World's Fastest Train

Train has been an important means of transportation of people everyday all over the world. Nowadays, trains are no longer just a mode of transportation that will bring people from one place to the next. Modern trains are built to adapt to the ever increasing need of the people for speed. The faster the train is the better. High speed trains allow people to travel large distances by rail quickly and it’s not just fast, modern trains are built for comfort too. Below are the top 5 fastest train in the world.

Transrapid (TR-09)
 It is a maglev high speed train that is used to transport both passenger services and goods. It is a magnetically levitating train that works on a linear motor principle. The current design speed of the Transrapid is between 500 and 550 km/h. It has far better acceleration than conventional high-speed rail systems and is able to accelerate from a standing start to 200 km/h within 60 seconds.

CRH380A
 It is a Chinese electric high-speed train that was manufactured by CSR Qingdao Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. It is operating at a cruise speed of 350 kilometers per hour and a maximum of 380 kilometers per hour in commercial service. During a trial run, the original 8-car train-set recorded a top speed of 416.6 km/h while the longer 16-car train-set temporarily held the world’s record for the fastest production train at 486.1 km/h.


KTX – II
 It is a South Korean high-speed train built by Hyundai Rotem in the second half of 2000s. With a top speed of 305 kilometers per hour, the KTX – II is the first commercial high-speed train developed in South Korea.
Shinkansen It is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group Companies. It is also known as the “Bullet Train”. Its top speed reached 300 kilometers per hour and is powered by 25,000 V AC electrification systems.

Shinkansen
 It is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group Companies. It is also known as the “Bullet Train”. Its top speed reached 300 kilometers per hour and is powered by 25,000 V AC electrification systems.

TGV Reseau  The TGV Reseau trains have a top speed of 300 km/h and were built by Alstom between 1992 and 1996. It is a French train that can carry up to 377 passengers.

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Singer Lou Reed Dies at 71

Lou Reed has died at the age of 71, the legendary rock singer's publicist confirmed today to ABC News. The cause of his death Sunday morning was not released. In May Reed underwent a liver transplant at the Cleveland clinic. Reed was a major force in music, first breaking out as the lead singer for the Velvet Underground, which was initially managed by Andy Warhol.
 The band's debut album "The Velvet Underground & Nico" was called the 13th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003. In 1996 the band was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of fame. In 1970 Reed split from the Velvet Underground and went on to become a successful solo artist releasing hits including "Satellite of Love" and "Walk on the Wild Side." Reed continued to release new albums and tour during his four-decade solo career, performing in front of audiences until a just a few weeks before his transplant surgery. Reed was scheduled to perform at the Coachella music festival in April, but had recently cancelled citing "unavoidable complications."
 He collaborated with Metallica on his last album titled "Lulu" and release in 2011. Although Reed was able to keep the surgery a secret at the time, afterwards his wife, performance artist Laurie Anderson, revealed how serious his condition was to the London Times. "I don't think he'll ever totally recover from this, but he'll certainly be back to doing [things] in a few months," Anderson told the Times. She also noted that Reed, who's an avid martial arts enthusiast, was "already working and doing t'ai chi" within a month of the surgery. In June Reed post a message on his Facebook page about his recovery and his hope to return to the stage. "I am a triumph of modern medicine, physics and chemistry.
I am bigger and stronger than stronger than ever," wrote Reed. "I look forward to being on stage performing, and writing more songs to connect with your hearts and spirits and the universe well into the future." After initial reports of Reed's death hit the Internet, fellow musicians expressed their condolences on social media.

