Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Disaster in The Gulf of Mexico
THE horrific on-going disaster caused by oil spewing out from British Petroleum’s (BP) well in the Gulf of Mexico is going from bad to worse, showing little signs of abating. It is already by far the biggest oil spill in the US and rapidly becoming one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in the US if not the world. The oil slick is spreading by the day and threatening new areas. The federal government has banned fishing in more than 37 per cent of the US part of the Gulf of Mexico, double the area under a fishing ban imposed mid-May.BP is responding in a manner typical of large multinational corporations (MNCs), especially oil companies, trying to minimise the damage while spending as little money as possible, evading legal liability, and treating the whole episode as primarily a public relations issue.
BP is once again showing that Big Oil is the dirtiest of businesses, in more ways than one.
Scientists planning to store CO2 deep underground
In a novel way to fight global warming, scientists are trying how they could remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store the gas deep under the sea bed where it can cause no trouble.
Researchers at the University of Iceland are studying the possibility of sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in basalt, a common extrusive volcanic rock that makes up most of the world’s oceanic crust.
Sequestration is the carbon-capturing method which involves injecting the gas directly into underground geological formations. Oil fields, gas fields, saline formations, unminable coal seams, and saline-filled basalt formations have been suggested as storage sites.
Sigurdur Gislason, of University of Iceland, who is is leading an international team of scientists on the “Carbfix Project” for an Icelandic geothermal power plant, presented his findings today at the annual Goldschmidt Conference at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The crisis in Kyrgyzstan
Two decades since Mikhail Gorbachev sent Soviet troops into Kyrgyzstan after hundreds of people were killed in the southern city of Osh, anarchy has returned to the streets and once again Moscow may have to intervene.
Some estimates put the death toll as high as 1,000 after violence between Kyrgyz mobs and ethnic Uzbeks erupted last Friday. Political uncertainty and tensions are constant companions in Kyrgyzstan, which is being run by an interim government after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in April.
Uzbekistan has registered 80,000 adult refugees from Kyrgyzstan and has appealed for humanitarian aid. However, with government security forces being given shoot-to-kill powers, fear has gripped the border areas so there is likely to be a mass exodus unless peace is restored.
Russia has already deployed paratroopers to help protect its military base amid international concern that an escalation of unrest could affect the entire country.
Kyrgyzstan is pivotal to the war in Afghanistan because it is the main transit hub for troops and supplies.
Interim leader Roza Otunbayeva has called for Russian intervention but Moscow has so far resisted. However, following talks with the regional bloc, known as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, comprising Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, a peacekeeping force is likely to be deployed.
Doing nothing is simply not an option considering the international consequences at stake. The threat of civil war — or even the break-up of the country — looms larger with every passing hour.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
India's top technology colleges agree to pool their talent to clean up River Ganges
Image via WikipediaThe proposal has been submitted by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) to the federal government on the Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) to clean up the river in the next 12-18 months.
The final plan is expected to be finalised next month.
This will be a first time that the IITs will take part in research to save the polluted Ganga, the longest river in India. The project will have a budget of USD $8 billion.
The IITs move will be the third plan in the last 25 years to clean up the river, held sacred by millions of Hindus, who constitute 80 per cent of country's total population of 1.25 billion.
The first, the Ganga Action Plan was launched with much fanfare in 1985, but the project failed to bring down the river's pollution level. This was followed by the current National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It was launched last year.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Inspector can't authorise use of loud speakers: HC
Only an officer "not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police" can grant such permission, a division bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and S S Shinde pointed out.
The High Court was hearing a petition filed by Aurangabad-based Anand Salvi, who had sought a ban on use of loudspeakers during 'Aurangabad Premier League', a cricket tournament, at ADCC stadium in the city.
Salvi had pointed out that the event, which took place between March 3 and March 11, coincided with Std X and XII board examinations.
