Warwick Students Compete to Win $1 mn to Help Slum Dwellers in India

A team of five students from Russia, India, Bahrain, Canada and the UK are competing to win USD1 million of funding for their social enterprise to help slums in Mumbai in the Hult Prize Global Challenge, a competition judged by former USA President Bill Clinton.

The full-time MBA students from Warwick Business School are aiming to address the main issues that urban slum dwellers, one stage from the very bottom of the pyramid, face on a day to day basis.

The team consists of Supriya Mundra, of Mumbia in India, Mohamed Matar, of Manama in Bahrain, Adam Lawrence, of Solihull, Birmingham in the UK, Nikolay Samoylov, of Moscow in Russia, and Jane Kwong, of Vancouver in Canada.

They have prepared a short video to describe their comprehensive solution, which styles itself on a “smartphone” concept. The winning video is the one that gets the most “Likes” on and the team are using every channel they know to raise awareness of their solution to the problem.

The solution takes parts of existing solutions that are inefficient and do not work together, and brings them all together under one umbrella. The FEED model comprehensively addresses empowerment through education, renewable energy solutions, distribution and waste management problems simultaneously.

The team strongly believe their idea could make a huge difference to the lives of 100 million people in India and beyond – over 1 billion people worldwide live in slums which is unthinkable in this day and age.

The Warwick team narrowly lost out to Hult San Francisco in the previous round of the Hult Global Challenge, where they competed at the Hult Campus in San Francisco against 45 other world-leading business schools and universities, and defeated the likes of Harvard, Berkeley and Stanford en route to the final four.

“Even though the Warwick MBA by full-time study is a challenging undertaking, we strongly believe that it’s crucial to apply our learning to try and help those less fortunate than ourselves,” said Lawrence, 34, who previously worked as a property developer.

“We firmly grasped the opportunity to help the millions of people living in urban slums worldwide with both hands.”

Only one team progresses to the Global Finals in New York in September and the team are thankful for the support they have received from Warwick Business School.

Team leader is Indian Mundra, who has first-hand experience of the difficulties faced in urban slums and experience in strategy consulting.Lawrence has a background in economics and property; Kwong is an operations and human resources practitioner; Mr Matar is a chartered financial analyst; and Nikolay Samoylov is an energy professional.

Sizzling Female Chefs Around The World

“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.”

 

 – Alice May Brock.

Cooking is their passion, Food is their ultimate love and kitchens are their devotional institution. Yes! Chefs are known for such qualities they carry on their shoulder. These Chefs are not only identified as the hottest but also known for their best gastronomic skills that wooed food lovers around the world.

 

1) Rachel Ray

 

Rachel Ray is one of the world’s highest earning chefs who won several audiences by some catchy phrases like “EVOO” (for extra virgin olive oil) in her first show, 30 Minute Meals. The owner of $25 million has four food network programmes which include Tasty Travels and $40 a Day. She is keen towards spreading the knowledge and love for food through cookbooks. Her ‘Every Day With Rachel Ray’ magazine has more than 1.5 million readers. The ‘Book of Burger’ is the 20th and the latest book by her.

 

2) Devin Alexander

Celebrity Chef Devin Alexander is New York Times Bestselling author, media personality and weight loss expert. She is a perfect example of beauty with the brain. Keeping healthy meal as the main mantra of cooking, Alexander even can tickle the taste buds of fitness-conscious food lovers with a sumptuous burger or pizza. Her unique approach of healthy cooking make her published eight books, including “The Biggest Loser Cookbook” series. This hottest Chef is the host of ‘Healthy Decadence’ on Fit TV and her perspective on being healthy have gave her scope to appear on several weight loss shows on Television, , as listed by MENSXP.  

3) Angela McKeller

The former model Angela McKeller is one among the hottest pastry chef and gastronomic marvel. Angela has published several books on cooking which are filled with mouthwatering recipes.  Her cookbooks are called Passion on a Plate: Affordable and EASY Gourmet. This curvy foodie teaches gourmet cooking as well.

