Horticulture College Coming Up in Mizoram

Aizawl, Apr 29 : Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said that a horticulture college would be set up in Mizoram under Central Agriculture University of Manipur.

Addressing a press conference at Raj Bhavan here, Pawar, who arrived today on his maiden visit, said the horticulture college would be established in the state with a separate faculty for food processing if the state government could provide land.

Mizoram State chief minister Lal Thanhawla, who accompanied him in the press conference, said that land would be provided for the purpose.

The Union Minister also said his ministry would send a team of experts to explore the potentials of Chamdur and Phura valleys in south Mizoram to become the rice bowels of the state.

Things To Know About iPad 2

Over a month after it launched iPad 2 in the US, Apple's next-generation tablet, iPad 2, officially arrives in India. Apple tends to roll out iPad and iPhone across the world gradually. The company announced that apart from India, iPad 2 will be available in 11 additional countries.

Earlier, the company received a lot of flak when it launched original iPad in India nearly nine months after its US launch. iPad 2 is a revamped version of original iPad that launched in India in January end. The new tablet features a dual-core processor called A5 and is slimmer and lighter than the earlier version. Apple's original iPad defined the tablet computer market and was swiftly followed by offerings from the tech industry's main players, from Samsung and Dell to BlackBerry maker RIM and Toshiba.

Here are 10 things to know about the new iPad.

Thinner than iPhone 4

New Apple iPad 2 is mere 8.8mm thin. "The new iPad 2 is actually thinner than your iPhone 4," said CEO Jobs during its US launch. "It is dramatically thinner, not a little thinner, a third thinner."

It weighs 1.3 pounds (590 grams) down from 1.5 pounds. It is said to be 33 percent thinner and 15 percent lighter compared to its predecessor.

Retains iPad 1 screen

Apple iPad 2 retains iPad 1 screen size with 9.7-inch LED-backlit display. Also, iPad 2 has the same RAM as the iPad 256MB.

 

Front and rear facing cameras

iPad 2 features both front- and rear-facing video cameras to enable video chat. The back camera supports video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio. While on front there is VGA-quality still camera.

 

Is nine times faster

Apple has used in-house designed dual-core 1GHz A5 system-on-chip processor. It would enable multi-tasking, video recording, FaceTime video calls and load apps faster.
Apple claims that iPad 2 is dramatically faster due to its new A5 chip. According to the company, A5 doubles the speed, and graphic display by nine times.

 

Gets SmartCover

iPad 2 comes with a SmartCover that has built-in magnets for a fit more than just protects. On closing Smart Cover, iPad automatically goes off to sleep. Open it, and iPad instantly wakes up (there is just no need to press any buttons).
Also, SmartCover folds into a perfect typing stand. Its magnetic hinge holds iPad in place so that users can type quickly and comfortably. Is can also be set up for hands-free video calling or watching.
Apple has also start selling its Smart Cover for iPad 2 in India. The cheapest version of the cover costs Rs 2,100.

 

Supports wireless streaming

Apple iPad 2 is said to support wireless streaming of music, photos, and video to HDTV and speakers via AirPlay-enabled speakers or Apple TV (second generation) on a Wi-Fi network.
The facility of wireless printing of email, photos, web pages, and documents from iPad2 is also claimed possible.

Gets HDMI adapter

iPad 2 offers 3G network support along with Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. There's also a new HDMI cable connector that promises 1080p HD video output when connected to the 30-pin dock connector port on the iPad 2. This means HDMI is not built into the iPad 2, users need to purchase a special HDMI Apple adapter to use it.
HDMI adapter will work with iPad 1, iPhone 4 and 4th generation iPod Touch.

 

RAM & battery life

While Apple has not given iPad 2's full specs, according to tablet's teardowns, it certainly has 512 MB of RAM.
The battery life remains same as in iPad 1, 10 hours when in use and a month long stand by time. iFixit teardown reveals iPad 2's Li-Ion polymer battery made up of three cells and is rated at 3.8 volts, 25 watt-hours. This is slightly more than the original iPad's rating of 3.75 volts, 24.8 watt-hour.

