Man fined for forcing woman to pluck beard - This Post

A Japanese man has been found guilty of sexual harassment for forcing a female work colleague to pluck his beard.

"Asking a female colleague to pluck your beard is totally inappropriate and illegal," media reports quoted the judge as saying as he ordered the man and the government, as his employer, to pay a total of almost $5,000 (2,700 pounds) in compensation.

According to the lawsuit filed by the woman, the man -- an employee in his 30s in an office affiliated with the Labour Ministry -- had repeatedly asked her to pluck his beard.

The woman, also in her 30s, told him he should do it himself but finally was forced to give in, Kyodo news agency said.

Media reports said the man had been warned previously for sexually harassing the woman, including sending her notes demanding she come on a company trip in her "best bathing suit."

Japanese attitudes towards workplace sexual harassment, long considered to be relatively lax, have grown stricter over the past few years.

Internet "Parking Ticket" scam - This Post

Drivers in Belgium are buying used parking tickets on the internet to get out of paying fines.

The scheme was set up by the Continental Computer Company in Antwerp which allows drivers slapped with a fine for not buying a parking ticket to buy a used one at an online exchange for just £5.

The motorists then present the second-hand tickets to the local council as proof they did buy one, claiming the ticket inspectors simply did not see it.

Company boss Marc Van de Vyver said there was nothing wrong with what they were doing.

He said: "We're not doing anything illegal. Our website is simply a meeting place for collectors of parking tickets, just like there are websites for people who want to exchange stamps."

But local authorities are now seeking to take legal action, saying the scheme is costing them thousands in unpaid fines.

Brits in 'Titanic' terror - This Post

The Crown Princess ... ship after drama

By CHARLES RAE
and PAUL THOMPSON

TERRIFIED Britons on a luxury cruise feared for their lives as their giant liner lurched violently — while the film Titanic was shown on board.

Dozens of people were washed out of a top deck swimming pool and many more injured, with windows smashed and furniture flung into the sea.

Scores of holidaymakers grabbed life jackets, fearing the month-old Crown Princess, with 58 Brits among its 3,000 passengers, was about to SINK 11 miles off shore.

The nightmare came as travellers sat down to a screening of the Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio blockbuster in the ship’s Movies Under the Stars cinema.

Around 98 people were injured — two critically. One Brit was taken to hospital after suffering breathing trouble when hit by a flying chair.

Emergency ... ambulances at port

The 16-deck super liner, built in Italy, hit trouble after leaving Port Canaveral in Florida on the final leg of a nine-day cruise.

Passengers told last night how it listed to starboard at a 15-degree angle after a problem with steering gear.

Staircases and lift shafts were deluged as sea water and the contents of four on-board pools poured in. Gym equipment was flipped over and slot machines uprooted.

Some passengers, who had paid £3,000 for the trip, clung to deck railings to stop themselves falling overboard.

Brit Gillian Bogush was resting in her cabin with husband Tony, 67, when the ship suddenly tilted.

She said: “There was no warning, then lamps and other items started moving.

“Tony was on the bed and an armchair came flying over and landed on his chest.

Cruise epic ... the Titanic film

“It isn’t serious, but he had to go to hospital for an X-ray to check for damage.”

Gillian, 55, of Highgate, North London, added: “Afterwards it was like a war zone with people walking round bleeding.

“It was absolutely terrifying and many people thought the ship was going to sink.”

The Crown Princess, which has made only four sailings since joining the Princess Cruise line, was heading to New York after cruising around the Caribbean.

After the drama it was escorted back to Port Canaveral by US Coastguard vessels. A fleet of ambulances lined up across the dock waiting for the injured. Two people — including a young girl — were airlifted to hospital.

A further 15 were carried out on stretchers to waiting ambulances and 48 others taken by bus to hospitals.

Rescue ... passenger on stretcher

Dr Peter Wigodsky and wife Marilyn were hurled sideways on the top deck.

Marilyn, of Elstree, Herts, said: “It really was like a scene from the Titanic with everything sliding across the deck. I held on to my chair, but it slid too. The children in the pool were screaming. Lots of families were split up and there was panic everywhere. All the windows were smashed. The top deck looked like a hurricane had hit it.”

