Former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas refuses to head Lokpal search panel

Supreme Court judge K T Thomas on 03-March-2014 turned down the offer to head Lokpal search committee, days after jurist Fali Nariman opted out of the panel.

Thomas was a judge in the apex court between March 29, 1996 to January 1, 2002. Fali Nariman had recently also refused to be part of the Lokpal search panel, voicing fears that the best will be overlooked by the multi-layered procedure.

The eight-member search committee is mandated to prepare a panel of persons to be considered by the Selection Committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for appointment of chairperson and members of Lokpal.

The Selection Committee has as members the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him, and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the President or any other member.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 provides for establishment of a Lokpal for the Union and Lokayuktas for the states to inquire into corruption charges against public functionaries.

The Centre had already got nominations from various individuals for becoming its chairperson and members.

India’s largest solar power plant at Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, about 400 km from Bhopal on 26-02-2014.

The Welspun Solar MP project, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100 crore on 305 hectares of land, will supply power at Rs. 8.05 a kWh. 

Navy Chief Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned

India’s navy chief, Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned as chief of the Indian navy, owning “moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents during the past few months”, the Defence Ministry said on 26-Feb-2014 Admiral Joshi is the first Indian military commander to have resigned since General Kodandera Subayya Thimmaiah in 1959 -- and the only to have his resignation accepted by the government. 

The naval chief's resignation came hours after a fire on board the newly-refitted Sindhuratna claimed the lives of two naval officers and injured seven -- the third in a series of submarine accidents, including an explosion on the Sindhurakshak which exploded and sank in Mumbai’s naval dockyard in August, 2013, killing 18 crew. Last month, the Sindhughosh ran ground on its way to Mumbai harbour, though without loss of life. 

Ibrahim Mahlab is the Prime Minister of Egypt

Ibrahim Mahlab, a former official in the deposed Hosni Mubarak government, was on 25-02-2013 named as Egypt's new prime minister, a day after the military-backed cabinet resigned unexpectedly.

Mahlab said he was "officially tasked with forming a new government" by interim president Adly Mansour, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website.

United States developed fastest car in the world

U.S developed the world's fastest car with a top speed of an incredible 435 kilometres per hour.

US firm Hennessey's Venom GT set the new record for the fastest car in the world during a test run at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Venom beat the previous best record of 431km/h set by Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Supreme Court referred legalising Euthanasia to five- judge Constitution bench

Supreme Court on 25-02-2014 referred the issue of legalising euthanasia in the country to a five- judge Constitution bench, saying there has been "inconsistent" opinion in its previous verdicts on withdrawing medical support to terminally ill patients.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said that it is extremely important to have a clear enunciation of law on this issue and referred the matter to a larger Constitution bench.

The court said that the Constitution bench will go into all aspects of the issue and take a final decision on framing guidelines.

The Bench also comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and S K Singh passed the order on a PIL to allow a terminally ill person not to continue with artificial medical support.

The Centre had vociferously opposed the plea terming it as "suicide" which could not be allowed in the country.

Olympics concludes with Russia tops the medal list

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games were a major international multi-sport event held in Sochi, Russia, in the tradition of the Winter Olympic Games.

The Next winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang in South Korea.

 

Russia tops the medal list with 13 Gold Medals

The following list shows the first four positions ( Gold, Silver, Bronze)

Russia 13-11-9

Norway 11-5-10

canada 10-10-5

Unites States 9-7-12