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‘Steering blunder sunk Titanic’ Pak ISI fails to account for Rs 5.55 billion
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‘Steering blunder sunk Titanic’
By the time the catastrophic error was corrected it was too late and the iceberg fatally holed the side of the ship. Even then the passengers and crew could have been saved if it had stayed put instead of steaming off again and causing water to pour into the broken hull. The revelation, which comes out almost 100 years after the disaster, was kept secret until now by the family of the most senior officer to survive the disaster. Second Officer Charles Lightoller covered up the error in two inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic because he was worried it would bankrupt the liner's owners and put his colleagues out of job. Since his death, by then a war hero from the Dunkirk evacuation, it has remained hidden for fear it would ruin his reputation. But now his granddaughter the writer Lady (Louise) Patten has revealed it in her new novel. "It just makes it seem all the more tragic," the Telegraph quoted her as saying. "They could easily have avoided the iceberg if it wasn't for the blunder." The error on the ship's maiden voyage between Southampton and New York in 1912 happened because at the time seagoing was undergoing enormous upheaval because of the conversion from sail to steam ships. The change meant there was two different steering systems and different commands attached to them. Some of the crew on the Titanic were used to the archaic Tiller Orders associated with sailing ships and some to the more modern Rudder Orders. Crucially, the two steering systems were the complete opposite of one another. So a command to turn "hard a starboard" meant turn the wheel right under the Tiller system and left under the Rudder. When First Officer William Murdoch spotted the iceberg two miles away, his "hard a-starboard" order was misinterpreted by the Quartermaster Robert Hitchins. He turned the ship right instead of left and, even though he was almost immediately told to correct it, it was too late and the iceberg ripped out the side of the starboard bow. "The steersman panicked and the real reason why Titanic hit the iceberg, which has never come to light before, is because he turned the wheel the wrong way," added Lady Patten who is the wife of former Tory Education minister, Lord (John) Patten.
— ANI
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Pak ISI fails to account for Rs 5.55 billion Islamabad, September 22 According to information provided by the finance ministry to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC), the amount was paid to the ISI as a supplementary grant during the financial year 2007-2008. Grilled by the Parliamentary watchdog, all Finance Secretary Salman Siddiqui had to say was “this is highly sensitive information and hence I can’t talk about it at an open forum”. He merely told the Parliamentary watchdog that the money was released to the ISI for operations. But opted to keep quiet when asked for details, media reports said today. Despite repeated questions and taunts by members of the PAC, Siddiqui refused to share details of the allocation. Details provided to the media described the amount as “provision for relief during the financial year 2007-2008”. The only thing Siddiqui was willing to concede was that the head was a “cover-up”. Senior PML-N leader Khwaja Asif, a member of the PAC, asked: “How long shall we keep on fooling ourselves?” Pakistan People’s Party’s Yasmin Rehman, who presided over the meeting, said: “How can we settle such a heavy amount without knowing any details?” If the information is not to be shared with the PAC, there is no need to bring the matter to the notice of the panel, she said. Afzal Chan of the PPP said funding for intelligence agencies was beyond anyone’s comprehension. Replying to a question, the Finance Secretary said “strategic dictates” had forced the government to make the payment. He said that the money was provided in lump sum. — PTI
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Sushil Koirala elected Nepali Cong chief Upholding over 15-year-long family hegemony, Sushil Koirala, cousin of late president and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, has been elected new President of the Nepali Congress party. In the election for the party president held on Tuesday, 71-year-old bachelor Koirala defeated his nearest rival, senior leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, by a margin of 335 votes.
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Obama, Palin to feature in Archie’s comic book Scientists develop alternative to X-ray Coming soon: A high speed
Superbus!
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London, September 22
