Wimbledon final: Andy Murray shoulders British hope and glory

 Andy Murray hopes to make history on Sunday by becoming Britain's first Wimbledon men's champion in 76 years, a landmark challenge which has sent optimism and ticket prices soaring.

An estimated 17 million people are set to watch the historic match on domestic television alone while good luck messages have flooded in for the Scot, who tackles six-times champion Roger Federer.

Murray is the first home player to get to the final since Bunny Austin in 1938.

Victory would make him the first British champion since Fred Perry in 1936, the year when the Nazis marched into the Rhineland and the Spanish civil war began.

"Since I left for Spain 10 years ago and decided I wanted to become a professional tennis player, these are the moments I've spent every day working towards," Murray wrote on his BBC blog on Sunday morning.

"I moved away from my family at the age of 15, lived and trained in another country. I had to do that to get where I am today, challenging for the sport's biggest prizes."

Federer is widely regarded as the finest player of all time and is bidding to level the record of seven Wimbledon titles held by Pete Sampras.

A win for the 30-year-old Swiss would mean a 17th Grand Slam crown.

Murray, 25, has come agonisingly close to the final before -- he was a semi-finalist in 2009, where he lost to Andy Roddick, and in 2010 and 2011, on both occasions losing to Rafael Nadal.

The Scot, runner-up at the 2008 US Open and 2010 and 2011 Australian Open, insists he is the underdog as he tries to win his first major, despite holding an 8-7 career lead over Federer in head-to-head meetings.

Federer has the greater experience, playing in a record eighth Wimbledon final and 24th Grand Slam championship match.

"It's a great challenge, one where I'm probably not expected to win, but one that, if I play well, I'm capable of winning," said Murray.

Federer will return to the world number one spot if he wins, becoming the second oldest man behind Andre Agassi to take the top ranking.

Just two men over 30 have won Wimbledon -- Rod Laver, who was almost 31 when he won in 1969 and Arthur Ashe who was just five days short of his 32nd birthday when he was champion in 1975.

"There's a lot on the line for me. I have a lot of pressure, as well. I'm looking forward to that. That's what I work hard for," said Federer.

Fans will have to dig deep if they want to see history made with Centre Court tickets, which are priced at £120 ($186), being sold for astronomical sums.

Edward Parkinson, director of ticket market place website Viagogo UK, said: "We could see tickets being offered for up to £45,000 ($69,958) for a pair."

Meanwhile, residents of Murray's hometown of Dunblane in central Scotland will be desperate for a celebration.

In 1996, the town was the scene of a bloody massacre when a gunman burst into Murray's school, killing 16 children and a teacher.

As a frightened eight-year-old, Murray hid under a desk as the gunman ran amok.

"Some of my friends' brothers and sisters were killed," Murray wrote in his autobiography, Hitting Back.

"The weirdest thing was that we knew (the gunman) Thomas Hamilton. He had been in my mum's car. It's obviously weird to think you had a murderer in your car, sitting next to your mum."

Good luck messaged for Murray poured in on Sunday, just hours before the scheduled start time of the match at 1400 (1300GMT) which looks likely to be played beneath the Centre Court roof as heavy rain swamped south-west London.

British Prime Minister David Cameron sent a message to Murray's mother Judy, the country's women's Fed Cup coach.

"Its not every day u get an email from the Prime Minister. Just saying," she tweeted.

Cameron is expected to be amongst the guests in the Royal Box as is the Duchess of Cambridge, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and David and Victoria Beckham.

There was one good omen for Murray on Saturday night when compatriot Jonathan Marraybecame Britain's first men's doubles champion at Wimbledon since 1936, ironically the same year that Perry lifted the country's last singles title.

"If it gives him any kind of inspirational help, I'm sure it would be good," said 31-year-old Marray, who teamed up with Denmark's Frederik Nielsen.

Andy Murray hopes to make history on Sunday by becoming Britain's first Wimbledon men's champion in 76 years

Delayed Rains Strain India Economy

NEW DELHI—Swaths of northern India are facing water shortages due to the late arrival of monsoon rains, deepening already acute power shortages and disrupting the sowing season of staple food crops at a time when India's economy is fragile.

