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Saturday, August 29, 2009

Chandrayaan, India's moon mission com...

 

Why Obama's pet pooch has curly hair!Chandrayan II faces landing woes!Earth sends 25,000 messages to aliens! Chandrayaan, India's moon mission comes to an abrupt end.

"Mars spectacular" event on August 27 a hoax, say astronomers.UPA II completes 100 days in office.Space shuttle blasts off, finally flying on try 3


 

Trouble Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 356

 

Palash Biswas



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  1. News results for Moon Mission India






    BBC News

    India loses contact with its first moon mission‎ - 1 hour ago

    BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - India has lost all contact with an unmanned spacecraft conducting its first moon mission, the national space agency said on ...
    Reuters India - 259 related articles »





  2. Cover Story: Moon Mission


    3 Jul 2000 ... The coming months will determine whether India's proposed mission to the moon will be a giant leap for the country's space programme or just ...
    www.india-today.com/itoday/20000703/cover.html - Cached - Similar -




  3. rediff.com: All about India's moon mission


    17 Oct 2008 ... Here's all that you wanted to know about India's first Moon mission.
    specials.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/17sli1.htm - Cached - Similar -




  4. WelCome to Chandrayaan


    8 Jun 2009 ... "THE MOON" with the history of the early solar system etched on it ... Understanding the moon provides a pathway to unravel the early ...
    www.isro.org/chandrayaan/index.htm - Cached - Similar -



  5. Image results for Moon Mission India

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  7. SPACE.com -- Nation of Indias Moon Mission May Not Happen


    17 Jul 2000 ... India Plans to Send Spacecraft to Moon ... WASHINGTON Despite the media hype of the past few weeks surrounding Indias planned moon mission, ...
    www.space.com/news/.../indian_moon_000717.html - Cached - Similar -




  8. Chandrayaan - indian mission to moon


    The 52-hour countdown for Chandrayaan-1 - India's first unmanned moon mission – has began at Sriharikota spaceport early on Monday for Wednesday's historic ...
    chandrayaan-indianmissiontomoon.blogspot.com/ - Cached - Similar -




  9. AFP: India rejoices over moon probe landing


    14 Nov 2008 ... India's first lunar mission began October 22 when a rocket transported Chandrayaan-1 into space. Chandrayaan -- the Sanskrit word for moon ...
    www.google.com/.../ALeqM5iJwhwx2HUwU8kW5KJMNl2UNfPmeQ - Similar -




  10. Moon mission takes India's space program in new direction ...


    Chandrayaan, launched Wednesday, will map the moon's surface. But most Indian space projects look for applications on Earth, such as telemedicine or ...
    www.csmonitor.com/2008/1022/p06s12-wosc.html - Cached - Similar -




  11. Indiadaily.com - India announces no manned lunar mission – like in ...


    19 Feb 2005 ... India announces no manned lunar mission – like in Russia and America did Extraterrestrial UFOs tell India not to go to moon with humans on ...
    www.indiadaily.com/editorial/1651.asp - Cached - Similar -




  12. Chandrayaan, India's moon mission comes to an abrupt end


    29 Aug 2009 ... Latest news, breaking news - Chandrayaan, India's moon mission comes ... Ten months after it was launched, India's maiden moon mission the ...
    www.indianexpress.com/...indias...moon-mission.../508749/ - 4 hours ago - Similar -




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    Kennedy tributes at funeral Mass


    BBC News - ‎5 minutes ago‎


    A funeral Mass for long-standing US Senator Edward Kennedy is being held in a basilica in Boston. Some 1500 guests are attending the service, with President Barack Obama due to deliver a eulogy.









    Afghan's Karzai extends poll lead


    BBC News - ‎1 hour ago‎


     

    Chandrayaan-I comes to an end, loses contact with earth

    29 Aug 2009, 1910 hrs IST, Harsimran Julka, ET Bureau

     

    NEW DELHI: India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-I, came to an abrupt end early on Saturday, as the spacecraft lost the radio link with earth at




    0130 hours.

    ISRO's Deep Space Network near Bangalore received the data from the spacecraft up to 0025 hours after which it lost contact with earth. The spacecraft was launched in the moon's orbit from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota on October 22, 2008.

    "We have lost contact with the spacecraft and the mission is over," Project Director of the Chandrayaan-1 mission M Annadurai said. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) however claimed that the moon mission had achieved most of its objectives.

    "Chandrayaan-1 has done its job technically about 100%. Scientifically, it has done almost 90-95% of its job,"Mr Annadurai added.














    Also Read
     → Moon mission over? Radio link with Chandrayaan lost
     → Chandrayaan sends photos of total lunar eclipse
     → Chandrayaan-2 likely next year end or 2010: ISRO
     → Can Chandrayaan find water on Moon?


    The spacecraft had completed 312 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon. "Chandrayaan I provided large volume of data from sophisticated sensors like terrain mapping camera, hyper-spectral imager, moon mineralogy mapper etc, meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission," ISRO said in a statement on Saturday.

    Last month, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair had said that the organisation was thinking of aborting the mission in 4-5 months, even as the 1,380 kg spaceracft developed a snag in its sensor. Chandrayaan-1 carried 11 instruments on board, including six from overseas.

    The Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched with a budget of $86 mn, almost half the cost of China's Chang'e 1 mission ($187 mn) and just about a fifth of Japan's Kayuga ($480 mn). India is now planning to launch a second moon mission - Chandryaan II, for which the design has already been completed.


     











    BJP to announce new roadmap soon: Sources

    Sources say that BJP, currently dealing with the leadership crisis, is likely to announce soon a new roadmap for the party.




    Jaitley frontrunner for BJP chief's job

    Sangh intervened strongly to end infighting in the party and force leaders to reach consensus on a new party chief.




    Advani meets RSS chief

    Senior BJP leader L K Advani met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, a day after the Sangh head appeared to have stepped in to resolve the crisis in the party.




    BJP says it will come out stronger from crisis

    It's a temporary phase and party will come out stronger from the present crisis, said BJP VP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.




    Immediate change in BJP leadership ruled out

    Despite Mohan Bhagwat chalking out a succession plan for BJP, there are no immediate plans to ring in changes in the leadership.




    Khanduri takes complaint to RSS chief

    B C Khanduri today met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and is understood to have aired his grievanaces.




    BJP has to decide its own future: RSS Chief

    The BJP has to "think and decide" its own future, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said.




    Party colleagues put Advani on the mat on Kandahar

    Advani was aware of the decision to swap terrorists for hostages during Kandhar hijack, Mishra & Sinha asserted.




    So, did Advani lie on Kandahar hostage swap?

    After spending most of Thursday in stunned silence even when Congress pounced upon the claims of Mishra and Sinha to accuse Advani of lying, BJP hit back in the evening.




    Atal would have handled things well: Yashwant

    Factional faultlines within BJP sharpened on Thursday with another former Union minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, attacking the party leadership for the way Mr Jaswant Singh was shown the door.




    Sinha, Brajesh too nail Advani's Kandahar lies

    Yashwant & Brajesh too question Advani's Kandahar claims.




    BJP 2009 looks more like Cong 1996

    Rajnath faces rebellion from Raje & Khanduri, after Shourie’s outburst.




    Anti-Sardar Patel book sold from RSS HQ in Gujarat

    Narendra Modi displayed great alacrity in banning Jaswant Singh's Jinnah book in Gujarat.




    BJP Indian variant of Ku Klux Klan: Jaswant

    Mr Jaswant Singh’s fight with BJP got nastier on Wednesday, when he compared BJP to the Ku Klux Klan.




    Jinnah’s innovator now to do it to Indian Railways

    MR Sudheendra Kulkarni, who ended his association with BJP last week, has been made a member of an advisory committee in the railway ministry. He used to laise with the Trinamool Congress when it was part of NDA.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickieslist/4909035.cms


    Indian boffins' baby mp3 heart monitor could save many lives


    ANI - 03:35 PM

    Washington, Aug 29 (ANI): Scientists from Manoharbhai Patel Institute of Engineering and Technology, in Gondia, India have developed a novel fetal heart monitor that could save the lives of unborn infants in complicated pregnancies.


     

    29/08/2009

    Who will succeed Advani and Rajnath Singh?


    The succession process has begun in the BJP. L K Advani may be replaced by Sushma Swaraj. But the call on party president is a bit dicey. Two names that are doing the rounds to replace Rajnath Singh are Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley. But Narendra Modi has been kept out of the picture.







    Mohan Bhagwat


    By R Shankar


    The succession process has begun in the BJP. A day after RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat said that the leadership age should be between 50 and 60, the message for Advani was clear and needed no further decoding. Advani is pushing 82 summers. He will have to step down as the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha soon. Not because of his age, but because of the Kandahar ghost and the issues surrounding cash for vote scandal.


    Advani in fresh trouble as the stink spreads


    The BJP and the RSS are concerned that with so many allegations against Advani, especially the one that he did say a blatant lie to the nation, he will not be able to function as an effective Opposition leader. The ruling Congress will just love to tear him apart and give him back for calling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the weakest leader in India's democratic history.


    Referring to his recent suggestion that a younger leadership take over the reins of the BJP, Bhagwat said in Delhi on Friday: "Fifty to sixty years is the average age for the Sangh leadership and it's for the political party to decide what should be the right age for it."


    Advani is likely to be succeeded by Sushma Swaraj who is young and enjoys a clean image. She is also close to Atal Bihari Vajpayee.



     

    Why Obama's pet pooch has curly hair!


    Fri, Aug 28 11:35 AM



    Washington, Aug 28 (ANI): Using data from Portuguese water dogs - the breed of President Barack Obama's dog Bo - researchers at the University of Utah have found a gene that gives some members of this dog breed curly hair and others long, wavy hair.


    The researchers showed that variations in only three genes account for the seven major types of coat seen in purebred dogs.


    The findings also point the way toward understanding complex human diseases caused by multiple genes.


    "We were part of a team that found three genes that control 90 percent of the seven coat types that characterize different breeds of purebred dogs," said K. Gordon Lark, one of 20 co-authors of the study.


