Indian IAS Academy (iiA): (21.07.2014) Dear UPSC aspirants Todays Current Titbits: National News: 1) Press Council Chairman alleges 3 ex-CJIs made ‘compromises on corruption- Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has alleged that three ex-Chief Justices of India had compromised in giving extension to an additional judge of Madras High court at the instance of UPA government. Justice Katju said former CJIs--Justices R C Lahoti, Y K Sabharwal and K G Balakrishnan--had made improper compromises in allowing the judge, against whom there were several allegations of corruption, to continue in office. Katju told a news channel that since he got many reports that the additional judge concerned was allegedly indulging in corruption he had requested the then CJI Lahoti to get a secret IB inquiry made about him. He claimed that the IB report found the allegations to be true and he should have been sacked. Katju said since the two-year term as additional judge of that person was coming to an end he presumed he would be discontinued as judge. 2) Monsoon remains effective all over the country; Rain deficit comes down to 31%- The government has said that there has been significant increase in the Monsoon since 13th of July. During the past week monsoon rains have recorded 12 per cent increase countrywide. The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a press statement said that the forecast for upcoming two weeks is particularly good in the central India and coastal region of South India.India Meteorological Department, IMD, has also echoed the same sentiment saying that the monsoon deficit has come down to 31 per cent with rain picking up in July across the country. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Director General, IMD Laxman Singh Rathore said that the monsoon is expected to remain good for the next two weeks in north, central, southern peninsula and eastern India. International News UNSC calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza Strip- The United Nations Security Council, UNSC, today called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The call came at an emergency meeting held behind closed-doors, after one of the bloodiest days yesterday in 13 days of conflict that saw 97 Palestinian people killed by the Israeli Defence Forces.The powerful 15-nation Council expressed serious concern about the escalation of violence in and around Gaza. The Council also emphasized the need to improve the humanitarian situation such as the five-hour truce brokered last week. The UNSC meeting came even as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in the Middle East region as part of a visit aimed at expressing solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians and help bringing about a ceasefire. Ban Ki-moon yesterday condemned the killings and called for an immediate end to the fighting. US Secretary of State John Kerry would leave today for Egypt where he will join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012.Meanwhile, 16 more Palestinians were killed this morning in an Israeli air strike on a house in the south of the Gaza strip. With this the death toll since 8th of this month has risen to 501. Israel has said its 18 soldiers have been killed since the ground operation began last week, the largest number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat since the 2006 Lebanon war. Business News World Bank Chief arrives in New Delhi; to meet PM Narendra Modi- World Bank President Jim Yong Kim arrives in New Delhi today on a three-day visit to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in order to understand his development priorities.Mr. Kim will also meet with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his stay in the country. Kim in a statement said that the historic mandate from the people of India represents a tremendous opportunity to unlock Indias growth potential.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 10:19:37 +0000
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