Yes, white iPad!

While white iPhone may have come now, Apple is shipping white iPad from the day one. As Jobs also jokingly said during iPad 2’s US launch, "And we are going to be shipping white from Day One."
When Apple announced iPhone 4 last year, it showed off both black and white version of the smartphone. However, the company has only recently launched white iPhone 4.

Pricing

The pricing for the new iPad is as follows (non-Wifi versions):
* 16GB: $499; 32GB: $599; 64GB: $699
The pricing for the Wi-Fi/3G devices: * 16GB: $629; 32GB: $729; 64GB: $829
Accessories * HDMI Connector Cable: $39; Poly Smart Cover in 5 colors: $39; Leather Smart Cover in 5 colors: $69

 

Availability

iPad 2 will ship in the United States on March 11 and on March 25 in 26 other countries including France, Germany and Japan. However, there is no information on when the second-generation iPad will launch in India.

'They Raped Me With Their Hands'

Reporter Lara Logan reveals terrifying details of mob sex attack in Egypt

• Correspondent reveals 200-strong mob 'tore her clothes to pieces'
• 'I thought, not only am I going to die here, but it's going to be a torturous death'

Lara Logan has spoken out for the first time since her terrifying sexual assault in Egypt, describing how attackers 'raped her with their hands'.

The 39-year-old CBS foreign correspondent said she was convinced she was going to die when the frenzied mob tore her away from her film crew and bodyguard in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

A group of at least 200 men beat her, pinched her and tore at her clothes in a 40-minute attack that only ended when a group of women came to her aid.

Terrifying ordeal: Lara Logan has today spoken publically for the first time about her vicious sexual assault during the Egyptian uprisings. She said she was convinced she was going to die

She told the New York Times: 'For an extended period of time, they raped me with their hands...What really struck me was how merciless they were.

'They really enjoyed my pain and suffering. It incited them to more violence.'

She revealed the terrifying details in an interview with the newspaper today, and is expected to speak about her attack at greater length in an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Ms Logan, who returned to work this month, has not previously spoken about the assault, which reverberated around the world and highlighted the dangers women face while reporting.

Set upon: Lara Logan was torn away from her film crew just moments after this picture was taken in Cairo's Tahrir Square. She was subjected to a prolonged sexual assault by a terrifying mob of at least 200 men

But she said these will be her first and last interviews about the vicious assault. She said: 'I don’t want this to define me.'

She was attacked on February 11, on her first day back in the city - and the day Hosni Mubarak's government finally fell.

'What really struck me was how merciless they were. They really enjoyed my pain and suffering. It incited them to more violence'

She had been forced to leave a week before after she was detained and interrogated by Egyptian forces.

Ms Logan and her film crew made their way to Tahrir Square, where a jubilant crowd begged her for autographs.

But suddenly, as she was preparing a report for 60 Minutes, the mood turned violent.

The camera battery went down, forcing the crew to stop.

As they worked to replace it her Egyptian cameraman heard one of the men in the crowd say he wanted to pull her pants down in Arabic.

She told CBS: 'Suddenly, Bahar [the Egyptian cameraman] looks at me and says, "we've got to get out of here".

Strong couple: Ms Logan pictured with her husband Joseph Burkett while she was pregnant. She spent weeks at home recovering with her family

'I thought, not only am I going to die here, but it's going to be just a torturous death that's going to go on forever and ever and ever.'

She told the Times: 'That was literally the moment the mob set on me.'

Jeff Fager, the chairman of CBS News, told the Times her producer, Max McClellan, and her two drivers were 'helpless because the mob was just so powerful'.

He said her bodyguard managed to hold on to her for a while, but the mob proved too strong and carried her away.

Mr Fager said: 'For Max, to see the bodyguard come out of the pile without her, that was one of the worst parts.'

