36-year rainfall record shattered in Odisha
The western Odisha town of Burla received 622 mm of rainfall over 24 hours ending Sunday morning, shattering a 36-year-old rainfall record of the State as floodwaters continued to inundate many areas.Three persons died and three fishermen were missing as torrential rain pounded many parts of the State. The master control room at Hirakud Dam Project, Burla, recorded the highest ever rainfall received at a particular place in a single day in the State.The average rainfall of the State recorded during the last 24 hours was 81.3 mm. “Although we have received widespread heavy rain, there is no threat of a major flood in the State. Localised inundations have affected people. We are evacuating people to safer place and providing cooked food,” a senior officer said. 11 fishermen rescuedEleven members of a 17-member fishermen team that had gone to sea for fishing from Kirtania Jetty in Balasore district were rescued on Saturday. Two fishermen swam to safety on Sunday, while the body of one was traced. Three fishermen are still missing. A woman was swept away by swirling floodwaters near Kalimati gram panchayat in Sambalpur district.
Virender Sehwag played just three matches in the World Twenty20, scored 54 runs at a strike rate of 112.50, and celebrated a South African wicket so hard that he ended up straining a ligament in his left ankle and putting himself out of action for at least two weeks, according to a team statement.Just before that, AB de Villiers had knocked the ball backward of square leg, and Sehwag, who was to the left of the umpire, had given chase for about 10-15 yards. In that time, the batsmen had crossed for two.These are but two examples of why Sehwag seems to have outlived his utility as a Twenty20 player. He has, by-and-large, flopped as a T20 batsman, and by the next World T20 in Bangladesh two years hence, Sehwag will be pushing 36.His conditioning, never a strong point, won’t be getting any better.The same is true for Zaheer Khan. In four matches, he bowled 13 overs, took three wickets and his economy rate was 7.23. He was a liability in the field too, and even in the practice sessions, could be seen walking around gingerly.That means India were virtually down to a seven-man fielding unit at times, which in the shortest format, can prove detrimental in shifting the momentum of the game.Harbhajan Singh was picked for the World T20 on reputation alone. After bamboozling the England batsman, the Punjab off-spinner was brought down to earth when Aussie batsman David Warner took to him in the next game.Figures of 2-0-20-0 meant he was discarded for the remaining two matches of India’s campaign. Yuvraj Singh was brought back on sentiment after the left-hander won his battle with cancer.advertisementBut it was clear he was not in shape for top-level cricket. His batting looked rusty and he pulled his weight with his bowling alone, which found assistance from Lankan pitches.Gautam Gambhir has been short of runs and confidence for so long that it is not funny. He also has found favourite ways of getting out- either inside edging on to the stumps or hanging his bat out to dry and giving catching practice to the wicketkeeper and the slip cordon.His fielding, too, is not much to write home about. MS Dhoni was defensive when asked about a possible overhaul.”This question is always asked when we don’t do well. When we lost in Australia and England, similar questions were asked. Let’s get real. We performed well in the tournament and we lost just one match,” he said.But with the turnaround time between world events being just two years instead of four for the ODI World Cup, and the limited number of international games, now is the time to blood youngsters and let them find their feet before they face the acid test.There is no dearth of claimants for opening slots, even if Ajinkya Rahane isn’t considered because of strike rate issues.There are attacking openers like Delhi pair Shikhar Dhawan and Unmukt Chand, to just name two, who could be useful as replacements.In Zaheer’s case, the obvious replacement would be Umesh Yadav, who will only grow as a bowler the more he plays. Currently, he doesn’t enjoy the captain’s confidence, given his knack for spraying the ball at his express pace, but the fast bowling cupboard is largely bare.Ever since India’s World Cup triumph, the older brigade has clearly been on the wane across all formats, but such is their aura that nobody seems to be able to summon up the courage and give them the golden handshake.Still, it won’t be too much of a stretch to imagine that this could be the last outing in a T20 International for some of them.
