Smoke emitting from the traditional cookstove, widely used in the rural parts of India with cheap biofuels — such as crop chaff or dung — causes detrimental impact on the country’s environment and people’s health, finds a study, led by one of Indian-origin professors.

The findings showed that the traditional cookstove may be producing much higher levels of particulate emissions than earlier thought.

“Our project findings quantitatively show that particulate emissions from cookstoves in India have been underestimated,” said Rajan Chakrabarty, Assistant Professor at the Washington University in St. Louis.

In some cases, more than twice the emission levels were detected when compared to the previous findings, the researchers said.

“Traditional cookstove burning is one of the largest source of pollutants in India. We found it’s a really big problem; this is revising what people knew for decades,” Chakrabarty said.

The results, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, are based on the series of tests conducted in Raipur — where more than three-quarters of the families use cookstoves to prepare their meals.

In December 2015, researchers, including those from Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University in Raipur and the Indian Institute of Tropical Metrology in Pune, burned a wide variety of biofuels acquired from different parts of India, cooked different meals in a number of varying ventilation situations.

They then recorded the resulting emission levels using high-tech particle measurement devices.

While further investigation is needed to evaluate the exact effect of cookstove emissions on the climate and health, the researchers noted that their work lays the foundation for further improving the process by which those effects are evaluated and measured.

A top Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer was airlifted to Jammu city on Thursday after he suffered a heart attack in Bhaderwah district the previous evening.

Inspector General (IG) A.B. Chouhan, who was on a two-day visit to Bhaderwah was shifted to the sub-district hospital late Wednesday after he complained of chest pain and nausea, police said.

Doctors at the hospital were joined by Army doctors.

After stabilising the officer, doctors advised that he should be shifted to Jammu city for specialised treatment.

FC Barcelona have received a boost with the news that the Spanish football club’s record signing Ousmane Dembele is officially fit to return to action.

The French forward, who cost 105 million euros ($126 million) from Borussia Dortmund this summer, suffered an injury to his right thigh while playing against Getafe on September 16 and has needed three and a half months to recover, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Barcelona website confirmed on Tuesday that he is now officially able to return to action and it is likely that he will be included in the Barca squad for the first leg of their King’s Cup tie away to Celta Vigo on Thursday night.

It will be interesting to see how Barca boss, Ernesto Valverde adopts his system to the young forward’s return as he had swapped his formation from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 with Brazilian midfielder Paulinho given an advanced role, which has worked well in recent months.

Only on Monday Valverde had spoken of Dembele’s qualities, saying he was “different to anything we have.”

“He is able to play in various positions and is very fast,” added the Barca boss.

Rafinha is also close to a return after missing all of the season with an ankle injury, giving Valverde further options in what is a hectic schedule for his club during the first three months of 2018.

Finally reports in the Spanish and UK press imply that Barcelona may also be closing in on a deal to sign Liverpool’s attacking midfielder Phillipe Coutinho, although it is not sure whether or not the player would move to Spain in January or in the summer.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Thursday left for a 5-day visit to Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore as India marks 25 years of its partnership with Asean in keeping with its Act East Policy.

https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/948793441659494400

Sushma Swaraj’s first stop will be Thailand (Jan 4-5) followed during the course of which she will hold a meeting with Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai.

She will the head to Indonesia (Jan 5-6) where the minister will co-chair the fifth meeting of the India-Indonesia Joint Commission with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.

The Ministers will also inaugurate the second meeting of the Asean-India Network of Think Tanks. She will also call on Indonesian President Joko Widodo and have other official engagements, including an interaction with representatives of the Indian community.

It said the Joint Commission meeting and other engagements of Sushma Swaraj would enable the two countries to chart out the course of partnership during the year 2018.

Her last stop will be Singapore (Jan 6-8) during which she will inaugurate the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) of Asean countries on January 7.

The theme of this year’s event is “Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic Asean-India Partnership”.

Sushma Swaraj will have bilateral meetings with the leaders in Singapore and also interact with PIO delegations from Asean countries, who will be participating in the PBD.

On all three legs of her visit, Sushma Swaraj will share with her interlocutors relevant information about the forthcoming Asean-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi on January 25 which marks 25 years of the establishment of Dialogue Partnership between India and the 10-nation regional bloc.

A series of events have been organized by the External Affairs Ministry over the last year to celebrate this jubilee in different Indian cities and also Asean countries, which will culminate with the Summit in New Delhi. India has also invited the leaders of the Asean countries for the Republic Day parade this year.

