Nayan: A batch of 16 fishermen from Rameswaram was allegedly attacked by Sri Lankan Navy on the high seas. The attack has come despite Sri Lankan assurances during the recently concluded SARRC summit in Colombo that Indian fishermen would not be harmed by the navy. Reports said that a group of 600 mechanised boats from Rameswaram and near-by areas ventured into the sea on Saturday. When they were fishing off Katchatheevu, a flotilla of forty Sri Lankan boats emerged on the scene.

Nayan: The Hong Kong tourism board has stepped up campaign to woo more number of Indian visitors. It hopes that the sophisticated malls and numerous other attractions would be big draws. The board has unveiled a plethora of offers to allure tourists. Kick-starting the Summer Temptations 2008 recently, the board provided the 'Visa one million dollar travel bonanza' lucky draw and also the 'explore Hong Kong stamp rally,' which encourages the visitors to take a cultural trip around the city. The trip showcases Hong Kong's unique culture and it could be discovered by playing the fun stamp rally game. The stunning and sophisticated malls and department stores promise hours of shopping delight, board officials said.   The Summer Temptations include entertaining shows and exhibitions to enliven the Hong Kong shopping experience. The authorities anticipate a huge crowd for the Summer Temptations festival, which comes to an end on September 21.

Nayan: The tourists are back in Ooty. After nearly two months, Tamil Nadu's premier hill station has been flooded with tourists since Thursday evening, taking advantage of the extended weekend as a result of the Independence Day holiday.  All the major tourist spots like Botanical Garden, Boat House, Rose Park and Dodabetta Peak are over-crowded with tourists from various parts of the country.  The travel and tourism industry is happy with the increase in the tourist inflow which had dipped when the south west monsoon revived bringing heavy rain to Nilgiris district. Bhaskar, horticulture officer at the Botanical Garden,: "On Friday, 9528 tourists visited the garden...

Nayan: While AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa promised free computers in response to the DMK's election promise of free colour TVs, DMDK president Vijayakanth has actually taken computers to the people free of cost. Six hundred computers packed in boxes pasted with Vijayakanth's pictures were handed over to his party's district functionaries. The PCs will be set up in 57 Captain Free computer training centres being established throughout the state to train students in computer skills.

Nayan: When it comes to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam founder C.N. Annadurai there is no dearth of claimants to his political legacy. The DMK says it visually by imposing the face of its leader Karunanidhi after Anna's and Periyar's on its posters and banners. The AIADMK stakes its ownership of Anna by arguing that it was the world's first political party to put a leader's picture on its flag. And also append his name with that of the party's. The MDMK has no such visible symbols but its leader Vaiko models himself after Anna's oratorical skills capable of speaking fluently in English and Tamil.

Nayan: Many of Chennai's grand old buildings that were silent witnesses to the freedom struggle and subsequent dawn of independence are now in ruins or in slow decay, neglected by succeeding generations. It took the high court to stop that hammer coming down on Gokhale Hall where Gopalkrishna Gokhale had made a stirring speech. The greed of development and quick money saw this heritage and historic structure being slated for demolition.

Nayan: Many mothers have demanded that the Metropolitan Transport Corporation ply special buses for school children during peak hours. The MTC covers all routes in the city and have introduced many hi-tech buses. But school children have not got a fair deal so far, said Kanchana Manavalan, mother of two school going children. Affluent parents send their wards in cars but this is only adding to the woes of the city traffic," said Ms Manavalan. Had there been more buses during peak hours, she herself would have dumped her car for a bus, Ms Kanchana Manavalan admitted.  Shamim, a Kotturpuram resident, said that there were many routes in Chennai not connected by the MTC bus service. How can you send your children in routes where they have to change buses? asks Ms Shamim

Nayan: Santhosh George Kulangara, the country's first civilian space tourist has become a full-fledged astronaut. "The two week programme at the National Aerospace Training and Research Centre (NASTAR) in Pennsylvania in the USA was to make me familiar with the tremendous fluctuations in gravity that occur while entering  space and re-entering earth's atmosphere," said Mr Kulangara, who is back at his home near Pala in Kerala.  Virgin Galactic, world's first space liner, has selected Mr Kulangara for their first ever space jaunt. The company recently unveiled the mother ship 'White Knight II', the reusable launch vehicle for putting into orbit the spacecraft in which Mr Kulangara and other tourists will take to space.

Nayan: With each passing day, the investigation into the serial killings of watchmen and pavement dwellers in and around Vadapalani is dredging up more and more chilling details of the 'gang of seven' accused of the murders.  The police have nabbed four of the seven accused so far, three are still at large. Two persons, Subbu and Rajesh, were arrested. Two more have been detained and are likely to be formally arrested on   Sunday, senior police officials said. The police claimed that the same gang was behind the murder of a rag picker Mani, who was found dead with head injuries on July 13 near the SRMC College at Porur. Three of Mani's friends survived the assault by the 'psycho' gang.

Nayan: The Chennai based Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) will undertake a major study in association with Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to draw a roadmap for plastic waste management and recycling units. "Thousands of jobs could be created all over the country if plastic recycling is done scientifically," said an official spokesman of the CIPET.

Nayan: The shortage of school teachers could get worse in the coming years going by the steep fall in the enrolment of students at the teacher-training institutions across Tamil Nadu, amid reports that teaching as a career is fast losing its sheen. At least a fourth of the 43,000-odd seats in the nearly 765-odd teacher-training institutes (TTIs) in the state are lying vacant, according to school education department sources.

Nayan: With the entire nation fiercely debating the Bombay High Court's rejection of Nikita Mehta's plea for the abortion of her  baby, Chennai doctors have strong opinions against the verdict. After the 20th week, the feotus technically becomes a live being, it's a baby that can survive if delivered. It is not a question of abortion anymore; it is more on the lines of mercy killing, which is a very sensitive issue, so doctors are reluctant to perform the surgery," explains Dr Sharadha Suresh, director, Institute of Child Health. Whether it is fair to the legal guardians of the baby, or the child himself, to bring him into the world with a serious heart defect, is a different question. She adds. Abnormalities or serious developmental problems can be detected in the 16th week, through ultrasounds and scans.

Nayan: The days are numbered for shaky movies played off compact discs in buses. The state government proposes to utilise the hi-tech wireless Internet service to download movies from a centralized server placed at the transport corporation's headquarters to the set top box placed in the moving bus for higher quality pictures and better films.  Speaking to Media, a senior transport department official said the system to be introduced in 10,000 buses would be a first of its kind in the country. He said the process is in a preliminary stage and that a tender would be floated soon for the installation.