Arabia where paul went

For acclaimed film editor Bina Paul, the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is never just another event in the annual festival circuit having associated with it since its inception. As the festival celebrates its silver jubilee during the course of which it grew in stature, Ms. Paul, the artistic director of the festival, also has much to celebrate as she reminisces the roller-coaster journey from the early days of logistical nightmares to the recent edition of pandemic-induced challenges as it is being held in multiple locations. What are your memories of the fest held in 1998 after the formation of the Chalachitra Academy? The biggest problem was arranging the festival. We had to transport cans of films and there were communication challenges as there was no email and we had to depend on fax. It was such a logistical nightmare. Films went missing, and we had to arrange for subtitles. Now technology makes it so much easier logistically. When can IFFK aspire to be ... » Learn More about IFFK is about bringing good cinema, says Bina Paul

DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) : Ahmed Zaki Yamani, a long-serving oil minister in Saudi Arabia who led the kingdom through the 1973 oil crisis , the nationalization its state energy company and later found himself kidnapped by the assassin Carlos the Jackal, died Tuesday in London. He was 90. Saudi state television reported his death, without offering a cause. It said he would be buried in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Known for his Western-style business suits and soft-spoken, measured tones, Yamani helped Saudi Arabia command a dominating presence in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries from its birth. The kingdom remains a heavyweight in the group even today and its decisions ripple through the oil industry, affecting prices from the barrel down to the gasoline pump. "To the global oil industry, to politicians and senior civil servants, to journalists and to the world at large, Yamani became the representative, and indeed the symbol, of the new age ... » Learn More about Long-serving Saudi oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani dies at 90

After Rajasthan, petrol price on Thursday crossed the Rs 100 per litre mark in Madhya Pradesh after fuel rates were increased for the tenth day in a row. Petrol price was hiked by 34 paise per litre and diesel by 32 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. While branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, had crossed the Rs 100-mark in some places in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, regular petrol crossed the physiological mark in Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan on Wednesday, and on Thursday it went past that mark in Madhya Pradesh. In Anuppur of Madhya Pradesh, petrol is priced at Rs 100.25 per litre and diesel at Rs 90.35. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh levies 33 per cent plus Rs 4.5 a litre and 1 ... » Learn More about After Rajasthan, petrol crosses Rs 100-mark in Madhya Pradesh

A memorial service for Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug will be held at the Texas A&M University in Texas today, October 6. Dr M S Swaminathan, who worked closely with Dr Borlaug on India's Green Revolution, will be one of the main speakers at the service. In this first person reminiscence, told to rediff.com 's Shobha Warrier, Dr Swaminathan recalls how Dr Borlaug and he transformed Indian agriculture. I first met Dr Borlaug in July 1953 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He gave a speech about a new method of controlling rust disease in wheat. He had a very interesting idea of how to manage it. After that, we had some correspondence. From 1955-1956 onwards, he started working on the semi-dwarf wheat variety with a gene from Japan called Norin 10 dwarfing gene. The same gene was worked on by one Orville Vogel in Washington, DC. Dr Vogel was working on winter wheat and Dr Borlaug was working on spring wheat. Spring wheat is the one which can be grown under our ... » Learn More about ‘Our farmers are second to none’

The way a bookshop stocks its books says a lot about its temperament. At City Lights, a landmark San Francisco independent bookstore-publisher, some of the sections are called Commodity Aesthetics, Stolen Continents, Green Politics, Muckraking, Topographies & Somalogistics, representing a bookselling ethic that is fast eroding, or has already eroded. As its principal bookbuyer, Paul Yamazaki curates the collection. Yamazaki is a member of the jury for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2014, which will announce its longlist shortly. Antara Dev Sen, editor, writer and literary critic, chairs the jury, while Arshia Sattar, translator, writer and teacher, Ameena Saiyid, the MD of Oxford University Press in Pakistan and Rosie Boycott, British journalist and editor, are the other members. “Reading for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is identical to reading for City Lights. I am looking for stories wrought with exacting language that transport me to an understanding of ... » Learn More about Howl, Hungry and reading

