Burning rage and disbelief - In one week, my kids have changed

HE LOST HIS WIFE Subhashish Chakraborty, whose wife Munmun (below) died in the fire, outside AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria, on Friday morning. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Subhashish Chakraborty, 42, can still hear wife Munmun’s voice over the phone — 4.21am it was, he remembers precisely to a second. He can still relate to her sense of foreboding when she told him she would die if he didn’t come and save her. He can still feel his heart pounding as he sat in the speeding taxi that appeared to him slower than anything he had boarded before. He can still see his hand shaking as his thumb searched for Munmun’s number on his cellphone keypad. He can still feel his spirit sinking as her phone continued ringing. He can still recall her incessant coughing in that last call she took. He can still hear the gasps around him as they brought her down through a broken window, lifeless.

Rig Veda to particle physics

New Delhi, Dec. 13: Physicist Vivek Sharma who was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and now leads an international group hunting for the Higgs boson sees the search as an attempt to seek out answers to questions posed in the Rig Veda.

Ekta To launch Sara Khan in film

 Ekta Kapoor is all set to launch TV actress Sara Khan in a film called 'Dark Rainbow'

'Soap queen' Ekta Kapoor is known to make careers for her friends. After Prachi Desai, it is TV actress Sara Khan’s turn to be in the limelight. Ekta is all set to launch Sara on the silver screen with her film 'Dark Rainbow'. No wonder Ekta was at the muhurat of the film despite partying hard the night before. In the film, she will be reportedly playing a band member and has been paired opposite Mayur, a newcomer who will play her love interest. The film is about a band called Rainbow and how after the death of their lead singer, the rest of the bandmates take the band forward.

Indian batting comes good in drawn Oz warm-up tie

Sachin Tendulkar hit a quickfire 92 before retiring as India's first warm-up match on their tour of Australia against a Chairman's XI ended in a draw after rain forced end of play on Friday.

Sharma spins mystery at Manuka

One to watch: Ishant Sharma delivered some rippers at Manuka Oval yesterday.Photo: Getty Images

THIS city has seen its share of political intrigue, and yesterday it was Indian paceman Ishant Sharma who was shrouded in a cloak and dagger mystery as baffling as some of the backroom dealings at Capital Hill.

Former Miss Russia jailed in US, faces deportation

Image courtesy: New York Post

New York:  Miss Russia 1998 and former Miss Universe semifinalist Anna Malova, charged in the US with forging drug prescriptions, will spend Christmas holidays in jail, the New York Post reported.

Zardari to be released from hospital tomorrow

Islamabad:  A statement from Pakistan's president says he will be discharged from hospital in Dubai on Thursday, and that all tests carried out on him returned results "within normal range."

The statement on Wednesday said that Asif Ali Zardari was to "rest at home", once he has left the hospital.

China's human rights record getting worse: US ambassador

Beijing:  China's deteriorating human rights record is a growing concern for the United States, even as overall ties between the countries become more entwined, US Ambassador Gary Locke said on Wednesday.

New giant plane to launch people, cargo into orbit

Seattle:  Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan are building the world's biggest plane to help launch cargo and astronauts into space, in the latest of several ventures fuelled by technology tycoons clamouring to write America's next chapter in spaceflight.

Islamists poised to consolidate in Egyptian polls

Cairo:  Islamists are poised to further consolidate their overwhelming lead in the second phase of Egyptian parliamentary polls, as millions headed to polling booths on Wednesday to decide the future of nine governorates, in the first landmark elections since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

Time names 'The Protester' as 'Person of Year'

New York:  Time magazine named the collective "protester" around the world as its person of the year Wednesday, citing the change brought by street demonstrations from Arab countries to New York.

End of Iraq war: Welcome home, Obama tells US troops

Fort Bragg:  President Barack Obama saluted returning troops returning from Iraq Wednesday, declaring that the nearly nine-year conflict is ending honorably, "not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home."

Zardari discharged from hospital, says aide

Dubai/Islamabad:  Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was on Wednesday discharged from a Dubai hospital where he was being treated for a heart condition and moved to his private residence in the emirate to recuperate, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

100 years of Antarctica discovery

Oslo, Norway:  Polar adventurers, scientists and the Prime Minister of Norway gathered at the bottom of the world on Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of explorer Roald Amundsen becoming the first to reach the South Pole.

US House passes legislation to freeze aid to Pakistan

Washington:  The US House of Representatives approved a billion dollar defence bill, which, among other things, freezes the $700 million in aid to Pakistan until the country offers greater assurances to Washington to contain the spread of Improvised Explosive Devices.

No cut in $700 million civilian aid to Pakistan: US

Washington:  A day after a key Congress panel agreed to freeze $700 million in aid to Pakistan, the US has said that it was just a proposal under a defence bill and made it clear that it has not cut any civilian assistance to the country, with which its ties have plunged to a new low following a deadly NATO raid.

US relationship with Pak has been a difficult one: Clinton

Washington:  As ties between the two countries hit a new low, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US's  relationship with Pakistan has been a "difficult" one and the latter was gripped by a "weak economic leadership".