Sea | SilverScorpio.Com

Antarctica’s secret water network far more dynamic than believed

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 15 (ANI): The first complete map of the lakes beneath Antarctica’s ice sheets reveals the continent’s secret water network is far more dynamic than we thought, and could be acting as a powerful lubricant beneath glaciers, contributing to sea level rise.

According to a report in New Scientist, Ian Joughin at the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues developed the map.

Unlike previous lake maps, which are confined to small regions, Joughin and colleagues mapped 124 subglacial lakes across Antarctica using lasers on NASA’s ICESat satellite.

The team also observed the lakes draining and filling.

While interior lakes tended to be static, many coastal lakes changed significantly. Some even appear to be connected by channels under the ice hundreds of kilometres long.

For instance, when upstream lakes under the Recovery glacier drained 3 cubic kilometres of water, lakes downstream gained a similar amount.

Water flowing under glaciers can act as a lubricant, causing land ice to accelerate into the sea and add to rising sea levels.

“The implications for the flow of ice are potentially quite significant,” said Andy Smith of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK.

“Those lakes with no clear drainage channels are of particular interest because they could be spreading a thin film of lubricating water under glaciers,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: amount, Andy Smith, ANI, antarctic, antarctica, British, British Antarctic Survey, cambridge, Cambridge Uk, Coastal Lakes, continent, cubic kilometres, drainage, Drainage Channels, film, flow, glacier, glaciers, Ian Joughin, ice, icesat, instance, interest, Interior Lakes, Joughin, lake, Lake Maps, land, Land Ice, level, London, lubricant, map, NASA, Nasa Satellite, network, New, New Scientist, recovery, report, rise, rising sea levels, satellite, scientist, sea, sea level rise, seattle, Secret Water, September, subglacial, survey, team, thin film, U.K, University, Washington, water, Water Lakes, water network

Declining CO2 levels helped in Antarctic formation 34 million years ago

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 14 (ANI): In a major research study, the link between declining carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the earth’s atmosphere and the formation of the Antarctic ice caps some 34 million years ago has been confirmed for the first time.

The research was carried out by a team of scientists from Cardiff, Bristol and Texas A and M universities, in a small East African village, where they extracted microfossils in samples of rocks which show the level of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere at the time of the formation of the ice-cap.

Geologists have long speculated that the formation of the Antarctic ice-cap was caused by a gradually diminishing natural greenhouse effect.

The study’s findings confirm that atmospheric CO2 declined during the Eocene – Oligocene climate transition and that the Antarctic ice sheet began to form when CO2 in the atmosphere reached a tipping point of around 760 parts per million (by volume).

According to Professor Paul Pearson from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, who led the mission to the remote East Africa village of Stakishari, “About 34 million years ago, the Earth experienced a mysterious cooling trend. Glaciers and small ice sheets developed in Antarctica, sea levels fell and temperate forests began to displace tropical-type vegetation in many areas.”

“The period, known to geologists as the Eocene – Oligocene transition, culminated in the rapid development of a continental-scale ice sheet on Antarctica, which has been there ever since,” he said.

“We therefore set out to establish whether there was a substantial decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as the Antarctic ice sheet began to grow,” he added.

The team mapped large expanses of bush and wilderness and pieced together the underlying local rock formations using occasional outcrops of rocks and stream beds.

Eventually, they discovered sediments of the right age near a traditional African village called Stakishari.

By assembling a drilling rig and extracting hundreds of meters of samples from under the ground, they were able to obtain exactly the piece of Earth’s history they had been searching for.

According to co-author Dr Gavin Foster from the University of Bristol Earth Sciences Department, “By using the rather unique set of samples from Tanzania and a new analytical technique that I developed, we have, for the first time, been able to reconstruct the concentration of CO2 across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary – the time period about 34 million years ago when ice sheets first started to grow on Eastern Antarctica.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: age, ANI, antarctic, antarctic ice cap, antarctic ice sheet, antarctica, atmosphere, atmospheric carbon dioxide, Atmospheric Co2, boundary, bristol, bush, carbon, carbon dioxide levels, Cardiff, cardiff university, climate, co-author, co2 levels, concentration, continental scale, cooling, decline, department, Development, dioxide, Dr Gavin Foster, drilling, Earth, Earth And Ocean, East Africa, East African, Eastern Antarctica, effect, eocene, formation, geologists, glaciers, greenhouse, ground, history, ice, level, link, Local Rock, Microfossils, mission, Natural Greenhouse Effect, ocean, ocean sciences, Oligocene, Paul Pearson, period, piece, point, professor paul, Professor Paul Pearson, Research, rig, rock, school, sea, sea levels, September, set, sheet, Stakishari, stream, stream beds, study, substantial decline, tanzania, team, technique, temperate, Temperate Forests, Texas, time, transition, trend, University, vegetation, village, volume, Washington, wilderness

