The Grand Slam

The Grand Slam tournaments, or Majors, are the four most important annual tennis events. They offer the most ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the greatest strength and size of field, and greater number of "best of" sets for men. The Grand Slam itinerary consists of the Australian Open in mid January, the French Open in May and June, Wimbledon in June and July, and the US Open in August and September. Each tournament is played over a period of two weeks. The Australian and US tournaments are played on hard courts, the French on clay, and Wimbledon on grass. Wimbledon is the oldest, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891, and the Australian in 1905. However, of these four, only Wimbledon was a major before 1924/25, the time when all four became designated Grand Slam tournaments.

Private banker K V Kamath named first BRICS bank head

India has named private banker K.V. Kamath as the first head of a new development bank being set up by the BRICS group of emerging market economies, Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told reporters on Monday        the 11^th May, 2015.

The BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - agreed to set up the $100 billion development bank last July, in a step toward reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system.

It was agreed that the New Development Bank, which will fund infrastructure projects in developing nations, would be based in Shanghai. It would be headed by an Indian for a first five-year term, followed by a Brazilian and then a Russian.

"Kamath has been appointed as the head of the BRICS bank, the appointment will become effective when he becomes free from his current assignments," Mehrishi told reporters in New Delhi.

Kamath, 67, is a veteran banker who was credited with developing ICICI Bank into India's second-largest lender. He headed the bank for 13 years until 2009 and is now its non-executive chairman.

He is also non-executive chairman of India's second-biggest software services exporter Infosys.

Atul Tiwari, a senior official in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office, said India has conveyed the decision to nominate Kamath for the BRICS bank presidency to partner countries.

"They have been notified about it," Tiwari said. "There is no scope for any partner country to raise an objection to Mr. Kamath's appointment because it was already decided that India will choose the first BRICS bank head."

Dipa Karmakar bagged bronze in women's vault, created history

Glasgow: Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian woman and the second person from the country to clinch a historic Commonwealth Games medal in artistic gymnastics when she won the women's vault bronze at the SSE Hydro here on Thursday.

Agartala-born Dipa got the bronze with an average score of 14.366. The 20-year-old had scored a mere 13.633 points in Vault 1, the lowest out of eight competitors in the final.

However, in a remarkable comeback, Dipa scored the highest in Vault 2 with 15.100 to bring up her average to 14.366. 

The FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champions are Spain, who won the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month; this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s).

The 19 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Italy, with four titles; West Germany, with three titles; Argentina and inaugural winners Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France, and Spain, with one title each.

Trophy:-  From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winning team. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983, and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves.

After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven different countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international men's association football tournament that is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. It will be the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the previous being in 1950. Brazil was elected unchallenged as host nation in 2007 after the international football federation, FIFA, decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall.

The national teams of 31 countries advanced through qualification competitions that began in June 2011 to participate with the host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches are to be played in twelve cities across Brazil in either new or redeveloped stadiums, with the tournament beginning with a group stage. For the first time at a World Cup Finals, the matches will use goal-line technology.

With the host country, all world champion teams since the first World Cup in 1930 (Uruguay, Italy, Germany, England, Argentina, France and Spain) have qualified for this competition. Spain is the defending champion, having defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in the 2010 World Cup final to win its first World title. The previous four World Cups staged in South America were all won by South American teams.

Each participating team will receive at least US$8 million. The World Champions will receive $35 million, while the losing finalists will receive $25 million. Teams that lose in the round of 16 will receive $9 million, and the quarter-finalists receive $14 million. The clubs in which the players are playing for at the time of their World Cup departure will receive $70 million as a compensation for insurance costs and expenses, which will be distributed through their national associations. Overall, FIFA will allocate $576 million, a new record, and an increase from the $420 million allocated in South Africa.

India:- India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup finals as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But the governing body AIFF decided against going to the World Cup, being unable to understand the importance of the event at that time. Reason shown by AIFF was that there was the cost of travel, although FIFA agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses, lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing Olympics over FIFA World cup.

The India national football team is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, the AIFF became one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). At the peak of its success during the 1950s and 1960s, the team was automatically advanced to play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup (all the other Asian teams withdrew), but they did not go to the tournament in Brazil due to the cost of travel, lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing the Olympics over the FIFA World Cup. They won gold medals at two Asian Games and one silver at the Asian Cup.

