THE DUNKIRK MIRACLE

During the 2nd world war several thousand allied soldiers, mostly British, were trapped by the Germans at a French coast called Dunkirk.

All escape routes were sealed off. The sea escape route was impossible as the German submarines and war ships were heavily guarding it.

The Germans were closing in from all other directions and a bloody massacre was expected the next day. No one was expected to live.

The British PM, Winston Churchill told the nation, "There is only one hope. Let's all pray for them."

Throughout that day and night the whole of Britain prayed for them. Special masses and prayers were conducted in every church.

That night, suddenly, there was a heavy and dense fog. It was totally the wrong season for fog and it never happened before. Under the cover of the heavy fog, the British ships crossed the French channel as the German subs and war ships could not detect them in the fog and rescued each and every one of the soldiers.

As soon as the ships returned home, the fog vanished.

How and why the heavy fog formed and vanished is still one of the biggest meteorological mysteries.

INS Tabar takes on Somali pirates

The Indian Navy has proved its mettle once again. Sent to weed out the sea pirate menace in the Gulf of Aden, the naval warship INS Tabar sank a pirate 'mother ship' after a fierce gunbattle.
Ever since its arrival on the Gulf of Aden, INS Tabar has successfully escorted 35 ships, including a number of foreign-flagged vessels, safely during their transit through pirate-infested waters in the region and also prevented two hijacking attempts on November 11.

The first time the INS Tabar encountered pirates was on November 11.
In a swift action, warship INS Tabar intervened to thwart two near-simultaneous attacks by pirates on an Indian cargo vessel MV Jag Arnav and a Saudi flag carrier MV NCC Thihama within 25 nautical miles of each other.
The Indian warship received an SOS from the Saudi ship at around 1000 hours after a group of pirates surrounded it. Marine commandos on board the INS Tabar flew out in an armed helicopter and launched an assault on the attackers, who were in five speed boats, forcing them to flee.

Even as this operation was on, the warship received a panic call from MV Jag Arnav, a merchant vessel owned by Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company, with about 20 crew members on board.
The INS Tabar, sent 'an armed helicopter with marine commandos...' to intervene and prevent the hijacking, the Indian Navy said. After having valiantly fought the pirates, INS Tabar will soon be back home following the central government's decision to send a larger warship into the region. Media reports said a Delhi class destroyer, INS Mysore, will replace INS Tabar in the Gulf of Aden.
The 6,900-ton Delhi class destroyers are the largest indigenously built warships till date and pack more fire power than frigates. INS Mysore carries on board two Sea King helicopters, along with a Cheetah or a Chetak, and stock 16 Uran missiles, 100mm AK 100 Gun, four multi-barrel 30mm AK 630 gun.
The presence of the destroyer in the pirate-infested region of Arabian Sea will strengthen India's efforts to demonstrate its military power against the sea brigands, sources said.

Who is Obama?

Know about the New American President Barack Obama.

Visit the following website to know some interesting details about him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

Video games don't boost brainpower, claims study

A new study challenges claims made by previous researches that video games help boost memory power and multitasking ability.
The research team led by researchers from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign showed that playing video games doesn't improve cognitive skills.
They found no improvement in memory skills or the ability to multitask after kids spent more than 20 hours on one of three video games.
The researchers claim that while a few hours playing an action game could improve concentration, but its not enough for other cognitive skills.
"Perhaps individuals with superior abilities are more likely to choose video gaming as an activity in the first place," New Scientist quoted Boot, as saying.

My Poem

This month's Poem in Thannambikai Magazine.
It deals with the topic, 'Qualities of Youth?'
Post your precious comments!

-Bala