Sea levels rose as much as 2 feet this summer along the US East Coast

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 12 (ANI): Reports indicate that sea levels rose as much as 2 feet (60 centimeters) higher than predicted this summer along the US East Coast, surprising scientists who forecast such periodic fluctuations.

According to National Geographic News, though the immediate cause of the unexpected rise has now been solved, the underlying reason remains a mystery.

Usually, predicting seasonal tides and sea levels is a pretty cut-and-dried process, governed by the known movements and gravitational influences of astronomical bodies like the moon, according to Rich Edwing, deputy director for the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

But, NOAA’s phones began ringing this summer when East Coast residents reported higher than predicted water levels, much like those associated with short-term weather events like tropical storms.

These high seas persisted for weeks, throughout June and July.

The startling rise caused only minor coastal flooding, but puzzled scientists.

Now, a new report has identified the two major factors behind the high sea levels-a weakened Gulf Stream and steady winds from the northeastern Atlantic.

The Gulf Stream is a northward-flowing superhighway of ocean water off the US East Coast.

Running at full steam, the powerful current pulls water into its “orbit” and away from the East Coast.

But this summer, for reasons unknown, “the Gulf Stream slowed down,” Edwing said, sending water toward the coasts-and sea levels shooting upward.

Adding to the sustained surge, autumn winds from the northeastern Atlantic arrived a few months early, pushing even more water coastward.

The higher waters caused inconveniences for some anglers and boaters and rearranged a bit of shoreline.

“A couple of sand beaches we’d normally fish from were eaten up. And the volume of water was higher than it normally would be,” said Paulie Apostolides, owner of Paulie’s Tackle in Montauk on New York State’s Long Island.

Even before the new report, released by NOAA on September 2, Apostolides said that many local fishers had already attributed the sea level rise to the “ferocious” winds from the northeast. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ''cause, administration., ANI, Astronomical Bodies, Atmospheric, autumn, Autumn Winds, bit, center, Coast Residents, Coastal Flooding, coastward, couple, deputy, director, east coast, fish, flooding, geographic, Gravitational Influences, Gulf Stream, High Sea, July, June, level, Long Island, Montauk, moon, mystery, national, National Geographic News, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration Noaa, New York, NEWS, NOAA, northeast, northeastern Atlantic, ocean, Oceanic, Oceanographic, operational, Operational Oceanographic Products, orbit, owner, Paulie, Paulie Apostolides, Periodic Fluctuations, process, reason, report, Rich Edwing, rise, sand, sand beaches, sea, sea levels, September, shoreline, state, Steady Winds, steam, stream, summer, superhighway, surge, tackle, Term Weather, the Gulf, Tropical Storms, unexpected rise, US, volume, volume of water, Washington, water, weather, Weather Events

West Bengal gets its first coastal police station

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Sep. 11 (ANI): With the inauguration of Moipith police station in South 24 Pargana district on Friday, West Bengal got its first coastal police station to patrol in the Sunderban delta area.

“There are a large number of tributaries and water channels leading into the Bay of Bengal, which are unpoliced and there is no supervision on the movements of various water crafts in those channels. With a view to meet a possible security threat from the sea these coastal police stations are being set up,” said Bhupinder Singh, DGP.

The region has fallen to arms smugglers operating through riverine bodies. Now, the local residents are hoping that opening of new police station would keep the criminals at bay.

“Earlier, the nearest police station was 25 to 27 kilometers away. It was difficult to go to the police station because of the distance and bad roads. Any communication or registering of a complaint with police was difficult. With the police station opening here, things would be easier now,” said Madan Mohan Maity, a resident.

Illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals and sneaking of goods can also be monitored now.