    "We helped identify the gene that controls curly or wavy coats," added study co-author Kevin Chase.


    The study showed that combinations of various forms of only three genes - named RSPO2, FGF5 and KRT71 - account for seven major coat types in purebred dogs.


    The researchers analysed over 1,000 dogs from 80 domestic breeds, and found that RSPO2 is the gene associated with whether or not a dog has a moustache and large eyebrows (known together as "furnishings").


    They also found that FGF5 is linked to whether a dog's fur is long or short and KRT71 determines if the hair is curly or wavy.


    All purebred dogs have the three genes, but the presence or absence of mutant, variant forms of those genes - rather than the ancestral forms inherited from wolves - determines coat types.


    They pointed out that curly haired dogs with furnishings - such as the bichon frise breed and some Portuguese water dogs, including President Obama's dog Bo - have the variant form of all three genes.


    Portuguese water dogs come in both curly haired and wavy haired varieties, depending on what form of the KRT71 gene they have.


    Chase said that wavy haired Portuguese water dogs fit in the new study's long hair with furnishings category.


    He noted that the KRT71 gene really controls the extent of curl, not curl versus no curl.


    The researchers assisted the NIH research by sharing data on Portuguese water dogs, which they have studied for years.


    "Our contribution to this paper is data collected on the Portuguese water dog that indicated that keratin genes controlled the amount of curliness. Our data plus other data from the Ostrander group narrowed this down to KRT71," said Lark.


    KRT71 carries the code that produces keratin 71, a structural protein in hair.


    However, Lark said that the other two genes involved in determining dog coat types are more interesting in the sense that they produce proteins that regulate a variety of processes in living organisms, not just the kind of coat a dog has.


    That makes them relevant to diseases of dogs and humans.


    "Dogs share many diseases and other traits with humans. That's why they were used for many decades so extensively for pharmaceutical and medical-physiological-biochemical testing. Not surprisingly they share much of their genome [genetic blueprint] with humans also," said Lark.


    The study has been published in the journal Science. (ANI)



    Space shuttle blasts off, finally flying on try 3


     

    Cape Canaveral, Florida: Space shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts blazed into orbit Saturday on a spectacular midnight flight to the international space station, hauling up a treadmill named after a TV funnyman and thousands of pounds of more solemn supplies.




    Discovery lit up the sky for miles around as it thundered away on NASA's third launch attempt. Lightning flashed far in the distance, and the ascending shuttle resembled a bright star until it blinked out of sight five minutes after liftoff.


    The space station was soaring more than 220 miles above the Indian Ocean, southwest of Tasmania, when Discovery took off. The shuttle will reach the orbiting outpost Sunday night.


    "It looks like third time really is the charm," launch director Pete Nickolenko told commander Rick Sturckow. "We wish you and your team good luck and Godspeed."


    Tuesday's launch attempt was called off by thunderstorms and Wednesday's by fuel valve trouble. Everything came together in NASA's favor Friday night; even the valve and its indicator switch behaved, allowing Discovery to blast off seconds before midnight Friday. The shuttle safely reached orbit eight minutes later, on the following day.


    NASA officials were relieved to see no foam flying off the fuel tank; a surprising amount of the insulation came off the fuel tank during last month's launch of Endeavour, causing minor damage. More analysis is needed to ascertain whether any debris broke off Discovery's tank, said space operations chief Bill Gerstenmaier.


    Discovery's most prominent payload is NASA's new $5 million treadmill, which is named after Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert.


    Colbert tried to get a space station room named after himself and even won the online vote earlier this year, but NASA went with Tranquility instead in honor of the 40th anniversary of man's first moon landing.


    The comedian said the treadmill - for "all those chubby astronauts" - is a consolation prize.


    The treadmill is flying up in more than 100 pieces and won't be put together until sometime next month.


    In all, the space shuttle will deliver about 17,000 pounds of gear to the space station. The experiments include six mice that will remain at the orbiting complex until the following shuttle visit in November. Part of a bone loss study, the mice will be the first mammals - other than humans - to spend a prolonged period at the space station.


    "Let's go step up the science on the international space station," Sturckow radioed right before liftoff.


    Three spacewalks will be performed during the 13-day shuttle flight, to install a new ammonia tank, part of the space station's cooling system, and replace other equipment and retrieve outdoor experiments.


    The station also will get a new resident, Nicole Stott. She will replace an astronaut who moved in during the 13-day shuttle flight last month. That spaceman will return to Earth aboard Discovery, as will Buzz Lightyear. The action figure toy has been in orbit for more than a year, courtesy of Walt Disney World.


    Stott, who will spend at least three months at the space station, tapped her heart with her right hand before climbing aboard Discovery and said, "I love you" to the cameras, presumably for her husband and 7-year-old son.


    Discovery's crew includes two Hispanics, the first time two have flown together in space. Both are Mexican-Americans, and one of them, Jose Hernandez, grew up in a migrant worker family. Hernandez will file bilingual Twitter updates from orbit. A Swede is also on board.


    It was NASA's 33rd nighttime shuttle launch and preceded, by just two days, the 25th anniversary of Discovery's first liftoff. Flags flew at half-staff throughout Kennedy Space Center on Friday in memory of Sen. Edward Kennedy.


    There were times Friday night that NASA feared thunderstorms might cause yet another delay. Launch officials were in touch with the weather officer every 15 minutes as conditions flip-flopped between "go" and "no go."


    "All the hot air from all the talk we did blew all the clouds away," joked Mike Moses, chairman of the mission management team.


    Only seven shuttle flights remain, including this one. A blue-ribbon review committee should file its report soon, offering options to President Obama for the direction of NASA's human spaceflight program. As it stands now, the space shuttles will be retired after space station construction is completed in the next year to year-and-a-half.


    Source: AP


     


    Earth sends 25,000 messages to aliens!"Mars spectacular" event on August 27 a hoax, say astronomers! US Moon Mission and NASA GALAXY Empire do relate to PENTAGON and NASA Agenda of NUCLEAR ARMAMENT in the SPACE and SUVILLIENCE of the GLOBE! India Super Slave Comradors INDULGE themeselves into SPACE Tracking in similar way as INDIAN Politics as well as ECONOMY accomplish the Agenda of MASS DESTRUCTION! USSR had been the only Source of ARMAMENT for Indian Security. MIG episode and a film like RANG DE BASANTI have exposed the NAKED Truth about Blind Nationalism. War against Terror and Strategic realliance ZIONIST, Indo US Nuke Deal have altogethere OPENED up Indian Weapon Market with Unprecedented Nuclear rat race in Asia and third world to kill the Black untouchables across the Political wars! Space Mission is no BETTER than the ECONOMIC Reforms and False recession under Zionist Dynasty Colonial Rule of India Incs and United States of America in this Divided Geopoloitics! Science and Technology being USED as INSOURCING for ETHNIC Cleansing!


     


     


     


     


    India's first moon mission may be over, says project director! However,the ISRO scientists expressed confidence of attaining most of the scientific objectives of the mission. Mind you, the Pokharan Controversy is not OVER as yet which INVOKED the WAR Gods Macdonald Spree with Nuclear Muscles of Manusmriti rashtra super power. Recently, Indian navy has also gone the NUCLEAR Way with NUKE Sub marines! Call for More Nuclear Explosion undre Strategic Realliance in US ZIONIST War Imperialism is quite HOT, though the Traditional Flag Bearers of manusmriti Rule and Hindu Rashtra, the SANGH Parivar is licking the DUST under the COLONIAL Heat and Humadity of Zionist Dynasty!


     


    Meanwhile, Chandrayan II faces landing woes!


     


    With the turmoil in Bharatiya Janta Party turning grimmer, top leaders of the party continue to hold parleys to fight internal squabbles. Line of cars was seen moving to and fro outside the residence of senior party leader Lal Krishna Advani in national capital New Delhi.


     


    Senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and BC Khanduri met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday morning.


     


    The Chandrayaan II mission, slated to be launched in 2011-12, is facing an impediment in landing the "rover" on the surface of the moon. The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Gopalan Madhavan Nair, said they were trying to develop technologies to help override the concern.


     


    With Technology Blitz, NASA CIA PENTAGON helping hands the Ruling Manusmriti has got all the Key Words against the Triiblis Zionst Order and corporate Imperialism, Economic Reforms to moderate and Monitor Public Communications, leaving no space for the Fundamental right to Freedom of Expression or simply the PRIVACY and Soveignity of an Individual and Sanctity of nationality. But the SUPER Computers of India Incs Government and all the developments and Events of SCIENCE and Technology get VIRUS all round with Full Scale Corruption from kargil Coffins to Bofors Kick backs to GROSKOV!


     


    The MOON Mission is going to be the GREATEST Fraud! Greatest SCAM , greater than satyam Asatyam Inflated Economy and False Recession, shining and Nuclear super Power Hindu India!


     


    Just Be AWARE! As there is no scope of Citizen`s Journalism or Alterantive Media! toilet Media and brahaminical Intelligentsia and civil Society, CO Opted Representatoion thanks to RESERVATION and Quota have TURMINATED Indian democracy and Political System in the WOMB!


     

    Ten months after it was launched, India's maiden moon mission the ambitious Chandrayaan-1 came to an abrupt end today after ISRO lost communication with the spacecraft, cutting short the dream odyssey that was expected to last two years. On the other hand, quite rightly Coincidentally, The UPA government completed 100 days in office in its second stint Saturday with a mixed bag of good work on certain fronts while stumbling on the diplomatic front with Pakistan as it grapples with a severe drought and its effect on the price front.

     


    Nair was in the city to receive the MP Birla Memorial Award 2009 for exceptional achievement in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, space science and allied disciplines from the MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research and MP Birla Planetarium.


     


    "Ensuring the safe landing of the rover on the surface of the moon is an obstacle at present in case of Chandrayaan II. The moon does not have an atmosphere and utilising parachutes is not possible. So we are exploring other alternatives. The project should take off by 2013," said Nair.


    He claimed even the Mars mission could suffer a modest setback due to the paucity of qualified manpower and enough scientific ideas.


