Delhi Metro launches mobile application

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro on Thursday said its commuters using smartphones can get to know fares and train timings with the help of a new mobile application that can be downloaded from its web site.

"The application will provide information about nearest metro station, fare, timings of last and first train at stations, travel time, route information, metro map and parking availability on the station premises," Delhi Metro managing director Mangu Singh said.

The mobile application can be downloaded by commuters who have iPhone and android phone. The users can also find tourist spots near metro stations.

The app for android can be downloaded from
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sraoss.dmrc

Not so smart? 2 lakh await driver's licences

AHMEDABAD: Rajal Shah, a resident of Paldi, completed the process of getting her learner's licence gave her photograph and other details hoping to get the driving licence like her friends did, through a courier. However, her month-long wait will get longer. Meanwhile, she is clutching the receipt which says that she has completed the procedure and will get her licence soon.

Shah is not alone. In Gujarat, nearly two lakh applicants for driver's licenses - which are in the form of 'smart cards' - are yet to get them. For Ahmedabad, the number is 40,000.

Senior transport department officials said blank cards are sourced from a Singapore-based company in accordance with the Smart Card Operating System for Transport Applications (SCOSTA) specifications. The business consortium though, has stopped supply after disputes over payment and conditions, which that the state transport department calls a breach of understanding.

State transport commissioner J P Gupta accepted that smart cards aren't being issued to RTOs for driving licences, for more than one-and-a-half month. "However, we are in talks with the company and they have agreed to ship a batch of 50,000 cards soon. Once the supply is back on track, we are hopeful of clearing the backlog in a month," he said.

Gupta said the state needs nearly 1 lakh cards every month for fresh licenses.

Gujarat was among the first states to get the smart card system for driving licenses, in early 2000. A chip is embedded on a plastic card which also bears the photograph, personal details and signature of the holder. The aim was to make the licensing process transparent and prevent misuse of licences. Officials however have still not been able to devise a system to link card reading and traffic issues to identify habitual offenders and take punitive action.

Ahmedabad RTO officials said that May and June saw an almost 50% jump in applications from to two factors. "These months typically mark vacation time for school and college students, who start learning to drive vehicles at this time and apply for licences. Another factor is the introduction of the electronic test track for two and four wheelers, as many people are trying to get licenses before this is implemented. Right now, only emergency cards are being issued," said a senior RTO official.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mhfw3fx

Pakistan has an edge over India in underwater combat: TOI

Beijing, of course, is leagues ahead with 47 diesel-electric submarines and eight nuclear-powered ones.

The INS Sindhurakshak disaster last week, which blew a big hole in the Indian Navy's operational capabilities, has further compounded the problems.

Indian Navy is left with only 13 aging diesel-electric submarines - 11 of them over 20 years old. Four of the 13 submarines - nine Kilo-class of Russian origin and four HDW of German-origin are undergoing "a long refit'' to extend their operational lives. "Two kilo-class or Sindhugosh series submarines are at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd at Visakhapatnam, while two HDW or Shishumar-class vessels are at the Mumbai naval dockyard for the long refits," said a source.

The Navy does have one nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra, taken on a 10-year lease from Russia last year, but it's not armed with nuclear-tipped missiles due to international treaties. INS Chakra can serve as a deadly `hunter-killer' of enemy submarines and warships with its 300-km range Klub-S land-attack cruise missiles as well as other missiles and advanced torpedoes.

Pakistan Navy, incidentally, is the first force in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to have submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) in the shape of three French Agosta-90B vessels.

Conventional submarines have to surface every few days to get oxygen to recharge their batteries. Bu those fitted with AIP can stay submerged for much longer periods to significantly boost their stealth and combat capabilities, somewhat narrowing the gap with nuclear-powered submarines.

India, however, has even dithered in taking a decision to fit AIP in the last two of the six French Scorpene submarines being constructed for over Rs 23,000 crore at Mazagon Docks under "Project-75'', which is already running four years behind the original 2012-17 induction schedule. The first Scorpene will be delivered only by November 2016.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/lkn9hmo

Iran's new home-made submarine nearing completion - commander

The Iranian commander Tuesday said that the construction process of Fateh submarine is implementing normally and is nearing completion, Fars news agency reported.
Fateh submarine will be delivered to the Iranian Navy in the near future, Khadem Bigham pointed out.
Iranian Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari had earlier this year informed of the country's plan for unveiling a new submarine.

"Fateh submarine, Kaman-class missile-launcher warships and Jamaran 2 destroyer will become operational in the current year," Rear Admiral Sayyari told reporters. In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.

Iran in late 2012 boosted its naval power in the Persian Gulf waters after a new missile launching vessel and two light submarines joined its Navy fleet. The body of Sina-7 missile-launching frigate was launched in a ceremony in Iran's Southern port city of Bandar Abbas on the occasion of the National Day of Navy in November.
During the ceremony attended by the Iranian Navy commander, two Qadir-class light submarines also joined the Iranian naval fleet.
© Trend News Agency 2013

Source:  http://tinyurl.com/mo27xls

More cities to have Flybus service to BIA

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Wednesday officially launched the ‘Flybus’, a non-stop, luxurious bus service connecting Mysore with Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), twice a day.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, while expressing confidence that the service would be well-received, said: “The Corporation is planning to extend the facility to other important city centres and inter-state operations are also being considered.”

The bus will be tracked using GPS and is equipped with a chemical toilet at the rear, a pantry and seats fitted with television screens with more than 70 live stream channels.
“It will also facilitate video on demand using WiFi services and will display real time flight arrival and departure information on LED boards,” an official added.

Pointing out that a survey had found that while passengers from Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem and Trichy travel through the Chennai airport, those from Tirupati, Anantapur, etc, travel through the Hyderabad airport. He, however, said: “Choosing BIA would save time as it is at a shorter distance and is much economical considering the cost of travel.”

Explaining further, a KSRTC press note said: “For example, passengers from Coimbatore can save close to four hours (190 km), those from Tirupati can save close to five hours (215 km), if they choose BIA over airports in their states.”

