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“The future starts today, not tomorrow. ”
| VBA's Positive News |
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Japan agrees to grant Tunisia $600 million loan guarantee
Japan will provide a $600 million of loan guarantee to support Tunisia's democratic transition and economic recovery, the Tunisian central bank governor said on Friday. The Tunisian economy is gradually recovering from last year's political turmoil. Tunisia's budget deficit should narrow to 6 per cent next year from 6.6 per cent of GDP expected in 2012, the central bank governor said last month.
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Brazil, Ukraine set satellite launch for 2014
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Ukrainian counterpart Victor Yanukovich agreed Friday on a plan to launch a jointly developed satellite from the South American nation in 2014. The $588 million venture is part of Brazil's drive to join the club of countries capable of launching satellites, now limited to the United States, Russia, China, France, India, Israel, Japan, and Ukraine. Yanukovich took the opportunity of Friday's call to invite Rousseff to visit Ukraine sometime next year and the Brazilian president accepted the invitation, her office said.
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Haiti to showcase industrial park
The Haitian government is hosting Hillary and Bill Clinton, a delegation of foreign investors and a crowd of celebrities Monday to showcase the marquee project of the US aid effort since the 2010 earthquake. It's an industrial park, more than a hundred miles from the slowly recovering quake zone. The Clintons and their allies hope the $300 million facility will transform the northern part of this impoverished country by providing thousands of desperately needed jobs.
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Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva promotes her country's culture in France
Supported by Azerbaijan's embassy in Paris, the philanthropic Heydar Aliyev Foundation has launched a series of events aimed at promoting the Azerbaijani culture across France. A first event in the series took place in Reims on 19 October. Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, attended the event. The exhibition displays ancient Azerbaijani historical and cultural exhibits, including carpets, national clothing, and national musical instruments. Speaking to the opening ceremony, the First Lady said the exhibition 'will contribute to friendship and mutual respect between our countries'.
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World Round-Up
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KFA crisis: Revival tough, but not impossible: Ajit Singh
NEW DELHI: Employees aren't the only ones sceptical about Kingfisher management's assurances to have the suspended airline airborne again. Given the Rs 15,000 crore debt-cum-losses burden of the airline, even the aviation ministry only sees a remote chance for the airline to rise from ashes. Aviation minister Ajit Singh on Monday told TOI that the airline's revival "looks quite difficult, but not impossible".
More than any positive sings, this hope arises from the disastrous consequences that such a big airline's collapse will have for the industry. "Banks have (substantial) exposure to Kingfisher. (If this debt goes bad) banks will look at the industry as a whole and lending to airlines - which is not happening even today - will become even more difficult. Employees will suffer... But is for Mallya to decide on Kingfisher," Singh said.
Ajit Singh ministry is pushing hard for some reforms - mainly slashing taxes on jet fuel and rationalizing airport charges - to save the airline industry from collapsing. The finances of one more big airline, apart from Air India, are also in a bad shape. "If one more airline shuts down, a very negative image will go out to the world for aviation in India. Who would want to invest in a place where the cost environment is so hostile that even well-run airlines struggle to survive, FDI or not," said an aviation ministry official.
In Kingfisher's case, aviation authorities are more worried about the sharp deterioration in industrial relations within the airline. Employees have not been paid since March. A Delhi-based engineer's wife committed suicide earlier this month due to financial difficulty. In fact, the DGCA order suspending Kingfisher licence specifically listed employee unrest as a reason for this action.
"Kingfisher has cannibalised parts from its fleet of 40 aircraft to keep about 7 planes in flying condition. Many of the other aircraft have been stripped. Neither employee morale, nor the airline's fleet gives us any hope of it flying again. It needs about Rs 4,000 crore upfront to become airworthy. Whether those funds can be raised, remains to be seen," said a DGCA official. Kingfisher promoter Vijay Mallya may hold the key to that question but he has not spoken in the past few weeks.
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Astrology
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Aries March 21 to April 19
You may have excitement pumping through your veins as your ruling planet moves through your adventure sector. As a result, travel, educational experiences, and new encounters may be in your lineup. The great potential in these electric times may be somewhat challenged by a set of simple limits. The good news may be that you still may be expansive, as long as you are reasonable about how far you can go.
Taurus April 20 to May 20
The potential for earning may be quite likely. You may see business opportunities and other lucrative options come your way, so the sparkle in your financial sector should be quite bright. At the same time, you may possess great drive toward deepening your spirituality. You may strive to try to blend these two areas of your life. You likely will succeed by compromising..
