Removal of ovaries before menopause linked with reduced white matter in brain: Study

San Francisco, June 20, 2024
Women who have their ovaries removed before menopause, particularly before the age of 40, have reduced white matter integrity in multiple regions of the brain later in life, a new study said on Thursday.

White matter refers to the nerve fibres that connect neurons in different areas of the brain.

In the study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the researchers analysed data from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging to identify women over the age of 50 with available diffusion tensor imaging, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that measures white matter in the brain.

“We know that having both ovaries removed before natural menopause causes abrupt endocrine dysfunction, which increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia,” said Michelle Mielke, PhD, professor at the US-based Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Researchers found that females who had premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy (PBO) before the age of 40 had significantly reduced white matter integrity in multiple regions of the brain.

“There were also trends in some brain regions such that women who had PBO between the ages of 40-44 or 45-49 years also had reduced white matter integrity, but many of these results were not statistically significant,” said Mielke.

She also said that 80 per cent of participants who had their ovaries removed also had a history of estrogen replacement therapy.

Therefore, the study was not able to determine whether the use of estrogen replacement therapy after PBO mitigated the effects of PBO on white matter integrity.

“Having both ovaries removed results in an abrupt decrease in both estrogen and testosterone in women. Therefore, one possible explanation for our results is the loss of both estrogen and testosterone,” Mielke mentioned.(Agency)

Would love to be a part of ‘Panchayat’ like series: Zareen Khan

June, 20 June, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)

Zareen Khan never fails to root for good performances and shows, and she’s done that yet again for ‘Panchayat 3’. The actress recently took to social media to express her admiration for the third season of the popular show.

The actress admired the simplicity of the series, and how the makers have been successful in keep the innocence alive in all the seasons of the show.

Zareen said, “A show like Panchayat is such an escape from the usual thriller, action genre that is dominating the OTT space. We need more of these shows. I hope I get to be a part of such a world. Getting to explore raw and unconventional roles that bring my true potential to the forefront is something that I would really like to get into!!”

The actress also applauded the creators of the show for their attention to detail and for bringing out the charm of village life.

Her post has resonated with viewers and fans, garnering significant attention. On the work front, Zareen has signed some interesting projects, which she will reveal in due course.

Jai Inder Kaur welcomes decision of historic increase in MSP for Kharif crops

Patiala, 20 June, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)

BJP Punjab Mahila Morcha President and senior leader Jai Inder Kaur today welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, to approve a historic increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all Kharif Crops for the 2024-25 season.

In a statement released, the BJP leader said, “This momentous announcement underscores the government’s steadfast commitment to empowering farmers and fortifying the agricultural sector.”

Highlighting the increase in MSP, she said, “In a major decision, the Union Cabinet has approved a minimum support price of at least cost plus 50% for 14 crops ahead of the Kharif sowing season. The minimum support price of paddy has been increased by Rs 117 to Rs 2,300 per quintal and, for comparison, the price was 1,310 in 2013-14.”

“Not only this, the minimum support of cotton has also been increased to 7,121 for the normal variety and 7,521 for another variety, which is Rs 510 higher than the previous MSP. Millets have been a focus area for PM Modi and, among them, the MSP for jowar has been set at Rs 3,371, for ragi it is Rs 4,290, for bajra it is 2,625 and maize is at Rs 2,225,” she further said.

Praising PM Modi Ji’s leadership, Jai Inder Kaur said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s leadership has once again demonstrated a deep-rooted understanding of the needs and aspirations of our farmers.

The substantial MSP hike for all Kharif Crops reflects the government’s proactive efforts to ensure farmers receive remunerative prices for their produce, thereby enhancing their economic well-being and fostering agricultural growth.”

Punjab Police busts trans-border illegal arms and narco-terrorism Hawala Racket; Kingpin among 8 held

Chandigarh/Amritsar, June 20, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)

Amidst the ongoing war against drugs waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police in a 10-day long operation has busted a trans-border illegal arms and narco-terrorism hawala racket with the arrest of eight accused persons including a Kingpin identified as Ranjit Singh alias Kaka, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.

Apart from Kingpin, other arrested persons have been identified as Rajinder alias Raja, Abhishek alias Abhi, Vishal alias Shalu, Lovepreet alias Kalu, Gurbhej alias Bheja, Gurjant and Jaspal, all residents of Gharinda in Amritsar.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that police teams have also recovered 4.10kg heroin, two pistols— Pakistan-made Zigana pistol and .32 bore pistol— along with 45 live cartridges and Rs 2.07 lakh drug money from their possession, besides impounding their seven vehicles bought with drug money. The recovered vehicles include Hyundai Verna, Mahindra Thar, Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift Dzire, Maruti Zen, Activa scooter and Splendor motorcycle.

