Punjab is completely drenched in floods. Army was immediately deployed in the regions of Ambala and kurukhsetra because of the intense rainfall in this belt that caused inconvenience to the people and the cattle. Vast tacks in these areas are flooded with rains that also include the fields of agriculture.

As per the confirmation reports of the official spokesperson to the press trust of India, the chief minister of Punjab, bhopendra singh hooda directed the concerned officers to launch the complete rescue operation in these areas. The rescue operations will be launched in the war footing zones and in the areas like kurukhsetra and Ambala where the flood situation is really intense.

There is a lot of inconvenience with respect to the traffic because of the heavy rains. This has given lot of inconvenience to the people in many areas of the two districts.

As per the confirmation reports of the deputy commissioner of Ambala, there is a breach on the river tangri, which falls in the sub division of jadhpur, in the neighboring Punjab. Apart from this, the river Ghajjar is an intense threat to the district.

Because of such an intense situation, the right side of the national highway of Punjab is closed because of the road flooding and water gushing out from the areas of Punjab.

Zanskar: The popular ‘chadar’ walk along the frozen Zanskar in winter isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The area is extremely thrilling in the summer. There do, exist some discomforts regarding good accommodation. However, you can make your five day schedule in the following manner

Day 1st: See ‘Leh-Srinagar Road’ Leh-Lamayuru

Day 2nd: Ditto Lamayuru- Kargil

Day 3rd: Kargil-Padum it is one of the most beautiful scenic journey. Despite the condition of the roads are not good. Around Panikhar the scenery is particularly stunning, along with the views of Kun and Nun massifs and crossing of the glacier which is near Suru Valley.

You will witness Rangdum monastery, on the way. Beyond Rangdum the landscape turns even lovelier. As you will approach Penzi-la, the beautiful Drang-Drung glacier comes into view.

Day 4th: Padum-Stongde-Karsha-Padum along the Zanskar River to the Stongde gompa follows the trial. The view of the valley from the top are beyond compare but, the gompa is a bit of a climb.

Kharsha which is the biggest gompa in Zanskar, where you can reach after a slight bit off-roading after Stongde. It is an elaborate warren of lanes and stairways, which is visible from miles around and inside.

Day 5th: There are smaller gompas that can be visited around Padum on this day are Bardan and Stagrimo. Back to Leh it is not two day journey.

All the places are extremely and it is truly huge visual delight to get across with them. The memories of this stunning place will always remain evergreen in your mind.

From last few years Shanghai has been preparing for the largest fair in the history of the world. In just five minutes thousands of tickets were sold out. On 5.28 sq. km, on either side of the Huangpu River, around two hundred countries have built their pavilions to display their best products.

The photographer Liu Heung Shing, who has just released a collection of pictures of Shanghai to coincide with the Expo opening, said, “The Expo is a repudiation of that humiliation of a semi-colonial history.”

There are around 380,000 people who visit the expo per day. The expo is going to last for six months. One journalist said, “Most of those will be school children trucked in from the countryside during their summer holidays.”

The Pavilion of China is one of the busiest sites at the Expo. The Chinese have built a structure using interlocking wood brackets; this is Chinese 2,500 year’s old traditional technique that requires no nails.

Missive line was visible around Saudi Pavilion. One of the men when asked why he wanted to visit Saudi Pavilion, he said, “They’re rich.” “Thought we’d go have a look.”

For Chinese this is an incredible opportunity to see the world without leaving home, as all the countries are participating in the Expo.

Egypt has unveiled a statue of the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, its eights national treasures. A Danish writer, with the cryptic message to China from one Stine Spedsbjerg, “Denmark is a land where we don’t pray very much, but that is OK, because we believe in each other.”

Israel displayed the original manuscript of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. The French displayed masterpiece paintings including ‘Woman with Coffee Pot’ by Cezanne and ‘The Dance Hall in Arles’ by Van Gogh.

India brought out Rabindranath Tagore, the Chinese actor read out his poem which was followed by the simple dance of a Bengali troupe, which was choreographed according to Tagore’s music.

In the Indonesian pavilion there was a marvelous synchronicity enhanced by a vodka-fejoa-apple cocktail purchased from the New Zealanders.

Yang Xiong, executive vice-mayor of Shanghai, said at the opening flag-raising ceremony, “The Expo 2010 will enhance the friendship and exchange among people worldwide.” The Expo is themed as ‘Better City, Better Life’.

In South Africa Cape Town is coloured city while Johannesburg is black city. Cape Town is an anomaly of European from the past while Johannesburg is the African city of the future. Cape Town which is surrounded by glistening oceans and looming mountains.