Passengers said British captain Andrew Proctor made an announcement to assure them the liner would not sink. But his voice was so edgy that many still feared the worst.

Injured ... passengers are taken to hospital Picture: REUTERS

Chiefs ordered an open bar to soothe passengers’ nerves. One staff member said: “I don’t think there was a passenger who wasn’t shaken.” A spokesman for Princess Cruises, part of the Miami-based cruise giant Carnival, said the trip had been cancelled and the ship would probably be in port three to four days for an investigation.

They were planning to refund all the passengers’ cash. The Sun’s cruise expert Steve Read said: “The ship was never in danger. They have to list much further for that. But it is terrifying.

“In February her sister ship the Grand Princess listed 16 degrees in a tight turn.”

When Mars becomes the brightest - This Post

Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultimate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles of Earth.

Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 at 00:30 am. It will look like The Earth has 2 Moons. Don't Miss it.....
The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.

The information is from a mail I got. So, no guarrantee...

First 7/11 Arrests - This Post - External Link

Ten days after Terrible Tuesday’s serial blasts, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) claimed this morning to have achieved a “breakthrough” with the arrest of two persons from Bihar and one from Navi Mumbai in connection with the blast at Matunga, one of the seven on 7/11.

ATS officials said they are relatives and were arrested after investigators received information from “reliable sources” about their alleged involvement.

Those arrested: Kamal Ahmed Ansari (32) and Khalid Aziz Ronak (24) from Basupatti village in Madhubani district of north Bihar and Mumtaz Ahmed Maqbool Ahmed (38) from the Thurbe suburb of Navi Mumbai.

Kamal is Mumtaz’s brother-in-law and Khalid a relative. ATS claimed to have recovered from Kamal half a kilogram of explosive substance in powder form, suspected to be gunpowder.

Ansari was arrested by the Delhi Police some years ago for the possession of an AK-47 rifle, said ATS chief Joint Commissioner of Police K P Raghuvanshi.

When the three were produced before Additional Metropolitan Magistrate A V Shettye, the ATS sought police custody until July 24 but the magistrate, citing the seriousness of the charges—including murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, Arms Act—granted custody until July 30.

“Investigations have till now revealed involvement of terror groups from Nepal and Bangladesh and, in turn, point at direct or indirect involvement of Pakistan,’’ said Raghuvanshi. In the Maharashtra Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil was more direct: ‘‘Pakistan has asked for proof. We have enough evidence to prove that terrorist organisations based in Pakistan are behind it (the serial blasts).” Navi Mumbai accused taught Urdu, lived in garment factory AMANDEEP SHUKLA JULY 21 MUMBAI, IN Ghansoli village of Navi Mumbai, an hour’s train-ride from Mumbai, Mumtaz Khan’s closest acquaintances, who work in a garment factory, describe him as a loner.

All they know about him, they say, is that Mumtaz—arrested for his alleged role in the serial train blasts—offered Urdu tuition in the area to earn a living and slept in the factory’s quarters in the night.

“He would often leave home at 7 am and return only around 11 pm. We don’t know where he went,’’ said Mohammed Illyas, who owns the factory that makes garments for dolls. ‘‘But on Wednesday (July 19) he didn’t come back. We had last seen him the previous night.’’ Mumtaz’s brother Nisar and younger brother Ansar live in Ganesh Nagar, a slum settlement.

“I just got a call from home that Mumtaz has been arrested,’’ Nisar told the The Indian Express. “I don’t know why, I don’t know where to go. I don’t know how my brother came into contact with such people.’’ Home for the brothers, said Nisar, is in Taimarehmat Village in Basti district, Uttar Pradesh. Mumtaz’s wife, five daughters and a son live there. Kamal Ahmed Ansari, arrested from Bihar, is Mumtaz’s brother-inlaw, said Nisar.

Courtesy: The Indian Express

Bush hid the facts!! ? Windows Zindabad! - This Post

Hello Guys,

Look what I came across!!