Football was introduced to India by British soldiers in the mid-nineteenth century. It spread because of the efforts of Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhichary. In 1888 the Durand Cup was founded by then India's Foreign Secretary, Mortimer Durand at Simla, India. The Durand Cup is the third oldest football competition behind the FA Cup and the Scottish Cup. It was initiated, as a recreation for British troops stationed in India. 

The History of Indian football is a long and detailed one, as it was the national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence for refereed team football games being played in the Indian Army since at least 1949. India is home to some of the oldest football clubs in the world and the third world's oldest competition, the Durand Cup.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that is scheduled to take place in 2018 in Russia.

The finals tournament will involve 32 national teams, including that of the host nation, assuming the current format of the finals is maintained. This will be the first time Russia has hosted the tournament, the first World Cup to have been held in Eastern Europe, and the first to have been held on two continents.

Expanding On The Ethics Of Secularism

The concept of secularism concerns justice and fair play free of religious interventions which have repeatedly been a source of divisiveness, oppression and conflict. In India secularism is confined to mean concern for religious minorities and nothing else. Our constitutional provision on secularism is not a static doctrine but a dynamic principle for practice. Hence we need to assimilate the expanding ethics of secularism as an effective mechanism for maintenance of a wholesome socio-political system as well as our own inner development.

The Western concept of secularism predominantly based on justice and entirely divorced from religion is not suitable in Indian context where people are intensely religious by nature. Our ethics of secularism is essentially shaped from within the framework of rules and precepts of prevalent religions for unanimous acceptability.

Atheistic secularists 

Every religion prescribes ethics for followers in the context of contemporary necessity, not necessarily having universal applicability beyond time and locality. Religious secularists should rise above the same in case it is antagonistic to the spirit of secularism. The atheist secularists also must not say like Dostoevsky, “If God is dead, everything is permitted.” Every secularist must be governed by collective conscience, contemporary necessity and impeccable honesty.

 It is often presumed that ethics and values associated with secularism are universal, comprising of truth, non-violence, non-stealing, fair play and sexual restraint to the permissible extent. These cannot be considered to be enough for practice of effective secularism amidst growing socio-ethical challenges faced by us today. 

No monopoly over wisdom

The cardinal principle followed by any secular society is spontaneous acceptance of religious diversity and mutual respect for people of different religions and contributing to different faiths including atheism. In a shared society no one has monopoly over wisdom. Hence diversity of faith and practice need to be respected and not merely tolerated with superiority complex and inward pity as is usually done. This is the hallmark of secular ethics and any compromise on this weakens secular credentials.

 Secularism is not compatible with casteism or communalism. It has to be based on the principle of equality.  Religions as practised have tended to be divisive and sectarian to a large extent. But secularism cannot afford to be divisive, not even to those who do not subscribe to secularism.

Empathy and humanism

Indulgence in corruption or illegal gratification by misuse of power is essentially unjust and divisive. Acquiring wealth through corruption to get  higher rank and privilege defeats the core principle of secularism. Those who are corrupt cannot claim to be secular. They are divisive and are enemies of secularism.

 Secular people must be empathetic and philanthropic. They should think and act for common welfare over and above narrow personal gains. They must be  empathic to all and be humanistic. Since interdependence is the law of nature environmental protection and maintenance of ecological balance should also be a matter of concern.

Secularism involves rising above religions for justice and fair play but not abandoning the eternal human quest for truth. Introspection and meditation through any path is admissible to secularists.  Freedom from bondage of religious ties should enable pursuit of wisdom and well-being of all.

 Mere religious secularism without acceptance of dynamic ethical principles associated with it sounds empty and is self-deceptive.  We must adopt true secular values and ethics for a brighter democracy and better tomorrow in individual and social life.

World Environment Day

World Environment Day is celebrated each year on 5th June. The United Nations established in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment.

World Environment Day (WED) is hosted every year by a different city and celebrated with an international exhibition through the week of June 5.

World Environment Day is used by the United Nations to encourage awareness of the environment and to garner political attention and public action. The first WED held at Stockholm was the first time political, social and economic problems of the global environment were discussed at great length in view of taking some definitive action.

World Environment Day is celebrated in many ways. Street rallies, parades, street plays create awareness about world environment.

In many cities contests like poster contests, essay contests, poetry contests, slogan contests and debates are held to celebrate this event further. The main objective always is to get the people involved with the environment.

Some cities have art exhibitions with art made from recycled materials. Some get celebrities to endorse the campaign. Banners are put all across the street promoting the message of World Environment Day.

