One lakh evacuated in J & K flood

One lakh people in flood- hit Kashmir Valley were evacuated so far in rescue operations as authorities today shifted focus to relief supplies to lakhs of stranded victims and prepared to combat possible spread of waterborne diseases with flood waters receding.


With many stranded people reluctant to leave their homes, authorities said they are concentrating more on providing them food and water.

As a tragedy of epic proportions unfolded in the worst-ever floods to hit Kashmir in 109 years after heavy rains from September 2, the death toll was stated to be around 250.

Authorities fear that the number of dead could be higher.

Kamal Bawa gets 2014 Midori Prize in Biodiversity

The founder president of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore, will receive the prize with a cash award of $100,000 during the Oct 16-17 Conference of Parties (COP-12) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in South Korea.

The prize also honours his contributions to research in ecology of tropical forests, sustainable use of tropical forests, promoting engagement of civil society in conservation efforts, and for his leadership role in setting up ATREE.

WHO sounds alarm over Ebola infections as deaths top 1,500

World Health Organization said that the number of Ebola cases was increasing rapidly and could exceed 20,000 before the virus is brought under control, as the death toll topped 1,500.

New figures showed the massive scale of the crisis, which the WHO said indicated a "rapid increase still in the intensity of transmission" that could cost at least $490 million (370 million euros) to tackle.

Bruce Aylward, the WHO's head of emergency programmes, said it could take six to nine months to bring Ebola under control, by which time the number of infections could have passed 20,000.

Renowned historian Bipin Chandra passes away

A Padma Bhushan awardee, historian Bipin Chandra died at his residence after prolonged illness. He was 86.
He is considered as  a specialist in economic and political history of India, Chandra had authored several books including 'The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism', 'In the Name of Democracy: The JP Movement and the Emergency', 'Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India' and 'The Making of Modern India: From Marx to Gandhi', among others.

The left leaning author had founded the journal 'Enquiry' and was a member of its editorial board for a long time.

Born in 1928 in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, Chandra studied at the Forman Christian College, Lahore, Stanford University, US and the University of Delhi.

He worked as the Reader at Hindu College of Delhi University and then became the professor of History at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Chandra's text books on History have been taught in schools and colleges in the country for a long time. Chandra served as sectional President and then the general president of the Indian History Congress in 1985, was also awarded 'Itihas Ratna' on his 86th birthday in December this year, by the Asiatic Society of Bihar.

Indian American V A Shiva Ayyadurai invented email in 1978

Email turned 32 today but how many of us know that this quick method of message transfer was invented by Indian American V A Shiva Ayyadurai when he was just 14.

In 1978, Ayyadurai created a computer programme, which he called "email," that replicated all the functions of the interoffice mail system: Inbox, Outbox, Folders, Memo, Attachments, Address Book, etc.

These features are now familiar parts of every email system. On August 30, 1982, the US government officially recognised Ayyadurai as the inventor of email by awarding him the first US Copyright for Email for his 1978 invention.

At that time copyright was the only way to protect software inventions. Email wasn't created, with a massive research budget, in big institutions like the ARPANET, MIT or the military.

Such institutions had thought it "impossible" to create such a system, believing it far too complex, Huffington Post said.

Ayyadurai was born to a Tamil Family in Bombay.

PM vows relook at 1950 Treaty with Nepal

with an intent of opening a new chapter in ties with Nepal, India on 04-Aug-2014 announced a slew of sops for it focusing on 4Cs cooperation, connectivity, culture and constitution amid PM Narendra Modi's promise to review any aspect of the 1950 Treaty.

Indian PM wound up his two-day historic visit during which he sought to allay Nepal's apprehensions, India announced its decision to expeditiously assist in building of some key roads, cooperate in power sector and increase the number of scholarships from 180 to 250.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Nepal in 17 years, stressed the importance of the ongoing peace process and Constitution-writing to the Nepalese leadership with a promise to help them with a "pace and manner at which they are comfortable

Kerala Tourism, UNESCO sign MoU to retrace Spice Route

The memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Kerala Tourism Secretary, Suman Billa, and UNESCO Director and Representative to India, Shigeru Aoyagi, in the presence of State Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar and K M Chandrasekhar, Vice Chairman, Kerala State Planning Board.

The spice Route project is a new milestone in the growth of tourism in Kerala. It is a revival of the ancient spice route that connected 31 countries," Anil Kumar said.

"For the project to be successful, it needs the support from all the 31 countries. That is why we have sought the cooperation of UNESCO," he said.

Under the agreement, the Spice Route Initiative of the state government will form the bedrock of the cooperation and partnership between the two sides along with protection of promotion of historical areas of Kerala