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Plane completes 17-hour flight without fuel



The Solar Impulse HB-SIA prototype aircraft, which has 12,000 solar cells built into its 64.3 metres (193 feet) wings, attempted its first intercontinental flight from Payerne to Rabat in Morocco.After a flight lasting approximately 17 hours, the HB-SIA prototype has finally landed in Madrid-Barajas airport. The pilot, André Borschberg, made his way out of the cockpit, smiley and certainly happy to stretch his legs.This, and future international landings, are a good way for the Solar Impulse team to practice coordination and cooperation with international airports for fine-tuning of logistics, maintenance and facing challenges of air traffic patterns.

Solar Impulse project president and pilot Bertrand Piccard lands with the solar-powered HB-SIA prototype airplane during a test flight at Payerne airport April 17, 2012. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA, which has 12,000 solar cells built into its 64.3-meter (193-foot) wings, is a prototype for an aircraft that its creators hope will carry out its first circumnavigation of the globe from 2014.
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Food Habits That Cause Diabetes




Diabetes has become one of the most aggressively-spreading lifestyle diseases.

It seems to affect people without any discrimination for gender, age or race. It has been established that the onset of diabetes can be prevented if our food habits are corrected. Thus, food habits responsible for causing diabetes should be properly understood. This includes:


Common Diabetes Causing Food Habits:


Eating High Glycemic Index Foods Glycemic Index (GI) is the calculation of how fast a type of food consumed by us is turned into energy, i.e. into glucose. Foods that are turned quickly into glucose are High GI foods. Such foods tend to create extreme spikes in the blood sugar levels.

High GI Foods include common food items like:

 • White bread
 • Pasta
 • Rice
 • Candy
 • Backed items or snack foods made from refined flour
 • Pastries
 • Carbonated drinks
 • White potatoes
 • Pasta
 • Noodles
 • Sugary cereal foods
 • Instant, ready-to-eat food items

Such food items are also called Easy Carbohydrate Foods. These foods have minimal or absolutely zero fiber which makes it further easier for the body to digest them. Such, quickly-digested foods create a glycemic overload by inducing excessive sugar in the blood stream. This is also referred to as a Glycemic Load. The intake of such foods should be restricted.

Instead of choosing such fast-release carb foods, the emphasis should be on fibrous, slow-release carb resources. A fine example of this is fruits like apples or peaches. Since fruits contain a lot of fiber, the release of sugar into the bloodstream is slower. This helps to negate severe fluctuations in the levels of insulin (the hormone deciding ability of bodily to absorb glucose).

Easily Preventable Food Habits that Cause Diabetes:


Consuming Unhealthy Fats


There is common misconception even among health conscious folks that all fats are bad. As a result, they tend to shun both the good and diabetes causing fats. However, the ideal approach is to sustain the consumption of healthy fats like those derived from walnuts, almonds and other types of nuts.

 Again, olive oil is a healthy source of unsaturated fats. However, saturated fats found in dairy and animal products are pro-diabetic. These are also referred to as trans-fats and are found in heavy quantities in packaged, fast food items. Red meat, dairy products and foods containing semi-hydrogenated oils are unhealthy.

Sinful Eating Habits that Lead to Diabetes:


Irregular Eating Regimen

It should be understood that diabetes is essentially the inability to maintain uniform sugar levels in the body. One common food habit that induces unwanted changes in blood sugar levels is eating at irregular hours. Major meals need to be eaten at around the same time to prevent fluctuations in blood sugar levels.This is vital to ensure that the secretion of insulin is kept in check. Eating heavy desserts post dinner, particularly just before going to bed is essentially a health disaster that could be your stepping stone towards diabetes.

Ignoring Healthier Food Choices

 • Tendency to overlook ingredients mentioned on the packaging of food times. Many ingredients lead to an overload of sugar and should be prevented.
 • Tendency to snack upon artificially sweetened, packaged foods rather than nutritious, diabetes-controlling options like fruits.
 • Over-frying cooked foods that lead to excessive consumption of harmful, trans- fats.
 • Dependency on packaged, sweetened fruit juices rather than fresh juices. This leads to unnecessary intake refined sugar.

 • Not eating salads regularly. Salads prepare from green veggies and sprouts are a nutritious, anti-diabetic choice. They take a very long time to be fully digested due to the high fiber content. This easy way of regulating sugar levels on a daily basis is often ignored.
 • Not drinking sufficient water is perhaps the most common of food choice errors. Sufficient water intake ensures that kidneys are able to function properly and get rid of toxins that make our metabolism sluggish, i.e. more prone to retaining and storing glucose.

