The government of India has officially approved to ratify the Second Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol on containing the emission of Green House Gases (GHGs), becoming the 65th country to ratify the second commitment period of the Protocol that was adopted in 2012.
Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by India is believed to encourage other developing countries also to undertake this exercise as India’s implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under this commitment period in accordance with Suslainable Development priorities have attracted some major investments in India as well.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) seeks to stabilise Green House Gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would minimize interference with the climate system and India is one of the original nations to participate in the negotiations on Kyoto Protocol in Japan way back in 1996.
Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) in the atmosphere, the Kyoto Protocol places commitments on developed nations to mitigate targets and to provide financial aid and transfer of technology to the developing nations. Developing countries like India have no mandatory mitigation obligations or targets under the Kyoto Protocol but have voluntarily set targets.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and the first commitment period from 2008-2012 was renewed again after the talks at Doha in 2012, where the amendments to Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period (the Doha Amendment) were successfully adopted. The second commitment period is from 2013 to 2020. Developed countries have already started implementing their commitments under the ‘opt-in’ provisions of the Doha Amendment.
India, which has emphasized the importance of climate actions by developed country Parties in the pre-2020 period, kept its commitment to advocate climate actions based on the principles of the Convention, such as the principle of Equity and Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR & RC).
The Indian Cabinet has been apprised of the MoU signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for cooperation in the field of outer space exploration, which was signed on November 11, 2016 during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo.
The MoU seeks to pursue future cooperation in outer space exploration activities and in pursuing space research activities in space science technology and applications including earth observation, satellite communication and navigation; exploration and space sciences; Research and development of space systems and space technology; and Space industry promotion.
ISRO and JAXA will bear the costs of their respective activities under this Memorandum, unless they decide otherwise in writing. Ability to fulfil their respective roles and activities under this Memorandum and its relevant separate Implementation Arrangement is subject to their respective funding procedures, the availability of appropriated funds and their respective national laws.
India and Japan have been cooperating in the field of space research for over 5 decades and carried out several studies in the field of atmospheric study, observation of universe and scientific investigation in remote sensing.
The formation of JAXA by Japan in 2003 opened up gates for joint studies and potential future cooperation in the field of outer space under a pact signed in October 2005 between ISRO and JAXA. Subsequent pacts addressing lunar exploration, satellite navigation, X-ray astronomy and Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) were also signed.
During the ISRO-JAXA bilateral meeting held at New Delhi on April 05, 2016, both sides prepared the draft of a new ‘Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ISRO and JAXA concerning cooperation in the field of outer space that was signed on November 11, 2016 at Tokyo during the visit of Prime Minister of India to Japan.
Gondwana land or Indian subcontinent that remained isolated for 30 million years before thrusting itself north to give rise to Himalayas — is not a theory in tact but there are some missing middle in it, showed a research by a group of researchers from Germany, Poland and India.
Based on tiny insect fossils near Surat, which are similar to fossils found in Europe and China, they said these insects could have moved across the ocean along with island-hopping birds. Known as ‘biting midges’, these insects measure less than a millimeter long and were found fossilized in amber, a tree resin in the Cambay basin near Surat in Gujarat.
The paleontologists estimated their age at 54 million years ago, which coincides with the previously thought period when Indian plate was purportedly isolated and surrounded by oceans. As the Indian subcontinent harbours unique species of flora and fauna, which reflect no exchange with other regions, leading to the belief that India remained isolated for millions of years due to continental drift.
Scientists assumed that the supercontinent Gondwana later drifted into parts giving away to current South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Madagascar, besides India in due course of geological history. Then the upward thrust towards the north east resulted in its collision with the Eurasian plate. But disproving the entire theory, scientists now cite amber in Surat.
“Certain midges that occurred in India at this time display great similarity to examples of a similar age from Europe and Asia,” said lead author Frauke Stebner from the Steinmann Institute at the University of Bonn, Germany.
He has mined for amber in seams of coal near Surat that left for archaeological survey after mining was done. These small midges were found encased in tree resin 54 million years ago in the form of fossils and their descendants can still be found today in Germany in meadows and forests. These insects attack animals and humans in swarms and suck the blood.
