Asian exhibition at Qld Art Gallery ‘a hit’

The Queensland Art Gallery says an exhibition of modern art works from Asia and the Pacific has been a hit with audiences.

The sixth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane included installations from artists in North Korea, Burma and China.

On average 4,000 people a day attended the exhibition, which ended its four-month run on Monday.

Works on show ranged from a stuffed deer covered in glass bulbs to reggae music from the Pacific Islands.

The Queensland Art Gallery’s deputy director Lynne Seear says audiences are becoming more attracted to modern art.

“They’re contemporary thinkers in Queensland,” she said.

“They want to know what’s happening in the world, what’s happening now, what’s current.”

The event also proved popular beyond Queensland’s borders with a quarter of visitors coming from interstate.

405th installation anniversary of Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Agra, Sep 19(ANI): People of all religions and communities gathered to celebrate the 405th anniversary of the installation of the Sikh holy scriptures, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, at Gurudwara Maithan in Agra.

This was a significant landmark for the Sikhs, as the 275-year-old handwritten scripture, whose front pages are written with gold, was put on display for the devotees.

“The Guru Granth Sahib has the preaching or ‘bani’ of famous poets like Kabir ji, Guru Ravidas ji and Baba Farid ji. It is symbol of humanity and so people of all the religions have gathered here to celebrate the ‘Prakash Parv’, the installation ceremony together,” said Kanwldeep Singh, President of Sri Gursikh Sabha.

Also on display was a miniature scripture of Guru Granth Sahib, which has been preserved at the Gurudwara Maithan for the past 15 years.

“We have Guru Granth sahib of 1 X 1 inches long. The British for the convenience of Sikh soldiers especially designed the holy book during the First World War, as they could not carry a normal sized book in the battlefield. The miniature Guru Granth Sahib was printed in Germany. It was kept in a silver box,” said Gyani Kashmir Singh, head Granthi of Gurudwara Maithan.

To mark the anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, special prayers were also held in the Gurudwara premises, which once the house of Mai jassi that was visited by Guru Sri Tegh Bahadur.he gurudwara is currently undergoing renovation and will be expanded to facilitate the large number of devotees visiting the shrine.

A total of 20 million dollars will be spent on renovation and construction of new Gurudwara, a 100-bed hospital and a community hall.

Gurudwara Maithan also upheld the tradition of Langar, which has been followed over the centuries. Guru Arjan Dev and Mata Ganga set the precedent of preparing and serving food to the hungry, in the langar hall, where all social, economic and religious barriers collapse and all – the laborer, the lord, the peasant and the prince, are treated alike and served the same food in the same manner.

This is a practice of great social significance, and it is the key to the understanding of Sikhism. By Brijesh Sharma (ANI)

Indian Railways to get biometric identification system

New Delhi, Sep 9 (ANI): Indian Railways have decided to install biometric identification system at its vital installations across the country.

The project will increase the protection of major IT installations and PRS (Passenger Reservation Service) data centres in view of the threat of attacks, which could disrupt train operations and damage database.

“We have sanctioned a pilot project at an estimated cost of Rs 4.4 crores for installing biometric identification at vital installation and offices of Indian Railways,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.

The Zonal railways have been asked to identify vital installation and offices where biometric identification system is to be installed. (ANI)

‘Smell of space’ strong, metallic and unique, say NASA astronauts

Washington, September 7 (ANI): NASA astronauts aboard the US space shuttle Discovery have said that the smell of space, which is regarded as the final frontier, is strong, metallic and unique.

“There is one smell up here that is really unique though and that is the smell, we just call it ‘the smell of space’,” said NASA engineer and astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, who is on board US space shuttle Discovery.

“I haven’t had a chance to do a spacewalk yet, but when the other guys did and they came back in, there’s this really, really strong metallic smell,” he added.

For rookie astronaut Kevin Ford, Discovery’s pilot, both the sounds and smells of space have surprised him.

