The World Reporter: News Opinion and Analysis

Despite the Social Struggles, Indian Women Take Precedence

noreply@blogger.com (Andra Tudor) — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:41:00 +0000

Written by Apoorva Nangia

“Yatra Naryastu pujyante, ramante tatra devta”, which means God resides where women are worshipped.

Who is a woman? Have we ever asked ourselves? Yes & the answer is she is a mother, a sister, a lover, a wife & also a fighter. Why am I saying she is a fighter? Do we have an answer?

The answer comes out from the fact that since decades she has been struggling for her presence, her aura to be felt by all, but every time she tries it, she is unable to get the recognition which she actually deserves.

From the time of Ramayana, we have seen the struggle of a woman, how goddess Sita had to give agni pariksha to prove her loyalty & integrity. This really pops a question in my mind after having made so many sacrifices; did she really need to prove her love & purity? If yes, then why? Why always a woman has to prove her loyalty why aren’t men not questioned? And the answer is simple that we have never thought this way as our society is so patriarch that we forget to question & raise our finger on men.

Now let’s have a look in medieval India. Women have gone through innumerable social evils such as sati pratha, dowry system, domestic violence, female feticide etc. These evils are just the numbers, one can never imagine the pain which a woman undergoes, self-respect, her soul are all shattered due to the injustice towards her. Our society has always treated women as inferior even after having known her value in family & society. A woman is selfless, she always thinks of her family before anything else & what she receives is negligence, disrespect, & what to not damage her completely.

Even today women are treated as sex toys that anyone can use anytime. The increasing number of rape cases in India proves that the evil thinking towards women is still prevalent & deep rooted. Female feticide is also one of the long lived evils of our society & it has taken more dangerous shape as the time passed.

Despite all the struggles, Indian women have made their mark in almost every field. Here I would like to mention about IPS Kiran Bedi who is the first Indian woman IPS officer. She has totally changed the image of women not only in India but all around the world. After so much of social taboo about women joining the force she has made great efforts to be at this position. Also it has always been said that it is very tough for women to work in corporate & maintain work-life balance which is why most women quit their careers, yet one example is Mrs. Chanda Kochhar , the CEO & MD of ICICI bank has proved this a misconception. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi being an Italian has managed to handle & lead an altogether different cultured economy. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who became premier of India in 60s and strongly managed the diplomacy with US, USSR and China during 1971 Indo-Pak war, many western nations are yet to have a woman premier. Mrs. Meira Kumar, the first Indian Lok Sabha speaker has stunned everyone by her compassion & skill. The list may go on Late Kalpana Chawla, Ms. Sunita Williams, Ms. Indira Nooyi so on & so forth.

And the truth will always remain the same that women are an integral part of any society. It is always rightly said that if the women of a nation are respected & valued, the nation will prosper as a matter of course.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Indian Companies Increasing Foreign Acquisitions; More Companies "Indianized"

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:09:00 +0000

Photo by IANS

Indian companies have become matured, while tough competition remains within the domestic market of the country, Indian companies are exploring more markets and adding more dimensions of competition. In the last decade we saw growing number of acquisitions by Indian company not only of smaller brands but also of much bigger and prestigious brands. In our previous article we discussed how the former colony India has been acquiring more businesses in the UK and "Indianizing" them, becoming the largest employer in the private sector of the UK. It is observed that Indian companies in a collective manner targeted UK businesses more actively, it could be unintentionally or may be some kind of nationalism. Indian companies are now equally active in the rest of the geography in the race to secure resources and technology.

In a report by Columbia University, India has gushed as the world’s 21st largest outward investor, having more than US$75 billion in foreign investment in the last decade. In another report by the Reserve Bank of India, during 2009-10 alone, the investments by domestic Indian companies in overseas joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries stood impressively at US$10.3 billion.

Year 2000. One of the first major overseas acquisition by an Indian company was the acquisition of popular UK brand Tetley. Tata Tea in 2000 acquired Tetley for US$407 million. At the time of acquisition Tetley had three times the turnover of Tata Tea in India, but now it is the front runner brand of Tata Global Beverages and has made its successful presence in over 70 countries offering nearly 500 different varieties of popular tea.

Year 2003. In the year of 2003, one of the key Korean based commercial vehicle company, Daewoo was acquired by Tata Motors. Daewoo was famous for the cars Cielo and Matiz. After the acquisition Daewoo cars disappeared from Indian markets. Today Tata Daewoo is in the heavy vehicle business with its manufacturing and assembly mainly in Korea, India and Pakistan (Afzal Motors).

Year 2005. The confidence in the management of the Tata boosted so high that one by one it acquired more companies in US, South Africa and East Europe making it world's second largest branded tea maker. US herbal and green tea brand Good Earth was bought by Tata Global Beverages in 2005.

In another move in the automobile industry Tata Motors bought one of the largest manufacturer of bus and coach cabins in Europe, Hispano Motors Carrocera in 2005. Apart from their main plant in Zaragoza, Hispano also has another facility across the Mediterranean sea in Africa, Casablanca, Morocco. Their combined capacity is to produce nearly 2.000 unites per year. With this acquisition Tata also brought a number of jobs by bringing manufacturing of Hispano bodied buses in India at ACGL plant in Goa. These buses are known as Tata Divo.

Why doesn't Tata launch these buses in India? Variant of Tata Hispano Globus can be seen plying on the airports which lack functioning aerodrome facilities. Photo by Motor India

Later, in the same year Tata made another acquisition in the UK. UK-based Brunner Mond group and US-based General Chemical Industrial Products were back to back bought by Tata Chemicals.

Year 2006. Another US based beverages firm Eight O' Clock Coffee was bought for US$220 million. Tata also successfully established itself in the tea markets of other small countries like Czech Republic, where it owns JEMČA which is the biggest selling tea brand in the country.

In a move to secure resources around the world, Indian companies are actively spreading their arms. A study by Ernst and Young reports that the Indian companies have advanced in recent years and have invested appreciably in securing mineral resources. For the first time, in the year 2010, India-based companies scored over Chinese counterparts in the acquisition of foreign mineral assets. To support the statement, Indian companies had invested US$4.64 billion in 2010 to acquire businesses outside India, while Chinese overseas investments declined by more than half to US$4.45 billion.

Year 2007. Tata, just after one year of making its dominating presence in the tea markets of US and UK, moved on to the next big thing, Steel! In the year 2007, ambitious Tata Steels bought a company five times bigger than itself for US$12.1 billion. At that time Corus was ranked eighth largest in the world. This pushed Tata Steel from 65th position in the world steel production to a comfortable 5th position. In an another move in the metallurgy industry by another Indian company, Aditya Birla Group acquired Canadian Novelis, an aluminum producing company, for around $6 billion by its flagship company Hindalco Industries. This acquisition has made Hindalco world's leading aluminium rolled products producer.

Year 2008. India made notable acquisitions in the sector in which it is considered the world leader, IT sector. Indian company HCL acquired UK based enterprise solution provider Axon in mid 2008. Overall Axon group and its subsidiaries has constituted 14% of HCL Tech's revenue of Rs 16,030 crore and net profit of Rs 1,646.5 crore proving impressively beneficial. HCL, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services have till date acquired large number of companies or established their centres around the world and maintain world dominance when it comes to IT.

In the same year, in one of the most surprising deal Tata Motor's acquired prestigious British Jaguar and Land Rover auto brands. Still very few are aware that Tata Motors owns these super luxurious British automobile brands since 2008. Tata never renamed it as Tata Jaguar. Buying from the cash strapped Ford, Tata has now recorded massive net profit in JLR section.

Year 2009. When most of the Indian private companies were surprising the world with one after the other big acquisitions, state run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) also expanded its arm, and this time again it was UK! In January 2009, ONGC bought U.K. firm Imperial Energy for $2.1 billion. It was one of the biggest foreign acquisitions by ONGC Videsh (OVL), which is the overseas arm of ONGC. OVL successfully holds stakes in various parts of the world, notably the Gulf, Latin american and Siberia.

Year 2010. In mid 2010, In one of the largest coal mines deals by an Indian group, Adani Enterprises, in a cash and royalty deal, acquired the Australian coal assets of Linc Energy for US$2.7 billion.

In the same year, Bharati Airtel, India's largest telco also became world's fifth largest telecom company after acquiring African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co., Zain. Apart from its massive Indian subscribers, this deal provided Bharati Airtel additional 180 million customers in 18 countries and annual revenue of $12.4 billion

Flowing in the spirit, Sahara India Pariwar in late 2010 controversially bought iconic Grosvenor House hotel in London for 470 million pounds (around Rs 3,250 crore), which gave it a considerable stronghold in the global hospitality business. Sahara India Pariwar had been losing businesses in India, Sahara airways, one of them. Sahara is also known for sponsoring various Indian and Bangladeshi sports team.

Talking about sports, Venky, flagship company of Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group bought Blackburn Rovers, 135-year old English premier division football club which however could not keep club's fans happy.

Pedro Moreno de los Ríos, partner at Parangon Partners explains "One of the great advantages of Indian executives, compared with their Chinese counterparts, is their knowledge of Anglo-American culture. Another advantage is the greater openness that India has enjoyed when it comes to foreign capital". He further added, "Indian managers tend to have an international approach, and “India is [even] exporting managers to China.”

Peter Cappelli, George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources says, “They [Indian Companies] are aware that there are markets that have not been exploited, and they want to take advantage of them, but not if foreigners get one hundred percent of the profits,” explains Peters. He further adds, “That way, they guarantee that India will not be sold off to foreigners.” He says India and Indian companies are giving more important to their development and are open to foreign companies to gain expertise, technology and funding while maintaining control. “India wants to create its own companies and brands, while China leaves the road wide open to foreign companies,” says Peters.

India, which is third largest economy in terms of GDP (PPP) knows that it needs a stable economy if it is dreaming of becoming a super power in every manner. A strong economy, jobs, education, food security and political stability will help India excel in the path which it has already chosen. A number of foreign acquisitions like these have helped Indian companies gain expertise, technology and management lessons which will help this country shape even more global brands in the future. Companies like Tata, Birla, Reliance and Jaypee are also determined to structure better education in India through their state of the art institutions of technology. Foreign acquisition did bring some jobs to India and more importantly India has secured and has been securing some of the key resources field around the world, that will keep feeding its giant economy in a long run.

Page 1 | Page 2

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Spy Wars: CIA crossed ‘red line’; American Spy Fogle Caught and Detained from Russia

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:09:00 +0000

Russia Spy Anna Chapman

Earlier this week the breaking news exposing the spy wars revealed to public that Ryan Christopher Fogle, who was working under the guise of a third secretary at the US Embassy's political department in Moscow, was detained. Fogle was caught red-handed trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer for the CIA.

Nabbing of a CIA agent definitely would embarrass America specially when Secretary of State John Kerry would have met Sergei Lavrov in Sweden. Sergei Lavrov would have been smiling inside his mind that his spy agency caught the other's agency's covert operation red handed. Almost as early as by mid 2011, the Russian spy agency FSB was acquainted that the CIA was active with a mission to get or place an informer within the Russian special services. Sergei Lavrov would know how this embarrassment feels as he had faced his days when Russian spy Anna Chapman and others were found contriving illegally in America over three years ago.

Russia has said that the acquisition of the american CIA intelligence officer raised serious questions on its peace process and relationship with the United States. “We hoped our American colleagues would listen to us, given that we also presented to them precise information about CIA officers making recruitment attempts in Moscow and who exactly was doing that,” An FSB operator told Russia Today.

In an another interesting espionage mission around seven years back, UK spied on Russians with a fake rock. The rock was kept on a pavement and contained an electronic equipment controlled by British diplomats to receive and transmit information. It spied on common Russians. FSB, claimed that the rock was used by the British security services to gain information on anti Putin protests and make masked payment to such human rights organizations and NGOs. Russia later banned the foreign funding of Russian NGO's which resulted into closing of many foreign organizations.

In this case the CIA officer, operating as the third political secretary didn't execute his camouflaged actions efficaciously, and it is an appreciable success for the FSB, Russia's domestic security service and counter intelligence.

Fogle looked like a naive officer who would have been a fluent Russian speaker. What mistake he would have done could be failing to follow certain 'Moscow Rules'. It beseeches you to keep changing or vary your pattern, methods, behaviour and stay within your cover consistently alert to what is happening. This mistake caused him and CIA along with the USA a big embarrassment. Moscow Rules were the set of rules developed during cold war for those foreign intelligence officers who were working in Moscow. It was named after Moscow because Moscow had a reputation of harsh locale for arrested intelligence operators who were exposed.

Moscow Rules

Assume nothing.
Never go against your gut.
Everyone is potentially under opposition control.
Don't look back; you are never completely alone.
Go with the flow, blend in.
Vary your pattern and stay within your cover.
Lull them into a sense of complacency.
Don't harass the opposition.
Pick the time and place for action.
Keep your options open.

Political Impact

Russia and USA are involved in Spy Wars and espionage missions against each other as early as the time of second world war. Although, Russia and the US were allies against Germany, the western powers specially, the UK, were wary of the rise of communism and socialism and increased their intelligence gathering activities in Soviet Union.

Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed its disappointment over this spying scandal stating it would undermine Russia's efforts for cooperation. However, it is unlikely that any big political or policy change would come in the near future. Three years ago when Russian spy Anna Chapman was detained, who later was received in Russia as a high profile celebrity, hardly affected the two countries. Both the countries know that they are executing espionage missions and covert operation on each other's soil. The one who is able to catch these with its strong counter intelligence, would win the diplomatic row. There will be exchange of tough words for sometime before relations come back to normal. Fogle will be replaced by CIA with a more effective Russian speaking intelligence officer persevering with the spy wars trying to prove their superiority over each other.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Former Colony India Increasing its Control on British Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:22:00 +0000

Having almost 400 years of presence on Indian soil and 200 years of rule on India, British had controlled much of Indian economy. While overall infrastructure grew in India, the taxes on land and farming had made the life of common Indian man difficult. The country which was known as the golden bird on earth whose economy along with China was the greatest in the world, was later known as the poor country after British Empire had declared control.

When Britishers left India, they left with a vast infrastructure of railway and strategic roads. Rail, by then had made its presence in the difficult terrains of Himalayas like Darjeeling and Himachal Pradesh. All the resources in the hands of the new Indian government and a developed infrastructure helped India improve its figures. It was in early 1990s when India opened its doors to the world. There was a belief that well developed economies and companies in the west will dominate Indian markets and make it difficult for the Indian companies to rise, but India had already produced and nourished matured brands based on trust, which later bravely faced the competitions with the outsiders.

Today these Indian companies have expanded their arms much wider and away from India that they are integrated with most of the population in this world. Either is it by chance or may be it is some kind of nationalism among Indian industrialists that they have collectively targeted British businesses and "Indianized" them. They took help of Indian branding agency as well as branding agencies in London and established their stronghold in the island nation which ruled India for over 200 years.

Unlike China, Indian companies do not mark their identity on their products that prominently. This could be one of the reason that after acquiring a business in another country Indian companies receive less resistance and easily acceptance of their services and products unlike China whose products are famous as "cheap quality use and throw."

One good and relevant example can be the Tata Motor's acquisition of prestigious British Jaguar and Land Rover auto brands. Still very few are aware that Tata Motors owns these super luxurious British automobile brands since 2008. Tata never renamed it as Tata Jaguar. Buying from the cash strapped Ford, Tata has now recorded massive net profit in JLR section.

Recently in February UK surprised everyone as British prime minister David Cameron flew to India's financial capital with the largest trade delegation ever taken by a British prime minister to any country in the world. This gives a clear signal towards extending partnership and mutual understanding of importance of each other.

Today people in UK are happy wearing Indian clothes and jewellery. There is a huge possibility of finding a drug or medicine manufactured in India or manufactured by an Indian owned subsidiary in Britain. Indian tea is famous around the world, but a major British brand Tetley which is the choice of large number of tea preferring population in Britain is owned by an Indian company Tata Global Beverages. If you are booking tickets online, making bank transaction, or shopping online, then there is every possibility that an Indian company in Bangalore would have designed the whole platform that enables you to make online transactions smoothly. Again there is a huge possibility that every steel used in the construction or other purposes is India made or made by an Indian company or subsidiary.

Like this there are many such stories of India buying prestigious British companies, that we are going to share with you in our upcoming post (Stay Connected!). The whole idea is that Indian companies have been expanding their arms and integrating themselves in Britain and with the British consumers so finely that without knowing, Britishers have India and Indians deeply involved in their day to day life.

“Indian companies have been acquiring foreign companies, and when they do, the studies show those companies perform better,” notes Peter Cappelli, George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, while writing a blog piece, Indian Companies: Doing Well Because They Do Good, in Harvard Business Review.

China on the other hand is also making its presence large in Britain, however more analysts are satisfied with the way India has handled and nourished Britain's biggest and highly prestigious brands.

Pedro Moreno de los Ríos, partner at Parangon Partners, an executive search firm, explains, "One of the great advantages of Indian executives, compared with their Chinese counterparts, is their knowledge of Anglo-American culture. Another advantage is the greater openness that India has enjoyed when it comes to foreign capital. Indian managers tend to have an international approach, and India is [even] exporting managers to China."

The country which ruled India for 200 years and took much of its resources for its benefit now its countrymen are grateful to India and its Indian companies for jobs as on e of the Indian brand, Tata is now the largest employer in UK in private sector, thus belittling the blame that Indian companies are snatching the jobs from the western world.

In our upcoming article we are going to explore biggest acquisitions made by the Indian companies in UK and other countries which has proved India as a big and matured player in forming and controlling a good part of the world's economy. Stay Connected! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Page 1 | Page 2

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

A New Geopolitical Change in Pakistan and the International Response to it.

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:32:00 +0000

Source: The Independent

In a highly deserving event Pakistan experienced something which it had rarely ever seen. People of Pakistan and the world has new hopes with the new democratic government that will be formed as Nawaz Sharif has declared his victory. It is not the first time that a people elected democratic government has formed in Pakistan, but transfer of power from one democratic government to another democratic government after successfully completing its term has been rare in the history of Pakistan. Its neighbour in the west, Afghanistan, had also managed to hold election and form a democratic government and its neighbour in the east, India is considered as the largest democracy in the world.

