Tag Archives: horse-racing
Khushwant Singh, writer and journalist, passes away at 99
Khushwant Singh, writer and journalist, passes away at 99 (AFP) / 21 March 2014 Khushwant Singh, one of India’s best known writers who won fame for a searing book on partition of the subcontinent as well as his once-daring descriptions of sex, died on Thursday aged 99. The country’s most prolific author, who died at his home in New Delhi after suffering breathing problems, had only recently stopped writing despite his advanced years, his son said. “He was having some breathing problems. “He hadn’t been too unwell in his last few days and had only stopped writing recently. He was still reading newspapers and books… was mentally alert, and led a full life,” Rahul Singh told the NDTV news channel. Singh was a household name who wrote more than 100 books and countless newspaper columns, including one called With Malice Towards One And All. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called him “a gifted author, candid commentator and a dear friend” as tributes poured in for a great writer with an even greater sense of humour. “The world will always remember him as a lovable human being,” author and veteran BBC journalist Mark Tully said on NDTV. Fellow authors including Vikram Seth and former cricketers were among those who visited his Delhi home to pay their respects to a man hailed by President Pranab Mukherjee as a “fearless intellectual”, the Press Trust of India said. In an interview with AFP in 2005, Singh described his passion for writing as compulsive. “I don’t know what to do with myself if I don’t write, I have lost the art of relaxation,” he said. Singh, a Sikh born on February 2, 1915 in what is now Pakistan, occupied India’s literary centre-stage for half a century with his novels. Some in his early decades scandalised India with their sexually explicit scenes. He is best remembered for his historical novel Train to Pakistan, which recounts the tragedy and bloodshed of the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 into India and Pakistan. Singh, who penned his books and columns on yellow legal pads, became a writer relatively late. Born into a well-off family, he initially practised law in Lahore. But partition was the trigger for him to change professions. “I loathed the law. I thought I can’t waste my entire life living off other people’s quarrels,” he said. After coming to New Delhi, where his father became a prosperous property developer, he entered the diplomatic service in 1947 but soon tired of this and became a journalist and writer. Singh was cremated in Delhi later on Thursday. He is survived by his son, daughter and a niece. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Search planes fail to find Malaysia jet debris
Search planes fail to find Malaysia jet debris (AP) / 21 March 2014 The planes are part of an international effort to solve the nearly 2-week-old aviation mystery by locating two large objects a satellite detected floating off the southwest coast of Australia about halfway to the desolate islands of the Antarctic. Search planes sent to find objects in the south Indian Ocean that may be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet began returning without success on Friday, and an Australian official said the hunt would be extended again for another day. The planes are part of an international effort to solve the nearly 2-week-old aviation mystery by locating two large objects a satellite detected floating off the southwest coast of Australia about halfway to the desolate islands of the Antarctic. The area in the southern Indian Ocean is so remote is takes aircraft four hours to fly there and four hours back, and leaves them only about two hours to search. The satellite discovery raised new hope of finding the vanished jet and sent another emotional jolt to the families of the 239 people aboard. But like the first day of searching on Thursday, efforts so far Friday have been fruitless, said John Young, manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency response division. “Although this search area is much smaller than we started with, it nonetheless is a big area when you’re looking out the window and trying to see something by eye,” Young said. “So we may have to do this a few times to be confident about the coverage of that search area,” he said. Five planes were sent out, with the last expected to head back to Perth in western Australia about 1100 GMT, he said. Young said that although the weather improved from Thursday, there was still some low cloud cover over the search area 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) from western Australia. Given that radar did not pick up anything on Thursday, searchers were using their eyes instead of equipment to try and spot the objects, forcing the planes to fly very low over the water. The aircrafts are planning to head back to the search zone on Saturday, but the search area will change slightly depending on water movements overnight, Young said. AMSA officials are also looking to see if there is any new satellite imagery that can help provide searchers with new or more information, he said. Speaking at a news conference in Papua New Guinea, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said, “We’ve been throwing everything we’ve got at that area to try to learn more about what this debris might be.” He said that the objects “could just be a container that’s fallen off a ship — we just don’t know.” Abbott spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he described as “devastated.” Of the 227 passengers on the missing flight, 154 were from China. “It’s about the most inaccessible spot that you could imagine on the face of the earth, but if there is anything down there we will find it. We owe it to the families of those people to do no less,” Abbott said. The development also marked a new phase for the