Solar-powered plane makes intercontinental flight

Swiss pilot and adventurer Bertrand Piccard has flown his way into the record books again after completing the world’s first intercontinental flight in a giant solar-powered plane.A solar-powered aircraft has arrived at Morocco from Spain in the first intercontinental flight by such a plane.
Pilot Bertrand Piccard, a noted Swiss adventurer, landed the plane in the Moroccan capital of Rabat on Tuesday night after a 19-hour flight across the Strait of Gibraltar.The aircraft, developed by a private research group in Switzerland, carries 12,000 solar cells on its wings, which feed electricity to the motor that drives the propellers. Its wingspan is 63-meters — about the same as a large passenger plane.
Piccard, a 54-year-old balloonist, landed in the Moroccan capital Rabat under a full moon late Tuesday after completing the 19-hour voyage from Madrid on his experimental carbon-fibre aircraft.
Dozens of people, including his wife Michele as well as flight organisers and Moroccan officials, gathered on the runway in Rabat to witness the touchdown of the Solar Impulse after it crossed the Strait of Gibraltar.
Piccard, who made the first non-stop around-the-world balloon flight 13 years ago, thrust his fists into the air as he emerged from the Solar Impulse, an aircraft as big as an Airbus A340 but as light as an average family car.
“Solar Impulse has demonstrated that a solar-powered airplane can fly day and night using no fuel. The next challenge is to fly around the world,” the organisers said on their website solarimpulse.com.

Russian: Ready for territorial talks with Japan

The new Russian ambassador to Japan says his country is ready for territorial talks with Japan over four islands north of Japan. Japan claims sovereignty over the islands, which are held by Russia.

Ambassador Yevgeny Afanasyev held his first news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo since assuming the post in April.The four islands are Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai and Shikotan.

The ambassador said Russia and Japan take a different stance on the issue of the islands but that they have agreed to work toward a solution that will be acceptable to both sides.

He also said the two nations will be able to solve difficult problems only after improving bilateral relationships in various fields other than the territorial issue.Media agencies Input from NHK

French Open: Bhupathi, Mirza vs Paes, Vesnina in semifinal

French Open: Bhupathi, Mirza vs Paes, Vesnina in semifinal

In French Open Tennis, the Indian duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza and the Indo-Russian pair of Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina will play their Mixed Doubles semifinal matches in Paris today.

For a place in the finals, seventh seeded Bhupathi and Sania are scheduled to take on Italy’s Danielle Bracialli and his partner from Kazakhstan Galina Voskoboeva, while fifth seeds Paes and Vesnina will clash with the Mexican-Polish pair of Santiago Gonzalez and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik.

Yesterday, Leander Paes and his Russian partner Elena Vesnina stormed into the Mixed Doubles semi-finals, beating the top seeded Belarusian-American combine of Mix Mirnyi and Liezel Huber, 4-6, 7-5, 10-5.

Earlier, the Indian duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza had also made it to the Mixed Doubles last four, after defeating the American-Czech duo of Mike Bryan and Kveta Peschke, 6-2, 6-3.

In yesterday’s other results, Serbia’s World Number One Novak Djokovic and Swiss Roger Federer booked the Men’s Singles semi-final berths. Today, second seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Briton Andy Murray will slug it out for the remaining two Men’s Singles semi-final slots.

In Women’s Singles, Australia’s Samantha Stosur and Sara Errani of Italy made it to the last four stage. Second seeded Russian Maria Sharapova and Czech Petra Kvitova are slated to play their Women’s Singles quarterfinal matches today.

Rare Transit of Venus unfolds in morning sky

A rare celestial spectacle, Transit of Venus, the last for this century, unfolded in the morning sky all across the country on Wednesday, enthralling the astro enthusiasts.

Scientists and amateur astronomers alike celebrated the arrival of the Transit of Venus, peering up to the skies to watch a dark black spot slide over the surface of the Sun.

The awesome spectacle was visible all over the country, including the national capital.

However, a cloudy sky restricted its visibility from Delhi and some other parts of northern India.

"This was the century's last Venus Transit," says N. Rathnasree, Director, Nehru Planetarium.

The event was visible at around 7 am. Large projectors, pin hole cameras and telescopes were set up to help people see the celestial event unfold at the Planetarium, where a large number of people had gathered to see the rare event.

"The next Venus transit will happen after 105.5 years in 2117, making this a lifetime's event," says C B Devgun, Director, Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE).

