Pakistan captain offers to retire

Pakistan’s hockey captain Zeeshan Ashraf on Tuesday offered to retire from international hockey following his team’s poor performance in the World Cup.

Pakistan, four time champions of the world cup, with just one win the group stage, finished last in their pool and now face the ignominy of playing for the 11th-12th position playoff against Canada.

“I am ready to quit and take the responsibility for the team’s dismal show in the World Cup,” said Zeeshan, a seasoned defender. “I am ready to retire but it’s the PHF (Pakistan Hockey Federation) which will decide my future.”

According to a report on Tuesday, Pakistan’s hockey chiefs will sit down in Lahore soon after the World Cup to take a decision on the future of under-performing senior players.

A Pakistan daily, The News, has reported that the national hockey think-tank will meet at the PHF headquarters next week to look into the reasons behind their team{gt}s poor showing.

Sajjad, Asjad to represent Pakistan at Asian Snooker

“Yes by qualifying for the final of national snooker Sajjad and Asjad earned the right to represent Pakistan at the Asian championships,” he told reporters after the final.

Muhammad Sajjad beat his pupil Asjad Iqbal 8-2 to regain the national crown after the lapse of on year.

Sajjad said he was delighted to win back the national title but praised his opponent Asjad for his performance in the tournament.

“It feels nice to know that I will be featuring at the Asian championships with my pupil Asjad,” said Sajjad

He has previously represented Pakistan at the last Asian events in Dubai and China.

Afridi has credentials to be a successful captain: Raja

Former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja on Tuesday threw his weight behind under-fire all-rounder Shahid Afridi and recommended him to be the captain in all the three formats of cricket.

While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seems reluctant to retain Afridi as captain for the World Twenty20 championship, Ramiz inisists he is the best man to lead the side on the Caribbean tour.

Ramiz told The News that Afridi has all the credentials to be a successful captain.

“I will go with Afridi as captain,” said Ramiz, who played 57 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 2883 runs besides piling up 5841 runs from 198 One-day Internationals. “In fact, I will recommend Afridi for all three formats.”

“They should talk him out of (Test) retirement because he is capable of being a successful captain.”

Reports say the PCB does not want to continue with Afridi as the Twenty20 captain after the he was banned for ball-tampering in the final ODI against Australia earlier this year.

Afridi was caught by TV cameras biting the ball and was later banned for two Twenty20 internationals by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“If that’s the reason to overlook him (Afridi) as captain, then I don’t agree with it,” said Ramiz. “He has been punished already. In any case, I think ball-tampering is no big deal. It’s only that Afridi did it in a silly manner, probably in the heat of moment.”

Pakistan have been considering Misbah-ul-Haq for captaincy or senior all-rounder Abdul Razzaq but Ramiz says it won’t be a wise move.

“Afridi remains our best choice. He has proved himself as an aggressive captain. He is also an ideal Twenty20 player. He should be retained as captain.

“I personally believe it’s Afridi’s time to be the captain. He can handle the pressure. He was the best player in the World Twenty20 final last year. The only thing he needs is to relax as captain. Once he does that, I{‘m sure he can get the best out of the team.”

HIV-Infected Cells may Dwell in Bone Marrow

A new dwelling of HIV-infected cells has been brought to notice by Researchers at University of Michigan. The findings also point towards a new target for getting a new remedy for the disease; hence the infected ones need not rely on AIDS drug throughout their life.

It is revealed in a latest study that the virus lurks in the bone marrow cells and comes back to life under specific circumstances.

"Antiviral drugs have been effective at keeping the virus at bay. However once the drug therapy is stopped, the virus comes back", Nature quoted senior author of the study Dr Kathleen L. Collins, as saying.

People infected with human immunodeficiency virus who are consuming anti-viral drugs can't get rid of the virus for good. Infected cells will continue to dwell in the body, unnoticed by the immune system and will supply machinery for the dreadful virus to multiply.

The study has revealed that bone marrow may contain some hidden infection, which earlier was thought of as resistant to the virus. Currently used anti-HIV drug treatments have no effect on them.

Collins said, "Currently people have to take anti-viral drugs for their entire life to control the infection. It would be easier to treat this disease in countries that don't have the same resources as we do with a course of therapy for a few months, or even years. But based on what we know now people have to stay on drugs for their entire life".

