AirAsia flight QZ8501 has met a watery grave

#AirAsia #QZ8501 #Airbus320200 #Borneo The ill-fated flight QZ8501 Airbus 320-200 of AirAsia has crashed in the Java Sea and bodies of some passengers have been sighted and recovered by rescue teams. It is finally known that the flight has crashed.
The Black Box of the aircraft has to, now, be retrieved to know the possible reasons of the crash. Till then, it can only be conjectures. It has been established that the pilot of the Boeing wanted to climb to a higher altitude due to the bad weather but did not get the permission in time.
It seems there was no distress signal from the plane. The pilot wanted to avoid the bad weather because of heavy air traffic and take up the aircraft to a safer altitude but his speed was low – that way, he could have encountered a stall situation and the aircraft crashed.
The bodies have been reported by Lieutenant Airman Tri Wobowo who was co-pilot of one of the Hercules aircraft that was on a search and rescue mission. He had seen eight bodies – some of them were holding hands - the location was off the coast of Borneo. Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief has confirmed about the discoveries - one of the bodies was that of a flight attendant.

Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher on his way recovery

#MichaelSchumacher #FormulaOneChampion #FrenchAlps Michael Schumacher, the seven times Formula 1 Champion had met with an accident in the course of skiing on the French Alps resort of Meribel in December 2013. He had been bedridden since then and is now believed to be on the road to recovery.
When the accident occurred, he was wearing a helmet and was, later, operated on for a brain hemorrhage that had sent into a coma. He has been literally fighting for his life and was finally released from hospital in June 2014 when he came out of coma and he went home to a special rehab room in September 2014.
His condition has, ever since, been a matter of concern and Philippe Streiff, a former F1 driver who was paralyzed in a 1989 crash has, reportedly stated that even though Schumacher was unable to speak, he was using his eyes to communicate. He has also commented that, Schumacher could walk with the help of crutches at some time in future.
But, FIA-linked doctor Gerard Saillant has refuted the statements of Strieff and has said that the two of them do not have any sort of contact. Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm has spoken in line with Professor Saillant.

New Year’s Eve celebrations in Paris to outdo Sydney and New York

#NewYearsEve #ChampsElysées #SydneyOperaHouse Paris does not want to remain a silent spectator during the New Year’s Eve celebrations. Till now, every New Year’s Eve at midnight, the glitter ball drops in New York’s Times Square while fireworks explode over the River Thames in London and the Sydney Opera House.
Henceforth, Paris is going to join in the celebrations and merrymaking when Parisians gather this year for the global midnight countdown. It would be two days of festivities and is expected to cost €600,000 (£470,000) – the city authorities would be contributing one third of the funding.
Accordingly, on this New Year’s Eve, the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the Champs-Elysées will be the focus of a 15-minute video show that will lead up to midnight.
Even without the lure of an official display, hundreds of thousands of people converge every New Year’s Eve on the Champs-Elysées and authorities have to deploy a large numbers of police to deter troublemakers. It seems last year, a total of 300,000 revelers had braved the wind and rain to come down and attend in the celebrations.

Ugandan teenager began with $14 and created his empire of paperbags

#AndrewMupuya #YELI #Uganda #paperbags This is the fascinating story of Andrew Mupuya and proves that perseverance pays in the long run – today he is an award-winning entrepreneur but he was just a 16-year-old teenager who decided to take on the world. He was in need of money and, luckily for him, at the time, officials in the country had announced that they were considering a ban on plastic bags to curb environmental damage.
In 2008, Andrew Mupuya was still in secondary school and, with both his parents unemployed, he seized the opportunity to start a paper bag production company. He carried out a feasibility study, market research around retail shops, kiosks, supermarkets around Kampala and discovered there is need and potential market for paper bags.
Once he took off, there was no looking back. His business has grown extensively and today, at the age of 21, he is the owner of Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI), the first registered Ugandan company to make paper bags.
He employs 16 people who produce up to 20,000 paper bags each week and his long list of clients includes restaurants, retail stores, supermarkets, medical centers, as well as multinational companies like Samsung -- YELI has made about 1,000 niche bags for the local stores of the electronics company.‎
He proudly says that right now he has 72 clients and most of them always come back.

M S Dhoni retires from Test Cricket – will play in ODIs and T20s

#DhoniRetires #BCCI #Musharaff #helicoptershot The news of the day is that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of Indian cricket team, has announced his retirement from the Test cricket format of the game but would continue to play in the shorter versions namely – the ODIs and T20s.
33-year-old Dhoni had made his debut in 2005 and was captain for 60 of his 90 Tests and has finally quit after India drew the third Test against Australia. In his own words, he has retired from Tests "in order to concentrate" on the 50 over and Twenty20 formats. India's one-day 2015 cricket World Cup defense would be taking off in February.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has accepted his decision and called him "one of India's greatest Test captains".
Forbes has rated Dhoni as the fifth richest sportsman in the world. His annual brand value is of £12.9 million and he had taken over as Test captain from Anil Kumble in 2008. That was after leading India to the inaugural World Twenty20 title in 2007.
He had arrived on the scene with a bang and while watching him play, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had made commented on his hairstyle.... ‘you should get a haircut, but if you take my advice, you look good in this hairstyle….’ Dhoni has also created a unique helicopter shot that has seen India win many games.
He has played 90 Tests and scored 4876 runs for India and, as far as statistics go, he can claim to be the most successful wicketkeeper batsman of all time. He has effected 294 dismissals as a 'keeper, which is comfortably the most by an Indian and 5th best in the history of Test cricket. He is also India's most successful Test captain – he has 27 wins. 15 draws and 18 losses in the tests with him as captain.

Travel trends 2015 - British tourists opting out of beach holidays in 2015

#beachholidays #ABTA #BritishTourists #packagetours As 2014 enters its final hours, the word is going around that in 2015, the British are gradually opting out of beach holidays and plan to go to Austria, Botswana and Cuba – these destinations appear to be new trends in the tourist maps. A research carried out by British travel association ABTA has shown that in 2015, nearly 43 per cent of people are planning a city break while 42 per cent are planning a beach holiday. Moreover, there appears to be a growing trend for the desire to live like a local in search of ‘more authentic’ experiences. Hence, holiday companies are modifying their strategies and offering people the chance to enjoy hidden gems alongside traditional tourist attractions. The report of ABTA has also listed 12 destinations that are expected to emerge in 2015 and Austria is at the top of the list, then comes Botswana, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Japan. It seems over 35 percent of British holidaymakers nurse a desire to travel to a new country in 2015, a country that they have never visited earlier. The tourism boom is expected in Cuba following the decision of the US to lift restrictions on travel and trade. The survey was carried out among 2,001 Britons, and 20 per cent of respondents said they would spend more on trips next year compared to 15 per cent who will spend less. Some of the reasons for this growth is that more affluent holidaymakers are taking more holidays, package trips and a desire to maximize leisure time by combining travel with adventure or activity holidays or events.

Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 - US sending destroyer to join search operations

#AirAsia #Flight 8501 #JavaSea #Airbus #USSSampson AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people on board vanished after seeking permission to climb above threatening clouds – permission was denied and possibilities of the Boeing crashing into the Java Sea cannot be ruled out especially when there are reports of oil slicks having been noticed.
It seems one of the pilots had sought permission to climb from 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) because of the weather. It was a two-hour journey from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
A U.S. destroyer is therefore on its way to the Java Sea to join the search for the AirAsia jet that was on a scheduled flight from Indonesia to Singapore over the weekend.
The 7th Fleet has revealed that the USS Sampson, which was already on an independent deployment in the Western Pacific, has been asked to proceed to the scene.
The probable location based on the plane's last known coordinates appears that the aircraft "is at the bottom of the sea" – this has been informed by Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo. However, searchers have plans to expand their efforts to the land as well.
Already nearly 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters were looking for the jet and majority of the crafts were Indonesian but Singapore, Malaysia and Australia are also contributing to the effort. Aircraft from Thailand is also expected to join the search.

Bolt from the blue kills four on Brazil beach

#lightningstrike #PraiaGrande #SaoPaolo Lightning strike on the beaches of Brazil have killed at least four and another four people were injured when a violent storm suddenly hit Praia Grande. This is near to the port city of Santos, where the lightning strike occurred. As per local media, the dead were a pregnant woman and her husband, aunt and uncle.
The owner of a kiosk near the scene has described the incident as a huge explosion with the lightning come down in a flash. There were over 20 people in the area – they were either coming in from the sea or were on the beach where the bolt from the blue took place. There was panic and bedlam till firefighters arrived with stretchers and equipment.
Violent storms have been unleashing mayhem in southeast Brazil in recent days, with Sao Paulo bearing the brunt of the bad weather. It seems a storm downed scores of trees across the area that has a population of almost 20 million. Moreover, there was public transport when over 100 traffic lights malfunctioned.