anguished relatives of the passengers, who have been critical of Malaysian officials for what the relatives say has been the slow release of timely information. In Beijing, relatives met on Friday with Malaysian officials at the Lido Hotel, where most have been staying awaiting the latest news. Those who spoke said they had a two-hour briefing about the search but that nothing new was said. Wang Zhen, son of artist Wang Linshi, said the meeting went smoothly but that there were questions on why Malaysian authorities had provided so much seemingly contradictory information. Wang said he has hopes his father can be found alive and was praying that the Australian reports turn out to be false. He said he and other relatives are suspicious about what they were being told by the Malaysian side, but are at a loss as to what to do next. “We feel they’re hiding something from us,” said Wang, who was filling his days attending briefings and watching the news for updates. One of the objects on the satellite image was 24 meters (almost 80 feet) long — which is longer than a standard container — and the other was 5 meters (15 feet). The Norwegian cargo vessel Hoegh St. Petersburg is also in the area and its crew of 20 Filipinos is helping with the search. The ship, which transports cars, was on its way from South Africa to Australia, he said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said another commercial ship and an Australian navy vessel were also en route to the search area. Three Chinese naval ships were heading to the area, along with the icebreaker Snow Dragon, China’s state television reported. The icebreaker was in Perth following a voyage to the Antarctica in January, but it wasn’t clear when the other ships would get there. The combination the planes are using of radar to detect objects coupled with low passes over the ocean to identify them visually is crucial because when “radar blips come back it’s not always clear what the object is,” said Michael Smart, an aerospace engineering professor at Australia’s University of Queensland. “They use the radar to focus and then they go and visually look to see what it is,” he said. “The high technology and the low technology are equally important.” The biggest challenges for the searchers are weather conditions in an area known for its storms, he said, though rainy and cloudy weather appeared to be clearing up Friday afternoon. And if the objects are partially submerged as they bob in the ocean that could also affect the planes’ radar detection capabilities. Smart predicted that “it will be just a matter of time before they are found. If they were going to sink they would have already.” The hunt has encountered other false leads. Oil slicks that were seen did not contain jet fuel. A yellow object thought to be from the plane turned out to be sea trash. Chinese satellite images showed possible debris, but nothing was found. Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation for what happened to the jet, but have said the evidence so far suggests it was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca, with its communications systems disabled. They are unsure what happened next. Police are considering the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Going on a desert safari to death?
Going on a desert safari to death? Sajila Saseendran and Afkar Abdullah / 22 March 2014 Doctors call for age restrictions for dune bashing and better safety regulations for desert safari as accidents during such trips can be debilitating The fact that dangers lurk closely behind most thrilling adventures, especially if one doesn’t take enough precautions and use the maximum protective mechanisms available, is proved once again with the tragic death of a four-year-old Indian boy in a dune bashing accident at Al Badeer in the Madaam area of Sharjah last Tuesday. The tragedy has once again brought to focus the suitability of taking small children for adventurous trips like desert safari or at least the need to avoid the dangerous leg of dune bashing during such trips. People should go on desert safari only with trained drivers working with licensed tour operators. — KT file photo Police and doctors who tried to revive the child, Pranav, in Dhaid Hospital say this was not the first time such accidents had happened. In fact, the Sharjah Police recorded 40 accidents involving 4WD vehicles and quad bikes in popular desert safari areas in Madaam area last year. And many have suffered serious injuries, fractures and even paralysis in desert safari accidents. On December 30 last year, four female students received serious injuries while riding quad bikes in the desert. In the latest incident, the Remote Area police station received the alert around 5pm. Anjad patrol and ambulance teams reached the area immediately and shifted the boy to Al Dhaid Hospital. The ambulance staff tried to revive his heart and control the profuse bleeding from a head injury but he succumbed soon, a senior officer said. Raise the age bar These factors have forced doctors at Al Dhaid Hospital, where the Indian boy was brought dead after the accident on Tuesday, to say that children less than 10 years should not be taken for dune bashing. Also, seat belts and other protective precautions must be made mandatory for all passengers, especially children, going for desert drive, they told Khaleej Times. Dr Samar Suliman, head of the Accident and Emergency Department, said the hospital receives about 10 cases per month after accidents during desert safari in four-wheel drive vehicles or dune bashing in quad bikes. Though the number of cases involving quad bikes are more, the hospital, which is the nearest to the desert safari sites in Sharjah’s border areas, has also received many people injured during dune bashing in four-wheel drive as well. Such accident cases go up in winter as the off-road activities are more popular