India celebrates Kashyap’s historic gold, finishes fifth at CWG
Badminton medalists (From L to R) Ashwini Ponnappa, Jwala Gutta, Parupalli Kashyap, Gurusaidutt and PV Sindhu in Glasgow. Photo: PTI.India earned a fifth-place finish with 64 medals, including 15 yellow metals at Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014.Parupalli Kashyap brought the curtains down on India’s campaign in the 20th Commonwealth Games to a thunderous applause, winning a historic gold in the men’s singles badminton on Sunday. The quest for a CWG hockey gold though remained unfulfilled as the Indian men’s team went down tamely 0-4 to title holders and world champions Australia in the final.Likewise, the women’s doubles combo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, too, had to be content with a silver medal at the Emirates Arena. Final list of Indian medal winners at CWGThe story on the final day of the Games revolved around Kashyap. Playing like a man possessed, the 27-year-old stole the limelight as he etched his name firmly in the history books by becoming the first Indian male shuttler in 32 years to win a gold in the Commonwealth Games.The three podium finishes on the final day of the Games meant India ended with 30 silver and 19 bronze, apart from the 15 top prizes.Parupalli Kashyap with his gold medal at Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on August 3, 2014. Photo: PTI.Traditional powerhouse England led the overall standings with 171 medals, followed by Australia (135), Canada (82) and hosts Scotland, which ended the multi-sport extravaganza with 53 medals.A bronze-medallist at the Delhi Games, Kashyap rose to the occasion and played a sensational game of nerves to eke out a breath-taking 21-14 11-21 21-19 triumph over Derek Wong of Singapore in the final showdown, which lasted over an hour.advertisementThe shuttler from Hyderabad thus joined badminton legend Prakash Padukone and the late Syed Modi, who had won the title in the past. While Padukone had won the men’s singles gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Canada, Modi retained it four years later.It turned out to be a red letter day for World No. 22 Kashyap who bagged the biggest title of his career. He had reached the quarterfinals of the London Olympics and won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in 2012.Just after Kashyap’s moment of triumph, Jwala and Ponnappa lost their summit showdown with Malaysian combo of Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon 17-21 21-23, leaving the holders’ title defence in tatters.Up against a tricky player, Wong, who was immaculate with his court coverage and wrist play, Kashyap was rewarded for his relentless never give up attitude.In the first game, Kashyap was leading 14-8 before Wong came back with the help of some precise smashes to gather four straight points. But the Indian soon turned the tables. CWG 2014: Kashyap awarded Rs 25 lakh by BAI Kashyap put pressure on his opponent and gathered few points at the net to reach 18-12. 12. Soon he garnered seven game points after Wong’s return got buried into the nets.An inaccurate down-the-line smash from Kashyap helped Wong save one game point but the Indian soon wrapped it up with another jump smash to earn the bragging rights.Not ready to take it lying down, Wong changed his gameplan and started penetrating the defence of Kashyap to lead 11-6 at the interval. Kashyap committed too many unforced errors while Wong stepped up to move to 15-8.In the end, a down-the-line smash from Wong and a few wide shots helped the Malaysian make a roaring comeback into the contest.Back to his winning court, Kashyap started the decider on a positive note. His smashes were more accurate and he judged the shuttle well.But still he found it tough to break the defence of Wong, who used his tricky deceptive shots, better court coverage and better net play to lead 11-8.After the interval, Kashyap narrowed the lead to 11-12.At 13-11, the duo engaged in a long aggressive rally, which the Indian won, amid loud cheers from the fans.Kashyap soon drew level at 14-14 when Wong found the net and then surged ahead with a bodyline smash. The Indian stepped up the attack and engaged in a fast-paced rally, which ended with Wong hitting long.Wong found the net again and Kashyap earned a point with a cross-court smash to move to 19-16. The Malaysian, however, soon rubbed off the deficit with a three-point burst but he hit long and wide next as Kashyap burst into celebration.Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa with their silver medals at Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Photo: PTI.In the women’s doubles final, Jwala and Ashwini paid the price for committing too many unforced errors as they first blew up a narrow 15-13 lead in the opening game, before wasting a four game point advantage in the second game.Ashwini was specially not in her elements today as the Indian failed to connect her strokes, which saw the shuttles going wide and long, resulting in a lot of points for their Malaysian rivals.advertisementThe match between the two pairs — separated by just three ranking points — was a rollercoaster ride right from the start as the Malaysian combo could only earn a narrow 11-10 lead at the first interval.Ashwini’s deceptive flicks earned India a couple of points after the breather but unforced errors by the Indian and a mistake at the net by Jwala helped Hoo and Woon drew level at 16-16.Two wide shots then helped the Malaysian pair earn a three-game point lead and they soon pocketed it to grab a 1-0 advantage. The Indians struggled to recover after that.In hockey, a lacklustre India were outclassed 0-4 by Australia in the men’s final to settle for a silver medal, their second consecutive, in the Commonwealth Games.Chris Ciriello scored a hattrick by converting three penalty corners in the 13th, 29th and 48th minutes while Eddie Ockenden got the fourth goal in the 51st minute in the summit clash played under heavy downpour at the Glasgow National Hockey Center.Even though the two teams are class apart, it was an ideal opportunity for eight-time Olympic champions India to avenge their 0-8 thrashing at the hands of mighty Australia in the 2010 edition of the Games in New Delhi.But it was not to be as Australia produced a clinical performance and completely dominated the match by scoring two goals in each half to secure their fifth consecutive Commonwealth Games title since the introduction of hockey in the quadrennial event in 1998, where India finished fourth.Starting as underdogs, there was nothing to lose for the Indian team in the gold medal match against a formidable opponent like Australia, who beat them 4-2 in the group stages.But the Sardar Singh-led side failed to live up to the tall ask as the Aussies controlled the match from start to finish.The Indian defence performed below par and conceded soft penalty corners from which the Australians scored thrice to take the game away from their opponents.In the entire 70 minutes, the Indians failed to create a clear chance and also muffed the two penalty corners that came their way.
