Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls are massive waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border separating the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York, 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side of the border and American Falls on the United States side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls also is located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island. Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciations (the last ice age), and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America.

The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and industrial uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls since the 1800s.

Features

Niagara Falls is divided into the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet (53 m), the height of the American Falls varies between 70-100 feet (21 m) because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet (792 m) wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet (323 m) wide. The volume of water approaching the falls during peak flow season is 202,000 cubic feet per second (5,720 m³/s). By comparison Africa's spectacular Victoria Falls has over 15 million cubic feet (424,750 m³) of water falling over its crest line each minute during the peak of the wet season (250,000 cu ft/7,079 m³ per second). Since the flow is a direct function of the Lake Erie water elevation, it typically peaks in late spring or early summer. During the summer months, 100,000 cubic feet per second (2,832 m³/s) of water actually traverses the Falls, some 90% of which goes over the Horseshoe Falls, while the balance is diverted to hydroelectric facilities. This is accomplished by employing a weir with movable gates upstream from the Horseshoe Falls. The Falls flow is further halved at night, and during the low tourist season in the winter, remains a flat 50,000 cubic feet per second (1,416 m³/s). Water diversion is regulated by the 1950 Niagara Treaty and is administered by the International Niagara Board of Control (IJC). Viewpoints on the American shore generally are astride or behind the falls. The falls face directly toward the Canadian shore. Thus, the most complete views of Niagara Falls are available from the Canadian shoreline. It is about a two hour drive from Toronto.

Tourism

Peak numbers of visitors occur in the summertime, when Niagara Falls are both a daytime and evening attraction. From the Canadian side, floodlights illuminate both sides of the Falls for several hours after dark (until midnight). The number of visitors in 2008 is expected to total 20 million and by 2009, the annual rate is expected to top 28 million tourists a year.The oldest and best known tourist attraction at Niagara Falls is the Maid of the Mist boat cruise, named for an ancient Ongiara Indian mythical character, which has carried passengers into the whirlpools beneath the Falls since 1846. Cruise boats operate from boat docks on both sides of the falls.

Surat escapes attack, 18 bombs defused

AHMEDABAD/SURAT: On the morning after the Ahmedabad serial blasts, The Times of India ran the headline — Bangalore, Ahmedabad. Who's Next? The answer is here. With two explosives-packed cars and 18 bombs being discovered across Surat, it's clear that terrorists had planned a deadly serial attack on the diamond capital of India.

Gujarat's second largest city would have been sucked into another round of tragedy had the terrorists succeeded in blowing up what appears to be at least three dozen bombs — between the incendiary material found in WagonRs on Sunday and the assembled bombs discovered in the densely populated city on Tuesday. Surat is home to a Rs 70,000 crore diamond industry.

Late on Tuesday, media organizations in Gujarat received two emails threatening more terror attacks. "Indian Mujahideen will not stop even if our mission in Surat failed," said one email sent from alarbigujarat@sify.com. It was not clear if the emails came from a terrorist outfit or were just pranks. Police hope to get leads by Wednesday.

The discoveries in Surat brought relief but raised deadlier questions. How come a huge operation involving three of the country's largest cities escaped the intelligence radar? Did a police crackdown in Surat following the Ahmedabad blasts trigger sufficient panic among the merchants of death to abandon their deadly cargo? And abandon it carelessly enough — one of them on a tree top!

The discovery was also often quite by chance. Sanjay Kaporia , a lace-cloth supplier from Varachha, for instance, saw something odd in the dustbin outside his shop. Unmindful of the risk, he walked with the live bomb for 22 metres to Labeshwar police chowki. "I thought it is best to bring it here," he said. Bhimji Budhna, BJP councillor from Varachha, also detected one. "I was passing by Mini Market when I saw a green plastic bag stuck between signboards of two shops. It looked like a bomb, like the ones I've seen on TV. So I called the police."

Surat top cop wants more bomb disposal personnel

Surat police commissioner, R M S Brar, claimed that the bombs found in Surat were abandoned on Monday night. He has asked for more bomb disposal personnel. Surat's escape from terror was providential.


It was clearly in the jihadi crosshairs, even though Surat remained an island of peace while the rest of Gujarat burned during riots in 2002. There were no answers from security agencies, completely confounded by the rapid unfolding of what now has emerged as the biggest serial terror plot in independent India. Brar said he didn't know what's going on.