“It’s like something I haven’t ever smelled before, but I’ll never forget it,” he said. “You know how those things stick with you,” he added.

Chamitoff and Ford are among 13 astronauts on board the International Space Station and US space shuttle Discovery.

Astronauts from Discovery have concluded a third and final spacewalk, installing new equipment on the International Space Station (ISS), though failing to connect some of the cables.

The spacewalkers deployed a new payload attachment system, replaced a failed gyro assembly, installed two GPS antennae and did some work to prepare for the installation of the Node 3 “Tranquility” module next year.

Built in Italy by the European Space Agency, Node 3 “Tranquility” is scheduled to be flown to the ISS next February.

It contains the most advanced life support systems designed to recycle waste water and generate oxygen. (ANI)

High quality video, telephone conferencing may be round the corner

Washington, September 6 (ANI): German researchers are sure that compression technologies can put an end to the poor images and sound quality that are often encountered by people during video and telephone conferencing sessions.

At this year’s IFA international consumer electronics exhibition in Berlin, researchers from four Fraunhofer Institutes will demonstrate the power and flexibility of these new technologies by holding games sessions in which players compete against each other via the Internet.

To ensure high and consistent quality of sound, the researchers have developed the Audio Communication Engine, which consists of reciprocally-tuned components that vastly improve the sound quality and clarity of video and telephone conferences compared with present systems.

The key component in providing excellent sound is the MPEG Enhanced Low Delay AAC audio codec, which ensures low-delay hi-fi quality even at low bit-rates.

An echo control eliminates troublesome echo so that users do not have to wear a headset, and can move around the room freely.

Sophisticated signal processing, which extends from enhancement of the microphone signals through to multi-channel loudspeaker reproduction, removes the barrier of distance between friends without incurring great installation expense.

The researchers say that they have already started working on actual implementation by designing the technology for integration in TV sets, set-top boxes and hi-fi systems.

They claim that visitors to the IFA international consumer electronics exhibition will be able to experience the system’s superb picture and sound quality, and even play games such as Memory, Battleships and Sorry. (ANI)

NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour launches to complete Japanese module

Washington, July 16 (ANI): Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew have set off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 15, to deliver the final segment to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory and a new crew member to the International Space Station (ISS).

Endeavour’s 16-day mission includes five spacewalks and the installation of two platforms outside the Japanese module.

One platform is permanent and will allow experiments to be directly exposed to space. The other is an experiment storage pallet that will be detached and returned with the shuttle.

During the mission, Kibo’s robotic arm will transfer three experiments from the pallet to the exposed platform.

Future experiments also can be moved to the platform from the inside of the station using the laboratory’s airlock.

Shortly before liftoff, Commander Mark Polansky thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible.

“Endeavour has patiently waited for this,” said Polansky. “We’re ready to go, and we’re going to take all of you with us on a great mission,” he added.

Polansky is joined on STS-127 by Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette and Tim Kopra.

Kopra will replace space station crew member Koichi Wakata, who has been aboard the station for more than three months.

Kopra will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-128, targeted to launch in August 2009.

Endeavour’s first landing opportunity at Kennedy is scheduled for Friday, July 31 at 10:45 a.m. STS-127 is the 127th space shuttle flight, the 29th to the station, the 23rd for Endeavour and the third in 2009. (ANI)

Centre seeks explanation from Mayawati on Noida park project

New Delhi, July 11 (ANI): Ministry of Environment and Forest has sought an explanation from Uttar Pradesh government over alleged violation of environmental laws in construction of a park in NOIDA

Uttar Pradesh Government is constructing Memorial Park in 33-hectare area along the Yamuna Riverbed in Sector 15 -A of NOIDA.

State government is installing statues of Chief Minister Mayawati, her political mentor Kanshi Ram, and Dr B. R. Ambedkar in this park. This park is a new addition to the controversial statue installation projects taken up by the Mayawati’s government.

Residents and environmentalists are opposing to the statue installations as it violated the green law.