Ms Logan described how her hand was sore for days afterwards, and she only later realised it was because she had been holding on so tightly to her bodyguard's hand.

She told the Times: 'My clothes were torn to pieces.'

The attack lasted 40 minutes. She was only rescued when a group of local women brought 20 Egyptian soldiers to her aid.

Mr Fager said he hoped Sunday's interview would help raise awareness of the sexual violence women journalists face when reporting from conflict zones.

He said: 'There’s a code of silence about it that I think it is in Lara’s interest and in our interest to break.'

CBS immediately flew her back to the U.S. The channel posted guards outside her Washington home, where she hid herself away to recuperate along with her husband Joseph Burkett and their two young children.

Anxious to get back: The foreign correspondent said she wants to return to combat zones like Afghanistan, but will avoid the Middle East

Mr Fager said: 'She was quite traumatised, as you can imagine, for a period of time.'

Four days after the attack, he and Ms Logan drafted a statement released by CBS, until now the only official comment.

It said she had 'suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers'.

Ms Logan said she made the decision to speak out soon after the assault, on behalf of 'millions of voiceless women who are subjected to attacks like this and worse'.

She said the statement 'didn’t leave me to carry the burden alone, like my dirty little secret, something that I had to be ashamed of'.

While physical violence against men is often discussed by the media, sexual threats against female journalists are rarely mentioned.

Reliving the trauma: Lara Logan returned to work only two months after the sexual assault, and will talk about her ordeal on Sunday's 60 Minutes. She said she is determined not to let the attack define her

Ms Logan said, with sexual violence 'you only have your word. The physical wounds heal. You don’t carry around the evidence the way you would if you had lost your leg or your arm in Afghanistan.'

Just two months after the attack, Ms Logan has already vowed to return to Afghanistan and other conflict zones, but said she has decided she will not return to Middle Eastern countries while widespread protests are ongoing.

She told the Times: 'The very nature of what we do - communicating information - is what’s undoing these regimes. It makes us the enemy, whether we like it or not.'

More than a dozen foreign journalists have been kidnapped in Libya since the uprising began there.

Times journalist Lynsey Addario said she was groped and harassed by her Libyan captors, a story which Ms Logan said was a 'setback' to her own recovery.

Website Can Help Find Stolen Cameras

It uses data hidden in old photos to scan the web for new ones

The Consumerist takes note of a nifty website that might help you track down a stolen digital camera.

The site, stolencamerafinder.com, works on a relatively simple formula.

You drag and drop one of your old photos taken with the camera, and the site extracts signature data from it and scans the web for matches.

(You can also type in the serial number.)

If the thief has uploaded a photo to, say, a Facebook page or another site with a profile, you might have your culprit.

Of course, it's then up to you to figure out how to get it back.

Gadhafi Troops Issued Viagra to Help Them Rape: US

Susan Rice makes claim at UN

Moammar Gadhafi’s forces have been issued Viagra, to help them better rape the people of Libya, US ambassador Susan Rice told several other UN diplomats at a closed-door Security Council meeting yesterday.

“She spoke of Gadhafi’s soldiers targeting children, and other atrocities,” one diplomat tells Reuters.

Rice offered no evidence for her allegations, which diplomats said were designed to win over countries that have grown skeptical of the UN mission in Libya—namely China, India, and Russia.

“Rice raised that in the meeting, but no one responded,” another diplomat said.

Earlier this month the UN’s envoy on sexual violence during armed conflicts said that reports of rape in Libya were unconfirmed, but that they were credible enough that the Security Council should have mentioned them in its two most recent resolutions on Libya.

PlayStation Hackers: We’ve Got 2.2M Credit Cards

Users report fraud, but it may be coincidence

By Matt Cantor


A customer watches a monitor showing Sony's PlayStation 3 at a Tokyo electric shop.