After organisers assured of abiding noise pollution rules, the event was allowed to proceed while the petition was kept pending.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Tensions high after ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan
Tensions remained high in Kyrgyzstan early Sunday after two days of ethnic clashes left dozens of people dead and more than 1,000 others injured since fighting broke out Thursday night, state media reported. FULL STORY
Thursday, June 10, 2010
INDIA ON SRILANKAN PRESIDENT’S VISIT
Image via Wikipedia
BWA auction completes 110 rounds, accruals at $6.89 billion
The Indian government's provisional revenue from the sale of airwaves for broadband wireless access (BWA) services Wednesday reached Rs.31,038.33 crore ($6.89 billion) and the pan-India licence price touched Rs.12,257.3 crore ($2.72 billion).
Wednesday saw the conclusion of 110 rounds of the auction of airwaves for BWA services. This is a simultaneous online auction for two slots in each of the country's 22 service areas.
The auction, which began last week, saw the pan-India BWA licence price going up over 600 percent from the Rs.1,750 crore base price fixed by the government.
BWA spectrum is essential for rolling out Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) services enabling hand-held devices and laptops to access the Internet.
The spectrum will allow companies to offer high-speed Internet access as well as Internet telephony and television services. It can also be used for voice and high-speed data services.
Eleven companies - Bharti Airtel, Reliance WiMax, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Augere Mauritius Ltd, Infotel Broadband Services, Qualcomm, Spice Internet Service Provider, Tata Communications Internet Services, Tikona Digital Networks and Vodafone Essar - are participating in the BWA auction.
According to the latest information available on the website of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Mumbai and Delhi attracted the highest bids. Mumbai got bids at Rs.2,152.95 crore while Delhi got bids worth Rs.2,101.02 crore.
The government has already allocated one block each of 20 MHz of unpaired spectrum to Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) in their respective service areas.
The two state-run firms will have to pay the winners' price.
The successful bidders in this auction can use the assigned frequency for commercial purposes immediately after they get the spectrum, the DoT has said.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
BHOPAL GAS CASE VERDICT : TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE AND GOVERNANCE
The Bhopal Gas case verdict, which after twenty-five years awards a sentence of just two years to the culprits, is a travesty of justice that shames India and insults the memory of the thousands killed. The verdict is the culmination of a deeply flawed process involving the culpability of Governments, investigative agencies and even the highest court of the land. These institutions compromised the interests of the country and the victims, diluting the charges, enabling the American CEO Warren Anderson to escape, and limiting liability to a paltry compensation of only 470 million dollars. These are acts of connivance to help the powerful US company and its Indian entity.
INDIA MOST SECURE AGAINST MAD COW DISEASE
India has received the most secure status for the deadly mad cow disease.
With this recognition, India joins an exclusive group of 12 other countries which includes Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Finland, etc. Several advanced countries like USA, UK, Switzerland, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, etc. figure in a lower category of ‘controlled risk’ for the mad cow disease.The World Organization for Animal Health, at its 78th General Session held in Paris recently, recognized India as having ‘negligible risk’ for mad cow disease, known technically as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). This category represents the most secure status of a country with reference to BSE.
Govt looks at N-bill after Bhopal court verdict
New Delhi: The government is calling for a meeting on the civil nuclear liability Bill, which fixes the maximum amount of liability in case of a nuclear accident at Rs 500 crore, to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.
The Bill has come under scrutiny after a court in Bhopal on Monday held eight accused guilty of criminal negligence in the Union Carbide plant gas leak case but released them on bail after imprisoning them for two years.
CNN-IBN learns that Law Minister Veerappa Moily is studying the Bill after the Bhopal court’s verdict. Moily on Monday had criticised the court verdict. "This is one such case where justice is delayed and practically denied. I would like to say justice is buried," he said.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday called on the government to reconsider the Bill in view of the court verdict. "The nuclear liability bill is under discussion. The government should learn proper lessons from Bhopal gas tragedy," said Prasad.
"The bill, as envisaged, puts any criminal liability on the nuclear operator. Any nuclear accident causes long-term damage," he said.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill is at present is with the parliamentary committee headed by Subirami Reddy after being introduced in parliament last month, in the budget session.