On Friday, Sharad Pawar, India's agriculture minister, acknowledged for the first time the weather's toll on crops. "June rainfall was not satisfactory for agriculture and water reservoirs," Mr. Pawar said.

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Associated Press

Hindu priests performed ritual prayers for monsoon rains at a temple in Ahmadabad, India, on Jul 1. Seasonal rains that typically begin in June haven't started in many parts of the country, threatening an important breadbasket region of the country. Efforts to pump water to irrigate dry land in preparation for planting season have taxed utilities.

Heavy monsoon rains typically arrive in June, but some parts of northern India, an expansive agricultural belt on which millions of people rely for food, have yet to see a drop. In some 82% of India, the average rainfall last month was a third below average. This shortfall has delayed the planting of crops such as pulses and oilseeds, Mr. Pawar said.

Government forecasters, he added, expect that the monsoon will come within days, and that any shortfall will be made up by heavy rains in July and August. Other experts, though, say the chance of a normal monsoon this season are slim.

For farmers, the delay in planting crops means lower yields come harvest time in October. The dry weather is hitting agricultural incomes, as many farmers turn to expensive diesel-powered generators to pump groundwater into empty irrigation canals.

"We are bearing heavy losses because of the delay in rains," said Harnel Singh Pataidi, a farmer who grows sugar cane and rice in Machipur, a village in the northern state of Punjab. "Even if rain comes in another few days, the sowing is already delayed by almost 15 days. We have no choice but to cope with the loss in yield."

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Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press

Farmers work in their field at Delhpur village, outskirts of Allahabad, India, July 4, 2012.

A drop in farm incomes could further destabilize India's economy, which grew at 5.3% in the first three months of 2012, its slowest rate in almost a decade, in large part because of a slowdown in export growth and a fall in investment.

The farm sector employs about half of the nation's workforce and contributes 17% to gross domestic product. A drop in agricultural profits would likely lead to a fall in rural spending. It could also push inflation back into double digits as food prices, already high, climb further.

"It obviously has a macroeconomic impact as it brings down agricultural output and impacts the overall consumption pattern," said Arunabha Ghosh, chief executive of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a New Delhi-based think tank.

The shortages also are exacerbating an acute power shortage, as the country's hydroelectric plants, which generate 20% of the nation's power, face pressures. NHPC Ltd., a large state-owned hydroelectric power company, said this week that power generation at its plants had fallen 7% in the past 10 days due to water shortages.

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India's power system—beset by a lack of investment and shortages of key inputs such as coal—can't keep up with soaring demand for electricity in the summer months.

Increased pumping of groundwater in farming areas due to water shortages has added to strains on the national grid, said Harry Dhaul, director-general of the Independent Power Producers Association of India, a trade group.

In New Delhi, India's capital, some residents say they have to scrape by without piped water on many days despite temperatures hitting 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Many residents also have resorted to pumping groundwater. "We are facing lots of problems. We get one or two hours of water supply and those are at odd hours like 3 or 4 a.m.," said K.K. Mittal, a resident of East of Kailsah, a New Delhi suburb.

UK arrests 7 more over terror fears

LONDON: Seven men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences in Britain after a routine vehicle search turned up firearms and weapons, police said on Friday. 

The arrests, which took place earlier this week, were announced one day after officers in London detained six terror suspects using stun guns and smoke grenades in early-morning swoops, including one on a home close toLondon's Olympic Park. 

In that case, police insisted that the suspects' alleged plans to stage attacks had no link toLondon's upcoming Summer Games, which begin on July 27. West Midlands Police on Friday also said there was nothing to suggest the suspects were preparing to target the Olympics or that the arrests were linked to the London raids. 

They said the arrests came after a car was stopped on the M1 motorway in South Yorkshire on June 30 and impounded for not having insurance. 

