volvo race: photo finish ahead

Ericsson 3 crossed the finish line off Cochin at 07:36 GMT (13:00 local time) to earn third place in leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race. The team will earn six points, taking them to 14.5 points overall. That's good enough for a short-term hold on third place. But as the boats behind finish, Ericsson 3 will slide down the table. How far they slide will depend upon the finishing order of the chasing pack.Ericsson 3 looks set to fill out the podium this morning as they had just 26 miles to run on the 04:00 GMT report. If they hold that position, it will be a great result for Anders Lewander and his crew, sailing for the first time in this race without the threat of a measurement penalty looming over their heads. They'll be allowed to keep each of the six points they're due for a third place result and depending on what happens behind them, this will move them up the points table.

Navy Queen Contest 2008

It’s time for yet another Navy Week with promises of unlimited fun and entertainment. The weeklong celebrations which culminate in The Navy Ball and the Navy Queen Contest 2008 are scheduled to conclude on December 6 on the lawns of The Southern Naval Command. The Navy Queen Contest 2008 will see many interesting additions as well.
To provide opportunities to more contestants, the preliminaries of the contest will be held at six destinations - Bangalore, Mangalore, Chennai, Kannur, Kozhikode and Kochi - this year.
The winners in these contests will walk the ramp for the finals.
Women in the age group 16 to 35 can participate. Many gifts and hampers await the winner of the Navy Queen Contest. “A three-day London trip and an Alto car were some of the gifts won by the former Navy Queen.
The logo of the Navy Ball 2008 was released by Captain V K Garg during a press meet at Kataribagh the other day.Commander P V S Sathish, Commander Navneeth, Defence PRO Commander Roy Francis, Pax Events & Promotions CEO Sunil Joseph and BDM Santhosh Kumar attended the press meet.
Those who wish to participate in the Navy Queen Contest can contact Pax Events at 9895712963

Volvo race web site a hit

Considering the popularity of the website of Volvo ocean race, the Kochi stopover team has made the site available to GPRS mobile phone users.The site is available at wap.cochinoceanrace.com.The website has been attracting a large number of visitors since its launch in April this year, claimed a press release from the Cochin Port Trust here. The site, powered and re-launched by Primmero Technologies, Kochi, registered 30,000 hits in August, the press release said. The hits registered in September (till the 28th) were 1,09,805, the press release said.It said that visitors could download wallpapers, register as volunteers and access the race updates on mobile phones. A press release from Portsmouth, England, on Monday quoted Volvo Ocean Race chief executive Knut Frostad as saying, “Our audience demands content that is exciting, accessible and immediate.”The press release was issued in connection with the launch of the Volvo Ocean Race mobile channel.

Kochi Corporation dumped in waste

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation is going to have a tough time with the waste management as the issue of non-biodegradable waste is again becoming a headache for the civic body. The Corporation is still unable to find an alternative place to dump the non-biodegradable waste, mainly the plastic waste, generated in the all the 21 health circles under its jurisdiction.
Earlier, when there was a crisis soon after the Brahmapuram plant was commissioned, what the Corporation asked the councillors was to bury the plastic waste within their division. As it is not an effective way of handling the waste, heaps of plastic waste and non-biodegradable materials have been dumped on the road sides. The people also do not know what to do with this waste, as it is not collected by the labourers. Non-biodegradable waste stored in sacks can be seen on all the major road sides. Around a truck load of plastic waste is piling up near the tourist information centre of the KTDC near Menaka Junction. Situation on Banerji Road and Market is also not different. Near the tourist information centre, the waste is being dumped just below the board installed by the Corporation reminding the people that ‘plastic is banned’.With the Onam round the corner, the issue is likely to become worse. The Corporation has just invited the Expression of Interest for the RDF Plant, another component of the Brahamapuram plant.Though a US-based company which is being operated from the Gulf and an Indian company have submitted their EoI, it will take months or years to complete the construction of the plant, which will be able to treat all types non-biodegradable waste.

711 traffic cases in July

KOCHI: The Ernakulam Regional Transport Office registered a total of 711 traffic cases in July and imposed fines to the tune of Rs.7.87 lakh on the offenders.

Proceedings were initiated to suspend 31 driving licences during the month.

Seventeen of the cases registered related to using mobile phones while driving. A total of 117 cases were registered against those riding two-wheelers without wearing helmets.

Dangerous driving

Thirty-three cases were registered against dangerous driving and 11 against traffic signal violations. Forty-three cases were related to driving without using seat belts. Eighty cases related to instances of vehicles without headlights and brake lights.

Till August 13, a total of 155 cases have been registered and a fine of Rs.1.07 lakh imposed. Nineteen cases against those driving without licence and six cases of dangerous driving were registered.

Twelve cases related to non-payment of taxes and six to driving without seat belts. Thirty cases were against those riding two-wheelers without helmets.

Seventy-three other cases were also registered for various offences.

suicide in youngsters increase

Children today are under much pressure — at home and in school. And a number of times the young minds are not able to take in much stress. Childline, an autonomous organisation working for children’s welfare, believes that an awareness regarding a support system for children is lacking among the general public.

students welcome to ukraine

Ukraine has become the hub of European students thanks to its reasonable course fee and quality education matching world standards, Irina Petrova, International Students’ Head of Lugansk State Medical University has said.
Addressing a press conference http://http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/07/stories/2008070754750600.htmin kochi , Dr. Petrova said the country also offers high standards of living. About 2,000 students from India are pursuing various higher education programmes in Ukraine.

gautami on relationship

How did she fall in love with Kamal Haasan?

“He was Kamal Sir to me. He still is, but in a different way. He was one person I looked up to and thought the world of. With every level that I’ve gotten to know him, from the audience to star to his co-star to… I’ve seen him as a writer, I’ve seen him as a director, I’ve seen him on the sets, I’ve seen him with his kids, and my respect for him has only grown. He’s an immensely strong person, very, very compassionate. These are things that are never seen or heard because he never speaks of himself and people who know him don’t speak much. It is about sharing little joys, every moment, every day, it’s about the 24 hours… I think both of us felt that and it grew to the next stage.”

Is it a relationship that’s beyond marriage?

“No, I’m not going to classify my relationship. I don’t feel the need to define it.”

That’s Gautami. She does not believe in definitions.

new born

hi frnds , here's a new born to this world