Wednesday, Nov 30th, 2011

HEADLINES

• Opposition wants floor test for FDI in retail.
• Lower Bureaucrazy and CBI not in Standing committee's Lokpal draft. Anna to start agitation all over again.
• All round opposition to targeted food security bill.
• DMK MP Kanimozhi out of Tihar

NATIONAL NEWS

• Behind postponed talk, China sees a newly assertive India.
  • India is taking an increasingly bold and assertive decisions; following the postponement of the 15^th bilateral border talks because of the alleged buddhist conference which is being attended by Dalai Lama.
  • Even in the south china sea issue, India took a bolder step.

• Iranian war ship in Indian Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ)
  • Iranian ship MV Assa has anchored about 160 miles west of Kochi. (Upto 12 Nautical miles from shore is India's territorial waters and 200 nautical miles from the coast are international shipping lanes, though it is within the EEZ)
  • Though it has not violated any international law till now, it is under constant scrutiny by the Indian Navy as the ship has machine guns onboard.
  • The concern raised by India is from the fact that the Iranian ship could be here to discharge hazardous toxic waste.
    
    
• Coal delay will switch off new power plants – Montek
  • A delayed forest clearance for captive mines could adversely impact development and financing of a large number of power projects including the Ultra mega power projects.
  • These ultra mega power projects are yet to get the forest ministry's nod.
  • This might lead to missing the 12^th plan target of 1,00,000 MW of power.
  • The chaturvedi committee has recommended doing away with the GO-NO-GO system of mines which has been the bone of contention between the Ministry of Environment and forest and Ministry of Coal and power.
    
    
• AI plans lease back of boeing 787dreamliner instead of an outright purchase.
  
  
• Bangalore has been considered as the best city to live in India, in a global survey conducted.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Pakistan floods a forewarning – UN
  • Global temperatures in 2011 is the 10^th hottest year on record.
  • Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, US are the worst hit by climatic changes
  • Earth this year has been the hottest with a La Nina happening (A cooling influence)
  • 13 warmest years have happened in the last 15 years. World moving towards increase in an average 2 degree rise in temperature
    
    
• A Chink in Malaria's armour
  • Scientists have identified a new way by which the malarial parasite survives in human blood.
  • The plasmodium falciparum parasite produces enzymes called kinases. Thirty six kinases are needed for the parasite to develop in human blood cells.
  • Scientists are now on the look out for the drug which will kill the kinases from working.
  • Earlier this year scientists have found out the interaction between specific molecule on the parasite called the ligand and a specific receptor on the surface of the blood cell. Blocking this interaction could prevent the parasite from breaking the cell wall.
  • The field trials earlier has also shown that the malarial vaccine -RTSS (a first of this kind to prime the immune system about a parasite rather than a virus or bacteria) has found to be cutting the infection rates by half

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

• An opinion on FDI in retail.
• Protecting the himalayas – An editorial on the climate change in himalayas.
• An opinion on the Durban conference

PEOPLE IN NEWS

• Indira Goswami(Pen name – Maiomon Raisom), one among India's most celebrated writer passed away
• Stalin's daughter Lana peters dies aged 85.