Norman Atlantic’s ferry fire death toll rises to 10 with many passengers missing

#NormanAtlantic #ferryfire #Adriatic The death toll in the ferry of Norman Atlantic that caught fire in the Adriatic has gone up to 10 with many more reported missing. The Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi has confirmed that a total of 427 people had been winched to safety by helicopter in the course of a 24-hour rescue operation carried out in spite of inclement weather conditions in an unusually fierce winter storm.
It seems 49 evacuees were taken to the Italian port of Bari by a Greek merchant ship that had been part of a multinational flotilla involved in the rescue operation. The complete evacuation was over nearly 36 hours after the fire broke out on the car deck and left the large vessel drifting dangerously. The car deck was covered by a film of leaked fuel, that is what some witnesses have recounted.
Regarding missing passengers – it is not known whether they had met a watery grave or otherwise died unnoticed or whether the ill-fated Norman Atlantic's manifest lists were inaccurate. The number unaccounted is 41 as per the manifest of the Greek operators of the ferry. Therefore, the Italian navy was continuing to search for bodies around the stricken ferry, which remained in waters close to Albania hours after nightfall.

Avoid red meat, avoid cancer

#redmeat #cancer #Neu5Gc #eathealthy It has now been revealed that excess of red meat in the form of beef, pork or lamb leads to cancer, hence, avoid red meat, and avoid cancer. Red meat has been linked to cancer for a long time and research had suggested that eating large amounts of these items raises the risk of deadly tumors. The probable reason for this is now revealed.
In the opinion of scientist, the human body considers red meat as a foreign invader and sets off a toxic immune response. While other mammals consume a diet high in red meat without any adverse health consequences, for humans that creates complications. This is because red meat contains a type of sugar known as "Neu5Gc" that is naturally produced by other carnivores but not humans. Therefore, when humans eat red meat, the body generates an immune response to the foreign sugar and produces antibodies that cause inflammation, and ultimately cancer.
The study was carried out by scientists at the University of California – they carried out tests that were genetically engineered so that they did not produce Neu5Gc and naturally developed tumors when they were fed the sugar.
This is not to belittle red meat – if taken in moderation, it can be a source of good nutrition for young people. As health experts indicate - red meat provides protein, vitamins and minerals, but too much is bad for long-term health. Their recommendation is eat not more than 2.5oz (70g) a day – or the equivalent of three slices of ham, one lamb chop or two slices of roast beef daily.

Fire in Texas senior citizen home kills five, and 80 unaccounted

#CastleHIlls #SanAntonio #seniorcitizen #WedgwoodApartments It was an 11-storey complex housing in Castle Hills named Wedgwood Apartments in which over 350 senior citizens used to stay in Texas. However, a fire broke out in the complex and five people have been killed while another 17 are hospitalized and over 80 remain unaccounted for.
The facility is located near San Antonio.
As per the Castle Hills City Manager, officials have not been able to account for about 80 residents of the Wedgwood Apartments – the firefighters had gone through the 11-story complex and did not come across any other victims.
In the opinion of the Manager, the unaccounted residents could have found refuge with family or could have left for the holiday before the incident of fire. Authorities are calling emergency contacts for those residents to confirm their whereabouts.
The County Fire Marshal has indicated that the cause of the fire is under investigation - it appears to have originated on the third floor.
Wedgwood Apartments was built in 1965 and its area is 260,000-square-foot. The building housed commercial tenants as well.

Female bullfighter of Mexico City gored by a 495-Kg bull

#bullfighter #Mexico #matador Bullfighting is favorite sport of men in Spain and other parts of the world but, there are female bullfighters also. One of them, a Mexican female bullfighter, was gored by a 495-Kg bull in Mexico City.
Her name has been given as Karla de los Angeles and she has suffered injuries in a bullfight in Mexico City. It ems she was going in for the kill during the event when the bull tossed her over its head. Undeterred, she continued the fight after being attended to, but in her second attempt to kill the 495kg-animal (1,090lb), it gored her again.
As a result, she has suffered two cuts of 12cm (4.7 in) and 10cm in length to her thigh and gluteal muscles.
The bull, called Gamusino, also gored Karla’s assistant Federico Dominguez who tried to help Karla in the world's biggest bullring, Plaza Mexico. A spectator was also suffered injuries when the fourth bull of the afternoon jumped the wooden barrier surrounding the bullring.
Bullfighting is popular in Spain and, here, women were banned from performing as matadors - those who kill the bull on foot rather than from horseback - for decades under the regime of General Francisco Franco. The ban was lifted after the death of Gen Franco but the number of professional female bullfighters are few in Spain or in Latin America.

Tour operators offering adventure trips of £5,000 each to Afghanistan

#adventuretrips #Afghanistasn #tourism Afghanistan could see a boom in tourism because tour operators are offering adventure trips to the country for £5,000 each person. Admitted that Afghanistan is a war-torn country and has barely been out of the headlines for decades, but this country is gradually becoming an alternative tourist destinations. In spite of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advising people against all travel for all but essential travel to Afghanistan, there are some adventure tour operators who are offering trips to curious travelers.
One of these named Wild Frontiers - it has seen a rise in bookings for group tours to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraqi Kurdistan to the tune of being double in the past year even though the turmoil and political problems are continuing in the troubled nations.
A second such adventure travel company called Hinterland Travel has revealed that 2014 was its busiest year yet for bookings to Afghanistan. The extreme trips cost around £4,950 each for two weeks, excluding flights.
A third company Responsible Travel offers tours that take in the historic city and capital Kabul, Buddhist sites, mountain villages, lakes and ancient forts.
The colorful mosques are among the historic buildings that can be seen in cities and towns across the country. It is going through tremendous change but, as far as the vast majority of Afghans are concerned, daily life continues in much the same vein as it has for centuries and tourists would get plenty of opportunities to see life from close quarters like farming and pottery-making to silk-weaving and daily prayer.
Of course, there is always warning - anyone traveling to Afghanistan must understand that in places tourist infrastructure is almost non-existent and be prepared.

Seoul once again proposes reunification talks with Pyongyang

#SouthKorea #NorthKorea #reunification #Kaesong It has been reported that South Korea has once again proposed talks with North Korea to discuss a range of issues that are necessary to lay the foundation for the unification of the divided countries. However, there are doubts on whether Pyongyang would agree because it has always any such attempts with distrust – it also wants a unified Korea but, with Pyongyang in charge.
Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae has informed in a televised news conference that South Korea wants talks to be held in January and would discuss exchange programs, joint projects and laws needed for a unified Korea. Ryoo has added that South Korea hopes the proposed talks would also discuss resuming reunion of families who have been separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
It may be recalled that Seoul had launched a government committee on the unification in July, six months after President Park Geun-hye had informed in a New Year's press conference that unifying with North Korea would bring an economic "bonanza," not massive financial costs associated with any Korean unification. However, North Korea turned the proposal and made an angry response, saying the plans of Park were nothing but a plot to topple Pyongyang and build a unified Korea under a South Korean system.
The bitterness between the two Koreas has resulted in the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in April 2013 – this setup was in North Korean territory and while North supplied the manpower, south did the investment. It provided employment to North Koreans but that has been stopped. Reunification could help both the sides.

Over 15,000 skiers and holidaymakers stranded in the French Alps due to heavy snow

#FrenchAlps #tourists #skiresorts #Savoie Nearly 15,000 skiers are stuck in their vehicles in the French Alps because of heavy snow that has blanketed roads that lead to the popular ski resorts in the region. The tourists, mostly holidaymakers, were headed towards the ski resorts in the Savoie region in southeastern France.
The authorities have set up shelters in 12 towns to cope with the number of travelers who have been forced to leave their cars. The freezing conditions have resulted in the death of a 27-year-old man whose car slid into a ravine in the Belledonne mountain range.
The Interior Minister of France, Bernard Cazeneuve, has urged drivers "to exercise the utmost caution" and also consider delaying their journeys, if possible.
In order to cope with this situation, the regional authorities have activated an emergency plan to re-house the stranded holidaymakers who are not able to reach their destinations. As many as 20 locations were being opened to look after these stranded holidaymakers. Many of them are accompanied by small children.
As a ski journalist based in St Martin de Belleville has informed that French authorities are doing their best and they have opened schools and sports centers as a temporary measure. There are 150 people staying in the sports center... and another 300 at another resort with bedding down facilities. Regional authorities say they have activated an emergency plan to re-house stranded holidaymakers unable to reach their destinations.

Bloodbath in Syria – ISIS has executed nearly 2000 people in six months

#ISIS #Syria #SOHR It is revealed that ISIS has killed nearly 2000 people in Syria during the past six months, the majority of them civilians. It has killed 1878 civilians plus 120 of its own members most of who are foreign fighters who wanted to leave and return home. This is for the period of the last two months, as per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
These statistics depict the barbarism of the Islamic State jihadist group and has come to light through a report of a British-based Syrian monitoring organization.
It may be recalled that this jihadist group has taken vast parts of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in territory under its control in June and, ever since then, it has been engaged in barbaric bloodshed and fought the Syrian and Iraqi governments, other insurgents and Kurdish forces.
The extent of atrocities perpetrated by Islamic State has been publicized by them through beheadings and stoning of people in areas that is controlled by it in Syria and Iraq. These are believed to be punishment for actions that, in its opinion, amounts of violation of its interpretation of Islamic law, such as adultery, homosexuality, stealing and blasphemy.
The group is an offshoot of al-Qaida and it has also released videos of executions of captured enemy fighters, activists and journalists. Some of these are two US journalists, and one American and two British aid workers - this is seen to be its attempts to put pressure on a US-led international coalition, which has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria since September.