The Samsung Galaxy A20 has been launched in India after going official in Russia last month. Samsung has quietly announced the Galaxy A20 for the Indian market, keeping true to its promise of launching a new Galaxy A device every month. The Galaxy A20 joins an ever-growing portfolio of affordable Samsung phones that includes the Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30, Galaxy A50 (Review), Galaxy M10 (Review), Galaxy M20 (Review) and Galaxy M30 (Review).Update: Samsung had previously announced that the Galaxy A20 will be available starting April 10, but this has now been changed to Monday, April 8.The Galaxy A20 touts an Infinity-V Super AMOLED display, 3D glasstic design, ultra wide-angle camera and a large battery, among other things. All of this is being offered at an affordable price point as Samsung looks to disrupt the segment and take on the likes of Xiaomi and Realme.Samsung Galaxy A20 price in India and availabilitySamsung has priced the Galaxy A20 at Rs 12,490 in India, allowing it to slot in between the Galaxy A10 and A30 that are priced at Rs 8,490 and Rs 16,990, respectively. The Galaxy A20 comes in a single variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The latest Galaxy A phone will be available in Red, Black and Blue colours and it will go on sale starting April 8 across e-commerce platforms, Samsung’s e-store, retail stores and Samsung Opera House.Samsung Galaxy A20 specificationsThe Galaxy A20 sports a sports a 6.4-inch HD+ (1560×720) Infinity-V Super AMOLED display. It gets a waterdrop notch similar to the Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20, offering thin bezels all around for an immersive viewing experience. The handset gets a 3D curved glasstic rear panel with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and dual camera setup.advertisementPowering the Galaxy A20 is a 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 7884 chipset paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage with support for expandability up to 512GB. Notably, the Galaxy A20 will ship with Android Pie-based One UI. This means you will get a redesigned interface with emphasis on easy one-handed use, along with system-wide Night Mode.The dual camera setup on the Galaxy A20 includes a 13MP f/1.9 primary sensor and a 5MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle camera. Up front, the Galaxy A20 gets an 8MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture. The Galaxy A20 also houses a beefy 4,000mAh battery and supports 15W fast charging over USB Type-C.ALSO READ | Samsung Galaxy M20 review: Great display, superb battery life make for a good start
As contained in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the funds will provide for employability and skills development of persons with disabilities aged 18 to 38. Other targets include delivering workshops to parents of children with disabilities; procuring additional assistive aids, and procuring and implementing a management information system. The Government will be strengthening the delivery of skills training and special education needs to poor persons with disabilities during the new fiscal year.This is through a $55.5-million allocation to the Social and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities Project, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour of Social Security.As contained in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the funds will provide for employability and skills development of persons with disabilities aged 18 to 38.It will also go towards speech and rehabilitative physiotherapy sessions for children up to six years who are beneficiaries of the Early Stimulation Programme (ESP).Other targets include delivering workshops to parents of children with disabilities; procuring additional assistive aids, and procuring and implementing a management information system.The Social and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities Project is funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Government of Jamaica.It was originally scheduled to run from April 2013 to June 2016, but has since been extended to August 2018.So far under the project, a labour market study has been completed; training needs assessment for providers and organisations completed; and some 500 persons with disabilities have been enrolled in a skills training programme, with 66 persons employed since participating.In addition, an institutional review of the ESP has been concluded, assistive aids have been provided to 69 children with disabilities on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), and a curriculum for the Parenting Intervention Programme has been developed. The Government will be strengthening the delivery of skills training and special education needs to poor persons with disabilities during the new fiscal year. Story Highlights