It said "firearms, offensive weapons and other material" were later found hidden in the vehicle, which prompted police to trace and arrest the driver, passenger and other suspects. 

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman Steve Field insisted there was no sense of alarm at the spate of arrests so close to the start of the Summer Games.

Roadside bombs kill 20 in southern Afghanistan

KABUL: Roadside bombs killed 14 Afghan civilians, five policemen and one member of the U.S.-led international military coalition in southern Afghanistan, Afghan and NATOauthorities said Sunday. 

The civilians, including women and children, were killed in Arghistan district, along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, Kandahar province spokesman Ahmad Jawed Faisal said. 

One bomb exploded when a minivan ran over it on Sunday morning, he said. A second went off when other civilians, who were riding on a tractor, arrived to help the dead and wounded. 

Authorities were trying to determine how many people died in each blast. At least three other civilians were injured in the explosions. 

According to the United Nations, last year was the deadliest on record for civilians in the Afghan war, with 3,021 killed. The number of Afghan civilians killed dropped 36 percent in the first four months of this year compared with last year, but the U.N. says that too many are still being caught up in violence. 

The policemen were killed while responding to a gun battle being waged against insurgents early Sunday at a checkpoint in Musa Qala district of Helmand province. 

Daoud Ahmadi, the spokesman in Helmand, said a group of Taliban fighters attacked the police checkpoint at about 3 a.m. 

Afghan police called for reinforcements, but on the way, one of the police vehicles hit a roadside bomb, killing the five policemen. 

Ahmadi says three other policemen were wounded in the four-hour gun battle against the insurgents. He says the bodies of 20 insurgents were recovered from the battlefield. 

Separately, a NATO service member was killed in another roadside bomb explosion Saturday in southern Afghanistan. 

NATO did not disclose where the blast occurred, or provide the nationality of the soldier killed. 

So far this year, 224 NATO service members have been killed in Afghanistan.

With missiles & warship, London turns into fortress

LONDON: Britain is girding itself for the biggest peacetime security operation in its history featuring anti-aircraft missiles on rooftops and a warship in the river Thames for the London Olympics. 

A security force of more than 40,000 military and civilian personnel, backed by a huge intelligence operation, will turn the British capital into a fortress to protect venues, athletes and visitors. 

The £553-million ($877-million ) operation will watch for a range of scenarios, from "lone wolf " terror strike to cyber-attacks, protests, riots, transport breakdowns and even extreme weather. Security has already been tight around the Olympic torch as it has made its way around the UK in the past month. The only incident of note has been a protest as it went through Northern Ireland. 

Defence secretary Philip Hammond said Rapier surface-to-air missiles would be deployed across the capital to guard against 9/11-style attacks, despite opposition from residents. The missiles — Rapier and smaller high-velocity systems — will be deployed at six sites including on the rooftops of flats in east London near the Olympic Park. 
He said a major nine-day military exercise codenamed Exercise Olympic Guardian that took place in May had "achieved its objectives".

Terror suspect tracked to London Olympic Park: Reports

Terror suspect tracked to London Olympic Park: Reports


LONDON: An Islamist terror suspect in Britain charged with breaking restrictions on his movements had crossed through London's Olympic Park five times, newspapers reported Sunday.

The 24-year-old -- named only as CF -- is suspected of being a militant for Somalia's Al-Qaeda-allied Shebab rebels, The Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Mirror said.

He is one of nine people suspected of being a risk to national security who are subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) -- legal orders which restrict movements, contacts and computer use.

The Sunday Mirror said he was a British jihadist. The Sunday Telegraph said he comes from a large Somali family in north London.

CF was deported from Somalia back to Britain in March last year.

He served two months in jail for a previous absconding offence before being released and placed under the TPIM restrictions and ordered to live in Norwich, eastern England.

He wears an electronic tag allowing the authorities to track his movements.

CF was arrested again last month and charged with five separate breaches of an order banning him from using the train route which passes through the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

The alleged offences occured between April and May.

He is due to be prosecuted later this year.

CF is to challenge the banning order at the High Court on Monday, newspapers reported.