New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) With industry fearing excessive regulation in the wake of Maggi controversy, food regulator FSSAI has said it has taken a number of steps to check any “fear psychosis” among companies.The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has relaxed the product approval process for proprietary food products and nutraceuticals. It had also last week issued clarification about the standards of monosodium glutamate (MSG).After the ban on Maggi in June last year, the food industry had complained about inspector raj. Even Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had said that the regulator has created an environment of fear in the industry.When asked about whether there is any fear psychosis after the Maggi ban incident, FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said that it has taken number of steps to ease approval process without compromising on the quality norms of the products in order to address any fear among the industry.”… the fear psychosis has been curbed up to a large extent with various landmark initiatives taken by the FSSAI in easing the approval of food products and nutraceuticals,? Agarwal told PTI.”But at the same time, utmost importance has also been given to ensuring quality of the food items,” Agarwal said.Maggi noodles was banned by FSSAI in June last year for allegedly containing lead beyond the permissible limit. It came back into the market in November 2015.Elaborating on steps taken by the FSSAI, Agarwal said the food products for which standards were not laid down in the Food Safety and Standards Act but have approved ingredients, now may not require any approval.advertisementHe also mentioned that the restricted enforcement activity against nutraceuticals and health supplement companies to only testing of products till new standards are notifiedTo empower the consumers, Agarwal said FSSAI has launched an app through which general public can get information about the standards.The authority has also started awareness and training programmes for the food business operators about how to implement the food safety standards.As FSSAI has been streamlining its regulations to ease product approval process, Union Minister Harsimrat Badal had also said that there will more investment and innovation in the food sector. She has been raising industry and quality issues with the food regulator.Welcoming the latest initiatives by the FSSAI, CII last week had said that the recent notifications by the regulator on proprietary food, and notice on harmonisation of Food Additives with Codex, mark the beginning of a new chapter in developing and promoting India as the global hub for food industry. PTI JTR MJH ABM
English Premier League club Arsenal have named German playmaker Mesut Ozil as their Footballer of the Year.Ozil, 27, scored six goals and made 19 assists this season, in which the Gunners finished in second place, their best finish since 2005. Ozil won the award on Friday.Although he stayed one goal away from the EPL record held by Frenchman Thierry Henry, Ozil created 146 chances this season, more than any other player in the tournament.Ozil joined Arsenal in the summer of 2013 from Real Madrid for 42.5 million pound ($61.6 million).
(Eds: adding more details) New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) Virender Sehwag today became the most notable applicant for the Indian cricket teams chief coachs post, which would be technically vacant when Anil Kumbles term comes to an end after the Champions Trophy. While Kumble is an automatic entry into the process, the others in the fray are Australian Tom Moody and Englishman Richard Pybus, who has coached Pakistan earlier. The two Indians among applicants are former fast bowler Dodda Ganesh and former India A coach Lalchand Rajput. Moody and Rajput had applied for the chief coachs job last year also but it was Kumble, who got the nod. However, the entry of Sehwag — one of Indias greatest ever game changer — makes the battle for the position very interesting. One of Indias biggest match-winners and a part of two- time World Cup winning team, Sehwag played 104 Tests and 251 ODIs for India scoring 8586 and 8273 runs respectively. He doesnt have any prior coaching experience apart from mentoring IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab recently, it was the BCCI top brass that convinced him to apply for the post. Its the same kind of scenario when Ravi Shastri seemed all set to be retained as coach and Kumble was asked to throw his hat in the ring at the eleventh hour. The BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary today on record denied any rift between Kumble and captain Virat Kohli. However, the fact that a player of Sehwags stature has applied gives enough indication that everything is not right in the Indian dressing room. Sehwag will only apply when he knows that he is a serious contender for the top job. It will be interesting if Kumble finally appears for the interview knowing that Sehwag has applied for the post. However many in BCCI feel that Sehwag, who is also a social media sensation, may demand an astronomical salary and then Moody, who gave a good presentation last time also, could come into the fray. It may well happen that Moody, a proven international and IPL coach (Sri Lanka and Sunrisers Hyderabad) may be considered for the job. Moody is a proto-type of John Wright and Gary Kirsten, two of the successful coaches of India. He is soft-spoken, more of a backroom man with a pleasing personality. A two-time World Cup winner (1987 and 1999), 52-year-old Moody was an important member of Australias limited overs side till the late 90s, representing the country in 76 ODIs. Pybus doesnt have great cricketing pedigree having played only one first-class match but is rated highly as a strategist. He has coached Pakistan national side twice. Rajput and Ganesh could at best be the fillers with the latter being an aspirant for the fast bowling coachs job. However if Zaheer Khan is ever keen to take up the job, then BCCI may not look elsewhere. The interviews are supposed to be held in England only. A few may join the interview via Skype. Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, part of the cricket advisory committee, and Sehwag are currently in England as part of the commentary team for the Star Sports in the Champions Trophy. PTI KHS CM CMadvertisement
