing hair with your head upside down. Let water from the shower flow down your hair length.

Braids Will Help Your Hair Grow Faster

Tight ponytails, cornrows or buns can cause Traction alopecia, real hair loss condition caused by pulling hair too tight by applying too much tension. This is quite common amongst older African American women. Braiding too tight and too long can even cause baldness. Use a looser style that minimizes scalp tension to avoid potential problems.

Cooking Tips Every Women Should Know

Today’s super women need some tricks, tips and pointers to meet the varied cuisine demands of her family members. There is little time left for her between working, picking up the kids, dropping off them, and cleaning stuffs.

Here are some simple cooking tips which every woman should know to make her kitchen task simple and healthy.

For Soft Chapatti‘s: You can use fresh yogurt or milk instead of water to make the batter. Once you finish kneading the batter, wet your hand with water and pat the batter once again. Cover the batter with a damp cloth for half an hour before using it.

Beware of ginger garlic ratio: Whenever you use ginger garlic paste keep the garlic ratio always higher than that of ginger. For example, if you use 60% of garlic keep ginger ratio as 40% or below. Otherwise your dish will become sharp and pungent.

Try Cabbage instead of Onion: If your child or guest does not like or want the pungent taste of onion, you can replace it with cabbage for the same taste and even better experience.

Always Boil potatoes in advance: Always boil the potatoes in advance and make sure that it is boiled well and cooled properly before using it. You can even refrigerate the boiled potatoes for a while before using them in your dishes. By doing this the potato starch will well settle in your tikkis and it will not be too thick.

Extra Salt? No tension!: Peel and cut a large boiled potato in half and add it to your curry. It will absorb the extra salt or else make a ball with cooked rice and put it in curry or dish you are making.

Get rid of turmeric Stain: Mix some cool water with one tablespoon of white vinegar and one tablespoon of liquid dish soap and dip your stained cloths immediately in this mixture or rub few drops of glycerin onto the stain until it fades away.

Easy way to clean kitchen platform: You can use white distilled vinegar instead of using liquid chemicals to clean the kitchen platform. Take a cotton cloth and dip it in vinegar and clean the stained portion. The bacteria on the kitchen platform will get impassive in one wipe.

Bad smell from drainage: All you have to do is mix equal amount of baking soda and vinegar and pour it into the drainage, do not pour water or other substances for 15 minutes. Clean it after 15 minutes and you can feel the bad smell disappeared.

Use Aluminium to set ice-cream: You can go for aluminium containers instead of steel to set the ice-cream faster. And always keep a thick plastic sheet or salt under the pot to keep it from attaching to the base of the freezer.

How to Store curry leaves for many days afresh: Put the curry leaves along with some fenugreek seeds into an air tight container.

Less Sleep Among Teens May Cause Weight Gain

Sleeping less than eight hours a night may cause weight gain in teenagers.

“Sleep is food for the brain. When teens do not get enough sleep, they fall asleep in class, struggle to concentrate, look and feel stressed, get sick more often, and do not meet their obligations due to tiredness,” said study author Lata Casturi of the Baylor College of Medicine.

“Teens who sleep less than eight hours may also consume more calories than those who sleep more than eight hours. Therefore, they have a higher risk for obesity and associated health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke,” a college statement quoted Casturi as saying.

Casturi and colleagues, including co-author Anita Rao, presently a 10th grader at Dawson High School in Pearland, Texas, surveyed 255 teens (108 boys and 147 girls) in high school to obtain self-reported measures of height and weight and both weekday and weekend quantity of sleep.

How does lack of sleep really affect weight gain? According to researchers, the hormones leptin and ghrelin work in a “checks and balances” system to control feelings of hunger and fullness.

Ghrelin, which is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulates appetite, while leptin, produced in fat cells, sends a signal to the brain when a person is full.

“When you don’t get enough sleep, it drives leptin levels down, which means you don’t feel as satisfied after you eat. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin levels to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, so you want more food,” said co-author Radha Rao, DeBakey VA Medical Centre, Houston, Texas.

“The two factors combined can set the stage for overeating, which, in turn, may lead to weight gain.”

