The Freedom Tower

Building blues

You?d think that the World Trade Center disaster site had had its fair share of controversy. But Freedom Tower, the building to come up at the spot of the 9/11 tragedy, is in the news for all the wrong reasons. A former Yale University student, Thomas Shine, has sued the designers of the tower, David Childs and another architectural firm, saying that the blueprint of the building is strikingly similar to one of his own designs. Shine had prepared his design for a Manhattan building for the 2012 Olympic Games which Childs had apparently seen in Yale. The cornerstone of the tower was laid this July 4, but from the look of things it seems that it will take a while for the work to progress.

 

she’s got more up her sleeve than just regular countdown shows. Suchitra Pillai has hitched up with French singer Zazie for a new music video where she’ll appear dressed as Meena Kumari. Dating ourselves a bit, aren’t we?

Not a bird, not a plane

Rather it?s a flying taxi. And commuters from Heathrow could soon be using it to travel to central London in just a few minutes. The British vehicle, named Jetpod, will require a strip just 400 ft long to land and take off. With seating arrangements for five passengers and over-wing engines to keep out the noise, each cab will take roughly ?550,000 to build. What?s more, fares will be as little as ?40 ? not much higher than a conventional London black cab ? for the ride which will cut down travelling time to about two to three minutes. Since the cab can make numerous trips, Jetpod will be ideal for rushed commuters. With flight tests planned in the next 18 months, you could soon zip, zap, zoom across London.

lshe?s got more up her sleeve than just regular countdown shows. Suchitra Pillai has hitched up with French singer Zazie for a new music video where she?ll appear dressed as Meena Kumari. Dating ourselves a bit, aren?t we?

 

Tome of wonders

Don?t mull over the name, just listen to the feat. Croatian author Hrvoje Sosic has just finished putting finishing touches to his book on the life of former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. In the process, the tome has become the biggest book ever written. It has 3,604 pages and weighs about 12 kilos. Incidentally, Tudjman was the leader who had guided Croatia to independence in 1991.

 

No more jogging

Fitness funda

There?s a new wonder drug on the shelf ? it not only helps you to lose weight, but also to quit smoking. Acomplia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical powerhouse Sanofi Aventis, has shown these results after it was tested on over 3,000 people in the US and Canada. The drug apparently blocks the ?pleasure centre? of the brain which creates craving for food in the minds of compulsive eaters. And in case you wanted to know, the study was funded by Sanofi Aventis itself.

 

AWARD OF THE WEEK

Goes to the 71 children who will receive the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievements for the year 2002 and 2003. The awards will be handed over by HRD minister Arjun SIngh on the occasion of Children?s Day.