Steve Smith, who is serving a 12-month ban for his role in the ball-tampering during a Test match against South Africa earlier this year, has given his conditional availability for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League insisting he would only play matches in the United Arab Emirates and not travel to Pakistan for the play-offs and final.His ban ends before the World Cup in England next year and it is the first time the Australian batsman has given his availability for the PSL.According to a reliable source in the Pakistan Super League secretariat, besides some other top foreign players have also made it clear they wouldn’t travel to Pakistan for the last leg of the PSL featuring eight matches including the final in Karachi.READ – Smith, Warner meet on a cricket field for the first time since ball-tampering saga”Smith and these players have said they will only be available to play in UAE,” the source said.South Africa’s AB de Villiers has also limited his first ever appearance in the PSL to just two weeks and that too apparently only for matches in the UAE.The names of 371 foreign players and 311 Pakistani players will feature in the PSL players draft to be held on November 20th in Islamabad.Except for India, players from all the Test playing nations and associate member countries of the ICC are available for the players draft.Many of the foreign stars will only be available for part of the PSL when they are free of national duty or after the conclusion of the Big Bash league in Australia.advertisementFor example Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Australian opener Chris Lynn will only be available for the league following the conclusion of BBL.The local list of players also includes the names of Pakistan’s former captain, Salman Butt, who has completed a five-year ban for spot-fixing and discarded stars, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq.In the third PSL also the six franchises in the tournament faced difficulties when some of their overseas stars refused to travel to Lahore and Karachi to play in the play-offs and final due to security concerns.The PCB has once again told the franchises it is their responsibility to decide whether they want to sign on foreign players who are not willing to play in Pakistan”The onus has been put on us that we must convince our foreign signings to also be prepared to play in Pakistan,” a franchise owner said.In a big boost for the PSL, the PCB has apparently already sold the tournament title rights for a booming 1.5 billion rupees for a three-year period a big increase on the previous sponsorship of one billion rupees.(With inputs from PTI)
If You Haven’t Visited the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, What Are You Waiting For? 10 Best Whiskies for Irish Coffee The Best New-School Kentucky Distilleries What is Bourbon? A Brief History of America’s Whiskey Editors’ Recommendations The Best Bottles of Whiskey You Can Buy For $20 or Less Later this summer, Jack Daniel’s is adding a new permanent expression to its line with the introduction of a 100-proof (50 percent alcohol by volume) bottled-in-bond Tennessee whiskey. This expression is 10 proof higher than the previous iterations of the original Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, which was bottled at 90 proof until the late 1980s, then 86 proof from 1987 to 2002, when it was reduced to the current 80 proof.Jack Daniel’sTo be a Bottled-in-Bond whiskey, the spirit must adhere to a certain set of rules, known as the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 (which happened two years after Jack Daniel’s began bottling what we’ve come to know and love). To be called bottled-in-bond, a whiskey must:Be the product of one distillation season.Be made by one distiller.Be aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years.Be bottled at 100 proof.Have a label that identifies the distillery where the whiskey was distilled and also where it was bottled.In addition, only whiskeys made in the U.S. are allowed to qualify for bottled-in-bond status. The act itself was the product of a time when crappy whiskey was the norm and more often than not people adulterated whiskey between the time it was distilled and the time it was consumed.“Whiskey-making in the 1800’s too often produced a hodge-podge of sub-par, counterfeit, and even dangerous spirits. Whiskey drinkers at times weren’t sure of what exactly they were drinking or being served,” Jack Daniel’s master distiller, Jeff Arnett, said in a statement.As for the profile of the whiskey, you can expect caramel, toasted oak, and vanilla on the nose and a rich, creamy mouthfeel that exhibits more of those characteristics in addition to the slightly smoky flavor imparted by the charcoal mellowing process (the Lincoln County Process) needed to be called Tennessee whiskey.If you’re eagerly awaiting this whiskey to hit your local liquor store shelves, you’re going to be disappointed. For now (hopefully just for now), Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey will only be available as a global travel retail exclusive — as in, you’re going to have to do some traveling to pick up a bottle. Backup plan: get a friend who is traveling to pick it up for you.(Still looking for a place to go this summer? Why not check out Turkey? You might get lucky and come across a bottle in one of the airports you’ll be traveling through.)Jack Daniel’s Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey will be sold in 1-liter bottles and retail for around $38.
