Powerful earthquake hit Nepal death toll crosses 600

A powerful earthquake struck Nepal Saturday, killing at least 479 people across a swath of four countries as the violently shaking earth collapsed houses, leveled centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches in the Himalayas. It was the worst temblor to hit the poor South Asian nation in over 80 years.

At least 449 people were confirmed dead in Nepal, including 181 in the capital, Kathmandu alone, according to the police. Another 20 were killed in India, six in Tibet and two in Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens died at the Nepal-China border.

The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 struck before noon and was most severely felt in the capital as well as the densely populated Kathmandu Valley. A magnitude-6.6 aftershock hit about an hour later, and smaller aftershocks continued to ripple through the region for hours.

Dozens of people with injuries were being brought to the main hospital in central Kathmandu.

Pushpa Das, a labourer, ran from the house when the first quake struck but could not escape a collapsing wall that injured his arm.

“It was very scary. The earth was moving ... I am waiting for treatment but the (hospital) staff is overwhelmed,” he said, gingerly holding his right arm with his left hand. As he spoke dozens of more people showed up with injuries, mostly from falling bricks.

The earthquake also shook several cities across northern India, and was felt as far away as Lahore in Pakistan, Lhasa in Tibet, and in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Following the quake, Kathmandu’s international airport was shut down.

A senior mountaineering guide, Ang Tshering, said an avalanche swept the face of Mt. Everest after the earthquake, and government officials said at least 30 people were injured.

Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said the avalanche occurred between the Khumbu Icefall, a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow, and the base camp where most climbing expeditions have their main camps.

Carsten Lillelund Pedersen, a Dane who is climbing the Everest with a Belgian climber Jelle Veyt, said on his Facebook page that they were at Khumbu Icefall , a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow close to base camp at altitude 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) when the earthquake hit.

“He was blown away by the avalanche and broke both legs. For the camps closer to where the avalanche hit, our Sherpas believe that a lot of people may have been buried in their tents,” he wrote in English.

“There is now a steady flow of people fleeing basecamp in hope of more security further down the mountain”

The quake’s epicenter was 80 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, and it had a depth of only 11 kilometers, which is considered shallow in geological terms. The shallower the quake the more destructive power it carries, and witnesses said the trembling and swaying of the earth went on for several minutes..

As the quake began to intensify, residents ran out of homes and buildings in panic. Clouds of dust began to swirl around them. Large cracks opened up on streets and walls.

Several buildings collapsed in the center of the capital, the ancient Old Kathmandu, including centuries-old temples and towers, said resident Prachanda Sual.

Among them was the nine-storey Dharahara Tower, one of Kathmandu’s landmarks built by Nepal’s royal rulers as a watchtower in the 1800s and a UNESCO-recognized historical monument. It was reduced to rubble and there were reports of people trapped underneath.

Video footage showed people digging through the rubble of the bricks form the collapsed tower, looking for survivors.

In Kathmandu, dozens of people were gathered in the parking lot of Norvic International Hospital, where thin mattresses were spread on the ground for patients rushed outside, some wearing hospital pajamas. A woman with a bandage on her head sat in a set of chairs pulled from the hospital waiting room.

Doctors and nurses hooked up some patients to IV drops in the parking lot, or were giving people oxygen.

The U.S. Geological Survey revised the magnitude from 7.5 to 7.9 but then lowered it to 7.8. It said the quake hit at 11-56 a.m. local time (0611 GMT) at Lamjung. It was the largest shallow quake since the 8.2 temblor off the coast of Chile on April 1, 2014.

The quake with the same magnitude as the one that hit San Francisco in 1906 was about 16 times more powerful than the 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti in 2010.

A magnitude 7 quake is capable of widespread and heavy damage while an 8 magnitude quake can cause tremendous damage.

A Swedish woman, Jenny Adhikari, who lives in Nepal, told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that she was riding a bus in the town of Melamchi when the earth began to move.

“A huge stone crashed only about 20 meters (yards) from the bus,” she was quoted as saying. “All the houses around me have tumbled down. I think there are lot of people who have died,” she told the newspaper by telephone. Melamchi is about 45 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Kathmandu.