Bangalore IED blast on Church Road leaves one dead, another injured

#BangaloreBlast #IED #counterterror It was an IED blast outside the Coconut Grove restaurant on Church Road in Bengaluru on Sunday night that killed one woman and injured one other in the central business district of Bangalore. The Police commissioner has described it as a "low intensity IED blast" which occurred between 8:30 and 9pm on a footpath outside a popular restaurant.
The woman who died was 38-year-old Bhavani Devi – she was a resident of Mount Road in Chennai and had come to Bangalore four days ago to celebrate #Christmas with her family. Her two daughters and eight other family members was with her when the blast occurred. She died due to shrapnel wounds she suffered to her head.
Investigations are on but it seems the IED that had been used appears to be similar to the ones used in three other occasions - in Uttarakhand's Roorkee district on December 6 near a venue of a Vishva Hindu Parishad meeting, in Pune outside a police station on July 11 and in a train at Chennai railway station on May 1.
In the opinion of a counter terror official, the blasts had the imprints of a module that was used by the outlawed SIMI - its members had escaped from Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa jail last September.

Pope Francis to focus his attention, in 2015, to climate change

#PopeFrancis #ClimateChange #CatholicBishops Pope Francis has shown that he is made of a different material and he is unhappy that no one is taking climate change seriously. People call him the “superman pope”, and President Obama has cited him as a key player in the thawing of relations with Cuba. Pope Francis has also lectured his cardinals on the need to clean up Vatican politics. And, his focus is now on climate change.
Among his plans for 2015 are to issue a lengthy message on the subject to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, give an address to the UN general assembly and also call a summit of the world’s main religions. His basic intention is to influence the 2015 crucial climate meeting in Paris. On that occasion, the countries will try to conclude 20 years of fraught negotiations with a universal commitment to reduce emissions.
In March last Pope Francis had visited Tacloban – this was the city in the Philippine that had been devastated in 2012 by typhoon Haiyan. The pope would be publishing a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology. He would also urge all Catholics to take action on moral and scientific grounds. He plans to send the document to the world’s 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests, who will be expected to distribute it to parishioners.
He has very rightly remarked that the monopolizing of lands, deforestation, the appropriation of water, inadequate agro-toxics are some of the evils that tear man from the land of his birth. In this connection he has added that climate change, the loss of biodiversity and deforestation are already showing their devastating effects in the great cataclysms that are being witnessed.
The efforts of Pope Francis would possibly meet with resistance from certain groups but, for preservation of the world and for the sake of environmental protection, his stand should be appreciated.

Ferry on fire with 478 people trapped on board near Greek island of Corfu

#Corfu #FerryonFire #NormanAtlantic It was a tragedy of no mean proportions when 478 persons got trapped on a blazing ferry off the Greek island of Corfu after it caught alight in gale-force winds. As per reports, the fire broke out on the lower car deck of the Italian-flagged Norman Atlantic. The ferry was traveling from the Greek port of Patras to Ancona in Italy.
The authorities have confirmed that there were 423 passengers and 55 crew members on board and said more than half of them remain trapped on the ferry since the rescue operations were hampered by the rough seas and bad weather. Apparently, some of the passengers have were stranded on an upper deck of the stricken ferry for more than six hours, as they are unable to be lowered to lifeboats due to the high seas.
A massive rescue operation is being planned with assistance of Greece and Italy - Greek authorities have dispatched five helicopters and a military transport plane to assist in the operation. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was in contact with his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi, to coordinate the operation 'at the highest level'. In the opinion of an Italian coastguard spokesman, the rescue operation was likely to last for hours.
Italy has also sent resources like a coastguard boat, an Italian Navy helicopter and an Air Force aircraft. Moreover, at least eight merchant ships, which were in the area at the time of the fire breaking out, have reportedly joined the rescue effort and are trying to create a barrier against winds of up to 55 miles per hour.
The rescue crews are simultaneously waiting for a tug boat to arrive so that the ferry can be towed to the nearest port.

Glimmer of hope in 2015 for Syria – peace talks possible in Moscow in January

#Syria #peacetalks #BasharalAssad An official of the Syrian government has indicated that Syria was ready to take part in preparatory, advisory meetings in Moscow which could, in turn, pave the way to answer the aspirations of Syrians and help to find an exit from the present crisis.
This is against the backdrop of Russia's Foreign Ministry’s indication that it hoped to host peace talks after Jan. 20 between the Syrian government and its fractured opposition.
It may be recalled that the nearly four-year-old conflict has claimed over 200,000 lives, displaced a third of Syria's population, and nurtured an extremist group, the Islamic State, which now rules over vast swaths of Syria and neighboring Iraq.
Syrian state-run TV has remarked that the government is prepared to take part in peace talks hosted by Russia next month, and the scope of the negotiations would be limited to "preliminary" talks which could form a basis for a conference in Syria itself.
It is no secret that Russia is a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hadi Bahra, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, the main Western-backed opposition group, has revealed that it had not yet taken any decision on the talks.
The Western-backed Syrian opposition has been insisting that any negotiated settlement should include the formation of a transitional governing body with full executive powers but this demand has been rejected by Assad's government.

Delays in Haramain high-speed rail project connecting Mecca and Medina worries Saudi Arabia

#SaudiArabia #Mecca #Medina #Haramain #Hajj Saudi Arabia has given a "final warning" to the contractors to avoid delays on an $8.2 billion high-speed rail project which Spanish and Saudi firms are helping to build in order to connect the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
This project known as the Haramain High Speed Rail system is meant to transport Muslim pilgrims, apart from regular travelers, a distance of 450 kilometers between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina via the Red Sea port of Jeddah.
The deal had been signed by Saudi Arabia three years ago for a Spanish consortium to build the rail track, supply 35 high-speed trains and handle a 12-year maintenance contract. Other works wet to the Saudi Bin Laden Consortium and Saudi Oger Joint Venture for constructing four stations, while Al-Rajhi Alliance in 2009 won the bid to construct bridges, culverts and similar work.
However, in the course of a two-day inspection tour last week, the kingdom's new Transport Minister Abdullah bin Abdulrahman al-Muqbel felt that work was not progressing as per schedule.
After visiting the Mecca station and bridges along the route, the minister has reportedly asked the contractor to put up an urgent plan within next two months to avoid delays. It necessary, they should explore possibilities of increasing the workforce and supplies.
The minister also threatened that this be considered a final warning either to commit and improve performance or face the consequences. The annual hajj, is to be held in September next year, and it attracts about two million Muslim pilgrims to the Mecca region. The intention of the minister could be to ensure completion of the rail system before the Hajj begins.

Year-end panic as AirAsia A320-200 with 162 on board goes missing

#A320200 #AirAsia #Indonesia #Singapore #MH370 An Airbus A320-200 of AirAsia en-route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore with 162 people aboard lost contact with air traffic control about an hour before it was to land and is missing. The crew included two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer. This has been confirmed by officials of AirAsia Indonesia.
The crew of the Airbus A320-200 It was the Flight QZ8501 that took off from Juanda International Airport and lost contact with air traffic control at about shortly before it was to land at Singapore.
As revealed by Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia's acting director general of transportation, the pilot of the plane lost contact with the air traffic control shortly after the pilot asked to avoid a cloud bank by turning left and going higher to 34,000 feet.
There was no distress signal from Flight QZ8501 - the distance between Surabaya and Singapore is about 860 miles and the contact was lost about 42 minutes after takeoff from Surabaya airport. It seems at that time, the plane was believed to be over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java islands. The weather in the area was cloudy.
The plane was carrying 155 passengers, including 138 adults, 16 children and an infant and most of them were Indonesian nationals. However, there also were one passenger each from Singapore, Malaysia and France and three from South Korea. This is another mysterious disappearance of a flight similar to the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 which went missing shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur.

WHO report - pollution highest in North Indian cities, lowest down South

#airpollution #WHO #mostpollutedcities According a report of WHO, the cities facing maximum pollution in India are located in the northern regions and cities in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan dominate the list. These states lie in the fog belt and air pollution is worsening the problem. Incidentally, it had been already reported that the average fog hours in the month of January in Delhi had increased by as much as eight hours since 1989 — this is a trend that can be attributed to rising pollution.
Delhi has earned the dubious tag of the most polluted city in the world. The breakup of polluted cities statewise is nine in UP, five in Punjab, four in Rajasthan. There were three cities each in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and one city each in J&K, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
At the other end of the spectrum are five cities with the cleanest air – all of these are located in south India. Two of these were in Kerala - Kollam and Pathanamthitta, one in Karnataka - Hassan, one in Tamil Nadu - Madurai, and Pondicherry.
A total of 124 Indian data stations - mostly in cities – have been featured in the report of WHO.
A comparison between the cleanest and most polluted cities will reveal the extent of variation - Pathanamthitta, the cleanest city on the list, recorded a concentration of 10 parts per million of particles under 2.5 microns while in Delhi it was a concentration of 153 parts per million of such particles. This is more than fifteen times that of Pathanamthitta.
WHO relied on the concentration of particles in the air under 2.5 microns to determine how bad air pollution is because such tiny particles cause the most damage to health - when inhaled, they can go deep into the lungs, whereas larger particles are usually filtered out before they reach that far.

