Emotions run high as power outage shuts London's Heathrow

A police helicopter was the only vehicle visible in the sky above Heathrow airport on Friday, as the regular drone of flights went silent after a fire at a power station shuttered Europe's busiest airport.

On the ground, dozens of confused, stranded passengers stood around with their suitcases outside airport hotels. Many who AFP spoke to complained about the cost of shifting their bookings and a lack of information from Heathrow or airlines.

For veteran athlete Kevin Dillon, 70, Heathrow's day-long closure meant he would miss the opening ceremony of the World Masters Athletics Championships in Florida.

The runner, sporting a Great Britain tracksuit, said he had come from Manchester to catch his flight so he could compete.

The authorities are facing questions over how the fire at the electricity substation left such a crucial piece of national infrastructure closed for the day.

"I'm just surprised they didn't have a backup system," Dillon said.

Jake Johnston, from Los Angeles, was set to travel back to the United States on Friday but his airline, Virgin Atlantic, has rebooked his flight for Monday.

The 24-year-old said he and his friends were lucky: they found hotels for around £150 a night ($194).

Since then, several passengers have complained of airport hotels jacking up prices. According to Johnston, when he checked again later, hotel prices had risen to around £600.

- 'Need to be there' -

Bolaji N'gowe was not so optimistic. He was on his way home to Canada after visiting his mother in Lagos, Nigeria, when his flight was diverted from Heathrow to Gatwick airport, south of London.

"I have been in Gatwick since 4:00 am (0400 GMT)," he told AFP at the UK's second-busiest airport, which accepted some flights bound for Heathrow, while others were diverted to Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt and other European cities.

"I'm trying to book another flight... I'm trying to call Air Canada, no one is answering the phone," said N'gowe, adding that the earliest flight he had found was for Sunday.

"Between the ticket and the hotel, I have to spend more that £1,500," he added.

Talia Fokaides was meant to leave London for Athens in the morning to be with her mother, who was due to undergo open-heart surgery.

When she heard Heathrow was closed, she rushed to Gatwick and found a flight to the Greek capital for midday.

"I don't care about the money, I just need to be on a flight and home by the end of the day," Fokaides told AFP, her voice shaking with emotion.

"We were given no info, we were left on our own. I don't understand how it's possible," she added. "I just need to be there."

Some 1,350 flights had been due to land or take off from Heathrow and its five terminals on Friday, according to the flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Heathrow is one of the world's busiest airports and usually handles around 230,000 passengers daily and 83 million every year.

- 'Powerless' -

Mohammed al-Laib, a Tunisian national who works in London, was supposed to go to Dubai to be reunited with his wife, whom he had not seen in months.

AFP | Adrian DENNIS

Heading to the information desk at Gatwick, he said he did not know if another flight would be available.

"I feel powerless," he said.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Muhammad Khalil had been waiting at London's Paddington station since early morning looking for alternative flights to Pakistan.

He had so far been unsuccessful, with Heathrow the main airport in the UK for long-haul international flights.

Khalil had also hoped to be reunited with his wife after five months. He had been planning the trip for three months.

"I've spent so much money on tickets and everything. I had to take the day off from my job," Khalil told AFP.

"You can't imagine how stressful it is for me."

Callum Burton, 21, from Kent in southern England, was stranded at Newark airport near New York after visiting his girlfriend for his 21st birthday.

Burton told AFP via social media that his flight had boarded and was ready to depart before it was rescheduled for 15 hours later, then cancelled.

He was not expecting to leave until Sunday or Monday, and said that he was "very tired and disappointed".By James Pheby And Alexandra Del Peral Emotions run high as power outage shuts London's Heathrow

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Past Lives: a luxurious and lingering portrayal of lost love and identity in the Korean diaspora

Hyunseon Lee, SOAS, University of London

Past Lives is Celine Song’s debut film about Nora and Hae Sung who were deeply connected in childhood. The film focuses on them reuniting as adults after a long separation.

The film introduces global audiences to the Korean Buddhist concept of In-Yun – the connection, fate or destiny of two people. Past Lives takes this millennia-old philosophical idea of human relationships and transposes it into the digital age through the young Korean diaspora.

Audiences meet Nora and Hae Sung when they are 12-year-olds in Korea. They are sweetly obsessed with each other in the way children of that age can be. Just as their young love is blossoming, however, Nora emigrates with her family to Canada. They reunite 22 years later when Hae Sung visits Nora in New York, where she now lives with her American husband.

The film asks what would you do if someone from your past, especially your first love, reappeared later in your life. Would your perception of this person change? Would they still be a lover or could you be friends? What impact would it have on your current relationship? Would you always be wondering what life could have been like?

These questions take on double meanings when considered from a diaspora perspective. Nora’s first love, Hae Sung, is Korean but by the time the pair meet she has lost some of her connection to that side of herself. She has let her Korean name, Na-Young, totally go, she only speaks Korean with her mother and she talks about Korean culture from a distanced perspective. She is Korean but Hae Sung is Korean, Nora explains to her American husband in one particularly funny scene.