Tree planting drives are also held in some cities. Awards are given out to those neighborhoods that have made a significant effort to take care of the environment.

Broadcast of public service announcements on TV and radio help to renew people’s efforts to saving the environment. Conferences are held to educate people about the efforts that can be made to preserve the environment.

The WED’s agenda is to give importance to environmental issues. It hopes to empower people to become active agents promoting the cause of the environment.

Change can happen only if it is affected at the community level; hence programs are held on World Environment Day that creates community consciousness.

Heads of Government and Ministers of Environment deliver speeches’ advising the people of what has already been achieved and what still needs to be achieved. Some even go a step further and set up permanent government bodies that will look specifically into environmental issues.

Each World Environment Day has a special topic that related to the environment that it addresses. The topic for World Environment Day for 2007 was “Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?” It discussed the affects the climate change was having on the polar ecosystems and communities and the resulting global impacts of these changes.

The topic for WED 2006 was Deserts and Desertification and the slogan was “Don’t desert dry lands” which accentuated the relevance of protecting the dry lands which are home to one third of the worlds people, those that are more defenseless.

World Environment Day is a day for us to inspect the state of our environment. It calls for us to stop in our tracks one day in the year and examine our surroundings. It asks us to pledge, in a small way at least, to do something for the environment.

The young and the old from all strata can contribute to the saving of the environment. Not everyone needs to make hefty contributions to world environment organizations. The little things, the ones that really matter are things like recycling our waste, using paper and products made of wood discriminately and these can be done by anybody and everybody.

Children can also contribute to this cause by not wasting water, by switching off the lights and fans in the house when not in use. There is something each of us can do to preserve the environment. So let us all pledge to do something, at least one thing, before the next World Environment Day.

13-year-old Andhra teen becomes youngest woman to scale Everest

In a historic feat for Indian mountaineering, 13-year-old Malavath Purna on Saturday the 24th May, 2014 became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest.

Purna was accompanied by Sadhanapalli Anand Kumar (16), a Class IX student from the Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh, and completed the feat this morning.

Anand and Purna are both students of Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Educational Society.

They climbed Everest at 06 : 00 am after a 52-day long expedition.

Purna created a record by becoming by youngest girl to climb the Everest.

The duos were selected among about 150 children who were initially chosen for adventure sports as part of the society's initiative to promote excellence in the students of the society.

Twenty of them were sent to a prestigious mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling for training and nine among them were sent on expedition to Indo-China border earlier.

The two students with a higher degree of toughness and endurance were sent to the Everest Expedition in April.
The two students were now returning to the base camp.

Process of power selling to B’desh from Tripura starts rolling

Tripura government has made all out efforts to facilitate bilateral survey team of India and Bangladesh for transporting power from 726 MW generation capacity combine cycle gas - based Palatana power plant of South Tripura to neighbouring country.

Talking to media persons, Power Minister Manik Dey said before announcement of the schedule of 2014 general election in March, Ministry of Power had constituted a seven member feasibility study team for power selling from Palatana to Bangladesh in persuasion of Left Front government of Tripura.

The team comprises experts and top officials of both India and Bangladesh.

The officials were asked to file a detailed report on the feasibility of transporting power from Suryamaninagar power grid of Tripura to nearest Bangladesh power grid in Comilla or Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.

“Ministry of Power recently, sought our view to send the expert team for field level study and other important aspects to sell power to Bangladesh from Tripura and we made it clear that the state will extend all possible cooperation to execute the task at the earliest,” Mr Dey said.

He however, pointed out that Tripura government is keen to sell power to Bangladesh since inception of Palatana plant and upcoming Monarchak power project a decade ago considering its proximity and cooperation extended by Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh for transportation of over dimensional consignments for Palatana.

“During her last visit to Tripura, Ms Hasina demanded surplus sell- able power from Tripura and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar responded positively and took up the matter repeatedly with Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Power,” Mr Dey maintained.

Transporting power to nearest Bangladesh grid from Tripura grid is hardly covering a distance of 50- 80 Km, which marginalised the transmission loss and also reduce the cost of power transportation comparing to selling power from Indian states through Bongaigoan, he added.

Meantime, Bangladesh has also taken up the matter with its Indian counterpart to purchase power from Tripura projects and finally, the Union government has responded and constituted a committee for feasibility.