Earlier, the team of Indian Forest Service officers sent by the Central Government to probe the alleged violations found out that around 6,000 trees have been chop down for the project. Their report also pointed that the State government ignored an environment impact assessment required for such a projects.

“The team during its field visit found that the state government lacks a strong stand on environment appraisal and forestry appraisal. The team opined that the state government should have taken forest and environment clearances. To consider the opinion of the state government, we have asked for their comments,” said Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jai Ram Ramesh on Saturday in National Capital

Earlier this week a two-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the statue installation projects of UP government. (ANI)

China installs censorship software in over 500,000 PCs

Shanghai, July 2 (ANI): Under the controversial Green Dam computer program, China has already installed censorship software in over half-a-million computers.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the Green Dam program has been downloaded three million times since the end of March and has been installed on 518,000 computers. Almost 7,000 websites in China have also installed the software.

On Tuesday night, the Chinese ministry of Industry and Internet Technology issued a short statement, indefinitely delaying a plan to make Green Dam compulsory on all computers sold on the mainland. The regulation was due to come into force on Wednesday.

The government retreated from the plan after fierce opposition from computer manufacturers, the US government and Chinese Internet users.

Once Green Dam is installed on a home computer, it links to a central database and automatically filters out all pornography and some politically sensitive content.

A spokesman for the US embassy said they welcomed the decision by the government to shelve the project.

According to researchers at the University of Michigan, the installation of Green Dam leaves computers more vulnerable to hacking. It may also be able to report an individual’s web-use back to the Chinese authorities.

A number of major computer manufacturers have already started selling computers with the software.

Sony and Lenovo, the Chinese company which bought IBM’s PC division, have already sold Green Dam compliant machines, while Acer, the Taiwanese manufacturer, said yesterday it intended to comply with the regulation. (ANI)

Cordys enables business process automation for Google Apps

Putten, May 8 (ANI/Business Wire India): Cordys, a leading provider of software for business process innovation, has joined the Google Enterprise PartnerT program and is delivering structured workflow capabilities to the Google AppsT suite of communication and collaboration tools.

Cordys Process Factory for Google Apps supports organizations of any size using Google Apps as part of their core business processes and projects.

The combination of the Cordys Process Factory with Google Apps Premier Edition, delivered in the cloud, provides a messaging and collaboration solution for less money and with no software installation. The combination of the two increases the speed of deployment of workflow and situational applications for less than the price of a mobile phone.

Google Apps brings simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools to organizations. With Google Apps, users can use applications such as GmailT webmail service, Google TalkT instant messaging service, Google CalendarT calendaring service, Google DocsT program, Google SitesT web application, and Google VideoT for business on their own domain to work together more effectively.

Best of all, it’s all hosted by Google, so there’s no hardware or software to download, install or maintain.

The Cordys solution launched today allows Google Apps users to add structured workflow to existing unstructured collaborations and to convert unstructured data from Google Docs spreadsheets to structured datasets and applications. It also provides the possibility of building and using situational applications in the cloud and integrating those with enterprise and legacy software.

Examples of situational applications include Budget Approval, Project Management, Talent Management and Change Control.

Speaking from their corporate headquarters in Putten, the Netherlands, Jan Baan, founder and CEO of Cordys, said: “This solution fundamentally changes the way software will be developed and deployed. For too long now, the power user has been excluded from the development of Web applications which has served to slow down the uptake of the technology at the corporate level. This new service brings together the innovative power of our vision and technology, and combines it with innovative services in Google Apps.”

“Organizations of any type or size can now mix and match existing on-premise processes run on “enterprise” applications with processes and applications made available on the Web. The current market climate is certainly one which requires a new way to address business challenges and we are now excited to offer this new way to our customers,” Baan added.

Scott McMullan, Google Apps Partner Lead for Google Enterprise, said: “The integration of Cordys Process Factory with Google Apps will enable our customers to create new workflows and business processes, extending the value of our applications. We’re very excited to see our customers automate more of their business processes with the simplicity of browser-based cloud orchestration services.”

