The most important ingredient to our classes is FUN! Your Child will get their first introduction to music, and they will leave Musical Munchkins with a great ear for different rhythmic and melodic sounds and of course, they'll be joyfully singing! Our carefully developed curriculum, our well-trained, professional staff, our use of high-quality instruments and props, and our sensitivity to each developmental stage of your child's musical experience all reflect our total commitment to excellence in early childhood music education.
Why do children need music? As humans, we all speak, sing, move and dance as a natural part of who we are. Yet music is often seen as only geared for those who are gifted. Research proves, however, that children exposed to music can later learn more quickly, and show more advanced verbal, cognitive and analytical skills. Our classes include a variety of musical experiences such as singing, chanting, instruments, movement, dancing, song stories, books, movement props and puppets to encourage active participation. Our little musicians are exposed to many forms of ethnic and American heritage musical selections.
Your children will learn how to keep a beat, enhance their sense of rhythm, pitch, meter and melody - thereby honing speech, language, listening and focusing skills! What's more, they are gaining self-confidence and self-esteem! Musical Munchkins kids also learn important social interaction skills, such as sharing, taking turns, and how to be part of a group.
Why is an age-specific program best for my child?
Every parent knows how quickly children "outgrow" toys, books and educational materials-why should a music class be any different? A pull toy wouldn't be satisfying enough for a 4-year old, nor would an infant be ready for imaginary play. As children mature from babies to Kindergarten age, the developmental changes are incredible, and our curriculum "grows" with them from semester to semester. Music programs which offer mainly mixed-age groups have a curriculum which is geared toward the average age of 2-1/2. Musical Munchkins students find it easy to stay focused for an entire class, because our curriculum is 100% age-appropriate and fun. We offer separate classes for 5 different age groups from infants to age 4, with 4 unique semesters per year. Each of these semesters is different in content.
Will my child feel pressured to perform in the activities?
Never! At Musical Munchkins, we always offer opportunities for participation and the children are encouraged, never forced. Since our program is so well suited to each developmental stage, most children are ready for the activities we present to them and they are quite proud of their accomplishments!
Can I bring my infant baby to class while attending with my older child?
Yes, infants are welcome up until they no longer want to stay in their infant seat. Our classes, however, are designed for the full attention and participation of the parent or caregiver. Bringing babysitter, mother's helper or grandparent to class, if needed, to hold and attend to your younger child, is a great help.
If the class is for my child, why do I need to participate?
Can't I just watch, since it's his class? Even though classes are lead by a professional musician and teacher, your child still models his or her behavior after yours. If you are enthusiastic and you participate, chances are your child will too! Also, many of our activities are designed specifically for an adult and child to do together, so your child needs your full participation.
What if my child doesn't participate?
Think about the first time you learned something new. You probably needed to watch a few times before actually trying it. If this is a new experience for your child, it may take 4 to 6 weeks before he/she adjusts to the parameters of the class. If your child is sitting attentively and watching the teachers he/she is practicing the most important skill required in music - listening. Parents seem to be most concerned about the "observer" child, who likes to watch during class but is not "actively" participating. Don't worry-each child has his own unique timetable and will eventually join in! Your child will take everything in and will most likely sing, dance and do everything at home! You may wish to videotape a class so that your "observant" child has opportunities to join on his own timetable.
Is the 3's and 4's a drop off class?
No it is not. Parents are required to remain on the premises. A parent will be asked each week to remain in the class to observe and attend to any child who needs to see their parent.
Do you have any mixed age classes?
Yes, but only in the summer. We do this to accommodate the older siblings who are out of school. We offer this class to children 1-4 years of age.
How structured is this class?
More structured than a gym-type class, however, we take into consideration the needs of our young students. We provide much needed movement interspersed with engaging stationary activities. In this way your toddler will learn to accommodate a somewhat structured environment.
How often are materials washed?
Wear anything you would feel comfortable in while sitting on the floor.
Instruments and props are cleaned after each use.
My 20 month old daughter and I LOVE Musical Munchkins. The teacher, Miss Mila, is absolutely wonderful. She is patient, talented, soft-spoken, and very understanding. All qualities that parents as well as children appreciate. This class is teaching my daughter how to understand, pay attention, and clean up. Keep up the great work!
If you are considering taking a class with your child, choose Musical Munchkins. Not only does my daughter absolutely love the music, activities and people, I look forward to the class every week. It is literally one of the best parts of our week. Musical Munchkins has been such a positive addition to our week. Both my daughter and I love our class. The combination of music, movement and social interaction is perfect for babies and toddlers (and parents, too!). It has been so much fun to watch each child change and develop over the course of two semesters of Musical Munchkins. I believe that one of the reasons our class is such a success is because our teacher has gotten to know each child as well as the personality of the class. She has created such a fun and stimulating environment for everyone!
I have had my daughter enrolled in Musical Munchkins with Amy since she was 10 months old. She is now 2 ½ and it is amazing how much she has learned in Amy's class. The Musical Munchkins curriculum is age appropriate. Amy really knows how to teach at the children's comprehension level. It amazes me to watch a group of 2 year olds grasp the different music tempos and beats. Musical Munchkins has been a wonderful experience for us. The classes are fun and educational.
Musical Munchkins is a fantastic program! Through the use of musical instruments, singing, movement, stories and props, the children are introduced to many musical concepts at an age appropriate level. Without even knowing it, they are learning about tempo, pitch and dynamics in a fun, relaxed environment. The teachers are amazing as they engage their little students throughout the class. As a mom I am so thankful for the Musical Munchkins program. My daughter looks forward to class each week, and so do I.
My seventeen month old daughter, Anna has loved going to Musical Munchkins since she was nine months. I too have enjoyed going because I have made some really nice friends there. It has been such a pleasure watching her develop skills she has learned in class. Whereas she use to put all of the instruments in her mouth, now she plays with anticipation of the music. Ms. Eileen is a wonderful teacher who is always so energetic and caring. She knows it's time to stand up and start dancing and moving when she senses that the little ones are getting squirmy. I like the fact that Musical Munchkins follows an age appropriate curriculum because I now that Anna will be moving along a continuum. I can't wait to listen to the CD that will come out soon.
My 2 ½ year old twins and I look forward to our Musical Munchkins class each week. The music and activities are uniquely age-appropriate and each child is allowed the opportunity to participate as an individual. I could never have imagined that my kids could overcome their shyness by playing a solo instrument in front of a whole class but they have done so. We've tried several other music classes and Musical Munchkins is our favorite by far.
I tried several classes in different locations until I found the perfect fit. I am now in a class where my daughter has made friends, learned about music and had lots of fun. If you are not happy with a class, it's worth switching or trying a new one before leaving the program. Miss. Mila is a patient, sweet teacher. She always makes us feel welcome and is accepting of the typical 1 year old behavior. She changes the music to suit the children's needs.
"After comparing the music classes available, I realize that what makes Munchkins special is the combination of learning and fun. My children enjoy all the classes, but I know that Munchkins is secretly prepping them for pre-school and teaching them a lot about much more than music every week. I can't wait to return again this time with my third child."


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Chairman, members of the Oireachtas, it is a great pleasure for me to be back here in Leinster House and to have the opportunity to engage with the two joint committees this afternoon.
I am grateful for the invitation and the opportunity, which comes at a very important time for European and indeed Irish agriculture. Earlier this week, I participated in an interparliamentary committee meeting with the Agriculture and Rural Development committee of the European Parliament as well as representatives of the agriculture committees of the MS parliaments, including members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food & the Marine.
Engaging with national parliaments is probably something of which we don't do enough. Just last week, I spoke in a debate in the European Parliament where, on behalf of the European Commission, I acknowledged that "national Parliaments play an essential role in bringing the Union closer to its citizens, by both scrutinising the activity of their own government at European level and engaging with the European institutions."
As public representatives, I expect that you will be busy in the coming months scrutinising the Commission's forthcoming legislative proposals for the future of the Common Agricultural Policy as well as the Commission's proposals for the next budgetary period.
