Malala Yousafzai, world’s youngest Nobel laureate, returns to home in Pakistan

This screengrab by the Pakistan Television Corporation shows Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai addressing the media after a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during her visit to Islamabad, March 29. (Handout/AFP/Getty Images)

By Shaiq Hussain March 29 at 7:38 AM

ISLAMABAD — Malala Yousafzai, the world’s youngest Nobel laureate, returned to Pakistan on Thursday some five years after Taliban militants shot her in the head for fighting for the right for girls to go to school.

Yousafzai survived the attack, was flown to Britain in 2012 for medical care and then impressed the world with her eloquent defense of women’s rights. She went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, together with Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, before being accepted to Oxford University. But in all those years, she said, she never forgot her home.

“I have been dreaming of returning to Pakistan for the last five years and today I am very happy but I can still not believe that this is actually happening,” she said tearfully at a reception hosted by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. “Today after five and half years I have set foot on my soil. Whenever I would travel, in plane or in car, I would imagine that it’s Pakistan and I am driving in Islamabad, I would imagine this is Karachi, and it was never true, but now that I see it, I am very happy.”

The reception included senior government functionaries, leading social activists, parliamentarians and guests from her home region of Swat who came to welcome what they dubbed “daughter of Pakistan.”

“The entire world gave you honor and respect and Pakistan will also give you honor. It is your home ... you are not an ordinary citizen, your security is our responsibility,” the prime minister said at the meeting. He also referred to the militants that wounded Yousafzai and the battle Pakistan is still fighting.

“We are fighting a war against terror. No matter what the world says about us, Pakistan is fighting the largest war against terror and our more than 2,00,000 soldiers are fighting this war,” he said.

Video showed the Nobel laureate clad in traditional Pakistani shalwar kameez and her head covered in red and blue scarf sitting next to the premier along with her parents. She also met with female ministers.

The 20-year old university student and education activist arrived in the early hours of the morning amid tight security at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Pakistani news channels aired footage of her leaving the airport along with her parents in a convoy of over a dozen vehicles, many carrying police and security personnel.

It is not yet clear whether she will visit the Swat Valley or not. Her four day itinerary has her staying mostly in Islamabad and meeting Pakistani officials, media representatives and social activists as well as relatives.

“It’s the most happiest day of my life that I am back to my country and meeting my people, all my countrymen sitting here I want to welcome you,” she said in Pashto, the native language of her region. “I continued my education in the U.K. but I always wanted to move freely in Pakistan. I want to invest in the education of children. Pakistani women should be empowered.”

Even in her early teens, Yousafzai was known as a champion of girls’ education, something that cannot be taken for granted in parts of Pakistan and elsewhere in the region.

When the Taliban took control of Swat Valley, she refused to remain silent until one day, Taliban militants boarded her school bus, asked for “Malala” and then shot her.

They also blew up many girls’ schools and imposed their strict version of Islamic law until they were finally driven out.

Even after her recovery, Yousafzai continued to agitate for girls’ education, setting up the “Malala Fund” aimed at supporting education advocacy groups in countries like Pakistan, Nigeria and Kenya.

Just this month, she used her Nobel Prize money to build a new school in Shangla, close to her home district.

“I am 20-years-old but have seen many things in life, from growing up in Swat Valley, it was such a lovely place, and seeing extremism and terrorism there from 2007 to 2009, seeing how many difficulties our women and girls faced against those challenges,” she said fighting back tears. “If it was up to me I would never have left my country, but for treatment I had to go out and continue my education there.”

Ahmad Shah, a close family friend of Yousafzai and an education activist was ecstatic about her return, when reached by phone in Swat.

“All well wishers and friends from Swat are happy. She is our pride. She is a source of inspiration for girls in Swat,” he said, noting the new school in Shangla. “One positive aspect of Malala’s image is that now mostly people are welcoming her. Very few, almost none are writing and speaking against her.”

Some in Pakistan, especially religious conservatives, have been critical of her, seeing her as a polarizing figure portraying her country in a negative way in order to seek fame abroad.

She was greeted warmly on Twitter and other social media platforms by many of her countrymen, however, including actress Mahira Khan who tweeted, “Welcome home baby girl.”

Former TV anchor and social activist Reham Khan said, “Lots of love and prayers to dearest Malala on her return to Pakistan.”

CBSE Class 12 Maths paper: 'Easy and from NCERT, many students will get 100%'

CHANDIGARH: Four months before the term of Panjab University (PU) vice-chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Groverexpires, the office of the Vice-President, who is also the chancellor of the university, on Monday asked PU to send a draft about the advertising and appointing procedure of the new VC to his office.