4) Anjum Anand

Considered as one of the first food writers, Anjum Anand is known to bring a fine twist to Indian recipes. Her experiment with Indian cuisines have not only triggered the taste buds if foodies but also to people who follow strict diet. Anand’s recipes are the combination of mixed traditional dishes recreated with healthy ingredients and less oil. She tried her hands at different restaurant’s kitchens based in New York, New Delhi and Los Angeles. Her passion for food made her publish ‘Indian Every Day: Light Healthy Indian Food.’ Her thought of adapting healthy meals from traditional Indian food came from her personal experience while growing up. From 2004 to 2007, Anand was a usual guest for a show called ‘Great Food Live’ on UKTV and then featured in BBC for a two series of Indian Food in 2007.  The brand ‘The Spice Tailor’ has been launched in the middle of 2011 that combines seven authentic Indian sauces, mainly prepared to deliver restaurant quality dishes that fascinate foodies who love to gorge delicious Indian cuisines.

5) Eden Grinshpan

After graduating from London’s A Le Cordon Bleu, Eden Grinshpan, the hottest chef travelled to different parts of the world including India, Southeast Asia and Israel to taste cuisines and get in-depth culinary knowledge from local chefs.  She even realized that to enjoy and experience global delicacies, passport to travel to that very place is actually not needed. This beautiful chef has the degree of “Grande Diplome,” in pastry and cuisine. Eden, the culinary adventurer hosts her own show called ‘Eden Eats,’ on the Cooking Channel. The show on traveling is to hunt best global dishes in cities throughout U.S.
6) Casey Thompson

Hottest Chef Casey Thompson contended on Top Chef Season 3 and was one among the two runners-up to Hung Huynh. She is a winner of fan favorite. On Top Chef Season 8, Thompson competed and was eliminated fifth. She is the executive chef at the Brownstone in Fort Worth, TX. Adding to it, Thompson is the ambassador for ‘Terrazos de los Andes,’ the Moet-Hennessey brand.

Saturn’s Satan – A monster hurricane with an eye of over 2,000km ..#NASA #Saturn

Nasa spacecraft captures stunning image of a cyclone at Saturn’s North Pole

In an undated in this false-color image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and provided by NASA/JPL shows stunning views of a monster hurricane at Saturn’s North Pole. The eye of the cyclone is an enormous 1,250 miles across. That’s 20 times larger than the typical eye of a hurricane here on Earth. The hurricane is believed to have been there for years.This image is among the first sunlit views of Saturn’s north pole captured by Cassini’s imaging cameras. (AP)

Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft has captured stunning views of a monster hurricane at Saturn’s North Pole.

The eye of the cyclone is an enormous 1,250 miles (2,010 kilometers) across. That’s 20 times larger than the typical eye of a hurricane here on Earth. And it’s spinning super-fast. Clouds at the outer edge of the storm are whipping around at 330 mph (531 kph).

The hurricane is parked at Saturn’s North Pole and relies on water vapor to keep it churning. It’s believed to have been there for years. Cassini only recently had a chance to observe the vortex in visible light.

Scientists hope to learn more about Earth’s hurricanes by studying this whopper at Saturn.

Cassini was launched from Cape Canaveral in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004.

Boston bomb suspects are brothers of Chechen origin

Police tell residents to stay indoors and ‘stay away from windows’

This combo shows handout images taken from a video released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and acquired by AFP on April 19, 2013 shows the two suspects together (L) in the crowd before the blast at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 and “suspect 2″ (R) standing behind a lady in the crowd. (AFP)

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis confirmed early Friday that one of the suspected Boston marathon bombers is dead and the hunt for the “armed and dangerous” second bomber is still on.

“One suspect dead. One at large,” Davis said on his official Twitter account. “Armed and dangerous. White hat suspect at large,” Davis added.

