The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Corrections and clarifications

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 05, 2006

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Corrections and clarifications

Is hydrogen absorbed or adsorbed, asks a reader, referring to the report "Hydrogen fuelled cars closer" (Science & Technology, March 23, 2006). Omar M. Yagchi, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-Los Angeles, clarifies: "The terms `adsorb' and `absorb' are used interchangeably by those practising the art to mean that a molecule sticks on the internal surface of a porous material. However, in the strictest sense, `adsorb' is the correct one to use for that type of binding. To complicate matters further, many scientists spend hours, and sometimes countless emails, arguing this point."

In "Blair's waning star and the question of succession" (Op-Ed, March 24, 2006), reproduced from The Guardian, the author William Keegan claims that "No Labour Prime Minister has been forced out of office other than by the electors, yet the Brown camp is becoming increasingly impatient". Hasan Suroor says: "He is wrong. Harold Wilson resigned in 1976 amid reports that there was a `plot' to destabilise him. The BBC, which recently screened a documentary `The Plot against Harold Wilson', says in an article `Wilson feared island spy trawler', on its website of June 1, 2005 — `Wilson won four general elections as Labour leader, two between 1964 and 1970 and two in 1974 — the first of which failed to gain a majority. He resigned as prime minister in March 1976.'"

The catchline of the standalone picture "Battleship Kolkata" (March 31, 2006, page 1) has drawn the attention of another reader. The term "battleship" is incorrect, he says. It should be warship. Battleship was the name given to the most powerfully gun-armed and most heavily armoured classes of warships between the 15th and 20th Centuries. During World War II they were superseded as the deciding factor at sea by aircraft carriers. But the editorial desk was being creative: the catchline was derived from the film "Battleship Potemkin" (1925), directed by Sergei Eisenstein, and which is about the limited 1905 Revolution against tsarism in Russia.

In the AFP report "A tense final day's play on the cards" (Sport, April 4, 2006), a reader points out that the reference to the South Africa and Australia cricket match at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg as being the fifth and final Test is incorrect. It was the third and final Test.

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page.

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