For those of you using Windows, do the following:

1) Create a new empty notepad file

2) Type, "Bush hid the facts" (without the quotes)

3) Save it as whatever you want.

4) Close it, and re-open it.

Can anybody answer y this happens…..????

Goondas of Left Government!?! - This Post

While the supreme court ruled against the Left Govt on the "Professional Colleges Bill", the Left Govt. on the ruling side sends an appeal and at the same time the SFI activists, (supposed to backed by the Govt) attacks college buses! Now who is the Goonda? This Govt?

Yesterday night, SFI activists threw petrol bombs at the Lourdes Matha College bus. The Mohandas College bus was also attacked. IN many places of Kerala, the SFI activist have been rowdying around.

Doctors Find Coins In Patient's Belly - This Post

French doctors were taken aback when they discovered the reason for a patient's sore, swollen belly: He had swallowed around 350 coins - worth about $860 Cdn - along with assorted necklaces and needles.

The 62-year-old man came to the emergency room of Cholet General Hospital in western France in 2002. He had a history of major psychiatric illness, was suffering from stomach pain and could not eat or move his bowels. His family warned doctors that he sometimes swallowed coins, and a few had been removed from his stomach in past hospital visits.

Still, doctors were awed when they took an X-ray. They discovered an enormous opaque mass in his stomach that turned out to weigh 5.4 kilograms, as much as some bowling balls. It was so heavy it had forced his stomach down between his hips.

Five days after his arrival, doctors cut him open and removed his badly damaged stomach with its contents. He died 12 days later from complications.

One of his doctors, intensive care specialist Dr. Bruno Francois, said the patient had swallowed the coins - both French currency and later euros - over about a decade. His family tried to keep coins and jewelry away from him.

"When he was invited and came in some homes, he liked to steal coins and eat them," Francois said.

The case history of the French patient, whose name was withheld, was reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

The patient's rare condition is called pica, a compulsion to eat things not normally consumed as food. Its name comes from the Latin word for magpie, a bird thought to eat just about anything.

Pica can take the form of eating dirt, ashes, chalk, hair, soap, toothbrushes, burned matches and many other things. Francois once treated a patient who ate forks. Most such objects are small enough to pass on their own, but some must be removed by doctors.

The condition is perhaps best known in children and pregnant women but is also sometimes linked to psychiatric illness.

A few details of the Frenchman's case were presented Jan. 1 along with the X-ray - but no explanation of the stomach mass - as a challenge to New England Journal of Medicine readers in a fixture called A Medical Mystery.

Dr. Lindsey Baden, an editor at the journal, reported that 666 readers in 73 countries - mostly doctors or doctors-in-training - contacted the journal to try to solve the mystery. Almost 90 per cent settled on diagnoses consistent with pica, but only eight per cent correctly identified coins.

"This case serves as a reminder of important factors that should be considered in the care of patients who are mentally impaired," Baden wrote.

Housewife who won £1million in ITV's Pokerface wants to buy a plot on the moon - This Post

A housewife who won £1million in ITV's Pokerface wants to buy a plot on the moon with her winnings.

Star Trek fan Sarah Lang also wants to attend a Star Trek convention after winning the hit show hosted by Ant and Dec.

The mum-of-two, 31, from Newport, Gwent, said: "I have always been fascinated with stars and space so I'm going to get a strong telescope in my garden."

And she added: "I have heard you can buy plots of land on the moon. It might be worth something in a few years."

Sarah went on: "I am really into sci-fi and horror so I want to go to a big Trekkie convention in the US and dress up."

But first she plans to pay off the mortgage, take her family to Disneyland and buy husband Nick a Ducati motorbike "if he grovels a bit".

After winning, Sarah revealed she'd been sick with nerves before the show started but said it was "just unbelievable" to become an overnight millionaire.

Bird flu vaccine offers protection above 90%, immune response good - This Post

The development of an avian influenza vaccine by the Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory brings India on a par with China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand. The vaccine, which uses killed H5N1 virus, can be used during a H5N1 bird flu outbreak, says H.K. Pradhan, Joint Director of the laboratory.