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The ‘Armadillo’ Car Folds Up for Easy Parking

“We see cars as a complicated machine. But it is now time to start thinking new. Cars will be handy and convenient in the future. In other words, it will be more of a consumer electronic product,” said Suh In-Soo, a professor at the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST who led the project.
 The Armadillo-T, named after its design for its rear looks like a South American armadillo shell, shrinks from 110 inches to 70 inches. The rear shell kicks upward covering over the front, taking up only one-third of a typical Korean parking space. The micro car has a maximum speed of 37 mph and can travel 62 miles off a 10-minute fast charge.
“At first, I thought it was a toy. But the best part about it is that it’s environmentally efficient and could save a lot of space,” said Lee Chanhee, a student at a recent Korea Automotive Industry Exhibition of the Armadillo-T near Seoul. Suh’s team started the project three years ago, inspired by the MIT CityCar, an electric concept car designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. A Spanish consortium, Hiriko Driving Mobility, has begun a commercialized version of the CityCar in Vitoria-Gasteiz, as part of a car-sharing program last year.
 A foldable version, Hiriko Fold, is in trial service in Berlin, Germany, run by Deutsche Bahn.

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Malaysians are avid travellers

A recent survey conducted by MasterCard revealed some Malaysians’ preferences and habits when it comes to travelling.
 MALAYSIANS have an insatiable thirst for travelling and strong statistics proved just that. According to the MasterCard Consumer Purchasing Priorities survey which was released recently, leisure travel remains a steady sector in the local market. This is evident through the thriving travel behaviour showcased by fellow Malaysians.
More than nine in 10 of the participants surveyed were found to have undertaken domestic travel while two-thirds opted for an international holiday destination in the past year. “This is an exciting time for travel in Malaysia with consumers showing keen interest and looking to spend leisure time both domestically and internationally,” said Safdar Khan, MasterCard Worldwide’s country head for Malaysia and Brunei. The outlook for future travels among Malaysians shows a positive trend. Nearly half of those surveyed expressed great interest to travel more, with 47% intending to travel more to international destinations while 50% wish to do so within domestic destinations.
 The findings here will no doubt lead to a positive economic growth for the country, which marks Visit Malaysia Year 2014. “On a local level, this will enhance interest in tourism offerings and help boost tourism spend, ultimately contributing to the country’s economic vitality,” Safdar said. “With the increased demand, the travel sector is set for further dynamic growth and to be a key focus area,” he added. Among the top three local destinations that Malaysians plan to visit in the next three months are Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, followed by Malacca and George Town, Penang. The capital state of Sabah is a growing resort destination thanks to its close proximity to lush rainforests as well as enchanting tropical islands. And for the more adventurous at heart, Mount Kinabalu – the highest peak in the Malay Archipelago – is a hiking heaven thanks to its rich flora and fauna.
 As for Malacca and Penang, both states have exuberant cultural and historical trails that are perfect for family getaways. They’re also well-known as a local food mecca. On the other hand, regional destinations are popular among Malaysian overseas travellers, with the top three choices being Singapore, followed by Australia and Japan. Apart from that, the survey also revealed some pretty interesting highlights about Malaysian travel preferences and habits. For instance, online platforms come first when sourcing for the best travel deals. A majority of Malaysians prefer to look up for information on airline websites first. Next are online travel guides and travel agents.
 Malaysians can’t get enough of shopping and they’re even doing it at airports. Over nine in 10 of those surveyed indulge in the activity in between travel, splurging on edible items, books, magazines, cosmetics and fragrances. When it comes to travelling expenditure, though, transport and accommodation take up the biggest chunk of Malaysians’ holiday budget. For overseas travel, in particular, the preferred mode of payment is via credit card.
 In terms of transportation, budget carriers are the preferred choice. And when Malaysians get to their holiday destination, rest and relaxation as well as shopping rank as the most popular activities. The MasterCard Consumer Purchasing Priorities survey is released twice a year and provides valuable insights into consumer outlook on spending priorities in the categories of travel, dining and entertainment, education, money management and luxury shopping.