(With inputs from agencies)

Does your lifestyle demands for prolonged sitting every day? Long hours of sitting day-in and day-out may affect your health adversely beyond your imagination.

God has bestowed you with a body designed for constant movement all day long. When you keep sitting for a long period of time, your body system shuts down. It may bring you closer to death by interrupting healthy working of various organs. Long hours of sitting slows down the blood flow and makes the muscles to burn less fat. This may make fatty acids to block your heart leading to various heart diseases.

People who sit for 10 or more hours a day may have a significantly greater risk of developing colon, breast and endometrial cancers. It can be due to excess insulin production that may encourage cell growth or lack of antioxidants in your body may potentially lead to the growth of cancer-causing free radicals. Excess amount of insulin production by pancreas may lead to diabetes also. If after having food, you keep sitting, your digestion becomes weak. A poor digestion may lead to bloating, cramping, heartburn and constipation. You may feel dull and sluggish as when you sit for long your brain gets less fresh blood and oxygen. It has a bad impact on brain and mood enhancing chemicals.

Sitting puts excess pressure on your backbone. It puts strain on your neck and lead to sore shoulders along with permanent imbalances to you cervical vertebrae. After sitting for long when you get up, a number of molecular cascades occur. Within one-and-a-half minute after you leave your sitting posture and become active, the muscular and cellular systems that process blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol get activated. These cellular systems also push fuel into your cells and if not done regularly, it may radically increase your risk of diabetes and obesity.

It has been surveyed that 40 percent of people with backache have spent long hours of sitting at their computer every day. When you sit for too long, the disks in your back that absorb blood and nutrients through movement may become stiff overtime. It may increase your risk of herniated disks. It may lead to muscle degeneration, hip and leg disorders. Lack of activity may cause weak bones and even osteoporosis.

Seeing so many health problems, it can be said that long hours of sitting may shorten your lifespan. To lessen the affect, increase your day-today physical movement. Do moderate-intensify exercise daily. Climb up the stairs instead of using elevators or escalators. Park your car away from your office so that you can walk twice a day forcibly. Walk across the hall to talk to your colleagues instead of sending email or message through your mobile phone. Stand up after every hour and move around for two to three minutes.

Health comes first. Don’t compromise on it, or you may live a shorter life.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of two convicts to life imprisonment in the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case.

A division bench of Justice S. Murlidhar and Justice I.S. Mehta modified the death sentence awarded to Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla by the trial court and said they would serve life imprisonment.

The death row convicts had challenged the trial court’s conviction and sentence.

The trial court had on July 14, 2016, held the two guilty of the murder of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh and other counts.

While sentencing the two to death, the trial court had said the 28-year-old woman was killed in a “cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner” and “brutally mauled to death”.

It was a cold morning with a shroud of dense fog covering the city on Thursday. Visibility stood at 50 metres disrupting train and flight operations.

At least 34 domestic and international flights were delayed, while three were cancelled. Around 14 trains were cancelled, 60 delayed and 18 rescheduled due to the thick fog in several parts of northern India.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, the Met said.

The humidity at 8.30. a.m. was 100 percent. The MeT predicted shallow fog towards the end of the day.

“The sky will be clear,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said. The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 19 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature on Wednesday settled at 18.4 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season’s average while the minimum temperature was recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius, normal for the season’s average.

Defending champions Chennai Smashers went down to Delhi Dashers after being forced to concede the last match of the tie due to an ankle injury to Gabrielle Adcock mid-way into the first game in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) at the BBD UPBA here on Wednesday.

The match which would have decided the outcome of the tie could not be completed as Gabrielle twisted her ankle while returning a shot.

Playing in their trump match, the Adcocks couple Gabrielle/Chris were trailing 5-6 in the match. Going into the match, Chennai were trailing 1-2, but a loss would have erased their slate while Delhi were awarded a point and won the tie 3-0 on points.

Earlier, South Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun, ranked 6th in the World beat World No.3 P.V. Sindhu to give Delhi a slight advantage (2-1 on points). Sung who had lost to Sindhu on both occasions in last season, exacted her revenge to disappoint the packed stadium that braved the chilly weather to witness their favourite star in action.

In a battle of equals in this marquee clash of the day, Sung prevailed over Sindhu 11-15,15-13, 15-14 though it was the lanky Indian who asserted early domination by taking an 8-6 lead at the interval in the first game.

