Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Dummy

Make leaders of agitations pay for vandalism: SC (TOI) NEW DELHI: This will chastise leaders of trade unions, political parties and organisations who lead agitations that many a times turn violent causing extensive damage to public and private property (read buses and cars). For, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would pass a direction asking them to compensate the property owner, be it the government or a private individual. Convinced that the woefully inadequate law -- Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 -- has been unable to stop violent agitations like repeated damage to railway tracks and other public properties during Gujjar agitations, a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and A K Ganguly resolved that it's time for the apex court to step in with elaborate guidelines till the Centre came out with an appropriate amendment to give teeth to the present law.

Evidence of salt water found on Mars, scientists say (DPA)Washinton: A group of scientists who worked on the Phoenix Mars lander last year say they have found evidence of liquid salt water on the red planet. An analysis of photographs from the lander that explored Mars for six months shows drops of what could be salty, liquid water on the legs of the lander. They believe the droplets were kicked up from just below the planet’s surface when Phoenix landed in May and say they grew and merged over time much as water particles would do. The findings are to be presented in a report, “The Physical and Thermodynamic Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars”, at an astronomy conference in Texas Monday.