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Filmy news

2008-07-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

Hrithik Roshan launches a vodka brand

Mumbai, July 15: Liqour manufacturer – Radico Khaitan, on Tuesday launched M2-Magic Moments Vodka in the country's market.
The new product was launched by brand ambassador and Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, a company release said here.
Magic Moments grain vodka is targeted at the young and the young at heart, the release said.
"I am happy to be here for two primary reasons. One Magic Moments promises everything that a great life should have. And two, it embodies an excitement in and for life," Roshan said.
Magic Moments vodka has been launched in six flavours, chocolate, orange, green apple, lemon grass and ginger and lime and raspberry, the release said.

After Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali to cast Bebo in another flick

mumbai, July 16: The film ‘Jab We Met’ would always be remembered for Shahid-Kareena’s ‘Jab We Split’ saga. However, director Imtiaz Ali got oodles of accolades for the same. Now, the director is casting Bebo again in his upcoming film, opposite none other than Akshay Kumar.
Earlier, Bebo was said to be extremely upset when Imtiaz, for whom she has great regards, did not cast her in his next flick after their big draw, ‘Jab We Met’. Instead, Imtiaz chose to cast newcomer Deepika Padukone, opposite Bebo’s beau Saif Ali Khan. Kareena resented this as she had assumed that she would be a part of Imtiaz’s project after ‘Jab We Met’.
However, now all is well between Kareena and Imtiaz, as the director has approached the actress for another flick. The film will also be written by Imtiaz. "It's still in the initial stages so I can't divulge much right now. I prefer to work at one project at a time so as soon as I wrap up Saif's film, I will concentrate on it. By early 2009, I hope to roll the project with Kareena."
Kareena is presently in the US shooting for Sajid Nadiadwala's ‘Kambakht Ishq’. Sources say that the actress has given her consent to the project. "Yes, she has said okay to this project. She's pretty excited about it. After all, it's her favourite director, producer and co-star too."
Sexiest Woman’ Katrina Kaif turns a year older

Mumbai, July 16: Things seems to be going great for ‘Sexiest Woman’ Katrina Kaif, who turns a year older on Wednesday. The 24-year-old lass, who has currently been featured on the cover of Damas-designed Kohl - the world’s most expensive Lifestyle magazine catering to Asian women, is in an upbeat mood these days. News has it that the lady will be celebrating her birthday in Mumbai along with boyfriend Salman Khan. Earlier, Salman was planning to fly down to Ooty on her special day but things did not turn out that way. Says a source, "Salman had planned to take off a couple of days from the shooting of 10 Ka Dum and spend time with Kat in Ooty on her birthday. But now that the schedule is cancelled, Salman and Kat will be celebrating her birthday in Mumbai.”
When asked about what Salman plans to gift her, Katrina expressed ignorance. Katrina excited as her mother and her sister Isabelle are coming over from London for her birthday. Looking forward to the birthday bash, Kat says, “I don’t like throwing lavish parties on my birthday. This year I am very excited about my mother coming all the way from London to be with me. I am planning to just chill out with some of my friends and have dinner after work. Actually I am a last-minute person and never like to plan anything before-hand.”
So, she will be working on her birthday? “I have a lot of promotional activities for Singh Is Kinng, which go on from the morning to evening. I will be done by 6 pm and will then plan my dinner with family and friends.”
Hope you have a wonderful birthday Katrina, and may you spread your charming smile for many many years to come!

Mecca

2008-07-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

History of Mecca

The Saudi government uses the following verse as a Koranic confirmation for this law, however there are other interpretations to this verse (in particular, People of the Book would usually not be regarded as pagans) "O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unpure; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will God enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for God is All-knowing, All-wise." -- Koran, 9:28 As one might expect, the existence of cities closed to non-Muslims and the mystery of the Hajj aroused intense curiosity in people from around the world. Some have disguised themselves as Muslims and entered the city of Mecca and then the Grand Mosque to experience the Hajj for themselves. The most famous account of a foreigner's journey to Mecca is A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, written by Sir Richard Francis Burton.[43] Burton traveled as a Qadiriyyah Sufi from Afghanistan; his name, as he signed it in Arabic below his frontispiece portrait for "The Jew, The Gypsy and al-Islam," was al-Hajj 'Abdullah.[citation needed The primary industry in Mecca in modern times is to support the annual pilgrimage of the Hajj, as well as to support the pilgrims who visit the city at all other times of the year. Major stops in their visit include:The Kaaba is the ancient stone building towards which all Muslims pray. It was originally one of multiple such buildings in Arabia, but was the only one made of stone, and therefore is the only one still standing. Many Muslims believe that it dates back to the time of Abraham in 2000 BC. All pilgrims are required to walk counter-clockwise around the Kaaba seven times starting at the Black Stone, in a ritual called the Tawaf.
Muslims believe that the Zamzam Well was revealed to Hagar (هاجر), mother of Ishmael. She was desperately seeking water for her infant son, but could find none. Mecca is located in a hot dry valley with few other sources of water. According to tradition, the water of the Zamzam well is divinely blessed. It is believed to satisfy both hunger and thirst, and cure illness. The water is served to the public through coolers stationed throughout the Masjid al-Haram and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. All pilgrims make every effort to drink of this water during their pilgrimage, and some dip their ihram clothing into it, so that the cloth can be used as their own burial shroud when they die.

Apples beat pears on crunch issue

2008-07-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

Apples beat pears on crunch issue

By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News
AdvertisementInside a pear: Tiny interconnected channels do not carry oxygen to the fruit's core as efficiently as apples
Just why pears rot faster than apples can now be explained by science.

It is all to do with how oxygen is able to find its way to the centre of the fruit after it has been picked.
Belgian researchers used one of the world's most powerful X-ray machines to image the tiny pores and channels that carry air through the two foods.
Pieter Verboven's team was able to show how the structures in pears meant they got "out of breath" quicker than apples - key information for growers.
The results of the study will improve the models used to determine optimal storage conditions. The study will help reduce waste in the fruit industry
"If we know how the pears get into storage, we can better predict how they will behave," the Catholic University of Leuven scientist told BBC News.
"From season to season, from batch to batch, even from orchard to orchard - we can give advice to the grower, saying 'well, for these pears, you may have to elevate the oxygen concentration in your storage room because there is the potential for problems'."
There is a clear economic driver to minimise wastage in the fruit industry; and supermarket shoppers certainly do not want to cut into the flesh to find a brown, mushy mess.
Year on year, very practical experiments are run to see how different crop varieties cope under a range of shelf conditions; but science is also trying to improve its understanding of the biochemical and physical mechanisms that underpin decay.
After picking, the cells in the fruit need oxygen for respiration - to produce the sugars and energy required to maintain good health. If air cannot pass through the fruit, cells close to the core will eventually start to brown and rot.
Pieter Verboven's group put apples and pears inside the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, which produces an intense, high-energy light that can pierce just about any material, revealing its inner structure.
AdvertisementInside an apple: Cavities inside the apple carry oxygen to the core very efficiently
The giant X-ray machine is able to resolve features down to and below a thousandth of a millimetre; and by turning the target in front of the light beam, it is possible to build up extremely high-definition, three-dimensional views of the subject under study.
The latest research illuminated the microscopically small structures for oxygen supply that exist in fruit. In apples, the pathways appear as irregular cavities between cells, whilst in pears they have the shape of tiny interconnected channels.
"We already knew that different apple varieties have a different density which means they have a different fraction of air spaces; but we didn't know the structures," Dr Verboven told BBC News.
"We also knew that pears have a much lower amount of void spaces inside because pears sink to the bottom if you drop them in water whereas apples float, which indicates that one has more air than the other one.
EUROPEAN LIGHT SOURCE Electrons are fired into a linac, or straight accelerator. They're boosted in a small ring before entering the storage ring. The superfast particles are corralled by a train of magnets. Energy lost by turning electrons emerges as intense light (X-rays). The 850m-circumference ring has 32 magnet clusters, or cells. Electrons turned by plain magnets produce 'standard' X-rays. Particles 'wiggled' at undulator magnets emit stronger X-rays. X-rays can't turn with electrons and head straight down beamlines. Experiment 'hutches' receive the most intense X-rays in Europe. The light probes materials on the atomic and molecular scale. Robots can place many samples in the beam for rapid science. ESRF data leads to new materials, drugs, electronics, etc.BACKNEXT1 of 3"But also in pears, no-one knew what the structure of those air voids was."
Now, the scientists understand not only what the cavities and micro-channels look like but also how they perform. The Verboven team was able to describe the complex mechanisms of gas exchange, respiration and fermentation that take place in the different fruits.
There is much less water in apples to slow the penetration of the gas, and although the channels in pears are connected they just do not work as efficiently as the big pores in apples in allowing oxygen to pass through to the core.
"It is still unclear how airways in the fruit develop, and why apples have cavity structures and pears micro-channel networks", explained Dr Verboven.
"The micro-channels are so small that oxygen supply to the fruit core is very limited and cells are quickly 'out of breath' when oxygen levels fall below the safety threshold," he said.
The research is published in the journal Plant Physiology.

Climate focus for G8 summit talks

2008-07-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

Climate focus for G8 summit talks

Green fingers: G8 leaders are considering climate issues World leaders are focusing on climate change and the global economy on day two of a key meeting in Japan.
Last year's Group of Eight industrialised nations summit pledged to "seriously consider" carbon emissions cuts of 50% by 2050.
The EU and Japan want leaders to adopt a stronger statement that includes interim targets.
Monday's talks were dominated by soaring food and fuel prices, and their effect on the world's poorest people.
Seven African leaders joined the summit to highlight their concerns.
Campaigners, meanwhile, accused G8 leaders of falling behind on pledges to double aid to the continent.
Climate targets
The summit is taking place in Toyako, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
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What is hoped for from the G8 talksLeaders from the G8 nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - are being joined by counterparts from some 15 other countries.
They are expected to issue a series of statements later in the day.
On Monday, negotiators worked late into the night to agree a statement on climate change, Reuters news agency reported.
Some countries want a deal on a long-term global goal for emissions cuts - but there are divisions over what targets should be set and what would be expected of developing countries.
The US says it will not commit to binding targets unless China and India agree to rein in emissions too.
Biofuels can be made from crops like wheat and rapeseed
The leaders are also expected to discuss biofuels, amid concern that the rise in their use is driving food prices up.
On Monday World Bank President Robert Zoellick called for reform of biofuel policies in rich countries, urging them to grow more food to feed the hungry.
He laid particular blame on fuels made from corn and rapeseed produced in the US and the EU.
"The US and Europe also need to take action to reduce mandates, subsidies and tariffs benefiting grain and oil seed biofuels that take food off the table for millions," he said.
Leaders were also expected to discuss rising energy prices, global inflation and stabilising financial markets, officials said.
The summit is also expected to release a statement on the elections in Zimbabwe, which President George W Bush on Monday described as a sham.

Sydney news

2008-07-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

Church sex abuse row ahead of Pope`s Sydney visit Sydney,

July 08: The head of the Catholic Church in Australia was embroiled in a sexual abuse controversy on Tuesday, only days before Pope Benedict arrives in Sydney for a visit that could see abuse victims staging protests.
Cardinal George Pell denied he misled a man complaining of sexual abuse by a Sydney priest when he wrote him a letter in 2003 saying his abuse claim was rejected because there were no other complaints against the same priest.
Australian television reported that Pell wrote another letter on the same day to a different man saying his claim of sexual abuse by the same priest was upheld.
"Cardinal Pell misrepresented the truth. It destroyed my faith," Anthony Jones told Australian Broadcasting Corp's (ABC) "Lateline" program on Monday night.
"He had to know that there was other complaints because he wrote to the man who as an 11-year-old boy was assaulted by Father Goodall on the same day," said Jones.
"I now hate Catholicism because of what Cardinal Pell has done to me, more so than what Father Goodall did to me." Catholic priest Terence Goodall was convicted in 2005 of indecently assaulting Jones in 1982.
Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and brothers in Australia are calling on Pope Benedict to apologize when he arrives in Sydney on Sunday for World Youth Day, July 15-20.

2008-07-06T22:39:00.001-07:00

Mendis magic mauls India; Sri Lanka lift Asia Cup Karachi,
July 06 Zeecric Bureau
Although the final pair of Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha offered some resistance to the Lankans, it was not sufficient to take the Indians home. Kulasekara took the last wicket in the form of Ishant Sharma by castling him to bring an end to the Asia Cup championship. Sri Lanka beat India by 100 runs to lift the Asia Cup trophy for the fourth time, Mendis being the hero of the day for Lanka and not so for India. The right arm spinner devastated the powerhouse of batting and made it look less than ordinary.
After the brilliant start given by Virender Sehwag, even Mendis would not have thought such an end to the final. He was awarded the man-of-the-match for his six for 13 in six overs. He was also the man-of-the-series for taking 17 wickets in the tournament. Only Sehwag and Dhoni had respectable scores to their names. They scored 60 and 49 respectively.
For a change it was Chaminda Vaas who struck and not Ajantha Mendis. What a relief! Vaas dismissed Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he had him caught behind for 49 into the hands of Kumara Sangakkara standing up at the stumps. This was his second wicket of the match. It is just a matter of time when the cricket lovers will see Sri Lanka lift the shining trophy and retain their title of defending champions of Asia.
The Indian batsmen really seemed to have no answer to Ajantha Mendis and it was pretty visible in the way Irfan Pathan edged one of his deliveries to the slip fielder and skipper Mahela Jayawardene. Pathan’s wicket gave Mendis his first five wicket haul in One-Day Internationals. He then uprooted RP Singh’s stumps off the very next ball to take his sixth wicket of the match and put Sri Lanka within sniffing distance of victory. This is the second time that Mendis struck twice in an over.
Muttiah Muralitharan spun a vicious web around Robin Uthappa and struck him on his pads right in front of the wicket to result in the fall of the sixth Indian wicket. India seemed to be staring at defeat with Sri Lanka having all chances to demolish India. Uthappa worked hard for his 20 runs but could not capitalize on it. He wasted a golden opportunity to take India home from a problematic situation. Irfan Pathan came to the crease to accompany skipper MS Dhoni. A miracle will be needed if India are to lift the Asia Cup trophy as Lanka look all set to retain their title.
Mendis it was again who struck for Sri Lanka catching Rohit Sharma plumb in front of the wicket leaving India reeling with half the team back in the pavilion. Sharma perished in an attempt to play Mendis across the line. Rohit Sharma became the right arm spinner’s fourth victim of the match. India will have to evade Mendis if they have to even think of clawing back in the match.
Ajantha Mendis proved to be the saviour for Sri Lanka and the devastator for India as he struck in his third over again to pack up Suresh Raina for just 16 runs. This put India on the back foot and the scorecard read 93 for the loss of four wickets at the time of Raina’s departure. Poor shot selection off a skiddy delivery on middle stump and Raina could see his stumps shattered

Rising costs to dominate G8 talks
Japan has deployed some 20,000 police to seal off the summit venue Rising food and fuel prices are to top the agenda for leaders of the world's most industrialised nations who are beginning a key summit in Japan.
The hosts had hoped climate change would be a key issue at the meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) nations but the global economy is sure to dominate.
At the opening lunch, African leaders will set out the effect price rises are having on the world's poorest people.
The summit is also expected to tackle the difficult issue of Zimbabwe.
Food focus
The G8 summit is being held at a resort on the northern island of Hokkaido.
Japan has spent a record sum of money and deployed about 20,000 police to seal off the remote lakeside town of Toyako for the three-day talks.
Focus on food, fuel and financeJapanese island locks downCharity in sanitation plea
The impact on the global economy of price rises and other shocks such as the credit crunch have eclipsed other concerns, correspondents says.
The BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson, who is travelling to the summit with the UK prime minister, says Gordon Brown will join other leaders in calling for the doubling of food production in Africa.
Our correspondent says the G8 may call for the creation of a panel of international experts to advise on how to predict and hopefully avoid another crisis like this.
The EU has already been spelling out plans to alleviate the food crisis.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters on the sidelines of the summit the proposed 1bn euro ($1.6bn, $800m) fund to help poor farmers in developing countries would come from unused EU subsidies. The best way to help the impoverished around the world is through trade
US President George W Bush
G8 summit: The key issuesAction urged on childbirth deaths
The Group of Eight consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
They will be joined by leaders from some 15 other countries, including eight African states.
As well as discussing development issues in Africa, the G8 leaders are widely expected to condemn Robert Mugabe's controversial re-election in Zimbabwe last month.
As he headed to the summit, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he would discuss the crisis with African leaders there.
Zimbabwe's political parties should "work out an arrangement so that they can really bring back democratic rules, the rule of law and peace and stability in their country", he told the French news agency AFP.
Malaysia summit
A number of other bilateral meetings are taking place on the sidelines of the summit.
Mr Bush, attending his last G8 summit, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, attending his first, are expected to discuss the US plan for missile defence installations in the Czech Republic and Poland.
HAVE YOUR SAY Why not talk about stopping the wars in the world, as most of the G8 countries manufacture and supply the weapons Geoff Berry, Bolton, UKSend us your commentsMr Brown will also have talks with Mr Medvedev. Relations between the two countries have been uneasy since the Russian agent turned dissident Alexander Litvinenko was murdered in London two years ago.
Meanwhile, the charity Water Aid has told the G8 that the single most effective measure it could take to prevent the deaths of millions of children in poor countries would be to build toilets and provide clean water.
Hundreds of protesters again marched through Sapporo on Sunday, the city closest to the venue, on the eve of the talks to demand G8 leaders take action on global warming, poverty and rising food prices.
The demonstration, which followed a similar protest on Saturday, was heavily policed and ended peacefully.
Violent anti-globalisation marches have marred past G8 meetings.
As the G8 got under way in Japan, leaders of the world's largest Islamic nations assembled for what is being billed as the D8 summit in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, with the issue of inflation high on the agenda there.

Smallest plant

2008-07-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

Smallest planet shrinks in size

Messenger will make three fly-bys of Mercury before it goes into orbit
Enlarge Image The smallest planet in the Solar System has become even smaller, studies by the Messenger spacecraft have shown.
Data from a flyby of Mercury in January 2008 show the planet has contracted by more than one mile (1.5km) in diameter over its history.
Scientists believe the shrinkage is due to the planet's core slowly cooling.
Studies published in the journal Science show the same process also powers the planet's magnetic field, a topic long debated by scientists.
"Cooling of the planet's core not only fuelled the magnetic dynamo, it also led to contraction of the entire planet," said Principal Investigator Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, US.
"And the data from the flyby indicate that the total contraction is at least one-third greater than we previously thought."
Active youth
The Messenger (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft passed within 200km (125 miles) of Mercury earlier this year.
It was the first time the planet had been viewed up close since Mariner 10's third and final fly-by in March 1975. A kidney-shaped volcanic vent surrounded by ejected material
The flyby was one of three to be made by the craft as it prepares to enter into orbit around the Solar System's smallest planet in 2011.
Just days after the pass, scientists revealed that they had found evidence of volcanic activity on the planet, previously hinted at by Mariner 10.
Further analysis of areas such as the Caloris basin, one of the Solar System's largest and youngest impact basins, found volcanic vents and evidence of "pyroclastic" debris blown from the volcano as it erupted.
Other areas contained circular structures with wrinkled edges, similar to structures seen on the Moon and Mars.
Scientists believe these are impact craters that have been filled with massive quantities of lava, possibly 2.7km (1.3miles) deep.
"That's a lot of lava," said Dr James Head of Brown University. "It shows the planet was really active in its early history."
Researchers believe the peak of activity could have been three to four billion years ago.
Core effects
Sensors, such as the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS), onboard the craft also revealed details of the planet's atmospheric composition.
FIPS recorded silicon, sodium and even water ions around Mercury. Ions are electrically charged atomic particles.
The scientists believe these were blasted from the surface of the planet by the solar wind, a stream of charged particles which buffets the Solar System.
Mercury's proximity to the Sun means it feels the full force of this wind, blasting atoms into space. Many of these are then trapped by the planet's magnetic field.
"The Mercury magnetosphere is full of many ionic species, both atomic and molecular," said Dr Thomas Zurbuchen of the University of Michigan.
This magnetosphere is created by the planet's core, which accounts for 60% of the planet's mass.
As well as influencing the space around the planet, the core has had an immense influence on surface features.
"The dominant tectonic landforms on Mercury, including areas imaged for the first time by Messenger, are features called lobate scarps, huge cliffs that mark the tops of crustal faults that formed during the contraction of the surrounding area," explained Dr Solomon.
"They tell us how important the cooling core has been to the evolution of the surface."

The great wall of china

2008-07-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

HISTORY
reat Wall of the Qin Dynasty Great Wall of the Han Dynasty Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty Map of the whole wall constructionsThe Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, which began around the 7th century BC. During the Warring States Period from the 5th century BC to 221 BC, the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. Qin Shi Huang conquered all opposing states and unified China in 221 BC, establishing the Qin Dynasty. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the former state borders. To protect the empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu people from the north, he ordered the building of a new wall to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's new northern frontier. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin Dynasty walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. Later, the Han, Sui, Northern and Jin dynasties all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of the Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders.
The Great Wall concept was revived again during the Ming Dynasty following the Ming army's defeat by the Oirats in the Battle of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper-hand over the Manchurian and Mongolian tribes after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the nomadic tribes out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert, the wall followed the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Huang He.
Photograph of the Great Wall in 1907Unlike the earlier Qin fortifications, the Ming construction was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strong.[7] Towards the end of the Shun Dynasty, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Under the military command of Yuan Chonghuan, the Ming army held off the Manchus at the heavily fortified Shanhaiguan pass, preventing the Manchus from entering the Liaodong Peninsula and the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, when the gates at Shanhaiguan were opened by Wu Sangui, a Ming border general who disliked the activities of rulers of the Shun Dynasty. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and defeated the newly founded Shun Dynasty and remaining Ming resistance, to establish the Qing Dynasty.
Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia was annexed into the empire, so construction and repairs on the Great Wall were discontinued. A counterpart wall to the Great Wall in the south was erected to protect and divide the Chinese from the 'southern barbarians' called Miao (meaning barbaric and nomadic).[8]
Notable areas
An area of the sections of the Great Wall at Jinshanling The following three sections are in Beijing municipality, which were renovated and which are regularly visited by modern tourists today.
"North Pass" of Juyongguan pass, known as the Badaling. When used by the Chinese to protect their land, this section of the wall has had many guards to defend China’s capital [Beijing]. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall is 7.8 meters (25.6 ft) high and 5 meters (16.4 ft) wide. One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes. It runs 11 kilometers (7 mi) long, ranges from 5 to 8 meters (16–26 ft) in height, and 6 meters (19.7 ft) across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 meters (16.4 ft) across the top. Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers, 980 meters (3,215 ft) above sea level. South East of Jinshanling, is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for approximately 2.25 kilometers (about 1.3 miles). It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east. 25 km west of the Liao Tian Ling stands of part of Great wall which is only 2~3 stories high. According to the records of Lin Tian, the wall was not only extremely short compared to others, but it appears to be silver. Archeologists explain that the wall appears to be silver because the stone they used were from Shan Xi, where many mines are found. The stone contains extremely high metal in it causing it to appear silver. However, due to years of decay of the Great Wall, it is hard to see the silver part of the wall today. Another notable section lies near the eastern extremity of the wall, where the first pass of the Great Wall was built on the Shanhaiguan (known as the “Number One Pass Under Heaven”), the first mountain the Great Wall climbs. Jia Shan is also here, as is the Jiumenkou, which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge. Shanhaiguan Great Wall is called the “Museum of the Construction of the Great Wall”, because of the Meng Jiang-Nu Temple, built during the Song Dynasty.
Characteristics
The Great Wall on a 1805 mapBefore the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from Earth or Taipa, stones, and wood.
During the Ming Dynasty, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime, and stone. The size and weight of the bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use. Consequently, stones cut in rectangular shapes were used for the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the wall. Battlements line the uppermost portion of the vast majority of the wall, with defensive gaps a little over 30 cm (one foot) tall, and about 23 cm (9 inches) wide.
Condition
The Great Wall at Mutianyu, near Beijing
While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even reconstructed, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads.[9] Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction.