“There was significant conformity with biting midges in amber from the Baltic and Fushun in north-east China,” reports Stebner, who studied 38 of them from the Surat coal mine, which collates the new theory that the Indian subcontinent was not isolated for 30 million years.
The research study had its Indian contribution from Hukam Singh, a scientists at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences, Lucknow and the study was published in journal PLOS ONE.
The Pinaka Rocket converted to a Guided Pinaka was successfully test-fired from Launch Complex-III, ITR, Chandipur on Thursday, said the ministry of defence in a statement.
The Pinaka Rocket Mark-II, which evolved from Pinaka Mark-I is equipped with a navigation, guidance and control kit and has been transformed to a Guided Pinaka, which has considerably enhanced the range and accuracy of the rocket.
The test-firing has met all mission objectives with the radars, electro-optical and telemetry systems tracked at Chandipur facility that monitored the vehicle all through its flight-path. The Guided Pinaka is developed jointly by ARDE Pune, RCI Hyderabad and DRDL Hyderabad. ITR Chandipur provided the range and launch support for the successful test-firing.
Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 65 km for Mark-II, and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds. The system is mounted on a Tatra truck for mobility and it was used during the Kargil War effectively. On an average 5,000 missiles are being produced every year while the current one is an advanced version with enhanced range and accuracy.
Dr. K.M. Rajan, Director ARDE, Pune, Mr B.H.V.S. Narayana Murthy, Director, RCI, Hyderabad, Dr. B.K. Das, Director, ITR, Chandipur and Mr R. Appavuraj, Director, PXE, Chandipur monitored the launch operations and an Armed Forces team witnessed the flight test.
Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar has congratulated the DRDO, industry and the Armed Forces for the successful flight-test and he was joined by top defence officials P.K. Mehta, DG (ACE) and Dr. S. Christopher, Secretary, Deptt. of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO.
[ tags pinaka rocket, test fired, drdo, chandipur test range]
India has a great potential to be a scientific power and should invest more in basic and fundamental researches, said several Nobel laureates who spoke to a huge gathering of scientists, students and general public as a part of the first Nobel Prize Series being held in Ahmedabad in conjunction with the biennial summit of Vibrant Gujarat on Tuesday.
The Programme, Nobel Dialogue, saw active participation of 9 renowned scientists and Nobel Laureates including Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Dr. Richard Roberts, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Dr. Harold Varmus, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Dr. Randy Schekman, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, David Gross, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Dr. Ada Yonath, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry, Dr. Serge Haroche, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics and Dr. William E Moerner Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.
Interesting discussions ranging from getting rid of mosquitoes to tackle malaria, research for finding out new vaccines, genetic modification of food crops and the need for strengthening education particularly science education were discussed at these two sessions.
The first dialogue was introduced and moderated by the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan and the second by the Deputy Chairman, Nobel Foundation Dr Goran K Hansson. Several students and Scientists posed interesting questions to Nobel Laureates.
Dr. Venkatraman Ramkrishnan pointed out that there is a lot of scope for research on vaccines in India. Dr. Richards Roberts pointed out that 125 Nobel Laureates have signed in favor of Genetically modified food crops and that opposition against them is unjustifiable as about 800 million people world over go without food every night.
Dr. Randy Schekman said that India with a history of having had Nalanda University over 1,000 years before the first university in other parts of the world came up, should think of having a high quality affordable education system. The Laureates said that they shared their ideas with the Prime Minister at a dinner meeting that they had with Narendra Modi on Monday evening.
The dialogue is part of the Nobel Prize Series, India 2017, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday, 9th January. The Nobel Prize Series Science Exhibition was also inaugurated at the Science City in Ahmedabad.
As a run-up to these events, a nationwide Ideathon contest was organised that invited ideas from students that could address any challenges faced by society. The ideas were reviewed by a panel of experts and about 150 students from across the country were selected and have been invited to participate and meet with the Nobel Laureates.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed last year by Nobel Media and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India for hosting Nobel Prize Series in India for the next five years.
