West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) Smart Cards are a convenient way for commuters to pay fares of buses, trams and ferries. These cards are available from the Point of Sales (POS) counters located in the bus depots and termini in and around the city The Smart Cards can be recharged at a POS by paying cash They can also be recharged online by visiting the online platform onlinerecharge.wbtc.co.in This appears to be the more...

‘Let us make a clean sweep of the past’ has been the watchword of every totalitarian ruler who aims to eradicate all traces of history. By deciding to transform the former Byzantine structure of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque, the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated president has sent a clear signal to the world: Islam is on the march, nothing will stop it. To justify the Islamization of Hagia Sophia, Erdogan attacks those who do not...

The question of eating only plant food is still debated, in particular because of the risks of deficiencies it causes. As vitamin B12, an essential nutrient, is mainly found in proteins of animal origin, i.e., meat, fish, milk and eggs, questions are raised as to whether a vegetarian or vegan diet can provide complete nourishment. If not, is taking dietary supplements the only solution? What is vitamin B12? Vitamin B12 belongs to the family of...

Tibet has tended to disappear from the media for some time now. The Covid-19 pandemic has relegated the plight of the Tibetans to the background and has turned our attention to China, and to Wuhan in particular, which has become as famous as Beijing or Shanghai. One would have thought that the Chinese President Xi Jinping would remain busy solving the terrible crisis created by this virus, which has now spread around the world. But, while the...

The genetic identity of a new virus has never been deciphered so quickly. On 29 December 2019, the first cases of an epidemic caused by a new virus were made public in China; seven days later, a team from Fudan University in Shanghai released the complete sequence of the CoV family of viruses. Since then, the sequencing of its variants has accumulated on the nextstrain.org site with more than 146 identifications by teams from 20 countries....