Taiwan, Indian Youth Ambassadors to Host Unique ‘Taiwan Night’
By Deepak Arora
 NEW DELHI, Aug 31: A unique cultural evening “Taiwan Night” will take place on September 2 at the FICCI Auditorium here. The evening will witness a fusion of Taiwan and Indian culture which will enhance and encourage mutual understanding and cultural communication.
Youth Ambassadors from various top colleges and universities of Taiwan along with students from notable Indian Universities, some prestigious schools and Rotary International District 3011 AND 3012 will present rich and diversified Indian cultural performances in “Taiwan Night 2015”.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi, FICCI President Dr. Jyotsna Suri and District Governors of Rotary International District 3011 and 3012 will grace the occasion.
Speaking to TheTribuneOnline.com, Bruce Fuh, Director of the Delegation of Youth Ambassadors to Asia Pacific, said the Taiwan Youth Ambassadors are outstanding students from various colleges and universities of Taiwan, who are pursuing degrees in a variety of subjects and possess different academic backgrounds.
“Having been selected following a comprehensive process and undergone rigorous training, each member is honored to serve as a Youth Ambassador and confident that he or she will make meaningful contributions to international youth cultural exchanges,” he added.
The current Taiwan Representative in India, Ambassador Chung Kwang Tien, had commenced the programme in 2009 when he was posted in Taipei. The delegation is sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan).
This is the second visit of such Youth Ambassadors to India. One such delegation had visited India last year. Besides Delhi, they would be also visiting Chennai.
This event is a joint endeavor among Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Rotary International Districts 3011 and 3012.
Director Bruce Fuh said this program, which allows talented Taiwanese youth to participate in international affairs and broaden their horizons, has increased understanding of our country’s development among various sectors of the host countries.
In addition, through a wide array of exchanges and interactions, he said the Youth Ambassadors have demonstrated Taiwan’s important role on the international stage as a provider of humanitarian aid, promoter of cultural exchanges, and standard bearer of Chinese culture.
To further enhance the outcome of the program, Bruce Fuh said the theme for the 2015 delegation is “Youth from Taiwan, Compassion for All.” The goal is to not only highlight the vitality and kindness of Taiwanese youth, but also reiterate their commitment to issues of global concern such as humanitarian aid and sustainable development.
Director Bruce Fuh said that this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has selected 160 college and university students to serve as Youth Ambassadors, dividing them into 10 groups.
He said “they will visit 41 cities in 35 countries in such regions as the Asia Pacific, North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and West Asia, where they will attend meetings and seminars, and give performances that combine dance and music.”
With a spirit of professionalism and teamwork, they aim to introduce Taiwan to friends from around the world, convey the essence of this year’s theme, and represent all that Taiwan has to offer, he added.
Rebuild Hindu temple, says Pakistan court
 ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the rebuilding of a Hindu temple destroyed by fanatics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja passed the order on Tuesday.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja passed the order on Tuesday.
The court asked Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, a National Assembly member, Arbab Mohammad Arif, the provincial home secretary, and Shoaib Jadoon, the deputy commissioner, to come up with a plan to rebuild the Shri Paramhans Maharaj's Samadhi in Teri village, Dawn online reported.
The chief justice said the order must not be defied and should be implemented at all cost.
The shrine and temple were built at the spot where a Hindu holy man, Shri Paramhans, was buried in 1919. His followers visited the temple frequently till 1997 but some fanatics dismantled it.
The Shrine is of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj, who was the first Satguru of Shri Paramhans Advait Mat Ashram with headquarters situated at Shri Anand Pur, District Ashoknagar, in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The devotees tried to rebuild the temple but the land was allegedly under the occupation of a local mufti, Iftikharuddin.
Jadoon told the court that its earlier order on restoring the temple was carried out and a boundary wall built around it.
"We have also given a right of way to reach the Samadhi through the house of Maulvi Iftikharuddin who was earlier in possession of the temple," he said.
But the court declared that the efforts put in by the administration were not enough and proposed a new building instead of just erecting boundary walls.
The surrounding walls will spoil the area, said the chief justice.
He recalled how a temple in Shahalmi Market in Lahore was reconstructed by architect Kamil Khan, who had a clear understanding of architectural heritage and provided free consultancy to Hindus.
The court said the same architect's help could be taken to conserve this shrine too. The next hearing is scheduled for September 7.
BJP Leader Vijay Jolly inaugurates 87th Short Digital Film Festival in Noida Film City
By Noyanika Arora
 NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Senior BJP Leader Vijay Jolly on Monday inaugurated the 87th Short Digital Film Festival at Marwah Studio Complex in Noida Film City.
Jolly narrated various antidotes’ learnt from Evergreen Indian film star Dev Anand on this occasion.