KSRTC, Reddy said, would be introducing Flybus services to other cities like Mangalore, Tirupati and Coimbatore. 

Admitting that in KSRTC buses which earlier boasted of pantry and chemical toilets, passengers were reluctant to sit near the toilet, Reddy said: “In this bus, the toilet has been fitted in the rear end to provide more comfort.”

He said a dedicated departure bay is provided at the Mysore Bus Station and BIA to help the travellers and also an enquiry counter is allotted.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/n4zbddm

Bio-waste to help fire Corporation’s crematorium - Coimbatore

If the Coimbatore Corporation’s plan goes well, the degradable, bio-waste may not end up at the Vellalore dump yard. The civic body is likely to take the waste to a bio-methanisation plant to produce methane, which it will use to fire the crematorium in Chokkampudur.

According to sources in the Coimbatore Corporation, the civic body collects about 20 tonnes of bio-degradable waste on weekdays and nearly 30 tonnes on weekends – this largely comes from wastes from markets and restaurants. By diverting the waste, the Corporation will not only be able to put to better use the bio-degradable waste but also save on fuel and maintenance. The crematorium in Chokkampudur runs on electricity. The Corporation plans to covert the same in such fashion that it runs on power and gas.

In setting up the bio-methanisation plant, the Corporation is in talks with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University’s Bio Energy Department.

S. Kamaraj, Head of the Department, says that every tonne of food waste will generate 100 cubic metre gas after it undergoes aerobic digestion process. There is no energy required for this process, though. Plus, the bio-methanisation plant will produce 60 – 70 per cent more methane compared to burning firewood. Better efficiency is an advantage but that is not the only one. There is an economic angle to using the bio-methanisation plant, as well.

Managers of gasifier crematoriums have started using gas cylinders following firewood shortage. And it takes a cylinder to burn a body.

But with 3,000 cubic metre gas, which the plant will generate by processing 30 tonnes waste, the civic body will be able to burn 20 bodies and also generate 250 kw power, Mr. Kamaraj says and adds if one were to take into account the cost of a cylinder that is not subsidised, the Corporation will be able to recover the plant cost within two years.

The Corporation can also make money by selling the waste from the bio-methanisation plant as manure.

He says that the TNAU has given the proposal to the Corporation and the engineers there are preparing the plant cost.

The Corporation sources say that the Corporation plans to set up the plant with capacity to process 10 tonnes or 20 tonnes a day depending on the cost involved. The electric crematorium at present gets eight bodies a day.

The sources add that after studying the efficiency of the plant, the Corporation may go in for a similar plant at its crematorium in Athupalam.

Source:  http://tinyurl.com/m2sf24v

'Entire Himalayan region vulnerable to cloudbursts'

New Delhi, Aug 8: The entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to cloudburst and 16 glacial lakes in Himachal Pradesh are potentially  dangerous, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences S Jaipal Reddy today said.
 "Entire Himalayan region is vulnerable to rain induced hazards in the form of cloudburst. Apart from Himachal Pradesh, the threat of  cloudburst exists in Uttarakhand, Kashmir, Leh and other places in Himalayan region," the Minister told Lok Sabha said in a written reply.
 A study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development reported 156 glacial lakes in Himachal Pradesh with 16 of them as  potentially dangerous, he noted.
 The Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO-IMD) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences has formulated the 'Himalayan Meteorology Program'  for augmenting observing systems by deploying doppler weather radars, rain radars, automatic weather stations and automatic rain gauges.
 The enhanced spatial and time resolution of observations would contribute to improved prediction of Himalayan weather in general and extreme  weather events in particular.
 "The assimilation of the above observational data will facilitate improvement in now-casting and forecasting over the hill States."

Source: http://tinyurl.com/ks2f26v

20 Kinnaur villages without power for 50 days

SHIMLA: In rain-ravaged Kinnaur district, residents in over 20 villages under Pooh sub-division are forced to live in darkness as the state government has not been able to ensure power supply since June 16, after flashfloods and landslides damaged the main supply line to this tribal area. While the residents are demanding early restoration of supply, officials claimed that partial restoration in these areas would be completed by August 15 while in some places, it would take another few months as damage is huge.

After heavy rainfall of June 16 and 17 resulted in flash floods and landslides along with road network and communication system, the power supply system also suffered extensive damage. While majority of roads in the district have been opened and communication network restored to most parts, the slow pace of restoration work on power transmission lines has left Kinnaur residents agitated.

A resident of Nesang village and former IAS officer R S Negi said it is pity that Kinnaur district, having major hydro power projects, is not getting electricity. "The state government is exploiting the hydro power potential of Kinnaur the most but is not showing interest in ensuring restoration of power supply to residents at the earliest," he said. In the absence of power supply, residents are finding it hard to complete their chores as neither candles nor kerosene is available to make alternate arrangements. "This is affecting the studies of children as well," he added.

Kinnaur district is part of Mandi parliamentary constituency where a byelection was held on June 27. Before going for polls, despite flood and landslides snapping road, power and communication lines, residents of this tribal district that shares its borders with China, were promised restoration work on war footing.

"But once polls were over, restoration work took back seat. People are without electricity in many villages as restoration work is being carried out at snail's pace. This shows how the government has forgot the miseries of Kinnaur residents after elections got over on June 27," said former Kinnaur MLA Tejwant Singh Negi.

Executive engineer of state electricity board at Reckong Peo, Ajit Negi, said that power supply to most of the villages under Pooh sub-division would be restored by August 15, while for Kunnu-Charang and Asrang areas, restoration of power supply would take time as huge damage to infrastructure has been caused there. Pooh sub-division suffered the maximum damage to power transmission system in the entire district, he said.

"So far we have already laid new main line of 30 km that includes installation of new poles and transformers. The restoration work got delayed as road was blocked since July 25 due to which supply of poles and other material could not reach us," he added.