Their In-Yun (reunion) and the questions it brings up are as much about love as they are about identity and Nora’s connection, or disconnection, to parts of herself and her past.

Past Lives, then, is not about Korean culture in its entirety but about the Korean diaspora, here represented by an author and playwright who may well see herself as an American woman. In this way, it is a staunchly Korean-American film.

Korean masculinity through a woman’s eyes

Korean film is becoming increasingly transnational today and there is a growing body of work by the Korean diaspora. Past Lives joins films such as the award-winning Minari, which is about a Korean-American family that moves to a farm in search of its American dream.

Past Lives is notable, however, as a Korean diaspora film made by a woman. One of the most fascinating aspects of the film is its female perspective.

Like Minari, Past Lives allows viewers an insight into Korea and Korean-ness from the diaspora perspective. This is all tied up in the very Korean character of Hae Sung. Here, Celine Song has employed the rare female gaze to portray her leading man.

The camera sees him the way Nora (played by Greta Lee) does: as a small-minded Korean man of middle or lower middle-class who does not even dare to fight for her. The camera looks upon him not sexually but lovingly as it lingers over him in a sort of appreciation, highlighting his sensitivity through close ups, like how he readjusts his hair or backpack. It tends to highlight the boyish qualities he maintains because, in my eyes, Nora loved little 12-year-old Hae Sung, but adult Hae Sung is too Korean.

Hae Sung is explosively portrayed by the actor Teo Yoo, a member of the diaspora himself as German-Korean. When Nora and Hae Sung meet in New York, he speaks only the broken English of a typical young middle-class Korean engineer. Yoo does a wonderful job of communicating Hae Sung’s complex feelings through a very physical performance. His nervousness and hopefulness can be read on his face and the way he holds his whole body.

Showing emotion rather than telling

Past Lives is full of extremely long lingering shots and close-ups that highlight the emotions of its characters. Song is invested in showing how characters feel rather than telling. This is heightened by the minimal use of music, acoustics and carefully chosen dialogue by a small number of actors.

The same can be said for her establishment of place as audiences are shown long shots of the landscapes and streets of Seoul. This sort of camera work is steeped in a sense of remembrance of past lives and evokes a lost time and space in a cool, emotionally charged, nostalgic way. Again, Past Lives deftly translates emotions through visuals for audiences who might not fully understand the diaspora experience in words but might through feeling.

Such stylistic choices, in my opinion, recall slow cinema – an atmospheric form of filmmaking steeped in long takes which favours silence over long dialogue.

Past Lives is a romantic tribute to the longing of the Korean diaspora for a lost past and homeland, a captivating and sensitively constructed film that will be enjoyed by many. 

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Hyunseon Lee, Senior Teaching Fellow in Centre for Korean Studies, SOAS, University of London

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Google celebrates Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday with a doodle

.
Audrey Hepburn

The latest Google Doodle commemorative logo has paid tribute to screen icon Audrey Hepburn on her 85th birthday on Sunday. A picture of the noted British actress with a pink background features in the middle of the Google logo. The 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' star and fashion icon became a big screen legend during Hollywood's so-called 'Golden Age.' She was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels to a British father and Dutch aristocrat mother, before moving to London in 1948 to continue training as a ballet dancer. Widely
considered to be the world's most beautiful women ever, Hepburn rose to film stardom after appearing in several British movies. She won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her lead role in 'Roman Holiday' and starred in other classics, including 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and 'My Fair Lady'. She won a record three BAFTA awards for best British actress in a leading role. Hepburn appeared in fewer acting roles in later life, devoting much of her time to working with UNICEF on good causes in the developing world. She died in Switzerland aged 63 in 1993 after a battle with cancer. Source: Hindustan Times, Image: flickr.com

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Mathematics: Why the brain sees maths as beauty

Brain scans show a complex string of numbers and letters in mathematical formulae can evoke the same sense of beauty as artistic masterpieces and music from the greatest composers. Mathematicians were shown "ugly" and "beautiful" equations while in a brain scanner at University College London. The same emotional brain centres used to appreciate art were being activated by "beautiful" maths. The researchers suggest there may be a neurobiological basis to beauty. The likes of Euler's identity or the Pythagorean identity are rarely mentioned in the same breath as the best of Mozart, Shakespeare and Van Gogh. The study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience gave 15 mathematicians 60 formula to rate. Source: SAM Daily Times

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Ethiopian Dreamliner catches fire at Heathrow

LONDON -- A fire on an empty Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane forced Heathrow Airport to close both its runways Friday, suspending all arrivals and departures. The airport said in a tweet that there were no passengers aboard the Ethiopian Airlines plane, and British police said the fire is being treated as unexplained. London's fire department said its firefighters were on standby to assist Heathrow's crews. Television images showed nearly a dozen fire trucks on the scene and firefighters standing around the Ethiopian Airlines plane, which was parked on a remote stand. Fire-retardant foam appeared to have been sprayed, but no damage to the plane was immediately apparent. The incident is likely to heap more pressure on Boeing Co., which makes the Dreamliner. The Dreamliner was grounded for three months earlier this year amid concerns about overheating lithium-ion batteries. Shares in Boeing have fallen more than 1.3 percent on the news. Source: Deep-Blue-Horizon

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Is the Queen spending too much?

