Try us once: BJP to Muslims

New Delhi: Reaching out to Muslims ahead of Lok Sabha elections, BJP Tuesday asked the community to give it a chance and not go by the "propaganda" spread by Congress while promising to stand for equality and apologise for any "mistake" or shortcoming in the past.

"Please note that whenever, wherever if there has been any mistake and shortcoming on our part, I assure you that we will apologise to you by bowing our heads," said BJP Chief Rajnath Singh while addressing a gathering of Muslims here Tuesday.

Singh said BJP was not against Muslims and the community should not go by the propaganda against it. He asked them to vote for BJP this time for the sake of the nation. "Try us once. We don't come up to your expectations, don't look at us ever again," he said at the event "Modi for PM - Mission 272+ - role of Muslims" here. The BJP chief asked the Muslim community not to vote for electing a government but for a strong nation where brotherhood and humanity shall prevail.

Try us once: BJP to Muslims

New Delhi: Reaching out to Muslims ahead of Lok Sabha elections, BJP Tuesday asked the community to give it a chance and not go by the "propaganda" spread by Congress while promising to stand for equality and apologise for any "mistake" or shortcoming in the past.

"Please note that whenever, wherever if there has been any mistake and shortcoming on our part, I assure you that we will apologise to you by bowing our heads," said BJP Chief Rajnath Singh while addressing a gathering of Muslims here Tuesday.

Singh said BJP was not against Muslims and the community should not go by the propaganda against it. He asked them to vote for BJP this time for the sake of the nation. "Try us once. We don't come up to your expectations, don't look at us ever again," he said at the event "Modi for PM - Mission 272+ - role of Muslims" here. The BJP chief asked the Muslim community not to vote for electing a government but for a strong nation where brotherhood and humanity shall prevail.

Men worry less than women

London: Men are healthier and happier about their appearance than women in general, according to a new survey. Health and Happiness, a nationwide study of 2,000 men and women found that men reported a higher rate of happiness when it came to their weight, shape, appearance, and the way they are perceived by others.

Women, on the other hand, were found to be more self-conscious and slightly less satisfied with their happiness levels at around 49 percent. Women are also much more likely to try dieting compared to men, reports femalefirst.co.uk. Men don’t feel stressed as often either. Almost 60 percent of male respondents said they only felt stressed once a month, whereas 60 percent of women said they felt anxious once a week or more.

Over 70 percent of men also claim they rarely felt depressed or had mood swings, compared to half of women who admitted to feeling low or unhappy at least once a month, if not more. Headaches, bloating or poor digestion were less of a problem among men. Almost half of them said they rarely got headaches, compared to 64 percent women who said they experienced them at least once a month or more. 

For 70 percent of men, bloating and poor digestion would only occur once a month or less, but almost half of women said it was a weekly or daily problem. “The general perception is that women are more health conscious, but what this survey shows is that women do actually have more health issues to deal with, especially relating to digestion, mood, anxiety and sleep,” said leading nutrition expert, Patrick Holford, who conducted the research.

“The results also show that respondents, regardless of their gender, considered the absence of disease to be an indicator of good health. But being healthy means more than that - it’s abundance of well-being indicated by good energy levels, a stable mood and a sharp mind, all of which achieve optimum health,” added Holford.

Men worry less than women

London: Men are healthier and happier about their appearance than women in general, according to a new survey. Health and Happiness, a nationwide study of 2,000 men and women found that men reported a higher rate of happiness when it came to their weight, shape, appearance, and the way they are perceived by others.

Women, on the other hand, were found to be more self-conscious and slightly less satisfied with their happiness levels at around 49 percent. Women are also much more likely to try dieting compared to men, reports femalefirst.co.uk. Men don’t feel stressed as often either. Almost 60 percent of male respondents said they only felt stressed once a month, whereas 60 percent of women said they felt anxious once a week or more.

Over 70 percent of men also claim they rarely felt depressed or had mood swings, compared to half of women who admitted to feeling low or unhappy at least once a month, if not more. Headaches, bloating or poor digestion were less of a problem among men. Almost half of them said they rarely got headaches, compared to 64 percent women who said they experienced them at least once a month or more. 