Chatting in online forums, hackers are citing a huge haul from the attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network:

They claim they now have access to some 2.2 million credit cards.

The assertion can’t be verified, say experts—but a number of users are reporting suspicious charges on their cards.

Still, that could be pure coincidence, notes the Guardian; any large enough sample of credit card users will contain some fraud victims.

The hackers say they even have credit card security codes, but Sony says that’s not possible: "Your credit card security code has not been obtained because we never requested it," the company tells users.

Among the fraud claims: some $1,500 in purchases from a German grocery store using a US credit card, as well as dozens of claims regarding charges from Japanese shops and German airlines.

Hackers are also saying they offered to sell the user database back to Sony, but the firm said no.

A Sony rep says he had no knowledge of any such occurrence.

Prince William & Kate's Royal Wedding Kiss

Prince William and his wife Catherine shared a kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

The first one was too quick for the crowd's liking, so they went in for another.

Soccer Violence: Nine More African Students Arrested

Jalandhar (Punjab), Apr 29 : Nine more African students have been arrested in connection with the killing of a Mizo youth in a case of soccer-related violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) here, police said Friday.

Of the nine, eight are from Sudan and one is from Tanzania and they have been sent to judicial custody, police said. Three others had been arrested earlier and charged with the murder of fellow student Johnny F. Lalhmangaih Wednesday and they are in police remand.

"We have arrested nine more African students. Though they were not directly involved in killing the Mizo student, they had provoked the other three African students to commit the crime and make the situation deteriorate further," Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandeep Sharma told IANS.

"They are pursuing various courses at LPU. They have been booked under Sections 107 and 151 of the Indian Penal Code and sent to 14-day judicial remand by the court."

The first section relates to abetment in crime and the second to knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse.

Police are yet to recover the spiked shoes that the accused were allegedly wearing when they kicked the victim. "Our interrogation is on. We are hopeful of recovering those spiked shoes today," said Sharma.

Three African students - Ahmed Al-Nagni and Sayed Feisal from Tanzania, and Hatin Indriss from Sudan - were arrested Wednesday night for thrashing Johnny to death during a soccer match. Following this, they were also suspended by the LPU authorities.

Johnny, who was pursuing civil engineering from LPU, had scored a goal for his team during a friendly football match between students from Africa and Mizoram in the campus, following which the African students got into a brawl and started bashing him.

According to the post-mortem report, Johnny died of internal injuries. His father works as a sub-divisional officer in the public welfare department in Mizoram.

Following the incident, scores of Indian students went on the rampage Wednesday and damaged the hostel furniture and rooms. Heavy police force was called in to control the situation.

In a bid to avoid any further untoward incidents, LPU authorities have closed the varsity for three days till Saturday. The varsity authorities have also shifted all African students, numbering over 45, from their hostels to an undisclosed location.

"We have deployed sufficient police force inside and outside the campus. There is no threat from anybody and force has been deployed as a precautionary measure," stated Sharma.

Currently, over 250 foreign students from 16 countries are studying at the university. Of them, around 50 are from African countries.

Punjab's first private university, LPU is located on the Phagwara-Jalandhar National Highway, 140 km from Chandigarh, and has over 24,000 students on its rolls.

Central Team Reviews Indo-Myanmar Trade at Moreh

Moreh (Manipur), Apr 29 : In an endeavor to ensure the success of its Look-East policy and make the northeast a big trading hub in the future, a panel discussion on improving exports between India and Myanmar through Moreh, the land custom station on the Indo-Myanmar border, was organized at the Moreh Trade Centre recently.

Director General of Foreign Trade, Arup K Pujari, headed the high-level 13-member delegation from India, while U Hla Maung, President, Union of Myanmar Border Trade Chambers of Commerce, represented Myanmar.

The main agenda for the discussion was the hardships faced by traders and the people while moving goods along the National Highway 39 due to the presence of many check points.