Deputy speaker Jagat Singh Negi said that all required funds have been allotted to carry out restoration of power supply, but still around two dozen villages of KInnaur district are without power. "Compared to other departments, electricity department is lagging in restoration work," he added.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/n7dxa3g

Influences of Chinese Language

Jianzhen, a monk in Tang Dynasty who had tried to travel to preach for 6 times, but only succeeded at the last time. He died in Japan

In an earlier historical period, the Chinese character script was the only script used to write the languages of Japan, Korea and Vietnam, three countries that are China's closest neighbors. A number of Chinese characters are still used today to write certain Japanese words (the Japanese language has long since developed its own written characters, the hiragana and katakana scripts), and a lesser number of Chinese characters are still in use to write Korean.

On the other hand, the language of Vietnam, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic family of languages of Southeast Asia rather than to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages, has now gone over entirely to an all-Latin (i.e., Romanized) alphabet.

Finally, it goes almost without saying that many of the written Chinese ethnic minority languages are greatly indebted to the ancient Chinese character script.

THE CHINESE INFLUENCE ON WRITTEN JAPANESE

Even though the Japanese people could easily develop a new set of written characters to replace the hold-over Chinese characters that they still use – called kanji in Japanese – they have weighed the pros and cons of this and have decided that it is simply not worth the effort. There would of course be a great deal of hassle with such a change, since everyone would have to learn the new character system, and given that older people tend to be averse to radical changes, it would probably have to be done over at least a generation, where a new generation of school children learn both character systems, and once there is no one around who is dependent on the older, kanji characters, then a clean break could be made.
But why bother? Also, there may be some value in not severing the link to the ancient, heavily Chinese-influenced past; severing that link might also be construed as a form of denial. As it is, kanji is an integral part of Japan's cultural history, alongside the many other events, for good and for bad, that characterize Japan's relationship to China, so there is a certain degree of integrity involved in preserving the ancient written Chinese characters, an integrity that speaks well of the character, in fact, of the Japanese people, much like the recent natural disasters (viz., the earthquake and the resulting tsunami) tested and demonstrated the fine side of the Japanese people.

THE CHINESE INFLUENCE ON WRITTEN VIETNAMESE

An ideo- and pictographic written language for Vietnamese, Chữ nôm, was developed already in the 13th century, though written Vietnamese wasn't really widespread in Vietnam – even if Chữ nôm made a brief appearance in Vietnamese governments near the end of the 14th century/ the beginning of the 15th century (the Vietnamese continued to use traditional Chinese, or Hán tự ("Chinese writing"), as it was called) – until after independence from France in the middle of the 20th century, though by that time, Chữ nôm had been superseded by the new, Romanized script.
Chữ nôm was in widespread but limited use from the 17th century onward, though only as a literary language, while "Chinese writing", or Hán tự, continued to be the primary written language of Vietnam.
However, during the 17th century, thanks to a bit of help from Portuguese missionaries and traders (in particular, thanks to the Portuguese Jesuit missionary, Alexander de Rhodes), the Vietnamese people developed a Romanized script, Quốc Ngữ, which was eventually adopted throughout the country after independence from France.
During the colonial period, when Vietnam was under French influence, the French language replaced Chinese as the official language of government and of the state education system; in fact, many French words found their way into the Quốc Ngữ script and are still in currency today, just as English, German, the Scandinavian languages, etc., all have borrowed heavily from the French language. However, the greatest influence on the Vietnamese language in terms of borrowed concepts – irrespective of the final script system that would be used to express those borrowed concepts – is not the French but the Chinese language. It is widely recognized that about 60% of the modern Vietnamese lexicon can be identified as Hán-Việt (Sino-Vietnamese) in origin.

THE CHINESE INFLUENCE ON WRITTEN KOREAN

Not unlike the Vietnamese, who, as we have seen, developed their own language script during what is called the late Middle Ages/ early Renaissance period in Europe, though the indigenous Vietnamese script (aka "national script") never quite caught on until much later, the Koreans developed their own language script, hangul (yet, note the Chinese character-syllable "han" even here!), in the 1440s, when a team of scholars was commissioned for this very purpose by King Sejong the Great (CE 1397-1450), yet hangul first caught on during the period the late 19th century/ early 20th century. Prior to this, the Chinese script, hanja (literally, "Chinese characters", or in other words, "Chinese writing"), was employed by the Koreans.
It is a bit hard to imagine how the Koreans –and for that matter, the Japanese and the Vietnamese – could make do with a script that was designed to express Chinese thought when the spoken language of China's neighbors contained thoughts, or ideas, that were unique to those other languages. This must surely have put a straightjacket of sorts on expression. After the creation of hangul, indigenous Korean words – including spoken words that had not earlier been rendered in hanja – were thereafter written in hangul, even alongside (intermixed with) the hanja script.
For all its independence from the Chinese script in later years, the vocabulary of the Korean language, not unlike the vocabulary of the Vietnamese language, is made up of a great deal of Chinese words (called hanja-mal or hanja-eo (i.e., Sino-Korean)) – in fact, over 50% of the Korean lexicon stems from the Chinese language. Also, because both the Vietnamese and the Korean peoples continued to write texts in "Chinese writing" up until the modern period, a Vietnamese or Korean scholar of history is forced by circumstances to learn "Chinese writing" in order to study their respective ancient texts.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mkp2hzw

'My Stamp' service gathering dust

CUTTACK: Response to the general post office's (GPO) novel initiative, 'My Stamp', as been far from encouraging. It was launched in March. Postal officials blamed it on inadequate manpower and lack of awareness about the facility among the public.

Sources said the service allows individuals to choose thematic postal stamp sheets and personalize them with their photograph or that of their friends. Corporate houses can also have their company logo embossed on the stamp.

"A person can approach the post office with a hard or a soft copy of the photograph or get themselves clicked at the head office at AG Square in Bhubaneswar," said in-charge of 'My Stamp' programme Basanti Chakra.

A sheet of 12 stamps costs Rs 300. Corporate houses are required to place a minimum order for 500 sheets. Artwork, heritage buildings, tourist places, animals and birds can also be imprinted on the stamp, which can be used as postage.

