Miscellaneous part 2

Arunima Sinha

Arunima Sinha, became the first Indian amputee to conquer Mount Everest on 21 may 2013. 25-year-old Arunima Sinha is former national level volleyball player and had lost one of her legs after being thrown off a moving train of Padmawati Express for resisting a chain-snatching attempt by some criminals, when she was travelling from Lucknow to Delhi on 12 April 2011. She scaled the 8848 metre-high summit of the world’s highest peak at 10.55 a.m. as IST on 21 May 2013.
About Arunima Sinha

·         She was hospitalised with serious leg and pelvic injuries and in a proposition to save her life, doctors had to amputate her left leg below the knee.

·         Arunima successfully scaled the 6622-metre-high Mount Chhamser Kangri of Ladakh in year 2012 .

·         Arunima started training at the Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) camp in Uttarkashi last year under the guidance of Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to conquer Mt Everest.

BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

India on 22 May 2013 successfully test fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Navy’s latest guided missile frigate INS Tarkash off the coast of Goa. The missile performed the high-level ‘C’ manoeuvre in the pre-determined flight path and successfully hit the target. Jointly developed by India and Russia, the BrahMos is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg. India is readying several different versions of the missile which includes land attack, anti-ship and submarine- launched versions.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City suburbs, US: 91 people, including 20 children were killed because of huge tornado that went through Oklahoma City suburbs in US on 20 May 2013. The worst affected area was Moore, situated towards the south of Oklahoma. The tornado travelled with the speed of 200 mph or 320 kmph.
Apart from 91 killed, 120 are seriously injured. The President of US, Barack Obama declared the Oklahoma tornado as the major disaster. Tornadoes, high winds as well as hail storms hit Kansas as well.

What is a Tornado?

Tornado is the rotating column of air which is in contact with the earth as well as cumulonimbus cloud, at the same time. They are also called cyclones or twisters. The tornado is encircled by the cloud of dust and debris. Most of the tornadoes travel with a speed of less than 110 miles per hour and are around 250 feet across. Before dissipating, they travel to several kilometres.

Hill Forts of Rajasthan and Himalayan National Park

Rajasthan and Great Himalayan National Park: India nominated cluster of six hill forts in Rajasthan as well as Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh for World Heritage Sites for 2013. The UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will be held in Phnom Penh in Cambodia in June 2013 and conferring the status of World Heritage Sites on these places will be decided in this meeting.
Hill forts of Rajasthan
Hill forts at six places Amber, Chittorgarh, Gagron, Jaisalmer, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore are showcase of the military architecture of Rajput, which are seen in memorials, temples as well as palaces. These forts were built between 13th and 19th century and they are absolutely unique in the region.
The Great Himalayan National Park
The Great Himalayan National Park is spread over 75400 hectares and is situated in western part of the Himalayan Mountains in Kullu District. This rich in biodiversity site is one of the most scenic places of India. It nests 25 forest types and supports 805 different varieties of plants.
It also hosts 31 mammal species and 209 kinds of birds. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) evaluates cultural properties for UNESCO. These sites were inspected by ICOMOS in 2012 and final recommendation will be given by 17 May 2013. Overall, India has 29 World Heritage Sites; out of which 23 are cultural 6 are natural properties.

3-Man Probe Panel to probe IPL Betting

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 29 May 2013 constituted a three-man inquiry commission to probe the allegations against Gurunath Meiyappan and the three Rajasthan Royals players, who were arrested on charges of betting in the IPL-6 matches.
The Commission will be initiating the adjudication proceedings at the earliest. The committee consisting of Former Judge of the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu High Courts Justice T. Jayaram Chouta, Former Judge of the Tamil Nadu High Court Justice R Balasubramanian, and Secretary of BCCI Sanjay Jagdale. They will probe charges against M Gurunath, former Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings, as well as the three Rajasthan Royals cricketers who were arrested for alleged spot-fixing. The committee will also probe India Cements Ltd. the owner of the Chennai Super Kings Franchise and Jaipur IPL Pvt. Ltd. the owner of the Rajasthan Royals Franchise.

Abhinav

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on 28 May 2013 launched its third Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) which is built for the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel was launched by Nina Paul Antony, the Chairman of Cochin Port Trust. This vessel was named Abhinav.
About the Fast Patrol Vessel

·         The Fast Patrol Vessel was named Abhinav.

·         The Fast Patrol Vessel weighs 120 tons and was placed on the specially designed cradles at the dock head which was hoisted by the gantry crane.

·         This vessel is third in series of 20 numbers FPVs contracted by CSL.

·         The primary objective of the vessel is monitoring, fisheries protection as well as patrolling within within exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Also, the objective of this vessel is coastal patrolling and involvement in patrolling for anti smuggling, search and rescue operations and for anti piracy operations.

·         The secondary role of the vessel is to provide communication link as well as escort convoys during the war time as well as hostilities.

·         The three Fast Patrol Vessels are small in size but they are technologically challenged and complex.

·         These ships are propelled by water jets in order to achieve the speed of 33 knots.

·         Cochin Shipyard developed certain special techniques in order to make sure of the high quality welding as well as fabrication of Aluminium structures.

At present, the Cochin Shipyard has 25 ships on the order which consists of 20 Fast Patrol Vessels, 3 Offshore Support ships for Indian and foreign owners, one Prestigious Aircraft Carrier for the Indian Navy as well as 1 Buoy Tender vessel for the Department of Lighthouses and Lightships.

