Miss US Alexandria Mills Miss World 2010

Miss US Alexandria Mills was crowned the Miss World 2010 on 30th October evening in China's Sanya city. Alexandria is the 60th Miss World. Miss Botswana Emma Wareus, was the first runner up followed by Miss Venezuela, Adriana Vasini.

Manasvi Mamgai

India's Manasvi Mamgai (Click here to see Manasvi) failed to make it to the top 25. India has not won the title since 2000 when Priyanka Chopra brought the crown home. Apart from her, India boasts of Miss Worlds like Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (1994), Diana Hayden (1997) and Yukta Mookhey (1999).

The ceremony started with a traditional Chinese dance, followed by the introduction of the Miss World contestants from all parts of the globe. Puerto Rican singing sensation Carlos Aponte performed at the event.

All the Miss World contestants performed the 'Dances of the World'. The act started with a performance by Brazil, followed by Miss India World Manasvi Mamgai, who, dressed in a traditional Indian attire danced to Dhai Shyam Rok Lai from the film Devdas.
Subtitles Miss World Talent went to Ireland while Northern Ireland was named Miss World Sports. Miss World Top Model title was won by Norway as Puerto Rico became Miss World Beach Beauty and Kenya was named Miss World Beauty with a Purpose.
The first Miss World competition was held in 1951 and India, alongwith Venezuela, holds the record of producing the most Miss Worlds till date, with five title-holders each. 

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Saina Nehwal the new Hot Favourite!

Who is the most loved sports person in India? Not at all difficult to answer, isn’t it? Thers is only one answer, that is Sachin, Sachin, none other than Sachin. But the real question is that who is there at the second or third in the line? The latest news is that the badmintonn superstar Saina Nehwal has raised to the position next to Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni!

A hat-trick of titles, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, a very dramatic Commonwealth Games gold medal and now possibly a medal at the Asiad too. That's made her one very popular girl indeed and not just with the public! Now this girl isn't just the pride of Haryana but all of India.
Saina has won three titles this year. She's world number 3 and the Commonwealth Games gold medal has doubled her value with the sponsors. Airtel, who have always used the biggest celebrities for their branding, have signed her on for 1 crore. The ad is due to hit your TVs by the end of this year.
While Dhoni has more brands in his credit, Sachin gets more per deal. Sehwag is probably number 3 at 1.5 crore per year per endorsement. Saina though clearly is the number 1 non-cricket sportsperson in India, having replaced Sania Mirza whose poor form has left her with just 2 brands.

New iPhone app, a substitute to stethoscope!

We all recognise a doctor by the stethoscope, aren’t we? But the latest news tell that this may not be possible in near future!

According to reports, stethoscopes may soon be history as millions of doctors across the world are signing up for a free iphone app that can monitor heartbeat!!! Peter Bentley of the University College London has invented the iStethoscope application, which monitors heartbeat through sensors in the phone. As many as 500 apps are being downloaded everyday since a free version was introduced last week.
“Everybody is very excited about the potential of the adoption of mobile phone technology into the medical workplace, and rightly so," Bentley said.
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Robot teachers capture South Korean classrooms

Think of a teacher made of plastic and computer circuits! It is a reality, at least in Korea. It is a fact that nowadays ‘Endhirans’ ie, robot teachers invade South Korean classrooms. This isn't a sci-fi movie. Engkey is an example. It is a robot teacher teaching English language in the coastal city of Masan in South Korea.
Part of a pilot program launched by the South Korean government, students in two elementary schools in the city are being taught English by robot teachers.

In high-tech South Korea, robots serve a variety of educational purposes and the government is pressing ahead with plans to expand its robot learning, or "R-learning," program. Mun-Taek Choi is a senior research engineer at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the government-funded research institute that developed the Engkey.
Recent reports say that "the educational robot system indeed helps increase students' interest and self-motivation in studying English and improves their English skills." Thirty-six Engkeys are due to be implemented in 18 elementary schools across the Korean city of Daegu by the end of this year, according to KIST.

The Engkey is linked to and controlled remotely by a human teacher outside the classroom, whose face appears on the screen of the robot. The robot links students to teachers located as far away as Australia.
Besides being popular with children, the telepresence robot also helps address South Korea's shortage of qualified native-English speaking teachers. Robots haven't replaced human teachers in South Korean classrooms. Instead, they currently serve more as assistants. Another version of the Engkey, which doesn't connect students to a human, uses voice recognition technology to help students practice their English pronunciation and dialogue.

Robots are a cost-effective way to help teachers when relatively simple and repetitive training is required. The Engkey isn't the only type of robot being used in schools. Pre-school teachers in the city of Daejeon have received a helping hand, thanks to iRobi and a robot dog named Genibo. iRobi marks students' attendance and uses a face recognition program to ask children about their mood. Genibo, originally invented to be a pet robot, was redesigned to teach dance and gymnastics moves. South Korea aims to introduce 830 of these types of robots into pre-schools by the end of this year, and its goal is to have them in kindergartens nationwide by 2013.
But some experts are of opinion that if children are looked after by robots for too long, in almost exclusive care, it would give them attachment disorders. There is no understanding in robots, there is just processing.
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Endhiran story stolen?!!!

