

Singapore is suffering from a serious smog problem that isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.
To get an idea of how bad it is, check out the picture above. It shows a man looking — or rather, trying to look — at the skyline of the Singapore business district today.
For a city that prides itself on its livability, it’s an embarrassing problem. Worse still, it appears to have been caused by a neighboring country.
Much of the problem seems to to be smoke caused by illegal forest fires in Indonesia’s Sumatra island, the BBC reports, where blazes have been started to clear land for plantations. Singapore’s Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan posted a Facebook message today that said the city-state was urging “urgent and definitive action by Indonesia to tackle the problem at source. Singaporeans have lost patience, and are understandably angry, distressed and concerned.”
“We will insist on definitive action,” Balakrishnan added. “No country or corporation has the right to pollute the air at the expense of Singaporeans’ health and wellbeing.”
This satellite image, posted by Balakrishnan, reveals hot spots on Indonesia’s Sumatra island that are most likely forest fires:

The BBC reports that the Singapore’s pollution standards index reached 371 on Thursday, well into hazardous levels, before falling to around 300. To put that in context, it’s similar to some of the air pollution levels seen in Beijing’s notorious smog problem earlier this year, and significantly higher than Singapore’s previous record of 226 from 1997.
Balakrishnan warned residents today to limit “prolonged or heavy outdoor activities” and said that the haze will “persist or even worsen before improving.
source:::::businessinsider.com
Natarajan
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/singapores-haze-problem-in-one-picture-2013-6#ixzz2WqA2G9fz
They are known for being aggressive predators, willing to attack and kill humans.
But as this picture shows, brown bears are also ever so slightly vain.
This young bear was caught out gazing at its own reflection in a Finnish lake



These pictures show the brown bear repeatedly stooping to stare at himself, unaware that photographer Sylwia Domaradska is hiding just yards away.
She captured the pictures in Kainuu, eastern Finland, where there is almost 24-hour daylight during the summer months.
The 37-year-old from London said: ‘It totally felt like a dream. It was almost difficult to see where the reflections were starting.
‘The bear turned up at around midnight. He came very quietly along the water’s edge looking for food.
‘It was a fairly young bear, perhaps two or three years old. He was very cautious as at this age he’d need to be careful about females with cubs, and other males.
‘He seemed to look at his own reflection – as he stayed in the same place for a while.’
Miss Domaradska said when the bear began moving around the edge of the lake he continued looking in.
‘It really was quite amusing to see – and then he was gone,’ she said.
‘The conditions were absolutely perfect for this kind of image.
‘The reflections were perfectly still and the line between the reflections and actual trees being reflected created very little blur.
‘I had actually gone out with the intention of taking a different image. I was hoping to see bears bathing and splashing in the water but instead, this happened.
‘But it didn’t turn out too bad, did it?’
Natarajan
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2344400/Wild-bear-admires-reflection-woodland-lake.html#ixzz2Wfok7hRo
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They say India’s 1983 World Cup win was the greatest cricketing upset. Man to man, Kapil Dev’s ragtag bunch paled in comparison to Clive Lloyd’s West Indies. But that ragtag bunch had it in them to beat the Caribbean giants.

Before anybody could say ‘fluke’, India produced another momentous performance when they went to Australia in 1985 and won the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket. It was the biggest ODI tournament outside the World Cup, and the first – and last – of its kind. It featured all the seven full members of the ICC at the time: Australia, England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indiesand Sri Lanka.

Thirty years later, history seems to be repeating itself. India, the 2011 World Cup winners, are performing brilliantly in the Champions Trophy, which currently is the biggest ODI tournament outside the World Cup, and this is also the last time this tournament will be played.

India, having beaten South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan, need to win two more games to take the Trophy. In 1985 too, India had remained unbeaten throughout, winning five games out of five on their way to the World Championship win.

There are other parallels to be drawn between 1985 and 2013.

The year before the B&H World Championship, the best Australian batsman of the era – Greg Chappell – retired. It happened again in the year before the 2013 Champions Trophy when Ricky Ponting retired from international cricket.

In both eras, Australia were beset by transitional difficulties. In 1984, Greg Chappell, Dennis Lilleeand Rodney Marsh – three of their all-time greats – had retired en masse, and Australia were struggling to rebuild their team with young players. Currently, under Michael Clarke, they’re again troubled by the retirements of some of their finest players and trying to recreate the strong group of cricketers they once were. They had failed to qualify for the B&H World Championship semifinals. They failed again in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Months before the B&H World Championship, England won a Test series in India by a 2-1 margin under the leadership of David Gower. It was a landmark win for the visitors. It took them another 28 years to win another Test series in India, and it happened months before the 2013 Champions Trophy when Alastair Cook’s boys won – again, by a 2-1 margin.
Both times, England took a 2-1 lead heading into the final Tests which ended in draws.

Bizarrely, both Gower and Cook are left-handed batsmen who were 27 years old at the time of their Indian triumphs.

Spooky? Read on.

Ravi Shastri started his international career batting in the lower order. But as his career progressed, he was promoted to the opener’s slot. He was moved up and down a great deal but he landed himself the opener’s job permanently for the B&H World Championship. India in 2013 have a somewhat similar story – of Rohit Sharma, who has been tried in the middle order but clicked only when he was promoted as the opener in a surprise move. But here’s the most intriguing coincidence here – both Shastri and Sharma are Mumbai cricketers.
But that isn’t even the best part of this string of bizarre parallels. Shastri won the man of the tournament award at the B&H World Championship. He was dubbed the ‘Champion of Champions’ for his consistent brilliance with bat and ball through the tournament.