“If everything goes well, by end of the year, 2nd unit of Palatana with generation capacity of 363 MW and 104 MW Monarchak power project will also be operational, which will generate surplus at least 160- 170 MW power daily at optimum level of production and we have to sell the power,” Mr Dey said, adding that selling power to Bangladesh will further strengthen bilateral relation between two countries and to pay recognition to Bangladesh’s cooperation.

He, however, stated that NEEPCO financed Monarchak power project has been getting delayed due to non- availability of required gas supply from ONGC but the way, work is progressing, by next six months, it would start generation.

Gandhi's letters accusing son of rape to be auctioned in UK

Explosive personal letters in which Mahatma Gandhi accuses his eldest son Harilal of incest and rape are to be auctioned in England next week, according to the Press Trust of India.

Mullock’s Auctioneers are hoping to fetch between 50,000 to 60,000 pounds for the set of three letters written by Mahatma Gandhi in 1935 in which he expresses his concerns over the behaviour of Harilal.

In one of his letter, Gandhi accuses Hiralal of sexually harassing his daughter Manu.

In the letter, written in June 1935 after Manu had visited her grandfather in Ahmedabad, Gandhi wrote: 'Manu is telling me number of dangerous things about you. She says that you had raped her before eight years and she was so much hurt that medical treatment was also to be taken.' 

Another letter, also autographed by Gandhi, urges his son to 'please let me have the pure truth, please tell me if you are still interested in alcohol and debauchery. I wish that you would rather die than resort to alcohol in any manner.'

In another letter, a distraught Gandhi tell Hiralal: 'You should know that your problem has become much more difficult for me even more than our national freedom. Manu is telling me a number of dangerous things about you.'

Harilal had renounced ties with his father in 1911, after Gandhi refused to provide him a western education saying that it would not help in the freedom struggle against the British Raj.

Mullock’s in a statement said: 'The letters are written in Gujarati and are in good condition. These have come via descent from a branch of Gandhi’s family to the present vendor. As far as we are aware they have never before been seen in public and as such they provide remarkable new information on the troubled relationship Gandhi had with his son.'

Google's self-driving car reverie now a dream come true

Google's self-driving dream car project has become a reality, owing to the immense amount of progress that it has made in its recent years.

The organization shared valuable information about its invention and the success that the project has received. The project was started initially in 2009 under Sebastian Thrun, CEO and cofounder of Udacity, with a focus on negotiating freeways but features such as pedestrian and cyclist detection, sign reading and other advanced software models that have been recently incorporated.

Recent other developments include, the Position Sensor and the Radar which helps the vehicle to understand its position in the world, detecting and measuring the speed in proportion with the other vehicles on the road.

According to Techcrunch, the car has several other characteristics such as the project's zero per cent accident rate in its five year history of invention.

The entire purpose of the self-driving car project is to make it possible for cars to react to their environment with 100 percent accuracy, avoiding the 93 percent of accidents that happen on the road each year due to human error, reports revealed.

The company is now in talks with automobile manufacturers for its production but a time frame of 6 years has been predicted before the first model would come into the market. 

3 astronauts return to Earth

A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying three astronauts who had spent a half-year aboard the International Space Station landed Wednesday in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

The landing occurred on schedule with the capsule descending under a white parachute. It had undocked from the orbiting laboratory some 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Earth about three hours earlier.

Russian Mikhail Tyurin, American Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata of Japan had spent 188 days in space.

They were pulled from the hatch at the top of the capsule and maneuvered down a slide into lounge chairs set up nearby and given brief medical assessments as they readjusted to gravity after six months of weightlessness. All appeared to be in good condition and Tyurin was heard joking that he'd like some red wine.

Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev and American Steve Swanson remain aboard the station. Three more astronauts are to launch for the station on May 28.

The landing came less than a day after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Russia wouldn't continue cooperating with the United States on the 15-nation ISS past 2020, as NASA had hoped. The United States has relied on Russian Soyuz capsules to fly to and from the space station since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet. NASA hopes that private companies such as Space X will be able to develop rockets and capsules to fly astronauts to the space station within a few years.

$103K for portrait of girl who was shot by Taliban

A British artist's portrait of a young Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education brought in more than $100,000 at auction Wednesday the 14^th May, 2014.

Christie's said the painting of Malala Yousafzai by Jonathan Yeo sold for $102,500, including the buyer's premium.

Yeo painted Yousafzai in 2013 after she started attending a school in Birmingham, England, where she now lives.

The sale proceeds will go to the Malala Fund charity. The fund said the money would in turn be given to Nigerian nonprofits that focus on education for women and girls in the wake of the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls in that country.