Following his arrest, a lawyer for the Home Office interior ministry warned that CF was committed to "Islamist extremism".

In papers lodged in the High Court proceedings, he said Home Secretary Theresa May believes that were it not for his TPIM restrictions, CF "would re-engage in terrorism-related activities, either in the UK or Somalia".

It could not be said that he has "renounced his commitment to terrorism", he argued.

"As CF has previously re-engaged in Islamist extremist activity, despite being on bail, previous disruptive action has not been enough to dissuade him from his involvement in Islamist extremism.

A spokeswoman for the state Crown Prosecution Service said: "CF has been charged with five offences of breaching his TPIM. He is next in (criminal) court on July 27."

The London 2012 opening ceremony will take place on the same day.

Woman held in UK terror probe freed without charge

Woman held in UK terror probe freed without charge

LONDON: British police say they have released without charge one of seven people arrested over an alleged plot to launch a terrorist attack.

The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday that a 30-year-old woman detained in London on Thursday has been freed.

Five men and a woman are still being question over allegations of "the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism."

The suspects include a British Muslim convert and three brothers who were detained on Thursday by armed police at their home near London's Olympic Park.

Counter-terror officers are on high alert ahead of the Games, which begin on July 27, but police say the arrests are not connected to the Olympics.

Britain's terrorist threat risk remains at substantial, the middle point on a five-point scale, meaning an attack is a strong possibility.

Rally Against Mexico's Election Result

MEXICO CITY—Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Mexico's capital on Saturday to protest Enrique Pena Nieto's apparent win in the country's presidential election, accusing his long-ruling party of buying votes.

The protesters were angered by allegations that Mr. Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party gave out bags of groceries, gift cards and other items to voters ahead of July 1 national elections.

The students, unionists and leftists in the march carried signs reading, "Pena, how much did it cost to become president?" and "Mexico, you pawned your future for 500 pesos." Mexico City officials put the size of the crowd that reached its central Zocalo plaza at 50,000.

"The fraud was carried out before [the election], buying votes, tricking the people," said Gabriel Petatan Garcia, a geography student who carried a sign in Finnish.

Protesters also carried signs in English, Japanese, French, German and other languages to call the attention of the international press.

Mr. Pena Nieto, a youthful, 45-year-old married to a soap opera star, won last Sunday's election by almost 6.6 percentage points, according to the official count, bringing the PRI back to power after 12 years in opposition. The party had ruled Mexico for 71 consecutive years, with what critics say was the help of corruption and vote fraud.

PRI officials deny the vote-buying charge and say the vote was free and fair.

The final vote count had Mr. Pena Nieto getting 38.21 % support, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party with 31.59 %, and Josefina Vazquez Mota of the conservative National Action Party with 25.41. The small New Alliance Party got 2.29 %.

The final vote count must be certified in September by the Federal Electoral Tribunal. The tribunal has declined to overturn previously contested elections, including a 2006 presidential vote that was far closer than last Sunday's.

Accusations of vote-buying began surfacing in June, but sharpened when people rushed to grocery stores on the outskirts of Mexico City to redeem gift cards worth about 100 pesos ($7.50). Many said they got the cards from PRI supporters before the elections.

Mr. Lopez Obrador said millions of voters had received either prepaid cards, cash, groceries, construction materials or appliances.

Some marchers covered the heads of statues with plastic shopping bags—from the supermarket chain where the gift cards were redeemable—to underline their protest.

"We have to come out in the streets to denounce that the PRI bought votes, and there were people who sold them," said 32-year-old psychologist Raquel Ruiz.

Some protesters felt that overturning the election result would be difficult at this point, while others thought there were judicial means to still prevent Mr. Pena Nieto from assuming the presidency.

Mr. Lopez Obrador said he would file a formal legal challenge to the vote count in electoral courts in the coming days based on the allegation that PRI vote-buying illegally tilted millions of votes.