For the diamond jubilee year the Queen received 31 million pounds of public money. This year she'll have 36.1 million to maintain her palaces, pay her footman and travel to official engagements. Amid heavy government rhetoric about austerity the extra 5 million has angered many. Graham Smith leads the lobby group Republic.

"It is a change in the way they're being funded, but that is still resulting in large amounts of money going to the monarchy that they don't need." But others say the money is justified and it shouldn't be seen as a paycheck made out to Queen Elizabeth II. Thomas Mace Archer Mills is the Chairman of the British Monarchist Society. "The Queen is not being paid. This is how the official expense of Buckingham Palace is funded. This money is no way in shape or form going to her Majesty herself." He says, when it comes to austerity, the Queen has been leading the way. "The Queen has been one of the most frugal people over the decades. These are times of austerity for a lot of people. However, the Queen has been under austerity for going on a decade without any sort of rise for over a decade. And that stems from Labor governments and even from the Conservatives government under John Major when he decommissioned Britannia, which was a Royal yacht, to save money. So Her Majesty has been doing an awful lot to reduce expenditure of the palace." The views on the streets of London were mixed. "I think the work that she does promoting the Commonwealth and the county – yeah, that's well worth within what's being granted to her." "Considering the situation we're in and how many people are getting their benefits cuts, realistically speaking, it's not fair that one person should get a pay rise, when everyone else is suffering." "She’s representing the country. It's probably ok." "I don't agree." The sovereign grant will see the Queen paid 15% of the profit brought in by the Crown Estate, a property portfolio worth more than 8 billion pounds. It includes historic holdings like Regent Street and Ascot Racecourse, as well as commercial assets like shopping centers and agricultural land and about half of the U.K.'s foreshore. Last year profits were up to 214 million pounds, thanks in part to an increase in seabed rental from new wind farm developers. But who owns the Crown Estate? Technically, the reigning monarch does, but all management rights belong to the Crown Estate Commissioners who act like a company board and all profits get fed directly to HM Treasury. So the Crown Estate is like a big property business that aims to make money for the nation. But Graham Smith says many people wrongly believe the Queen owns the Crown Estate and she has a right to the profits it makes. "It's owned by the Crown and the Crown is now owned by the Royal Family. The Crown is part of the state. It's in the gift to Parliament. So you know, the key test is – if you get rid of the monarchy, what happens to the Crown Estate? The answer is nothing. It would stay where it is and money will continue to flow to the state. So there's no payback. The monarchy, the Royal Family aren't given the Crown Estate money. They are simply taking money off us. And we're not getting anything in return." He says there's no justification for spending so much money on the Queen, especially at a time when so many public departments are facing cuts. "I mean any other part of the public sector has to budget each year, has to justify how much money they need and what they want. With the monarchy they just given money arbitrarily, based on some arbitrary figure from the Crown Estate. There's no logic to it. They're simply trying to ensure that the monarchy can get as much money as they can get their hands on and not bother how they spend it." Thomas Mace Archer Mills from the British Monarchist Society takes the opposite view. "This woman is working on behalf of the nation in whole. She's the personification of the state. Any head of state costs money and, unfortunately, Her Majesty is one of the most underfunded government departments in our country. And that's not fair for all that she does." The funding will be up to debate next year, when the government’s watch dog, the Public Accounts Committee, will, for the first time, investigate the way the Queen's income is spent. Labor MP Austin Mitchell will be among those on the committee. "We're there to see how tax fare gets value for money. It is public money that and it's right to look at how it's spent." A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said the 36.1 million pounds, which the Queen will receive this financial year is 15% less in real terms than the Royal household's expenditure 5 years ago. Source: Voice of Russia

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Joe Biden runs up $1Million bill for just Two Nights in London and Paris (and the taxpayer picks up the tab)

Vice President Joe Biden spent more than $1 million for two nights in hotels in London and Paris, according to government documents. Biden and his hefty entourage spent the night at two five-star hotels in early February - one night at the Hyatt Regency London for a total of $459,338.65 and another night at the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand for $585,000.50, Source: The Coming Crisis

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GreenSky London bio-fuel plant preparing for lift-off

British Airways says it is on the verge of beginning construction of a $500 million bio-fuels facility that will divert about 500,000 tonnes of waste per year from area landfills and use it to create 50,000 tonnes of sustainable low carbon jet fuel. Other benefitial outcomes from the building of the facility include the creation of 50,000 tonnes of biodiesel, as well as bionaphtha and renewable power. The GreenSky London project is being undertaken with US biotech consortium Solena Fuels Corporation. British Airways has committed to purchasing jet fuel produced by the plant at market prices for the next 10 years. Barclays has also been appointed as advisor to explore the optimal funding through Export Credit Agencies. A Competitive Letter of Interest has been obtained from one of the Agencies including associated term funding. The partners aim to have the site operational by 2015. “We are delighted that the GreenSky London project is getting ever closer to fruition. With world-class technology partners now in place, we are well on our way to making sustainable aviation fuel a reality for British Airways by 2015,” said Keith Williams, chief executive of British Airways. Robert Do, President and CEO of Solena, added: “Our GreenSky London project will provide clean, sustainable fuels at market competitive prices that will help address British Airways’ sustainability goals. "The British Airways off-take agreement represents the largest advanced biofuel commitment ever made by an airline and clearly demonstrates the airline’s leadership and vision in achieving its carbon emission reduction targets. We are proud to have created a consortium of world class companies with expertise in the synthetic fuels sector to support our project,” Do said. Source: Renewable Energy Magazine

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Who has the right to Antarctic?