"Dearth of technical staff has proved to be an impediment in proper implementation of the facility. The photographs have to be superimposed on the stamps and prints of the sheet taken out," said Chakra.

The personalized stamps can be a boon for city philatelists if promoted properly. "People are getting a chance to put their favourite themes on the stamp, which sounds exciting," said Sushil Manohar Das, a stamp collector.

Senior superintendent of post offices (Bhubaneswar division) Aditya Nayak admitted that the service was not advertised properly.

"We will soon put up billboards at the GPO and other post offices across the state to make people aware of the initiative," he said.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mzmcmw8

This trust gives sight to the blind

VADODARA: It began as an effort to provide help for the last rites of the dead. But in death, this organization has brought light to the lives of over 1,000 blind persons.

Shri Hari Seva Trust (SHST) based in the city has motivated persons to donate eyes and even provides service to those who are willing to do so.

 SHST had started the work of providing material for last rites as well as vans to carry the dead to crematoriums in 2003. But realizing the acute need of eye donors, the organization started motivating the relatives of the deceased to donate their eyes since 2006. And so far its efforts have ensured that eyes of 1,007 deceased persons are donated.

Managing trustee of SHST Mahesh Thakkar said that whenever a person calls the trust for cremation material or a van, the person attending the call on behalf of the trust asks them if they would like to donate the eyes of the deceased persons.

"While not all agree, this has ensured that around eight to nine eyes are donated through us every month," Thakkar said.

The organization has tied up with city-based Vaduwala Eye Hospital for the donations. It has also earmarked a van that is used only to facilitate the donations. "Whenever someone agrees for eye donation after death, we call up the hospital that keeps a doctor ready. The van picks up the doctor who removes the eyes from the body and takes them to the hospital in the van itself," said Thakkar.

Thakkar said that they were promoting the activity by distributing literature at condolence meetings of known persons and through their placards at crematoriums. The trust was also working with 50 blind persons and six of them have been donated eyes so far.

Tabrez Qureshi, 27, who is able to see thanks to an eye donation said that being able to see properly has brought a major change in his life. "I have become independent. Earlier, I could hardly see things at a distance. After getting sight, I did a diploma in performing arts as I was interested in singing," he said. Qureshi says that the society should realize that their gesture of eye donation could change somebody's life. "The person would give them blessings till he is alive," he said.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mnflqvu

Dalits told to keep distance from temple

ANAND: Dalits in Bamroli village of Anand's Petlad taluka have been banned from entering the village temple to goddess Khodiyar.

The decision was taken by the village panchayat after a dalit woman, Meena Shenva, requested the village priest to allow her into the temple to offer prayers on Vad Savitri on June 26. After being turned away, Shenva approached 50 of her village dalit community members from and raised the issue with them.

 A few days later, the village panchayat also resolved that dalits not be allowed to enter the temple and that offer prayers through a small opening on a wall 100 metres away from the main temple entrance. This shocked Shenva. The temple priest insisted that this was a tradition at temple. After few days the police registered an FIR against the temple priest Rajnikant Kiritbhai and the panchayat at the Mahelva police station. Meena now fears that she will be pressurized to withdraw the case.

Deputy superintendent of police, Anand, Rajendra Asari, told TOI: "It's true. We had arrested the accused but they are out on bail. Meanwhile district authorities too have been informed of the incident and asked to follow up. The case is now in court and sub-judice. I will not be able to comment any further."

"The wall, which is 100 metres away from the temple, had a small indent in which dalits were supposed to make their offerings to the goddess. We hope Meena's efforts will give voice to the problems of dalits who live in surrounding areas of Bamroli and want to pray at the temple," says Meena's brother, Amrut Shenva.

Amrut Shenva, who lives in nearby Simrada village added, "I hope the police action bears fruit. We also fear for Meena who took this bold step. There will be lot of pressure on her to withdraw the case."

Source: http://tinyurl.com/kpun4cm

212th Israeli cease fire violation during ‘alleged’ peace talks: Army Invades Central Gaza

Tuesday August 6, 2013] Local sources have reported that several armored Israeli military vehicles and military bulldozers, carried out a limited invasion into the Al-Boreij refugee camp, in central Gaza, and uprooted farmlands.
The sources said that six military bulldozers, accompanied by several jeeps, invaded the area, and fired several rounds of live ammunition before uprooting the lands.
The bulldozers and armored vehicles also invaded an area close to the Juhr Ed-Deen nearby village.
The army carries out nearby daily limited invasion into different areas of the coastal region, especially border areas in the northern and eastern parts of the Gaza Strip. Dozens of casualties have been reported due to army fire during these invasions.
The invasions are direct violations to the ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt, in November of last year, between the resistance in Gaza and Tel Aviv.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/ovcnhch

Former nuclear bunker to get a new look as tourist center

ONCE designed to protect residents from a nuclear explosion, a fallout shelter in north China’s Hebei Province is to be transformed into a tourist attraction.
“The township government has planned to build a tourist complex inside the fallout shelter,” said Li Baoyun, chairman of the people’s congress in Shouwangfen Township in the city of Chengde, a famous summer resort about 250 kilometers from Beijing.
Located beneath the town center, the shelter stretches 2.5km from east to west and 1.5km from north to south. It was designed to accommodate a combat hospital of 2,000 square meters and a warehouse of more than 4,000 square meters.
The main corridor, which once led to an auditorium, cinema, power station and dwellings, is wide enough for two trucks to pass along side by side.
Four different areas are set to be developed based on the existing shelters and underground channels, according to local government documents released in late July.
With the complex expected to be opened by the end of 2015, the plan is for an entertainment “under-city” to be filled with catering and shopping attractions. A “haunted adventure land” will replace the hospital.
And a picture show giving information on how the shelter was used in preparing for war and storing food supplies for use in case of famine will also be included. Audiences will get a fresh view of history through simulations.
The government blueprint also mentions an area featuring a cinema with 3D film technology, a cafe and a zone themed  around science fiction.
Built in the late 1960s, the fallout shelter was initiated by China’s late chairman Mao Zedong as a response to the Vietnam War and a downturn in Sino-Soviet relations.
Li Baoyu, then 20, was actually involved in building the facility. “I was one of hundreds of workers carrying rocks and cement,” he recalled.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/n3pdk3h

