Katherine Viner has appointed as Editor-in-Chief of The
Guardian newspaper
Katherine Viner has been appointed as editor-in-chief of The
Guardian newspaper.
She will be 12th editor-in-chief and the first woman to run
the newspaper in its 194-year history.
She will succeed Alan Rusbridger who is stepping down after
20 years and taking over as Chair of the Scott Trust which owns the Guardian.
Prior to this appointment Viner was serving as deputy editor
of the Guardian and editor-in-chief of Guardian US.
She had joined the Guardian in 1997. Since then she had
served at various posts in the newspaper including editor of G2, Guardian’s
daily supplement, deputy women’s editor and editor of the Guardian Weekend
magazine.
She was also a deputy editor of the title as well as editing
the Saturday edition of the newspaper from 2008 until 2012.
World Water Day observes on March 22
Every year World Water Day is marked on 22 March. It is
observed to preserve and ration consumption of water.
The theme for this year is ‘Water and Sustainable
Development’. Under this theme the year 2015 provides an important
opportunity to consolidate and build upon the previous World Water Days and
highlight water’s role in the sustainable development agenda.
In 1992, this day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21
of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil.
Later, the UN General Assembly accepted the recommendation
of UNCED and celebrated first World Water Day on 22 March 1993.
Union Government gives CRZ nod to Mithivirdi nuclear
plant
Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change
(MoEFCC) has given coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) nod to the 6,000-MW Mithivirdi
Nuclear Power Plant of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in
Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.
The clearance was granted by MoEFCC for constructing an
intake and outfall facility in the plant. This intake channel will be 100 metre
wide and 10 metre deep and a discharge facility comprising of Condenser Cooling
Water Discharge tunnels will be 8 metre diameter and 6 kms in length for each
two units and a total of 18 kms each for units.
MoEFCC also has proposed to construct a small barge handling
marine facility having a draft of 3-4 metres. It will help for receiving and
handling over dimensional consignments (ODCs) during the construction stage of
the plant and will be in the form of a shore-based wharf type or an open-piled
jetty system.
India has become 3rd biggest steel producer
India has become the third-largest steel producer in the
world by overtaking United States (US) in first two months of year 2015. It was
revealed in the Data compiled by World Steel Association (WSA).
India’s production in first two months i.e. January-
February of 2015 was 14.56 million tonnes (MT). This production growth was the
highest during this two month period at 7.6% as compared to the global average
of just 0.6% at 127.6 MT.
While the US, which was the third-largest steel producer
since 2010 has produced 13.52 MT during this two month period, giving away its
position to India. Now, the production in US is heading for stagnation with no
signs of growth.
China tops in steel production and accounts for nearly half
of the global steel production. During this period China has produced 65 MT
steel.
Japan is the second-largest steel producer and has reported
a total production of 17.4 MT.
In the past five years, India was the fourth-largest steel
producer behind China, Japan and the US. In 2009, US had snatched the third
position from India.
1st Counter-Terrorism Conference 2015 held in Jaipur
The 1st Counter-Terrorism Conference 2015 was held in Jaipur
for three days from 19 March 2015 to 21 March 2015.
It was organised by
India Foundation in association with the Sardar Patel University of Police
Security and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur at Jaipur in Rajasthan.
The theme of the Conference is Integrated Approach to
Counter-Terrorism
Former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka awarded with Field Marshal
Former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka was conferred
the highest military rank of Field Marshal by the Government.
He was awarded this title by President Maithripala Sirisena
at a state ceremony held in the Colombo.
With this Fonseka became the first Sri Lankan to receive
this highest military title which is honorary in nature.
Fonseka is credited for being the force behind ending the 26-year
Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 by defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) rebels.
Amitabh Bachchan is appointed as the Brand Ambassador
for Campaign against Hepatitis B.
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is appointed as the
Brand Ambassador for Union Governments Campaign against Hepatitis B.
Union Governments campaign against Hepatitis B will be
launched in April 2015.
Earlier Amitabh Bachchan was made good will brand ambassador
for the polio Eradication campaign by UNICEF in 2005.