We received mixed response from the people of Pakistan, some were disappointed with the results and some were optimistic. Many people believed Imran Khan could have been a good option as Pakistan has tried the other two major contending political parties. However, the experience which Nawaz Sharif carries in politics will help him to deal with a number of political problems that have been going on in Pakistan for a long time. There is a belief that Pakistan is seeing the rise of multiple power centres within itself, namely Army, civil government, and various extremists and Islamists. Having said that, Nawaz Sharif is a strong leader and he has experienced how army interferes with the civil government, this would definitely help him to neutralize other power centres.

Nawaz Sharif has made it clear that he doesn't hold the whole organization of army responsible for the bloodless coup in 1999 which had ousted him as the prime minister. He holds only Gen. Pervez Musharraf as responsible because of whom he had to serve in jail and also had to live in exile. In an ironic turn of a page, today Gen. Pervez Musharraf is under house arrest after returning from self-imposed exile and Nawaz Sharif is the one who will decide whether to impose treason charges against Musharraf in Supreme Court.

Relations with India

Almost all the political parties in their manifesto mentioned good relations with India a high priority. Nawaz Sharif also considers good relation with India an important requirement. After Nawaz Sharif declared his victory in the general election, he had an extended phone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh charting a new course in relationship.

Nawaz Sharif is in the favour of opening free trade with India. This will make way for Indian investments in Pakistan and vice verse increasing bilateral trade between the two countries. Pakistan's banks and cement industry which produces cement in surplus will be most benefited along with the agriculture sector in Pakistan with this move. Also since most of the allies of Pakistan in the west are experiencing recession, it is unlikely that it will continue receiving large amount of economic aid from the west. In this case large Indian investment will help Pakistan improve its economic conditions. Good business ties have proved maintaining peace in the region as in the case of India and China.

Manmohan Singh was one of the first foreign leader to congratulate Nawaz Sharif on his victory, along with writing a letter, he also had a phone conversation with him. There is a new hope for warm ties between the two countries as Nawaz Sharif admitted that he has become more thoughtful after being in exile. His economy friendly mindset has already shown its vibrant colours as Karachi Stock Exchange crossed the 20,000 mark for the first time on Monday. After almost trying everything, only seriousness towards economy can help India and Pakistan come closer, as again in the case with India and China.

Pakistan's large part of foreign policy has been India centric, its friends are also those who do not have close ties with India, like China and then US which has cold ties with India during cold war because of its slight degree of inclination towards Soviet Union. It cannot be interpreted how much freedom will Pakistani Army give to Nawaz Sharif in forming Pakistan's India policy. As much of the Army's budget is due to threat from India. However, Nawaz Sharif has made it clear that elected prime minister and not the unelected army chief is the ruler of the country.

It is also debatable topic that Nawaz Sharif had information on Musharraf's operation in Kargil where he sent the army across the line of control on the Indian side to illegally occupy the heights. Number of journalists and scholars have made claims on various television debates that then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had knowledge of army's covert operation. However, it is a long debatable topic and no solid statement can be made related to it as of now.

Relations with Afghanistan

Nawaz Sharif has assured that Pakistan will help smooth exit of US troops from Afghanistan. Making healthy relationship with Afghanistan one of his priority, Nawaz Sharif vowed that he will take every possible step to improve the ties with its western neighbour. After his victory, Afghan President Karzai congratulated Sharif and hoped for better ties between the two brother countries.

Nawaz Sharif always believed in forming a Muslim bloc by uniting all Central Asian Muslim countries, Afghanistan being one of them. Before his second term, Taliban had already established itself as the government of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with its capital at Kandahar and continued receiving logistic support from the Pakistan state.

So far Pakistan has supported the notion of talks with Taliban and Afghan government after the withdrawal of US forces keeping India at the bay. Current Afghan and Indian establishment do not support the inclusion of Taliban within the Afghanistan's political system. There would hardly be any change in Pakistan's policy in this regard, as Pakistan is interested in expanding its influence in Afghanistan through Taliban to minimize military expenditure on Afghan border and concentrate on Indian border.

Relations with United States

Nawaz Sharif and United States has a history of cooperation, which however experienced a setback after Pakistan conducted its first nuclear test in May 1998. Now almost whole world has accepted Pakistan as an established nuclear country and new dimensions of cooperation have been created between the two countries. Compared to his main rival Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif did not raise much voice against US drone strikes, hence he is considered someone with whom United States can work with.

Nawaz Sharif in a statement said that US should re-examine its drone campaign policy otherwise it would risk an increase in public anger against it. "The US may wish to re-examine its drone campaign or risk stoking the anti-Americanism that feeds Pakistani public anger."

He referred to drone strikes as a challenge to sovereignty and said, “We will sit with our American friends and talk to them about this issue."

Barrack Obama called Nawaz Sharif and congratulated him for his victory and congratulated people of Pakistan for successfully completion of democratic elections.

“The United States stands with all Pakistanis in welcoming this historic peaceful and transparent transfer of civilian power, which is a significant milestone in Pakistan’s democratic progress,” the statement quoted the President as saying. He further added, “You have affirmed a commitment to democratic rule that will be critical to achieving peace and prosperity for all Pakistanis for years to come.”

United States, which had lot the trust of the previous government had started taking unilateral action on Pakistani soil for example the strike on May 2, which killed Osama Bin Laden. The US establishment which has welcomed the change in Pakistan would like to try and study the behaviour of Pakistani establishment for two to three years of his term. Therefore lesser drone strikes and unilateral action by the US is expected.

Relations with Iran

Nawaz Sharif was the one who condemned Iraq for attacking Iran, this resulted into better relations with Iran at the cost of relations with Iraq. However, today the circumstances have changed and Nawaz Sharif might have different point of view on Iran. Having said that Pakistan and United States would like to take their close ties to a new level, it would not be a good news for Iran which is having a kind of conflict of words with the U.S. Although it is unlikely that Pakistan will provide any base or facility to America to conduct a operation in Iran, the relation between the two countries will still get deteriorated.

Nawaz Sharif spent nine years in exile in Saudi Arabia and developed close ties with the country's leadership. This may case Nawaz Sharif to not to show much interest in Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Saudi Arabia had opposed Pakistan importing of natural gas from Iran pipeline when previous government went ahead with an agreement days before its term expired. Saudi Arabia is another big crude oil and gas exporter and it would like Pakistan to buy from it rather than Iran.

Nawaz Sharif will have to be careful in forming a solid middle east policy. If Nawaz Sharif listens to the US and Saudi Arabia, then Iran will lose confidence in Pakistan. And India, which is already increasing its presence in Iran and building roads and rail to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan, will take advantage of Pakistan's negligence.

In this case Nawaz Sharif should consider opening land route for India to Afghanistan and Central Asia, this way India will lose interest in creating a land-sea corridor via Iran to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Land route via Pakistan will be much economical for India and beneficial for Pakistan as it can tax Indian vehicles plying on its soil.

Relations with China

Pakistan has always shared good relations with China. As said earlier, Pakistan's foreign policy has been India centric and one of the reason China is its friend because China shares cold ties with India.

Beijing's reaction on Sharif's victory was too plain and restrained. There was no formal statement by any Chinese leader directly to Nawaz Sharif congratulating him on his election victory. It was only Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei who expressed his satisfaction on smooth conduction of democratic elections in Pakistan. Surprising, because China rarely ever had any democratic election.

"China is glad to see that Pakistan's general elections have been smoothly held," Hong said. Later Official Xinhua news agency also quoted him saying "We are convinced that with joint efforts, the China-Pakistan strategic cooperative partnership will be lifted to a new level".

Although China's behaviour is so unexpected, which has always been the case with China, there is hardly any possibility of low level of ties between these two countries as both needs each other to check India. To name China doesn't have many good friends which it can consider all-weather friend. China maintains very limited relations with other countries limited only to exports or taking contracts to build infrastructure. At this, losing Pakistan which considers it as an all weather friend and super power would not be in the China's interest.

Hong Lei also announced that Chinese premier Li Keqiang will be visiting Pakistan after touring India from May 19 and before leaving for Germany and Switzerland. This would be the first meeting between the two new leaders and we will wait and compare the level of talks between India-China and China-Pakistan.

Response of other major countries

Most of the Islamic world was quick to acknowledge this victory and convey their greetings to the new leader of Pakistan.

President of United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ameers of Qatar and Kuwait congratulated Nawaz Sharif for his victory in the successful democratic elections. Iranian President Mehmood Ahmadinejad, and Turkish President Abdulallah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyeb Ardugan also conveyed his greetings to Nawaz Sharif along with Deputy Prime Minister of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Maqran Bin Abdul Aziz who called Nawaz Sharif to greet him with good wishes. British Prime MInister, David Cameron also congratulated him and praised him for his commitment for prioritizing economic reforms.

Challenges in front of Nawaz Sharif

One of the major challenge in front of Nawaz Sharif is improving his image in the southern states of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif, in his previous terms, was often accused of giving more stress on infrastructure and beautification in his native Punjab and Kashmir while neglecting other states like Sindh, Balochistan.

Nawaz Sharif has assured that his party PML-N has a very ambitious agenda and in the coming first 100 days of his rule he would come out with policies on all major issues challenging Pakistan, such as terrorism, energy crisis and the economy. On the issue of internal security and terrorism he said that he will devise a national policy on terrorism consulting every political party.

For us it will be interesting to see how Pakistan's economy and foreign policy performs in the coming one or two years. We may expect Nawaz Sharif visiting India and European countries within a year of his term. He has gained the victory with almost majority which will give him confidence to take even risky steps.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

India: From Gandhi to Global IT Capital

noreply@blogger.com (Andreea) — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:04:00 +0000

Photo by Anil M

Published in Romanian by our partners Geopolitics.ro

"Be the change you want to see in the world ", Mahatma Gandhi used to say about half a century ago. Promoter of India's peaceful evolution towards democracy and capitalism, the Indian leader had put India on the world map and made its values known.

Today, more than 60 years after the death of this symbolic leader, India has become the core of the IT world with its capital at Bangalore - India's Silicon Valley.

Putting its work force on the line, the desire of success, an eclectic nature, its size, and especially the mathematical and scientific genius of its population, India has created an army of IT professionals that propels the world - as an emerging power - and threatens heavily U.S.'s position.

Being a member of BRICS, India strengthens its status and allows it to turn her eyes, threatening towards the Pacific, over China. The two countries are old rivals, being in a state of competition for the status of hegemony in Asia.

In 2002, Forbes magazine said that if China won the economic race, becoming the "factory of the world, India could become world's technological laboratory" and innovation generates more power than manufacturing.

The term "technological laboratory" should not be seen as a metaphor but as a recognition of India's historical contribution to the evolution of humanity. Do not forget that it was on the territory of this state that the greatest math discoveries occurred: the invention of the number zero, the decimal system, arithmetic algebra, geometry and trigonometry. To this we can add that it has the oldest writing in the world (in the Vedas) and the first language (Sanskrit - which is the foundation of Indo-European languages).

This list is intended to support the idea that assigning the term "technology center" to India is not random and that it is not only supported by a large number of young population and its desire to overcome the condition. This phrase is also supported by a creative genius which gave humanity some of the most important inventions.

The most important resource of India has been and is the intelligence of its people and the flattening of the world has allowed it a massive export of intelligence - especially on the India-US direction.

Recognized worldwide for the quality of IT products and services, India is the home of two major technology centers in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Bangalore is the capital of Asia in information technology, serving companies like Infosys and Wipro - two major Indian IT companies, which are interconnected with those in Silicon Valley. Hyderabad is the second largest technology center in India, which has acquired the nickname "Cyberabad" due to its transformation into an IT headquarters, genetic engineering and biotech.

Globalization as well as the advent of the Internet allowed the development of the outsourcing process and offshoring. Specifically, many companies in North America and Western Europe have moved part of their production or services in Asia. While China took over a great deal of the manufacturing and production, India took over the services (call centers, online tutoring, medical examinations, etc.).

The Dot-com period, but especially its collapse, allowed India to open the door to fascinating IT world. General Electric was the first American company who turned to India and entrusted it with the software production. The entry of General Electric in India had led to the affirmation of Wipro globally as a result of the developed partnerships undertaken by the two companies.

This was followed by the emergence of numerous Indian call centers that gave informational and technical support to customers of companies from the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Many companies have outsourced to India their typing services, the reading of medical radiography, online tutoring, so many Indian firms have emerged that offer these services.

It was all born as Thomas Friedman says, after the flattening of the earth and the country opening towards the "glocalization". In other words, a culture is glocalized when "it easily absorbs foreign ideas and best global practices, blending them with their own traditions."

This glocalization was also referred by Chancellor Hillary Clinton, when after a visit to India she said: "India is not only a regional power but a global one as well."

Even though India is an IT giant, we should not ignore that it is also a political dwarf, being torn apart by poverty, inequality, corruption, unemployment, bureaucracy, that do nothing but burden the country's road towards being a global power.

If Gandhi drew the democratic way of India and the Indian software companies have demonstrated their ability to compete with the U.S. in this area, the current leadership of India has to show that it has the ability to turn this country into a superpower.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Effect of Popular Culture on Treatment of Women by Society

noreply@blogger.com (Andra Tudor) — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:44:00 +0000

Image by Dr Max

Written by Arundhati Menon

Lots has been said and written on how women are treated by society and how societal behaviour has been influenced by various factors. So far, I have not come across any paper, article or book that has really scrutinised popular cultures. At least-if I am right- not till now.

There are many, many songs in the wide world and of course, it is not possible to analyse all of them so perhaps I might limit my examples to my 32 giga byte music library.

Let me start with a new favourite from Telugu hit film Baadshah- the heroine serenades the hero singing-"whether you beat me or scold me you're still the one I love"- what kind of message do these lyrics send to the masses as they listen to these songs? Positive vibes regarding spousal abuse, women as the weaker sex who will put up with anything and overall simply anti-woman. Another song from Tamil hit film Thuppakki where the boyfriend is called "smart and sexy" and the girlfriend is referred to as "hot and spicy". Is it so difficult to refer to females as something other than hot, spicy or any other such synonyms? Let’s go north and take the example of Hindi item song Fevicol Se- where Kareena refers to herself as grilled chicken and invites the hero to take a bite? Is such objectifying of women wise especially under the recent pathetic, horrifying circumstances of women all over India?

Another issue would be the dialogues in the movies, which stereotypes women, and many are downright insulting. I'll be using a familiar example- in Baadshah- the hero delivers a hate speech where he says that what's ruining India isn't the corruption and the 2G or 3G- but a single G which stands for girls.

Malayalam film "Chettayees" has the woman play villain, when she is actually the victim- being ignored and tossed aside by her husband for whom she threw away her family.

Another Malayalam movie- "My Boss" has Mamta Mohandas as the CMO of a company- as a female boss she is portrayed as snobby, hard to work with, unreasonable and annoying and called a she-devil throughout the movie. It is also hinted that the reason behind her successfulness is that she uses the bedroom to procure business deals. At the same time, her male counterpart who actually has a negative role is portrayed as just the opposite. Her boss, also male, is portrayed in the same way. It has been proven that such- solely-gender based discrimination in the workplace is already wildly existent all over the corporate world- further explained in Lean In by Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg- such movies provides further rigidity to this ridiculous stereotype. In Telugu movie Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, colloquially referred to as SVSC, Samantha's character Geetha is a full grown girl who's major aim in life is to find herself a great guy to get married as soon as possible. Society lays enough emphasis on marriage being the most important for women as it is without such films pitching in.

Each one of these above explained anecdotes- not to mention the ones I have not been able to cover- are completely unacceptable and actually not surprising due to the presence of so few female directors and screenplay writers. Most of the people in charge of dialogues are also male-, which further adds to the chaos. Most of the music directors are male as well.

I would like to wrap up by saying that it is such things that is causing the disrespect for women present today. When we are able to put a check on such atrocities in the portrayal of women in stories, songs and dialogues, all in movies which are available to such large populace, we will be one step closer to achieving an equal world with equal rights-or as Sharon Meers so aptly put it in her book titled the same- we will be one step closer to Getting to 50/50. That will naturally take us one-step closer to attaining safety for our women-who so deserve it.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Top 10 Science Superpowers of the Modern World: An Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:28:00 +0000

German Transrapid TR 09, photo by Állatka

A nation which has the capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world, and sometimes, in more than one region of the globe at a time, and so may plausibly attain the status of global hegemony. Besides the requirement of a strong militarily, a power to become a super power needs a strong diplomatic and stable government, strong economy, a focused foreign policy, strong pool of scientists and strong base of research and education, and sufficiency in food and resources.

We researched and analysed the potential super power of the world in one of our previous article "Top 10 Superpowers of The World" which is also one of the most read article on our journal. In this article we are going to analyse and list Top 10 science super powers who are growing bigger and may challenge the conventional science superpowers in the near future.

Research Papers Published by Countries, 2009. Click to Enlarge.

United States of America

United States has been the lone super power since the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991. It remains the unchallenged global leader in science, research and innovation whose foundation has been set up by the high quality universities and educational institutes. Having seven universities in the list of top 10 universities in the world, and forty seven universities in top 100. United States of America is able to attract the creamiest layer of students from all around the world. A robust research environment, facilities, scholarships and high salaried jobs makes United States one of the best destinations for higher education.

Not only universities, a large number of public and private companies like NASA and IBM, are making differences in the society by their state of the art pioneering researches in almost every field. Strongest research area of US is biotechnology.

China

Largest in terms of population and second largest in terms of research papers published, China is the potential threat to United States' supreme position in the world of science. China has been able to establish 11 universities in the list of top 400 universities in the world. Among which two are in the top 100 universities in the world. Number of research paper published in 2009 has seen a massive 400% growth when compared to year 2000. China's main strength is material science. China has also seen growth in almost all the areas of research since 2003. China is leading the "space race" in Asia challenging Japan and India. China is also proud to have fastest train in the world CRH380A with its top speed of 302 mph (486.02 Km/hr) breaking the 300 mph barrier.