After this agreement, a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Department of Biotechnology of Government of India, the Government of Gujarat and the Nobel Media. Accordingly, the first of the Nobel Prize Series, India 2017 is being held as a prelude to Vibrant Gujarat to demonstrate how science and discovery underpins all enterprise and human well-being under the overall theme of “Science Impacts Lives”. See below a drawing released by PIB on the occasion.
As a part of the Nobel Prize Series, India 2017 lectures are also to be held in Delhi and Bengaluru on 12th and 13th January, 2017.
U.S. military has successfully tested more than 103 micro-drones released from 3 F/A-18 Super Hornets, in what it said the largest-ever test for the cutting-edge “swarm” technology.
The swarm of 103 Perdix micro drones, too small and of battery-powered were launched from three separate Super Hornets at China Lake in California, by the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office, or SCO, in collaboration with Naval Air Systems Command, said a statement.
The micro-drones demonstrated swarm behavior in terms of “collective decision-making, adaptive formation flying, and self-healing,” said a Defense Department release on Monday.
“This is the kind of cutting-edge innovation that will keep us a step ahead of our adversaries. This demonstration will advance our development of autonomous systems,” Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who created the SCO in 2012. The test was conducted in October 2016 and aired on Sunday’s CBS News program “60 Minutes”.
Perdix micro drones are low-altitude flying devices too small to be detected with naked eye or a radar but they are capable of autonomously conducting intelligence collection and useful for surveillance operations.
Perdix are not pre-programmed synchronized individuals but act like a collective organism, sharing one distributed brain for decision-making and adapting to each other like swarms in nature, said SCO Director William Roper. “Because every Perdix communicates and collaborates with every other Perdix, the swarm has no leader and can gracefully adapt to drones entering or exiting the team.”
These devices were originally developed by engineering students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and they were eventually modified for military application at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in 2013.
Earlier, they were test using F-16 flare canisters by the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in 2014 and in 2015. About 90 Perdix missions were undertaken so far under U.S. Pacific Command’s Northern Edge exercise in Alaska.
Indian Cabinet has approved the transfer of 34.87 Hactares of land in Sector 24, Dwarka, New Delhi from Delhi Development Authority to Land and Development Office (L&DO) for the purpose of allocating it to the proposed Second Diplomatic Enclave in the national capital.
Currently, there is only one Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri, where land has been allotted to the Embassies soon after Independence and several embassies and foreign missions have been set up in nearby Shanti Niketan or Vasant vihar areas.
The Ministry of External Affairs has long been demanding for more land for allotment to Diplomatic Missions/ International Organizations for building their Chanceries/ Embassies in Delhi. For this DDA has earmarked 34.87 Ha land in Sector 24, Dwarka, which will be transferred to L&DO, said a statement.
This will provide land for Second Diplomatic Enclave in Dwarka near the International Airport in New Delhi, which will be easy to access for foreign missions in the capital.
Indian Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved signing of bilateral agreements with Portugal, Kenya and Uruguay in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.
The Agreements cover exchange of scientific and technical information, trade in plants and plant products, exchange of information in phytosanitary issues, training programmes, seminars and visits of experts and consultants.
These agreements will faciitate constitution of a Joint Working Groups comprising of representatives from both countries, to monitor the implementation of MoU and making concrete proposals for agriculture cooperation in the future.
The agreements will remain in force for five years, to be automatically extended for another five years unless either Party gives written notice through diplomatic channels to the other Party of its intention to terminate the Agreement at least six months before its expiration, said a statement by the government.
The agreement with Uruguay is significant as it also envisages cooperation in Customs Matters. It vouches for help in the availability of information for the prevention and investigation of Customs offences to ensure efficient clearance of goods traded between the two countries.
The Agreement also takes care of Indian Customs’ concerns and requirements, particularly in the area of exchange of information on the correctness of the Customs value declared, the authenticity of certificates of origin of goods and the description of the goods traded between the two countries.