The painting hung in the National Portrait Gallery in London last year for an exhibition of Yeo's portraits of well-known figures, including Sienna Miller, Kevin Spacey and Rupert Murdoch.

Malala was 15 when she was shot in 2012 as she traveled to her Pakistani school. President Barack Obama has called her the "bravest girl in the world."

In an interview last week, Yeo said he wanted the portrait to capture "this extraordinary dichotomy" of someone with "enormous power and wisdom" but who is still very young.

"Her birth instinct isn't self-pity but rather what else she could do to help other girls in her position," Yeo said.

He said he spent "a lot of time chatting" with her and "hearing her world views and what her life is like" before sitting down to paint her.

Yeo, whose works are also in the Royal Collection, said he depicted her doing homework to reflect the irony that "the simple everyday thing she's doing was what created the cataclysmic change in her life that nearly killed her."

When the portrait was finished, Yeo said, Malala told him "it's how she sees herself."

Golden handshake for 5,000 employees of Nokia's Chennai plant

Nokia, which recently sold its mobile unit to U.S software giant Microsoft, has reduced the workforce at its Chennai plant by around 5,000 employees through a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).

The Chennai plant, which was set up back in 2006 when the company was doing well, employs close to 7,500 people. Out of this 7,500 employee base, close to 5,000 people have now opted for the VRS scheme, which Nokia had introduced last month as a cost-cutting measure.

The scheme, which promises a firm financial footing to all employees who choose to take it up, was valid until May 14, and, therefore, came to an end on Wednesday.

According to sources, the plant’s workers want the company to extend the scheme to give time for the Tamil Nadu Government to further assess the situation.

The company’s Chennai plant became the focal point of a multi-million dollar tax dispute earlier this year, and was consequently blocked by tax authorities from becoming a part of the Microsoft deal.

Nokia currently operates the plant as a contract manufacturer for the U.S software giant.

The plant’s workers have faced an uncertain future since that time and have repeatedly protested against their contract manufacturing fate, which they claim will give them reduced job security.

The situation over the last four months has caused a great amount of stress to the company’s workers, with several suicide attempts having taken place over the last month.

The company, on Wednesday, also laid out the details of its famed Bridge programme and how exactly it would help the Chennai plant workers. According to a statement, Nokia will work with industry experts “to identify new employment areas, developing suitable trainings and skill employees based on their areas of interest.”

The company will also provide “limited Bridge grants” to support the entrepreneurial or academic ambitions of employees that have worked with Nokia for six years or more.

A list of some recent fatal mine disasters around the world:

2013- 83 workers are buried by a massive landslide at a gold mining site in a mountainous area of Tibet, east of Lhasa, according to Chinese state media.

2012- At least 60 people dead after a landslide at a gold mine in a remote corner of northeast Congo.

2011- Fifty-two people are feared dead in southwestern Pakistan after a gas explosion deep in a coal mine in Sorange, near Quetta.

2010- 29 men are killed in New Zealand’s worst mining disaster in decades after a huge gas—fueled explosion deep underground ends hopes of rescuing the South Island coal miners, who were caught in a similar blast five days earlier.

2010- 33 miners are rescued after being trapped for 69 days in a gold and copper mine in Chile’s northern Atacama desert.

2010- 29 miners are killed in an explosion at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch coal mine.

2007- At least 90 are killed in post—Soviet Ukraine’s worst mining disaster, after a methane blast rips through tunnels deep below ground in a coal mine near the eastern city of Donetsk.

2007- Six miners, three rescuers are killed in collapses at the Crandall Canyon coal mine in Emery County, Utah.

2006- 65 coal miners are killed from a gas explosion in San Juan de Sabinas, in northern Mexico’s Coahuila state.

2006- 12 killed in a methane explosion at the Sago coal mine in West Virginia.

2005- 214 miners die after an explosion deep in a coal shaft in southwestern China.

Turkey mining disaster: death toll rises to 282

The death toll in the coal mine explosion and fire in western Turkey — the worst mine disaster to have occurred in the country — has increased to 282 on Wednesday the 14^th May, 2014.

Anti-government protests broke out in the mining town of Soma, as well as Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan being heckled as he tried to show concern.

The display of anger could have significant repercussions for the Turkish leader, who is widely expected to run for president in the August election, although he is yet to announce his candidacy.