zoom The Hong Kong-listed Pacific Basin Shipping has issued its Third Quarter 2014 Trading Update, stating that the dry bulk market weakened further in the third quarter with Handysize freight rates in July falling to the very low levels last seen in February 2009.The third quarter Handysize and Handymax spot market rates averaged USD 5,910 and USD 8,430 per day net respectively, representing a 21% and 9% decline year-on-yearDespite reduced global dry bulk net fleet growth, Pacific Basin believes freight market weakness was driven by the on-going tonnage supply overhang compounded partly by the protracted Indonesian exports ban and reduced Chinese coal importsR.S. Platou estimates dry bulk transportation demand in the first half of 2014 to have risen 6% year on year. They have recently revised downwards their estimate of demand growth for the full year 2014 to 4.8% (from 7.6% in April) citing the protracted Indonesian bauxite and nickel ore export ban and falling Chinese coal imports as the two main reasons.The global dry bulk fleet expanded by 0.9% net during the quarter on slower newbuilding deliveries and despite reduced scrapping which in the third quarter reduced to 0.5% of the current fleet afloat. The global fleet of 25,000-40,000 dwt Handysize vessels registered 0.6% net growth during the third quarter. Reduced South American port congestion has served to increase the effective supply of dry bulk capacity.New ship ordering activity in the third quarter was half that of the second quarter and 62% down year on year. The Capesize and Panamax segments saw proportionally greater ordering activity than the minor bulk carrier segments. As at October 1, the published orderbook for Handysize vessels stood at 23% as compared to 18% a year ago. The orderbook for dry bulk vessels overall has increased to 24% from 18% a year ago.Current and medium-term dry bulk net fleet growth has reduced to around 5% per year. However, the market has yet to fully absorb the supply overhang following the 2010-12 newbuilding boom, and weaker than expected demand for seaborne trade is muddying the outlook for the dry bulk market.Pacific Basin believes that sustained demand growth of at least 6-7% is necessary to support a healthier supply and demand balance, and such growth continues to be threatened by the protracted Indonesian mineral exports ban, reduced Chinese coal imports, lower growth in Chinese economic and industrial development and the softer growth outlook for the developed economies. Press Release, October 15, 2014
A NOW CLOSED Catholic seminary will open to the public this Friday as part of Culture Night.Holy Cross College in Clonliffe will open to the public, ready answer a number of questions about the history of the college.Questions such as “Why was Bing Crosbie writing to Archbishop John Charles McQuaid in 1961?” “What went on in the 600 illegal beer houses in Dublin in 1863?” and “What attempts were made to stop starving children being deported to the UK during the Lockout?” are all answered in the exhibition, which will see historical documents going on display.Among the documents going on display is a parchment from 1558. Hugh Curwen, then Archbishop of Dublin, who expressed his approval of the marriage of Henry VIII to Ann Boleyn, issued the parchment. He would later declare himself a Protestant and would be accused by the Archbishop of Armagh of “serious moral delinquency”.To mark the anniversary of the 1913 Lockout, Diocesan Archivist, Noelle Dowling, has made available a significant amount of documents chronicling the role of the Catholic Church in the dispute, which has been the subject of some controversy.The college is at the corner of Clonliffe Road and Jones Road and doors open at 6pm.Read: Creating culture amidst the rubbish in Temple Bar’s lanesRead: 12 famous quotes that people always get wrong
(Via Kate Bowe PR)PHILOMENA LEE, THE woman who the Oscar-nominated film, Philomena, is based on met with the Pope Francis today in Rome.Actor Steve Coogan who also stars in the film adaptation of Philomena’s story was also in attendance.His HolinessRepresenting the Philomena Project, an organisation that is calling on the Irish government to enact legislation to open up adoption records and reunite mothers separated from their children as a result of forced adoption, Lee said she was honoured to meet the Pope.Speaking after the event, Lee said she was “delighted to have been in the presence of Pope Francis” today.She said:I have always put great faith in the Church and the good will to put the wrongs of the past right.I hope and believe that his Holiness Pope Francis joins me in the fight to help the thousands of mothers and children who need closure on their own stories. In 1952, when Philomena Lee became pregnant as a teenager in Ireland, she was sent to a ‘Mother and Baby Home’ to be taken care of. When her son was three years old, he was taken away, sold for adoption and sent to America.Earlier this week, a Vatican spokesperson dismissed reports that said the Pope Francis was going to watch the Philomena movie.The Catholic Herald reported the spokesperson stated:The Holy Father does not see films, and will not be seeing this one. It is also important to avoid using the Pope as part of a marketing strategy.Read: All of the Oscar nominations right here in a handy list>Read: Leonardo DiCaprio starts ‘Philomania’ trend after mispronouncing ‘Philomena’>
THE RNLI RESCUED five people in boats on Lough Derg over the weekend in two separate call-outs.The first incident on Saturday involved three people including two adults and a young child on board their 20ft cruiser, after their engine failed and the vessel was pushed on to the rocks near the Corrakeen Islands in Dromineer Bay.The volunteer crew launched its lifeboat at around 4pm and rescued the three who were described as “unharmed but anxious”.They had dropped an anchor to prevent further grounding and breakage. The boat was assessed to see if there were any holes and was towed back to the harbour by the crew.Lough Derg RNLI crew member Ger Egan, said that before going afloat after the long winter, boat users should make sure that their engines are fully serviced and make sure to use new fresh fuel.SinkingShortly after returning to the station the crew was alerted for a second time with a request to go to the aid of two people who had abandoned ship to their liferaft when their 28ft cruiser was sinking beneath them.The lifeboat located the cruiser and the life-raft north of Coolbawn, on the eastern shore of Lough Derg, and was alongside at 6.13pm. The two people on board were unharmed, but the skipper was “greatly distressed”. He had inadvertantly veered off course and had glanced off a rock and holed his boat. A passing speedboat with two people on board also came alongside and gave assistance.The RNLI crew gathered the life-raft and it’s contents into the cruiser cabin and, as the cruiser was rapidly taking water, they weighed anchor so that the lifeboat could beach the vessel and reduce risk of further damage. Once beached, it was then recovered yesterday morning.Read: Searches continue for two people missing off Irish coasts>Read: Father and child rescued from Howth pier after becoming trapped by waves>