The immune response is good and the protection offered by the vaccine has been found to be above 90 per cent. The laboratory is now studying the duration of protection. ``According to the literature, the immunity [protection] can last up to six months," says Dr. Pradhan. It can be further increased with a booster dose. This aspect is being investigated.

The vaccine has been tested for safety, dosage, adjuvant and the route of inoculation. ``We found the intra-muscular [route] to be better." There is little chance of bird flu occurring after vaccination as the vaccine uses a killed virus to elicit good immune response.

Homologous vaccine

The vaccine developed is a homologous one. It is considered superior to the heterologous vaccine, in which other viruses similar to H5N1 are used to control the spread of the virus.

The vaccine was developed in a short duration because the laboratory has been working on bird flu for the last six years. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research entrusted the job to the laboratory after the first outbreak in India this February and it was completed 10-15 days ago.

``We had the viruses collected during this year's outbreak and the cell lines taken five years ago," says Dr. Pradhan.

The vaccine can be used immediately after an outbreak to control the spread of the virus as well as for vaccination in anticipation of an outbreak. However, vaccination before an outbreak is generally not advisable as the vaccine has its own limitations.

Ideally, poultry in a five-km radius of the place of outbreak has to be killed and vaccination done on birds in a 5-10 km radius or more.

``This is called the ring vaccination."

The cost and the licensing of the technology for commercial production are yet to be worked out, says Dr. Pradhan.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Go F**K yourself, says Mumbai to the Terrorists - This Post

After the blasts, there is only one thing Mumbai wants to tell to the terrorists: "India is not a religion, we stay united. So there is only one thing you terrorists can do: Go F**K yourself". Sorry, it is not in my nature to use bad words, but thats what the militant deserves.

--
The Living Mumbai

Separated during the turbulence of Partition, women in PoK now look forward to seeking out their families. - This Post

SEPARATED shortly after she was born, 60-year-old Ruksana Begum was able to locate her mother last month. Her mother, a Hindu named Inderjeet, lives in Kashmir. Ruksana Begum has lived in the Kotli area of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as long as she can remember.

Separation

The story of their separation involves another separation. Ruksana Begum's mother was separated from her family during the riots that followed Partition. A young woman then, Inderjeet was married to a Muslim youth and the couple shortly had a baby: Ruksana.

Inderjeet's family, who had fled to India, wanted her back. Following an agreement in 1947 between India and Pakistan on missing women, Inderjeet's family was able to bring her to India. Inderjeet was reunited with her family but left little Ruksana behind, as her family would not accept her daughter. Given the prevailing social climate and the attitude of her family, Inderjeet had very little control of her own life. She chose to remain silent about the little girl she left behind in PoK.

The matter would have rested there if it wasn't for an accidental visit. Under the more relaxed regulations that allow Kashmiris to visit the other side of the Line of Control, an Indian resident came calling at Kotli, once the native place of his family. Here, he bumped into Ruksana, who had a request: "Can you trace my mother who lives on your side of Kashmir?"

He could and what's more he did. Inderjeet, now over 80 years old, was traced in Jammu city and Ruksana has applied for permission to meet her. It is likely to be granted shortly. "I am excited," she says, her eyes misting over. "It is true I do not know her at all. But then, she is still my mother."

The story of Ruksana Begum and Inderjeet may sound unusual. But it is one of the many heart-rending stories of women who were caught in the turbulence that attended the Partition of the country. It is at once a story of vulnerability and strength — a story that remains largely untold and undocumented even six decades after the trauma of Partition.

Waiting in hope

Like Ruksana Begum, there are a number of women in the interiors of PoK who long to meet their relatives in India. Take Rabia Bibi for instance. A resident of Bhimber, a town that nestles in the plains of an otherwise hilly PoK, she was separated from her Sikh family in 1947, when they fled to India. Rabia, who has since converted to Islam, is waiting to meet her brothers, who live in Jalandhar in Punjab. "One of my sisters who was also left behind like me, died without meeting any of our relatives in India," says the 60-year old. "I don't want that to happen to me."