Gemini May 21 to June 20
 You may feel confident as Jupiter glides through Gemini. This may be a natural by-product of the great benefic planet in Gemini. Your ability to reach others and impress them with your ideas and views may be challenged if you try too hard, so think about using a soft approach in conversations. This may be an ideal time to issue some restraint and try to find the approach that satisfies you and your significant other.
Cancer June 21 to July 22
This may feel like the ideal time to ramp up your exercise program and trim down a bit. A good workout may be quite rewarding, and you may find that if you go to the gym, you will feel best when you are working the hardest. The rewards likely will come, but taper back just a bit and take a longer view about getting in shape. Pushing too hard might cause you to have to back-step a bit.
Leo July 23 to Aug. 22
 Your creativity may keep you awake at night, as ideas flash through your mind with lightning speed. You thrive on the creative process, buy you may collaborate with a partner or group whose pace may be considerably different from yours. You may be miles ahead of everyone else. The best approach likely will be to write your ideas down and wait for the group to catch up with you.
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India, China team up with developing nations at climate talks
NEW DELHI: In what could change the contours of climate change negotiations, India and China have successfully brought together a disparate group of developing countries to take on the EU and its new-found friends — small and least developed countries.
Its an odd set — Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, Argentina and about three dozen other developing countries — but they have been stitched into a new climate alliance by India and China to help define the new global climate regime.
In a just concluded meeting of the new formation called the 'Like Minded Developing Countries on Climate Change' in Beijing, the group came out with a strong statement backing India's demand for integrating equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility into any new regime.
The group came together at the Durban climate meet in 2011, when emerging economies found the least developed countries and the association of small island countries more closely allied with the EU. India's initiative at Durban ensured that the EU did not get away with an outright decision to have a new global deal that India and China believed would have broken the existing climate convention's rules.
While the countries were not represented as a formal group at the talks, they continued to coordinate through negotiations in 2012 with the Beijing meeting, just before the annual climate change negotiations begin, culminating in a statement that is bound to gain attention from other nations.
Though the BASIC formation of four countries - India, China, South Africa and Brazil — along with the G77 group remains intact, the like-minded countries' group has already stirred feverish buzz at the climate talks.
After the decision at Durban by all countries to negotiate a new deal for post-2020 global climate regime, the year saw strong attempts to push a higher level of commitment from developing countries to reduce emissions in the run-up to 2020, delinking it from financial and technological flows from the rich countries.
The developing countries fought back to ensure that all future decisions, whether for the pre-2020 period or post-2020 era, are taken under the existing convention's principles which maintain the firewall between rich and poor countries.
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How to use ginger for better health
It is a well known fact that a majority of Indians prefer home remedies to OTC drugs. The use of ginger is numero uno when it comes to curing common cold and cough.
But there are other reasons why ginger is a remedial herb. Dr. Jaishree Bhattacharjee, Ayurvedic consultant with Satvikshop.com shares some top tips and methods to use ginger for various ailments. Read on to discover how you can use ginger for better health.
Why is ginger important?
Dr. Jaishree Bhattacharjee explains the importance of ginger, "Ginger is very popularly used in Ayurveda for its benefits in digestion and respiratory disorders. It is a wonderful carminative, ant flatulent, stimulant and expectorant." She adds, "Ginger has many useful minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc and few others."
Ginger as an appetizer?
Our specialist also makes a unique point about the benefits ginger, "When used before meals, ginger improves appetite by igniting jatharagni (digestive fire) due to its hot potency. It also enhances digestion due to its pungent taste and alleviates ama (toxins of indigestion) from the body."
Besides cold, ginger is useful for...
"Fresh juice of ginger is used to cure symptoms of cough and cold. It helps stop watery discharge from nose and help cure headache and fever associated with common cold if taken in tea or as decoction with basil and honey," Dr. Jaishree continues to list hidden benefits of ginger.
How is ginger beneficial for travellers?
"Ginger regulates digestive enzymes and improves assimilation and transportation of nutrients to body tissues. When kept in mouth before travelling it helps combat motion sickness."
Did you know, ginger is good for joint pain?
The doctor let's you in on a secret, "Dried ginger or sounth has analgesic and anti inflammatory properties which is used therapeutically to alleviate joint pain and inflammation in arthritis. Other than these situations, ginger is an excellent spice that can be used daily."
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Virgo Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
A grand plan for improving your home may be one of your priorities. Plans, details, and an eye for design may at the top of your list. Shopping for new appliances and color schemes may be exciting. It may also be time-consuming so try to pace yourself so you can accommodate your daily work as well as your expansive side projects. If you can successfully divide your time, you should see progress in all areas.
Libra Sept. 23 to Oct. 22
You may have an opportunity to expand your knowledge base as education, travel and other expansive themes seem to dominate your list of possibilities. Your curiosity may be at an all-time high. At the same time, you may be expected to use your diplomatic skills to iron out a few legal topics. Your ability to find balance and harmony generally is superb. The secret will be to find the happy medium.