     


    Nair said that ISRO would also launch a geostationary satellite to cater to the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) weather monitoring system. "The satellite will help in reading cloud shifts and changing monsoon patterns. We will hand it over to IMD after its launch. We expect this project to be ready in another two to three years," the ISRO chief said.


     


    The organisation is looking at increasing the revenue from carrying spacecraft from other countries after the successful launch of PSLVs. Almost 15-20 per cent of ISRO's revenue comes from carrying spacecraft from other countries. The nodal space research organisation of India is already in talks with US for launching their satellites.


     






    Chandrayaan-1


    In this Sept. 18, 2008 file photo, The Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft, India's first unmanned mission to the Moon, is seen as it is unveiled at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Satellite Center in Bangalore. Scientists at India's national space agency said Saturday that all communication links with the country's only satellite orbiting the moon have snapped and they were unable to send commands to the spacecraft. Radio contact with Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was abruptly lost early Saturday, said a statement issued by the ISRO.


     


    While the Congress-led government could boast of historic measures like passage of the bill to provide for free education to children and for empowerment of women, the spiralling prices, drought situation in parts of the country and swine flu spoiled the party for the coalition.


     


    The feel-good effect after it secured the mandate began losing its sheen after the faux pas at Sharm-el-Sheikh when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Ali Gilani came out with a joint statement delinking terror from talks with Islamabad and inclusion of Balochistan in the dialogue process.


     


    The government came under intense attack from friends and foes alike after which the Congress did a tightrope walk for a long time before coming to the aid of the Prime Minister.


     


    UPA-II started on a bullish note after the elections with Manmohan Singh becoming the only leader after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to occupy the high office for a second time after a full term.


    The 100-day programme of the government showed the intensity of the Prime Minister who made it clear to his Cabinet colleagues that 'business as usual will not do'.


     


    India's ambitious moon mission -- Chandrayaan-I -- has probably ended after losing radio contact since Saturday noon, said its project director M. Annadurai, but Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said scientists will evaluate the performance of the mission over the next two days before deciding whether or not to call it off.


     


    Earlier, in the day the flamboyant spacecraft had lost the radio control at around 1.30 a.m. IST, increasing fears of a premature end of the spacecraft.


     


    According to a press release by the ISRO, the deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore has not received any signal form the spacecraft since midnight.


     


    "Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at 0130 Hrs (IST) on August 29, 2009. Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received the data from Chandrayaan-I during the previous orbit upto 0025 Hrs (IST),"the press release states.The ISRO has ordered for a detailed review of the data received by the spacecraft, "Detailed review of the Telemetry data received from the spacecraft is in progress and health of the spacecraft subsystems is being analysed," press release states.


     


    Earlier, on July 17, the flamboyant moon mission Chandrayaan-I, had lost a major sensor. The scientific community then feared the premature end of the spacecraft.


     


    The Chandrayaan-I, which was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in October 2008, has completed over 350 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors.


     


    The spacecraft was equipped with Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc.,


     


     The Tidbinbilla Deep Space Communication Complex outside Canberra, Australia, has sent out more than 25,000 messages to Gliese 581d, the nearest Earth-like planet outside our solar system, which might host life.


     


    According to a report carried out in www.news.com.au, the messages have come from 195 countries including some from places such as the Vatican city, Antarctica and Kosovo.


     


    Each message, a maximum of 160 characters long, was collated on a website called "Friends from Earth" and all 25,880 messages were beamed together in a giant twitter-like message that took two hours to send.


     


    Their target is the nearest Earth-like planet outside our solar system, called Gliese 581d, which is 20.3 light years away.


     


    Travelling at the speed of light, or 300,000km per second, it will take 20.3 years for the messages to reach the planet and just as long for a response back to Earth.


     


    The antenna used to transit was beaming to 302 gigawatts or the equivalent energy of 302 billion mobile phones or every person on earth sending 50 texts at one time.


     


    Scientists believe that as Gliese 581d is four planets away from its own sun, also named Gliese 581, the conditions make it possible to contain life.


     


    "People are really excited about Gliese 581d because they think it might have life," Hello from Earth project manager Wilson da Silva told the gathering in Canberra moments before the transmission.


     


    "We don't actually know if there's life on Gliese 581d, but what we do know is that it has the conditions for life, we don't know that it has a technical civilization that could actually receive the signal we're transmitting," he said.


     


    According to Da Silva, while some of the messages were considered inappropriate to send, others were heart-felt, like that from Aboriginal astronomer Yidumduma Bill Harney from the Wardaman people near Katherine, which read, "Our dream, we're telling to them young kids. We're talking all this dream for the future".


     


    Addressing the Ninth convocation of the International Institute of Information and Technology at Bangalore last month, Nair said the tracking and detection of several factors by Chandrayaan are important steps in mapping the mineralogical composition of moon's surface, which in turn would enable further study in its origin and evolution.


     


    "I think I am happy to say that Chandrayaan has been completely successful in collecting all the data what we wanted. First was the three dimensional of the lunar surface, also getting the mineral content of the surface and then trying to use the extra instruments," said Nair.


    "All this went on very well and we are more or less very happy that the mission is complete," he added.


    Nair also added that the second moon mission would be launched by 2012.


     


    "The mission is definitely over. We have lost contact with the spacecraft," said Project Director of the Chandrayaan-1 mission M Annadurai.


     


    However, he said: "It (Chandrayaan-1) has done its job technically...100 per cent. Scientifically also, it has done almost 90-95 percent of its job".


     


    The two-year mission, launched on October 22 last year with much fanfare, was abandoned early Saturday after the after radio contact with the mooncraft was abruptly lost at 0130 hours.


     


    The Deep Space Network at Byalalu near here received the data from the 1,380 kg Chandrayaan-1, which carried 11 instruments on board, including six from overseas, during the previous orbit up to 0025 hours.


     


    ISRO is conducting detailed review of the telemetry data from the spacecraft. "We will analyse as to what happened," Annadurai said.


     


    Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, launched by homegrown PSLV-C11 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, has completed 312 days in orbit, making more than 3,400 orbits around the moon.


     


    It has provided large volume of data from sophisticated sensors such as terrain mapping camera, hyper-spectral imager and moon mineralogy mapper, meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission.


     


    "Mars spectacular" event on August 27 a hoax, say astronomers


     


    Astronomers have confirmed that an email promising a "Mars spectacular" event on August 27, when the Red Planet will look as large as the full moon, is nothing but a hoax.


     


    According to a report in National Geographic News, the anonymous message from an unknown part of the globe says that the red planet "will look as large as the full moon" in the night sky, and that "no one alive today will ever see this again."


     


    The claim has been bombarding people's inboxes worldwide every summer for five years.


    Today, the Mars hoax has grown into a kind of cyber legend-one that astronomers are still struggling to debunk.


     


    "The possibility of seeing Mars as large as the moon strikes the imagination," said Marc Jobin, staff astronomer at the Montreal Planetarium in Quebec.


     


    "The sad reality is that a lot of people have little comprehension of astronomy and are unable to call the hoax," he added.


     


    But, there is a thread of truth that inspired the prank several years ago.


     


    Planets are not on perfectly circular orbits, and during their elliptical paths around the sun, planets can vary in their exact distances to each other over time.


     


    On August 27, 2003, Mars made a historically tight approach to Earth, coming about 56 million kilometers away.


     


    Such a near pass hadn't happened in nearly 60,000 years, and it won't happen again until August 28, 2287.


     


    In 2003, planetariums had sent out notices alerting stargazers of the real astronomical event.


    "At the time, through the telescope, Mars looked as large as the full moon would with the naked eye," explained Geza Gyuk, astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.


     


    Through a backyard telescope with a high-power eyepiece, viewers could even make out many surface features on Mars's disk.


     


    With the naked eye, Mars still appeared as nothing more than a brilliant orange-colored star in the sky.


     


    Still, an email hoax was born.


     


    If the red planet actually did appear as huge as purported in the Mars hoax email, the planet would be just 750,000 kilometers from Earth, or about twice as far away as the moon.


    According to Jobin, at that distance, life on Earth would likely be doomed.


     


    Given the interplay of gravity between the planets and the sun, a much closer Mars "would have extreme consequences on the shape of the Earth's orbit, with our planet swinging much closer and much farther away from the sun," he said.


     


    Atmosphere not conducive for moving ahead with Pak: PM


     


    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India wants to improve ties with Pakistan but the atmosphere is not conducive for moving ahead. "I want our relations to improve.


     


    If relations between India and Pakistan improve, a lot of things can happen. I think border states like Punjab, Rajasthan and other states will benefit if relations improve," he told a select group of reporters here during a brief visit.


     


    He was responding when asked why the Indo-Pak Thar Express did not have stoppage at Barmer. Singh said many beneficial things could not be undertaken until relations between India and Pakistan "don''t improve and brotherhood does not improve".


     


    He said "the atmosphere is not conducive for moving ahead." Asked why the relations between the two neighbours were not improving, he said, "there are some forces in that country also, I don''t want to say that.


     


    Controversy over Pokhran-II needless: PM


    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the recent controversy over the 1998 Pokhran tests was "needless" and that former president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has clarified that the explosions were successful.


     




    "A wrong impression has been given by some scientists which is needless. Kalam has clarified that the tests were successful," Manmohan told reporters here.


     


    He was asked about the bombshell dropped by a former DRDO scientist K. Santhanam that the Pokhran-II was not a full success.

    Santhanam, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) representative for the tests, had claimed that the thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb was of low yield and not the one that would meet the country's strategic objectives. He said India needed to conduct more atomic tests and should not sign CTBT.


     


    Santhanam said: "The Science and Technology Community as a whole wanted to have some more tests, ... but conducting a nuclear test is a highly political decision, and no matter the wish of scientific community may be, the political leadership of the country will have its say."


    Santhanam also clarified that he had at no stage said the tests were a complete failure.


     


    "I didn't say it was a failure but partially successful," Santhanam added.


     


    But Kalam, who was the Director General of the DRDO during Pokhran-II, maintained that from the data obtained by seismic and radioactive measurements it had been established by the project team that the "design yield of the thermo-nuclear test has been obtained."


