Musharraf’s security, protocol to be withdrawn

After the UN fact finding reports regarding assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the UK government has decided to withdraw the facilities including security and protocol of former President Pervez Musharraf.

According to details former President Pervez Musharraf was being provided security and protocol in the United Kingdom (UK) but it has been decided to withdraw all the facilities provided to him.

It is pertinent to mention that former President was getting the facility of security by retired SSG commandos while he was also getting the services of 4 Scotland Yard personnel and a vehicle for his security, which would now be withdrawn.

The UK government has also refused to extend the visas of his security guards.

Legal Advisor of former President, Fawad Chaudhary has refuted the facts and said that Gen (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf would continue getting facilities and there was no change in his security and protocol.

He said that former President would return to Pakistan soon however he could not confirm any date or month. He added that Pervez Musharraf never had permanent vehicle or guards however he gets these facilities when needed.

Take big bites to lose weight

The age-old advice to chew your food properly may not always be best for your health. Research shows that taking bigger bites and chewing less was better for people watching their weight.

Lincoln’s Plant & Food Research scientists have been on a six-year mission to discover what foods make us feel satisfied and how best to eat them.

Team leader food structure engineering Marco Morgenstern said taking bigger bites and chewing less was better for people watching their weight as the food was broken down more slowly in the stomach.

This meant people felt fuller for longer and the slow release of energy could be burnt off over time.

However, sportspersons need the quick energy hit from partially digesting food in the mouth, so they would be better off eating softer foods and chewing for longer.

“The way people chew the food depends more on the food’s properties, not the individual, so you can design food which people won’t chew much and [food they] will chew a lot,” Morgenstern said.

Baking technology scientist Arran Wilson spends his days making different sizes and structures of muesli bars to test the research.

Bars could be made to help people with diseases such as diabetes who needed slow-release food to keep their glucose levels stable.

Business manager Tim Lindley said the research team had tested 3,000 foods for their effect on blood glucose levels, reflecting how quickly they released energy into the body.

Their findings included the benefits of eating whole-oat muesli and wholegrain bread which made people feel satisfied for longer. Pasta was also found to have slow-release energy.

Lindley said fad diets that encouraged people to stop eating carbohydrates were unhealthy. About half of a person’s food energy intake should be carbohydrates, the key was knowing which ones to eat and when, he said according to a University of Canterbury release.

The research team has created an online diet programme called Aspire for Life which has been clinically tested at Otago University.

Exercise to fight weight regain

Exercise can help control weight regain after dieting by reducing appetite and burning fat before burning carbohydrates, according to a new study.

According to researchers from the University of Colorado Denver, burning fat first and storing carbohydrates for use later in the day slows weight regain and may minimize overeating by inducing a feeling of fullness to the brain.

They insist that exercise prevents the increase in the number of fat cells that occurs during weight regain.

This discovery also challenges the conventional wisdom that the number of fat cells is set and cannot be altered by dietary or lifestyle changes.

These coordinated physiological changes in the brain and the body lower the ‘defended’ weight, that is, the weight that our physiology drives us to achieve, and suggest that the effects of exercise on these physiological processes may make it easier to stay on a diet.

During the study, the researchers used obesity-prone rats. For the first 16 weeks, the rats ate a high-fat diet, as much as they wanted, and remained sedentary.

They were then placed on a diet. For the following two weeks, the animals ate a low-fat and low-calorie diet, losing about 14pct of their body weight.

The rats maintained the weight loss by dieting for eight more weeks. Half the rats exercised regularly on a treadmill during this period while the other half remained sedentary.

The findings revealed that exercising rates regained less weight and burned more fat early in the day, and more carbohydrates later in the day.

It reduced drive to overeat and enhanced the ability to balance energy intake with energy expended.

The team will do further research to demonstrate that exercise is, indeed, preventing the formation of new fat cells early in relapse and not simply altering the size of pre-existing fat cells.

Sania Mirza becomes Sania Malik

Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik entered matrimony at a much-hyped Nikah ceremony today. The couple looked extremely happy as they got married at the Taj Krishna hotel on Monday afternoon.

Earlier today, Sania Mirza’s spokesperson Rucha Nayak had confirmed that Shoaib and Sania would materialise their Nikah on Monday, followed by mehendi ceremony on April 13, sangeet on April 14 and the reception will be held on April 15 as scheduled, reported Zee NEws.

Although the venue of the Nikah hasn’t been confirmed as yet due to security reasons, sources reveal that the ceremony will take place at the Taj Krishna hotel here on Monday. Interestingly, it was at the same hotel that Sania was engaged to her childhood friend Sohrab Mirza on July 10 last year amid much fanfare. The tennis ace called off the engagement January 28 this year citing ‘incompatibility’.

Nevertheless, Sania’s PRO also revealed that the tennis star will be wearing the same red saree, which her mother wore at her own Nikah 25 years back. Also, she is stated to go for a subtle make-up and the much raved about Arabic mehendi. On the other hand, Shoaib is set to wear a Black sherwani designed by renowned designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil.

Talking about Sania’s wedding, the designer duo confirmed saying, “Yes we are designing Sania’s wedding and reception outfits but we cannot divulge any further details on it.”

Earlier, Kazi Ahmetullah Pasha had said that the Nikah would take place on Friday, April 9, at 6:30 pm in the evening. However, the marriage could not be performed as Shoaib reportedly could not submit necessary documents like passport and clearances with regard to closing of the criminal case filed against him.

However, things apparently sorted out when Shoaib Malik gave divorce to Ayesha Siddiqui after initially refuting claims that the two had got married.

Polish president his wife and other 85 die in Plane crash

A plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife has crashed in western Russia and that at least 87 people have been killed.

The Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed that the president and his wife were aboard the plane that crashed Saturday near the city of Smolensk.

A spokeswoman for Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, Irina Andrianova, said 87 people were killed but she had no details on their identity