Next century may see replotting in the Antarctic. As soon as scientists find ways of extracting oil and gas from under layers of ice 1 kilometre thick, at least 30 countries will make claims on the sixth continent. At present scientists continue working on the southernmost continent where they mainly study the resource base. Huge resources of oil and gas are hidden under the ice cover of the Antarctic. It is a proved fact but at present the development of these fields is too difficult and unprofitable. In addition, many countries are held back by the status of a continent. According to the treaty on the Antarctic, no one has the right either to draw state borders there or develop mineral deposits. Still, there are some countries whose Constitutions guarantee control over Antarctic territories to them. For example, Australia raises claims to one third of the continent. Argentina and even the UK apply to the principle of neighbourhood. London and Buenos Aires stake on sectors in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas) whose status the two countries have not regulated until today. Incidentally, Chile also makes claims to the same sector. Vyacheslav Martianov from the Institute of the Arctic and the Antarctic, deputy head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, explains the situation. “The sector which belongs to Chile is registered in Argentina and the UK as their own sectors. If one of those countries says that this is their territory they will face opposition from the whole of the Antarctic community and the two pioneer countries, as well as those countries whose constitutions also claim that those are their territories. The agreement on the Antarctic prevents all countries from taking any steps concerning the continent but the ocean around is a different matter. There is a contradiction between the maritime law and the treaty on the use of seabed mineral resources.” New Zealand, France and Norway also raise claims to parts of the Antarctic. The latter is prepared to annex lands in the centre of the continent that exceed the area of that country tenfold. In addition, there are about 20 other countries that in the past began scientific research on the South Pole, made some discoveries there and built research stations. In the future their contribution to the Antarctic science could become the reason for claiming rights to their own piece of the sixth continent, experts say. However, no one has yet cancelled the right of pioneer countries for the new lands, Vyacheslav Martianov says. “The pioneer countries for the Antarctic are Russia and the US. Russia carried out the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in 1819-1821. Americans produced a pirate who discovered the Antarctic at approximately the same time and this has been recognized. For this reason the two countries are considered to be pioneers in discovering the Antarctic. As a pioneer country, either of these countries can announce the whole of the sixth continent their territory.” Neither Russia nor the US has taken advantage of this right yet. Still, there is no way to avoid replotting of the Antarctic. In about 100 years the world may face deficit of resources, scientists believe. Then countries would have to solve the problem of the right to oil and gas fields on the South Pole. It would most likely be a peaceful process, Russian scientists say. The treaty on the Antarctic which forbids exploring mineral resources on the continent is reviewed every 50 years. No amendments were introduced to the treaty at the session in 2009. Experts do not rule out that by the time of the next session representatives of the member-states could develop suggestions on borders. In 1959 the agreement was signed by 12 countries that wanted to carry out research on the continent, Russia and the US included. At present the convention is supported by over 45 countries. Source: Voice of Russia

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Now, £2 pill to help you lose weight naturally

London: An anti obesity pill, costing 2 pounds, can help women lose three times more weight than dieting alone when taken along with a healthy, balanced diet, researchers say. The tablet called XLS-Medical Fat Binder is made of fibre taken from dried leaves of the prickly pear cactus, is the first naturally occurring product available from pharmacy shelves to be clinically proven to succeed. According to scientists, the pill also worked to help reduce food cravings and appetite. As the pill contains fibre, it helps dieters to feel fuller for longer. The pill works by binding to dietary fat so that the body does not absorb it, thereby preventing the build up of fatty deposits. A clinical study in October last year revealed that by taking two tablets three times a day after meals people could lower their daily calorie intake by as much as 500 calories. Those taking the pill in the trial lost on an average around three pounds for every one-pound lost by those not taking it. The pill is supported by the newly launched “123 hello me” online weight loss programme (123hellome.com), which offers a personal weight loss plan. “XLS-Medical Fat Binder is not another fad diet or a miracle pill,” spokeswoman Juliet Oosthuysen said. “When used in conjunction with sensible eating and keeping active as part of the ‘123 hello me’ weight loss programme, it has been clinically proven to help overweight individuals lose three times more weight than dieting alone.” “We genuinely believe it is a realistic programme and will help many people reach their 2012 weight loss goals,” she added Source: Financial Express

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13 Guinness World Records of 2013

Guinness World Records 2013 - "Guinness World Records" published today in more than 100 countries and in more than 23 languages. The first book was published in 1955 and immediately soared to the top of the British bestseller list. The most recent book in the series - "Guinness World Records 2013." Some records in this post. 1 - Most Little People: 18-year-

old student from India Jyoti Amge was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest woman in the living. Her height is only 62.8 cm And the smallest man in the world of the living is a 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dungy (Chandra Bahadur Dangi) from Nepal. His height is only 54.6 cm.

