Monday, April 28, 2014

South Korean PM resigns over ferry sinking

South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned on 27-04-2014 over the government’s handling of a ferry sinking that has left more than 300 people dead or missing. 

Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said President Park Geun-hye would accept the resignation, but did not say when Mr. Chung would leave office.

Holocaust “the most heinous crime” of modern history : Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas  called the Holocaust “the most heinous crime” of modern history and expressed his sympathy for the victims, a rare acknowledgment by an Arab leader of Jewish suffering during the Nazi genocide.

Pope Francis declares John XXIII, John Paul II saints

Pope Francis declared his two predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II saints on Sunday before hundreds of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, an unprecedented ceremony made even more historic by the presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI.

Justice Lodha sworn in as 41st Chief Justice of India

Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, was on 27-04-2014 sworn in as the 41st Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee. 

The 64-year-old Justice Lodha took over from Justice (retd) P. Sathasivam who demitted office on 26-04-2014 after nine months as the head of the judiciary.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

SC says transgenders 'third category'



Transgenders should be treated as a third category and as a socially and economically backward class entitled to job reservation, the Supreme Court said on 15-April-2013. 

Activists termed the verdict "revolutionary" but said social acceptance will take longer because of the stigma associated with them.

Recognising transgenders as a third gender, the apex court bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice A.K. Sikri directed the central and state governments to include them for reservation in jobs and education.
The court also said both the union and state governments would frame welfare schemes for them.

Rajendra Singh named "Solar Champion of Change" by White House

White House has named Indian-American professor Rajendra Singh as one of ten "Solar Champions of Change" who are taking the initiative to spur solar deployment across America.

Rajendra Singh is D. Houser Banks Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of Clemson University's Centre of Silicon Nanoelectronics in South Carolina.


White House has named Indian-American professor Rajendra Singh as one of ten "Solar Champions of Change" who are taking the initiative to spur solar deployment across America.
Rajendra Singh is D. Houser Banks Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of Clemson University's Centre of Silicon Nanoelectronics in South Carolina.
- See more at: http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/April/19.04.2014/solar-champ-of-year.html#sthash.GRlEflpc.dpuf
White House has named Indian-American professor Rajendra Singh as one of ten "Solar Champions of Change" who are taking the initiative to spur solar deployment across America.
Rajendra Singh is D. Houser Banks Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of Clemson University's Centre of Silicon Nanoelectronics in South Carolina.
- See more at: http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/April/19.04.2014/solar-champ-of-year.html#sthash.GRlEflpc.dpuf

Nobel laureate Garcia Marquez died

Garcia Marquez, the Nobel laureate whose intoxicating novels and short stories exposed millions outside Latin America to its passions, superstition, violence and social inequality, has died at home in Mexico City. He was 87.


Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, he was awarded the 1972 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Vijay Seshadri has won the prestigious 2014 Pulitzer Prize

Indian born poet Vijay Seshadri has won the prestigious 2014 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for his witty and philosophical collection of poems while The Washington Post and Guardian were awarded for their reports on America's secret global surveillance programmes.


Seshadri won the Pulitzer, considered the most prestigious awards in journalism, for his work '3 Sections'

Robin K Dhowan is the New Navi Chief


Robin K Dhowan on 17-April-2014 took over as chief of the Indian Navy nearly two months after D K Joshi quit the post in the wake of a series of mishaps.


 



Admiral Dhowan, 59, who has been the acting Navy chief since Joshi's exit, has been appointed the Chief of Navy Staff superseding Western Naval Commander Shekhar Sinha

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System(IRNSS-1B) launched



The  scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)  successfully launched its second Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System(IRNSS-1B) from Sriharikota  in Andhra Pradesh on 04-April-2014.

With this successful launch, the second of the seven satellite system, India inches closer to a select group of countries that have such a navigation system.

The 1,432 kg satellite was blasted off by the  rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C24)  at 5.14 pm from  the launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Center. IRNSS-1B is the second navigation satellite of the seven satellites constituting the IRNSS space segment.

Its predecessor IRNSS-1A was launched in July 2013

Soon after the ejection into the orbit the satellite’s solar panels were deployed.

The satellite control was taken over by the Mission Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka.
IRNSS-1B carries two  types of payloads — navigation payload and ranging payload. The IRNSS  system will provide two types of services — Standard Positioning System provided to all the users and the Restricted Service provided only to authorised users.

Besides applications in surveying,  mapping, archaeology, satellite navigation has also proved useful in the fields of maritime, aviation, automobiles, disaster management operations and tracking services. In June Isro is expected  to launch the country’s heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle – Mark III (GSLV-Mk III).