Hurricane Irene closes down East Coast
Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the US East Coast, forcing evacuations in states from North Carolina to New York, darkening Broadway, closing transit agencies and threatening power outages that might last for weeks. “If you're in the way of this hurricane, you should be preparing now," President Barack Obama said from the Fisher House at the Blue Heron Farm in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts where he has been on vacation since Aug. 18. "All indications point to this being a historic hurricane." Irene poses the most serious threat to the Northeast since Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and more than 65 million people from North Carolina to Maine may be in the storm's path. New York City began moving people from low-lying areas, and evacuations have been ordered in Virginia, Delaware and Atlantic City in New Jersey. Obama signed an emergency declaration for North Carolina, authorizing the Homeland Security Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster response and to mobilize resources. The governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut and Virginia have also dec lared emergency. “Irene is a big storm, and the swath that she's cutting across the coast as we speak is a wide one," North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue said in a telephone interview. The hurricane may weaken by the time its center is over North Carolina, which should be around sunrise, Perdue said in a 6 p.m news conference. Still, Perdue said, the state can expect up to 24 hours of heavy rain and constant wind, leading to a storm surge and flooding. However, Governor Perdue is confident that her team in North Carolina has done all they can do to prepare. “I’m hoping and praying, and I would ask you to join me, that Hurricane Irene is not as tough as she looks," Perdue told reporters.
- by Nandita Banerji
The flag of South Sudan was raised in front of the United Nation on July 14. It was a good news moment. There was a wonderful speech from the vice-president of South Sudan, Riek Machar, announcing that his country would work for peace. It is worth saying that the treaty between Sudan and South Sudan and the cooling off between war and full independence for the South seems to have been a success. The chances of the two countries going to war have been reduced. Mr Machar, vice president of S. Sudan, appealed for peace in Somalia, and asked for assistance to end the scourge of the Lord's Resistance Army, a messianic militia which has been butchering innocents in the region for years.
Now the first task to be undertaken are to come to an agreement with Sudan on a common border and to settle the terms on which oil will be transferred from the South to the north.
Nevertheless, this has been a successful effort says Mr. Machar.
By:
Chaitanya Solanki
South Korea’s reputation as a nation of gadget-lovers
South Korea has voted in favour of learning materials carried on tablet computers and other devices.
The cost of setting up the network will be $2.1 billion. It is hoped that cutting out printing costs will go some way towards compensating for this expenditure. Environmentalists are pleased, regardless. A cloud network will be set up to host digital copies of all existing textbooks, and to give students the (possibly unwelcome) ability to access materials at any time, via iPads, smartphones, notebooks, and even Stone-age PCs. Kids will need to come up with a new range of excuses for not doing their homework. The family dog cannot be blamed for eating a computer, nor can a file hosted on a cloud network be left behind on a bus.
Within the context of the drive for learning, and South Korea’s reputation as a nation of gadget-lovers, the government could even be accused of being slow to catch on. According to Choi Young-Soo of Weavers Mind, a maker of picture-based vocabulary-memorisation devices, paper-free learning is already common place in private classrooms.
By:
Soma Wadhwa
Substantial Cut in Military Aid to Pakistan: US
The US Government decided to cut military aid to several Pakistani units by holding back $800 million, which constitutes a third of the more than $2 billion assistance earmarked for Pakistan in 2011.
It is understood to be a consequence of the deaths of hundreds of people by Pakistan's regular and paramilitary forces in the Swat Valley since an operation to drive out the Taliban started in May 2009. Human rights groups estimate that at least 300 people have died in extrajudicial executions, one of which was recently captured in a dreadful video that circulated on the Internet. However, the real number of deaths is believed to be much higher.
"We condemn these despicable acts of violence designed to provoke fear and division.
Those who perpetrated them must know they cannot succeed. The Indian people have suffered from acts of terrorism before, and we have seen them respond with courage and resilience”, Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton said in a statement.
She said the US was "continuing to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of American citizens".
Clinton is scheduled to visit India July 19-20 for the annual foreign ministers dialogue.
"I will be travelling to India next week as planned. I believe it is more important than ever that we stand with India, deepen our partnership, and reaffirm our commitment to the shared struggle against terrorism," she said.
By:
Kunal Gupta and Stuti Sood
