Setiu Post

Sea of Stars Pinpricks of light on the shore seem to mirror stars above in an undated picture taken on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives . The biological light, or bioluminescence, in the waves is the product of marine microbes called phytoplankton—and now scientists think they know how some of these life-forms create their brilliant blue glow.  Various species of phytoplankton are known to bioluminesce, and their lights can be seen in oceans all around the world, said marine biologist and bioluminescence expert Woodland Hastings of Harvard University. (Also see "Glowing Sea Beasts: Photos Shed Light on Bioluminescence." ) "I've been across the Atlantic and Pacific, and I've never seen a spot that wasn't bioluminescent or a night that [bioluminescence] couldn't be seen," Hastings said. The most common type of marine bioluminescence is generated by phytoplankton known as dinoflagellates. A recent study co-authored by Ha...

First Runner Up Yosemite at night. Photo © Kris Thornton "Last summer, my best friend and I traveled through Death valley and Yosemite. We spent three days camping and hiking around, taking in what this beautiful world has to offer. We hiked around most of the day and decided to set up in this small meadow. In the distance there is a small campground and children were playing in the field with headlamps on. Before it got too dark we set up the gear on a tripod and focused on the gorgeous half dome. It was getting dark fast and I knew I likely had one chance to get a good shot. We sat for about another hour waiting for the night to become black as could be and the only light was from the stars, moon, a few passing cars and if you look closely a climber's head lamp on the side of the mountain. I used a trigger and had the camera set in bulb mode. I did this shot as a 30 min exposure. I wanted to go for 40 min, but with the passing cars, I thought the photo was ruin...

Shariah products and services are an integral part of global economy and are poised to grow with the rise in population. The rapid growth in Islamic population has had a radical impact on the global economy. According to PwC, the global Islamic population has expanded more than 50 per cent over the last two decades. New Islamic products and services (referred to as those compliant with Shariah principles) have become an integral part of the global economic growth engine. Islamic finance is one of the major Islamic services we are conversant with today. According to PwC, global Islamic financial assets are expected to grow to $2.6 trillion in 2017 from $1.2 trillion in 2012. The growth in these Shariah-compliant financial products, which include Islamic banking products, Islamic funds, sukuk, takaful, among others, has been supported by the expanding Muslim population and a wider acceptance of these products globally. Apart from financial services, Islamic products have forayed ...