However, the quality of research has been the issue in China. The country is also struggling with the attribute of innovation specially in the electronics, auto and military research fields. China has been accused by a number of organisations and companies around the world for copying their products be it vehicles, combat air crafts, electronic devices or other sensitive technologies.

China's share of world publications by sectors. Click to enlarge

United Kingdom

Another country which has a vast presence in the pool of top universities in the world after United States is United Kingdom. United States and United Kingdom have been dominating the list of top 10 universities in the world almost unchallenged for ages. Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College of London are the names which have become classic over the centuries. UK has made extensive contribution towards early science and setup the foundation of various chapters of science creating opportunities for further research. Today United Kingdom is the leader in Europe when it comes to the number of publications, which is followed by Germany, France, Italy and Spain in the respective order.

UK's scientific collaboration with other countries and European Union will ensure its position safe as one of the leaders in the world of science. UK's impressive 25% growth in the number of publication shows it still has an active scientific resources.

India

One of the fastest growing economy, largest democracy, and many such facts makes India a potential superpower. With every analyst in this world having higher expectation with this nation, India has been relatively slow. However, being slow in the field of science did not prevent this country to astonish the billions in the world time to time with its scientific achievements. Which includes India attaining self sufficiency in food grains, becoming one of the largest exporter of food, developing a highly sophisticated space program which enabled India to find water on the moon's surface, indigenously developing nuclear program and military hardware, and high quality exports in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and information-technology services.

Indian institutes and universities are dedicated almost equally among all the major fields, still India's one of the strongest area of research is Chemistry. If we compare India's share of world's publication from 1999-2003 with India's share of world's publication from 2004-2008 then we see almost all the sectors of research have experienced growth except Agricultural science, which is one of India's spine.

India's share of world publications by sectors. Click to enlarge

India's contribution towards science and to the fields of mathematics, astrophysics, chemistry and life sciences dates at least two millenniums back. Later we saw contributions from Aryabhatta, Bhaskara and Brahmagupta who laid the foundation of the modern physics much before widely believed Europeans.

India once again with its one of the largest pool of scientists in the world is tying to excel in the world of science by catching up with leaders. India's recent contribution to science is rising steeply in contrast with the other nations if we compare each nations relative year-by-year growth since 1981 at a volume of publications standard of 100.

Year by Year growth of India compared to G8 nations, Thomson Reuters

The behaviour of the India's curve shows why some analysts have referred to India as a "sleeping giant". India with its great capacity was sleeping till 1990s as soon as it got up, its brilliant system almost immediately started giving the output almost on par with other nations of G8. If this trend continues then India's productivity will overtake G8 nations in another 5 to 7 years.

Brazil

Brazil is another important member of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China). With its economy on the rise, Brazil also contributed towards science and technology with its one of the major focus on improving environment. Brazil's strength has been recognised in biological sciences, including bio fuel production. In the year of 2005, Brazil launched "Empresa Brasiliera de Aeronáutica’s Ipanema" world's first commercial aircraft to run exclusively on bio fuels.

The world at present is not much aware of the science and technology base in Latin America. Mexico's proximity to Unites States and Brazil's rising economy has caused this region to develop a solid science base. Another giant in the South, Argentina is also in the race and catching up with Mexico and Brazil.

From the year 2000 to 2009, Brazil has experienced a 210% increase in the number of research papers published. Such an enormous growth does indicate young pool of scientists, new force of resources adding up, better efficiency in output from universities and institutions. Brazil's year by year growth is much better than other countries in BRIC namely, India and Russia.

Culturally and traditionally close to west Europe mainly Portugal, having land connection with United States and almost being at the same time zone as of US brings Brazil on a advantageous position to collaborate with the world leaders of science and technology. Brazil has become the representative of science and technology power from Latin America.

Russia

If India was the "sleeping giant" which recently got awaken, Russia was an active and awakened giant which is going to sleep. After the collapse of Soviet Union, Russia experienced catastrophe and its contribution towards science seems to decline. Russia as Soviet Union is the one who began the new era of science and technology by surprising the world in 1957 by the launch of Sputnik satellite. In the "space race" Soviet Union had successfully outplayed United States.

Russia has become the victim of critical brain drain, where a large number of talented resources left their country in search of better facilities, salary and funding. After the collapse of Soviet Union, science and technology has become less preferred destination for the younger generation compared to petroleum industry, language, and politics. This dynamic shift has resulted into the ageing of the Soviet scientists who are in Russia as young generation is not able to reinforce their science power. In 2009, Russia experienced only 3.57% growth in the number of papers published when compared to 2000.

Russia has proved its supremacy once, and most probably it will once again jump back on the track of scientific research. Russia's main strengths have been the core physics and space science, whereas the current trend is of life sciences, nano technology and environment where Russia needs to do a lot of catching up. Russia understands its lacking and has been collaborating in research mainly with Germany, US, France and East European nations to gain momentum.

Russia has been doing really good in military science and technology and have been developing state of the art weapons still giving tough competition to United States. Russia is the largest exporter of its weapons to India compared to any other country, and India is the largest importer of weapons in the world. Which shows the quality and superiority of Russian weapons. As Russia's economy improves and undergoes constructive reforms with its wider integration in the world trade, its highly enthusiastic public who has a sense of competition with the west specially with United States will definitely help boost its research programs bringing it back on the track.

Japan

Japan is a G7 economy and enjoyed the status of being world's second largest economy for a long period of time until it was overtaken by China and India recently by GDP (PPP). Japan has been traditionally the innovation centre and brought surprising and attractive products both in automobile and electronic sectors. Japanese companies till date have been bringing out their innovative hybrid cars which exhibit higher fuel efficiency. Japan also boasts third fastest rail in the world Shinkansen with a top speed of 275 mph (442.57 Km/h). Scientifically Japan had been the super power of Asia for a long time until it gave that position to China with India and South Korea almost catching up.

Japan's economy peaked in 1980s and since then there hasn't been any appreciable increase or decrease in its volume of papers published. Just like Russia, Japan also experienced only a single digit growth in the number of papers published. From the year 2000 to the year 2009, there was only 8.3% growth. However, unlike Russia, Japan had always been ahead in modern science, be it nanotechnology or electronics. It already has an established base of high quality education and pioneer research labs. Its 13 universities are in top 400 in the world. With 2 in top 100 and 5 in top 200 universities in the world. All what Japan needs is human resources and encouraged young scientists. India and China produces one of the largest first class high quality resources in the world every year. All that said about Japan, it has a potential to become a favourite destinations for young Chinese and Indians who usually head towards US which is quite far. Japan can also collaborate with losing Russia, South Korea and rising South East Asia.

Germany, France, and Italy (and Spain)

These have been the traditional European power and were the super powers along with United Kingdom before second world war. Germany was a highly industrialized nation, unfortunately after the war, most of its sophisticated industries were taken over by west and Soviet Union for their benefits.

Out of the three countries, Germany is leading in science and technology followed by France and Italy, with its volume of papers published in 2009 almost reaching close to that of United Kingdom. Germany had stunned the western powers and Soviet Union by its sophisticated weapons, air crafts and V2 rockets during the second world war.

Today these countries within European Union have formed much collaborative educational system welcoming other prospective students from European Union. Universities from these countries invites students from countries like India and China in high number and fund their education. This way these universities are able to function with its full capacity.

Germany's strength has been mechanical engineering in its various forms like aerospace and automobile, German cars like BMW and second fastest train in the world Transrapid TR-09 with the top speed of 279 mph (449 Km/h), which is faster than the fastest train in Japan, makes it one of the advanced developed country, and the region as a whole, in science.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Also follow us on Twitter @TWRnews

Boston Bombing, US Media and its Anti-Foreigners Attitude

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:46:00 +0000

Recent horrifying act of terror in Boston sadly overtook the ongoing Boston marathon and Commonwealth’s celebration of Patriots’ Day. Public and the media exhibited the mixed reaction giving a lot of opportunity to observe the behaviour of the media which was rather interesting.

Almost all the major news channels on the TV started their propaganda against the foreigners or possible Islamist act of terror. People gathered coming out on the streets and chanted, "USA! USA! USA!" which is very obvious, of course people were angry. This is something which Americans rarely see, and any such activity disturbs the people a lot more than in Middle East and South Asia, where America has been acting like that.

It is not about which act of terror is more horrifying, it is not about which lives, whether American or Asian, is more costlier. It is about how do we react after such a censurable occurrence. Irresponsible journalists almost on every news media channel used racial profiling and anti foreigners, xenophobic language. Sidelining those foreigners who form a large part of American population, not just that, they form a large part of American economy, be it an Indian, Chinese, or a Middle Eastern.

Sometimes I feel, India, which has been the victim of terrorism since as long as 1989 when rest of the world hadn't even heard of terrorism's new radicalised form, handled the situation like these in a more matured manner. Cross border terrorists coming from Pakistan who attacked on Indian Parliament and India's financial capital of Mumbai in 2011 in the name of Islam could have initiated a full fledged war between the two countries. However India's strong diplomacy prevented further killing of people, without harming the sentiments of the Islamic population of India which is nearly as much as Muslims in Pakistan.

The attitude expressed by the media either deliberately or unintentionally will do more harm than good by dividing the people in USA as foreigners and non foreigners breaking the very nature of the principles upon which it was founded.

It reminds me of the incidence occurred in 1901, when a 28 years old American citizen named Leon Czolgosz assassinated US President William McKinley. It was later found out that he held a Polish (of Poland) background. After the unfortunate death of the President, then American media went on a full fledged blaming round against Polish immigrants. They called them outsiders, Catholics and people with strange last names.

After it was revealed that the Boston bombing suspect brothers are of Chechen descent, whole American media waged a propaganda against Chechnya. Even when there was no evidence of the brothers involved in the unrest movement which went on in the southern republic of Russia. The two brothers never lived in Chechnya, although they spent a part of their lives in Dagestan which is a larger neighbouring republic of Chechnya.

The older brother, Tamerlan, was born in Russia and moved to the US when he was sixteen. The younger brother, Dzokhar, was born in Kyrgyzstan, he moved to the US when he was nine and last year in 2012 he became a US citizen.

Just because they were Caucasian, US media was too keen to relate them with the Islamic unrest in the Republic of Chechnya in Russia. The Daily News interestingly questioned 'Did Boston carnage have its roots in Stalin's ruthless displacement of Muslims from Chechnya decades ago?' Similarly, National Post questioned in its article 'How did Chechnya’s culture of terror come to Boston?' The Washington Post published its opinion and analyses really quickly and even discussed how the two bloody Chechen wars caused incredible damage on their lives and radicalised them to conduct Boston blasts.

Chechen movement's main motive was for the creation of an independent state out of Russia. Their main enemy has been Russian government, then why would they go and attack in America. If they had gone to USA to gather support to fight against Russia, I would have agreed to the Chechen connection. It is true that Chechen movement has grown from just demanding independent Chechnya to a creation of a pan Islamic Caucasian state that includes much of the Muslim majority northern Caucasus region of Russia, but still their main enemy is Russia. The movement is more Anti Russia than pro Islamic.

The two brothers spent most of their life in US, done their education their and lived life much like other Americans, but the media stripped their American identity, American lifestyle and associated them to a land really far and back in time when the movement was on its peak.

Western media is stuck at the time when Chechnya movement was on its peak. They deliberately tried to miss the Chechnya of today which is a fast growing region, enjoying much greater security and economic stability.

Grozny in 1997 ( L ) and 2012 (R) (Reuters / Yelena Fitkulina)

The article is not to show sympathy towards the brother, what they did should be condemned, but the way American media responded is really an immature behaviour. There are normal people in Chechnya too, not every can be associated to the movement. This generalization will do more harm than good to America which is a society made of immigrants, where most of the economy is run by them.

Not just Chechnya, American media didn't even leave the opportunity of blaming Russia and its government for the Boston bombing. The National Interest foreign policy magazine went as far as to declare that Vladimir Putin’s Chechnya policy “has been vindicated” and that “President Obama needs to call Putin ASAP.”

Throughout all these years, US showed their sympathy towards the Caucasian region. But with this attack US establishment has turned an aggressive stance against Chechnya. To me all this drama points to the notion which America wants to prove that no insider could have done this job and only a foreigner could do. Thus, to clean their image U.S targeted Chechnya.

A video compilation of American media blaming foreigners for Boston Bombings, Credits: Tracy López

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Also follow us on Twitter @TWRnews

How CIA Bribed Afghanistan to Safeguard its Interests: NYT Report.

noreply@blogger.com (Andra Tudor) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:44:00 +0000

Photo by US Embassy Kabul Afghanistan

A report by New York Times has conceded that transcendent corruption in the Afghan government may have been emboldened by the US intelligence agency, Central Intelligence Agency. From the time of invasion of this land locked country where middle east meets south and central Asia, over the decade of war, CIA agents may have been delivering cash to Afghan officials in “suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has admitted receiving the illegitimate financial abutment at a news briefing in Helsinki, Finland. Some of the top Afghan officials have been on the CIA's list of receiving bribe from CIA for over a decade. However, Karzai repudiated the claim by saying it was a small aid.

"Yes, the office of the national security has been receiving support from the United States for the past 10 years," The Wall Street Journal cites Karzai as telling reporters on Monday. "Monthly. Not a big amount. A small amount which has been used for various purposes," he continued.

He further added that the CIA funds were used on “various, operational purposes of providing assistance to the wounded, the sick, to certain rents for houses, to all other purposes."

CIA also didn't lose juncture to bring some of the senior National Security Council officials in their bribe payroll list. The report also mentions that the cash given was elevated with the time. Lower Afghan politicians and officials, reportedly connected to drug production and traffic, were also felicitous enough to arrogate this bribe money. These were those officials who might have alleged ties with the Taliban and with the insurgent warlords. They were bribed to not to interfere in the covert operations. U.S official referring to giving bribe to senior National Security Council told NYT, “We paid them to overthrow the Taliban.” Referring to U.S paying bribe to lesser politicians and officials, former U.S official told NYT, “They [CIA] will work with criminals if they think they have to.”

So far there has been no corroboration that Afghan president, Hamid Karzai was also a recipient of any of the bribe money, officials in Afghanistan claimed that the cash was apportioned by president's National Security Council, reducing any possibility of president directly taking the money.

“We called it ‘ghost money,’” said Khalil Roman, President Hamid Karzai’s former chief of staff from 2002 to 2005 told NYT, adding that it “came in secret, and it left in secret.”

A former presidential adviser also told the NYT that by late 2002 payments routed through the president's office allowed Karzai to bribe warlord's loyalty.

An anonymous U.S official conceded to NYT that the biggest source of Afghanistan's infamous corruption was indeed United States.

In 2001 when US invaded Afghanistan for the first time, CIA immediately started its covert operation of bribing numerous of warlords. Allegedly one of whom came out to be Afghanistan's first vice president, Muhammad Qasim Fahim. Another big name in CIA's payroll was President Karzai's half brother Ahmed Wali Karzai who headed the anti-insurgent Kandahar Strike Force militia until he was assassinated in 2011.

Adding to the apparently suspicious nature of the CIA bribery program in Afghanistan, the NYT said that the cash “does not appear to be subject to the oversight and restrictions placed on official American aid to the country or even the CIA’s formal assistance programs, like financing Afghan intelligence agencies.”

Starting in early 2002 and continued for a decade, neighbouring country Iran also tried bribing officials in Kabul. Paying officials within Karzai's inner circle in hard cash for assistance and cooperation which accounted to almost $10 million a year. Later after a decade in 2012, Iran's efforts were outmatched by the U.S in terms of spending power and the standing of the US Dollar. This was when Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership deal with the U.S. As a result Iran ceased their payoffs, but CIA continued to bribe Afghan support for its illegitimate front in the War on Terror.

Leaked 2010 reports of Tehran bribing Afghanistani officials forced the president of Afghanistan to acknowledge that “The United States is doing the same thing. They are providing cash to some of our offices.”

It was in December 2012 that President Karzai ultimately criticised US tactics in Afghanistan, accusing American forces like CIA of bequeathing to violence and corruption in his country: "Now whether this corruption in Afghanistan is an accident, a byproduct of the situation in the past 10 years or is it perpetrated also on purpose is today my main question."

Neither the CIA nor the US State Department has commented on this New York Times report yet.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.
Also follow us on Twitter @TWRnews

How To Make Business Trips Easy

noreply@blogger.com (Andreea) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:30:00 +0000

Photo by: Jay Allen

Written by Catherine.

Saying goodbye to your loved ones for yet another business trip is never a perk of the job, but someone has to do it! Whether you’re accustomed to the lifestyle or you’re a fledgling jetsetter, making business trips as easy and as stress-free is the absolute key in ensuring that it passes by without a hitch.

While many may see the lifestyle as a chance to see the world, in reality, it’s not as glamorous as it’s made out to be. Business travel isn’t easy and can really affect your wellbeing if you’re not careful. Maintaining a hassle-free trip will help to keep you calm as a cucumber and will ensure that your welfare isn’t affected.

Whether you’re heading to the Big Smoke for meetings or you’re flying out of Heathrow for a conference overseas, you can find great value hotels in Heathrow from Travelodge which will help you in both instances. If you’re staying in the city, it will provide you with a budget hotel that isn’t too far from the action. The Piccadilly line offers excellent transport links that mean you can be in the city centre within minutes, yet still enjoy the quiet life to help you unwind after a busy day.

Likewise, if you’re flying out from Heathrow airport at the crack of dawn, there’s nothing worse than rushing around on the morning of your flight. Pack your things and stay at the airport hotel for the evening and you can relax, take a bath and catch up with emails before setting off for the departure lounge in the morning.

Opting for such a hotel may not mean you’re met with deluxe facilities and gourmet restaurants but it will undoubtedly provide everything you need – an eatery, a bar and Wi-Fi for your all-important internet access.