Chinese Islam

The Tang and Song Dynasties are the initial stages of the introduction of Islam into China. In the second year of Yonghui period in the Tang Dynasty, the Dashi State sent an envoy to pay tribute to the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty. The historical field of our country generally takes this year as the symbol year when Islam was introduced into China.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Islam had reached a considerable scale in China. The mode of Chinese Islam had also been basically established and Muslim groups that believe in Islam had also been developed. The Muslim settlement centering on the mosques had appeared in the vast cities and rural areas.
The late Ming and early Qing Dynasties are the mature period of Chinese Islam. At that time, Islam had been accepted by several national minorities besides the Hui Nationality. The Muslim of the Hui Nationality as the members of Chinese society and important carriers of Chinese Islam played an important role in all aspects of social life.
After the foundation of new China, under the lead of Chinese Communist Party, the policy on freedom of religious belief has been comprehensively implemented and the religious belief and religious life of Chinese Muslim have been under the protection of constitution, law and policy. At present, there are ten nationalities that believe in Islam in our country. They are the Hui nationality, the Uygur nationality, the Kazak nationality, the Uzbek nationality, the Khalkhas nationality, the Tartar nationality, the Tadzhik nationality, the Dongxiang nationality, the Salar nationality and the Bao’an nationality. The total population of Islamists is about twenty million. The distribution of Muslim population in our country has been dispersal in large-scale communities and concentration in small-scale communities. Now the whole country has more than 34000 mosques and more than 45000 Adian (Party branch secretaries) and Maola (abbots). Muslim of our country belongs to the Sunni Sect in belief and complies with Hanafiyah School in religious doctrines.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/ng3cpj6

Mazu Belief

Statue of Mazu on Meizhou Island

Located in the southeast coastal region of Fujian, Meizhou Island has not only wonderful natural scenery, but also cultural charm of Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea in Chinese culture. Being hometown of Mazu and the birthplace of Mazu culture, Meizhou Island is praised as “Oriental Mecca”, a holy place for about 200 million believers from more than 20 countries and districts in the world.
In 2009, Mazu belief and customs was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO.