Scorpio Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
 You may be especially motivated to get your finances in order. You may enjoy having your bills paid and all of your accounts neatly in order. Some of your plans may take a bit longer than you expected. It might be that your financial accounts have a different set of expectations. As a result, you may have to find a solution between what goes out and what comes in.
Sagittarius Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
Your significant relationships may force you to reconsider your options going forward. As plans and expectations shift, you most likely will fare better if you are willing to compromise. This will be an ideal time to analyze the conversations you have with those closest to you and find a reasonable middle ground. This also may be a good time to draw up a list of responsibilities and divide them equally in your family..
Capricorn Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
 This may be an exceptionally good time to wrap up a few of your projects. You may have deadlines that will bring closure, or at least you might like to see that happen. Still, if you try to work at an accelerated pace, this might cause you to burn the candle at both ends. Rest while you can.
Aquarius Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
 Much of your creative desire may be in inspiring others. Working on group projects likely will be the best method for getting this to happen. A block party or neighborhood gathering might be one way to get people to move. You may be able to see great potential, and yet your plans may be held up by the number of players involved. If you can work with smaller organizations, your creativity actually may be more appreciated.
Pisces Feb. 19 to March 20
You may need to spend an inordinate amount of time on the job and that may get in the way of family plans and expectations. You might have plans for the family, but you also may have deadlines to work on that hold you back or cause you to arrive later than you wanted. The best approach may be to simply go with the flow and try to satisfy both parts of your busy life. .
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Moral Story
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SMS
“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.”
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
"True love doesn't mean being inseparable; it means being separated and nothing changes."
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men, the conviction and the will to carry on..”
Once Very Funny Girl comes late to class.
Teacher: Why are you late?
Very Funny Girl : One boy was following me, sir.
Teacher: So, What?
Very Funny Girl : That boy was walking very slow.
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Getting down to earth
Say “geography” and the first thing most people associate it with is trivial factoid recall — longest river in the world, capital of Uzbekistan, and so on. A few may associate it with surveying the land, maps, and landforms.
Geography is exciting both as an intellectual pursuit and a career option. It easily connects everything in this world. Why? It deals with all of Earth and everything that happens in the context of Earth, where we live.
Where is something? Why is it there? What is the consequence of it being there? What if it were in some other place? How are things distributed on Earth and how are they connected? These are geography’s major questions.
We use geography every waking moment of our lives when we: buy vegetables, decide whether to wear a sweater, carry an umbrella or not, and so on. When you enjoy those French fries, that tomato soup, that dynamite chilli-filled Andhra lunch, that rice idli for breakfast, and that rava idli for the evening snack … you are enjoying geography also.
Locating a dam, an ATM, retail outlet; navigating an aircraft; defending a country’s borders; trying to resolve the Cauvery dispute, Telengana issue, border disputes with neighbours; trying to understand and control the spread of pandemics (HIV, cholera, malaria, etc.) and a host of other issues demand geographic competency.
Geographic study is some combination of these branches: area studies (study of regions), physical geography (study of landforms, meteorology, resources), human geography (populations, migration, social, cultural and economic issues), geo-informatics (geographic information systems-GIS, global positioning systems-GPS, remote sensing-RS), and cartography (map-making).
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Saina Nehwal goes past world number 1 to reach Denmark Open final
New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal booked her place in the finals of the Denmark Super Series Premier tournament after world number one opponent Yihan Wang of China retired midway through the semi-final clash because of a knee injury.
The London Olympics silver medallist looked in great physical distress and finally decided to throw in the towel after lagging 7-12 in the second game. Saina had won the first game comfortably at 21-12.
Saina, the London Games bronze medallist, will take on sixth seed German Juliane Schenk, who beat eighth seed Yanjiao Jiang 13-21 21-14 21-15 in the other women's singles semifinal.
The Indian has a 5-3 record against the world number seven German. The last time, the duo faced each other was in Japan Open last year, where Juliane had the last laugh.
This is Saina's first victory over Yihan, who has scored six victories over the Indian so far in the past -- the latest was in the semifinals of the London Olympics in August this year.
The 22-year-old Indian was lagging 0-5 in the first game but she recovered brilliantly, pocketing six points on the trot. She then went into the break at 11-6.
After the break, Saina continued her fine run and held on to her lead and finally nosed ahead with four straight points.
In the second game, Saina once again opened up a healthy 9-2 lead. The Indian mixed her strokes well with deep tosses and accurate smashes and made her opponent move across the court with her cross-court play.