If you were one of the many fortunate enough to grab Google’s new Chromecast HDMI dongle before it sold out, you’re already well aware of what a great experience it provides. It’s not perfect, and while we wait for Google to allow developers to release third party software to fill in the gaps, one man decided to implement his own Chromecast solution using the Raspberry Pi computer.Google’s Chromecast didn’t so much create a new concept as make an existing one affordable and dead simple to use across multiple platforms. If you’re interested in streaming Netflix, YouTube, and occasionally sharing a browser tab with no know-how required, you’d be hard pressed to find something more user-friendly than the Chromecast.But if you want to stream your own video or use anything other than the currently approved and admittedly short list of services on Chromecast, you’re only option is to wait until Google releases the Chromecast developers from their beta prison and allows them to start publishing apps. This delay has frustrated some users, even to the point of trying to root the Chromecast and expose its tiny Android underbelly to more useful apps. Lance Seidman went a different route with PiCast, and now has a service that can be deployed to any $25 or $35 Rasberry Pi with ease.While the Raspberry Pi is certainly larger than the Chromecast, there’s a great deal more flexibility to be had when using it over the Chromecast. For starters, you’ll be able to rely on an ethernet connection instead of WiFi to guarantee a better stream when mirroring a display or sharing local content. Both devices are low power and relying on a MicroUSB to deliver the appropriate power to the hardware, all you really need is the know how to deploy Lance’s solution and a desire to contribute to the project when you decide you want to add a feature you are interested in.The current implementation is only a couple of weeks old, and is already capable of mirroring a web page and streaming from YouTube just like the Chromecast does. Music is his next target, and the whole project is available on GitHub for any who wants to contribute.This is a project well worth following, especially if they manage to mimic the entire feature set of the current Chromecast. Right now the inflexibility of each service on Google’s device is self inflicted, and the strength in their design comes from the functionality on iOS, Android, and anything with a Chrome browser. PiCast could easily add support for Windows Phone, for example, and gain access to an entirely untapped group of users for their project.It’s a great idea, especially for anyone who already has a RasPi, to take advantage of the momentum created by Google’s latest project.Now read: Interview: GlassFit developer Noble Ackerson on Google Glass
Mar 24th 2017, 12:48 PM Image: TheJournal.ie Bus Éireann workers Gerry Hudson and Eamon McGann Friday 24 Mar 2017, 12:48 PM By Garreth MacNamee Bus Éireann workers Gerry Hudson and Eamon McGann Image: TheJournal.ie Workers at the Broadstone Depot in Dublin.Hudson said: “I don’t want to be out here. I want to be driving the bus. This seems to be an attack on trade unions. It’s a very sad day. If the company was to go, I’d have to go on social welfare. 21,258 Views 120 Comments 
‘I’ve no other choices in life. It’s all I know how to do’: Bus Éireann staff fear the worst Workers are trying to keep their spirits up but the outlook is bleak for Bus Éireann. Share5 Tweet Email1 Most of us at this stage would be in similar situations. I’ve no other choices in life. It’s all I know how to do. At the end of the day, you can’t work for nothing.The workers are aware that there are other state bodies which are suffering currently but they believe the Bus Éireann service provides a community service and they fear this could be wiped out if the company was to go under.‘Rural Ireland is in trouble’McGann added: “There are a lot of older people who would live in rural parts of the country who rely on the service. It keeps them active. It allows them to be able to be social. But the private firms won’t touch these routes because there is no money to be made from them. Rural Ireland is in trouble if Bus Éireann goes.”The workers are “in it for the long haul”, according to McGann, who says he can’t see the dispute being resolved soon. He believes that the workers are clinging to what they have.