Current Affairs April 23

http://indiancurrentaffairs.wordpress.com

Current AffairsApril 23

2011

Praveenhttp://indiancurrentaffairs.wordpress.com

4/23/2011




POLITICS AND THE NATION

Government await report on Endosulfan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday assured an all-party delegation

from Kerala, led by its Health and Social Welfare Minister, that the Centre

would await the report of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR)

before deciding further on the request to ban Endosulfan nationwide.

The Kerala government had already banned the pesticide in 2005. The Prime

Minister said during his next visit to Kerala, he would visit Kasaragod district

to see and interact with the victims suspected to be affected by the use of the

pesticide in cashew plantations.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam

Ramesh said that Endosulfan would be banned if its adverse effect on health

was proved.

Eighty-one countries had either banned Endosulfan or decided to

phase out its use.

The delegation wanted Dr. Singh to give appropriate instructions so that India

took a strong stand against Endosulfan and sought its ban during the April 25

discussion on Stockholm convention on the use of persistent organic

pollutants to be held in Geneva.

During the last round of discussions, India had taken a stand against the ban

on Endosulfan, which had caused widespread anger and criticism in India,

especially among victims in Kerala who are fighting for their rights and

rehabilitation.

South Korean award for Binayak Sen

Rights activist Binayak Sen, who was freed on bail by the Supreme Court in a case of

sedition, has been chosen for the South Korean Gwangju Award for human rights for

2011.



FROM THE STATES

Gujarat police officer implicates Modi in riots

A senior Gujarat cadre police officer, Sanjiv Rajendra Bhatt, has filed an

affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that Chief Minister Narendra Modi

directed top police officers on the eve of the 2002 pogrom to “allow the

Hindus to vent their anger” and “teach a lesson” to Muslims following the

Sabarmati Express carnage in which Hindu passengers died.

Mr. Bhatt also accused the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation

Team of trying to “cover up the larger conspiracy and official orchestration”

behind the riots.

The 1988 batch IPS officer, now principal of the State Reserve Police Training

College, Junagadh, said that he was present at the high-level meeting

convened by the Chief Minister on the night of the Godhra incident on

February 27, 2002, in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence in

the State Intelligence Bureau, Gandhinagar, the post he held from December

1999 to September, 2002.

According to Mr. Bhatt, whose testimony had been recorded by the SIT

probing a complaint by Zakia Jaffrey, wife of a slain former Congress MP, “Mr.

Narendra Modi said [at the February 27 meeting] that the bandh call had

already been given, and the party [the BJP] had decided to support the same,

as incidents like the burning of kar sevaks at Godhra could not be tolerated.

He further impressed upon the gathering that for too long, the Gujarat police

had been following the principle of balancing the actions against the Hindus

and Muslims while dealing with communal riots. This time, the situation

warranted that the Muslims be taught a lesson to ensure that such incidents

do not recur ever again. The Chief Minister, Mr. Modi, expressed the view that

the emotions were running very high amongst the Hindus, and it was

imperative that they be allowed to vent out their anger,” the affidavit states.

The case, in which Ms. Jaffrey has asked that an FIR be registered against Mr.

Modi, comes up for hearing on April 27.



Karnataka – “My final report will be politically explosive: Lokayukta

If the first report on illegal mining in Karnataka by Lokayukta N. Santosh

Hegde that was submitted in December 2008 unravelled the intricate web of

illegalities in Karnataka's mining sector, the second and final report, which is

almost ready and will be submitted shortly, will be politically explosive as it

will name powerful individuals involved.

While the State Government has already been put in the dock by the

Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee on illegal mining,

the second report of the Lokayukta will expand on the findings of the CEC. It

is expected to firmly establish culpability of companies and individuals in

illegal mining and outline the mechanisms they have employed in draining the

State's revenues and natural resources.

“Powerful people across political parties in the State are involved in the illegal

export of iron ore as established by our investigation,” Mr. Hegde told. “The

report will have a political impact and I expect serious action to be taken on

it.”

Information on mines

While the first report carried information on 56 out of the 110 mines in

operation, the second report will cover the same ground for the remaining 64,

with a focus, Mr. Hegde said, “on establishing the persons involved in illegal

exports, the modus operandi employed by them, and the losses caused to the

State exchequer”.

Mining on border

According to Mr. Hegde, “one of the main contentions of a Minister in

Karnataka is that his company has not been mining within Karnataka,

whereas we have found that the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh inter-State

border has been violated. We also know that the Obulapuram Mining

Company, in which the Minister has interests, has been mining in Karnataka,

though not in its own name.”



There is incontrovertible evidence to establish the company's presence in

Karnataka, Mr. Hegde said. “We now have full records — bank documents,

shipping company documents, and receipts. These have been counterchecked

by the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation. This

will strengthen my case against the company, although there are many others

involved in illegal mining and exports.”