Prosecutor said one Boston suspect died at hospital after shootout and he threw explosives in chase.

Boston bomb suspects are brothers of Chechen origin, said NBC News. Dead Boston bomb suspect identified as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, it said.

Police have told residents of the town of Watertown near Boston to stay indoors and “stay away from windows” as they hunt a second suspect wanted for the attacks in which three people died and about 180 were injured.

Police captured one of the Boston marathon bombing suspects and were chasing a second in a wild, deadly manhunt near the US city early Friday, local media reported.

One police officer was shot dead and a second wounded in the dramatic nighttime operation, authorities said.

One suspect was caught in Watertown near Boston after a chase in which explosives and gunfire were heard, the Boston Globe reported.

Special police forces sealed off much of the town as they hunted the second man, the newspaper and other media said.

The authorities made no comment on whether there was a link between the manhunt and Monday’s bombing in which three people were killed and about 180 injured.

But the operation came only hours after the Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of the suspects they believe planted the bombs.

A robbery at a gas station was followed by the killing of a police officer on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a car chase to Watertown, media reports said.

A second police officer was wounded in a gunfight in the town, they added.

Powerful #Earthquake could hit #Iran in the next 48 hours

World Earthquakes predicts high seismic activity in Iran and Japan may in the next 48 hours

There is a possibility of a powerful earthquake hitting Iran in the next 48 hours, according to the World Earthquakes data.

“High seismic activity may occur for the next 48 hours” in Iran, the World Earthquake said on Friday.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has also predicted that a powerful earthquake that could hit the region between Thursday, April 25, and Tuesday, April 30. But UAE’s National Center of Meteorology & Seismology said that it’s a rumour and earthquakes cannot be predicted.

On Thursday, A 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern Iran on Thursday, only days after a deadly temblor struck near the border with Pakistan, media reported citing the seismological centre at Tehran.

Last Tuesday, a huge earthquake measuring 7.8 struck southeastern Iran killing a woman and injuring more than a dozen other people. At least 40 people were killed across the border in Pakistan where hundreds of mud homes were levelled. The tremors from the earthquake were felt across the Gulf region.

Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been devastating.

Tuesday’s earthquake was the strongest to hit Iran since 1957.

A double earthquake, one measuring 6.2 and the other 6.0, struck northwestern Iran last August, killing more than 300 people and injuring 3,000.

The World Earthquakes also warned of another powerful quake possibly hitting Japan in the next 48 hours.

On Friday, a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Friday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

Indian American Devotee Ramalinga Raju Donates $3 Mn to Tirumala Temple

In a princely offering, an NRI devotee from US today donated Rs 16 crore to the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala.

M Ramalinga Raju, an entrepreneur based in the United States, handed over the offering in the form of a demand draft to top temple officials, temple sources said.

They said this was the first such large cash offering made by an individual devotee from overseas.

Raju presented the DD to Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman K. Bapiraju and the temple Joint Executive Officer K.S. Srinivasa Raju at the temple.

He requested the TTD, administering the cash-rich ancient temple, that Rs 11 crore be used to make a golden garland “sahasra nama mala” weighing about 35 kg and utilise the balance Rs five crore for the construction of a free-meal complex for pilgrims at Tiruchanur near here, they said.

This is the second large cash offering since last month. On March 27, a Chennai-based pharmaceutical firm had donated Rs two crore to the hill shrine, they added.

Source: PTI

Related articles

• NRI donates Rs.16 crore to Tirumala temple (thehindu.com)

U.S. Immigration Bill to Increase H1B Visa, May Hit Indian Firms

The sweeping U.S. immigration bill, likely to be unveiled, may propose a substantial increase in the much sought after H-1B visa, but the conditions imposed therein, if approved by the Congress, would prove to be a death knell for Indian-American companies.

The bill moved after months of closed-door meetings by a group of eight bipartisan lawmakers, known as the Gang of Eight, aimed at striking a balance between enforcement provisions sought by Republicans as well as Democrats, including making citizenship widely accessible to those illegally in America.