Whether you require the internet to finish off some work to meet your deadlines, or you’d like to catch up on correspondence, Heathrow airport will only charge you for your actual Wi-Fi usage. In most cases, just let reception know what your expected internet requirements are and you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll only pay for what you use.

A majorly important aspect of business trips is to keep on top of your wellbeing. While budget airport hotels won’t have access to fully-equipped gymnasiums, that doesn’t mean you can’t exercise in your spare time. Walking up flights of stairs instead of using the lift will help you keep trim, just like simple core exercises are easy to do in your hotel room.

Try and avoid lots of fast food if you can help it – not only is it full of fats and carbs that your body could do without, but it will also make you feel incredibly sluggish. Grab some fruit or a granola bar in the mornings rather than rushing for the McDonald’s breakfast.

Most of all, make some time for you. Whether it’s an hour before bed catching up on a good read or spending some free time exploring the city you’re visiting, it’ll help your mind close down and process everything that’s happened during the day.

Take a look at the great value hotels in Heathrow from Travelodge and stay in the city for less on your next business trip.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

North Korea Loses Popularity in Russia, Where is the Conflict Heading?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:52:00 +0000

Soviet Union and China who were the closest allies of North Korea during cold war era, now doesn't show much interest in aiding the nation. The prominence of North Korea among Russians has almost reduced by half in a month even though North Korea had never targeted Russia in their antagonistic statements.

Russia has been anxious recently about North Korea's rogue behaviour and open warning its neighbours of missile attack. Russia is agitated to see North Korea's refusal to stop its nuclear weapon program.

The catastrophe actualized when North Korea carried out its third nuclear bomb test in February, attracting censures from the international community resulting into tough sanctions imposed by the US. US had already cut off food aid it had been contributing as part of a denuclearization-for-aid agreement reached in 2005 when George W Bush was in power.

Mass dance in front of the Monument to Party Foundation - Pyongyang, photo by Gabriel Britto

We found the statistics of two similar polls conducted in Russia by Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) one at the beginning of April and one at the end of it. While comparing both the poll results it is clear that now only 34% of Russians think North Korea is friendly compared to 58% in early April.

60% of respondents believe that North Korea’s nuclear arms pose a threat to other countries with 28% thinking otherwise is true, whereas 13% undecided. 44% of those who think North Korea nuclear arms pose threat to other countries believes that Russia could become a victim of such an attack.

Nearly 17% Russians believe that probability of war in the Korean peninsula is very high. Nearly 39% believe that no such war would take place no matter what developments will take place in the coming future. They are those who believe North Korea is just bluffing, trying to bring US and South Korea diplomatically on table for negotiations in its favour, and is not serious about the war. There were also 25% people who believe that the probability of war does exist but really low.

Not many Russians are willing that their country should provide aid to their once major communist ally in the east. Only about 8% believe that Russia should offer its support to Pyongyang in case of any escalated conflict. However, Russians also do not believe much in supporting North Korea's opponent. Only 4% of the respondent said their country should support North Korea's supposedly opponents The majority of Russians hold that their country should remain neutral on the developments in the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang's brightest lit spot. photo by fresh888

Japan on the other hand is taking extra precautions. Many Japanese agencies have drafted alert emails and tweets already so that at the time of any action by North Korea there should not be any delay in alerting its citizen. This has also resulted into sending false alarm alerts of North Korea launching ballistic missiles by mistake. On Friday, North Korea had admonished that Japan would be its primary target in case war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, blaming Japan for its “hostile posture.” North Korea also threatened Japan that it would strike it with nuclear bomb if Japan intercepts any North Korean test missiles.

Russian officials have denied that they foresee any escalated conflict between North and South Korea. The country who can initiate the conflict would be North Korea, who knows that South Korea got the backing of big powers like Japan and USA and its allies in West Europe. North Korea is also aware that Russia and China at the time of conflict will not be able to provide anything more than diplomatic support and negotiations to end the war. China and Russia will not come to help militarily. Deputy secretary of Russia’s supreme security body – the Security Council, Yevgeniy Lukyanov who is in the office since 2010 gave the statement this week that no one would gain anything from such war and therefore it will never happen.

He also mentioned to the press that new North Korea's leader Kim Chong un is a very young leader and if he wishes to rule the country for long then he is required to avoid escalating unnecessary risks and threats. On the other hand North Korea is not only moving its missiles to the border of South Korea but also creating anti tank barricades, creating panic and situation of the war, highlighting the whole conflict and region in the world.

However one must note that it was last week when Pyongyang demanded that South Korea and the USA should remove all nuclear weapons from the region, thus preparing the setting for any possible future dialogue. Both Seoul and Washington rejected this demand as ludicrous.

USA has also rejected North Korea's demand to recognize it as a nuclear weapon state saying one of the main conditions for lifting sanctions on Pyongyang is its abstaining from nuclear ambitions. The plight were immediately belittled as unacceptable by North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Tuesday. “If the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [DPRK] sits at a table with the US, it has to be a dialogue between nuclear weapons states, not one side forcing the other to dismantle nuclear weapons,” the newspaper said.

Photo by Stephan

Author and Asia specialist Tim Beal believes that it is America's fault in renewing the tensions in the Korean peninsula. New South Korean president, Park Geun-hye whose mother was killed by a North Korean and whose father was killed by his spy chief decided to work for peace with North Korea after sworn-in just over a month ago. The Americans upped the ante with current range of military exercises with South Korea, in order to stop the new South Korean government engaging with the North as Park Geun-hye had promised in her election campaign.

Tim Beal also compared the current situation of US and North Korea with that of US and India. Earlier U.S had also put sanctions on India for developing weapons and for being outside of Non-Proliferation Treaty. Sanctions included economic and blacklisting Indian scientific organizations and not allowing any country to transfer any sensitive technology to India, which made India to develop on its own. Once India already had made good progress, and started looking like a potential super power, Bush administration in 2005 compromised on India and bypassed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and established Indo-US civil nuclear deal giving India exemption from NPT and recognizing it as a nuclear weapon state.

But one must know that India has a good proliferation record, India never provoked any country for nuclear war and never threatened to use it even against its rival Pakistan whose army had illegally entered Indian side and occupied the heights in Kargil in 1999 just after both the countries tested their nuclear bombs. India also maintains a no first use policy, that means India in no manner will attack a country first with a nuclear bomb therefore India keeps sophisticated technologies like anti ballistic missile which can thwart any attempt by any country to deliver nuclear bombs through ballistic missiles. India also maintains second and third strike capabilities through its canister launched nuclear missiles and submarine launched nuclear missiles.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Increase in Rape Cases, How Should We Tackle Violence Against Women?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:04:00 +0000

Photo by European Parliament

The whole nation was in an immense distress when a 23 year old medical student was raped at night in a tinted window private bus in a posh colony of New Delhi. The incident resulted into a robust response from the public and the youths. Peaceful protests were held throughout the nation in the major cities demanding justice to the victim and asking for giving the toughest punishment ever to the abusers. The news became international and since then Delhi has been highlighted so notoriously that whenever something like this happen, we at India get calls from other TWR centres, asking us what is this happening? The people over there have gone out of control.

Public and media anger against the government started augmenting. As soon as government could take any action more cases of rape in the capital were heard. Police and government bodies having no clue started coming off with baseless claims and reasons for the recent increase in rape cases in the country.

Crime and violence against women like rape has been their for centuries or millennium and it has nothing to do with the kind of lifestyle which is today and the kind of clothes which women wear today. A solution to reduce such horrifying act can be done by taking a two steps approach. Actions must be taken to achieve less crime rate in short term and long term.

India, alone doesn't face this problem, there are many developed countries which does even poorer than India when it comes to rate of rape. At this, all governments facing the same problem in their country can discuss and form a protocol to deal with such situations in a country.

Rate of Rape per 100,000 population, click to enlarge.

United Kingdom, for instance recorded 85,000 cases of rapes in the year of 2006 as reported by BBC One. British Crime Survey report stated that only 800 people were convicted of rape crimes that same year, 2006, which illustrates that less than 1 in every 100 rape survivors were able to convict their attacker. Today the condition in UK has become worse compared to 2006, but police, public and the government take this burgeoning problem really seriously. A long term approach was chosen and a number of campaigns like This is Abuse by Home office, Time to Stop rape campaign by Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies, Rape Shatters Lives campaign by Cheshire Constabulary, Safer Relationship by South Wales Police and similar campaigns by the police departments of Metropolitan Police, Lancashire Police, Hertfordshire Police, and Lincolnshire Police were launched to check the crime by spreading awareness. The police also started short term programs which includes:

- Managing offenders
- Managing dangerous places
- Delivering effective investigations and CJ outcomes
- Reducing vulnerabilities (of victims)

Apart from these, many public and non profit organizations started online and poster campaigns spreading awareness about women freedom and why men should not rape. A number of such organizations set up low cost 0800 and 0333 number, which is low cost helpline numbers dedicated to non profit organizations and charities.

In South Africa, rate of rape is extremely high and the reason of this is completely different than what it could be in UK, US, or India. One of the reason of high number of cases in South Africa is HIV. Yes, it should be other way round, high number of HIV positive cases because of high number of rapes. But in South Africa there is a myth that having intercourse with a virgin would cure HIV infection and will free the abuser from HIV virus or AIDS. This has led to increase in child abuse and rape. Similar kind of myth also remains in other countries in the southern part of the continent Africa which can be easily observed on the maps.

HIV/AIDs Prevalence World Map, 2008

In India general culture is changing, men and women are realizing their freedom and rights and they enjoy in late night clubs and parties after the day of hard work, however the policing system in India did not get as advanced with time as the people of the country. It is clear that one cannot blame lack of policing as solely responsible for the increasing number of rape cases, but it is true that India needs better policing for their citizen. It will not only stop crimes against women, but also other crimes and terrorist plans.

The government instead of increasing police force and making law tougher is talking about other things like banning porn. Not sure how banning porn may help. One needs to do a proper research and then should come to the conclusion. It might be true in some cases that porn ignites the need of intercourse in a man, but one can also argue that porn also helps men cool down. If there is no porn then men may actually go for rape. To research properly what leads to rape, authorities should question other rapists who are in jail, ask them why did they do so, how did they realize they have an opportunity? what fear they had when they were committing the crime, were they thinking they will run way safely after the crime? Having answer to these questions, prepare awareness campaigns and better policing.

When Indian politicians are busy in blaming women for rapes or blaming porn for rapes, Indian police department is really struggling for its survival. There are more than 500,000 vacancies in the police forces in India. Also, there are only 131 policemen per 100,000 people as against the 173 per 100,000 norm prescribed by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D). A report by BPR&D in January 2012 also suggested that police expenditure as a percentage of states' budget averaged 2.7% on all India basis. The problem doesn't end here itself, as around 47,000 policemen are deployed to provide security to 15,000 VIPs. The report also said that police forces lack basic transport facilities, with around 144,000 vehicles available as of January 2012, which is 35% less than what is required.

However, Delhi government and the Centre in Delhi have become very active, thanks to media, which highlighted and made government to take action urgently. In the short term approach, the government has given the affirmation to step up and take guarded and defensive measures which includes: night patrols by PCR (Police Control Room) vans, supervision and surveillance on public and private bus drivers and conductors, and the banning of vehicles with tinted windows or curtains. The government has also proposed to post photos, names and addresses of the convicted rapists on official websites, which will make the rapist scared of the public anger. Ministry of Home Affairs informed that it has provided 370 more PCR vans to Delhi Police which at present has a fleet of 500 such vans. Delhi government and the city police issued separate notice that if a victim of criminal offences is to be taken to a nearby government or private hospitals, they cannot turn them away.

In the long term approach, Delhi high court asked the Centre and the city police to find out the "root cause" of such incidents, The Delhi government has set up a committee to facilitate trials of sexual assault cases on women. Another committee has been set up to study the breaches that compelled the recent incidences of increase in rape in the city. Most of the accused in such cases belong to other states, and there is a need to find out how to prevent such occurrences. Police needs to identify areas of training to make its officials more sensitive, active and motivated. Education must be provided to girls and boys in school how to respect each other, one should encourage co-ed schools. Some lawmakers have been considering death sentence for rapists, as have been the public demand, but there are some who are worried that it might lead rapists to kill the women after raping to avoid death penalty.

As I said thanks to media for making government take the increasing number of cases seriously, media has also done a mistake that might go unnoticed. Rape cases happens everywhere in India, but media highlighted only those which occurred in Delhi, because it is easy to cover these stories as most of the media offices are in Delhi. It is good that government came to action, but the government's actions are only visible in Delhi. Whereas the condition in the states like Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharathra and Uttar Pradesh is even worse, and requires equal attention and response by the government. We need to take actions all over India and not just in Delhi. Media should not neglect the crimes against women in other states.

Statistics on Rape Cases in India, 2011. Click to enlarge

We would like to hear from the readers, what could be the possible solutions to stop such crimes, how government should deal with it and what in general public can do to safeguards the rights and freedom of women, tell us how your country has taken actions and what results did it bring.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Follow us on Twitter @TWRnews

Top 5 Travel Destinations in United Kingdom This Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Alinuuza) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:30:00 +0000

Cornwall Steam Railway, photo taken by J D Mack

Hello, I am here again with another article in United Kingdom travel articles series. Seeing the popularity of my previous posts in the same series, I thought of continuing with a relevant topic as the summer season is going to come very soon and you would be planning for a trip. This is also the time when most of the travel and hotel agencies are providing deals to attract more tourists. In this guide we will also help you to find out the best deals to make you spend less on traveling and staying and efficiently on fun and experience.

Which destination will you chose for your summer holidays?

As I have been to London many times during my educational trip. London had been my base station from where I traveled to most of the parts of the United Kingdom. In this guide I will be covering the full length and breadth of the UK from East to West and from South to North in two separate trips. Try If you are lucky you might get some good deals to grab online that will make your trip even cheaper. I would recommend you to go through Expedia travel vouchers and browse through the coupons and vouchers that suits you well.

Starting from London I will move in the South west direction to a seaside town of Weymouth where I will explore world heritage Jurassic Coast and award winning sandy beach. From Weymouth I will make a turn to North West to another seaside resort town of Woolacombe which is famous for blue flag and premium seaside beach. Continuing the zig zag trend, I will move towards south west to Cornwall where I will have a seaside train ride as well as a ride on the steam train through beautiful landscaped countryside.

1. Weymouth

Weymouth is a beautiful seaside town with its award winning beaches and world heritage sites and picturesque traditional harbour. The place is livelier in summers when the sun is up and sky is clear, the beach sand shines and the water sparkles in the ideal sunny day. The water is crystal clear and was chosen for London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for conducting sailing events. There are ample of sports facilities available like kite surfing, wind surfing, diving and sailing. Each area is marked with flags indicating whether it is safe to swim in that area or not.

Weymouth Beach, photo taken by Elliott Brown

I feel Weymouth beach is perfect for families and couples and offers a lot of other things to do like amusement, rides and snack stands. Arriving at the beach is very easy, large number of buses and shuttle services ply on the road between various holiday resorts and the beach. You may also come by your own vehicle, but finding parking space can be difficult and time consuming.

White sand on the beach is amazingly soft, the beach is clean although you may find cigarette butts. I went to the right end of the beach near the viewing tower and amusement, the sand is even more softer and beautiful. I really enjoyed walking along the esplanade, and I was surprised later as the sun was settled we had a light show. There are variety of snacks available at various snack stands, but if you wish to save money you can bring your own lunch or snacks and have a nice homemade food at the sea shore.

Jurassic Coast, photo taken by Rach2k

Jurassic Coast is another special thing about this place. It is England's first natural world heritage site. The Jurassic Coast which is an offshore bar consists of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs, spanning the Mesozoic Era, documenting 180 million years of geological history. The oldest rocks along the coast can be found at Exmouth and are as old as 250 million years whereas the youngest are at Studland Bay at around 65 million years old. The site shows excellent examples of landforms, among them is the natural arch at Durdle Door, the cove and limestone folding at Lulworth Cove and the Isle of Portland. Chesil Beach is a tombolo (a deposition landform in which an island is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar).

Moving from Weymouth to Woolacombe takes around 2 hours and 30 minutes on a 170Km long journey. Woolacombe is not one of the well known travel destinations in UK, but it has started receiving tourists recently most of them stop by to see the Woolacombe bay. Plymouth and Bath have been more popular destinations in the region.

2. Woolacombe

Woolacombe was voted the Best British Beach in the Mail On Sunday and also holds the 'England for Excellence Gold Award' for best family resort. Although not much popular, Woolacombe's profile is as strong as any other popular summer destination. Woolacombe can be best reached by road. The roads are largely very rural and quite narrow which may become very congested during summer as people queue up to get into one of the two large car parks which are situated close to the beach.

Woolacombe Beach, Photo by Gary Huston

Its three mile long golden sand beach has won both the blue flag and Premier Seaside Beach award. It is voted one of Britain's best beach and lies between Morte Point and Baggy Point. There are four beach within a five mile walk. And all can be very crowded in the summer making it difficult to find a parking space which is £5 for a whole day. It would be better to walk to the beach from the beautiful streets enjoying the beautiful view. Try to book a hotel near the beach so that you do not have to walk much. You may be lucky to grab few appropriate deals through travel vouchers and coupons.

I was saddened to hear the news that the beach lost the blue flag status recently in 2012 due to water quality issue. However, it still retains many other awards. You stand at the beach looking at the Atlantic Ocean waves touching your feet, behind you lies the highlands that surrounds you from the rest of the sides, creating a very beautiful scenery.

The beach is also famous for various sports activities like kite surfing, wind surfing etc. The beach also provides a designated area for dogs. I found a little kid there who was making a sand castle, it was fun to sit with her and help. When the sun had settled down and it was dark, we went up. Walking back to my room, I saw the sand castle intact, and the waves striking the coast even harder. The sound of the waves were louder which can make anyone happy specially me who loves sea and beaches.

