New York crashed train exceeded speed limit

New York: The commuter train that derailed in New York City borough of Bronx early Sunday morning was travelling at a speed of nearly 82 mph (132 kph) while it entered a 30 mph (48 kph) curve, authorities said.

Two event recorders of the Metro-North train were read out at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) lab, adding that human error or a mechanical problem might be the likely cause of the crash, though no evidence showed that it was caused by sabotage, Xinhua quoted NTSB Board Member Earl Weener as saying. 

There were nine stops before the derailment occurred near the Spuyten-Duyvil Station Sunday, but the NTSB said that they were not aware of any prior problems with the brakes. Four people were killed in the derailment and more than 60 were injured. Weener said that rail cars and locomotive will be moved to a secure location for a more detailed examination over the next few days.

The train engineer has been interviewed and his cell phone was being reviewed by forensic investigators, according to Weener. More than 100 people were aboard the train heading from Poughkeepsie in upstate New York to Grand Central Terminal in downtown Manhattan. It skipped the tracks 91 meters north of the Spuyten-Duyvil Station in the Bronx on a curved section of the track just before 7.30 a.m. Sunday morning. The accident came four months after a freight train derailed on a nearby stretch of the track

New York crashed train exceeded speed limit

New York: The commuter train that derailed in New York City borough of Bronx early Sunday morning was travelling at a speed of nearly 82 mph (132 kph) while it entered a 30 mph (48 kph) curve, authorities said.

Two event recorders of the Metro-North train were read out at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) lab, adding that human error or a mechanical problem might be the likely cause of the crash, though no evidence showed that it was caused by sabotage, Xinhua quoted NTSB Board Member Earl Weener as saying. 

There were nine stops before the derailment occurred near the Spuyten-Duyvil Station Sunday, but the NTSB said that they were not aware of any prior problems with the brakes. Four people were killed in the derailment and more than 60 were injured. Weener said that rail cars and locomotive will be moved to a secure location for a more detailed examination over the next few days.

The train engineer has been interviewed and his cell phone was being reviewed by forensic investigators, according to Weener. More than 100 people were aboard the train heading from Poughkeepsie in upstate New York to Grand Central Terminal in downtown Manhattan. It skipped the tracks 91 meters north of the Spuyten-Duyvil Station in the Bronx on a curved section of the track just before 7.30 a.m. Sunday morning. The accident came four months after a freight train derailed on a nearby stretch of the track

Two Bangladeshi ministers escape bomb attacks

Dhaka: Two Bangladeshi ministers escaped unhurt when bombs were thrown at the convoy of one and at the residence of the other, media reports said Monday. 

At least three crude bombs were hurled at the vehicle of Syed Ashraful Islam, the minister of local government, rural development and cooperatives, on the outskirts of Dhaka when he was on way to his constituency in Kishoreganj district, bdnews24.com reported. No one was injured in the attack.

Islam is also the general secretary of the ruling Awami League. 'No one was hurt but some glasses of a few cars in the motorcade were broken,' the report quoted police as saying. At least four bombs were hurled at Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammad Quader's residence Monday, The Daily Star online reported. The minister was not at his home during the attack.

The Election Commission last week announced that the country's 10th parliamentary elections will be held Jan 5, 2014, triggering widespread protests by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina has said the polls would be held on schedule despite the continuous protests.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, has asked Sheikh Hasina to bring back the non-party caretaker system or the opposition would not participate in the next elections because it fears the polls will not be free and fair. Both parties are seeking a dialogue to end the impasse over the formation of a caretaker government to conduct the polls, but no headway has been made so far.

Two Bangladeshi ministers escape bomb attacks

Dhaka: Two Bangladeshi ministers escaped unhurt when bombs were thrown at the convoy of one and at the residence of the other, media reports said Monday. 

At least three crude bombs were hurled at the vehicle of Syed Ashraful Islam, the minister of local government, rural development and cooperatives, on the outskirts of Dhaka when he was on way to his constituency in Kishoreganj district, bdnews24.com reported. No one was injured in the attack.

