Author: SITHARA

My passion in life is driven by meeting new people, connecting with them, knowing their stories, because for me that’s the best way to embrace new cultures when you travel.
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PSLV-C43 successfully launches earth observation satellite HysIS and 30 foreign satellites

SITHARA

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C43) successfully launched 31 satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) today in Sriharikota.

The PSLV-C43 lifted off at 9:57:30 (IST) from the First Launch Pad and injected India’s Hyper-Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS) into a 645 km sun-synchronous polar orbit 17 minutes and 19 seconds after the lift-off. Later, 30 foreign satellites were injected into their intended orbit after restarting the vehicle’s fourth stage engines twice. The last satellite was injected into its designated orbit 1 hour and 49 minutes after the lift-off.

After separation, the two solar arrays of HysIS were deployed automatically and the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru gained control of the satellite. The satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration in the next few days. HysIS Project Director Shri Suresh K. said that the satellite is performing normally after the launch.

HysIS is an earth observation satellite built around ISRO’s Mini Satellite2 (IMS-2) bus weighing about 380kg. The mission life of the satellite is five years.

The primary goal of HysIS is to study the earth’s surface in both the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Data from the satellite will be used for a wide range of applications including agriculture, forestry, soil/geological environments, coastal zones and inland waters, etc. HysIS had the company of one micro and 29 nano-satellites from eight countries, including Australia (1), Canada (1), Columbia (1), Finland (1), Malaysia (1), Netherlands (1), Spain (1) and USA (23). The total weight of these satellites was about 261.50 kg. Satellites from Australia, Columbia, Malaysia and Spain were flown aboard PSLV for the first time. Continue reading “PSLV-C43 successfully launches earth observation satellite HysIS and 30 foreign satellites”

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Canada helps create more resilient coastal communities

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Fighting back against climate change

The impact that climate change has on the health and sustainability of our water resources threatens the livelihood and health of people around the world, especially people from Pacific islands countries and territories and Small Island Developing States. Ocean warming, acidification and sea-level rise put these coastal communities and their economies at risk.

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson has reiterated Canada’s commitment to working with the global community to support resilient coasts and coastal communities by highlighting the following Canadian investments:

  • $10 million to the Pacific Initiative for Biodiversity, Climate Change and Resilience. Funding for this joint initiative with the European Union, France, New Zealand and Australia will support efforts in the Pacific region to adapt to climate change, protect biodiversity, and improve ocean and fisheries health.
  • $20 million for capacity development and technical assistance in Small Island Developing States. This includes areas of public financial management, financial sector supervisory capacity, and fostering inclusive growth.

Support in these areas complements Canada’s commitments to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the marine conservation targets under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Continue reading “Canada helps create more resilient coastal communities”

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Cocktails, Wine and Food: A Fine Gourmet Mix at the 6ix!

SITHARA
–Lachman Balani

The 6ix, as Toronto is known, has come alive again for four glorious days at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The annual gourmet food and wine expo is back from Nov 22-25! Sip and savour your way through international gourmet cuisine, exotic delicacies, incredible wines, cutting-edge cocktails, stunning craft beers and so much more!

Many experts are in town to tell you all about how to be a connoisseur in manna and libations divine.

Jeremy Parsons, famed culinary mixologist, kicked off the event showing off his prowess in mixing cocktails. He gave the public a taste of his superb version of Canada’s famous “Caesar’s” made with vodka and Clamato juice and smoked in an infuser designed by him.

He then treated the attendees to an amazing sous-vide margarita, tequila blended with pineapple and other citrus fruits. All his impressive cocktails are in his new book “Invite: Cocktails, Canapés, Company! “

Following his incredible presentation, Christopher Waters, renowned wine connoisseur, wowed the crowd with four incredible wines. Starting off with a de jour rosé bubbly for the festive season, he continued with a white, then onto two reds, explaining the intricacies of the wines to the glowing and happy faces of the appreciative participants.

There are tutored tasting programs and complimentary cooking demonstrations by celebrity guests all day long. Continue reading “Cocktails, Wine and Food: A Fine Gourmet Mix at the 6ix!”

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Foreigner’s Jukebox Hero Musical to Make World Premiere in Toronto

SITHARA
New Musical Features 16 Top Hits of Foreigner
A new musical built around legendary band FOREIGNER’s peerless catalogue of hit songs will make its world premiere this winter in Toronto. FOREIGNER recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of rocking the charts and arenas worldwide. The highly anticipated musicalJukebox Hero, The Musical from Calgary-based Annerin Theatricals will play an exclusive limited engagement at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre in February. Originally scheduled for February 21 to 24, 2019, due to demand, two shows have been added to the original run for February 20 at 8:00 p.m. and 24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale Saturday, November 24th.
A coming-of-age saga featuring 16 of FOREIGNER’s iconic Top 30 hit songs Jukebox Hero, The Musical tells the story of the closing of rust-belt town of Blaydon, Pennsylvania’s biggest factory. Confronted with a deluge of unemployment and instability, the community calls on Ryan, a local boy turned rock ’n’ roll superstar, for help. Yet Ryan never left his roots on good terms, so must confront the ghosts of his past as well as a home he no longer recognises.
The musical originated in a conversation between FOREIGNER founder and lead guitarist Mick Jones and Diana Ross. During a chance meeting in an airport lounge in the 1980s, Ross planted the seed of the idea that FOREIGNER’s music belonged in a stage production. The result is an epic production that builds on the timeless hits that defined a generation, including “Cold As Ice” to “Hot Blooded”, “Waiting For A Girl Like You” to “Dirty White Boy”, and “I Want To Know What Love Is”.