Italian circus paints Chow Chow dogs to look like pandas and fools the visitors

#ItalianCircus #Panda #ChowChowDogs It was a novel idea no doubt and the Italian traveling circus in the town of Brescia was sitting pretty by disguising white dogs as the loveable Chinese pandas! They put the dogs in the guise as pandas on display, and when children wanted to pose with them, the circus charged the parents fees for the privilege.
The white dogs had originally been shipped from Hungary and have now been seized from the circus by authorities in Italy following a tip-off.
It seems the dogs were painted and a splash of dye was applied so that they looked like pandas. This led the visitors to believe that the Chow Chow dogs were actually a rare example of panda, the Chinese bear.
Reports indicate that the animals were in good health, and the circus has denied allegations of cruelty, mistreatment and trickery. However, the circus is no longer allowed to use them in their shows.
Incidentally, way back in 2008 there had been reports of donkeys painted and disguised as zebras in Tijuana, Mexico. Hoodwinking the gullible is not new – it has happened in the past and will continue to happen in future.

US coalition forces strike 39 ISIS targets – 19 in Syria and 20 in Iraq

#Madani #ISIS #coalitionforces #Baghdad #airstrikes The situation in the fight against ISIS militants is gradually becoming desperate with US coalition fighters, bombers and remotely controlled aircraft striking 19 targets in Syria and 20 in Iraq even as ISIS claims costly attack in Madain. This has been confirmed by the Combined Joint Task Force.
Earlier it was indicated that 31 strikes had been carried out on Friday – this was updated to 39 strikes. Incidentally, the strikes in Syria were concentrated on an area near the city of Kobani and destroyed buildings. This was a staging area and several fighting positions. Two large units of ISIS and four tactical units also were hit. Moreover, two air strikes near Al Hasakah and one near Ar Raqqah also caused damage.
In Iraq, the air strikes were targeted near Al Asad, Sinjar, Mosul, Al Qaim, Baiji, Kirkuk and Tal Afar, destroying or damaging a rocket system, vehicles, and tactical units and fighting positions.
ISIS, on its part, claimed to have carried out a suicide bombing south of Baghdad targeting Sunni fighters who oppose the jihadists. In this attack, thirty-eight people were killed.
The US-led air strikes against ISIS militants began in Iraq on 8 August and in Syria on 23 September.

Malaysia flooding forces PM Najib Razak to cut short his Hawaii vacation

#NajibRazak #Kelantan #Malaysia #floods #2004Tsunami Malaysia is facing some of the worst floods in decades along its east coast and there are reports of at least five deaths. The Kelantan state is the worst hit and over 100,000 people have been forced out from their homes.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has returned early from holiday in Hawaii in the US where he was shown playing golf with US President Barack Obama. The Prime Minister would be visiting the worst-hit areas of northern Kelantan state.
It is not unusual for the eastern states to be flooded during the monsoon season, but this time around, there was heavier rain and stronger winds that have made things worse for the people. But, as per the Malaysian government, this flooding is the worst in more than 30 years with entire towns submerged in some of the areas. Rescue workers are working overtime and struggling to bring in enough food and supplies for families that are in relief centers.
In the opinion of weather forecasters, there would be no respite for north-eastern states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. This Northeastern peninsula of Malaysia is worst affected. It is regularly hit by flooding during the annual Northeast Monsoon, but this year's rains have been particularly bad.
Reports indicate that nearly 60 foreign tourists were among almost 100 people rescued by boat and helicopter from a resort in a Malaysian national park that was lashed by its highest rainfall since 1971.
The flooding comes even as communities in northwestern Malaysia mark the 10th anniversary of the devastating 2004Tsunami that had struck on Dec. 26, 2004.

United States finally leaves Afghanistan after 13-years

#Afghanistan #Taliban #Kabul #expats As per the agreement with Afghanistan authorities, the US and its allies would be officially ending their 13-year war on December 31. But, Afghanistan appears to be in the grip of worsening violence and the remaining foreign workers have retreated further inside fortified compounds.
The life of people will not be the same anymore because, as an expat restaurant manager has confided - he once had 28 employees on his rolls, today he has only eight. He is married to an Afghan and he will stay on in Afghanistan.
The scene is the same everywhere. The US-led war in Afghanistan had brought in plenty of international aid workers, diplomats and security contractors and, as a result, a frenetic social scene was created in Kabul - that is now a distant memory because a number of Taliban attacks on expat hang-outs shattered any illusions that foreign civilians were safe in the city.
The places are still open but, on view are bored waiters and empty tables. The tennis club is also deserted, the pool-side French restaurant is closed and picnic trips no longer happen.
The atmosphere in Kabul is much subdued. The number of expats have dwindled as compared to 2008and 2010. Those who remain are always in fear of their lives because last January there was a Taliban attack on the popular Taverna du Liban restaurant. A total of 21 people were killed, including 13 foreigners.

Brits prefer bottled water over sugary fruit drinks

#bottledwater #healthconscious #fruitdrinks #plasticwaste The Brits have become more health conscious and proof of that is in the rise in sale of bottled water as compared to sugary fruit drinks. As per the findings of the latest research, it has been revealed that for the second year running, the demand for bottled water has increased. The increase this year is of 11.2 per cent, last year it was 10.6 per cent.
The report has been compiled by a trade magazine The Grocer and as per it, the sales of branded waters have significantly outstripped own-label products – some of the largest brands, including Volvic, Evian and Buxton, have posted double-digit growth.
It is obvious that the health-conscious Britons are gradually moving away from the hitherto popular sugary fruit drinks and ditching them.
In the opinion of experts, health continues to be a key trend that drives the market as there is an increasing awareness among consumers on the impact of hidden sugar in beverages. Hence, importance of water that is naturally sourced is on the rise because that is the only drink on the shelves with no calories, no sugar, no preservatives and no additives. It is the healthiest choice available.
But, there is another side to bottled water namely, adding to the inventory of plastic waste that is biologically non degradable and, hence, a worry for environmentalists. Of course, bottled water means a profitable business, direct and indirect employment for many apart from providing opportunities for allied activities to flourish like the transportation of bottles and advertising of the products.

Nevada to use goats to clean the eco-system of discarded Christmas trees

#ChristmasTree #pineneedles #ecosystem Goats eat everything and a man from Nevada has trained his goats to eat the pine needles of Christmas trees. This is to keep the eco-system clean because people are in the habit of discarding the trees in landfills or open space once Christmas is over and they do not realize the possible dangers fire hazards once the branches dry up.
His name is Vince Thomas, a longtime volunteer firefighter. He has come up with this novel idea of making use of the 40 goats in his family-owned goat herding business, "Goat Grazers" – he would be recycling the discarded Christmas trees.
Goats have the habit of eating all sorts of weeds and Vince tossed a piece of pine tree to the animals and they devoured it — with the pine needles. Subsequently, he did some research and came to the conclusion that while with cattle and some of the other animals, it can cause miscarriages, for goats, it is a natural dewormer. Moreover, pine is very high in vitamin C, so it is healthy for them also.
He is now launching a new program with his Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful – this group is one among a number of groups in the area that recycle trees and are glad to have the help from the goats. These animals are great employees because they love their job and they never complain.

Obesity is a £47bn annual problem for Britain - NHS to get obese Britons back to shape

#waistline #NHS #obesity #diabetes The growing waistlines is a major worry for the NHS and they are working out probable methods of how to get the obese Britons back to shape. That is a target for 2015.
Obesity costs Britain nearly £47bn annually and with this disease on the rise in the UK, health authorities are rolling out a new program that will be aimed at getting the nation back in shape through a better diet and more exercise. Under this scheme, GPs in England will be directed to monitor patients who are putting on weight and offer them help to stop them becoming obese.
The amount of £47bn annually is more than the cost incurred by Britain on war and terrorism. Based on a report from the European Commission, it is revealed that the obesity rate in the UK has increased over the past decade. It is now the second highest in the EU after Hungary.
Therefore, NHS will undertake a program through which thousands of people at risk of diabetes will be offered support to improve their health. Incidentally, there are reported to be over three million people in the UK who have diabetes.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has remarked that even a couple of decades back, such a situation did not exist. In order to combat this, it is necessary for parents, schools and the food industry must act together to reverse the trend. The European Court of Justice has recently ruled that people who are obese could also be considered as disabled.