Residents reported seeing trails of destruction -- collapsed walls, broken windows and fallen telephone poles -- as they drove through the capital, along with streets filled with terrified people.

But scattered reports also indicated that most buildings in the capital did not collapse.

“It’s too early to make any assessment but the damage isn’t as bad as it could have been,” said Liz Satow, the Nepal director for the air group World Vision. She said she drove from Kathmandu to the nearby town of Lalitpur and said that while there was considerable damage, most buildings were still intact.

Nepal suffered its worst recorded earthquake in 1934, which measured 8.0 and all but destroyed the cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.

The sustained quake also was felt in India’s capital of New Delhi and several other cities.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif offered “all possible help” that Nepal may need.

Modi talks to Nepal PM, assures all help

With massive earthquake hitting Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to his counterpart Sushil Koirala as well as President Ram Baran Yadav and assured all help in dealing with the “tough” situation.

“Spoke to PM Sushil Koirala, who is in transit in Bangkok on his way to Kathmandu. Assured all support & assistance during this tough time,” Mr. Modi tweeted.

Mr. Modi, who is personally monitoring the situation at home as well as in Nepal, spoke to Mr. Yadav first as Mr. Koirala was abroad and not reachable.

Later, Mr. Modi talked to Mr. Koirala and assured him of “all assistance to deal with the situation arising due to the earthquake”, the PMO said.

-The Hindu

Fight to preserve CEPT Building goes online

The fight to preserve the building at Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University has gone online. Former faculty member and known architect Neelkanth Chhaya has launched an online petition urging Chairman Sanjay Lalbhai and President Bimal Patel to "stop changes to CEPT buildings and maintain architectural, historical and cultural value".

The petition, which has been posted on www.change.org, was signed by more than 250 people by Monday evening. It states that the buildings on CEPT campus are important examples of post-independence architecture of India. "The campus as a whole is a very interesting exercise in site planning, climatic adaptation and landscaping. The significance of this work of architecture cannot be overestimated, and one can arguably claim that the campus and the buildings should be considered among the most important works of architecture in the latter part of the 20th century, not only in India but also at an international level," the petition states.

It adds, "The Campus has been the location of many important events in the history of education for architecture, planning, construction technology and interior design. It is a vitally important site in Ahmedabad's cultural history..... Citizens of Ahmedabad have recognized the campus as a place that has unique qualities. In a sense, the campus now can no longer be considered to be in the private domain." The petition carries four main demands.

* Consult the architect of the campus, B V Doshi, whenever designs are being prepared for alterations or additions.

* Appoint a committee (including Prof Doshi and at least one independent reputed outside architect) that will ensure that new works on the campus are designed and built in a proper manner. The committee must also publicly announce the norms to be followed for such work.

* CEPT University should pursue larger new works by conducting architectural competitions, but must clearly set down the criteria and manner of appointing master planners and architects for all works.

* All of the proceedings of the committee should be open to public scrutiny.

Saina Nehwal is now legend and World No 1

The hardest thing to do when you stumble is to recover your balance and find the strength to gracefully move on.

It seems like just the other day that Saina Nehwal reached the final of the All England Championships. Her opponent, Spain's Carolina Marin, was the reigning World Champion but she was just starting to make her way up in the badminton. The Indian, a veteran at the age of 25, had won her three career meetings against the Spaniard and this was expected to be no different.

But on that day, something went amiss. After dominating, the first game and starting the second game well, Saina succumbed to nerves and lost 21-16, 14-21, 7-21.

"Shouting out instructions to a player is usually not something I do," her coach Vimal Kumar had said after the match. "I was telling her to be more composed. But I think her brain had just switched off. She wasn't reacting to anything at all."

It was completely unlike Saina, who built her reputation as a player who never gives up. But it was also perhaps a sign that losing against 'the top players all the time' had finally got to her.

Over the past year, Saina was forced to take the hard decisions; decisions that she could come to regret but she pushed on regardless with a sense of maturity that is increasingly showing in her game as well.

