ISSUES AND CONCERNS ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಕ್ಷಕಿರಣ

Suicide attack on volleyball watchers kills 60 in Pakistan In a bloody start to the new year, Pakistan witnessed a major terror attack when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a volleyball ground in the country’s northwest killing 60 people and injuring over 100 others. In a separate attack, a tribal elder associated with an anti-Taliban militia and five others were killed when the vehicle they were traveling in was targeted with a roadside bomb in the restive Bajaur region. The suicide attack occurred at Shah Hasankhel village, located 25 km from Lakki Marawat in the southern part of the north west frontier province. A large crowd was watching a volleyball game between two local teams when the bomber struck the playground’s wall with his vehicle. Thirty-two bodies were lying at the site of the blast while 15 bodies were taken to a nearby hospital, officials were quoted as saying by Geo news channel. The officials said over 100 people were injured. Mus...

City college powered by leftovers Leftover food from hotels, apartments, and choultries is helping to power the 16-acre campus of the Agriculture, Crafts, Trades and Studie s (ACTS) Group Institution on the outskirts of the city. ACTS generates around 15 KW/hr (kilo watts per hour) by processing 400 kgs of leftovers everyday at its campus at Rayasandra, off Hosur road. The energy generated is stored in a battery using a smart charger. One KW load (for lighting) can be used from stored energy for at least 12 hours to light up the campus at nights. Custom made LED light units of between 1 to 54 watts are used in a unique electro-luminary combination in the grounds. The institute depends on a company, Flexitron to produce the eco-friendly energy and do its bit for energy conservation. The hotels, choultries and homes around Sarjapur are quite happy to give their waste to the institute rather than dumping it for the corporation to collect, says Chief Executive Officer, Flexitron S.R. Hirem...

"When the right was left but left was stolen" Sweden thieves steal left shoes to pair them up in Denmark Police in Sweden believe they have uncovered an elaborate cross-border criminal masterplan to steal left shoes in Stockholm and match them up with right shoes pilfered from designer boutiques in Copenhagen. For months, officers were baffled when designer shoe shops in Malmo reported that only left shoes were disappearing from their shelves. But the mystery was solved when it emerged that in neighbouring Denmark only right shoes were put on display, the Times reports. Staff at a one shop in Malmo, Sweden’s third- largest city, saw two men in their fifties stealing left shoes at the weekend. The duo escaped with seven left shoes which, if paired, were worth ₤900 pound Japan refunds $1.50 to forced labourers after 65 years Tokyo: Seven South Koreans who were pressed into forced labour during Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula have been refund ed their pension contrib...

Cops & ‘Shankar Bhagwan’ An extortionist who identified himself as ‘Shankar Bhagwan’ while demanding Rs 2 crore from BJP MLA Sardar Tara Singh has been arrested. His reason for taking on this avatar-he took the advice of a tantric a little too literally. Vijay Kumar Gupta, a rickshaw driver who lives in Mulund (E), had phoned singh and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not pay up. According to the Antop Hill police, Gupta allegedly introduced himself as ‘Shankar Bhagwan’ and said, "Have you not heard of Shankar Bhagwan? You have no idea what I can do to you. If you want to save your life, come to the Mulund dumping ground with Rs 2 crore." Police traced the mobile Singh received the call from, and zeroed in on Gupta. He was arrested from his home which is not too far from the dumping ground. On interrogation, he told officers that a tantrik had told him to take the name of any Lord while entering into any deal. So he decided to use the name of Shankar Bhagwa...

JYOTHI BASU, WEST BENGAL’S DOUBTFUL LEADER :- Dr. M. V. Kamath So Jyothi Basu is no more. He has been praised to the skies by an obliging media and by politicians across the entire political spectrum. To imagine leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, L.K. Advani, Manmohan Singh and Deve Gowda singing his praise says something of a man who in his time ruled-some call it misrule- for a record 23 continuous years from 1977 to 2000, earning both praise and opprobrium for his efforts. He was admired by a certain segment of the public and cordially disliked by another. But how did he make it for almost a quarter of a century as Chief Minister? There are many answers. One is that by hook or crook the Communist Party Marxist (CPM) went all out to captur e the peasants loyalty through epochal land reform and empowerment of Panchayats, and saw to it that the jahagirdars’ land was widely distributed to more than ten lakh landless shar ecroppers. Something of a major achievement. That it did...

Friends, At the outset, this is wishing all our patrons, readers, friends and well wishers a great 2010. Hope and pray that it brings peace to terrorists' troubled India in particular and world in general. The month of December began with the nation getting worked up by the report of Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan on the demolition of Babri Masjid. It is true that it took 17 long years. There can be no justification for this excruciatingly inordinate delay in reporting to the nation what really went wrong on 6th Dec. 1992. It had a mind bogling 48 extentions. Different people dubbed it differently, from being a joke to waste of time and money. But lets face it, a report is a report. You simply cannot dismiss it because it took time. We have to take it in its face value. But what is sad is, in India everything is politicised. Some even suggested that the senior partner in UPA, the Congress, wanted an escape route with the Congress supported former Jharkhand CM: Koda, having been ar...

Copenhagen Fiasco "What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! In the beauty of the world, how like a paragon of all animals!" Man failed to live up to these words at Copenhagen. As a journalist puts it, "Petty politics, self serving negotiators and the lack of flexibility bred mistrust and suspicion turning "Hopenhagen into Hopelessshagen" – not, of course, without contribution by the media. Although Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General, called the closing statement ‘meaningful’ and an ‘essential beginning’, most people termed the Copenhagen Accord as a "monumental failure". However the truth lies between these two distinctly different versions of the conference. Copenhagen or Kobenhavn in Danish, which means ‘merchants’ harbour’, is a Scandinavian hotspot. It is the capital of the world’s happiest country, and was a fishing village in the days of the yore...