Sindhu used the length of the court very well and tormented Sung throughout with her deceptive cross courts drop. She did not face much of a challenge and danced her way to win the game.

In the second game, Sung tried to force Sindhu onto the back-foot by engaging her in long rallies. Even though Sindhu tried her best to wrap up the proceedings, Sung drew level to send the match into the decider. It was a riveting contest in the final game with both the players engaging in a fierce battle. However, it was Sung who had the last laugh as she fought her way to victory to send Delhi ahead in the contest.

The tie was very crucial for both the teams as a win would put them in a strong position to enter the knock-out stages.

With four matches played in the tie, Delhi Dashers have won three matches while Chennai have won one.

Delhi are marginally ahead 2-1 on points as the mixed doubles clash between Chennai trump duo of Adcocks and Delhi’s team of Vladimir Ivanov/Ashwini Ponnappa will decide the outcome of the tie.

In the third match of the tie, World No.22 Tain Houwei of China beat Chennai’s Tanongsak Saemsomboonsuk 15-14,15-10 to keep Delhi alive in the tie.

In the first game, the lone Chinese started off well and breezed to establish an 8-2 lead at the interval. However, after the breather, Tian could not maintain his stronghold and Tanongsak fought his way back into the match.

In the second game, Tanongsak was leading 8-5 mid-way and should have tied the match. But he lost focus again and committed string of errors which allowed the Chinese to get back into the match and eventually emerge victorious 15-10.

In the second match of the day, Hong Kong’s Vincent Wong Wing Ki registered a comprehensive 15-10, 15-13 victory over France’s Brice Leverdez to reduce Delhi’s deficit in the tie. World No.15 Vincent started off in a jiffy rushing to an 8-2 lead in no time and it looked like he would win the game without facing much of a challenge.

Brice did improve gradually but could not stop the Hong Kong shuttler take the lead in the match. In the second game, Brice showed better determination and grit but could not stop the Delhi juggernaut as Vincent made his way to victory.

In the lung-opener of the day, the Indo/Taiwanese men’s doubles combination of B Sumeeth Reddy/ Lee Yang scored a superb 15-13,15-11 victory over the Russian trump duo of Ivan Sozonov/Vladimir Ivanov to help Chennai Smashers draw first blood of the tie.

The win saw Chennai log in their first point of the evening, while condemned Delhi to a -1 by the virtue of losing the trump match.

On Thursday, home team Awadhe Warriors will take on last year’s runners-up Mumbai Rockets.

US President Donald Trump dissolved his much-touted voter fraud commission, attributing the step to various states’ refusal to participate in the board, which was criticised as a misguided step to solve a practically non-existent problem.

In the wake of the announcement on Wednesday night, advisers outlined hesitation from within the White House for months about the commission.

“It’s a s**t show,” a White House adviser told CNN, adding that the commission went “off the rails”.

Trump established the commission last May after claiming without evidence that massive voter fraud had cost him the popular vote, and he appointed Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the panel.

But after months went by and the commission faced pushback from officials across the country, civil rights advocates and even a member of the commission itself, Trump finally pulled the plug on Wednesday.

The White House said in a statement: “Despite substantial evidence of voter fraud, many states have refused to provide the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity with basic information relevant to its inquiry.

“Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today (Trump) signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action.”

Another White House official told CNN that the commission was unable to operate as structured under the Federal Advisory Committee Act which mandates a degree of transparency around commission activities and was the subject of litigation against it.

The official also suggested the Department of Homeland Security could take up the issue.

The Republican majority in the US Senate got narrower with the entry of two new Democratic senators, a situation that may further complicate enacting President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in 2018.

The Senate opened a new working session on Wednesday with the swearing in of Doug Jones, the Democrat who in December defeated controversial Republican candidate Roy Moore in a special election in Alabama and Tina Smith, who temporarily replaces Democrat Al Franken of Minnesota after he resigned on Tuesday following accusations of sexual misconduct, reports Efe news.

Their arrival reduces the Republican majority in the upper house by one seat to 51, the other 49 seats being held by Democrats, 11 months before the mid-term elections in November.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs, along with a third of the 100 Senate seats, in the upcoming election and the Democratic opposition hopes to be able to retake control of both houses, although the Republicans currently hold a 24-seat majority in the House.

Jones, who became the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate from Alabama in more than a quarter-century, took the oath of office accompanied by Joe Biden, who served for more than three decades in the Senate before becoming Vice President from 2009-2017.