In June last year, her ranking slipped to ninth and for a while, it looked like P.V. Sindhu -- a player who P Gopichand, her coach, was increasingly starting to focus on -- would overtake her. To many, Saina -- plagued by injuries and bad form -- was a spent force.

"I have taken some many hard decisions to get here. I kept losing to the top players all the time, in fact after last year's World Championship I even thought of quitting badminton. It was a very dark time in my career. People were saying 'Saina your career is finished'," Saina said after beating former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-16 21-14 in the final of the Yonex Indian Super Series tournament played at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in Delhi on Sunday.

In September 2014, Saina decided to part ways with her mentor Gopichand to train under Vimal Kumar at the Prakash Padukone Academy. It was described by some as an act of betrayal. But it truly was Saina desperately seeking a path back to the top.

“I realized I was getting stuck somewhere. I just wasn't being able to beat the world's top 3 players. Now if something is not working for me, I shouldn't hang on to it, right?” she had said.

She needed to find a way to willingly break down the game that brought her so much success and then to build it up again to a point where she would be successful again. As any player who has faced a mid-career crisis will testify, this is, to put it mildly, tiring and scary. There is the physical aspect of it and then there is the mental strain of expectations. Not so much what the others have -- but the expectations you have for yourself.

In an individual sport like badminton, it's all you. You are there in the middle alone, with the spotlight on you. You get no help from the outside. The coach may shout out instructions from time to time but you are alone in the moment and that is when you have to decide -- do you attack, do you defend, do you go down the line or cross, do you try a half-smash or a drop shot?

In his autobiography, Open, Andre Agassi talks about the loneliness of the athlete.

"In tennis you stand face-to-face with the enemy, trade blows with him, but never touch him or talk to him, or anyone else. The rules forbid a tennis player from even talking to his coach while on the court. People sometimes mention the track-and-field runner as a comparably lonely figure, but I have to laugh. At least the runner can feel and smell his opponents. They're inches away. In tennis you're on an island. Of all the games men and women play, tennis is the closest to solitary confinement....”

He may not know it but what Agassi said holds true for badminton as well. The rules are very similar and even though the matches are not as long -- it is quicker and the decisions are tougher.

And in her struggle, away from the court, Saina felt alone as well. But that is exactly where her support system and Vimal Kumar stepped up.

Vimal assured her that she was still good. But he worked tiny changes into her games -- the variables that made her difficult to read once again. Though, to begin with -- they obsessively worked on fitness. Saina's game depended on her fitness but Vimal felt she had become so slow that opponent could freely manipulate her.



Saina also added the straight flick down the line, cross-drops and a tumble at the net. Little changes but enough to plant doubt in the minds of her opponents. Enough to make them crawl back to the drawing board in search of an antidote. Enough to allow her to climb back to the top.

A bronze at the Asian Games, a Super Series title in China, a trip to the All England final followed. And then finally came the Indian Open title. Her reaction to winning the title on Sunday was typically understated but it still showed just how relieved she was. The rut she believes is now over.

"I think a big burden off my head. Last four years, I was struggling, losing in pre-quarters or quarters, this is the first time I have reached the finals and won it. So, too many surprises for me in this tournament, being the world no 1, winning the title. I am very proud of myself. I never thought this day will come after so much struggle, this is the best phase of my life," Saina said.

The best phase of my life... words not lightly spoken. For the time being, though, she can lean back, put up her feet and savour it all -- she is Saina Nehwal. World No.1. Legend.