OTTAWA (660 NEWS) – The engines will roar once again in Ottawa as the second day of protests is planned for Wednesday.It’s a part of the convoy from Alberta to the capital in opposition to the Trudeau Government’s actions involving the oil and gas industry.There is a warning for the people behind this movement to stay on message.Political scientist at Mount Royal University, Lori Williams, said the idea of pipelines and the energy sector are good topics to get people engaged, the problem comes with some of the other elements to these protests, especially with the Yellow Vest movement getting involved.“As we have seen other people are concerned with other issues. If that message isn’t really focused, if those other issues, particularly immigration, get a lot of attention, that could really derail what they are trying to accomplish with this.”She does acknowledge that to this point much of the messaging has been sticking.“So far it looks like the primary message is the one that people are focusing on, but there have also been stories about immigration and the suggestion that some of these folks are part of a fringe-group, are anti-immigration or even racist.”Cody Battershill is with Canada Action, a pro-oilsands group. He notes the need to keep things in perspective.“We all have to remember that we are all Canadian and we are all in this together. The conversation needs to be positive and inclusive and if it is not, then they are not doing justice to the cause.”Pat King is one of the leaders of this convoy.He said there were accusations from counter-protesters that the convoy was filled with Nazi’s, fascists, and racists.He would like to break down the barriers between the two sides.“I have actually worked out a little bit of dialogue between some of them. They will sit down. They want to be heard too.”With files from Jonathan Muma
EDMONTON – Alberta wants to have its say when British Columbia goes to the Supreme Court for a ruling on who is in charge of interprovincial projects like pipelines.The Alberta government says it has filed a notice of intervention in B.C.’s appeal to the top court.Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the B.C. Court of Appeal made it clear in its May ruling that the federal government, not the provinces, has sole authority over projects that cross provincial boundaries.RELATED: Kenney vows to scrap provincial trade barriersKenney says the B.C. court action is a bid to limit Alberta’s oil resources from getting to the coast and, from there, fetching a better price overseas.Alberta and B.C. have been battling for years over energy issues, particularly the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.Alberta has already passed a law allowing it to cut existing oil shipments to B.C. in retaliation if it so chooses, which British Columbia is also challenging in court.
Market-leading software helps global mining companies increase speed, accuracy and predictability of mine planning. Mincom has announced a major upgrade to its suite of software for mine design and modelling. Featuring new functionality identified through input from leading mining companies around the world, Minescape 5 speeds the development of more accurate plans, thereby improving the predictability and profitability of operations across the entire mining value chain. “Mining companies today are under increasing pressure to boost output from their existing mines and to bring new projects online quickly. However, the long-term performance of an operation is completely dependent on effective mine modeling and planning,” said John Jessop, Vice President of Global Mining Solutions, Mincom. “MineScape 5 is now the most advanced mine planning and modeling solution in the marketplace. With the introduction of MineScape 5, we leverage 30 years of experience and intellectual property to offer our customers robust new functionality for mine planning, designed to deliver efficiency improvements to the modelling and planning process. And, as a core component of our complete enterprise solution set for the mining industry, MineScape 5 also underscores the company’s significant commitment to and investment in the mining industry.”Mincom MineScape is the mine planning component of the Mincom Intelligent Mining Solution (IMS) suite, which provides an extremely comprehensive set of technical mining solutions spanning the entire spectrum of mining processes, from exploration to final product sales. Specifically developed to meet the industry’s rigorous demands, Mincom claims to offer “the only complete enterprise solution for the mining industry that provides corporate management, asset management, work management and technical mining underpinned by integration and mobility frameworks that extend the overall value of the solution. Mincom’s solutions are used in more than 200 of the world’s most complex mining operations – including 17 of the world’s top 20 mining companies. “As a customer of Mincom MineScape for more than 20 years, we’ve experienced tremendous gains in efficiency and productivity in our mining operations,” said Jason Buenemann, Project Engineer at Kiewit Mining Group (KMG), a producer of coal in North America. “The solution has dramatically increased the productivity of our engineers, allowing many to transfer to management roles where their analytical skills better benefit the entire operation and they can now review multiple design concepts in much shorter periods of time. In short, MineScape has become a critical core competency for any engineer working for KMG, bringing efficiencies that are unsurpassed by any other solution.”Mine planning and scheduling is a multifaceted, labor-intensive process, complicated by a shortage of skilled staff and the need to quickly create and deploy mine plans that most accurately reflect a site’s geology. This process can be even more difficult due to inadequate data sharing across disparate business software systems, which delays or prevents informed decision-making. MineScape 5 takes a significant step forward with this release to meet the pressing needs of mining operations by moving geology and mine planning functionality onto a technology platform better suited to integrate business processes.The newest release of MineScape delivers tools to improve mine-planning accuracy at the start of a project, speed the ability to update plans in the face of constantly changing field data, and optimise resource co-ordination to decrease costs associated with idle equipment.Mincom MineScape 5 was developed as a platform to serve as a single source for information gathering across databases, geologic models and mining plans. Not only will users enjoy productivity gains from the modern and efficient user interface, but the most significant improvements are under the covers. MineScape uses a true client-server architecture, which enables multiple departments to work on a plan simultaneously, thus shortening the time from planning to deployment. This services-based architecture has been further enhanced in MineScape 5, exposing geological modelling, mine planning and mine scheduling data and functionality to third-party applications and standard business process orchestration technologies, enabling true business process integration and automation.In addition to its enhanced architecture, MineScape 5 — which includes 15 modules — features: Improved resource modeling and planning, which helps decrease costs associated with idle equipment, resources and transportation A new, high-performance integrated 3D CAD system Streamlined, flexible task-automation functionality that allows users to easily create tasks and build customised workflows. The capability to build workflows to automate mine planning processes has been a key feature of MineScape for many years, but is now accessible to end users A new, best-in-class plotting engine.Engineers can now quickly create and adapt geological models and mining plans based on constantly shifting field data. Through these advances, MineScape 5 delivers mine management for real-time analysis that simplifies workflows, from geology to engineering to the field.“Mincom understands that mines are complex and dynamic environments, where significant value can be derived from the modelling and planning stages — but where significant value can also be lost in the operational stages from, for example, equipment failures, logistics problems or unexpected ore variations,” said Jessop. “For three decades, major mining companies have trusted Mincom as a viable partner to help anticipate and resolve these challenges. We have developed a comprehensive mining solution that covers all the key processes, from exploration to sale of final product. With MineScape 5, we are in an even better position to help our global customers optimize complex processes and improve business results.”MineScape 5 will be generally available by end of March 2010. Mincom will also offer licensing for a module-management system enabling various mining departments and personnel, including geologists, engineers and surveyors, to use and share different modules.Specific modules include Block Model, Core MineScape, Geological Database, Stratmodel, Dragline, Drill and Blast, Haulage Roads, Ring Design, Open Cut Design, Survey for Open Cut, Schedule and Underground Coal Design.