“Lot of goods come in here illegally from Bangladesh, including firearms. Lot of firearms smuggled in from Bangladesh can be found at Moipith. These firearms are used by pirates on the rivers. The police station will be of great use to us,” said Subol Mondol, a resident.

More such stations will come up in sensitive zones to detect and avert any terrorist sneaking into the country from Bangladesh through coastal borders.

After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Cenre has decided to gear up the coastal security.

According to Bhupinder Singh, joint exercises with police, navy and coast guards are now being conducted routinely for manning the sea and riverine borders with Bangladesh. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, area, attack, Bangladesh, Bangladeshi, bay, Bay of Bengal., Bhupinder, bhupinder singh, Cenre, coast, Coastal Borders, communication, complaint, country, delta, Delta Area, DGP, distance, district, Firearms, Friday, illegal, illegal immigration, immigration, inauguration, Kolkata, lot, Madan, madan mohan, Mohan Maity, Moipith, mondol, Mumbai, navy, New Police Station, number, opening, Pargana, Patrol, police, police stations, region, resident, riverine, sea, security, security threat, Sensitive Zones, Sep, Sep 11, Singh, smugglers, south, station, Subol, sunderban, supervision, terror, terror attack, threat, Tributaries, use, view, water, water channels, Water Crafts, west bengal

Polar bears face extinction in less than 70 years because of global warming

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 11 (ANI): A new research has warned that polar bears face extinction in less than 70 years because of global warming.

“Recent projections suggest polar bears could be extinct within 70 years,” Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University, who led the latest study, told the Telegraph.

“But we think this could be a very conservative estimate. The outlook is very bleak for them and other creatures such as ringed seals,” he said.

Melting ice is causing Polar bear numbers to drop dramatically, scientists warn.

“The rate at which sea ice is disappearing is accelerating and these creatures rely on it for shelter, hunting and breeding. If this goes, so do they,” said Post.

Others also at risk include ivory gulls, Pacific walruses, ringed and hooded seals and narwhals, small whales with long, spiral tusks.

One of the problems is that other animals are moving north, encroaching on their territory, spurred by increasing temperatures, pushing out native species.

The animals are also struggling with the loss of sea ice.

The international team analyzed average temperature in the Arctic over the last 150 years and warned many animals that are dependent upon the stability and persistence of sea ice are faring especially badly.

Polar bears and ringed seals both give birth in lairs or caves under the snow and can lose many newborn pups when the lairs collapse in unusually early spring rains, triggered by climate change.

Among animals migrating further north are red foxes, which are driving out the smaller Arctic foxes. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ANI, arctic, arctic foxes, average temperature, bear, biology, birth, change, climate, climate change, collapse, conservative estimate, Early Spring, Eric Post, estimate, extinction, face, face extinction, global warming, Gulls, Hooded Seals, hunting, ice, Ivory, Lairs, London, loss, melting, melting ice, native species, newborn pups, outlook, pacific, penn, penn state university, persistence, polar, Polar Bear, polar bears, professor, rate, red foxes, Research, Ringed Seals, risk, sea, sea ice, September, shelter, snow, spiral, spring, stability, state, study, team, Telegraph, temperature, territory, tusks, University, warming

Chidambaram discusses counter-terrorism, 26/11 update with US officials

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 10 (ANI): Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram held meetings here with senior Obama administration officials, including National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. (retired) James Jones, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the U.S. Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr. on Wednesday.

Enhanced co-operation between India and US on tackling terrorism particularly in South Asia dominated the discussions, sources said.

Pakistan’s inaction in dealing with the perpetrators of 26/11 was also raised.

Chidambaram also met Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Chairwoman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Chidambaram is scheduled to meet the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday.

On Tuesday, officials from FBI, intelligence and security agencies and the New York Police briefed Chidambaram about the measures being taken by them to prevent a Mumbai-type terrorist attack.

From walking at the Penn Station, to a briefing by the New York Police, which had made several changes in its counter-terrorism measures post the 26/11 attacks, Chidambaram and his team of officials got to know what a mega city like New York can do to protect itself from terrorists without inconveniencing its residents.

Chidambaram was also informed about the coast guard facility at Staten Island. It was an important aspect of his trip given that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26 last year entered Mumbai through the sea route.

Within hours of his landing in New York, Chidambaram visited the Joint Terror Task Force Centre of the FBI where he was given an exclusive briefing by the New York Police Department.

