17 December 2013

Ø  Nobel laureate Venkataraman ‘Venki’ Ramakrishnan said there was definitely a need to be careful while dealing with GM crops with proper regulatory mechanism, but one should not ignore the tremendous potentials on offer such as in terms of developing drought resistant varieties and crops with more nutrients and with greater shelf life. India has to feed a large number of people. We can’t ignore the potentials of GM crops. We, no doubt, need to be careful, and have proper controls and effective regulations.

Ø  China’s state media on Monday blamed the United States for a near collision between two naval vessels in the South China Sea on December 5, amid rising military tensions between the two countries as they both move to bolster their presence in the contested seas and skies of the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. Pacific Fleet on Friday said the cruiser USS Cowpens was forced to take evasive action to avoid what officials described as aggressive manoeuvring by a Chinese vessel. The Cowpens was, itself, sailing near the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, which has been deployed in the South China Sea

Ø  Iran is focusing on exporting natural gas to India along a deep-sea route — the move coinciding with the cancellation of a loan to Islamabad to build the Pakistani section of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. India’s South Asia Gas Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. (SAGE) had conducted feasibility studies for the multi-billion-dollar undersea pipeline, which could carry gas from Iran’s giant South Pars gas field to India’s west coast. Mr. Amirani said the project cost estimated by the company was $4-5 billion. Once operational, it could channel 31 million cubic meters of gas per day.  Iran’s interest in the India-centric project coincides with the cancellation of its $500-million loan to Pakistan to build part of a pipeline to funnel natural gas.

• The President of South Sudan said Monday he had defeated a coup attempt following a night of fierce fighting in the capital. This was an attempted coup,” President Salva Kiir said, blaming his arch-rival — former vice president Riek Machar who was sacked from the government in July — for starting the violence.