In a communication received by the PU registrar on Monday, it was stated PU should provide a draft mentioning the advertising and appointment procedure as per the PU calendar.

PU registrar Col G S Chadha (retd) said, "Yes, I have received a communication to prepare a draft that if the post has to be advertised by the chancellor's office what are the norms to be followed as per the PU calendar. In the draft, the university has to provide what the PU calendar states in case the VC's post is advertised, what is the required cut-off and the procedure to follow for the appointment." He said his office is already preparing the draft to be sent to the chancellor's office by the end of this month. He said it is the prerogative of the chancellor whether he wants his office to advertise the post or PU to advertise it.

The registrar said according to the PU calendar, the chancellor appoints the VC. The term is three years and can be extended by the chancellor. The search and selection committee is also constituted by the chancellor, he said. 

According to records of PU, the last two VCs, R C Sobti and Grover, got one extension.

Interestingly, after this letter, the corridors of the administrative block of the university were abuzz with the prominent names that could be in the fray to be the next VC.

Arun Kumar Grover became the vice-chancellor on July 23, 2012, and was to retire in July 2015. However, he got an extension for three more years. His term ends in July 2018. Former PU VC RC Sobti was appointed in 2006 and got an extension of three years in 2009. His term ended in 2012.

NASA to save Earth from dying by bombarding asteroid Bennu with nuclear bombs

NASA is preparing for a nuclear attack, not on Earth, but on a large asteroid that has some chances of colliding with Earth in future. The asteroid, named Bennu, has a 1 in 2,700 chance of crashing to Earth on September 21, 2135. So, NASA is planning to destroy this potentially dangerous asteroid through nuclear bombing before it reaches our Earth.

Although the chances of Bennu asteroid hitting Earth is negligible, still, NASA wants to ensure that the potential threat is neutralized well in advance. NASA scientists are not thinking of directly destroying the asteroid. They are of the notion that if the asteroid is found to coming too close to earth, then it should be destroyed with nuclear bombs to ensure the safety of Earth. Currently, Bennu is orbiting the Sun at about 54 million miles away from Earth. The asteroid is about 1,600 foot wide and weighs around 74 billion pounds.

The asteroid Bennu will come very close to Earth in September 2135 and NASA scientists predict that there might be a chance of collision of the asteroid with Earth. So, NASA along with the National Nuclear Security Administration, and two Energy Department weapons labs are planning to design and develop a spacecraft called HAMMER. HAMMER stands for Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response.

NASA believes that through HAMMER spacecraft it would be able to deliver nukes to the asteroid. The scientists are thinking of two ways in which they can obstruct Bennu from coming very close to Earth. If the asteroid is found to be small enough, then the HAMMER spacecraft will use an 8.8-ton “impactor” to smash the asteroid. If the asteroid is found to be massive, then the HAMMER will destroy it with nuclear bombs before it reaches Earth.

Physicist David Dearborn from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is thinking a different plan which does not need any nuclear bombing. Dearborn suggested that the asteroid could be slowed down and its course could be changed by bombarding it with multiple HAMMER crafts. The HAMMER mission concept is not a new thing, as the idea was earlier introduced in a 2010 report published in the journal Acta Astronautica. The report stated that the two realistic responses considered are the use of a spacecraft functioning as either a kinetic impactor or a nuclear explosive carrier to deflect the approaching NEO. Well, the future of HAMMER project is uncertain and NASA is currently focusing on its OSIRIS-Rex mission that is on its way to Bennu to collect samples and bring them back to Earth.

According to the US space agency NASA, OSIRIS-REx is continuing outbound cruise operations, en route to arrive in December of 2018 at the asteroid Bennu, with approach operations starting in August. The spacecraft is currently 29.6 million miles (47.6 million kilometers) from Earth and is executing a program designed to study and reduce the presence of water on the spacecraft.

During routine in-flight testing of the spacecraft’s thermal properties earlier this year, the mission’s navigation team noticed an unexpected minor acceleration of the spacecraft when the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) was exposed to sunlight. The mission team determined that this small thrust was caused by the outgassing of water that had been adsorbed by the SRC’s heat shield and backshell before launch.  Retention of water in blanketing and other materials – and the subsequent outgassing of this water – occurs with all spacecraft. For OSIRIS-REx, it was determined that when the SRC was exposed to the Sun at a distance of less than 1 Astronomical Unit (1 AU = approximately 93 million miles), this trapped water escaped and imparted a small thrust. While this small thrust would not be a problem for other missions, the gravity at the target asteroid Bennu is low enough that even this small amount of thrust could make orbital operations more difficult for OSIRIS-REx.