Before leaving New York City for Washington by train, Chidambaram was briefed about security of the Mass Transport System at the Penn station.

The Home Minister is also scheduled to meet the top US intelligence and security officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller and Director of National Intelligence Dennis C Blair; besides meeting National Security Adviser, Gen (Retd) James Jones at the White House. A tour of the National Counter-terrorism Centre in Virginia is also on his itinerary.

Besides meeting experts and think-tanks” members, Chidambaram is expected to hold talks with key US lawmakers, including Senator Joe Lieberman, Chairman, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and Congressman Sylvester Reyes, Chairman, House Select Committee on Intelligence. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: administration., adviser, advisor, affairs, ANI, aspect, attack, Blai, briefing, centre, chairman, chairwoman, city, clinton, coast, committee, Congressman Sylvester Reyes, counter-terrorism, Dennis C, dennis c blair, department, Dianne, director of national intelligence, Director Robert Mueller, enhanced, Eric H Holder Jr., facility, fbi, fbi director, feinstein, force, Gen, general, Governmental, guard, Hillary Clinton, home, Home Minister, homeland, house, inaction, India, Indian, intelligence, itinerary, james jones, janet napolitano, joint, landing, mass, Mass Transport, meeting, mega city, Minister P. Chidambaram, Mumbai, Mumbai-type, national, national security advisor, New York, New York City, new york police, new york police department, November, Obama, Pakistan, Penn Station, police, post, retd, robert mueller, route, sea, sea route, Secretary Janet Napolitano, Secretary of State Hillary, security, select, senate, senate select committee, senate select committee on intelligence, senator dianne feinstein, Senator Joe Lieberman, Sept, south-asia, Staten Island, station, system, task, team, terror, terrorism, Thursday, tour, train, transport, trip, Tuesday, U.S. Attorney, US, Virginia, Washington, Wednesday, white, year, york police department

Ancient oceans yield clues to the origins of animal life on Earth

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 10 (ANI): Analysis of a rock type found only in the world’s oldest oceans has shed new light on how large animals first got a foothold on the Earth.

By analysing the isotopes of chromium in iron-rich sediments formed in the ancient oceans, a scientific team, led by Professor Robert Frei at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, has found that a rise in atmospheric oxygen levels 580 million years ago was closely followed by the evolution of animal life.

The data offers new insight into how animal life – and ultimately humans – first came to roam the planet.

“Because animals evolved in the sea, most previous research has focussed on oceanic oxygen levels,” explained Newcastle University’s Dr Simon Poulton, one of the authors of the research paper.

“Our research confirms for the first time that a rise in atmospheric oxygen was the driving force for oxygenation of the oceans 580 million years ago, and that this was the catalyst for the evolution of large complex animals,” he added.

Distinctive chromium isotope signals occur when continental rocks are altered and weathered as a result of oxygen levels rising in the atmosphere.

The chromium released by this weathering is then washed into the seas and deposited in the deepest oceans – trapped in iron-rich rocks on the sea bed.

Using this new data, the research team has not only been able to establish the trigger for the evolution of animals, but have also demonstrated that oxygen began to pulse into the atmosphere earlier than previously thought.

“Oxygen levels actually began to rise 2.8 billion years ago,” explained Dr Poulton.

“But, instead of this rise being steady and gradual over time, what we saw in our data was a very unstable situation with short-lived episodes of free oxygen in the atmosphere early in Earth’s history, followed by plummeting levels around 2 billion years ago,” he said.

“It was not until a second rise in atmospheric oxygen 580 million years ago that larger complex animals were able to get a foothold on the Earth,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: Analysis, ancient, Ancient Oceans, ANI, animal, Animal Life, atmosphere, Atmospheric Oxygen Levels, bed, catalyst, chromium, Continental Rocks, copenhagen, copenhagen denmark, data, Deepest Oceans, Denmark, distinctive, Dr Poulton, dr simon, Dr Simon Poulton, Earth, evolution, Evolution Of Animals, foothold, force, Free Oxygen, history, insight, isotope, life, life on earth, light, newcastle, newcastle university, oxygen, oxygenation, paper, planet, Poulton, previous research, Professor Robert, Professor Robert Frei, pulse, Research, result, Rich Rocks, rich sediments, rise, rock, sea, Sea Bed, September, situation, team, time, trigger, type, University, university of copenhagen, Unstable Situation, Washington, world

Chidambaram meets FBI, New York Police officials, gets anti-terrorism tips

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York/Washington, Sep.9 (ANI): India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday, was briefed by officials from FBI, intelligence and security agencies and the New York Police about the measures being taken by them to prevent a Mumbai-type terrorist attack.