"Centre has been thinking of improving the facilities in Moreh for quite sometime. Before coming here, I had a discussion with Minister of Home Affairs, Division of Border Development and DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) officials regarding the difficulties existing here," said Pujari.

"I find this as a great platform for discussion as members from all walks of life have come here," he added.

Goods between both sides are transported through roads. Earlier, the NH 39 that connects Imphal to Moreh was in a bad condition, but now the Public Works Department (PWD) has taken up its repairs.

The visiting delegation also inspected the construction work on the road.

"We are constructing this National Highway- 39 with the help of Central Government. They are funding its construction," said Sarat Singh, a PWD employee.

The Indo-Myanmar Border Trade Agreement was signed on January 21, 1994, and border trade through Land Customs Station (LCS), Moreh, was opened on April 12, 1995.

Under the trade agreement, 22 items can be exchanged that include agricultural produce, grocery, clothes, furniture, electronics and plastic products. India's exports to Myanmar increased to US 207.97 million dollars in 2009-10 from US 110.7 million dollars in 2005-06. The imports went up from US 1,289.80 million dollars in 2009-10 from US 525.96 million dollars in 2005-06.

"During this discussion, we will try to find out the problems that hamper trade especially the exports from India. And, we will also come up with the measures for improving the export from India towards Myanmar side," said O Nabakeshwor Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries, Government of Manipur.

Representatives of many trade organizations like AMEA (Association of Machinery and Equipment Appraisers), NEFIT (North East Federation of International Trade) IMBTU (Indo-Myanmar Border Traders' Union) EXIM (Export and Import) Manipur, FAMIECCI and BTCCM also participated in the seminar.

These organizations collectively submitted a memorandum to the Director General of Foreign Trade for upgrading the trade exchange facilities at Moreh.he event was organized under the aegis of Department of Commerce and Industries, Government of Manipur, and Shelliac and Forest Products Exports Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL).

Casio Watches, 'Sign Of Al-Qaida'

Among GITMO inmates

Guantánamo Bay interrogators regarded the Casio F-91W wristwatch as a sign of al-Qaida involvement.

According to The Guardian, documents leaked by the whistle blowing web site WikiLeaks, reveal that the interrogators saw it as cheap, basic and widely available around the world.

Analysts stationed at Guantánamo Bay saw the Casio F-91W digital watch as a contributing factor to the continued detention of prisoners.

Briefing documents used to train staff in assessing the threat level of new detainees advise that possession of the F-91W – available online for as little as four pounds – suggests the wearer has been trained in bomb making by al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

More than 50 detainee reports refer to the Casio timepieces. The records of 32 detainees refer to the black Casio F-91W, while a further 20 make reference to the silver version, the A-159W.

Tripura Governor, Kin Booked in Fraud Case

Pune, Apr 29 : The Pune rural police registered an FIR against Tripura Governor DY Patil and kin in connection with a fraud case following direction by a local court, police said on Thursday.

According to Talegaon Dabhade police, who registered the complaint filed by one Sampat Pawar on Tuesday, Patil, his wife Pushpalata and two sons - Ajinkya and Vijay, were booked under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating)and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of IPC.

The police move came after Wadgaon Maval court issued orders for the same.

"We are investigating the matter starting with scrutiny of the relevant documents and will proceed as per the law," Sanjay Nikam, a police inspector attached with Talegaon Dabhade police station told PTI.

The complainant alleged that the Patils, by forging the documents of the deal, dislodged him from the joint ownership of the trust for which the 40-acre plot of land was purchased by the families of Patil and Pawar for about Rs 4 crore.

The incumbent Governor of Tripura runs a huge network of educational institutions in Maharashtra.

Kate Moss Poses Nude For Vogue Brazil

London, Apr 29 : Supermodel Kate Moss has bared all for a magazine's cover.

The 37-year-old shed her clothes for Brazilian issue of Vogue magazine, perching her bare derriere on a wooden bench and showing off the two bird tattoos on her lower back, reports thesun.co.uk.

