Protest against MoU for joint research with Israel A group of concerned citizens has come down heavily on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by India for a joint research programme with Israel. In a joint appeal to academics, students and civil society to condemn the unholy alliance being forged by the University Grants Commission with the Israel Science Foundation through the MoU, the group said pursuit of excellence in any field of work could have meaning only if it was imbued with conscience. The group also questioned Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal for initiating the programme and asked how could academics in India collaborate with those funded by a State which was responsible for illegitimate occupation of another people.

Krishna Tirath attends meet Union Minister for Women & Child Development Krishna Tirath has represented India at the Global Nutrition Event being held in London. The event was aimed at strengthening global efforts to build political leadership and momentum to tackle malnutrition among children. The event was proposed to lay down a challenge to the international community to raise the level of political commitment to create new kinds of partnerships and to develop new products and services that will enable in addressing this global scourge. The global meet would be a forum to generate new and innovative ideas to support countries that face malnutrition to develop their own solution to the problem of under nutrition.

Temple harnesses hydel power A temple in Dakshina Kannada is all set to produce hydel power for lighting. Sri Durgaparameshwari temple at Kateel, Mangalore taluk, has set up a 25 kW mini-hydel turbine to produce power from the Nandini, which flows around it.

Cochin Shipyard wins Rs.160-crore contract from DGLL The State-owned Cochin Shipyard (CSL) inked a contract for constructing a hi-tech Buoy Tender Vessel (BTV) worth Rs.160 crore for the Directorate-General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL). With four decades of shipbuilding experience, the CSL has been making a mark in the high-end offshore vessel segment and has set its sights on niche segments such as seismic vessels, diving vessels, and drill vessels. The building of the BTV will be a step in this direction.

‘Green-on-blue’ attacks spike in Afghanistan Green-on-blue attacks, in which Afghans turn their weapons against their foreign allies, have killed a total of 34 international soldiers this year, according to a NATO count. The Taliban claims some of the attacks, which say it had infiltrated the ranks of Afghan security forces, but many are attributed to cultural differences and antagonism between local and U.S.-led allied forces.

At least 50 dead in Iran quakes Two strong quakes that struck towns and villages in north-west Iran in quick succession killed at least 50 people and injured hundreds, according to a preliminary toll by officials. Those hurt were being taken to hospitals in Tabriz and Ardebil, the two biggest nearby major cities. The quakes measured 6.2 and 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale, according to Tehran University’s Seismological Centre. The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors seismic activity worldwide, ranked them as more powerful than that, at 6.4 and 6.3, respectively.

A Hiroshima survivor calls for peace Hiroo Iso, who survived the atom bomb blast 67 years ago, says that human beings cannot co-exist with nuclear bombs.

Refugee to compete under Olympic flag Stateless refugee Guor Marial shared in men’s under the Olympic flag, while his family in South Sudan trudged 50 kilometres to watch him on the nearest TV. The 28-year-old has not seen his relatives since fleeing in 1993, when the only time he ever ran was to save his life. Marial was born in what was then Sudan but who fled to the United States after 28 members of his family were killed in the conflict. He has a resident’s permit but no passport. He found out just a week before that he could compete as a rare Independent Olympic Athlete.

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Asset quality of banks a serious cause for concern The current economic downturn is proving to be a testing time for banks, with asset quality concerns coming sharply to the fore yet again. The gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) of banks was 2.9 per cent as at the end of March 2012. Critically restructured assets and NPAs, which have surged sharply in the past year and a half, will rise further in 2012-13 and aggravate asset quality concerns in the banking system. The worries over asset quality are more so in the case of public sector banks (PSBs) which account for around 80 per cent of the banking credit. The difference between PSBs and private banks is starkly evident when one looks at absolute numbers.

Meseret Defar reclaims 5000m title Games champion Meseret Defar of reclaimed the women’s 5000m title with a sparkling finish, clocking 15:04.25. In men’s pole vault, Renaud Lavillenie of France bettered the Olympic record to take the gold with a vault of 5.97 metres that matched his season’s best. In women’s , two-time World champion of Bahrain was beaten by two women from Turkey, Asli Cakir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut, who ran away with the gold and silver. It was the first Olympic for Turkey. Alptekin clocked 4:10.23s as she held on after taking the lead with 250 metres to the finish.

Yogeshwar clinches India’s fifth medal Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 60 kg freestyle category winning three rounds of repechage after losing to four-time world champion Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the pre- quarterfinals, at the ExCel Arena. It was a brilliant performance by Yogeshwar, who had made the quarterfinals of the last edition in Beijing. He followed Sushil Kumar in winning the Olympic bronze medal. It was the third medal from wrestling for an Indian in the Olympics as K. D. Jadhav had won it in 1952.

US women break a long-standing world record World champion Carmelita Jeter was at her fiery best and could not believe her eyes when she saw the time on the trackside timer, and kept pointing at it with the baton as she crossed the line, anchoring the US sprint relay team to a world record of 40.82 seconds at the Olympic Stadium. Tianna Madison, and Bianca Knight ran the first three legs, before Jeter romped home as the US bettered a long-standing world record. The earlier world record of 41.37 was set in Canberra, Australia, in 1985 by East Germany, and the Olympic record of 41.60 was set by GDR in 1980 in .

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