Within hours of his landing in New York, Chidambaram visited the Joint Terror Task Force Centre of the FBI where he was given an exclusive briefing by the New York Police Department.

Before leaving New York City for Washington by train, Chidambaram was briefed about security of the Mass Transport System at the Penn station.

In Washington, Chidambaram will meet with top Obama Administration officials, heads of intelligence and security agencies and influential lawmakers over the next three days.

Apart from discussing the 26/11 dossiers that India has submitted to Pakistan,Chidambaram will also discuss issues related to combating financing of terrorism and steps which will need to be taken in this regard as well as with regard to prevention of money laundering.

Ways to strengthen Indo-US anti-terrorism cooperation are among the issues likely to figure prominently in the talks on Wednesday and Thursday.

Chidambaram will meet his counterpart Janet Napolitano; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Attorney General Eric H Holder.

Besides meeting experts and think-tanks’ members, Chidambaram is expected to hold talks with key US lawmakers, including Senator Joe Lieberman, Chairman, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and Congressman Sylvester Reyes, Chairman, House Select Committee on Intelligence. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: administration officials, administration., adviser, affairs, ANI, aspect, attack, attorney, briefing, centre, chairman, city, clinton, coast, committee, Congressman Sylvester Reyes, cooperation, counter-terrorism, counterpart, dennis c blair, department, Director Robert Mueller, eric, facility, fbi, financing, force, Gen, general, Governmental, guard, Hillary Clinton, holder, home, Home Minister, homeland, house, India, indo-, intelligence, itinerary, james jones, janet napolitano, joint, landing, laundering, mass, Mass Transport, meeting, mega city, Minister P. Chidambaram, MONEY, Mumbai, Mumbai-type, national, New York, New York City, new york police, new york police department, November, Obama, Pakistan, Penn Station, police, police officials, post, prevention, regard, retd, route, sea, sea route, Secretary of State Hillary, security, Security agencies, select, senate, Senator Joe Lieberman, Sep, Staten Island, station, system, task, team, terror, terrorism, terrorist attack, Thursday, timothy geithner, tour, train, transport, Transport System, Treasury, treasury secretary, trip, Tuesday, US, Virginia, Washington, ways, Wednesday, white, year, york police department

UN silent on Sir Creek issue after expiry of deadline

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Karachi, Sep 7 (ANI): The United Nations (UN) is keeping mum on the protracted dispute between Pakistan and India over the ownership of Sir Creek even after the expiry of the deadline May 2009 deadline set by the world body to resolve this issue.

The UN had set the deadline for both the archrival countries to resolve this dispute amicably with a warning that after the expiry of the deadline the disputed area of sea would convert into the international waters.

The UN fixed this deadline in 1982, but after a lapse of 26 years, Pakistan and India have failed to settle this issue as a result of which the fishermen of both the countries are in serious trouble as they are being detained frequently and put into jails in violation of the UN laws while their boats and catch are being impounded.

Chairman Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Muhammad Ali Shah said that at present about 800 fishermen belonging to Pakistan and India are languishing in jails of the two countries. A majority of them were nabbed from the disputed sea waters of Sir Creek, he added.

The United Nations law does not allow the arrest of fishermen and seizing of their boats, Shah said, adding that both the countries are violating the UN laws and adding insult to the fishermen miseries, who belong to the most poor segment of the society.

Why Maritime Securities of Pakistan and India were capturing fishermen from Sir Creek now when the disputed part of the sea has now become the part of International Waters from May 2009, after the expiry of the deadline given by the UN, Shah argued.

He pointed out that some of the Pakistani fishermen were languishing in the Indian jails for many months although they have completed their tenure, The Nation reported.

Both Pakistan and India share the water and the resources of the Arabian Sea. Pakistan has its coastline of 1050 km while the India has a longer coastline of 7417 km. Due to dispute over the ownership of Sir Creek, no permanent and visible demarcation of sea has been made by the two countries, Shah said.