     


    R. Chidambaram, who was the Chairman of the Department of Atomic Energy in 1998, also dubbed the suggestion as "absurd".


    India tested five nuclear devices including two-sub kilo category of thermo nuclear devices code named "Operation Shakti," on May 11 and 13, 1998 at Pokhran in Rajasthan.


     


    Sushma Swaraj, other BJP brass meet at Advani residence


     Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, has joined other party colleagues at the residence of Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani to reportedly discuss a viable succession plan.

     



    According to a Times Now television report, Swaraj's visit to the Advani residence is significant in the wake of the BJP's parent body -- the RSS -- reportedly readying a succession plan with Arun Jaitley being tipped for BJP President and Sushma Swaraj as the Leader of Opposition.


    It is reliably learnt that though there are no immediate changes in the top leadership, a succession plan is being readied after discussions with the RSS on Friday night.


     


    Sources said that the RSS has firmly asked BJP leaders to end infighting in the party and reach a consensus on a new party chief.


     


    The decision to call Jaitley and Swaraj together to a meeting at the RSS headquarters is seen as very significant, as they are the leading contenders for the party leadership, sparking speculation that a power-sharing arrangement might have been arrived at.


     


    Jaitley looks the front-runner for the party chief''s job while Swaraj is tipped to take over from Advani as Leader of Opposition. If implemented, the party could see Naidu becoming Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, a post currently held by Jaitley.


     


    The RSS has felt that if the factionalism is not quickly resolved, the issue could prolong till the end of the year.


     


    India hesitating to talk peace: Pakistan


     


    Pakistan Saturday said it was willing to resume the dialogue process with India but there 'is no response' from New Delhi.


     


    Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan invited Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Islamabad as per the Sharm el-Sheikh declaration between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Geelani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh 'but there is no response from New Delhi so far'.


     


    'India should not shy away from coming to the dialogue,' he told reporters at the foreign office here, adding: 'Pakistan has no problem to resume talks with India.'


     


    'If the road forward is dialogue... then they should come and sit and talk,' he maintained.


     


    'We are committed on our stand that war is not a solution and the only option is negotiation and dialogue.


     


    'War is not a solution to issue as it would amount to committing suicide and the two countries have no choice but to talk to each other,' he said.


     


    Qureshi said domestic politics was 'creating problems for the Indian leadership' to resume talks with Pakistan.


     


    The minister said by extending an invitation to the Indian foreign secretary, Pakistan had expressed its sincerity for the dialogue process.


     


    The proposed meeting between Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir was to have set the agenda for a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, he said.


     


    Qureshi said Pakistan had no objection if India wanted to hold the meeting at a third venue.


     


    Jaswant Singh blames Nehru, Patel for partition on Pak television


     Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh has once again invited controversy by blaming India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.


     


    In an interview with the Dawn News, Singh blamed Pandit Nehru and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel for the partition and creation of Pakistan.


     


    Jaswant Singh to move Supreme Court against book ban


     


    Yashwant Sinha flays Jaswant Singh's expulsion


     


    Referring to Nehru's Tryst with destiny speech, Singh said it was nothing short of double standard as Nehru himself talked of secularism while contributing to the country's division along with Sardar Patel on grounds of so called 'faith'.


     


    Singh claimed that later Nehru had himself admitted of being responsible for the partition.


     


    It is worth mentioning here that Jaswant Singh's book 'Jinnah: ndia-Partition-Independence' which saw him being expelled from the BJP after serving it for nearly 30 years has received an overwhelming response in Pakistan.


     


    Singh, in his book, has glorified Jinnah while blaming Sardar Patel for the country's division in 1947.


     


    The book quotes Singh as saying that Jinnah did not win Pakistan, rather Nehru and Patel conceded Pakistan to Jinnah with the help of the British.


    Meanwhile, authorities have denied permission to Singh to visit Pakistan to launch his book. However, Singh's son Manvendra Singh said his father has not applied for a visa, and as far as he knew.


     


    He also rejected reports that there was a different Pakistan edition of the book.


     


    Karzai lead in controversial Afghan election grows to 15 percent


    The lead of incumbent President Hamid Karzai increased to more than 15 percent over his nearest challenger nine days after the country's presidential elections, the Afghan Independent Election Commission reported Saturday.


    According to the new figures, Karzai has 46.3 percent of the vote, compared to 31.4 percent for former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, with a third of the poll or more than two million votes counted.


    At the beginning of the vote count, partial results were showing a neck-and-neck race between Karzai and Abdullah.


     


    9/11 plotters alive and planning fresh attacks: US


    Thu, Aug 27 11:51 AM



    The 9/11 plotters are not only alive but planning fresh attacks, a top US military general said. "The people behind that deadly day are still at it. They live and plan and train in safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," Navy admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said.


    Beyond 9/11


    "They would like nothing better than to see either country or both fall prey to the grip of an extremist ideology. To the degree we let them succeed, we let ourselves become vulnerable," Mullen said in his address to the 91st annual American Legion Convention, Louisville, Kentucky.


    "My mission, the one currently given to me by the President, is to prevent that from happening. And that's what we're going to do," Mullen said.


    While Pakistanis are themselves waging their war against extremists, Mullen said, in Afghanistan, the war being waged to defeat al-Qaida and its extremist allies is led by an international security force with Afghans.


    "We have got to help them. That is why I ordered the establishment of a Pakistan-Afghanistan coordination cell, inside my own staff, to work exclusively on the issues of that region, to stay engaged," Mullen said.


    (Content Courtesy: PTI)


     


    Obama's top pet peeves revealed


    Wed, Aug 26 01:20 PM



    Washington, August 26 (ANI): The White House can create small annoyances for the US President Barack Obama whose reported list of pet peeves include missing out his duties as First Dad and running late on time.


    Staffers at the official residence revealed how annoyed the president was left when he learnt his aides missed out including one of his daughters' concerts at school in his busy schedule.


    "When he learned about it, he came up and asked us how it happened. He was annoyed and he let us know," the Politico quoted a White House aide as saying.


    The aide recalled Obama as saying, "This is unacceptable. Make sure it never happens again."


    White House senior adviser David Axelrod also revealed that the president hated it when "folks try to get him to wear baseball gear for teams other than the White Sox."


    Obama's other peeves were apparently related to the schedule and scrutiny of living in presidential bubble.


    The 44the US president allegedly dislikes missing his daily workout,that usually happens in the morning or before an evening event.


    A senior aide, who has worked with the leader for more than four years, said: "If there's no workout time, he'll get a little upset."


    The politician also purportedly likes to stay away from endless snapping of the cameras, or running late for meeting, or any sort or drama and gets irritated when "the shine police" powder him too much before television appearances.


    An aide, who has worked with Obama for more than two years, also revealed: "If you spend too much time telling him where to go, how you get there, and everything in between, it drives him crazy."


    Another issue that reportedly irks Obama is when people "talk too much at meetings and prevent others from speaking," or are not prepared to discuss the matter.


    Press secretary Robert Gibbs said: "You better make sure you have everything there to discuss the issue."


    Another senior aide nodded: "If people aren't prepared, if ideas are half-baked, he gets a little annoyed because he feels like he could be using his time better."


    And when things get on his nerves, the president does not scream. Gibbs added: "It's far more convincing than yelling. He gives you a smirk." (ANI)


     


    Employee undergoing sex change objects to 'genderless toilet'


    Thu, Aug 27 09:49 AM



    Hong Kong, Aug 27 (DPA) A bank worker assigned a 'genderless toilet' by his employer HSBC after he started dressing as a woman in the first stage of a sex change has logged a complaint against the banking giant, a news report said Thursday.


    The 55-year-old senior IT manager claims he has been not been able to use either the men's or ladies' staff toilets since he officially switched genders at the beginning of August.


    Instead, he claims his employer has assigned him a 'genderless toilet' in an act of discrimination against him.


    The worker, surnamed Wong, is currently taking female hormone tablets and is set to have the sex change operation in November, the report in the Hong Kong Standard said.


    In the meantime, he claims he should be allowed to use the female washroom and has taken his fight to the Equal Opportunities Commission.


    He also claims he has suffered discrimination in the office because of his gender switch and is afraid he will lose his job.


    Wong said his requests for a departmental transfer and early retirement have been ignored and his performance rating has been downgraded.


    His complaint is now before the Equal Opportunity Commission and awaits an official response from the bank.


    A HSBC spokesperson told the Standard the company was aware of the situation but stressed that the HSBC treats all employees with the same respect.


    DPA

     Maytas posts loss; blames it on Satyam


    Sat, Aug 29 08:25 PM



    Sat, Aug 29 08:25 PM


    Hyderabad, Aug 29 (PTI) Ramalinga Raju family promoted Maytas Infra Ltd today reported a net loss of Rs 489.79 crores for FY''09 and attributed the poor showing to what it called "unprecedented events" linked to Satyam Computer. The company, which had a net profit of Rs 99.64 crore last fiscal, released the results days after Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that the government was awaiting reports from the Enforcement Directorate and the US'' Internal Revenue Service to see if the accounts needed restating.


    Maytas, which lost the Hyderabad Metro rail project after an accounting scam came to light in Raju-founded Satyam in January, said in a statement that its top line fell 19 per cent to Rs 1,335 crore during the year. It said there was an increase in personnel cost by Rs 55 crore, which is 8 per cent of the revenue as against 4 per cent the previous year.


    Interest cost and depreciation cost increased by Rs 141 crore and Rs.35 crore, respectively, over the previous year.


    For the April-June quarter, the company said it had incurred a net loss of Rs 16.28 crore as against a net profit of Rs 20.05 crore in the year-ago period. "The unprecedented events that occurred in the company have seriously affected its business operations during the financial year ended 31st March, 2009 to a larger extent," Ved Jain, the government-nominated director of Maytas, said.


    MORE PTI CPB SSA KM.


     


    The third placed candidate, former planning minister Ramazan Bashardost, has garnered 13.6 percent of the vote.