Gut bacteria can cause obesity

According to a new study, not only food makes you heavy but bacteria present in gut can also make you gain pounds.

This happens when wrong bacteria takes over causing a low-level inflammation. This further leads to a pre-diabetic condition that increases the appetite.

Senior author Andrew Gewirtz of Emory University School of Medicine said, "It has been assumed that the obesity epidemic in the developed world is driven by an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and the abundance of low-cost, high-calorie foods.”

The results stated that extra calories consumed was not only due to unregulated eating but also because intestinal bacteria contribute to changes in appetite and metabolism.

Gewirtz and his colleagues had conducted a study on a mice that were made deficient in a key immune system protein TLR5 by genetic engineering. TLR5 enables cells sense the presence of bacteria.

TLR5 knows which bacteria is good and is needed and doesn't harm them.

Immune system is also capable of regulating the bacteria but is not very good in doing so as a result there is a change in the bacterial composition that leads to a low level inflammation and insulin receptors are desensitized.

It was noticed that the mice put to test ate about 10 per cent more food and ended up about 20 per cent heavier.

UK gives South Africa millions of condoms

UK ministers said South Africa had appealed for one billion condoms.

Last month, South African officials said they were beefing up their condom supply to cope with about 450,000 visitors expected for the World Cup.

More than five million people in South Africa have HIV - more than in any other country.

Last month, South African medical official Victor Ramathesele told a medical conference organised by football's governing body Fifa that the country was preparing for the influx of visitors.

"There's going to be a large number of people who will be descending onto the country," he said.

"There's going to be a spirit of festivity and... there could be a more than usual demand for measures such as condoms.

"So there are measures in place to ensure that the condom supply is going to be ramped up during this tournament."

Leading by example?

Last week, South African President Jacob Zuma was on a state visit to the UK.

His government has been credited with giving new impetus to the country's fight against HIV and Aids.

The previous administration had denied the link between HIV and Aids, and suggested eating certain vegetables such as beetroot and garlic could act as natural remedies.

However, Aids activists have recently criticised Mr Zuma, who has three wives, for fathering a child out of wedlock.

They said he was not providing a good example.

The UK's Department for International Development (Dfid) announced the donation at a meeting in London attended by officials from several African countries with high levels of HIV.

Dfid said it was "supporting South Africa's leadership and drive to turn the tide on their epidemic".

Cleft NZ lights a way out of the dark

When Danielle Eramiha discovered her daughter Izabella would be born with a cleft lip she felt "completely in the dark".

Ms Eramiha was 23 weeks pregnantwhen she was told her baby would be born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate.

A cleft lip or palate occurs during early pregnancy when part of the face does not join together properly while it is developing. Cases vary in severity.

Izabella's bilateral cleft lip and palate meant that her upper lip was split in two places which extended all the way into her throat.

"I jumped on the internet to see what it was and the first images I saw were the really worst case scenarios," the Papakura mother says.

"All I could think of was that Izabella was going to come out looking like those pictures and it was kind of frightening."

Thankfully specialists referred her to Cleft New Zealand which provided her with education and support, Ms Eramiha says.

The non-profit organisation, formerly known as Cleft Lip and Palate Support Group, helps around 400 families throughout the county. The organisation provides support and education to its families by hosting regular events, monthly coffee groups and websites on the internet.

Ms Eramiha attends a monthly coffee group and it’s been invaluable to her, she says.

"We meet up and talk about our day-to-day experiences and just share tips and the like in a safe and friendly environment.

"Knowing there are others out there going through the same thing really does help. And also the organisation is always just a phone call away whenever I need them, which has just been fantastic."

Now 18 months old, Izabella has had two lots of surgery to correct her cleft lip and palate.

The first she received when she was six months old to correct her lip, then another at 12 months to fix her palate. The surgeons bring lip and palate together to make them look as normal as possible, Ms Eramiha says.

"Izabella looks like a normal little girl but in the future her speech will be affected and she will need speech therapy to learn how to make the basic sounds. Her top teeth are affected as well and she will need an operation to correct them when she’s a little bit older."

Ms Eramiha hopes other families in the community who are in the same position as herself will contact Cleft NZ organisation.

Just knowing there are others who have gone through it can make all the difference, she says.

"I think they should definitely contact the organisation and especially if they don’t know anything about it.

"Families will always have questions and I believe Cleft NZ has most of the answers," she says.