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Where: Russia August 19, 2000: The Kursk, an ultra-modern Russian nuclear-powered submarine has sunk. Its crew has been trapped underwater for over a week now. In fact many might already be dead. By denying that it was a serious accident and by not launching serious rescue efforts in the beginning, the Russian government has reduced their chances of survival further… The submarine’s ability to stay for long periods underwater, is an absolute marvel of science. Actually, this is due to its capsule-like body....
October 16: A few days ago, seven villages in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, wore a ghostly look for an entire day. Not one of the 40,000 people inhabiting the villages could be seen outside their homes. The villagers were on a first ever self-imposed ‘janata (people’s) curfew’ in the country. Their purpose – to attract government attention to the serious state of unemployment in the villages. Their grievance – a futile wait for over 25 years for jobs promised by the state government, reported ‘The Indian Express’....
July 8: Last week, the South African government was engaged in a very important task – transporting 19,000 penguins from their home in Dassen Island near Cape Town, to safe waters. It was an emergency. Operation Rescue of Penguins [Illustration by Kusum Chamoli] The short legged, big bodied birds with pointed beaks did not have the “cute” look that we always see in them. Most of them were covered in slimy oil....
November 18: Making a head count of the number of people in the most populous country in the world, is no easy task. The government of China knows this for a fact. So it sent six million people across the length and breadth of the country, to count its population. The Grand Head Hunt [Illustration by Anup Singh] These people will take 10 days to collect data from 360 million households, says Reuters in a report in ‘The Asian Age’....
October 28: The recent flooding of West Bengal might have been a tragic affair in all but one respect. In a time of crisis, the animals of the region are bonding like never before. Be it the hunter or the hunted, the carnivores or the herbivores, they are all living in harmony at seven flood relief camps set up in the Bongaon region of the state. A few weeks ago, floods hit the state of West Bengal, threw life completely out of gear and led to a large scale loss of life and property....
September 9: Lately, newly-weds in Iran have been facing an unusual problem. They just can’t find homes to live in after they get married. This is because there is a shortage of housing in Iran. To help solve this housing crisis, Iran’s government is planning to turn military centres and prisons into housing units for newly weds. A housing ministry official was quoted in a news item in the Times of India as saying, “A plan has been drafted for turning military centers and prisons into economical 50 square metre housing units for newly married couples....
July 15: Five baby elephants were very sad. They were being returned to the forest. In fact, they broke into tears. But why were they sad to return home? Orphanage for Elephants [Illustration by Sandeep Johri] Because they had fallen in love with the orphanage they were staying in before they were returned to the forest. The men who had taken care of them were sad too. There were no dry eyes among them....
Source: https://www.pitara.com/authors/brishti-bandyopadhyay/
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