Saina forced Yihan to bend down and the Chinese was finding it difficult to pick up her tight net shots. Her injured right knee curtailed her court movements as Saina went into the breather at 11-6 with a body line shot.
Yihan clearly looked in physical distress because of the injury and after a consultation with the tournament doctor decided to quit with the score reading 12-7 in Saina's favour at that time.
Last night, Saina had eased past local hope Tine Baun in straight games.
Third seed Saina took just 33 minutes to beat fifth seed Baun 21-10 21-11 to make the last-four stage.
Saina, playing her first tournament after becoming the first Indian shuttler to fetch an Olympic medal (a bronze) in London, was hardly troubled in the match on Friday.
With her trademark smashes and better command over the baseline game, the world number four Indian dictated the proceedings and emerged triumphant.
This was Saina's fourth straight win over Baun. The two had also come face-to-face in the London Olympics and the Indian had prevailed in that match.
In fact, Baun has not beaten Saina since November 2011's Indonesia Open.
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1920: Evil Returns
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1920: Evil Returns
Movie Name : 1920: Evil Returns
Release Date : November 2, 2012
Genre : Horror
Producer : Vikram Bhatt
Director : Bhushan Patel
Music Director : Chirantan Bhatt
Cast : Aftab Shivdasani ,Tia Bajpai ,Sagar Saikia , Vidya Malvade
Synopsis:
1920: Evil Returns is a supernatural thriller which revolves around Jaidev Verma (Aftab Shivdasani), a famous poet who lives the life of a loner as he is unable to meet the love of his life. He stays with his sister Karuna (Vidya Malvade) who is his support system until he meets Smruti (Tia Bajpai), whom he finds near the lake under mysterious circumstances.
Jaidev brings her home and takes care of her against the wishes of his sister, who doesn’t want Smruti to stay as she senses something wrong with her. During the course of time, Jaidev finds out that Smruti has lost her memory and does not remember anything from her past life except for his poems.
Jaidev decides to take Smruti to Shimla to get her treated in a big hospital. On their way, while resting in a guest house, strange haunting sounds start to emanate. Smruti gets possessed by a spirit (Sagar Saikia)and goes out of control.
The question remains: what is the special bond that Jaidev shares with Smruti which compels him to go to any extent to help her? What made Smruti get possessed by the spirit (Sagar Saikia)? What is the link among Jaidev, Smruti and the evil spirit. Strange questions, stranger answers…
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the names of all continents both start and end with the same letter.
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" INSPIRING STORY "
Power of always speaking the Truth
Paushya’s mahaarani gives her kundalas to Udanka, but warns him that “Takshaka always has an eye on this — so be careful”. Udanka thanks the queen and returns to Paushya to ask him for leave.
Paushya, who knows the shaastras, pleaded Udanka to accept his aatithyam and eat at his place. Udanka accepted the King’s request and Udanka sat to eat in a separate Bhojana shaala for vidvaans. The very first piece he was about to eat had a hair strand in it!
For Indians, parishubhrata is of utmost importance and especially for eating. There are many rules in shaastras about how a person who eats must be, how the person who cooks must be and who clean the food itself must be etc.
Even after following all the rules, some doshas might creep in. Hence Indians always put godhrutam (cow ghee) in the food before eating, considering the food as havis, the person who eats as havirbhokta and the the act of eating as a yagnyam!
Ukdanda gets angry on Paushya for offering uncleaned food. Since he knows all shaastras, he knows that neither the cook nor the person who served nor the head of the bhojanashaala must be blamed, it is the ajamaani who gave aatithyam, the King, who needs to be blamed for this (see this story).
He, in the anger, says to Paushya “Since you gave me such food, may you become blind”. Knowing that Udanka gave him such a big punishment for a small mistake, Paushya says to Udanka “May you have no children”.
Since both Udanka and Paushya never deviated from the path of Truth, whatever they said now, in anger, became really true!
The nature of a sajjana is that, he will never become angry and if he becomes angry, his anger will be like the spill of boiling milk, just for a fraction of a second. Immediately Paushya and Udanka realize their mistake and Paushya asks Udanka to save him from blindness.
Udanka, with his tapas-shakti, told Paushya that he will be blind for a very short time. However Paushya could not give a shaapaavasaanam to Udanka. Paushya says “O great scholar!
Since you are a sage and have immense tapas-shakti you were able to help me, but I cannot do it and my words cannot be changed, because of my satya-vaak-paripaalana”. Udanka then takes leave of Paushya and immediately resumes the work given by his Guru-patni.
Will Udanka be able to take the kundalas safely to his guru-patni? Wont Takshaka cause any trouble? Please keep reading to know the answers :) .
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“Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.”
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