2 - The World's Biggest Biceps: The world's biggest biceps belong to Mustafa Ismail of Egypt, and their dimensions are impressive: the left hand - 64.77 inches flexed and 62.23 cm are not bent, right arm 63.5 inches flexed and 60.96 inches is not bent.

3 - The Heaviest Female Athlete: Of living, the most serious athlete is Sharran Alexander from London. It is engaged in sumo and Sanchez is 203.21 kg.

4 - With Amaya High Horse: Horse named "Big Jake," he lives in the U.S.. His height without shoes - 210.19 cm.

5 - The Youngest Professional Drummer: He was born May 14, 2004, and lives in the U.S.

6 - The Largest Dump Truck: This American Westech T282C monster at a time can move 470 cubic feet of coal.

7 - Tallest Dog: The highest of living dog named "Zeus." Height of 1.12 m giant, and he lives in the U.S.

8 - The Smallest Bull: The smallest bull lives in Northern Ireland. Archie - the so-called bull growth - 76.2 cm.

9 - The Highest Donkey: Sam - the highest ass. His height is 155.45 cm.

10 - The Largest Collection of Barbie and the Highest-Mohican Hairstyle: Kollektsionersha 52, (left) began collecting dolls in 1993. Now her collection of Barbie has 15 000 different items. Japanese designer (right) are also distinguished: the height of his hair is almost 1 meter 12 cm in its laying out three cans of hairspray and a large bottle of gel.

11 - Most Age Gymnast: Most age gymnast lives in Germany. She is 86 years old (born November 20, 1925), and it frequently takes part in competitions.

12 - The Fastest Sheep: Fastest sheep live in the English county of Buckinghamshire. She regularly participates in races and won 165 of the 179 laps.

13 - The Biggest Hot Dog: 3.2-pound, 41-inch hot dog. It costs 1215 rubles on today's exchange rate.icePice.blogspot.com: 13 Guinness World Records of 2013

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Risk of Robot Uprising Wiping Out Human Race to be Studied

LONDON, UK – Cambridge researchers are to assess whether technology could end up destroying human civilisation. The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) will study dangers posed by biotechnology, artificial life, nanotechnology and climate change. The scientists said that to dismiss concerns of a potential robot uprising would be "dangerous". Fears that machines may take over have been central to the plot of some of the most popular science fiction films. Perhaps most famous is Skynet, a rogue computer system depicted in the Terminator films. Skynet gained self-awareness and fought back after first being developed by the US military.'Reasonable prediction' But despite being the subject of far-fetched fantasy, researchers said the concept of machines outsmarting us demanded mature attention. "The seriousness of these risks is difficult to assess, but that in itself seems a cause for concern, given how much is at stake," the researchers wrote on a website set up for the centre. The CSER project has been co-founded by Cambridge philosophy professor Huw Price, cosmology and astrophysics professor Martin Rees and Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn. "It seems a reasonable prediction that some time in this or the next century intelligence will escape from the constraints of biology," Prof Price told the AFP news agency. "What we're trying to do is to push it forward in the respectable scientific community." He added that as robots and computers become smarter than humans, we could find ourselves at the mercy of "machines that are not malicious, but machines whose interests don't include us". Survival of the human race permitting, the centre will launch next year. Source: Korea Times

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Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales marries Kate Garvey in London

Jimmy Wales, co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company has married Tony Blair's former secretary, Kate Garvey in a ceremony held at the Wesley's Church in the London, which was witnessed by the who's who of the world of politics and entertainment. The ceremony was attend by Alastair Campbell, Blair's former spin doctor, who played the bagpipes in a kilt in Clan Campbell tartan along with Blair and wife Cherie. The list of guests also included Mick Hucknall, former lead singer of Simply Red, Lily Cole, the model and actress, and former Labour minister Lord Adonis, The Telegraph reports. According to the paper, the names on the guest list also included Steve Hilton, the current Prime Minister's former director of strategy, and his wife Rachel Whetsone, who is an executive with Google. The couple, who have one child, first met at the World Economic Forum at Davos and later Wales reportedly asked a close aide to get the detailed information of Garvey, but not from Wikipedia, in case they were wrong, the paper said. The wedding was the third for Wales, 46, from Alabama and the first for Garvey, 40, now a director of Freud Communications, it added. -With inputs from ANI, Source: News Track India, ***

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Diageo opens talks for United Spirits stake

