50,000 palm-leaf manuscripts ‘pages’ preserved in Tibet
Lhasa: More than 50,000 “pages” of palm-leaf manuscripts, written in Sanskrit and other ancient Indian languages, have been preserved in Tibet.
Since 2006, officials have completed the registration, sorting and photocopying of the ancient palm-leaf manuscripts written in Tibetan, Sanskrit and other ancient Indian languages, said Tsewang Jigme, director at the palm-leaf manuscripts protection office.
Among the manuscripts, some are precious and rare while some were written on paper, he added.
The palm-leaf manuscripts, which originated in India, are of the Sanskirt classics, Buddhist scriptures, ancient Indian literature and codes, inscribed on the leaves of palm trees, reported Xinhua.
Tibet is now among the regions in the world that have the most complete Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscripts registered, Tsewang said.
According to the contents and written style, it is believed that most palm-leaf manuscripts preserved in Tibet were from the eighth to fourteenth century, he said.
And the earlier ones could date back to before the seventh century and the most recent ones to the seventeenth century.
A large number of palm-leaf manuscripts in India have been damaged due to religious conflicts, war and humid weather, but those brought to Tibet were mostly in good condition, said Tsewang, according to Xinhua. (IANS)
1,000-year-old coins unearthed in China
Beijing: More than 200 coins that were used 1,000 years ago were excavated in China, archaeologists said Tuesday.
The green verdigris-covered coins were unearthed at a construction site in Araxan League in Inner Mongolia, said Zhang Zhenzhou who is from the Araxan museum.
Most of the coins were from the Northern Song Dynasty and some from the Tang Dynasty, reported Xinhua.
Zhang said the area where the coins were found belonged to the Western Xia kingdom.
Historical records show that the Song silk, porcelain, iron and various textiles were traded to places as far as the Indus river and modern-day Iraq. (IANS)
100 mn pounds loss as British student nurses dropping out
London: A considerable number of trainee nurses in Britain are dropping out before finishing due to lack of funds, causing an estimated wastage of over 100 million pounds of taxpayers’ money.
New research has found that about 28 percent of trainees are dropping out.
The money, spent on course fees and bursaries made to undergraduates while they study, is a conservative estimate, since it assumes most leave in the first year, Daily Express reported.
The figures have come from Freedom of Information requests across the 70 universities that run nursing courses in Britain.
According to Peter Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, it is a “shocking waste of public money”.
“It is unacceptable so many nurses are dropping out. Nurses are not given the assistance they need in what is a very demanding, stressful and high pressure course. They need easy access to finance and better support,” said Carter.
Scotland has the highest drop-out rate (30 percent), England (28 per cent), Wales (13 percent) and Northern Ireland (16 percent).
Emma Boon, campaign director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, has appealed to the government to look at the reason behind student nurses leaving the profession.
She said: “There will always be a few drop-outs but it is vital student nurses deliver value for taxpayers’ money. It is worrying so many are falling by the wayside.”
Last month, in a report by workforce expert James Buchan at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, warned hospitals were facing their “greatest challenge for a generation” and could lose nearly 100,000 nurses over the next decade. (IANS)
Tourist fined for buying fake Prada bag
Jesolo (Italy): An Austrian tourist was fined 200 euros for buying a fake Prada handbag from a hawker in Jesolo near the northern lagoon city of Venice.
Police caught the Austrian making her illegal purchase on the Jesolo beach front during a routine patrol.
Police said the hawker ran off as soon as he saw police arriving, dropping another pirated designer bag as he fled.
The purchaser and the seller of fake designer goods can be fined up to 3,000 euros each under Italian law. (IANS)
Knife-wielding man injures six, commits suicide
Beijing: A man slashed six people with a knife and then killed himself in China, authorities said Tuesday.
The incident occurred Monday in Longsheng county in the city of Guilin, said a spokesman with the city’s public security bureau.
Liang Xiuzhang, 24, stabbed four acquaintances in an entertainment centre and a motorcycle driver as he fled the site, reported Xinhua.
He later injured a 41-year-old woman after he broke into her home in an apartment building located opposite the entertainment centre.
He then leapt to his death from the building.
The injured were hospitalized and two were in a critical condition. (IANS)
Finland makes disposable heart rate indicator
Helsinki: Finland has developed a disposable heart rate indicator designed for first aid professionals and for use in cases of accidents, disasters and other crises.
Finnish company Spektikor has developed the disposable heart rate indicator, which comprises a heart rate sensor with two electrodes and a LED indicator, which are connected by a 35-cm-long wire, Xinhua reported.
The sensor is placed on a patient’s chest and the LED indicator is stuck to the patient’s cheek. If the heart rate is within the normal range, the LED indicator will flash green with each beat. If the heart rate is dangerously low or high, the light will turn red.
Company officials said the product will help hospital staff speed up work as it was not necessary to check the pulse manually. In addition to saving time, it will also enhance safety, as the LED indicator can be seen clearly at a glance. (IANS)
China to have cloud computing base
Beijing: China’s largest cloud computing base will be in Jiangsu province with a total investment of 400 million yuan.
The Shuguang Cloud Computing Industrial Base will be in Nanjing city, capital of east China’s Jiangsu province, People’s Daily reported.
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, in which shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network.
The Shuguang Cloud Computing Industrial Base is estimated to reach tera-scale computing as well as have a storage capacity of 1 petabyte in three years. (IANS)