Taliban Attacks during Ashura Processions

On November 25th, during the Shia commemoration of the holiday of Ashura, a seventeen pound bomb exploded, killing six people and wounding ninety others. Ashura brings together many Shia Muslims and, as a result, the holiday has become a common target for Pakistani Taliban and Sunni extremist attacks. A similar bombing occurred on Saturday, in which seven people were killed and thirty were injured. In the previous week, thousands of extra police were deployed across Pakistan to stop the attacks; mobile phone services were even shut down in large cities because phones are often used as remote detonators. Clashes also broke out over the holiday in universities in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ashura, which was originally used to mourn the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, has become a holiday of bloodshed and fear.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/9701589/At-least-six-dead-and-90-wounded-in-Pakistan-bomb-blast.html

Pregnancy Tests for Men

Recently, an unnamed man detected testicular cancer by taking a pregnancy test. When the test came back positive, the man took it as a joke and made a comic strip about the incident on Reddit. A user on the site commented that the positive results could mean that he had testicular cancer. The man had himself examined- a small cancerous tumor was found on his right testicle. Researchers are now asking, "How can this happen?"

It turns out that pregnancy tests detect beta human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone in the urine. This hormone can be a sign of pregnancy, as well as testicular cancer. A fair number of testicular cancers make the same hormone. There are few things in the body that produces beta hCG and testicular cancer is one of them. This method of detecting testicular cancer could become a popular way to detect cancer early, without a doctor's visit. Expect an increase in male purchases of pregnancy tests.

http://www.privatemdlabs.com/blood-testing-news/Male_Specific_Tests/Pregnancy-test-helps-detect-testicular-cancer$800902997.php

New Pope for Egypt's Christians

The Egyptian Orthodox Church has chosen Bishop Tawadros, 60, to be the new pope of the largest Christian church in the Middle East. Tawadros previously headed the diocese of Beheira in the Egyptian Delta. His name was pulled out of a chalice by a young, blindfolded boy at an elaborate ceremony which thousands attended at Cairo's St. Mark's Cathedral on Sunday. The new pope will be formally enthroned on November 18th. Tawadros will lead the ancient church at one of the most challenging periods of its history- the church has faced mounting religious discrimination and periodic sectarian violence, which has led to isolation. While the new pope has stated that he hopes to focus on spiritual roles, he will most likely end up dealing with politics, as have his predecessors.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ba82ede-266d-11e2-9295-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2BH8tgein