Present on the occasion was Sandeep Marwah, President Marwah Studio, Malti Sahai, Ex. Director Film Festival of India, Niuma Mohamed, Film Actress from Maldives, and Mukesh Tyagi, film actor and businessman.
BJP Leader Vijay Jolly was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
While addressing young artists and students at AAFT, Jolly exhorted them to dress well, speak well, act well and exhibit themselves since in modern times – “what is best exhibited, ss what sells” (Jo Dikhta hai – Woh Bikta hai).
'Sawan Teej' celebrated with gusto
 NEW DELHI, Aug 17: Delhi Study Group led by President Vijay Jolly (Ex. Delhi MLA) celebrated Indian festival ‘Sawan Teej’ with gusto at the residence of Union Minister for Road and Transport Nitin Jairam Gadkari here.
The Chief Guest on the occasion was Shyam Jaju, All India BJP Vice President. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptullah, Members of Parliament Vijay Goel and Pravesh Verma along with Mayor of Delhi Ravinder Gupta, Senior BJP Leader Jagdish Mukhi, Shyam Lal Garg and NDMC Vice President Karan Singh Tanwar, Ex. Mayor’s Sarita Chaudhary and Savita Gupta attended.
Delhi Study Group President Vijay Jolly welcomed all the guests and stated that Delhi Study Group has a record existence of programs for the last 21 years in the capital. Teej has been celebrated by DSG for the past 10 years successfully. The current program of the DSG is to promote people to people friendship with neighboring countries as envisaged by the foreign policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A colorful booklet on recent China tour by DSG delegation was released by Shyam Jaju on the occasion.
 Additional Solicitor General of India and DSG Patron Pinky Anand conducted the program along with Secretary DSG Vandana Pathak. Cultural program with music was conducted by famous DSG member and artist Madhu Pandey. Gujarati dandia and Punjabi gidda dance was performed by large number of ladies present on the occasion.
Indian festivals and their historic value was showcased to foreign diplomats from Singapore, Latvia, Germany, Bhutan, Haiti, DPR Korea, Nepal, Venezuela, Sweden, Denmark, Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Montenegro and Arab States Mission.
Delicious food and snacks were served to all the guests. Ladies enjoyed applying mehndi, colorful bangles, dancing and making merry on the auspicious occasion of ‘Sawan Teej”. Sweet Ghewar gift boxes were presented to all.
Prominent DSG office bearers present were Bhupendra Kansal, Gopal Garg, Mukesh Gupta, M.S. Sirsa, Vijay Mehta, Surya Khatri, Narendra Chawla, Hartirath Singh, Anil Jindal, Gajendra Solanki, Rajiv Rana, Yogesh Tandon, Amrish Kumar, Chandra Prakash, Kalpna Garg, Dinesh Kumar, Mahesh Mishra, Jai Kishan, Ritu Rathaur, Kavita Ashok, Digvijay Dixit, Meera, Jayanti, Himanshi, Lubna, Mudita, Shobha, Vimal, Supriya Teena Taneja and Bulbul Sawhney.
12-year-old British girl smarter than Einstein, Hawking
 LONDON, Aug 3: A 12-year-old British girl is brainier than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking if her IQ test is anything to go by. Nicole Barr scored a perfect 162 on her Mensa IQ test, two points higher than the two legendary scientists.
The score puts Barr in the top 1% of the brightest people on the planet and implies she is more intelligent than physicists Hawking, Einstein and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who are all thought to have an IQ of 160.
“She’s a hard working child. She stays after school for homework club and never misses a day,” said her 34-year-old mother Dolly Buckland.
“From a young age she’s been picking out mistakes in books and magazines. She’s a happy, fun-loving girl who is always asking for extra homework,” Buckland told British tabloid the Daily Mirror.
“When I found out I got such a high score, it was so unexpected. I was shocked,” said Barr, who received her IQ test results last week.
“Nicole’s IQ puts her comfortably within the top 1% of the population,” said Mensa spokesman Ann Clarkson.
The girl, who is a Year 7 student in Burnt Mill Academy, enjoys reading, singing and drama. At primary school, Barr was several years ahead of her peers and could tackle complex algebra before the age of 10.
Four Canadian colleges ranked among top 20 animation schools in the world
NEW DELHI, July 20: An analysis of submissions to the Autodesk-sponsored CG Student Awards shows that four Canadian colleges count among the top 20 schools in the world for visual effects, animation and game design.
The top 20 list was calculated based on assessments by industry experts of over 1000 submissions of portfolios from students and recent graduates studying at 216 international schools. The Canadian schools on the list include Think Tank Training Center in Vancouver, (number 3), Vancouver Film School in Vancouver (number 6), Sheridan College in Oakville (number 11) and National Animation and Design Centre in Montréal (number 18).
