July 2021 | Page 2 of 7

Obesity: Causes & Prevention

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 Editor

Seerat Haneef Obesity is a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity isn’t just a cosmetic concern. It is a medical problem that increases your risk of other diseases and health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers. There are many reasons why some people have difficulty avoiding obesity. Usually, obesity results from a combination of inherited factors, combined with the environment and personal diet and exercise choices.The good news is that even modest weight loss can improve or prevent the health…

Will let people of Kashmir decide if they want to join Pakistan or become an ‘Independent Nation’: Imran Khan

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 Editor

Departing from Pakistan’s declared policy on Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that Islamabad would let the people of Kashmir decide if they want to join Pakistan or become an “independent state”. India has asserted that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of India. Addressing an election rally in Tarar Khal area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) ahead of the polls on July 25, Khan also rejected claims by a leading Opposition leader that his government was working on a plan to make…

Attempts were made to Infect Phones in Kashmir with Pegasus: Forensic Evidence

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 Editor

Besides separatists like Bilal Lone and the Mirwaiz, the list of potential targets for surveillance includes a prominent Delhi-based civil society critic of government policy, journalists, and family members of some mainstream politicians. Besides Delhi-based Kashmiri journalists and a prominent civil society activist critical of official policy towards Jammu and Kashmir, more than 25 people from the Kashmir Valley were selected as potential targets of intrusive surveillance between 2017 and mid-2019 by an as yet unidentified government agency that is also believed to be a client of the Israeli company…

Two serving Union Ministers, Three opposition leaders, 40 Journalists, and others tapped by Pegasus: Report

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 Editor

Phones of two serving union ministers, three opposition leaders, one constitutional authority, current and former heads of security organisations, administrators, and 40 senior journalists and activists from India were allegedly bugged using an Israeli spy software called Pegasus and put on surveillance, according to an expose by a global consortium of media organisations, including India’s The Wire. The first reports published late Sunday only released names of journalists allegedly targeted in India. The list includes Sushant Singh when he worked with The Indian Express, Hindustan Times group executive editor Shishir…

After the season’s hottest day, rain brings down the mercury across J&K

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 Editor

On Sunday, the maximum temperatures in the summer capital, Srinagar, and winter capital, Jammu, were 35°C and 36°C, respectively – the highest so far; Kashmir’s Anantnag and Kulgam districts and Kathua in Jammu received heavy rainfall A day after witnessing the hottest day of the year so far, monsoon showers lashed parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. With the mercury hovering over 30°C for the last few days, the downpour brought much-needed respite from the heat. On Sunday, the maximum temperatures in the summer capital, Srinagar, and the winter…

Kashmir has been pushed to Economic & Democratic disconnect with the rest of India: National Conference

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 Editor

The National Conference (NC) on Monday claimed that Kashmir has been pushed to an economic and democratic disconnect with the rest of the country and that the ‘discomfiture’ has equally been felt by the Kashmiri Pandit community. NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar made these comments while welcoming Ashok Kumar Bharti, the vice-chairman of the Shopian Municipal Committee, into the party fold. Bharti, who was affiliated with the BJP, joined the NC along with scores of his supporters. Among others who joined the NC are Shushma Bali, Chander Kumar Bali,…

Will wait for ‘Liberal’ Govt to restore special status: Sajad Gani Lone

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 Editor

People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone said he does not expect the BJP-led government in the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.“I wouldn’t expect them to give it back. But that doesn’t stop us from going to the courts, which we have, or waiting for a liberal government at a future date to give it back,” the People’s Conference tweeted Mr. Lone’s remarks on its official handle today. The Centre on August 5, 2019, had abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu…

GoI denies involvement in Israeli spyware Pegasus to snoop on Imran Khan, Rahul Gandhi & Kashmiri leaders

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 Editor

Apart from the journalists, activists, and lawyers, the hacking software Pegasus sold by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, was also used to access the information of Congress leader Rahul Kashmiri leaders, Pakistani diplomats, Sikh activists, businesspeople known to be the subject of police investigations and two numbers registered to or once known to have been used by the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan. As per a report by The Guardian, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most prominent political rival, the opposition figure Rahul Gandhi, was twice selected as…

Saffron- Kashmir’s Golden Spice

July 19, 2021July 19, 2021 Editor

Amidst the towering snow-capped mountains of Pampore, Kashmir, lie fields covered in a blanket of purple crocus flowers. This is the flower that produces the precious spice known as saffron. Pampore, a small village located around 14 kilometers from the state capital, Srinagar, is known as the ‘Saffron Capital of India’, with more than 20,000 families associated with saffron cultivation. The saffron produced in the region is of superior quality and can fetch as much as Rs 2, 50,000 per kilogram in the market. The laborious task of cultivating saffron…

Weather Alert: Heavy rain warning in J&K for July 19-21

July 19, 2021July 19, 2021 Editor

The weather warning has included moderate to high risk of a flash flood, temporary disruption of surface traffic, landslides, and shooting stones at vulnerable places The meteorological (MET) department on Saturday issued a weather warning for Jammu and Kashmir, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain from July 19 to 21. An official statement issued by the MET office said: “Lower and middle-level tropospheric winds from the north Arabian Sea are most likely to interact with Easterly winds (From Bay of Bengal) from 18th to 21st July. “The system is most…