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Shanghai "roasts" the giant Rubber Duck

SHANGHAI has served up a “roasted” version of a Dutch artist’s giant yellow duck, complete with drumsticks and crispy brown skin. Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duck installation gained rave reviews when a 16.5 metre-tall version arrived in Hong Kong this summer. Hundreds of thousands of people viewed it against the backdrop of the skyscrapers that line the city’s Victoria Harbour.
 Not to be outdone, Shanghai – which is vying with Hong Kong to be China’s financial capital – has unveiled its own version on the Huangpu River, which forms its waterfront Bund district. ”The design process took place during Shanghai’s scorching hot summer days, so we just thought: ‘Let’s roast it’,” designer Han Beishi told AFP. ”Other inspiration came from an ancient Chinese poem: ‘The duck knows first when the river becomes warm in spring’,” he added.
 Shanghai’s duck is actually a working ferry boat which reportedly will carry passengers and host cultural performances including poetry reading. The duck’s head, at the bow, is yellow, but reversed and looking back towards its body which is made of papier mache, with jutting drumsticks and cooked wings. Several Chinese cities rushed to display versions of Hofman’s Rubber Duck – which has been making appearances around the world since 2007 – leading the official People’s Daily newspaper to criticise the flock of copycats.
 But the Huangpu river has made more headlines this year for a pollution scandal which saw more than 10,000 dead pigs drift down it in March, discarded by farmers upstream. Han said he floated the idea of making a pig but city fathers were not amused.

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Facebook now lets you edit your posts

New Delhi: A feature that Facebook had been testing for some time now has finally gone live on Facebook's web interface and is also being rolled out on the Android app. The edit feature is expected to be available on Facebook's iOS app soon.
 This means that you need not have to live with a typo or delete a post for an error in the text. Facebook users can easily edit the text of the post (and also the comments they post) and update an existing post. This new feature is available on Facebook web and is rolling out for Android. It is expected on iOS soon.
 Until now Facebook only allowed editing of image captions. This new Facebook change also raises the question of altered context. A comment or a like could be in reference to what was originally in the post, but by letting users edit the post itself may sometimes alter the meaning altogether.

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Movie review: Warning 3D

Warning 3D 
Cast: Santosh Barmola, Suzana Rodrigues, Manjari Fadnis, Varun Sharma, Jitin Gulati, Sumit Suri and Madhurima Tuli
Director: Gurmeet Singh 
Rating: zero
 The plot of Warning is lifted straight from the Hollywood film Open Sea 2 and despite knowing what he had to make, the director ends up with an immature film. A group of friends reunite and meet on a luxury yacht to sail to the middle of a beautiful ocean in Fiji. Tanveer, who pretends to own the yacht, is the host. He has a mind of his own and decides to head out somewhere in the middle of the sea and so we have some boys, girls, a baby and a dog on the yacht, far away from civilization and any trace of a mobile network. One by one they decide to go for a swim but guess what? They forget to lower the ladder, which is the only way to get back on the yacht.
Even Tanveer who has been maintaining the yacht doesn’t bother checking the most important thing. One mistake and all of them are trapped in the midst of an ocean except the dog and the little child. After all of them indulge in a big of blame game while floating in sea, everyone realizes the gravity of the situation. At one point they decide to get the dog excited thinking that he might press the red button which may lower the ladder but within minutes the dog is in the water, swimming right next to them! The yacht is too high for them to get back up. Frustrated and angry, they come up with bizarre ideas. They even strip naked and use their swim suits to make a rope but fail to climb up.
 Now that they have drifted further. Obviously, there are sharks around them to add to the drama. You would expect the film to be gripping but this one is just a dull bore. All you wait for is the end and that takes too long to come. As the plot doesn’t move, you keep listening to a song called "Bebasi" with long shots of the yacht and human beings floating around it. There is not one reason why I would recommend you watching a film like Warning. Somewhere around the interval, the dog drifts away from the group and returns right at the end, to miss all the drama..he is one lucky dog!

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Kate Winslet took Divergent role to impress her children

Titanic star Kate Winslet took on the role of a villain in the upcoming movie Divergent because she wanted to leave a lasting impression on her children. The 37-year-old actress, who is pregnant with her third child, says she immediately signed on to play Jeanine Matthews in the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's bestselling novel so that her kids, Mia and Joe, would consider her to be 'cool', reported MTV online.
 "I didn't have any hesitation at all. It was such a great script. It's a fantastic book. My daughter is going to be 13, and my son is almost 10, and they're getting to that age where this is the type of literature they're going to be reading very soon," Winslet said. "In fact, my daughter, two days ago, came home from school and went, 'Mum! You're never going to believe it. Rufus came up to me at school and said, is your mum really in Divergent?
 Is there going to be a premiere? Can you get me a ticket?'... My daughter suddenly had a new found respect for me. I'm just going to go with that. I did it because I wanted my kids to think I was cool," she said. The Neil Burger film, set in a dystopian version of Chicago, Illinois, is the first in a trilogy of movies and is due for release next year. Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and Maggie Q are also set to star in the film.