The 63-year-old Jones will serve until 2024 after defeating Moore, a former judge who was accused by several women of having sexually abused them when they were minors during the 1970s.

Smith, a former lieutenant governor of Minnesota was appointed to the Senate seat on an interim basis when Franken announced his resignation a month ago after being accused by up to eight women of sexual misconduct.

She will hold the seat until November when her state will hold a special election to find a permanent replacement for Franken.

Smith is expected to run in that contest, but she may face other Democratic challengers and the Republicans may try to win that seat, given that Trump lost the state in 2016 by just 2 percentage points.

Vice President Mike Pence presided at the brief inauguration ceremony for Jones and Smith, which was also attended by former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale, who served under Jimmy Carter from 1977-1981.

FC Goa held reigning champions ATK to a 1-1 draw in an unprecedented Indian Super League (ISL) tie which kicked-off two hours and forty five minutes after scheduled time on Wednesday and ended more than half an hour past midnight on Thursday here at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

In the aftermath of a MiG-29K aircraft catching fire after skidding off the runway at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport on Wednesday morning, FC Goa players were left stranded at the airport all day before a chartered flight from New Delhi flew them from their base to Kolkata.

The visitors landed at 8:59 p.m. and headed straight to the venue.

The Sergio Lobera-coached side reached the stadium at 9:42 p.m. and were seen inspecting the pitch for some time before holding a huddled meeting near the touchline.

The teams were then seen warming up in sneakers, black jackets and shorts as reports of their kit not arriving surfaced.

The match, which was originally postponed to 9 p.m. from regular kickoff time of 8 p.m., was first pushed back to first 10:15 p.m. and then 10:45 p.m., when it actually began.

On the pitch, Robbie Keane (4th) made of most of visibly rusty Goa players to nod in a Ryan Taylor free kick to which goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani could only get his fingertips.

ATK could hold on to their slender lead for 20 minutes before Goa, braving all adversity, equalised courtesy their marksman and joint top-scorer Ferran Corominas (24th) who scored his ninth goal of the campaign so far to pip Bengaluru Fc’s Miku who is also on eight goals.

Manuel Lanzarote set him up from the inside right channel with the Spanish striker rounding keeper Debjit Majumdar and placing the ball in the back of the net.

Prabir Das tried to keep the ball out with a desperate slide but in vain.

At halftime, both teams were locked 1-1. In the second period, both teams had chances to take the lead but could not find the winner.

The result saw ATK remain in seventh position with nine points from seven games while Goa moved up a rung to fourth from fifth place with 13 points from seven outings.

Three Indian girls along with seven Nepalese girls who were a victim of human trafficking have been rescued from Kenya, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday.

The 10 girls were rescued from the clutches of a crime syndicate in Mombasa which was involved in trafficking of girls.

“We have rescued three Indian girls from Kenya. The girls were victims of an organised crime syndicate that indulged in trafficking of girls. Seven Nepalese girls were also rescued. Their Passports and phones were taken and they were held captive in Mombasa,” Swaraj tweeted.

https://x.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/948764679605690368

“We have flown our girls back to India,” she added.

The minister further said that the Punjab government has been informed so that a case is registered against the agents and the people involved.

https://x.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/948764925878444032

She also appreciated the efforts of the Indian High Commissioner in Kenya, Suchitra Dura and thanked the local police for their help.

“I appreciate the efforts of Ms.Suchitra Durai, Indian High Commissioner in Kenya. Our First Secretary Karan Yadav deserves a special mention. We thank the Kenyan Police for their help,” she added.

https://x.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/948765376816365569

Actor Christian Bale, who played Batman in the famous Christopher Nolan series, has said that he not a fan of the superhero genre.

The 43-year-old actor starred as the iconic caped crusader in Nolan’s “Batman Begins”, “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises”.

During an interview on MTV’s ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, Bale said he has not seen the performance of Ben Affleck as Batman but will certainly see it at some point.

“I have not seen (Ben Affleck’s Batman). Yes I’m interested (in seeing it), my son seemed like he was really interested but then I realised he just wanted to see the trailer. I tend to go see films that (my kids) want to see,” Bale said.

“I have to confess I’m not a huge superhero film fan.

People seem surprised at that, I don’t know why. I’ve not seen any of the ‘Avengers’ films or any of those films at all. I hear they’re very good, but I’m quite happy just hearing they’re very good,” he added.