To better understand the outgassing effects on the spacecraft’s trajectory – and to bake out much of the remaining water before the spacecraft arrives at Bennu – the OSIRIS-REx mission team designed an outgassing program for execution starting earlier this fall. The choice of timing took into account both the spacecraft’s proximity to the Sun (less than 1 AU) and the fact that there were no science activities planned during this period. The outgassing program is being run concurrently with outbound cruise operations and does not affect the timing of the spacecraft’s arrival at Bennu.

Starting in mid-October, the spacecraft has been placed into various attitudes to expose different parts of the SRC to direct sunlight and initiate outgassing. Priority is given to the portions of the SRC that will face the Sun during asteroid proximity operations. The mission team has been able to detect and measure the rate of outgassing at each attitude and has determined that water is being removed as expected. The goal is to reduce the outgassing to the point where the spacecraft can fly the planned baseline trajectories around Bennu without modifications, and preliminary indications show that the program is progressing toward this goal. The program is scheduled to run through early January 2018.

101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ36) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on September 11, 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table with the third-highest rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale, due to a cumulative 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth in the late 22nd century. It is the planned target of the OSIRIS-REx mission which is intended to return samples to Earth in 2023 for further study.

Asteroid Bennu has a roughly spheroidal shape, which resembles a spinning top. The direction of rotation about its axis is retrograde with respect to its orbit. Bennu has a fairly smooth shape with one prominent 10–20 m boulder on its surface, in the southern hemisphere.

There is a well-defined ridge along the equator of asteroid Bennu. The presence of this ridge suggests that fine-grained regolith particles have accumulated in this area, possibly due to its low gravity and fast rotation.

Observations of this minor planet by the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2007 gave an effective diameter of 484±10 m, which is in line with other studies. It has a low visible geometric albedo of 0.046±0.005. The thermal inertia was measured and found to vary by ±19% during each rotational period. The data suggest that the regolith grain size is moderate, ranging from several millimeters up to a centimeter, and evenly distributed longitudinally. No emission from a potential dust coma has been detected around asteroid Bennu, which puts a limit of 106 g of dust within a radius of 4750 km.

On average, an asteroid with a diameter of 500 m (1,600 ft; 0.31 mi) can be expected to impact Earth about every 130,000 years or so. A 2010 dynamical study by Andrea Milani and collaborators predicted a series of eight potential Earth impacts by Bennu between 2169 and 2199. The cumulative probability of impact is dependent on physical properties of Bennu that were poorly known at the time, but was not found to exceed 0.071% for all eight encounters. The authors recognized that an accurate assessment of 101955 Bennu‘s probability of Earth impact would require a detailed shape model and additional observations (either from the ground or from spacecraft visiting the object) to determine the magnitude and direction of the Yarkovsky effect.

The publication of the shape model and of astrometry based on radar observations obtained in 1999, 2005, and 2011, made possible an improved estimate of the Yarkovsky acceleration and a revised assessment of the impact probability. The current (as of 2014) best estimate of the impact probability is a cumulative probability of 0.037% in the interval 2175 to 2196. This corresponds to a cumulative score on the Palermo scale of −1.71. If an impact were to occur, the expected kinetic energy associated with the collision would be 1200 megatons in TNT equivalent.

Ola-Uber drivers threaten to go on strike from Monday: Here’s what you should know

The strike is expected to be observed in key cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune among others, PTI reported.

While Ola declined to comment, an Uber spokesperson said termed the strike call as a speculative.

Here’s what you need to know:Commuters relying on cab aggregators Ula and Ober are in for a rough ride beginning Monday since drivers have threatened to go on strike beginning midnight. The strike is expected to be observed in key cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune among others, PTI reported.

# The Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena is organising the strike.

# “Ola and Uber had given big assurances to the drivers, but today they are unable to cover their costs. They have invested Rs 5-7 lakh, and were expecting to make Rs 1.5 lakh a month but are unable to even make half of this, owing to the mismanagement by these companies,” Sanjay Naik of MNVS told PTI.

# While taxi-hailing companies offered loan-guarantee letters to drivers through the Mudra scheme and that too without any verification, they are defaulting on repayment now as their costs are not covered, Naik claimed.

# There are over 45,000 cabs on these aggregators in Mumbai. Due to the slump in business, there has been a fall of 20 per cent in the number of cabs running on these platforms in the city.