No comprehensive survey of the wall has been carried out, so it is not possible to say how much of it survives, especially in remote areas. Intact or repaired portions of the Wall near developed tourist areas are often frequented by sellers of tourist kitsch.
More than 60 kilometres (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms. In places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than five meters (16.4 ft) to less than two meters. The square lookout towers that characterize the most famous images of the wall have disappeared completely. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion.[10]
Watchtowers and barracks
WatchtowerCommunication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility.
Visibility from space
The Great Wall of China as seen in a false-color radar image from the Space Shuttle, taken in April 1994Visibility from the moonA Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon from May 1932 claimed that the wall is "the mightiest work of man, the only one that would be visible to the human eye from the moon," and Richard Halliburton's 1938 book Second Book of Marvels makes a similar claim, but it is not true. This belief has persisted, assuming urban legend status, and sometimes even appeared in school textbooks. Arthur Waldron, author of The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth, has speculated that the belief might go back to the fascination with the "canals" once believed to exist on Mars.
The Great Wall is a maximum 9.1m (30 ft) wide and is about the same color as the soil surrounding it. Based on the optics of resolving power (distance versus the width of the iris: a few millimetres for the human eye, metres for large telescopes) an object of reasonable contrast to its surroundings some 70 miles in diameter (1 arc-minute) would be visible to the unaided eye from the moon, whose average distance from Earth is 384,393 km (238,857 miles). The Great Wall is of course not a disc but more like a thread--it can be seen from much further than would be possible if it were simply a 30 foot disc. Still, the apparent width of the Great Wall from the moon is the same as that of a human hair viewed from 2 miles away. Not surprisingly, no lunar astronaut has ever claimed seeing the Great Wall from the moon.
Visibility from low earth orbit
A different question is whether the Wall is visible from low earth orbit, i.e an altitude of as little as 100 miles (160 km). The consensus is that it is barely visible, and only under nearly perfect conditions; it is no more conspicuous than many other manmade objects.[11]
Astronaut William Pogue thought he had seen it from Skylab but discovered he was actually looking at the Grand Canal of China near Beijing. He spotted the Great Wall with binoculars, but said that "it wasn't visible to the unaided eye." US Senator Jake Garn claimed to be able to see the Great Wall with the naked eye from a space shuttle orbit in the early 1980s, but his claim has been disputed by several US astronauts. Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei said he could not see it at all.
Veteran US astronaut Gene Cernan has stated: "At Earth orbit of 100 miles (160 km) to 200 miles (320 km) high, the Great Wall of China is, indeed, visible to the naked eye." Ed Lu, Expedition 7 Science Officer aboard the International Space Station, adds that, "it's less visible than a lot of other objects. And you have to know where to look."
Topographic maps put together showing the location of the eastern parts of the wall between the Yellow River and the Bohai SeaNeil Armstrong stated about the view from Apollo 11: "I do not believe that, at least with my eyes, there would be any man-made object that I could see. I have not yet found somebody who has told me they've seen the Wall of China from Earth orbit. ... I've asked various people, particularly Shuttle guys, that have been many orbits around China in the daytime, and the ones I've talked to didn't see it." [12]
Leroy Chiao, a Chinese-American astronaut, took a photograph from the International Space Station that shows the wall. It was so indistinct that the photographer was not certain he had actually captured it. Based on the photograph, the China Daily later reported that the Great Wall can be seen from space with the naked eye, under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look.[13]
Similar claims rose in many countries on other manmade constructions (such as a highway network or a military base), and usually located within that country, with associations made to the wall usually employing the formula, "the two manmade structures visible from the space are the Great Wall of China and...".
Gallery

2008-07-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

'No truth' in Friends film rumour

Rustam mansuriEntertainment reporter,
The sitcom made its cast, and their haircuts, famous around the world
There are no plans for a rumoured big-screen version of Friends, film studio Warner Bros has told the BBC.
Since the success of the Sex and the City movie, there has been constant speculation that the US sitcom's six stars had agreed to their own film.
One UK press report even suggested that the first scenes would be shot within the next 18 months.
However, Warner Bros' director of publicity in the UK, Jayne Trotman, said there was "no truth in the story".
Ever since the quipping sextet - Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc - parted ways four years ago there have been rumours of a reunion.
'Right circumstances'
Earlier this week, an unnamed source was quoted as saying: "Jennifer, Courtney and the rest of cast are keen to reprise their roles, under the right circumstances.
"The success of Sex and the City has really got their wheels spinning about how a Friends film could be just as big, if done right."
But Cox Arquette's publicist, John Fogelman, told the BBC he did not know of any plans for a film.
Matthew Perry's spokesperson, Lisa Kasteler, added: "Nothing is happening in this regard, so the rumour is false."
The final episode of Friends drew a US audience of 52.5m, while 8.6m viewers watched it in the UK.
The movie version of Sex and the City took $55.7m (£28.3m) in its opening weekend at the US box office - a record for an R-rated comedy.

UN to urge rervamp of afghan

2008-07-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

UN to urge revamp of Afghan aid

By Rustam mansuri Kabul
The UN wants aid spending to be more co-ordinated
The UN's envoy to Afghanistan is set to outline a new plan on spending foreign aid, amid concerns that millions of dollars have been wasted.
The envoy, Kai Eide, wants international aid money to be spent through the Afghan government, in return for a crackdown on corruption.
Mr Eide says that too much aid money is spent on salaries and goods in the countries that provide it.
Last month, 80 countries pledged a further $22bn (£11bn) for Afghanistan.
Now the donors and the Afghan government are being told to deliver - to get schools, clinics, agriculture and electricity to the people who need it.
'Weak institutions'
Millions in development money has notoriously gone to waste in the seven years since the fall of the Taleban.
Many countries spend a chunk of their aid through the government, or on a trust fund set aside to fund National Solidarity Programmes in more than 22,000 districts in Afghanistan.
Donor nations pledged Hamid Karzai's government billions more in aid
But Mr Eide, the UN special representative to Afghanistan, believes more should be spent this way.
In Kabul on Sunday, he will outline to the government and donors that they have got to be more co-ordinated and to deliver development more effectively and efficiently.
"I think first of all that we spend too much of our money in our home countries instead of spending it in Afghanistan," he said.
"We also have to see how we can spend our money in a way that builds Afghan capacity. We see how weak the institutions are - that we have to make sure we correct."
Corruption is a major issue and the words auditing and accountability will be buzzing around the room at the first monitoring board meeting since the Paris conference.
The promises have been made and the UN head here is now trying to take control of an aid effort that many think has been missing the mark, when winning people over to the government, and keeping the Taleban at bay, is so vital for the future.

..तो संभव हो सकेगा अंतरिक्ष में विवाह

2008-07-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

..तो संभव हो सकेगा अंतरिक्ष में विवाह
Jul 01, 09:18 pm
टोक्यो। अब चांद चुरा कर लाने की जरूरत नहीं रह गई है। वह जमाना बीत चुका है। फिलहाल यह आसान हो चुका है कि प्रेमी युगल अंतरिक्ष में शादी रचा सकते हैं। एक जापानी संगठन ने प्रेमी युगलों के अंतरिक्ष में जाकर विवाह बंधन में बंधने की योजना शुरू कर दी है। इसके लिए उसने से आरक्षण भी शुरू कर दिया है।
धरती से सौ किलोमीटर ऊपर एक छोटे अंतरिक्ष यान में विवाह समारोह मनाने के लिए प्रत्येक युगल को 23 लाख अमेरिकी डालर खर्च करना होगा। जापानी संगठन फ‌र्स्ट एडवांटेज के प्रवक्ता तारो कात्सुरा के अनुसार एक घंटे की उड़ान में युगल कई मिनट शून्य गुरुत्वाकर्षण में बिता सकेंगे। इस दौरान वे तीन मेहमानों के सामने एक दूसरे से वादे करेंगे।
कात्सुरा ने बताया कि युगल अपने समारोह का अधिकतर हिस्सा उड़ान से पहले ही पूरा कर लेंगे ताकि वे एक दूसरे से वायदे करने के बाद अंतरिक्ष का नजारा ले सकें। यह संगठन अमेरिका के राकेट प्लेन के साथ गठबंधन कर अंतरिक्ष विवाह का आयोजन कर रहा है जो ओक्लाहोमा के निजी हवाई अड्डे से उड़ानें संचालित करेगा।
जापान में इस पेशकश की शुरुआत के बावजूद कंपनी को उम्मीद है कि इसके ज्यादातर ग्राहक चीन या अरब खाड़ी देशों से होंगे। कात्सुरा ने कहा कि अमेरिका में अभी अंतरिक्ष विवाह शुरू करने की योजना नहीं है। अंतरिक्ष टूरिज्म की शुरुआत 2001 से मानी जाती है। उस समय अमेरिकी व्यवसायी डेनिस टीटो रूसी अंतरिक्ष एजेंसी को दो करोड़ डालर का टिकट खरीद कर अंतरिक्ष की यात्रा करने वाले पहले व्यक्ति बने थे।

Bollywood news

2008-07-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

Shahid just needs to pop the question to Vidya
New Delhi, July 02: Are they or are they not a couple? Besides their forthcoming flick 'Kismat Konnection', the gossip mills are abuzz with rumors that Vidya is all set to date Shahid.
Believe it or not, Vidya surely has hots for her co-star and good friend Shahid as the lady has finally showed some gusto saying that she would definitely say a yes to a date with this all single hunk. But Shahid will have to ask…
When asked if she would be interested in dating Shahid, pat came the reply from Vidya
" May be I would consider it, because I think I might just say yes."
The actress who was recently in town for a promotional event of ‘Kismat Konnection’ surprised everyone as she appeared in high heels and a spunky well-fitted dress.
The actress who was more than welcoming any questions on Shahid even took suggestions from journos who stated that why doesn’t she ask Shahid out on a date. But this time the-speak-my-mind actress decided to take the caution road and went back to saying that they are just good friends.
" Oh definitely not. I can’t ask him out. We are just friends."
Well there is no need going back to that famous cliché now. All we can say is that now it’s just a matter of time before another Bollywood friendship changes into love..

Warning as France takes EU helm

2008-06-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Warning as France takes EU helm

Mr Sarkozy is to travel to Ireland next week to hear people's concerns French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said "something isn't right" with the European Union, as France took over the rotating presidency of the bloc.
Speaking on national French TV, Mr Sarkozy warned that Europe's citizens were losing faith in the project.
France set out plans on immigration, the environment, agriculture and defence for its six months at the helm.
But correspondents say that grandiose agenda is in doubt because of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon reform treaty.
Taking over the presidency from Slovenia, Mr Sarkozy said his priority would be to get all the other EU states to approve the treaty and then see what could be done.
The treaty cannot come into effect until it has been approved by all 27 member states.
France is not facing the positive outlook it had hoped for at the start of its EU presidency

Can French flair beat EU blues?France set for lively EU presidencyQ&A: The Lisbon Treaty
The document is meant to streamline EU decision-making following enlargement of the bloc. It is also meant to create a new EU president and foreign affairs chief, appointments which France is supposed to oversee at the end of its tenure.
But the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says last month's Irish rejection of the treaty means once again it is the EU's institutional shape - rather than anything it can actually do - that is in the spotlight.
Speaking on France 3, Mr Sarkozy said: "Something isn't right. Something isn't right at all."
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The Eiffel Tower is illuminated as France takes over the EU presidency
"Europe worries people and, worse than that, I find, little by little our fellow citizens are asking themselves if after all the national level isn't better equipped to protect them than the European level," he added, calling such thinking a "step backward".
Mr Sarkozy said: "The first priority is to pinpoint the problem with the Irish voters and to continue to allow other countries to be ratified, especially our Czech friends."
Asked if Ireland should vote again, he said: "I don't want to say it like that because it would give the impression of forcing their hand."
Mr Sarkozy will travel to Dublin on 11 July to hear Irish voters' concerns first-hand, a day after he presents the priorities of the French EU presidency in an address to the EU parliament in Strasbourg.
EU leaders are due to meet in October to hear from Ireland's prime minister on how to move forward after the "No" vote.
Ireland's prime minister is deciding his next move after the "No" vote
Mr Sarkozy also said that during France's EU presidency he would work for a Europe-wide cut in value-added tax on restaurant bills and oil to help consumers cope with soaring crude prices.
But his call for the EU to cut VAT on fuel has received little support from other member states.
French lorry drivers blocked roads around Paris on Monday in protest at rising fuel prices.
Mr Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon are to kick off the France's stint at the helm of the EU by meeting European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday afternoon.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris was lit up blue with yellow stars, to represent the EU flag, on Monday evening, while a ceremony is to be held later on Tuesday at the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital.

2008-06-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

killed as twin blasts rock Pakistan
Islamabad, June 30: An explosion destroyed the home of a militant in Pakistan's Khyber region on Monday, killing eight people, but the cause of the blast was not clear, residents said. Pakistani security forces launched an offensive in Khyber, in the country's northwest, on Saturday to push back militants who have been threatening the city of Peshawar. "The house belonged to a member of the Haji Namdar group and seven people were killed," said Sher Khan, a resident of the town of Bara where the blast took place. Haji Namdar leads a militant faction in Khyber, a mountainous region inhabited by ethnic Pashtun tribes between Peshawar and the Afghan border and home to the Khyber Pass, through which supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan pass. Namdar told Dawn Television the blast might have been caused by a missile. Bara is about 15 km (10 miles) southwest of Peshawar and about 40 km (25 miles) from the Afghan border. "I don't know who did it. We don't have any conflict in our tribe. We are enemies of those who are enemies of Islam," he said. The offensive in Khyber is the first major military action a new government has launched since it took power after February elections, and comes after growing alarm about the spread of militants in the northwest.

Football news

2008-06-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Spain end 44 yrs Euro drought; beat Germany 1-0 in final
Vienna, June 30: A championship 44 years in the waiting is worth a special celebration. Spain made sure it didn't disappoint any of its fans Sunday night, both during its 1-0 victory over Germany to win the European Championship, and after it. Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute and the Spaniards never backed down against such a formidable opponent. Their last significant title came in the 1964 Euros at home."It is to me the most important day in Spanish football in many, many years," Torres said.Against the highly accomplished Germans, the Spaniards weren't intimidated. They got the one goal they needed — from a slumping striker, no less — and set off chants of "ES-PANA!" and "Ole, Ole Ole!" at the final whistle.The entire Spanish squad ran over to the huge rooting section of red and gold, exchanging hugs, while many of the spent Germans collapsed to the turf.When Spain goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas accepted the trophy on a stage, the Spanish fans began chanting the melody to their national anthem, which has no words. Thousands of camera flashes went off as the players jumped in place, then headed onto the field to show off their prize.The Spaniards weren't close to finished with their celebration that was so long in the making. They marched to their rooting section, hoisting the cup and saluting their flag-waving, firecracker-exploding fans."We have won in a brilliant way," coach Luis Aragones said. "We will be able to start saying we can win, a European championship as well as any other thing."In beating a team that makes a habit of appearing in championship finals, the Spaniards put to rest a reputation for underachieving. Always loaded with talented players, Spain has spent four decades falling short of expectations.That all changed at these Euros, where the Spaniards swept their first-round games, eliminated World Cup champion Italy in a penalty-kicks shootout in the quarterfinals, then routed Russia 3-0 in the semifinals."We played the best for the entire tournament and we beat some great teams," Torres said. "We beat Italy, the World Cup champion, and we beat Russia and now Germany. That is how you become champion."Germany has won three Euros and three World Cups, but was no match in this final. Captain Michael Ballack, questionable before the game with a calf injury, started, but hardly was noticeable — except when he left for several minutes to have a bloody right eye treated."We had a great tournament, but made one mistake too many," Ballack said. "We were lacking of power against a great Spanish team. We couldn't keep up with them."Torres, who had 33 goals for Liverpool this season but has been invisible in Euros, came through off a brilliant feed from Xavi Hernandez.Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, at 38 the oldest player in the competition, charged from his net when he saw that defender Philipp Lahm was beaten on the right side. But Torres chipped the ball over the sliding Lehmann and into the gaping goal.The crowd of 51,428 at Ernst Happel Stadium, split almost equally between Germany and Spain, might have expected the Spaniards to go into a protective shell. Instead, and even without leading scorer David Villa (leg injury), they continued to carry the attack and were far more dangerous than Germany the rest of the way.Indeed, Lehmann, who helped the Germans to third place in the 2006 World Cup, kept it close with several tough saves. This was the last game for 69-year-old Aragones, the oldest coach to win the Euros. "The most important thing about our team, perhaps, is the manager," Torres said. "He has confidence in us and he lets us play. We have brought him the championship in his last game for Spain and we are very happy we could make this history for him and for us." Germany's Joachim Loew has a contract through the 2010 World Cup, but will need to find the spark Germany showed only periodically in Austria and Switzerland. "Spain played very well during the whole tournament. and they were technically excellent," Loew said. "They fully deserve victory." A crowd of about 68,000 packed Vienna's downtown fan zone to watch the final, police said. In Germany, flags fluttered from balconies and car antennas across the country. In Berlin, an estimated 400,000 fans watched the game on large outdoor screens. Spain has never made a World Cup final and was in one other Euros final, aside from the 1964 triumph. That was a loss to France in 1984. Otherwise, there had been nothing but disappointment and early exits from big tournaments. Two years ago, the Spaniards were dynamic in the opening round in Germany, then fizzled against France. With two of the world's top clubs, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the nation has tons of talent. What it has lacked is fortitude. No one can say that anymore.

Science/tech

2008-06-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Mystery of a `cosmic impact`
Paris, June 30: A hundred years ago this week, a gigantic explosion ripped open the dawn sky above the swampy taiga forest of western Siberia, leaving a scientific riddle that endures to this day.
A dazzling light pierced the heavens, preceding a shock wave with the power of a thousand atomic bombs which flattened 80 million trees in a swathe of more than 2,000 square kilometres.
Evenki nomads recounted how the blast tossed homes and animals into the air. In Irkutsk, 1,500km away, seismic sensors registered what was initially deemed to be an earthquake. The fireball was so great that a day later, Londoners could read their newspapers under the night sky.
What caused the so-called Tunguska Event, named after the Podkamennaya Tunguska river near where it happened, has spawned at least a half a dozen theories.
The biggest finger of blame points at a rogue rock whose destiny, after travelling in space for millions of years, was to intersect with Earth at exactly 7.17am on June 30, 1908.
Even the most ardent defenders of the sudden impact theory acknowledge there are many gaps. They strive to find answers, believing this will strengthen defences against future Tunguska-type threats, which experts say occur with an average frequency from one in 200 years to one in 1,000 years.
"Imagine an unspotted asteroid laying waste to a significant chunk of land... and imagine if that area, unlike Tunguska and a surprising amount of the globe today, were populated," the British science journal Nature commented last week.
Comets move at far greater speeds than asteroids, which means they release more kinetic energy upon impact. A small comet would deliver the same punch as a larger asteroid. But no fragments of the Tunguska villain have ever
been found, despite many searches.
Finding a piece is important, for it will boost our knowledge about the degrees of risk from dangerous Near Earth Objects, say Italian researchers Luca Gasperini, Enrico Bonatti and Giuseppe Longo.
"(I)f the Tunguska event was in fact caused by a comet, it would be a unique occurrence rather than an important case study of a known class of phenomena," Gasperini's team write in this month's issue of Scientific American .
"On the other hand, if an asteroid did explode in the Siberian skies that June morning, why has no-one yet found fragments?"
The Italian trio believe the answers lie in a curiously-shaped oval lake, called Lake Cheko, located about 10km from ground zero. Computer models, they say, suggest it is the impact crater from a metre-sized fragment that survived the explosion. A rival theory is given an airing in this week's New Scientist .
Lake Cheko does not have the typical round shape of an impact crater, and no extraterrestrial material has been found, which means "there's got to be a terrestrial explanation," Wolfgang Kundt, a physicist at Germany's Bonn University told the British weekly.
He believes the Tunguska Event was caused by a massive escape of 10 million tonnes of methane-rich gas deep within Earth's crust. Evidence of a similar release can be found on the Blake Ridge off Norway, Kundt said.
Canada`s first dual-use space telescope
New York, June 29: Canada is building the world's first dual-use USD 12-million space telescope designed to detect and track asteroids as well as satellites.
Called NEOSSat -- near earth object surveillance satellite, this spacecraft will provide a significant improvement in surveillance of asteroids that pose a collision hazard with earth and innovative technologies for tracking satellites in orbit high above the planet.
Weighing in at a mere 65-kilogram, the mission builds upon Canada's expertise in compact "microsatellite" design.
NEOSSat will be the size of a large suitcase, and is cost-effective because of its small size and ability to "piggyback" on the launch of other spacecraft.
The mission is funded by Defence Research Development Canada (DRDC) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Together CSA and DRDC formed a joint project office to manage the NEOSSat design, construction and launch phases.
NEOSSat is expected to be launched into space in 2010. The two projects that will use NEOSSat are HEOSS (High Earth Orbit Space Surveillance) and the NESS (Near Earth Space Surveillance) asteroid search programme.
"Canada continues to innovate and demonstrate its technological expertise by developing small satellites that can peer into near and far space for natural and man-made debris," said Guy Bujold, president, Canadian Space Agency.
"We are on the cutting edge, building the world's first space-based telescope designed to search for near-earth asteroids."
NEOSSat is the first follow up mission to the groundbreaking most (microvariability and oscillation of stars) spacecraft, a 60-kilogram satellite designed to measure the age of stars in our galaxy.
NEOSSat also marks the first project using Canada's multi-mission microsatellite bus. CSA's space technology branch launched the multi-mission bus project to capitalise on technology developed for the most project by making it adaptable to future satellite missions.
Captain Tony Morris of DRDC Ottawa and deputy programme manager of the NEOSSat joint project office, says, "NEOSSat is a technological pathfinder for us to demonstrate the potential of microsatellite technologies to satisfy operational requirements of the Canadian forces.
"...This would contribute to the safety of critical Canadian assets, military and civilian, in an increasingly congested space environment."
Brad Wallace leads the science team at DRDC for HEOSS, which will use NEOSSat for traffic control of earth's high orbit satellites.
Wallace says, "we have already done satellite tracking tests using most, so we know that a microsatellite can track satellites. The challenge now is to demonstrate that it can be done efficiently, reliably, and to the standards required to maximize the safety of the spacecraft that everyone uses daily, like weather and communication satellites."
The HEOSS project will demonstrate how a microsatellite could contribute to the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), a network of ground-based telescopes and radars located around the world.
"NEOSSat requires remarkable agility and pointing stability that has never before been achieved by a microsatellite," says David Cooper, general manager of Mississauga-based Dynacon Inc the prime contractor for the NEOSSat spacecraft and the manufacturer and operator of the most satellite.
"It must rapidly spin to point at new locations hundreds of times per day, each time screeching to a halt to hold rock steady on a distant target, or precisely track a satellite along its orbit, and image-on-the-run." Cooper says. "Dynacon is the world leader in this microsatellite attitude-control-system technology."
Alan Hildebrand, holder of a Canada research chair in planetary science in the University of Calgary's Department of Geoscience, leads an international science team for the Ness asteroid search project and is excited by its prospects.
Although NEOSSat's 15-centimetre telescope is smaller than most amateur astronomers', its location approximately 700 kilometres above earth's atmosphere will give it a huge advantage in searching the blackness of space for faint signs of moving asteroids.
Twisting and turning hundreds of times each day, orbiting from pole to pole every 50 minutes, and generating power from the sun, NEOSSat will send dozens of images to the ground each time it passes over Canada.