Anglesey Mining has reported the results of its recently completed 2017 scoping study on its wholly owned Parys Mountain copper-lead-zinc project in North Wales. The study was prepared by Micon International and Fairport Engineering. The selected base case envisages a mining rate of 1,000 t/d, to produce an average annual output of 14,000 t of zinc concentrate at 57% Zn, 7,200 t of lead concentrate at 52% Pb and 4,000 t of copper concentrate at 25% Cu, annually, over an initial mine life of eight years.The overall net smelter return (NSR) for the three concentrates, including the silver and gold precious metals contributions, is expected to total more than $270 million at the forecast metal prices used for the base case models.The base case yields a pre-tax NPV of $33.2 million, or £26.6 million, at a conservative 10% discount rate, using present day metal prices of $1.25/lb for zinc, $1.00/lb for lead, $2.50/lb for copper, $17.50/oz for silver and $1,275/oz for gold and at an exchange rate of £1.00 = $US1.25. With an estimated pre-production capital cost of $53 million, or £42 million, this results in an indicated IRR of 28.3%.Using longer term metal price projections of $1.35/lb for zinc and $3.00/lb for copper the NPV10 would be $43.2 million, or £34.6 million. At an 8% discount rate, used to reflect the relatively low risks of the project given its advanced level of development and low political risk in the UK, the NPV8 would be enhanced to $41 million, or £32.8 million, for the base case metal price scenario and to $53 million, or £42 million for the higher long-term metal prices, with an IRR of 33%To illustrate the comparison and put the results of the scoping study into context, the market capitalisation of the company at the close of trading on 21st July was £8.9 million.Importantly, the study was based on only the 2.1 Mt of Indicated resources reported by Micon in 2012. Micon had also reported a further 4.1 Mt of Inferred resources which were not incorporated into the study. It is expected that a high proportion of these Inferred resources will be converted to Indicated once exploration drilling from underground takes place. These additional resources would be processed through the same concentrator plant and would significantly increase the projected life of the mine, to perhaps double the mine-life to 15 or 18 years, and enhance the NPV.Bill Hooley, Chief Executive commented “We are very pleased with the results of the study which demonstrate a viable mine development at Parys Mountain and a healthy financial internal rate of return. The base case economic model at 1,000 t/d indicates a robust project at consensus forecasts for the long-term prices of zinc and copper. This is the first detailed economic study of the Parys Mountain project for a number of years and, based on the current availability of reconditioned process plant, the estimated pre-production capital cost for the project is at a level that could be financeable.”
Science fiction has long since romanticized the idea of a 3D, interactive hologram. From Star Wars to Iron Man, seeing characters interact with what is essentially beams of light is a great visual. For many reasons, most of them involving cost, you can’t just walk into a Starbucks and play a game of virtual chess on top of a coffee table. The creators of Voxiebox see this as a crime against geekdom, and are looking to remedy this with their new game.A small clear plate vibrates constantly as green light fills a 3x3x1-inch space. Like a child’s toy that spells out words as you spin the glowing stick, the computer in the Voxiebox uses the position of the clear plate to determine where the light should be pointing. As the screen moves, the images look as though they are stacked on top of each other. The end result is a display that can be viewed in 3D from every angle except the projection surface.This volumetric display can be exponentially increased to create larder displays without losing and of the desired effect.Voxon, creators of the VoxieBox, have a long standing history of tinkering with these kinds of displays. The New York Hall of Science features a volumetric display made by Voxon tem member Alan Jackson. Ideally, Voxiebox would grow as a concept to include 3D tabletop gaming of all sorts and make it so we could all one day sit down and play without wondering where all the pieces are.The only thing cooler than incredibly high-quality gaming is low-quality gaming done in an incredibly cool way.