Nunshi and Tashi Malik

Nunshi and Tashi Malik, two 21-year old Indians from Dehrahdun became first twins to scale Mount Everest on 19 May 2013. They were among 135 other people, who reached the top of the Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain of the world at 8848 meter above sea level. It is interesting to note that these twins reached the top of Mount Everest with two sherpas, who were also twins. Both these twin sisters were staying on mountains in that region in order to get acquainted with the atmosphere. Along with them, 11-member joint Indian and Nepal army expedition reached that summit too. In 2012, 62 Indians had attempted to scale Mount Everest, with 45 being successful.

Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji, Japan: International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) approved Japan’s Mount Fuji to be declared as the UNESCO World Heritage site. Mount Fuji is the snow-topped volcano in Japan. Formal decision would be taken about its declaration as the world heritage site when the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO will meet in Cambodia in June 2013.
Japan’s Mount Fuji is located at 12460 feet and is the highest mountain of Japan. The volcano that erupted around a little more than 300 years ago is situated to south-west of Tokyo. It is visible from Tokyo easily. Mount Fuji is also featured in the historic art work of Japan, which also includes wood blocks prints. It is also said to be a part of traditional Three Holy Mountains, apart from Mount Haku and Mount Tate, both of which lie in Central Japan.

International Council on Monuments and Sites

·         International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) approved Mount Fuji an appropriate site for registration.

·         ICOMOS evaluates the cultural properties which are nominated to World Heritage List. It is also responsible for submission of the recommendation to UNESCO’s annual meetings.

At present, there are 16 World Heritage listed Sites in Japan, out of which 12 are cultural and four natural. Recent additions to this list were Buddhism-linked gardens and temples of Hiraizumi, which were recognised as World Heritage Site in 2011.

National Defence University

The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh on 23 May 2013 laid the foundation stone of the Indian National Defence University (INDU) at Binola, Gurgaon. The university is going to be an autonomous institution of national importance.
The Defence University came up following the recommendation of the Review Committee constituted after the Kargil Conflict by the Government for the establishment of a University that deals exclusively with defence and strategic matters. The review committee was headed by eminent strategic expert K Subrahmanyam.

Aim of INDU

·         INDU aims to provide knowledge based higher education for management of the defence of India to the military leadership and other concerned civilian officials. It will also keep them abreast of the emerging security challenges via scholarly Research and Training

·         It will develop and propagate higher education in Defence Studies like Defence Management, Defence Science and Technology. It will also promote the policy with its orientation towards, research related to National Defence.

·         It will prepare officers for high level leadership as well as staff and policy responsibilities

·         The think tanks of the University will be responsible for providing inputs for Policy Formulations

·         It will focus on higher education in defence studies, defence management and defence science and technology

·         The university will offer post graduate studies and doctoral / post doctoral research

Constituent Colleges and Institutions of INDU

·         National College of Defence Studies (NCDS)

·         Indian Institute of Defence Technology (IIDT)

·         Indian Institute of Defence Management (IIDM)

·         Defence Institute of Distance and Open Learning (DIDOL)

Institutes and Colleges of Indian armed forces that will be affiliated through INDU

·         National Defe nce College (NDC) New Delhi

·         Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) Wellington

·         College of Defence Management (CDM) Secunderabad

·         National Defence Academy (NDA) Khadakwasla

The University will be instituted by the Act of the Parliament and President of Indian Union will be a visitor to it and Defence Minister will be the Chancellor. INDU will be governed as per its own norms and will be responsible to promote coordination and interaction between Institutions of Armed Forces or establishments of the country. It will give opportunity of higher studies through distance learning to both military and civilian personnel. It will also give affiliation to defence training institutions to award degrees. The Institute will be headed by its President (who will be a three star serving General / equivalent officer with C-in-C status on appointment) and the Vice-President will be a civilian. The University is being planned on the lines of IIT/IIMs.The students of the University will constitute 66 percent students from armed forces and remaining 33 percent would be drawn from other government agencies, police and civilian. The teaching faculty will comprise of both military personnel and civilians in the ratio of 1:1.

Samina Baig

Samina Baig on 19 May 2013 became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest. She did this along with Nunshi and Tashi Malik, the first Indian twin sisters to scale the Everest. After reaching to the top of Everest, all three women hoisted Indian and Pakistani flags along side, depicting a message of collaborative action, friendship and peace. The Nepal Mountaineering Department officials confirmed the feat, while at the same time, also explaining that 35 foreigners along with 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides scaled the Everest after climbing from highest camp on South Col, which is the pass between Mt. Everest and another neighbouring mountain.

Seljuk Minaret

Seljuk minaret in The Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria: Seljuk minaret in The Great Mosque of Aleppo, which was constructed in 1090, was destroyed in Syrian protests on 24 April 2013. The Great Mosque of Aleppo, also known as Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo is largest and also one of the oldest mosques of Aleppo, Syria. This mosque is located in al-Jalloum district of Ancient Aleppo and has also been declared as the World Heritage Site. This mosque was constructed in 8th century but the present building dates back to 13th century apart from the destroyed minaret that was constructed in 1090. It is believed that the mosque is home of remains of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.
The activists of President Bashar al-Assad regime and the anti-government activists blamed each other for the destruction of the minaret. It is important to note that this was the second in one week that historic mosque has been damaged seriously.
In the protests ongoing in Syria, five out of six World Heritage sites of Syria have already been damaged, according to the UNESCO. Earlier, the protestors broke into the best-preserved Crac des Chevaliers, ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra and Crusader castles of the world. Antique furnishings as well as intricate sculpted colonnades were burnt. Apart from this, the Islamic relics were also ransacked. Also, the looters took away the box that is said to encompass the strand of Prophet Muhammad’s hair. The cultural agency of the United Nations- UNESCO warned Syria that civil war was posing threat to rich cultural heritage of the country.