2008-06-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

Paying tribute to a legend: Celebrities and fans mark the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela at a charity concert in London

India news

2008-06-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

Indian batting sizzles as B`desh challenge fizzles out

Karachi, June 28: In the end, it was too easy. Indian batting, led by Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir, yet again covered up the their team’s mediocre bowling and fielding, with sublime knocks that enabled India to record yet another thumping victory. Suresh Raina, adjudged Man of the Match, continued his purple patch as he slammed his second ton in a week. The southpaw stayed unbeaten on 116 off just 107 balls while Yuvraj struck a breezy 35 ball 36 run cameo to see India through.
Suresh Raina reached his 100 run landmark off 93 balls as India romped home 7 wickets in 43.2 overs. India had strolled past 250 in just the 40th over.
Gautam Gambhir missed out on a well deserved century when he swooped a low catch at short mid-wicket to Mortaza of Reza. Gambhir, who had anchored the Indian chase perfectly, departed for a well compiled 90 off just 84 balls, a knocked laced with 10 fours and 1 six. India, meanwhile, brought up their 200 in the 34th over.
Putting behind the dismissals Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa, Gambhir and Suresh Raina doled India out of any trouble and keep the Bangladeshi hopes of causing an upset at bay. Raina, who has a century and a half-century already in the Asia Cup prior to this innings, reached yet another 50, this time of just 52 balls. Half-way through the innings, i.e. after 25 overs, India was comfortably placed at 152 for the loss of just 2 wickets.
Gambhir had raced to his 50 of just 36 balls even as India zoomed past the 100 run mark in the 16th over. Soon the Gambhir-Raina combine completed their 50 run partnership too, as India coasted along at over 6 per over.
Earlier, an out of form Rohit’s bad run continued. Just when he seemed to have played himself into some kind of rhythm, Shardat Hasan struck his second blow, having him caught by Reza for 22. Chasing a competitive total of 284, India had got off to an inauspicious start when they lost Uthappa, who came in with Gambhir in place of regular opener Sehwag. Uthappa, who made just 2, got a thin inside edge off pace bowler Shahadat Hossain onto his stump.
Bangladesh amassed an impressive 283/6 in their allotted 50 overs to set India a challenging target of 284. Alok Kapali emerged the hero for Bangladesh scoring a sensational 115 off just 96 balls. His ruthless assault on the Indian bowlers, coupled with sloppy fielding has put the pre-match favorites in a tricky situation as B’desh scored 99 runs in their final 10 overs. He was finally dismissed in the final over, Ojha again taking a good catch. Kapali’s knock was studded with 10 fours and 5 mighty sixes.
India, who will be without Sehwag, will have their task cut out in pursuit of 284.
Kapali completed his magnificent century of just balls 86 balls as Bangladesh turned on the heat in face-off spineless Indian bowling. Kapali’s breath-taking knock was a study on pacing an inning to perfection. Kapali, who took 65 balls

Sam Bahadur: A soldier remembers

It was a crisp golden morning. And I had a problem. I walked to the office of my boss: Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. He was just preparing to leave for a meeting with the Defence Secretary for a routine briefing. Sensing that I looked troubled, he paused, looked straight into my eyes, as usual, and asked. “What’s bothering you General?”
I poured out the reason for my despair. I had been appointed by Sam Bahadur as the Army representative on the Fourth Pay Commission panel. There were two others as well, one each from the Air Force and the Navy. And then, there were the bureaucrats.
Whatever we defence personnel recommended, the bureaucrats would shoot down. If we’d prepare one note, they’d prepare two to counter it. I was frustrated. I felt there was no point on being on a panel that didn’t take cognizance of our views.
Sam Bahadur put his arm around me and asked me to accompany him to the Defence Secretary. As we walked in to the meeting, he announced, “My nominee has something to say.” He indicated to me that I speak with candor.
Soon after, all civilian members of the Pay Panel were dropped.
This is just one of the many incidents. Much earlier, I had encountered his sense of fair play. He valued honesty and hard work above all else. If he felt there was genuine case, he would not even be too much of a stickler for rules.
I was working under him as an S&T appointment. Ordinarily, people in this department are not shifted to Infantry. However, precedence did not stop him from recommending me twice for the promotion to the Defence Ministry.
An incident that stands out was one that followed the 1961 War with China. During the War, our Corp Commander Lieutenant General B N Kaul ordered a large amount of supplies and arms to be dropped in the hills for the soldiers. The War ended in a drubbing and Lt Gen Kaul was sacked. But the auditors were at our door.
They wanted me to account for all the equipment and supplies. I had few answers. I told them frankly, that I was only carrying out the boss’ order. Unsatisfied, they recommended action. In the meantime, Sam Bahadur took over as our Corp Commander.
I narrated to him the entire episode. He just said two words, “Don’t Worry.”
And before I knew it, Manekshaw had used his special privilege as a Corp Commander to write off that humungous amount as war losses. And the story ended. He had saved my skin, but he did not even subtly mention the huge favour that he had done.
Sam Maneskshaw was bone honest. Supplies to the Mess would come from Calcutta. Officers would often complain and clamour for a more lavish fare. I told him that this was possible, only that he would get a bad name. He minced no words when he told me, “Don’t listen to them. Do only what is right.”
Sam Bahadur was a very sympathetic man. Yet he was extremely strict and a complete disciplinarian.
It was wartime 1971. Our secrets were being leaked. And we knew of this.
Sam Manekshaw summoned me and two others to his office and told us that the enemy was getting hold of our intelligence information. Something had to be done. And he had a plan. So far, most information would go out as written instructions, coded or otherwise. Which meant it could be officers, or clerks who typed it. He had decided to do away with the system.
While routine information would be typed and sent out, all information related with strategy and intelligence would be sent through us. We would work as liaison officers between him and the field commanders. Manekshaw would give us oral information and we would pass it on word by word. It was a clever move and it worked. Pakistan was foxed.
Then came triumph. Bangladesh had been liberated. Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw to take the surrender. It was that glorious occasion that would go down in the annals of history. It was his moment under the Sun. Yet, he refused.
Manekshaw told the PM, “My Field Commander will do the honours.” It was an example of his epic generosity.
And forever in time, the image of Lt Gen Jagjit Aurora getting the surrender papers signed by Niazi will hang over our mantle pieces.
When Sam Bahadur visited Dacca, LT Gen Aurora sent him a luxurious car to come. But he refused point blank. “I don’t want to ride in a stolen car, I will travel in our military Jeep,” he quipped.
It was a message he wanted to send out loud and clear. He would not tolerate looting. It speaks volumes of his eminent character that he wanted to ensure dignity in our victory.
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was indeed a remarkable officer and a thorough gentleman!
(The author of the piece is a Retired Army officer, who worked for many years under Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, but wishes to remain anonymous)
reach his fifty, brought up his second fifty of just 21ball

History of Taj Mahal

2008-06-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Architecture
Main article: Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal
The tombThe focus of the Taj Mahal is the white marble tomb, which stands on a square plinth consisting of a symmetrical building with an iwan, an arch-shaped doorway, topped by a large dome. Like most Mughal tombs, basic elements are Persian in origin.
The base of the Taj is a large, multi-chambered structureThe base structure is a large, multi-chambered structure. The base is essentially a cube with chamfered edges and is roughly 55 meters on each side (see floor plan, right). On the long sides, a massive pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with a similar arch-shaped balcony.
On either side of the main arch, additional pishtaqs are stacked above and below. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on chamfered corner areas as well. The design is completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets, one at each corner of the plinth, facing the chamfered corners, frame the tomb. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; their actual graves are at a lower level.
The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is its most spectacular feature. Its height is about the same size as the base of the building, about 35 meters, and is accentuated as it sits on a cylindrical "drum" of about 7 metres high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome (also called an amrud or guava dome). The top is decorated with a lotus design, which serves to accentuate its height as well. The shape of the dome is emphasised by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners. The chattri domes replicate the onion shape of the main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide light to the interior. Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.
The main dome is crowned by a gilded spire or finial. The finial, made of gold until the early 1800s, is now made of bronze. The finial provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements. The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif, whose horns point heavenward. Because of its placement on the main spire, the horns of moon and finial point combine to create a trident shape, reminiscent of traditional Hindu symbols of Shiva.[2]
At the corners of the plinth stand minarets, the four large towers each more than 40 meters tall. The minarets display the Taj Mahal's penchant for symmetry. These towers are designed as working minarets, a traditional element of mosques as a place for a muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer.

Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower. At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb. The minaret chattris share the same finishing touches, a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. Each of the minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth, so that in the event of collapse, a typical occurrence with many such tall constructions of the period, the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.
Base, dome, and minaret Finial Main iwan and side pishtaqs Simplified diagram of the Taj Mahal floor plan
Exterior decoration
Calligraphy on large pishtaqThe exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest to be found in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes, a large pishtaq has more area than a smaller one, and the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements were created by applying paint or stucco, or by stone inlays or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
The calligraphy found in Taj Mahal are of florid thuluth script, created by Persian calligrapher Amanat Khan, who signed several of the panels. The calligraphy is made by jasper inlaid in white marble panels, and the work found on the marble cenotaphs in the tomb is extremely detailed and delicate. Higher panels are written slightly larger to reduce the skewing effect when viewing from below. Throughout the complex, passages from the Qur'an are used as decorative elements. Recent scholarship suggests that Amanat Khan chose the passages as well.[3][4] The texts refer to themes of judgment and include:
Surah 91 - The SunSurah 112 - The Purity of FaithSurah 89 - DaybreakSurah 93 - Morning LightSurah 95 - The FigSurah 94 - The SolaceSurah 36 - Ya SinSurah 81 - The Folding UpSurah 82 - The Cleaving AsunderSurah 84 - The Rending AsunderSurah 98 - The EvidenceSurah 67 - DominionSurah 48 - VictorySurah 77 - Those Sent ForthSurah 39 - The Crowds
As one enters through Taj Mahal Gate, the calligraphy reads "O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you."[5][4]
Abstract forms are used especially in the plinth, minarets, gateway, mosque, jawab, and to a lesser extent, on the surfaces of the tomb. The domes and vaults of sandstone buildings are worked with tracery of incised painting to create elaborate geometric forms. On most joining areas, herringbone inlays define the space between adjoining elements. White inlays are used in sandstone buildings and dark or black inlays on the white marbles. Mortared areas of marble buildings have been stained or painted dark and thus creating a geometric patterns of considerable complexity. Floors and walkways use contrasting tiles or blocks in tessellation patterns.
Vegetative motifs are found at the lower walls of the tomb. They are white marble dados that have been sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines. The marble has been polished to emphasise the exquisite detailing of these carvings. The dado frames and archway spandrels have been decorated with pietra dura inlays of highly stylised, almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits. The inlay stones are yellow marble, jasper and jade, leveled and polished to the surface of the walls.
Herringbone Plant motifs Spandrel detail Incised painting
Interior decoration
Jali screen surrounding the cenotaphs Tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal Cenotaphs, interior of Taj MahalThe interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here the inlay work is not pietra dura, but lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones. The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, though only the south garden-facing door is used. The interior walls are about 25 metres high and topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level. As with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall. The four central upper arches form balconies or viewing areas and each balcony's exterior window has an intricate screen or jali cut from marble. In addition to the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof openings covered by chattris at the corners. Each chamber wall has been highly decorated with dado bas relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex. The octagonal marble screen or jali which borders the cenotaphs is made from eight marble panels. Each panel has been carved through with intricate pierce work. The remaining surfaces have been inlaid with semiprecious stones in extremely delicate detail, forming twining vines, fruits and flowers.
Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves and hence Mumtaz and Shah Jahan are laid in a relatively plain crypt beneath the inner chamber with their faces turned right and towards Mecca. Mumtaz Mahal's cenotaph is placed at the precise center of the inner chamber with a rectangular marble base of 1.5 meters by 2.5 meters. Both the base and casket are elaborately inlaid with precious and semiprecious gems. Calligraphic inscriptions on the casket identify and praise Mumtaz. On the lid of the casket is a raised rectangular lozenge meant to suggest a writing tablet. Shah Jahan's cenotaph is beside Mumtaz's to the western side. It is the only visible asymmetric element in the entire complex. His cenotaph is bigger than his wife's, but reflects the same elements: a larger casket on slightly taller base, again decorated with astonishing precision with lapidary and calligraphy that identifies Shah Jahan. On the lid of this casket is a traditional sculpture of a small pen box. The pen box and writing tablet were traditional Mughal funerary icons decorating men's and women's caskets respectively. Ninety Nine Names of God are to be found as calligraphic inscriptions on the sides of the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, in the crypt including "O Noble, O Magnificent, O Majestic, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious... ". The tomb of Shah Jahan bears a calligraphic inscription that reads; "He traveled from this world to the banquet-hall of Eternity on the night of the twenty-sixth of the month of Rajab, in the year 1076 Hijri."
Arch of Jali Delicate pierce work Inlay detail Detail of Jali
The garden
360° panoramic view of the Chahar Bagh gardensThe complex is set around a large 300-meter square charbagh, a Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway, with a reflecting pool on North-South axis reflects the image of the Taj Mahal. Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.[6] The raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, in reference to "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad.[7] The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced to India by the first Mughal emperor Babur. It symbolizes four flowing rivers of Paradise and reflects the gardens of Paradise derived from the Persian paridaeza, meaning 'walled garden'. In mystic Islamic texts of Mughal period, paradise is described as an ideal garden of abundance with four rivers flowing from a central spring or mountain, separating the garden into north, west, south and east.
Walkways beside reflecting poolMost Mughal charbaghs are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center. The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, instead is located at the end of the garden. With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna, Archaeological Survey of India interprets that the Yamuna itself was incorporated into the garden's design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.[8] The similarity in layout of the garden and its architectural features such as fountains, brick and marble walkways, and geometric brick-lined flowerbeds with Shalimar's suggest that the garden may have been designed by the same engineer, Ali Mardan.[9] Early accounts of the garden describe its profusion of vegetation, including roses, daffodils, and fruit trees in abundance.[10] As the Mughal Empire declined, the tending of the garden declined as well. When the British took over the management of Taj Mahal, they changed the landscaping to resemble that of lawns of London.[11]
Outlying build
Gateway to the Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal complex is bounded by crenellated red sandstone walls on three sides with river-facing side open. Outside these walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz's favorite servant. These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era. The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples later incorporated into Mughal mosques. The wall is interspersed with domed kiosks (chattris), and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.
The main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble and is reminiscent of Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. Its archways mirror the shape of tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate calligraphy that decorates the tomb. It utilizes bas-relief and pietra dura (inlaid) decorations with floral motifs. The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs, like those found in the other sandstone buildings of the complex.
Taj Mahal mosque or masjidAt the far end of the complex, there are two grand red sandstone buildings that are open to the sides of the tomb. Their backs parallel western and eastern walls, and these two buildings are precise mirror images of each other. The western building is a mosque and its opposite is the jawab (answer) whose primary purpose was architectural balance and may have been used as a guesthouse. The distinctions between these two buildings include the lack of mihrab, a niche in a mosque's wall facing Mecca, in the jawab and that the floors of jawab have a geometric design, while the mosque floor was laid with outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble. The mosque's basic design is similar to others built by Shah Jahan, particularly to his Masjid-Jahan Numa, or Jama Masjid of Delhi, a long hall surmounted by three domes. The Mughal mosques of this period divide the sanctuary hall into three areas with a main sanctuary and slightly smaller sanctuaries on either side. At the Taj Mahal, each sanctuary opens onto an enormous vaulting dome. These outlying buildings were completed in 1643.
Construction
Ground layout of the Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal was built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharajah Jai Singh with a large palace in the center of Agra in exchange for the land.[12] An area of roughly three acres was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage and leveled at 50 meters above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble as the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb. The scaffold was so enormous that foremen estimated it would take years to dismantle. According to the legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep the bricks taken from the scaffold, and thus it was dismantled by peasants overnight. A fifteen kilometer tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site. Teams of twenty or thirty oxen were strained to pull blocks on specially constructed wagons. An elaborate post-and-beam pulley system was used to raise the blocks into desired position. Water was drawn from the river by a series of purs, an animal-powered rope and bucket mechanism, into a large storage tank and raised to large distribution tank. It was passed into three subsidiary tanks, from which it was piped to the complex.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex. Estimates of the cost of the construction of Taj Mahal vary due to difficulties in estimating construction costs across time. The total cost of construction has been estimated to be about 32 million Rupees at that time which now runs into trillions of Dollars if converted to present currency rates.[13]
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction. The translucent white marble was brought from Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.
An Artist's impression of the Taj Mahal, from the Smithsonian InstitutionA labour force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India. Sculptors from Bukhara, calligraphers from Syria and Persia, inlayer from southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a specialist in building turrets, another who carved only marble flowers were part of the thirty-seven men who formed the creative unit. Some of the builders involved in construction of Taj Mahal are:
The main dome was designed by Ismail Afandi (a.ka. Ismail Khan),[14] of the Ottoman Empire and was considered as a premier designer of hemispheres and domes. Ustad Isa of Persia (Iran) and Isa Muhammad Effendi of Persia (Iran), trained by Koca Mimar Sinan Agha of Ottoman Empire, are frequently credited with a key role in the architectural design,[15][16] but there is little evidence to support this claim. 'Puru' from Benarus, Persia (Iran) has been mentioned as a supervising architect.[17] Qazim Khan, a native of Lahore, cast the solid gold finial. Chiranjilal, a lapidary from Delhi, was chosen as the chief sculptor and mosaicist. Amanat Khan from Shiraz, Iran was the chief calligrapher. His name has been inscribed at the end of the inscription on the Taj Mahal gateway.[18] Muhammad Hanif was a supervisor of masons and Mir Abdul Karim and Mukkarimat Khan of Shiraz, Iran (Persia) handled finances and management of daily production.
History
Taj Mahal by Samuel Bourne, 1860. Protective wartime scaffoldingSoon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal next to his wife.
By the late 19th century, parts of the Taj Mahal had fallen badly into disrepair. During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government officials, who chiseled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. At the end of 19th century British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a massive restoration project, which was completed in 1908. He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modeled after one in a Cairo mosque. During this time the garden was remodeled with British-looking lawns that are visible today.
In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by German Luftwaffe and later by Japanese Air Force. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were again erected to mislead bomber pilots. Its recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura oil refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. In 1983, the Taj Mahal was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tourism
The Taj Mahal attracts from 2 to 4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from carparks or catch an electric bus. The Khawasspuras (northern courtyards) are currently being restored for use as a new visitor centre.[19][20] The small town to the south of the Taj, known as Taj Ganji or Mumtazabad, originally was constructed with caravanserais, bazaars and markets to serve the needs of visitors and workmen.[21] Lists of recommended travel destinations often feature the Taj Mahal, which also appears in several listings of seven wonders of the modern world, including the recently announced New Seven Wonders of the World, a recent poll[22] with 100 million votes
For security reasons [23] only five items - water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies' purses - are allowed inside the Taj Mahal.
Myths
since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses to the building have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument.[24]
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj MahalA longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble across the Yamuna river.[25] The idea originates from fanciful writings of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a European traveller who visited Agra in 1665. It was suggested that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before it could be built. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in Moonlight Garden, Mahtab Bagh, seemed to support this legend. However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discolored white stones that had turned black.[26] A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archeologists who resconstructed part of the pool in the Moonlight Garden. A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself.[27]
No evidence exists for claims that describe, often in horrific detail, the deaths, dismemberments and mutilations which Shah Jahan supposedly inflicted on various architects and craftsmen associated with the tomb. Some stories claim that those involved in construction signed contracts committing themselves to have no part in any similar design. Similar claims are made for many famous buildings.[28] No evidence exists for claims that Lord William Bentinck, governor of India in the 1830s, supposedly planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and auction off the marble. Bentinck's biographer John Rosselli says that the story arose from Bentinck's fund-raising sale of discarded marble from Agra Fort.[29]
In 2000, India's Supreme Court dismissed P.N. Oak's petition to declare that a Hindu king built the Taj Mahal.[30][28] Oak claimed that origins of the Taj, together with other historic structures in the country currently ascribed to Muslim sultans pre-date Muslim occupation of India and thus, have a Hindu origin.[31] A more poetic story relates that once a year, during the rainy season, a single drop of water falls on the cenotaph, as inspired by Rabindranath Tagore's description of the tomb as "one tear-drop...upon the cheek of time". Another myth suggests that beating the silhouette of the finial will cause water to come forth. To this day, officials find broken bangles surrounding the silhouette.[32]
Gallery

2008-06-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Taj mahal in agra ,India

Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world, and some Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. The Taj is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. On a foggy morning, the visitors experience the Taj as if suspended when viewed from across the Jamuna river.
Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India. It is an "elegy in marble" or some say an expression of a "dream." Taj Mahal (meaning Crown Palace) is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower chamber. The grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. The queen’s real name was Arjumand Banu. In the tradition of the Mughals, important ladies of the royal family were given another name at their marriage or at some other significant event in their lives, and that new name was commonly used by the public. Shah Jahan's real name was Shahab-ud-din, and he was known as Prince Khurram before ascending to the throne in 1628.
Taj Mahal was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers. It was completed in 1648 C.E. at a cost of 32 Million Rupees. The construction documents show that its master architect was Ustad ‘Isa, the renowned Islamic architect of his time. The documents contain names of those employed and the inventory of construction materials and their origin. Expert craftsmen from Delhi, Qannauj, Lahore, and Multan were employed. In addition, many renowned Muslim craftsmen from Baghdad, Shiraz and Bukhara worked on many specialized tasks.
The Taj stands on a raised, square platform (186 x 186 feet) with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and a symmetry of architectural elements.
Its central dome is fifty-eight feet in diameter and rises to a height of 213 feet. It is flanked by four subsidiary domed chambers. The four graceful, slender minarets are 162.5 feet each. The entire mausoleum (inside as well as outside) is decorated with inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The main archways, chiseled with passages from the Holy Qur’an and the bold scroll work of flowery pattern, give a captivating charm to its beauty. The central domed chamber and four adjoining chambers include many walls and panels of Islamic decoration.
The mausoleum is a part of a vast complex comprising of a main gateway, an elaborate garden, a mosque (to the left), a guest house (to the right), and several other palatial buildings. The Taj is at the farthest end of this complex, with the river Jamuna behind it. The large garden contains four reflecting pools dividing it at the center. Each of these four sections is further subdivided into four sections and then each into yet another four sections. Like the Taj, the garden elements serve like Arabesque, standing on their own and also constituting the whole.

2008-06-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Orgasm jab` to boost women’s sex life
London, June 22:

Want to heat up your bedroom life? Get the `G-shot`, a treatment that enhances a woman`s sexual experience by boosting the G-spot- the ultra-sensitive area of tissue that can hold the key to happy lovemaking. Also known as the `orgasm jab`, the non-surgical treatment comes at a price of 800 pounds. Rather like lip-plumping jabs, the treatment involves injecting collagen straight into the G-spot, reports the Daily Mail. This not only enhances its sensitivity, but increases the width of the area to the size of a 10 pence piece. It also raises the G-spot a quarter of an inch in height, making it much easier to find. And, as Caroline can testify, the results are tremendous. The treatment is sure going to make women’s sex life reach new levels as with the evolutionary treatment they can achieve multiple orgasms every time they have sex.

world news

2008-06-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

N-deal: UPA in crisis mode as US says time running out
Washington, June 21: Amid threat of withdrawal of support from its Left allies, the UPA is clearly in a crisis mode to achieve the twin objectives of saving the government as well as the all-important Indo-US nuclear deal.
With CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat clearly indicating on Friday that Left parties would withdraw support to the UPA if it went ahead with signing the safeguards agreement with the IAEA, the Congress seems to be making every possible effort to save the government as well as the deal.
Party president Sonia Gandhi is due to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, amid reports that the PM will resign if the deal failed to materialise.
The United States too said on Saturday that time was running out for the civil nuclear deal, adding everyday that is delayed makes the pact much more difficult to be implemented.
"We are talking to them (India) about it (deal), in as much as they are briefing us on their efforts. I think it`s more they`re coming to us to say," State Department spokesman McCormack told reporters. "This is what we`re trying to do to resolve internal political differences that are holding up the deal moving forward."
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has been holding back-to-back talks with UPA allies as well as Left leaders on the deal, is believed to have delayed his upcoming visit to Australia. The minister is expected to continue his parleys with UPA allies today also. There was no “deterioration, no improvement’ on the issue, Mukherjee had said yesterday.
Further, sources said the UPA-Left panel meet on the nuke deal, which was postponed from June 18 to June 25 earlier this week, is likely to be delayed again by three days.
CPI national secretary D Raja yesterday went to the extent of saying the Left would join the ranks with the opposition in voting against the government after withdrawal of support. "Once we break, we will be on the other side (opposition),” he said.
US State Department spokesman McCormack, when asked whether Washington was in touch with New Delhi on the nuclear deal and if there is still time on the US side to get the deal done in 2008, said that a separate branch of government as well as other international Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and IAEA will be dealing with the deal.
"...And every single day that the Indian government delays and has delayed is a day that makes it much more difficult to get this done," he said.
"All of that said, you know, we`ll, of course, continue to work very closely with Senator Biden, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as others on that committee, should the Indian government get to a different place," the spokesman said.
Can Pakistan peace deal hold?
By Rustam mansuri
EFN An empty hotel - will the peace deal entice tourists back? Rugged mountains and fertile valleys slide past our windows as we near Swat, Pakistan's most famous tourist destination.
In the past year this scenic paradise in the north-west of the country has become infamous for violent conflict with Taleban militants.
But the fighting has ended, and we've come to see what's changed.
It's a fragile peace, judging by the size of the security escort we pick up outside the main city, Mingora. Two police vehicles, sometimes three, keep us inside city limits.
'We're worried'
On the outskirts, we catch a glimpse of the seminary that had served as the Taleban base. From here local militants imposed their version of Islamic rule: they torched girls' schools, and beheaded their captives.