Before moving to deal with those issues, I want to recognise the immense hardship caused by the prolonged winter and the near record rainfall levels on livestock and tillage farmers throughout the country. I am very conscious of the stress that this brought on farmers, both financial and emotional. Thankfully, the weather does seem to be improving and the images of animals going back out into the fields were very heartening.
As you are aware, the European Commission was requested to allow Irish tillage farmers to derogate from the crop diversification requirements of the CAP, the so-called "three-crop rule". My services evaluated the data provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and I was in a position to confirm very quickly that such a derogation is being granted to those tillage farmers, though the technical approval of the derogation will take a little longer.
My services are also in contact with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland with regard to a similar derogation being granted and I expect that, as soon as the necessary supporting data has been provided and assessed, I will be in a position to confirm that the derogation will also apply to tillage farmers north of the border.
This meeting comes at a very opportune time. Next week, the European Commission will adopt its proposal for the next MFF for the period 2020-2027. As you all know, budgetary or estimates exercises are rarely easy, especially for big-spending departments or, in my case, big-spending DGs.
The difficulty of this particular budgetary cycle is exacerbated by Brexit, which is blowing a €12 billion hole in the annual European budget. Meanwhile, another €12 billion is being demanded by many Member States to ensure delivery of policies such as security, migration and defence, all of which have grown in prominence in recent years.
Unlike national governments, the European Union cannot run a deficit, so we are bound by budgetary constraints. Of course, Member States have the possibility to make up the shortfall by contributing a higher percentage of Gross National Index, a point made by the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food & the Marine in last week's contribution on the Reform of the CAP.
I have made this point strongly to a number of heads of state and agriculture ministers across the EU in recent months, including the prime ministers of Ireland, Hungary, Portugal, France, Slovenia and the Baltics, all of whom were receptive to my arguments.
I have also been offering a robust defence of the CAP and the value for money it delivers. I genuinely believe that the CAP has stood the test of time over the last half century, notably by adapting to meet new and emerging challenges, and I am convinced that it is something worth fighting for.
However, nobody here should be under any illusion about the extent of the challenge facing the CAP budget. In many quarters the CAP is viewed as the obvious target for cuts. A Commission discussion document published in February provided budget modelling based on different options – including a 15 per cent cut or a 30 per cent to the CAP budget.
We need to be realistic - in the absence of more money from member States, there will be a cut to the CAP budget, and there's no point trying to sugar-coat that fact. My job is to build the strongest possible coalition to resist the worst of these cuts, and achieve the best outcome in a difficult scenario.
In the interparliamentary meeting on Tuesday, I pointed out that "ultimately, the key decision will not be made by the Commission at all, but rather by the Member States, whose leaders have to decide whether or not they are prepared to increase their contribution to the EU budget and, if so, by how much. It is this decision that will determine the extent to which the budget for the CAP can be protected."
I suggested that, as members of the respective parliamentary committees of agriculture, we all share the same starting point: that we want the policy to remain strong, well-funded and committed to supporting farmers' incomes while strengthening the fabric of rural areas and contributing significantly to a higher level of environmental and climate ambition. That being the case, I urged members of national parliaments to use their influence to encourage an increase in the GNI contributions.
We have made some significant headway with a number of Member States, but a number of countries which are net contributors to the EU budget such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Austria are still saying "no". I have been to all four countries personally to make the case at the highest level. Beginning with the Commission's proposal next week, we are now entering a decisive phase.
And to those that question the need for a well-funded CAP, my answer is very clear – we should continue to support farmers' incomes. Indeed, that is the role and duty of the CAP, as outlined in the founding treaties. Those Treaty objectives remain as relevant today as ever they did and will be reflected in the Commission's legislative proposals.
Let me recall what was said in the Commission's Communication, in which we were very clear that income support remains fundamental. The Communication states clearly that "direct payments partially fill the gap between agricultural income and income in other economic sectors. They provide an important income safety net, ensuring there is agricultural activity in all parts of the Union including in areas with natural constraints (which also receive income payments under Rural Development Policy) with the various economic, environmental and social associated benefits, including the delivery of public goods. Therefore, direct payments remain an essential part of the CAP in line with its EU Treaty obligations."
Guaranteeing a fair level of direct payments for farmers to support their work is, in my view, not alone essential and not alone for the benefit of farmers, but for the benefit of the wider society. Not alone are farmers the producers and providers of our food, but they are the custodians of our countryside and the frontline in the protection of the rural environment and our 'boots on the ground' in fighting the climate challenge.
My priority is protecting the European and Irish small and medium-sized farmer who remains the backbone of Europe's food production and rural communities. I have been making the case throughout Europe that this is about equity and fairness for our farmers, who provide our citizens with so many public goods.
Pure economists including some from Ireland believe that direct payments should be abolished because we have enough food now in the EU to feed our people. I disagree. The bottom line is farmers' incomes must continue to be supported – particularly small and medium-sized farmers. This is role and duty of CAP. If we expect farmers to make bigger contribution to climate challenge and other societal goals, they must be rewarded.
As you are all well aware, the Commission is continuing its work on the preparation of the legislative proposals for the next iteration of the Common Agricultural Policy. In this respect, we are being guided in our work by the Commission's Communication on the Future of Food and Farming, published last November, and reflecting on the views expressed on that Communication, by Members of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, various national parliaments and other stakeholders. It is in this context that the political contribution from the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine is another welcome contribution to our preparatory work.
We want to present a proposal which is workable and broadly acceptable, particularly if we are to achieve the overall goals of simplification and modernisation.
As you know, a central feature of the Commission's proposal is a greater focus on subsidiarity, with Member States taking greater responsibility for their decisions. This approach is consistent with the Commission's overall objective of subsidiarity and having decisions impacting on citizens taken closer to those citizens.
As public representatives, I'm sure you are familiar with the frustrations of farmers trying to apply a 'one-size-fits-all' solution, which is designed to be applicable from the Inishowen peninsula to the Greek islands or from Slea Head to Lapland.
Well, we have decided to address that challenge by allowing Member States to decide how best to meet EU-wide objectives. In our forthcoming legislative proposals, we will set down EU-level specific objectives, limited to nine or ten. Member States will have discretion to decide on the appropriate measures to meet those objectives, having regard to their own specific circumstances, whether that is in terms of farming practices or climate or other conditions. In Ireland's case, these measures will have to be included in Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan, which will be subject to approval by the Commission and the achievement of those measures will be assessed by reference to indicators which will be set by the Commission.
Some of you, at least, will be aware that the existing Commission approval process for Rural Development Programmes can be lengthy, cumbersome and very frustrating. We are determined, as part of our commitment to greater simplification, to make the new approval process more straightforward and efficient.
Nonetheless, I appreciate that you, as public representatives, may be understandably concerned about any delay in the approval process for the continued timely flow of direct payments, which will now be covered by the plans. In order to ensure an uninterrupted flow of such payments, we will include a specific provision in the legislation to allow for partial approval of Member States' plans to allow the uninterrupted flow of payments, even where the Commission is in dialogue with that Member State in relation to other aspects of the plan, which cannot be approved at that time.
At the beginning of my presentation, I referred to the dreadful weather conditions under which farmers have been trying to operate through these last few months. These conditions have added to the costs of farming and it won't be easy for many of those farmers to recover those costs.
Farmers deserve a fair price for their produce and should have their position in the food supply chain protected. The issue of farmers' position in the food chain is not a new one but finally, after talking about it for years, the Commission has delivered on my commitment to do something about it.
Earlier this month, the Commission published a proposal to outlaw a number of Unfair Trading Practices across Europe. These proposals are targeted not just at farmers and SMEs, but at tackling the broader food waste crisis across Europe. Buyers will have to become smarter and more responsive to consumer demands, when they can no longer load the risk – and cost – of food waste on producers.
A more ordered, well governed food supply chain, in the context of a market oriented Common Agricultural Policy, is in the interests of all actors in the chain, not least consumers. The next phase will come later this year, when it is my intention to bring forward improvements to market transparency.