“Nobody wants to be out on a strike but we were left with no choice. We were pushed against the wall. It’s a race to the bottom. The company is in trouble. We know that.We have to fight for each other. It could be a case that Bus Éireann goes. That’s becoming more likely every day that goes by. That would be a very sad day. We want to work but we also have to be able to live.”The state-owned transport company is facing financial difficulty, with losses last year reaching almost €10 million. It says changes to employees’ contracts are needed in order to keep the company viable. These include job losses, changes to bus routes, cuts in overtime and a range of other measures.Read: US sailor released after arrest on suspicion of sexual assault in Dublin hotel >Read: ‘It feels so cruel’: Family of critically ill Irish man plead for donations to bring him home > STAFF AT BUS Éireann began their all out strike today and workers fear that the company could close forever unless the dispute is resolved soon.Picket lines were set up across depots nationwide with many drivers and engineers left frustrated that management implemented a number of changes to their working conditions without union approval.Staff at the Broadstone depot in Dublin city were in high spirits but the overwhelming feeling was that they’d rather be working.Management at Bus Éireann say that the company needs to implement severe cuts if it’s to survive as a company – that includes pay cuts, overtime cuts and changes to bus routes.Unions representing workers at Bus Éireann aren’t happy with the measures proposed by management to save the company. Although they accept that ‘efficiency changes’ must be made, they say that the proposed changes disproportionately affect drivers.After months of negotiations, including a bout at the Workplace Relations Commission, efforts at finding a resolution between the two sides collapsed – leading to management implementing their plan without the unions’ backing, and resulting in an indefinite nationwide strike by the unions.Gerry Hudson and Eamon McGann have 48 years experience at the company between them. They are of the opinion that workers were forced into this position, citing that they have not received an increase in pay in nine years. Like many workers, they are struggling to make ends meet and have children to feed. http://jrnl.ie/3304418 Short URL Tweet thisShare on FacebookEmail this article
Une fuite nucléaire détectée dans l’ArctiqueL’Agence fédérale de la flotte nucléaire russe Rosatomflot indique ce jeudi qu’une fuite nucléaire a été détectée à bord d’un brise-glace russe dans l’Arctique.”Une faible augmentation de la radioactivité dans l’air a été constatée dans le système de ventilation dans la salle du réacteur” du brise-glace russe à propulsion nucléaire Taïmyr, a précisé Rosatomflot dans un communiqué relayé par l’AFP. Selon l’agence fédérale de la flotte nucléaire russe, la cause probable serait “une perte d’étanchéité des systèmes de la première enceinte” du réacteur.À lire aussiLa fusion nucléaire pourrait bien devenir prochainement une réalitéL’agence de presse indique que l’incident est survenu au moment où le bateau quittait l’Ienisseï, fleuve de Sibérie qui se jette dans l’océan Arctique. Le brise-glace à propulsion nucléaire doit retourner à présent vers son port d’attache, dans la mer de Barents. Il reste quelque 2.000 kilomètres à parcourir, ce qui inquiète un responsable de l’Agence fédérale de la flotte nucléaire russe.Sur l’échelle des événements nucléaires et radiologiques (Ines), l’incident serait de niveau “zéro” ou “hors échelle”, selon le communiqué de Rosatomflot. Les responsables considèrent ainsi que cette fuite est mineure. Toutefois ce n’est pas l’avis d’un expert militaire cité par l’agence russe Ria Novosti, qui pense qu’il s’agit d’un “incident sérieux”. Si l’équipage ne parvient pas à réparer l’incident, le brise-glace pourrait devenir inutilisable. Par ailleurs, Rosatomflot n’a pas précisé combien de personnes se trouvent à bord du bateau.Le 5 mai 2011 à 16:15 • Emmanuel Perrin
Clark County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to extend last year’s moratorium on collective medical marijuana gardens and adopted a nine-step plan to develop regulations.The moratorium is slated to expire in June 2013 but could be lifted as soon as zoning rules and other conditions are in place.The collective gardens are permissible under state law but illegal under federal law.Also Tuesday, a Clark County judge dismissed a citizen’s criminal complaint — a process by which a citizen can argue to a judge that there’s probable cause to believe a crime has been committed — that was filed against the commissioners and other senior-level county staff members over medical marijuana.Brush Prairie resident James Barber Sr. alleged the officials knowingly made a false or misleading statement to a public official in a Dec. 2, 2011, letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. In the letter, commissioners described state law and sought advice on whether county employees would be immune from liability under the federal Controlled Substance Act if they were asked to zone, permit or inspect facilities used to produce medical marijuana.The letter was referred to the Drug Enforcement Administration.In a response from Joseph T. Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator of the Office of Diversion Control, the answer was clear:“Anyone who knowingly carries out the marijuana activities contemplated by Washington state law, as well as anyone who facilitates such activities, or conspires to commit such violations, is subject to criminal prosecution as provided in the CSA. That same conclusion would apply with equal force to the proposed activities of the Board of Clark County Commissioners and Clark County employees.”“Such persons may also be subject to money laundering statutes,” Rannazzisi added.Barber argued Tuesday to District Court Judge John Hagensen that the county’s letter included information they knew was false, based on Barber’s interpretation of state law. Clark County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bernard Veljacic said the officials were simply making an inquiry about an unsettled matter of law.