Given that India has a large pool of such IT professionals, analysts say any increase in the H-1B visas finally end up benefiting the Indian IT professionals, but unlike in the present scenario when they are hired mostly by Indian companies, it would benefit the US companies the most and prove to be a big disadvantage to companies like TCS, Wipro and Infosys.

#Boston Marathon blasts leave ‘so many people without legs’

President Barack Obama said perpetrators would pay

Two bomb blasts which brought carnage to the Boston marathon with three dead and more than 100 injured was being treated Tuesday as a “potential terrorist” attack.

The two explosions 13 seconds apart threw victims into the air as the famed race came to an end, tearing the limbs off some. An eight-year-old boy was reportedly among the dead.

As cities from New York to Los Angeles went on high alert, Americans with ever-vivid

Security was stepped up in major cities across the United States amid fears of a repeat of the September 11, 2001 attacks. President Barack Obama said those who planted the bombs will “feel the full weight of justice.”

 Runners continue to run towards the finish line of the Boston Marathon as an explosion erupts near the finish line of the race in this photo exclusively licensed to Reuters by photographer Dan Lampariello after he took the photo in Boston, Massachusetts, April 15, 2013. Two simultaneous explosions ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens on a day when tens of thousands of people pack the streets to watch the world famous race.  REUTERS/Dan Lampariello

Obama went on national television to warn against “jumping to conclusions”, but a senior White House official said such an attack was “clearly an act of terror.”

Special agent Rick DesLauriers, who heads the FBI’s Boston bureau, told reporters: “It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.”

More than 100 people were injured, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick said, without giving an exact figure. The Boston Globe said more than 140 were hurt and that one of those killed at the scene was an eight-year-old boy.

Surgeons worked into the night on the wounded from the two powerful blasts, which were about 100 yards (metres) from each other.

Police and doctors quoted by US media said ball bearings had been packed into the bombs causing horrific injuries.

Some people had arms and legs torn off at the scene. Several victims had “traumatic amputations” at the race medical tent or in hospitals, said Alasdair Conn, head of emergency medicine at the city’s Massachusetts General Hospital.

Five other hospitals were also used for the victims.

More than 27,000 runners were in the 26.2 mile (42 kilometer) race that is one of the world’s most prestigious marathons. Tens of thousands of people were packed around the finish. Many of the runners had completed the race when the bombs erupted.

The blast and clouds of smoke tore through crowds on Boston’s Boylston Street and blew out nearby shop windows. Streets around the bomb sites were kept closed as forensic experts moved in.

Video footage on American TV showed the detonation behind a row of national flags. One 78-year-old runner was blown to the ground and many bloodied spectators were pushed by the force of the blast through barriers onto the street.

Bill Iffrig, the runner who fell, said “the shockwave must have hit me. My legs felt like noodles.” But he got up and walked away again and told his story to many US media.

But other witnesses near the bombs told how bodies had been piled up on top of each other.

“We saw people with their legs blown off,” Mark Hagopian, owner of the Charlesmark Hotel, told AFP from the basement of a restaurant where he had sought shelter.

“A person next to me had his legs blown off at the knee — he was still alive.”

“It was very loud. You could feel the ground shake,” added Dan Lamparello, another witness.

NBC News, citing officials, reported that police had found “multiple explosive devices” in Boston, raising the possibility of a coordinated attack.

Boston authorities urged people not to congregate in large crowds and the area around the attacks was sealed off.

Police warned there would be heightened security around the city on Tuesday with random checks of backpacks and bags on buses and commuter trains. Many streets would also remain closed.

Governor Patrick said late Monday “the city of Boston is open and will be open tomorrow, but it will not be business as usual.”

The twin explosions come more than a decade after nearly 3,000 people were killed in airplane strikes on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

Security was stepped up in New York and Washington — both sites of 9/11 attacks — as well as in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

New York police boosted security at hotels and other city landmarks. The Boston blasts rattled US markets, sending the Dow and the S&P 500 down at the close.