The Taleban were routed earlier this year when the army was brought in. And now the new provincial government has signed a peace deal with them, promising to release prisoners and gradually pull back the army in exchange for an end to attacks and intimidation.
The threats have stopped, but the situation isn't peaceful... we're worried and feel insecure
Perveen Rehman, Girls' school headteacher
As a result, the Haji Baba Government Girls' School has come back to life, just as the semester draws to a close. The courtyard echoes with the national anthem before girls disperse to their classrooms to write exams for courses they never had a chance to complete.
Miriam and her sister Hajra carefully do their sums, sitting on the floor because the school doesn't have money for desks. They've lost a year of education, and don't want to fall further behind.
But at their home nearby, their father, Sher Ali Khan, tells us he's making plans in case the peace doesn't hold.
"If the violence starts again we'll move," he says, "for the sake of our children's education."
"The threats have stopped, but the situation isn't peaceful," says Perveen Rehman, the headmistress of another girls' school.
"Any person who goes out from his home, we're not sure he'll come back, we're worried and feel insecure."
Swift justice
To get this peace the government accepted the Taleban's demand that Islamic law be implemented in Swat. Many here welcomed this, even though they hated the Taleban's violence.

At the Mingora district court Ali Shah has been fighting a land dispute for two years, trying to wrest back several acres he says were seized by relatives. He misses work three or four times a month to attend hearings, and he's fed up.
"If Islamic law is enforced here our cases will be solved in two or three weeks," he tells me. "Plus in the courts right now there's no difference between the oppressed and the oppressor. If Islamic law is imposed we'll be able to distinguish between the two and get justice."
Many others agree. The government system is painfully slow and seen to favour the powerful. For ordinary people Islamic law means swift justice.
But Perveen Rehman isn't sure what kind of Islamic law to expect.
"If it's real Islamic Sharia, I am hopeful that it will bring peace," she says carefully. "But if it's the Sharia the Taleban want to bring, I don't think it will be satisfying, because how would we educate the girls, and keep our own professions?"
Police recruits are put through their paces
One profession that has really suffered is the police force. Militants specifically targeted policemen, killing and wounding more than 100. Dozens deserted for lack of protection.
But at police training grounds in Mingora 200 recruits have turned up to join the force. Eager to pass the fitness test, they race around a grassy running track, some of them barefoot, encouraged by shouts from the watching veterans.
Officers are pleased by the turnout, it shows that morale is up, they say.
Still, people's apprehensions are understandable. Recently the Taleban suspended talks with the government, saying the prisoner release was moving too slowly. Perhaps it's a bargaining tactic. Some fear it may mean a return to violence.
And some, like lawyer Sher Muhammed, believe the government's already conceded too much to the militants.
"After the peace deal these people have reorganised themselves, and they are roaming, heavily armed, with sophisticated weapons in the villages," he says. "They show their force, and the society in these areas is harassed, scared and feeling unsafe."
Last resort
America has also raised objections to such deals. It's worried about the flow of Taleban fighters across the border, afraid that peace in Pakistan means more war in Afghanistan.
The Taleban spokesman says it is un-Islamic to have his face photographed
Swat's not part of the frontier area that America's most worried about. Still, there's no mention in the peace agreement about ending cross-border attacks, and many local Taleban clearly sympathise with the Afghan insurgency.
"Our priority is to get Islamic law in Swat, not fight in Afghanistan," the Taleban spokesman, Muslim Khan, tells the BBC. "But even so, thousands of foreign troops have come to fight a few Taleban there. So why can't a Muslim go and help his brothers?"
The government is unapologetic about the Taleban peace deal.
"Seven years we've been fighting with the people and we got no result," says the chief government negotiator, Bashir Bilour. "Why should we keep doing something that can't get us any result, we should change the path… We are not a colony of America, we have our own policies."
A crucial measure of the policy's success would be a revival of tourism, the lifeblood of Swat. The violence has been a disaster: tens of thousands of workers have been laid off. Hotels stand empty, with silent hallways, vacant rooms and drained swimming pools. Waiters continue to lay tables for guests who never come.
There is no money for desks in the girls' school
One souvenir seller has been left with $150,000 worth of stock, his shop has been closed for six months. Like everyone else in Swat, he's hopeful, but uncertain, that the peace deal will turn things around.
"When they started these negotiations, the bomb blasts stopped," he says, "so maybe, maybe, I'm not sure, but maybe it's a good sign, I'm not sure… "
The agreement has brought some relief. It's part of a wider policy the government hopes can contain militancy and bring stability, not only in Swat but in the restive tribal areas on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Much rides on it.
For many here, it's a strategy of the last resort, because all the alternatives have failed.

Techinology News

2008-06-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

Blogger arrests hit record high

Elections in China, Pakistan and the US could prompt more arrests More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report.
Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.
In 2007 three times as many people were arrested for blogging about political issues than in 2006, it revealed.
More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made

in China, Egypt and Iran, said the report.
Jail sentence
Citizens have faced arrest and jail for blogging about many different topics, said the World Information Access (WIA) report.
Arrested bloggers exposed corruption in government, abuse of human rights or suppression of protests. They criticised public policies and took political figures to task.
The report said the rising number of arrests was testament to the "growing" political importance of blogging. It noted that arrests tended to increase during times of "political uncertainty", such as around general elections or during large scale protests.
Jail time followed arrest for many bloggers, said the report, which found that the average prison sentence for blogging was 15 months. The longest sentence found by the WIA was eight years.
It acknowledged that the true number of bloggers arrested could be far higher than the total it found as, in some cases, it proved hard to verify if an arrest had taken place and on what grounds.
For instance, it said the Committee to Protect Bloggers has published information about 344 people arrested in Burma - many of whom are thought to be be bloggers - but the WIA could not verify all the reports.
It also noted that many nations, perhaps as many as 30, imposed technological restrictions on what people can do online. In nations such as China this made it difficult for people to use a blog as a means of protest.
The report pointed out that it is not just governments in the Middle East and East Asia that have taken steps against those publishing their opinions online. In the last four years, British, French, Canadian and American bloggers have also been arrested.
The report predicted that the number of blogger arrests in 2008 would exceed the 36 seen in 2007 thanks to greater popularity of blogging as a medium, greater enforcement of net restrictions, and elections in China, Pakistan, Iran and the US.
Digital challengers to MP3 format face high hurdles Denver, June 16: Much like the Dvorak keyboard, new digital music formats pose a challenge even as they offer solutions.
The Dvorak is an alternative to the standard QWERTY keyboard that rearranges the keys so that typing on it is much quicker and more efficient. Yet few outside of hardcore computer programmers use it because replacing the existing QWERTY standard would be too costly and difficult. For much the same reasons, alternative digital music formats face an uphill battle replacing the tried-and-true MP3.
The Motion Pictures Experts Group, otherwise known as MPEG, will meet this month in Germany to consider making a new digital audio format called MT9 an international standard. Developed by the South Korean company Audizen, the MT9 format -- commercially known as Music 2.0 -- splits an audio file into six channels, such as vocals, guitar, bass and so on. Users playing the track can then raise or lower the volume on the different channels like a producer on a mixing board, to the point of isolating a single item. According to the Korea Times, its inventors say the new format will replace MP3 as the standard for all digital music. But certain music industry realities stand in the way of their goal.
From a technical perspective, replacing MP3 with a new digital music standard would be rather easy. Digital retailers in a matter of months could refresh their entire database with music containing the new format -- just as Napster and Wal-Mart quickly switched from digital rights management to non-DRM formats.
But to do so, these retailers would need their label partners to provide them with music encoded in the new format, meaning that all the major labels and the host of independents would need to one day agree to start using a new technology to sell their music.
Then they would need audio manufacturers -- in particular, Apple -- to start making products that support the format and its capabilities. The average life span of today's MP3 player is about eight to 12 months, so it would take time to re-seed the market with new devices

2008-06-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

On the trail of the 'Indian yeti'
By Rustam mansuri
EFN
Searching for India's elusive yeti In the US it's known as bigfoot, in Canada as sasquatch, in Brazil as mapinguary, in Australia as a yowie, in Indonesia as sajarang gigi and, most famously of all, in Nepal as a yeti.
The little known Indian version of this legendary ape-like creature is called mande barung - or forest man - and is reputed to live in the remote West Garo hills of the north-eastern state of Meghalaya.
I was invited by passionate yeti believer Dipu Marak to travel throughout the area to hear for myself what he says is compelling evidence of the existence of a black and grey ape-like animal which stands about 3m (nearly 10ft) tall.
There have been repeated reports of sightings over many years by different witnesses in the West, South and East Garo hills.
Mr Marak estimates the creature weighs about 300kg (660lb) and is herbivorous, surviving on fruit, roots and tree bark.
Intense heat
The Garo hills comprise more than 8,000sq.km of some of the thickest jungle in India.
And as I soon discovered, there is no shortage of people who say they have seen the creature at first hand.
Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version
'Yeti witness' James Marak
Take woodcutter Nelbison Sangma, for example, who works on the fringes of the Nokrek national park in the Garo hills.
In November 2003, he says that he saw a yeti three days in a row.
He took me from his village to the spot where he says he made the sighting, a five-hour walk in intense tropical heat from his house.
"I saw the creature quite clearly on the other side of the river. It was breaking branches off trees and eating the sap. Its strength was amazing.
"Obviously I wanted to photograph it, but I knew that if I left the area, it would take at least 10 hours or more to get a camera as I do not own one. By that time the creature would have disappeared."
Mr Sangma says that he told the state forestry department of his sighting, but they did not believe him.
He took me to the spot where he says the yeti destroyed a tree - an exhausting uphill walk through thick jungle infested with blood-sucking leeches.
Mr Sangma showed me where the creature broke the tree's branches and clearly visible scratch marks on its bark.
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Yeti believer Dipu Marak
A 10-hour drive away from Nokrek is the other national park of the Garo hills, Balpakaram, which lies amid thick jungle on the border with Bangladesh.
It is an extremely remote area, where the hum of insects clicking in the undergrowth sounds like a series of disconnected power cables.
Balpakaram is famous for its vast jungle-filled canyon which spans several miles and is surrounded by spectacular cliffs. Any descent is a treacherous exercise.
If ever there was terrain where a peace-loving yeti could live its life undisturbed by human interference, then this has surely got to be it.
Perhaps the most famous reported sighting was in April 2002, when forestry officer James Marak was among a team of 14 officials carrying out a census of tigers in Balpakaram when they saw what they thought was a yeti.
According to the author and environmentalist Llewellyn Marak, such stories cannot be dismissed out hand.
"I saw the footprints for myself last year," he said, and they cannot easily be explained away.
"The prints were different from other animals - and were almost human in appearance - apart from the fact that they were about 18 inches [46cm] long.
"Both my father and grandfather also saw the creature at different times. Each said that it resembled a large gorilla."
Mr Marak argues that the Meghalayan forestry department has not seriously investigated the sightings because they are "uninterested and too lazy".
The western side of the state of the Meghalaya is predominantly made up of Garo tribespeople. They are traditionally a matrilineal community, where property is inherited through the female line.
They are also a community where stories and fables are deeply ingrained culturally, which is why senior politicians and officials are reluctant to discount openly tales of a yeti roaming about.
Meghalaya's Divisional Forestry Officer Shri PR Marak denies suggestions that his officers have not properly investigated alleged yeti sightings - which he argues is an expensive exercise in thick jungle only accessible by foot.
He uses diplomatic language when discussing whether yetis exist in the state.
"I have gone to see the evidence for myself and have even taken a plaster cast of one of the footprints," he says.
"As you know the presence of such a creature is an important part of our culture - passed down to us by our parents and grandparents.
"But we have no concrete evidence it exists, and there may even be a possibility that some of the evidence has been manipulated to create a stir.
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Measuring 'yeti' footprints
"Because the area where it is believed to live is thick jungle, it will be very difficult to know the truth."
But Dipu Marak has voluminous correspondence from various eyewitnesses to support his contention that there is something out there.
To critics who say he has no photographs of this mysterious creature, he insists that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence".
"We have so many reports of sightings that I sincerely believe there is some sort of huge creature in the Garo hills," he said.
"This is not just a fairy tale, nor is it an effort to woo tourists. It's deeply embedded in our folklore and scientifically it is possible too.
"While I cannot prove conclusively that this creature definitely exists, nobody can say conclusively that it does not exist either."
Such is the impenetrability and extent of jungle in the Garo hills that the legend of mande barung looks likely to live on in the foreseeable future.
"The truth is out there somewhere," says Dipu Marak sincerely.
"But like the Loch Ness monster this creature is obviously not fond of giving too many photo opportunities."

science/nature

2008-06-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

Sania, Bopanna advance in Ordina Open

New Delhi, June 16: Indian ace Sania Mirza shocked fifth seed Flavia Pennetta in straight sets to advance to the second round of the USD 175,000 Ordina Open in s`Hertogenbosh, Netherlands on Monday.
Sania shrugged off her disappointing first match loss at DFS Classic last week and went all out against her Italian opponent to register a convincing 6-4 6-3 win in one hour and 12 minutes in the first round.
Both the players offered chances to each other as the match witnessed lot of breaks.
Sania broke Pennetta, who is world number 23, four times in the first set and dropped her serve thrice.
In the second set, the Indian raced to a 5-1 lead after breaking Pennetta in the second, fourth and sixth games. Pennetta tried to stage a comeback by breaking Sania in the seventh and holding her own in the eighth but the Indian quickly served out the match in the next to move to the next stage.

2008-06-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Israel and Hamas 'agree truce'

Israel carries out regular raids into Gaza to counter Hamas rocket fire Israel and militant group Hamas have agreed to end months of bitter clashes with a six-month truce starting on Thursday, Palestinian officials say.
A Hamas official said he was confident all militant groups in Gaza would abide by the agreement, brokered by Egypt.
Israeli officials said they were "looking to see if this is serious".
Earlier at least six Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israeli air strikes in southern Gaza. Israel said it had targeted "terror operatives".
Islamic Jihad said a missile struck a car carrying five of its members near Khan Younis. A sixth man died in a separate strike nearby.
Two-stage deal
Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007, driving out forces loyal to Fatah, the political faction led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Since then, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the international community have sought to isolate Hamas.
HAMAS 'TRUCE' TIMETABLE 0600 (0300 GMT) Thursday ceasefire beginsafter 24 hours Israel eases crossing restrictionsafter five days Israel opens commercial crossingsafter two weeks Egypt starts talks with all sides to seek reopening of Rafah crossingceasefire applies in Gaza Strip only
What chance of lasting peace?
Israel declared the territory a "hostile entity" and has blockaded it in an attempt to pressure Hamas into stopping rocket fire from the strip into Israel.
Over the past seven days, more than 20 people have died in Gaza as a result of Israeli military action. In the same period, the Israeli army says that Palestinian militants have fired more than 90 rockets and mortars into Israel.
Egypt, which has worked for months to clinch a deal between Israel and Hamas, urged both sides to "exert all efforts to bring the calm to a success", senior officials were quoted as saying.
The BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says a ceasefire should lead to an improvement in people's everyday lives in southern Israel and Gaza, but any talk of political upheaval or breakthrough is premature.
Palestinian and Egyptian officials say the truce is to come into effect at 0600 (0300 GMT) on Thursday. As well as a halt to all hostilities, this stage of the deal also envisages a partial reopening of Gaza's borders, they add.
A second stage would focus on the return of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and on a deal to reopen the main Rafah crossing into Egypt, they say.
In the talks process until now, Israeli concerns have centred on whether all militant groups would adhere to a truce, and what Egypt would do to stop arms smuggling into Gaza, says our correspondent.
'New situation'
Israeli officials stress that phone lines to Cairo are "still running hot".
In a televised speech, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said: "We are studying the possibility of rapidly reaching a period of calm.
If anybody does anything, they will be doing it on their own
Ahmed Yousef,Hamas official
"It is still too soon to talk of that period of calm and when it comes into force, supposing it does come into force, it is difficult to know how long it will last."
A Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, confirmed at a news conference that militant groups had agreed a truce.
Hamas official Ahmed Yousef told the BBC: "I am confident that everybody will abide by what we've agreed. All the groups which went to Cairo gave their okay to the ceasefire.
"If anybody does anything, they will be doing it on their own."
According to a detailed breakdown released by Hamas, Israel will ease its restrictions on Gaza crossings with Israel on Friday morning, followed by the bigger commercial crossings next week.
After two weeks, talks will start involving Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the European Union on finding agreement on reopening the Rafah crossing into Egypt, Hamas says.
The truce will apply only in Gaza, Hamas says, and it will not be allowed to respond from Gaza to any Israeli action in the West Bank.
Next steps
Egyptian officials say they will continue efforts to broker a similar ceasefire in the West Bank.
The last ceasefire between Hamas and Israel ended in April last year, shortly before the Islamist movement took control of the Gaza Strip.
Mr Yousef said that the aim now was to push ahead talks on a prisoner exchange, as well as a new round of talks in Cairo between the rival factions of Fatah and Hamas.
A delegation from Fatah has already travelled to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank for talks with other party members.
The group is the first representing Mr Abbas to go to Gaza since Hamas seized control. Hamas has said it is prepared to hold talks with the Fatah officials, but there has been no word from Fatah on whether such a meeting will take place.
US interrogation debate detailed William Haynes sought information in July 2002 about interrogation methods US military lawyers have been detailing the development of harsh interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay and other detention centres.
They told the Senate that methods such as sensory deprivation and simulated drowning were based on training given to soldiers on resisting interrogation.
The lawyers said they had raised concerns about the legality of the techniques as far back as 2002.
The White House responded by saying the US had treated all detainees humanely.
"Abuse of detainees has never been, is not and will never be the policy of this government," spokesman Tony Fratto said.
"The policy of this government has been to take these detainees and to interrogate them, and get the information that we can get to help protect this country," he added.
'Subject to perception'
The lawyers' comments on the development of the controversial interrogation techniques employed by the US military and security services were released as part of the initial findings of a report by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
If we use those same techniques offensively against detainees, it says to the world that they have America's stamp of approval
Sen Carl LevinArmed Services Committee
The Pentagon's general counsel

, William Haynes, sought information as early as July 2002 - nine months after the 11 September 2001 attacks - about training given to US military personnel on how to resist enemy interrogation.
The Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (Sere) programme is based on the experiences of US prisoners of war in previous conflicts.
Serve trainers provided Mr Haynes with a list of techniques, including sensory deprivation, sleep disruption, water-boarding and stress positions.
Several were approved by the then Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, in December 2002 despite objections by military lawyers.
"If we mistreat detainees, we will quickly lose the [moral] high ground and public support will erode," warned Col John Ley of the Army's Judge Advocate General's office in November 2002.
CIA 'ENHANCED INTERROGATION' TECHNIQUES Water boarding: prisoner bound to a board with feet raised, and cellophane wrapped round his head. Water is poured onto his face to produce fear of drowningCold cell: prisoner made to stand naked in cold, though not freezing, cell and doused with waterStanding: Prisoners stand for 40 hours or more, shackled to floorBelly slap: Hard slap to stomach with open hand. Designed to be painful but not to cause injurySource: Described to ABC News by un-named CIA agents in 2005
Q&A: Water-boardingWater-boarding scrutinised
Mr Haynes said he had been unaware of the legal objection from the military and that he had been doing the best he could to prevent further attacks.
"There was a limited amount of time and a high degree of urgency," he said.
The committee also released details from previously classified minutes of a meeting in October 2002 in which a top military lawyer at Guantanamo said previously banned techniques such as sleep deprivation were being used secretly.
"Officially it is not happening," Lt Col Diane Beaver told the meeting, adding that commanders feared the Red Cross might find out.
John Fredman, then chief counsel to the CIA's counter-terrorism centre, argued during the meeting that torture "is basically subject to perception".
"If the detainee dies, you're doing it wrong," he said.
The chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen Carl Levin, said Mr Rumsfeld's endorsement of harsh interrogation techniques had "unleashed a virus which ultimately infected interrogation operations conducted by the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq".
"If we use those same techniques offensively against detainees, it says to the world that they have America's stamp of approval."

news

2008-06-14T21:23:00.001-07:00

Abducted Cameroonians found dead
Many of Bakassi's residents do not want to be governed by Cameroon
Five bodies found riddled with bullets near Cameroon's border with Nigeria are victims of a recent kidnapping, officials say.
Felix Morfan, the deputy governor of the Bakassi region, and six Cameroonian soldiers were kidnapped by suspected rebels from Nigeria on Monday.
Nigeria handed over most of the oil-rich northern Bakassi regon to Cameroon in 2006.
The rest of the disputed peninsula is due to be handed over in August.
Although not immediately identifiable, authorities say they are in no doubt the bodies found in a mangrove swamp are those of the abducted men.
"There is almost no doubt that the kidnapped sub-prefect is among them and that the sixth person whose body has not been found is also deceased," the ministry of defence told AFP news agency.
Bitter handover
It is not clear who carried out the attack but people in the area suspect Nigerian militants from the Niger Delta are responsible.
Nigeria agreed to hand Bakassi over to Cameroon following a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 2006.
Most of the area's residents are Nigerian and bitterly oppose the handover.
Last November, 21 Cameroonian troops were killed in the same area.
This latest attack has increased tension and caused many Nigerian residents to head across the border fearing retribution, says the BBC's West Africa correspondent, Will Ross.
People living there complain they have not benefited from the Bakassi's oil revenue, our correspondent adds - a grievance that is also one of the main reasons for the unrest in the Niger Delta.
A challenge to the ICJ decision brought in the Nigerian courts by Bakassi residents who wanted to remain in Nigeria was this week turned down.