Tensions were high as hundreds of relatives and miners jostled outside the mine’s entrance on Wednesday, waiting for news amidst a heavy police presence.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz had earlier said that 787 people were inside the coal mine at the time of Tuesday’s explosion, and 363 of the miners had been rescued.

The death toll topped a 1992 gas explosion that killed 263 workers near Turkey’s Black Sea port of Zonguldak. It also left 150 miners still unaccounted for.

Workers were trying late on Wednesday to reach the bodies of up to 22 people trapped in one zone. Some of the workers were 1,400 feet deep inside the mine.

One rescue worker who declined to be named said he led a ten-man team about half a mile down into the mine’s tunnels, where they recovered three bodies before being forced to flee because of smoke from burning coal. Rescue operations were halted for several hours on Thursday morning because high gas concentrations in the mine needed to be cleared.

Mr. Erdogan declared three days of national mourning and postponed a trip to Albania to visit the mine. He warned that some radical groups would try to use the disaster to discredit his government.

In downtown Soma, protesters, most in their teens and 20s, faced off against riot police in front of the ruling NKP party headquarters, smashing its windows with rocks.

Mr. Erdogan has been dogged by corruption allegations and was forced to oust four government ministers in December after they were implicated in a police-bribery probe. The scandal deepened after audio recordings were posted on the Internet suggesting corruption by the Prime Minister and his family members. 

15 crew members indicted over South Korean ferry disaster

Officials said prosecutors have indicted 15 crew members — four of them on homicide charges — over last month’s ferry disaster in South Korea.

The indictment was filed on Thursday on 15^th May, 2014 in Gwangju District Court. The trial date will be decided in a few days.

Prosecutors said they brought homicide charges against the ship’s captain and three other crew members because they failed to carry out their duties to protect the ship’s passengers.

Eleven other crew members were indicted for alleged negligence and abandoning passengers in need.

The 15 crew members, all involved in the ship’s navigation, were the first group of people rescued when the Sewol was listing badly.

English club side all out for three

England's cricketers may have suffered the embarrassment of a World Twenty20 defeat by the Netherlands and a 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia but even they were never bowled out for three as happened to one club side on Saturday the 26th April, 2014.

Wirral, from north-west England, were dismissed for just three away to Haslington in a Cheshire League Third Division match - with extras the top-scorer courtesy of two leg-byes.

There were 10 ducks in the Wirral innings, with No. - 11 Connor Hodson, supposedly their worst batsman, the only member of the visitors' side to score a run off the bat.

That Wirral managed three was something of an achievement after they were reduced to none for eight.

Ben Istead took six wickets for one run and Tom Gledhill four for none in an innings that lasted fewer than 10 overs.

Haslington won the match by 105 runs after making only 108 themselves before, the real drama unfolded after the tea interval.

Wirral's ex-England players includes former captain Michael Vaughan and popular television pundit David Lloyd.

New evidence strengthens case for return of stolen Nataraja idol

With only a few days left for the Australian government to take a decision on the return of the stolen Nataraja idol, which is currently in the possession of National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, new evidence has emerged to strengthen India’s claim over its ownership.

An expert assessment report, filed for the first time in this case, by R. Nagaswamy, a renowned scholar on Chola sculptures, has listed new inscriptional and iconographic evidence to establish that the Nataraja idol in Australia was indeed stolen from a temple in Sripuranthan, Tamil Nadu.

The NGA bought the centuries-old Nataraja idol for $ 5 million from Subhash Kapoor, a U.S. based antiquities dealer. The Tamil Nadu police allege that it was stolen and Mr. Kapoor masterminded the theft.

The investigating agencies have so far provided evidence such as shipping documents and confession of Kapoor’s long time manager, but supporting iconographic and historical information was missing.

Recently the Tamil Nadu police contacted Dr. Nagaswamy to study the features of the stolen idol. After comparing the three photographs, taken at different points in time, in India, with the image of the idol in Australia, he concluded that all show “absolutely same details.” The photos are of the same idol, he explained.

Dr. Nagaswamy told that details such as the left hand tenderly holding fire in a cup, the necklaces adorning the chest, the nail of a tiger in the neck chain, and the figure of river Ganga and tiny snake in the matted hair locks are identical. So is the case with the mark in the armlet in the upper part of the left arm. He also pointed out that features such as the eight crane feathers on the head match perfectly.

Similarly, minor crafting errors also coincide. For instance, at the bottom where the ring of fire emanates, there is a carving of a crocodile on the either side of the feet. While the one on the right reaches up to the first flame, the other in the left falls short.