Continuing my journey, I am heading to another seaside place Cornwall. The place not only has beautiful sand beach, but also has picturesque landscape and beautiful coastline which can be explored by train. One of the reason of coming here for me was riding in the trains here.

3. Cornwall

Great Scenic Railways of Devon and Cornwall passes through some of the most beautiful places, From mesmerizing coastal views to green countryside, clear river crossings to densely wooded valleys and the almost moon like landscape of the Cornish china clay industry.

Cornwall Steam Railway, Photo taken by J D Mack

I felt travelling in this train was very off the beaten tourist path, and I am glad I did, the train passes through beautiful town, small villages, historic mountains and bustling cities, it is a vital link for the locals, but the way it passes through is so stunning that it has gained popularity as a tourist train.

There are six lines of Great Scenic Railways of Devon and Cornwall mainly Maritime Line, Looe Valley Line, Tarka Line, St Ives Bay Line, Atlantic Coast Line, Tamar Valley Line.

Train Fare:
Looe to Plymouth £5.40
Liskeard to Newquay £5.80
Truro to St Ives £6.30
St Austell to Looe £7.60
Falmouth to Plymouth £9.50
Penzance to Plymouth £9.50

These fares are applicable for adults, children between the age of five to fifteen may take ticket for half price, and children under five years can enjoy the ride for free. Also if you take GroupSave option, four people in a group would be able to travel for the price of two adults Off Peak Day Returns on First Great Western trains.

Cornwall also has steam trains running through beautiful countryside. I went to Bodmin which is the prime station and junction of Cornwall's steam railway. The station was beautifully revamped to give a look of 1950s. The main station building is old by centuries and was constructed by Great Western Railways in 1887. Again there are a number of steam railway lines on different routes which are quite small but good enough to spend time and admire the beauty of Cornwall sitting in the vintage train, a unique experience. Various lines are Launceston Steam Railway, Bodmin & Wenford Railway, Lappa Valley Steam Railway, and World of Model Railways.

Refreshing views, clear sky, warm sun, clear water, soft and warm sand in West England is what makes it a great destination for spending your summer vacation. My trip to western region ends here, returning to London and from their I will move towards north exploring the spectacular Lake District and beaches in the extreme north UK; Durness, Scotland.

4. Lake District

The Lake District is also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland as there are a number of lakes in the mountainous region. Lying in the North West England, this place is a combination of picturesque forests, lakes and mountains, Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England is also situated here. The place is famous world wide and has its associations with the early nineteenth-century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets.

Lake District, photo taken by Steve Pyke

Lake Derwent is one of the most visited lake in the Lake District. It is a very picturesque lake surrounded by lots of woodlands and fells sloping down towards the water. I walked around the lake little bit which is an 8 and a half mile long walk and tried my hand at boating. There are many companies ready to provide you the boating experience. There is a pastureland overlooking the lake where the sheep and lambs play. I took some delightful photos of them grazing and at play. It is hard to tell if the lake is more beautiful from the lake level or viewing it from above when hiking in the area. Either way, it's a treasure and worth visiting.

Once you are there you can have your packed meal, or buy a snack. You may visit the National Trust shop, take a boat trip or hire a row boat. Perhaps the ducks and geese along with the sheep and lambs catch your eye. If you wish to, you can even buy bags of bird food.

Catbells Lakeland Hike is easily reachable from Keswick and is famous for its views over Derwent water. The hike might take nearly two hours up and down and may be even three if you would stop everywhere like me to take photos. To reach up catch the Keswick Launch across to Hawes End and climb up Catbells over Skellwith Bank, there are little steep climbs and easy challenges but the view from the summit is probably one of the best in the Lakeland for so little effort. If you still feel energetic at the summit you can walk further up on to Maiden Moor and come back down different views. When you come down arrive at Hawes Gate and walk back to catch the Keswick launch, along the Lakeside.

Moving further north I will enter Scotland, another kingdom in the United Kingdom. Durness is a village and in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Famous for its Smoo cave and unspoilt beaches backed by cliffs.

5. Durness

Durness is famous for Smoo cave, when I reached there I had not expect this cave to be as awesome as it was. It was really easy enough walk down to it as their is a wooden fence to hold on to and steps. There are flood lights which still makes it look great even if the weather isn't that good. There is a huge cavern and you can imagine living there centuries ago. The second cavern leads to a tremendous waterfall full of cold sprays making it almost impossible to take a photo of it. During rainy season, the caves are wet and you may find water dripping through the roof at various points.

Durness Beach, photo taken by Lluís Ribes Portillo

Durness beach is fantastic sandy beach with stunning black rocks embedded in the sand, beautiful bluish green sea and rocky cliffs. The place is very photogenic and can make a day promising! I walked all the way along the length of the beach and then I moved up at the end to a lighthouse from where the view is even more spectacular. The beach accompanied by a waterfall at the edge of the bay makes it even a better place for those who loves natural photography.

Sango bay in Durness made me just take my camera out when I saw rock formations sticking out of the stand. Pristine golden sands with the projectiles of Rock on them gave the experience of being in totally another planet. Huge waves crashing on the shore and on the rocks creating splash of waters formed so many rainbows. I have not seen so many rainbows before all at once. The place is really cold in winters and you may expect the right time to go there only after May, if it is not raining.

Indeed it was such a long tour. I did not complete this journey in one single trip, but in two consecutive summers. I tried to merge my trip into one so that I could help you decide which one or two locations would you like to visit this summer. Coming back to my base location London, I finish the tour of Top 5 Summer Destinations in UK. Let me know which one of the place would you like to go this summer. Subscribe to my updates an follow me on my path.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Nuclear Weapons - An Instrument For Peace?

noreply@blogger.com (Andreea) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:36:00 +0000

A 61-kiloton nuclear device is fired
at the Nevada Test Site in 1953.
Photo by :
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Published in Romanian on our partner website Geopolitics.ro

On February 19, 2013, during an UN debate, a North Korean official said "erroneous behaviour of South Korea will lead to its final destruction". While such a statement is reprehensible, it is simply another example of Pyongyang's aggressive rhetoric, designed to fuel the perception of a state willing to use nuclear weapons to eliminate threats of the capitalist imperialism. North Korea will not use its nuclear arsenal in an eventual confrontation with the South. The equation is simple: a nuclear strike is an act of national suicide, and for the regime of Kim Jong-un maintaining power is of paramount interest. The peninsula will not change a lot in the near future, if we consider the current variables - the same bellicose rhetoric discretely supported by the super powers.

Immediately after September 11 our world has entered a period of transformation and subtle mutations whose effects are still diffuse, and nuclear weapons have not signed contractual arrangements.

In the last six decades there have been no major wars among the super powers, but affairs were settled by low intensity conflicts or wars restricted both in terms of losses and geography. The liberals strongly argue that this is the effect of democratic peace, constructivists add the evolution of social norms and the realists close the game saying the reason are nuclear weapons and the deterrence brought by it. Behind all of these perspectives there is a profound transformation of war and how it should be carried, and nuclear weapons are one of the things that weigh much in this equation. The veil covering this transformation was partially removed after 11 September. Conventional War is obsolete. Conventional confrontation tends to provide increasingly less performance sought out by the stakeholders who initiated it. Most times the earnings of a war are measured by the increase or decrease of the security level of those involved, but we must not forget that security is now represented by a huge list of things. Insurgency is the future of war: robust flexible groups, capable of producing hybrid threats and jeopardize the security of an entire state. This transformation is caused by: the evolution of combat, the deterrence provided by nuclear bombs, the changing nature and complexity of the international system. Talking about the crisis in Cuba, Waltz wondered: Why fight when you can win some or you can lose everything? Waltz's question is still valid because of the changes mentioned above.

Conventional wisdom tells us that force is used in four ways in the international system: offensive, defensive, deterrence and coercion. Conventional War is an attribute of offensive and defensive. Provided that its prevalence on the international stage will gradually diminish, force will continue to be used in the other two ways that will add force as a vector in a move to combat insurgency - a hybrid mix between offensive, defensive and stabilization actions. These assumptions do not belong to the realm of ideas, but some of the changes we have seen in Afghanistan and Iraq. Allies entered in the two countries prepared for war, conventional and short-lived, but theatre of operations quickly turned into a battle of insurgency versus counterinsurgency. Success in this type of war is not ensured just by raw military power: it does not matter that you have 100 tanks and 10 000, because the operative cells in Waziristan can not be wiped out anyway just with their help. Success requires the existence of legitimacy.

So can nuclear weapons be regarded as a legitimate method? Is owning a nuclear arsenal a moral thing? Is the state justified to pretense nuclear arming? Nuclear weapons are moral and legitimate as long as they are used in the service of peace. The rest is now history...

How can an instrument of mass destruction be in the service of peace? How can destroying a target be considered a moral act of self-defense? What would happen if a terrorist group would get their hands on a nuclear warhead?

Morality is not determined by a semantics, but on how the technology is used. Is the technology used in the V-2 Rocket German moral? At a first glance an idealist would say loud and clear No! but we must not forget that the same technology was the starting point for the latter space programs and for the development of the aviation industry. If nuclear weapons help maintain peace then they are legitimate and moral (nuclear deterrence or negotiation tool).

Clausewitz tells us that war is an act of force which seeks obedience from the opponent by his own will. Although there have been many years since Clausewitz wrote his work, his ideas remain valid for because it treats an essential part of human nature and our history. A war is triggered by hostile intentions having as basis the security interests of the states involved. Firstly, states have a responsibility towards its own population and only secondly is the responsibility to the international community. Hypothetically speaking, if the security of their own collectivity is ensured through a nuclear strike then that is a legitimate action for the state that initiates it. When talking about the legitimacy and morality you need to be lined up with on side or they other because in a general note one can not say that a war was or was not a legitimate / justified measure.

Was the great conflagration from 1939-1945 justified and legitimate? An answer to this question is difficult. Instead we can say that it was justified under the Allied or the Axis powers perspective.

What would happen if a terrorist group would obtain nuclear technology?

The mutation of war after September 11, 2001 brought on stage a discreet global enemy which demonstrated that it is able to strike in the heart of the symbols of our world. An analysis of a terrorist organization is based on the identification of two aspects: the totality of the capabilities of the structure and the power of its will. Based on past experience, obtaining nuclear weapons is a difficult road and many states gave up this ambition, forced by the security environment circumstances, the high costs of a nuclear program, the interposing bureaucracy, the diminishing of their international prestige and attracting international sanctions. But terrorist organizations don't have similar objectives to those of a state so for them it should be much easier to gain access to nuclear technology. Religious terrorist groups (Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda) have political goals built on ideological, ethnic, nationalistic or religious paradigms, and therefore need popular support to operate. In connection with this dilemma, a RAND expert says: "Terrorists want lots of people watching, not lots of people dead." By spreading terror is intended to send a message and obtain political benefits. You do not need the huge number of casualties resulting from a nuclear strike to do this: the bomb in Oklahoma, September 11, the attacks in Madrid and London - all these moments created the atmosphere of terror sought after by the originators. That does not mean that nuclear proliferation in the terrorist groups is not possible, it is a real threat, but like every threat can be countered by necessary means. In our world there choices aren't simple and therefore we must weigh the advantages and disadvantages.

Nuclear weapons is the kind of technology that brings important strategic and geopolitical benefits, ie it is an advantage owning it. You should not use it and should look with fear at the thought that one day someone will click on the red button.

Please share and join the discussion on Facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

See the Best of Hawaii: Travel Opinion and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Alinuuza) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Hawaii, photo taken by grantzprice

A string of islands melting into deep blue Pacific Ocean, Hawaii is the American state which takes a little more effort to reach, but is more than worth it. Indeed, choosing between islands like lively Oahu or the escapist's dream Lanai has meant that plenty of visitors now opt for the variety afforded by Hawaii cruises as a way of seeing the best of them all.

Playing host to the state capital and much of the native population, Oahu often receives most of the attention, perhaps deservedly so. Add on a few extra days for some partying in Honolulu, make the most of Waikiki beach or see the surfers carving up the North Shore. Cruise lines offer excursions or overnight stays on the main islands so you can explore places like Pearl Harbor or see the famous Diamond Head crater up-close.

Though the islands are close enough together to spend more time on shore than at sea, every port is unique. The largest of the islands is known as the Big Island and is home to black-sand beaches, Mauna Kea, the biggest mountain on Earth and more climate zones than should be possible. Cruise vessels often make port at Hilo and itineraries include the unmissable Volcanoes National Park.

While Kauai is a slice of instant calm, with its preserved natural landscape and 'Coconut Coast', Maui is home to sleek seaside towns like Lahaina and unique whale-watching trips. Expert drivers can be provided for those who want to disembark for a nature tour here, while more specific interests are also catered for: golf-fans will have their pick of 14 world-class courses.

Lanai, Photo taken by My VR

Smallest of all, Lanai is where to head if you're looking for a different experience. With scenery that boasts names like 'Garden of the Gods', a few laid-back towns and a complete absence of traffic lights, this is the romantic Hawaii of sunsets and swaying palms. Though not all cruises stop here, this is the perfect excuse to take a time out after your trip, perhaps leaving the ship at Maui and catching the ferry over for a few days of quality time.

Na Pali, photo taken by Barry Ferg

The variety and convenience are only some of the advantages to making your Hawaii holiday a cruise. Parts of the dramatic coastline like Na Pali on Kauai are especially spectacular when viewed from the sea and with optional shore excursions from Luau dances to exploring the lava caves on the Big Island, you can cater to exactly what you want.

Given the chance to hop from island to island in just a few days, without even having to change hotel, it's easy to see why so many opt to travel by sea. Strolling the impeccable shores, gazing at tumbling waterfalls or pushing through rain forests however you explore this diverse archipelago, Hawaii leaves an impression that's unlikely to rub off.

Please share and join the discussion on Facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Two Large Blast Struck Near the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon, More Bombs Discovered

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:35:00 +0000

Video still of ABC footage

World's oldest annual marathon which ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events has been put on hold and the remaining runners who have not yet crossed the line have been directed somewhere else as two large explosions blasted about 300 yards from the finish line of the Boston Marathon injuring many. The explosion occurred when the runners were almost going to finish the running of the marathon, with cheering crowd.

UPDATE: A Separate third explosion has taken place, this time at the at the JFK Library, no casualties or deaths reported yet. Totally three explosions have rocked Boston. Although, The director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum says that the fire inside the building's mechanical room was not caused by any device and is probably not related to the explosions occurred during the Boston Marathon.

Time reporter Andrew Katz took informations from a police scanner, tweets:

“Boston scanner: “Incendiary device” possible at JFK Library. Advising people to get away immediately.”

He also added that there was “another device” in front of the Mandarin. Again, the information is sourced from police scanners.

Meanwhile, former Boston Phoenix reporter Chris Faraone says a police officer told him further “secondary devices” have been located and have yet to be detonated: “Police officer near Boston Marathon finish line: ‘There are secondary devices that have been found and are unexploded.’”

The explosion at Boston Marathon took place shortly before 3 PM Eastern time and reports are mentioning causalities in dozens. Boston Police Department has confirmed only 2 killings, but Law enforcement officials speaking to Fox News say that three victims have been reportedly killed in the explosions.

According to the statements given by the witnesses first explosion filled the streets with the smoke and few seconds later another loud boom was heard creating panic in the crowd and supporters. As soon as the runners started reaching the finish line the first explosion took place. There was a thought that it could be fireworks, but when people in panic were running around and crying with their foreheads bleeding and smoke rose to almost 50 feet (15 metres) it was confirmed that it was an act of terror.

Local radio is saying that the first explosion took place near a sports store and the second went off near a viewing stand. Police has locked down the area. As an act of caution, the Lenox Hotel was evacuated. Troops from the Massachusetts National Guard are assisting the polics and counter terrorism vehicle has also been deployed in New York as the near by city has also been put on red alert.

acting swiftly, Boston Police has cleared the sidewalk on Huntington Street, a;so reporting that there was a live bomb inside the Prudential Center. A third, smaller blast was heard. Making it to three bombs.

Since 1897, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has managed this event. Thousands of Amateur and professional runners from all over the world compete in the Boston Marathon each year, taking the challenge provided by the hilly New England terrain and unpredictable weather. In this event there were nearly 27,000 participants from 96 countries.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

10 Essential Tools For Entrepreneurs and Startups

noreply@blogger.com (Andreea) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:46:00 +0000

Ideas can strike anytime. An idea may wander in your thoughts waiting for the best time when it can be implemented. A process of thought in your mind can be worth millions. In the present era idea and innovation is they key for a successful business. Addition of new game changing ideas, thoughts and young entrepreneurs are making the business world more dynamic and human life simpler and easier. If you can earn money from your hobby, then what can be a better and more satisfying job than that? You are your own boss, you manage your own money and you have more time for your friends and family!

When a group of colleagues or students think of a startup they are initially not much organized. Often people start with a hobby and when they observe that they have started making good money or money equivalent to their salary they plan to make it bigger and take it to another level, taking it to a complete professional platform. At this one needs to be professional and should create a professional environment that keeps the team motivated and give them the feeling of working on a big change. To help with this we are going to list some ten tools which will definitely help you in managing and running your startup.

1. Dedicated Contact Numbers

A visible complete office address, professional website and a dedicated line number can make your business look more professional and established. For examples having a toll free easy to remember number or 0845 numbers in case you are in UK can help your customers to connect with you without spending much. While having a toll free number will help your customers to connect with you for free, a 0845 number will help your customer to connect with you by paying only for a local call no matter wherever you are. A number of companies are available to provide you dedicated numbers hosted on their telecoms network making it sit on top of your existing numbers. Thus, avoiding any need to install additional lines. You will also get additional features like call statistics, disaster recovery and online call management.

2. Wave

Wave is a very famous free tool that helps you be your own boss. Wave can help you with invoicing your clients and get paid by them, Accounting, managing Payroll and receipts and personal money management. Wave provides everything for free, only the Payroll feature is paid where they charge $1 per employee. You can connect your banks directly with Wave and it will help you keep a track of your transaction, your earnings, and will tell you where you stand financially and how you can manage it. All the features of Wave are inter-connectable, i.e any money earned through invoicing will automatically be updated in the accounting tool, similarly any bank transaction you make will be updated there. No need for manual entry, although Wave provide manual entry feature for those who are uncomfortable connecting their bank with the tool.

