Indian Transport

With the changing economic scenario, factors such as globalization of markets, international economic integration, removal of barriers to business and trade and increased competition have enhanced the need of transportation. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirement which is essential for the expansion of opportunities and plays an important role in making or breaking the competitive positioning.

The Transport Department is entrusted with the responsibility of providing an efficient public transportation system, control of vehicular pollution, registration of vehicles in Delhi, issuance of Driving licences, issuance of various permits, collection of road taxes. The department also entrusted in policy-making, co-ordination, implementation, monitoring and regulatory functions of all the Transport related aspects of the country.

ARCTIC: Region’s temperatures climb to record high

Record-high autumn temperatures, warming permafrost, shrinking reindeer herds and the ongoing northern march of shrubs and trees into new habitat are signs that global warming is reshaping the Arctic, federal officials said yesterday.

“There continues to be widespread and, in some cases, dramatic evidence of an overall warming of the Arctic system,” warned authors in a report that draws on scientific data and analyses by nearly 50 scientists in 10 countries.

It is the third annual snapshot of the rapidly changing region, which is warming twice as fast as the global average.

2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season Remains Active

The Atlantic hurricane season remains active with Hurricane Omar set to lash the eastern Caribbean over the next couple of days, and Tropical Depression Sixteen hugging the coast of Honduras.

Omar strengthened late on Tuesday and became the seventh hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season, drenching islands in the south-eastern Caribbean. At 0900 GMT on Wednesday, Hurricane Omar was located some 285 miles (455 km) south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Omar is currently a Category 1 hurricane with winds blowing 75mph (120 km/h) and is forecast to move on a north-easterly track. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued hurricane warnings for several of the eastern Caribbean islands, including the US Virgin Islands.

So far, 2008 is in joint 8th place for the most number of Atlantic tropical storms in a season. However, records may be ambiguous as prior to the satellite era there is a chance some storms may have been missed. Another storm may develop over the next 24 hours.

Tropical Depression Sixteen is currently lying just off the coast of Honduras and could intensify into a tropical storm. If so it would become the 16th storm of the season. A tropical storm warning is in effect for whole coast of Honduras, from the Nicaraguan to the Guatemala borders. While winds may not be particularly damaging, Tropical Depression Sixteen could bring as much as 380mm (15 inches) of rain.

Tsunami Survivor Story

On April 1, 1946, Sam remembers that he was with friends on the Waiākea bridge when they saw the water suddenly sucked out to sea. "Then we heard this rumbling from outside, and I'm telling you that was one of the most frightening things I've ever seen. Was these huge waves coming in. All we did was turn around and run... And all you could hear was this crackling sound behind us. You would hear crack, crack, the buildings were piling up in the back of us." Although Shinmachi and Waiākea were heavily damaged, the Bishaw home was undamaged, protected by the rubble of other buildings.