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Brazil's industrial production up 1.7% in September
Brazil's industrial production increased 1.7 percent in September compared with August, and was up 9.8 percent over the same period of 2007, according to a monthly study released Tuesday. In the third quarter of this year, production grew 2.7 percent compared with the previous quarter, according to the study by the Brazilian Institute...
2008-11-05 07:00:00
Sports of The Times: Philadelphia Finally Overcomes Cruel Geography of Championships
Now that Philadelphia has phulfilled its phantasies, itâ€™s time for sports sympathizers to turn their bleeding hearts to other cities...
2008-11-01 15:00:17
Schoolboy, 15, held as terror suspect after taking photos of railway station for GCSE project
A schoolboy was held as a terrorist suspect by police support officers - for taking photographs of a railway station on a geography...
2008-10-31 14:08:25
A Difficult Step for Women
The northern region of Diana is known for the beautiful beaches of the Nosy-Be district and the scent of fields of ylang-ylang flowers. But the political landscape of Diana is as extraordinary as its geography...
2008-10-27 10:00:00
A New Political Geography
When Sen. Barack Obama chose the Nissan Pavilion in the outer suburbs of Northern Virginia to kick off his general-election campaign, one of the 10,000 supporters there was David Bruzas, who recently moved to the fastest-growing part of a state that is moving rapidly away from its Republican past.
2008-10-18 22:00:00
Nagaraj fails miserably with debut film 'Premigaagi Naa' Kannada Film Review
ENT17Entertainment/CinemaNagaraj fails miserably with debut film 'Premigaagi Naa' Kannada Film ReviewFilm: "Premigaagi Naa"; Story-Screenplay-Direction: Snehapriya Nagaraj; Cast: Shankar, Vandana, Appu Venkatesh, Dwarakish, Umashri and Abhinaya; Music: Rajesh Ramanath; Rating: *Film directors should have a world view and be aware of things happening around them. Let alone having a world view, it seems debutant Kannada filmmaker Snehapriya Nagaraj doesn't know the geography of his own state. How else can you explain the director's ignorance when he includes several parts of neighbouring Maharashtra as towns belonging to Karnataka Hopefully, Maharashtrian politicians will not watch "Premigaagi Naa".This is not the only gaffe Nagaraj makes in the film. The director makes a mockery of filmmaking with his slipshod script. He has also failed to guide the young, fresh faces in the film properly. The movie suffers from an all-round poor performance where even veterans have failed to deliver. "Premigaagi Naa" makes a torturous viewing exercise. From the first sequence onwards, the film moves at snail's pace, testing your patience. Even the songs do not provide relief as the picturisation style makes you wonder whether Nagaraj or the cameraman A.C. Mahendar were aware of the technical strides the Kannada film industry has made. "Premigaagi Naa" is said to be the 100th film of music director Rajesh Ramanath, but his work is nothing much to write home about. He has just rehashed some of his own songs in "Yajamaana" and "Kanasugaara" and has not offered anything new. Nagaraj's script is so bad that it seems a hotch-potch combination of various Kannada and non-Kannada film sequences. The story is the love affair between Ramu and Prema. Ramu is an orphan who stays with his aunt and loves her daughter Prema and plans to marry her with the consent of all the family elders. Ramu, a college student, is also a good singer, encouraged by his aunt and Prema. Just when everything is going right for Ramu and Prema, a mysterious letter arrives by post containing a photograph of Ramu marrying another woman. Without investigating the matter, the elders in the family decide to marry Prema off with Ramu's friend. In the absence of any guidance, debutants Shankar and Vandana utterly fail to show their mettle. Appu Venkatesh, who shows off his six-pack abs, miserably fails to emote."Premigaagi Naa" has a weak plot handled very badly by director Nagaraj. Avoid it. --Indo-Asian News Servicergv/mv/jg459 Words18101538
2008-10-18 06:00:00
Powerful Sudanese civilization dominated ancient Egypt from 720BC to 660BC
London, Oct 17 ANI: A British museum expedition has uncovered new evidence about the power of a Sudanese civilization that dominated ancient Egypt from 720BC to 660BC.According to a report in the Telegraph, archaeologists have discovered that a region of northern Sudan that was considered a forgotten backwater was once actually "a real power-base".They discovered a ruined pyramid containing fine gold jewellery dating from about 700BC on a remote un-navigable 100-mile stretch of the Nile known as the Fourth Cataract, plus pottery from as far away as Turkey.Other finds included numerous examples of ancient rock art and 'musical' rocks that were tapped to create a melodic sound.They only made the discoveries after being invited by the Sudanese authorities to help excavate part of the Merowe region, which is soon to be flooded by a large hydro-electric dam.Historians had previously written off the area as being of little archaeological interest."We had no idea how rich the area was," said Dr Derek Welsby, of the British Museum.Remarkably well-preserved bodies, naturally mummified in the desert air, and a cow buried complete with eye ointment were also unearthed.Dr Welsby said that the finds revolutionized the history and geography of the Kushite kingdoms. The First Kushite Kingdom rivalled Egypt for power between 2500BC and 1500BC, when many of Egypt's largest pyramids were built."All our preconceptions about this being a relatively poor, inhospitable area were completely wrong," said Dr Welsby. "We thought the first kingdom gradually grew over 1,000 years; now we know it happened right at the beginning, very rapidly," he added.According to Dr Welsby, "During the second kingdom, we thought it was an area everybody bypassed. But finding the pyramid meant it was a real power-base. This was not a backwater, it was partaking in the major trade routes in the world."The team was able to excavate hundreds of heavy items, including large blocks adorned with rock art and 390 stones that comprised the pyramid.The Sudanese authorities gave 20 such blocks and musical 'rock gongs', plus pottery and jewellery to the British Museum. A selection will be put on display early next year. ANI
2008-10-17 08:00:00
STOCKHOLM