Simply giving away such gifts isn't illegal under Mexican electoral law, as long as the expense is reported to electoral authorities. Giving gifts to influence votes is a crime, though isn't generally viewed as grounds for overturning an election.

Leonardo Valdes, the president of the Federal Electoral Institute, has said he doesn't see any grounds for overturning the results but that an investigation into the gift cards had been launched.

PRI spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said this past week that the gift-card event had been "a theatrical representation" mounted by the left. Mr. Sanchez claimed supporters of Mr. Lopez Obrador took hundreds of people to the stores, dressed them in PRI T-shirts, gave them gift cards, emptied store shelves to create an appearance of panic buying, and brought TV cameras in to create the false impression that the PRI had given out the cards.

Cesar Yanez, the spokesman for Mr. Lopez Obrador's campaign, denied the PRI accusation.

US delivers `powerful commitment' to Afghanistan

The U.S. designation Saturday of Afghanistan as its newest "major non-NATO ally" amounts to a political statement of support for the country's long-term stability and solidifies close defense cooperation after American combat troops withdraw in 2014.

"We see this as a powerful commitment to Afghanistan's future," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at a news conference during a brief stop in the Afghan capital. "We are not even imagining abandoning Afghanistan," she said in the grand courtyard of the presidential palace after talks with President Hamid Karzai.

From Kabul, she and Karzai headed separately to Japan for an international conference on Afghan civilian assistance. Donors planned to pledge $16 billion over four years, with the U.S. share not immediately clear, according to a U.S. diplomatic official speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement Sunday.

The non-NATO ally declaration allows for streamlined defense cooperation, including expedited purchasing ability of American equipment and easier export control regulations. Afghanistan's military, heavily dependent on American and foreign assistance, already enjoys many of these benefits. The non-NATO ally status guarantees it will continue to do so.

Afghanistan is the 15th such country to receive the designation. Others include Australia, Egypt, Israel and Japan. Afghanistan's neighbor Pakistan was the last nation to gain the status, in 2004.

Clinton insisted that progress was coming incrementally but consistently to Afghanistan after decades of conflict. "The security situation is more stable," she said. Afghan forces "are improving their capacity."

At the news conference, Karzai thanked the U.S. for its continued support.

Clinton repeated the tenets of America's "fight, talk, build" strategy for Afghanistan: defeat extremists, and win over Taliban militants and others willing to renounce violence and help in the long reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Fighting still rages as Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces battle insurgents, mostly in the eastern part of the country. Although casualties have fallen among foreign forces as the United States and other nations begin a gradual withdrawal, 215 coalition soldiers were killed in the first six months of the year, compared with 271 in the same period last year.

Reconciliation efforts haven't gained steam. Still, Clinton said she was pleased to be meeting the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan together at the conference in Tokyo. That three-way relationship is seen as critical to stabilizing Afghanistan.

Clinton, who flew to Kabul after attending a 100-nation meeting on Syria in Paris, stressed the importance of the pledges for civilian aid. Afghanistan's cash-strapped government depends heavily on foreign assistance, and any significant drop-off in that help after 2014 could set back the country's development.

Asked about the corruption that has plagued the Afghan government, Clinton said the U.S. was working hard with Afghan authorities to eliminate fraud, mismanagement and abuse. She said the meeting in Tokyo would include accountability measures to ensure that money sent to Afghanistan benefits the Afghan people.

"This is an issue the government and the people of Afghanistan want action on, and we want to ensure they are successful," Clinton said.

Nations that once gave more generously to Afghanistan are now seeking guarantees that their taxpayer money will not be lost to corruption and mismanagement.

International donors say that many promises to crack down on corruption have not been carried out. Some highly placed Afghan officials have been investigated for corruption but seldom prosecuted, and some graft investigations have come close to the president himself.

In Tokyo, representatives from some 70 countries and organizations planned to establish accountability guidelines to ensure that Afghanistan does more to improve governance and finance management, and to safeguard the democratic process, rule of law and human rights, especially those of women.

On the major non-NATO ally designation, Clinton said Afghanistan would have access to U.S. defense supplies and training and cooperation.