The Opposition, especially the Left, claims the Bill is a sellout to America
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Sunday, June 6, 2010
Nadal wins fifth French Open title
Rafael Nadal became the second man to win five French Open titles after beating Robin Soderling at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar 2008
In reverential memory of late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in the year 1987, instituted an award called “Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar “ to give recognition to those having made or have the potential to make the measurable and major impact in the protection of environment.
Any citizen of India or organization working in India for the cause of environment is eligible for the award.
Any citizen of India or organization working in India for the cause of environment is eligible for the award.
Isha Foundation, founded by Sadhguru J Vasudev, is got the Indira Gandhi Pariavaran Puraskar for the year 2008 in recognition of Isha Foundation’s massive ecological initiative, called ‘Project Green Hands’ to prevent and reverse environmental degradation and to enable sustainable living.
Project Green Hands is a massive people’s movement to raise the green cover of Tamil Nadu by 10%. In the last 5 years, over 300,000 Isha volunteers across Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry have raised 8.2 million trees for plantation. The goal is to mobilize the entire population of Tamil Nadu to plant an additional 106 million trees within the next 10 years.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
India's first integrated waste mgmt plant coming up in Kanpur
Image via WikipediaInfra firm a2z Infrastructure will set up India’s first integrated municipal solid waste management plant in Kanpur.
The project touted to be Asia’s largest would comprise management of the city’s solid waste in an environment friendly manner and subsequent power generation for captive and merchant use.
Majority of the fuel used in the plant will be RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) derived from solid waste, which is considered a better replacement for coal with lesser emissions.
The power plant is scheduled to be operational by March 2011 and will have the capacity to produce 15 Mw power.
a2z Infrastructure, a subsidiary of A2Z Maintenance and Engineering Services Limited, has been awarded the project by Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC)."India produces 1,42,000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste, which is growing by 5 per cent per annum," a2z Infrastructure CEO Rajneesh Mehra told newspersons today.
KMC had awarded a2z Infrastructure the mandate for processing and disposal of solid waste in 2008. This mandate has now been extended to cover collection and transportation.
In October 2009, a2z Infrastructure had commenced processing/disposal of waste. Currently, it processes 1,500 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste in Kapur, which has a population of over 3 million.
Kanpur had stood 10 th among India’s 423 cities in a report of union ministry of urban development for 2009-10 for sanitation.
"We believe that next year Kanpur would rank top in cleanliness too," Kanpur Municipal Commissioner R Vikram Singh said.
a2z Infrastructure currently has a portfolio of approximately 6,000 tonnes/day of solid waste across cities such as Kanpur, Indore, Patna, Varanasi, Meerut etc.The company produces 150 tonnes/day of compost from municipal solid waste under brand name of Vasundhara. The company plans to scale compost production to 300 tonnes/ day by August 2010.
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Friday, June 4, 2010
News Today
India News
 Biju Janata Dal fields three for Rajya Sabha poll Bhubaneswar, June 4 : Three candidates of Orissa's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Friday filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections June 17, an official said. |
| BJP demands Pawar's resignation over Pune IPL bid New Delhi, June 4 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday demanded resignation of union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar alleging that he had misled the nation about his interests relating to the Indian Premier League (IPL). |
| India, South Africa ink three pacts, to jointly spur UN reforms New Delhi, June 4 : India and South Africa Friday signed three agreements aimed at enhancing business ties and connectivity. The two countries also reiterated support for each other for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council and agreed to jointly work for the reforms of the global body. |
| Pawar should resign immediately: BJP New Delhi, June 4 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused former BCCI President and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar of misrepresenting facts on IPL bidding and demanded that he should resign immediately. |
| Ramesh, Janardhan Reddy file papers for Rajya Sabha polls Hyderabad, June 4 : Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Janardhan Reddy were among six candidates who Friday filed their nominations for Rajya Sabha elections from the state. |
| Pakistan must stop supporting terrorism for talks to succeed: Farooq Abdullah New Delhi, June 4 : Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah has asked Pakistan to stop supporting anti-India militant groups if it wants the Indo-Pak dialogue to succeed. |