There are similar stories on this side of the LoC. In the by lanes of Jammu city, Harvinder Kour, yearns to be reunited with her sister Itfa Bi. The siblings have never met, as Harvinder was born after her sister and parents were separated. "I grew up hearing about the sister who lived across the Line of Control. Luckily I have been able to locate her and, God willing, should meet her," says Harvinder optimistically. She has applied for a permit to visit her sister in Muzaffarabad.

The introduction of the permit, intended to facilitate the movement of people of J&K on either side of Line of Control, has given people the hope of meeting their relatives.

Conservative attitudes, resistance from family members and the fear of raking up memories that are best forgotten are some of the reasons that prevent women on either side of the LoC from reuniting with their families. Take the case of the Muslim woman in PoK who requested me to contact her 82-year-old Sikh mother in Jammu. Having managed to trace her mother, I found myself having to deal with less-than-friendly family who did not want any reference to the elderly Sikh lady's "unsavoury" past. I could sense that the old lady wanted news of her daughter. But her family didn't want to hear anything about it.

The tragedy can be traced back to the horrors of Partition. As in most savage conflicts, women were used as weapons to inflict humiliation on the other side. Partition tales of riots are contested on both sides.

In PoK, some locals admit that some Hindu and Sikh women were abducted during the communal riots of 1947; a few blame this on the Pathans from the North West Frontier Province. Says Riaz Inqualibi, a 65-year-old lawyer in Mirpur: "Events have to be seen objectively. The relations between Muslims and Hindus of the belt remained cordial till the end. The tribal raid did cause havoc and the principal sufferers were women. But the involvement of the local Muslims was minimal." In fact, there are numerous stories of local Muslims sheltering Hindu and Sikh women when they were separated from their families.

The India-Pakistan agreement to `recover' the lost women in each other's territory facilitated the return of many women to their original families. Efforts by activists such as Mridula Sarabhai (in India) and Fatima Jinnah (sister of Md. Ali Jinnah, in Pakistan) helped in the process of restoration. Red Cross workers on both sides fanned out to remote areas to recover missing women and hand them over to their original families.

However, many women who chose to remain in PoK became cut off from their original families. Gulzari Begum, born in a Hindu family of Kotli, has not met her parental family after she decided to stay with her Muslim husband — though she knows their whereabouts.

Similarly, 76-year-old Lekh Raj Sharma, living in Mendhar tehsil, on the Indian side of J&K, has not met his sister Leelo Devi, now Leelo Begum. Lekh Raj was forced to flee from Pamoch village in November 1947 and was separated from his sister. Leelo married a local Rajput Muslim landlord, Raja Gulbar Khan. The two families have never met. Leelo Begum lost her parents long ago and her brother Sita Ram died last year. "My last wish is to see my sister. I have not seen her for six decades," says Lekh Raj, his voice trembling.

Says 93-year-old freedom fighter Sant Singh Teg: "It is time the leadership of the two countries shows the will to lessen the pain of the women on either side of the LoC by facilitating the reunion of blood relations." Singh, himself a migrant from Muzaffarabad (PoK), witnessed the pain and suffering of women during the 1947 riots. He points out that it is time that people shed their conservatism and accept what had happened in the past.

"It is the only way to reduce the pain of women on either side of the LoC," he says.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Bird flu vaccine developed in India - This Post

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a vaccine against bird flu. This was announced here on Sunday by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at the 77th annual general meeting of the ICAR Society.

The vaccine was developed at the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, Bhopal, the only facility in the country to conduct tests for the H5N1 variant of bird flu. It was entrusted with the task of developing a vaccine by the ICAR after the Avian Influenza outbreak in February. The ICAR provided Rs. 8 crore for the purpose.

ICAR Director General Mangala Rai said this was a big step forward as till date, India was importing the vaccine. "Viral diseases, such as the Avian Influenza, do not recognise boundaries, and the development of the indigenous vaccine will go a long way in tackling bird flu effectively. Since the disease has got recurring possibility, further research would focus on developing another type of vaccine," she said.

