4 APRIL 2014

Ø  As deadline for creation of separate Telangana nears, the Centre on Thursday decided to extend the term of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal headed by retired SC Judge Brijesh Kumar till July 31 this year.

Ø  The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is looking forward to the liftoff of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C24 from Sriharikota. The IRNSS-1B is India’s second dedicated navigation satellite. The first, IRNSS-1A, was put into orbit on July 1 last year. All the seven satellites, which form the IRNSS, will be in orbit by 2016.

Ø  Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he has scrapped the last discount on gas price granted by Moscow to Ukraine, effectively raising the price by $100 to $485 for every 1,000 cubic metres.

Ø  Japan said it was cancelling its annual Antarctic whaling hunt for the first time in more than a quarter of a century after a U.N. court ruled that the programme was a commercial activity disguised as science. A “deeply disappointed” Tokyo earlier this week said it would honour Monday’s judgment by the United Nations’ Hague-based International Court of Justice but did not exclude the possibility of future whaling programmes.