Monday, April 30th, 2012

HEADLINES

• As race for president begins, Congress trying to evolve consensus with allies
• Back from talks interlocutors say Collector is safe

NATIONAL NEWS

• Bhilai planners cut short Jatin Das's flight of steel
  • The “Flight of Steel,” installed by artist and Padma Bhushan awardee, Jatin Das, it appears, has been cruelly cut short by the exigencies of urban planning, prompting a debate on the role of public art and the limits of an artist's control over his work.
  • Artists in Delhi say that “Flight of Steel” is only one among a fast disappearing number of commissioned art works.
  • muralist Mohinder Puri made a large ceramic tile (12 feet by 8 feet) mural on the façade of the Priya Cinema Hall in Basant Lok in New Delhi. “It was an eye with the iris depicted as an aperture, with dancing figures on the sides and the faces of the crowds on the borders,” “But it was removed when the cinema hall was renovated.
  • “One of Satish Gujaral's first and best murals was a ceramic he did for the front of Odeon cinema, which was removed when the hall was refurbished. Balbir Singh Katt did an abstract sculpture which was removed and replaced by the Dandi March sculpture.
    
    
• Zoo plans cross breeding of Tigers
  • Zoo authorities in Vandalur are moving towards strengthening the gene pool of both Royal Bengal Tigers and White Tigers in captivity by facilitating breeding between the two sub-species
  • The habit of in-breeding leads to genetic weaknesses, which ultimately will be passed on from one generation to the other.To avoid this problem, the authorities have identified Vijay, a male Royal Bengal Tiger, which has been released into an enclosure with Akanksha and Namrutha, two White Tigresses. The three have been provided a separate enclosure, which is not open for visitors.
  • “The first set of cubs that will be born is expected to be Royal Bengal Tigers and the second set, we hope, will be White Tiger cubs. ” Apart from this, the newborn cubs from this cross-breed would be genetically strong with increased immunity and they would also be prolific breeders, he said.
    
    
• Rules to define central government schools soon
  • The Central government is coming up with a set of rules and regulations to define an international school
  • The rules would define criterion such as ‘percentage of international students', ‘infrastructure facilities offered', ‘syllabi followed' and ‘accreditation',
    
    
• Mid day meal scheme; Centre asks states to adopt AP fund model
  • With some States defaulting on payment of their share of funds for providing meals to children in government schools, adversely affecting the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Centre has now asked all States to consider adopting Andhra Pradesh's model ‘Green Channel Scheme.' The A.P. model makes funds available throughout the year.
  • “All States and Union Territories may take the lead from Andhra Pradesh and streamline the release of funds,” a communication from the Human Resource Development Ministry says. It also asks them to furnish their expenditure position on time, along with the quarterly report.
  • The Centre provides 75 per cent funds, while the States contribute the remaining 25 per cent to implement the scheme. This helps prevent classroom hunger and also promotes school participation and retention at the elementary level. It also fosters social and gender equity.
    
    
• India will work with Seychelles against piracy, terror: President
  • On her visit to Seychelles, the President said it was of strategic importance as India and Seychelles were bound together by the waters of the Indian Ocean.
  • President of Seychelles James Alix Michel will be receiving Ms. Patil, who is scheduled to attend a meeting of the India-Seychelles Business Forum later in the day and attend a community reception hosted by the High Commissioner of India.

INTERNATIONAL

• Thai cambodia border clash
  • Cambodia says its troops exchanged fire with Thai security forces along their border in their first publicly acknowledged clash since repeated combat there ended a year ago.

• Deep sea drilling record
  • A Japanese deep-sea drilling probe has set a world record for depth, reaching 25,400 feet below the sea surface
  • The Chikyu, operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, was digging the seabed off Japan's northern coast to take fault samples and study last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
  • The agency said on Friday the probe's drilling pipe hit the fault zone at 6,883.5 metres (22,600 feet) undersea before reaching the target of 7,740 metres on Wednesday. That's nearly 8 km deep.
  • The U.S. vessel Glomar Challenger set the previous record of 23,130 feet below sea surface in the Mariana Trench in 1978.

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

• An article on Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) an international treaty aimed at halting the global proliferation of missile technology
• Editorial on the S&P downgrade