The Commission's proposal is in the form of a Directive, which recognises that many Member States already have UTP rules in place. In our view, it would not be proportionate to remove their systems in one fell swoop. Under the Directive Member States will remain free to complement the Directive with their own national measures. In legal terms it is a minimum harmonisation approach. As Minister Michael Creed said at the April Council of Ministers' meeting, the purpose of the legislation is to complement, not replace existing well-functioning legislation.
That said, I look forward to the early transposition of the legislation in Ireland and I count on you, as members of the Oireachtas, to ensure that the legislation serves its purpose to strengthen the position of Irish farmers in the food supply chain.
Ireland is an exporting country and agri-food exports play a hugely important part in the country's economic performance. Last year, the Irish food and drink sector recorded the eighth consecutive year of export growth. For the year as a whole it is estimated that the value of food and drink exports increased by 13 per cent, (€1.5 billion) to €12.6 billion – representing growth of almost 60 per cent or €4.7 billion since 2010.
Exports to the UK rose by an estimated 7 per cent to some €4.4 billion despite the ongoing weakness of sterling. However, Bord Bia figures suggest that the share of exports to the UK has continued to fall despite the topline growth figure; the market share for exports to the UK is now estimated at 35 per cent – down two points on last year. Meanwhile, exports to other EU countries have risen to over €4 billion accelerating last year's growth rate, in line with Bord Bia's Market Diversification Strategy.
Brexit presents an existential challenge to Ireland and the Irish agri-food sector in particular, given the traditional dependence on the UK as our biggest and closest market. Despite the UK's departure from the EU, it will obviously continue to be Ireland's closest and, in all likelihood, largest market, at least for some time to come.
However, the diversification strategy is essential if the sector is to be protected from the worst effects of the Brexit, given that we have no idea yet what kind of a future relationship will exist either between the EU and the UK or on the island of Ireland.
For my part, I am continuing my economic offensive to identify and access new and emerging markets. The EU is the best food address in the world, and our agri-food exports continued to grow in 2017. Our most recent figures showed monthly exports at a record level of €11.5 billion, adding up to a 12-month value of more than €130 billion – the highest ever.
I have been travelling the world to find new markets for our products, most recently to Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2017. In May, I will make my 4th official visit to China, bringing with me a business delegation of agri-food operators, including many from Ireland.
This is particularly fortuitous timing given the recent decision by China to lift the restrictions on beef imports from a number of Irish operators, for which I would like to congratulate all involved. I have had a number of face-to-face meetings with the Chinese Ambassador to the EU on this issue and I am delighted with the positive result.
While the United States continues its increasingly isolationist and protectionist attitude, Europe is moving ahead with its ambitious international trade agenda. Just last Saturday, Commissioner Malmstrom and I concluded a new trade agreement with Mexico. The EU is Mexico's third biggest trading partner, and Mexico, with 128 million people, is the EU's second biggest trading partner in Latin America after Brazil. The EU exports of goods to Mexico are worth €38 billion (2017), with further €10 billion-worth of exports in services (2016). Given the challenge presented by Brexit, it is worth making the point that the population of Mexico is almost twice that of the UK.
I am certain that this deal is very positive for our agri-food sector, creating new export opportunities for our high-quality food and drink products, which in turn will create support more jobs and growth, particularly in rural areas. It is already encouraging to see the positive reaction to this deal from the Irish dairy and whiskey representative organisations.
At a time when we have very substantial stocks of skimmed milk powder in public intervention in the EU, the deal secures a very significant volume of duty-free milk powder exports in one of the largest markets, starting with 30 000 tonnes from the entry into force, rising to 50 000 tonnes after 5 years. Milk powder is currently taxed at up to 50 per cent.
Likewise, sales of Irish whiskey in Mexico grew 20.5 per cent between 2012 and 2016, with a staggering 103.4 per cent growth in 2016. The new EU-Mexico FTA comes at just the right time to support even greater export growth and I'm confident that there will be many such new opportunities in the coming months and agri-business needs to be ready to take full advantage.
There are many issues that one could cover in this statement and I'm sure that there are many questions that you wish to ask. The purpose of this statement was to address some of the issues on which we are working to update you on important developments for European and Irish agriculture, notably in terms of the MFF, the reform of the CAP, the EU's trade policy, and our proposals to tackle UTPs. It is far from an exhaustive list and, as you'll have noted, I only touched briefly on Brexit, about which we could spend the day talking, without necessarily coming to any definitive conclusions.
Thank you once again for the invitation to be here today and for the opportunity of this engagement.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


During your stay, our staff will be on call near the villa to take care of any requests or problems, and to help you with planning your dream vacation in Tuscany.
Tuscany is famous for its excellent cuisine and wine, and we love to tempt our guests with samples of the best products from our estate and the surrounding countryside.
The day begins right with our generous Continental breakfast served each morning inside the villa, featuring some of the best Tuscan specialties.
Would you like to enjoy a traditional dinner in the villa's dining room or outside in the garden? Let our professional chefs know, and they can prepare some of the most iconic dishes from Tuscany.
We also offer wine tastings and cooking lessons inside the villa.
At Villa Nozzole, you will feel right at home while being a guest in ours! You can spread out in the common spaces of the villa and relax as if it were your own.
In the summer months, you can cool off in the outdoor pool and enjoy a light lunch under the furnished gazebo. While away the hours relaxing friends outdoors, or, in the winter months, near the fireplace during a dinner with family and friends featuring some of our best local wines.
We want you to settle in and relax with us!
Our staff can arrange private tours and daytrips to some of the most famous destinations in Tuscany, including Florence and Siena, or to the largest luxury brand outlets in the area.
We also offer wine & gourmet tours to the most interesting wineries, farms, and producers in the area, including Monte Riggioni and San Gimignano.


text:
Business and wellbeing
Guardian sustainable business
Is there an app for loneliness?
Technology is often blamed for social isolation, but chatbots, dating sites and parenting forums can help break down barriers
Oliver Balch
@OLIVERBALCH
Mon 17 Aug 2015 08.29 EDT Last modified on Wed 20 Sep 2017 14.45 EDT
Joaquin Phoenix plays a lonely writer who falls in love with an operating system in the 2013 film Her. Photograph: Warner Br/Everett/Rex
Young or old, loneliness is fast becoming a defining phenomenon of our age. The blame is often placed on modern communications technology, especially the virtual type. We'd rather message our friends than meet them.
The tech industry is obviously keen to promote the contrary. Facebook, which has almost 1.5bn active users, promises to make "the world more open and connected". Dating-app Tinder, meanwhile, promotes itself as "like real life, but better" – so much better, in fact, there are suspicions lonely married folk are signing up in droves.
The future of loneliness | Olivia Laing
Chatbots take this to the next level. Meet Cortana. Available on the Windows Phone 8.1, the Microsoft creation will text-message you back and forth about everything from your football team's latest game to your date last night.
"Whether it's to keep you in the loop with your world or to help you manage your everyday life, Cortana is there for you," Microsoft states. Much like a good friend then.
In China, Cortana's phone-based "little sister" Xiaoice has attracted millions of loyal followers since its introduction last year. Dubbed the "girlfriend app", the chatbot uses artificial-intelligence software to remember details from previous discussions and mines the web for question-and-answer style conversations.
Such is the emerging popularity of chatbots that Bletchley Park, home to Alan Turing's famous Enigma code-breaking machine, runs an annual competition to celebrate the phenomenon. Steve Worswick, a 45-year-old IT technician and 2015 finalist, attracts a couple of thousand interactions to his Mitsuku chatbot every day. People log in from as far afield as the Vatican City and US navy ships in mid-ocean to talk to the "artificial lifeform".
"Some of them [users] are just plain weird, but many are lonely and looking for companionship," says Worswick.
The role of technology in helping resolve loneliness is especially pertinent to groups prone to social isolation, like new mothers.
