435 items in this section. Displaying page 13 of 44
Punch and Spar: Way to go, Mary!
Where: north-eastern state of Manipur, India September 12, 2007 : Mary who? Twenty-five-year-old M.C Mary Kom from Manipur has won the world women’s boxing championship not once, not twice but thrice in the 46 kilogram category. (Boxers of similar body weight compete in a category.) Mary won the three titles consecutively or in three straight years. She won her titles in Turkey in 2004, in Russia in 2005 and in Delhi in 2007. How many of us know of the achievements of this powerhouse of punches who comes from a remote village in the northeastern state of Manipur?...
An invasion of toxic toads
Where: State of Queensland, Australia April 2, 2007: This is certainly not a toad you’d want to kiss. Not only will the toad not turn into a handsome prince, you may not be left alive to tell the tale. It’s as big as a small dog, has the body of a football and enough poison to kill a crocodile if it makes the mistake of having a Cane toad for lunch. It has been 70 years since the cane toad was first brought to northern Australia from South America to kill and eat the beetles that were spoiling the sugar cane crop....
Wet behind the ears: Mumbai floods again
Where: Mumbai, India June 25, 2007: A kid of five would tell you that it rains in June. Especially in Mumbai, which being on the coast, takes a soak before the rains make their way to inland cities like Delhi. Yet, year after year, with unfailing precision, Mumbai goes under water. Knee deep water, with floating trash, stinking dead rodents and million toxic bacteria. This year, it has been no different. The Indian Express reports that five persons were killed, subways got flooded, trains were running late (or not at all), trees were uprooted and roads were under three feet of water....
Rags-to-Riches: The Café Route
Where: London, UK December 10, 2008 :Question: Name an impoverished British woman writer who wrote her first novel in sitting in cafes with her child, and went on to become a billionaire bestselling writer? J.K. Rowling, the writer of the Harry Potter series, comes to mind at once. Well, now there’s more. Marina Fiorato, new bestselling writer, says she was inspired by J.K.Rowling to write her book in cafes, according to a news item in Forbes....
Quizzically Yours
September 6: Eight-year old Neha is the happiest girl in India. Her father has just won a huge amount of money at a popular television quiz show. Neha coached him for the show. The game show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC), is the Indianised version of the famous American show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ Contestants are given 15 questions to answer. The person who answers all the questions correctly, wins 10 million dollars (in KBC he or she wins one crore rupees....
Trees of Delhi – Under the Axe!
Where: The Capital city of New Delhi, India March 26, 2007: Imagine you are in a city where there are a lot of trees, large parks, open spaces, playgrounds. Slowly, the city starts filling up with more and more people. These people need houses. They need transport, to get from one place to another. They need more schools, more hospitals, more office buildings, more markets, more space. How will they get this space, and who decides which space to use?...
Honey, what about it?
Where: the eastern state of Orissa,India July 19: Banjipali village stands on a hill surrounded by forest. It is a very small village, with about 150 people. They are mostly poor tribals from the Binjhal community. For years they have suffered from a water shortage and from the fact that it is very easy for the world to forget about small villages tucked away in some forest. So they decided to take matters in their hands and came up with a very sweet idea....
Guns everywhere
Where: The southern state of Virginia, United States April 19, 2007: April 16 began like any other at Virginia Tech college. Some hours later, it turned into the most violent day that any American college had seen so far. A student armed with two guns went on a shooting spree, killing 32 people. The gunman’s bullets just did not seem to end. He fired in a dormitory as well as in a classroom. Finally, he shot himself....
Potatoes get you in the pink of health
Where: Spain June 25, 2007: Word’s just in: potatoes are good for you. But, you may still have to hold off on those fries you’ve been eyeing. Turns out, potatoes are best eaten in a cold salad, and not drowned in oil. A team of Spanish researchers say that eating potatoes could have a beneficial effect on the body’s immune system. They’re rich in vitamin C and B-complex, have good doses of minerals like iron, calcium, managanese, magnesium and phosphorus, and believe it or not, are great for the tummy....
Couch pet-atoes
Where: Lucknow, India July 18, 2007: First it was kids. Now, it’s the dogs. Middle class families across India are plagued by obesity. In other words, from the master to his pooch, everyone is fat, and very likely sick. According to a report in The Times of India, doctors at the Government Veterinary Hospital (GVH) in Lucknow estimate that nearly one in every three pet dogs in the city is falling sick because of the kind of lives their owners lead....