Continue reading “Foreigner’s Jukebox Hero Musical to Make World Premiere in Toronto”

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EXPLORE ‘SCOTLAND OF THE EAST’ – MEGHALAYA WITH EXCITING JETESCAPES

SITHARA
’ HOLIDAYS FROM JET AIRWAYS

~ All-inclusive holiday packages starting at Rs. 34,160 from Bengaluru~

With the onset of the holiday season, JetEscapes Holidays from Jet Airways – India’s full-service, premier international airline is offering brand new, all-inclusive holiday packages to visit the ‘Scotland of the East’ – Meghalaya in the country’s north-eastern reaches from the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru.

With holidays starting at Rs.34160/- JetEscapes offers guests tailor-made travel packages which include a Jet Airways return economy airfare (inclusive of all taxes), airport transfers, three-star hotel accommodation with breakfast and sightseeing. Guests can also customise packages with accommodation in four or five-star properties for a luxurious experience.

The new packages will give guests the opportunity to take a trip to discover the less explored and increasingly popular Northeast India as part of a three-night/four-day Shillong-Guwahati holiday, or four-night/five-day visit and stay to savour the Northeast with Cherrapunjee – all this for an unforgettable experience, replete with

snow-clad Himalayan peaks, dense hilly jungles nestled in a cool and pleasant environment. Travel is easier and comfortable via direct daily connectivity between Bengaluru and Guwahati via Jet Airways’ 9W 659. Once in the Northeast, guests can experience the iconic confluence of many cultures, races and tribes together with a legendary visit to the Umiam Lake, Nohkalikai falls, Seven Sisters falls, Mawsmai caves and Elephanta falls. Continue reading “EXPLORE ‘SCOTLAND OF THE EAST’ – MEGHALAYA WITH EXCITING JETESCAPES”

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Brampton Transit receives Service Excellence award

SITHARA

Today, Brampton Transit received the Service Excellence award at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) annual conference in Toronto.

CUTA hosts urban planners and transit professionals from across Canada at its yearly conference, and hands out corporate awards in categories such as Innovation and Environment. The Service Excellence award was specifically created this year to recognize the unique success and unprecedented ridership growth on Brampton Transit’s Züm Bus Rapid Transit service (BRT).

Pronounced “zoom,” Brampton Transit’s BRT service was designed from the ground up to provide residents with an efficient, high frequency, comfortable service. Züm was launched in fall 2010, and now has five routes that service major corridors across the city, making local and regional connections. In September 2018, the Züm Bovaird service was extended to Malton GO Station – another key regional connection.

The success of the BRT service, and across all of Brampton Transit’s lines, is unmatched in Canada. Since 2009, Brampton’s population has grown by 22 per cent, while Brampton Transit’s ridership has increased by over 120 per cent. Ridership continues to grow in 2018.  As of August 2018, ridership has increased by 17 per cent compared to 2017.

Brampton Transit continues to deliver its popular BRT service, achieving overall record ridership growth with every new route launch, and continued ridership increases during non-launch years. Key to Brampton Transit’s success are overall improved service, a great customer experience and advanced technology that supports both the service and the experience. Continue reading “Brampton Transit receives Service Excellence award”

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India is a land of storytellers where every person has a story to tell: Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at IFFI 2018 Opening Ceremony

SITHARA
~ IFFI 2018 opens to a scintillating display of myriad cultures, film snippets and on-stage camaraderie between celebrities Karan Johar, Minister Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Akshay Kumar~

~Over its nine-day duration, IFFI 2018 will showcase 212 films from over 68 countries which consist of 2 World Premieres, 16 Academy Award nominated films, 6 Indian rare language films, 3 Indian films competing with 15 international films for the Golden and Silver Peacock awards, and many more interesting elements~

Ending the long wait, the opening ceremony of one of the most prestigious film festivals across the world – the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opened amidst the presence of film stars, filmmakers and cine-lovers from across the world amid pomp and gaiety in Panjim, Goa.

