Chibok Kidnapping of Schoolgirls: Nigeria’s President calls off town visit
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled a visit to Chibok, the town from where more than 200 schoolgirls have been abducted by militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Jonathan has been criticised for not visiting the town – more than a month after the girls were abducted.
The president will now go direct to Paris to participate in a meeting convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss the issue of Boko Haram militants.
Around 276 female students were abducted from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria on the night of April 14-15, 2014. Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist, and Takfiri terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria have claimed these kidnappings. Boko Haram, had earlier said the girls should not have been at school and should be married instead.
Boko Haram:
It is a militant Islamist group Boko Haram active mainly in Nigeria and is responsible for wreaking mayhem in the country through a series of bombings, assassinations and now kidnappings. It intends to bring down the government and create an Islamic state.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram”, or forbidden, for Muslims to participate in any political or social activity associated with Western society. This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and rousers or receiving a secular education.
The group was set up in 2002 as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”. It was dubbed Boko Haram, a phrase in the local Hausa language meaning, “Western education is forbidden”.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled a visit to Chibok, the town from where more than 200 schoolgirls have been abducted by militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Jonathan has been criticised for not visiting the town – more than a month after the girls were abducted.
The president will now go direct to Paris to participate in a meeting convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss the issue of Boko Haram militants.
Around 276 female students were abducted from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria on the night of April 14-15, 2014. Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist, and Takfiri terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria have claimed these kidnappings. Boko Haram, had earlier said the girls should not have been at school and should be married instead.
Boko Haram:
It is a militant Islamist group Boko Haram active mainly in Nigeria and is responsible for wreaking mayhem in the country through a series of bombings, assassinations and now kidnappings. It intends to bring down the government and create an Islamic state.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram”, or forbidden, for Muslims to participate in any political or social activity associated with Western society. This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and rousers or receiving a secular education.
The group was set up in 2002 as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”. It was dubbed Boko Haram, a phrase in the local Hausa language meaning, “Western education is forbidden”.
Adani Ports buys Dhamra Port of Odisha
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone acquired the strategic Dhamra port inOdisha on the east coast of India for an enterprise value of Rs 5, 500 crore. The company inked a definitive pact to acquire the port from a 50:50 joint venture ofTata Steel and Larsen & Toubro. After the 2005 acquisition of Pipapav Port inGujarat by APM Terminals BV from SKIL Infrastructure, the Dhamra deal is the largest port sector deal in India.
Dhamra Port:
Dhamra port is one of the deepest ports on the eastern coast of India. It was granted the rights by the Odisha government in 2004 to develop and operate for 30 years. The port is considered strategic as it is located to serve the mineral belt of the eastern states and in between competitors and government-controlled Haldia and Paradip ports.
Adani Ports and SEZ:
Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and SEZ is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and is 75% owned by Adani Enterprises, the flagship of Adani group. The company owns and operates 5 ports, of which three— Dahej, Hazira and Mundra—are in Gujarat. Dhamra port will help the company enhance its capacity to over 200 million tonne by 2020, making it a leader among private sector port operators in the country. Adani’s family firm also operates a coal loading terminal at Abbot Point in Queensland in Australia.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone acquired the strategic Dhamra port inOdisha on the east coast of India for an enterprise value of Rs 5, 500 crore. The company inked a definitive pact to acquire the port from a 50:50 joint venture ofTata Steel and Larsen & Toubro. After the 2005 acquisition of Pipapav Port inGujarat by APM Terminals BV from SKIL Infrastructure, the Dhamra deal is the largest port sector deal in India.
Dhamra Port:
Dhamra port is one of the deepest ports on the eastern coast of India. It was granted the rights by the Odisha government in 2004 to develop and operate for 30 years. The port is considered strategic as it is located to serve the mineral belt of the eastern states and in between competitors and government-controlled Haldia and Paradip ports.
Adani Ports and SEZ:
Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and SEZ is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and is 75% owned by Adani Enterprises, the flagship of Adani group. The company owns and operates 5 ports, of which three— Dahej, Hazira and Mundra—are in Gujarat. Dhamra port will help the company enhance its capacity to over 200 million tonne by 2020, making it a leader among private sector port operators in the country. Adani’s family firm also operates a coal loading terminal at Abbot Point in Queensland in Australia.
Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and SEZ is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and is 75% owned by Adani Enterprises, the flagship of Adani group. The company owns and operates 5 ports, of which three— Dahej, Hazira and Mundra—are in Gujarat. Dhamra port will help the company enhance its capacity to over 200 million tonne by 2020, making it a leader among private sector port operators in the country. Adani’s family firm also operates a coal loading terminal at Abbot Point in Queensland in Australia.
RBI to launch Plastic notes in 2015
As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, Plastic currency notes will be launched in 2015 after field trial which is likely to be conducted in the latter half of 2014. The pilot testing would be conducted in five cities- Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Shimla.
One billion plastic notes of Rs.10 denomination will be released in the field trial in these cities chosen for their geographical and climatic diversity. Plastic currency notes have an average life span of about 5 years and are difficult to counterfeit. Also, these notes are cleaner than paper notes.