Uruguay is an important trading partner of India among members of the MERCOSUR, a trading block in Latin America, with which India signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) that came into effect from 1st June, 2009.
As trade between India and the Uruguay has been expanding gradually, the pact provides a legal framework for sharing of information and intelligence between the Customs authorities of the two countries and help in the proper application of Customs laws, prevention and investigation of Customs offences and the facilitation of legitimate trade.
Addressing scientists in the holy city of Tirupati, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and the science community should be prepared to face it.
The 104th session of The Indian Science Congress was opened on Tuesday in the campus of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati on Tuesday focusing on theme “Science & Technology for National Development”.
The PM also paid tributes to eminent scientist Dr. M.G.K. Menon who died on November 2016. On new technologies, he said, “We equally need to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and be prepared to leverage them for growth.”
On the rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems, he said it has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to our demographic dividend but it should be turned into an opportunity by research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and Internet-of-Things.
“We need to develop an Inter-Ministerial National Mission in the Cyber-Physical Systems to secure our future by creation of basic R&D infrastructure, manpower and skills,” he added.
On ocean exploration, he said the Indian peninsula with over 1,300 islands, provides the nation a 7,500 kilometre coastline and 2.4 million square kilometres of Exclusive Economic Zone with huge opportunities in energy, food, medicine and a host of other natural resources, which may provide a significant dimension of a sustainable future.
He also noted that the Ministry of Earth Sciences is working to launch a Deep Ocean Mission to explore, understand and harness ocean resources.
“By 2030 India will be among the top three countries in science and technology and will be among the most attractive destinations for the best talent in the world. The wheels we set in motion today will achieve this goal,” he said and asked Indian institutions to involve foreign and NRI Ph.D. students in post-doctoral research in their projects.
He said the Ministry of Science & Technology is initiating a programme focused on students of classes 6 to 10 that will scout, mentor, reward and showcase 10 lakh top innovative ideas focused on local needs from 5 lakh schools.
The long-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II’s health after she missed mass on Christmas Day for the first time in six decades has fuelled enough fire over the next course of events in Buckingham Palace. The palace, however, said the queen had a “heavy cold” and preferred to stay indoors, though she would participate in other ceremonies.
Queen Elizabeth II is longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom surpassing the earlier record created by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who took over India’s Queen in 1857, heralding the long British rule in the country. She is the only monarch who has visited over 115 countries so far.
Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, at the age of 25 years and now she is 90. While other media outlets rubbished the reports in some quarters of the British media, the BBC said it was merely "undue concern”.
The queen has four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The ledest Prince Charles is the heir to the throne even if the Queen relinquishes her throne or dies.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, has paid an official visit to Japan from 19 December 2016 in a bid to consolidate existing Maritime Cooperation initiatives as well as explore new avenues.
Defence cooperation between India and Japan is currently robust and is primarily focused towards Maritime Cooperation ever since the commencement of the India-Japan Comprehensive Security Dialogue which was initiated in 2001.
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) has participated in the MALABAR exercise in 2007, 2009, 2014 prior being included as a regular member in the exercise since 2015. JMSDF participated in MALABAR 15 and 16 held in the Bay of Bengal and Western Pacific respectively.
In 2014, Japan has also been included as an observer in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), a Maritime Cooperation construct conceptualised and pioneered by Indian Navy in 2008.
Both navies also engage in Navy to Navy Staff Talks which commenced in 2008. The 7th Navy to Navy Staff Talks are scheduled to be held in 2017. JDS Matsuyuki participated in the International Fleet Review 2016 held at Visakhapatnam.
The Chief of Staff of the JMSDF, Admiral Tomihisa Takei also attended the Review. Indian Navy too participated in the International Fleet Review conducted by the JMSDF in Oct 15 at Sagami Bay, Yokosuka, Japan.
JMSDF for the first time participated in the Admiral’s Cup Sailing Regatta conducted by the Indian Navy in 2016 at Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala from 05 to 11 Dec 16. Warships of both countries regularly visit each other’s ports.