The DGP said that the operation is still ongoing to nab other entities with cross-border linkages and Hawala involvement.

The development came after meticulous investigations of backward and forward linkages carried out by the Amritsar Commissionerate Police into the arrest of a local drug peddler identified as Rajinder alias Raja (22) of Gharinda in Amritsar, who was arrested with 500 grams heroin, Rs 40,000 drug money, Verna car and a pistol. Accused Rajinder Raja was also wanted by the Amritsar Rural Police in an attempt to murder case.

Sharing more details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that during investigation, carried out by team of CIA 1 led by Insp Amandeep Singh and Police Station Islamabad under the supervision of ADCP Zone 1 Dr Darpan Ahluwalia and ADCP Detective Navjot Singh Sandhu, into the arrest of Rajinder Raja, backward linkage was traced to kingpin Ranjit Singh alias Kaka.

He said that after the meticulous follow-up of financial trail and technical investigations, Police teams have successfully arrested Kingpin Ranjit Kaka and other accused persons, with further recovery of smuggled heroin, firearms and live cartridges.

The CP said that the probe has revealed that the Kingpin Ranjit Kaka, who was in direct contact Pak based entities, was running a heroin and illegal weapons racket in Punjab, and further fuelling the Hawala nexus, and re-routing to Pakistan.

Further investigations are on to establish backward and forward linkages in this case, he added.

Launch of Sikh Vote: World Sikh Parliament’s initiative to empower community

Today, we launch the Sikh Vote campaign, a call to action for Sikhs in Britain to unite and fight for our rights in the upcoming General Election on July 4th, 2024.

This is our moment to ensure that our voices are not just heard but acted upon, that our community’s struggles are acknowledged, and that those representing us in Parliament are held accountable.

For too long, the Sikh vote has been taken for granted, and the community has faced relentless injustices under the Conservative Government. We have been unfairly targeted, our voices silenced, and our rights ignored.

The prolonged suffering of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British citizen detained in India for seven years without charge, is a stark reminder of the Conservative Government’s failure to protect its own. Sikh activists have been unfairly targeted under the Government’s Prevent Strategy, with Schedule 7 legislation misused to silence those speaking against injustices in India.

The Sikh Vote campaign arises from these injustices, urging every Sikh in the UK to ask three crucial questions of their Parliamentary Candidates:

Misuse of Schedule 7: Sikhs are being unfairly targeted by British Law Enforcement under Schedule 7. What steps will you take to address this if elected?

Indian Pressure on UK Policies: India is using trade to push its agenda of silencing Sikhs in the UK. Will you stand against this pressure and protect our rights?

Commemoration of Historical Events: 2024 marks 40 years since the attack on Harmandir Sahib and the Sikh Genocide. Will you campaign for these events to be officially remembered at Parliamentary level?

We must hold these candidates accountable. We must demand answers and actions, not empty promises. Our questions are not just about policies; they are about the lives and rights of our community members.

Why We Must Act Now:

Jagtar Singh Johal’s Detention: For seven years, Jagtar has languished in an Indian prison without charge. The UK government has failed him. We cannot allow this to continue.

Murders and Assassination Plots of Activists: Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada was brutally murdered, a foiled plot of the assassination of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in the US, with evidence in both cases pointing to Indian state involvement, and UK allies openly stating this.

Both incidents happened just after the suspicious death of Avtar Singh Khanda in the UK. All three have advocated for the Sikh right to self-determination. These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of transnational repression.

Prevent Strategy and Schedule 7: These laws have been weaponised against Sikhs, labelling our activists as extremists without justification.

Biased Reports and Presentations: The Bloom Report and Oasis Community Learning’s presentation have unfairly smeared our community, adding to our marginalisation.

Misplaced Government Priorities: In 2023, the government allocated £95,000 to combat alleged ‘pro-Khalistani extremism,’ further vilifying our right to self-determination.

This is not just a political campaign but a fight for justice, dignity, and our future. We must engage with candidates, mobilise our communities, and spread the word. Our votes can shape our future and protect our rights.

Sanya Malhotra: Post Best Actress win at NYIFF, a glimpse into her upcoming films

June 20, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)

Sanya Malhotra has established herself as one of the most versatile actress in the film industry by consistently starring in films that are challenging and distinct from each other.

Her acting prowess has not only got her immense popularity but it has also made her a favourite choice among filmmakers.

While she has already teamed up with ace filmmakers like Anurag Basu, Guneet Monga, Nitesh Tiwari, Amit Sharma, Meghna Gulzar and others, she is now gearing up to feature in Arati Kadav’s much-awaited and much-celebrated ‘Mrs’.

