Maya Blue Paint Recipe Deciphered

The ancient Maya used a vivid, remarkably durable blue paint to cover their palace walls, codices, pottery and maybe even the bodies of human sacrifices who were thrown to their deaths down sacred wells. Now a group of chemists claim to have cracked the recipe of Maya Blue.
Scientists have long known the two chief ingredients of the intense blue pigment: indigo, a plant dye that's used today to color denim; and palygorskite, a type of clay. But how the Maya cooked up the unfading paint remained a mystery. Now Spanish researchers report that they found traces of another pigment in Maya Blue, which they say gives clues about how the color was made.

Pluto’s ‘gate to hell’ discovered in Turkey

Italian archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient mythological cave in Turkey, believed to be the “gate to hell” emitting fatal carbon fumes. Described as Pluto’s Gate, the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition.
Historians located the site in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now Pamukkale, describing the opening as filled with lethal mephitic vapours, the ‘Discovery News’ reported.

“This space is full of a vapour so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death,” Greek geographer Strabo, who lived between 64/63 BC -about 24 AD, wrote.
“I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell,” he added.
The finding was made by a team led by Francesco D’Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento, who conducted extensive archaeological research at the World Heritage Site of Hierapolis.
“We found the Plutonium by reconstructing the route of a thermal spring. Indeed, Pamukkale’ springs, which produce the famous white travertine terraces originate from this cave,” D’Andria said.
Deccan Herald
“People could watch the sacred rites from these steps, but they could not get to the area near the opening. Only the priests could stand in front of the portal,” D’Andria said.
Small birds were given to pilgrims to test the deadly effects of the cave, while hallucinated priests sacrificed bulls to Pluto, he said.
The ceremony included leading the animals into the cave, and dragging them out dead.
“We could see the cave’s lethal properties during the excavation. Several birds died as they tried to get close to the warm opening, instantly killed by the carbon dioxide fumes,” D’Andria said.
Only the eunuchs of Cybele, an ancient fertility goddess, were able to enter the hell gate without any apparent damage, the report said.
“They hold their breath as much as they can,” Strabo wrote, adding that their immunity could have been due to their “menomation”, “divine providence” or “certain physical powers that are antidotes against the vapour”.
D’Andria said the site was fully functional until 4th century AD, and occasionally visited during the following two centuries.

Psy’s new song features take on Korean dance

  South Korean rapper Psy is promising a “Psy style” take on a traditional Korean dance to accompany the release next week of the highly-anticipated follow-up to his global hit “Gangnam Style”. The new single, titled “Gentleman”, comes out on April 12, and the 35-year-old star will promote it with a special concert the next day in the South Korean capital Seoul. “I’ve been working and reworking on it continuously and I think the latest version will be the final one,” Psy told a local TV news programme on Monday.
“This is another very rousing song. Its title is ‘Gentleman’. The dance is one known to all Koreans but new to foreigners. This will be presented in Psy style,” he said.
After the Seoul concert, he will embark on a gruelling tour schedule of Europe and Asia in May and June.
Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-Sang, soared to global stardom after “Gangnam Style” -- a satire of luxurious lifestyles in an affluent Seoul district -- went viral on YouTube and topped charts worldwide.
                                                       

US deploys destroyer off Korean peninsula

SOUTH KOREA: The United States has placed a destroyer off the South Korean coast to defend against a possible missile strike, the latest in a series of publicised US deployments to counter North Korean threats.
The USS Fitzgerald was moved to the southwestern coast after taking part in annual military exercises, instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a US defence official told AFP Monday on condition of anonymity.

The deployment came hours after a gathering of North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament adopted a law formalising the country's status as a nuclear weapons state.
The Korean peninsula has been caught in a cycle of escalating tensions since the North launched a long-range rocket in December and followed it with a nuclear test in February.
Subsequent UN sanctions and annual South Korea-US military exercises have been used by Pyongyang to justify a wave of increasingly dire threats against Seoul and Washington, including warnings of missile strikes and nuclear war.

North Korea issues fresh threat to U.S., South probes hacking

North Korea said it would attack U.S. military bases on Japan and the Pacific island of Guam if provoked, a day after leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a mock drone strike on South Korea.

The North also held an air raid drill on Thursday after accusing the United States of preparing a military strike using bombers that have overflown the Korean peninsula as part of drills between South Korean and U.S. forces.



North Korea has stepped up its rhetoric in response to what it calls "hostile" drills between South Korea and the United States. It has also been angered by the imposition of fresh U.N. sanctions that followed its February 12 nuclear test.

Separately, South Korea said a hacking attack on the servers of local broadcasters and banks on Wednesday originated from an IP address in China, raising suspicions the intrusion came from North Korea.

"The United States is advised not to forget that our precision target tools have within their range the Anderson Air Force base on Guam where the B-52 takes off, as well as the Japanese mainland where nuclear powered submarines are deployed and the navy bases on Okinawa," the North's supreme military command spokesman was quoted as saying by the KCNA news agency.

Japan and U.S. Pacific bases are in range of Pyongyang's medium-range missiles.

It is not known if North Korea possesses drones, although a report on South Korea's Yonhap news agency last year said it had obtained 1970s-era U.S. target drones from Syria to develop into attack drones.

"The (drone) planes were assigned the flight route and time with the targets in South Korea in mind, Kim Jong-un said, adding with great satisfaction that they were proved to be able to mount (a) super-precision attack on any enemy targets," KCNA reported.