Cordys Process Factory for Google Apps is a hosted development environment for building business process management applications in the cloud. Based on a Platform-as-a-Service, this process orchestration solution helps companies to rapidly build situational applications (MashApps(r)) to instantly meet specific business needs.

Organizations moving to these cloud based applications within a pay-as-you-go model will be able to drive down the overall IT spending, improve the IT effectiveness and increase the speed of innovation. (ANI)

Slack security makes Mumbai suspects housing jail soft target for terror strikes

Rawalpindi, May 7 (ANI): Inadequate security arrangements in and around the Adiala jail, where certain high profile under trials, including the Mumbai terror attack suspects have been kept, has increased its vulnerability to terror attacks, The Daily Times reports.

Police officials have admitted that the jail is a soft target for the extremists due to lack of proper security.

The officials said they had recommended some immediate steps to be taken to increase the safety level of the jail, where over 5,700 prisoners are locked currently, to higher authorities including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Punjab, but are still waiting for a reply.

The recommendations included the hiring of ‘highly professional’ security experts, establishment of a well-equipped special cell to monitor jail’s security and installation of more CCTVs inside the prison premises, especially in the barracks of high-profile prisoners, officials said.

Currently there are only 370 security personnel manning the jail’s security. It has no security monitoring cell and the CCTV’s installed inside the prison campus too were insufficient to keep an eye on every corner of the jail.

The officials had also recommended that Elite Force’s personnel should be deployed out side the prison campus. (ANI)

Repolling underway in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, Apr 26 (ANI): Repolling is taking place amidst tight security at 63 booths in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

The Election Commission had ordered the re-poll on Saturday due to irregularities including damage to the electronic voting machines (EVM’s) and technical problems during the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 23.

Twenty-one polling booths in Kadapa, and 14 in Ananthpur districts are among the 63 booths where re-polling is taking place.

The election authorities have ordered installation of cameras in all booths and senior IPS officers have been deployed to oversee the polling.

The polling will continue till 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, following the Election Commission’s orders, 12 election staff members and about 16 agents have been arrested at two polling stations in Kondukur Assembly segments in Prakasam district.

Election officials had brought to notice on Saturday that polling agents in two elections booths in the district were caught on camera while casting votes with the voters.

Chief Electoral Officer I. V. Subba Rao said that the polling agents entered the voting compartments along with genuine voters and manipulated them.

A polling official was also seen advising a voter to cast his vote for a particular party. (ANI)

After Few Minutes Of Delivery; Baby Boy Swapped For A Girl

Once again, a civic-run hospital got dragged in a baby-swap storm.

Mohammed Sartaj, a fruit vendor, filed a complaint against the doctors at a maternity home run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Oshiwara, for swapping his baby boy for a girl, minutes after the delivery on Wednesday evening.

SartajÂ’s wife Reshma Bano also said that soon after giving birth to her baby, she was informed by the doctors that it was a boy.

Bano was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and delivered the child around 6 pm.

“I was told by the doctors that I delivered a boy and they asked me whether I would want to undergo sterilisation. I told them to ask my husband,” she said.

The couple was not willing to accept the baby girl.

Now, Bano has refused to feed the baby, though initially she agreed to do so after the police authorities requested her.

Sartaj also claimed that a ward boy informed him that Bano had delivered a son.

He said, “The ward boy came out of the operation theatre and showed me a baby boy and asked me for sweets. But after some time, doctors told me it was a girl child.”

Sartaj then called the police.

The maternity home denied the complaint, saying that on Wednesday, 11 babies were born in the hospital, and out of them seven were boys and four girls.

S Gawde, Cooper Hospital medical superintendent, said, “Let the police investigate the matter. We are also conducting our internal inquiry.”

Officials said they had requested for installation of CCTV at the maternity hospital but nothing had happened thus far.