Common Diabetes Causing Food Habits:


Skipping Breakfast 

Skipping breakfast is akin to pushing yourself towards lifestyle problems like obesity and diabetes. Eating breakfast increases your chances of maintaining uniform sugar levels throughout the day as you are less affected by sugar cravings and hunger pangs.

Diabetes & Protein Overload

Most people seem obsessed about their daily protein intake, many of them overeating high-protein foods. However, merely eating more protein doesn’t make you muscular or healthier. It only leads to weight gain and makes you more vulnerable to health problems like diabetes. Excessive protein is handled by the body in a manner akin to fats or any other energy resource found in excessive amounts.

Our emphasis is to highlight the fact that diabetes is a preventable disease albeit we are ready to get rid of unhealthy food habits. If there is something we have missed in our endeavor to provide a comprehensive resource of how to eat in a healthier, anti-diabetic manner, Please Comment Below.
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8 Things you should never do in office




There are lot of people who and a lot of articles/books that will tell you what you must do in office. But there will be very few who tell you what not to do.

This is where we come in. Every office has its set of dos and don’ts, but then there is also a set of general don’ts that you need to keep in mind. We are here to list these general don’ts for you and we are sure they will help you stay clear of getting embarrassed in office.

1. Peep into someone’s laptop/desktop

The most annoying person in office is the one who peeps into his colleagues laptop screen. Make sure you are not this annoying person. No matter the urge to see what other people are up to, you must save yourself the embarrassment of being labelled the office’s peeping tom.

2. Walk around like you own the place

It is great to be confident, but it is a sin to be cocky. So under no circumstances should you walk around like you own the place. It is advisable to keep your smartness in check and not throw your weight around. Keep it easy going and genuine, and everyone in office will like you instead of bitching about you.

3. Be loud

Oh my GOD!Please don’t be that loud person in office. Keep your voice level in check, do not play loud music and stay clear of all things loud. Loud people annoy colleagues like few other people/things do. Train yourself to talk softly yet be audible.

4. Gossip

We are sure you have heard this one before. It is imperative to stay clear of gossip, but we all know that this is not possible. Every nook and corner of office is full of gossip mongers. What you can do however, is keep your tongue in check. Don’t bitch everyone out to everyone, and don’t allow others to christen you the gossip king.

5. Stealing

Every office goer at some point in time is inclined to steal some office stationery: a pen, a paper, a folder, or a print out. Doing so once in a blue moon is okay, but don’t make a habit of it. Stealing is bad and you will be answerable and payable if you are caught.

6. Lie/Blame others

When you find yourself in a soup or in tough situations you will be inclined to lie or shift the blame of your wrong doing on someone else. If you do this, you are putting not only your reputation at stake but your job too. Always stick to the honesty policy and play fair.

7. Share your personal problems

No one lives an easy life. Everyone has their share of personal problems just as you have yours. It would be naïve to share your personal problems with your work colleagues. We suggest you leave these issues at home and come to office with a clear mind. Remember, your colleagues aren’t your personal agony aunts.

8. Make out

Irrespective of how hot that colleague of yours is, making out in the office is just unpardonable. Making out is an extremely private affair and an office is the least private of places you know. Besides, if somebody catches you in the act, you can bid your job farewell.

This is our list of general don’ts in work environments. Avoid committing these errors and you are sure to stay in the office good books.
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Life under the microscope is not so easy - Federer


PARIS  - As the years go by, Roger Federer has little trouble coping with the pressure of playing the early rounds of a grand slam event but it is an altogether different story when it comes to dealing with post-match scrutiny.

 The Swiss third seed won a record 234th grand-slam match, surpassing Jimmy Connors's professional-era record, by dismissing Romanian Adrian Ungur 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3 in the second round on Tuesday.

 The 16-times major champion should have won the match in straight sets but did not seem too concerned about his minor wobble in the third set.

 "I think (playing the early rounds) is a bit easier now, just because I have been around for so long that, even though I expect myself to win, I can still manage to do that," the third seed told reporters.

 "Whereas in the beginning when you think you're good but you're maybe not that good yet, you suffer many more surprise losses."

 But with fame comes scrutiny.

 "The difference to playing a match where you're the overwhelming favourite potentially in the early rounds of a grand slam is you have to (deal with the) press (inquisition) afterwards," said Federer.

 "So you're talking about a match that potentially wasn't that close sometimes or they make a bigger deal out of maybe you losing a set or getting broken a couple of times, whereas maybe at another tournament you wouldn't talk about that.

