24 November 2014
National:
Country observes Guru Teg Bhadur’s
Martyrdom Day today
Martyrdom Day of 9th Sikh guru, Guru Teg Bahadur is being
observed. It was on this day in 1675 he sacrificed his life in Chandni Chowk,
Delhi on the orders of the Mughal Emperor of the day. Guru Teg Bahadur who is
known as “Hind Di Chadder “sacrificed his life for the unity of the society of
that period and to stop religious tyranny by the rulers of the day. In Punjab,
main religious congregations are being organized at Anandpur Sahib in Ropar
district where Guru’s head was cremated and in the Gurudwaras which are related
to the memory of 9th Guru. A special journey known as “Rin Uttar Yatra’ to pay
gratitude to great guru has started from Anandpur Sahib which will conclude at
Gurudwara Sis Ganj Delhi.
Canada province offers uranium
Brad Wall, Premier of the Saskatchewan province in Canada,
who was on an official visit to India from November 16-23, said the province is
discussing sale of uranium to India as well as partnering in agriculture and
clean coal technologies. On energy cooperation, Premier Wall said that like
India, Saskatchewan province too depends on coal for about 50 per cent of its
needs and to minimise carbon emissions, a clean coal technology has been
developed resulting in significant carbon capture and storage. India and China
are globally the largest users of coal and shifting to clean coal will
contribute to their carbon reduction measures.
IIT-Madras joins CERN experiment
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, which is part of
the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, is famous for its role in the discovery of
the Higgs Boson a.k.a the god particle. It is expected to start collecting data
once again around March 2015. But this time, it will include another member
from our environs — IIT-Madras. IIT-Madras has been accepted as a full member
of the collaboration and is looking forward to make best use of the
opportunity. Now, PhD students from the physics department will get to work in
the collider; undergraduate students can do short summer projects at CMS;
members of physics, computer science and electrical engineering departments at
IIT-M can work on data analysis, grid computing and high-end detector building
related to the experiment.
International:
1971 war crimes: B’desh Tribunal
sentences Mobarak Hussain to death
In Bangladesh, the International crimes Tribunal today
sentenced Mohammed Mobarak Hossain to death for crimes against humanity in the
1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Mobarak Hossain was a Jamaat-e-Islami member
and functioned as a Razakar Commander in Brahmanbaria in eastern Bangladesh
during the Liberation War. 64-year old Mobarak was arrested in 2012, and lodged
in the Kashimpur jail during the trails. War crimes trials have been going on
in Bangladesh since the Hasina government established the International Crimes
Tribunals in 2010, almost 40 years after the Liberation War. The Ganojagran
Mancha initiated the Shahbagh movement in 2013 demanding maximum punishment for
war criminals. The Liberation War left over 3 million people dead and over 2
lakh women raped.
Kenyan military claims to have
killed over 100 al-Shabab militants
The Kenyan military has claimed to have killed over 100
al-Shabab militants linked to a deadly attack on a bus. Kenya's Deputy
President William Ruto said the armed forces had carried out two operations in
Somalia, destroying equipment and a camp from which the bus attack was planned.
Mr Ruto gave details of the military operation after attending service at a
church in Nyahururu. However, al-Shabab refuted this, and said that its
fighters were safe. In attack, militants had killed 28 passengers from a bus in
northern Kenya.
Hitler’s watercolour fetches
€130,000
Adolf Hitler’s 1941 watercolour painting, titled ‘Standesamt
und Altes Rathaus Muenchen (Civil Registry Office and Old Town Hall of
Munich)’, has fetched €130,000 at an auction in Nuremberg, Germany. The
painting was bought by an individual from the Middle East. The painting is one
of around 2,000 pieces that Hitler painted between 1905 and 1920, when he was a
struggling young artist. Around 10% of the proceeds will be donated to a
charity for disabled children. Five other Hitler paintings have fetched between
€5,000-80,000.
Sci. & Tech:
Cache of human skulls discovered
As many as 21 human skulls were discovered from one place
along Konark Marine Drive, about 70 km from Bhubaneswar. Practice of black
magic is being suspected. In the morning, locals found human skulls, some with
traces of vermilion, and animal body parts under a bridge over Kushabhadra
River. They also recovered black cotton and flowers from the spot. The
discovery has spread panic among villagers. A police team is deployed at the
spot.
Sports:
World Chess Championship: Carlsen
retains title against Anand
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen defeated challenger Viswanathan
Anand in the penultimate game of their 12-game match to retain the World chess
title in Sochi, Russia. In the 11th game, Anand resigned on the 45th move
to give Carlsen a 6.5-4.5 victory. Carlsen won the second, sixth and 11th games
while Anand could emerge victorious in only the third game.
Switzerland win their 1st ever Davis
Cup Tennis title
Switzerland have won their first ever Davis Cup Tennis
title. In the best of five Tie, at Lille, they beat Hosts France by securing an
unbeatable three - one lead. Roger Federer won the first revers singles by
defeating Richard Gasquet in straight sets. The second reverse singles was
canceled. Switzerland is the fourteenth nation to win the Davis Cup. The
victory is one of the greatest sporting achievements for Switzerland.
World Women’s Boxing: Sarjubala,
Saweety win Silver medals
Women Boxers Sarjubala Devi and Saweety today won Silver
medals in the World Women's Boxing Championships in Korea. In the final of the
48kg division, Sarjubala lost to Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, 0-3. In the 81kg
final, Saweety lost to China's Xiaoli Yang, 0-3.
Australia beat S Africa, get top ODI
ranking
Australia beat South Africa by two wickets in Sydney to win
the one day international series 4-1 and return to the top of the world ODI
rankings. In the International Cricket Council's new rankings table, Australia
are only 0.2 ranking points ahead of India, with South Africa third.
Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand
Prix & Formula One title
Lewis Hamilton has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well as
the Formula 1 racing championship title of the year. Felipe Massa came second
in the race. It is Hamilton’s eleventh win of the season, and he takes the
crown by 67 points from Nico Rosberg. Hamilton jumped into the lead in the very
beginning of the race and never looked behind. He was followed by his Mercedes
team mate Nico Roseberg in the initial laps but Roseberg’s engine broke down in
the middle of the race. The World number one, Lewis Hamilton has now become the
first British double world champion since Jackie Stewart in 1971.