INT28International/EconomyEconomics Nobel for Paul Krugman of the US LeadStockholm, Oct 13 IANS The Nobel Prize in Economics for 2008 was Monday awarded to Paul Krugman of the US for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity. Krugman, 55, 1953 is professor at Princeton University.In its citation, the Nobel committee said: "Patterns of trade and location have always been key issues in the economic debate. What are the effects of free trade and globalization What are the driving forces behind worldwide urbanisation Paul Krugman has formulated a new theory to answer these questions. He has thereby integrated the previously disparate research fields of international trade and economic geography."Krugman worked on the concept of economies of scale. His theory clarifies why worldwide trade is in fact dominated by countries which not only have similar conditions, but also trade in similar products - for instance, a country such as Sweden that both exports and imports cars. "This kind of trade enables specialization and large-scale production, which result in lower prices and a greater diversity of commodities," the citation said.Economies of scale combined with reduced transport costs also help to explain why an increasingly larger share of the world population lives in cities and why similar economic activities are concentrated in the same locations. Lower transport costs can trigger a self-reinforcing process whereby a growing metropolitan population gives rise to increased large-scale production, higher real wages and a more diversified supply of goods. This, in turn, stimulates further migration to cities. Krugman's theories have shown that the outcome of these processes can well be that regions become divided into a high-technology urbanized core and a less developed "periphery", the Nobel committee said.--Indo-Asian News Servicealfred/jg300 Words*13101724
2008-10-13 07:04:08
One in 10 Australians racist, says study
INT17International/Immigration/SocietyOne in 10 Australians racist, says studyBy Neena BhandariSydney, Sep 30 IANS Racism is waning but it still exists in Australia, one of the most multicultural countries in the world, say researchers.In 2007-08, just under 200,000 people migrated to Australia, accounting for 59 percent of the increase in the country's population of about 21 million.It all went to make the country even more multicultural. The Australian social fabric is now a rich tapestry of migrants from nearly 200 countries.Still, one in 10 Australians believe that some races are superior to others. "One in 10 is a lot. It means one person in every lunch room, one person in every locker room, five or 10 people on a train."But it's better than in many other parts of the world, certainly in parts of western Europe where three in 10 people would hold those views," University of Western Sydney's Kevin Dunn said.In a study entitled "Challenging Racism: The Anti-Racism research project", headed by Dunn, 12,500 people were interviewed over almost a decade.Most respondents singled out Muslims as a group that did not "fit in" Australian society."They stand out at the moment as the group that people would be most concerned about. There are stronger levels of social distance or fear of Islam or concern about Islam than of any other group at the moment," Dunn, a professor of human geography and urban studies, told reporters.Next in the "not belonging" list were indigenous Aboriginals followed by black Africans. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of immigrants from Sudan, Somalia and other African countries.Of all the states and territories, New South Wales, which includes Sydney, was the most racist. But this could be because the state and its capital receive the largest number of immigrants.While racism was more common in the older generation, younger Australians were far more tolerant. The study found that more than 80 percent people see cultural diversity as a benefit "and that's a good thing for Australian society", Dunn said.--Indo-Asian News Servicenb/sk/jg374 Words*30091033
2008-09-30 01:02:09
Human impacts have managed to curtail fires in most areas in 20th century
Washington, September 22 ANI: A new study of the last 2,000 years of charcoal evidence has suggested that human impacts have curtailed fires in most areas in the 20th century.Though climate has been implicated by the study as a major driver of wildfires in the last 2,000 years, human activities, such as land clearance and fire suppression during the industrial era since 1750 have created large swings in burning, first increasing fires until the late 1800s, and then dramatically reducing burning in the 20th century.The study, by a nine-member team from seven institutions, led by Jennifer R. Marlon, a doctoral student in geography at the University of Oregon, analyzed 406 sedimentary charcoal records from lake beds on six continents.The researchers found that a 100-year decline in wildfires worldwide - from 1870 to 1970 - was recorded despite increasing temperatures and population growth. According to Marlon, "Based on the charcoal record, we believe the reduction in the amount of biomass burned during those 100 years can be attributed to a global expansion of agriculture and intensive grazing of livestock that reduced fuels plus general landscape fragmentation and fire-management efforts."Charcoal levels have drawn attention during the past 25 years because these data can track wildfire activity - both incidence and severity - over long time periods, providing information when similar data from satellites or fire-scarred trees do not exist. During the last 2,000 years, fire activity was highest between 1750 and 1870. "This was a period when several factors combined to generate conditions favorable to wildfires," Marlon said. "Population growth and European colonization caused massive changes in land cover, and human-induced increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations may have started to increase biomass levels and fuels," she added.From A.D. 1 to about 1750, wildfires worldwide declined from earlier years, probably resulting from a long-term global cooling trend that offset any possible influence of population growth and related land-use changes. Researchers pointed to charcoal evidence in western North America as an example of this trend. Similar records also were found in Central America and tropical areas of South America. In the western U.S. and in Asia, researchers noted, "initial colonization may have been marked by an increased use of fire for land clearance."Subsequently, expansion of intensive agriculture and grazing, as well as forest management activities, likely reduced wildfire activity. "Our results strongly suggest that climate change has been the main driver of global biomass burning for the past two millennia," the researchers concluded. "The decline in biomass burning after A.D. 1870 is opposite to the expected effect of rising carbon dioxide and rapid warming, but contemporaneous with an unprecedentedly high rate of population increase," they said. ANI
2008-09-22 04:00:00