Aarur Tamil Nadan alias Amutha Tamil Nadan is the 'star' now. It is just because of a complaint he registered recently. You may wonder what is that? The popularity of the complaint lies in that it is raised against the block buster Rajni film 'Endhiran'. Aarur Tamil Nadan is a Tamil novelist who works with Tamil magazine ‘Nakeeran’ . He on a previous day met city police commissioner T Rajendran and lodged a complaint against the director and producer of  ‘Endhiran’, saying that they had stolen the story idea from his novel ‘Jugiba’ , which he had written and published in a magazine in 1996.

Aarur Tamil Nadan alias Amutha Tamil Nadan, who is a deputy news editor with ‘Nakeeran’ , came to the police commissioner’s office with his advocates G Edwig and L Sivakumar and submitted the petition. “I had written a small novel ‘Jugiba’ in a magazine called ‘Iniya Udhayam’ , in 1996. My novel was repeated in ‘Dhik Dhik Dheepika’ magazine in 2007 with my permission . Director Shankar and producer Kalanithi Maran stole the raw story from my novel and added ingredients to the movie like songs, fights and graphics. Many of my friends and relatives informed me about the movie.I have sent a legal notice to director Shankar and producer Kalanithi Maran. As I did not get any response from them, I have now approached the city police commissioner,” the complainant told reporters.
He told that he have been in the literary field since his school days. M Karunanidhi and minister K Anbazhagan had endorsed his first book of poems in 1983. Later, he participated in many literary shows with famous Tamil writers like Vairamuthu , Mu Metha and Abdul Rahman. He also added that he was awarded the title ‘Kavimaamani’.

Rebirth to Nalanda University

Nalanda, which was India’s pride in the glorious past, is going to take rebirth soon.

This ancient seat of learning attracted thousands of students and scholars from various parts of the world i.e Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, besides being a pedestal of higher education in India and produced great scientists in the past. Aryabhatta was one of them who came to Bihar at the age of 13 from Kerala and later become Vice chancellor of the University.

The Bihar government presented a Bill for the revival of Nalanda International University at Nalanda in 2007. This was following a demand from our former Presiden, Dr. Abul Kalam who suggested to revive this university while addressing the both houses of Bihar Assembly.
As per the reports, Japan and Singapore have shown interest in investing about $100 million in the university. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has offered to donate Buddhist artifacts to the proposed university. A high-level international team of consultants, including Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen and British Economist Professor in London School of Economics & member of the House of Lords, Lord Meghnad Desai will lead the project.

 

 The university will impart courses in science, philosophy and spiritualism along with other subjects. An internationally known scholar will be the chancellor of the university and 1,137 students from both India and abroad will be enrolled in the first year. By the fifth year, the number will go up to 4,530 and in the second phase, student enrolment will increase to 5,812.

The university, spread over a 500 acres, will have a 1:10 faculty-student ratio. The 46 international faculty members will receive an estimated $36,000 per annum as salaries. Above all, the University of Nalanda Bill, 2007, states that the international university would strive to create a world free of war, terror and violence.
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Gel that controls birth!!!

A birth control gel that is applied directly to the skin could offer woman an alternative to the Pill, according to a latest report. Used once daily, it delivers hormones to prevent a pregnancy in the same way as oral contraceptives do. Early studies show the gel is effective and well tolerated, with none of the typical side effects associated with the Pill, like weight gain and acne. The Nestorone gel is being developed with drug firm Antares Pharma. Researchers told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine how they hope to bring the product to market if clinical trial results continue to be positive.

The advantage of the gel is that it can be applied to the abdomen, thighs, arms or shoulders and is quickly absorbed, with no residue. Dr Ruth Merkatz from the not-for-profit Population Council research centre in New York led the latest study, which involved 18 women in their 20s to 30s.
The research found the optimum dose of the gel was 3mg a day. Over the course of seven months, none of the women using the treatment fell pregnant.
The researchers say it could offer an alternative to the Pill, which is used by over 3 million women in the UK alone.
Any way the researches are on the move and not yet reached in the final stages. So don’t make any hurry and keep away from worries now. Let’s hope it will come soon to those need ‘urgent helps’!!!

Elephant, the National Heritage Animal

India's has declared the elephant a National Heritage Animal. This is to increase the protective measures for the country's nearly 29,000 elephants. This was following a recommendation for the protective status issued on October 13 by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife.
Announcing the Elephant Task Force report, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said that elephants have been "part of our heritage since ages" and they should have the same degree of conservation importance given to them as is given to the national animal, the tiger.

The 12-member task force, recommended establishing a National Elephant Conservation Authority parallel to the National Tiger Conservation Authority with a substantial increase in funding.
Sixty percent of elephants in Asia live in India, where 18 states host elephant populations making up an estimated national total of 26,000 in the wild plus about 3,500 in captivity.

There are the problems of human-elephant conflict, the diversion of land for mining, the destruction of habitat, the loss of forest cover and train hit.
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