Stay on target Going into the second season of Jessica Jones’ second season, I wondered how it would top Killgrave. There’s a reason his story is the best-remembered arc of the original Alias comics series. Since “Purple” was the final Jessica Jones standalone story before the character moved to The Pulse, the Jessica Jones Netflix series may have literally started the show with a showstopper. But as the second season proved, there’s value in getting the most well-known villain out of the way. It lets you move on. It lets the show define itself as its own new thing, separate from the comics.The question still remains, though. How do you top a villain like Killgrave? The first season of Jessica Jones, like the first season of Daredevil, is so well-loved because it had such a strong villain. Killgrave was terrifying because, mind-control powers aside, he felt too real. He had just enough charm that you could see how someone might fall into his trap, whether he was using his powers or not. He was entitled. A very familiar kind of entitled to anyone who’s read eggs and anime avatars on Twitter complain about feminism, or talk about consent like it’s an annoying obstacle. That was Killgrave. His powers were fictional, but the trauma and abuse he inflicted on Jessica was real.David Tennant, Krysten Ritter (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)And it’s still here in season two. The series makes some amazing use of purple light when Jessica is having flashbacks, or being influenced by her time under his control. There’s a whole episode where she has to confront the kind of person she fears he turned her into. Not a whole lot happens in it, but she finally comes to terms with who she is and how she’s different from him. She defeats, for now, the demon in her head. David Tennant returns for that one episode, and it’s one of the season’s best. The whole season, she’s still dealing with what Killgrave made her become to stop him. It weighs over every conversation as she pushes away anyone who tries to reach out. This episode is how she starts to move past it.The problem is, even though he only shows up for one episode as a delusion, he’s still the most compelling villain of the season. I respect the show for wanting to do something different in its second outing. But a superhero show needs a good villain. Or if it can’t manage that, it needs a very good substitute. Jessica Jones eventually lands on one, but it takes way too long to get there. Things start out promising enough. Jessica is trying her best to move forward, which involves taking on more cases, drinking more booze, and verbally abusing, firing and rehiring Malcolm. (Side note, I really loved Malcolm’s role in this season. His arc from eager assistant to competent investigator to rival was a ton of fun to watch.) Jessica sees some potential clients, writes them off as either not worth her time or just crazy. As you’d expect, the craziest-seeming turns out to be legit.Krysten Ritter (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)The guy claiming to have the power of super speed, but only when he’s scared, turns out to be telling the truth. He was experimented on by some shadowy genetic engineering lab, and now somebody’s trying to kill him. Jessica accidentally freaks him out, and he runs out into the street to his death. Somebody breaks some construction scaffolding and crushes him. Obviously, it would take someone with Jones-like super-strength and we have our mystery for the first few episodes. The moments where Jessica gets sucked into a new mystery are some of the season’s strong points. That’s where the show remembers the superpowered noir storytelling that makes us love it. But none of the mysteries have satisfying conclusions. They lead to one decent-sized discovery and move Jessica onto the next thing. Even early on, when Jessica is piecing together who is killing all these people the answers are mostly handed to her. Her detective work, outside of a few scenes, mostly boils down to waiting for something to happen, then chasing it.This season, like the first one, was focused on diving into Jessica’s past. But this part of her past isn’t as surprising or scary as the one last season dealt with. As much as I tried to take this season on its own merits, it spends most of its time in Killgrave’s shadow. What happened to Jessica after her accident? We already know most of it. She was adopted by Trish’s mom, she started to have powers and her life got way worse. The amount of time this season spends re-texturing that old ground is just a little too much. When new things are revealed, you kind of wish it had just cut to that. Like nearly all Marvel Netflix shows, this season has pacing issues, especially around the middle. As much as I enjoyed most of this season (really), I do wish all these shows would take a page from Defenders and tell stories that are just a little tighter.Janet McTeer, Krysten Ritter (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)When Jessica finally catches up to the killer, things get a little messy. This person, so strong she can even overpower Jessica, turns out to be her mother. That reveal is exciting enough to carry us through the subsequent flashback episode. It doesn’t end up telling us all that much we hadn’t already guessed, but seeing it all play out on screen was satisfying after what we’d just learned. It was also fun to see young, happy-ish Jessica before all the business with Killgrave. After that, the show struggles to figure out where to go next. Does the mother continue to be the villain? Not quite. Is it the doctor? I mean, he’s bad, but too thin a character to really care about. Without an antagonist to fear or root against, we spend a few episodes of the season watching Jessica meander from one story to the next, which isn’t nearly as fun.In the end though, it doesn’t matter. Eventually, the show finds its driving force, and it’s good enough that you almost forget about the need for a real antagonist. It starts to explore the complicated relationship between Jessica and her mother. As soon as she realizes that, though she has killed, she isn’t a monster, she has to wrestle with what that means for her relationship with her mom. There’s still love there. Jessica wouldn’t have broken into the abusive prison guard’s house if there wasn’t. But Jessica knows her mother isn’t as conflicted about murder as she is. Her mother is everything Jessica fears she’ll turn into after killing Killgrave. She may have begun to move past him, but continued violence, even for good reason, can still turn her into a monster.Krysten Ritter (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)The show finds that conflict late in the season, but once it does, it hooks you through to the end. Jessica Jones is a series about exploring trauma. The first season dealt with the fallout of an abusive relationship. The second explores the trauma our families can inflict on us. Whether by not being there at all in Jessica’s case, or by being there way too much in Trish’s case. Over the course of this season, both women have to wrestle with what role their mothers have in their adult lives. Trish’s mom tries to live vicariously through her, forcing her from one career path, to another. Jessica’s mom wants to rebuild a relationship with her daughter, while maintaining one with her quasi-evil doctor lover. Neither of these situations ends well for anyone.The final episode is a fantastic season finale that makes me want the next one immediately. After multiple episodes of Jessica