Pakistan win tri-series; beat India by 25 runs in final
Mirpur, June 14: A spirited comeback by the Pakistan cricket team helped them beat India by 25 runs in the final of the tri-series. It was a clinical display of brilliant batting and disciplined bowling by the Pakistan team that helped them put behind the huge defeat suffered at the hands of India in the league stage and eventually beat the favourites in the all important final. Chasing 316 to win, India suffered an early blow as they lost the wicket of belligerent opener Virender Sehwag with just 8 runs on the board. Sehwag, who scored just 2 runs holed out to Shoaib Malik off Sohail Tanvir.Just when Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir looked like putting India on the road to recovery, the former lost concentration and holed out to substitute fielder Nasir Jamshed at deep backward square leg off Umar Gul after scoring just 24. Just a few deliveries after losing Rohit Sharma, India lost the all important wicket of in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir who went for 40 off 33 balls while trying to upper cut a rising delivery. The duo of Nasir Jamshed and Umar Gul struck again to leave India reeling at 79/3 in the thirteenth over.Yusuf Pathan departed after a run a ball 25 as India moved past the 100 run mark. Pathan was out caught by Younis Khan off Iftikhar Anjum as he tried to smash a ball over mid wicket. After 18 overs India were 106 for 4, needing another 210 runs to win.Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina kept India in the hunt as they put on a 50 run partnership for the fifth wicket in just 47 balls. Yuvraj was especially harsh on the bowlers as he smashed boundaries at will.After adding 73 quick runs for the fifth wicket, both Yuvraj and Raina departed in quick succession to leave India struggling in the Mirpur ODI. First to depart was Raina, who lost concentration and scooped a catch to Shahid Afridi while Yuvraj followed him just a few deliveries later as he was out caught behind the wicket by Kamran Akmal off Afridi.After loosing a couple of quick wickets, MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan put together a 50 run partnership as India looked to inch their way back into the game. With 76 more required off 49 deliveries to win and 4 wickets in hand, the game looked to be poised for an exciting finish.Just as India looked to gain the upper hand in the match, Irfan Pathan holed out to Shoaib Malik off Iftikhar Anjum for 28. With 69 more required off 41 balls, Praveen Kumar came in to join MS Dhoni.India lost their eighth wicket in the form of Praveen Kumar, who was trapped in front of the wicket by Umer Gul. Umer Gul got the wicket of Piyush Chawla to reduce India to 9 wickets down with 284 runs on the board. Skipper MS Dhoni was holding fort for India as wickets kept tumbling around him.The last wicket to fall was of Dhoni, who fought bravely till the end for his 64.Earlier in the day, Brilliant hundreds by Salman Butt and Younis Khan helped Pakistan post a challenging 315/3 off their allotted 50 overs. After a bit of initial success, all the Indian bowlers struggled to put brakes on the scoring rate as the duo of Butt and Younis added 205 runs for the second wicket. Praveen Kumar bowled brilliantly, giving away just 37 runs off 10 overs while Piyush Chawla was taken for 85 off his 10. Irfan Pathan picked up two wickets.Kamran Akmal edged an Irfan Pathan delivery into the hands of wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. Pakistan were off to a slow start scoring just 35 runs before Akmal departed for 15 in the 10th over. Younis Khan arrived at the crease to partner Salman Butt.After losing the wicket of Kamran Akmal with just 34 runs on the board, Pakistan took the road to recovery as Younis and Butt gathered runs at a steady pace. Butt was looking good as he raced to 31 runs including 4 boundaries. Pakistan were 61 for the loss of 1 wicket at the end of 16 overs.Younis Khan and Salman Butt put together a half century partnership as Pakistan looked to come back into the match. Pak crossed the hundred run mark in the 23rd over after Younis Khan hit a couple of meaty blows over the boundary ropes. Younis Khan followed on the footsteps of Salman Butt as he too reached his fifty just a few deliveries after his southpaw partner had done so. While Butt’s fifty came off 78 balls including 5 fours, Younis’ half ton was scored in 53 deliveries including 4 hits to the boundary and 2 over it.After consolidating the innings for a while, Younis and Butt broke free as they took the Pakistan total past the 150 run mark in the 31st over. Both Salman Butt and Younis Khan slammed brilliant hundreds as Pakistan strolled past the 200 run mark. Butt’s century came off 121 balls including 10 boundaries and 1 six while Younis’ ton, scored in 92 balls included 7 fours and 3 mighty sixes.After slamming a brilliant 108 off just 99 balls, Younis holed out to Virender Sehwag off Ishant Sharma as he tried to send another one out of the park. Youins added 205 runs for the second wicket with Salman Butt as Pakistan recovered from a shaky start to reach 250 in the 44th over.Irfan Pathan picked up his second wicket of the match as he got rid off Misbah-ul-Haq after the latter had slammed 33 runs in just 21 balls including four fours and 1 six. Pakistan were well placed at 304 runs at the end of 49th over. Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik won the toss and elected to bat first at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. He said, "It`s a good track, it might get turn later. We have worked hard in the practice in the last two days; we will give our 100%."Dhoni, however, thought that the track might slow down later in the day. Ishant Sharma was included in place of Rudra Pratap Singh.The captains, the organisers and the officials decided to change the ball at the end of the 30th over instead of the 34th over because the ball, as it was seen throughout the tournament, loses colour quite early due to the black soil used in the stadiums in Bangladesh.Squads:India (Playing XI): Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Ishant SharmaPakistan (Playing XI): Shoaib Malik(c), Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal(w), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah Ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar

2008-06-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Abducted Cameroonians found dead
￹FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Bakassi"
Many of Bakassi's residents do not want to be governed by Cameroon
Five bodies found riddled with bullets near Cameroon's border with Nigeria are victims of a recent kidnapping, officials say.
Felix Morfan, the deputy governor of the Bakassi region, and six Cameroonian soldiers were kidnapped by suspected rebels from Nigeria on Monday.
Nigeria handed over most of the oil-rich northern Bakassi regon to Cameroon in 2006.
The rest of the disputed peninsula is due to be handed over in August.
Although not immediately identifiable, authorities say they are in no doubt the bodies found in a mangrove swamp are those of the abducted men.
"There is almost no doubt that the kidnapped sub-prefect is among them and that the sixth person whose body has not been found is also deceased," the ministry of defence told AFP news agency.
Bitter handover
It is not clear who carried out the attack but people in the area suspect Nigerian militants from the Niger Delta are responsible.
Nigeria agreed to hand Bakassi over to Cameroon following a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 2006.
Most of the area's residents are Nigerian and bitterly oppose the handover.
Last November, 21 Cameroonian troops were killed in the same area.
This latest attack has increased tension and caused many Nigerian residents to head across the border fearing retribution, says the BBC's West Africa correspondent, Will Ross.
People living there complain they have not benefited from the Bakassi's oil revenue, our correspondent adds - a grievance that is also one of the main reasons for the unrest in the Niger Delta.
A challenge to the ICJ decision brought in the Nigerian courts by Bakassi residents who wanted to remain in Nigeria was this week turned down.

Pakistan win tri-series; beat India by 25 runs in final
Mirpur, June 14: A spirited comeback by the Pakistan cricket team helped them beat India by 25 runs in the final of the tri-series. It was a clinical display of brilliant batting and disciplined bowling by the Pakistan team that helped them put behind the huge defeat suffered at the hands of India in the league stage and eventually beat the favourites in the all important final. Chasing 316 to win, India suffered an early blow as they lost the wicket of belligerent opener Virender Sehwag with just 8 runs on the board. Sehwag, who scored just 2 runs holed out to Shoaib Malik off Sohail Tanvir.Just when Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir looked like putting India on the road to recovery, the former lost concentration and holed out to substitute fielder Nasir Jamshed at deep backward square leg off Umar Gul after scoring just 24. Just a few deliveries after losing Rohit Sharma, India lost the all important wicket of in-form batsman Gautam Gambhir who went for 40 off 33 balls while trying to upper cut a rising delivery. The duo of Nasir Jamshed and Umar Gul struck again to leave India reeling at 79/3 in the thirteenth over.Yusuf Pathan departed after a run a ball 25 as India moved past the 100 run mark. Pathan was out caught by Younis Khan off Iftikhar Anjum as he tried to smash a ball over mid wicket. After 18 overs India were 106 for 4, needing another 210 runs to win.Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina kept India in the hunt as they put on a 50 run partnership for the fifth wicket in just 47 balls. Yuvraj was especially harsh on the bowlers as he smashed boundaries at will.After adding 73 quick runs for the fifth wicket, both Yuvraj and Raina departed in quick succession to leave India struggling in the Mirpur ODI. First to depart was Raina, who lost concentration and scooped a catch to Shahid Afridi while Yuvraj followed him just a few deliveries later as he was out caught behind the wicket by Kamran Akmal off Afridi.After loosing a couple of quick wickets, MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan put together a 50 run partnership as India looked to inch their way back into the game. With 76 more required off 49 deliveries to win and 4 wickets in hand, the game looked to be poised for an exciting finish.Just as India looked to gain the upper hand in the match, Irfan Pathan holed out to Shoaib Malik off Iftikhar Anjum for 28. With 69 more required off 41 balls, Praveen Kumar came in to join MS Dhoni.India lost their eighth wicket in the form of Praveen Kumar, who was trapped in front of the wicket by Umer Gul. Umer Gul got the wicket of Piyush Chawla to reduce India to 9 wickets down with 284 runs on the board. Skipper MS Dhoni was holding fort for India as wickets kept tumbling around him.The last wicket to fall was of Dhoni, who fought bravely till the end for his 64.Earlier in the day, Brilliant hundreds by Salman Butt and Younis Khan helped Pakistan post a challenging 315/3 off their allotted 50 overs. After a bit of initial success, all the Indian bowlers struggled to put brakes on the scoring rate as the duo of Butt and Younis added 205 runs for the second wicket. Praveen Kumar bowled brilliantly, giving away just 37 runs off 10 overs while Piyush Chawla was taken for 85 off his 10. Irfan Pathan picked up two wickets.Kamran Akmal edged an Irfan Pathan delivery into the hands of wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. Pakistan were off to a slow start scoring just 35 runs before Akmal departed for 15 in the 10th over. Younis Khan arrived at the crease to partner Salman Butt.After losing the wicket of Kamran Akmal with just 34 runs on the board, Pakistan took the road to recovery as Younis and Butt gathered runs at a steady pace. Butt was looking good as he raced to 31 runs including 4 boundaries. Pakistan were 61 for the loss of 1 wicket at the end of 16 overs.Younis Khan and Salman Butt put together a half century partnership as Pakistan looked to come back into the match. Pak crossed the hundred run mark in the 23rd over after Younis Khan hit a couple of meaty blows over the boundary ropes. Younis Khan followed on the footsteps of Salman Butt as he too reached his fifty just a few deliveries after his southpaw partner had done so. While Butt’s fifty came off 78 balls including 5 fours, Younis’ half ton was scored in 53 deliveries including 4 hits to the boundary and 2 over it.After consolidating the innings for a while, Younis and Butt broke free as they took the Pakistan total past the 150 run mark in the 31st over. Both Salman Butt and Younis Khan slammed brilliant hundreds as Pakistan strolled past the 200 run mark. Butt’s century came off 121 balls including 10 boundaries and 1 six while Younis’ ton, scored in 92 balls included 7 fours and 3 mighty sixes.After slamming a brilliant 108 off just 99 balls, Younis holed out to Virender Sehwag off Ishant Sharma as he tried to send another one out of the park. Youins added 205 runs for the second wicket with Salman Butt as Pakistan recovered from a shaky start to reach 250 in the 44th over.Irfan Pathan picked up his second wicket of the match as he got rid off Misbah-ul-Haq after the latter had slammed 33 runs in just 21 balls including four fours and 1 six. Pakistan were well placed at 304 runs at the end of 49th over. Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik won the toss and elected to bat first at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. He said, "It`s a good track, it might get turn later. We have worked hard in the practice in the last two days; we will give our 100%."Dhoni, however, thought that the track might slow down later in the day. Ishant Sharma was included in place of Rudra Pratap Singh.The captains, the organisers and the officials decided to change the ball at the end of the 30th over instead of the 34th over because the ball, as it was seen throughout the tournament, loses colour quite early due to the black soil used in the stadiums in Bangladesh.Squads:India (Playing XI): Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Ishant SharmaPakistan (Playing XI): Shoaib Malik(c), Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal(w), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah Ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar

world news

2008-06-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

Al Qaeda planning attacks on Denmark
Rustam(Denmark), June 14: Al Qaeda is planning to carry out attacks on Danish soil, the head of the Scandinavian country`s pet intelligence service warned in a newspaper interview. "We see now.....al Qaeda behind a targeted training and planning of terror attacks on Danish soil," PET chief Jakob Scharf said in an interview with free daily Nyhedsavisen. "Al Qaeda has had, and still has, a strong wish to hurt Denmark and Danish interests," he added. The terror network claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad last week that killed six people, including two Pakistanis working at the mission and one Dane of Pakistani origin.

In an internet statement signed by one of al Qaeda`s leaders, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the group said it had carried out the attack "in revenge" for Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. Danish newspapers first published the controversial cartoons in 2005, sparking violent protests across the Muslim world. Several Danish dailies reprinted one of the sketches in February this year following the discovery of a plot to assassinate the cartoonist. "We are keeping an eye on people and networks in Denmark who constitute a concrete threat and who have the will and the ability to carry out an attack," Scharf said, adding that pet was working to counter the threat. In Sweden, the head of the Saepo Intelligence Service`s counter-terrorism unit, Mats Paulsson, meanwhile told the TT news agency that the agency was monitoring a number of people in the co`Iraqi forces turned the corner in battling insurgents`
United Nations, June 14: Iraqi forces backed by the US-led troops have "turned the corner" in the fight against terrorism and insurgency but the improvement remains "fragile," Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said. Giving his assessment in the UN Security Council yesterday, he said the Iraqi forces have grown to almost 600,000, are better equipped than ever and have assumed primary responsibility in more than half of 18 provinces but they cannot as yet take responsibility for the entire country. This signalled that Iraq would like the American troops to continue after the UN mandate for coalition forces ends on December 31. For that reason, Iraq is negotiating a bilateral pact with the US but so far there has not been much progress. Zebari told reporters that he is hopeful that the accord would be reached but media reports said Iraqi lawmakers, who have to finally approve it, are in no hurry and some opine that it should be finalised only after the new incumbent of the White House is known following the November elections.The reason, they say, that the any agreement would be implemented only by the next administration. Of particular concern to Iraq is the possibility of a spate of compensation lawsuits from victims of Saddam Hussein regime, including in Kuwait, once the UN mandate expires. The Iraqi leaders and the UN are trying to find ways to avoid that and one suggestion is that the Council extends the protection against lawsuit while not extending the mandate of forces. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said any US-Iraq agreement should have a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops. Otherwise, it would cause divisions in the Iraqi society, he said.
untry suspected of travelling abroad for "terrorist training."

2008-06-13T23:48:00.000-07:00

The study also demThe study also demonstrated how difficult it can be to conduct long-term research on smokers: more than twice as many smokers as non-smokers refused to take the memory test again or were not able to be Mobiles can make you infertile.

New Delhi, June 11: In a recent pilot study done at Jawaharlal Nehru University, rats subjected to radiation from mobile phones were found to have damaged DNA and low sperm count, leading to infertility and reduction in testis size. The Union health ministry now wants to find out whether excessive cellphone use could be having the same adverse effects on your health. The ministry has commissioned India`s first largescale study on the effects of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) from mobile phones on humans. Initiated by Union health minister A Ramadoss and to be spearheaded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, which has just completed finalizing the protocol, the five-year study will be conducted by JNU`s School of Environmental Sciences and three departments of AIIMS — obstetrics and gynaecology, neurology and biochemistry. One of the important spinoffs of the study will involve measuring the wavelength and frequency of RFD emitted from various types of cellphones used in India to see whether or not these conform to international standards. Study to find if excessive cellphone use causes cancerA study commissioned by the Union health minister will look at the effect Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) has on neurological disorders like cognitive impairment, depression and sleep-related disorders. Scientists will look at whether excessive mobile phone use changes the white matter of the brain and causes physiological abnormalities. They will also study RFR`s effect on reproductive health like menstrual cycle, hormonal changes in women, its effect on male reproductive functions and whether it causes abnormalities in the male reproductive tract. According to ICMR deputy director general and lead investigator R S Sharma, the study will also see whether excessive mobile use can cause cancer or increase the spread of cancerous cells in those already affected
Smoking hurts mind as well as body:Study
Chicago, June 10: Middle-aged adults who smoke tended to perform poorly on tests of memory and reasoning compared to nonsmokers, adding to the list of reasons not to smoke, French researchers said on Monday. Analyzing previously collected data on about 5,000 British civil servants, the researchers found those who smoked were more likely than people who never smoked to be in the lowest-performing of five groups in tests of memory, reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency. Smoking was associated with mental decline in middle age, as it is with dementia and a host of physical ills later in life, they found. "Smoking in middle age is associated with memory deficit and decline in reasoning abilities," concluded Severine Sabia and colleagues from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Villejuif, France. Compared to smokers, people who said they had quit cigarettes were more likely to adopt healthier behaviors, such as drinking less alcohol, being more physically active, and eating more fruits and vegetables, Sabia reported in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The participants were aged 35 to 55 at the beginning of the study, which followed some subjects up to 17 years. re-tested, in some cases because they died in the interim. onstrated how difficult it can be to conduct long-term research on smokers: more than twice as many smokers as non-smokers refused to take the memory test again or were not able to be Mobiles can make you infertile
New Delhi, June 11: In a recent pilot study done at Jawaharlal Nehru University, rats subjected to radiation from mobile phones were found to have damaged DNA and low sperm count, leading to infertility and reduction in testis size. The Union health ministry now wants to find out whether excessive cellphone use could be having the same adverse effects on your health. The ministry has commissioned India`s first largescale study on the effects of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) from mobile phones on humans. Initiated by Union health minister A Ramadoss and to be spearheaded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, which has just completed finalizing the protocol, the five-year study will be conducted by JNU`s School of Environmental Sciences and three departments of AIIMS — obstetrics and gynaecology, neurology and biochemistry. One of the important spinoffs of the study will involve measuring the wavelength and frequency of RFD emitted from various types of cellphones used in India to see whether or not these conform to international standards. Study to find if excessive cellphone use causes cancerA study commissioned by the Union health minister will look at the effect Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) has on neurological disorders like cognitive impairment, depression and sleep-related disorders. Scientists will look at whether excessive mobile phone use changes the white matter of the brain and causes physiological abnormalities. They will also study RFR`s effect on reproductive health like menstrual cycle, hormonal changes in women, its effect on male reproductive functions and whether it causes abnormalities in the male reproductive tract. According to ICMR deputy director general and lead investigator R S Sharma, the study will also see whether excessive mobile use can cause cancer or increase the spread of cancerous cells in those already affected
Smoking hurts mind as well as body:Study
Chicago, June 10: Middle-aged adults who smoke tended to perform poorly on tests of memory and reasoning compared to nonsmokers, adding to the list of reasons not to smoke, French researchers said on Monday. Analyzing previously collected data on about 5,000 British civil servants, the researchers found those who smoked were more likely than people who never smoked to be in the lowest-performing of five groups in tests of memory, reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency. Smoking was associated with mental decline in middle age, as it is with dementia and a host of physical ills later in life, they found. "Smoking in middle age is associated with memory deficit and decline in reasoning abilities," concluded Severine Sabia and colleagues from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Villejuif, France. Compared to smokers, people who said they had quit cigarettes were more likely to adopt healthier behaviors, such as drinking less alcohol, being more physically active, and eating more fruits and vegetables, Sabia reported in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The participants were aged 35 to 55 at the beginning of the study, which followed some subjects up to 17 years. re-tested, in some cases because they died in the interim.

monthly Horoscope

2008-06-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

June 2008 Horoscopes
Aries
Finances are particularly important this month and you will need to keep a tight rein on your spending. Relationships are looking positive and you might find that you are having so much fun with a special someone that you don’t even notice the restricted budget!
Taurus
The summer months mean time spent outdoors and you are feeling very conscious of the desire to look your best. Start the month by enrolling in a gym or fitness club. The extra confidence that this will provide will prove to be very helpful in romantic matters towards the end of the month!
Gemini
We can only reap a harvest when we have sown the seeds. This is a month for putting in that initial effort that will yield positive results in the future. Don’t let the negative comments of those around you distract you from a personal project, trust in your own instincts right now.
Cancer
Don’t miss out an opportunity for true love because you were too nervous to tell someone who you feel! You need to take control of your career path or your ambitions if you are going to feel happy by the end of the summer. Don’t be afraid to make choices!
Leo
June may prove to be the highlight of your year! You will be forging many new friendships that will bring fun and even love into your life. At work or school you are the apple of someone’s eye and praise will come from all quarters. Financially, there is a chance for some serious gains.

Virgo
So far this year has been full of activity and most of it has been work related. Things slow down somewhat this month and you might want to take a trip with someone special. At the very least this is a time when you should focus on entertaining and having some fun for a change!
Libra
If you are in a relationship this is the ideal time for making a long term commitment to that special someone in your life. Single Librans should focus on their ambitions right now as there is a chance that the right move could lead to a substantial increase in your finances!
Scorpio
Up to now the focus of the year has been very much on outward progress. June will see your focus shifting back to a more familiar inward concern. Emotionally, you have a lot to reflect on as there are changes in a number of relationships which you need to understand more clearly.

Sagittarius
Sharing is the key to a happy life this month. You are feeling very contented on the home front and you should pamper that special someone in your life to let them know how happy you are. Finances are looking good so treat those people close to you just to say that you care.
Capricorn
At this point in the year you may well feel as though you are beginning to flag a little. However, the planets show that you are incredibly close to a major success right now if you can just keep going! On the emotional front a new understanding is developing with someone special.
Aquarius
June will offer a rare oasis of complete calm in a year that is otherwise full of activity. Take the opportunity to visit friends and family who you might otherwise not see. Finances are ticking along nicely so there would be no harm in treating yourself to a little of what you fancy.
Pisces
You need to pay more attention to the domestic side of your life right now. If you keep on top of the minor tasks life will run more smoothly and someone special will be very appreciative. Romance continues to develop in new and interesting ways throughout June.

Symbolic moment in Gyanendra's fall

2008-06-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

Now Nepal is one of the
Freedom

Symbolic moment in Gyanendra's fall
By Rustam, Kathmandu
Gyanendra and his wife are moving to a temporary residence outside the city I seriously thought my rib-cage was about to be crushed as I waited outside the palace gates to get into the former king's news conference.
After two years of living under virtual gagging orders, it was not surprising that Gyanendra Shah would attract considerable interest with his unprecedented statement to journalists.
But the sheer level of curiosity, the pushing and shoving from the hundreds of reporters and others behind them trying to force their way in, was extraordinary.
In the end I was catapulted in by the crowd behind me, leaving me in a no-man's-land between two gates, facing the brief wrath of police and palace staff demanding to know why I had forced my way in.
Childish glee

careers as civil servants.
At 1700, perhaps for the last time, there was a change of the palace guard bearing their red and white flags as the early-evening sun crept over the gardens, banishing the clouds.
Gyanendra inherited a country wracked by a violent Maoist insurgency
Once the press corps were let in en masse, the mood was one of childish glee as journalists raced across the spacious lawns in this hitherto off-limits territory, past the ceremonial cannons and up the grand staircase into the front lobby.
Inside there was mayhem as people fought for the slightest glimpse of the small table at which Gyanendra would be speaking.
Most were left with no view at all or clambered over the sofas and seats decking the lobby.
The room itself boasted two huge stuffed tigers in a pouncing pose, big paintings of Gyanendra and his ancestors wearing royal regalia - something never to be seen again - and a window behind the grand staircase depicting a peacock, a bird closely associated with Nepal's royalty.
Accusations rebuffed
The ex-king finally came in by a small side door close to the main entrance. That meant he had to push past dozens of those assembled, only increasing their sense of feverish expectation.
He did not look like someone battered and bruised or a man many say was single-handedly responsible for the end of a centuries-old monarchy.
I couldn't help wondering if some of the colour and pageantry of the royals will be missed in the years to come, now they are being consigned to a museum
A calm smile on his face, he gave the palms-together "namaste" greeting he has always given as he fought his way to the front - bearing out the remarks of those who know him well, that he has not shown any worry in response to the political convulsions that have ousted the Crown.
Once he started speaking, the sound system failed - a comical reminder of Maoist leader Prachanda's first press conference two years ago, when the lights went out.
Gyanendra's words were barely audible to most, then there were violent sounds of electronic feedback before his voice momentarily boomed louder, then went back to being soft again.
That problem, and the lack of reverence which the monarchy - or ex-monarchy - now commands, meant that there was anything but a hushed silence. Instead a constant murmur of conversation overlaid this final statement from the palace.
A few loyalist onlookers called for the king to stay on
He had his say. He felt able for the first time to confront the belief prevalent among Nepalis that he and his son plotted the palace killings of 2001 which saw 10 of the royals, including his brother King Birendra, killed in a shooting.
It was not him, he asserted, saying he had never had the chance to let his tears flow for his relatives.
He said he would not go abroad and had not wasted Nepal's resources. He even said he accepted the advent of a republic - a process which was rushed through in a cursory fashion two weeks ago.
But, as before, he insisted that his unpopular pursuit of absolute power, backed by the military, had not trampled on the people's rights - a notion most Nepalis would dismiss.
The former monarch spoke for 20 minutes. He headed for the same door through which he had entered, palms pressed together again, and seemed to pause briefly by it, under a portrait of one of the 19th-Century kings. Then he was gone - leaving the reporters free to pose for photos sitting in his chair.
Less than three hours later he and former queen Komal were clearly seen leaving in a limousine, smiling, this time, broadly, heading for their more modest home in the forest nearby.
In a remarkably short space of time, because of an unpopular king, Nepal has dismissed its monarchy, an institution which only eight years ago was still revered.
No-one feels able to say it right now, but I could not help wondering if some of the colour and pageantry of the royals will be missed in the years to come, now they are being consigned to a museum.
After all, the Maoists now in the ascendancy like to dress in grey.
People may also miss the gossipy newspaper stories of palace intrigue which continued to leak out until the very last.
I was also left wondering whether if Gyanendra entered politics as a commoner he might be a charismatic crowd-puller able to match the Maoists' magnetic leader Prachanda, in a country short of colourful politicians. Will he do so? As his friends say, he is keeping his cards close to his chest