# Other unions of Ola and Uber are also in support of the strike, Naik said. “The transport department should take strict action as these taxi-hailing companies are violating permit conditions, and also encroaching on the taxi-rickshaw business. It is good they are going on strike,” Al Quadros, general secretary, Mumbai Taximen’s Union said.

# While Ola declined to comment, an Uber spokesperson said termed the strike call as speculative.

TDP pulls out of NDA: Bitterness between Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu has a deep, complex history

On the face of it, Chandrababu Naidu's decision to quit the NDA was because it was unwilling to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh. But while it may seem that Naidu has dumped the BJP, is there more than what meets the eye?

At the heart of the BJP-TDP alliance of mistrust is an uneasy relationship between Narendra Modi and Naidu. To know where it all began, rewind to 2002, soon after the riots in Gujarat when Modi and Naidu were chief ministers. Naidu, despite being a key member of the NDA, publicly took an anti-Modi position.

In April that year, the TDP politburo called for Modi's resignation stating that "the leadership in Gujarat has lost its moral authority to govern". It even held out a veiled threat to the Vajpayee government, pointing out that "secularism is a fundamental principle for the TDP and strict adherence to it is one of the basic conditions for our support to the NDA".

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. PTI

Naidu had perhaps calculated that after Vajpayee's rajdharma snub to Modi, the BJP will show the Gujarat chief minister the door. This would have enabled Naidu to score brownie points with the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh and also enhance his image as a leader who called a spade a spade. But with the BJP National Executive in Goa backing Modi, Naidu's gameplan came unstuck. Modi, reportedly, was not amused at a non-BJP chief minister interfering with whom BJP should choose as a chief minister.

In 2004, when Naidu lost the elections, instead of blaming his lack of attention on agrarian distress and over emphasis on his personal brand building as the CEO of AP Inc, he faulted the lack of action taken by the BJP after the Gujarat riots. He believed the TDP lost the Muslim vote and the elections because it stayed on in NDA despite the Gujarat riots.

According to those in the know of things in the BJP and the TDP, Modi never forgot the twin snubs.

In 2013, however, after back channel confabulations resulted in a meeting between Naidu and Modi in New Delhi, a decision was taken to fight the elections together in the then united Andhra Pradesh. After a decade in the Opposition, Naidu was desperate to return to power and Modi, whose star was on the ascent, was clearly the side to be on. Actor Pawan Kalyan too was roped in and the 2 percent vote difference helped Naidu edge out Jaganmohan Reddy to the chief minister's chair.

The first two years of the NDA regime were fairly smooth, with the TDP getting representation in the Union cabinet and BJP MLAs getting ministries in Naidu's government. But things started going downhill once the Centre made it clear that no special category status will be given to Andhra Pradesh, despite promises made by BJP leaders during the campaign. Naidu had no option but to agree to a special package and he tried to market it, explaining only the nomenclature was a tad different.

The real twist in the BJP-Naidu relationship came in August 2017 when Venkaiah Naidu moved from being in the government to the vice-president's office. What it did was to remove Venkaiah Naidu from the Andhra Pradesh political theatre. The Naidu-Naidu jugalbandi was one of the reasons why the pact took place for the 2014 polls but the BJP top leadership also felt it was preventing the state unit from growing. Venkaiah Naidu was Chandrababu's go-to man in New Delhi and the Andhra chief minister's clout in the corridors of power dipped after Venkaiah's exit.

Friday's decision makes one suspect things have gone just as the BJP top leadership planned.

There were other irritants too, fuelled mainly by loudmouths in the TDP camp in Delhi. There were frequent references made to how Naidu could have become prime minister in 1996 if he so wished, trying to put him on a pedestal as high as Modi. Naidu himself would brag about how he ensured APJ Abdul Kalam became president in 2002. A few months back, some of the TDP MPs began spreading the word in Delhi that their boss would be kingmaker in 2019. Naidu ticked them off when he heard about it.

Then, there was a serious trust deficit, with some of the taunts even getting personal. If the BJP camp thought someone like Naidu, who had overthrown his own father-in-law, could not be trusted, the TDP hit back by talking hush-hush about how Modi had treated his mentor LK Advani shabbily after becoming prime minister.

The fissures deepened in 2017 as Naidu did not get an appointment with the prime minister for an entire year. The TDP felt Modi rubbed it in by giving time to Jagan in May that year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley's taunt that sentiments cannot decide the quantum of funds irked Naidu. Pawan Kalyan's charges of corruption against Naidu's son Nara Lokesh, that the TDP suspects was scripted by the BJP, proved to be the last straw.