According to Mr. Hegde, the CEC report itself establishes that the OMC was

mining in Karnataka through an evaluation of the ferrous content of the iron

ore extracted. The ore from Karnataka is of a high ferrous content of nearly

60. The OMC's modus operandi is to transport this ferrous-rich ore from

Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, and through a process of ‘beneficiation' mix it

with low-ferrous ores found in Andhra Pradesh to enhance its value.



WORLD AFFAIRS

Japan reserves first $50 billion for reconstruction

Japan's cabinet approved on Friday almost $50 billion of spending for

post-earthquake rebuilding, a downpayment on the country's biggest

public works effort in six decades.

The emergency budget of 4 trillion yen ($48.5 billion), which is likely be

followed by more reconstruction spending packages, is still dwarfed by the

overall cost of damages caused by the March 11 earthquake and

tsunami, estimated at $300 billion.

Unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan, under fire for his handling of the

crisis, said Japan would have to issue fresh government bonds to fund extra

budgets to come, and suggested he would stay on to oversee the process.

Financing the next packages will be much tougher, as they are likely to

involve a mix of taxes as well as borrowing in the bond market, which could

strain Japan's debt-laden economy.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and 15-metre (50-ft) tsunami that followed

caused Japan's gravest crisis since World War Two, killing up to 28,000

people and destroying tens of thousands of homes.

It also smashed a nuclear power plant which began leaking radiation, a

situation the plant's operator says could take all year to bring under control.

US-China to hold human rights talks next week

The United States and China will hold talks on human rights in Beijing

next week, including discussions on detentions, arrests and freedom

of religion, the State Department said on Thursday.

"Discussions will focus on human rights developments, including the recent

negative trend of forced disappearances, extralegal detention, and arrests

and convictions, as well as rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of

expression, labor rights, minority rights and other human rights issues of

concern," according to statement.

The talks will take place on April 27 and 28.



China recently has extended a crackdown on dissidents, human rights

lawyers and protesters challenging Communist Party controls, in a

clampdown that has brought an outcry from Washington and other

Western capitals.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this month that she was

"deeply concerned" about China's clampdown and cited "negative trends"

including the detention of Chinese artist and human rights activist Ai

Weiwei.

Ai, 53, was detained on April 3 as he was about to board a flight to

Hong Kong from Beijing. Chinese police said Ai, a critic of China's

ruling Communist Party, was under investigation for "suspected

economic crimes."

China has said it was willing to discuss its differences on human rights "with

mutual respect" with the United States after rejecting a critical official report

from Washington as interference in its internal affairs.

Protesters stage Oman's biggest pro-reform demo

Some 3,000 protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers in

Oman's southern port of Salalah in one of the biggest pro-reform

demonstrations since scattered unrest began in the sultanate two

months ago.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said, a U.S. ally who has ruled Oman for 40 years,

promised a $2.6 billion spending package last Sunday after nearly

two months of demonstrations inspired by popular uprisings that have

spread across the Arab world.

Omani demonstrators have focused their demands on better wages,

jobs and an end to graft. Many are angered by the state's perceived

unwillingness to prosecute ministers sacked for corruption in

response to demonstrations in February.

Unrest in Oman has been on a relatively small scale, with dozens of

protesters camping out in tents near the quasi-parliament, the Shura

council, in the capital Muscat.

A sit-in that had lasted for weeks in the industrial town of Sohar, the

epicentre of Oman's protest movement, was suppressed when security



forces deployed, clearing road blocks and arresting hundreds for alleged acts

of vandalism.

Gulf Arab oil producers, keen to prevent popular uprisings from

taking hold in their region, launched a $20 billion aid package for

protest-hit Bahrain and Oman last month.

The job-generating measure, which will give $10 billion to each country to

upgrade housing and infrastructure over 10 years, was more than had been

expected.

Sultan Qaboos has offered a series of job reforms, including a monthly

allowance for the unemployed and pay rises for civil servants.

He promised in March to cede some legislative powers to the partially-elected

Oman Council, an advisory body. Now only the sultan and his cabinet can

legislate, and a transfer of powers has yet to be announced.

France mulls suspending Schengen commitments

France is considering suspending its commitments under the Schengen

treaty on border-free travel in the European Union due to an influx of

migrants from Tunisia and Libya, a source close to the French presidency

said.

"It seems to us that we need to think about a mechanism that would allow us,

when there is a systematic disruption at one of the EU's external borders, to

intervene with a temporary suspension for as long as the disruption lasts,"

the source told.

Former British PM Brown takes unpaid Davos job

Former British prime minister Gordon Brown is to take an unpaid post as

adviser to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Swiss-based body

which organises the annual global leaders' meeting in Davos said on

Friday.

The former leader of the now opposition Labour Party headed the British

government from 2007 until he lost power in an election last year. He is also

mooted as the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund

(IMF).



The WEF said Brown would be chairman of a new "policy and

initiatives coordination board", bringing together heads of

international organisations and government officials to assess

priorities for the world economic system.