2014 – The year of air crashes with over 700 dead

#MH370 #MH17 #Ukraine #KualaLumpur 2014 was probably the worst year for civil aviation because there have been four major crashes reported in the year entailing loss of hundreds of lives. As per reports, the reason for the crashes are different but the fact remains that over 700 lives were lost in the span of 138 days in air crashes. Obviously, air travelers will become worried about the global aviation safety net and may be wondering if, statistically at least, the skies are getting more dangerous.
But – they do not have any alternative as such because, if they decide not to fly, the world would collapse around them and they would have to go back to ancient days of animal drawn carriages. Therefore, come what may, they take-off praying for a safe landing at their destination.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 – this happened on 8th of March when the Boeing 777-200ER took off from Kuala Lumpur on a regular flight to Beijing. It had on board 227 passengers and 12 crew members from many countries – mostly from China. The plane suddenly lost contact with the ground and has not been heard of from that day. It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean but extensive search operations have failed to locate the crash site or the debris.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 – this happened on 17th July – this Boeing 777-200ER flight was shot down by unknown elements as it was flying over Ukraine while on a regular flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board perished and the debris was scattered over an area of several square kilometers. Some of the bodies have not yet been accounted for.
TransAsia Airways Flight 222 – this crash was on 23rd July in Taiwan. The aircraft was ATR 72-500 and number of people killed was 54 passengers and four crew members – only 10 of them survived. This also was due to bad weather.
Air Algerie Flight 5017 – this crash happened on 24th July. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 and threw re 110 passengers and 6 crew members on board. It was a victim of bad weather and storm.

Woman prisoner in Egypt sells knitted handbags for £6 each

#mohamedMorsi #Egypt #AsmaaHamdy #handbags Her name is Asmaa Hamdy and she was a supporter of Mohamed Morsi, former President of Egypt. She was imprisoned for a period of five years for protesting during the unrest flowing the ouster of Morsi and she is spending her time behind bars knitting and selling handbags.
She is a student of dentistry and was jailed for protesting against the removal of Egypt’s first freely elected president, and she has been kept busy knitting woolen handbags – her message is ‘imagination is free’ and her “Made in Prison” line is proving popular. She actually began knitting the handbags for her friends and family and then fellow prisoners asked her to make some for their relatives.
Over this period, she has attracted local media coverage and is taking orders from the public – many of the orders come via Facebook. She has fallen into a routine. Whenever her family visits, they bring for her one kilogram of wool. Two weeks later, she hands over the finished articles – and receives more wool for the next batch. The line of her products include scarves, bracelets and knitted pencil cases.
The prison authorities do not mind her selling the bags, but insist on removing the “Made in Prison” label before they leave the prison.
Incidentally, she was one of hundreds of Egyptian university students who had been jailed for protesting at the removal of Morsi in July 2013. The student unrest had severely disrupted campus life during term time and the state fought back. As per reports, at least 14 students died while 500 were expelled and over 2,000 sent to jail. Twelve of them were jailed for 17 years for their alleged involvement in violent campus protests in November 2013.

Ukraine peace talks in Minsk called off

#Ukraine #PeaceTalks #Minsk #crimea It has been reported that a key round of peace talks between the government of Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels which was supposed to be held in Mink has been called off for reasons that have not been disclosed. This has been disclosed by an official of Belarus – no immediate reason was given by the Belarusian foreign ministry.
The talks had tried to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that erupted with the annexation of Crimea by Russia and has left 4,700 dead. A ceasefire and framework peace deal had been announced in Minsk in September but neither of these has been properly observed.
These latest talks included Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and there had been expectations that issues that would be addressed would be the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line, the exchange of prisoners and ending Ukraine's economic blockade of rebel-held areas.
A total of 4707 persons have been killed in the conflict that started in eastern Ukraine in April, and, out of that number 1357 have died since the 5 September ceasefire was agreed. It may be recalled that pro-Russian separatists had taken over the two eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in March. This action has not been recognized by either Ukraine or its allies.

Donkey milk is good for its anti-aging properties

#donkeymilk #popefrancis #antiaging #cleopatra The donkey’s milk has been identified by the ancients as a cure for a variety of ailments and an anti-aging skin tonic and this milk is believed to be enjoying a revival. Its popularity is on the rise because one than Pope Francis himself has recently revealed that, as a baby, he was fed this milk in Argentina to supplement his mother’s milk.
As an expert has admitted, the flavor of this milk is pleasant, odorless and looked and tasted just like skimmed cow’s milk, although a tad sweeter. And, it is a veritable elixir.
The medicinal value of donkey’s milk were first realized by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates – it seems he had recommended it to combat a host of bodily woes, including liver problems, fevers, infectious diseases, poisoning, joint pains and nose bleeds. Subsequently, the Romans added constipation to that list.
Cleopatra used donkey milk as a moisturizer in cosmetics. The Egyptian queen used to take a daily bath in it, with a steady stream of milk supplied by more than 700 lactating asses. The stuff is said to have powers to erase facial wrinkles, make the skin more delicate and maintain the whiteness. These are remarks of Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman know-it-all.
Just for the records - fresh donkey milk used to be widely available in 19th-century London as an alternative to the highly adulterated cows’ milk that used to be sold by dairies.

US is sending military equipment ex-Afghanistan to Iraq to fight the ISIS

#USMilitary #ISIS #Kuwait #Afghanistan With the possibilities of a war with the ISIS imminent, the US Military has been moving military equipment to Kuwait so that these can be shipped across the border into Iraq for possible use in a coordinated offensive against the terrorist group Islamic State, according.
It is reported that the gear is being housed near a busy commercial port and consists of nearly 3100 vehicles – most of these are ambush-protected vehicles known as MRAPs, Apart from these, there are electronic equipment and other supplies. The gear, which is primarily from the U.S. Army, will be repaired and assessed for use depending on where these are to be deployed.
The war is against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
The equipment is being progressively moved to prepare for a major offensive in order to help Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take back territory from Islamic State. No time frame has been declared.
A large portion of this stockpile is from Afghanistan - the original plan of destroying, selling or giving away as much as $7 billion worth of equipment in Afghanistan to aid the war effort there, had been scrapped due to the rise of ISIS. And – those equipment are now being diverted to Iraq.
It seems nearly 140,000 people and 333,000 tons of cargo shipments of thousands of vehicles and 20-foot shipping containers have been moved out of Afghanistan so far this year.

13-year-old Nigerian girl refuses to bow to dictates of Boko Haram

#bokoharam #suicidebomber A 13-year-old Nigerian girl has refused to wear a suicide vest and bow to the dictates of Boko Haram. Her father had given her to the terror group but, even though she was forced to wear the belt, she did not detonate the device.
The girl has revealed that she was made to wear a bomb belt and taken to a market in Nigeria by the Boko Haram extremists but she refused to detonate the device. She told her captors that she had told her captors that she had no intention to be a suicide bomber.
It seems she had allowed them to strap the bomb on her because they threatened to bury her alive if she did not. After strapping her with the bomb, she was taken to a market in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city in the north, along with two other girls, who detonated the bombs.
As a result of the explosions, four people were killed on 10 December and Zahara'u, the girl, said that she was too scared to detonate the bomb when she saw the aftermath of what her counterparts had done. The girl was injured in the blasts and she managed to make her way to a hospital where police arrested her as she was undergoing treatment. The Boko Haram militant group has been increasingly using female suicide bombers.

Reduce belly fat without going to the gym

#bellyfat #ayurveda #eathealthy This could be a surprise to many but, Ayurveda gives clues of how to reduce belly fast without going to the gym or having strenuous aerobic workouts. These are a few Ayurvedic home remedies.
Ayurveda is all about making use of the bounties of Nature to keep your healthy and includes items that are readily available and that can be consumed safely and without any side effects. On top of this list is lemon.
Experts advise to start the day by drinking lemon juice – this is one of the best therapies to eliminate belly fat. It is a simple process – all you have to do is to squeeze the lemon into a glass of warm water, add some salt to it and drink. Once this becomes a habit, it would help boost your metabolism and help to get rid of that paunch.
Other useful tips are to replace white rice with brown rice and wheat products like brown bread, whole grains, oats and quinoa.
Another method to reduce belly fat is to say goodbye to sugary substances like sweets, sweetened drinks and foods rich in oil. Consumption of these hard-to-leave stuffs can increase body fat around various areas of your body like abdomen and thighs.
Moreover, drinking plenty of water also helps because, drinking water at regular intervals will help to boost ones metabolism and remove toxins from the body.
Garlic is yet another fantastic gift of Nature - chewing two to three cloves of garlic every morning followed by drinking a glass of lemon water after that helps improve the weight loss process and also make the blood circulation smooth.
And, of course, it is better to avoid non-veg foods to eliminate belly fat. Rather, consume fruits daily in the morning and evening. This will fill in the input of many antioxidants, minerals and vitamins into the body.