The sizzling photograph was clicked by celebrity snapper Mario Testino when Moss visited Rio de Janeiro with fiance Jamie Hince in February.

The catwalk queen was seen sporting nothing but blonder crimpled hair and gold cuffs.

Moss is set to wed The Kills rocker this summer.

Posters of Malaysian Sex Video Out in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim speaks to journalists during news conference in Kuala Lumpur - Reuters

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 29 : Scenes from a sex video clip, allegedly involving Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim, were printed as posters in the capital while a new video was posted on YouTube, prompting the leader's family to say that it was not him.

Malaysians accessing the internet and blogsphere Thursday found a new sex video clip. Posted for a short while, the video was removed under the website's policy that forbids depiction of sex and nudity, The Star reported.

The clip is alleged to be part of the sex video that was shown to selected members of the Malaysian media recently.

Some scenes from the latest clip were printed as posters and stacks of them were left at a bus stop in Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Genting Klang area.

The posters came with captions in Bahasa Malaysia, language of the majority Malay population, the newspaper said.

Anwar's family reiterated that it was not him in the clip.

Saifuddin Nasution, secretary-general of Anwar's party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), blamed it on the police for the release of the latest clip.

Police, however, denied the charge.

Police officials said they have got the video clip examined by domestic and foreign forensic experts.

How To Automate repetitive tasks in Windows

When you’re using Windows, do you find yourself performing the same tasks over and over? If so, you’re not alone.

Although computers are designed to make short work of repetitive tasks, few people take the time to learn how to cut down on repetition and win back some time in the process. Read on for some ideas on how to do just that

Q: How do I automate a series of tasks in Windows that involve different programs?

A: Unfortunately, Windows has no such built-in automation tool. So your best option here is probably to turn to a third-party utility that makes it fairly easy to boil down a bunch of reptitive tasks into one keystroke.

If your repetitive tasks simply involve launching a bunch of programs, you can turn to a free utility such as Batchrun (http://bit.ly/dTp5rW). Batchrun simplifies the job of creating batch files, which are files that contain a series of commands that Windows can recognise and run without user intervention.

However, for more complex repetitive tasks that you’d like to automate, check out WinAutomation (http://www.winautomation.com), which gives you a couple of options for automating tasks. You can use the program’s “macro recorder” to record mouse clicks and keystrokes, and then play back the results. Or you can use the tool’s job designer, which lets you “build” a shortcut that can perform all sorts of complex actions, including launching programs, opening dialog boxes, entering data, and much more. The program is not free, but you can download it and try it out for free for a month. If you regularly spend a lot of time performing the same tasks each day, you might find the 149 dollar purchase price to be money well spent.

Q: How can I set my computer up to reboot automatically each night?

Windows comes with a little-known application called Shutdown.exe.

You can use it in conjunction with Windows’ built-in scheduler either to shut down or restart your PC at any specified time.

To set this up, open the Start menu, type “scheduled tasks” and click the first entry that appears. Or, if you’re using Windows XP, open the Control Panel and double-click the Scheduled Tasks icon.

Once the task scheduler starts, add a new task. When, in the course of adding the task, you are asked which application you want Windows to run, click the Browse button, and browse to Windows and then the System32 subfolder. Within Sytem32, you will find shutdown.exe.

Double click that to add it to the task scheduler, and complete the task scheduling wizard.

When you’ve finished adding the task, right-click the new task name, and select Properties from the pop-up menu. In the resulting Properties dialog box, place the mouse cursor at the end of the command in the Run text box, add a space, and then type “/r,” without the quotation marks. The “/r” means that the shutdown command should restart your computer rather than shutting it down. While you are in the Properties dialog box, you can also click the Schedule tab to fine-tune when the automated restart procedure occurs.

Q: How can I create a batch file to launch a bunch of programs at one time?

A: Batch files have been around since the days of DOS, and Windows still recognises them as special files intended to deliver a series of commands that should be executed in succession. Opening a series of programs consecutively is one way to use batch files.