As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, Plastic currency notes will be launched in 2015 after field trial which is likely to be conducted in the latter half of 2014. The pilot testing would be conducted in five cities- Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Shimla.
One billion plastic notes of Rs.10 denomination will be released in the field trial in these cities chosen for their geographical and climatic diversity. Plastic currency notes have an average life span of about 5 years and are difficult to counterfeit. Also, these notes are cleaner than paper notes.
SpaceX ‘Dragon’ capsule leaves space station, heads back to Earth
US private firm SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon capsule undocked from theInternational Space Station (ISS), to return to Earth. The capsule is carrying more than 1,580 kilograms of science samples and NASA’s old equipment.
NASA depends on SpaceX and other private companies to replace the Space Shuttles, which were finally retired in July 2011, and had brought supplies and astronauts to and from the space station.
SpaceX has signed a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for a total of 12 of supply missions. SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada have also been engaged by NASA to develop private space ships capable of transporting people to the space station and other destinations in orbit, with a launch expected in 2017. That would end the US reliance on Russia’s Soyuz capsules to carry US astronauts to and from the space station, at a cost of $70 million per person.
US private firm SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon capsule undocked from theInternational Space Station (ISS), to return to Earth. The capsule is carrying more than 1,580 kilograms of science samples and NASA’s old equipment.
NASA depends on SpaceX and other private companies to replace the Space Shuttles, which were finally retired in July 2011, and had brought supplies and astronauts to and from the space station.
SpaceX has signed a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for a total of 12 of supply missions. SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada have also been engaged by NASA to develop private space ships capable of transporting people to the space station and other destinations in orbit, with a launch expected in 2017. That would end the US reliance on Russia’s Soyuz capsules to carry US astronauts to and from the space station, at a cost of $70 million per person.
‘Photon-Photon Collider Experiment’: Researchers develop technique to turn light into matter
Scientists in the UK have discovered how to turn light into matter. Until now, it was not practically shown what was theorized by scientists G Breit and John A Wheeler in 1934- the simplest technique of turning light into matter — by colliding only two particles of light (photons), to create an electron and a positron. It has never been observed in a lab and past experiments as it necessitates the addition of massive high-energy particles.
Scientists from Imperial College London have unraveled the theory. They will perform a ‘Photon-Photon Collider’ experiment to prove this in practise. The experiment would recreate a process that was significant in the first 100 seconds of the universe, also seen in gamma ray bursts — the biggest explosions in the universe and one of physics’ greatest unsolved puzzles.
Two main steps of ‘Photon- Photon Collider’ experiment:
- Using an extremely powerful high-intensity laser to speed up electrons to just below the speed of light and then shoot these electrons at a slab of gold to create a beam of photons a billion times more energetic than visible light.
- Firing a high-energy laser at the inner surface of a tiny gold can called a hohlraum to create a thermal radiation field, generating light similar to the light emitted by stars.
The photon beam from the first stage would be directed through the centre of the can, causing the photons from the two sources to collide and form electrons and positrons. It would then be possible to observe the formation of the electrons and positrons when they exited the can.
This discovery would help in understanding how we can create matter directly from light using the technology.
India’s ‘Steel Man’ – Former Tisco chief Russi Mody passed away
Russi Mody (96), regarded as India’s ‘Steel Man’ for his role in elevating Tata Steel (then known as Tisco) to its present status of India’s largest steel manufacturing company, passed away.
He was born on January 17, 1918, joined Tisco in 1939, and rose through the ranks to become its chairman and managing director in 1984. The man who was with Tata Steel for nearly four decades was credited with laying the foundation for what Tata Steel is today.
Mody was removed from the top position at Tata Steel in 1993 as the result of differences in opinions with Ratan Tata, who had just assumed charge as chairman of the Tata Group. He was then appointed as the joint chairman of Air India and Indian Airlines by then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.
Mody received Padma Bhushan (nation’s third highest civilian award) in 1989 for his exemplary contribution to the Indian industry.
Representation of Muslims in 16th Lok Sabha plunges all-time low at 22
The 16th Lok Sabha will have lowest Muslim representation (Muslim MPs) of all-time at 22. The previous low in the history of Indian Parliament was witnessed in 1957 when there were only 23 Muslim MPs. While Muslims constitute 10.5% of India’s population, its percentage representation in the new Lok Sabha will be 4.2%. In 1957, it was slightly high at 4.6%. The highest representation was in 1980 when 49 Muslims were elected as MPs.
West Bengal sends the largest number of Muslim MPs with 4 from Trinamool Congress and 2 each from Congress and CPI. The second highest number is from Bihar with RJD, NCP, Lok Jan Shakti Party and Congress sending 1 MP each. In Assam 2 Muslim MPs, both from All India United Democratic Front, have won. Kashmir has elected 3 Muslim MPs while Kerala elected 3. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have elected 1 Muslim MP each while no Muslim MP has been elected from Uttar Pradesh.
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