    Should the leader of the race not reach an absolute majority, a second round of voting will take place in October between the first- and second-placed candidates. A preliminary result is expected next week, and an official end result in mid-September.


    Abdullah has accused the Karzai camp of electoral fraud. Almost 800 complaints have been made concerning the election and the count.


     


    BlackBerry is world's fastest growing company: Fortune


     


     


    Tue, Aug 18 09:40 AM



    Toronto, Aug 18 (IANS) BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) tops Fortune magazine's list of the world's 100 fastest-growing companies.


    It is the first time that Fortune has opened its list of the top 100 fastest growing companies to businesses from around the world.


    Apple, which is BlackBerry makers' main rival in the global smart phone market, is way down the list at 39th spot.


    Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc., which is the world's biggest fertiliser company, is another Canadian firm among the top 10 in the Fortune list.


    Among the top 10 are also two companies from China -- Sohu.com and Shanda Interactive Entertainment.


    Others in the top 10 are California-based Sigma Designs, Ebix of Atlanta, Texas-based DG Fastchannel, CF Industries of Illinois, Arena Resources of Oklahoma and Massachusetts-based Bruker Corp.


    BlackBerry maker RIM currently controls 56 percent of the smart phone market in the US.


    Based at Hamilton near Toronto, RIM has just reported net revenue of $3.42 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 -- up 53 percent from the same period last year.


    Defying market forecasts, it has posted a record quarterly profit of $643 million as against $482.5 million during the same period last year.


    The wireless communication giant, which has currently about 12,000 employees on its rolls, has also extended its market from corporate types to common consumers.


    Giving credit to them for this, Fortune magazine says RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are 'more than holding their own' against Apple head Steve Jobs.


    Apple had mounted a huge challenge to the BlackBerry maker last year by launching its iphones.


    However, Fortune warns RIM that competition is 'getting increasingly stiff' with changing consumer demands.


    Currently, BlackBerry has a subscription base of about 29 million in about 150 countries.


    At about $80, RIM shares are still almost half of the $150-peak they touched early last year.


    To be eligible for the list, foreign companies should be traded on a US exchange and file quarterly reports. Fortune ranks the companies on the basis of three years of revenue and profit growth and total return.


    Indo Asian News Service

     

    Sensor loss would not affect lifespan of Chandrayan: ISRO Chairman Nair


    Fri, Jul 17 06:00 PM



    Bangalore, Jul 17 (ANI): The failure of the star-sensor will not reduce the two-year lifespan of Chandrayan-I spacecraft, G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said here on Friday.


    He was speaking to the media after the report of loss of sensors of Chandrayan in the media.


    It was reported that last month the prestigious Chandrayan mission lost one of its vital sensors. Nair described this loss of sensor as unfortunate.


    Nair said the mission has achieved more than 90 percent of its objective, and there is no need to panic about the success of the mission.


    ISRO launched its formidable Chandrayan I spacecraft from Satish Dhavan Space Centre in Shriharikota Andhra Pradesh in October 2008.


    The star sensor, one of the prime sensors, was used for determining the spacecraft's altitude, looking at the stars, this sensor can determine the orientation of the moon spacecraft accurately, Nair said.


    Nair informed the media the life period of the spacecraft is not dependent only on the sensors. The sensor is used for orientation of the spacecraft. He added that the lost sensor couldn't be recovered at this stage and the remaining part Chandrayan would be completed with the help of gyromodes.


    According to sources ISRO is using gyroscopes, electro-mechanical devices used for Indian Remote Sensing (I R S) class of satellites, which gives the orientation accuracy quite satisfactorily.


    Nair said the ISRO scientists has achieved more than 90 per cent of the scientific and mission objectives in the last eight months and the failure of sensors did not affect the research work. (ANI)


     


    Government reviews Air India's turnaround plan


    Sat, Aug 29 07:28 PM



    New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) A committee of secretaries (CoS) set up to look into the financial health of Air India Saturday asked the civil aviation ministry to forward its turnaround plan for the cash-strapped national carrier to the cabinet.


    'The committee of secretaries has now directed the ministry of civil aviation to move a proposal to the cabinet in consultation with the ministry of finance,' an official statement said.


    Earlier in the day, the CoS, headed by Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, met here to discuss the turnaround plan presented by Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav.


    The plan includes cost reduction, revenue enhancement and business transformation measures undertaken by Air India in the last two months.


    'While appreciating the various measures taken by Air India, the committee felt that in some areas more aggressive cost reduction measures need to be adopted and the company needs to examine its strategic position with respect to its shareholders objectives,' the statement said.


    A senior Air India official, who did not wish to be named, told IANS that the committee has in principle agreed to infuse an equity of Rs.5,000 crore over the next three years.


    'The equity infusion will be subject to review every three months,' he said.


    However, the airline has not confirmed this.


    The national carrier had earlier sought Rs.15,000 crore from the government to overcome its financial crisis.


    Air India is estimated to have suffered a loss of Rs.7,200 crore in 2008-09. It is currently overburdened by its working capital borrowings of Rs.17,000 crore and has overdrafts from 15 banks.


    Indo Asian News Service

     

    Government to review Tea Board's incentive schemes


    Sat, Aug 29 08:10 PM



    Kolkata, Aug 29 (IANS) The government will review all incentive schemes of the Tea Board of India to monitor their effectiveness, a top board official said here Saturday.


    'The Planning Commission has called for a mid-term assessment of all the existing schemes managed by the board and a meeting has been called next month,' Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee said while addressing the annual general meeting of the Indian Tea Association.


    He added that the government was 'unhappy' with the performance of the Rs.4,800 crore Special Purpose Tea Fund, which is in operation since January 2007.


    The fund has been set up to help tea planters to uproot old tea bushes and plant new ones. This plantation process would help in improving tea yield and quality of leaves as well.


    'Till date, about 50 percent of the planters have sought to avail assistance from the fund whereas our aim was to achieve much more,' Banerjee said.


    The scheme would play a key role in raising the tea output in the country as productivity is expected to go up from 1,700 kg/hectare now to 3,000 kg/hectare over 10 years, he said.


    The Tea Board, Banerjee said, has appointed market research firm AC Nielsen to study the effectiveness of incentive schemes for the production of quality orthodox tea leaves.


    Indo Asian News Service

     

    Somnath asks Chidambaram to withdraw his security cover


    Sat, Aug 29 08:32 PM



    Sat, Aug 29 08:32 PM


    New Delhi, Aug 29 (PTI) Somnath Chatterjee, who was Lok Sabha Speaker till a few months back, has asked Home Minister P Chidambaram to withdraw his security cover. In a letter to Chidambaram, Chatterjee, who now mostly stays in Kolkata, said whenever he visits Delhi, he had seen some security personnel put on duty in front of the guest accommodation provided to him temporarily.


    "May I request you to have the matter looked into so that the security personnel may be withdrawn as, I believe, I am not entitled to be provided with such security nor have I asked for it," he said in the letter.


     


    A matrimonial website for transsexual community launched


    Sat, Aug 29 12:45 PM



    Chennai, Aug 29 (ANI): Members of transsexual community in Chennai launched the world's first matrimonial website for their clan.


    A Chennai based transgender Kalki is the director and the founder of the website, sahodari.org, which is one of first websites in the world for transsexual marriages.


    Kalki said that the reason why she thought of launching this website was because the profiles of the members of the transsexual community were being rejected by popular matrimonial websites.


    "Some of the transsexual ladies wanted to upload their profiles on the popular matrimonial websites in the country and few of them even tried but their profiles were rejected because of the gender identity because they were not the biological women and that is the discrimination. So we wanted to take it in our own hands," said Kalki.


    Transsexuals in India are commonly referred to as 'hijras' and often do not fit easily into society.


    But widespread superstitions have also accorded them a certain amount of fearful respect, while a handful has been elected to public office.


    Singing and dancing bands of sari-clad hijras will often appear, invited or otherwise, at weddings and at the blessing ceremonies of newborn babies. (ANI)


     


    Model assaulted by NRI producer


    Sat, Aug 29 04:11 PM



    A female model who was performing at the launch of her album was assaulted by NRI producer.


    Survi, the model seems to have known the Producer, Khullar for 3 months. "He misbehaved with me and he was drunk and he assaulted me," she said.


    Khullar on his defense said that he wanted to teach his wife a lesson and that marrying her was a mistake and said that he was sorry for what happened. Survi has launched a complaint with the Mumbai police.


    (Agencies)


     

    29/08/2009

    Mangala oil output will bring prosperity: PM


    Barmer, Rajasthan: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday that the inauguration of Cairn India's Mangala oil fields here is bound to bring enormous prosperity to Rajasthan.







    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh


    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looks at the first few drops of oil, presented to him by Cairn India after the inauguration of Mangala oil fields in Barmer, Rajasthan on Saturday. According to news reports, Mangala oil fields in Rajasthan state are India's largest oil discovery in two decades. Being Asia's third-largest oil consumer, India imports about three-quarters of its oil and the government is keen to tap domestic reservoirs to reduce this dependence.


    Speaking after inaugurating the Mangala field, India's largest oil discovery in two decades, he said: "It is a historical fact that whenever oil has been found in a country, it has developed very fast. I believe after the oil production here, there will be a new Rajasthan where there is no poverty and less unemployment."


    He added: "Our country is moving forward at a rapid rate. This rapid rate of growth has to be fed with increasing demand for energy."


    Manmohan Singh also referred to the drought engulfing parts of the country following a shortfall in monsoon rains.


    "I know lots of places including Rajasthan are suffering from drought. I have assured Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot that the central government is with the state in this fight to mitigate the suffering of people, and we will approve whatever is necessary."


    He also said that India was "a very good place for investment" as demonstrated by Cairn India's success story. "I invite investors from all over the world and promise them full support."


    Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were present at the function.


    Mangala's peak production of 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) will be reached in the first half of 2010.


    Earlier, the prime minister undertook an aerial survey of drought-hit areas in Rajasthan.


    'Good climate' to foster oil & gas sector


    Manmohan said that India offered "a very good" climate for foreign investment in the sector.


    Speaking at the beginning of oil production from Cairn India's on-land Mangala oilfield, he said the historic event reflected that a "very good climate has been created for foreign investment."