Bale also confirmed the reports that he was approached for a role in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” that ultimately went to Woody Harrelson.

“Yes, (it was) very tempting. I not only love the films going back to my childhood but also have a very long relationship with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall because they did ‘Empire of the Sun’ many years back. There was discussion, (and) I hope there will be future discussions,” Bale said.

Tamil movie actor Rajinikanth, who recently announced his political plunge, on Wednesday met DMK President M.Karunanidhi to seek his blessings.

Speaking to reporters here after meeting Karunanidhi, he said he had informed the DMK patriarch about his starting a political party and got his blessings.

The actor said he greeted Karunanidhi for the New Year and also enquired about his health.

On December 31, 2017, Rajinikanth had announced his plans to float a political party and follow spiritual politics.

Speaking to reporters, DMK leader M.K.Stalin termed the meeting between his father and the actor as nothing surprising.

Stalin said Rajinikanth had requested a meeting with Karunanidhi and as per the tradition of this land, his request was acceded to.

He added that Rajinikanth also met Dayalu Ammal, Karunanidhi’s wife.

According to Stalin, even DMDK leader A. Vijayakant had sought Karunanidhi’s blessings when he floated his party.

He said support for Rajinikanth’s party would be decided at the time of elections.

The DMK leader, citing the view that Rajinikanth has been asked to float a political party to wipe out the Dravidian parties, asserted that the Dravidian culture cannot be wiped out of this land.

Jammu on Thursday recorded the coldest night of the season at 2.7 degrees Celsius as the cold wave intensified further in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is no immediate relief in sight for at least another two to three days,” a Met official said.

Foggy mornings have been adding to the chill in Jammu city over the last four days.

Heavy fog lead to poor visibility disrupting flight operations at the Jammu airport on Wednesday till late afternoon. No flight landed there during that time.

The lowest temperature in the state was minus 20 in Kargil. Leh town recorded minus 14.2.

The minimum temperature was minus 3.9 in Srinagar, minus 4.5 in Pahalgam and minus six in Gulmarg.

In the Jammu region, the Mata Vaishno Devi base camp town of Katra recorded five, Batote 2.1, Bannihil minus 1.6, Bhaderwah minus 0.3 and Udhampur 1.3 degrees Celsius.

India Test opener Murali Vijay on Wednesday said he wants to play his ‘A’ game in the upcoming match against South Africa here on Friday.

Vijay also said he is in positive frame of mind for the match and not taking any sort of stress.

“I just want to go out there and whatever is thrown at me, I just want to play my ‘A’ game and do well for my country,” Vijay told reporters after the practice session here.

“I don’t want to think too much about what will happen in a couple days’ time. I just want to prepare myself and be in a confident state of mind, which I am at the moment,” he added.

Despite the conditions and pitch favouring the fast bowlers, the Tamil Nadu batsman said the role of spinners will also be important.

“It is actually a very, very important role because you have to support the fast bowlers as well. If you can bowl the spinners in the game, they can come in big time and get a couple of wickets here and there, so it will be a great help for us,” he said.

The right-hand opener revealed that this time he has done his homework better than the last time when he toured here.

“I am preparing myself to be a little more open-minded than I was last time. You cannot have a set pattern you cannot go into a Test thinking that you are going to leave so many balls. You also have to be in a frame of mind to score runs,” Vijay said.

Commenting on the pitch, Vijay said: “It is quite green. I don’t know how it is going to behave on day one. For an opening batsman, the swing is more difficult to face than bounce. Personally, I think I am able to manage bounce more. If the ball swings around, it is difficult for any batsman to keep his shape.”

The Sri Lankan Navy today arrested 13 Tamil Nadu fishermen for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters off Katchatheevu islet.

They also damaged a few boats and fishing equipment belonging to others using iron rods, before chasing them away.

Assistant Director of Fisheries, A Manikandan said, more than 2,000 fishermen from Thangachimadam had ventured into the sea yesterday in 523 boats and were fishing near Katchatheevu when the Lankan naval men came to the spot and arrested 13 fishermen.

They also snapped the fishing nets of 50 boats and damaged some boats using iron rods, he said.

The arrested fishermen were taken to Kangesanthurai port along with two boats.

On December 31, 13 fishermen from this island town were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing near Neduntheevu close to the island nation’s coast.

A total of 89 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had been released by Sri Lankan authorities last year.