"Parenting can feel pretty lonely at times [and] the comfort of instantaneous responses from people who've been down the same path can be quite profound," says Sarah Crown, editor of Mumsnet, a parents' networking site that attracts more than 14 million visits per month.
Loneliness is not a bug with a technological solution | Ros Coward
The same could be said for those with disabilities that prevent them from easily getting out and meeting people or that create a barrier between them and others. Two-thirds of British people feel awkward speaking to disabled people, according to research from disability charity Scope.
Virtual technology can enable others to see disabled people "for who they are rather than just seeing the disability", says Beth Grossman, head of policy and research at Scope.
Scope runs an online platform to help disabled people and their families and carers to talk, connect and share experiences. It is also supporting assistive technologies such as phone and tablet apps like the text-based communication aid Predictable.
Technology not enough
Technology is no panacea for loneliness, Grossman admits. It can be expensive (Predictable retails at £119.99), difficult to access or complicated to use (6.4 million adults in the UK have never used the internet) and it's no substitute for genuine face-to-face relationships.
Elderly people represent another demographic for whom loneliness is often a prevalent problem, with one million saying they feel chronically lonely, according to the charity Age UK. Scientific research suggests acute loneliness has direct physical and mental repercussions, affecting mortality as much as smoking and increasing the likelihood of dementia.
When it comes to tech solutions, simply giving an older person an iPad or a smartphone won't work, says psychologist Arlene Astell, a professor at Sheffield University's Centre for Assistive Technology and Connected Healthcare.
Meet the pensioners next door: 'I don't let them know I am lonely'
"What we need are solutions that can tackle the reasons people become socially isolated or lonely – things such as decline in physical or mental health, reduced mobility, bereavement, family living at a distance, reduced social networks, perceived lack of social support low participation in social activities," she states.
A good example of such adaptation is Mindings, a startup established by Stuart Arnott for his "technology-shy parents". The app-based service, which runs on iPads, provides elderly people with a simple-to-use method of receiving text messages and photos from family and friends, and to follow their itinerary on a digital calendar.
"We have become a society where we feel we are in constant, regular contact with family and friends because we know how to use Facebook and Instagram, and we email and text. If elderly people don't have access to these then they lose that connection," says Arnott.
Technology means we are communicating differently. Used in excess, it may well provoke loneliness by replacing meaningful, tangible relationships with virtual interactions. But for those who find themselves socially isolated, it can provide an invaluable link to family, friends and the wider world around them.
Technology (Guardian Sustainable Business)


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The Richest Car Collectors You Didn't Know About
BLOG, Cars, LATEST NEWS
Some of the largest car collections owned by the wealthiest people on Earth
There are car collectors out there that are so rich, they'll consider a Ferrari 812 Superfast to be a daily driver, a car that exceeds the cost of the average house in the UK. If you think Floyd Mayweather is rich because he owns 30 cars, think again.
From classics to modern supercars to American muscle cars to super rare concept cars, these ultra-wealthy car collectors seem to have it all. They may not be as famous and well-known as celebrity collectors like Jay Leno or Ralph Lauren but they sure are a lot richer! Here are just a handful of some of the richest car collectors that seemed to have slipped under the radar.
Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan
A post shared by Sh. Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan (@shhamadbinhamdan) on May 26, 2016 at 7:22am PDT
Not only one of the richest car collectors to exist, this guy is also one of the most interesting. His taste in cars is odd because, simply put, he likes them as big as they come. A literal example of this is his very own gigantic Jeep which stands at 21 feet tall and is also drivable. He also created a huge Dodge truck, eight times larger than the standard Dodge Powerwagon, which our very own Jeremy Clarkson got to see during his interview with the Sheikh.
A post shared by Sh. Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan (@shhamadbinhamdan) on Mar 4, 2016 at 1:17pm PST
Many of his vehicles are stored in his very own pyramid outside of Abu Dhabi. This strange pyramid is also open to the public free of charge, which is rather nice.
One interesting story is that in 1983, he apparently bought seven Mercedes 500 SEL's, one for each day of the week. They were then painted in seven different colours and the interiors were made to match.
A post shared by Sh. Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan (@shhamadbinhamdan) on Jan 21, 2019 at 6:10am PST
Although he's one of the richest, his car collection only includes around 200-300 vehicles which when compared to some other collectors, isn't actually all that much.
Luigi Compiano
The Duemila Route Collection is made up of around 423 cars, 155 motorcycles, 140 bicycles and 55 racing boats, all formerly owned by business tycoon Luigi Compiano who made his money in the security sector. Unfortunately for him, his tax evasion eventually caught up with him and the Italian government confiscated all of the vehicles in his collection and sold them at auction.
The car that sold for the most from this collection was a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C that sold for $3,618,227!
This Romanian businessman was once a very successful tennis player and then, a very successful ice hockey player. He's won 23 tennis titles, played ice hockey in the Olympics in 1964 and also founded his own private bank, which is where he made most of his wealth. Said to be worth around $1.1 billion, Tiriac has more than enough money to fund his ridiculous car collection.
A post shared by Alex George (@alex.george.89) on May 19, 2019 at 1:31am PDT
Tiriac's car collection is so large that he's filled a museum full of them and opened it up to the public. If you happen to find yourself in Bucharest, Romania, paying a visit to the Tiriac Collection is certainly worth it.
Featuring a wide range of stunning cars, old and new. From an 1899 Hurtu to a Ferrari LaFerrari, Tiriac's range of cars is around 250 large and seems to have a bit of everything.
Known as the richest car collector on Earth, this Sultan not only has endless wealth at his disposal but also some of the rarest cars ever made. Said to be worth around $20 billion, Hassanal Bolkiah has been the sovereign ruler of Brunei (a small Asian country that borders with Malaysia) since taking over from his father in 1967.
In his collection is a BMW Nazca M12, a concept car that was never meant to be sold, that is, until ol' Bolkiah laid his eyes on it and asked BMW to produce one for him for what we imagine to be an obscene amount of money.
Other rare cars in his collection include a Ferrari Mythos, the top-secret Ferrari F90 Testarossa, Jaguar XJ220, Ferrari 456 GT Venice, Mercedes Benz CLK GTR and Porsche 959. And that's just the beginning.
Although you've probably heard of him before, you can't talk about rich car collectors without mentioning the richest of them all!
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J A M M U & K A S H M I R E D I T I O N
BJP plans no confidence motion against MC chief
Udhampur, February 24
Taking benefit of brewing resentment among Congress members, the councilors of BJP have stepped up attack on chairman of the Udhampur Municipal Council to force him to tender his resignation.
Unemployment Woes
Make appointment process transparent: PDP
Jammu, February 24
President of the ruling coalition alliance in Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti today appealed the government to devise a transparent fast-track mechanism for filling up thousands of pending vacancies in various departments.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti addresses party workers in Sarwal in Jammu on Sunday.
— A Tribune photograph
'Seizure' near Sonia's venue fake: Police
Sonia assures help to snow-hit people
New PCC chief favours alliance with PDP
State big market for stolen vehicles
Pak poll, snowfall hit resource flow of ultras
10 killed, 41 hurt in tragic road mishap
Govt to appoint special judges to expedite trials
5,000 ultras waiting to sneak into India
Top LeT ultra involved in UP attacks killed
Congress gambles on Soz in poll year
Oppn terms Sonia's visit as political drama
Although the ruling Congress has been trying to take political mileage of the recent visit of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister Shivraj Patel in the snowfall-affected areas of Doda and Kishtwar districts, the opposition has termed this tour as "eyewash" and "political drama" to befool the common masses.
Call to resume separatist-PM talks
The Panthers Party, which has decided to establish its foothold in Kashmir by organising functions in various parts of the valley in connection with its silver jubilee celebrations, has suggested to the ruling coalition that it should clear decks for the resumption of the dialogue between the separatist leaders and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Girls performing during a talent hunt show at University of Jammu on Sunday. — Tribune photo by Anand Sharma
Separatists leaders hail Kosovo's independence
Srinagar, February 24
While separatist leaders in Kashmir continue to put forward their respective stand on the resolution of this issue in different voices, they do not seem to be unaware of the "independent movements" outside the subcontinent.