    "I invite investors from all over the world (to invest in the oil and gas sector) ...The investment climate is positive. We are committed to facilitating (such investment) and providing all assistance," he said.


    29/08/2009

    Weekly Review: 7-day run help markets end at year high


    Mumbai: Markets gained steadily in expiry week even as the Sensex showed lacklustre movements. The index added 681 points (4.5%) to 15,922.




    The Nifty also gained substantially and ended up 204 points (4.5%) at 4,732. Through the week the index touched a high of 4,744 and a low of 4,5367.


    The Sensex opened this week at 15,363 and surged over 300 points on the very first day. From there it was lacklustre but kept moving steadily upwards and closed at this year's closing high of 15,922. Thursday's derivatives expiry had little bearing on the markets, The free trade policy boosted some specific stocks in the textile sector.


    Markets have gained for the past seven days. The Sensex soared 1,113 points (7.5%) since August 20, 2009.


    The market breadth was positive through the week. Out of 20,718 stocks traded on both exchanges, 12,987 had advanced while only 7,224 had declined.


    Foreign institutional investors were net buyers worth Rs 650.4 crore till Thursday. Mutual Funds bought shares worth Rs 923 crore till Wednesday.


    Tata Motors soared 13% to Rs 490. Sterlite zoomed 11% to Rs 696.


    IT stocks surged on orders from British Petroleum. Wipro rallied 10% to Rs 696. Infosys gained 8% at Rs 2,188. TCS added 6% to Rs 509.


    Sensex heavyweight, Reliance was up 7% at Rs 2,070. Bharti Airtel also advanced 6% to Rs 435 as the deal with MTN progressed.


    Other big gainers included realty majors Jaiprakash Assocates (10%), Larsen & toubro (9%) and DLF (8%).


    However, Tata Steel dropped 1.5% to Rs 439 after announcing a loss in Q1.


    ONGC and HDFC Bank slipped marginally to Rs 1,179 and Rs 1,457, respectively.


    VALUE & VOLUME TOPPERS...


    Aban Offshore topped the value chart with a turnover of Rs 4,993.10 crore, followed by Reliance (2,980.65 crore), Unitech (2,612.73 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 2,404.37 crore) and Mahindra Satyam (2,385.16 crore).


    The volume chart was led by Unitech with trades of nearly 285 million shares, followed by Suzlon (232.45 million), Mahindra Satyam (219.07 million), Reliance Natural Resources (184.41 million) and IFCI (178.10 million).


    Source: Business Standard


     

    29/08/2009

    Billionaire Ross invests in Satyam after losing bid


    Mumbai: Billionaire investor W L Ross, despite losing to Tech Mahindra in acquiring Satyam, is still interested in the firm.




    W. L. Ross & Co has acquired 1.8 million American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Satyam (Mahindra Satyam) from NYSE Euronext for $4.6 million (over Rs 20 crore) at an average price of $2.5 per share, the parent firm of W L Ross, Invesco, said in a Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) filing.


    This has made it the second largest stakeholder in Satyam Computer Services' (now Mahindra Satyam) US securities, representing 1.4 per cent of the total ADRs. Citibank NY ADR Department has 6.68 per cent of ADRs.


    Of the overall percentage of Mahindra Satyam's 97.67 crore shares, Ross' stake would be a mere 0.33 per cent.


    Ross was one of the contenders for acquiring a controlling stake in Satyam. But the company put a bid of Rs 20 per share for Satyam, which was pipped by Tech Mahindra's bid of Rs 58 per share.


    Source: Business Standard


     


    29/08/2009

    Free ATM withdrawals face caps from Oct 15


    Mumbai: The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) Friday decided to limit the number of free third-party ATM transactions to five per month. In addition, the maximum amount that a customer can withdraw from another bank’s ATM has been capped at Rs 10,000 per transaction. Banks have also been allowed to charge for withdrawals from current accounts at third-party ATMs.




    The decision to bring the rule into force from October 15 was taken at a meeting of the IBA in Mumbai today. IBA Chairman M V Nair confirmed the date on which the rule would come into effect. Customers will have to be intimated at least a month before the rule is implemented.


    Since April 1, customers have been allowed use of other banks' ATMs free of charge, in line with a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive. However, faced with a surge in the number of transactions and a rise in interchange expenses, banks urged RBI to impose caps on use of third-party ATMs. Every time a customer uses another bank's ATM, his bank has to pay an interchange fee of Rs 20 to the other bank. Before April 1 this year, this charge was borne by the user.


    However, banks will have to implement various technical changes to their ATM networks before the rule can be implemented. Bankers said they would need at least two-three months to prepare for the modifications.


    "Banks will have to make modifications in their ATM operations so that every time a user exceeds his quota of five transactions, he gets an alert. For subsequent transactions, the interchange fee will be debited from his account. Banks are not yet ready for these modifications," said a senior executive of a bank.


    Source: Business Standard


     


    29/08/2009


    TCS eyes $1-bn Indian revenue


    New Delhi: Even as its US business has been impacted by the recession, Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest information technology services provider, expects its India revenues to double to $1 billion in the next three-four years, majorly coming from the government sector. India currently contributes 10 per cent to TCS’ total revenues.




    "We are looking at three pillars in the domestic market -- government, large enterprises, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With large enterprises, the deals could be in products and engineering services, while for SMEs, it could be cloud-based services, based on their affordability. The government offers opportunities in mission mode projects, e-governance and NREGA, among others, through a portal-based approach or a web-based one," TCS' outgoing CEO, S Ramadorai, told reporters here.


    For large enterprises in India, it is looking at an overall deal size of around Rs 400 crore. For SMEs, anywhere between Rs 25-100 crore for niche services like SAP or Oracle-based services in analytics or data warehousing.


    Of its India business, the government sector's share is 40 per cent and the IT major has already worked on the government's e-Passport Seva project and MCA-21.


    Commenting on the deal pipeline in this environment, Ramadorai said drastic downturn is behind us and there is a demand uptake in some areas.


    "Pricing is stable, except for the telecom and manufacturing clients. There is a deal pipeline in BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), retail, life sciences and government, and enquiries are also coming from these sectors," he added.


    The pricing position is not very stable, as project cancellations happen and closures of projects might happen slowly. Also, some bankruptcies in manufacturing led to the unstable situation, he explained.


    On its recent deal with BP, TCS expects revenues to start flowing by the third quarter and the deal to contribute between $30-100 million (around Rs 150-500 crore) on an annualised basis over the next three to five years.


    The company also plans to relocate some people in the US as it did in the last quarter, depending on the projects. However, this number would be less than 1,000. On inorganic growth, TCS doesn't plan to proactively go after acquisitions but would look at these if they come in the firm's way.


    "We see greater growth from markets like Latin America, APAC, Middle East and Africa compared with the mature markets. For us, the emerging verticals are energy and lifesciences. We will scale up operations in Bhubaneswar," said Ramadorai on the company's overall growth strategy.


    What next for Ramadorai?

    TCS' retiring CEO S Ramadorai says after he steps down in October, he would make the company a more visible brand by being on the company's board as a non-executive director. "I would be having a board position, whether in telecom or some technology space, in addition to other positions in other boards," he told journalists here.


    Personally, Ramadorai intends to nurture and build talent, beside working on Tata Sons' super-computer and scale-play it in the fields of nanotechnology, security and lifesciences.


    Source: Business Standard






    29/08/2009

    India's IT revolution, a brainchild of Indira Gandhi: New book


    Bangalore: Rajiv Gandhi is often credited with ushering in IT revolution by implementing the new computer policy, liberalising the hardware imports in 1984 but the policy which provided a headstart to India in software exports was actually brought in by his mother Indira Gandhi weeks before her assassination, a new book on Indian IT revealed.




    The 1984 policy providing the provision for software exports through satellite links was approved by Indira Gandhi's cabinet but was announced by the government headed by Rajiv Gandhi on November 19,1984, the book titled "The Long Revolution:The Birth and Growth of India's IT Industry" written by science journalist and author Dinesh C Sharma said.


    It was the provision of exports via satellite which attracted American firms like Texas Instruments (TI) and opened up new gateway for software exports from India. Two other companies were licensed along with TI to set up software units with satellite links but only TI took off, it said.


    In fact,a number of policy initiatives including liberalisation of policies for computer and electronics sector, rural digital telephone exchange, software technology parks and computerisation of railways, which are linked with Rajiv's era, were set in motion by Indira Gandhi after she came to power in 1980, it said.


    "Post-1980, Indira Gandhi was a changed person. It was almost as if she was repenting for the excessive socialist policies unleashed under her rule in 1970s" Sharma told PTI.

    Dr.N.Seshagiri-former Director General of National Informatics Centre and one of the 'computer boys' of the Rajiv Gandhi era - who was present at the launch of the book here last night, said the technology initiatives of Indira Gandhi were vigorously pursued by Rajiv when he became the Prime Minister after her assassination.


    The book also reveals that though TI set up its operations in Bangalore in 1985, India had been on the company's radar for long. It first proposed to set up a unit in India in early 1970s, but the application was rejected by Indira Gandhi's government.


    The then Chairman of TI Patrick E Haggerty had met Electronic Commission Chairman M G K Menon with a plan to set up a manufacturing and research facility for integrated circuits in India. But TI had two conditions: it would be a fully-owned TI company and there would be no export obligation though almost all production of ICs would be meant for exports.


    Menon took the proposal to the Prime Minister. But she bluntly rejected it, saying "it is a wonderful idea, I accept it, but I will not be able to get it through the political system".


    Noted historian Ramachandra Guha and Director of Indian institute of Information Technology-Bangalore, S Sadagopan also spoke at the launch function.


    Source: PTI



    Ancient Indus Valley script might soon be decoded by computer program

     


    Sat, Aug 29 02:50 PM



    Sydney, August 29 (ANI): A recent research has determined that an ancient, indecipherable text from the Indus Valley civilization is being decoded with the help of a computer program.


    According to a report by ABC News, though it has yet to decrypt this mysterious language, the program may help to decipher other ancient texts whose meanings have been long since forgotten.