It is extremely rare for KCNA to specify the day on which Kim attended a drill. It also said a rocket defense unit had successfully shot down a target that mimicked an "enemy" Tomahawk cruise missile.

North Korea has said it has abrogated an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War and threatened a nuclear attack on the United States.

Although North Korea lacks the technology to carry out such an attack, Washington said it would deploy more anti-missile batteries in Alaska to counter any threat.

PYONGYANG HAS HACKED SOUTH KOREA BEFORE

The hacking attack brought down the servers of South Korean broadcasters YTN, MBC and KBS as well as two major commercial banks, Shinhan Bank and NongHyup Bank.

South Korean communications regulators said the attack originated from an IP address based in China.

An unnamed official from South Korea's presidential office was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying the discovery of the Chinese IP address indicated Pyongyang was responsible.

Investigations of past hacking incidents on South Korean organizations have been traced to Pyongyang's large army of computer engineers trained to infiltrate the South's computer networks.

At least one previous attack was traced to a Chinese IP address.

South Korea's defense ministry said it was too early to blame the North but said such a cyber capability was a key part of its arsenal. Experts say thousands of North Korean engineers may have been recruited for the purpose.

"Throughout the world, states that create cyber warfare and engage in those types of activities are precisely the same countries that develop nuclear weapons," Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.

"North Korea has strongly stepped up development of asymmetrical strategy with nuclear development and many types of ballistic missiles as well as a special forces of 200,000 strong."

Euro $ falls in BRICS countries due to conflicts among the European banks

In countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS group are attempting to sell the Euro dollar for a lesser figure. Statistics reveal that in the year 2012 Euro dollars 45 billion had been sold for a lesser amount.
From the total of the aggregate of the Euro dollars in their possession 24% is in the form of Euro dollars. This is the lowest amount since the introduction of the Euro dollar since its inception in the year 2002. When globally it is considered it has come down owing to various reasons.
There is a conflict about debts in the BRICS countries which are fast developing. Last week between China and Brazil a dollar transaction of 30 million dollars has taken place. In this regard they have signed the necessary agreements. It is also learnt that the Chinese currency ’renbinb’ is becoming stronger.

The Euro dollar is used as the common currency in 17 countries. Hence there is no threat for the Euro dollar against the US dollar. It is learnt that countries like Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus who are economically that sound also want to use the euro dollar instead of the US dollar to be with the other 17 countries who use the Euro dollar.

House maids in Brazil get their rights

House maids in Brazil will have the same rights as other employees in the state and private sector according to a new law passed in Brazilian senate. Among other rights, they will be also entitled to overtime after working for a maximum of eight hours a day and 44 hours a week.
Brazil has an estimated 7million house maids and cooks – nearly all of them women. Many middle-class Brazilian families have been used to having a maid to cook, clean and wash for them.

In recent years, their rights have been gradually revised to include paid holidays, sick leave and maternity leave. The new rights have been called historic and widely welcomed in Brazil.
However, the reform could increase the cost of having a domestic worker by nearly 20%.

A school in Myanmar catches fire

A school in the city of Yangoon in Myanmar catches fire
Foreign reports reveal that a school in Yangoor city in Myanmar had caught fire. It is learnt that 13 students had died of burns.
The Police reports reveal that the cause had been owing to short circuit in the electrical wiring system in the school building.
Some others it is learnt had sustained burn injuries. The Myanmar Police are conducting investigations into this incident. A committee had also been appointed to probe into the matter by the Myanmar authorities.

Russia warns Korea

The Russian Foreign Minister Surgai Laveroi has emphasised that for any reason no country should complete on having a war. The tensed situation according to him has to be diffused.
The North Korea had disclosed that two American war planes had flown over the Korean territories. These planes are said to possess nuclear power.
In this context the neighbouring countries like China is also warned to stay calm.

Bangalore Police deploys a new strategy to have Police ‘cut outs’ on the sides of the roads

Bangalore Police has deployed a strategy of having ‘cut outs’ with pictures of Policemen on the sides of the roads to give a warning to motorists to drive carefully.
In order to frighten the motorists of reckless driving the Bangalore Police has deployed a new strategy by having erected ‘cut outs’ prominently with pictures of Policemen for the motorists to see and to get frightened. This may lead to a feeling in the subconscious minds of the motorists to drive with more care and to take safety measures.

This ploy is to make an effort to reduce road mishaps. In India the people who own vehicles are very fewer. The laws too are not that stringent. However the tally of deaths owing to accidents is high in India. This owes mainly to incompetency of the drivers and the conditions of the roads. India has been found to be the country where most accidents take place.
The Commissioner of Police in Bangalore M.A.Saleem had quipped that the drivers try not to make traffic mistakes as they are watched carefully by the traffic police and to get prevented by been arrested for traffic offences.

Vacancies exist in an institution in UK to cry for a wage at funeral houses.

Vacancies exist in UK to weep and cry at funeral houses for ladies  called Molrologists
For the British people if they feel that they do have enough relatives to cry and weep at funeral houses to show those who come to sympathise has now found a method. This type of profession first started in the Middle East and china and it it has now spread to UK also.
The charge those who are in this profession is sterling ponds 45 for two hours. They not only cry and weep but also are prepared to speak to the relatives and friends of the deceased to console them by speaking with them.
Those who cry for a wage is called the MOLROLOGISTS are given training in the field by an institution. They are briefed about the dead persons details before they embark on the job exercise. They pretend as they have been very close to the dead person.