1. About Mazu
Mazu was born on the 23rd day of the third month of Chinese lunar calendar in 960 AC (during the Northern Song Dynasty of China). The original name of Mazu was Lin Mo. She was the youngest one of the 7 children of Lin Yuan and Woman Wang. Clever, brave and kindhearted, she could forecast the weather and offered medical services to fellow islanders. Lin Mo was deeply loved by the locals. After she had become a grown-up, she decided not to get married and made helping others her life-long enterprise. With her knowledge of medicine, Lin Mo cured the sick and taught people how to prevent illness and injury. Since she had grown up by the seashore, Lin Mo knew a lot about weather and was good at swimming. There was legend saying Lin Mo could go across the sea by a mat. Lin Mo encouraged the people to conquer nature and defeat evil; she was much loved and esteemed by the locals. Lin Mo died at the young age of 28 when rescuing shipwreck victims on Sep 9th of lunar calendar in 987 AC. To memorize Lin Mo, people built a temple for her, which became the first temple for Mazu in the world (Mazu Ancestral Temple). The temple was expanded by San Bao the merchant and had become rather large by Qing Dynasty.
Owing to her benevolence, Mazu had been given 36 titles such as “Madam”, “the Queen of Heaven” and “Holy Mother” from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).The number of the characters of title increased from 2 to 64. In the end, Mazu got the highest position of being the only god of the sea. The belief of Mazu was spread to all over the world by overseas Chinese people, sailors and ambassadors, making Mazu a world-influential goddess of the sea. With over 5,000 Mazu temples dotted around the world and 200 million believers, the Mazu belief has spread to more than 20 countries and regions across the globe.
2. Mazu Culture
After a development of more than 1000 years, Mazu has changed from a folklore belief to an influential folklore culture-Mazu culture, covering many fields such as politics, economics, diplomacy, military affairs, culture and affairs concerning nationals living abroad. It is a special culture form of Chinese nation and a part of Chinese civilization.
Mazu Culture has profound cultural connotation. In the field of academy, Mazu culture covers all kinds of subjects including history of religion, folklore, voyage, science, architecture, literature, arts, overseas Chinese and relationships between China and foreign countries. In the fields of language and folklore, mythologies and legends of Mazu are main contents of Mazu culture, the belief of Mazu and the related customs are also important parts of this culture. For example, the popular Mazu bun, Mazu coat, Mazu noodles, Mazu ceremony, Mazu figures on the boats, sacrifices before setting sail. Besides, the shipyard also worships Mazu and model of the ship. There’s legend that Mazu will bliss and protect babies. Thus many people go to Mazu temple to get infant names and scent bags for their children. Customs in Taiwan includes “fire joining”, sacrificial ceremonies in spring and autumn, Xiema drama, Xiangqing drama, Yige formation, Martial Club, Music Club, worshipping from far away, walking around the spot, crazy about Mazu in March, Dajia Mazu Sightseeing Festival and so on.
Generally speaking, Mazu culture includes Mazu’s convince of sacrifice, virtues of being true, good and her spirit of helping others, along with architectures, sculptures, paintings, calligraphy works, poems, antiques, folklores, mythologies, stories and believes about Mazu. Mazu culture is profound and abundant.
3. Sacrificial Ceremony
Mazu is the highest ranking goddess of the sea in ancient China. According to the ancient rites, people who prevent disasters, defend troubles, and make great contributions to the country can be offered with sacrifices. Therefore, emperors of all dynasties since Song dynasty honored Macau frequently and the court issued instruction to offer sacrifices. In Yuan dynasty, the imperial commissioner was sent to Meizhou to offer sacrifices for three times; after Emperor Kangxi of Qing dynasty united Taiwan, he sent courtiers to Meizhou to offer sacrifices for several times. Emperor Yongzheng of Qing dynasty ordered people to implement the courtesy of kneeling down at every three steps and knock head at every nine steps.
To promote the Chinese traditional culture and make Matsu ritual more standard, Meizhou Ancestral Temple Ceremony Notes came out in 1994 referring to the historical data and folk rituals. In recent years, people focused on the artistic process of festival music and dance so as to pursue a more perfect combination of religious rituals and art appreciation.
The sacrificial ceremony for Mazu Ancestral Temple is held on Mazu’s birthday on March 23rd (lunar calendar). The conducting of Meizhou Ancestral Temple Ceremony Notes will be at Mei Zhou Ancestral Temple Square or New Temple Queen of Heaven Square. The sacrificial ceremony lasts about 45 minutes, ranging from small, medium and great. During the ceremony, people do these things in order as below: 1. hit the drum and play the firework;2. the honor guards and groups of music players and dancers stand in position 3 the chef mourner and the assistants stand in position；4. welcome the god and burn incense to offer sacrifices；5. take the mourning silks 6. read the blessing passages 7. kowtow to the goddess；8. give the first sacrifice and play Heping Music; 9. give the second sacrifice and play Haiping Music;10. give the last sacrifice and play Xianping Music;11. burn the blessing passages and silks;12. kneel down at every three steps and knock head at every nine steps;13. send the goddess and finish the ceremony.
The music and dances in Meizhou Ancestral Temple Ceremony Notes was all about the three sacrifices, which can be divided into 5 parts: welcome the goddess, the first sacrifice, the second sacrifice, the last sacrifice. The music of the three sacrifices includes Haiping Music, Heping Music and Xianping Music. Male and female singers sing in chorus. As for the dance, there are 8 rows of pantomimes, including 32 males and 32 females. The males take feathers while females hold short flutes. The is the highest ranking education-dance in ancient China.
4. Significance
The custom of sacrificial ceremony for Mazu enjoys long history and profound effect. Mazu is very famous, especially in coastal regions, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and southeastern countries, where everybody knows Mazu. Mazu culture and customs in Meizhou is unique and worth studying on and protecting. It is especially important for promoting the communication between Ming Nan and Taiwan. On the Double Ninth Festival (lunar calendar) of 1987, about 100,000 Mazu believers across Taiwan Straits held the “Mazu Ceremony of the Millennium Festival”, which lasted for one week, in the Mazu Temple of Mei Zhou. An academic discussing meeting on memorial of one millennium after Mazu’s death is held, opening a new prelude for the communication between Taiwan and mainland of China.
Among thousands of Mazu temples all over the world, there are more than 1000 in Taiwan. Mazu is regarded as “Holy Mother of the Heaven” in Taiwan. Chinese Mazu Culture exchange Association is founded in Mei Zhou Mazu Ancestral Temple in Putian, Fujian, providing a platform cultural associations and staff from in and abroad to carrying out academic research, friendly communication, promoting Mazu culture and enhancing mutual understanding.
During the long history of development, Mazu culture is spread to coastal cities as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao in our country. It follows the steps of overseas Chinese to more than 20 countries all over the 5 continents of the world. Mazu culture has strong cohesion power for Chinese all over the world, especially in the southeastern districts. After 1000 years, Mazu culture has become an important part of the splendid Chinese culture, as well as cultural bridge and spiritual linkage connection Chinese people all over the world.
Mazu belief comes from the folk. There’s true person in history. The original name of Mazu was Lin Mo. She was born in Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian in the year of Jianlong in Song Dynasty. The girl was clever, diligent, kindhearted and obedient to her parents. She could forecast the weather and offered medical services to fellow islanders. Lin Mo was respected by locals. Lin Mo was praised as the guardian goddess by people after she had passed away.
There are many folktales of Mazu when she’s alive. 15 stories are recorded in Tian’hou Notes, and 16 stories in Record of Goddess of Heaven Making Her Power Felt. Some of them are listed below:
5. Legends
Make the Island of Caizi Forever Green
There was a small island near Meizhou Island. It was said Mazu went to the small island to play one day. She threw seeds (caizi seeds) onto the ground and they grew up immediately. The land was soon covered by flowers. People did not need to cultivate and let the seeds grow themselves. The locals regarded the plants as magical flowers. Afterwards, people named this island “Caizi Island”.
Pray for Rain to Save the People
It was said there was severe drought in Putian when Mazu was at her ageof21. All the people in the county said that only Mazu could save them. Thus, the county official went to Mazu for help himself. Mazu prayed for the rain and said it would rain at 9:00 am on 12th. When that day came, there was no hint of rain because there was no cloud at all in the morning. However, it suddenly became cloudy at 9:00. Then a strong rain came, making the land full of vigor.
Hang the Mat to Sail on the Sea
It is said that one day Mazu wanted to sail across the sea by ship without paddles or sails. The captain dared not sail the ship; Mazu told him to set sail and suspend a straw mat onto the mast as a sail. The ship then rode over the waves and carried on swiftly across the sea.
Transform the Straw to Save the Vessel
It is said there was an important pass in the west of Meizhou Island. Once, a commercial vessel struck a rock because of the strong wind near the pass, causing seawater to flood the cabin. When the ship started to sink, the villagers dare not go and rescue. Mazu got some grass and threw it into the sea, which miraculously transformed into a raft, attaching itself to the vessel to stop it from sinking. People in the vessel were all rescued.
Subdue the Two Demons
It was said that two demons known as "With-the-Wind Ear" and "Thousand Miles Eye" lived in the northwest of Meizhou when Mazu was 23. The two demons often came out and hurt the locals. People required Mazu to punish the demons. In order to subdue the demons, Mazu went to the mountain with other girls in the village. After more than 10 days, the two demons finally appeared. When they came closer, Mazu reproached loudly. The two demons were afraid of Mazu and transformed to a beam of light to escape. Mazu waved the handkerchief in her hand, summoning a strong wind, making the demon lose their way. The demons took out their iron axe. Mazu prod them into dropping the iron, and they could not took it back. In the end, the demons admitted their guilt and left. After 2 years, the two demons appeared on the sea again. Mazu summoned the strong wind and stones with spells and defeated them. Then the demons subdued and became Mazu’s guardians.
Solute the Problem of Floods
It was said when Mazu was 26, it rained a lot in the first half of the year, bringing floods to the two provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. The emperor ordered the officials to pray for the sun right away, but nothing changed. The local officials came to Mazu for help. Mazu said: “The disaster is caused by the bad deeds done by people. Since his highness is willing to save his people, I should pray to the god to bless my people.” Then Mazu began to pray. Suddenly, it blew and a dragon flew away from the edge of the cloud. The sky was clear and harvest came that year. The people were all grateful to Mazu and local officials told the emperor about the matter. Mazu was then rewarded.
Save Her Father and Find Her Brother
According to legend, when Mazu was at her age of 16, her father and brother went fishing one day in autumn. A terrible typhoon arose while they were out at sea. The boat was harmed and the situation was sticky. Mazu was sitting at a loom weaving. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and used all her strength to support the loom. Mazu's mother discovered her sleeping and tried to wake her. Mazu dropped the shuttle when she woke. Seeing the shuttle on the ground, Mazu cried and said: “Father was rescued, and brother died!” Soon there’s news came proving what she said was true. After her brother died, Mazu accompanied her mother to look for the body. Suddenly, Mazu found a group of sea creatures were gathering on the surface of the sea. Seeing this, people were worried. Only Mazu knew that the sea creatures were coming for her by the order of the god of water. Then, the water became clear and the body of her brother was seen. The body was taken back. After this, every time when Mazu’s birthday came, groups of fish stayed around Meizhou Island at night and did not leave until dawn. This day was also a day on which local fishermen did not go fishing.
Required to Cure the Patient
It was said when Mazu was alive, the plague broke out in Putian one year. The family of the county official was also the victim. Somebody told the official that Mazu could save them. Thus, the county official went to Mazu for help. Mazu decided to help him considering that he was not bad as and official and he came from other place. Mazu asked the county official to boil 9 pieces of changpu (kind of plant) with water and glue a piece of spell onto his door. The official did what he was told and he was cured after several days.
Get the Copper Nameplate
When Mazu was 16, she went out to play with a group of girls one day. When she was looking at herself in the water of the well, a god with a group of fairies behind him came up from the bottom of well, holding a bronze nameplate in his hands. The god handed Mazu the nameplate. All the girls were scared and ran away. Only Mazu accepted the bronze nameplate without doubt. After she had taken the nameplate, Mazu was able to perform all kinds of magic and spells. It was said she could go to another place immediately to help people in need. People regarded her as “ magical lady” and “daughter of the dragon”.
Get Across the River On an Iron Horse
It is said that Mazu wanted to go cross the sea one day when there was no boat.  Then, she saw there was an iron horse hanged in front of the house beside her. Mazu got an idea. She took the iron horse and waved the whip, making the iron horse come to life and carry her across the sea. After she landed on solid ground, the horse vanished in an instant. People who witnessed this were all astonished at her magic powers