wrestling with what to do about her mother, she makes a decision. Their only option is to escape. They race to the boarder, and Jessica becomes convinced that she really can keep her mother on the right path. Not only was she able to talk her down from killing Trish, her mother even became a superhero. On their way towards Canada, they find a family has been in a terrible car accident. Mother and daughter risk their lives to make sure everyone makes it out safe. Jessica decides to stick with her mother, but a phone call from a detective changes things. Her mother realizes she can’t keep putting Jessica in danger. She can’t force her daughter to become a fugitive like she is. She willingly gives herself up, not realizing that Trish is gunning (literally) for revenge.Eka Darville (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)We all knew the season wouldn’t end with Jessica leaving New York. We knew the mother-daughter hero situation was untenable. But the show kept us wondering what exactly would split them up. When it happened, it was surprising and heartbreaking, and gave the show a clear path forward for season three. A good strong ending can make up for a mediocre middle third. It can make up for the lack of a strong antagonist, too. Jessica Jones season two may not have had a great villain, but it still told an emotionally involving story without one.What also helps this season overcome its deficiencies is the focus on other characters. Trish, Malcolm and Jeri all have their own story arcs that intersect with Jessica’s, but stand up fully on their own. The show uses Trish and Malcolm’s stories to talk about addiction. Both former drug addicts, they both find something new to get hooked on. For Malcolm, it’s a combination of casual sex and work. The latter of which makes him a really good private investigator. By the end of the series, he’s stolen Jeri away as a client and gone to work for the douchey, more successful P.I. firm that tried to buy out Alias Investigations in the first episode. This season plays out a lot like the second season of Daredevil. Our main players are split up, and no longer speaking to each other, but something’s sure to pull them back together in season three. And hey, it’s looking like some time apart might be a little healthier for all involved.Carrie-Anne Moss, Rachael Taylor (Photo by Abbot Genser/Netflix)Trish’s addiction is to heroism, and we see it start to destroy her life. At first, it’s a physical drug she gets addicted to. An inhaler used by one of the Doctor’s other created superhumans endows her with enhanced perception and reflexes. When she runs out, she immediately starts suffering from withdrawal. This part of the story doesn’t go anywhere as the show never wants to lay out definitively what the drug is. Only that it’s dangerous. Rachael Taylor does play the relapsing addict very well though. Trish lets her jealousy of Jessica and her addiction to playing hero ruin her life. She ends up jobless and friendless because she doesn’t believe Jessica is doing enough with her abilities. But the season ends with a clear way forward for Trish Walker. We know in the comics, she becomes Hellcat, and it looks like we’ll see more of her superhero persona next season. The final episode ends with her displaying new reflexes enhanced enough to catch a falling smartphone with her foot.Jeri Hogarth’s story was the most fascinating of the non-Jessica arcs this season. After being diagnosed with ALS, her partners try to force her out of the firm. As a favor to Jessica, she takes in a homeless woman who used to be a nurse at the clinic responsible for Jessica’s powers. That woman turned out to be bad news. Her boyfriend is a con artist, currently in jail. She convinces Jeri that her boyfriend has the power to heal people. That he can cure her disease. That turns out to be a hot load. Jeri starts to feel better, but that’s a placebo effect. After gaining her trust, the couple robs Jeri blind. Here, we see her become an even more ruthless lawyer than she’s ever been. She convinces the woman to kill her boyfriend before calling the cops on her. She uses the info Malcolm gathered working for Jessica to do nigh-irreparable damage to her firm on the way out the door, and all of this feels great.Krysten Ritter, J.R. Ramirez, Kevin Chachon (Photo by David Giesbrecht/Netflix)Jeri may not be the best person in the world. The season begins with her defending herself from sexual harassment allegations by talking about what her former subordinate was wearing. But by the end of her journey, you feel for her. The world took a giant crap on her for 13 episodes, and she still managed to come out on top. Now, she’s getting Malcolm involved in some things that might not be entirely legal. That’s something Jessica will probably have to deal with in season three. Now that Jessica is on the outs with all her closest allies, I can’t wait to see where the season goes from here.The second season of Jessica Jones had some noticeable shortcomings, but by the end, it didn’t matter. Yes, there is still a large, villain-shaped hole in the series, but the story itself was good enough to mostly overcome it. It focused on character growth and relationships and was better for it. This season was the show’s attempt to step out of the shadow of both season one and the Alias comics series. It had some awkward stumbles at first, but now the series is completely its own thing. While I continue to long for Jessica and Luke Cage to end up together, as they do in the comics, I’m OK if that doesn’t happen now.We watched her come to terms with her family issues, and even start to join a new family. Her relationship with her building’s new super and his son was the only pure and genuinely good thing to happen to her all season. By the end of the season, she’s lost her sister, but gained another family. One that needs her, and breaks through the ironic detachment. I want to see what that does to Jessica in season three. And since it sounds like The Defenders was a one-time thing, hopefully that means we won’t have to wait two and a half years for more Jessica Jones. Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey.
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SPOKANE — Two police officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect early Monday in the lakeside Idaho resort town of Sandpoint in a shootout that left the suspect dead and the officers wounded, authorities said.The shootout happened about 3 a.m. after the officers responded to a call from a home and started talking with the person who made the call, Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon told reporters.While they were talking, a man came out of the home and opened fire at the officers, hitting both of them, Coon said.The officers managed to fire back and hit the man, he said.The suspect and the officers were not identified but Coon said both officers were expected to survive.One of the officers was undergoing surgery in nearby Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the other officer was expected to be released Monday morning from a Sandpoint hospital, Coon said.A charter school near the Ridley Village neighborhood of Sandpoint where the shootout happened decided to cancel classes, Coon said.The shootout will be investigated by Coeur d’Alene detectives, Coon said.Sandpoint is a town of about 7,000 residents on Lake Pend Oreille surrounded by the Selkirk and Cabinet mountain ranges and is home to the Schweitzer Mountain Resort ski area.It’s about 90 miles northeast of Spokane.