during those months. “I’ve tried it once and I strongly feel that children below 10 years shouldn’t be allowed for dune bashing during desert safaris,” said Dr Suliman. He noted that most parents are unaware of the dangers of taking children for such adventurous activities. Some tour operators do not allow children below five for dune bashing, while some others have reduced it further to three. They give options to the parents to make children join the cultural activities that are part of the regular desert trips organised by tour operators. However, not everybody strictly follows this. Dr Suliman said the age bar should be raised to 10 years and should be strictly implemented. “Even if they are taking children above 10, they should use seat belts and other gears to protect them also.” Never keep kids on the lap Onus on safari operators: Police Afkar Abdullah A top officer of the Sharjah Police said many people have suffered from serious problems — from injuries and fractures to being paralysed — and a few have died in accidents during desert safaris as they failed to follow safety measures. The driver of 4WDs going to desert locations must follow the safety instructions like ensuring that all passengers have fastened the seat belts, strictly follow the speed limit, and ensure that children are seated and secured in car seats which are well installed in the back seats of the vehicle. “Putting a child on the lap is very dangerous,” said the officer. “The desert safari operators must ensure the safety of the passengers and that children travelling in the 4WDs are seated in child seats and avoid dune bashing with small children.” Some drivers do not follow the traffic safety measures, including maintaining a safe speed in sandy areas. “Not maintaining a safe speed is the main reason for vehicles to overturn and roll several times, causing injuries and even death.” The police have intensified an awareness campaign targeting desert safari enthusiasts in Al Badeer area. The police recently carried out an inspection campaign targeting young men riding quad bikes on roads, which is banned, and confiscated more than 70 such vehicles. Policemen deployed in the desert safari locations check regularly whether the quad bikers were wearing protection gear such as helmets, seat belts and safety shoes. However, frequent desert safari visitors say desert camps and vehicles lack enough safety mechanisms. They say camp organisers are more than willing to rent quad bikes out even to small children and adults without taking into consideration their age or weight and the power of the quad bikes. afkar@khaleejtimes.com Dr Luay Tapponi, who heads the orthopaedic department at the hospital, said children should not at all be kept on adults’ laps. “It’s a mistake that many parents do. They may wear seat belts and the child would be on their lap without a seat belt protection.” He said there have been many cases of fractures of dislocation of bones even in minor accidents reported during desert safaris. Small children, especially those below five, have bones that are still fragile and are more vulnerable to fractures even inside the 4WDs. With each jump and climb down during dune bashing, the passengers’ heads and bodies hit the roof and the sides of the vehicle. Kids may get injured because of such incidents as well. Dr Tapponi said improving safety measures during desert safari was an important subject in the country. Though there are many regulations in place, experts feel that there is still room for improvement. “It is a very important subject here. People should be aware about it. Reports about these issues have resulted in a lot of good changes and cases have come down in the past five years. But, still we are getting these cases.” Both the doctors said they had also taken their families for desert safari once each. However, both were of the opinion that they would not repeat it. “We went last year and that is the first and last time for us. I felt it was very dangerous for children. Anything can happen anytime. I said I can’t lose my precious children for the sake of some adventure and fun,” said Dr Tapponi. However, he noted that mostly children are excited to go on a safari as they, especially boys, want to enjoy the thrill of dune bashing. “I am not saying desert safari is not a good sport. It gives some thrill and excitement and should not be stopped in places like here. But, it should continue only with proper safety features in place to minimise any risk. There should be age restrictions and children should be able to wear all protective gears and wear a seat belt and all precautionary protection must be in place.” Dr Suliman said that people should go on desert safari only with trained drivers working with licensed tour operators. “The driver must be familiar with the area where they go to and should not drive haphazardly especially when children are present,” added Dr Tapponi. What tour operators say An executive with Orient Tours in Sharjah said the company does not allow children below three for dune bashing. “When there are other small children we give the parents an exclusive vehicle to go on soft dune bashing. The speed for vehicles carrying children and old people also is also maintained low. We also provide seat belt for all passengers and car seats for children as per request.” However, he agreed that there are many other companies which do not strictly adhere to the safety measures. Like this one in Dubai. A female executive of a desert safari tour operator said there was no age restriction for children for their safari package which included 15 minutes of dune bashing. “It depends on you, madam,” she said. However, she was quick to add that the charges were less for kids below three, surely a bait for parents to take their toddlers also with them. sajila@khaleejtimes.com afkar@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