"This is the kind of relationship that we think will be especially beneficial as we plan for the transition," she said. "It will help the Afghan military expand its capacity and have a broader relationship with the United States."

Designating Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally was part of a Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by Presidents Barack Obama and Karzai in Kabul at the beginning of May.

On Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, and the country's foreign minister announced that the two countries had completed their internal processes to ratify the agreement, which has now gone into force.

Fernando Alonso takes pole for British GP in rain-delayed session

Spaniard Fernando Alonso handed Ferrari their first Formula One pole since 2010 in a wet British Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday.

The championship leader, last year's winner at Silverstone, was joined on the front row by Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber - also his 

closest rival in the standings after eight of 20 races.

The pole was Ferrari's first since Alonso started the Singapore Grand Prix from the top slot on the grid in September 2010, 31 races ago. The former double world champion was, however, wary of the insignificance of pole position at Silverstone as only four of the drivers who took pole at the race track have gone on to win the race in the last 17 years.

Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher qualified third fastest for Mercedes with fellow German Sebastian Vettel, the reigning champion, alongside for Red Bull. Schumacher's marked improvement in qualifying this season continued as he set a top three time in qualifying for the third time this year. It also marked an improvement in his head to head record against teammate Nico Rosberg. Schumacher has now qualified Rosberg four times in the nine qualifying sessions this year.

Heavy rain had earlier forced qualifying to be halted for an hour and a half.

Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Pastor Maldonado, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean completed the top ten on the starting order.

Of these, Maldonado will have to take a five-place grid penalty as a result of his collision with Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the previous race in Valencia.

Weight loss ‘may boost low testosterone levels’

Weight loss can reduce the prevalence of low testosterone levels in overweight, middle-aged men with prediabetes by almost 50 percent, a new study has found.

The new study involved nearly 900 men with prediabetes, also called impaired glucose tolerance, who had participated in the Diabetes Prevention Program.

“Doctors should first encourage overweight men with low testosterone levels to try to lose weight through diet and exercise before resorting to testosterone therapy to raise their hormone levels,” Frances Hayes, co-author of the study from St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, said.

That now-completed U.S. study showed that people at high risk of Type 2 diabetes could delay or avoid developing the disease through weight loss.

Since overweight men are more likely to have low testosterone levels, Hayes and her colleagues studied the effect of weight loss on men’s testosterone levels.

Archive for the ‘Weight loss’ Category.Egg

Egg for breakfast ‘best way to fight the flab’

Eggs are the best way to start the day for those who want to lose weight
A major UK review of studies into the effects of eating eggs has found that egg contains a powerful ingredient that can help to cut the amount of calories people go on to eat at lunch and dinner.
Scientists say boiled, fried, poached or scrambled eggs keep people fuller for longer compared with other common breakfast foods.
Click here for some delicious egg recipes
This appears to help people who are desperately trying to resist tempting but naughty afternoon snacks such as biscuits, cake or chocolate.
The review, published in the journal Network Health Dietitian, also revealed that the specific proteins found in eggs are far superior to other types when it comes to keeping hunger at bay.

9 ways to drive away dandruff

You can’t hide it if you have dandruff. The shower of white flakes on your shoulders is a sure give-away, however carefully you pick your shirts to camouflage your condition. For affected people, dandruff can be a major source of irritation that can also turn into social embarassement. So what can you do about it to keep your hair shining and free of those white flakes?

While hardly serious, dandruff can be persistent. A number of medicated shampoos and preparations are available to combat it; trial and error though may be necessary to help you find one that is appropriate for you. However, popular home remedies combined with lifestyle changes can also cure dandruff.

Fenugreek or methi is a popular kitchen remedy for dandruff. Take two tablespoons of fenugreek seeds and soak them for about 8 – 10 hours. Grind the seeds into a smooth paste and apply this carefully over your scalp. Leave it in for about half an hour and then wash it off. Repeat as needed.