With the exit, things have turned worse. While the TDP accuses Delhi of betrayal, BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao tweeted the Andhra party "is resorting to lies to cover up its inept and inert governance".

The fallout between Naidu and Modi is all the more stark because both are similar in many ways. Both are tech-savvy, tend to get excited about gadgetry, are 24x7 politicians and workaholics.

An old video clip of Modi pulling Naidu by the hand and forcing him to sit on the special chair meant for him on the dais has been doing the rounds on social media for the last one week since Naidu withdrew his two ministers. That feel-good moment was at a public meeting during the election campaign in 2014 and made the audience feel the bitterness of Gujarat was a thing of the past.

Four years later, the chill has returned to the Modi-Naidu relationship.

UGADI

Ugadi marks the beginning of the New Year. It also brings happiness with the onset of Vasanth Ruthu (spring). It is the most important festival for Hindus, which falls on Chaitra Shuddha Prathipade (Padya). According to Hindu myths, Lord Brahma created the earth and set days, nights, dates, weeks, fortnights, months, seasons, and years to count the time. During Ramayana period, the New Year was being celebrated on the first day of Uttharayana. So, Chaitra was the 12th month. Varahamihira, a saint who lived in sixth century, started a new method of celebrating New Year on Chaitra Shuddha Prathipade. His calculation was based on the onset of spring.

Followers of Chandramana system (Shalivahana Shaka), mostly living in southern states including Marharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh and Kerala, celebrate Ugadi as New Year on Chaitra Shuddha Padya. But those who follow Vikrama Shaka system and also the devotees of Goddess Shakthi celebrate New Year on Karthika Shuddha Padya.

Ugadi name has been changed from Yuga Aadi (Yuga + Aadi means beginning of New age). It is believed that the creator of the Hindu pantheon Lord Brahma started creation on this day - Chaithra Shuddha Prathipade or the Ugadi day. 

Ugadi heralds the beginning of the New Year, new month and new day. It also marks a beginning of new life with plants acquiring new life, shoots and leaves. Chaithra Masa (month) ends the shivering winter season. We see budding tender leaves, flowers and fruits; listen to chanting of birds and smell fragrance of flowers from distance. We find happiness booming everywhere. So, the earth will appear in a special delight. Naturally, it is the happiest day of the year. The vibrancy of life and verdant fields and meadows full of colorful blossoms signifies growth, prosperity and well-being.

Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough wash. Shopping for new clothes and buying other items that go with the requirements of the festival are done with a lot of excitement. People wake up before the break of dawn, apply coconut oil on their skin and take a head bath after which they decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. Wearing new clothes, they offer Pooja for the God, invoking his blessings before they start off with the New Year. They pray for their health, wealth and prosperity and success in business too. Ugadi is the most auspicious time to start new ventures.

People consume Bevu (neem) and Bella (jaggery). The neem, though tastes bitter for the tongue, it is good for health. It is also used in cosmetics, toothpaste, soaps, cow fodder, manure, oil and others products due to its high medicinal contents. It is also useful for patients having diabetes and skin diseases.

Jaggery increases haemoglobin in blood and provides additional energy for the body. Sugarcane, the raw material for producing jaggery, helps in having strong teeth and health gems. Its juice fights against jaundice.

The inner significance of this is to indicate that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow, success and disappointment, and all of them have to be treated alike. All experiences have to be treated with equanimity. Every one should resolve to face calmly whatever happens in this year, accepting it with good grace. Consider everything is for one’s own good. Men should rise above sorrow and happiness, success and failure. Auspicious days like Ugadi should be used for making resolutions to change our way of life and to purify our behaviour by giving up all bad qualities. Ugadi is a festival that teaches lessons in selfless service.

People listen to Panchanga (Panchanga Shravana-listening to the yearly calendar) on Ugadi. Experts will open the new Panchanga on the day and explain the forecast of rain, crop, storms, crop prices and other relevant things. Prediction of the whole year and make people prepared to face any situation. People also watch the moon (Chandra Darshana) as it an eventful day.

Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. This festival is celebrated with fervour in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Known as Ugadi in AP and Karnataka, it is known as Gudipadava in Maharashtra. People prepare for the occasion by spring-cleaning their houses and buying new clothes and other items. Houses are decorated with fresh mango leaves. There are also typical dishes associated with Ugadi. 

It is the beginning of the Telugu New Year. Spring is the first season of the year, Chaithra is the most vital month and the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) is the better part of the month. The first day of the lunar month is auspicious. As all these important elements are present, it has special significance as marking the commencement of a New Year, described as Ugadi.