Diageo, the world’s biggest spirit group, and Vijay Mallya’s UB Group on Tuesday said they are in talks again for a deal under which the UK-based company may pick up stake in United Spirits Ltd. The two companies had discussed stake sale in 2009 but were unsuccessful. United Spirits said in a filing to the BSE, “United Spirits and Diageo Plc confirm that the UK-based company is in discussion with it and United Breweries Holdings in respect of possible transactions to acquire an interest in the liquor firm.” Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, also issued a similar statement to the London Stock Exchange. However, both sides maintained there is no certainty of the transaction with the Mallya group keen on retaining management control over the spirit company after the deal. United Spirit has a debt of over Rs 8,000 crore. UB Group shares surged after the announcement. United Breweries jumped to Rs 132.45, up 19.97 per cent, while United Spirits soared 8.89 per cent to close at Rs 1,147.70 on the BSE. McDowell Holdings climbed 9.95 per cent, UB scrip rose by 7.02 per cent and Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers (12.34 per cent). Kingfisher surged 8.08 per cent and UB Engineering shot up by 15.70 per cent. Bankers are not sure whether Mallya will pump United Spirit sale proceeds into Kingfisher which has a debt of Rs 7,500 crore. “Banks have been insisting that Mallya should bring more funds into the airlines,” said an investment banking source. The UB Group is the promoter of United Spirits with 27.78 per cent stake while FIIs hold 49.82 per cent stake. The two companies had discussed a deal in 2009, but the talks were unsuccessful. Diageo is reported to be trying to buy 15 per cent stake from Vijay Mallya, who is under pressure to raise capital for Kingfisher Airline. “With a 25 per cent stake, Diageo will have to make an open offer for another 20-26 per cent. Diageo stake will go up to almost 51 per cent. Mallya may not want to give up control. If Diageo doesn’t get control, it may not go for a stake purchase. Another way could be preferential allotment whereby Mallya and Diageo hold equal stakes,” he said.  Source: Indian Express

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London 2012 welcomes the Paralympics back home: Remarkable performers soar to new heights to set standard for golden Games

Bringing the house down: A kaleidoscope of colour lights up the night sky at the climax of a stunning Paralympics Opening Ceremony at the Olympic stadium

By JANE FRYER: Just before 11pm last night and after a long, damp (and very cold) wait, Team GB's 300 paralympians finally marched (and rolled, in Union Jack wheelchairs) out into the Olympic Stadium to David Bowie's Heroes. Almost every one of the 62,000-strong audience was on their feet. Boris Johnson was clapping like a maniac. Half the Royal Box was up clapping and beaming and jigging about. Princess Anne may or may not have been weeping behind a pair of very strange sunglasses. Tickertape was raining down and eyes were brimming and hearts swelling painfully - even in the press seats.
 

Flames to mark the Games: As it did to such effect during the Olympics Opening Ceremony, the cauldron's petals rise up to form the Paralympic flame

Show-stopper: David Toole, who taught himself to dance on his hands after losing both his legs when he was 18 months old, performs a graceful display on a zip wire

Peter (the 'Quadfather') Norfolk is our flag bearer. Peter, 52, is a wheelchair tennis champion who was left a paraplegic after a motorbike accident aged 19 and, since his right shoulder gave up the ghost too, 20 years later, has been classed as a quadriplegic. He competes with a tennis racket taped to his hand and has world records coming out of his ears. He can't stop smiling. Neither can any of the rest of Team GB. 

Fantastic finale: Spotlights fill the stadium as a large scale reproduction of Marc Quinn's celebrated sculpture of pregnant disabled woman Alison Lapper takes centre stage (left) while the cauldron burns bright (right)

Extraordinary: The night of celebration and a journey through science ended with all 3,250 volunteer performers together for the grand finale where singers Beverley Knight, Lizzie Emeh and Caroline Parker belted out I Am What I Am

Incredible: Artistic director Bradley Hemmings said the ceremony was 'extremely spectacular and like nothing you have seen in previous ceremonies'

A billion people from all around the world had tuned in. A record 4,200 paralympians from 166 nations were taking part. More than 2.4 million tickets had been already been sold. A 430-strong deaf choir had sung God Save the Queen. And it was surely the first time an Olympic audience had been coached not only in the basics of sign language so we could all join in with Beverley Knight's 'I am what I am' finale, but also how to take part in the worlds biggest ever apple crunch' 62000 people biting into 62,000 Royal Galapples simultaneously to tie in with an extraordinary sequence involving Sir Isaac Newton's law of gravity, dozens of wheelbarrows and a sea of giant inflatable apples that would naughtily defy gravity and float up through the stadium. 

Hot stuff: Ziya Azazi dances among flames during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics

The Paralympics Opening Ceremony was never going to be run of the mill. Last night, the Olympic stadium had been transformed for the third time in just over a month. Gone was Danny Boyle's green and pleasant land, Glastonbury Tor, the dizzying smokestacks of the industrial revolution, the sheep, geese, Captain Hook, JK Rowling and the luminescenthospital beds. In their place is a giant umbrella covering a pile of giant books, four smaller umbrellas hanging from the sky, a 'moon' stage with dominated by a huge, glowing ball of light, a web of cables and riggings overhead and row upon row of blue plastic chairs and an awful lot of apples. 