Apart from ‘Mrs’, Sanya is also teaming up with Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar for her upcoming projects. Interestingly, her upcoming projects will see her share the screen space with Bobby Deol, Varun Dhawan and others.

The actress, who recently grabbed Best Actress award for her performance in ‘Mrs’ at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), has portrayed a wide range of characters, showcasing her ability to take on demanding roles.

Her win at the coveted international award ceremony has once again proven why Sanya is hailed as one of the most sought after actress. She is currently shooting for an untitled Anurag Kashyap-directorial in Mumbai, which stars her with Bobby Deol.

She will also be seen in ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’, which will feature Varun, Janhvi Kapoor and Rohit Saraf. While details about Sanya’s role in respective films are still under wraps, fans of the actress are sure that she’s going to excel and break box office records with each performance.

‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ is produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and directed by Shashank Khaitan. The actress’ film ‘Mrs’, which has been garnering accolades across the globe at different film festivals, is yet to release in India. The film is expected to hit the theatres this year.

Former India pacer David Johnson falls from apartment building, dies; suicide suspected

Bengaluru, June 20, 2024
Former Team India cricketer David Johnson has died after falling from the fourth floor of his apartment in the Kothanur police station limits in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Police suspect that 52-year-old Johnson committed suicide by jumping off the apartment building. However, an official statement is yet to come in this regard. According to police, Johnson fell from the fourth floor of the SLV Paradise Apartment. Although he was immediately rushed to the hospital, the cricketer succumbed to his injuries.

The preliminary investigation indicated that the deceased, Johnson, was suffering from depression. Kothanur police are investigating the case.

The police stated that Johnson had been facing health issues for a year and had spent the last week in the hospital.

Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble stated, “Saddened to hear of the passing of my cricketing colleague David Johnson. Heartfelt condolences to his family. Gone too soon, ‘Benny’!”

Johnson was a former fast bowler known for his brief stint with the Indian cricket team. He played two Tests for India in 1996, taking three wickets. In domestic cricket, he picked up 125 wickets for Karnataka in 39 first-class appearances. The highlight of Johnson’s career was clocking a speed of 157.8 km/h during a Test match against Australia.

He was born on October 16, 1971, in Arsikere town of Hassan district in Karnataka.(Agency)

‘NEET papers sold for Rs 30-32 lakh, cops traced burnt documents’, admit mastermind & students

New Delhi/Patna, June 20, 2024
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2024 paper leak fiasco saw a fresh twist on Thursday with the accused persons confessing before the police that question papers were arranged for certain candidates a day before the exam for which the aspirants shelled out close to Rs 30-32 lakh.

The shocking confession came from four persons arrested by the Bihar Police, including a NEET aspirant named Anurag Yadav, his uncle Sikandar Yadavendu – a junior engineer in the Danapur Municipal Council, and two others named Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, the purported mastermind behind the paper leak.

They admitted before the police that the question papers were provided to them a day before the NEET that was conducted on May 5.

Anurag Yadav confessed before the police that his uncle Sikander Yadavendu arranged the NEET papers for him in advance.

“I was preparing for NEET at the Allen Institute in Kota (Rajasthan). My uncle Sikander Yadavendu called me to Patna and took me to Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar, where I was given some questions and the answer keys for the exam.

I was told to memorise all the answers. When I sat for the test the next day, I saw it had the same questions which were given to me on May 4. However, after the test, the police arrested me,” he said.

Sikander Yadavendu claimed that he was told by Amit Anand and Nitish Kumar about the paper leak before the test.

“Amit and Nitish told me that the question papers for NEET would be leaked and it would cost about Rs 30-32 lakh. I agreed and told them about four students — Ayush Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Shivanand Kumar, and Abhishek Kumar. On May 4, I took all four students to a place where aspirants were already cramming up answers for all the questions.

“Out of greed, I asked for Rs 40 lakh from each student instead of the original amount. However, I was later caught by the police,” Yadavendu said, revealing the chain of events leading to the NEET paper leak.

Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, in their statement to the police, admitted their role in the paper leak and revealed how their collusion with Yadavendu led to their arrest.

“After Yadavendu was arrested, he directed the police towards us. The police also raided the spot where the students were given the leaked papers. They also found the remaining pieces of the burnt question papers,” the duo said in their statement to the police.