The panel of judges based their votes on such criteria as creative skills, technical skills, presentation, raw talent and future potential. “Having access to over 1,000 entries ranked from top-to-bottom by industry experts is an extremely powerful indicator of where the best talent is coming from on a global scale,” said Andrew McDonald, CG Student Awards Co-Founder.
Canada is home to a number of specialized digital media institutes, programs and research groups which enable students to gain professional knowledge and expertise required to work in the film, television, and interactive digital media industries.
Canadian institutions offer world class programs in computer science, innovation, gaming, software engineering and related fields at diploma, certificate, undergraduate, graduate and PhD levels.
Nano will forever change our lives, lifestyle: Prof Bulovic
By Deepak Arora
 NEW DELHI, July 15: “Nano World – those super tiny particles 1/25000th the size of human hair Will forever change our lives and lifestyle, said Prof. Valdimir Bulovic, Head of Innovation, MIT School Engineering, at a seminar organized by ALL Ladies League.
Addressing a large gathering here, Prof Bulovic said that “Nano is very small, but when comes to making any thing it is big, Very Big. We can not solve the world’s urgent challenges incrementally. If we want solutions we need a tool that will allow us to achieve broad transformations: Nano science and Nano technology. That’s because Nano is not a specific technology. It does not belong to a particular industry or discipline. It a revolutionary way to understanding and work with matters. Major benefits of nanotechnology include improved manufacturing methods, energy systems, physical enhancement, Nanomedicine, better food production methods, nutrition and large-scale infrastructure auto-fabrication which has a larger impact on our lives and lifestyle”.
Mr. Amit Goel, Group Vice Chairman, The Pioneer, said that “Nanotechnology enables and enhances products people use every day. Its science fiction coming true."
Dr. Tuli Banerjee, Chapter Chairperson ALL Boston, said that MIT continues to lead in Innovation and wants India to be very much part of this revolution.
The interactive session was attended by eminent business leaders, educationists, lawyers, doctors, media personnel, entrepreneurs, designers, beauty and fitness experts and the defence forces.
Recently the ALL Ladies League was in the news for organizing the a global Women Economic Forum in Goa attended by over 400 delegates from over 25 countries and with luminary speakers like Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Ambassadors, MPs, actor Vidya Balan, and film director Madhur Bhandarkar, and founder and Global Chairperson of ALL Ladies League and Women Economic Forum, Dr. Harbeen Arora.
French Ambassador François Richier confers highest French civilian honour on Raza
By Deepak Arora
 NEW DELHI, July 14: French Ambassador François Richier conferred the highest French civilian honour, Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour) on visionary Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza here at a function to mark the celebrations of the French National Day.
This honour on 93-year-old Raza comes in acknowledgement of his peerless achievements transcending all boundaries, the lasting ties he has forged between France and India, and his continuing artistic quest straddling nations, cultures, religions and philosophies.
During the ceremony, a short film on the artist at work was played, which has been conceived and produced by Ashok Vajpeyi, noted poet, essayist, and cultural and arts administrator. Five recent paintings of the artist were also on view at the Residence.
Following the investiture ceremony, Ambassador Richier released an autobiographical account of the artist, entitled “Un Itinéraire” (Itinerary), written originally in French in 2003 and now translated into English.
 “I salute France, it’s life art and people on this occasion and accept the honour greatly. I am deeply grateful,” Raza said in an acceptance speech read out by friend Ashok Vajpeyi.
The honour is presented on behalf of French President to “not only recognise those who work with us but also all those whom we believe are beautifying the world and making the world better and indeed it is the case of Raza,” Ambassador Richier said.
Terming Raza as “the most humble, the most extraordinary man”, the Ambassador said during decades of work in France, Raza successfully merged Indian inspiration with a little bit of French art environment.
Dressed in a dark coloured suit the wheelchair-bound artist gifted a painting based on his famous Bindu, which he completed recently, to the French Embassy.
Raza said, “France gave me for six decades an evocative ambiance inspiring confidence and creativity and imagination, openness of ideas and innovation. More than anything else France made me realise my Indian inheritance in colour and concept that came alive now at the age of 93 plus. I owe a lot to France and an honour from the French govt reconfirms this commitment.”
“This acknowledgment from France is spiritually and artistically most reassuring and rejuvenating for me and in all humility and as a token of my gratitude I am offering a painting of mine to the French embassy,” he said.
Born in Madhya Pradesh, where he spent his early years, Raza took to drawing at the age of twelve. After high school, he enrolled at the Nagpur School of Art (1939-43), followed by the J J School of Art in Mumbai (1943-47), before moving to Paris to study (1950-1953).