Start by opening Notepad, which you’ll find by opening the Start menu and typing “notepad.”

A blank text editing window appears.

On the first line, type “@echo off,” without the quotation marks.

On the next line, type the word “start,” again without quotation marks.

Add a space.

Then, within quotation marks, add the full path and filename of the executable used to launch your program.

You can find this information by right-clicking the shortcut (or icon) that you normally use to launch the application, selecting Properties from the pop-up menu, and from the Shortcut tab of the resulting dialog box, copying the text that appears in the Target box.

Paste that text, including quotation marks, just after the space you added after the word “start.”

Here’s an example of how the final line should look:

start “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe”

Create a new “start” line for the next application you’d like to launch, and repeat the procedure above to complete the line.

Add a new line for each application you would like to start.

Now save the file on your Windows desktop with a name such as “myapps.bat.”

Be sure to include the ”.bat” after the name of the file. Otherwise Windows will not know how to run it. When you’re finished, double-clicking the myapps.bat file on your desktop should launch all of the programs listed in it automatically.

The American Killer Twister in Pictures

Pleasant Grove, Alabama: Firefighters searched one splintered pile after another for survivors on Thursday, combing the remains of houses and neighborhoods pulverized by the deadliest tornado outbreak in almost four decades in US that claimed 300 lives across six states — more than two-thirds of them in Alabama. Over 1700 people have gone missing as large cities bore the half-mile-wide scars the twisters left behind.

The toll from Wednesday's storms seems out of a bygone era, before Doppler radar and pinpoint satellite forecasts were around to warn communities of severe weather. Residents were told the tornadoes were coming up to 24 minutes ahead of time, but they were just too wide, too powerful and too locked onto populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count.

"These were the most intense super-cell thunderstorms that I think anybody who was out there forecasting has ever seen," said meteorologist Greg Carbin at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

A tower-mounted news camera in Tuscaloosa captured images of an astonishingly thick, powerful tornado flinging debris as it leveled neighborhoods.

That twister and others Wednesday were several times more severe than a typical tornado, which is hundreds of yards wide, has winds around 100 mph and stays on the ground for a few miles.

President Barack Obama said he would travel to Alabama on Friday to view storm damage and meet Gov. Robert Bentley and affected families. As many as a million homes and businesses there were without power, and Bentley said 2,000 National Guard troops had been activated to help. The governors of Mississippi and Georgia also issued emergency declarations for parts of their states.

Here are snapshots of the devastation left behind by the deadly twisters.

A tower-mounted news camera in Tuscaloosa captured images of an stonishingly thick, powerful tornado flinging debris as it levelled neighbourhoods.

Volunteers use heavy equipment to place sandbags atop a temporary levee to fight back floodwaters Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Dutchtown, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Mary Abrams sits in what is left of her home in Rosedale Court on Thursday, April 28, 2011, after a tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Wednesday. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

A woman holds a baby surrounded by the wreckage left by Wednesday's tornado as others try to salvage anything they can on Thursday, April 28, 2011. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

A large piece of metal thrown on the side of I-359 by Wednesday's tornado is seen on Thursday, April 28, 2011in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

People sit in the doorway of a destroyed home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood surrounded by debris on Thursday, April 28, 2011, after a tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Wednesday. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

Tuscaloosa residents pick through the rubble of their home as they begin the cleanup process of tornado damage in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Thursday, April 28, 2011. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley talks to members of the media during a news conference on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

This NOAA satellite image taken Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 01:45 PM EDT shows clouds cover the Great Lakes and Northeast, while a front produces a band of clouds as it extends down the East Coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. A strong low pressure system that is now in the Northeastern US has produced significant storms and rainfall over the Eastern half of the nation. The front continues triggering more storms with damaging winds, hail, and more tornadoes along the East Coast. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)