Add the juice of one lime into some curd and mix it thoroughly. Now apply the curd to your scalp. Keep it for about half an hour and then wash with shampoo. Repeat as needed; over time your dandruff will be completely cured. Caution: Avoid this treatment if it gives you a cold.

Shampooing your scalp daily with tea tree oil is said to be effective against dandruff. Derived from the leaves of the tea tree native to Australia (not to be confused with the tea plant) the oil has medical properties and is easily available in shampoos. Check for a reaction though, as tea tree oil may cause allergies in some people.

Maintaining scalp hygiene can help you control dandruff. Wash your hair regularly using a gentle shampoo. Restrict the use of gel, wax or other products that can make your hair greasy and attract dirt. Using medicated shampoos is a tried and tested remedy. Also, avoid treating hair with harsh chemicals that can irritate scalp skin and aggravate dandruff

Brushing increases the circulation in the scalp. It also helps to effectively remove the build-up of dead cells and flakes, thus keeping the scalp clean. Brushing often can thus help you manage dandruff better.

Diet deficiencies, such as that of zinc or vitamin B may play a role in aggravating dandruff. Having balanced meals, eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking enough water can help to bring dandruff under control. Avoiding meat, sugar, tea, coffee, aerated drinks and junk or processed foods may help.

Stress can affect the normal functioning of your body in different ways. It may also be responsible, directly or indirectly, for your dandruff. Learning to relax and managing stress can resolve the problem.

Exposing your scalp to the sun for some time each day can effectively fight dandruff. Don’t overdo this however as overexposure to sunlight increases the risk of skin cancer.

                          

Fruits and vegetables can prevent heart disease

Eating fruits and vegetables every day can reduce your risk of developing heart disease by 20 percent, a World Health Organization (WHO) study showed.

Death rates from heart disease are twice as high among people who eat diets high in saturated fat, trans fats and salt such as junk food, Xinhua quoted the study as saying.

More people around the world die from cardiovascular diseases than any other causes.

Food tips to protect your heart

These diseases were responsible for 17.3 million deaths in 2008, representing 30 percent of all global deaths, WHO said Wednesday.

The major causes of cardiovascular disease are tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol.

7 ways to heart health

WHO predicts if the current rising trend continues, by 2030 almost 23.6 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases.

Source: IANS
Image: Getty Images

Also read: Specific nutrients in fruits and vegetables

Tags: Cardiovascular disease, Heart disease, Saturated fat, Sify Health, World Health Organization

Slashed from 166 to just 10: India’s Olympic freeloaders

Remember the fat Indian delegation of 166 men and women from almost all political outfits and the bureaucracy — but a very few former Olympians — that went to Beijing Olympics? Well, the story has drastically changed this time — only 10 people, mostly former sportspersons, are getting to 

board the flight to London. Not even a single MP, state-level politician or bureaucrat of any non-sport ministry is in the list.

During the first six days of the 12-day London Olympics beginning on July 27, India will be represented by a five-member team headed by sports minister Ajay Maken. The rest will attend the second half under sports secretary PK Deb.

In 2008, the delegation included, among others, Krishna Tirath, then an MP and now women and child development minister, Vijay Bahuguna, another former MP and now Uttarakhand chief minister, and heads of several national sports federations.

The official reason: preparing for the Commonwealth Games of 2010. The delegates were given the title of CWG observers. But what did they eventually contribute to the CWG is not yet known.

The team’s Beijing trip proved to be quite expensive at Rs. 2 crore, with each member getting a daily allowance of $75, revealed a reply to a Right to Information query later.

This time too, the politicians expected a junket to London. Requests from MPs and state governments poured in.

“Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments sent official proposals nominating state sports ministers to be part of the delegation,” a senior ministry official said.

But the finance ministry decided to keep the delegation small and avoid a repeat of the 2008 controversy.

The delegation to London includes former hockey stars Aslam Sher Khan, Viren Rasquinha and Ashok Kumar, sprinter PT Usha, swimmer Khazan Singh and tennis players Rohit Rajpal and Manisha Malhotra.

