Tuesday, February 14, 2012

HEADLINES

• Bomb blast rips through Israeli diplomats car in Delhi; Diplomats wife is critically injured; Israel blames Iran for this attack as well as a foiled one in Georgia on the same day
• CBI director says that Indians have stashed over $500 billion in tax havens
• The Centre has rejected the Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to rename capital Bhopal as Bhojpal after Raja Bhoj of the Parmar dynasty
• Former RSS activist held for Samjhauta train bombing which was bombed in February 2007
• Pakistan PM Gilani formally charged with contempt of court by the Supreme Court for refusing to follow its order to reopen corruption cases against President Zardari; pleads not guilty

NATIONAL NEWS

• On the trail of the Bar-headed Geese
  • Ornithologists across the country are looking for the Bar-headed Geese, a fully migratory species, that were collared in Mongolia (to study and track their movements);
  • The birds come to their wintering grounds in India, China, and Korea during this time of the year. They will soon begin to return north to Mongolia and Russia, according to experts. Migratory birds mostly reach India between September and April and return to their home habitats by the end of the season;
  • In India, the breeding population of the species has been reported from Ladakh. It is also present in 12 of the important bird areas including the Kaziranga National Park, the Krishnarajasagar Reservoir, the Nagi Dam and Nakti Dam Bird Sanctuary and the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary (Chilika Lake).
• Payment for exports to Iran can be in rupees says Director-General of Foreign Trade
  • The DGFT, Union Ministry of Commerce, said here on Monday that the government had created a mechanism whereby payments for exports from India to Iran could be made in Indian rupees instead of convertible currency such as American dollars and Euros;
  • This move comes in light of US and EU sanctions on payments to Iran and the Indian arrangements for Iranian oil and payments for it in Indian rupees.
• AYUSH to be included in national health schemes
  • The Centre is planning to launch a special scheme for delivery of healthcare services in 100 out of 264 focus districts across the country where the health indicators are very low, by integrating allopathic and other Indian systems of medicine soon;
  • Under the scheme, joint teams of doctors of allopathy, Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy systems of medicine will visit villages frequently to bring about an improvement in the general health condition of people;
  • AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). Modalities were being worked out to include AYUSH systems of medicine in all national health programmes within two years.
• India committed to UN Food&Agriculture Organisation program on foot & mouth disease
  • India on Monday reinforced its commitment to controlling the contagious foot and mouth disease' (FMD) in cattle as a crucial measure to enhance productivity of the livestock;
  • FMD causes viral fever and it is accompanied by blisters in the mouth and foot of the affected animal. If untreated, it may prove to be fatal to livestock.
• Supreme Court hearing today on a bunch of appeals opposing and supporting the Delhi High Court order of July 2009 which decriminalised gay sex amongst consenting adults

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• United States delivers strongest message yet to Sri Lanka
  • The US has despatched two senior officials to convey to Sri Lanka that it has to deliver on its promise of conducting an inquiry into war crimes, or face international sanction;
  • US said that Sri Lanka has not yet done enough to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee, and comprehensively address the question of accountability;
  • The US also supports the talks between the Sri Lankan Govt and Tamil National Alliance, an umbrella organisation of Tamil parties that represents Tamils of the Northern Province.
• Greeks riot against austerity vote passed by the Parliament

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article on the Durban conference and what India should do for the next round if it wants to maintain its stand on 'equity' in climate change issues
• Read this article on making BRICS less dependent on the west

ECONOMY & BUSINESS NEWS

• Vodafone UK weighing options to bid for Cable & Wireless
  • Vodafone Plc is evaluating the merits of a potential acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), a more than 150-year-old telecom entity that was primarily set up to cater to the needs of the erstwhile British Empire;
  • Both U.K. majors have a good presence in India, where CWW first made its entry in 1872 as an under-sea cable firm by the name of Eastern Telegraph Company;
  • Going by media reports, Vodafone is looking at a bid worth about 700 million pound for CWW. An acquisition of CWW would help in boosting Vodafone's bandwidth capacity for customers using internet.
• Indian Commerce Minister undertakes historic visit to Pakistan through Wagah border; India Pakistan aim to double trade in 3 years; Integrated Customs post discussed at Wagah-Attari border