Typical of any royal dedication in the Chola period, this Nataraja idol too was consecrated along with his consort Sivakami. The photograph taken inside the temple in 1994 shows both the idols together. While the Nataraja is now in Australia, the idol of Sivakami, the police say, was also stolen and traced.

Australian company says it may have found MH370 wreckage

An Australian marine exploration company has claimed ON 29th April, 2014 that it has found the wreckage of the crashed Malaysian plane in the Bay of Bengal, 5,000 km away from the current search location in the Indian Ocean.

Adelaide-based Geo Resonance on Tuesday said it had begun its own search for the missing flight MH370 on March 10 and that it has detected possible wreckage in the Bay of Bengal, 5000 km away from the current search location.

Geo Resonance’s search covered 2,000,000 square kilometres of the possible crash zone, using images obtained from satellites and aircraft, with company scientists focusing their efforts north of plane’s last known location, using over 20 technologies to analyse the data including a nuclear reactor.

The company used technology originally designed to find nuclear warheads and submarines.

They compared their findings with images taken on March 5, three days before MH370 went missing, and did not find what they had detected at the spot.

The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370- carrying 239 people, including five Indians, an Indo-Canadian and 154 Chinese nationals - had mysteriously vanished on March 8 after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.

The mystery of the missing plane continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have so far not succeeded in tracking the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadgets.

Full Form of few known companies

1.  SAP :- SAP stands for System Analysis and Program Development. This German software company makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations.

2.  DHL :- DHL provides international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. The company’s name DHL is derived from the last names of the then three budding entrepreneurs, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn who founded the company.

3.  IBM :- IBM’s full company name is International Business Machines Corporation. It is a multinational technology and consulting corporation. The company was founded in 1911 and headquartered in the United States.

4.  TLC :- The specialty cable channel TLC is the initials for The Learning Channel. The company also operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks.

5.  FIAT :- The full company name of FIAT is Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino meaning Italian Automobile Factory of Turin. This company is an Italian automobile manufacturer which was founded in 1899.

6.  HMV :- The British global entertainment retail chain, HMV’s full company name is His Master's Voice. Apart from being listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore.

7.  TCS :- TCS stands for Tata Consultancy Services Limited. It is considered to be one of India’s valuable company and a multinational information technology, services, business solutions and outsourcing Services Company.

8.  Amul :- The company is based out of a small town in Gujarat called Anand. It is a daily cooperative which is now and again referred to as Anand Milk Union Limited. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation is India’s largest exporter of dairy products and also the largest food product marketing organization with an annual turnover of $2.5 billion for 2011-2012.

9.  IKEA :- IKEA is a Sweden-based company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture. IKEA is an acronym made out of four letters - Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd. I is for Ingvar, the first name of the founder of IKEA stores. K is for Kamprad, the last name of the founder of IKEA stores. E is for Elmtaryd, the name of the farm where Ingvar Kamprad grew up. A is for Agunnaryd, the name of the village near Kamprad's boyhood home.

10.              HTC :- The Taiwanese manufacturer of of smartphones and tablets now known as HTC was founded with the name High Tech Computer Corporation. Initially a manufacturer of notebook computers, HTC began designing some of the world's first touch and wireless hand-held devices in 1998.

11.              JBL :- With someone like AR Rahman endorsing the brand in India, it could only be a matter of time that JBL products would find their way into the homes of music -loving Indians. The audio electronics company is owned by Harman International and JBL are the initials of the name of the company’s founder James Bullough Lansing.

12.              3M :- A multinational conglomerate corporation in the United States, 3M was formerly known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental products, electronic materials, medical products, car care products, electronic circuits and optical films are some of the products of the company.

13.              H&M :- It is known as one of the world’s popular brands for fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. The name of the Swedish company is Hennes & Mauritz AB but it is popularly known and operates as H&M.

14.              AT&T :- An American multinational telecommunications corporation and the largest provider of both mobile telephony and of fixed telephony in the United States, American Telephone and Telegraph Company is often referred to as AT&T. The company also provides broadband subscription television services.

15.              ING Group :- ING Group is a financial institution which offers banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is an abbreviation for International Netherlands Group.

16.              BMW :- BMW is an abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke. It is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1917 which produces automobiles and motorcycles across all its brands. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

17.              KFC :- Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the world’s largest chain of fried chicken fast food restaurant. It is popularly known by its abbreviation KFC, across the globe. It has over 17,000 outlets in 105 countries.