"But we'll get to the bottom of this," he promised. Brar said that after the Ahmedabad blasts, his officers had gone on a public awareness spree, asking them to maintain vigil and report anything unusual to the cops. Policemen also set up checkpoints and roadblocks around the city.

The first inkling of the impending attacks came on Sunday when the two cars were found with ammonium nitrate, shrapnel, detonators and binding agents for bombs. By Tuesday morning, the evidence was overwhelming. Citizens found 18 more bombs strewn around the buzzing diamond-studded Varachha area, densely populated marketplaces, road dividers, a tree and a hoarding on a flyover.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Blyth Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe-nominated American actress and film producer. She's the youngest member of the Barrymore family of American actors. She began acting when she was eleven months old. Barrymore made her screen debut in Altered States in 1980. Following her 1980 screen debut in Altered States, she starred in her breakout role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She quickly became one of Hollywood's most recognized child actresses, going on to establish herself in mainly comic roles.

At the age of thirteen, Barrymore was checked into rehab for several drug habits she had developed from age nine. In 1995, she, along with Nancy Juvonen, formed a production company Flower Films. The following year, she made her comeback in Wes Craven's horror film Scream. This was followed by 1998s romantic comedy The Wedding Singer, starring opposite Adam Sandler. In 2000, Barrymore starred in the film adaption of Charlie's Angels. Subsequently, she has appeared in comedies such as 50 First Dates, Fever Pitch, Music and Lyrics and starred in the drama film Lucky You opposite Eric Bana. Barrymore is currently working on the projects He's Just That Not That into You, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Everybody's Fine. Since then, she has received a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, Barrymore appeared in the cover of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful issue.

Barrymore was named Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Since then, she has donated over $1 million dollars to the program. In 2007, she became both Cover Girl’s newest model and spokeswoman for the cosmetic and the face for Gucci's newest jewelry line. She was first married to Jeremy Thomas on March 1994, but the marriage ended two months later. Her second marriage was to comedian Tom Green in July 2001. However, Green filed for divorce in December 2001. Since then, she has dated The Strokes' drummer Fabrizio Moretti (2002–2007) and actor Justin Long.

Rise to fame

Barrymore's career began when she auditioned for a dog food commercial at eleven months old. When she was bitten by her canine co-star, the producers were afraid she would cry, but she merely laughed, and was hired for the job. She made her film debut in Altered States (1980), in which she got a small part. A year later, she landed the role of Gertie, the younger sister of Elliott, in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which made her famous. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1984 for her role in Irreconcilable Differences, in which she starred as a young girl divorcing her parents. In a review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert states: "Barrymore is the right actress for this role precisely because she approaches it with such grave calm." He concludes with saying that "The Drew Barrymore character sees right through all of this. She doesn't care about careers, she wants to be given a happy home and her minimum daily requirement of love, and, in a way, the movie is about how Hollywood (and American success in general) tends to cut adults off from the natural functions of parents."

Shahrukh Khan

Born 2 November1965, is a highly acclaimed Indian actor who works in Bollywood films, as well as film producer and television host.

Khan started out his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut with the commercially successful Deewana (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercial successes, as well as having delivered a variety of critically acclaimed performances. During his years in the Indian film industry, he has won seven Film fare Best Actor Awards and has had significant box office success. While films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007), and Om Shanti Om (2007), remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) have been hits in the overseas market. Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well.

Khan was born to Muslim parents of Pathan ethnicity in New Delhi, India. His father, Taj Mohammed Khan was a freedom activist from Peshawar, British India. His mother Lateef Fatima was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose.

Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the Partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, also in present-day Pakistan. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz. Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award bequeathed to the student who embodies most the spirit of the school. He later attended the Hansraj College (1985-1988) to earn an Honors degree in Economics. After this, he studied for a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia.

After the death of his parents, Khan moved from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991. In that same year, before any of his film releases, he married Gauri Khan in a Hindu wedding ceremony on

October 25, 1991. They have two children, son Aryan Khan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000).

In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, "King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema", was released in 2007. This book described the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.

Khan's life-size wax statue is available in Madame Tussauds wax museum, London, installed in April 2007. Khan has been chosen for the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award of the French government for his “exceptional career”.