Cyclone Fani hits India’s east coast; 1.2 million evacuated

NEW DELHI – Cyclone Fani made landfall on India’s eastern coast on Friday as a grade 5 storm, lashing beaches with rain and wind gusting up to 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour.

The India Meteorological Department said the “extremely severe” cyclone in the Bay of Bengal hit the coastal state of Odisha around 8 a.m., and was forecast to weaken to a “very severe” storm as it moved north-northeast toward the Indian state of West Bengal.


In Bhubaneswar, a city in Odisha famous for an 11th-century Hindu temple, palm trees whipped back and forth like mops against skies made opaque by gusts of rain.

The national highway to Puri, a popular tourist beach city, was littered with fallen trees and electricity poles, making it impassable.

A special train ran Thursday to evacuate tourists from the city.

The airport in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, closed from 3 p.m. Friday to Saturday morning. At least 200 trains were canceled across India.

The National Disaster Response Force dispatched 54 rescue and relief teams of doctors, engineers and deep-sea divers to flood-prone areas along the coast and as far afield as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a group of islands that comprise a state located about 1,300 kilometers (840 miles) east of mainland India in the Bay of Bengal.

On India’s cyclone scale, Fani is the second-most severe, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.

Some of the deadliest tropical cyclones on record have occurred in the Bay of Bengal.

A 1999 “super” cyclone killed around 10,000 people and devastated large parts of Odisha. Due to improved forecasts and better coordinated disaster management, the death toll from Cyclone Phailin — an equally intense storm that hit in 2013 — were less than 50, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The 1999 super cyclone reached wind speeds of 260-280 kph (161-173 mph) per hour, said India Meteorological  Department scientist Dr. M. Mohapatra.

“This is not as bad,” he said.

Around 1.2 million people were evacuated from low-lying areas of Odisha and moved to nearly 4,000 shelters, according to India’s National Disaster Response Force.

Indian officials put the navy, air force, army and coast guard on high alert.

Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi, who said the evacuation effort was unprecedented in India, said communications were disrupted in some areas, but no deaths or injuries had been reported.

In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh just south of Odisha, Fani topped electricity poles and uprooted others, leaving them in sharp angles.

In the Srikakulam district, where around 20,000 people had been evacuated, thatched-roof houses collapsed and fishing boats left unmoored on beaches had been sliced into shards.

The district experienced wind speeds of 140 kph (87 mph) and received heavy rains but no loss of life or major damage was reported, district collector J. Niwas said.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the storm would reach the southwestern part of Bangladesh by Friday. /gsg

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Four travel destinations inspired by 2017 Oscar nominees

From Los Angeles in the United States with Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land”, to Kolkata, India with Garth Davis’ “Lion”, this year’s Oscar nominees give travel-hungry moviegoers a taste of all kinds of global destinations. Here’s a look at some of the locations where this year’s Best Picture nominees were filmed.

“Lion” directed by Garth Davis
Kolkata, India

This true story of a young Indian boy fostered by an Australian couple treats viewers to landscapes in India and Australia. While the Tasmanian capital, Hobart, and Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, are good options for a trip to Australia, the child’s search for identity also takes moviegoers to the heart of authentic, rural India, on location in the city of Kolkata. Visitors can take in the local architecture, stroll over Howrah Bridge (crossed by millions of Indians every day) and admire the reflection of the trees in the water surrounding Victoria Memorial.

“La La Land” directed by Damien Chazelle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.

This Oscar favorite, with no less than 14 nominations, pays homage to Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and 1950s with a romantic tale that takes viewers on tour of Los Angeles. The movie was filmed at no less than 40 different locations in the City of Angels. One iconic setting, seen on the movie poster, shows a spectacular view over the San Fernando Valley. Scenes were also filmed at The Lighthouse Cafe, a club where legendary artists such as Miles Davis previously performed. Note that this nightclub is no longer a jazz club, and now plays salsa, reggae and country music. The Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park is also a must for visitors following in the footsteps of Mia and Sebastian. In addition to must-visit L.A. filming locations, visitors to the city can enjoy a trip to Universal Studios, a stroll along Hollywood Boulevard and a trip to Beverly Hills.

“Manchester by the Sea” directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, U.S.