From the Earth, this phenomenon is seen when the Venus passes between the Sun and the Earth. It occurs in intervals of 8, 121, 8 and 105 years, Devgun said.

The last Transit of Venus occurred on June 8, 2004 and was visible across India.

Air Force version of 'Akash' missile successfully test fired

Air Force version of 'Akash' missile successfully test fired

India on Wednesday successfully test fired its indigenously developed surface-to-air 'Akash' missile of Air Force version from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near Balasore, Odisha, the fifth trial of the anti-aircraft system in the last fortnight.

"The Air Force version of Akash missile was test-fired from the ITR. The trial was successful and met all the mission objectives," a senior defence official said.

The anti-aircraft missile, with a strike range of 25 km and capable of carrying warhead of 60 kg, was test fired from a mobile launcher at launch complex-III of the ITR.

The trial, which formed part of the country's routine air defence exercises, was conducted at 0757 hrs, an official of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) associated with the Akash missile project said.

To re-validate the technology and operational efficacy of the missile, defence forces conducted the trial with logistic support provided by the ITR, the official said.

The Akash weapon system, which has its Army version too, was inducted into the armed forces in 2008.

Wednesday's test-fire came after similar trials conducted from the same test range on May 24, 26, 28 and June 1.

On June 1, two Air force version of Akash missiles had been test fired successfully in quick succession, the official said.

"During the trial, the sophisticated missile was aimed at intercepting floating object supported by a pilotless target aircraft at a definite altitude over the sea," defence sources said.

HOTREMAI organizes NSF Certification programme for its members

The Hotel & Restaurant Equipment Manufacturers’ Association of India (HOTREMAI) organized a knowledge sharing programme for its member companies conducted by NSF-CMi, a US based Food Service Equipment Assurance and Certification Company,  on NSF certification for Food Service Equipment  at Plazio Hotel, Sector-29, City Centre, Gurgaon on Thursday, 31^st May, 2012. The programme was  presided over by  Ms. Kelli Fall, CPM, NSF.

Highlighting the process of certification Ms. Fall said “Certification is a vital service that propels your product forward. NSF’s technical experts take the time to personally guide you through each step of the certification process so that your products are delivered to market on time, on target, and on budget. To ensure your product receives the highest level of worldwide acceptance, NSF has forged steadfast relationships with many renowned food administration organizations of various countries.”

The programme was attended by many HOTREMAI member companies manufacturing Food Service Equipment.  It was knowledge-oriented and was well received by the members.  Among the people present were Mr. Y.K. Mehta, General Secretary, HOTREMAI, Mr. P.A. Prabhu, Vice-President (South), HOTREMAI and Mr. Swaran Marwha, Chairperson, Exhibitions  & Events, HOTREMAI.

The programme was followed by LUNCH.

PGTI Players Championship

PGTI Players Championship at Golden Greens Golf & Country Club to begin on June 5th

·         Top golfers participating include Digvijay Singh, Himmat Singh Rai & Chiragh Kumar

Gurgaon, June 4, 2012: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has announced the PGTI Players Championship which will be played at the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club from June 5 – June 8, 2012. The tournament offers a prize purse of Rs. 20 lakh.

The field at the PGTI Players Championship will include the likes of Digvijay Singh, Himmat Singh Rai, defending champion Chiragh Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Harendra Gupta, Shamim Khan, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Vinod Kumar, Mithun Perera, Feroz Ali Mollah, Anura Rohana, Manav Jaini, Gaurav Ghei, Sanjay Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Harmeet Kahlon, to name a few.

Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, “We are delighted to return to the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, one of the most magnificent golfing venues in the Delhi NCR region, for the PGTI Players Championship. As we close the first half of the 2012 PGTI season, the race for the Rolex Rankings crown has reached an interesting stage with many contenders emerging for the top berth. The competition will only get more intense from here on.”

Wg. Cdr. A K Singh, Vice President, Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, said, “We are delighted to host the PGTI Players Championship at the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club. This course, being the only links-style course in the country, can bite and surprise even the best of professionals. The course is expected to play hard and true this week with the wind also coming into play.”

Playing host to the event is the Golden Greens Golf Course, one of the designer courses in the national capital region. It is nestled right on the edge of the Aravalli range and is surrounded by hills on three sides. This gives it an amphitheatre-like setting.

About PGTI:

Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognized official body of professional golf in India. PGTI’s objective is to promote professional golf in the country as well as give players an opportunity to be involved in decision making for all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Gautam Thapar (President), PGTI’s governing body comprises of leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.