Rahul Bajaj donates 200,000 pounds for Gandhi statue in UK
London: Leading industrialist Rahul Bajaj has become the largest donor for the Mahatma Gandhi statue to be unveiled at Parliament Square in London in early 2015. The Bajaj Auto chairman donated 200,000 pounds to the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust, set up by NRI economist Lord Meghnad Desai to raise funds for the sculpture. “This is a wonderful gift for the Trust just before the New Year,” said Lord Desai, accepting the donation on behalf of the trust.
He added, “Rahul Bajaj epitomises the best of Indian industrialists who have seen the transition of India from colonial rule to independence. When he called me a month ago to express his desire to donate, he was straightforward and impressive”. “He was happy to give the donation because he is a true Gandhian and a believer in those values. The Bajaj family has been associated with Gandhiji for a long time. It is fitting that Rahul Bajaj has made this tremendous gesture,” he said. With the latest donation, the estimated 750,000-pound budget target for the project is expected to be completed by January next year with the launch of the statue expected in the first half of the new year.
The trust said that small and large donations continue to flow in through the gandhistatue.com website from Gandhians in the UK and around the world. It had also held an exhibition-cum-sale of works by some of India’s leading artistes in New Delhi recently as part of the fund-raising drive. (PTI)
Facebook app to add stickers on friends’ faces
New York: A Facebook app now lets you put huge emoticons and cute cartoons over your friends’ faces with ease. The app called Stickered for Messenger was launched in the Google Play store Saturday, and is “coming soon” to the iOS App Store, techcrunch reported.
So, if you want huge smiley faces on your selfies and send funny pictures to your friends on Facebook Messenger, get the ‘Stickered’ app. (IANS)
Thailand’s alcohol ban over New Year scrapped
Bangkok: Thailand’s committee for National Alcohol Beverage Control has scrapped a proposal to ban all alcohol sales during New Year and Songkran holidays, a media report said on Saturday.
Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin said the proposal required a more in-depth study and an intensive review as it would impact a large number of people, Bangkok Times reported.
It also needs a thorough public opinion survey, the minister said. The move came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said last week that there would be no ban on alcohol consumption in public places during the upcoming New Year holidays.
Prayuth said all rules have to be practical, suggesting stricter measures with the existing rules.
The prime minister, however, did warn people not to drink and drive.
The Department of Disease Control had proposed Dec 3, a ban on alcohol sales Dec 31 and Jan 1 and during Songkran April 13-15. (IANS)
Now, `The Problem Solver` beer that `writes` the perfect recipe for a bestseller
London: New pale ale, dubbed as “The Problem Solver,” has been recently developed that claims to suddenly make people creative. However, it might be because research has found that an alcohol level of 0.75 percent was the perfect amount of buzzed for artistic thinking, the Independent reported. The beer from Copenhagen-based brewery, Rocket Brewing, would help people find that supposedly magic number, coming with a transparent chart on the side that lets them know when you hit it based on their body weight. Just below the limit for driving, it was thought to come with a feeling of relaxation that stops people from being “too-focused,” but not drunk enough that their verbal and cerebral ability would be impaired. (ANI)
NASA successfully `emails` 3D-printing wrench to ISS astronaut
Washington: NASA and Made in Space was recently able to successfully email the designs of 3D-printing socket wrench to an ISS astronaut Barry Wilmore, it has been reported.
It was mentioned that scientists and engineers on the ground can now design whatever the astronauts might need, and send the file directly to the 3D printer aboard the ISS to be printed and used immediately, CNet reported.
The wrench, as well as the 20 other objects that have been 3D-printed on the ISS thus far, would be sent back to Earth for further analysis to predict how well things printed in space would hold up in the future. (ANI)
Global internet authority ICANN”s internal systems hacked
Washington: Global internet authority ICANN that allocates IP addresses and domain names for the internet has reportedly been hacked.
According to The Verge, the US-administered non-profit has said that its internal systems were breached following a spear phishing attack in late November.
The unsuspecting employees gave up their credentials after they received emails from the organization”s own domain after it was hacked.
ICANN says the hackers accessed internal emails, a members-only Wiki page containing public information, the WHOIS portal (used to look up who registered a particular domain), and the organization”s Centralized Zone Data System (CZDS).
The attackers were able to breach a wide range of user information including real names, addresses, emails, telephones and usernames.
The hackers also accessed the passwords of users. However, ICANN said that the passwords were encrypted, the report added. (ANI)
Ebola toll nears 7,000 in West Africa
Washington: The number of Ebola-related deaths has reached around 6,900 in the three most affected countries in West Africa –Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, a media report said citing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US senator Chris Coons kicked off their tours of the Ebola-hit region late on Thursday evening.
At 3,290, nearly half of the fatal cases were in Liberia though the nation is witnessing progress while the viral disease continues to rage in Sierra Leone which has seen 2,085 Ebola-related deaths, the Washington Times reported.
Ban started his tour in Accra, capital of Ghana, where the UN’s Ebola mission is headquartered. From there, he was scheduled to visit the three hardest-hit countries and Mali, which saw a flare-up of cases in recent weeks but brought transmission under control.
“I want to see the response for myself, and show my solidarity with those affected. (IANS)
“The Ebola response strategy is working and we are beginning to see improvements. But now is not the time to ease up on our efforts. As long as there is one case of Ebola, the risk remains,” the UN daily Ebola mission report said.
Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who chairs a sub-committee on African affairs, announced late Thursday that he was flying to Liberia for a four-day visit with American troops who are battling Ebola in that country.
“There are more than 2,000 US troops currently serving on the front lines of our fight against Ebola, building hospitals and field clinics, but no member of Congress has visited them yet,” he said.
“I think it’s important to show them our support, especially during the holiday season while they’re away from their loved ones,” he added.