| Anil Ambani visits Mahakaleshwar Temple on his 51st birthday Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), June 4 : Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Group chairman Anil Ambani visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on the occasion of his 51st birthday on Friday. |
| Congress renominates Ambika Soni, Mohsina Kidwai for Rajya Sabha polls New Delhi, June 4 : The Congress party has renominated Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni from Punjab and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Mohsina Kidwai from Chhattisgarh for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha. |
| South African President meets President Patil New Delhi, June 4 : South African President Jacob Zuma, who is on a three-day visit to India, met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil here on Friday. |
| India, South Africa to work closely in international forums: Manmohan Singh New Delhi, June 4 : The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Friday said both India and South Africa have agreed to intensify coordination between the two countries and work closely in several international forums such as the United Nations, Non-aligned Movement, Commonwealth, WTO, G-20, the IBSA and BASIC groupings. |
| WWF, Tourism Ministry launch campaign to conserve Himalayan glaciers New Delhi, Jun 4 : On the eve of World Environment Day today, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Union Ministry of Tourism launched Green Hiker Campaign to conserve Himalayan glaciers and wetlands in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. |
| Pawar, daughter deny IPL bid; City Corp MD backs them Mumbai, June 4 : Union Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Surpiya Sule Friday distanced themselves from involvement in an unsuccessful bid for Indian Premier League (IPL) Pune franchisee by Aniruddha Deshpande, MD of City Corp, a company in which the Pawars hold equity stake. |
| Buddhadeb asked to attend CPI(M) meet over weekend New Delhi, Jun 4 : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been summoned to participate in a two-day CPI(M) meet here during the weekend after the Left Front bastion fell in the civic polls in the state, party sources said today. |
| India, South Africa sign three pacts, back UN reforms New Delhi, June 4 : India and South Africa Friday signed three agreements, including an air services pact, to ramp up their business ties and agreed to jointly work to reform the UN Security Council. |
| Soni in Congress list of six for Rajya Sabha elections New Delhi, June 4 : The Congress Friday announced six names for the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha, with Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni amongst those being renominated. |
| Ties with India top priority, proud to go there: Obama By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : US President Barack Obama said he plans to visit India in November to together make 'history and progress that will be treasured by generations to come', as he described Indo-US ties as 'one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century'. |
| Strong aftershock jolts Tibet's Yushu area New Delhi, June 4 : A 5.7-magnitude aftershock jolted the Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province at about 10:29 a.m. on Friday. |
| China has 870,000 intangible heritage items New Delhi, June 4 : China has over 870,000 intangible culture heritage items that need protection. |
| Buddhadeb summoned for CPI-M Delhi meet, may not attend New Delhi, June 4 : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been asked to attend a two-day CPI-M meeting here during the weekend after the Left Front's shocking debacle in civic polls, but he is unlikely to attend, says a senior party leader. |
| US, India agree to broaden cyberspace, ICT cooperation Washington, June 4 : India and the United States have agreed to to take steps to broaden and enhance cooperation in cyberspace and Information and Communications Technology (ICT). |
| US, India commit to creating a stable, pluralistic Afghanistan Washington, June 4 : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna on Thursday reiterated their countries shared interest and commitment towards creating a stable, sovereign, democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan. |
| 'India-US cooperating against transnational threats' Washington, June 4 : US President Barack Obama has said that India and the US are cooperating against transnational threats. |
| Soni in Congress list of six for Rajya Sabha New Delhi, June 4 : The Congress Friday announced six names for the coming elections to the Rajya Sabha, with Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni renominated from Punjab. |
| Kasab to challenge his death sentence Mumbai, June 4 : Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist who was sentenced to death last month by a special Mumbai court for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attack in 2008 that killed more than 160 persons, wants to challange his conviction in the high court. |
| Access to markets in India at a price, says official New Delhi, June 4 : Countries demanding greater access to Indian markets will have to pay for it if India agrees to give access said, India's chief negotiator at the WTO and an Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, D.K. Mittal. |
| Afzal Guru case: Delhi Lt. Governor sends mercy plea to Home Ministry New Delhi, June 4 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna has sent the file on the mercy petition of Afzal Guru, who is facing a death sentence in the 2001 Parliament attack case, to the Union Home Ministry. |