Islam is also the general secretary of the ruling Awami League. 'No one was hurt but some glasses of a few cars in the motorcade were broken,' the report quoted police as saying. At least four bombs were hurled at Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammad Quader's residence Monday, The Daily Star online reported. The minister was not at his home during the attack.

The Election Commission last week announced that the country's 10th parliamentary elections will be held Jan 5, 2014, triggering widespread protests by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina has said the polls would be held on schedule despite the continuous protests.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, has asked Sheikh Hasina to bring back the non-party caretaker system or the opposition would not participate in the next elections because it fears the polls will not be free and fair. Both parties are seeking a dialogue to end the impasse over the formation of a caretaker government to conduct the polls, but no headway has been made so far.

24 killed in Nigeria attacks

Lagos: At least 24 insurgents have been killed during an exchange of fire between Nigerian security forces and suspected terrorists in the pre-dawn attack on Maiduguri, a military statement said Monday.

Military locations, which included the Nigerian Air Force base in Maiduguri, were targeted during the attack, a statement from Chris Olukolade, director of defence information, said, adding the Nigerian security forces repelled the attack. 

He said three decommissioned military aircraft as well as two helicopters were incapacitated in the course of the attack.

'Security forces are in pursuit of the terrorists in the Djemtillo general area along the Maiduguri and Banishek axis,' the statement said. It added that movements in Maiduguri and environs had been restricted.

It also enjoined citizens to report any of the fleeing insurgents, most of whom could be identified with gunshot wounds.

Olukolade also said that normal flights operation in and out of the Maiduguri Airport which were earlier disrupted temporarily had resumed.

24 killed in Nigeria attacks

Lagos: At least 24 insurgents have been killed during an exchange of fire between Nigerian security forces and suspected terrorists in the pre-dawn attack on Maiduguri, a military statement said Monday.

Military locations, which included the Nigerian Air Force base in Maiduguri, were targeted during the attack, a statement from Chris Olukolade, director of defence information, said, adding the Nigerian security forces repelled the attack. 

He said three decommissioned military aircraft as well as two helicopters were incapacitated in the course of the attack.

'Security forces are in pursuit of the terrorists in the Djemtillo general area along the Maiduguri and Banishek axis,' the statement said. It added that movements in Maiduguri and environs had been restricted.

It also enjoined citizens to report any of the fleeing insurgents, most of whom could be identified with gunshot wounds.

Olukolade also said that normal flights operation in and out of the Maiduguri Airport which were earlier disrupted temporarily had resumed.

Indian - American freshman at MIT wins Ingenuity award

Washington: Indian-American teenager Saumil Bandopadhyay has been selected for the prestigious Ingenuity Award for revolutionising nanotechnology that would upend industries ranging from automobiles to astronomy. MIT freshman Bandyopadhyay is among the 10 selected individuals, who were named recipients of the second annual American Ingenuity Awards last month.

Bandyopadhyay, 18, who was presented the award last month, was selected for a unique, sensitive infrared radiation detector that promises to be inexpensive and has scientific, civilian and military applications. The device has already attracted the interest of the US Army, the Smithsonian Magazine said in a statement.

'At the age of 18, Saumil Bandyopadhyay had five peer- reviewed scientific papers to his name, but no driver's license. His busy schedule was partially to blame—he spent much of high school in an electrical engineering lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, wearing a hairnet and tinkering with nanowires. Since his dad was a professor there, he always had a ride home,' the magazine wrote in its December issue.

The magazine said, Saumil worked on a unique infrared detector, which may one day reduce car crash rates by allowing vehicles to sense each other in fog or darkness. The nanoscale contraption, which to the uneducated eye looks like a silver postage stamp, might also someday help spy on stellar nurseries, detect hidden land mines and monitor global warming, it said.