3. Skype

Skype has proven its supremacy when it comes to VoIP. It is quick, free and connects you with your team members around the world whether they are on computer or mobile. After the recent purchase of Skype by the Microsoft it has been nicely embedded in latest Windows OS and Windows Phone devices. Skype is available for almost any platform, not just Windows. There are a number of apps supported by Skype that can enhance its ability to be used as official communicator for your company. There are apps that provides complete PBX (Private Branch Exchange) solution. With Skype you can record your calls, divert your incoming calls to another number or voicemail, call people on their mobile or telephone for a very low price, etc.

4. Cloud Storage

Today with improvement in mobility and degree of freedom we need our data where ever we go. It will cost a lot of space if we start copying everything from our computers to tablet and mobiles and then a lot of effort to keep them on sync. Here comes cloud storage in picture. You can store your file on the online servers and access them, make changes and do whatever on any device. You can also share your documents with your team members and can give them authority to make changes as well. Dropbox is a famous cloud storage provider. With its free 2 GB space and desktop apps you can keep your systems at sync and upload files on the server so that you can access on other devices. Google Drive and Microsoft Skydrive are one step ahead as they provide essential Google Docs apps and Microsoft Office web apps respectively for creating and editing documents, spreadsheets and notes. When it comes to storage and costs, Skydrive is slightly better as it provides 7 GB of free space when compared to Google Drive's 5 GB and Dropbox's 2 GB. Also when it comes to extending your storage, Skydrive with its yearly plans comes to be cheaper. You can extend your storage capacity by 500 MB for free in Dropbox by inviting your friends to use it.

5. CrowdFunding

Often you have great ideas that when implemented can bring a good change and generate a large amount of revenue, but to implement such an idea and convert it into a startup requires some investment. If you do not have money to invest and if bank is unavailable to provide you loan, then crowdfunding is the solution for you. As the term suggests it is a platform where crowd (individual people, investors or companies) can fund your idea (can be anonymously) if they really like it. In return you can either give them momentos or gifts or a part of your profit when your business will be a success. There are a number of online services like Kickstarter and Indiegogo which can provide you robust platform to get started and raise money for your idea or cause.

6. Mailchimp

Often you disregard communication and service mails from websites and uncheck "send me communication and promotional mails" while signing up for a service, but there are people who do select it. Interested people want to hear what is new with your company, or when can they expect a new exciting announcement from you, or may be you will provide discounts and offers directly to their inbox to keep them engaged. Never undermine the power of emails. Even if you are not sending any such mails at present, it is a good idea to at least have contact information of your regular readers/viewers/customers as anytime in future you might require to send them a communication mail. For this reason Mailchimp is there to help you out. It can build a list of your customers for you and can help you to contact them with appealing email templates. This service is free up to 2000 customers and sending 12000 mails per month.

7. Website/Blogging Tool

It is very important to have your online presence whether your business require direct online involvement (like e-commerce, online journalism) or not. Having your company online connects you with your potential customers who may be out of your reach in the real world. Customers can find you and easily contact you online. Wix is a platform that can help you create free and beautiful website for you quickly without any requirement of coding. When it comes to online customer engagement, you need to have an updated blog about your company, containing updates, offers, communication etc and anything that is official. Wordpress and Blogger are two most popular and powerful blogging platform. Whatever you write is available for everyone and can generate even more potential customers as blogs are indexed by search engines and they can be shared on social media websites generating more views and expanding your reach.

8. Domain name and Professional Email

When you have created a website and blogs for yourself, you need domain name and professional email. Just like point number one that we discussed, having a professional domain name www.somecompany.com and then directing it to your website and having professional email someone@somecompany.com can make your business look more professional and established. Godaddy is one such popular service that can provide you domain name and email Id for your company. You can even chose Google apps and that can buy you a domain via Godaddy or any other service and provide you its premium email features on Gmail.

9. Personal Productivity

You have a lot of ideas and things in mind but you forget one thing while doing the other thing? You note down at your desk or on papers creating a lot of mess and clutter. Often startups do not exactly start with an office space you might have your own private space and your team members might have their own. So if you are at any other location you will not be able to access or refer to your notes that you had pointed down on the papers or on the desk. There comes Evernote to help you. Again it is a multi-platform application and you can use it on your mobile, tablet, and computer no matter what operating system you are using. It can capture anything from your ideas, your thoughts, and anything that you think might need to be referred later. When you need to refer to your notes you do not have to search in the clutter of paper, but all you have to do is type some search keywords and Evernote will present you your notes. You can even share your notes, ideas and collaborate on project with your teammates. A similar service exclusively for Mac and Apple products is Omnifocus. If you are already using Skype and Skydrive, then you can use Microsoft Office OneNote, another service by Microsoft like Evernote.

10. Hootsuite

It is the time when almost every company is trying to make their presence on social media bigger. It not only keeps you connected with your followers and customers but also extends your reach to potential customers. Social media is not about time pass and killing time when moms used to scold their kids for wasting a lot of time on Facebook. Today it is a virtual market and with the help of customized Facebook pages you can even sell your products. Hootsuite is an application that can help you manage all your social network profile at ones. In a free account you can add up to five social media profiles. You can not only post, track each posts, respond to notification, view analytic, but also schedule posts. Scheduling a post at night can help you target the people on the other side of the globe even when you are asleep. keeping your social media pages active 24X7.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Top Five Places to Visit in London Off the Beaten Path

noreply@blogger.com (Alinuuza) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:42:00 +0000

London, photo by T J Morris

Hello friends, I am here again with another article in the series of London and United Kingdom. In my last article I talked about the top five weekend getaway places in my opinion which are away from London, but easy to reach [Read: Top Five Places to Visit Away From London]. These are those places where one can enjoy being away from the work tension and hustle bustle of London. Getting a good response from you readers and travel enthusiasts, and getting hundred shares on Facebook by you all really encouraged me. Some of my followers on Facebook and via email suggested us to also write about the places within London where one can plan an evening or weekend. And I have quickly considered this suggestion as it will be a good addition to support our travel series on London and United Kingdom.

If you want to find a great place in London where you can plan or organize an event like a meeting, party, a formal or informal function then you may try finding a suitable venue for it here

www.venuefinder.com/venues-in-london/. This is the same website which helped me hire a meeting room as I discussed in my previous article. If you just want to plan an evening or a weekend where you can hangout with your friends or with your special one then I am going to help you ;-)

London is a great city and there are many things to do for all kind of people. Recently I also wrote an article on best bars in London. I visited many bars and pubs and restaurants and listed one of the best bars in my opinion. As I said London is for everyone, if you are not the one who enjoys spending time with friends in bars, there are a number of art galleries, theatres, museums, gardens, etc. whatever finds your taste.

When we think of London a lot places come to our mind, like Big Ben, London Bridge, and London Eye, etc. These are no doubt one of the most popular attractions in London, but if you are in London for a long time and you need a change then you must chose the unbeaten path. There are many places in London which deserves your tourist eyes equally.

1. St. James Park

London Eye across the St. James Park, photo by TrevorLowe

If you are in central London, this is one of the best place to stroll. This place is really close to Buckingham Palace, St. James's Place, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Westminster. It is a good place to come with your family friends or your better half. Plenty of benches to relax and talk or you may sit on the grass and admire the nature. I could count 28 different species of flowers in the park, in the season daffodils cover a good part of the park adding the charm in its beauty. If you have been to Hyde park, this one you will find comparatively smaller but equally good. While in the nature surrounded by grass, flowers, birds and squirrels, you can still admire the view of the palace and London eye. You will find some brave squirrels there, if you love them do not forget to take some nuts with you and you will be able to make some new furry friends. You can arrive here from Green Park tube or St. James Park tube. Green park is another beautiful park just adjacent to it.

If you are with kids, they will love this place as there is a lot of open space to run about and there are ducks, swans and many other different birds and pigeons in the park and in the lake. If you have plans of eating there then beware of squirrels, but if you have come to feed them, then enjoy feeding them. If you have come to visit the palace, or London Eye, you should spend some time here to rest and relax before continuing your rest of the London trip.

2. Up at the O2

Up at the O2, Photo by Jason

Up at the O2 is quite a new attraction which London has to offer to the tourists and Londoners. It was officially open to the public on 21st June, 2012. This place deserves your time to give you an unforgettable experience which will take you on an uplifting expedition across the roof of the world's most popular entertainment venue along a 190m long tensile fabric walkway and then back to the base with a thrill completing your ninety minutes of adventure. In the centre of the roof, from the viewing platform you can experience the stunning 360 degree view of the London including the Olympic Park, Thames Barrier, The Shard, Historic Royal Greenwich and Canary Wharf.

Try to go there in the evening when the sun is setting while going up you will be able to enjoy the sun setting and on the top as the sun goes down you will see the city lighting up which is a great feeling. At first the climbing could be very steep and it could be really windy up there. They will provide you shoes with better grip and wind proof suit that would help you even better to enjoy the view.

The staff is really friendly and can guide you along the expedition telling you interesting things about London and Up at the O2. People move in batches so you will have plenty of room when you will be enjoying the 360 degree view at the top.

Tickets start at £22 for adults and children. Try booking in advance to avoid disappointment. If you are an O2 customer you are eligible for nearly 15% of discount if you book tickets online.

3. Somerset House Ice Rink

Somerset House Skating Rink, photo by oatsy40

This is one of the greatest Ice Rink, not in the size but in the sense of its location, in the Somerset House! Excellent location and cheaper than expected, the atmosphere at this Ice Rink has more to offer than just skating. With music, with a small "light show", and a tent where you can warm up with hot chocolate or mulled wine, skating here is more than just fun. Since the rink is comparatively smaller you may expect it to get crowded, but still getting here and getting the tickets is easier. Even then I would advice you to book in advance to avoid any disappointment. During Christmas and new year it is even better with all the festival decoration and new year fireworks.

There is a separate area for learning dedicated to small children with push along penguins to help them take support as well as give them the understanding of other people in the rink. There is a cafe too and cloak room which can take care of your bags.

4. Regent's Park

Regent's Park, photo by Rictor Norton & David Allen

This park is one of my favourite place, I think this is one of the place in Europe where you can see people playing cricket freely. Being a part of TWR I learnt a lot about cricket while in India, people are more crazy about cricket there than they are in England, given it is a British game.

The park is a large and well kept popular recreation area where you can enjoy tennis courts, cricket ground, children's playgrounds and the London Zoo. There is also one artificial lake, boating pool and an open air theatre. The park is busiest on its south side where access from public transport is easier. On the north side of the park is London zoo.

The park acts as a true oasis in the middle of all the hustle bustle of the city. If you wander further in the park, you will be completely isolated from the noise of the city. You can walk and explore or you may rent a bike, you may even rent a deckchair and stay amidst the blooming roses. The place is also good to go with family kids or pets. In the evening you will find kids playing cricket or soccer, which is a great sight specially seeing them playing cricket as I have not seen people in Europe playing cricket, although it is a European game.

5. Covent Garden

Covent Garden, photo by Jaume Meneses

This is a happening place for both guys and girls; men and women; basically for everyone and for every age, and for all kinds of tastes. This place offers some of the nicest restaurants, bars, markets, boutiques, shopping centres, and theatres making it London's premier tourist centre. It is a real tourist trap, but fun to almost spend the whole day. If you want to eat or get a drink then it could be slightly costly. Fast food in the market can be better choice if you need budget food of good quality.

There are shops selling from clothes to jewellery to cupcakes and macaroons. On the weekend you wil lfind handicrafts and stalls for other cool handmade gift items too. It is always interesting to walk here and you will find way too talented street artists and performers who never fail to amuse you with their performance. The food, drinks, transport museum, Disney store and Apple store, everything is good and you will feel really safe. The atmosphere and the ambiance will pull you from anywhere. In history and story books I have read about this place a lot of times, but being here was a different experience and I was able to relate how it was narrated in the books in the real life.

Don't think that if you are in London that too in a shopping place then you will have to spend a lot. There is everything for any range and it is not compulsory to buy something. Even if you do not buy anything there is a lot of free entertainment at this place that can keep you entertained for the whole day. You can enjoy looking at the street performers, people, and having snacks and meals with drinks.

This place can sometime be very crowded so time your visit accordingly and I am sure you will enjoy this place.

I hope you agree with the places I listed here as one of the best places in London where you can relieve your work and city tensions. As I wrote in my previous article, it is not necessary to move out of London to find peace, you can do that well being in London. So here I am concluding this another article in the London and UK travel series. You may subscribe to my updates and follow me where I am travelling via RSS. You can write your opinion in the comment section below and send me suggestion on which places should I cover next.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Five Lessons World Should Learn From India

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:21:00 +0000

Patrick French, writer and historian. Photo: Outlook India

India is a vast nation now considered as a military and economic giant of Asia. In past fifteen to twenty years Indian growth story has changed the complete geopolitics of the region and how the rest of the world looks at this nation. Just recently until 1980s the country which was known as the country of snake charmers today the same country is ruling the software and service sector of the world with its mouse charmers "highly qualified engineers" making undisputed fast delivery services to the end users in US, Canada, Britain and other European countries.

India's growth story is different than many others, India is largely diverse. Hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects, ethnic differences and variety in religions and food. Large number of riches, larger number of poors, and a big size of middle class population, India has somewhat managed to keep them all together in the growing path. Having so many people below poverty line and literacy rate 74.04%, if India can be one of the fastest growing country in the world, then what will happen if India improves its above statistics. All these gives us great lessons which the world must learn from India and implement.

This article is based on the views and the research done by award winning writer and historian Patrick French whose video is embedded in the end of the article for your reference. These are the lessons which he believes Britain should take from the good or bad conditions in India. Please note that any reference to any particular community, religion or caste is only for the purpose of example.

The growth story of India in the world outside India has become so popular that everyone in Europe and the US is attracted to India. However, on reaching India the first impression which it gives cannot support the argument that India is third largest economy by GDP (PPP). Unplanned infrastructure, damaged and dirty roads, shortage of basic amenities like water and electricity in some of the major cities gives a negative impression.

Indeed growing with the pace of 7% to 9% has changed a lot in the country which has generated world class economic regions like in Bangalore and NCR (National Capital Region), etc. Somewhere in the growing process nearly one third of the India's poor population has been left behind who are still struggling to find their ways to eat two times a day. If India is able to check that in coming days, it can make progress smoother and faster.

Lesson 1: Idea of Managing and Dealing with Diversity

India is a country of Indians, but it is better to say that India is a multi culture, multi ethnic, multi lingual and multi religious society. People are ethnically, linguistically and religiously diverse and still living in harmony since independence for past more than six decades. There have been severe conflicts around the world on ethnic and religious issues, and India too had to struggle when it was partitioned in the name of religion that resulted into religious violence during mass migration between a secular India and Islamic Pakistan. Once the formation of a secular India happened, the nation continued getting stronger.

Today religious practices and festivals are celebrated in India that encourages collective security and peace within communities. It is common to see Muslims and Hindus decorating and lighting their homes on Christmas, people of all religions celebrating Christmas in their office or in shopping malls. Similarly it is common to see people of other religion celebrating and enjoying playing Holi and Diwali which are fun filled Hindu festival of colours and light respectively. Celebrating Eid is a friendly gesture and wishing their Muslim brothers with a hug and then having delicious sweet at their homes made with vermicellis and milk is a wonderful feeling.

You are not only exposed to various cultures and customs but another interesting thing in India is that religious holiday of any religion is a public holiday and hence you get more holidays in a year to get a day off from work.

In the 21st century when people are leaving their religious and ethnic differences to grow together, there are instances where ethnic or religious hatred are creating problems resulting into wars, whether it is Israel or Palestine or Tamilians and Sri Lanka or North and South Sudan. The world must take this lesson from India for their benefit.

Lesson 2: Flexibility

Flexibility can be in anything, flexibility can be in time, in religion, in politics, or in society. Those who have done business in India or who have to deal with Indians always complain about time that Indians fail to be on time. Those who schedule meeting with Indians often experience delays. When most of the world has defined time limits and schedules and strictly bind to it. Indian believes in infinity, In the broader perspective, Indians will finish their work on time, but in narrow perspective how do they do it, what timings they follow, leave it on them. Importance of time and self discipline is taught in many religious teaching. The idea of flexibility comes very much from the religion that most of the Indian follows, which doesn't prohibit you from alcohol or non vegetarian food, and leaves decision making ability and philosophy on you encouraging you to feel the god within yourself.

The concept of flexibility also comes from the centre. In the true sense, democracy is in India that involves nineteen to twenty two political parties based on different ideologies forming one central government in alliance in Delhi. It requires you to be very flexible in thoughts as you need to make and run a government that is formed of various ideologies. There has been times in India when communists and capitalists co-existed in the central government of India.

Dalit comunity of India, which is one of the backward community came up with an idea of learning and teaching English among themselves to improve the employment conditions in the community. For this they invented a new god, English goddess, showing the flexibility in the religion. They made temples around and encouraged dalit children to come and learn English that would give a better image and job for their community.

Lesson 3: Learning and Education

Indians have extra ordinary devotion to education and academic attainment. It is in their culture to compete not only with their batchmates in the school but also with their neighbours and also with their siblings and cousins. Often students in 10th and 12th grade prepare themselves to break the records set by their seniors or cousins may be 10 years back, it doesn't matter. The seeds of competition are sowed in much early age of a student by the parents and other relatives in the society.

India is also one of the largest producer of first class internationally accepted degree holders like doctors, engineers, MBAs and lawyers. India is one of the largest producers of high quality resources that drive companies and economy around the world.

Again this dedication towards education has a religious impact. The idea of learning is considered as a social duty and service to the goddess "Vidya mata" or Goddess Saraswati.