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Dilip Kumar admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, stable

The condition of veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday after complaining of uneasiness in his chest, is now stable. "Dilip Kumar has been admitted to our hospital, he is in the intensive care unit (ICU) and his condition is stable," Lilavati Hospital spokesperson Dr Naresh Trivedi told PTI on Sunday.
 Mr Kumar, 90, known as the 'King of Tragedy', essayed iconic roles in classics like Devdas, Madhumati, Mughal-e-Azam and Ganga Jamuna. He was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) and his acting career spanned six decades and over 60 films. He was the first to receive Filmfare Best Actor honour when the awards were started in 1954 and, with eight wins, shares with Shah Rukh Khan the record for the most number of Filmfare awards won in that category.
 He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. He was also nominated to Rajya Sabha for a term from 2000 to 2006. In 1998, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award conferred by the government of Pakistan.

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China is flooding part of Myanmar to generate power Myanmar can’t have

China was going to build a giant dam in Myanmar a few years ago, but after Myanmar’s government unexpectedly put a stop to the project in 2011, it didn’t look like it would ever happen. Now, with a leadership change taking effect in 2015, China is confident that the project will move forward. Myanmar (aka Burma), for those keeping score, is a poor Southeast Asian country bordering China. Myanmar is in political upheaval after their repressive military junta stepped down in favor of, let’s say, a democracy-adjacent form of government.
 Why Would China Build a Dam in Myanmar? China loves damming rivers. The country has about 22,000, and the entire rest of the world has about 23,000. Most of China’s dams have been built in the past 50 or so years. Flood control is their first stated concern when they build a dam, followed by generating hydroelectric power. Since China doesn’t have a vested interest in protecting farmers in Myanmar’s river valleys from hazardous flooding, this is obviously about generating hydroelectric power. In some ways you can’t blame them. They generate almost as much CO2 as the U.S., and there’s a big push in China toward sustainable energy (the party line is 15% by 2020). The Myitsone Dam project started in 2001, and made a lot of sense in context.
Yunnan Province, China has an oil pipeline coming in from their unbelievably impoverished neighbor to the south. Getting the area’s energy needs met by throwing them a few table scraps was just how things got done. Untitled drawing China is flooding part of Myanmar to generate power Myanmar cant have A dam project in which China hires a decent number of Myanmarese workers, and eventually gives them 10% of the dam’s profits, and pays an export tax sounded okay at the time to the Myanmarese military government. However, in 2011, Myanmar’s new president, Sein Thein, sort of said (not a direct quote) “Wait.
 Why are we letting you do this? It’s a huge drag for our country.” A Huge Drag for Myanmar What they’re doing is, flooding a piece of Myanmar the size of Singapore. If it happens (and it probably will), it’s going to displace ten thousand villagers and farmers, and completely halt the agricultural prospects of perhaps millions. Dams prevent all flooding, including the good kind needed for some farming, and also stem the flow of nutrients needed by farmers down river. The flooded area also contains heritage sites considered important by the locals. Standing up to China Power Investment out of concern for the livelihood and culture of one pocket of poor people is one of the Thein administration’s signature achievements, and a major environmental and humanitarian success story.
 Presidents don’t normally do things like that. Since they’re changing their story and saying they’ll be resuming this project in 2015, and it’ll be done in 2017, China must be pretty sure Sein Thein won’t be re-elected in 2015, and someone more China-friendly will be. “The next incoming government will hopefully do what is best,” Wang Qiyue, director of China Power Investment, said.

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