Mr. Pawar said the National Agricultural Innovation Project would increase the income of farmers and ensure livelihood security. The project would be launched later this month with World Bank assistance.

"The project envisages targeting the rural poor and disadvantaged groups such as women as beneficiaries of agricultural technology generation and dissemination in consonance with the Government's objectives, as expressed in the National Policy on Agriculture," he said.

On stagnation in wheat production, Mr. Pawar said remedial measures ought to be evolved to improve productivity. "Improving growth of the total factor productivity calls for enhanced investment in research, extension and in creation of necessary infrastructure leading to the efficient use of energy, inputs and other resources."

Courtesy: The Hindu

The Cenralized Allotment system - This Post

When in 2005 the Department of Education decided to decentralise the process of allotting seats for engineering/medical colleges in the State, little did anyone imagine that this year candidates would be able to participate in the Centralised Allotment Process (CAP) from the comfort of their homes. No student imagined that he/she would be able to submit preferences for over 500 course-college combinations and that the higher order option can be revised many times over.

Yet, all this now is a distinct reality as the Government has thrown its weight behind the special software designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that enables the office of the Commissioner for Entrance Examination to fully automate the entire process of the CAP.

In the previous years candidates had to report for the CAP at pre-specified venues, during pre-specified time slots and choose courses and colleges that are open at that point of time.

The new system

As per the new system, all a candidate will have to do is to log on to a designated website by giving the roll number, the application number and the key number that is given in the candidate's admit card.

The advantage here is that the application number and the key number is normally known only to a candidate and, therefore, the likelihood of any unauthorised entry into the site is very slim. Moreover, after the first entry, once a candidate sets the password for the site, unauthorised entry is rendered more or less impossible.

Once the candidate is on to the home page, he/she sees on screen the full list of courses and colleges for which he/she is eligible to submit options. If a candidate has written both the engineering and medical entrance, he/she can submit more than 500 course-college options. In the earlier system, a candidate was able to select a seat only from among those that were available at that point of time.

Provided along with the course-college lists is the `last rank admitted' details for a course in a particular college. Using this data, from the CAP 2005, a candidate can roughly assess the possibility of his/her getting admitted to that course in that college. In the box given beside each college/course the candidate can mark his/her priority number. This priority list can be revised any number of times during the period of 7 to 10 days allowed for this purpose. Candidates can also take printouts of the `worksheet' on which they have marked the preferences. After the window for marking preferences is over, the web page will be blocked and `frozen' so that candidates can take a final look at their option list without making any further changes.

According to NIC officials, such a system totally does away with the tensions associated with reporting to a CAP venue and choosing a seat/college within a few minutes.

Once all the candidates' options are in, the NIC will trigger the command for the computer to begin the automated allotment. This allotment will be done by a stand-alone computer that is hacker-proof. The software's algorithm co-relates the candidate's rank and preference with the courses and college available and assigns a course and college to candidate. All this, say NIC officials, will be done in about 48 hours. The details of the allotment will then be posted on the same web site that the students logged on at first.

After the first round of allotment, the candidates will have the option of cancelling their higher- order option or revising that option list.

Fee payment

The students will also be asked to pay the fee for their course at the nearest designated branch of the Canara Bank. Once the banks report the list of students who have paid the fee, the first re-allotment is done by omitting those who did not pay.

At this point while some students may get a course/college change, yet others may get allotment for the first time. Also, any change in the fee will have to be paid at the Canara Bank while those who get allotment for the first time will have to pay the entire fee.

Joining memo

The next stage is the sending of the joining memo to the students; this too is done over the Net. One feature of the new system is that candidates will have to produce various documents only while reporting to the college.

The flip side of this is the possibility of non-eligible candidates making it right to this stage of allotment. Under the earlier system, such candidates were eliminated right at the CAP venue itself. Moreover, if many candidates are eliminated during the actual admission stage - the penultimate round of allotment - there may be too many course/college changes of students in the last round.

Once the colleges report online to the NIC the details of admissions, the last round of allotment is held by eliminating those who failed to report for admission. This would bring to an end the allotment process under the new system.