Still there is a big population in India who are not even literate. India's literacy rate in recent years has climbed to 70+ mark. If India's education system can pump hundreds of thousands of engineers, doctors, lawyers and business administrators during current conditions, its result will be enormous if India can also give attention to the other half of its population who have not been much blessed with primary education.

Lesson 4: Environment

This is an important lesson to be learnt so that the rest of the world do not end up like how Indian natural resources and environment has ended up in pollution due to extremely fast growth. Those who travel to India are shocked by the level of public mess, garbage dumped along the roads and in the drainage, polluted rivers and deforestation in central India and Himalayas for farming or mining etc, although efforts of reforestation have also started on a big pace. Still in many Indian cities even if you are sitting indoors you might feel eyes burning due to pollution. Some cities like Delhi have made enormous progress in reducing air pollution by introducing Natural Gas for vehicles, cooking, and heating purposes. The city where just 10 years back eyes used to burn, today you can breathe freely.

Flora and fauna holds a great impact on Indian society. For thousands of years Indians have been worshipping trees and animals as they believe in collective society where not only humans, but trees and animals also have an important place. Often in the morning and evening women can be seen tying a kind of thread on the branches of peepal tree which sets up a kind of relationship with the trees who are the pillar of the life on earth. With high demand and improper infrastructure, forests are being destroyed for illegal construction and mining, a large number of endangered animals like leopard and tigers continue to be killed by the poachers increasing the risk of their extinction.

In a moment against deforestation in north India, famous as chipko movement, local people would hug a tree if the authority or industrialists would come to cut down the trees forcing them to stop. Indians also celebrate vanmahotsav festival where before the raining season everyone plants a sapling of plant. However, the popularity of such festival has gone down in recent years which needs a promotional campaign.

Lesson 5: Idea of Contradiction

When you will reach India, you will immediately notice two Indias moving forward side by side. One is a third largest economy by GDP (PPP), a military and space power, another is an India of poor and illiterate people, who do not get to have food even two times a day. There are nearly 300 million poor people in India and on the other hand some of the most richest people are from India. Presently the richest person in Britain is of Indian origin, Lakshmi Mittal.

India has a dynamic middle class, but a static rural culture, which has been somewhat ignored in the recent years, a large part of Indian agriculture is still based on the monsoon rains which highly impacts the outcome of the crops every year resulting into unreliability of Indian farm output due to high fluctuation in the rains.

India gave attention to some of the great sectors right after the independence but failed to give the required amount of attention to some of the basic sectors. For example, primary education was not made priority in the 50s and 60s, but India came up with the world class institutions like IIT almost during the same period. India's advancement in the space can be seen from late 60s. India started importing early computers from IBM and Soviet Union. After the technology embargo on India as a result of nuclear testing, India was forced to develop and design indigenous supercomputer and supercomputing technologies. In 1990, a prototype was developed and was showcased at the 1990 Zurich Supercomputering Show. It surpassed most of the other systems participating, placing India second only after the US.

India, one of the richest country few century ago had to start again from the scratch when most of the western world was already in their later stage of development. With large number of resources, large population, rich history and cultural heritage, when the country is moving again with the fast pace, it gives us many lessons. Some lessons which should not be repeated and to be aware of, and some lessons which should be implemented. India gives many such lessons and is a model for other developing nations in Asia, Africa, East and Central Europe.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Top Five Places to Visit Away From London.

noreply@blogger.com (Alinuuza) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:45:00 +0000

Royal Pavilion, Photo by Craig Strachan

Coming to London is always interesting, I have never got bored of this city. Even after knowing a lot about the city, as I have been learning about it since childhood, I still feel there is lot to learn about it, and lot to experience. In my previous article I wrote about the best bars in London in my opinion. Today I will talk about the places which are not in London, but interesting, near and easy to reach. London is surrounded by some of the interesting castles, towns and English country side.

I arrived in London for an educational trip. And since you know I love to go around the places I never miss the opportunity of utilizing my free time in travelling. In a sudden change in plan we had to shift our meeting place. I had to hire a meeting room in London as the one where we had planned, was undergoing renovation. And I am glad that we did. This new place was very beautiful in the premises of a college. It had a panoramic view across the Thames and was few steps away from the famous art gallery and London landmark, Tate Britain. Sitting there after the conference, I was thinking and talking to the students about the places they prefer to go during short vacations or long weekends near London. I am glad that I had traveled to most of the places which fellow students suggested me. Here is my list of top five places to visit from London.

1. Brighton - London by the Sea

Brighton Pier, Photo by Helen Clark

Brighton is a famous sea side resort, a perfect getaway point for the ones in London who wish to celebrate their weekends away from the city. Brighton is known for its oriental architecture and large gay community.

Try getting down to Brighton Pier, it is a nice place to walk in the cool breeze, along the beautiful sea shore & in the calmness all around. This is a place that will get you revitalized if you need a break from your busy work schedule. It can be a long walk, there are cafes after a mile or two and public conveniences. The light reflected from the cliff is very bright making the place even more wonderful. The place is well lit at night and is good for making photos.

If you enjoy hiking like me then come to Devil's Dyke where nature will treat you in its own way. If you are lucky to find clear sky, you will find the views over Sussex breathtaking which will make you just want to go on a long walk. It gives you a 360 degree views of Brighton out to the sea and across to North Downs. There is also a pub restaurant on the top. The pub is surprisingly good and gives you a great panoramic view if it is cold outside. The food is above average.

If you admire Indian architecture, come to Royal Pavilion, I had no idea such a thing existed in English cities when I went there to attend a friend's marriage. Royal Pavilion is a brilliant piece of art designed with unbelievable architectural touches. Rebuilt in the 19th century by architect John Nash, this building features a unique mixture of classical and Indian styles, which has been labeled as "Hindu-Gothic. You can start your tour with the electronic headphone which can translate the history of pavilion into several languages. Paintings and other architecture inside the Pavilion gives you the Indian feeling.

2. Cardiff, Truly Welsh

Bute Park, Photo by Sarah Barker

Cardiff is the capital of Wales in the United Kingdom situated on the south coast of the country. The city is gaining popularity with tourists who are interested in its history and Welsh culture. Cardiff is quickly becoming one of the United Kingdom's tourism hot spots.

Away from London if you have come to Cardiff for walking or picnicking with your family and kids, then Bute Park is one of the best places. There is an amazing animal wall silence in the park which gives you the calmness and creates a romantic atmosphere. Waterbus is a really nice touch to the park. Hop onto the waterbus which takes you along the river past the Millenium Stadium to Cardiff Bay. It is of great value and is a nice ride along the river. The park has good networks of tracks for cycling along with good cafes.

I have visited a lot of castles but Cardiff castle was one of the best I have seen in the country. It has 2000 years of history together in an eight acre site: Roman, Norman, Plantagenet and Victorian history. You can go from the old Roman, Norman and Medieval ruins to the newer wartime shelters and lavishly decorated interiors. The main castle itself in the centre has some great views of the city, Millennium rugby stadium being one of them.

3. Cambridge, a University City

Cambridge Backs, Photo by Paul Fenton

Cambridge allows you to form various impressions about the place. from world famous Cambridge Univeristy to breathtaking view of King's College Chapel from across the river Cam. It is very common to see students pedaling their way to the lecture hall and people spending their lazy summers near the River Cam. The town also deserves your admiration for rich intricacy of Gothic architecture.

River Cam and the view of serene greenery and colleges makes Cambridge a place to relax being surrounded by some of the most genius people in the world. Come to the Backs which is known for their daffodils and crocuses in the spring and beautiful open areas and road through gardens behind many colleges along the River Cam. The river is a good for punting during lazy summers.

Visit a college and walk on their garden and enjoy student's cafes and see if you can recall your college days. Entry inside the college campus may not be free unless you are member or if you have a local pass.

Also see Anglesey Abbey which is a few miles east of Cambridge, take bus no. 10 which plies every hour. It is a National Trust Property, a beautiful house having extensive trail of nature, pond with fishes, beautiful gardens big enough to lose oneself. It is a good place to take your kids and play. There is a water mill which functions whenever there are volunteers, it is fun for kids as they can mill flour. And you can buy the milled flour right there. The on-site catering is good quality, offering a fair choice of meals and snacks at lunchtime.

4. Northampton, Beautiful Countryside

Coton Manor Garden, Photo taken by Elliott Brown

Not to be confused with the Northampton in Massachusetts (U.S), it is a largest settlement in U.K which is not classified as city. The place has beautiful gardens, lakes art galleries and museums.

Northampton is smaller compared to Cardiff and Brighton and there are less things to do. What I like here is the peace and experiencing true English country. My favourite place here is Coton Manor Garden which is among the best gardens I have been to. I was lucky to see real flamingos here. There are less but good cafes for refreshment. Entry fees £6 per adult is of a good value and Parking is quite big. If you are a gardener yourself or pursue it as a hobby then you may learn some tips and tricks at this place and even buy some plants for your garden. There are several different types of gardens, and they give you a map. Start by the house and you will appreciate the beautiful lawn, rose garden, a large pond and terrace gardens.

Another beautiful place is Stanwick Lakes. There is lack of public transportation and its better if you go by car. Keep binoculars with you if you enjoy bird watching. The entry to the place is free and parking fee is mere £2 for the whole day. There is a nice cafe and mobile drinks van for refreshments. Cycle tracks are nicely laid if you love cycling. The atmosphere is serene, pretty and oriented for all. The place is great for relaxing with family or playing with kids. People of all ages would enjoy here including a romantic visit for couples.

5. Oxford, It is not all about the University!

Christ Church Meadows, photo taken by Tejvan Pettinger

Known for one of the most famous university in the world, Oxford University is also the oldest university in United Kingdom situated 50 miles (80 Km) west of London. The earlier evidence of teachings dates as far back as 1096.

Much of the development in Oxford is surrounding the university, though Oxford is not all about the university. Train ride from London takes you Thames valley. Section between Reading and Oxford gives you some of the best views of English countryside.

Christ Church Meadow is my favourite place in Oxford. It is a beautiful place ideal for picnic spot or just relaxing. This scenic park offers you to walk through the meadows and along the river. The park is just two minutes walk from the main Oxford shopping street in the city centre and leads you down to the river banks of the Isis (Thames as it is known is Oxford). Take some cheese, bread, strawberries and champagne with you and head to the meadow watch the punters and enjoy the magnificent view of the Christ Church.

Another similar place is Port Meadow. Stroll by the river, have lunch and drinks in a pub, take horse ride or even feed the horses ducks and swans. It is a great open space with horses and cows around. Whether you do cycling or run or walk, this place is good for all and if you are here during winter you can even see kids from the neighbourhood skating on the frozen lake.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Russia and United States Making India Their Number One Priority

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:59:00 +0000

INS Vikramaditya undergoing sea trials in Russia

Right after the independence when India was going to be the world's largest democracy, India made a decision that no foreign power would be able to decide India's future or its policies. This led India to become a founding member of NAM (Non Alignment Movement). It is the largest group of nations in the world after UN. One of the major policy of the group was to not to join either U.S. led western bloc or Soviet Union led eastern bloc during cold war era. Although Cold war and Soviet Union do not exist now, but the NAM still exists with the same policies.

When India's arc rival Pakistan signed security pact with United States, India's relations with Soviet Union became sweeter for obvious reasons including arts and culture and India's growing military needs. Although, India never joined Soviet Union's security pact formally, west had observed India's slight alignment towards the socialist republic resulting into complex relations with western powers.

Today conditions are way much different. While India still enjoys the company of its all weather friend Russia, United States too has discovered that partnership with India has a great economic and strategic potentials in 21st century. At this, India has two options to keep its non alignment policy intact; either do business with both of them, or do not do business with any. Latter sounds a bit non productive in this globalized world.

Earlier, Russia enjoyed the monopoly of supplying arms to India, now it has to compete with almost all other major arm exporters like France, Britain and the United States. Raising concerns in Russia over India's increasing alignment towards west. Realizing that India was cozying with the United States and Pakistan's relations with the U.S. were souring. Russian president Vladimir Putin scheduled a visit to Pakistan risking relationship with India, which was later cancelled at the last moment. It was last year only when a report made clear that India was still the number one user of Russian arms.

Russia Making India its First Priority

One of the reasons why Russia is pitching towards making India an important partner is India's location at the centre of Indian Ocean. Last year America announced that it is shifting its focus towards Asia Pacific from the middle east. This means a large presence of Indian and Russian navy in the region would be required to neutralize any attempt by America to influence the geopolitic stance of the island nations.

Seeing India cozying with America, Russia tried to approach Pakistan in search of a new potential partner in the South Asia. However, Russia probably decided to stay with India and push even more to win India's heart by competition. The reason behind this is that unlike in Soviet era, when Indo-Soviet relationship was mere a buy and sell relationship. Today, India and Russia have successfully identified areas of cooperation and 50-50 partnership, whether it is space research or military and civil development.

It is difficult to find a partner as scientifically advanced and economically sound like India. India has been funding a lot of Russian scientific projects with a huge amount of capital; something which Russia cannot expect from Pakistan or any other country in the region. Indian scientists have also been involved in development and manufacturing of world's fastest cruise missile, Brahmos and Indo-Russian Fifth Gen Fighter Aircraft. Russia and India have also been exploring cooperation in space and have partnered in India's second mission to the moon which has been delayed till 2016.

Another country with which Russia can have such kind of relations is China. China has economy larger than India and is ahead of India in many areas whether it is scientific papers published per year, or space race or military. Russia emphasized a lot on Sino Russian relationships and their future as forming a big powerful region. Russia promoted Chinese education and language in the country and urged people to learn it. Russian media time to time lauded China how it is taking on west in the economic system which is mainly dominated by the western countries.

However, Russia is now late to form any such alliance with China. China with its fast growing economy is currently on its best time and gives it the confidence of moving ahead independently. Those Chinese who had been living in east Russian cities like Vladivostok and Khabarovsk are also moving to their homeland seeing more opportunities and better living across the border. Young Chinese premiers now consider Soviet Union a history. Earlier China considered Soviet Union a great power and avoided messing with it. Today China places border claims and shows some Russian territories as its on their maps.

Culturally, Russia and China have been far from each other, whereas Indian culture has been close and familiar to Russians since the Soviet times. Soviet Union promoted Indian movies in the country as it was the only big film industry after Hollywood, which was banned. Indian movies also had good teachings and family values which was encouraged in USSR.

Considering everything, India deserves to be Russia's top priority. Russia simply cannot afford to let it lose India to the western powers who are aggressively hailing and praising India and forming ventures and partnerships.

United States Making India its First Priority

Photo: Reuters

Last year in 2012, U.S. Defence Secretary Lionel Panetta made a visit to India hoping that Indian defence establishment could be taken granted to prepare for strategy of re-balance in Asia Pacific that many believes is aimed at China's rise in the region.

Recently India has started looking towards U.S. for its defence needs leaving its old and trusted ally behind. India cleared its biggest ever defence deal with US in June, 2011, signing the $4.1 billion worth contract for 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic airlift aircraft. One of the reason why India has to look towards west was delay in delivery of arms and weapons and their parts by Russia, especially the delay in the delivery of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

In the global slowdown of economy, U.S. is looking for new markets and economic partners. This is why U.S. had urged India to bring reforms such as FDI in retail and airline business which will help big brands in America like Walmart earn more profit by tapping a consumer market of the billions of Indians. India's share in the world's software/services market is third after U.S.A and Japan in which U.S.A accounts for a share of 51.63% in India's total export of Software / Services.

Although officially not accepted yet, U.S. considers rise of China alarming and sees it as a potential rival. U.S has tried to engage with China on a lot of issues and had also managed to bring China to its side during Cold War, but as the rise of dragon began, America lost it from its grip. India, which is a democracy having a good proliferation record and which has shown signs of peace and friendship with almost every country in the world, looks reliable and responsible in a sense that it can lead the world neutrally. This was one of the reasons why the U.S. has recently stared pitching for India's permanent seat in UN Security Council.

Leon Panetta, US Defense Secretary, said, "Today, we have growing economic, social and diplomatic ties that benefit both [India and the U.S.] of our nations, but for this relationship to truly provide security for this region and for the world, we will need to deepen our defense and security cooperation. This is why I have come to India."

After a great mistrust between the two countries during the cold war, today both the nations understand each other's interest. Recently United States' regional interests in South Asia have somewhat started matching with India. Its souring relations with Pakistan, creating a Taliban free Afghanistan, and checking China's alarming growth has all been directly or indirectly in India's interest. The only place where India and U.S.collide is Iran. India wants to continue trade and support Iran and use its territories and ports for trade with Afghanistan, thus bypassing Pakistan. Whereas, U.S and the western world is making business opportunity with Iran even more difficult.

Who Among United States or Russia Will Win the Race?

The question is very interesting, but its answer is obvious, no one! India has been following the policy of non alignment since the day of independence. Even though the real meaning of non alignment lost after the collapse of Soviet Union, India believes in having its own space when it comes to making policies or decisions.

If India accepts the alliance of any country, the first strong reaction will come from China, who considers any move by India aimed at itself, whether it is increasing cooperation with Japan or Taiwan. China and India both are aware of each others rise and the amount of tough competition they are going to face. However, both of them try to ignore it and play it down to avoid any escalated tensions.

Another reason why India will not accept U.S proposal is that U.S has a bad history of dumping and going against their own allies whether it is Iraq, Afghan militants, or Pakistan. India will definitely pose a risk to America's dominant position in the world as China does now. Therefore, U.S would try not to let India reach that place; just like how it did with Japan and South Korea.

If India becomes strategic ally of the U.S it will unnecessarily make all the U.S enemies as its enemies. India is surrounded by the countries who do not like the U.S; be it China, Pakistan, Myanmar or the Middle East. Tensions across India will increase and it will have to fight decades long wars initiated by the U.S. India has not used its military properly for past 40 years after the war of liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 and in future also it doesn't wish to; Kargil in 1999 was a confined military operation.