The American town that lends its name to this feature film is like a character in its own right in the movie’s narrative. However, the film’s main scenes were filmed a few miles away in Cape Ann. Still, moviegoers can be assured that some movie scenes were also filmed in Manchester-by-the-Sea, as well as Gloucester, Essex, Rockport and Beverley. The nearest major U.S. city is Boston, an hour’s drive away. A trip to this former colonial city should include a stroll around the stylish neighborhood of Beacon Hill, plus some chill-out time in the U.S.’s oldest public park, Boston Common. Other sights include Trinity Church and a student-led tour of Harvard.

“Hacksaw Ridge” directed by Mel Gibson
Sydney, Australia                                                                                                              
The historical war movie directed by Mel Gibson was filmed in the region of Sydney, New South Wales, where the battlefields of the Second World War were recreated. In fact, the production team set up in Goulburn, around 121 miles southwest of the stunning Australian city, famous for its iconic opera house. Scenes were also filmed in Bringelly and Richmond on the outskirts of Sydney. For a first trip to the Australian city, must-visits include The Rocks, a historic part of town previously inhabited by the first British settlers. Head to the Central Business District to visit the Sydney Opera House, Hyde Park and the Sydney Tower Eye for 360-degree views over the city. JB

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Clinton to press India to stop buying oil from Iran

KOLKATA — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in India on Sunday with hopes of reinvigorating a relationship seen as losing steam despite efforts to bring the world’s two largest democracies closer.

Clinton was greeted by streets lined with waving well-wishers as she started her visit in Kolkata, where she will tour monuments and meet ordinary citizens in her latest bid to use her star appeal as a diplomatic tool.

She heads on Monday to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whom she is expected to raise U.S. calls for India to stop buying oil from Iran, one of the most open disagreements in years between the countries.

Clinton said she saw ample progress in relations with India, pointing to rising trade and cooperation in areas from education to clean energy.

“I think it’s like any relationship—there is progress in some areas that we are very heartened by, and there is more work to be done,” Clinton told reporters before her arrival.

“But that’s the commitment that we make when we say to another country, we want to be your partner,” she said.

After more than a decade of warming relations, India has bristled at a U.S. law that would impose sanctions on banks from countries that buy oil from Iran due to concerns over Tehran’s contested nuclear program.

A senior U.S. official traveling with Clinton acknowledged that India had quietly been cutting back on Iranian oil and that New Delhi—fiercely protective of its sovereignty—could not be seen as buckling under U.S. pressure.

“Our assessment is that India is making good progress but we really need to receive assurances that they’re going to continue to make good progress,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said that Carlos Pascual, the U.S. point man on the issue, would visit New Delhi later this month to determine the next step. Only EU nations and Japan have so far been given exemptions to the sanctions which go into effect on June 28.

India is highly dependent on foreign energy and has historically enjoyed friendly relations with Tehran.

But the U.S. official said that Indian businesses had made “a major strategic bet” on continuing good relations with the United States and did not want to jeopardize them over Iran.

Clinton will meet Monday morning in Kolkata with West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who took power last year by sweeping out nearly 35 years of communist rule in the eastern state.

Clinton will seek to show solidarity with a fellow female leader but also press Banerjee to back the opening up of India’s fast-growing retail sector to major foreign companies such as Walmart, the U.S. official said.

Banerjee, a fractious ally of Singh’s government, was instrumental in scuttling planned retail reforms. Critics charge that liberalizing the sector would devastate India’s ubiquitous small stores, but foreign retailers contend that they can improve efficiency and consumer choice.

US businesses, once at the vanguard of building ties with India, have voiced disappointment over the deadlock on retail reform along with parliament’s refusal to give US nuclear firms greater protection from liabilities.

Nuclear energy had been a symbolic milestone in the relationship, with former President George W Bush championing a deal that ended India’s decades of isolation over its nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

President Barack Obama has backed another of India’s longtime ambitions by supporting its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. But few expect U.N. reform anytime soon and some Indians have accused the Obama administration of a lack of attention.

T.P. Sreenivasan, a former Indian ambassador to the United Nations, said that the initial expectations for the U.S.-India relationship had not been met but that Clinton had the advantage of being considered a friend of New Delhi.

The visit “comes at a useful time as there is a certain amount of strain in relations that needs to be rectified,” he said.

“The relationship has lost momentum partly because… both are preoccupied with their own internal problems,” he said.

source: japantoday.com