Hurriyat plans to strengthen cadre base
More than a month after unity formula presented by Shabir Ahmad Shah, the separatist Hurriyat Conference has decided to constitute provincial and district-level committees across Jammu and Kashmir to strengthen its cadres at the grassroots level.
Looping wires, continuous tension for residents
Dangerously looping high-tension wires continue to pose a grave threat to life in this densely populated Jammu west Assembly constituency since long. However, if the onus of the constant threat to the life of such a big population lies on the Jammu Municipal Corporation, which years back remained a mute spectator to illegal constructions on large scale, then the Power Development Department too cannot shirk its responsibility.
Peerzada launches damage control exercise
Former Pradesh Congress Committee chief Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, who is virtually sidelined by the party after his resignation from the ministry as well from the organisation, has launched an aggressive "damage control exercise" to get sympathy of his supporters.
Traffic jams rule road shows here
Over the past two decades, the Jammu city witnessed a steep increase in the vehicular traffic but despite this rise no steps have been taken to widen the vital roads in and around the city.
Traffic flow gets affected with the construction work going on at the roadsides in Jammu.
— Tribune photo by Anand Sharma
Hizbul militant held, hideouts busted
A Pakistan-trained militant of Hizbul Mujahideen has been arrested at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. In a joint operation of the police and CRPF, Javid Ahmad Sheikh alias Rizwan was arrested in Pulwama yesterday, a police spokesman said.
Historic Khalsa School destroyed in fire
The historic Khalsa School in the heart of the city at Magarmal Bagh was gutted in a mysterious fire last evening, official sources said. Established in early forties by members of the minority Sikh community, under Khalsa Educational Society, has produced doctors, engineers, politicians, and other professionals.
2 years after quake, library books still in debris
Poonch, February 24
More than two years after the deadly earthquake brought down the historic Shri Jagat Dev Singh library here, the state government has failed to give the books their rightful place. While some of the books continue to remain buried in the debris, many more have been stolen by the locals.
Valley continues to shiver
Kashmir valley continued to shiver due to intense cold following continuous snowfall in high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir that brought a steep drop in night temperatures.
Crime-related Deaths
People's attitude hampering investigation: Police
Anantnag, February 24
When the police recovered the body of Javed Ahmad Dar (20) from a nullah at Brakpora on Monday, it faced resentment from Javed's relatives who made an earnest appeal not to conduct the postmortem examination.
BJP bats for doctors' rights, safety
The Bharatiya Janata Party has called for safeguarding the life and property of doctors during hostile situations. The doctors' cell of the party, which held a two-day national workshop at Jaipur recently passed several resolution calling for safeguarding the freedom and the dignity of the profession.
Excise and Taxation Exam
Provisional admission for candidates
Giving a relief to hundreds of candidates, who did not receive their admit cards for the examination of excise and taxation officer and excise instructors, the Jammu and Kashmir State Public Service Commission, which will hold the examination on Monday, has decided to give provisional admission to all such candidates.
Vienna varsity's nomination for Dr Punjabi
The University of Kashmir vice-chancellor Professor Riyaz Punjabi has been nominated for the title of "honorary professor" of the International University, Vienna for his contributions in 'strengthening international relations in the sphere of education', according to a media release from Europe Business Assembly in Oxford, London.
Tulip fest for tourists in April
One of the worlds largest tulip gardens "Siraj Bagh" on 600 kanals of land is coming up at the foothills of Zabarwan, overlooking the famed Dal Lake. As many as 12 lakh tulip bulbs would be ready by the first week of April in the garden, which would be one of the major attractions for the tourists in the summer capital.
Demand for car not met, groom refuses to marry
A wedding function was cancelled near Gangyal here as the groom demanded a car in dowry from the parents of the bride. He refused to marry the girl yesterday, whom he met while working with a bank in Delhi. The girl's family had come to Jammu to marry off their daughter with the Kashmiri youth.
Forest official, student in police net
The Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir police has filed two challans in a local court against a cashier of State Forest Corporation and a student in the valley.
Illegal entry into flat puts NC leader in trouble
The police today booked a National Conference Member Legislative Council, B A Naaz for breaking open the lock of a sealed municipal quarter in Jammu, officials said.
The BJP councilors staged boycott during the monthly general body meeting of council and labeled serious charges of corruption and nepotism on present body headed by the Congress.
The BJP has been trying to woo those dissident Congress members, who have repeatedly expressed their anguish over failure of the present body to solve civic problems of the town.
In the present council, the BJP and Congress have seven members followed by two Panthers Party councilors and one independent. With the eye on dissident Congress members, the BJP is seriously thinking to move no confidence motion against present chairman Ashok Gupta.
Former chairman of Udhampur Municipal Council and BJP member Pawan Khajuria said that all councilors, irrespective of their party affiliations, were not happy with the performance of present body headed by the Congress.
He alleged that due to prevailing nepotism and corruption majority of the members have assured their support to remove the present president.
Although two Panthers Party members and one independent have not opened their cards, the BJP appeared to be confident of getting their support.
"What to say of Panthers Party and independent, we are hopeful of getting support of even some Congress members," claimed Pawan Khajuria, adding, "every elected representative is accountable to people. They want development of their respective areas which is impossible under present dispensation."
President of the ruling coalition alliance in Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti today appealed the government to devise a transparent fast-track mechanism for filling up thousands of pending vacancies in various departments.
Mehbooba, who was addressing a daylong convention of the party workers at Sarwal in Jammu today, said, "To cope up with the unemployment problem in the state a transparent fast-track mechanism has to be formed by the government."
She added, "The massive infrastructural upgrade that has taken place in various sectors during the past five years needs to be supplemented with adequate manpower and the government must now address the issue on priority."
She said thousands of posts were lying vacant in education, health and engineering, social welfare, agriculture and police departments and the manpower shortage was severely affecting the functioning of these sectors.
"While on one hand, the educated unemployed youth are dying for jobs, on the other the government departments are suffering because of the manpower deficiency," she said.
Expressing concern over the plight of thousands of adhoc and contractual appointees, she said the fate of such appointees was hanging in balance and most of them have now even crossed the age limit for government appointment.
"The government must consider regularisation of all such adhoc and contractual appointees as they have been performing their duties in difficult circumstances and can't be left in the lurch," she said.
Mincing no words in attacking Congress for, what he called, cheating the helpless people, senior National Conference leader Aslam Goni said visit was intentionally planned to divert attention of people towards failure of administration in rendering help to the common masses at the time crises.
Goni, who had contested 2002 Assembly elections from Bhaderwah, regretted that miseries of snow-hit people have been compounding with every passing day but the Congress seemed to be more concerned about taking political mileage from natural calamities.
While taking strong note of politicisation of the visit of VVIPs, the BJP leader from Bhaderwah, Koushal Kotwal, who had fought election against Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2005 by-poll, alleged that instead of meeting with genuine victims, the Congress president and Union home minister interacted with "sponsored" people as only some selected persons were permitted to enter the venue.
A meeting of Bhaderwah unit of the BJP was held today and it was decided in the meeting to hold protest against, what they perceived, "hijacking" of visit of the Union ministers by the Congress workers and "touts" of the government.
The BJP workers have also decided to convey their anger to Union home minister through a memorandum to be submitted to the deputy commissioner Doda on Monday.
"The Union home minister was in our town but representative of all political parties except the Congress were denied permission to meet him," rued Koushal Kotwal and added that people of Bhaderwah wanted to brief the Home Minister on the situation in this militancy-plagued hilly region but were not allowed to do so. The BJP leader said residents of this mountainous region have been confronting with a number of problems, which should be brought to the notice of the visiting team of ministers and officers of the Union government.
Leader of the Panthers Party in the state Assembly, Harsh Dev Singh, said here today, "It is intriguing as on one hand the APHC leaders continue to favour resumption of dialogue but on the other they have not received any invitation from the Prime Minister during the last over two years."