Senior police inspector Kiran Sonone of the Oshiwara police station said, “We received the complaint and recorded the statement of the people concerned. We have asked for a DNA test to establish whether Sartaj and Resham Bano are the child’s parents.”

After Sartaj complained on Wednesday night, a policeman allegedly attacked a ward boy who had allegedly shown a baby boy to the father.

Following the alleged assault, hospital staff struck work for some time.

Cable and Broadcast Companies Save Millions of Dollars Per Year With Revolutionary…

Cable and Broadcast Companies Save Millions of Dollars Per Year With
Revolutionary MPEG-4 HDTV Solution Over Satellite by ATCi

FCC DTV Mandate Drives DMA Satellite Requirements

Emergency Alert, Amber Alert, Must Carry

PHOENIX, April 16 /PRNewswire/ — Antenna Technology Communications Inc.
(ATCi), a provider of commercial satellite communications services,
successfully designed and implemented a revolutionary digital broadcast system
designed for a local channel and/or DMA extension system that ultimately saves
cable and broadcast companies millions of dollars per year.

Historically cable companies and broadcasters have transmitted local channels
via traditional microwave tower to tower technology, however through the
advent of MPEG-4/DVB-S2 and H.264 technology, ATCi was able to design and
implement a custom system enabling cable operators who commonly provide cable
television, telephone and high-speed Internet services to designated market
areas (DMA’s) the ability to transmit HD programming via MPEG-4 over
satellite. They can then trans-code the signal through their legacy MPEG-2
format thus allowing them to ultimately deliver the signal to their existing
set top boxes. By compressing the signal to MPEG-4, cable operators are now
able to economically offer HD channels to all of their extended DMA’s by
utilizing this leading edge construct. By utilizing this next generation
MPEG-4 technology coupled with DVB-S2 uses approximately half the bandwidth
while providing double the data throughput which translates into a tremendous
cost savings.

“We love this technology,” said Gary Hatch, ATCi’s CEO. “Instead of using the
traditional two transponder solution to distribute (10) HDTV local channels
throughout a traditional DMA, we have been able to provide services direct to
translators and headends. This cost savings really allows all communities to
receive equal services,” Hatch concluded.

ATCi, originator of world-renowned Simulsat(TM) Multibeam antenna, expanded
its broadcast services division in 2000 to include a platform focused solely
on providing cost-effective digital broadcast uplink solutions which include
local channel offerings. In addition to broadcasting local channels for cable
operators, ATCi also specializes in broadcasting thematic channels and
Webcasting.

With these broadcast applications, ATCi provides all the RF equipment and
installation services for the uplinked channels from a network of uplink
facilities. ATCi handles the daily engineering, origination, playout,
ad-insertion, automation, customer service and monitoring support to ensure
the channels are successfully received by the extended DMA locations.

ATCi will be exhibiting its products and solutions at NAB, April 20-23 in Las
Vegas, Booth #C5343.

SOURCE Antenna Technology Communications Inc.

Kristen Love of Antenna Technology Communications Inc., +1-303-484-1733,
klove@atci.net

NY governor introduces bill to allow gay marriage

NEW YORK
: Gov. David Paterson announced plans Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage in the state of New York, making a political gamble that he
can ride the momentum of other states that have recently allowed the practice.

The proposal is the same bill the Democrat-controlled state Assembly passed in 2007 before it died in the Senate, where the Republican majority kept it from going to a vote. Democrats now control the Senate, but opponents are vowing to make sure this one fails, as well.

The governor’s approval ratings have plunged to below 20 percent, and it’s still unclear how the legislation will play in the state. Paterson says gay marriage is a crucial issue of equal rights in America that cannot be ignored.

“I’m introducing a bill to bring marriage equality to the state of New York,” Paterson said to applause, surrounded by leaders including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is a lesbian.

Paterson, who is black, framed the issue in sweeping terms, invoking abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe and drawing a parallel between the fight to eliminate slavery in the 1800s to the current effort to allow gay marriage
.