France pays tribute to special forces in annual Bastille Day parade
 PARIS, July 14: France paid tribute on Tuesday to the elite armed units which intervened to end sieges after January's deadly attacks by Islamist miltants, showcasing the secretive forces for the first time in its annual Bastille Day parade.
Forces including the RAID assault unit marched down the Champs Elysees avenue, some wearing sunglasses and helmets to hide their identity. Broadcast media were told not to zoom in on the faces of other special forces members.
"This march is more than ever the glue that holds the nation together," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.
France is on top security alert after a suspected Islamist beheaded a company's boss and tried to blow up an industrial gas plant in the suburbs of the southeast city of Lyon in June.
Criminal intent was also suspected in two fires which broke out on Tuesday at a petrochemical facility near Marseilles airport on Tuesday. There was however no indication of a link between the two or any underlying political or religious motive. 20 people, including three of the attackers, were killed in January when gunmen targetted the headquarters of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and another shot a police officer and took hostages at a kosher supermarket near Paris.
In a television appearance, Hollande said police and army forces would stick to maximum security at least until the end of the year. An extra 10,000 soldiers drafted in to maintain surveillance across France will continue to be deployed, he said, despite regular reports of chronic stress and fatigue.
"We are faced with an enemy, the threat is there ... in 2015, nothing will be eased up."
Tuesday's procession showcased French military equipment, from regular infantry vehicles to Dassault's multi-role fighter Rafale and Airbus' military troops transporter A400M.
In first, American woman to take helm of giant cruise ship
 MIAMI, July 15: An American woman soon will be in command of a mega-cruise ship -- an industry first. Celebrity Cruises says San Francisco native Kate McCue in August will take the helm of the Celebrity Summit, which sails to Bermuda from the East Coast.
The 91,000-ton vessel carries 2,158 passengers and 952 crew.
Just 37 years old, McCue comes from Celebrity's sister brand Royal Caribbean, where she rose through the ranks to the position of Master Mariner. She's a graduate of California State University's California Maritime Academy.
The appointment comes seven months after the 10-ship Celebrity brand was put under the charge of its first female President and CEO, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.
"From the first time I met Kate, I looked forward to this moment, when I could extend my congratulations to her for being such a dynamic and highly respected leader who will continue to pave the way for women in the maritime industry," Lutoff-Perlo says in a statement accompanying the announcement.
 While McCue will be the first American female to command a mega-cruise ship, several other women of other nationalities have gone before her in taking the helm of giant cruise vessels. Royal Caribbean is widely credited with hiring the first female of any nationality to command a major ship, Karin Stahre-Janson of Sweden, in 2007, and the line added a second female captain from Portugal in 2008.
Britain's P&O Cruises and Cunard followed in 2010 with the hiring of female captains from the UK and Denmark, respectively.
Americans as captains of giant cruise ships are almost as much a rarity as are women as captains. Many deck officers at major cruise companies come from such seafaring nations as the UK, Norway, Denmark, Italy and Greece.
A bunch of 26 grapes sell for $8,000 in Japan
TOKYO: A bunch of Japanese grapes has sold for a record one million yen (USD 8,200), or $315 per berry -- no trifling matter even in a country where fruit can cost a small fortune.
The record-setting bunch of 26 " Ruby Roman" grapes was the highest-priced at this year's first auction in Kanazawa, 300 kilometres (180 miles) northwest of Tokyo, smashing the previous record of 550,000 yen set last year.
Each berry weighs at least 20 grams (three-quarters of an ounce) and is the size of a ping-pong ball, according to the local board of agriculture.
Winning bidder Masayuki Hirai, head chef of the Nikko hotel in Kanazawa, told media he had been under strict orders, with local tourism chiefs eager to capitalise on a new train line to the area.
"With the opening of the Hokuriku shinkansen (bullet train) line, I was told to win the bidding at any cost," he said.
For connoisseurs of eye-wateringly-priced fruit, Japan is Seventh Heaven.
Earlier this year, a pair of Yubari melons from Hokkaido, northern Japan -- considered a status symbol -- were snapped up for a jaw-dropping 1.5 million yen.
Meanwhile, a Japanese department store thought nothing of shelling out 300,000 yen for a pair of pristine mangoes grown in southern Japan.
Japanese often give top-notch fruits such as melons as gifts, and virgin batches often sell for extraordinary prices, making national headlines and creating a lucrative market for fruit boutiques to flourish despite Japan's sluggish economy.
Square and even heart-shaped watermelons are all the rage and, while 38,000 per grape is extreme, many Japanese will happily pay through the nose for fruit -- even the regular round-shaped variety.
Single white peaches the size of a newborn baby's head can go for more than 2,000 yen while a bunch of Muscat of Alexandria grapes could lighten your wallet to the tune of a cool 7,000 yen.
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