PLA releases hip-hop video to attract youth

Beijing: In a bid to attract educated youths to the world’s largest army, China’s People’s Liberation Army has released its first rap-style hip-hop music video filled with masculine lyrics and images of advanced weaponry, styling itself on par with the US military. PLA, the world's biggest army with 23 lakh personnel, enjoys the second highest defence budget of over $146 billion, only second to that of America's $534 billion. PTI

World’s smallest engine developed

London: Scientists have developed the world's tiniest engine — just a few billionths of a metre in size - which is powered by light and may help develop nano-machines that can navigate in water, sense the environment around them, or even enter living cells to fight disease. The prototype device is made of tiny charged particles of gold, bound together with temperature-responsive polymers in the form of a gel. When the 'nano-engine' is heated to a certain temperature with a laser, it stores large amounts of elastic energy in a fraction of a second, as the polymer coatings expel all the water from the gel and collapse. PTI

UK’s phone boxes to be turned into mini-offices

New York: A former venture capitalist is planning to restore the former glory of Britain’s famous red telephone boxes by turning some of them into mini-offices for on-the-go workers. Jonathan Black, chief executive of New York City-based Bar Works Inc, said his company was refitting phone booths in five British cities with 25-inch screens, scanners, printers, a wireless mouse and WiFi connection — as well as free coffee. Though their original purpose has all but disappeared with the advent of mobile phones, the classic red phone box, designed in the 1920s, was voted the greatest British design of all time in a survey last year.  reuters

Pentagon celebrates Baisakhi for third year

Washington: The Pentagon has observed the annual Baisakhi festival for the third consecutive year, indicating that the US Defense Department “places high value on supporting free exercise of religion of its personnel”. “We are honoured to celebrate Baisakhi here at the Pentagon, which is not only the birthday of the Sikh religion, but also the day that Guru Gobind Singh set us on the path to be Sikh soldiers and warriors," said Major Kamal Kalsi, one of the few Sikhs who have been allowed to serve in the US armed forces with his religious symbols intact. Petty Officer Guldeep Kaur Sindhu, who has served on active duty on the US Navy for six years, was the main speaker. PTI