Since its inception in 1998, the PFF is struggling against such arrests of the fishermen of both countries. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ali Shah, ANI, Arabian sea, area, arrest, boats, body, chairman, coastline, deadline, demarcation, dispute, expiry, fisherfolk, fishermen, forum, inception, India, india share, insult, international, international waters, issue, jails, karachi, lapse, law, majority, maritime, May, Miseries, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ali Shah, nation, ownership, Pakistan, Pakistan and India, pakistan india, part, PFF, result, sea, Sea Waters, segment, Sep, serious trouble, shah, share, Sir Creek, society, tenure, trouble, united, United Nations, violation, warning, water, waters, world

Immersion of Ganesha idols poses threat to aquatic life in Surat

September 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Surat, Sep 5 (ANI): The immersion of thousands of idols during the recently concluded Ganesha festival in the waters of Ukai dam near Surat poses a pollution threat.

Most of the elaborately painted and decorated idols are worshipped before being taken in mass processions for immersion into nearby rivers, lakes and sea.

Environmentalists said the idols are mostly made of non-biodegradable material such as plastic, cement and plaster of Paris and painted using toxic dyes, which are harmful for mud, water and micro-organisms living in water.

“Idols immersed in water have polluted water in a big way. Chemicals and colours are used in making idols. All these are very harmful for mud, water and micro-organisms living in water both for short-term and long-term,” said Mohini Gadia, Professor, Aquatic Biology Department, Vir Namard University.

Devotees said that parts of the idols could seen floating in water, which was an insult to lord Ganpati.

“Due to lack of water, the idols could not be properly immersed in water. The remains of idols are lying all around. It is very unfortunate. This is an insult to lord Ganpati. The authorities concerned should think about this,” said Dhananjay Purohit, a devotee. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, Aquatic, Biodegradable Material, biology, biology department, Cement, colours, Dam, department, devotee, devotees, Dhananjay, environmentalists, festival, ganesha, Ganpati, Idols, immersion, insult, lack, life, living, lord, mass, material, micro organisms, Mohini Gadia, mud, Namard, Nearby Rivers, Paris, plaster, Plaster Of Paris, Plaster Paris, plastic, Plastic Cement, polluted water, pollution, Pollution Threat, professor, purohit, sea, Sep, Surat, threat, Toxic Dyes, Ukai, University, Vir, water, way, worshipped

Nuke Sub, Aircraft Carrier in Kalam’s vision 2020 for Andamans

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Sep 4 (ANI): Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on Friday unveiled a vision document for the strategic development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the year 2020.

Inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Security and Development of the Andaman and Nicobar islands’ here, Dr Kalam said that a 250 mw nuclear power station on one of the islands would form the core of the development programme.

Dr Kalam said the islands being a vital part of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) would have “enhanced significance” in the next decade.

He further said that the ANC should have bases for static aircraft carrier and a nuclear,

Dr Kalam also called upon the Armed Forces to evolve an effective security plan for underneath the sea, at sea level and in air.

“The security plan which you evolve should ensure that there is no unauthorised occupation of the vacant islands,”said Dr Kalam.

Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of the ANC, Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, said that the location of these islands confers a geostrategic advantage.

“Its economic and forest potential dictates a sound security presence,” he added.

Top defence and security experts, including Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt, former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India R Chidambaram, are attending the two-day seminar. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abdul, abdul kalam, advantage, advisor, air, aircraft, anc, andaman, andaman and nicobar, Andaman And Nicobar Islands, andamans, ANI, apj, apj abdul kalam, armed, blair, carrier, Chidambaram, command, Commander-in, commander-in-chief, core, country, decade, defence, defence staff, Deputy National, Development, document, dr apj abdul kalam, Dr. Kalam, dutt, economic, EEZ, effective security, foreign, forest, former, Friday, Government, government of india, IDs, inaugurating, India, Integrated, level, location, national security advisor, national seminar, Nicobar Islands, Nuclear Power Station, nuke, occupation, part, plan, port, port blair, power, presence, president, principal, programme, R Chidambaram, s vision, saran, scientific, sea, secretary, security, security presence, seminar, Sep, Shekhar, Shyam, significance, sound, Sound Security, staff, Static Aircraft, station, Sub, Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, vice admiral, vision, vision 2020, vision document, year, zone

Chopper carrying YSR’s body arrives in Kadapa

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, Sep.4 (ANI): The flag-draped and flower-bedecked coffin of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhara Reddy arrived in his native village Pulivendula in Kadapa District by an Indian Air Force helicopter on Friday afternoon.