THE DUST ON MARS

2008-06-10T03:51:00.001-07:00

THE DUST ON MARS
The first sample we want to look at with the microscope is an insurance policy. Even if the robot arm is for some reason unable to reach down and scratch out a sample for us, we know the lander's retro-rockets (fired at the Martian surface to slow the craft's descent on landing) would have done the trick.
Phoenix has returned its first microscope images We landed in a cloud of dust as Phoenix lowered itself onto the surface of Mars. We just had to be able to collect some of it.
So a month before landing, while still millions of kilometres away from Mars, we moved our first set of test substrates out of the microscope station enclosure ready to catch the debris thrown up during landing.
These substrates are the discs we use to hold the dust and soil of Mars in front of our microscopes.
We then wrote the spacecraft computer sequence to rotate the substrates back into the enclosure, focus the microscope and take the red, green and blue images to give us the colour pictures of the dust we have managed to collect.
All is set, and there's little else to do now but wait for the sequence to run. We bundle the kids into the car and take advantage of a couple of days off to head up to the Grand Canyon.
The news of Phoenix precedes us as we stay overnight on the way in Flagstaff. As we eat a late supper we're congratulated by our fellow diners on a mission that Arizonans have obviously taken to their hearts.
But until we have received our first images of dust, I still feel like a tourist rather than a scientist on Mars.
Grand site
It's a truism that no camera can capture the vast scale of the Grand Canyon. But as we amble along the canyon's North Rim, it is the timescale as much as the immensity of what we are gazing at that is staggering.
The Grand Canyon was created in about 20 million years It took 20 million years for the Colorado River to carve out the scene in front of us.
But even that is an instant compared to the four billion years that Mars has had to grind its own surface down to a fine dust.
We believe Mars was a wetter and warmer place early in its history.
But it dried out long ago, and since then, the dust has been whipped into innumerable sandstorms - often enveloping the entire planet.
It is these tortured individual particles that we hope to see for the first time.
First images
I'm back in the science operations center (SOC) in Tucson just in time for the data to arrive back on Earth. This time, the transmission stutters and we wait impatiently for the full pictures to come down.
No one has looked at the dust of Mars at this resolution before, and now I gasp as the images appear and we see the sheer variety of what we have collected.
From tiny particles of the palest white to black rounded beads, we're the first to see what coats Mars and makes the skies pink.
Zooming in, we see finer and finer particles, right to the smallest grains that our optical microscope can make out. We have run out of resolution and that is why we have our atomic force microscope to look even more closely at the dust.
Team member Urs Staufer is impatient, but it will be a week or more before we can move in his instrument and try to image the very smallest of the particles.
The next morning, I drive down from the microscopy house to present our first microscope images at the daily Phoenix press conference. I'm no longer a tourist on Mars, but a scientist. And as a scientist, this is about as good as it gets.
FIRST LIGHT

t was more than eleven years that Mike Hecht, from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and I first started thinking about sending a microscope to Mars.
The microscope is a key instrument on the Phoenix lander Today we have our first chance to get images from the optical microscope of the Phoenix lander as it stands on the northern Martian plains.
Yesterday, we had commanded the sample wheel to bring our test substrates under the gaze of the optical microscope, ordered the LEDs to turn on and illuminate the scene, and asked the microscope to take a series of images.
If it all worked, these would be the highest resolution pictures taken from another planet. Today, the data is making its way back to Earth, first transmitted up to Nasa's Odyssey orbiter circling Mars.
Then, as Earth comes into view, Odyssey relays the data packets to the massive parabolic receivers of the Deep Space Network which then give the packets a final push to where the mission scientists are waiting at the science operations center, the SOC, in Tucson.
We gather round Sanjay's laptop in the downlink room, nervously chatting about all that could go wrong.
Wait and see
During testing for the mission, the images had often come out fuzzy - we found it very difficult to keep precise enough control of the sample wheel.
Meca is now working on the surface of the Red Planet What should have been crisp pictures had become out-of-focus blurs. Sanjay and Hanna had spent long days on the copy of the microscope station at Imperial, working out the intricacies of how to drive the sample wheel precisely. Meanwhile, the Phoenix microscope itself had been cruising towards Mars.
We are about to find out if they learnt how to drive it.
Data is now flowing back and we immediately see that the spacecraft has sent back all of the pictures we had asked it to take.
Sanjay has prepared computer code that will eagerly pull apart the data packets, reconstruct the pictures, and immediately throw the microscope images up on his screen.
Eleven years shrinks down to the one second it takes to see our images cascade on to the laptop. They're as crisp as any we've seen.
The first image is a test. In truth, there's really not that much to look at - a series of white rectangles covering 1mm by 2mm, with two blurred shadows like a couple of fence posts in one corner.
Phoenix made this footprint-shaped impression on Mars with its scoop These shadows are the first two beams of the atomic force microscope. With this second microscope we hope to zoom in even further.
The silicon beams are thinner than the thinnest tissue paper, but have survived the trip intact. Urs Staufer, who put together the atomic force microscope, is very happy.
As we look closely, we see the network of fine scratches left in polishing the test substrate. The light from the LEDs, bouncing off the substrate and through the optics of the microscope to its camera, is providing the finest detail ever seen on another planet.
The sun is just hitting the Tucson mountains as we emerge from the SOC and head back to the microscope house.
But we're working Mars shifts and it's dinner time for us. We start up the barbecue under the first light of the Arizonan dawn.
It's certainly worth a toast - we're now ready to take the closest look ever at the dust and soil or even ice that Phoenix digs up from below the surface of Mars.
POSTCARD FROM MARS

The feeling is almost overwhelming as we listen to the live commentary from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California as Phoenix descends towards the surface of Mars. There were big smiles as the team realised the mission was "go"
The radar gives us the height: first we're closing hundreds of metres at a time - surely this is too fast.
But in the last tens of metres the retro-rockets kick in. We slow to a crawl, and Phoenix is given the graceful landing that JPL promised.
The science operations center (SOC) raises a huge cheer that must echo across Tucson. We embrace our colleagues, some of whom we've worked with for over ten years while putting this mission together.
Then I hug my wife and kids - they'll be seeing a lot less of me for the next three months.
Critical information
The first minute after landing Phoenix tells us all it can before concentrating on fanning out its solar arrays. The first pictures from Mars were studied closely by the scientists
One critical piece of information - we're tilted by a mere one quarter of a degree. Even before we see any images, we know we have landed on the flattest of plains.
There's now a two-hour wait until the first of these images can be sent back to Earth. Time to share a last meal with our families before we walk over to the secure area of the SOC where we will get started with mission operations.
We've trained so often it first feels like another mission simulation, although we now all have broad smiles on our faces.
As the images start coming in, we all feel the focus of the world's gaze slide from Pasadena, where JPL controlled the landing, to where we're standing in Tucson.
First comes the news we have one of the necessary ingredients for a successful mission - we see the solar arrays are deployed and hear that the batteries are fully charged. Tom's family joined him in Tucson for the landing
Then we get a picture of one footpad showing a light covering of material kicked up by the retro-rockets. Any fine particles lofted during the landing will provide the first sample to look at with the microscopes on Phoenix.
The room gasps and cheers as Phoenix sends back the panoramic images. The cameras are working superbly - we get more images back than we'd ever managed during operations training.
As the small tilt indicated told us, we've landed on a very flat plain. But the landscape is far from featureless.
We see the surface cracked into polygons, a sign of the forces created by the ice we believe is just below the surface. It will be difficult to control the urge to ask Phoenix to dig down as quickly as possible.
But Phoenix has exceeded our expectations and doesn't deserve to be rushed. So far, it has been the perfect traveller, sending us back a postcard on the day that it arrives.
WAITING FOR PHOENIX

Phoenix lands today. The Imperial team is now in the US and we're settling in to the Phoenix "microscopy house", our home in Tucson, Arizona, for the three months of the mission.
Foil on the windows helps protect against "Mars lag" In our case, settling in involves a little more than unpacking our suitcases - we're also taping aluminium foil on the inside of all the bedroom windows.
The neighbours must be feeling rather worried about us, but there's a good reason for what looks like the first signs of collective madness.
We're going to be working on a shift system locked on Mars, not Earth, time. As Mars has a twenty-four-and-a-half hour day we'll be drifting in and out of synchronicity with our neighbours and, half the time, sleeping through the day.
We have experts from Harvard University helping us to overcome "Mars lag" - the continuous battle between our body clocks and a mission schedule working to Mars time.
Some of the tools were developed during the missions of the two rovers still trundling round Mars. The foil will black out our rooms, helping promote melanin production when we need to sleep.
As well as potentially helping us to sleep better, installing the aluminium foil keeps us busy and gives us less time to worry - it's difficult not to mentally replay what Nasa calls the "six minutes

of terror" Phoenix will have to endure to get down to the surface of Mars.
But we can't long keep away from the heart of Phoenix activity on Earth - the science operations center, affectionately known as the SOC. Hanna and I take the fifteen-minute drive from the microscopy house to where the mission will unfold after Phoenix lands. But it's now eerily quiet in the SOC.
Empty tables are arrayed in front of a huge screen round around which we will be gathering tomorrow. We'll be anxiously awaiting the first message at 1653 (local time) from Phoenix, telling us it has made it down to the surface in one piece.
A huge screen has been set up in the science operations center To the side, an Earth-bound version of the lander, which we use for testing, stands quietly in a "stage set" of Mars while its brother is fast closing the last million miles to the planet's surface.
There is a one-minute window directly after landing for Phoenix to send its safe-arrival message. The lander will then concentrate on getting its power sources operational. Two fan-like solar panels will unfurl to capture the weak sunshine of the Martian "Arctic".
In the meantime, the orbiters already circling Mars will send back their accounts of the landing, including the running commentary sent by Phoenix to the spacecraft during its descent.
A copy of Phoenix is standing quietly on the "stage set" By then, we should know Phoenix's fate, with a second chance for confirmation about an hour after landing. The two previous failed missions to Mars - the 1998 Mars Polar Lander and Beagle 2 in 2004 - took weeks before issuing their death certificates. If the worst happens to Phoenix, we'll know for sure the same day.
Tonight, the Phoenix microscope team will be sharing a last supper before landing. It's perfect weather for a barbecue round the pool at the microscopy house.
Fire and water - just the right ingredients for a final meal before Phoenix reaches Mars.

A GRACEFUL LANDING?

Missile practice for Moon mission

2008-06-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Missile practice for Moon mission
EFN rustam mansuri
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Penetrator missiles were fired into a wall of sand at 1,100km/h (700mph)
Tests on a UK-led technology at the heart of a planned Moon mission have been a spectacular success, according to the experts involved in the project.
Three penetrator missiles were fired into a sand bunker in Wales, designed to mimic the lunar surface.
Professor Alan Smith, of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, told BBC News the results had exceeded expectations.
He is a leading figure in the Moonlite mission, which hopes to fire instruments into the Moon in 2013.
A BBC team witnessed the final day of the tests at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) test site at Pendine, near Tenby.
The site has been open since 1940 but is now operated by Qinetiq, the privatised MoD spin-off company which developed the penetrator technology.
Three projectiles were tested on three consecutive days at the end of May.
They look like missiles but, rather than exploding on impact, they are designed to stay intact to protect the scientific instruments inside.

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An animation of the penetrator missile hitting the lunar surface
The Moonlite mission plans to fire four penetrators into the lunar surface from an orbiting spacecraft. They will come to rest three metres (10ft) underground.
The onboard instruments will send back a mass of information, everything from seismic activity and mineral composition to the underground temperature.
Sand blasted
Security at Pendine was tight - we had to show passports to gain entry. The high-speed test track is set in a large area of sand dunes paradoxically full of birds and flowers.

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Professor Alan Smith explains how the penetrator missiles are tested
It's a hard hat site; during the firing itself, all staff must take cover. We were actually confined to the control centre.
Earlier, we saw scientists loading instruments into the third and final penetrator to be tested.
The purpose of the test firings was to check how well the penetrators would withstand being slammed into several tonnes of sand at 1,100km/h (700mph) and whether the instruments inside would survive.
The difference between the penetrators that had already been fired and the one that had yet to be tested was striking.
The blue paint on the fired ones was scraped off and the steel nose cones were distorted.
But despite their battered appearance, Peter Truss of Qinetiq confirmed that they had done their job and protected the instruments inside: "our confidence is growing with every test".
Qinetiq not only contributed to the missile derived design of the penetrators themselves, but to the batteries and communication systems they will carry.
Ultimately, the plan will be to apply this technology to other rocky planets and moons in the Solar System, particularly to Jupiter's icy moon Europa, which may have an ocean below its frozen surface.
Other candidates include Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus.
Deep space
Until now, missions have only been able to scrape the surface of other planets.
"We're developing the technologies now to enable a much more in-depth analysis of these planetary bodies and with the increase in technology that we can apply to these problems, all sorts of possibilities open up," explained Peter Truss.

The other advantage of penetrators is that it's easier to fire into a rocky planet than to land gently on the surface.
Loading and safety checks complete, the penetrator was driven out to the test track. This stretches 1,500m through the sand dunes but the penetrator and its rockets were strapped to a firing sled 300m from the target.
We retired to the control room and looked on as scientists waited anxiously for the final countdown. When it came, the firing shattered the quiet with a reverberating bang. There were cheers from the scientists at the completion of the last test.
Then it was time to break cover and head down to the sand bunker with a metal detector and some shovels to locate the penetrator and dig it out. Researchers measured how far it had pushed into the sand and collected samples.
In each test, the penetrators described a curved trajectory upwards through the sand, ending up only slightly below the surface.
Intruigingly, they also turned the sand they touched black, possibly as a result of its high coal content reacting to the heat.

Now chimpanzees hit by Facebook bug
Oregon, June 07: After humans, the bug of social networking online has hit chimpanzees, it appears. Albert, a 20-year-old chimp, is the first of his kind to join the popular website 'Facebook' and his friends Jones, Sheena and Britney have followed the suit to provide a 'wild' company to the 40-million-odd human users. Scientists from the University of Northern Oregon have spent the last two years training Albert and his comrades, who all belong to 'Pan troglodytes species' to acquire language skills necessary for their online s
Big hearts 'have genetic problem'

The exact role genes play in irregular heart growth is largely unknown
Scientists claim to have found a new genetic basis for why some people develop an enlarged heart, a condition which can result in a heart attack.
Irregular heart growth can be brought on by strenuous exercise, high blood pressure and obesity, but the role played by genes is largely unknown.
Now an international team say they have for the first time linked enlarged hearts with a gene, osteoglycin (Ogn).
Writing in Nature Genetics, they say the findings could mean new treatments.
Work carried out on rodents and some 30 humans indicated that Ogn - which has never before been linked with heart function - regulated the growth of the heart's main pumping chamber, its left ventricle.
When this gene behaves abnormally the heart can become enlarged, putting the person at an increased risk of common heart diseases and heart attacks.
Enlarged hearts are found often, but not exclusively, in those who are obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure. People with none of these underlying problems can be affected, as can elite athletes.
A post-mortem diagnosed the problem in Cameroon football midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, who died in 2003 after collapsing during an international match in France.
Controlling factors
The team, which included researchers from the Medical Research Council's Clinical Sciences Centre and the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College, London, noted that at present lowering blood pressure was the only treatment option available.
This could lead to new and more effective ways of treating people
Dr Stuart CookReport author
"But, now that we are unravelling how genes control heart growth, we can gain a better understanding of common forms of heart disease," said Dr Stuart Cook, one of the study authors.
"This could lead to new and more effective ways of treating people."
It is not the first time that genetics have been linked to enlarged hearts: work carried out at University College, London has suggested that genes involved in metabolism may also be linked to the condition.
The British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research, said it was vital to understand the processes which led to such abnormal growth.
"When a person's heart is continually struggling to meet demand - for example following damage by a heart attack - it may enlarge, lose its elasticity and not pump efficiently," said associate medical director Professor Jeremy Pearson.
"These researchers have used highly advanced technology to discover a new gene - osteoglycin - that is important in controlling heart growth in these conditions. Osteoglycin is now a potential target to aim for with future therapies."
ocial networking. With the help of specially-designed software that recognises sign language (ASL) and a chimp-proof adapted touch screen, the scientists recently announced that the four apes could communicate using over 1000 symbols, adapted to the most popular features of the online social network. They can also chat online with their best friends from around the world, write text messages and even upload their favourite profile pictures. 'Alberts gang', as they are called, have become very popular among Facebook's users. Although sociologists and anthropologists have used social networks as empirical research tools, Facebook will now provide a new platform for biologists to observe the chimpanzees' social skills, claims Chief Researcher Dr John F Marlowe.
Speaking later, back at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Professor Smith said Nasa and the European Space Agency were showing interest.
"The results have been spectacular and the space agencies are sitting up and taking notice," he said.
"Before now it had all been on paper. Now we have real hardware to show them."

2008-06-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

raPharaoh`s missing pymid found
Saqqara, June 06: Egyptian archaeologists unveiled on Thursday a 4,000-year-old "missing pyramid" that is believed to have been discovered by an archaeologist almost 200 years ago and never seen again. Zahi Hawass, Egypt`s antiquities chief, said the pyramid appears to have been built by King Menkauhor, an obscure pharaoh who ruled for only eight years.In 1842, German archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius mentioned it among his finds at Saqqara, referring to it as number 29 and calling it the "Headless Pyramid" because only its base remains. But the desert sands covered the discovery, and no archaeologist since has been able to find Menkauhor`s resting place."We have filled the gap of the missing pyramid," Hawass told reporters on a tour of the discoveries at Saqqara, the necropolis and burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, the capital of Egypt`s Old Kingdom, about 12 miles south of Cairo.The team also announced the discovery of part of a ceremonial procession road where high priests, their faces obscured by masks, once carried mummified sacred bulls worshipped in the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.The pyramid`s base — or the superstructure as archeologists call it — was found after a 25-foot-high mound of sand was removed over the past year and a half by Hawass` team.Hawass said the style of the pyramid indicates it was from the Fifth Dynasty, a period that began in 2,465 BC. and ended in 2,325 BC. That would put it about two centuries after the completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza, believed to have been finished in 2,500 BC.Another proof of its date, Hawass says, was the discovery inside the pyramid of a gray granite lid of a sarcophagus, of the type used at that time.The rectangular base, at the bottom of a 15 foot-deep pit dug out by workers, gives little indication of how imposing the pyramid might have once been. Heaps of huge rocks, many still partially covered in sand and dust, mark the pyramid`s walls and entrance, and a burial chamber was discovered inside.Archaeologists have not found a cartouche — a pharaoh`s name in hieroglyphs — of the pyramid`s owner. But Hawass said that based on the estimated date of the pyramid he was convinced it belonged to Menkauhor.Work continues at the site, where Hawass said he expected to unearth "subsidiary" pyramids around Menkauhor`s main one, and hoped to find inscriptions there to back up his claim.The partial ceremonial procession road unveiled Thursday dates back to the Ptolemaic period, which ran for about 300 years before 30 BC.It runs alongside Menkauhor`s pyramid, leading from a mummification chamber toward the Saqqara Serapium, a network of underground tombs where sacred bulls were interred, discovered by French archaeologist August Mariette in 1850.A high priest would carry the mummified bulls` remains down the procession road — the only human allegedly allowed to walk on it — to the chambers where the bulls would be placed in sarcophagi, Hawass said.Ancient Egyptians considered Apis Bulls to be incarnations of the city god of Memphis and connected with fertility and the sun-cult. A bull would be chosen for its deep black coloring and would be required to have a single white mark between the horns. Selected by priests and honored until death, it was then later mummified and buried in the underground galleries of the Serapium.The procession route`s discovery "adds an important part to our knowledge of the Old Kingdom and its rituals," Hawass said.The sprawling archaeological site at Saqqara is most famous for the Step Pyramid of King Djoser — the oldest of Egypt`s over 100 pyramids, built in the 27th century BC.Although archaeologists have been exploring Egypt for some 200 years, Hawass says only a third of what lies underground in Saqqara has been discovered. "You never know what secrets the sands of Egypt hide," he said. "I always believe there will be more pyramids to discover."

Histry of Shakepar

2008-06-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

Shakespeare`s tomb set for makeover
London, May 29: The deteriorating gravesite of William Shakespeare is set for a makeover - despite bearing a curse against those who move it. The tombstone is being restored as part of extensive repairs at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. The writer was baptised at Holy Trinity on April 26, 1564 and buried there on April 25, 1616. He is thought to have penned the warning words inscribed on the tombstone which read: "Blessed be the man that spares these stones/ And cursed be he who moves my bones." The Bard`s words have warned off the curious for almost four centuries as well as sending a plea to modern developers. Ian Stainburn, of Stainburn Taylor architects and historic buildings consultants, who is carrying out the work, said the bones would not be disturbed. "We`re avoiding the curse," BBC quoted him, as saying. Stainburn said the firm from Ledbury, Herefordshire, was only working to repair and conserve the stones. "Over the years, the 400 years, they`ve started to laminate, the surfaces are coming off, and with people walking over them, clergy during the communion services and so on, the surfaces are getting eroded," he said. The Rev Martin Gorick, the vicar of the church, which dates back to 1210, said he was also confident the restoration work would not incur the wrath of Shakespeare. He said: "The gravestone is crumbling to some extent and we want to consolidate that, and do some improvements around the grave so it lasts longer. "We are actually conserving the gravestone, so it should be a blessing rather than a curse."

Ancient Greek architecture in Iran

2008-06-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

Ancient Greek architecture in Iran
Tnehra, June 07: Archaeologists have used geological surveys in the south of Iran to reveal rectangular formations inspired by Greek architecture dating to the Sassanid era. According to a report, archeologists have said that the structures located in Fars Province are part of the urban planning of the ancient Achaemenid city of Istakhr during the Sassanid period (226-651 CE). "The design is loaned from Hippodamus' style of urban planning during a series of armed conflicts with Persia's great rival to the west, the Roman Empire," said Ali Asadi, archeologist and expert on the archeology of Istakhr. Hippodamus (498 BC - 408 BC) was an ancient Greek architect and urban planner famous for his designs of repeated square geometric shapes. "The wars during the first two Sassanid kings, Ardashir I (206-241 CE) and Shapur I (241-272 CE), brought Roman slaves to the country. The Greek architecture penetrated Iran through the work of the slaves," said Asadi. Istakhr was once the capital of the Sassanid Empire but today only the archaeological sites of the city remain. The ancient city once contained the original Avesta before it was burned by Alexander of Macedonia.