Sony releases ‘The Interview’ – movie-goers are delighted

#theinterview #kimjongun #christmasday Initial plans of Sony Pictures was to release ‘The Interview’, a spoof on the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in over 3000 movie theaters – but, it finally was released in 300 movie houses on Christmas Day. And – the public have loved it and are delighted.
In the opinion of the critics and early viewers, while "The Interview" is certainly not a masterpiece, but due to the prelaunch attention it received due to threats from hackers, the movie has become an event.
Many movie halls have made special holiday arrangements for the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Sony Pictures had initially called off the release after major theater chains dropped the movie that was to have opened on as many as 3,000 screens.
But when President Barack Obama criticized the decision of Sony, its officials reconsidered and changed their minds and the movie became available on a variety of digital platforms like Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft's Xbox Video and a separate Sony website.
It is reported that Kim Song, a North Korean diplomat to the United Nations, has condemned the release and has remarked that it is "unpardonable mockery of our sovereignty and dignity of our supreme leader."
However, one spectator has suggested that as many people as possible should see it and the government should subsidize tickets. "The Interview" was not a great movie but, no one should go to see it expecting it to be a serious commentary on politics - it's fun.

2014 – The year of terrorism, bloodshed and violence

#bokoharam #crimea #ISIS #PakTaliban 2014 was a year of bloodshed, terrorism and violence from Syria to Ukraine and the atrocities of the ISIS in Iraq, the Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan.
While the civil population revolted against the authoritarian rule of its President Bashar al-Assad and the US and Russia took sides for and against President Assad, other countries were divided on which side to support. It became a daily war on the streets and loss of innocent lives with refugees spilling over to neighboring countries. Till the ISIS descended on the scene.
This was the new face of terror and its brutal methods sent shock waves throughout the world. In order to prove its intentions, it beheaded a number of American and British captives and sent across the videos. Then there were the atrocities committed on women with reports of them slaughtering the women en-masse if they refused to get converted to Islam or get married to members of the ISIS. Many women had been kept as sex slaves. As a result, the US and Europe began attacking ISIS hideouts and eliminating its leaders. The nature of bloodshed unleashed by the ISIS has no parallels in history.
The Boko-Haram in Nigeria is another dreaded terror setup - in April, it kidnapped a group of 250 schoolgirls from a school in Chibok. The girls are believed to have been kept prisoners in a jungle and, while a few of them have managed to escape, the fate of the others ae not known even after nine months. Unconfirmed reports have indicated that they might have been sold off as sex slaves. Recently, the terror group attacked a village and took away women and children as hostages after killing the men and burning down the village.
And, of course, the annexation of Crimea by Russia led to a fight with Ukraine in which Europe sided with Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia, it was a fight between the government forces of Ukraine against the pro-Russian supporters who had installed their own rule in Crimea and took over important towns. This fight has led to death of hundreds and thousands have been displaced from their homes.

Russia claims that Ukraine had downed MH17 killing 298 people on board

#MH17 #Ukraine #sukhoi25 The Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 had crashed over Ukraine in July and lives of 298 people was lost in the crash and it was believed that it had been shot down by the Russians. This has been consistently been denied by Russia and now, Russia claims to have unearthed proof that MH17 had actually been shot down by Ukrainian fighter planes.
Russian investigators have now announced that they had new proof from a witness who has not been named. It seem he worked at an airfield in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk where he has claimed to have seen a warplane take off on 17 July with air-to-air missiles and return without them.
In the opinion of the investigative committee, this testimony “is important proof that Ukrainian military was implicated in the crash of the Boeing 777.”
The MH17 “secret witness” has revealed that he worked at the airport on the day the Boeing 777 was downed. As per his statement, he had seen a Sukhoi-25 jet take off armed with air-to-air rockets and return to the base without them.
He has also added that the pilot of the Sukhoi-25 could have launched the missile into the Boeing out of fear or revenge or, probably, he might have mistaken it for another plane.
It may be recalled that MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, who have been fighting Kiev forces since April.
Ukraine and the west have been accusing Russia of supplying the rebels with a surface-to-air missile launcher but Russia has issued several opposing theories, one of these is about seeing a Ukrainian military jet flying next to the Boeing.

Another black man shot dead by a white police officer – this time in St Louis

#blacklivesmatter #AntonioMartin #berkeley With another black man being shot dead by a white police officer in St Louis has once again raised the sensitive question of relations between the blacks and whites in America. This time it was 18-year-old Antonio Martin, a black teenager, who was shot dead by a white officer – surveillance footage indicate that Antonio Martin had pulled a gun first.
However, the mayor of the St Louis suburb has said that this case cannot be compared to that of Michael Brown because of the fact that here, the man had pulled the gun first. Hence, it was not the same as the case in Ferguson there the teenage Michael Brown was unarmed as was the case with Eric Garner in Brooklyn.
Protesters had clashed with police in Berkeley and, later, a smaller crowd of protesters gathered at the petrol station where Antonio Martin was shot.
Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins has informed that, unlike Ferguson, here the majority of police officers were black. In Ferguson it was mostly white police force policing over a mostly black population. In order to make his point, he added that the mayor is black, the city manager is black, the finance director is black, and the police chief is black. The police officers in Berkeley are more sensitive.

14-year-old schoolboy lands an 8-foot long catfish while holidaying in Spain

#catfish #catalonia We have read about such feats in story books but it can, and has, happened in real life when a 14-year-old schoolboy caught a monster of a catfish while on holiday in Spain with his father. The fish was 8-foot long and, weighed 208-lb – in weight, it was like that of David Haye, a champion boxer. Needless to say, it was the catch of a lifetime for the boy.
It seems the carnivorous catfish had snatched the live bait from 14-year-old Sam Lee's line and immediately bolted 100 meters downstream, but Sam, from Chester, hung on and, after a 35 minute battle, he landed the monster of the fish. Later, as per time honored tradition, he posed for the traditional photo to secure bragging rights before releasing it back into the waters of the River Ebro in Catalonia.
Landing monsters of catfish is not new to Sam who attends Upton High School. He has loved fishing for years and his latest catch is the biggest yet but, he had landed a 133lb catfish on the same stretch of river during a holiday last year.
Talking of minsters of catfish - earlier this year an eight foot 260lb Wels catfish was caught in Italy by angler Dino Ferrari on the River Po in Italy. However, the weight of the Guinness World Record is of 297lbs, 9 oz. And, the biggest on record is the Mekong catfish, found in Southeast Asia, which was recorded as 8ft 9in long and weighed slightly less than 646 pounds.

For fitness freaks – holiday destinations of 2015 for you

#fitnessfreaks Fitness freaks are obsessed with remaining fit at all times – hence, even when they go on holidays or take vacations, they want to maintain the routine because in their opinion, getting fit is one of the best things about taking a break. This could be in the form of walking, paddling or swimming. Hence, they could consider the flowing five options to turn a holiday experience into a workout.
Hiking Cinque Terre in Italy – it consists of five small villages perched above the Ligurian Sea and date to the late medieval period – even today, these are inaccessible by road. Of course these are reachable by train and boat, but hiking is the best. It can provide a new experience since the hike between the towns, as one slowly descends from the rocky cliffs into each brightly painted fishing village, is unlike any other in the world.
It is an 18-Km hiking trail from Riomaggiore, the southernmost village, to the fifth town, Monterosso, and can take up to about five hours, depending on your fitness level.
Stand-up paddle-boarding in Milford Sound, New Zealand – this fitness exercise in the expansive beauty of South Island's Fiordland National Park makes the five-hour journey by car or tour bus from Queenstown a necessary feat to keep crowds at bay.
The weather in this area is slightly unpredictable and, if it rains it would mean the mountain's waterfalls will be going off, creating even more features to paddle towards. Of course, as an alternative, you can go kayaking – there are kayaking guides in the area to help out.
Snorkelling in St John's, US Virgin Islands – this is yet another option. It involves a quick trip to the US Virgin Islands, which is accessible only by ferry. It is home to the Virgin Islands National Park, which encompasses two-thirds of the island's area.
There are over 35 beaches to choose from, including Trunk Bay, which has an underwater snorkeling trail that guides swimmers while informing them about the various species of fish. Apart from this, there are other notable snorkeling spots on the isle namely, Hawknest Bay and Cinnamon Bay, which also has outstanding camping facilities. Sea turtles and rays can be found in Waterlemon Cay, accessible by the Leinster Bay Trail from the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins. Rollerblading along 'The Strand', Los Angeles – this is yet another option. It can be said to be one of few locations that can provide a pedestrian-only route the length of which is almost a marathon. It is a 35-Km bike path running from Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, California, to Torrance County Beach.
The route passes landmarks such as the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach's infamous boardwalk. Rental locations and public toilets pop up almost every half-mile.
Hiking in Patagonia, Chile – it boasts of over 2000-Km of paths, spectacular vistas and unique natural phenomena and is a great idea for novice hikers or experienced trekkers alike. The Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile provides more than 181,000ha to explore, with many of the more seasoned hikers choosing the "W Route", which can be broken up into a series of day hikes. The first leg of "W" Route is Mirador Las Torres, the iconic four-stone peaks so often featured in photographs of the region.