He said despite the fact that the Prime Minister has announced that he was willing to hold talks with any separatist leader parleys between the two sides cannot be resumed unless the separatists receive a proper invitation from the Centre.
The Panthers Party leader said since the Prime Minister remains engaged in various activities it would not be an easy process for the Hurriyat leaders to meet Dr Manmohan Singh whenever it suited them. Referring to the process of dialogue, which the Government of India started with the separatists, Harsh Dev Singh said these separatists had met Atal Behari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister and Dr Manmohan Singh only after they received invitations from the Centre.
Commenting on the delay in the resumption of the dialogue, senior APHC leader Abdul Gani Bhat said, "We have always been in favour of talks, sustained dialogue. But it is the Government of India that has shut the doors of dialogue."
Bhat said, "We have conveyed our desire to the Prime Minister for holding another round of talks but there has been no response from the Centre. Even if we seek an appointment with the Prime Minister we may not get it for months and years because of his busy schedule."
He said after returning from Pakistan "we had requested for a meeting with the Prime Minister so that we could convey to him what transpired between the Hurriyat leaders and Gen (retd) Parvez Musharraf. But our request was ignored."
It is in this context that Harsh Dev Singh stated chance could be given to the separatists to return to the national mainstream politics so that they too participated in the election process.
He said it is the Government of India that alone can motivate the separatists to stop providing moral assistance to militants. He said it was for the state government to persuade the Centre to resume talks with separatist leaders in order to ensure that Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed peace and progress.
While separatist leaders in Kashmir continue to put forward their respective stand on the resolution of this issue in different voices, they do not seem to be unaware of the "independent movements" outside the subcontinent. These organisations have not missed to comment on the situation in Kosovo which was recently declared as an independent nation and have related it to the Kashmir problem.
A senior separatist leader based in Pakistan, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, convener, the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (PoK) chapter and chairman, J&K Peoples Freedom League, has welcomed the declaration of independence of Kosovo from Serbia. In a statement Rehmani termed the announcement as a step in the right direction to undo the wrongs done in the previous century after the fall of Turks in Europe. He said the principle of the right of self-determination as recommended by the United Nations (UN) in respect to Jammu and Kashmir must not be delayed further. He said this would bring lasting peace in south-Asia.
"There should be no double standard with regard to the application of the right of self-determination to Kashmir and the UN should play its role," he remarked. He said Kashmiris had every "right to seek freedom and the right to self-determination to shape their political destiny independently" in accordance with their free will. "We salute the freedom fighters of Kosovo and firmly believe that if freedom is granted to Kashmir, heavens will not fall on earth", he stated.
The Kosovo issue did not miss a mention even in a debate in Washington held by the Kashmir Centre of Kashmir American Council the other day. The debate on "Peace Process between India and Pakistan: The Role of Kashmiri Leadership" was also attended by separatist Hurriyat Conference chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
In his address, chairman of the council, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai said, "Today we are celebrating the birth of a new nation, Kosovo, which became a reality through the support, understanding and engagement of the United States". The separatist leaders have been demanding resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN resolutions, and the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
More than a month after unity formula presented by Shabir Ahmad Shah, the separatist Hurriyat Conference has decided to constitute provincial and district-level committees across Jammu and Kashmir to strengthen its cadres at the grassroots level. The idea had been put forth by Shah, with his six-point formula earlier this year, seeking the union of all separatist organisations in the state under one umbrella, that followed his return to the Hurriyat Conference on January 14 last.
While Shah and three other leaders, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz, Azam Inquillabi and Javed Mir have already joined the separatist conglomerate, the hardline Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani shot back with a five-point rider to his unity formula. Geelani at the head of an 11-member conglomeration of the Hurriyat Conference and JKLF chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik are out of the unity fold.
A meeting of Hurriyat Conference leaders presided over by the senior executive member, Shabir Ahmad Shah here yesterday announced to constitute provincial committees for Jammu and Ladakh regions to "strengthen its cadres" in these regions. "Several decisions were taken to strengthen the Hurriyat cadres at the peoples level and ground level", a spokesman of the APHC stated.
He added that the meeting also nominated provincial and district observers for constituting the committees. Accordingly a nine-member committee headed by Shabir Shah would supervise the constitution of provincial committees for Jammu and Ladakh regions. Seven other members were nominated to overlook the district committees of seven districts in Kashmir, except for the central Sringar district, the spokesman said.
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Dangerously looping high-tension (HT) wires continue to pose a grave threat to life in this densely populated Jammu west Assembly constituency since long.
However, if the onus of the constant threat to the life of such a big population lies on the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), which years back remained a mute spectator to illegal constructions on large scale, then the Power Development Department (PDD) too cannot shirk its responsibility.
Though the PDD last year did some salvage work in Jawahar Nagar providing succour to around dozen families, the belated effort proved to be too little.
When illegal constructions literally beneath HT towers and wires had been coming up in New Plots, Janipur, Prem Nagar, Jawahar Nagar, Doordarshan Kendra Colony and Talli Morh, JMC's "ever-efficient" inspectors for obvious reasons had turned a blind eye.
The JMC's dubious role today has put lives of thousands of inhabitants in jeopardy. Only last evening, a father of three minor children was electrocuted at Bagh-e-Bahu because of a dangerously looping HT wire.
Under prescribed rules, buildings, including residential houses, should maintain a minimum (horizontal and vertical) distance of 12 feet from 11KV high tension wires and 16 to 17 feet from 33 KV supply line. However, the distance in some of the localities of Jammu west Assembly constituency is not more than a couple of feet.
Talking to The Tribune, a local leader Sunil Dimple said, "A constant threat of death looms large over residents in these localities and the problem gains dangerous proportions during monsoons."
"However, last year in September the PDD had partially diverted HT lines, but it helped only about dozen families of Jawahar Nagar and 90 per cent people are still facing the life threatening problem," he added.
He further said, "Similarly, the PDD had installed a big transformer right in the premises of Government Middle School, New Plots, posing serious risk to the life of small children coming to the school. Despite repeated requests, it has not been shifted as yet."
Talking to The Tribune, a senior PDD official said, "Only an insane person could think of constructing a house beneath HT towers and wires. The department had served them notice apprising them about grave danger, but we aren't a law enforcing authority," he said adding, "Besides, it requires huge financial implications to shift the towers and the fiscal health of the department is an open secret."
It may be mentioned here that residents of Bhagwati Nagar, Trikuta Nagar and several other localities face similar problem.
Dinesh Manhotra
Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed, who is virtually sidelined by the party after his resignation from the ministry as well from the organisation, has launched an aggressive "damage control exercise" to get sympathy of his supporters.
During the last two days Sayeed, who had to resign as the education minister as well as the PCC chief following allegations of corruption against him by independent MLA Shoaib Lone, addressed a series of political meetings with his supporters in different areas of Reasi and Udhampur districts.
Under this mass contact programme, which was started yesterday with the holding of a public meeting at Talwara at Reasi , Peerzada today visited Chichain area of Udhampur district and addressed a gathering of Gujjars and Bakerwals who were gathered there in large number to listen to their leader.
"I have started an aggressive campaign to contact Congress workers at grass root level as we have to strengthen the part in view of next Assembly elections," Peerzada told The Tribune and added that in the coming days he will address meetings of his supporters and party workers parts of the state.
While addressing his supporters at Chichain village, Peerzada dropped much hints about showing power to those who have trapped him in a political conspiracy. He struck an emotional chord with nomads of his home constituency who have been migrated to this village in winter.
Peerzada's campaign was not confined to winter capital only. He also has chalked a programme to show his strengthen in the Kashmir valley also. As per schedule of the mass contact programme, Peerzada will also address his supporters at Srinagar on March 1 after which he would hold a mass rally at his home constituency Kokernag on March 3.
Though Peerzada claims that his mass contact programme is aimed to strengthen Congress at grass root level in the state ahead of forthcoming Assembly polls, political observers feel that the whole exercise by the discarded leader is an attempt to regain strength in the party in which he is being ignored completely following his ouster as the PCC chief. Only on last Friday, he was not even allowed to meet Sonia Gandhi during her visit to the State for taking stock of the situation in snow hit areas.