There are museums, gardens, beautiful buildings, walking routes, fine restaurants, genteel second-hand bookshops and the cafes. It is considered that no other city in the world can match the gene pool of Cape Town’s.

Cape Town is a crucible of civilization including the Khoi and the San (original South African indigene), the ‘Bantus’ of yore (the newer South African indigene), the English, the French, the Dutch, the Boer, their slaves (from East Africa, Madagascar, Indonesia and Southern Africa) and the Indian.

The city includes various places where you can stretch your legs, these are the Table Mountain National Park and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, which was once Cecil John Rhodes’s front lawn.

In Cape Town there are 20 per cent white and 30 per cent black. In the city Johannesburg there are 16 per cent white and 75 per cent black. In Cape Town, since World Cup was scheduled, therefore the city is in the process of being refurbished or renovated.

To be located right in the heart of the city the Taj is the first luxury hotel in the Cape Town. From Taj the city’s best restaurants, nightclubs, parks, and museum are all within walking distance.

Walking through Cape Town is a most appropriate way to explore the city. The individual can take a glimpse of a hundred years of imaging, installing, drawing, painting and that too starting from 1910 and up to present day.

If we talk about the night then that cuts right across the heart of Cape Town Long Street is a vast and multifarious zone of pleasure. By day, there is assorted commerce, clothing and art; by night, there is dancing, drinking and music.

With the press of a button, history was made once again. Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chief, inaugurated the 8.8 km tunnel connectivity by pressing a remote controlled button of a very large excavator whirring. This will be one of the marvels because this is going to connect the picturesque valley of himachal Pradesh, manali with ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The congress president started the drilling machine that was kept at a distance from her. The valley is covered with pir panchal range of mountains. The entire project will be complete in 63 months. The defense minister AK Antony and the chief minister of HP prem kumar dhumal were also present.

This project is a project of geological challenge, as per the border roads organization officials. The cost of the entire project is estimated to be 325 million dollars. Keeping in view the toughness and the challenge of the project, there was an interfaith meeting for the successful start and completion of the project.

Researcher found at least 100 times more water in the moon’s minerals than previously reported data from the Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar spacecraft launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008.

Scientist said the moon might be much wetter than earlier consideration
The new study has been published in the journal PNAS.
A US-led group explored that the mineral apatite in lunar rocks picked up by the Apollo space missions and in a lunar meteorite found in North Africa.

Francis McCubbin, a lead author from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC talked to BBC News that “The water content on the Moon ranges from 64 parts per billion to five parts per million”. “It would be about 2.5 times the volume of the Great Lakes,” he said. “Or another way of looking at it – if you took all of the water that was locked up inside the rocks of the Moon and put them on the surface, it would make a metre-thick layer covering the Moon.”

Researcher explained about moon that most probably moon formed after a Mars-sized space body collided with the young earth, about 4.5 billion years ago. The high energy impact produced molten debris, which eventually cooled to form our planet’s only natural satellite.

Dr. McCubbin said that, there was a magma ocean on the Moon. Magma contained water, which eventually erupted via “fire fountains” on to the lunar surface. Most of this water evaporated during the volcanic activity – but some of it stayed. I like to use the analogy of someone who’s trying to make non-alcoholic beer. There’s always going to be some alcohol left,” he explained.

In the early research in 1960s and 1970s when US Apollo space missions returned to earth with various samples of lunar rock, researcher spent years examining them, at first they were unable to found water and declared that moon was dry, later in 2008 a US team challenged the theory when they used the method of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and found evidence of water.

The scientists said that their research shed light on the origins of lunar water, asserting that it was “native” to the Moon.
Earlier in 2010, India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft found thick deposits of water-ice near the Moon’s North Pole. And in recent study, Dr. McCubbin and his colleagues used SIMS to look at the Apollo samples again. This time, scientist scrutinized the only water-bearing mineral of the rocks-apatite.
Dr. McCubbin said, “Has a better chance of retaining water than volcanic glass”.

Researcher’s team found a chemical compound in apatite that contains one atom of oxygen and one atom of hydrogen.
Other researchers said the results important for future studies.
Lunar scientist Bradley Jolliff from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri said, “It is gratifying to see this proof of the OH contents in lunar apatite. The concentrations are very low and, accordingly, they have been until recently nearly impossible to detect. We can now finally begin to consider the implications and the origin of water in the interior of the Moon.”

All these planets occupy interesting positions during the month, they say.  “Mercury is very low in the west at sunset, and sets below the horizon by 6.30 P.M during the first week of January.  It is near planet Jupiter.  By mid-month, Mercury will have moved toward the Sun, and it will no longer be visible in the evening twilight”, says a report from a leading astronomical site.

