from The Hindu, Thursday, November 14, 2013

Pink diamond sold for more than $83m
An enormous diamond known as “The Pink Star” sold for more than $83 million at an auction on Wednesday, far surpassing its expected price. Sotheby’s says the sale of the vivid and flawless 59.60-carat pink diamond is the highest price ever paid for a gemstone at an auction.


Da década de lulismo in Brazil
Brazil’s Bolsa Familia (meaning family allowance), its fully state-funded conditional cash transfer programme, has completed ten successful years. Instrumental in reducing income inequality in a society that was among the most unequal, it has inspired similar programmes in other Latin American countries like Argentina, Chile and Guatemala. Brazil is reportedly also being consulted for similar programmes by African (Ghana, Angola, Mozambique) and Arab countries (Egypt, Turkey).


Telangana Bill in winter session, says Shinde
The Bill for creation of the Telangana State, bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament, beginning on December 5, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told journalists.


U.S. to oppose mechanism to fund climate change adaptation in poor nations
In an internal briefing paper prepared for its diplomats across the world ahead of the Warsaw climate negotiations, which The Hindu has accessed, the U.S. has opposed the setting up of a separate process on ‘loss and damage’, pushed primarily for the role of private investments and finance in providing the promised money to the poor countries to adapt to climate change and have a 2015 climate agreement where no country is forced to take higher emission reduction pledges than the ones they initially volunteer. It also informed its diplomats to keep pushing the line with other countries that the U.S. was doing enough domestically on the climate change front and these were priorities for President Barack Obama and John Kerry.


Eurozone recovery hits snag in third quarter
Official figures show that the recovery from recession in the 17-country eurozone continued in the third-quarter of the year but only just.


Kunbi Sena to merge with Congress
The 13-year-old Kunbi Sena, which was set up to resolve the issues of members of the Kunbi community, mostly farmers and farm labourers, has decided to join the Congress party.


Train kills 6 elephants in West Bengal
Six elephants, including two calves, were mowed down by a train near Nagrakata in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Wednesday evening. A few others in the herd were injured.


FIR against Railways for elephant deaths
A day after at least five elephants were killed, hit by a train in Jalpaiguri district, the West Bengal Forest department lodged two first information reports against the Railways on Thursday.


Rajapaksa satisfied with India’s representation
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday expressed satisfaction over External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid representing India at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) beginning on Friday.


Samsung says it owes Apple $52 million
How much does Samsung Electronics owe Apple for copying vital features of the iPhone and iPad? Apple says $380 million. Samsung counters with $52 million. It’s possible a jury presiding over a patent trial in a San Jose courtroom will find somewhere in between.


Navy displays marine power
As two huge warships moved in parallel in mid-sea, a woman volunteered for an adventure. The Indian Navy was demonstrating its marine capabilities off the Chennai Coast on Wednesday when Karthiyayini offered to take part in the risky exercise of transferring personnel from one ship to another. While the ships moved at 14 knots (about 30 kmph), the 44-year-old medical practitioner followed instructions and moved swiftly from INS Kulish to INS Satpura.


India on alert after polio outbreak in Syria
All States with international borders have been put on alert to reduce the risk of importation of poliovirus from neighbouring countries in the wake of a polio outbreak in Syria. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund have begun the largest-ever, consolidated emergency immunisation response in the Middle East, aiming to vaccinate over 20 million children in seven countries and territories repeatedly. They are Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Syria and Turkey.


The divide that never was
Any Nehru-Patel differences have been deliberately exaggerated by partisan interests. In truth, they shared a close bond that overrode the differences.