25 December 2013

Ø  The Directors-General of Military Operations(DGMO)s of India and Pakistan on Tuesday “reiterated the resolve and commitment’’ of both sides to continue efforts for ensuring ceasefire, peace and tranquility on the Line of Control [LoC]. Consensus was developed to make hotline Contact between the two DGsMO more effective and result oriented.

Ø  The Aam Aadmi Party finalised its list of ministers on Tuesday and almost immediately faced strong resentment from Laxmi Nagar MLA Vinod Kumar Binny, who was excluded from the proposed council of ministers. he was offered the post of Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister but he rejected it. Mr. Binny’s inclusion in the Cabinet was considered a certainty as the former municipal councillor was the first elected representative to join the party. Mr. Binny had introduced gram sabhas in his municipal ward in Laxmi Nagar and during the election campaign, Mr. Kejriwal had often referred to this as a model for implementing development work in the capital.  Mr. Binny is reportedly angry at two relatively non-entities in Mr. Jain and Mr. Soni being preferred to his administrative experience. Mr. Binny is a giant killer of sorts. He pulled off a huge electoral coup by defeating A.K. Walia, the Congress stalwart in the Sheila Dikshit government, by more than 8,000 votes.

Ø  Basking in the victory of three State Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday decided to aggressively launch its “Mission 272 Plus’’ (the cut off mark in the Lok Sabha to form government) campaign for the coming general election under the “Narendra Modi for Prime Minister’’ message across the nation. Mr. Modi had coined “Vote for India’’ slogan at his Mumbai rally.

Ø  Authoritative sources confirmed the arrest of the top wanted LeT functionary Lateef and another member of his group, whose identity could not be ascertained.

Ø  The Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited resumed its helicopter services to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on Naharlagun-Guwahati-Tawang route on Monday after 31 months. The helicopter’s commercial service to the remote mountain town bordering China has remained suspended since May 2011, following the death of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in a helicopter crash near Tawang on April 30, 2011. Earlier, in January, the Pawan Hans Limited resumed its services to other areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

Ø  Speculations of the former BJP heavyweight, Keshubhai Patel — whom Chief Minister Narendra Modi had replaced in Gujarat — returning to the party fold gained ground on Monday with Mr. Patel’s youngest son Bharat joining the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Ø  South Sudan’s Army stormed the rebel-held town of Bor on Tuesday, sending insurgents fleeing nearly a week after they captured the state capital of Jonglei, 

Ø  On a leaf-covered dirt path overlooking lush paddy fields in western Indonesia, the world’s rarest rhino had left a trail of hoofprints in the soft mud and bite marks on foliage.  For people seeking a glimpse of the Javan rhino — revered in local folklore as Abah Gede, or the Great Father — such small signs are likely to be the closest they get.  There are thought to be only around 50 of the animals left in existence, all living in the wild in Ujung Kulon National Park, an area of stunning natural beauty on the western tip of Indonesia’s main island of Java.

Ø  Mandla Maseko is among 23 young people who saw off 1 million other entrants from around the world to emerge victorious in the Lynx Apollo Space Academy competition. Their prize is to be blasted 62 miles into orbit aboard a Lynx mark II shuttle in 2015. He will be the second South African in space following Mark Shuttleworth, a white entrepreneur and philanthropist who bought a seat on a Russian Soyuz capsule for GBP12m and spent eight days on board the international space station in 2002.

Ø  Britain on Tuesday granted a posthumous pardon to Alan Turing, the World War II code-breaking hero who committed suicide after he was convicted of the then crime of homosexuality. Turing is often hailed as a father of modern computing and he played a pivotal role in breaking Germany’s ‘Enigma’ code, an effort that some historians say brought an early end to World War II. He died in 1954 after eating an apple laced with cyanide, two years after he was sentenced to chemical castration for homosexuality.