Whether Peerzada would succeed in his attempt or not is uncertain but his programme has of course worried a section of Congressmen, including supporters of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Sources in the Congress disclosed that Peerzada was very annoyed over the "humiliating" treatment meted out to him at Udhampur when he was not allowed to enter airbase to receive UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He had reportedly told his supporters that he would show his power to those who had hatched the conspiracy.
Tejinder Singh Sodhi
Already marred by traffic congestion all the times, roads leading to various localities in the area have become virtually inaccessible due to rampant traffic jams.
"There has been a tremendous increase in the vehicular traffic in the city, almost everyone posses a car now, but the roads in the city haven't been widened for the past more than three decades," said a resident of posh Gandhi Nagar locality of Jammu city.
Though the Roads and Building Department look after the roads in the city, the officials rue unplanned construction in the area responsible for the mess.
"Despite the presence of a full-fledged municipal corporation in the city, unplanned construction is going on unchecked," said an officer of the state R&B Department requesting anonymity.
He said, "The main culprit for such traffic congestions is the unplanned construction around the roads."
According to R&B officials, people who had undertaken such constructions have not left space for extending the roads in the area, resulting in lack of space to widen these roads.
Adding to the problem is the fact that people had also encroached upon a large chunk of government land on which widening of roads could have been done.
"Even the drains haven't been spared and they too have been encroached upon, many a times we approached the MC, to help remove the encroachments, but no steps were taken by them in this regard. The MC blames the Revenue Department for not cooperating with them," said the officer.
Though National Highway Authority of India has undertaken the widening of the national highway in Jammu, no measures have been taken to widen other major roads in the city.
According to official records roads in Jammu city were last widened in the year 1982, since then the city has seen a tremendous rise in the population and the vehicular traffic in the city has increased manifolds; however the vital roads in the area stand neglected. According to traffic department, there are around four lakh vehicles in the Jammu city alone.
"I have been living in the area for the past 40 years, and this road used to connect our area with the national highway, as now the government has diverted the vehicles going towards railways station from this road, since then there are always traffic jams in the area," said Bhushan Mangotra a resident of Green Belt locality of Gandhi Nagar. He said, "Though the traffic on this road has increased by many times, but no steps to widen this stretch have been taken so far."
A Pakistan-trained militant of Hizbul Mujahideen has been arrested at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a joint operation of the police and CRPF, Javid Ahmad Sheikh alias Rizwan was arrested in Pulwama yesterday, a police spokesman said.
Two hand grenades were recovered from his possession.
Rizwan was active in Pulwama district since 2001 and was wanted by the police in many militancy related cases, the spokesman said. The police has registered a case and was questioning him.
Security forces have busted two militant hideouts and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in separate incidents in Ganderbal and Baramulla districts today, a defence spokesman said.
In a joint operation, troops of 13 Rashtriya Rifles and 162 Infantry Battalion launched a search operation in Talarzu area of Ganderbal district.
A Chinese pistol, two magazines, three hand grenades, one under barrel grenade launcher, three AK magazines and 129 rounds of AK ammunition were recovered from there, the spokesman said.
In another incident, troops of 2 Rashtriya Rifles and 163 Infantry Battalion recovered one AK rifle along with its four magazines and 60 rounds, six hand grenades and a radio set from a militant hideout during a search operation in Khor area of Baramulla district. — PTI
The historic Khalsa School in the heart of the city at Magarmal Bagh was gutted in a mysterious fire last evening, official sources said.
Established in early forties by members of the minority Sikh community, under Khalsa Educational Society (KES), has produced doctors, engineers, politicians, and other professionals.
It was one of the few premier institutions, set up in the valley before independence, which remained open for students of all faiths, a spokesman of the KES told UNI.
He said students from different parts of the valley, belonging to Muslim, Pandit, Sikh and other communities were studying in the school.
The spokesman said despite a 17-year-long turmoil, the school was functioning normally and students from all religions were studying.
However, the roll of students has come down to below 500 at present, he said.
He said the next session of the school was to start after winter vacation next month. But the building had suffered more than 85 per cent damage besides the record of the office has also been damaged, he said.
Nothing can be said on the cause of the accident, he said adding that wood was largely used in the construction of the building.
The building suffered extensive damage in the fire, sources added.
A spokesman of the Fire Services said more than a dozen fire tenders from different city stations were rushed to the area to control the leaping flames. — UNI
Shariq Majeed
More than two years after the deadly earthquake brought down the historic Shri Jagat Dev Singh (SJD) library here, the state government has failed to give the books their rightful place. While some of the books continue to remain buried in the debris, many more have been stolen by the locals.
"The books are stolen by the people. Even a writer who claims to write the only history on Poonch and Rajouri regions also managed to steal most of the local original sources on it," said Shoket Mir, local youth leader and social activist. "However, what pains us the most is that some of the invaluable books are still buried under the debris and the department of libraries don't bother to recover them," he added.
He further said while the department has shifted the books to two rooms in the district industries centre, only few readers know about its changed location.
Visitors to this library said it had a good collection of books, including the ones on art, culture, literature, science, and the local and international history. The prominent writers whose books were housed here included famous Urdu writers Krishan Chander, Charag Hassan Hasrat (contemporary of world famous Urdu poet Allam Muhammad Iqbal), historian Muhammad Din Fok and Sufi writers Baba Fareed and Baba Bulle Shah.
Every effort to get the director libraries to respond to the allegations did not materialise, however, a junior officer of the libraries department told The Tribune that the department has asked the district administration to identify the land for construction of new library. He further claimed that department is in the process of providing new books to the library.
Icy winds sweeping parts of the state due to snowfall in mountain ranges since yesterday dipped minimum temperatures in the valley to -0.2° C to -2.7° C.
Official reports said there was no let up in the snowfall in upper reaches of Gulmarg, Khilangmarg, Yousmarg and Pahalgam while torrential rains lashed Kupwara and Kokernag in north and south Kashmir, respectively.
Health resorts of Kokernag and Pahalgam in south Kashmir witnessed cold nights with low temperature of -2.7° C and -1.5° C while Qazigund recorded -0.2° C, Met department said today.
Srinagar recorded a minimum of 1.7° C. Border district of Kupwara recorded highest rainfall of 18.0 mm, the Met office said. — PTI
The plea has placed police officials dealing with the case in a difficult situation as it might come in the way of investigations.
"This is a social problem being observed across Kashmir valley," said SSP, Anantnag, Abdul Ghani Mir. In many cases, bodies had to be exhumed for further investigations at a later stage, the SSP said. He added that recently, the police exhumed a body after many weeks, even when investigations were still underway.
The postmortem of Javed's body was not conducted after his relatives gave in writing and made a video-recorded plea before the police not to do so. His body was recovered from the bank of Arpath nullah at Brakpora. He died of severe cold after he slipped into freezing water, the police said.
There have not been many crime-related deaths in this area of south Kashmir, though "white collar crimes" do take place under the garb of militancy.
On the militancy front, the SSP said the area witnessed the least number of incidents, particularly during the past one year, except for two incidents, the police claimed. There have been no encounters between militants and the security forces in the area for quite sometime, the SSP opined. This reflects upon the least presence of militants in this area of south Kashmir. The presence of militants could be in the peripheral areas as they continue to be on the run. Infiltration is also reported from parts of Doda district of Jammu region, separated from Anantnag district of the Kashmir valley, he added.
Addressing a press conference here recently after participating in the seminar, Manoj Sharma and Yog Raj Padha said, the meet also emphasised the need for healthy public-private participation in the health sector.
A resolution was passed seeking a law to protect the life and property of doctors and charging the culprits with a non-bailable offence for assaulting a doctor or medical personnel performing their duty.
About the arrest of a doctor, another resolution referred to a Supreme Court Bench order presided over by the then Chief Justice of India Justice R.C. Lahoti, which ruled in August 2005 "that a doctor should not be arrested on the basis of a private complaint."