These findings were presented at CHEST 2011, the 77th annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

Related articles

• Less sleep among teens may cause weight gain (news.bioscholar.com)
• Sleepy Teens More Prone to Weight Gain (nlm.nih.gov)
• Lack of sleep may lead to weight gain in teens (eurekalert.org)

Happy Diwali Folks …

Wishing you All a Very Happy Diwali…:)

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Celebrities, What They Did Before?

We all have seen the celebs as the star icons. We might think they are very lucky to be there and enjoy their luxurious life. But do you have any idea what were they doing before gaining the stardom? Well the answers for this might surprise you. Many celebs have done those kinds of jobs which you would not even have imagined before.

Here are the five top celebrities who pursued different careers before becoming Superstars worldwide:

Rajinikanth- Superstar Rajinikanth was born and brought up in Bangalore before he joined the Tamil film industry and became a superstar. He did his elementary education in Kannada at the Government Model Primary School in Bangalore.

During 1966 and 1973 he worked in many places of Chennai and Bangalore. He did various jobs before he joined as a bus conductor in the Bangalore Transport Service, in Bangalore. In 1975 he began his career as an actor in the Tamil film industry through the film “Apporva Ragangal”, which was directed by his mentor K.Balachander.

Akshay Kumar-

Action Star Akshay Kumar was born and brought up in Amritsar, Punjab. He did all kinds of odd jobs before he came into the Hindi film industry. He obtained a black belt in Taekwondo in India and he studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand where he learned Muay Thai. During his stay in Bangkok, he worked as a chef and waiter in a restaurant.

He debuted to the Hindi film industry in the year 1991 with the film Saugandh.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey, an American media proprietor, business woman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.

Before Oprah became a successful host, her first job was at a local grocery store. Later she had worked in a local radio station WVOL. She had worked there during her senior year of high school and again while in her first two years of college.

Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, an American film actor and producer had joined Franciscan Seminary in Cincinnati where he had aspired to become a Catholic priest. In his senior year, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker.

Cruise started his film career in the year 1981 with the films Endless Love and Taps, where he acted in a supporting role. Cruise first debuted in a major film called “The Outsider” which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola in the year 1983. His first leading role was in the film “Risky Business”.

Brad Pitt

While his stay in Los Angeles, Brad was struggling to establish himself. During his stay there, Brad took lessons from acting coach Roy London. He took on various jobs, spending time as a chauffeur and he also worked for El Pollo Loco restaurant, on sunset Boulevard for dressing up like a chicken to pay for his acting lessons.

Later, Pitt began his onscreen career began in 1987, with uncredited parts in the films No Way Out, No Mans Land and Less Than Zero. And then Pitt began his television debut in the same year with a guest appearance in the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas.

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• 60 Interesting facts about Superstar Rajinikanth (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)

Acer Iconia Smart S300 Launched

Acer, has launched Acer Iconia Smart S300, which is an Android 2.3 based smart phone featuring a large 4.8 inch capacitive multi touch screen, 8 megapixel rear camera with auto focus and led flashlight, and 2 MP front facing camera.

Other features include Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, TV, micro SD slot,

HDMI port and motion sensing along with 8 GB internal memory. The phone comes with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Acer’s Clear fi media sharing system is also included which allows one to easily access, play and share multimedia across the home network and to instantly publish updates to social media networks. The phone is available for a price of Rs 28,990.

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Ernakulam is India’s First Smoke Free Tourist Spot

Ernakulam, the business hub of Kerala, has become India’s first smoking free tourist destination. Resident’s associations, Hotel and Restaurant Association, Vyapari Vyavasayi Association, Hotel and Bar Association, and other civil society groups declared their solidarity to the endeavour of ensuring and maintaining smoke free status of public places.

This was the result of 18 months of efforts made by the district administration, Health Department, Cochin Corporation and district panchayat under “Smoke Free” Ernakulam project. It was aimed at controlling smoking in public places and effective implementation of the Indian Tobacco Control Act.

The project was launched by putting warning signs against public smoking and the people’s right to smoke free air in prominent public places. Training was given to police inspectors, panchayat secretaries, health inspectors in the Health Department and the corporation.

An independent study conducted on smoking in public places had found that there was no active smoking in nearly 95 per cent of public places, including cinema halls and restaurants. The city achieved it in 12 years after high court banned smoking in public places throughout Kerala for the first time in the country.

