Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
14th Wife Carrying World Championships
বিশ্ব স্ত্রী বহন প্রতিযোগিতায় চ্যাম্পিয়ন হয়েছে ফিনল্যান্ড । যুক্তরাষ্ট্র, জাপান, অস্ট্রেলিয়া, ইস্তোনিয়াসহ ১৩ দেশের ৩৬টি দম্পতি প্রতিযোগিতায় অংশ নিয়েছিলেন । পূর্ব ফিনল্যান্ডের সানকাজারভি অঞ্চলে শনিবার অনুষ্ঠিত ১৪তম 'ওয়ার্ল্ড ওয়াইফ ক্যারিং চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ' দম্পতি মাত্র দশমিক এক সেকেন্ডের ব্যবধানে জয়ী হন ।
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Nepal bans pockets to stamp out bribe-taking at airport
Nepal's anti-corruption authority is clamping down on bribe-taking at the country's main airport by ordering staff to wear pocketless trouser. The authority said it was issuing the garments to all officials after uncovering widespread corruption at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport.
Ishwori Prasad Paudyal, spokesman for the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, said: "We sent a team to observe the growing complaints about the behaviour of airport authorities and workers towards travellers and we discovered that the reports were true.
"So we decided that airport officials should be given trousers with no pockets. We have directed the ministry of civil aviation to implement our order as soon as possible. We believe this will help curb the irregularities."
Ishwori Prasad Paudyal, spokesman for the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, said: "We sent a team to observe the growing complaints about the behaviour of airport authorities and workers towards travellers and we discovered that the reports were true.
"So we decided that airport officials should be given trousers with no pockets. We have directed the ministry of civil aviation to implement our order as soon as possible. We believe this will help curb the irregularities."
Mr Paudyal said investigators had observed theft as well as bribe-taking by airport officials, who would lose their jobs if the situation did not improve. His comments came a day after Nepal's new Prime Minister Madhav Mumar Nepal expressed fears that corruption was tarnishing the airport's reputation.
Nepal's tourism industry employs around 300,000 people in one of the world's poorest countries. The landlocked Himalayan nation attracted a record 550,000 foreign visitors in 2008, two years after a peace deal that ended the decade-long Maoist insurgency.
Source: The Telegraph
About an Earthquake-Tsunami on 22 July 2009
Rumour about an Earthquake-Tsunami on 22 July 2009 Unfounded
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15-Apr-2009
July 22 Tsunami Hoax Debunked
The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) has received several inquiries from the media and the general public about a rumour circulating in emails and blogs recently that a major tsunami triggered by a solar eclipse on July 22nd 2009 will devastate the southeast Asian region.
EOS affirms that, to date, scientists have not found any significant correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes. Since 1900, for example, of 82 earthquakes greater than magnitude 8 worldwide, only two occurred close to the time of a solar eclipse. However, these were not only partial eclipses but also far from the locations of the earthquakes.
At present, no scientific methods or technologies exist that can pinpoint precisely the timing, location or magnitude of earthquakes. Longer-term forecasts, however, have been made on the basis of scientific information. For example, scientists from the Earth Observatory of Singapore and their Indonesian colleagues have forecast that another large earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra is likely within the next few decades. More details on this study can be found here:
http://www.earthobservatory.sg/media/2008/20081212_PrehistoricRecordImprovesForecastOfLarge
WestSumatranEarthquakeAndTsunami/index.php
Singapore is well protected from the threat of an earthquake-generated tsunami because it is not directly exposed to open ocean but surrounded by a number of land masses. A study completed in December 2008, by the Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore, showed that a tsunami generated by rupture of a very large earthquake fault beneath the South China Sea would take about 10 hours to reach Singapore by which time most of the wave energy would have dissipated, resulting in only a moderate rise in sea level (less than a metre).
The EOS reiterates that there is no scientific evidence to support the rumour that an earthquake-tsunami in the southeast Asian region linked to the solar eclipse on 22 July 2009 will occur.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15-Apr-2009
July 22 Tsunami Hoax Debunked
The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) has received several inquiries from the media and the general public about a rumour circulating in emails and blogs recently that a major tsunami triggered by a solar eclipse on July 22nd 2009 will devastate the southeast Asian region.
EOS affirms that, to date, scientists have not found any significant correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes. Since 1900, for example, of 82 earthquakes greater than magnitude 8 worldwide, only two occurred close to the time of a solar eclipse. However, these were not only partial eclipses but also far from the locations of the earthquakes.
At present, no scientific methods or technologies exist that can pinpoint precisely the timing, location or magnitude of earthquakes. Longer-term forecasts, however, have been made on the basis of scientific information. For example, scientists from the Earth Observatory of Singapore and their Indonesian colleagues have forecast that another large earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra is likely within the next few decades. More details on this study can be found here:
http://www.earthobservatory.sg/media/2008/20081212_PrehistoricRecordImprovesForecastOfLarge
WestSumatranEarthquakeAndTsunami/index.php
Singapore is well protected from the threat of an earthquake-generated tsunami because it is not directly exposed to open ocean but surrounded by a number of land masses. A study completed in December 2008, by the Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore, showed that a tsunami generated by rupture of a very large earthquake fault beneath the South China Sea would take about 10 hours to reach Singapore by which time most of the wave energy would have dissipated, resulting in only a moderate rise in sea level (less than a metre).
The EOS reiterates that there is no scientific evidence to support the rumour that an earthquake-tsunami in the southeast Asian region linked to the solar eclipse on 22 July 2009 will occur.
Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies
CHICAGO – Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest.
The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's 103rd floor Skydeck. Their transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with the impression they're floating over the city.
"It's like walking on ice," said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. "That first step you take — 'am I going down?'"
Kemp was among the visitors who got a sneak preview of the balconies Wednesday. "The Ledge," as the balconies have been nicknamed, open to the public Thursday. Visitors are treated to unobstructed views of Chicago from the building's west side and a heart-stopping vista of the street and Chicago River below — for those brave enough to look straight down.
John Huston, one of the property owners of the Sears Tower, even admitted to getting "a little queasy" the first time he ventured out. But 30 or 40 trips later, he's got the hang of it.
"The Sears Tower has always been about superlatives — tallest, largest, most iconic," he said. "Today is also about superlatives. Today, we present you with 'the Ledge,' the world's most awesome view, the world's most precipitous view, the view with the most wow in the world."
The balconies can hold five tons, and the glass is an inch-and-a-half thick, officials said. Sears Tower officials have said the inspiration for the balconies came from the hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week. Now, staff will have a new glass surface to clean: floors.
"It's very scary, but at the same time it's very cool," said Chanti Lawrence of Atlanta, adding that she's made her first step toward overcoming her fear of heights.
Adam Kane, 10, of Alton, Ill., rushed to the ledge with his friends and siblings, and they each eagerly pressed their faces to the glass bottom.
"Look at all those tiny things that are usually huge," Adam said.
The balconies are just one of the big changes coming to the Sears Tower. The building's name will change to Willis Tower later this summer. Last week, officials announced a 5-year, $350 million green renovation complete with wind turbines, roof gardens and solar panels.
With the ledge, visitors like Kemp said the nation's tallest building has succeeded in creating something they've never seen before.
"I had to live 70 years for a thrill like this," she said.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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