Source: http://tinyurl.com/pkgn2c6

Ox Street Mosque

Located in Ox Street near Guang’an Gate, Ox Street Mosque is the longest and the most magnificent ancient mosque in Beijing. Firstly built in the Northern Song Dynasty, Ox Street Mosque got its name in the Ming Dynasty. It is largely renovated during Emperor Kangxi period in the Qing Dynasty.
And a lot of Muslims head to worship in Ox Street Mosque which has a more than 1000 years old history. It is not only a holy mosque to worship, but also a great place to know Islam culture and its development in China. The Ox Street Mosque is a popular Islam destination to visit in Beijing.

Nowadays, the architectures that visitors see are well-preserved ancient buildings in the Qing Dynasty. Ox Street Mosque is a typical mosque adapted with Han People’s traditional architecture style. The main buildings consist of the Prayer Hall (Libai Hall), Bangge Tower, Watching Moon Tower (Wangyue Tower) and Stele Pavilion.

Ox Street Mosque is typical Mosque which is facing west where the holy Mekka locates in. Based on traditional Chinese wooden palace architectures, it covers an area of more than 6000 square meters. With a symmetrical and compact layout, it has a typical Arabic-style of decoration such as plants and flower taboos. There are no human or animal figures as they are not the taboos for Islam. And there are well-preserved Arabic manuscripts and woodcarvings of Koran and incense burner of the Qing Dynasty.

The Prayer Hall

The most representative building in the Ox Street Mosque is the Prayer Hall. Unfortunately, it is only open to the Muslims at this moment. Occupying an area of 600 square meters, the Prayer Hall has a capacity of hundreds of worshippers. The gate of the Prayer Hall is decorated with scripts from the Koran and worship poems.

Travelers can see some scripts and poems are written in the ancient Arabic characters of Al-Kufi which is rare in China. With a large number of flower paintings, glass beads and colorful glass decorations, the Prayer Hall has a holy and solemn atmosphere.

Watching Moon Tower

With a 2 stories, Watching Moon Tower has a more than 10 meters height and a golden-glazed roof. It got the name as it was the tower for Islam’ fasting by observing position of the moon.

Bangge Tower

Bangge Tower is a square pavilion situated in front of the Prayer Hall. Firstly built in the Song Dynasty, it is used to report the time for Islam worshipers before prayer ceremonies, so it is also called Xuanli Tower or Huanxing Tower (Rouse Tower).