The national flag over the white dome of the US Capitol in Washington was lowered to half-mast in honor of the blast victims.

 

New York City police officers patrol outside the Barclays Center prior to a Brooklyn Nets basketball game on April 15, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Police say they have stepped up security following explosions at the Boston Marathon that resulted in two deaths and more than 100 injuries.  (Getty Images/AFP)

A Stranger Behind the Afghan School – #AngelinaJolie

At a school in a bombed-out Afghan village near Kabul, Angelina Jolie is known as an aid worker or engineer — never as one of the world’s most famous film stars. Jolie, a special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, built the school in Qala-i-Gudar last year and is planning to open more in Afghanistan with profits from a newly-launched jewellery line that she has designed.

The Hollywood star visited Qala-i-Gudar in 2011, and she retains an avid fanbase among residents who have never seen any of her films and have no idea about her global fame as an actress. Acting is controversial in the country, with many conservative Afghans associating it with un-Islamic behaviour and even prostitution. Homaira, aged 13, is one of 250 pupils at the all-girls school who has benefited from the new facilities, which opened for their first full academic year last month.

“We used to study in the backyard of the mosque, it was hard,” Homaira said. “Now we are so happy to have a school. It’s a beautiful place.” Asked who built her school, Homaira smiled and answered, “the beautiful American lady.” The two-storey building, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Kabul, has large windows and neat rows of desks. On the outside, which is painted light blue, is a plaque proudly boasting of its founder.“Through the generous contribution of Angelina Jolie UNHCR Special Envoy,” it reads.

Even headmaster Gul Rahmman Ayaz appeared ignorant of Jolie’s superstar celebrity, apparently believing she was a senior UNHCR official. “Is she?” Ayaz asked doubtfully after learning Jolie was an actress. “Well whatever, she is a great woman, very kind woman,” he added with a smile.
“She was very humble. She sat on dust. She didn’t behave like a movie star,” Ayaz said, remembering Jolie arrived in a UN-marked vehicle and wore a modest black outfit and brown headscarf.

Rajiv Gandhi, ‘Middleman’ For Swedish Jet Deal: WikiLeaks

Leaked diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy on the WikiLeaks website have reportedly named the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as a middleman during the 1970s when he was an Indian Airlines pilot. The Hindu has published findings of the ‘Kissinger cables’, which claim that Rajiv Gandhi may have been middleman for Swedish Company Saab-Scania when it was trying to sell its Viggen fighter aircraft to India in the 1970s.

The October 21, 1975 cable from the New Delhi U.S. embassy says “Swedish emboff has informed us that main Indian negotiator with Swedes on Viggen at New Delhi end has been Mrs. Gandhi’s older (sic) son, Rajiv Gandhi. Latter’s only association with aircraft industry (to our knowledge) has been as pilot for Indian Airlines and this is first time we have heard his name as entrepreneur.”

It also states that the U.S. officials have “no additional information to either refute or confirm the above information.”

Later, Saab-Scania lost out on the deal and was forced to withdraw from the “fighter sweepstakes” by the U.S. as the deal was ultimately secured the British SEPECAT Jaguar.

Gandhi later became embroiled in scandal relating to another Swedish arms manufacturer in the Bofors howtizer gun deal.

While, as of now the BJP has said that the Congress should “come clean” on the “WikiLeaks revelations” that the late Rajiv Gandhi had been a middleman for a Swedish company looking to sell fighter jets to India in the 1970s.

“The WikiLeaks revelations are serious. This is absolutely shocking revelation, let us not forget that the revelations are making two specific charges, about two of their late prime ministers Indiraji and Rajivji,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

“They are connected to the first family of Congress. All defence deals have some relation with the Congress’ first family. They should come clean on this, all the documents should be made public. We want the government, Congress and the family to come clean on it,” Javadekar told a news channel.