Wynn Resorts shares favored over Wynn Macau: analysts Load More Wynn Resorts to undergo internal restructure as part of refinancing plan Donaco completes board renewal process with appointment Aruze’s Yugo Kinoshita RelatedPosts “There is still more work to be done and I do not want my candidacy to detract from the important progress we have made throughout the organization, including the ongoing refreshment process this board has initiated. Wynn Resorts is a strong company, poised for long-term growth and superior shareholder value creation, and I am proud to have served on its board.”The 64-year-old will be followed out the door by another director, Robert J Miller, who quickly tendered his resignation in the wake of Hagenbuch’s announcement. Their departure means that more than half of the boards has now stepped down in the wake of the sexual misconduct allegations leveled against founder Steve Wynn in February.In his own statement, Miller said, “The time has come to leave the past behind and allow Wynn Resorts to embrace a wonderful future. I am thrilled with the recent additions of Betsy Atkins, Dee Dee Myers and Wendy Webb to the board and I believe a new standard of excellence in corporate leadership has been established.“My departure will afford the board the opportunity to continue to bring on new, independent voices and fresh perspectives. I have been proud to be part of one of the world’s finest resort companies and have the utmost confidence in our board and management team’s ability to successfully remake Wynn for the future.”Elaine Wynn launched her campaign against Hagenbuch last month via a lengthy letter to shareholders in which she questioned the board’s response to a previous letter she had penned calling for Wynn Resorts to reopen the window during which shareholders can nominate directors and to take steps to allow for a majority of the board to be comprised of new independent qualified directors.She also questioned the speed of the board’s reply to various requests for information and accused it of seeking to impede her “Withhold the vote” campaign against Hagenbuch. John Hagenbuch stands down from Wynn Resorts boardRobert J Miller quickly does the sameMore than 50% of Wynn Resorts board replaced since FebruaryFollows campaign by Elaine Wynn against Hagenbuch and the boardWynn Resorts director John “Jay” Hagenbuch has announced that he won’t stand for re-election on the Wynn Resorts board at this week’s annual general meeting in the wake of a campaign against him by the company’s largest shareholder Elaine Wynn.In an SEC filing early Monday Macau time, Hagenbuch said that he didn’t want his presence to distract from the future progress of the Wynn Resorts board, stating, “Over the past three months, the board has done a remarkable job maintaining stability at Wynn and managing through a tumultuous time that could easily have caused much deeper disruption to the company’s business.
MIAMI (WSVN) – Police are looking for a man who burglarized a vehicle in Miami.According to detectives, the victim parked his car around 8 a.m. at a parking lot along Southwest First Street and 12th Avenue in January.Surveillance video footage then showed a subject entering the vehicle around 3:50 p.m. and making off with a shopping bag.If you have any information on this car burglar’s whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A ship decks at Hamad port in Doha, Qatar, June 14, 2017.ReutersA shipping company Milaha in Doha said it is all set to launch the fastest direct service between Qatar and Pakistani port city of Karachi, in a bid to explore new trade routes as the economy has taken a hit after air and sea blockade from Arab neighbours.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism– a claim Qatar denied.The country then, to boost air transport and tourism, last month, announced a program to allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries including India.The state-run conglomerate Milaha said the first vessel will arrive at the newly-inaugurated Hamad Port outside the Qatari capital on September 11. Milaha claimed the journey time will be four days as opposed to the usual six-to-seven days, reported Aljazeera.”We have been vigorously ramping up our operations between Qatar and key Asian markets in response to growing demand from traders, importers, and exporters on both sides,” said Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai, Milaha President and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement in the run-up to the launch.Companies in Qatar are getting more bullish in exploring alternative links to penetrate the untapped Asian market more effectively. Such moves are important at a time when their economy is struggling to grow over economic blockades.Qatar’s imports were slashed by 37.9 percent in June compared with May, right after the closure of the Saudi border with Doha. This forced Doha to look out for new shipping routes and import goods by air. Migrant labourers work at a construction site at the Aspire Zone in DohaReutersHowever, a Reuters poll found experts are still expecting Doha economy to be one of the region’s strongest performers in 2017 and 2018.
Delhi’s favorite poet ‘Ghalib’ still speaks to its citizens in this tongue and some of this city’s most cherished cultural traits are defined by it. Urdu, the language of the lovers and the word of poets keeps Delhi connected to its glorious past.The city gets a chance to revisit its love for the Urdu virasat, Delhi Government’s Department of Art, Culture & Languages in conjugation with the Urdu Academy are giving us the Urdu Heritage Festival that will lighten up the Red Fort grounds this week.This September sees the historical Lal Qila will come to alive with a series of exhibitions, recitals and programmes highlighting the rich cultural heritage spawned by Urdu in the city. Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’The festival will be replete with cultural events, book exhibition, calligraphic displays, sufiana kalams and ghazal renditions that will bring together the lovers of Urdu. The five-day festival also features an all india Mushaira that will bring together some of the most popular Urdu poets of the country and evenings full of melodious ghazals by singers of the like of Bhupinder and Mitali, Zila Khan, Aslam Sabri, Anita Singhvi.Another very interesting feature of the festival will be a play on the life and times of Ghalib. The play will see renowned actor Tom Alter essay the eponymous role of the legendary poet. The dying form of Urdu Poetry Chaar Bait will also be presented in its traditional form.The festival will feature Qawwali performances by Aslam Sabri and Nasir Sabri, Ghazal recitals by Bhupinder and Mitali, Anwar Hussain, Zila Khan and Anita Singhvi. The last day of the festival will showcase a special tribute to Malka-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar, in the form of Daastan Goi by Vidya Shah and Danish Hussain.