Hotting up: With huge demand for tickets, the Paralympics are, like the Olympics, expected to be one of the most successful Games ever

But yet again, Shakespeare's The Tempest was woven though the narrative, this time with Sir Ian McKellan popping up as Prospero, a disabled actress called Nicola Miles-Wildin playing Miranda and Professor Stephen Hawking (billed as 'the most famous disabled person alive') encouraging Miranda to 'be curious'. Once again, the Queen is here, in gold and silver brocade splendour. Sadly she didn't parachute in, skirts fluttering in the breeze, with James Bond at her side. But she's here nonetheless (albeit with a face like thunder), ready to put Prince Philip's recent illness and Prince Harry's strip billiards nudity behind her to enjoy another late, damp and very chilly night in Stratford. 

World's greatest scientist: Stephen Hawking takes centre stage at the launch of the Olympics Opening Ceremony in the Olympic stadium in front of a billion viewers

Stunning: Hundreds of performers holding umbrellas form a ring around the middle of the Olympic Stadium as the ceremony gets into full swing

Crunch time: A wheelchair-bound artist rides atop a giant apple, which became a central theme of the show in reference to the moment Sir Isaac Newton formulated the theory of gravity after an apple fell on his head 

Fitting props: Performers fly in with umbrellas at the start of the opening ceremony on what turned out to be a rather damp day in London

This time it's all a bit more dignified. She simply walked in, accompanied by the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Sir Philip Craven and a wonderfully gentle Benjamin Britten arrangement of the national anthem sung by the deaf choir. Festivities kick off with a flyby by Dave Rawling, a disabled pilot taught by Aerobility (a British charity that trains disabled people to become pilots) whose plane is a Health & Safety officer's nightmare of spitting fireworks and bright blue LED lights. 

Tremendous pride: The Queen praised the 'uplifting spirit' of the Paralympic Games tonight as she officially declared the Games open

Suddenly everything goes quiet and there's Professor Stephen Hawking, sitting in his wheelchair on the Moon Stage saying something we can't quite hear followed by a 'big bang' as a glowing celestial sphere descends into the huge umbrella and ignites thousands of fireworks and jump-starts 600 umbrella-toting dancers (including some in wheelchairs) and a brilliant aerial dance by dancers suspended from giant umbrellas. Umbrellas are a recurring theme tonight - no bad thinggiven how damp it is. But the biggest difference is the theme. While the opening ceremony for the Olympics was all about Britain and what makes us so great - the Industrial Revolution, the NHS, but nothing pre-Victorian - this is quite the opposite. Last night it was all about the Age of Enlightenment - the extraordinary period of intellectual revolution that took place between 1550 and 1720. 

Royal approval: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge look on as they take their positions for the start of the opening ceremony

A right royal knees-up: Members of the Royal family are joined by Prime Minister David Cameron (centre), London Mayor Boris Johnson (second right) and London 2012 chief Lord Coe (fourth left)

Enjoying the atmosphere: This picture of David Cameron and wife Samantha was posted on Number 10's Twitter feed during the ceremony

So in comes Newton's apple, a pulsating ball of energy supposed to represent the Higgs particle and a giant revolving book containing The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all seemingly powered by wheelchairs. They are welcomed by an army in black carrying what looks like huge feathery discs over their right shoulders and men waving about on the top of four-metre bendy poles. As executive producer Stephen Daldrey insisted earlier, this show is 'Not about England. This is not about Britain. This about challenging perceptions. There is no nationalistic brief to this show.' There is though plenty of thumping music. And flashing lights. And an awful lot of bright blue LED headbands bobbing about on dancing volunteers. 

Torch of class: Paralympian Margaret Maughan lights The Paralympic Cauldron, which is made up of more than 200 petals, 166 of which bear the names of the competing nations The budget for tonight's ceremony is a fraction of the £27 million Danny Boyle had for the Olympic Opening Ceremony. In yesterday's final pre-show press conference, nobody was keen to say exactly quite how little. Though co-artistic director Jenny Sealey (who is deaf herself) referred to it as a 'very prudent budget - you always want more, but we've don't a good job with what we've got'. There may be more than 3,000 adult volunteers, 100 child volunteers, and 100 professionals, (including 73 deaf and disabled professional artists and 68 volunteers) who have spent about 85 hours each rehearsing at 106 rehearsals, but it's not a patch on Boyle's epic Isles of Wonder when it comes to epic entertainment. How could it be? It is though fun and jolly (if very cold) and then just as things are revving up, it's time for the Parade of the Athletes. 