IMAGE: Hyderabad are at third spot with 24 points from 17 matches while SC EB are at ninth with 17 points. Photograph: ISL/Twitter Aridane Santana scored a last-gasp equaliser to help Hyderabad FC hold SC East Bengal to a 1-1 draw and dent the Kolkata side's hopes of making it to the playoffs of the Indian Super League, in Vasco, on Friday. Bright Enobakhare scored in the 59th minute for SC East Bengal, who seemed to be cruising towards the win until the stoppage-time leveller from Santana. The result extended the Nizams' unbeaten run to nine games. With the draw, Hyderabad are at third spot with 24 points from 17 matches while SC EB are at ninth with 17 points from as many matches. Both the sides are left with three matches each in the league phase. Hyderabad FC made two changes in their playing XI as Liston Colaco and Joel Chianese came in for Mohammed Yasir and Fran Sandaza, while SC East Bengal reposed faith in the same XI that defeated Jamshedpur FC in the ... » Learn More about ISL: Hyderabad FC hold SC East Bengal

As you turn off the Triplicane High Road into the Wallajah Mosque compound in Chennai, you can’t miss the elegant old building, painted white, that stands defiantly graceful amidst the concrete jungle. The building whose grand entrance faces the mosque, that once welcomed foreign dignitaries, stands closed today, and with its back entrance open on the Vallabha Agraharam street, it operates as a lodge for weary travellers — both foreign and Indian. Wonder if any of them are aware of its rich heritage that connects Madras with the Turkic Ottoman Empire. As the smaller picture reveals this was once the grand Ottoman Turkic consulate in Madras. Madras’s association with the Ottoman Empire dates back to the time of the Nawabs of Arcot, when they made the city their home in the mid-18th century. As the two most revered holy sites of Muslims, namely Mecca and Medina, were under the protection of the Ottoman Empire, the Nawabs corresponded with the Ottomans regarding Haj pilgrimage and a few ... » Learn More about The Turkey connection

'No PM has said no to anything we have proposed. I am not a politician and I cannot give speeches about things, but a lot of good things have been done in science by previous governments.' 'Under Dr Manmohan Singh, we could do a few important things. I used to meet him once in 6, 8 weeks. He often said, 'Professor Rao, you assume that you have my approval and carry on.' He was shy and decent. He is a real gentleman.' 'Science keeps me going at 80. I feel young.' Professor C N R Rao, the eminent scientist who was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, speaks to Rediff.com contributor Shivanand Kanavi on the state of science in India. P rofessor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao is the third scientist to be awarded India's highest civilian award -- the Bharat Ratna, a crowning glory of his inexorable list of outstanding achievements. Professor Rao, 80, who has honorary doctorates from 60 universities, is founder of the Bangalore-based Jawharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced ... » Learn More about Bharat Ratna C N R Rao: I expect great things to happen under Modi

Brent as well as WTI has gained by around 20 per cent. MCX oil futures have gained by around 21 per cent so far this year. Oil is considered to be the benchmark indicator of growth in the global economy and the price rise clearly reflects this trend. The efforts of the OPEC+ alliance has brought in good results and the act of cohesion by major oil producers in the months ahead is something that the world will have a keen eye for. What changed for oil markets in less than two months is the question that needs an answer. Greater compliance by OPEC + On 12th April 2020, the OPEC+ alliance agreed for 10 million barrel cut till June 2020, followed by 7.6 million a day until the end of the year, and then to 5.6 million through 2021 until April 2022. Accordingly, the review committee of OPEC which met in the first week of February 2021 said that the report card was very good and the aggregate compliance of the producers since it came into effect in May 2020 was at an ... » Learn More about Why crude oil prices shot up by 21% this year

oil market .More than 4 million barrels a day of output -- almost 40% of the nation’s crude production -- is now offline, according to traders and executives. One of the world’s biggest oil refining centers has seen output drastically cut back. The waterways that help U.S. oil flow to the rest of the world have been disrupted for much of the week. “The market is underestimating the amount of oil production lost in Texas due to the bad weather,” said Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at commodity giant Trafigura Group. Brent crude surged above $65 a barrel on Thursday, a level not seen since last January. Spreads indicating supply tightness also soared. Ten months ago, the price slumped below $16 because of a demand shock caused by Covid-19. In the past, the weather-related disruption would largely have been a U.S. issue. Now it’s unmistakably global. Crude markets in Europe are rallying as traders replace lost U.S. exports. OPEC and its allies must decide how much longer ... » Learn More about Big freeze in Texas is becoming a global oil market crisis