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It would be a nightmarish scenario for the United States, if western sanctions push Russia closer to China Beneath their tough political rhetoric, European leaders are still wrestling uneasily over the ambit of punitive economic measures to be used against Russia for its role in the Ukrainian and Crimean developments.

The Centre’s rural employment guarantee scheme can be substantially improved, but it has undeniably helped Dalits, Adivasis and women find work In an era of growing globalisation and rising inequality, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) stands out as a unique attempt to provide a social safety net via a massive public works programme. The government as an employer of the last resort is an idea that has existed in policy discourse around the world for much of the 20th century, gaining most currency during the Great Depression in the United States. However, MGNREGA takes this policy to a new realm because of its massive reach, universal nature, and its initiation during a period of rapid economic growth.

1.Report exposes rights abuse by Sri Lankan forces post war A report by rights groups on Friday said there was enough evidence that the Sri Lankan military was still waging a war against Tamils.The report — published by the UK Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the International Truth & Justice Project, Sri Lanka — is one of the first documents to detail alleged rights abuse by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the post-war context

Night vision technology has been around for a while, but it's only really used by professionals (or professional creeps) due to its prohibitive size. But what if night vision was something you could fit into a pair of contact lenses? You could keep a pair in your bag to slip in if you were going to be walking home alone in the dark, or even use them to take a night-time jaunt through a forest without spooking all the animals. All this and more could be possible in the future thanks to a new development by researchers in the US using graphene lenses to sense “the full infrared spectrum” plus visible and ultraviolet light. "We can make the entire design super-thin," said Zhaohui  Zhong, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan. "It can be stacked on a contact lens or integrated with a cell phone." Current night vision technology needs bulky cooling equipment to stop the detectors getting confused by their own hea...

India turned down a Chinese offer to help it search for the missing Malaysian airliner in an area that is the Indian Navy’s backyard. The Chinese made a request detailing the equipment and personnel aboard four vessels to enter the waters of the Andaman Sea. India has already mounted search operations in a wider maritime area including the place requested for by the Chinese following a formal request by Malaysia to scour an area of about 5,000 km in the Indian Ocean. On Friday, two of its sophisticated planes will operate from Malaysia while some from its P-8 I and C-130 Hercules squadrons are already conducting operations over the area requested by Malaysia. “In addition to Coast Guard vessels, four naval warships are at work in the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea & West of Andaman Islands,” said naval officials. The Chinese had sent the request for permitting four vessels of which one was a salvage ship and two were warships for search operations in the Andaman...

Ships and aircraft on Thursday intensified search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight deep in the southern Indian Ocean, far to the west of Australia, after satellites picked up images of debris that officials said may be linked to the Boeing 777. Grainy images released by the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation showed what appeared to be debris in the vast and remote waters. One object was 24 metres long, and a second was five metres. A Norwegian ship that reached the area had not yet found any object likely to have come from flight MH370, an AFP report said. The images were captured on March 16, Australian officials said. They came to light only on Thursday because of the volume of images that had to be analysed. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said a daylong search on Thursday was conducted by two Royal Australia Air Force AP-3C Orions, a U.S. Navy P8 Poseidon, and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion over a 23,000-square km area, around 2,500 km s...

1.Russian Parliament approves treaty on Crimea The Russian Parliament has approved a treaty making Crimea part of Russia even as Ukraine proclaimed the region an “occupied territory” and threatened to go nuclear. 2.No overseas duty for Pak. troops’ Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday dismissed speculation that Pakistan was sending its troops abroad. News reports quoted him as saying in response to questions that no forces were being sent to Bahrain or Saudi Arabia and these countries had not asked for assistance. 3. My mission is to better India ties: Xi China’s President Xi Jinping said Thursday he saw improving relations with India as his “historic mission,” as the top Chinese leader met with the Indian envoy here. The Indian Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha, who began his term here in January, formally presented his credentials to Mr. Xi at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday afternoon. 4.Obama calls on Iran to seize oppo...

Why Russia’s indefensible adventurism in Crimea may go largely unpunished There is every cause to be outraged by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which is a brazen violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and a clear breach of international law. President Vladimir Putin’s bald-faced adventurism has been attended by a mockery of a referendum held under the shadow of Russian guns and mouthfuls of Orwellian propaganda to justify the intervention. It is asinine to draw a parallel

The satellite image of the purported Malaysian plane over Andaman Islands Going about his work nonchalantly at his office in Gachibowli, this techie probably beat search teams of various countries in finding a probable vital clue related to the missing Malaysian plane.

1.India not to support Western sanctions against Russia With Russia facing sanctions from the United States and some other countries after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine, India on Wednesday made it clear that it will not support any “unilateral measures”

Even 10 days after the Malaysia Airline’s Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight MH370 went mysteriously missing, no definite information has been made available either to the families of the passengers, or in the public domain. Several theories have been floated on what could have happened to the aircraft. Aviation expert A. Ranganathan analyses the probable theories and comes up with a scary scenario:

An Italian court has barred India from encashing bank guarantees worth over Rs. 2,360 crore of AgustaWestland as part of the penalties imposed on it after scrapping of the Rs. 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.

(Reuters) - Some U.S. doctors are becoming concerned about the quality of generic drugs supplied by Indian manufacturers following a flurry of recalls and import bans by the Food and Drug Administration. India supplies about 40 percent of generic and over-the-counter drugs used in the United States, making it the second-biggest supplier after Canada.

Though there is no cure, treatments in the form of therapies can greatly lessen symptoms of muscular dystrophy and improve the quality of life Last week, I learnt that Vishal had succumbed to the disease he had so valiantly fought for nearly 25 years. Though I had anticipated this news, it nevertheless affected me immensely. Vishal was born a healthy, chubby baby; everyone adored him, and his grandparents couldn’t get enough of him.

A series of programmes to create awareness and gather support for the implementation of the Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report will begin in the district with a public discussion at Kudremukh National Park near Aladangady in Belthangady taluk on April 1.