India and Japan share similar maritime challenges such as long coastline, extensive EEZ, coastal security, large coastal shipping and fishing fleet, wherein both navies have opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences. In addition common ground exists for cooperation on a number of issues common to both navies.
Indian navy chief Admiral Sunil Lamba
During the visit, Admiral Sunil Lanba is scheduled to hold discussions with Chief of Staff, JMSDF, Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Staff, Joint Staff besides other Senior Dignitaries and Naval Officers.
The friendship between India and Japan has a long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilisational ties. India’s earliest documented direct contact with Japan was with the Todaiji Temple in Nara, where the consecration or eye-opening of the towering statue of Lord Buddha was performed by an Indian monk, Bodhisena, in 752 AD.
In contemporary times, among prominent Indians associated with Japan were Swami Vivekananda, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, JRD Tata, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Judge Radha Binod Pal. The Japan-India Association was set up in 1903, and is today the oldest international friendship body in Japan.
On the sidelines of International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) – 2016 held recently in Nassau from 5th to 9thDecember, 2016, R.N. Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation said that India signed agreements with six nations on air aviation.
The Conference was attended by 106 countries out of ICAO membership of 191 countries. India held negotiations with 17 countries and “Memorandum of Understanding” was signed with 12 countries. The major issues resolved at these negotiations as per the directions in National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP 2016) are:
Increase in traffic rights:- India renegotiated traffic rights with Oman increasing the entitlements with 6,258 seats effective from Summer 2017 as the existing entitlements were nearly exhausted. The points of call remained unchanged.
India agreed with Saudi Arabia to increase the capacity by 8000 seats per week from IATA season when Indian carrier’s utilization reaches 80%. This was in response to the needs of increasing traffic between the two countries where Indian carriers have been utilising open sky in Damman to mount more flights than the Saudi Arabian side.
India also agreed with Ghana to increase the present allocation of 2 frequencies to 7 frequencies per week to encourage connectivity between the two countries.
Open Skies agreement as per NCAP 2016 :- allows unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai, was signed with six countries namely Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka. The new arrangement will encourage connectivity and passenger travel between India and these countries.
New Air Service Agreements were signed with Jamaica and Guyana.
Code Shares:- In the present scenario code shares provide seamless connectivity to the travelling passengers and make possible connectivity between far off destinations not served by direct flights. As per NCAP 2016 code shares are to be encouraged and keeping this in view, negotiations were completed with 9 countries to enable the legal framework between the governments of these countries to make possible code shares between the airlines of two sides. The negotiations have enabled domestic code shares with Czech Republic, Portugal and Malaysia, domestic and international code shares including third country airlines with Guyana, removal of restriction of counting of capacity in case of code share with 3rd country carriers and domestic code share to additional two points to Mauritius, code share with 3rd country carriers and 4 additional domestic code share points with Saudi Arabia and Spain and code share with 3rd country carriers with Sri Lanka.
Resolution of other issues relating to Air Services Agreement was also completed with Ghana, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Hong Kong, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge) Piyush Goyal addressing at the National Energy Conservation Day function, in New Delhi on December 14, 2016. (PIB)
Union Minister for State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Thursday said that a comprehensive scheme including Intra-State and Inter-State transmission system has been identified as a part of ‘Green Energy Corridors’.
The German air agency KfW Germany is providing soft loan to be funded as 20% equity of the State government, 40% grant from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and 40% soft loan, whereas, the inter State transmission schemes are to be funded as 30% equity by PGCIL and 70% as soft loan, he said.
For Inter-state transmission projects pertaining to Part A, B and C of Green Energy Corridor, loan agreement for financial assistance of Euro 500 million from KfW, Germany has been signed by PGCIL and the projects are likely to be completed by 2018. Further, for implementation of transmission schemes under Green Energy Corridor-Part D, PGCIL has taken loan from ADB.
For Intra-state transmission projects under Green Energy Corridor; the States of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have signed the loan agreements from KfW, Germany for financial assistance of Euro 76 million, Euro 49 million, Euro 57 million, Euro 68 million, Euro 114 million and Euro 124 Million respectively.
