India asks Norway to facilitate return of children in fostercare in Norway

New Delhi, Feb 15 (ANI): Norwegian Ambassador Ann Ollestad was called in by Secretary (West) M.Ganapathi on Wednesday to convey the Government's continued serious concerns regarding the two young children currently placed in foster care by the Norwegian childcare services.

The Secretary (West) drew the envoy's attention to the conversation that had taken place between External Affair Minister S M Krishna and the Foreign Minister of Norway on January 23 during which Krishna had urged the minister to find an amicable and urgent solution to ensure that the children are united with their extended family in India.

Ganapathi told Ollestad that the issue must be resolved the soonest possible due to its humanitarian dimension. Pointing out that cultural alienation could result from keeping such young children away from their own familial milieu, he strongly urged the Norwegian Government to do its utmost to expedite the process under way.

He reiterated that it would be in the children's best interest to return to India as early as feasible so that they can grow up under the loving care of their grandparents and other family members.

Ollestad promised to convey the various points made by Ganapathi to her government and emphasize the priority attached to the earliest possible resolution of this matter.

The matter is also being pursued actively in by the Indian Embassy in Oslo with all concerned authorities.

Three-year-old Abhigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya have been placed under the care of two different foster families in Norway. The Norway authorities had said that the children were taken away as their parents, Sagarika and Anurup, were not taking proper care of them.

The parents, however, said the authorities took exception to cultural differences such as sleeping with the children and breastfeeding the daughter at scheduled times as opposed to when she cried. (ANI)

Future 2G telecom licences to be de-linked from spectrum: Sibal

New Delhi, Feb.15 (ANI): Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday announced new rules for the telecom sector in which he said that the government has decided to de-link granting of future telecom licences from spectrum allocation.

Addressing a news conference here, Sibal said all license henceforth will be unified and added that there will be a cap on spectrum capacity in case of mergers and acquisitions which in turn requires surrendering excess capacity.

Sibal said additional spectrum can be acquired through an auction.

He also said that all licences would have to be renewed after 10 years.

For the efficient management of spectrum, he said that the Telecom Regulatoru Authority of India (TRAI) would take regular audits and also review the usage of spectrum. (ANI)

US dismisses Iran's nuke achievements

Washington, Feb 16 (IANS) The US has dismissed the nuclear achievements demonstrated by Iran as something not terribly new and impressive.

Washington expected to learn more from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)inspectors currently on the ground in Iran about what the country demonstrated earlier in the day, Xinhua quoted US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland as saying Wednesday.

Iran's move laid bare the pressure of its international and diplomatic isolation, as the "unprecedented" sanctions are still growing, she said.

"Well, I can't speculate any further as to Iran's motives behind its various actions. But our view on this is it's not terribly new, and it's not terribly impressive," she said, adding "This strikes us as calibrated mostly for a domestic audience."

At a ceremony held in Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled nuclear fuel rods, new generation of centrifuges and a number of radioactive medicines for the treatment of cancer.

He also fed a homemade fuel rod made out of 20-percent enriched uranium into the core of the Tehran Research Reactor.

Nuland also confirmed that EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had got a response from Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, to the letter she sent in October last year, a move the West had been demanding as a precondition for the resumption of talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

"Our interest is in Iran abiding by its international obligations, renouncing its interest in nuclear weapons and returning to the international community," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

"And that path remains open to Iran as long as it is interested in talks that they would approach in a constructive manner," he told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Wisconsin state.

The West suspects that Iran is developing nuclear bombs under the cover of its nuclear programme. But the Islamic republic insists the programme is only for power generation and medical purpose.

Israel embassy bomber was very well trained: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Tuesday that the lone motorcyclist who tried to assassinate an Israeli diplomat's wife here was "a very well trained person".

"It is very clear that a very well trained person has committed this attack," Chidambaram said, referring to Monday's bomb attack in the heart of the city that badly injured the wife of the defence attache.

