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forbes NASA officials hoped an opening in the cloud cover would allow space shuttle Discovery to lift off Thursday for the first night launch in four years, starting a complex mission to rewire the international space station.Despite just a 40 percent chance of favorable weather at the 9:35 p.m. EST launch time, Discovery’s seven astronauts donned their orange spacesuits and strapped into the shuttle. Earlier in the afternoon, the astronauts - five of whom are going to space for the first time - toasted each other with water at a pre-launch meal.

Astronaut Sunita Williams, who will live at the space station for six months, seemed especially excited. While her crew mates suited up, she jokingly did bodybuilder muscle poses for the camera and waved a “Go Red Sox” sign before boarding the shuttle.

Indian Express THE International Society for Krishna Consciousness, popularly known as ISKCON, has always been a divine abode for spiritual causes. Over the years, it has also successfully managed to build a devotional community that treats all visitors as a single family.

And now, ISKCON will be building a landmark temple in Kondhwa. The four-acre temple complete with meditation and prayer hall, a Balaji temple, a cultural university, restaurant and guesthouse, will also have the Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education (VOICE).

And it sure promises to be an experience for ardent devotees: The restaurant, for instance, will offer lacto-vegetarian fare in a jubilant devotional setting. The guesthouse will be a comfortable spiritual retreat within the temple premises. In addition to this, there will also be a Diorama exhibition that will exhibit sacred scriptures through a three-dimensional display. There will also be a Prasadam Hall that will have the capacity to accommodate thousands of devotees for Krishna-Prasad on Sundays and festivals.

Indian Express A DAY after the Bombay High Court directed the Pune Municipal Corporation to set up a mechanism to launch a crackdown against illegal constructions in the city, City Engineer Prashant Waghmare remained non committal about the course of action the civic body was planning be take. “After studying the order, it would be discussed with the Municipal Commissioner and only then an action plan can be prepared,’’ he said.
PMC’s legal advisor Ravindra Thorat said the civic administration has already sent a junior engineer to collect the copy of the judgement from Mumbai. “We expect to receive the copy by Thursday,’’ he said. The order was issued on a petition filed by Madhukar Phatak.

Indian Express THE flyovers at Agriculture College chowk and E-Square on Ganeshkhind Road under the Integrated Road Development Project (IRDP) of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) would be inaugurated on December 12 by Energy Minister Dilip Walse Patil and Water Resource Minister Ajit Pawar. A press communiqué issued by MSRDC chairman and Public Works Department Minister Anil Deshmukh said that the two flyovers on Ganeshkhind Road would be formally inaugurated on December 12. The Rs 4.85 crore flyover at E-Square is 346-metre long, 8.5-metre wide and 4.5-metre high. It is two-laned and is open to traffic towards Shivajinagar. The Rs 8.3-crore Agriculture College chowk flyover is 16.4 metre wide and 347-metre long with six blocks of 35.5 metre width. This flyover is four-laned with two-way traffic.

Indian Express Ajit Abhyankar, president, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Thursday said workers, all major organisations and trade unions in the district would go on a day-long strike on December 14 in response to the nation-wide industrial strike call given by various organizations. He said organisations intending to participate in the strike include city units of the CITU, AITUC, MSEB Workers Unions, Pune Municipal Corporation workers’ union and a number of other independent trade unions.

Indian Express THE Pune Traffic and Transportation Forum (PTTF) on Thursday kickstarted its save Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) campaign by initiating an opinion poll of PMT commuters. The PTTF volunteers will stand at 26 bus stops across the city and ask commuters for their opinions on the frequency of buses and their conditions, bus routes, conditions of bus termini, depots and bus stops and display of routes on buses. PTTF President Maj Gen SCN Jathar (retd) said that after the survey, the PTTF would come up with a declaration and its copies would be given to political parties, PMT management and the civic administration.

Indian Express Roads, water and garbage are big worries for people in the eastern areas of the city like Wanavdi, Kondhwa and Salunke Vihar where new settlements are exerting pressure on the existing civic amenities. The gaothan areas of Hadapsar, Mohammedwadi, Kale Padal and Sayyed Nagar are stuck in the no development stage. Hadapsar, despite its landmark—Magarpatta, has pockets that development has left untouched. While residents are happy with water supply and proper drainage, road conditions bring frowns. Uttam Ghule from Mohamedwadi said the residents have been demanding a shorter route to Pulgate via Azadnagar for years. “We can reach Pulgate in ten minutes if the road is paved but we now have to take a longer route from Solapur Road,’’ he said.

Garbage on the roadside is Salisbury Park’s headache. Housewife Aarti Sethia said even though most societies have their own disposal system, littering is common.

NIBM Road suffers from parking problems. “Traffic problems are increasing and it is difficult to walk on the road,’’ said Iqbal Shaikh. “The need of the hour is alternate parking on the roadsides,’’ said Prakash Deshpande.