Further, Goyal added that in order to integrate solar parks with the grid, Ministry of Power assigned PGCIL to implement Inter-State transmission scheme for evacuation from 8 solar parks (7200 MW). Transmission scheme for 6 solar parks (5750 MW) is already under implementation [Ananthapuram (1500 MW), Pavagada (2000 MW), Rewa (750 MW), Bhadla-III (500 MW), Bhadla-IV (250 MW), Essel Saurya (750 MW)]. Tender issued for Banaskantha Solar Park (700 MW), whereas Long Term Access (LTA) application for other MP solar park from the developer is awaited.
To evacuate power from the renewable capacity addition in renewable rich States (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu), transmission system strengthening, both Intra State and Inter State, along with setting up of Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC) and the control infrastructure is being implemented under GECs.
President-elect Donald Trump is meeting the IT honchos known as “Technology Roundtable” on Wednesday, December 14th, reportedly organized in part by Paypal co-founder and Trump supporter Peter Thiel.
The list of invitees include Alphabet (Google) CEO Larry Page; Apple CEO Tim Cook; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg; Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins; IBM CEO Ginni Rommetty; Intel CEO Brian Krzanich; and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos may also join, though Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he wasn’t invited.
During the election campaign, Cook and Page were allegedly involved in early discussions of how to stop Trump’s nomination, while Apple came under criticism by Trump for manufacturing its phones in China and refusing to provide security backdoors to law enforcement. Bezos was engaged in a running battle with Trump throughout the campaign and described Trump as “eroding our democracy.”
Other IT people invited for the roundtable include Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, IT investor and Shark Tank fame Mark Cuban, HP CEO Meg Whitman, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Sprint stores will soon get visitors or more customers looking for Pokemon GO spots and to collect their Poke Balls and Razz Berries. Sprint Stores said that every all 10,500 Sprint stores in the US will become either a PokéStop or Gym for players of Pokémon GO.
It means, Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Sprint at Radioshack stores will become Pokemon GO players’ Stops and Gyms, whenever they may want to fill up on game items. They can loiter around and play Pokémon, and even get in-store charging for their devices.
Pokémon GO also said the collaboration between Sprint, Boost Mobile and Sprint at Radioshack stores will expand the scope of the game and its PokéStops and Gyms. They will help players to stock up on Poké Balls and Razz Berries and to battle with friends on their devices.
The Pokémon GO team also announced that they have more surprises in store for the yearend of 2016.
Web-based tech giants YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft (Skype & Bing) have decided to work together to stop extremist content from their websites by creating a common database. The firms have agreed to share ‘hashes’ or unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos of such content.
The hashtag on such content enables the peers to identify the content on their platforms and remove them in turn. "We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online," the companies said in a statement.
The firms have long resisted outside or government intervention on policing their sites but came together recently to do more to remove extremist content in view of recent militant attacks in Paris and other cities in the West. YouTube and Facebook have already begun to use such hashes to automatically remove such content.
Until now the practice was that mainly users have to flag content that violates terms of service and then human editors will review and delete such content found in violation of the guidelines or norms. Twitter alone suspended 235,000 accounts between February and August 2016.
The new database will come into operation in early 2017. The European Union has laready established an EU Internet Forum last year to remove such extremist content.
In a new report analyzing the global climate between 2011-2015, the World Meteorological Organization – the United Nations system’s weather agency – found an increasingly visible human footprint on extreme weather and climate events with dangerous and costly impacts.
This “hot and wild” weather meant that global ocean temperatures rose at unprecedented levels, Arctic sea ice coverage and mountain glaciers declined and surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet continued at above-average levels.
The extreme weather also meant that people around the world suffered from high-impact climate events such as severe droughts in Africa, devastating floods in South-East Asia, terrible heatwaves in India and Pakistan, and catastrophic hurricanes and typhoons in the United States and the Philippines.
Against this backdrop, and within the context of the ongoing 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Marrakech, Morocco (07-18 November 2016), the United Nations News Centre spoke with Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), on the state of the Earth’s weather and what it means to the people who inhabit the planet.