Most exciting, it operates at room temperature, without the cumbersome and expensive tanks of liquid nitrogen needed to cool most other infrared sensors, the magazine wrote.

'It's a breakthrough — a different way of measuring infrared,' Gary Tepper, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who tutored Bandyopadhyay on one aspect of the project, was quoted as saying. 'We have high-school students in the lab all the time, but we don't usually see doctoral-level research,' he said.

When John Mather, the Nobel laureate astrophysicist, noticed the infrared device at an Intel Science Fair, he invited Bandyopadhyay to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to discuss it.  'I thought it was an ingenious idea,' Mather said. 'He's
a brilliant kid.' 

Indian - American freshman at MIT wins Ingenuity award

Washington: Indian-American teenager Saumil Bandopadhyay has been selected for the prestigious Ingenuity Award for revolutionising nanotechnology that would upend industries ranging from automobiles to astronomy. MIT freshman Bandyopadhyay is among the 10 selected individuals, who were named recipients of the second annual American Ingenuity Awards last month.

Bandyopadhyay, 18, who was presented the award last month, was selected for a unique, sensitive infrared radiation detector that promises to be inexpensive and has scientific, civilian and military applications. The device has already attracted the interest of the US Army, the Smithsonian Magazine said in a statement.

'At the age of 18, Saumil Bandyopadhyay had five peer- reviewed scientific papers to his name, but no driver's license. His busy schedule was partially to blame—he spent much of high school in an electrical engineering lab at Virginia Commonwealth University, wearing a hairnet and tinkering with nanowires. Since his dad was a professor there, he always had a ride home,' the magazine wrote in its December issue.

The magazine said, Saumil worked on a unique infrared detector, which may one day reduce car crash rates by allowing vehicles to sense each other in fog or darkness. The nanoscale contraption, which to the uneducated eye looks like a silver postage stamp, might also someday help spy on stellar nurseries, detect hidden land mines and monitor global warming, it said.

Most exciting, it operates at room temperature, without the cumbersome and expensive tanks of liquid nitrogen needed to cool most other infrared sensors, the magazine wrote.

'It's a breakthrough — a different way of measuring infrared,' Gary Tepper, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who tutored Bandyopadhyay on one aspect of the project, was quoted as saying. 'We have high-school students in the lab all the time, but we don't usually see doctoral-level research,' he said.

When John Mather, the Nobel laureate astrophysicist, noticed the infrared device at an Intel Science Fair, he invited Bandyopadhyay to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to discuss it.  'I thought it was an ingenious idea,' Mather said. 'He's
a brilliant kid.' 

IT professional from Bangalore allegedly raped at Kerala resort

A 40-year old IT professional from Bangalore was allegedly raped at a backwater island resort near Thiruvananthapuram last week; two suspects have yet to be arrested.

The woman had come to the star category resort with a group of colleagues as part of an official trip and she was allegedly assaulted by two persons early on November 28, police said.

According to her complaint with police, two unidentified persons entered her room at around 2.30 am. While one of them restrained her, the other man raped her. The woman has returned to her home in Bangalore.

Forensic evidence collected from the room had been sent for analysis and phone call details of the guests at the resort at the time of the crime and the staff members were being verified, an inspector, part of the investigating team, said. 
The resort is under surveillance and the staff members had been questioned.

IT professional from Bangalore allegedly raped at Kerala resort

A 40-year old IT professional from Bangalore was allegedly raped at a backwater island resort near Thiruvananthapuram last week; two suspects have yet to be arrested.

The woman had come to the star category resort with a group of colleagues as part of an official trip and she was allegedly assaulted by two persons early on November 28, police said.

According to her complaint with police, two unidentified persons entered her room at around 2.30 am. While one of them restrained her, the other man raped her. The woman has returned to her home in Bangalore.

Forensic evidence collected from the room had been sent for analysis and phone call details of the guests at the resort at the time of the crime and the staff members were being verified, an inspector, part of the investigating team, said. 
The resort is under surveillance and the staff members had been questioned.