The doctor's cell demanded that in case of major injury or death of a patient, initial enquiry must be done by a class I police officer and the report should be forwarded to a Board comprising of the superintendent of police, the CMHO and a specialist concerned with the type of case.
If the board is satisfied, the case merits charges, only then should a case be registered against a qualified doctor.
Giving a relief to hundreds of candidates, who did not receive their admit cards for the examination of excise and taxation officer and excise instructors, the Jammu and Kashmir State Public Service Commission (JKSPSC), which will hold the examination on Monday, has decided to give provisional admission to all such candidates.
A deputation of such candidates, who have not received their admit card for the examination had approached The Tribune saying they had no formal communication from the commission about the issue.
When contacted, JKSPSC chairman Mohammed Shafi Pandit told The Tribune, "There were some technical reasons why all the candidates who had applied to sit in the examination could not get their admit cards. Many such candidates do not fulfil the eligibility criteria to sit in for the said examination."
He added, "Though some candidates had filed a writ petition and the honourable court had issued some provisional guidelines to allow all such candidates to appear for the examination, we would be allowing them to sit for the same on provisional basis, till any further guidelines come from the court."
However, he said the commission is defending the writ petition in the court, as the candidates who had filed the petition do not fall in the eligibility criteria for the examination.
He said the dates and venues for the examinations stand unchanged.
The University of Kashmir vice-chancellor Professor Riyaz Punjabi has been nominated for the title of "honorary professor" of the International University, Vienna for his contributions in 'strengthening international relations in the sphere of education', according to a media release from Europe Business Assembly (EBA) in Oxford, London.
"The decision of nominating Dr Punjabi symbolises the highest degree of international recommendation of achievements in professional activities," the press release of Europe Business Assembly said.
The vice-chancellor, according to the Kashmir University spokesman, has been invited to attend International Socrates Award Ceremony from March 16 to 18 at Oxford. The title would be awarded to Dr Punjabi in XLII gala award ceremony on March 17.
One of the worlds largest tulip gardens "Siraj Bagh" on 600 kanals of land is coming up at the foothills of Zabarwan, overlooking the famed Dal Lake.
As many as 12 lakh tulip bulbs would be ready by the first week of April in the garden, which would be one of the major attractions for the tourists in the summer capital.
The authorities have plans to develop it as an all season garden. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who visited the garden for the second time in less than a week, directed the authorities for levelling various sections of the tulip garden and maintaining the ornamental trees.
An official handout issued here said Azad, during the visit, asked for completing the work within one month before the garden is thrown open for visitors.
He also suggested for preparing sitting place in the centre of the garden for the entertainment of the visitors, which would add another attraction for them. — UNI
"We came here for the wedding ceremony of our daughter and staying with one of our relatives," girl's father Roop Krishan told newspersons. He said his daughter had met Ajay Razdan, resident of Janipur area here, in Delhi.
"At the eleventh hour, the groom demanded a car in dowry and refused to marry unless his demand was met," Krishan said. — UNI
The Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir police has filed two challans in a local court against a cashier of State Forest Corporation (SFC) and a student in the valley.
A Crime Branch spokesman said they received information that a cashier of SFC Syed Abid Hussain Qadiri has indulged in corrupt practices by using his official position.
He said in another chargesheet, a girl student Shagufta has submitted a fake class 11th certificate for getting admission to 12th class.
During the investigation it was revealed that the certificate produced was fake, he added. — UNI
Naaz had not paid rent of a municipal quarter allotted in his name in Jammu for past several years and had failed to clear the huge arrears pending against him despite being served seven notices by the Jammu Municipal Corporation, in past six months, officials said, adding the quarter was sealed.
JMC commissioner Vinod Sharma had lodged a complaint with the police against Naaz. — PTI


Founded in 1972 by a group of local artists, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) is one of Colorado's premier venues for the exploration of contemporary art. BMoCA provides enriching experiences for nearly 30,000 regional, national, and international visitors annually through innovative exhibitions and engaging programs for all audiences. In 1976 the organization moved to its current location in downtown Boulder, a 1906 historic landmark building that once served as a warehouse..
The Scintilla Foundation envisions a world in which people live in harmony with the planet; calling forth personal integrity and collective creative response through inspirational leadership, balanced ecosystems, preservation of biodiversity, and cultural diversity- all the while holding a place for future generations through our heartfelt, philanthropic actions.
The NoBo Art District is an inclusive, grassroots, community-focused organization dedicated to promoting artists and creative businesses located along Broadway and the adjoining neighborhoods in north Boulder, Colorado. The NoBo area is characterized by upscale, mixed-use new urbanism, high-end restaurants and shops, and a mix of funky, artist-friendly warehouses.The NoBo Art District creates opportunities for artists to connect with each other and the broader community promoting engagement through art, education and events. To read about the history of NoBo Art District and its founders please visit our FAQS page.


Brought to you by the REI Boathouse.
Pre-registration is required and this event may sell out.
One of the more magical times to explore the outdoors is on the night of the full moon. Join us for a night hike at a local park and experience nature in a different perspective by the light of the full moon! We'll hike by headlamp over easy to moderate terrain to a scenic outdoor spot. There we'll set up "Full Moon Basecamp" with hot cocoa or another classic trail beverage and some "trail tapas" for you to enjoy. All you need is a sense of adventure and your hiking shoes! Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a participating parent or responsible adult.


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Both People Who Filled Out Census Were 38 Year-Old Women, ABS Confirms
The two women who managed to get onto the census website before it crashed were 38 year old mothers of two, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed.
Releasing its profile of the 'typical' Australian today, based on the 2016 census data, the ABS said a very clear picture emerged. "The average Australian today is 38, female, has two cars, two kids, and is a smoker half of the time," an ABS spokesperson told media.
"50% of Australians are called Deborah; 50% are called Jenny," he said.
But while that profile holds for Australians as a whole, by state, a very different picture emerges. "Everyone in Victoria is called Jenny, whereas in New South Wales, no-one is," the spokesperson said. Deborah is the most popular name in New South Wales.
The ABS said that other states don't have people – a sizeable drop since the 2011 census.


Nicholas St John Rosse was born in 1945 in Hampstead, London, educated at University College School Hampstead, and studied Life Drawing at Burgh House. In the early 60s he moved to Italy to study at the Scuola del Nudo of the Florence Academy. He was also lucky enough to study in the studio of Pietro Annigoni.
He spent some time in Spain, before moving back to England in 1966, painting life and portraits at Heatherley's. Through the 1970s he exhibited extensively in London and the provinces, before moving to Cornwall with his family in 1981. He ran residential painting courses for a number of years, while continuing to exhibit in regular one-man and group shows.
He was made a full member of the RSMA in 2012, and became governor for the RSMA on the FBA board in 2014.
Though I paint a wide range of subject matter, most of my paintings are centered around the human figure and in recent years use beach settings, in particular at the water's edge. I like to find ways in which the figure can relate to water and sand both in reality and pictorially. The visual fusion of water, sand and rock enveloping people fascinates me, and I try to use these elements as an extension of the model's mood.
I paint in oil, though in the past I have used a variety of different media including egg tempera. For my beach compositions, ideas come from sketches and colour studies done in situ on the beach. These can be used directly to make paintings in the studio, or they can be the stimulus to produce more detailed drawings or paintings from models posed in the studio or outside, which then find their way into the final composition. I am constantly seeking new means of gathering studies in pencil or paint near the water in changing and challenging conditions of the weather and tide. When necessary, I will take photos. Sometimes, I will work entirely from imagination or memory.


If you would like me to speak at your local group or event, please get in touch!
09/11/2011 Chiltern Humanists @ Amersham Village Hall. Topic: Camp Quest UK.
11/10/2011 Nottingham Skeptics in the Pub. Topic: Camp Quest and its educational values.
08/09/2011 Denkfest @ the Volkshaus in Zürich. Topic: Camp Quest and secular education.