Russia on the other hand has won India's trust several times, but India will still not venture into any such strategic alliance which can impact India's business with the western world. A large part of India's economy is based on trade with America and Europe whether it is software or food or minerals. India's alliance with Russia can give a negative impact to the U.S which will gradually look for alternatives that can bring the whole growth story of India to a halt.

Word "alliance" doesn't suit the present conditions in the world. It was popular earlier when the world was divided into two blocs, today it is not the case. Today the world is multi-polar, although other poles are not as strong as the U.S. In this growing world, it will be best for India to take help and support from both Russia and the U.S and continue on its growing path keeping its non alignment policy intact.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Agra, Journey to the Taj Mahal: Travel Opinion and Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:46:00 +0000

Taj Mahal, image by B.C. Tørrissen

Agra is the place which will simply make you say "Wah Taj!" (Wow Taj!) even if you do not know the meaning of it. Situated on the bank of the river Yamuna, Agra is the former capital of Hindustan, 200 Km (124mi) South of the national capital, New Delhi. It is commonly accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lodī, the Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate founded Agra in the year 1504. However, the city was founded much before and has its earliest reference in Mahabharat and Mahirshi Angira in 1000 BC.

How Should I Prepare My Itinerary for Agra?

If you are based in Delhi or if you are going to Agra from Delhi, then seeing the most important attractions in Agra requires only one day. The best way to travel to Agra from Delhi is by train. Almost every train from Delhi going to South passes through Agra. There are large number of morning trains that takes three to four hours to reach Agra, but if you want to save time for travelling in Agra, my advice is to book Bhopal Shatabdi Express (also same day return journey) powered by Ghaziabad WAP 5 engine that runs at 150 Km/hr. This train will take you to Agra conveniently and comfortably in just two hours. It starts from New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) around 6 AM and reaches Agra Cantt Railway Station (AGC) around 8 AM. While returning it departs from Agra around 8:45 PM and reaches New Delhi at 10:45 PM. Beware, all the Delhi bound trains in winter from November to February are prone to be late from their scheduled time due to dense fog conditions in the region.

Train is the cheapest and fastest option to reach Agra, There are also a number of daily bus and taxi hire services that you can chose from. You can easily book them from Indian Railways website irctc.com or travel websites like makemytrip.com. I recommend you to browse through makemytrip coupons and you may make your journey even cheaper.

Bhopal Shatabdi Express (c) The World Reporter

Lots of tourists go to Agra and then return to Delhi on the same day, some also travel further to Jaipur completing the golden triangle of Indian tourism (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur).

What to do Once You Reach Agra?

As soon as you will get down at Agra Cantt. Railway Station, number of taxi drivers will surround you, usually in a group. They work for government pre-paid taxi service, but still they will insist and rush to you as if they are all individuals. I asked them the reason, "you work for government, seeing you insisting and forcing us to go with you so much looks a bit tricky", but he replied that it is because he will also take us to the market, where he will get some commission which is his own. Hence, all the drivers insists you to chose them. This happens specially if you are non Indian, or if you are with foreigners because they are the ones who would actually buy something from those markets.

It is good if you book a taxi, it will be with you for the whole day and will bring you back to the railway station in the evening according to the time of your train. As soon as you will reach Pre-Paid taxi counter you will see list of travel packages covering many attractions. Agra is blessed with a number of historical monuments, out of which most famous ones are the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri which are also UNESCO world heritage site. What I have observed is that most of the tourists cover only Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.

The first destination in your trip would be Taj Mahal, which is nearly 7 KM from the railway station. You would be entering from the West Gate which is one of the main entrance. If the queue is long, then may be you can try entering from South Gate which is less busy. Your taxi would wait for you outside and you can admire the beauty of the Taj for as long as you want.

Visiting The Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal (c) The World Reporter

Although I lived almost for all my life in Delhi just 200 Km away from Agra, but it was only last year in November that I actually made to Taj Mahal for the first time. It is really strange for everyone and for me that one of the most visited monument in the world was unseen by me till now. I had been seeing Taj Mahal many times in videos, and photos since my childhood and I used to say, yes it is beautiful! But when I actually went there to see, I was silent for a moment and "Wah Taj!" were the only two words that came out of my mouth. It is magnificent and is brilliantly white. I have not seen something so white before, shining in the bright sunlight. Before I could proceed even further I saw my teammate who was holding an SLR camera with her burst into tears, it was her dream to see Taj Mahal since her childhood in Russia, although it wasn't the first time she was seeing the Taj.

Be informed that no eatables are allowed inside. You cannot eat inside. And of course no guns and ammunition is allowed inside. If you still have got something you can get it stored in a cloak room some 100 metres away from the security checking.

Taxis and other vehicles cannot go beyond a certain point and from there you will have to walk to the entrance of Taj Mahal. Correct distance of the entrance of Taj Mahal would be mentioned on sign boards. People will approach you to take horse cart, camel cart or battery car/golf cart to the entrance, you may chose any of them. If you are not interested, the you can simply walk as it is a short track.

For Indian citizens the cost of the ticket is only ₹20 and for the foreigners it is ₹750. I heard from many of my non Indian friends about this huge discrimination and I just tell them, we pay taxes and so we deserve subsidized prices ;-) Foreigners will get a half litre water bottle and shoe covers with their ticket for free, and Indians may also buy it just for paying ₹10 extra.

Taj Mahal is surrounded by lush green gardens and artificial lakes. If you walk over to the other side of the Taj you can enjoy a beautiful view of the River Yamuna flowing via Delhi, that takes a sharp turn right where the Taj Mahal is situated.

Many guides and photographers will approach you, chose only those who have a valid Identity card if you really wish to hire a guide. The best way is to learn about Taj Mahal before visiting it, or buy a audio guide or book at the ticket counter and spend good time learning and admiring the monument. Guides do tell interesting things and can speak almost all the major languages of the world, but they are very quick as they have to approach maximum group of tourists. They will cover the entire place in just half an hour, the place which actually deserves you spending two to three hours.

Do not buy anything on the street sold by the people who will aggressively approach you, unless if you really find the things interesting and of good quality. Every thing is negotiable, you have to bargain. These sellers are so aggressive that they will force you to buy things like map, keychains, photos, etc.

If you are a woman tourist, then beware of the guys who either in groups or individuals might approach you to get their picture clicked with you, if you are not comfortable, simply say no.

As you will go out of the complex your taxi will be waiting for you and can take you to a nice restaurant or Agra Fort whichever is your priority.

Visiting Agra Fort

Agra Fort (c) The World Reporter

If you have been in Delhi, and have seen Red Fort, then you will find many similarities. The fort is mere one or two kilometres from Taj Mahal. Agra fort is very big and looks really strong. Its structure and architecture give the sense of the strength of the then Mughal Empire. The Fort was continuously built by many Mughal kings. Out of which work by Shah Jahan is the most prominent due to his fondness with white Marble. All his work is done with white marble, which is easily recognizable in a fort mainly built with red sandstone.

Guides are more aggressive here, and will tell you that it is worthless coming here if you don't hire them, as it is not Taj Mahal which you just see and admire, it is a complex fort built with then military strategies. Hiring a guide is completely a tourist's own decision. You might be able to learn interesting things, but if you wish to explore yourself it would also be great. Agra fort has some of the great picture taking point one of which is just along the river and you see just the river and trees between you and the beautiful view of Taj Mahal.

Keep your Taj Mahal tickets safe. If you have them, then you can get a price cut of ₹50 in the ticket for Agra Fort. For Indians, it is the same for ₹20 and for foreigners who have ticket of Taj Mahal, it will cost ₹250.

If you are in Agra only for one day, then a trip to another UNESCO World heritage site, Fatehpur Sikri may become really tight, as it is built in the outskirts of the city of Agra nearly 40 Km away. Most of the tourists who come here spend the rest of their time in shopping and eating. I would really encourage you to also visit Fatehpur Sikri, if you have no scheduled train or bus in the night or if you are in Agra for more than a day.

Exploring The Markets in Agra

The taxi drivers will take you to some fixed shops and restaurants where they take almost every tourist who come with them and earn good commission. Restaurants are generally multi cuisine, have good ambiance and slightly costlier than others. Food is normal. If you have a request of going to a particular restaurant they will take you there as well, but still they might insist you to go to the one where they are offering.

One of the shops where they will take you will be a marble workshop where same kind of work is done as it is on Taj Mahal, people in the workshop may also teach you how they work and then will take you to their store where you can buy their items. Other places where you will be taken are semi precious and precious stones shops and shops where you can buy shawls and other Indian clothing and jewellery. All the shopkeepers or traders here will force you to see, but will not force you to buy, It is your decision.

Almost all the traders, shopkeepers, guides and even street sellers know many European and Asian languages, specially Russian. If you are Russian you will not face any language problem at all. However it is also the trick used by the sellers to lure you by talking in your language and then force you to buy.

Agra is an important and must destination for almost every tourist who visits India. You would have seen the Taj many times on TV and books like me, but it really deserves a visit from you. Then only you will be able to do the justice to the monument and the admiration which it deserves. It will only take one day from you, but will leave an imprint on your soul for the rest of your life making you realize the preciousness of love. If it doesn't bring the smile on your face or tears of joy in your eyes, let me know!

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

India, Russia and China in Race to Expand Influence Over Afghanistan; Preventing Re-Talibanization After 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 09:14:00 +0000

From India to Russia and China to Iran, there is a big question mark on the geopolitical condition of the region once the western forces from Afghanistan will depart sometime in 2014. Russia, China, India and the neighbouring states are eager to know America's and NATO's strategy after the withdrawal of the forces so that they can prepare themselves to deal with the coming situation.

Each nation including Pakistan, has an objective in Afghanistan to safeguard their interest and maintain peace within the region. However, Pakistan differs from other countries in implementing its objectives in Afghanistan. Pakistan supports Taliban and believes in either Taliban rule in Afghanistan or a coalition of Afghan government with Taliban. It has also made western powers to consider Taliban to be reconciled and establish a power sharing arrangement in the Afghan government. It is believed that the U.S, along with the U.K, France and Germany, is trying to reach out to the Taliban leaders directly. Before the war on terror in Afghanistan there were only three countries: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who recognized Taliban. Now there is a good probability that in the coming future more countries are willing to recognize it.

Concerns in India

India sees Afghanistan as a strategically important country. According to India, Afghanistan is its bordering neighbour, however the part which borders Afghanistan is occupied by Pakistan which India doesn't recognizes on its national maps. Safeguarding a Taliban free Afghanistan is in interest of India which is one of the favourite target of cross border terrorism. Indians have made over $2 billion of investment in Afghanistan mainly in mining, agriculture, energy, capacity building and infrastructure to make its place secured as a friendly nation. Just to make Afghanistan less dependent on Pakistan for access to the sea, India had been building a highway and rail link from Iranian ports to Afghanistan and Central Asia. India has been acting swift to prevent Pakistan from regaining Afghanistan as its backyard and making it a place to nourish extremism and drugs, taking the land locked country back to 1990s. If Pakistan can ensure its western border safe by having its puppet government in Afghanistan, it will be able to largely concentrate on its eastern border with India. India so far doesn't have any declared interest of forming military bases in Afghanistan. Although India has deployed soldiers of Indo Tibetan Border Police in Afghanistan to ensure safety of Indian diplomats and development work in Afghanistan a big military presence in the land locked country in the future may help India to contain its childhood rival.

Concerns in China

China's establishment in Afghanistan has largely been propelled by its all weather friend, Pakistan. Like India, China has managed to invest nearly $3 billion in Afghanistan. China believes presence of Taliban can affect its business development dreams in Afghanistan. One of the major concern in China is also the extremism in its Xinjiang province whose roots have been identified in Pakistan and Afghanistan. China doesn't want to take risk of cross border backed development of unrest inside its territory. Specially on this matter, Chinese policy differs than that of Pakistan and for this reason earlier this year China approached India to discuss Afghanistan. India and China may be competitor in Afghanistan for securing tenders and deals, but to sustain there, they need the support of each other and a common ground of strategy. For India, it gives the interpretation that China doesn't exactly buy Pakistan's approach of solving Afghanistan's situation which doesn't want to exclude Taliban from Afghanistan.

Concerns in Russia

Russia is anxious about the possible reach of Taliban and its ideology to Central Asia and former Soviet republics, which it considers its area of influence. Russia has shown its will to establish new bases in Afghanistan for the repairing of military hardware. Russia is also seeking a broader cooperation with NATO and continuing supporting it through their northern supply route until its withdrawal. The head of the Defense Ministry’s department of international cooperation, Sergey Koshelev, told the press, "maintenance of weapons and military hardware in Afghanistan remains a top priority, as any instability in the country would affect Russia’s own security, as well as the security of other European nations."

Presence of either Russia or United States in Afghanistan would be in favour of India. Although India maintains one air base in coordination with Russia in Tajikistan [Read: India Expanding Its Strategic Presence in Other Countries], India doesn't see itself as a major military expansion power seeking oversea bases. India aided the NATO and northern alliance in Afghanistan during the war against Taliban, and India was also the only country in South Asia to recognize the Soviet backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. At least as of now, India has no declared interest of setting up military bases in Afghanistan. India, on the other hand repeatedly rejected any attempts to reconcile the "good Taliban" within Afghanistan's system.

Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai had invited Pakistan's government and ISI chiefs to take more active role in resolving Afghanistan's issue, as it had been considered that any agreeable resolution of Afghanistan was impossible without the involvement of Pakistan in it. The assassination of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani in September 2011, which was traced to Taliban, changed everything. Afghanistan made a sudden geopolitical shift and signed strategic pact with India in October 2011 that includes training Afghanistan's military.

Russia and China, on the other hand are worried about west's plan of supporting a government in Afghanistan in cooperation with Taliban. What they fear is that they believe it could become an America-Taliban deal allowing continued presence of America and breaking the future economic and geopolitics dreams of both Russia and China in Afghanistan. However, now the chances of America accepting Pakistan's formula is low, as now it is clear that Osama bin Laden was hidden in Pakistan and there have been evidence of Pakistan's ISI and Haqqani network involved against the Indian and American interests in Afghanistan.

India, Russia and China met first time in Moscow on 20th February, 2013 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. India has also been engaged with the U.S., U.K and Afghanistan for future cooperation. U.S and China are engaged in their own conversation on Afghanistan, and on the other hand India, Russia and China are also involving Iran. The amount of conversation and dialogue between high level diplomats of the countries shows the importance of Afghanistan and their future. Each country is racing to expand its influence over Afghanistan, but the main motive is same, to keep Taliban at bay.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.

Top Reasons Why People Say Indian Government Is Dumb

noreply@blogger.com (Sanskar Shrivastava) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:45:00 +0000

Central Secretariat

Written by Margaret

India is the largest democracy and all its citizens are proud of the same. Despite its geographical boundaries and distinct cultures, India stands a united country. However, despite all its beauty and elegance, the Indian government has come under the scanner both nationally and internationally.

Below are mentioned some of the reasons that encourage people to say that Indian Government is dump and is not awake to the realities and dangers that might be creeping in from different quarters.

1. No Concrete Foreign Policy

One of the biggest challenge that the Indian government has been facing is its inability to maintain a consistent foreign policy. This holds true for different matters of national and international significance.

The key anomalies in the foreign policy relate to a lackluster approach that Indian government adopts when it comes to dealing with terrorism. Terror from across the border is a gruesome reality in India and the government has not been able to pursue a hard stand against nations that have been pushing terrorists across the border.

This makes India a soft state and the common people have to suffer owing to this policy of the government. The latest case in this regard can be quoted as the bomb blasts that ripped past Hyderabad city. Despite the loss of precious human lives, the Indian Government could not do much apart from offering compensation for the dead.

Some countries have been claiming parts of Indian territories as disputed. The example of China can be quoted in this regard. China has been claiming Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed state. Despite it being a part of India, the central government has not been able to voice its concern at the appropriate platform. This too gives fuel to the apprehension that Indian Government is dumb enough to the realities that counter us, almost on a daily level.

2. Inability to Deal With Terrorism at Home

It seems as if most of the country is facing a tough time. The tough stand adopted by DMK on Tamil issue in Sri Lanka is an indication of the fact that all is not well down south. Things can take a turn for the worse as people in the state of Tamil Nadu feel for the ethnic Tamil population of Sri Lanka. Central India is not far from problems and the states here are infested with naxalite problem. The Indian government has not been able to counter this problem with precision and this has led to loss of precious human life and resources that could have been used for promoting economic interests of the local population. Besides, the morale of the security forces dealing with the problem too falls as it is they who have to deal with the situation on a daily basis.

North East too has its unique set of problems. Though government has been able to offset the impact of militancy to a bit, much needs to be done to create normalcy in the region. Jammu and Kashmir too has its unique set of problems and the militancy being fueled by neighboring country too needs to be addressed with a firm hand. Indian government has not been able to deal with terrorism at home firmly making the Indian government appear dumb on various national and international platforms.

3. Not Able to Maintain Cordial Ties With Allies

The present United Progressive Alliance government has not been able to maintain its house in order. Hardly a day passes when the opposition parties led by BJP do not blame the Prime Minister on going soft on various matters of national and international importance. Be it the extradition of top terrorist from Pakistan or the issue of Italian marines who have refused to return from Italy to face a trial in India, the UPA government is seen as going soft on matters that demand immediate attention.

Besides the opposition that the government faces from opposition parties, its own house is too not in order. Its important allies as Trinamool Congress led by Mamta Banerjee and DMK led by M. Karunanidhi have left the government on issues that concern them.

The inability to maintain its own house and bend on important issues of national and international matters have lend credibility to the fact that the Indian government is dumb to the realities and needs to do much more to lend credibility to its sagging image.

It is however noteworthy to mention that the current government in India is a coalition government and it has to consider the demands of its allies at times while taking decisions that have national and international implications.

Despite all the anomalies in its system, India continues to hold its dominance in the world politics. Perhaps that is what is known as true democracy.

About The Author: Margaret is a writer/blogger. She loves writing travelling and reading books. She contributes to Social Cloud.

Please share and join the discussion on facebook by clicking the "Like" below.