2014 - The year of Malala Yousafzai and her Nobel Prize

#malala #nobelpeaceprize #taliban Brave heart 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace prize. She had been shot by the Taliban because she wanted the girls in Pakistan to get educated and not remain suppressed by the draconian laws of the Taliban.
. , has tried to shake the world leaders out of slumber when, in her acceptance speech in Oslo, she gave her unique message – build schools, not tanks.
She is from Pakistan and won this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace along with Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi.
At the ceremony, Thorbjoern Jagl-and, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee, at the ceremony in Oslo, the capital of Norway described both the recipients as ‘a young girl and a somewhat older man, one from Pakistan and one from India, one Muslim, the other Hindu; both symbols of what the world needs: more unity and fraternity between the nations.’ It may be recalled that Malala, a schoolgirl from Swat valley in Pakistan became a global icon after she was shot and nearly killed by the Taliban on Oct 9, 2012, for insisting that girls had a right to education. She had a miraculous recovery when she was flown for extensive surgery to Birmingham, England.
After recovery, she continues to stay in London with her family ever since, continuing both her education and activism. Taliban bullets could not rob her of her determination.
During her acceptance speech, she has asked several pertinent questions to the world - why is it that countries which we call `strong’ are so powerful in creating wars but so weak in bringing peace? … Why is it that giving guns is so easy but giving books is so hard? Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so difficult?”
These are some questions that world leaders need to ask themselves and put their heads together and solve issues by peaceful methods.
Malala has reiterated that she will continue this fight until I see every child in school, and her wish is to one day become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Bharat Ratna award for Atal Behari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya

#bharatratna #atalbeharivajpayee #MadanMohanMalviya India has conferred the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and freedom fighter and educationist Madan Mohan Malviya who had founded the Benares Hindu University (BHU).
Their names had been sent by the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Pranab Mukherjee for final approval.
The Centre's announcement on this prestigious award has come one day ahead of the veteran BJP leader Vajpayee's birthday, which falls on December 25. He will be 90-years-old.
Al political leaders irrespective of party affiliations have hailed the decision.
Incidentally, the Bharat Ratna Award was instituted on January 2, 1954 and is conferred "in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. As on date, 43 illustrious men and women have been honored with the prestigious award, including leading politician C Rajagopalachari, scientist C V Raman and singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Islamic State uses heat seeking missile to shoot down coalition plane near Raqqa

#islamicstate #heatseekingmissile #SOHR It has been reported that Islamic State (IS) militants have shot down a US-led coalition warplane near Raqqa over northern Syria. This has been informed by the activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The aircraft is believed to be from an Arab state and had gone down near Raqqa after being hit by a heat seeking missile. While the UK-based SOHR group indicated that the fate of the pilot was unknown, the IS supporters have published photos which they have said showed a Jordanian airman surrounded by gunmen. Confirmation of this would mean that this would be the first coalition warplane to have been shot down since air strikes on IS began in September.
The authorities in Jordan, one of four Arab countries whose aircraft have been flying sorties over Syria, has so far not commented on the incident but reports indicate that the pilot was a Jordanian of the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF). His identity has been revealed and his father has confirmed about the crash.
Hundreds of air strikes have been carried out on IS in Syria in the past three months by the air forces of Jordan, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain and a number of targets have been in and around Raqqa. This city is the de facto capital of the "caliphate" whose creation IS had proclaimed in June.

Mars calling – working on alternate method to get to the Red Planet

#Hohmanntransfer #marsmission The temptation to go to the Red Planet is forcing scientists to work overtime and come up with alternate methods to go to Mars. While the traditional missions involve large rockets for both blasting off and slowing down during landing, researchers feel that there may be a simpler, cheaper way.
Their thinking is that instead of blasting off to the red planet and using rockets to slow themselves down, future craft could use planetary gravity fields to 'drift' into the Martian atmosphere. That is a new and revolutionary theory of putting the gravity of Mars to latch on to the spacecraft and pull it down.
Such a method, termed as ballistic capture, could be a great help to open the Martian frontier for more robotic missions, future manned expeditions and even colonization efforts. It seems NASA has expressed an interest in this method. As James Green, director of NASAs Planetary Science Division has commented - 'it's an eye-opener … it could be a pretty big step for us and really save us resources and capability, which is always what we're looking for.'
Traditional missions use rockets to shoot for the location Mars will be in its orbit where the spacecraft will meet it - known as a Hohmann transfer. The process would be to put the spacecraft into a Mars-like orbit so that it flies ahead of the planet, and keeps slowing down until it is pulled in by the gravitational force. This unique method could one day be used for manned missions to Mars – only, it would add several more months to mission times.

Storm and tornado batter southern US just before Christmas – at least four dead

#tornado #mississippi #christmas Just two days before Christmas, the southern part of the United States Mississippi has been hit by a storm and it has left at least four persons dead apart from causing damages to homes and businesses and flipped cars apart from knocking out power to thousands of homes.
Obviously, Mother Nature has unleashed her anger at the way the world is turning a blind eye to the destruction of the environment and causing Planet Earth to lose its ecological balance.
Due to this storm in Mississippi, Gov. Phil Bryant has declared an emergency for two southeastern counties where officials say four people have reportedly died in the storms and several more were injured. The office of the Governor has revealed that thousands were without power in and around Columbia, which is about 80 miles southeast of Jackson.
As per the Jones County Emergency Management director, the deaths were of a man and woman who were killed inside a mobile home in the storm's path in Laurel. Moreover, about 50 miles southwest, Marion County coroner Norma Williamson has indicated that two people were killed in Columbia, one of them was in a trailer park, the other at a strip mall.
A large number of people were still trapped inside their homes and TV footage showed cars, including an ambulance, flipped over and a few businesses wrecked. Three highways leading into Columbia have been shut down due to downed trees, power lines and other debris. Travel plans will naturally go haywire.
The storms are moving toward Georgia, including Atlanta, and Florida and according to local media reports, a tornado touched down in Amite, Louisiana. It downed a number of power lines and trees and tore the roof off at least one home. Golf ball-sized hail fell in Enterprise, Mississippi, along with some pea-sized hail in the Bude area.

Lone wolf attacks in France – man armed to the teeth arrested in Cannes

#lonewolfattacks #cannes #christmas Following a number of lone wolf attacks in France, a man armed to the teeth has been arrested in Cannes. He has with him two loaded pump-action shotguns and a knife.
He was tracked by CCTV as he headed into the center of the town and police were deployed to tackle the suspect immediately. He was reportedly arrested close to Forville market – he was found to be in possession of two fully-loaded shotguns and a knife with a 25cm blade.
In view of the earlier lone wolf attacks, hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in France in the run-up to Christmas celebrations.
The first of these attacks was in Tours when a man stabbed three police officers after shouting "God is Great" in Arabic. This man was shot dead by officers and counter-terrorism officers are investigating.
The next day, 13 people suffered injuries in Dijon when a car driver targeted pedestrians in five different parts of the city within a space of half an hour. This man was also heard shouting "God Is Great" in Arabic, before ploughing into pedestrians. He had a history of being hospitalized for as many as 157 times – he could be mentally ill.
The third attack was on the next day in Nantes - 10 people were injured - including one who is said to be "clinically dead" - when a van was driven into a Christmas market. In the opinion of a minister of the government, this attack appeared to be that of an unbalanced mind.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls does not feel that the three attacks were linked. But, he has added that the rising profiles of French extremists in Syria and threats of terrorist is higher now than ever and that security was being beefed up, especially in crowded areas.

Eat on time to remain healthy – suggestion of experts

#eathealthy #BreakfastlikeaKing Health is the watchword today and research is being carried out by experts at different levels to find out what exactly is the secret to healthy living. The world today moves at a tremendously fast pace and in order to keep in tune with its speed, we toss many beliefs out of the window. But – we must remember the age old maxim – eat on time.
No matter how you diet, the fact remains that dieticians all over the world agree that timing is possibly the most underrated fitness strategy to maximize fat burn and stay healthy. This has been proved by researchers who conducted a study in Spain and came to the conclusion that the time of the day you eat large meals is a big factor in how many weight you are able to shed.
The research over a 20 week period monitored 420 overweight participants – they were split into two groups: early-eaters and late eaters. With all factors same, the groups were evaluated based on their day's biggest meal that was lunch and it was revealed that those who had their lunch later in the day shed less weight than those who ate earlier in the day. Suggestions of health experts – have breakfast like a king – preferably within an hour of waking up. Beginning the day with a hearty breakfast means the stress hormones will be in check because good breakfast helps to calm down cortisol, the stress hormone — this is usually at its peak when you wake up.
Another suggestion – eat on time since it helps the body to utilize nutrients better. Presence of protein in the meals earlier goes a long way to control the pangs of hunger later in the day.
Instead of fruits at dinner, it is better to have hem early in the morning, on an empty stomach. The reason is that taking fruits before a meal creates a better gut environment for digestion.