For 70 percent of men, bloating and poor digestion would only occur once a month or less, but almost half of women said it was a weekly or daily problem. “The general perception is that women are more health conscious, but what this survey shows is that women do actually have more health issues to deal with, especially relating to digestion, mood, anxiety and sleep,” said leading nutrition expert, Patrick Holford, who conducted the research.

“The results also show that respondents, regardless of their gender, considered the absence of disease to be an indicator of good health. But being healthy means more than that - it’s abundance of well-being indicated by good energy levels, a stable mood and a sharp mind, all of which achieve optimum health,” added Holford.

Sonia's interests protected in marines case: CPI-M

Kannur: The central government's decision not to invoke the anti-piracy act against the two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012, was meant to protect the interests of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the CPI-M said Monday. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here that Monday's decision by the union government to inform the Supreme Court thatthe anti-piracy law would not be invoked came because of an understanding between India and Italy.

'Right from the start of the case, there has been foul play by the centre and at times by Kerala. Through today's decision, it's clear that the interest of Sonia Gandhi has been taken care of,' Vijayan said. 'We are all interested to know what state Congress president V.M. Sudheeran has to say on what happened today,' he added.

The central government in an affidavit told the apex court Monday that the matter where anti-piracy law could be invoked against two Marines was referred to the law ministry and Minister Kapil Sibal said in his opinion Feb 21 that the 'provisions of the SUA Act are not attracted in this case'. Marines Massimilliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone have been held in India since February 2012 when they allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala, mistaking them for pirates.

Sonia's interests protected in marines case: CPI-M

Kannur: The central government's decision not to invoke the anti-piracy act against the two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012, was meant to protect the interests of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the CPI-M said Monday. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here that Monday's decision by the union government to inform the Supreme Court thatthe anti-piracy law would not be invoked came because of an understanding between India and Italy.

'Right from the start of the case, there has been foul play by the centre and at times by Kerala. Through today's decision, it's clear that the interest of Sonia Gandhi has been taken care of,' Vijayan said. 'We are all interested to know what state Congress president V.M. Sudheeran has to say on what happened today,' he added.

The central government in an affidavit told the apex court Monday that the matter where anti-piracy law could be invoked against two Marines was referred to the law ministry and Minister Kapil Sibal said in his opinion Feb 21 that the 'provisions of the SUA Act are not attracted in this case'. Marines Massimilliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone have been held in India since February 2012 when they allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala, mistaking them for pirates.

Indian doctor loses latest bid to stay in Australia

Melbourne: An India-born doctor, convicted of sexually assaulting a patient while working at an Australian hospital, has lost his bid to stay in the country. A Federal Courtjudge dismissed Suhail Durani's plea yesterday, but his defence lawyer Shahid Shakur said they intend to take the case to the full bench of the court.

Durani, 36, has been fighting to stay in Perth since he was released from jail after serving more than 18 months for sexually abusing a 19-year-old girl at Royal Perth Hospital in 2010. 'He's utterly disappointed of course. He has been in detention now for nearly six months and at the time of the
judgement obviously we expected a different decision,' Shakur was quoted as saying in an ABC report.

'We respect the decision. It's obviously appealable but it will depend on the counsel's advice,' he said.His clientwho had a wife and young son, had an arguable case, he said.'We believe that the Minister has made the errors. While we respect the judgement of his Honour today, as soon as we
have the counsel advice and we have read the reasoning for the decision, we will be in a decision to take further steps,' he said adding'We have not been able to read the judgement as yet.'

Shakur said Durani was not yet facing deportation and would remain in detention until the appeal process is resolved. 'If he doesn't appeal then he faces deportation under the law, but if he appeals against the decision he does not obviously,' he said. 'As we understand, appeals can take up to six months,' Shakur said.