Stumbling block

A major stumbling block that this system could face, something that NIC officials themselves admit, is the non-availability of adequate Internet access to all those who are eligible to participate in the CAP. This holds especially for those living in the rural areas. Though the Department of Education plans to set up computer and Net access facilities at designated centres in all the 14 districts, there is no predicting whether this would be sufficient.

But then that is a gamble that the Government is willing to take to implement what it sees as a better system for engineering/medical seat allotment.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Agni-III flight unsuccessful - This Post

• Countdown was normal; lift-off was smooth
• It crashed into the sea after climbing to a height of 12 km

The maiden flight of Agni-III, India's most powerful and advanced long-range ballistic missile, from Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast, on Sunday was unsuccessful.

Although the lift-off at 11.03 a.m. was smooth, the two-stage missile crashed into the sea after climbing to a height of 12 km. Official sources attributed the failure of the flight to the non-separation of the first stage from the second stage.

"The launch did not meet all the mission requirements," the sources said. A "design failure" is said to be the reason behind the non-separation of the first stage. Both the stages are powered by solid propellants.

The countdown for the launch of the surface-to-surface missile, with a range of 3,500 km, went off smoothly at the Integrated Test Range of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). "Around the separation time, there was a problem. It appears that the separation did not take place normally," the sources said. So the vehicle tumbled into the sea.

"We have to analyse the data. By tomorrow, we will know what went wrong. We will take corrective measures for the next flight," the sources added.

A Defence Ministry press release said, "Agni III A took off successfully. Details of the flight performance are being analysed by the mission team."

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister M. Natarajan, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and a host of top scientists from various defence laboratories watched the lift-off from the Mission Control Room.

The indigenously built Agni III is meant to carry nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes. It is expected to be the mainstay of India's credible nuclear deterrence programme, providing a second-strike capability to places as far as northern China once the mission is fully operational. The missile is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes.

According to DRDO sources, many new technologies were tried in the missile. They included rocket motors with a burn duration of more than 100 seconds, fault tolerant avionics and launch control systems. The mission team also tested the velocity of the vehicle that is capable of flying at 16 to 17 times the speed of sound.

Agni III belongs to India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Other missiles in the Agni series that have undergone several flights include Agni, Agni II and Agni I.

Agni-III was to be launched in 2003-04 when the Vajpayee Government was in power but was postponed due to technical snags. Another launch scheduled for February too was dererred. India waited for the approval of the U.S. Congressional committees in the House and Senate of the draft law empowering Mr. Bush to permit sale of nuclear reactors to India before it went ahead with the launch.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Italy wins FIFA World Cup 2006 - This Post

Italy won the World Cup in a penalty shootout on Sunday, beating France 5-3 after a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes.

David Trezeguet hit the crossbar with France's second spot kick to give Italy its fourth title, and Fabio Grosso made the deciding kick. Andrea Pirlo, Marco Materazzi, Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Del Piero also scored for the winner. Sylvain Wiltord, Eric Abidal and Willy Sagnol netted for France.

It was the first penalty shootout in a final since the 1994 World Cup. Brazil beat Italy 3-2 in that match.

Sunday's delicately balanced match went into extra time with Italy and France level at 1-1.

French skipper Zinedine Zidane was sent off in the second period of extra-time for head-butting.

Italy fought back from a goal down. French captain Zinedine Zidane put his team ahead with a penalty after seven minutes, the midfielder striking the ball against the bar and into the goal beyond Gianluigi Buffon after Florent Malouda was tripped by Marco Materazzi.

Italy equalised after 19 minutes when Materazzi atoned for his earlier misdemeanour by rising above Patrick Vieira to head powerfully past Fabien Barthez from an Andrea Pirlo corner.

Zidane's spot kick added to the two headed goals the French playmaker scored in the 3-0 win over Brazil in the 1998 final on home soil in Paris.

Geoff Hurst scored three goals in England's 4-2 win over West Germany in 1966 and is the only man to score a hat-trick in the final.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Group for Fun Lovers - This Post

Are you a fun lover? Then join my group at http://www.funarchives.tk