| |
Read More
New Zealand's parliament has voted almost unanimously in favour of changing the country's gun laws, less than a month after a mass shooting left 50 people dead.
- Post the deadly shooting attack on the two Christchurch mosques that killed 50 people, New Zealand Parliament on 10th April voted to change gun laws. The gun reform bill was passed by the parliament with a majority of 119 to 1.
- It is expected to become law within the next few days after receiving royal assent from the governor general. It is now due to receive royal assent from the governor general before it becomes law.
- Holding back tears, PM Jacinda Ardern told parliament on 10th April that MPs were there "because of the victims and families". She said that when she had visited the injured in hospital none of them had just one gunshot wound.
- The new rules make changes to 1983 gun laws which have been the subject of several reform attempts. They prohibit military-style semi-automatic weapons and parts that can be used to assemble prohibited firearms.
|
Read More
- Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu poised for historic fifth term as Prime Minister. PM Modi congratulates him, says Netanyahu is great friend of India, and looks forward to continuing to work with Israel and take bilateral partnership to new heights.
- Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold office for a fifth term, after a neck and neck competition with centrist leader, Benny Gantz.
- Though no party has secured a majority in the 120-member Knesset, but the exit polls showed that Netanyahu is in a stronger position to form a coalition government along with right-wing factions.
- Post the announcement of the results, Netanyahu will not only secure office for a fifth term but will also become the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu who appears headed for a victory in parliamentary polls.
- In a tweet, PM Modi described Netanyahu as a great friend of India, saying New Delhi is looking forward to continuing to work with him to take the bilateral partnership to new heights.
|
Read More
- Virat Kohli was named the leading cricketer of the year for the third consecutive year. Virat Kohli scored 2,735 runs across the international formats in 2018.
- Indian captain Virat Kohli has been named the 'Leading Cricketer in the World' for the third time in a row in this year's edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
- Kohli, however, was the sport's dominant figure in 2018, making 2735 international runs at 68.37 across all formats, more than 700 more than his nearest challenger, England's Joe Root.
- Kohli's fellow Indian, Smriti Mandhana, is the Leading Cricketer in the women's game, after racking up 1291 runs across limited-overs formats, including 13 half-centuries, while Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan leg-spinner, is the Leading Twenty-20 Cricketer for the second year in a row.
|
Read More
- Thirteen fossil bones and teeth excavated in a cave in the Philippines represent an enigmatic previously unknown human species, probably small in stature and possessing an unexpected mix of archaic and modern traits, scientists said.
- The discovery of remains of at least three individuals from this species, named Homo luzonensis, in Callao Cave on the northern part of the island of Luzon marked the second time in the 21st century that a bygone member of the human family has been found on southeast Asian islands.
- The researchers were unable to extract DNA but did determine that one of the individuals lived 67,000 years ago and the other 50,000 years ago.
- In 2003, fossils of another island-dwelling species Homo floresiensis, dubbed the “Hobbit” due to its diminutive size were unearthed in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, some 1,800 miles (3,000 km) from the Luzon site. There is no indication the two species interacted or were closely related.
- Homo luzonensis was a contemporary not only of the Hobbit but of our own species, Homo sapiens, which emerged in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago.
- The scientists said they could not rule out the possibility that the arrival of our species in the region contributed to the demise of Homo luzonensis.
- The Hobbit also disappeared about 50,000 years ago at the same time Homo sapiens was spreading through the region.
- The Luzon and Flores discoveries demonstrate that the story of human evolution is more complicated than previously understood, with Asia offering up surprises, potentially with more to come, the researchers said.
|
Read More
- Astronomers capture photo of a black hole, black hole is located 500 million trillion kilometers away.
- For the first time in the history of space research, astronomers have been able to take a picture of a black hole which is located in a distant galaxy.
- The image which has been captured by a network of eight telescopes across the world, showed an intensely bright 'ring of fire' surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole.
- It measures 40 billion km across three million times the size of the Earth and has been described by scientists as "a monster".
- According to some scientists, the black hole is located 500 million trillion kilometers away.
- Terming it as a remarkable achievement in the field of astrophysics, Astrophysicist and Project Director Sheperd Doeleman said that the image is the strongest evidence of the existence of black holes.
|
Read More
- Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik was 11th April named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister's Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 in recognition of her "inspiring achievements".
- The 48-year-old Deepa, who won the silver medal in shot put F53 event in Rio in 2016, will work to promote sporting, cultural as well people-to-people relationship between India and New Zealand.
- Athletes in F53 category can do only seated throws and they have full muscle power on their shoulder, elbow and wrist in the throwing arm.
- "We are very pleased to announce that the New Zealand Prime Minister's Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 has been awarded to Indian Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik
- The fellowship, awarded by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, aims to strengthen the ties between India and New Zealand," a New Zealand High Commission release said.
- "It gives us great pleasure to award this fellowship to someone who exemplifies two values that make a great sportsperson: courage and a can-do attitude.
- In Deepa, we see an inspiring achiever who can confidently and proudly carry forward our message of inclusivity and the pursuit of excellence," it added.
|
Read More
- Professor Najma Akhtar was Thursday appointed as the first woman vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, making her the first woman to hold the charge.
- In exercise of powers conferred under Statutes of Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988, the President of India, in his capacity as the Visitor of the JMI, has been pleased to appoint Prof Najma Akhtar, NIEPA, New Delhi as the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, for a period of five years, an official order said.
- The other persons, who were shortlisted by the government for the post were S M Ishtiaque of IIT-Delhi and Furqan Qamar, currently the secretary-general of Association of Universities.Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla is the chancellor of the varsity.
- The varsity had been functioning without a VC after Talat Ahmad resigned from the post last year to join as the head of Kashmir University.
|
Read More
- Najma Akhtar, who was the head of the department of educational administration at NIEPA, specialises in institution building, distance education, education of minority and educational decentralization
- Jamia Millia Islamia got its first woman vice-chancellor as President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the name of Najma Akhtar for the post on Thursday, April 11.
- “In exercise of powers conferred under Statutes of Jamia Millia Islamia Act,1988, the President of India, in his capacity as the Visitor of the JMI, has been pleased to appoint Prof. Najma Akhtar, NIEPA, New Delhi as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, for a period of five years,” mentioned the varsity release.
- An internationally renowned educational administrator, Najma Akhtar has four decades of academic scholarship in educational leadership.
- She is known for spearheading international educational administrators’ course for senior officials from 130 countries for more than 15 years at NIEPA.
- She has established and successfully developed first state-level management institute (SIEMET) at Allahabad for developing educational administrators for the country.
- She has managed affairs of premier educational institute in various critical statutory positions such as Controller of examination and Director Academic Programs at Aligarh Muslim University.
- At IGNOU, she led many distance educators capacity building courses at national and international level
|