Durani has 21 days to lodge an appeal. He had lost a bid to appeal against his conviction in 2012
and was fighting to stay back in the country. Hehad maintained his innocence and sought leave to appeal on seven grounds, including that his defence lawyer had acted incompetently. The three Appeal Court judges dismissed his plea,refusing six of the seven grounds. His visa was also cancelled by theFederal Government last year. PTI

Indian doctor loses latest bid to stay in Australia

Melbourne: An India-born doctor, convicted of sexually assaulting a patient while working at an Australian hospital, has lost his bid to stay in the country. A Federal Courtjudge dismissed Suhail Durani's plea yesterday, but his defence lawyer Shahid Shakur said they intend to take the case to the full bench of the court.

Durani, 36, has been fighting to stay in Perth since he was released from jail after serving more than 18 months for sexually abusing a 19-year-old girl at Royal Perth Hospital in 2010. 'He's utterly disappointed of course. He has been in detention now for nearly six months and at the time of the
judgement obviously we expected a different decision,' Shakur was quoted as saying in an ABC report.

'We respect the decision. It's obviously appealable but it will depend on the counsel's advice,' he said.His clientwho had a wife and young son, had an arguable case, he said.'We believe that the Minister has made the errors. While we respect the judgement of his Honour today, as soon as we
have the counsel advice and we have read the reasoning for the decision, we will be in a decision to take further steps,' he said adding'We have not been able to read the judgement as yet.'

Shakur said Durani was not yet facing deportation and would remain in detention until the appeal process is resolved. 'If he doesn't appeal then he faces deportation under the law, but if he appeals against the decision he does not obviously,' he said. 'As we understand, appeals can take up to six months,' Shakur said.

Durani has 21 days to lodge an appeal. He had lost a bid to appeal against his conviction in 2012
and was fighting to stay back in the country. Hehad maintained his innocence and sought leave to appeal on seven grounds, including that his defence lawyer had acted incompetently. The three Appeal Court judges dismissed his plea,refusing six of the seven grounds. His visa was also cancelled by theFederal Government last year. PTI

Long hours on smartphones may affect eyesight

Beijing: A woman in China, who spent many hours peering at her smartphone in the dark, found that her right retina had become detached. Liu felt her right eye had been 'veiled' since last week. Liu habitually plays with her smartphone for two to three hours each day in the dark, Xinhua reported Saturday. 

'When the doctor covered my left eye, everything I saw with my right was distorted. Rectangular objects become elliptical,' she said.

The doctor who treated Liu said she suffered a partial retina detachment and blamed using her smartphone in the dark for the trouble. Zhao Bingkun, an ophthalmologist in Zhejiang province, said long hours staring at bright screen in the dark can cause the ciliary muscle to overcontract, affecting its ability to accommodate the changes in the lens when viewing objects at varying distances.

Retina detachment can lead to blindness, and ophthalmologists are seeing a growing number of patients suffering from the condition after staring at the screens of computers and handsets for too long. A man in China's Fujian province, who spent 10 hours each day running a shop at online marketplace Taobao.com, lost vision in his right eye in November last year. In a country increasingly obsessed with staying wired, health professionals have long called for self-restraint and proper protection by smartphone and tablet users.

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Long hours on smartphones may affect eyesight

Beijing: A woman in China, who spent many hours peering at her smartphone in the dark, found that her right retina had become detached. Liu felt her right eye had been 'veiled' since last week. Liu habitually plays with her smartphone for two to three hours each day in the dark, Xinhua reported Saturday. 

'When the doctor covered my left eye, everything I saw with my right was distorted. Rectangular objects become elliptical,' she said.

The doctor who treated Liu said she suffered a partial retina detachment and blamed using her smartphone in the dark for the trouble. Zhao Bingkun, an ophthalmologist in Zhejiang province, said long hours staring at bright screen in the dark can cause the ciliary muscle to overcontract, affecting its ability to accommodate the changes in the lens when viewing objects at varying distances.

Retina detachment can lead to blindness, and ophthalmologists are seeing a growing number of patients suffering from the condition after staring at the screens of computers and handsets for too long. A man in China's Fujian province, who spent 10 hours each day running a shop at online marketplace Taobao.com, lost vision in his right eye in November last year. In a country increasingly obsessed with staying wired, health professionals have long called for self-restraint and proper protection by smartphone and tablet users.

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