The flight took off from Hyderabad’s Begumpet Airport after being brought from the Lal Bahudur Shastri Stadium where it had lain in state for about three hours for the general public and leaders to pay their last respects.

The body of the late chief minister, who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, will be given final rites with full state honours.

Earlier, the flower-bedecked gun carriage carrying the coffin was brought to the stadium for a lying in state.

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and senior BJP leader L.K.Advani were among the leaders who paid floral tribute to the departed leader.

There was a sea of humanity inside the stadium, and some of them were quite distraught and emotional at seeing the cortege carrying the body of their son of the soil.

The body of the late chief minister will be taken to his village in Kadapa District around 2 p.m.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi paid homage to former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhar Reddy at his official residence this morning.

Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash along with four others on Wednesday morning, also received floral tribute from other Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Defence Minister A K Antony and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit at the Chief Minister’s Camp office in Hyderabad’s Begumpet area.

The leaders also wrote condolence messages in a book at the camp office.hereafter, the funeral cortege moved out of the premises and moved along a designated route towards the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, where it will lie in state for about three hours to allow the general public and politicians to pay their last respects to the departed leader.

The Andhra Pradesh capital was a sea of grieving humanity as people from all walks of life gathered in tens of thousands on major thoroughfares to give a fitting farewell to their son of the soil, YSR.

The flower bedecked army truck and funeral convoy, led by his emotionally distressed son Jaganmohan Reddy, wound its way slowly through the streets of the city towards the stadium. Jagan Reddy greeted the emotionally charged masses lining the route with folded hands.

Reddy’s burial will be held at around 5 p. m. in his native village in Kadapa District.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has declared five days of state mourning in honour of YSR and cancelled all the official programs in the state.

Reddy’s Bell 430 chopper went missing on Wednesday morning at about 9.35 and could only be located almost 24 hours later on Thursday morning following a night long search operation by different units of security personnel including Army’s Commandos, Air Force’s Sukhoi-30, and 5,000 CRPF personnel.

The wreckage was discovered atop a hill about 40 nautical miles from Kurnoool town.

Along with YSR, four others-Dr P Subramanium, the Special Secretary to the Chief Minister; ASC Wesley, Chief Security Officer and two pilots Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy-died in the crash. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: afternoon, air, air force helicopter, airport, andhra, andhra pradesh chief, ANI, area, army, ASC, Begumpet, Begumpet Airport, bell, bjp, body, book, burial, camp, capital, Captain MS Reddy-died, carriage, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhar, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhara, Chief Minister, Chief Security, chopper, city, coffin, commandos, condolence, Congress, congress leaders, congress party president, convoy, cortege, crash, CRPF, defence, Delhi, Deve, deve gowda, distraught, Dr P Subramanium, Dr. Manmohan, Dr. Manmohan Singh, farewell, flight, floral tribute, flower, force, former, former prime minister, Friday, Funeral Cortege, Government, Gowda, Group Captain SK Bhatia, gun, helicopter, helicopter crash, hill, homage, honour, humanity, Hyderabad, Indian, Indian Air Force, Jagan, Jaganmohan, Kadapa District, Kurnoool, l k advani, L.K.Advani, lain, Lal Bahadur, lal bahadur shastri, Lal Bahudur, last respects, leader, life, Manmohan Singh, minister, Minister A. K. Antony, Minister Sheila Dixit, morning, night, office, officer, operation, others, party, pradesh, President Sonia Gandhi, prime, Public, Pulivendula, Rahul Gandhi, reddy, Reddy-died, residence, route, sea, search, secretary, security, Sep, Shastri Stadium, sheila dixit, Singh, soil, son, son of the soil, Sonia Gandhi, stadium, state, Sukhoi, Thursday, town, tribute, Truck, village, way, Wednesday, wesley, wreckage, Ysr

YSR’s body leaves Hyderabad’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, Sep.4 (ANI): The flag-draped and flower-bedecked coffin of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhara Reddy left the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium on Friday afternoon, hours after it was placed there for the general public and leaders to pay their last respects.

The funeral convoy is headed to Hyderabad’s Begumpet Airport from where the coffin carrying the body of the late chief minister, who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, will be flown to his native village in Kadapa District for final rites with full state honours.