“Rights should not be stifled by fear. What we should understand is that silence should not be a response to injustice. And that if we take not action, we will surely lose,” Paterson said.

Paterson said gay and lesbian couples are denied as many as 1,350 civil protections, such as health care and pension rights, because they cannot marry.

Gay marriage is now legal in four states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa.

At the same time Paterson was to announce his proposal, Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx, an opponent of same-sex marriage, planned to meet with religious leaders to discuss how to block the bill.

Diaz, who is an evangelical pastor, said his meeting in the Bronx was to inform Hispanics, Catholics, evangelicals and others opposed to same-sex marriage of their options to prevent the bill’s passage.

Diaz also said it is “disrespectful” of Paterson to introduce the legislation in the same week that Catholics celebrated the installation of New York City Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

Paterson attended the ceremony Wednesday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“I think it’s a laugh in the face of the new archbishop,” Diaz said Thursday before the start of his meeting. “The Jews just finished their holy week. The Catholics just received the new archbishop. The evangelical Christians just celebrated Good Friday and resurrection. He comes out to do this at this time? It’s a challenge the governor is sending to every religious person in New York and the time for us has come for us to accept the challenge.”

Mesa Garage Doors Announces Partnership With Top SEO Company in California, Collective Clicks

LOS ANGELES, CA, Apr 14 (MARKET WIRE) —
Mesa Garage Doors is proud to announce that it has signed Collective
Clicks to be the exclusive Internet marketing consultant for Mesa Garage
Doors Incorporated. They will be handling all of Mesa’s search engine
optimization, pay per click services, and social media functions.

“We are simply ecstatic to be working with Mesa Garage Doors,” said
Collective Clicks President Mark Stern. “Mesa is the exact sort of client
that we look for. When you have a company that already has a stellar
reputation and a superior product, it allows us to focus on what we do
best which is getting the word out and the sales pouring in.”

Mesa Garage Doors, founded by Dwight Esnard, in Irvine, California in
1989, is the largest installer of garage doors and garage door openers in
the nation with over 200,000 successful installations.

Their service area ranges from San Diego to Santa Barbara, essentially
covering the entirety of Southern California. Mesa has the largest garage
door installation, service, and repair crews in the state and also boasts
a lowest price service guarantee.

Mr. Stern believes that while Mesa is already doing a great job getting
its message out through traditional media, his goal is to make its
Internet presence equally as strong.

Collective Clicks, also based out of Southern California, is one of the
most successful Internet marketing firms in the new media arena,
specializing in increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic and
in raising search engine rankings for midsized to multinational companies.

Mr. Stern says that his primary mission for Mesa is to get them greater
visibility, better click-through and conversion rates while keeping their
total cost per conversion low.

“What we’ve been seeing, especially in this down economy,” Stern offered,
“is that more and more brick and mortar companies are coming to the
realization that even though billboards and local ads can be helpful, they
just don’t compare to Internet marketing with regard to ROI. It’s not even
close. In three months, we can get a level of market penetration that
would take years for traditional media to achieve. And at a fraction of
the cost. Old media venues don’t give businesses, particularly small to
mid-sized operations, actionable information. And this is why Collective
Clicks is growing so fast. The results we provide are specific and
trackable. There is nothing ‘general’ about the analytics we provide.
We’re just a lot more targeted in our approach, especially in Garage
Doors.”

In recent weeks, Collective Clicks has signed and significantly raised the
general web and search engine rankings for new clients in industries
ranging from financial services to fashion. Stern has promised that it
will do the same or better for Mesa Garage Doors.

Mesa President Esnard said: “We have learned never to be complacent as
just a few short months ago we were selling all the garage doors we could
build. This down economy has helped galvanize the direction we want to
take our brand. And we are enthusiastic and confident that Collective
Clicks will play a major role in getting us there.”

Said Stern: “Mesa is an extraordinary company and we are going to do
whatever it takes to make sure the web community knows about Mesa Garage
Doors.”