Stele Pavilion

Located at sides of platform in front of the Prayer Hall, there are some steles carved in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In addition, travelers can also see two grave tombs whose owners are the Islamic presbyter from the Arab countries during the Yuan Dynasty in the Ox Street Mosque. With a long history, the steles in Arabic characters are vigorous and rare in China.
Tips: Travelers need to dress properly excluding shorts and slippers. The Prayer Hall is only open to Muslims and some other areas might not open to the public. So travelers need to read the information on the tickets carefully.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/p236rre 

British girl, 11, has IQ higher than Einstein

An 11-year-old schoolgirl in the UK has achieved the highest possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test, making her brainier than scientists Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.
Cerys Cooksammy-Parnell, the grade six schoolgirl took up the Mensa IQ test with the aim of beating her father’s score of 142.
Surprisingly, Parnell not only trounced her father in the test but also scored the highest mark possible in the test, scoring 162 on the Cattell B scale, the Daily Express reported.
Cerys, from Northampton, UK, took the supervised test on July 27 with her father Dean, who is already a member of the genius group Mensa and has an IQ of 142.
“My primary aim was to beat my dad who is very smart but I didn’t expect to beat him by such a huge margin,” she said.
“I am not sure if this score is a good thing or a bad thing as I know she will be questioning everything I tell her to do. We are a bit blown away,” Dean, a lawyer, said.
Cerys is one of the youngest people to have taken the test as it is only offered to children aged over 10 and a half, the report said.
Cerys says she loves pop music, texting her friends and watching TV.
“At 11, I do not have many intellectual discussions with my friends and to be honest there is more to a person than their IQ,” she said.
“I like working with numbers so I think I would like to work for a bank or even one day become the Governor of the Bank of England,” she said.
Cerys has been invited to join British Mensa’s 21,000 members, who all have IQ scores in the top two per cent of the country’s population. “Cerys’ score shows that she has great potential,” John Stevenage, chief executive of British Mensa, said.
Although, Einstein never took an IQ test as none of the modern intelligence tests existed during the course of his life, but experts believe he had an IQ of around 160.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/nzj66ww

Metro train to get on test track

Two months after it hit the Chennai Port Trust, the first Metro train will get on the test track at Koyambedu in just about ten days.

The Metro train that was manufactured in Lapa, Sao Paulo, by Alstom Transport reached Chennai on June 6 and was subsequently stationed at Koyambedu depot.

“We have conducted all the routine tests on the train for the last two months now and the 800-metre test track in the depot is also ready. So, we will run the train on the test track inside the depot in 10 days,” said an official of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).

The train which was put through static and dynamic tests will go through many such test runs to assess its efficiency in the coming months. It may also be taken to the elevated viaduct and tested there soon after being tested on this test track. By December 2013, CMRL plans to conduct the trial run on the 11-km stretch between Koyambedu and St. Thomas Mount and get it operational in the first quarter of 2014.

The depot-cum-yard in Koyambedu, sprawling over 26 hectares, in which the test track is located was structurally completed in December 2012.

The depot that was constructed at a cost of Rs. 198.10 crore will house the operational control centre for the Metro from where the officials can observe the movements of trains.

The second and the third train will leave Brazil only by the end of the month and reach Chennai by mid-October, said sources. Of the 42 trains for the Chennai Metro Rail, nine are manufactured in Sao Paulo in Brazil and the remaining 33 in Sri City plant in Andhra Pradesh. 

Source: http://tinyurl.com/q4ybfsj

While others sweat, Himachal struggles to sell its surplus power

SHIMLA: While most Indian states suffer from acute power shortage, Himachal Pradesh, strangely, is facing an uphill task in disposing of its surplus electricity in the country's two operational power bourses.

The reason: a majority of state electricity boards are cash-strapped and prefer to resort to outages, euphemestically called load shedding, than buying electricity to meet the peak demands.

"Most of the electricity boards, which were earlier procuring electricity in bulk, are now opting for long cuts. They are not keen to enter into long-term agreements with Himachal," an official of the state's directorate of energy said, not wishing to be identified.

Himachal Pradesh, one of the country's largest hydropower producers, generates 8,418 MW and out of this 930 MW is available to the state for sale from April to October, when the generation is optimum.

The state got this share of power through equity and as royalty from various hydroelectric projects.

Out of the 930 MW surplus power, the state is selling 230 MW in the open market at a lower profit mainly through the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), which holds 97 percent market share, while the rest directly at mutually agreed rates to West Bengal (300 MW), Punjab (100 MW) and to its own electricity board (300 MW).

Official sources said West Bengal was buying electricity at Rs 3.65 per unit, Punjab and Himachal's own electricity board were paying Rs.4.04 and Rs.2.90 per unit respectively.

The state electricity board is buying power for its 2,084,152 consumers, including 231,567 commercial.

"A short-term agreement to supply power to West Bengal for one year was signed last November. But for long-term (12 years) agreement, Bengal opted for the Baglihar project in Jammu and Kashmir and that too at a steady rate of Rs.3.65 per unit," said an official, who didn't wish to be identified.

"Himachal has actually been incurring losses by selling power in the open market, where rates are constantly going down since 2009. After the expiry of the agreement with West Bengal in November, the government would need to dispose of another 300 MW in the open market," said the official.

Currently, the average electricity rate in the open market is around Rs.2.50 per unit.

Take the case of July. The average sale rate at the IEX was Rs.2.05 per unit, whereas it was Rs.3.25 in the same month last year, said an official.

The situation is similar at the Power Exchange of India, another exchange.

In August last year, the then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told the state assembly: "On an average, the purchase rate was Rs.5.78 per unit in 2007-08. It came down to Rs.5.56 per unit in 2008-09, Rs.5.15 in 2009-10, Rs.4.11 in 2010-11, Rs.2.83 in 2011-12 and this fiscal (2012-13) it is expected around Rs.2.50."

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its latest report, said the revenue earned through sale of free power by the state had decreased from Rs.1,569.94 crore in 2007-08 to Rs.1,000 crore in 2011-12.

The department (November 2012) attributed the decrease in revenue to changed market scenario and significant increase in generation capacity, said the CAG.

The state has a hydropower potential of 27,436 MW.

In this fiscal, the state is aiming to add another 2,000 MW generation capacity with the commissioning of around 30 new hydropower plants either by the central government, private players or joint venture companies.

- See more at: http://www.punjabnewsline.com/national/while-others-sweat-himachal-struggles-to-sell-its-surplus-power/84216#sthash.NPXvCQjM.dpuf