Mars probe Phoenix digs sample of soil

2008-06-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

Mars probe Phoenix digs sample of soil
Washington, June 07: Nearly two weeks after its historic landing, the US Mars probe Phoenix has scooped up its first sample of Martian soil and begun analyzing it for water and organic compounds, a NASA official said. The 200-milliliter (12 cubic inches) of Martian earth is topped by a white crust that has set NASA scientists debating whether it is ice or salt deposits from evaporated water. "It looks like a good sample for us," Phoenix mission chief scientist Peter Smith told reporters in a telephone conference. "This is really an important occasion for us, to be poised to make a measurement for the first time of the polar soil that will tell us how much water is in the soil, and secondly what the minerals are that make up the soil," said Smith. Especially intriguing, he said, is to find out whether ice believed to be under the Martian soil has already melted and changed the composition of the soil. A chunk of permafrost-like soil of the Martian arctic was scooped up Thursday by the probe's 2.35 meter (7.7 foot) titanium and aluminum backhoe-like extension. It now lies inside the scoop, poised over an instrument called the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, where it will be dumped and sealed in for several days of analysis, the scientist said. "The first step is to dry water out of the sample and find out what percentage of water there is .. The test should tell very quickly," said Smith. The TEGA will heat up the sample gradually to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Farenheit). "I would guess by the end of next week we will be in a pretty good position to tell you our first assessment of this soil, and if we are lucky enough to get some white material in there, to figure out what it is too," Smith said. He does not think the white crust material is ice. "We suspect that actual ice is going to be very hard to dig a chunk. I can agree this probably is not ice, but I can't say that for certain." Phoenix is scheduled to collect two more samples of Martian soil over the next few days. One will be analyzed by optical microscope, the other by chemical analysis, said Phoenix mission chief Mat Robinson, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California. The scientists stressed that the Phoenix probe is not equipped to test Martian soil for fossils or living microbes. Since landing on May 25, the spacecraft has already compiled photographs of the stark reddish Martian north pole terrain surrounding it. Using a panoply of high-tech instrumentation, Phoenix will over the next three months examine the soil and take records of the climate in the Red Planet's arctic, with scientists seeking to understand the history of the presence of water in its three forms there, and hoping to dig up signs of life-supporting organic minerals. Water was first detected on the Martian north pole by the US Odyssey probe in 2002. It sparked the Phoenix mission

Dhoni lauds team India sans superstars

2008-06-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

Dhoni lauds team India sans superstars
Byline

Durban, Sept 23

India may not have superstars in their ranks, but new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that the team`s success in the Twenty20 cricket World Cup has been because of individuals who have played their part in building up a cohesive unit.India stunned Australia by 15 runs to set up a dream final with arch-rivals Pakistan tomorrow."Every win is important. This is a new team and it is a huge stage. This is the first Twenty20 World Cup. The teams we have beaten here are strong teams. Every match has been a do or die match for us, it has been quite exhausting and there has been a lot of tension.” After leading India to one of its biggest achievements in the cricketing field in recent times, Dhoni said, "Each and every guy is enjoying himself, not just his own success but also each others` performances. There are no superstars in this team”.The new skipper was full of praise for S. Sreesanth`s brilliant spell and getting the key wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.
"Sreesanth lifted his game when it mattered. That`s what the need of the team is. He needs to click at the right time, which he did today. I would love it for him to perform in the same way in the final too", the skipper added.Dhoni revealed that Harbhajan Singh had himself volunteered to bowl the crucial 18th over when Australia needed 30 runs in the last 3 overs."He wanted the responsibility, he wanted the ball because he had the confidence. And he got us a wicket (Michael Clarke)."On bowling Joginder Sharma in the last over, he said, "I thought of bowling him at the end, when the batsmen were also under pressure, and see how they handle him. He is not the quickest, but he has the quality and he proved it."Looking ahead to the dream final against Pakistan, Dhoni made it clear that India`s bowl-out win in the first phase will now have no meaning."That is immaterial now. This is the biggest stage, a World Cup final. India vs Pakistan in Johannesburg, where there will be huge support for both teams. It could be very exciting and the pressure will be immense, but not on us. It is a match that needs to be played with intense intensity.”However Dhoni maintained that there was no point taking additional pressure because it can bring down the confidence of a player and affect his performance. Then again the skiiper revealed that with the teams playing each other more frequently of late, they are getting used to each other and are aware of the respective strategies.Asked what Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly would be thinking back home after deciding to skip this tournament, Dhoni said, "I am sure if they had been here, they would have taken us to the final. If we do win the final, Then I can say that they couldn`t have done more than what this team has done. The way we have performed has been amazing."Dhoni said there are few other promising players back home who were the bench strength of Indian cricket. ‘The playing in this tournament, plus a few guys back home like Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwari and S Badrinath, as well as a couple of other players, they are our bench strength. Till I am the captain of the side, I won`t predict or say anything about outcomes

Flops of 20

2008-06-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

Flops of 20

Adam Gilchirst

Pitted to be the frontrunner in the race of the highest scorers, he could not live up to the expectations from him. He could have been the difference if he clicked for his team and Australia would have been undisputed champions of all forms of cricket. Sadly, this was not to be and he succumbed under pressure. Probably people expected too much from him but the fact remains that he could not muster a single match winning performance and could not make a mark in this new-age version of the game.Andrew Flintoff: He was another key player who could not do justice to his talent. The whole of England had a lot of hopes flying on him and he could not play the game he is famous for. A handy player with the bat and the ball, he could not capitalise on the opportunities that came his way. Perhaps the fast paced format of the game did not suit him well and this was the reason this seasoned English player could not make a mark in this gala event.Stuart Broad: He will surely be haunted by the memories of the T20 World Cup for a long time. He made a notorious entry in the history books by giving away 36 runs-6 sixes from six deliveries from an over in which a highly charged Yuvraj Singh blasted his expertise away. Even apart from that, he did not have a peachy tournament and will carry back nothing memorable from this outing.
South Africa: They were the favourites entering into the tournament with many in-form players and the advantage of playing on their home turf. Sadly, they once again choked in the face of victory and failed to give their country a glimpse of one of the most important trophies of recent times. They will have to wait for some years again for such a tournament and till then, they will have to bear the tag of chokers which has stuck with them from a very long time.Australian team: It is true that they reached the semi-finals but their road was beset from the beginning of the tournament. They were given a rude shock by the Zimbabwean team right at the start of the tournament and this omen stuck with them as India outplayed them in the semi-finals. It was certainly not a World Champion worthy show by them in this tournament. Probably they were a trifle bit over-confident about their supremacy in this game and were reminded by the other teams that the top spot has to be earned at this level constantly and one cannot take their position lightly, no matter how good they are.

Noida double muder case

2008-06-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

June 07: The prime accused of Noida double murder case, Dr Rajesh Talwar’s lawyer is expected to file a fresh bail plea on Saturday. Talwar was remanded in judicial custody on Thursday for 14 days.
On Friday, CBI investigating team searched for the missing weapon. Based on the clues given to the team by Dr Talwar during his lie detector test, the CBI team dug the drains near Talwar’s house. But all its efforts were in vain.
Dr Rajesh Talwar is the prime accused in the Aarushi murder case. In this connection, the police interrogated the parents of the victim as well as Dr Anita Durrani who was alleged to have sharing an illicit relationship with Dr Talwar.
The servant of the family, Hemraj was also found dead under mysterious circumstances on the rooftop of the victim’s house. This killed the speculation of his involvement in the murder.
The teenage daughter of Dr Rajesh and Nupur Talwar was found killed on the intervening night of May 15-16.

2008-06-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

England bowler James Anderson enjoyed the best day of his Test career to tilt the third and final Test against

New Zealand firmly his side`s way.

Anderson first recorded his Test highest score of 28 as England reached 364 in their first innings after being put into bat by New Zealand on Thursday.He shared a stand of 76 with fellow tail-ender Stuart Broad (64).The 25-year-old then exploited overcast conditions at Trent Bridge to take six for 42, bettering his previous Test best of five for 42. He troubled the tourists with his natural outswing to leave them teetering on 96 for six, still 69 runs short of avoiding the follow-on."It`s probably the best day I have had in Test cricket," Anderson told reporters. "I can`t remember anything else that comes close."I bowl my best when the ball is swinging. We chatted before the game and said we need to bowl a fuller length. When I saw it swinging from ball one I thought it could be my day."Lancashire player Anderson first carved his reputation internationally as a dangerous swing bowler against Pakistan at the 2003 World Cup in Cape Town. But injuries and inconsistent displays have kept him on the fringes for the past five years while Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones have taken centre stage.
Since March, though, when Broad and Anderson replaced Hoggard and Harmison and with Flintoff and Jones struggling for fitness, Anderson has become a prominent member of England`s bowling attack."I`m getting there," he said. "I definitely can be. I have just shown glimpses of what I can do and if I can get that consistency that England are looking for I can be one of the main men in the attack."New Zealand`s top scorer Jamie How (40) suggested that his fellow-batsmen could have played Anderson better but added there was sometimes little a player could do when the ball was moving around."It was testing conditions and Jimmy bowled really well," How said. "We should have played better but it`s another day tomorrow and hopefully the sun will be shining and we can put a couple of partnerships together and get nearer to their total."England need only to avoid defeat to win the series after drawing at Lord`s and winning at Old Trafford.

Rashi fall

2008-06-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

कल 8 जून रविवार 2008 का पंचांग संवत् 2065 शके 1930 उत्तरायण, ग्रीष्मऋतु ज्येष्ठमास शुक्लपक्ष पंचमी 9 घंटे 51 मिनट तक, तत्पश्चात षष्ठी अश्लेषा नक्षत्र, 20 घंटे 48 मिनट तक, तत्पश्चात मघा नक्षत्र, व्याघात योग 19 घण्टे 20 मिनट तक,तत्पश्चात हर्षण योग कर्क में चंद्रमा 20 घंटे 48 मिनट तक तत्पश्चात सिंह में।राहुकाल: सायं 4 बजकर 30 मिनट से सायं 6 बजे तकआज:- 7 जून शनिवार 2008 ज्येष्ठमास शुक्लपक्ष चतुर्थी का राशिफल

मेष

एक सुखद अहसास होगा। व्यावसायिक मामलों में किए जा रहे प्रयास सफल होंगे। आय का नया मार्ग बनेगा, लेनदेन के मामलों में सावधानी बरतने की आवश्यकता है। संतान के दायित्व की पूर्ति होगी।

वृष

संबंधित अधिकारी व पिता के कोपभाजन हो सकते है, अत: संयम एवं धैर्य से कार्य लें। आर्थिक मामलों में चल रहा प्रयास सफल होगा। कुछ भी ऐसा न करे जो कि कष्टकारी हो।

मिथुन

स्वास्थ्य के प्रति सचेत रहने की आवश्यकता है। आर्थिक मामलों में चल रहा प्रयास सफल होगा। स्व: रोजगार का प्रयास सफल होगा। अनावश्यक कार्यो में लगे रहेगे। जारी प्रयास सफल होगा।

कर्क

आय तो बढ़ेगी लेकिन खर्च भी अधिक रहेंगे। दाम्पत्य जीवन में मधुरता आएगी। विरोधी परास्त होंगे। पारिवारिक जनों का सहयोग रहेगा, दूसरों के कार्यो में हस्तक्षेप न करे, और न स्वयं हस्तक्षेप स्वीकार करे।

सिंह

स्वास्थ्य शिथिल होने से स्वभाव में चिड़चिड़ापन आएगा। जीवनसाथी का सहयोग एवं प्रोत्साहन मिलेगा। जीविका के क्षेत्र में अथक परिश्रम करना होगा। पड़ोसी या रिश्तेदार से संबंधों में मधुरता आएगी।

कन्या

धन लाभ की संभावना है, अत्यधिक विश्वास किसी पर भी कष्टकारी हो सकता है। लम्बी यात्रा का प्रयास सफल होगा। धन, सम्मान, पद, प्रतिष्ठा के क्षेत्र में चल रहा प्रयास सफल होगा।

तुला

ननिहाल पक्ष से सहयोग मिलेगा, लेकिन परिवार में किसी बड़े सदस्य से तनाव मिल सकता है, अत: वाणी की सौम्यता बनाये रखें। हानि-लाभ का विचार करने के बाद ही किसी कार्य को सम्पन्न करे।

वृश्चिक

व्यर्थ के खर्च रहेगे। पारिवारिक सुख व सहयोग मिलेगा। लिये गये निर्णयों पर एक बार पुन: विचार कर लें। सहयोगी का सहयोग मिलेगा, लेनदेन के मामलों में सावधानी बरतें। व्यक्ति विशेष से संबंध मधुर रहेंगे।

धनु

यात्रा देशाटन का लाभ मिलेगा। पारिवारिक दायित्व की पूर्ति होगी। व्यस्तता अधिक रहेगी। रुपये पैसे के लेनदेन में सावधानी बरतें। शिक्षा प्रतियोगिता के क्षेत्र में चल रहा प्रयास सफल होगा।

मकर

कार्यक्षेत्र में चल रहा प्रयास सफल होगा। रुपया उधार देने से बचें। दाम्पत्य जीवन में कुछ अनबन की स्थिति रहेगी। पिता या उच्चाधिकारी से सहयोग मिलेगा। सोच विचार कर निर्णय लेना हितकर रहेगा।

कुंभ

वाहन प्रयोग में सावधानी बरतें। परिवार में आपका प्रभाव बढ़ेगा। संतान के दायित्व की पूर्ति होगी। बिटिया के विवाह के संबंध में चिन्ताग्रस्त रहेगे। नौकरी एवं व्यावसायिक क्षेत्र में चल रहा प्रयास सफल होगा।

मीन

साझे में कार्य करने से पहले विचार करे। जीवनसाथी का सहयोग एवं प्रोत्साहन मिलेगा। व्यावसायिक शिक्षा की तरफ मन अग्रसर होगा। जारी प्रयास सफल होगा। विरोधी परास्त होंगे।[के. ए. दुबे पद्मेश]

2008-06-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

China starts draining massive quake lake
Chengdu, June 07: Chinese troops began easing pressure on a dangerously swollen "quake lake" on Saturday, with water gushing into a man-made sluice in an operation monitored by satellite. Hundreds of troops had been mobilised to dig a sluice channel to release some of the water in the lake that is threatening hundreds of thousands of people downstream in southwestern Sichuan province. The Tangjiashan lake is the largest of more than 30 such dams formed when the May 12 earthquake triggered landslides that blocked rivers, raising fears of secondary flooding disasters after the tremor, which killed more than 69,000 people. The draining of the 220 million cubic metres of pent-up water was earlier delayed while troops rushed to expand the channel, worried the dam wall of rock and mud could give way and unleash a dangerous surge, Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was impatient to defuse the quake lake threat and return attention to the millions of people displaced by the earthquake, many of whom are living in crowded tent camps. "The longer the delay, the greater the pressure created by the quake lakes, with safety threats multiplying and new hazards more likely to arise," Wen said near Mianyang, a threatened downstream city, on Friday, according to state television news. More than 250,000 people have been evacuated in quake-ravaged areas of Beichuan, Mianyang and Jiangyou. There are contingency plans to move up to 1.3 million to higher ground if the dam fully breaks. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warned of heavy rain across China, including Sichuan, over the weekend. Tian Yitang, deputy head of the headquarters, said the rain could put more pressure on quake-damaged waterworks. "We should be on high alert for flood problems as the previous round of heavy rain had already raised the water levels in some rivers, and irrigation works and reservoirs in quake-hit areas were still not repaired," Tian said, according to Xinhua. The Tangjiashan quake lake also threatens an oil pipeline that carries much of the needs of Sichuan and neighbouring Chongqing. Engineers have developed an emergency plan to use a temporary supply line if that pipeline ruptures, Xinhua reported.

Play

2008-06-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Can priests save Italian football's soul?
By Danny Robins
Like most of the nation, I shed a few tears and consigned myself to a summer of misery when England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Then, I read about an alternative football tournament happening not in Austria or Switzerland, but in the world's smallest country - Vatican City.

This year, 72 nations were represented among the 18 teams taking partAs the son of a lapsed Catholic and a bit of a lapsed playground footballer myself, I was intrigued.
The Clericus Cup is like no other football tournament. The players are all trainee priests, drawn from Rome's seminary colleges.
Seventy two nations are represented among the 18 teams taking part, including Ukraine, Iraq, Malta, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea, Brazil and England.
The teams pray together before games and there is a strict code of sportsmanship - where fair play is more important than winning.
As one of the British players told me: "It's about competing, but competing in the right manner."
The tournament is the brainchild of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone - the Vatican's secretary of state, effectively the Pope's number two. The 73-year-old Bertone is a lifelong Juventus fan. During his time as Archbishop of Genoa, he used to commentate on matches on local radio.
International dreams
At a press conference in late 2006, Bertone announced to the world's media that he dreamed of a time when the Vatican had their own football team.

Kickoff for the 2007 tournament in the shadow of St Peter's Dome"If we just take the Brazilian students from our Pontifical universities we could have a magnificent squad," he said.
"The Vatican could, in future, field a team that plays at the top level, with Roma, Inter Milan, Genoa and Sampdoria,"
In theory, the Vatican could one day field its own team on the international stage. In the meantime though, Bertone has contented himself with organising the Clericus Cup.
The competition's slogan is "un altro calico e possible" - a different football is possible.
The values of the tournament stand as a stark contrast to Italian professional football, which has been plagued by corruption and violence in recent years.
In May 2006, some of Italy's biggest clubs, including Juventus, AC Milan and Lazio, became embroiled in a match-fixing scandal that saw Juventus relegated as punishment to Serie B, the second tier of Italian football.
Then in February 2007, a policeman was murdered in violence between football fans and police. Nine months later a Lazio fan was shot accidentally by a policeman, sparking furious protests by fans against the police.
All these events were continuations of old themes in Italian football - excellence on the pitch but corruption, greed, violence and hate off it.
Code of conduct
The Church has now taken on the role of cleaning up football - going as far as getting involved in the running of a team.

Danny Robbins with members of the philosophical British teamThe Centro Sportivo Italiano, a Vatican-backed Catholic sports association, became involved with AC Ancona, a once successful team which had fallen on hard times.
The CSI brought in a new code of conduct for the team, which included players having to do community service as punishment for any red or yellow cards. On the plus side, they did get to meet the Pope.
The relationship between the Church and football is well established in Italy. The two are intertwined in the lives of children from an early age - most Italian kids play their first calico at a church run youth club.
I asked a range of people I met which was more important to Italians, God or football. Their answers were split roughly down the middle.
Journalist and broadcaster Paddy Agnew, an expert on Italian football summed it up well:
"Ninety-six percent of Italians are nominal Catholics, but the same 96% are committed football fans."
It is tempting to view the Clericus Cup as a cynical attempt by the "old religion" to get some free advertising on the back of the "new religion', but the truth of the matter is that in Italy, everyone loves football, priests included.
Discipline
I arrived in Rome in April in time for the semi-finals of the Clericus Cup. On first glimpse, the astroturf pitch at the edge of town seemed a little underwhelming, but then, as I walked round the side of the pitch, I was struck by the most amazing vista - the pitch overlooks St Peter's Dome.
It is the most immediate and compelling reminder of what this tournament is all about.
The players range in age from those almost straight from school to the tournament's oldest player, 57 year old John Breen, Dean of Studies at Beda College.
The whole idea, not to get too heavy, is the idea of sport bringing the finer qualities out of humanity, like humility in victory and gracious in defeat
Tony Preston, British team captainThere are also slightly different rules regarding discipline. You might be forgiven for thinking that yellow and red cards would be unnecessary in a tournament of trainee priests, but there were four red cards in this year's tournament - two for verbal abuse and one for a priest from Burkina Faso who threw his shirt at a referee.
"You get a bit of back chat, couple of tantrums and people storming off, but that's to be expected in the heat of the moment," said Francis, one of the British players.
There is the further innovation of a blue card, which, when shown to a player, sends him off to a 'sin bin' for five minutes to contemplate what he has done, and perhaps ask for absolution.
The teams pray before the match, but as tournament organiser Felice Alborghetti told me:
"All teams pray to the same God so he can have no favourites."
The fans are, to say the least, vocal. The American team from the Pontifical North American College, or PNAC, had one of the largest supports.
Nicknamed the Knackers, they were led by a priest in a cowboy hat. Their fans favourite chant is a rousing "Come on you Knackers, kick some Caboose."
The Americans seemed pretty confident, as one of their midfielders said:
"When you love God you can't lose." They lost 4-0.
The British team had already been eliminated by semi-final stage. In a horrible echo of Euro 2008 qualifying, they lost to a team of Croatian priests. Tony Preston, the team's captain seemed pretty philosophical:
"The whole idea, not to get too heavy, is the idea of sport bringing the finer qualities out of humanity, like humility in victory and gracious in defeat - we've got a bit of experience in that."
It's hard not to admire a tournament that sets out in a spirit of fair play. Perhaps the professional game could learn a thing or two from these priests.
Danny Robbins is a comedian and writer. You can listen to his Papal Ball programme on Radio 4 at 1100BST.

About Science

2008-06-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

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About science

2008-06-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

Band is cont.goes

2008-06-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

Bandh woes continue in WB as TC, BJP call for 12-hour shutdown
EFN Rustam
Kolkata, June 06: A 12-hour shutdown called by the opposition Trinamool Congress in West Bengal against the hike in fuel prices began on Friday. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said the common man, oppressed by the abnormal price hike of essential commodities, would be further burdened. She also lashed out against the Central Government demanding that it should quit. The Trinamool Congress dubbed the fuel hike as `unfortunate and unprecedented`. Trinamool Congress and its ally the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) have enforced a total shutdown. The bandh has disrupted rail and road communication. Most shops and markets were closed and there were very few vehicles on the road. Trains services in Howrah and Sealdah section were badly hit. Eastern Railway (ER) and South Eastern Railway (SER) authorities have cancelled several trains while many long distance trains were stranded at different stations due to the blockades on the tracks put up by the bandh supporters. Airport sources around 15 flights took off from the N S C Bose International Airport till 7 am. BJP has also called a 12-hour bandh today on the same issue. Today’s bandh comes a day after the Left parties sponsored bandh in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. The Central Government`s decision to hike fuel prices, the biggest hike in fuel prices in 12 years, led to strong reactions from across the political spectrum. The Left parties have already announced a countrywide protest for August 20. The Congress-led UPA government, however, justified the hike, saying that the decision was unavoidable following mounting losses to public sector oil companies due to three-fold increase in prices of international crude. According to experts, the inflation is expected to rise up to 10 percent due to rise in the fuel prices. The government had on Wednesday announced an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel by about 10 per cent and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 17 per cent, the biggest hike in fuel prices in 12 years. Government raised petrol prices by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 3 and cooking gas cylinder by Rs 50.

2008-06-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

SAINT GEORGEOrigin: English History
Saint George is known as a Martyr and the Patron Saint of England.He was originally a Roman Calvary officer who was known for his courage in war. He was a mighty site on his white war-horse. He eventually converted to Christianity, and to show the people that Christians did not have to be meek, he sought out to fight a dragon who was destroying the area around Cappadocia. The people of the town tried to calm the beast with sacrafices of their best sheep. This worked for a while, but then the dragon attacked again. The poor people had to give up what they thought would rid the animal of their town: a virgin princess. George slayed the dragon with the lance he had in his hand while charging with his huge steed. Because of this heroic deed, other Christian Knights sought out to save damsels in destress from dragons, and how dragons eventually got slaughtered into being just a myth. Saint George's red cross that he wore over his armor became the banner of England. Saint George Feast Day is April 23rd. Reynold's Metals even uses a symbol of St. George as their logo!
To check out more information on St. George and the Dragon, click on these links!St. George PicturesImages of St. George

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIGURD & THE DRAGON FAFNIROrigin: Norse MythSigurd (also known as Siegfried) Volsung was told by the dwarf Regin to gain fame and power to slay a terrible dragon named Fafnir that guarded a huge mound of treasure. Sigurd took up interest in this dragon, and recently was awarded with his father's broken sword (named Gram) which Regin forged back into one whole massive sword. Sigurd and the dwarf rode to find the fearless beast. What Sigurd did not know is that Regin's brother murdered their father to gain the wealth of the kingdom. This brother's name was Fafnir. Fafnir, because of his greed for gold and jewels changed his corrupt self into a massive dragon to protect his hoard better.
From what Sigurd knew of dragons, their tough,scaly hide on the top of the body was impregnable to any weapon. Regin suggested building a pit in which Sigurd could hide. So they both dug a pit outside of the dragon's lair. With Sigurd hiding, Regin covered the pit with branches. He waited hours for the dragon to come back from its daily visit to the watering hole nearby. Finally, a shadow covered the top of the pit, and Sigurd took the huge sword Gram in both hands and shoved as hard as he could up towards the exposed, soft belly of the dragon. With the dragon dead, Sigurd climbed out of his hiding place.
Regin then caved out the beast's heart to roast. When handing it to Sigurd to share, he burnt his hand and sucked on his fingers. Moments later he heard chattering, and surprised, looked up to see birds talking. They were saying how the dwarf was planning Sigurd's murder. He saw the truth in the dwarf's eyes and took out the sword and sliced off Regin's head. He went into the cave to claim the treasure as his own.To learn more, look at The Sigurd Runestone

2008-06-05T23:24:00.001-07:00

E may, vao day coi co con nho nay ngon lam http://nhatquanglan.xlphp.net/

2008-06-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

Dragon

2008-06-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

What is dragon

DRAGONWebster's Dictionary: drag.on \'drag-en\ n dracon-,draco serpent,dragon, [fr.GK drakon;akin to OE torht bright,Gk derkesthai to see,look at] 1 archaic: a huge serpent 2:a fabulous animal usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws.Tormont Illustrated Encyclopedia: drag'en n. 1. a. A fabulous monster, represented usually as a gigantic reptile breathing fire and having a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings and scaly skin. b. A figure or other representation of this creature. 2. Archaic. A large snake or serpent [Middle English drago(u)n, from Old French dragon, from Latin draco (stem dracon-), dragon, serpent, from Greek drakon, serpent]

food price is high

2008-06-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

UN increases food aid by $1.2bn

The price of rice has risen by 70% during the past year
The UN is to provide an additional $1.2bn (£613m) of food aid for 75 million people in the 60 nations hardest hit by rising food prices.
The announcement was made by World Food Programme chief Josette Sheeran at a UN-sponsored summit in Rome.
Also at the summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said there was an "urgent need" for international policy guidelines on biofuel production.
Food costs have reached a 30-year high, causing riots in several countries.