    "The computer program operates on sequences of symbols, so it can be used to learn a statistical model of any set of unknown or known texts," said Rajesh Rao, University of Washington professor of computer science and co-author of the research paper.


    "In fact, such statistical models have been used to analyze a wide variety of sequences ranging from DNA and speech to economic data," he added.


    Roughly 5,000 seals, tablets and amulets, filled with about 500 different symbols, were created somewhere between 2600 and 1900 B.C. by a people living in the Indus River Valley.


    Despite numerous attempts to decipher the symbols, a full translation has long eluded scientists.


    In fact, one recent paper even cast doubt on whether the Indus Valley script was even a written text at all, but rather political or religious symbols.


    To start the search for what meaning the text might hold, American and Indian scientists input the symbols into a computer program and ran a statistical analysis of the symbols and where they appear in the texts.


    With that information, the program can do many things including creating new, hypothetical Indus Valley texts, fill in missing symbols in existing texts, and tell the scientist if a particular text has been generated by their computer model.


    "We used the latter to show that the Indus texts that have been discovered in West Asia are statistically very different from the texts found in the Indus Valley, suggesting that the Indus people used their script to represent different content or language when living in a foreign land," said Rao.


    For now, however, the Indus Valley script, along with many other ancient texts, remains indecipherable, but scientists are hopeful that computers will eventually decode the symbols on them.


    "I am however optimistic that given a few more years, we may be able to at least narrow down the language family of the script by using computer analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of the underlying grammar," said Rao. (ANI)



    China's 600-year-old Forbidden City comes alive online


    Thu, Aug 27 04:15 PM



    New Delhi, August 27 (ANI): China's 600-year-old Forbidden City is renovating its website in a move to improve its offerings of Chinese culture.


    According to Hu Chui, head of the Palace Museum's information department, the new website will launch during the National Day Festival in early October.


    "It will give visitors richer and easier access to the imperial city, and the ancient building complex with as many as 8,707 rooms and 1.5 million artistic articles," said Hu, who is leading a team of 60 to boost the museum's digital display.


    The Forbidden City is the world's largest surviving imperial palace complex and served as the home of the emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government, from 1420 to the early 20th century.


    "The new website is restructured to meet the different demands of laymen, researchers and academics," Hu said.


    The site will include quiz games, suitable for children, that teach basic knowledge about ancient China.


    The museum has created a cartoon figure as its image ambassador, a young emperor clad in a bright yellow royal robe adapted from Emperor Kangxi, one of the most famous emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).


    Older visitors can expect tens of thousands of pictures in refined quality with explanatory introductions; and researchers can have access to the museum's academic research findings in a database.


    The new website is part of the imperial palace-turned museum's effort to move into the virtual world.


    Hu's team is producing seven 3-D documentaries, each a 20- to 30-minute film mixed with real photographs or archival footage, and special effects produced by computer.


    A yet-to-open 3-D cinema is in the southwestern corner hall in the yard of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, with black walls and red chairs.


    According to Xu Ying, director of the museum's exhibition technology section, the cinema is built of a removable steel structure that minimizes possible damage to the ancient wood architecture of the hall.


    From April until now, visitors have been able to use electric touch screens to look at details of ancient works of calligraphy and paintings in the imperial collections in the Hall of Martial Valor in the southwestern part of the palace.


    On the screens, beside each exhibit, visitors can easily find information about the exhibit in detail and zoom in on high-definition pictures, large enough to discern even tiny strokes. (ANI)



    15 percent pre-schoolers depressed: Study


    Sat, Aug 29 02:53 PM



    Toronto, Aug 29 (IANS) Almost 15 percent of pre-school students are beset with high levels of depression and anxiety, according to a new study.


    The investigation, which was carried out over a period of five years, also found that such children are more likely to have mothers with a history of depression.


    The study was conducted by researchers from the Universites of Montreal, Laval and McGill, as well as Inserm (Institut national de la sante et de la recherche medicale) France, Carnegie Mellon University in the US and University College, Dublin Ireland.


    'As early as the first year of life, there are indications that some children have more risks than others to develop high levels of depression and anxiety,' says study co-author Sylvana M. Cote, professor in social and preventive medicine at Montreal University.


    'Difficult temperament at five months was the most important predictor of depression and anxiety in children,' Cote said.


    Scientists annually evaluated a representative sample of pre-schoolers from five months to five years of age. All 1,758 children were born in Quebec and mothers provided information during extensive interviews on behaviour and family members, according to a release.


    'We found that lifetime maternal depression was the second most important predictor of a typically high depressive and anxiety problems during pre-school years,' stresses Cote.


    'Our study is the first to show that infant temperament and lifetime maternal depression can lead to a high trajectory of depressive and anxiety problems before school entry.'


    'It is critical that preventive interventions be experimented with infants who risk developing depressive and anxiety disorders,' adds Cote.


    The investigation was published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.


    Indo Asian News Service

     

    Cameras that translate mouth gestures into words!

     

    Sat, Aug 29 08:39 AM



    Toronto, Aug 29 (IANS) People with speech disability will now be able to speak, literally.


    A Canadian professor at the University of Toronto says heat-seeking infrared camera can pick up mouth gestures of a person with speech disability and then pick the letters of the alphabet to translate the gestures into verbal message.


    According to Prof Tom Chau, who is senior scientist at Bloorview Research Institute of the university, infrared thermography can help people with speech disabilities to interact and perhaps eventually communicate.


    Infrared thermography, he says, refers to the measurement of radiation or heat emitted by the surface of an object, including the mouth.


    Infrared cameras with specialized lenses can pick up this radiation or heat and focus it on a plane of infrared detectors.


    Explaining his breakthrough, Chau said his research involves exploiting the temperature changes associated with the opening and closing of the mouth.


    'The human body is an emitter of radiation (or heat) and the radiation that is emitted can be measured,'' he was quoted as saying in a university statement.


    He said, 'In the (human) face there is a complex network of blood vessels. When you experience different emotions there is different flow of blood through the face and this causes temperature changes we measure non-invasively using a thermal camera.''


    Chau, who came up with this idea while working with a patient with speech disability, said, 'One thing (this patient) could do reliably was open and close his mouth and that is a very tricky thing to capture.


    'We came up with the idea that a person is warmer when they open their mouth. As long as there is heat there, the camera can pick it up. We are looking for a temperature change and motion when a person opens and closes his mouth.


    'The mouth opening and closing just acts as a switch. That switch can be used to select letters of the alphabet from an on-screen keyboard or images in a picture communication board.


    'That is how someone can use the one action (mouth opening/closing) to make choices. Now this individual is able to type on a computer using the thermal camera switch.''


    In the lab, he said, the camera is pointed at the patient while he sits in front of the computer and every time he indicates a letter he wants, he opens his mouth and the camera captures it.


    'A couple of weeks ago, the individual said his first word in his life, in his 26 years. This was in the lab and his mother was there. He was typing letter by letter (using his mouth as a switch). He typed m-u-t-h-e-r. His mom realized he was saying mother and she just broke down in tears. It was a dramatic moment. It has become such a liberating technology for this individual.''


    The university statement says Chau and his team are the first in the world to use infrared thermography for this purpose.


    Studying sixth sense in fish could help equip robots with multiple sensors

    Sat, Aug 29 02:10 PM



    Washington, August 29 (ANI): A team of scientists is exploring the fundamental basis for the unique sixth sense of fish to "touch" objects in their surroundings without direct physical contact, or to "see" in the dark, which could better equip robots to orient themselves in their environments with multiple sensors.


    The research work is being led by Professor Leo van Hermmen and his team in the physics department of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) in Germany.


    What they discover might one day, through biomimetic engineering, better equip robots to orient themselves in their environments.


    With our senses, we take in only a small fraction of the information that surrounds us.


    Infrared light, electromagnetic waves, and ultrasound are just a few examples of the external influences that we humans can grasp only with the help of technological measuring devices - whereas some other animals use special sense organs, their own biological equipment, for the purpose.


    One such system found in fish and some amphibians is under investigation by the research team of Professor Leo van Hemmen, chair of theoretical biophysics at TUM.


    Even in murky waters hardly penetrated by light, pike and pickerel can feel out their prey before making contact.


    The blind Mexican cave fish can perceive structures in its surroundings and can effortlessly avoid obstacles.


    Catfish on the hunt follow invisible tracks that lead directly to their prey.


    The organ that makes this possible is the lateral-line system, which registers changes in currents and even smaller disturbances, providing backup support for the sense of sight particularly in dark or muddy waters.


    "The lateral-line sense fascinated me from the start because it's fundamentally different from other senses such as vision or hearing, not just at first glance but also the second," van Hemmen said.


    "It's not just that it describes a different quality of reality, but also that in place of just two eyes or ears this sense is fed by many discrete lateral-line organs, each of which in turn is composed of several neuromasts. The integration behind it is a tour de force," he added.


    The neuronal processing and integration of diverse sense impressions into a unified mapping of reality is a major focus for van Hemmen's group.


    "My dream is to endow robots with multiple sensory modalities. Instead of always building in more cameras, we should also along the way give them additional sensors for sound and touch," said van Hemmen.


    With a sense modeled on the lateral-line system, but which would function as well in air as under water, robots might for example move safely

     

    among crowds of people. (ANI)

     









    India loses Moon satellite links






    Chandrayaan 1 (ISRO)
    All contact with Chandrayaan-1 was lost early on Saturday

    All communication links with the only Indian satellite orbiting the Moon have been lost, India's space agency says.

    Radio contact with the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was lost abruptly early on Saturday, said India's Bangalore-based Space Research Organization (Isro).


    The unmanned craft was launched last October in what was billed as a two-year mission of exploration.


    The launch was regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.


    Following its launch from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, it was hoped the robotic probe would orbit the Moon, compile a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and map the distribution of elements and minerals.


    Useful mission?


    Last month the satellite experienced a technical problem when a sensor malfunctioned.