The brightest star in the sky Venus would be moving higher every evening, the astrologers predict.  By mid-January it will set in the southwest at approximately 9.00 P.M according to their calculations.
One of the interesting findings is that Mars would not be visible at all during the month.

“Jupiter is very low in the west at sunset, and sets below the horizon by 6:15 pm during the first week of January. Mercury is near Jupiter; Jupiter is the brighter of the two. By mid-month, Jupiter will have moved toward the Sun, and it will no longer be visible in the evening twilight”, continues the report.

In contrast, Saturn will look like pale yellow-white object.  It would be rising at the eastern side of the sky at 10.00 P.M and will be standing at 45 degrees above the southwest horizon during the evening hours, according to the astrologers.

Some of the upcoming celestial events are the waning crescent color Moon that will visible to the north of the bright star Antares from January 21st.  The Annual Solar Eclipse will take place on January 26th.  This eclipse would be visible in Indian Ocean, Southeast India, Southeast Asia, Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, and Indonesia.

Venus will be visible at about three degrees south of the waxing crescent Moon during the early part of the evening on January 29th say the astrologers.

“2009 is a number 11 year of MASTER SPIRITUAL Partnership.  Dream the dream (Neptune in Aquarius) get the vision using Uranus the planet of change in Pisces bringing more dreams and visions to us all.  Jupiter in Capricorn moving January 5th into Aquarius bringing major shifts in the ways we learn and believe…. Saturn in Virgo all year asking as to discipline ourselves, learn to pare down and recognize that less can sometimes be more’, says Barbeau in his predictions.

Retrograde stars or planets need not infuse the fear psychosis.  Instead it should be a catalyst for rethinking and reconfiguring every aspect of your life, the astrologer says.  It may not be a time for everything new and changed.  But it is not also a time to hide and remain complacent to changes.
In his in depth analysis the astrologer points out that Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are the personal planets.  Sun is the light and never goes retrograde.  Moon that represents past and emotions also never goes retrograde.  Mercury that represents ideas retrogrades three times.  Venus that is the representative of love retrogrades every year. Mars representing action also retrogrades every alternative year.

There are also transpersonal planets, points out Barbeau that shifts events happening in the outer world.  All such planets and asteroids retrograde every year. These planets are Jupiter moving to Aquarius on 5th January, Saturn moves to Libra on October 29th and prior to that remain in Virgo.  Neptune will be in Aquarius year round and Pluto will be transforming in Capricorn throughout the year.

According to Barbeau, the Asteroids that create “new energy of equality and healing are” Chiron moving to Aquarius on 30th October, Juno moving to Aries on August 9th and then to Pisces on 3rd November, Vesta will be direct till 3rd January, 2010 and Ceres retrogrades to Virgo on January 11th and moves directly to Virgo from April 12th.

Each of the planetary movements has their own significance on our lives and the society at large, concludes Barbeau, though the impacts would be relative to several other factors.

The formation of the new astrology is quite simple, they say.  According to them “the new astrology blends Western signs with Chinese signs and comes up with 144 new signs”.

Such blend is not complex either according to the astrologers.  If you are a Leo and you were born in Ox year, your sign will be Leo/Ox according to the new astrology.

“Take your regular, familiar astrological sign and match it with the animal sign of the year you were born. Now you have your New Astrology sign”, says one of the proponents of the new astrological system.

Basic concept of the new astrology is based on the inherent dual nature in every human being.  A person could be a miser for some and a benevolent for others at the same time and this shows their dual complexity according to the astrologers.

“Benefits of the new astrology is that you can easily assess the compatibility of the signs with the new combinations”, say astrologers.  To establish the theorem they give the example of the Gemini/Rat and Capricorn/Horse.  These two combinations are largely incompatible to each other.  The former, they say, “Are a protective person who enjoys having power over others”.  The later, according to them “are animal lovers and work patiently with old people as well.”

It is widely believed in the astrological circles that the New Astrology is a revolutionary method of assessing yourself as well as others with the judicious blending of the two major astrological systems of the world. The methods try to help us appreciate human behavior through combination of occidental and oriental processes.

However the two astrological systems vastly vary from each other. While the Western astrologers use 100 year time span for centuries, the Chinese use only 60 years for that.  Again the Western century is divided into ten decades while the Chinese sixty year is divided into five twelve year period.

Astrologers still believe that judicious combination of the Western “month” sign with the Oriental “year” signs are complements to each other fulfilling your end objective of exact calculations and predictions.