Brown, who was Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer -- or finance minister --

from 1997 to 2007 under the government of his Labour predecessor Tony

Blair, has in the past been a keynote speaker at Davos meetings.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, said Brown

would bring a wealth of knowledge to the organisation.

Foreign commentators have said Brown is a strong candidate to take over at

the Washington-based IMF if its current chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn steps

down to run for the French presidency next year.

Dhoni joins newsmakers, pop stars on Time 100 list

Previously unknown newsmakers from Egypt and Japan joined pop stars and

politicians on Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the

world released on Thursday.

The list includes pop culture giants such as Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey

plus the lesser known Wael Ghonim, an Egyptian Internet activist who

helped topple President Hosni Mubarak, and Takeshi Kanno, a Japanese

doctor who refused to leave behind victims of the March 11

earthquake and tsunami.

World leaders such as British Prime Minister David Cameron, French

President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian

President Dilma Rousseff populate the list for how they have wielded power.

Jailed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was honored for his "bravery and artistic

skill," Elliott said.

From the world of sport, Argentina soccer phenomenon Lionel Messi

was joined by cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose charisma

and leadership united an ethnically diverse team that won the World

Cup.

South Korean pop star Rain won The People's Choice vote for the third

straight year.

The complete list can be seen on www.time.com

www.time.com


www.time.com


BUSINESS/FINANCE/ECONOMY

Galleon Trial: Rajaratnam defense in last shot to urge acquittal

Raj Rajaratnam's lawyer took a last shot at trial of keeping his client out of

prison, blasting the credibility of key witnesses and telling jurors the

government failed to prove the hedge fund manager broke insider trading

laws.

In his closing argument on Thursday, chief defense lawyer John Dowd also

fired back at the government contention Rajaratnam corrupted his friends and

colleagues. He said it was the people who testified against the Galleon Group

founder who were corrupt or had lied.

Dowd presented dozens of e-mails, trading records and excerpts from trial

testimony to show Rajaratnam made trades based on public reports, not on

tips about nonpublic information.

In a rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Streeter told jurors

Rajaratnam was an "incredibly sophisticated" investor who attended a top

business school and knew his contacts should not have passed on company

secrets.

Rajaratnam, 53, is the central figure in a sweeping government probe of

insider trading at hedge funds.

Twenty of 26 people charged have pleaded guilty in the biggest Wall

Street insider-trading prosecution since the 1980s.

The trial began on March 8. Streeter is expected to finish his rebuttal on

Monday.

The case is USA v Raj Rajaratnam et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern

District of New York, No. 09-01184.



SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT/TECHNOLOGY

Earth Day organizers call for 'a billion acts of green'

The annual effort to raise public awareness about the environment and inspire

actions to clean it up marks its 41st anniversary on Friday, coinciding with

the Christian Good Friday and Judaism's celebration of Passover.

In an effort dubbed "A Billion Acts of Green," organizers are

encouraging people to observe Earth Day 2011 by pledging online at

act.earthday.org/ to do something small but sustainable in their own

lives to improve the planet's health -- from switching to compact

fluorescent light bulbs to reducing the use of pesticides and other toxic

chemicals.

There will be hundreds of rallies, workshops and other events around the

United States, where Earth Day was born, and hundreds more overseas,

where it is now celebrated in 192 countries.

In the years since the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 the

environmentalist movement made great strides with passage of the Clean Air

Act, Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and other groundbreaking

laws.



SPORTS

Cricket - Malinga quits test cricket to prolong one-day career

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga, whose unique slinging round-arm action

brought him 101 wickets in 30 tests, retired from test cricket on Friday in

order to prolong his limited overs career.

Malinga, 27, who is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian

Premier League (IPL), said he was fit to play one-day cricket but needed to

carefully manage a "long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee".

He had made himself unavailable for Sri Lanka's forthcoming tour of England

which prompted his board to ask him to return from the IPL to undergo

rehabilitation.

Malinga had sustained a chronic knee injury in Australia in February, 2008,

which prevented him from playing one-day cricket for 16 months.

Badminton - BWF pulls up new 'skirt rule' by a month

The introduction of badminton's controversial 'skirt rule' has been postponed

by a month to grant female shuttlers more time to adapt to the dress code,

the game's governing body said.

The new Badminton World Federation (BWF) code, which requires all

female players to wear skirts or dresses in major tournaments in

order to "to ensure attractive presentation of badminton" will now be

implemented on June 1.

The BWF will talk with the players, some of whom have objected to the

principle of making skirts compulsory, saying it hampered their movement on

court and made them uncomfortable.

The rule, which has been criticised by female shuttlers in China, Indonesia

and India, allows players to continue to wear shorts provided they are was

underneath a skirt.

With the current extension, the rule will now come into implementation in

Singapore Open Super Series after the BWF's annual general meeting in

Qingdao, China on May 28.


Documents

Current Affairs April 23