Thursday, April 26, 2012

HEADLINES

• Congress-BJP lock horns over the Bofors issue again in light of recent statements by the whistleblower who exposed the scam
• S&P downgrades India's credit rating outlook from 'stable' to 'negative'
• Hyderabad to host world agriculture congress in 2013; the event which is held every 2 years was last held in Belgium

NATIONAL NEWS

• Mullaperiyar dam structurally and hydrologically safe: Panel
  • Setting at rest the controversy over the safety of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, the Empowered Committee, headed by the former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand, has said it is structurally and hydrologically safe, and Tamil Nadu can raise the water level from 136 to 142 feet after carrying out certain repairs;
  • In its report submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the committee is understood to have said: “The dam is seismically safe.” Last year's earth tremors in that region “did not have any impact on the Mullaperiyar dam and the Idukki reservoir and there was no danger to the safety of the two dams”;
  • The committee's conclusion is expected to bring relief to both Kerala and Tamil Nadu after apprehensions were raised on the Mullaperiyar dam's safety following mild tremors in that region. The committee gave its findings on the basis of the reports, studies and investigations conducted by various agencies constituted to go into the safety aspects;
  • On Kerala's demand for construction of a new dam, the committee said that in view of the age of the existing reservoir, building a new one could be considered as an alternative proposal. If a new dam was constructed, the maximum water level (MWL) should be fixed at 155 ft and a fresh agreement signed between the two States on water sharing and maintenance.
• Native Anti-Malaria drug launched
  • India on Wednesday launched its first indigenously manufactured anti-malaria new-age drug Synriam. The drug is produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories and has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research;
  • Malaria claims half a million lives every year globally and India contributes to 77 per cent of the 2.5 million cases reported annually from South East Asia. The dual-molecule combination drug conforms to the recommendations of World Health Organisation (WHO) and will be required to be taken only once a day for three days;
  • Synriam will be used to treat uncomplicated “plasmodium falciparum” malaria in adults. It provides relief from most malaria-related symptoms, including fever, and has a high cure rate of over 95%.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Pakistan launches Hatf IV Shaheen-1A
  • Pakistan on Wednesday said it had successfully conducted the launch of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Hatf IV Shaheen-1A Weapon System. The missile — capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads — is billed as an improved version of Shaheen-1, in terms of range and technical parameters;
  • Pakistanis got wind of the upcoming missile test from the Indian media after Islamabad informed New Delhi of its plans to conduct a “long-range missile test” in the Indian Ocean. Advance notice was given to India on the test, in accordance with the May 2005 agreement regarding pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles;
  • India had similarly informed Pakistan of its upcoming test of Agni-V last week in advance.
• A high-level group of Afghan, Pakistani and American officials will meet today for the first time since September last year for talks on the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, including efforts to involve the Taliban in negotiations
• UN Team says it has unfettered access to all places in Syria to monitor the ceasefire
• The U.S. Justice Department broke new ground in the case against BP for causing the worst oil spill in the country's history when it brought criminal charges against a BP engineer for obstructing justice by deleting communications regarding the true size of the spill

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS & COLUMNS

• Read this article which puts the actual issues regarding the RTE Act back in focus
• Read this article on RISAT-1
• Read this editorial on the counterfeit currency issue
• Read this editorial on the recent decision of the Health Ministry to ask doctors to sign bonds when going abroad

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Nano wonder to keep Mangos fresh
  • A nano-film, developed by doctoral student M.R. Manikandan from the Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University will help increase the shelf life of Mangos;
  • This gains significance with India being the second largest producer of fruits, while occupying the first place in production of mango, among others. Yet, the estimated loss of mango is Rs. 2 billion a year, next only to wastage in banana;
  • The University of Guelph, Canada, has proved that hexanal, a safe chemical compound, can be successfully used to enhance the shelf life and quality of fruits and vegetables.
• Vast aquifers detected in Sahara
  • Researchers have found vast groundwater reserves in the Sahara, one of the driest places on earth, that could help buffer climate change effects for years;
  • Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London, who have prepared a map of the aquifers or groundwater in Africa, say the volume of water found beneath the driest parts of the continent is around 0.66 million cubic kilometres — 100 times the volume found on the surface;
  • The largest groundwater volumes are found in the large sedimentary aquifers in the North African countries of Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan,” said a scientist associated with the research, the journal Environmental Research Letters reports.
• Call for Arctic fishing regulations
  • Scientists recently urged Arctic rim nations to set fishing regulations for the Arctic Ocean, and order a moratorium on fishing until stocks are assessed, before trawlers soon start dropping nets in the pristine waters;
  • The main barrier to fishing in the Arctic waters is quickly disappearing, as the ice cap melts. Since the summer of 2007, 40 per cent of the central Arctic Ocean has been open water. Soon trawlers from major fishing nations could begin to appear in the far north;
  • The United States adopted a precautionary approach by closing its Arctic waters to commercial fishing in 2009 to allow scientists to assess the evolving environment. Canada is also drafting its own fisheries policy for the adjoining Beaufort Sea.