The opening ceremony of IFFI 2018 was anchored by Mandira Bedi and Amit Sadh and saw the presence of eminent Indian and international film personalities such as Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar, Randhir Kapoor, Prasoon Joshi, Julien Landais, Barbara Meier, Nicolas Hau, Lois Robbins, Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Robert Glinski, Tom Fitzpatrick, Poonam Dhillon, Hrishita Bhatt, Madhur Bhandarkar, Subhash Ghai, Arijit Singh, Ramesh Sippy, Chin Han among many others. Apart from this, a host of celebrities walked the red carpet, adding a sprinkle of glitz to the ceremony. Continue reading “India is a land of storytellers where every person has a story to tell: Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at IFFI 2018 Opening Ceremony”

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WHY BINGE HOLIDAY DRINKING IS ANYTHING BUT MERRY

SITHARA

’Tis the season to eat, drink and be merry. Some of us, however, take those festive suggestions to dangerous lengths and end up binge drinking. While one night of imbibing multiple drinks may only leave you with a hangover, using the holidays as an excuse to drink abusively from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve can lead to alcoholism and other negative brain/body effects.

Why do people drink too much during the holidays?

“A lot of traditions at this time of year involve alcohol,” says Carrie Carlton LCSW at Beachway Therapy in Boynton Beach, Florida.  “You’re with friends and family who you may not see all the time, and you want to have a good time, and so you celebrate with a few drinks. This isn’t harmful as long as you’re aware of your limits.” Unfortunately, that can be more difficult when you’re not used to drinking a lot, as well as when you’re guzzling seasonal cocktails that you’re unaccustomed to.

What is binge drinking?

Binge drinking is typically defined as more than 5 drinks for men and 4 drinks for women within a short span of time, usually 2 hours. The safest course of action, if you must imbibe, is to pace yourself and space out your drinks to give your liver time to break down the alcohol.

What is “holiday heart syndrome”?

Holiday heart syndrome is a term for a reason. The name was coined in 1978 after doctors in New Jersey started noticing patients showing up to emergency rooms with arrhythmias after bouts of heavy drinking, usually during weekends or holidays. These patients were apparently healthy with no history of heart problems or other risk factors. Continue reading “WHY BINGE HOLIDAY DRINKING IS ANYTHING BUT MERRY”

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Telugu action entertainer ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ to hit screens on Nov 16th

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Eros International acquires highly anticipated Telugu film Amar Akbar Anthony

 Eros International Media Ltd, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, in association with Mythri Movie Makers will be releasing Telugu action entertainer Amar Akbar Anthony. The action filled romantic drama is slated to hit the screens on November 16.

Co-produced by Naveen Yerneni, Ravi Shankar Yalamanchili and Mohan Cherukuri under the banner Mythri Movie Makers, the film has all the elements of a masala entertainer – action, comedy and romance. Largely filmed in the USA, Amar Akbar Anthony is directed by Srinu Vaitla starring celebrated Telugu actor Ravi Teja in three different roles along with Ileana D’Cruz, marking the fourth venture of the hit couple together.

Srinivas Reddy, Raghu Babu, Jayaprakash Reddy, Tanikella Bharani, Satya, Vennala Kishore, Ravi Prakash, Tarun Arora, Aditya Menon, Abhimanyu Singh, Vikramjit, Rajveer Singh, Shiyaji Shinde, Subhalekha Sudhakar comprise the remaining cast. The music has been composed by renowned composer, S Thaman.

Speaking on the announcement, Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd said, “We are excited to collaborate with Mythri Movie Makers once again for Amar Akbar Anthony. The film looks very promising with its mass appeal and popular pairing of lead actors. We are looking forward to entertaining the audience with this light rom-com action film and remain focused on expanding our regional presence across languages and genres”. Continue reading “Telugu action entertainer ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ to hit screens on Nov 16th”

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GSLV MkIII-D2 successfully launches GSAT-29

SITHARA

India’s GSAT-29 communication satellite was successfully launched by the second developmental flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MarkIII (GSLV MkIII-D2) on Wednesday, November 14th,  from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

GSLV MkIII-D2 lifted off from the Second Launch Pad of SDSC SHAR at 17:08 hours (IST), carrying the 3423-kg GSAT-29 satellite. About 17 minutes later, the vehicle injected the satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) as planned.

After injection, ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan has assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, three orbit raising manoeuvers will be executed to position the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit at its designated location.

GSLV Mk III is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Two massive boosters with solid propellant constitute the first stage, the core with liquid propellant form the second stage and the cryogenic engine completes the final stage.

GSAT-29 is a multiband, multi-beam communication satellite, intended to serve as test bed for several new and critical technologies. Its Ku-band and Ka-band payloads are configured to cater to the communication requirements of users including those from remote areas especially from Jammu & Kashmir and North-Eastern regions of India.

In addition, the Q/V-Band communication payload onboard is intended to demonstrate the future high throughput satellite system technologies. Geo High Resolution Camera will carry out high resolution imaging. Optical Communication Payload will demonstrate data transmission at a very high rate through optical communication link. Continue reading “GSLV MkIII-D2 successfully launches GSAT-29”