Current affairs

Largest solar plant launched

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi launched a 130-MW solar power plant at Bhagwanpur in Neemuch, about 400 km from Bhopal, on 26 Feb 2014. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan was present.

The Welspun Solar MP project, the largest solar power plant in India set up at a cost of Rs. 1,100 crore on 305 hectares

U.P. Government nod for tiger reserve in Pilibhit

The Uttar Pradesh Government on 26 Feb 2014, approved the proposal for establishing a tiger reserve in Pilibhit for conservation of the feline.

Delhi records highest infant mortality rate

The National Capital had the worst Infant Mortality Rate among the four metropolitan cities between 2010 and 2012.

800 turtles dead in Nellore

More than 800 Olive Ridley turtles, which came to lay eggs on the beaches of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, have died.

The deaths were caused mainly by the use of trawl nets by fishermen. Since local fishermen used only gill nets, which did not pose a threat to the turtles.

The area from where the deaths were reported is rich in biodiversity, which attracts large number of Olive Ridley turtles to lay eggs.

Science and Tech

Seeking to unlock the mysteries of the brain

Studies are on to uncover the circuitry of human cognition, identify the genetic roots of disease, unlock the power of big data for diagnosis and build a new generation of computing hardware, based on brain models

How fertilizers affect grassland ecosystems

Fertilization of natural grasslands — either intentionally or unintentionally as a side effect of global farming and industry — is having a destabilizing effect on biodiversity of global grassland ecosystems.

Upper Ganges linked to ‘superbug’ spread

The spread of antibiotic resistance In Upper Ganges water is linked to the human pilgrimages to the region, leading to an appeal to governments globally to recognize the importance of clean drinking water.

Einstein’s conviction of expanding universe

Albert Einstein accepted the modern cosmological view that the universe is expanding long after many of his contemporaries. Until 1931, he believed that the universe was static, until convinced by Edwin Hubble.

International Affairs

China, Taiwan hold historic talks

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Parleys seen as an attempt at building cross-Strait relations

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE:Wang Yu-chi, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (left), greets Zhang Zhijun, director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in Nanjing on Tuesday.

Officials from China and Taiwan on Tuesday held their first official-level talks since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, underlining the warming of ties across the Taiwan Straits.

Officials met in the southern Chinese city of Nanjing on Tuesday, as Wang Yu-chi, head of Taiwan’s mainland affairs office, met with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun.

The talks are seen as an attempt at building cross-Strait relations and paving the way for wider exchanges.

Ties between China and Taiwan have warmed following the election of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008. Mr. Ma of the Kuomintang (KMT) party stood on a platform of boosting economic relations, and won re-election in 2012, two years after signing a landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the mainland.

Ties had largely been frozen since 1949, when the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek and his supporters fled to the island after losing to the Communists in the Chinese civil war.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, although both have been effectively governed separately since 1949. Taiwan is still officially known as the Republic of China.

Previous contact between both countries, including negotiation of the ECFA, was carried out through non-official bodies, keeping in mind mutual sensitivities over sovereignty.

PERSONS IN NEWS

Central Vigilance Commissioner: Pradeep Kumar

Pakistan President                 : Mamnoon Hussain

Chinese President                   : Xi Jinping

Chinese Premier                      : Li Keqiang

Russia Foreign Minister          : Sergei Lavrov

CEO of Facebook                      : Mark Zuckerberg

Economy

China overtakes India to become the largest FDI source for Nepal 

• China has overtaken India to become the largest contributor of Foreign Direct Investment to Nepal over the first six months of the current fiscal year, underlining the rising Chinese economic presence — and strategic influence — in the country.

• Investment from China reached $174 million between July and December, accounting for over 60 per cent of the total FDI commitment.

• This marked a three-fold rise from the same period in the previous 2011-12 fiscal year, where Chinese investment reached $55 million.

• Since last year, China “has begun to surpass the investment from India” into Nepal. While India was the biggest source of FDI during the 2011-12 fiscal year, investment from China rose the following year to account for 31 per cent of total foreign investment.