If you would like more information on Garage Doors and SEO Services, or to
schedule an appointment please call Jon Mozzino at (310) 388-9050 or email
Jon.m@collectiveclicks.com.

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-

1ST LEAD: Gates announces major shift in US defence priorities

Washington – US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a major shift in the Pentagon’s spending priorities, cutting a range of expensive Cold War-era weapons programmes and boosting spending that would aid the country’s battle against terrorism.

Gates said the decisions drew heavily on lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and represented a shift away from conventional warfare, as well as futuristic military projects where the technology was not yet proven.

The 2010 budget outline would “profoundly reform how this department does business,” Gates said at a news conference in Washington, also promising to limit cost-overruns that have cost the defence community billions of dollars.

“These recommendations are the product of a holistic assessment of capabilities, requirements, risks and needs for the purpose of shifting this department in a different strategic direction,” Gates said.

Gates proposed slashing 1.4 billion dollars from the US missile defence programme, cutting an 11.3-billion-dollar plan for new helicopters for the president and axing a plan to buy advanced F-22 fighter jets that cost some 140 million dollars apiece.

In contrast to the cuts, Gates proposed an 11-billion-dollar increase in troop recruitment efforts as well as more money for helicopters in Afghanistan and training of foreign forces in counter- insurgency efforts.

The budget outline now goes to President Barack Obama, who will then send the plans to the US Congress. Lawmakers are likely to offer stiff resistance, as many weapons programmes to be axed are built in congressional districts whose representatives will fight to prevent manufacturing jobs from being lost.

On missile defence, Gates said the Pentagon would focus its efforts on the threat from “rogue states” like Iran and North Korea, which launched a rocket Sunday despite widespread international condemnation.

As part of the shift, more US ships will be equipped with missile defence capabilities but there would be no more missile interceptors added to a ground-based installation in Alaska.

Orders of F-22s – an advanced fighter developed during the Cold War – would be capped at 187, most of which have already been delivered. Gates instead would ramp up production of the much cheaper F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Gates argued that US efforts against terrorism and insurgents had to become a key element of the US defence budget. But that did not mean conventional warfare against countries would fall off the US radar.

“I’m not trying to have irregular capabilities take the place of the conventional capabilities, I’m just trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table,” Gates said.

Gates’ proposed budget does not represent a cut of US military spending. Obama in February proposed a 4-per-cent increase in the defence budget as part of an outline of his full 2010 spending plans. He plans to allocate 533.7 billion dollars to the Pentagon, plus an additional 130 billion dollars for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan

Smell of space is funny, say Discovery pilots

Washington, Mar 29 (ANI): The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven have safely returned to Earth. But the one thing pilots can’t get out their noses is space’s “weird” smell.

“One thing I’ve heard people say before, but it wasn’t so obvious, was the smell right when you open up that hatch,” Live Science quoted Discovery pilot Dominic “Tony” Antonelli, as saying after a March 21 spacewalk.

“Space definitely has a smell that’s different than anything else,” Antonelli added.

The scientist revealed that the “odd” odor could be smelled once spacewalkers locked the station airlock’s outer hatch and reopened the inner door.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who launched to the station aboard Discovery, claimed that he too could smell the odd odor that wafted in from outside the station.

According to ex-NASA astronaut Thomas Jones, a veteran of three spacewalks, the odor could stem from atomic oxygen that clings to spacesuit fabric.

“When you repressurize the airlock and get out of your suit, there is a distinct odor of ozone, a faint acrid smell,” Jones told SPACE.com, adding that the smell is also similar to burnt gunpowder or the ozone smell of electrical equipment.

“It’s not noticeable inside the suit. The suit smells like plastic inside,” he added.

Discovery’s 13-day flight – which ended just as a new Russian-launched crew was settling into the space station -was highlighted by the installation and unfurling of the station’s last pair of solar wings. (ANI)