    CHANDRAYAAN 1



    1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA)

    2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP)

    3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)

    4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)

    5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

    6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)

    7 - Solar Panel




    An Isro spokesman said at the time that useful information had already been gathered from pictures beamed to Earth from the probe, although the picture quality had been affected by the malfunction.


    Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 watts, the Isro probe carries five Indian-built instruments and six constructed in other countries, including the US, Britain and Germany.


    The mission was expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m), considerably less than Japanese and Chinese probes sent to the Moon last year.


    But the Indian government's space efforts have not been welcomed by all.


    Some critics regard the space programme as a waste of resources in a country where millions still lack basic services.


     









    SEE ALSO

    India Moon probe 'malfunctions'
    17 Jul 09 |  South Asia

    India launches first Moon mission
    22 Oct 08 |  Science & Environment

    India sets its sights on the Moon
    21 Oct 08 |  South Asia

    Date set for Indian Moon mission
    07 Oct 08 |  South Asia

    Moon probe set for impact finale
    02 Sep 06 |  Science & Environment

    Moon 'sexy' again, says scientist
    25 Aug 06 |  Mid Wales


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    Chandrayaan-I over, loses contact with earth
    29 Aug 2009, 1910 hrs IST, HARSIMRAN JULKA,ET Bureau



    Nation's 1st moon mission Chandrayaan-I came to an abrupt end after spacecraft lost radio link with earth at 0130 hrs. Images from Chandrayaan 1|All about Chandrayaan



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    India loses Moon satellite links






    Chandrayaan 1 (ISRO)
    All contact with Chandrayaan-1 was lost early on Saturday

    All communication links with the only Indian satellite orbiting the Moon have been lost, India's space agency says.

    Radio contact with the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was lost abruptly early on Saturday, said India's Bangalore-based Space Research Organization (Isro).


    The unmanned craft was launched last October in what was billed as a two-year mission of exploration.


    The launch was regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.


    Following its launch from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, it was hoped the robotic probe would orbit the Moon, compile a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and map the distribution of elements and minerals.


    Useful mission?


    Last month the satellite experienced a technical problem when a sensor malfunctioned.







    CHANDRAYAAN 1



    1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA)

    2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP)

    3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)

    4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)

    5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

    6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)

    7 - Solar Panel




    An Isro spokesman said at the time that useful information had already been gathered from pictures beamed to Earth from the probe, although the picture quality had been affected by the malfunction.


    Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 watts, the Isro probe carries five Indian-built instruments and six constructed in other countries, including the US, Britain and Germany.


    The mission was expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m), considerably less than Japanese and Chinese probes sent to the Moon last year.


    But the Indian government's space efforts have not been welcomed by all.


    Some critics regard the space programme as a waste of resources in a country where millions still lack basic services.








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    NEW DELHI: With just 100 days to go to the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen, where the world leaders have committed to agreeing on a historic treaty to tackle climate change, the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA) on Friday launched a ...









    Microsoft Debuts Project Madison CTP for Data Warehouses


    eWeek - Brian Prince - ‎Aug 27, 2009‎


    Microsoft has released the community technology preview for Project Madison, the data warehousing solution based on technology acquired when the company bought datallegro last year.









    China gets the iPhone Officially


    Techtree.com - ‎11 hours ago‎


    As if we didn't know. Anyway, since it has now become official, let us confirm that Apple's iPhone will finally reach the massive Chinese market later this year on the China Unicom Network.








    LCD revolution sweeps city


    Express Buzz - ‎8 hours ago‎


    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Gone are the days of the conventional colour TVs. A transition to LCD TVs is taking place on a massive scale in the electronic goods market in the State this Onam season.








    More Pics of The N97 Mini Emerge


    IBNLive.com - Shayne Rana - ‎Aug 27, 2009‎


    I'm expecting the N97 Mini to make an appearance at Nokia World in Stuttgart on the 2nd, sadly I won't be there to see it but nevertheless we can expect it.









    Fate/Unlimited Codes for PSP coming to PSN next week


    Game Guru - ‎4 hours ago‎


    Capcom had earlier said that Fate/Unlimited Codes would be coming in the summer. Now Capcom's John Diamonon writes on the PlayStation Blog that Fate/Unlimited Codes, specially designed for the PSPgo, will be making its way to the PlayStation Network ...









    Use USB Flash Drives To Lock Windows


    Ghacks Technology News - ‎1 hour ago‎


    A running Windows section can either be locked manually by the user or automatically. Either way the user needs to enter a password before work can continue.






    BJP veteran Advani tells RSS he will bow out


    IBNLive.com - ‎1 hour ago‎


    TIME FOR GOODBYES: Senior BJP leader LK Advani at a rally of former soldiers in Delhi in June 2009. ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos be a Citizen Journalist.









    Now, Maneka Gandhi comes out in support of Jaswant Singh


    Times of India - ‎3 hours ago‎


    BUDAUN (UTTAR PRADESH): Extending guarded support to expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh, party MP Maneka Gandhi on Saturday said the sacking would have been "fair and appropriate" if the party leadership had first read his ...









    Pokhran-II was successful: PM


    Sify - ‎1 hour ago‎


    , Aug 29 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said that Pokhran-II was successful and an 'unnecessary controversy' was being kicked up over the 1998 nuclear test.









    We're following resolutions on assets declaration: CJI


    Hindu - Justice Balakrishnan - ‎18 hours ago‎


    NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Friday said every Supreme Court judge was following the 1997 resolutions on declaration of assets, and denied reports that these were not being implemented properly.









    26/11 hearing put off till Sep 5, another suspect nabbed


    Press Trust of India - Rezaul H Laskar - ‎1 hour ago‎


    Islamabad, Aug 29 (PTI) Pakistani authorities have arrested another suspect in the Mumbai terror attacks case, as the anti-terror court conducting the trial of five accused let operatives today adjourned the hearing till September 5.









    26/11 key witness disappears, returns


    Times of India - ‎16 hours ago‎


    MUMBAI: In a day of high drama, key witness Nooruddin Shaikh who deposed on Thursday in the 26/11 terror trial against the two Indian accused Faheem Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed failed to turn up on Friday for cross examination.









    Mangalore-Bangalore day train flagged off


    Times of India - ‎26 minutes ago‎


    PTI 29 August 2009, 08:40pm IST MANGALORE: A long-pending demand of the public for a day-train between Mangalore and Bangalore was fulfilled with the flagging off of the train by union minister of state for Railways, KH Muniyappa at Central Railway ...









    UP ATS to quiz nabbed LeT militant


    Times of India - Rahul Tripathi - ‎16 hours ago‎


    NEW DELHI: Days after the arrest of suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Mohammad Aslam alias Salim (27) from New Delhi railway station, Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS) joined in the probe with Delhi Police and were camping in the capital to ...








    Cong-NCP alliance will continue for Maha polls: Bhujbal


    Press Trust of India - ‎3 hours ago‎


    Mumbai, Aug 29 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal today expressed optimism that the Congress-NCP alliance would continue in the ensuing assembly elections in the state.









    Schoolgirl stripped by teacher


    Hindustan Times - ‎7 hours ago‎


    PTI In a shocking incident, a Class III student in Faridabad was stripped off her top by her class teacher for not paying her tuition fee despite the fact that the child, a daughter of an autorickshaw driver, was entitled to full fee concession.









    Rs 20 lakh reward for Shopian case information: Police


    Economic Times - ‎10 hours ago‎


    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir police Saturday announced a cash reward of Rs 20 lakh for anyone providing information that would lead to the arrest of the culprits in the rape and murder of two women in Shopian district.









    Narayana Murthy's daughter to tie the knot on Sunday


    IBNLive.com - ‎3 hours ago‎


    Bangalore: It's the celebrity wedding of the year. Infosys founder Narayan Murthy's daughter is set to tie the knot on Sunday to her former Stanford classmate at a private wedding ceremony in Bangalore.


    IT Czar's daughter ties knot Press Trust of India







    50% quota in panchayats: Activists concerned


    Times of India - Samarpita Banerjee - ‎16 hours ago‎


    PUNE: While women activists across the city lauded the government's decision to amend Article 243(D) of the Constitution to enhance reservation for women in panchayats to 50 per cent, they voiced their concern about the feasibility of this decision and ...









    Australian state premier writes to Indian students


    Times of India - ‎4 hours ago‎


    ADELAIDE: The premier of an Australian state has taken the unusual step of writing a personal letter to each of the 4787 Indian overseas students enrolled in his state, assuring them of their safety and welfare.









    Hooda launches ad campaigns, Opposition flays move


    Press Trust of India - ‎2 hours ago‎


    Chandigarh, Aug 29 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has launched ad campaigns to woo voters before poll dates were announced for State Assembly elections, which the Opposition parties INLD and BJP have termed as "wasteful expenditure" ...









    Cong demands stern action against Maya


    Times of India - ‎16 hours ago‎


    LUCKNOW: The recently concluded two-day national convention of Bahujan Samaj Party runs into a controversy with Congressmen demanding stern action against chief minister Mayawati.


    New resolutions Indian Express







    DUSU Election


    The Day After - ‎1 hour ago‎


    The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election is slated to be held in the first week of September. It has a tradition, of acting as a springboard and launching pad for the candidates to write the script of future mainstream politics of India.









    Govinda, ex-CJI among 24 VIPs to lose X-level security


    Times of India - ‎11 hours ago‎


    NEW DELHI: As part of its comprehensive review and rationalisation of the VIP security system, the home ministry has withdrawn X-category security cover of over two dozen individuals, including former Chief Justice of India YK Sabharwal.









    Vedic verdict hangs over Rezzak


    Calcutta Telegraph - ‎17 hours ago‎


    Calcutta, Aug. 28: Since Singur shook Bengal politics, Abdur Rezzak Mollah has been Alimuddin Street's shooting star, thanks primarily to his opposition to the party's and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's policy of acquiring farmland for ...









    BJP MLAs come to blows at Soudha


    Times of India - ‎17 hours ago‎


    BANGALORE: There is much shadow-boxing in the corridors of power. On Friday, there was a real bout. Vidhana Soudha, unfortunately, lost some more glory when two BJP MLAs lunged at each other.







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