About 24 lakh aspirants appeared for NEET on May 5 for admission to medical colleges. The results were announced before time on June 5 but were marred by allegations of paper leak and awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 candidates.(Agency)

BJP enacting drama of being pro-farmer, it should enact MSP Guarantee law: Babbi Badal

Chandigarh, June 20, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)

On the slight increase in MSP of Kharif crops by the Central Government this year, the Aam Aadmi Party said that BJP is doing a drama of being farmer friendly. The party said that if the BJP is really concerned about the farmers of the country then it should make an MSP guarantee law as per the demand of the farmers.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Chandigarh on Thursday, AAP spokesperson Harsukhinder Singh Babbi Badal said that the cost of agriculture has increased by about 70 percent in the last several years and the Modi government is patting its own back by increasing the MSP by only 7 percent.

He said that the cabinet minister of the Modi government Piyush Goyal himself has said that 83 percent of crops are sold at prices lower than the MSP. Only 13 percent of crops are purchased at MSP. In many states, crops are not purchased at MSP. Therefore, this increase in MSP is ‘too little and too late’.

He said that farmers do not need a minor increase in MSP to get them out of the economic crisis. The farmers of the country can be prosperous only when they are paid the price of crops according to “C2 + 50%” as per the report of the Swaminathan Commission. Apart from this, farmers should be given separate financial incentives for crop diversification.

He said that the price of crops and policies related to agriculture should be prepared with the suggestions of farmers’ organizations. When the government brings any policy for the industry, it consults with Ambani-Adani and other industrialists, then why is there no discussion with the farmers before making any policy on agriculture?

Actually, the BJP government does not want the development of farmers. It only wants the development of some of its close capitalists.

It wants to give the fruits of the hard work of the farmers to its capitalist friends. He said that the BJP has been anti-farmer and pro-capitalist from the very beginning. This is clearly reflected in all its policies.

He said that during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and Prime Minister Modi had promised to double the income of farmers by 2022, but today instead of doubling the income of farmers, their suicides have doubled and the cost of agriculture has doubled. The price of petrol-diesel and other agricultural materials has doubled. The BJP should answer for this.

Babbi Badal attacked Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar and said that PM Modi and Sunil Jakhar are like a pair of Gappi and Khappi.

The Modi government makes dictatorial laws and Sunil Jakhar applauds them. Jakhar’s job is to just clap for every decision of the central government. After joining the BJP, he never raised any issue of the farmers of Punjab with the central government.

NTA must come clean on NEET shady exam matter: AAP

Chandigarh, June 20, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab lambasted the BJP government for jeopardizing the future of 24 lakh students who appeared in NTA NEET this year on May 5th. The party appealed to the Supreme Court to form an SIT to investigate this matter and demanded the strictest action against everyone involved.

In a press conference at the party office on Thursday, AAP spokesperson Bikram Jit Passi raised questions about the question paper leaks, result date, grace marks and on the silence of NTA (National Testing Agency) on the matter.

The AAP leader said that we cannot afford the silence of anyone on this matter, it is about the future of 24 lakh students, this matter cannot be taken lightly. He was accompanied by Advocate Inderjit Singh and Gagandeep Singh in this press conference.

Addressing the media Bikram Jit Passi said that NEET exam was conducted on May 5th and it’s result was scheduled for June 14th but the NTA declared its result on June 4th amidst the chaos of general elections results on the same day.

They announced 67 students as toppers with 720/720 marks. Then there were students who got 719, 718, 717 etc. marks, which is impossible.

In this exam a candidate is awarded 4 marks for a right answer, there is negative marking too, 1 mark deducted for a wrong answer. So there can be 715, 710, 705 and so on marks but not 719, 718, 717 etc. They tried to justify wrong marking by saying it was grace marks but they never publicly explained the basis and rules for grace marks.

These students work hard and study for 16-18 hours a day to clear such an exam, NTA cannot award grace marks to some selected students of their choice without transparent and previously mentioned process.

Passi said that some students had leaked question papers. Students have admitted that they had the exact same questionnaire before the exam but NTA, instead of addressing this properly, just released a press release that there was no paper leak.

If that was true, why were arrests made in Bihar and Gujarat in this matter. Passi said that it seems that NTA is not working properly, they are under pressure from the BJP government.

Passi said that the BJP talks about implementing the Gujarat model in India, but in Gujarat 11 such papers were leaked in the last 11 years. Similarly in UP, paper leak is common. Everyone’s aware of Vyapam scam too.

It appears that the BJP government is the paper leak government. They continuously jeopardize the present and future of lakhs of students and youth of our country. The BJP talks about being vishwaguru but they cannot even conduct an entrance exam without it getting leaked or rigged.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appealed to the Supreme Court to form an SIT to investigate this scam thoroughly and demanded justice for 24 lakh students. The party said that these entrance exams are important and if corruption became rampant in these exams then the future of our youth will be in the dark.

Passi also appealed to the media to do their part and speak up against such failures of the Modi government and demand answers from NTA so that our students and youth don’t face such crises time and again.

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