| Kasab appeals against death sentence Mumbai, June 4 : Pakistani Ajmal Amir Kasab, convicted for the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, has challenged the death sentence awarded to him by a Mumbai special court, an official said Friday. |
| Ties with US, India's foremost priority: Krishna Washington, June 4 : India considers its mutually beneficial relationship with the United States to be one of its foremost foreign policy priorities, visiting External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told US President Barack Obama today. |
| Afzal Guru's file goes to home ministry New Delhi, June 4 : Delhi Lt. Governor Tejendra Khanna has sent to the home ministry the file on parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mercy petition, an official in the Raj Bhawan said Friday. |
| Rathore fails to get bail, revision petition to be heard on June 29 Chandigarh, Jun 4 : Former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore, who was jailed on May 25 after being sentenced to 18-month imprisonment for molesting 15-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, failed to get bail from the High Court today. |
| PM's visit not linked to dialogue with separatists: Omar Srinagar, June 4 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Kashmir Valley June 7 is not linked to the resumption of a dialogue with separatist leaders, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Monday. |
| Ruchika case: No bail for Rathore Chandigarh, June 4 : The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of tainted former Haryana top cop SPS Rathore. |
| Rathore's bail plea adjourned till June 29 Chandigarh, June 4 : The Punjab and High Court Friday adjourned till June 29 the bail plea and revision petition of former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore, convicted for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990. |
| Court hints at political patronage in police-drug nexus Panaji, June 4 : The Goa government is unwilling to hand over the police-drug mafia probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as 'more skeletons may tumble out from the cupboard of the police-drug dealers nexus', the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court has observed. |
| No headway on high technology exports to India By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : India's demand to liberalise high technology exports to it has not found favour with the US. |
| Near miss at Mumbai: Flight about to land as another waits to go Mumbai, June 4 : A potential disaster was averted early Friday when a flight was cleared for landing while another plane was waiting for take-off on the same runway at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here, airport sources said. |
| I am proud to go to India: Obama By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : President Barack Obama says he has to go to India to experience 'all that India and its people and its incredible ancient culture have to offer'. |
| Grand diplomacy vs India's struggles to gain access to Headley By Mayank Chhaya, Chicago, June 4 : Nothing illustrates more tellingly how diplomatic grandiosity does not always work at the ground level than the matter of India's struggle to gain access to Mumbai terror plotter David Coleman Headley. |
| US vows to help bring Mumbai attackers to justice By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : The US has reiterated its commitment to provide full cooperation and support in counter-terrorism investigations, including exchanging information and bringing the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack to justice. |
| India-US will shape the rest of this century: Clinton By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : Fight against terrorism and nuclear security topped the agenda of India and the US as they set out shape a global partnership that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said 'will shape the rest of this century.' |
| Indian writing is fresh, diverse: Hay Festival organiser By Madhusree Chatterjee, New Delhi, June 4 : A lot of new writing from India has been making a mark across the world, says a top organiser of Britain's Hay Festival that will host its first India edition in Kerala in November with around 40 leading authors. |
| Access to Headley logical next step, India tells US By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : With a team of Indian investigators waiting to question Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Headley, who has confessed to his role in the Mumbai terror attack, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Thursday told the US that providing access to him "is perhaps the logical next step". |
| Trail run for CWG to start later this month New Delhi, June 4 : The trail run for traffic in the national capital would begin later this month. |
| US president wants to create 'Obama Platter' on India visit By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : Not to be outdone by his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US President Barack Obama intends to create an 'Obama Platter' when he visits India in early November. |
| India, US vow to cooperate on terror By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 4 : With US President Barack Obama according relations with 'responsible global power' India 'highest of priorities', the two countries have vowed to work together to meet the challenges of 21st century. |
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