UN News Centre: The global climate report 2011-2015 confirms that the average global temperature in 2015 has already reached the 1 degree Celsius mark. What does this 1 degree Celsius really mean to people on the ground, say for an office worker in South-East Asia or a farmer in South Africa?
Petteri Taalas: One degree does not sound like a big number if you compare the temperate over a couple of days but globally [over a long period of time] it means that we have seen an increase in the amount of disasters related to the weather. It means that we have observed more heat waves, for example, in Kuwait, the temperature hit 54 degrees Celsius limit last summer and there have been devastating heat waves in many continents.
We have also seen changes in the pattern of rainfall, which means that some areas are now seeing flooding – when it rains, it rains much more — and that led to problems for human beings and also for economies. And then in some parts of the world we have seen more droughts, caused by the heat waves, and leading to forest fires and difficulties in agriculture. For example, at the moment, the southern part of Africa is suffering because of a drought that was partly caused by El Nino last year but also by a drying trend behind it. In tropical zones we have observed more intense tropical storms and they have been devastating for countries like Vanuatu. We also observed the first hurricane hitting Cabo Verde on the African coast.
So this one degree change means that the amount of disasters related to weather and hydrology have been increasing and if it goes beyond that one degree limit – which seems to be the case according to this year’s observations – we can expect to see more of these kind of disasters. And it will have a negative impact on the economies of the countries, and it will also impact the lives and wellbeing of all humans.
Temperature in Kuwait hits 54 Celsius, sets possible record amid Middle East heatwave – UN
26 July 2016 – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations specialized agency, will set up a committee to examine whether a 54 degrees Celsius temperature recently recorded in Kuwait, has set the new highest temperature for Asia, as well as for the entire Eastern hemisphere.
UN underscores readiness to assist South-East Asian countries hit by floods
18 October 2011 – The United Nations voiced deep concern over the devastating floods in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam and offered to assist the affected countries to respond to the disaster that has claimed hundreds of lives and caused heavy damage to property and infrastructure.
UN News Centre: What has caused this dramatic change in temperatures?
Petteri Taalas: The main reason behind it is that we are using much more fossil fuel: coal, gas, and oil. We have changed the composition of the atmosphere. Therefore, we have seen a very dramatic increase of the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere. And we have also seen an increase in the amount of methane (CH4) in the atmosphere and an increase of the nitrous oxide (N2O). And all these are contributing to this warming that we have seen.
UN News Centre: Earlier WMO had said that this 1 degree rise – already halfway to the 2 degree threshold – and that the national climate change plans adopted so far may not be enough to prevent even a 3 degree rise. Do you think this is something that could have been foreseen before the Paris agreement?
Petteri Taalas: In our field we have known about this problem for 30 years. So about 30 years ago, we established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and then years later we established the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to start mitigating climate change. So this problem has been around for a long time, but the good news is that governments now understand the need to mitigate climate change, and that’s why they adopted the Paris Agreement on climate change last year, and it has very recently entered into force. This gives us a good basis for moving forward, and to mitigate the effects of climate change. And the key issue is whether we are acting quickly enough to avoid a 1.5 or 2 degree warming or are we going to go beyond that. So far the pledges behind the Paris Agreement indicate about a 3 degree warming level, which would mean that we might have a larger amount of disasters related to the weather. So it would be a smart thing for the governments to start reducing the emissions, and that would also be good for the coming generations.
There is optimism in the fight against climate change, but the best time to act is now, according to Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The head of the UN weather agency was speaking to UN News Centre, shortly after releasing a report on global greenhouse gases and climate change, which categorised 2011 to 2015 as the hottest five-year period on record. Mr. Taalas also noted that the world is now better equipped with technologies to mitigate the levels of greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate.
UN News Centre: In this context, what other messages would you like to give to the leaders attending the COP22 in Morocco?
Petteri Taalas: I would like to thank them for ratifying the Paris Agreement, which gives us hope. And we also now have better technological means for mitigation. And those means are also cheaper than they used to be. For example, solar and wind energy sources are cheaper than they used to be ten years ago. And we also have possibilities to convert our transport systems to use more electric cars. In the case of diet, we can go to more vegetarian diet; which could also reduce emissions.