England wrap up ODI series win against Australia

England rounded off a comprehensive one-day international series defeat of four-times World Cup winners Australia with an eight-wicket win in the fourth one-day international at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.

Scorecard

Ian Bell (69) and then Jonathan Trott, unbeaten on 64, guided the hosts past their 201-run victory target with 13 balls to spare.

"It's always nice to get one over. We want to make it 4-0. When you're on top you want to stay on top," Bell told Sky Sports.

Ravi Bopara (33 not out) and captain Alastair Cook (29) provided able support in the victory that was first made possible by the bowlers.

Steven Finn wreaked havoc among the Australian top order claiming three of their top four batsmen as the lanky paceman notched up player-of-the-match winning figures of 4-37.

Fellow seamers James Anderson (2-34) and Tim Bresnan (2-46) supported Finn admirably in the absence of leading spin bowler Graeme Swann, out with an elbow injury.

Australia, at one stage 96-6 in testing conditions after a morning start, rallied through David Hussey (70) and bowler Brett Lee (27) while captain Michael Clarke chipped in with a dogged 43.

Though England chased the 201-run target with apparent ease Trott said there was nothing simple about another morale-boosting victory over their arch-rivals.

"I don't think any victory is straightforward. We played good cricket, but it's one-day cricket so I don't think you can draw too much from it."

The fifth and final ODI is at Old Trafford on Tuesday before top-ranked test team England commence a three-match series against South Africa at the Oval on July 19.

103 dead in southern Russia floods

Intense flooding in the Black Sea region of southern Russia killed 103 people after torrential rains dropped nearly a foot of water, forcing many to scramble out of their beds for refuge in trees and on roofs, officials said Saturday.

Many people were asleep when the flooding hit overnight in the Krasnodar region, and the water rushed into the area around the hard-hit town of Krimsk with such speed and volume that rumors emerged that local officials had opened a nearby water reservoir. Muddy water coursed through streets and homes, in some cases high enough to flow over the hoods of cars and even as high as rooftops, according to witnesses.

People waded through waist-high water or maneuvered the streets in boats on Saturday. About 5,000 residences were flooded, the Krasnodar governor was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.

"Nobody remembers such a flood in all (of the area's) history," Alexander Tkachev said.

The Interior Ministry gave the death toll as 103 on Saturday evening, according to Russian news agencies; a regional ministry spokesman said earlier that at least 67 of the deaths were around Krimsk, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Moscow. Five people were electrocuted in the Black Sea coastal city of Gelendzhik after a transformer fell into the water, state news agency RIA Novosti said.

Anna Kovalevskaya, whose parents live in the flooded area, described water inundating their home up to the roof.

"In the town, people are saying that a reservoir in the mountains above was opened," she told the Moscow-based radio station Russian News Service. "A wave came from there. There was seven meters (22 feet) of water in the town."

Tkachev reacted angrily to the speculation, saying on his Twitter account: "Stop spreading stupid rumors ... Now is the time to get through things together, not mock."

President Vladimir Putin flew to the region Saturday evening, viewing the damage from a helicopter. He will also meet with regional officials in Krimsk.

State news channel Rossiya 24 showed video of area residents rescuing people in small, inflatable boats and others slogging glumly through flooded homes.

"It came so fast!" exclaimed one woman, whose name was not given, waving an arm in frustration at the shin-deep water in her living room, where a large teddy bear sat on a sofa.

More than 28 centimeters (11 inches) of rain had fallen in Gelendzhik since the previous evening, the state meteorological service said.

Gelendzhik is on the Black Sea coast, and along with the area around it, is a popular summer vacation spot, including many children's camps. Vice-premier Olga Golodets told RIA Novosti that some 7,100 children were at holiday camps in the area, and that 459 children had to be evacuated.

The area also includes Novorossiisk, a major Black Sea port. The Transneft oil company said Saturday it has suspended loading oil onto tankers at the port because of the severe weather.

More than 1,500 Emergency Ministry officials were working to aid flood victims and clean up the damage, state TV said
.