In the 2013 Champions Trophy, there is one Indian cricketer who has made a big impact on India’s fortunes. He has scored vital runs in the game against South Africa, taken a tidy bag of wickets (with a fiver against the West Indies) and has also fielded brilliantly.
It was Ravi in 1985. In 2013, it’s Ravindra. Both these gents are left-arm spinners. They’ve been riled for not being as skilled as some of their superstar colleagues. But nobody would deny that they have made the best use of their limited abilities. And what they lack in skill, they make up in enthusiasm. What’s more both of them have a large social media fan-following – if you could call it that!
So what do these coincidences mean? Are they hinting at an India win? Who knows? Just sit back and enjoy the final moments of the last ever Champions Trophy.
Are there any other parallels you can draw between the B&H World Championship and the 2013Champions Trophy? Share your views in the comments.
source::::: yahoo cricket
Natarajan
சங்கத் தமிழுக்கு பெருமை சேர்க்கும் தங்க மங்கை , வைதேகி ஹெர்பெர்ட் !!!….வாருங்கள் வாழ்த்துவோம் அவரை !!!
அவர் தமிழ் பணி மேலும் மேலும் தொடரட்டும் ….சிறக்கட்டும் !!! சொந்த மண்ணில் தமிழ் பேச மறந்த நம் மக்கள் பலர் மத்தியில் ,தான் வாழ வந்த நாட்டிலும் , சங்கத்தமிழ் புகழ் பரப்பும் இந்த தங்க பெண்மணி வாழ்க பல்லாண்டு
நடராசன் .
சங்க இலக்கியத்திலுள்ள பதினெட்டு நூல்களில், பன்னிரெண்டை ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழிபெயர்த்துள்ளதற்காக தமிழகத்தின் தூத்துக்குடியைச் சேர்ந்தவரும் தற்போது அமெரிக்காவில் வாழ்ந்து வருபவருமான வைதேகி ஹெர்பர்ட் அவர்களுக்கு கனடாவின் டொரண்டோ பல்கலைகழகமும், தமிழ் இலக்கியத் தோட்டமும் விருது ஒன்றை வழங்கி கௌரவித்துள்ளன.

சங்க இலக்கியமே தமிழின் அடிப்படை இலக்கியம் என்றும் அதில் இன்றைக்கு பழக்கத்தில் இல்லாத பல சொற்கள் இருப்பதால் அதன் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு மற்ற இலக்கிய மொழிபெயர்ப்புகளை விட மிகவும் சிக்கலும் சிரமமுமான ஒன்று என பிபிசி தமிழோசைக்கு வழங்கிய சிறப்பு பேட்டி ஒன்றில் வைதேகி ஹெர்பர்ட் தெரிவித்தார்.
உதாரணமாக விறலி எனும் சொல்லுக்கு நேரடியாக ஆங்கிலத்தில் ஒப்பான சொல் இல்லை என்றும் அப்படியான வார்த்தைகளை மொழிபெயர்ப்பு செய்யும் போது கூடுதல் சிரமங்கள் தோன்றின எனவும் அவர் மேலும் கூறுகிறார்.
தமிழ் மொழிக்கு செம்மொழி எனும் அங்கீகாரம் கிடைத்திருந்தாலும் தொடர்ச்சியாக வந்த தமிழக அரசுகள் சங்க இலக்கியத்துக்கு போதிய அளவுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் அளிக்கவில்லை எனவும் அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டுகிறார்.
இதுவரை சங்க இலக்கியத்தின் பன்னிரெண்டு படைப்புகளை மொழிபெயர்த்துள்ள வைதேகி இதர ஆறு படைப்புகளையும் அடுத்த ஆண்டு(2014) இறுதிக்குள் முடித்துவிட திட்டமிட்டுள்ளதாகவும் மேலும் கூறுகிறார்.
வைதேகி ஹெர்பர்ட்பதிற்றுப்பத்தை முதல் முறையாக ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழிபெயர்த்துள்ளதாகக் கூறும் அவர், அப்போது பெரும் சவால்களை எதிர்கொண்டதாகவும் கூறுகிறார்.
சங்க இலக்கியத்தை பொருத்தவரையில் இதுவரை யாருமே ஒரு நூலுக்கு மேல் மொழிபெயர்த்தது கிடையாது எனக் கூறும் அவர், தன்னுடைய மொழிபெயர்ப்பு படைப்புகளில் வார்த்தைக்கு வார்த்தை ஆங்கிலத்தில் பொருள் சொல்லியுள்ளதாகவும் தமிழோசையிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.
தன்னுடைய முல்லைப்பாட்டு மற்றும் நெடுநெல்வாடை ஆகிய இரு நூல்களின் மொழிபெயர்ப்பையும் அமெரிக்க வாழ் தமிழறிஞர் பேராசிரியர் ஜார்ஜ் ஹார்ட்டும், பதிற்றுப்பத்தை டோக்கியோ பல்கலைகழகப் பேராசிரியர் டாக்கநோபு டாக்காஹாஷியும் மேற்பார்வை செய்து சான்று வழங்கியுள்ளார்கள் எனவும் அவர் சொல்கிறார்.
தனது மொழிபெயர்ப்புகள் வர்த்த ரீதியில் எவ்வித பலனையும் அளிக்காது என்பதை தான் நன்கு உணர்ந்துள்ளதாகவும் வைதேகி ஹெர்பர்ட் கூறுகிறார்.
source::::::bbc tamil.com
natarajan