Traffic chaos in Bethlehem – tunnel planned to be built under Manger Square

#bethlehem #christmas #trafficchaos #nativitychurch Bethlehem is a town of 28000 and the place where Lord Jesus Christ was born and it is faced with a major traffic chaos problem as devotees pour into the city for Christmas. There are traffic snarls streets all over including around the church which marks the spot where Jesus was born.
In order to overcome the problem, the authorities are contemplating a sort of dramatic solution to the problem – they plan to dig a tunnel under Manger Square and between the two sides of the square because the modern, densely populated town of 28,000 is, in fact, a dizzying maze of small streets where traffic jams are unavoidable.
Incidentally, Bethlehem is sandwiched on three sides by other towns. In the north and southeast, there are the separation barriers of Israel apart from Jewish settlements. Moreover, it is a main transit point for drivers between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. This adds to the woes of congestion.
The area surrounding the Nativity Church, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born, is particularly busy, because tourists keep swarming in the area and vehicles try to squeeze through Manger Square.
The plan proposed is to build a 80m-tunnel that would pass under a narrow two-lane street that crosses Manger Square in front of the Nativity Church. The project would take about two years to complete and would cost £2.5m to £3.2m pounds and the Palestinian Authority has pledged to foot the bill. Once approved, the construction could begin in autumn next year.
However, things may not be that easy because the stamp of approval would be required from the UN's cultural agency UNESCO which has listed the Nativity Church as a World Heritage site and would want to ensure that its protection is guaranteed.

2014 – The year of destruction of Syrian chemical weapons

#syriaassad #chemicalweapons In the civil war in Syria, thousands of people have died in the violence between the army of President Bashar al-Assad and the Free Syrian Army. Both the warring sides resorted to indiscriminate use of different types of weapons from firearms and missiles to aerial bombing.
At the height of fighting, reports surfaced about use of chemical weapons like mustard gas in certain localities of Syria. Both the sides blamed the other and when things came to a head, US President Barack Obama ruled that if chemical weapons were not surrendered, he would take it as a violation of the red line and would launch an attack on Syria.
Finally, after the involvement of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Syrian administration agreed to hand over the chemical weapons in a phased manner to a central agency.
Finally, President Bashar al-Assad agreed to hand over Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons which were to be destroyed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The Special Coordinator for the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations has finally confirmed to the U N Security Council that 96 percent of Syria’s declared stockpile, including the most dangerous chemicals, had been destroyed and preparation were underway to destroy the remaining 12 production facilities.
“This is a chemical weapons disarmament process, it’s been unique,” said Sigrid Kaag after her final briefing to the Security Council in her capacity as the head of the joint mission dealing with Syria’s chemical weapons, which wound up its work at the end of September. The mission had overseen the destruction of 100 percent of “priority chemicals” and 96 percent of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.

Texas horror – 13 monkeys roasted to death in Covance Research center

#covance #primates In two separate incidents, a total of 13 monkeys were roasted alive in a south Texas research facility – the macaque monkeys died of hyperthermia in overheated rooms and the men involved could face federal penalties. This has been informed by a US Department of Agriculture spokeswoman.
As per reports, a federal inspector found that two animals died in September when a thermostat malfunctioned at Covance Research Products in Alice. The malfunction caused the room temperature to soar. In a similar incident one month later, 11 primates died when a thermostat override switch failed.
Covance is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and makes available animal testing to aid in the development of drugs for an array of ailments, from heart disease to diabetes. The company had notified USDA after the second incident, and corrective steps were taken. These included plans to install temperature alarms in all animal housing rooms, according to a report dated 21 November by the federal inspector.
The primates that died were cynomolgus monkeys – these are a type of macaque that is often used in medical research. Michael Budkie, executive director of Ohio-based Stop Animal Exploitation Now, has revealed that he has filed a complaint with USDA seeking a fine of more than $100,000 against Covance because it was a clear case of negligence due to which the animals were literally cooked to death on two separate incidents. Such negligence deserves the maximum penalty.

Beauty contests in Chivilcoy banned because these contests attract violence

#Chivilcoy #beautycontests #argentina The town of Chivilcoy, in the Buenos Aires region of Argentina has become the first in the country to ban beauty queen competitions. In the opinion of the town council of Chivilcoy, these beauty contests were sexist in nature and encouraged violence against women. Moreover, such competitions gave encouragement an obsession with physical beauty and brought about illnesses like bulimia and anorexia.
In Latin America the beauty pageant often serves as a springboard for a career in television or entertainment and several television personalities of Latin America have won major beauty competitions and along with it, have earned celebrity status apart from lucrative careers.
The decision of the council is that henceforth the festivities in Chivilcoy would be celebrated by recognizing the achievements of young people and the beauty contests would be replaced with carnival mask competitions and prizes for volunteering.
It seems a debate is raging in Argentina for a long time about the validity of beauty competitions. Mariano Anton of Argentina's anti-discrimination watchdog, the National Institute against Discrimination and Xenophobia, has demanded that beauty competitions in schools be scrapped in order to prevent attacks on participants. In his opinion, there have been many instances of violence against young participants in various provinces – the main reason was their beauty and because "they were too beautiful".

New theory emerges on missing MH370 of Malaysian Airlines

#mh370 #MalaysianAirlines It was on 7-8th March that the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 went missing shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur – the plane with 239 passengers and crew was on its way to Beijing. It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean but extensive search using sophisticated equipment has not been able to locate the debris of the aircraft or its passengers.
Now, Marc Dugain, a former chief executive of now-defunct Proteus Airlines former airline boss and a writer, has claimed that the plane had been shot down by the U.S. because the military feared that it had been taken over by hackers and was being readied for a 9/11-style attack.
In the opinion of Marc Dugain, the jumbo jet was shot down near a U.S. military base on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean after it was hacked. It seems he has informed a media outlet that islanders in the Maldives near Diego Garcia had told him that they had seen the missing aircraft flying low.
Moreover, Dugain had talked to a fisherman on a small island who spoke of a 'huge plane' in Malaysie Airline's colors on March 8. And - islanders had found an empty fire extinguisher from the plane in the water near Baarah Island.
Marc Dugain is a Senegal-born Frenchman and a successful novelist and he has also confided that an intelligence source had warned him not to investigate MH370 because of 'risks' and counselled him to 'let time do its work'.

Americans spending millions as they prepare to face Apocalypse

#apocalypse #preppers #doomsday Given the prevailing condition of the world today, there is no telling when life can be wiped out by natural disasters like cyclone, typhoon, mudslides, bush fire or by manmade ones like nuclear warfare or terrorist attacks. However, with a price tag of a nuclear-hardened, luxury underground living for $3.1m per floor, it could be just what one would want.
No one wants to die and Americans have already begun to plan for such an eventuality and are keeping ready suitable places where they can hide – at least for a certain length of time. One option could be a survival bunker, deep underground in a converted nuclear missile silo in the middle of America.
People have already descended upon this lucrative new emerging market and doomsday entrepreneur Larry Hall has spent years building the ultimate in survival hideaways. He sells to up-market 'preppers' – this is a relatively new set of Americans who are preparing for imminent catastrophe. They are those who believe that the world could soon end through natural disasters, terrorist attacks or economic collapse, and they do not have faith that their government will protect them when society falls apart.
Anyway, what Larry has built is worth a look – he has installed his 'survival condos' in converted nuclear missile silos that are constructed in the cold war in the Kansas countryside. They are 200 feet deep with walls of reinforced concrete that are nine feet thick.
Each apartment has eight floors of luxury apartments, each storey offers 1,800 square feet of luxury living space for up to 10 people, complete with jacuzzi baths and designer kitchens. An estimated 70 people could live for more than five years in the complex that is supplied with its own electricity, water and stored food.
It seems one silo is sold out and Larry has begun work on another – he caters to those who have thought about the future and are not happy with what could be in store for them. The price tag for this nuclear-hardened, luxury underground living could be all yours for $3.1m per floor.

A few useful tips for diabetics - follow proper diet

#diabetic #eathealthy Diabetes is a disease that everyone dreads and does not want to be associated with and whether you are pre-diabetic or borderline diabetic, or diabetes is part of your family, following a diabetic diet is a must. Basically, a diabetic diet should be high on fiber, must contain milk without cream, buttermilk, fresh seasonal fruits, green vegetables etcetera. And, care must be taken to consume food in moderation.
In the Indian context the ratio should preferably be 60:20:20 for carbs, fats and proteins. The daily intake of calorie should be between 1,500-1,800 calories and there should be at least two seasonal fruits and three vegetables in the diet plan. Fresh fruits are always better than dry fruits.
Drinking tomato juice with salt and pepper every morning on an empty stomach is also good for diabetics. Moreover, whole grains, oats, millets and other high fiber foods should be included in the meals. In case one craves for pasta or noodles, it should be accompanied with vegetable/sprouts.
It is better to include peas, beans, broccoli and spinach /leafy vegetables in one's diet to counter the effects of diabetes. As far as fruits are concerned papaya, apple, orange, pear and guava are preferable over mangoes, bananas, and grapes because the sugar content for these is high.