18.              BPL :- The company commonly referred to as BPL stands for British Physical Laboratories. This Indian electronics company deals with consumer appliances, home entertainment products and health care devices. It was established in 1963, by MT P G Nambiar.

19.              BASF :- BASF is recognized as one of the largest diversified chemical companies in the world. The company offers products to various industries and has customers in over 200 countries. The initials BASF stands for Baden Aniline and Soda Factory.

20.              BEML :- The full and original name of BEML is Bharat Earth Movers Limited. Headquartered in Bangalore, the company is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking and manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as that used for earth moving, transport and mining.

21.              BHEL :- BHEL is based in New Delhi and is engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, construction, testing, commissioning and servicing of a wide range of products and services for the core sectors of the economy. BHEL is an abbreviation for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.

22.              ICICI :-The financial services company, ICICI Bank is headquartered in Mumbai offers retail and corporate customers a wide range of banking products and financial services. Earlier, the bank was known as Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank, it later changed its name to the abbreviated ICICI Bank.

23.              HDFC :- India’s largest mortgage company, HDFC was founded in 1977. The financial services company has over 300 outlets and caters to non-resident Indians as well. The full name of HDFC is Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited.

24.              ESPN :- Sports related global television network, ESPN’s name is derived from Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Some of its programs include live and recorded event telecasts, sports talk shows and other original programs.

25.              HCL :- Headquartered in India, HCL is a global technology and IT Enterprise that operates in over 30 countries of the world. The company mainly focuses on the IT hardware market. HCL is the abbreviation for Hindustan Computer Limited.

26.              HSBC :- The full name of the company HSBC is Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. HSBC is a multinational banking and financial services company which operates within business groups such as commercial banking; global banking and markets, retail banking, wealth management and global private banking.

27.              L&T :- L&T is India’s multinational conglomerate corporation which is headquartered in Mumbai. The company’s business includes technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing goods. L&T stands for Larsen & Toubro.

28.              LEGO :- The name LEGO is an abbreviation of the two Danish words ‘leg godt’, meaning play well. The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen and the company provides toys, experiences and teaching materials for children in more than 130 countries.

29.              MRF :- India’s major tyre manufacturing company, Madras Rubber Factory is popularly known as MRF. It is considered to be the largest tyre manufacturer in India which makes all types of tyres, from auto to sedan, bias to radial including tubes and conveyor belts.

30.              CEAT :- Mumbai based tyre manufacturing company, CEAT is an abbreviation for Cavi Elettrici e Affini Torino. CEAT tyres were founded in Italy by Virginio Bruni Tedeschi and the company established its manufacturing in India in 1958.

31.              HMT :- HMT was formerly known as Hindustan Machine Tools. Some of the company’s products include watches, tractors, printing machinery and plastic processing machinery among others.

32.              WIPRO :- One of India’s most popular information technology firm, Wipro was formerly known as Western India Products Limited. The company’s operations include IT products and services, consumer care and lighting, healthcare and infrastructure engineering.

33.              ITC :- ITC’s full company name used to be India Tobacco Company. The Indian public conglomerate has diversified business operations in FMCG markets, hotels, paperboards, packaging, agri-business and information technology.

34.              CAT :- Caterpillar Inc is popularly known as CAT. Apart from designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling machinery, this company sells financial products and insurance to customers around the world.

35.              INTEL :- The world’s largest chip maker, Intel’s full name is Integrated Electronics. The company makes motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers and integrated circuits, flash memory, graphic chips, among other products.

36.              CNN :- The Cable News Network is popularly referred to as CNN. This company is a cable news channel whose broadcast is seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories. The cable network was launched in 1980.

37.              NASA :- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is popularly known as NASA. This United States government agency takes responsibility for space program, aeronautics and aerospace research.

38.              HP :- The full name of one of the most popular information technology corporation, HP is Hewlett-Packard Company. The company provides products, technologies, software, solutions and services to consumers and other enterprises.

39.              GE :- The company GE’s full name is General Electric Company. This corporation is popularly known as GE and operates through segments such as energy, technology infrastructure, capital finance, consumer and industrial.

40.              P&G :- The multinational consumer goods company, P&G’s full name is The Procter & Gamble Company. Over 20 brands of P&G’s brands have more than a billion dollars in net annual sales, according to the 2011 Annual Report.