So we have all the means available, and now it’s time to act and prevent these negative impacts of climate change, and it’s important that we start acting very soon, because if we wait, the problem will become more severe. I am very optimistic that we have all the means to be successful, but we should start changing our behavior very soon.
MARRAKECH: ‘The eyes of the world are upon us,’ chair of UN Conference says as new round of climate talks opens
7 November 2016 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as ‘COP 22,’ opened today in Marrakech, Morocco, just days after the entry into force of the landmark Paris Agreement which has now been ratified by 100 countries.
UN News Centre: What is something that society, as a whole, can do to mitigate these impacts?
Petteri Taalas: All normal consumers now have big powers – they can decide what kind of sources of energy they use in their houses, what kind of means of transport they use, and what kind of diet they are eating. For example, a vegetarian diet is better for climate than a meat-based diet. Consumers have big power here and if they decide to go to these low emission solutions, they are the ones who have power to do that. And also the policy-makers are watching very closely what the opinion of the ordinary people is, and I believe that they are able to change the consumption behaviour in the coming years.
In old-age, the frequent occurrence of B12 deficiency could lead to dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease as the body metabolism fails to absorb the vitamin from the diet, requiring an early medical intervention.
To help detect B12 deficieny early, Australia’s University of Adelaide researchers have developed a first of its kind optical sensor using a technique called Raman spectroscopy that can detect vitamin B12 in diluted human blood – a first step towards a low-cost, portable, broadscale vitamin B12 deficiency test.
The sensor, still at proof-of-concept stage, has wide-reaching potential applications. It enables doctors in tracking vitamin B12 levels in high-risk patients and provide an early intervention – to top up immediately vitamin B12 levels when low. Current tests are lengthy and costly too.
Scientists in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP), the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, and the Schools of Physical Sciences and Medicine, in their presentation today at an international biophotonics conference in Adelaide – the inaugural SPIE BioPhotonics Australasia conference — revealed the new sensor.
“Vitamin B12 deficiency has been shown to be a potential modifiable risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and is associated with cognitive decline,” says Dr Georgios Tsiminis, Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide.
“Our sensor is an early first step towards a point-of-care solution for measuring and tracking B12 in healthy ageing adults. This would allow doctors to monitor B12 levels and intervene.”
"Currently our device could not aid in diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency in a general practice setting… We believe this is a very promising first step towards achieving this goal," she said.
The optical sensor measures B12 in human blood in less than a minute and requires minimum preparation. This is the first demonstration of vitamin B12 being measured in human blood serum without the need for a full lab tests.
The sensor uses an optical measuring technique called Raman spectroscopy which produces a unique optical fingerprint of a target molecule, in this case vitamin B12.
Board of Research in Nuclear Science has granted Rs.25 lakh to Bangalore=based RV College of Engineering for conducting research on spatial distribution of uranium and its impact on water in five districts of Karnataka.
The grant for three years enables Bangalore’s No.1 engineering college to undertake the project entitled “Spatial distribution of Uranium and associated water quality parameters in Bangalore, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagara, Chikkaballapura and Kolar district in Karnataka” spanning over three years.
The project will be undertaken by Dr. M. Rajalakshmi, Dr. Sham Aan and Dr. R. Suresh of the Department of Chemical Engineering, R. V. College of Engineering. The funding agency, Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), is part of the country’s Department of Atomic Energy.
This year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to developers of molecular machines which will "most likely be used in the development of things such as new materials, sensors and energy storage systems".
The developers who have been recognised for their research are Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for developing the molecular machine.
The announcement from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said,"The development of computing demonstrates how the miniaturisation of technology can lead to a revolution. The 2016 Nobel laureates in Chemistry have miniaturised machines and taken chemistry to a new dimension."
"They have developed molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added… Molecular machines will most likely be used in the development of things such as new materials, sensors and energy storage systems," it added.