 "So it's just a bit of a different momentum in the press conference. I think that's the toughest part sometimes."

 Federer seemed in complete control of his match on a sunsoaked Court Philippe Chatrier against Ungur before he wasted two match points in the third-set tiebreak, allowing world the number 91 to stretch the match into a fourth set.

 Federer said he let his guard down in the tiebreak he lost 8-6.

 "Instead of being aggressive, I let him show me what he could do. He played two beautiful shots," he said.

 Ungur then ran out of steam as Federer cruised through the set and into round three.

 Although Federer had won his opening match in straight sets, Federer was far happier with his performance on Tuesday.

 "(I felt) far better than during the first round. It was obviously a totally different match, because my opponent today was used to playing on clay, whereas my first opponent was used to harder surfaces," he explained.

 "Of course rallies were different because of that. Even though I won the first set 6-3 with a solid break, I knew that if he was to get in the match, it would be more difficult, and he had many opportunities during the second set.

 "In the third set I made wrong decisions. He got in the match, and he played a very good third set."

 Federer, who is contesting his 14th consecutive Roland Garros, will next face either France's Nicolas Mahut or Martin Klizan of Slovakia.
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Bin Laden case doctor jailed for militant link


PESHAWAR, Pakistan  - A Pakistani doctor who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden was imprisoned for aiding militants and not for his links to the CIA, as Pakistani officials had said, according to a court document.

 A court in the Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border jailed Shakil Afridi for 33 years last week. Pakistani officials said the decision was based on treason charges for aiding the CIA in its hunt for the al Qaeda chief.

 But the judgment document made available to the media on Wednesday states that Afridi was jailed because of his close ties to the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, which amounts to waging war against the state.

 It is unclear why Pakistani officials first said Afridi was jailed over his links to the CIA. The government may have wanted to show a largely anti-American public that Pakistan will not tolerate any cooperation with the U.S. spy agency, especially at a time of troubled relations with Washington.

 "There was a lot of friction because of this case with the United States. This appears to be an effort to patch things up with the United States, while also satisfying the people of Pakistan that Afridi has been punished," said Mansur Mehsud, director for research at Islamabad's FATA Research Center.

 "The mindset is being managed, confusion created, about what exactly he has done."

 While the document said there was evidence that Afridi "has been shown acting with other foreign intelligence agencies", it noted the court in Khyber had no jurisdiction to act on that.

 But the court recommended that the evidence may be produced before an appropriate court for further proceedings.

 The Afridi case has further strained ties between the United States and Pakistan, already damaged by a series of events, including a NATO cross-border air attack last November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

 In Washington, government sources said the United States is exerting strenuous efforts to win Afridi's release from jail.

 U.S. officials hail Afridi as a hero who helped the CIA track down bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in a raid in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad in May last year.

 "UNRELIABLE PARTNER"

 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested on Sunday that the jailing of Afridi would hurt efforts to repair relations between the United States and Pakistan.

 Many Pakistanis were infuriated by the U.S. raid to get bin Laden in a town just a two-hour drive from the capital, Islamabad and they see Afridi as a villain who conspired against the state and brought unwanted scrutiny of Pakistan's attitude to militants.

 Pakistani officials describe bin Laden's long presence in the garrison town of Abbottabad as a security lapse and reject suggestions that members of the military or intelligence services were complicit in hiding him there.

 Pakistan joined the U.S. war on militancy after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. But U.S. officials often describe Islamabad as an unreliable partner and demand tougher action against militant groups based along its border with Afghanistan.

 Critics also say the judicial system has failed to take decisive action against militants. Convictions for terrorism are rare in the South Asian nation, recipient of millions of dollars in U.S. aid. Appeals drag on for years.

 Pakistan says it has made big sacrifices fighting militants.

 The charges of aiding militants could give Afridi a greater chance to successfully challenge the verdict. Pakistan, for its part, can both claim it is cracking down on militancy and ease the outcry in the United States over Afridi's imprisonment.

 One of the doctor's lawyers, Samiullah Afridi, was baffled after reading the verdict, which he also received on Wednesday.

 "These charges against him are very different from the ones we were told earlier," he told Reuters.

 "The earlier allegations against him were very serious. We deal with issues like this every day in the courts, of people accused of helping militant groups. So it's not that big an issue for us to defend."

 Afridi had been working with the CIA for years before the bin Laden raid, providing intelligence on militant groups in Pakistan's unruly ethnic Pashtun tribal region, said a former Pakistani security official.

 Afridi's brother, Jamil, described the treason charges as baseless and said the doctor was being made a scapegoat.
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