Map showing impact of food price rises on trade balances
The crisis is believed to have pushed 100 million people into hunger worldwide.
Challenge
Ms Sheeran told a news conference that unless the international community acted quickly, the number of people in dire poverty could double.
SUMMIT AGENDA
Price controls, trade tariffs and export bans
Subsidies for biofuels
Help for farmers in poorer countries
Effect of climate change on agriculture
Biofuel high on agenda
Lesotho tackles crisis
Tortilla prices put pressure on poor
What should EU leaders do?"With soaring food and fuel prices, hunger is on the march and we must act now," she said.
Mr Ban said $15bn-$20bn (£7.6bn-£10.2bn) would be needed each year to boost food production to combat hunger.
He said he was encouraged that leading nations were beginning to recognise the size of the challenge, and singled out the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, for praise.
On Tuesday Mr Sarkozy pledged $1.5bn over five years, specifically aimed at boosting production in Africa.
But Mr Ban added that, while he detected an increasing sense of urgency from leading nations about the food crisis, the international trade system needed to be made to work more effectively to make food available at reasonable prices.
He also called for more research into the impact of biofuels on the food crisis.
The International Food Policy Research Institute says biofuels are behind 30% of the global food price rises, while the US says biofuels are responsible for 2-3% of the rise.
Export bans
HAVE YOUR SAY
A summit isn't going to tackle the problem but addressing over-population might. Unfortunately, nobody wants to talk about it
David Smith, UK
Send your comments
The head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, called for the lifting of trade barriers that contribute to food price inflation.
"We need an international call to remove export bans and restrictions," Mr Zoellick told the news conference.
He told delegates the priority should be providing seeds, fertiliser and animal feed to farmers, before the planting season ends.
Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, said the solution to the current world food crisis had to include financial support for African farmers.
Attending the Rome conference in his new role as the chair of Agra, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, he said the African farmer was the only farmer in the world that still took all the risks, often operating without financial support, expertise or safety nets.
Pledges of aid continued at the summit on Wednesday.
The World Food Programme announced an extra $1.2bn in assistance for 60 of the hardest hit nations.
Food and Agriculture Organisation Director General Jacques Diouf announced that the Islamic Development Bank would give $1.5bn (£766m) in aid to farmers in the poorest countries.
The FAO is hosting the conference, which ends on Thursday.

Nasa news

2008-06-05T22:40:00.002-07:00

Kibo mission`s second spacewalk completed
Washington, June 06: Two astronauts finished the second spacewalk of their mission at the international space station to prepare the installation of a stowage unit on Japan`s new Kibo laboratory, NASA has said. Mission specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan ventured out of the station shortly after 2030 (IST) yesterday for an excursion that lasted just longer than seven hours, and almost an hour more than planned. Without running into any hitches, they installed front and rear television cameras outside the science lab, whose name means "hope" in Japanese, removed thermal covers from its robotic system and set the stage for the attachment of Kibo`s stowage unit. The two cameras are to aid in the operation of Kibo`s BietBiet tin gi chua, vao day coi di http://nhatquanglan.xlphp.net/ tin gi chua, vao day coi di

Nasa news

2008-06-05T22:40:00.001-07:00

Kibo mission`s second spacewalk completed
Washington, June 06: Two astronauts finished the second spacewalk of their mission at the international space station to prepare the installation of a stowage unit on Japan`s new Kibo laboratory, NASA has said. Mission specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan ventured out of the station shortly after 2030 (IST) yesterday for an excursion that lasted just longer than seven hours, and almost an hour more than planned. Without running into any hitches, they installed front and rear television cameras outside the science lab, whose name means "hope" in Japanese, removed thermal covers from its robotic system and set the stage for the attachment of Kibo`s stowage unit. The two cameras are to aid in the operation of Kibo`s robotic arm.

Nasa news

2008-06-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

petrol price is high

2008-06-03T21:53:00.000-07:00

Cabinet approves fuel price hike; petrol likely to be dearer by Rs 3
Bureau New Delhi, June 04: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs met early Wednesday to discuss the hike in fuel prices. The CCPA is understood to have approved a hike of Rs 3 per litre in petrol prices, while the diesel prices are likely to head north by Rs 2 per litre. However, a formal announcement in this regard will be made sometime around noon. Reports suggested a proposal was put forward at the meet to hike petrol prices by Rs 3 and diesel prices by Rs 2 per litre. Further, a new distribution scheme for domestic LPG cylinders was also proposed under which a household will get eight cylinders per year at the current price and any cylinder above that will come at double price. While the CCPA is believed to have approved the hike in petrol and diesel prices, the committee’s stance on the new LPG cylinder distribution scheme is not yet known. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is due to address the nation later in the day to explain why it has become necessary to raise fuel prices. The CCPA meet came in the wake of the relentless rise in international crude oil prices, which have touched levels as high as USD 135 per barrel. On Monday, the Prime Minister had indicated of an imminent fuel price hike when he said consumers cannot be fully insulated from the impact of rising global oil prices. With the surge in global oil prices leaving a Rs 2,25,040 crore revenue deficit with oil companies, Dr Singh had over the last few days held several rounds of consultations with senior ministers and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the issue. Prior to the CCPA meet, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora had been pushing for a Rs 10 a litre hike in petrol, Rs 5 per litre increase in diesel and Rs 50 per cylinder raise in LPG prices. He had also made it clear that the UPA government will not let the oil subsidy bill to rise any further.

Nepal news

2008-06-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Nagarjun Palace for Gyanendra
KATHMANDU , June 4 Gyanendra Shah is to get Nagarjun Palace and his mother, Ratna Shah, may get Mahendra Manjil, as per their request to the government. Pashupati Bhakta Maharjan, retired principal secretary to Gyanendra, had communicated these wishes to Home Minister Krishna Sitoula who met the former monarch on Monday, according to sources. The sources also told the Post that the Nepali Congress an Read More»

2008-06-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

राज रामू और बच्चन परिवार के लिए मायने रखती है सरकार
document.title="रामू और बच्चन परिवार के लिए मायने रखती है सरकार राज आलेख";

रामगोपाल वर्मा की सरकार राज के साथ खास बात यह है कि यह उनकी बड़ी फ्लॉप रामगोपाल वर्मा की आग के बाद आ रही है। सच तो यह है कि फिलहाल सफलता को सलाम करने वाली फिल्म इंडस्ट्री ने रामू का नाम लगभग खारिज कर दिया है। हालांकि कभी उनके दफ्तर के बाहर संघर्षशील कलाकार और निर्देशकों की कतार लगी रहती थी। माना यह जाता था कि यदि रामू की फैक्ट्री का स्टाम्प लग जाए, तो फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में पांव टिकाने के लिए जगह मिल ही जाती है, लेकिन आश्चर्य की बात यह है कि उसी इंडस्ट्री में एक फिल्म के फ्लॉप होने के बाद रामू के पांव के नीचे की कालीन खींच ली गई है।
अब देखना यह है कि रामू सरकार राज के जरिए फिर से लौट पाते हैं या नहीं? सरकार राज के साथ दूसरी खास बात यह है कि इसमें बच्चन परिवार के तीन सदस्य काम कर रहे हैं, जबकि सरकार में केवल अमिताभ बच्चन और अभिषेक बच्चन थे। इस बार बहू ऐश्वर्या राय बच्चन भी हैं। गौरतलब है कि अभिषेक और ऐश्वर्या की शादी के बाद दोनों की साथ वाली यह पहली फिल्म होगी। कहा यह भी जा रहा है कि बच्चन परिवार के सदस्यों ने इस फिल्म में जोरदार अभिनय किया है।
उल्लेखनीय है कि रामू की सरकार सफल इसलिए भी हुई थी, क्योंकि वह एक चुस्त फिल्म थी। लोगों को फिल्म बांधे रखती थी और फिल्म में अमिताभ बच्चन का अभिनय भी उत्कृष्ट था। पूरी फिल्म दर्शकों को जंच गई थी। इसी आधार पर कहा जा रहा है कि सरकार राज की सफलता सुनिश्चित है। वैसे, अभिषेक बच्चन भी जोर देकर यही कह रहे हैं कि इस फिल्म से रामगोपाल वर्मा अपने आलोचकों को खामोश कर देंगे। गौरतलब बात यह है कि फिल्म सरकार राज पिछली फिल्म सरकार से आगे बढ़ती है। सरकार सुभाष नागरे के कामकाज को उनके बेटे शंकर नागरे ने अच्छी तरह से संभाल लिया है। शेपर्ड पॉवर प्लांट की सीईओ अनीता राजन आकर नागरे परिवार के सामने पॉवर प्लांट का प्रस्ताव रखती है। पहले सरकार साफ मना कर देते हैं, लेकिन शंकर उन्हें पॉवर प्लांट के फायदे बताता है, तो वे राजी हो जाते हैं। शंकर का पॉवर प्लांट का सपना साकार होने की दिशा में धीरे-धीरे आगे बढ़ता है, तो इसी दौरान कई तरह की अड़चनें आ जाती हैं। विरोधी ताकतें सक्रिय हो जाती हैं और सत्ता का संघर्ष भयानक रूप ले लेता है। विरोधियों की कोशिश है कि राजनीतिक परिदृश्य से नागरे परिवार का नाम ही मिट जाए। फिल्म में कहा भी गया है कि सत्ता दी नहीं जाती, उसे लेना पड़ता है।
पिछली फिल्म सरकार में गीत लिखे थे संदीपनाथ ने और संगीत था बापी-टुटुल का। सरकार राज में भी गीतकार और संगीतकार ये लोग ही हैं और सरकार राज के गीत चाह भंवर तृष्णा.. को भी सरकार के गीत गोविंदा गोविंदा.. की तरह पसंद किया जा रहा है। फिल्म सरकार राज की रिलीज विभिन्न कारणों से टलती रही। अब सब कुछ ठिकाने पर है। यह जल्द ही थिएटर में पहुंच रही है। कहा जा रहा है कि इस फिल्म के प्रचार में बच्चन परिवार के सदस्यों ने बढ़-चढ़कर सहयोग दिया है, क्योंकि उनके परिवार की प्रतिष्ठा से जुड़ गई है यह फिल्म। इसमें कोई दो राय नहीं कि फिल्म सरकार राज की सफलता उनके परिवार के लिए खास मायने रखती है।

Cricket News

2008-06-01T21:22:00.002-07:00

The great Indian summer blockbuster has ended with a nail biting climax.
In many ways, Sunday night's final of the Indian Premier League (IPL), cricket's most expensive and hyped carnival, mirrored vintage Bollywood fare.
An unfancied, cut price team (Rajasthan), led by an ageing, semi-retired spin bowling wizard (Shane Warne), beat a pricey, aggressive rival (Chennai), led by one of the highest paid players in the game and Indian cricket's poster boy (MS Dhoni).
It was the triumph of the underdog over the rich and resourceful and it went down to the wire (a last-ball win).
And like in those films, some high-wire entertainment preceded and interspersed the serious business of cricket.
Kinetic kitsch
Starlets gyrated in various costumes to showcase "various cultures of India". Fire dancers, acrobats, contortionists, and guitarists and violinists gave the show a 'global' feel. The pyrotechnics were spectacular.

Bollywood star Salman Khan entertained the crowds before the match Photo: Indian ExpressThe entertainment was Indiana Jones meets home-grown kinetic kitsch. The packed stadium clapped and danced when brawny star Salman Khan took the stage and gyrated a little more.
That the match happened on a sticky evening in the western city of Mumbai, home to Bollywood, is no coincidence.
Nor is the fact that that cricket and Bollywood, India's biggest obsessions, fused seamlessly in the competition – two of the teams are owned by Bollywood stars who routinely cheer their players from the dugouts, and Bollywood remixes and dances dominate on-field entertainment.
It's an irresistible combination and a resounding hit, dismaying the pundit and the purist.
Open auction
The democratisation of cricket has taken a great leap forward - entire families have turned up at the grounds all over India on muggy summer evenings to dance to Bollywood remixes, gorge on burgers and pizza, munch corn, guzzle cola and even watch some cricket.

Bollywood star Preity Zinta's team crashed out in the semi finals Photo: Indian ExpressThe competition has all the trappings of what Indians call a "tamasha" or an entertainment show, or a "timepass", a way to have good, cheap fun to liven up their stressed lives.
Of course, a lot of cricket has been played as well, and some of it has been very entertaining.
Eight teams, 44 days and 59 matches have yielded nearly 18,000 runs from a group of top international cricketers and promising local cricketers, all bought in an unique open auction.
Nearly 60% of the runs came off fours and sixes, offering value for money to the cricket-mad Indians who faithfully succumbed to the temptations of a daily evening fix of speed cricket on television.
"It's all a blur now. Will people remember any memorable moments as the season ends, the way they remember classic Test matches?," wonders cricket historian Ram Guha.
But can purists afford to ignore this competition?
Banned for slapping
For one, IPL has offered excitement aplenty: there were seven victories where the winners scraped through by a margin of anything between one and nine runs; up to nearly 450 runs were scored between two teams during a single game; and in an early game, a batsman smashed 16 sixes during his stay at the crease.
Although one bowler was hit for 20 sixes through the competition, three others, including a South African, achieved hat tricks or mopping up three wickets in a row.
On the margins and off the field there was abundant action as well.

The cricket played was largely entertaining Photo: Indian ExpressA senior India international player was banned from the competition midway after he slapped a fellow national mate; and a polite official asked Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, one of the team owners, to stop hanging around the dressing room in alleged violation of code of conduct.
A police officer accused a high profile team owner of abusing him, two black cheerleading girls charged an event manager with racism and banishing them from a game, an inebriated Indian cricketer playing in the competition beat up a man in his hometown.
One team owner, known for his flamboyant ways, sacked his chief operating officer midway through the tournament because of his team's plummeting fortunes.
What more could you want from a tournament?
Great leveller
It also proved that the market - and money - does not always work. This is despite the fact that the only motivation for the competition's existence is money.
How else can you explain an low profile and cheapest ($67m) team like Rajasthan, led and coached by 38-year-old Shane Warne, rising above the hoopla to emerge as the best team of the competition?
How do you explain the law of diminishing returns taking over the most expensive teams, Mumbai ($111.9m, lost half of their 14 games) and Bangalore ($111.6m, lost 10 of 14 games)?
Both teams are owned by India's top businessmen, who have seldom experienced any failure, but the IPL has also been a great leveller.

Can cricket purists afford to ignore the sheer enthusiasm of the IPL crowds? Photo: Indian ExpressEven Bollywood got a big jolt.
Otherwise, how do you explain the crashing out of the Calcutta team (lost half of their 14 games) owned by India's biggest brand and superstar Shah Rukh Khan?
Khan partied with his cricketers, sent them inspirational text messages, cheered lustily from the dugouts, bought his film friends to dance in the stands, and tied up neat branding deals with companies.
Despite a growing pan-Indian support - his fans began supporting Calcutta because he owned the team - his players let him down.
Changed game
So has the IPL come to stay?
By all accounts yes, going by the resounding thumbs up it seems to have received from players (because of the money) and fans (because of the entertainment).
Will it be equally successful if replicated in other cricket playing countries?
That is difficult to say, going by the lukewarm response to the competition outside South Asia.
But what is clear is that the competition could change cricket since India is now international cricket's financial capital.
So much so that the usually taciturn and reserved Indian Test captain, Anil Kumble, is also singing hosannas in the competition's praise.
"[This is] an event that is likely to rewrite cricketing history," he says.
"I'm not sure whether the game will ever be the same again after the IPL."

science/nature

2008-06-01T21:11:00.001-07:00

Nasa's Discovery shuttle has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The shuttle and its crew of seven are delivering a giant cylinder for Japan's Kibo science lab but also a new pump to repair the station's toilet.
The toilet in the Zvezda service module failed last week.
Discovery's flight is the third orbiter mission of 2008 and the first to fly the "in-line" external fuel tank.
The new fuel tank has been built from the ground up with the upgrades demanded after the Columbia disaster in 2003.
The improvements are designed to minimise the shedding of insulation foam on launch - the problem that doomed Columbia and her crew.
All missions prior to Discovery's have had the upgrades retrofitted on to tanks that were already constructed.
Japanese excitement
The shuttle took off into a brilliant blue sky at 1702 local time (2102 GMT) on Saturday. They are due to dock with the ISS on Monday.

The JPM - seen here in Japan - fills Discovery's entire payload bay
Nearly 400 Japanese journalists, space programme officials and other guests crowded into the launch site, their excitement growing as the hours, then minutes counted down, the Associated Press reports.
Discovery's primary task is to install the Japanese Pressurised Module (JPM) which is the size of a school bus and will place the Japanese at the forefront of space exploration, the BBC's Andy Gallacher reports from Florida.
The cylinder is the third science laboratory intended for the orbiting platform, after the US Destiny and European Columbus segments.
Once the main Kibo (English: Hope) section is attached to the ISS's Harmony connecting node, the JLM can be moved from its temporary berth and slotted directly on to a larger Japanese unit.
All of the pressurised module's internal systems and payload racks can then be transferred across to it.
A 10m-long (33ft) robotic arm is also travelling up with the Discovery for use on Kibo.
It will be used to position and retrieve experiments from a platform due to be delivered next year - the final part of the lab.
Toilet troubles
Since the urinal side of the toilet failed, the ISS crew have periodically had to flush the unit manually - an operation which takes two people 10 minutes to do.

ISS astronauts will be relieved to get their toilet working properly again
The solid-waste part of the Russian-built toilet is working properly.
A replacement pump was rushed from Russia to be loaded on to Discovery for delivery to the ISS.
Three spacewalks, of some 6.5 hours each, are currently planned for Discovery's mission, mainly for setting up the Kibo equipment.
Astronauts will also deliver a nitrogen gas tank and inspect damage to a key joint that helps the station's power-generating solar arrays to follow the Sun.
Discovery is carrying a special guest on the flight - the famous space ranger Buzz Lightyear.
The 30cm-tall (12in) action figure, made famous in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story movies, is going into orbit as part of an educational programme.
Nine further shuttle flights are required to complete the ISS before the orbiter fleet is retired in 2010

2008-05-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

The weather Javier has provided the following new forecast for 23 May 2008: A southerly flow is bringing too much moist air masses to the region.The expected clear skies seem to be delayed. It will be mostly clear at C4 with some risk of clouds early in the morning, clearing quickly afterwards. At base camp it may remain cloudy, with some risk of precipitation. Clearing in the evening. Temperature at 7400 around -18C. Winds at 7400 between 20 and 25 km/h. After the 25th of May the flow changes to westerly with dryer conditions and stronger winds but still moderate below 7400m. Confidence in low winds until the 25th is high (good agreement of model ensembles). Cloud and precipitation confidence is moderate.

Mount

2008-05-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

Nasa news

2008-05-31T21:03:00.001-07:00

Nasa's Discovery shuttle has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

.

Nasa news

2008-05-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Nasa's Discovery shuttle has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

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2008-05-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

News

2008-05-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

A Miami-bound passenger plane landing in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa has overshot a runway, leaving at least four people dead.
About 65 people were also injured as the plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a busy street, trapping cars under its wings.
TACA airline's Flight 390 was arriving from El Salvador, carrying 135 passengers and crew.
Officials say the plane was trying to land in heavy rain and fog.
The plane's fuselage buckled and broke apart in places
Enlarge Image
The pilot, two passengers and a motorist, believed to be a taxi driver, were killed.
TACA airline president Alfredo Schildknecht said the Airbus A320 skidded off the runway after the pilot made a second attempt to land in heavy rain and fog.
Braking conditions
"We know there was bad weather at the moment of the landing and the captain was not able to land in his first attempt," he told a news conference.
"He landed in the second attempt, apparently braking conditions were not optimum, the landing strip was wet and the plane [skidded] off at the end of the runway."
A doctor at the hospital treating the injured named one of the dead passengers as Harry Brautigam, director of a regional development bank.
Janneth Shantall, wife of Brazilian Ambassador Brian Michael Fraser Neele, is reported to have died in the crash, and the former head of Honduras' armed forces, Gen Daniel Lopez Carballo, is said to be among the injured.
One survivor, Mario Castillo, described the crash on Honduran TV: "Suddenly we felt a big noise and we were all trying desperately to get out.
"The worst injured were the people in business class."
More than 2,000 gallons (7,500 litres) of jet fuel spilled out of the plane, which had split into three pieces.
Authorities hosed down cars trapped beneath the wreckage, and tried to clear away hundreds of onlookers amid fears of an explosion or fire.

The flight, which originated in Los Angeles, left San Salvador at 1430 GMT.
It had been scheduled to stop briefly in Tegucigalpa and in San Pedro Sula before heading to Miami, Florida.
Tegucigalpa, surrounded by hills, is one of the most difficult airports in the region for landing because of its short runway and an unusually steep approach

News

2008-05-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

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40 killed and 60 injured in mishap near HassanPosted at Thursday, 29 May 2008 19:05 IST
Hassan (Kar), May 29: Forty people were killed and 60 injured when a lorry in which they were travelling skidded off a tank bed and rolled into a ditch near Arakalgud, about 35 km from here, police said.More than 100 people, including women and children, had boarded the lorry and they were heading towards Agrahara village from Basavanakoppal to attend a post-marriage feast, police said.When the lorry was nearing the village at Arakalgud, some of them raised an alarm over a live electric wire hanging across the road. The driver, after applying brakes, then tried to reverse the vehicle after some passengers asked him to. In the process, the vehicle skidded off the tank bed and rolled into the ditch, police, quoting eye-witnesses, said.People of the nearby villages rushed the injured to hospitals at Arakalgud, Konanakere and Hassan.Most of the injured were admitted to Hassan General hospital. Some of them, who have lost at least two to three members of their family, were inconsolable.Additional medical teams have been rushed to the hospital to treat the injured, police said.
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NEWS

2008-05-28T00:45:00.000-07:00

S Africa to set up refugee camps

Aid agencies warn the government lacks the expertise needed
South Africa is to set up seven refugee camps around the country for foreign migrant workers who have fled a recent wave of anti-immigrant violence.
The holding camps will take up to 70,000 people from the increasingly unsanitary conditions at temporary shelters put up around state buildings.
The government decision comes despite strong advice from respected international aid agencies.
They say South Africa does not have the
expertise necessary to run the camps.
Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), the medical charity, says conditions for people seeking refuge in the existing shelters are worsening.
Little experience
Aid agencies say the true number of displaced people is at least 80,000.

hunsry

2008-05-28T00:22:00.000-07:00

Hungry? Try shark fin soup!
Jimbaran, May 28: Call it shark for food lovers with some conscience: an Indonesian chef is making soup and other dishes from the flesh of the big fish whose survival is under threat because its fin is prized in Asia. Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in this region, while the meat of the fish often seen as a ferocious sea predator is largely shunned because of its strong taste. Bali-based chef Budi Susilo says he's come up with a way to make shark more palatable, and less vulnerable to being discarded in the ocean after its lucrative fin has been carved out. "I came up with the idea while working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean and discovered people there ate shark meat. It was tasteless," Susilo, who owns Pak Item Restaurant in Bali's Jimbaran resort, said. "When I returned, I saw none of the restaurants here serve shark meat. So, I opened my restaurant and tried to be creative with shark meat," said the 42-year-old Susilo, who is better known as Mr Black, because he wears black every day. Environmentalists say booming demand for shark fin soup, especially in China, is threatening the existence of several species, with fishers all over the world, and especially Spain and Indonesia, catching sharks for their lucrative fin and then discarding the carcasses. Pak Item does not serve shark fin and Susilo said it took him two months to come up with the right ingredients to marinate the meat to make it taste better — a mix of spices and herbs which he's not about to reveal. Pak Item has been going strong since 2005 and serves shark meat in several ways: stewed, barbequed, fried or mixed in with a local favorite, fried rice. Susilo uses blacktip reef sharks that are less than 4 meters long for his dishes and buys his daily supply from local fishermen in Bali, where most of the sharks caught are too small for restaurants selling fin soup. Most customers come to Pak Item for the shark, which is considered as a cheap source of protein. "This is my first visit to this restaurant. It tastes good," said A Teng, 46, an Indonesian who was tucking into shark stew. But not everyone is impressed by Susilo's efforts. Indonesian environmentalists have protested against the killing of sharks and are working to draft legislation to protect the big fish. Indonesia is considered one of the main culprits when it comes to overfishing sharks. Bureau Report