Kasab’s trial to proceed despite confession

MUMBAI: An Indian judge on Thursday ruled that the trial of the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks will continue, despite the accused’s confession.Judge ML Tahaliyani described Ajmal Kasab’s confession as only a “partial admission” of guilt to the scores of charges the Pakistani national faces over the attacks, in which 10 gunmen killed 166 people last November.“The statement made by Kasab is a partial admission,” Tahaliyani said. “He has however not admitted to all of the 86 charges framed against him,” he added.Evidence from the Mumbai trial could theoretically be used in Pakistan against five members of Islamist group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT), prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court.However, analysts say the decision gives prosecutors a chance to put LT – and by extension Pakistan – on trial. “This trial was not just about Kasab as an individual but the manner in which Kasab’s trial leads to the linkages within Pakistan,” says Uday Bhaskar, a security analyst based in New Delhi

Article from Daily Times-Rajesh Nair

'Public will decide the future of Test cricket'

England all rounder Andrew Flintoff has advocated the need to cut down the number of Test matches being played to save the charm of the traditional format of the game.

"We have seen in the past few years what it means to people and we have to preserve that for the good of the game and the tradition behind it because it is a great format.

"The one thing we need to do to continue to maintain Test cricket as being special is cutting down the amount and make it a real occasion rather than playing one after another," Flintoff opined.

Flintoff, who will quit Test cricket after the ongoing Ashes series but will continue playing the other two formats, said it will be up to fans whether to see Test cricket or not.

"The public will decide the future of Test cricket. If people turn out to watch Twenty20 and not Test cricket then it could happen. In England we need to maintain the appeal it has," he told the Independent.

Flintoff also said that T20 format need to be handled carefully so that it does not harm Test cricket.

"It was interesting coming here today and asking the kids what form of cricket they like best. They like the glitz and glamour of Twenty20 but maybe Twenty20 could have a knock-on effect so that players start with it and then work out how to play the longer form. So it could have a positive effect but it's going to have to be handled very delicately," he said.

Article from Rediffmail.com

Rajesh Nair

Heart Exercise - What is the Secret Weapon For Longevity and Heart Health?

here are many studies that challenge the premise that prolonged and strenuous exercise is what promotes health, ideal fitness, and a stronger heart. This comes from a newer school of thought that says that the human body would gain much more from high-intensity (yet brief) duration exercises than with lengthy, regular, and low intensity exercises (American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative & Comparative Physiology).

Why Is Exercise Not Popular?

Exercise is touted to be able to extend your life, improve the quality of living, and keep you young. Why then it is not as popular as it should be? People are overweight, continuously fighting some disease or other and inviting the risk of heart attack as early as mid-forties. Why are they not exercising and be rid of all these problems?

1. No time: we live in very demanding times where each one of us feels the need of an extension of the hours available in a day. Unfortunately, the number of hours is non-negotiable. Where is the extra time that you could use for exercising? 'Walk for 30 minutes every day', is a very common advice. However, no one tells you how you can squeeze in these 30 minutes when you are always sleeping at 2 AM in the morning trying to catch with various deadlines at work or home.

2. No strength: exercise is more needed as you suffer from the onslaught of age. Unfortunately, this is the time when your strength is not what it used to be and exercise rather crumples you up. Try starting aerobics at 48 and you will know what I mean. It is easier to give up on your rounding-up body and be philosophical about it, rather than gathering all your strength and adopting an exercising regime.

3. No motivation: it takes a long, long time to see any results even if you work yourself to near death every day. When you find that after three months your scales still do not make an appreciative move backwards, you rather lose hope in the applicability of exercise to your case.

So What Is The Solution?

Dr Al Sears, who researched this groundbreaking path for more than a decade, promotes a novel and highly effective method of controlling weight and maintaining exceptional health at any age. This method is based on the recognized fact that the high-intensity short-term period exercises are remarkably good for the health of your heart as well as promoting a loss of weight.

This research culminated in the birth of a weight-loss program called PACE or Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion. This is a method by which you accelerate your heartbeat through highest-intensity exercises in small bursts with short breaks in-between. These exercises would be practiced for a maximum 20 minutes period every day.

The results of this new method of exercising have been incredibly positive. People adopting this type of heart exercise have not only eliminated completely the risk of heart attack, but also reversed heart disease and a number of other age related ailments. They became healthy and surprisingly younger looking and energetic.

Prof Maureen MacDonald of the Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University is all out for this type of heart exercise. She says, "We wouldn't be surprised to see more rehabilitation programs adopt this method of training since it is often better tolerated in diseased populations".

Times are changing - hopefully, you will go along with it and enjoy its benefits.

Rajesh Nair

How to Stay Healthy and Fit

If you’re a smoking teenager, chances are very big to get a heart disease or stroke when you’ll be older. So in that case, I would suggest you try to avoid any kind of cigarettes, to practice sport, to say no to alcohol or any kind of drugs and to always have safe sex. It is also strongly recommended to pay the doctor a visit more often for different tests, such as measuring your blood pressure and checking your general health.

What you eat is also very important for your health. An obese person is at risk for many diseases. The BMI (body mass index) is being used to measure the proportions between weight and height. A person considered to be overweight has a body mass index above 95%, but for example, an athlete can also have a high BMI without being overweight. The explanation could be that the body has extra muscle tissue, but no fat at all. The body begins to gain weight when it’s overfed, that means when it receives more calories than it needs, or than it burns off. Obesity means stress for the body, health and mind. Obese people feel depressed and there is more likely for them to eat to cure this depression than to run or swim. So, the key in avoiding obesity is to have an organized life program, respect your body, to exercise everyday, to try to eat healthy and to avoid tobacco, alcohol or drugs.

It’s very important to teach yourself to eat only what’s good for your health, because, after all, you’re eating to stay alive, not staying alive just for the taste of food. Even though you’re not a sporty person, you should try to find an activity that you enjoy to mix it somehow with a bit of sport. For example, if you feel to relax yourself, take the bike and go to your favorite place: a lake, a forest, a park instead of watching TV and being tempted of eating in front of it. Spend more time outside, in the nature rather than staying at the computer, playing some game that instead of relaxing you, will make you more tired. Read more about ways of staying healthy, it will improve your knowledge and most importantly: a healthy body needs a healthy mind!

Rajesh Nair