This aerial photo shows the destruction left a by a deadly tornado of The Wrangler facility in Hakleburg, Ala. on Thursday, April 28, 2011. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Times Daily, Matt McKean)

This aerial photo shows a section of public housing in the town of Phil Campbell, Ala., on Thursday, April 28, 2011. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Times Daily, Matt McKean)

Deacon Billy Walker, of Elizabeth Baptist Church, Tamarlon Madison and Kelly Bonner of Friendship Baptist Church, cook food and hand out bottled water for those affected by Wednesday's tornado on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, with his wife, Dianne, talks with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox before a news conference on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox visits the area severely damaged by Wednesday's tornado on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

Devastation at Rosedale Court Housing community is shown on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

A road into the Rosedale Court housing community covered by debris from Wednesday's tornado is shown on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Barack Obama said he would visit Alabama Friday to view damage and meet with the governor and families devastated by the storms. Obama has already expressed condolences by phone to Gov. Robert Bentley and approved his request for emergency federal assistance. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Michelle Lepianka Carter)

Lanie Kieth, left, Cindy Keith, Chris Gaven, Heath Gilmore and Terry McNeill help clean out a room on Highway 514 after severe storms moved through, Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Clark County, Miss., Thursday April 28, 2011. The storms left wide swaths of destruction in Kemper and Clarke counties in east central Mississippi, near the Alabama line (AP Photo/The Meridan Star, Paula Merritt)

Billy Fain and his daughter, Rachel, try to salvage their belongings, after severe storms moved through, Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Clark County, Miss., Thursday April 28, 2011. The storms left wide swaths of destruction in Kemper and Clarke counties in east central Mississippi, near the Alabama line (AP Photo/The Meridan Star, Paula Merritt)

An almost stripped foundation, and brick exterior are all that remain of a Church of God in Phil Campbell, Ala., Thursday, April 28, 2011 after Wednesday's tornado touchdown. The tornado destroyed much of the small community and caused several deaths. The storm also destroyed the pastor's house, which was adjacent to the church. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Blue skies appear following a strong storm, with heavy downpour and nickel sized hail, that pushed through LaPorte, Ind., Tuesday afternoon, April 26, 2011. The storm is seen heading northeast in this photo taken near the intersection of US Route 20 and Indiana Route 2. (AP Photo/The LaPorte Herald-Argus)

An aerial view shows extensive damage to homes and businesses in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven southern U.S. states, killing at least 259 people in the country's deadliest series of twisters in nearly four decades. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

An aerial view shows the path of tornadoes that left extensive damage to all things in its path in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven southern U.S. states, killing at least 259 people in the country's deadliest series of twisters in nearly four decades. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

An aerial view shows extensive damage to homes and businesses in the path of tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven southern U.S. states, killing at least 259 people in the country's deadliest series of twisters in nearly four decades. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

The loss of life is the greatest from an outbreak of US tornadoes since April 1974, when 329 people were killed by a storm.

"It looks like a war zone. All I want to do is get out," said one older anxious woman in the town, as she hauled a large suitcase, helped by some male friends, down a road strewn with piles of debris.

A bent Birmingham city sign sits above a neighborhood destroyed in Pratt City,A labama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

Rubble is all that remains at a house destroyed in Pratt City, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

Birmingham Fire and Rescue firefighters search a house in Pratt City, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

Rubble and a damaged car is all that remains at a neighborhood destroyed in Pratt City, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES)

Lewis Foster helps his neighbor salvage belongings in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011.Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Lee Celano (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

Lisa Wilson (L) helps her daughter, Ashla Sullivan, into the living room of Sullivan's destroyed house in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Lee Celano (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

Ashla Sullivan looks through her belongings in the living room of her destroyed house in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Lee Celano (UNITED STATES - DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

Ashla Sullivan throws out debris from her destroyed house as her husband, Adam Sullivan, talks on the phone in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011. Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history. REUTERS/Lee Celano (UNITED STATES : DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)