"There is also reason to believe that the target was the Israeli diplomat's wife. Therefore, one has to proceed on the basis that it was a terrorist attack," the minister told reporters.

The victim, Tal Yehoshua Koren, was still in hospital but in stable condition, he added.

"The condition of the lady is stable. She has suffered splinter injuries and some other injuries. She is out of danger."

Three other Indians, including her driver, were also injured in the attack. They were discharged after medical attention was given to them.

Giving the first official sequence of the audacious attack for which Israel has blamed Iran, Chidambaram said the motorcycle rider came from behind Koren's car when it halted at a traffic junction on Safdarjung Road, not far from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence.

"The person attached a device to the rear door of the car, on the right hand side, crossed the diving verge, swung past the car (and sped away)," he said.

He quoted an eyewitness as telling police that a powerful explosion, heard in a range of one kilometre, happened "within seconds".

"We believe," he said, "the explosion happened within four to five seconds of the device being attached (to the car)."

The minister said investigations were on and CCTV cameras were being screened. But there was "no clear image of the motorcycle rider or the number plate".

"We condemn this incident. At the moment I am not pointing any finger at any particular group or organisation. Whoever did it, we condemn it in the strongest terms.

"We have friendly relations with Israel, just as we have very friendly relations with other countries," he said, adding that attacking any member of the diplomatic community on Indian soil was unacceptable.

He said India had assured Israel that "the investigation will proceed until we find the perpetrator of the attack".

Chidambaram said Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon had spoken to the Israeli ambassador, Alon Ushpiz.

The attack here Monday happened on the same day when an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi was filed when an employee discovered a car fitted with an explosive device near the diplomatic mission.

Speaking in Jerusalem, Netanyahu blamed recent attempts on Israeli officials abroad on "Iran and its client Hezbollah". He called Iran "the world's greatest exporter of terror".

Iran has denied any involvement in the terror attack Monday.

asymmetry.mov

Asymmetry Analog watch hits the interstellar space lanes.

Design submitted by Cory from the USA.
Cory says: Hull plating on fictional space stations always has such interesting patterns. I thought it would be fun to do an analog watch with an asymmetrical pattern that resembles hull plating.
The lines that radiate out from the center correspond to the hours of a clock face, simply find the place where the line changes to check the hour. The three dashes at the edge of the watch face denote minutes, specifically the center dash.
Tokyoflash fans who enjoy analog designs that are complex-but-simple to read may enjoy this design. As would anyone living in a deep space vessel who needs to keep track of time.
The asymmetrical shape of the hour ‘hand’ and the three dashes at the edge, along with a semi-symmetrical watch case creates an interesting look in both IPblack and Stainless Steel.

Pixely e-paper watch : The time in low-res

Design submitted by Sam from Germany.
Sam says: The idea for a pixely display came while working on another watch. I like pixels so I developed a display, that shows time and date with low resolution numbers.
Imagine the classic 7-segment numbers you know from LCD displays. In this watch, they are pixelated to the max, until they are almost unrecognisable. Almost. The result is a set of numbers made of 2×3 pixels which are still distinguishable by the position and the brightness of their pixels. There are 8 numbers which in pairs tell the current hour, minute, month and day.
The watch itself is held minimalistic. It’s an IP-black band framed by two stainless steel stripes. I chose a metal based watch with a segmented strap to give the pixel display a sophisticated housing. I’m suggesting an e-paper display because that is capable of displaying the different pixel shades (black, white, two shades of grey). E-paper would also allow to implement a learning mode starting with the classic numbers which get more and more pixely until they reach the minimum resolution. The display is covered by glass plate, that’s slightly bumped on its inside, bringing the pixel effect to a hardware level.
This is a watch for artists, minimalists and pixel lovers who like it extraordinary but more sober, less flashing.
Low resolution doesn’t mean low quality. It’s a cool artistic way to describe reality. There are pixels everywhere these days and this concept makes them timeless.