The city that has several tourist attractions including heritage buildings built by the Dutch, Portuguese, the English and the local kings, is a premier tourism destination in the state. The smoking ban came on a petition filed by a house wife. Monamma Kokkad, a retired English professor at BCM College, Kottayam, moved the court after she was exposed to passive smoking while commuting by train between Cochin and Kottayam.

The police implemented the ban in the initial days by booking people at bus stops and railway stations and penalizing them with fines ranging from Rs200 to Rs500, but the effort lost steam after a few months. Kottayam, where Monamma worked, however, took the smoking ban seriously and strictly implemented it in all restaurants, hotels, municipal corporation and all 75 villages.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

EFT – emotional freedom techniques – free introductory article

Emotional Freedom Techniques – commonly abbreviated to EFT – is a modern and growing form of personal development and therapy. EFT is one of a number of recent concepts increasingly used for improving and developing people. EFT can be effective for various purposes, including personal and self-development, attitude and behaviour development, resolving personal problems, reducing stress, and restoring life balance. This free article about EFT is contributed by Peter Delves, a leading UK Emotional Freedom Techniques trainer and practitioner, which is gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is about returning the mind, body and feelings to a state of balance and harmony so you are not limited by negative emotions.

Even though we are ‘designed’ to recover from unpleasant experiences or thought patterns, nevertheless we can be affected by recurring emotions from past events such as relationships, trauma or loss. We can also be affected by ongoing or future events such as work-related stress, interpersonal problems, depression and various kinds of anxieties.

In these examples, emotions can be stuck rather than dispersed. Even if we try to ignore them, they still affect our lives. If people decide to do something about the negative feelings or patterns they may try counselling, see their doctor, or compensate for their feelings in some way. Every approach has its merits, but many people will not have heard of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as an option for resolving their problem.

How EFT works?

EFT is a very effective yet gentle method of directly balancing the body’s energy system for the feelings that you want to change. It’s a bit like clearing a log that’s blocking a stream where the log represents a stuck emotion in your stream of energy. You don’t have to believe in the theory though, just as you don’t need to know how a car works under the bonnet to drive one. Some people do like to find out more about the theory, while others are happy simply to have their problem resolved.

what EFT involves

Using EFT involves ‘tuning into’ the issue and then tapping with your fingers on specific acupressure points with your fingers. For example if you still carry anger towards someone who has hurt you in the past, you would be asked to think about them, and notice how you feel. But you do not have to relive past events. You just have to be aware that the negative feeling is there. Having therefore ‘tuned in’ to it, you are shown which acupressure points to tap, and what words to say as you do so. (Saying a few things also helps to disperse the emotion from the system).

Having done that you are then asked to think about the person or situation again and check how you feel. Typically you will notice a significant reduction in the intensity of the feeling. If it’s not completely gone then the EFT practitioner repeats the process, bringing the intensity down each time until full balance is restored.

All this is done while sitting normally in a chair.

After EFT do feelings return?

Following an EFT session, the dispelled feelings very rarely return. If they do this implies that there is a bit more work to do than the practitioner initially thought. Of course you can still feel angry, fearful or guilty about other things – and it might be appropriate to do so. But if you have thoroughly used EFT for a specific issue, the feeling will not return. Once you have sent the problem ‘downstream’, it does not come back up.

You will still retain the memory of the event you were working on but it will no longer have the emotional charge that it had before. The other thing to say is that there may be more than one emotion that needs to cleared, like more than one log jamming the stream. So using our example there might be the anger towards the person, but there could also be anger towards yourself, or other emotions involved such as guilt or sadness. All of these can be addressed separately, and often when you start to disperse one emotion the intensity of others can start reducing straight away.

EFT original development

The Emotional Freedom Techniques concept was developed in the US in the 1990’s by Gary Craig. EFT roots are in acupuncture, kinesiology and psychology. EFT is now spreading very rapidly in the US and in the UK, where the concept is now used in some specialist areas of the National Health Service.

Related articles

• EFT emotional freedom technique (creativehealthyliving.wordpress.com)
• How to Apply Powerful Methods of Controlling Anger (socyberty.com)
• Letting Go of Your Fears, Beliefs, and Thoughts That Don’t Support You (designwithjoy.wordpress.com)
• Phobia Season (kismethypno.wordpress.com)