-firstpost

Did Team India miss Yuvraj Singh in 2015 Cricket World Cup

Defending champions Team India’s golden run at the 2015 Cricket World Cup was finally put to end by the mighty Australian side at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The two sides playing each other in the semi-finals stage, Michael Clarke’s Australia beat MS Dhoni led Indian side by 95 runs to progress to their seventh Cricket World Cup final. This lop-sided defeat of the ‘in-form’ Men in Blue has come as a shocker to their loyal fans, who feel they lacked the services of last World Cup hero – Yuvraj Singh. Yes, Yuvraj was indeed the man who played the major role in knocking Australia in the 2011 World Cup after winning three consecutive editions (1999, 2003 and 2007). Could he have made the difference on March 26 match? And if the answer to it is affirmative, what did Indian cricket team miss Down Under? Also Read: MS Dhoni’s fight in vain as India lose by 95 runs; Australia set to play New Zealand in final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

1. Knight in shining armour

He was the main architect of India’s recent success at ICC Word Cups, be it ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2007 or the previous edition ICC Cricket World Cup 2011,Yuvraj Singh emerged as the most valuable player. A player who can take the match away from opponent team’s grasps in matter of few overs is always missed. One bad match from the current crop should not be used as an excuse to undermine the team but one cannot deny how badly Yuvraj was missed when Indian batsmen fell like nine-pins. Also Read: India vs Australia ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Steve Smith’s ton, MS Dhoni’s fight among Top 5 Highlights of IND vs AUS.

2. Yuvraj Singh’s Golden Arm

After inviting the Indian bowling line-up to bowl first on Sydney track, Michael Clarke and co. blasted their way to make a monstrous total of 328. Despite Indian bowlers managed to put some brakes on their run-scoring,the solid 182-run partnership hurt the side early on. During such situations, Yuvraj has proven to be Captain Dhoni’s Man Friday. He had the knack of picking wickets and breaking partnerships. Apart from the dangerous batsman Yuvraj is, he was terribly missed as a resourceful bowler.

3. Role of Finisher

MS Dhoni is regarded as the greatest finisher of the modern day cricket but on March 26, he ran out of partners on the other end. Yuvraj Singh has played several match winning knocks that has taken the team across the finish line. In World Cup 2011, India would not have landed the trophy had he not played some of the crucial knocks.

- From India.com

tiny nano satellites will be sent by NASA on space research missions soon

The US space agency has said that it has already got as many as a dozen very small research satellites into space.

NASA is going to be leading in sending very small satellites into space.

These macro satellites will be sent along with other bigger satellites in the future launches in the days ahead.

They claim that these satellites are so small that many of them may well actually fit in the palm of your hand.

Reports claim that these cube-shaped nano-satellites, called CubeSats, which measure about four inches on each side and weigh less than three pounds, are small but pack an out-sized research punch. The satellites will enable unique technology demonstrations, education research and science missions.

NASA officials while talking about these very small satellites claim that these will also help in studying topics ranging from how the solar system formed and demonstrating a new radiation-tolerant computer system, NASA said. The 14 CubeSats selected are from 12 US states and will fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2016, 2017 and 2018. They come from universities across the US, non-profit organisations and NASA field centres, NASA said. The US space agency plans to launch 50 small satellites from all 50 states in the next five years.

-nvonews

compounds tarnishing Taj Mahal found by scientists

 

An international team of scientists have found exactly what is tarnishing Taj Mahal's pristine white marble.

Every several years, the Archeological Survey of India apply a clay mask to India's iconic but yellowing Taj Mahal to remove layers of grime and reveal the white marble underneath.

Now scientists are getting to the bottom of what kinds of pollutants are discolouring one of the world's celebrated wonders.

In what is the first published study that has looked closely at what specific compounds are causing it to appear yellow, scientists have conclude that black carbon and brown carbon from the burning of trash and fuels are among the primary pollutants tarnishing the monument of love.

The latest findings will now help inform efforts to protect the mausoleum and other surfaces from pollution.

Mike H Bergin and Sachchida Nand Tripathi from the American Chemical Society note that Indian officials have tried to reduce the effects of pollution on the Taj Mahal by restricting nearby traffic and limiting local industrial emissions.

But despite regulations and an occasional deep clean, the domes and minarets continue to accrue a layer of soot.

Researchers analyzed particles in the air and on marble samples near the main dome over several months.

Using a novel method they developed, the team estimated how these specks reflect light and therefore affect the color of the building.

In the future, their approach could be used to craft strategies to address the chronic yellowing and improve air quality, they say.