Legend: Margaret Maughan, who won an archery gold at the first Paralympics in 1960, lights the cauldron

Head for heights: Former Royal Marine Joe Townsend, whose legs were blown off by an IED in Afghanistan, carried the Paralympic Flame into the stadium on a zip wire from the top of the neighbouring 377ft (115m) high ArcelorMittal Orbit tower

We salute you: Mr Townsend is lowered through the air carrying the Olympic flame before passing it on to five-a-side footballer David Clarke, who helped teach David Beckham how to play blind football

'Icon of an inclusive city': A 43ft-tall remake of Marc Quinn's famous marble portrait of disabled artist Alison Lapper while she was heavily pregnant was also unveiled. The sculpture graced Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth in London in 2005

Tribute to Newton: More than 40 inflatable apples float around the stadium as the audience were asked to bite down on 62,046 apples which had been handed out to them as they entered the stadium

Not at the end of the celebrations, as is traditional for Olympic opening ceremonies so that TV audiences around the world can nip off to bed and not miss much other than the lighting of the flame, but right near the beginning - so the athletes can pull up a blue plastic chair pew on the running track and watch in awe. Which on paper sounded frustrating and daft - why on earth carve up the show like this? But as we chunter on about timings and deadlines and how everyone will lose interest during the 90 minutes plus it takes to get all the athletes on stage, it starts. And everything changes. Because what a parade it is - the wheelchairs, the prosthetic legs, the walking sticks, the grimacing in pain, the missing limbs, the party hats, the dancing, the burning pride, the grinning ear to ear and the amazing dresses worn by each team's very glamorous umbrella carrier. 

Poignant: Blind soprano Denise Leigh sings the tribute song 'Spirit in Motion' as several Paralympians took flight in an elegant aerial display

World in union: A giant umbrella featuring a map of the globe opens at as performers take to the stage for a literary-themed segment of the show 

Lighting up the world: Fireworks explode into the night sky above the Olympic Stadium at the mid-point of the ceremony

Hope for so many: The Paralympics was born at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire thanks to the work of neurosurgeon Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who started the first competitions between disabled patients 

It's a far jollier and happier parade than at the Olympic ceremony - though funnily enough everyone around me suddenly seems to be in tears. And no one's remotely bothered that we'll have to wait an hour and a half until Lord Coe can make his millionth triumphant speech of the 2012 Games, and the show proper can (finally) continue with the arrival of the golden wheelchairs, a giant whale whose skin is created by LED lights and the biggest apple crunch in the world. Mexico wins my prize for most colourful outfit - a vision of staggering bright ponchos and huge floppy sombreros. Germany comes last - with men and women in nasty nylon-looking outfits of baby blue and sicky pink respectively. On and on (and on) it goes until we're all completely drained. 

What we've all been waiting for: Paralympic GB, led by wheelchair tennis player Peter Norfolk, whip the crowds into a frenzy as they are the last team to join the parade

Can they do it? Great Britain have high hopes for a record medal haul this year just as Team GB accomplished two weeks earlier

The eyes of the world watch on: Spectators catch the action on a giant screen in London's Trafalgar Square

Up for it: Wheelchair Rugby player Garrett Hickling carries the flag for Canada as the teams parade into the stadium

Taking it all in: Members of the Chinese team, who will hoping for another strong showing in this year's Games, savour the moment as they enter the stadium

Star of show: After an amazing aerial dance of paralymics in golden wheelchairs, a 'navigation' segment with the giant whale, a beautiful ballad sung by a 16-year-old singer song writer called Birdy, a breathtaking aerial ballet was led by double amputee dancer David Toole

High-flyer: Six paralympians and former competitors, including the legendary Tanni Grey-Thompson (pictured) were flown into the stadium in gold wheelchairs

Vibrant colours: A pile of giant books, umbrellas hanging from the sky, a 'moon' stage, a web of cables and row upon row of blue plastic chairs featured in the show

Great expectations: The rising interest in the Games has been reflected in ticket sales, a record 2.4 million of the available 2.5 million have been sold so far

Biggest ever: The Games will host the highest number of athletes since their official birth in 1960 at the Rome Games, with 4,280 athletes representing over 160 nations compared to 400 participants from 23 countries in the Italian capital

Reaching for the stars: Disabled actress Nicola Miles-Wildin swapped village hall audiences for the world last night when the 34-year-old made a spectacular appearance at the opening ceremony, performing to millions as Miranda from The Tempest

A very British institution: Umbrellas made a regular appearance in the show and, fittingly, it had rained for most of the day in London

Moneywise: The budget for the ceremony was a fraction of the £27million Danny Boyle had for the Olympics opening ceremony, but it was not revealed how much

No rain on this parade: A giant umbrella hovers over a giant dome as hundreds of performers are lit up below

Followed by a visit to Sir Isaac Newton's garden, which is awash with wheelbarrows, big apples, little apples, giant inflatable apples, and finally, the world's biggest simulataneous apple crunch. 'Ladies and gentlemen, please get your apples ready - three, two, one and ... bite!' There's a massive crunch and very tasty they are, even at 11.40pm. Royal Galas and British too, we were assured earlier today, though no one on the organising committee could remember quite where they came from, other than Sainsbury's. Suddenly the apples have gone and we're off to the 21st century to visit the Large Hadron Collider and the Higgs particle. 

Sneak preview: A glimpse inside the Olympic Stadium as preparations are made for the opening ceremony in front of more than a billion viewers across the globe

Buzz of anticipation: Spectators fill the Olympic Stadium in readiness for the spectacular opening ceremony to the London Paralympic Games

Ready to party: Spectators make their way into the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony of the London Paralympic Games 2012

Source: Travelfwd+: London 2012 welcomes the Paralympics back home: Re

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