Life Style

    Muharram has significance for all Muslims, irrespective of the sectarian divisions that are said to be a major issue in the Islamic belief. However, the expression and the intensity of observance of Ashura, or the tenth day of the month of Muharram, varies within the Islamic world. During the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) Muslims used to fast for two days to commemorate Musa (AS) and his people's deliverance from the clutches of the Pharaoh. The battle of Karbala added a new dimension to this observance. For the Shiʿite community in different regions of the world, many cultural aspects of mourning have been integrated into the customs of the day of Ashura. As the family of Hussain (R) is mourned as one's own, men and women follow the outwardly expressions of grief as wel...

    Dry mouth, feeling sick, racing heart... most of us are familiar with a state of anxiety – although it is usually just a fleeting reaction to a stressful or ¬frightening situation. But for many it’s a permanent state. And in 2016 an anxiety epidemic is sweeping Britain, wrecking relationships, careers and family lives. Growing numbers of us are finding our everyday worries and stresses escalating to levels of anxiety that can leave us panicked and fearful. And it seems anxiety knows no boundaries when it comes to age or gender. Stephen Buckley, head of information at mental health charity Mind, says: “Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems in the UK – it’s thought that around one in 20 people will experience anxiety each year. “Many people wait too long b...

    Delhi High Court order difficult to implement in absence of regulatory framework, say activists. On September 23, a Delhi High Court Bench led by Chief Justice G Rohini directed Internet-based messaging service WhatsApp to delete all information and data collected from users in India up to September 25. The order protected both users who had opted to delete the WhatsApp application from their phones, as well as those who had chosen to continue using it after agreeing to WhatsApp’s new privacy policy under which it said it would share user data with web giant Facebook and its group companies. Facebook bought WhatsApp for $ 19 billion in 2014. Watch What Else Is Making News WhatsApp subsequently said it “plan(ned) to proceed with the privacy policy and terms update in accord...

    When you're in a relationship, even one built on high levels of trust, checking your partner's can phone be a constant temptation. However, a new survey has found that women in the UK are more likely to do so than men. Overall, 27% of women who participated in a YouGov survey said they check their partner's phone, compared to 21% of men. The phone-checking rate is highest among women aged between 30 and 44, with 36% of participants in this group saying they look through through their partner's mobile. It's surely no coincidence, though, that the survey also found men are more likely to have something on their phone that they don't want their partner to see. Overall, 11% of men said they have something to hide on their phone, compared to just 2% of women. This rate rises pr...

    Sitting at your desk at work and struggling to concentrate after lunch? You are not alone; it happens to the best of us. Welcome to ‘food coma’, that common sleepy, lethargic feeling after a meal that is also referred to as ‘carb coma’ or ‘postprandial somnolence’. As the name suggests ‘postprandial’ refers to the meal and ‘somnolence’ to the strong desire for sleep. It may be accompanied by extreme fullness, bloating, mental fogginess, difficulty in concentration and reduced attention span. While this sleepiness may not be confined to the middle of the day, studies report that it occurs predominantly after lunch. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, published in 1998, reported that the extent of postprandial somnolence was at its extent after meals eaten between ...

    A little girl born with feet the size of a fingernail is being hailed as the world's smallest surviving premature baby. Emilia Grabarczyk was only 8.6 inches (22cm) long and weighed 8 ounces (229 grams) when she was born at a hospital in the western German city of Witten nine months ago. Her tiny foot was only 1.2 inches (3cm) long. In comparison, a large banana weighs about 7 ounces while an orange is 6 ounces. Doctors have described her as the "little fighter" and her survival as a "medical sensation" while German media said she was the lightest premature baby ever born in the world. The early birth was followed by a period of uncertainty. Emilia was born so early that it led to subsequent complications. There was an increased risk of hyperactivity and learning difficult...

    Surrey pensioners have the highest average income in the country (£21,200), while those in Dyfed and Powys enjoy the lowest crime rate, and people in Herefordshire have the most years in retirement before disability kicks in. However, these aren't the best places to retire in the UK - a study by Prudential has revealed that this particular honour goes to Dorset. The quality of life index took a number of things into account, including crime levels, pensioner income, the health of people in retirement, access to healthcare, its attractiveness as a retirement destination, and the amount of sunshine. Top 5 best places to live 1. Dorset This took the top spot the last time the index was released - in 2014 - and the reasons are obvious. It's a beautiful place, with all-round ap...

  Cancer drugs leading to deaths Patients should be warned about the dangers of chemotherapy after research showed that cancer drugs are killing up to 50 per cent of patients in some hospitals. For the first time researchers looked at the numbers of cancer patients who died within 30 days of starting chemotherapy, which indicates that the medication is the cause of death, rather than the cancer. The study by Public Health England and Cancer Research UK found that across England around 8.4 per cent of patients with lung cancer, and 2.4 per cent of breast cancer patients died within a month. But in some hospitals the figure was far higher. In Milton Keynes the death rate for lung cancer treatment was 50.9 per cent, although it was based on a very small number of patients. At Lancashir...

    On March 7, 2014, Sobia Bashir tied the knot with Mudassir Arby in Chicago, Unites States, in a grand ceremony attended by nearly 400 guests. Bashir was a working woman with a Bachelor’s in marketing and an extensive work experience to her credit, before she was introduced to Arby in Houston, while visiting her sister. Career-oriented and aspiring to make her own identity Bashir agreed to marry the vice president of Deutsche Bank in hopes of getting promising companionship but what she got in return was a lot of pain – both physical and mental. I was never his wife, I was only his slave Four months into marriage, Bashir was not only forbidden from working but Arby also limited her social interaction, forcing her to stay home while emotionally abusing her every day. “I had ...

    Are people genetically predisposed to cheat? Women are predisposed by their genetics to have affairs as "back-up plans if their relationships fail. The University of Texas study challenges the assumption humans have evolved to have monogamous relationships. The team's research has put forward the "mate-switching-hypothesis" which says humans have evolved to keep testing their relationships and looking for better long-term options. The senior author of the research, Dr David Buss, told the Sunday Times: "Lifelong monogamy does not characterise the primary mating patterns of humans. "Breaking up with one partner and mating with another may more accurately characterise the common, perhaps the primary, mating strategy of humans." For our distant ancestors – when disease, poor ...