Chapter 1 International Current Affairs 2012

Current Affairs [December 2012]

Chapter 2 International News

First economic dialogue between India, Japan To impart a renewed momentum in order to grow and flourish new ties and to resolve issues relating to civil nuclear issues, India and Japan are going to hold their first economic dialogue and sixth strategic talks. The two dialogues will be co-chaired by our external Affairs Minister along with his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba, who will be on a two day visit to the National Capital. The dialogues are slated to be centred on range of bilateral and global issues. These issues include the prospects of civil nuclear cooperation, maritime security and the evolving East Asia regional security architecture.

Russia to build two more nuclear reactors in China Nuclear countries Russia and China have cemented their nuclear cooperation leading the Russian capital to build two more reactors in the Chinese soil. Earlier also Russia helped China in building two reactors in the Taiwan nuclear plant in Jiangsu province. Those two reactors went into operation in the year 2007 as said by the Sergey Sergeevich Razov, Moscow's envoy. The two reactors being built have a combined capacity of 2,000 mw and are using Russia's VVER 1000 nuclear model. r> Russia will build the two reactors in Taiwan after the Chinese government lifts its suspension on the new atomic power plants imposed after the nuclear disaster in Japan last year.

China set to take over reins of Pakistan's Gwadar port China appears all set to take over the reins of Pakistan's strategic Gwadar port in Balochistan, with the Singapore Port Authority (SPA) and its partners intending to pull out of a 40yr old management and development contract. The SPA and its partners, the National Logistics cell and AKD Group, have been allowed to quit the project to transfer 584acres at the mouth of the port that are currently in possession of Pakistan Navy. "We have not been able to meet the contractual obligations and resolve land issues. As a result, they (SPA and its partners) have gone under duress and we issued them no objection certificate to give up their contract," ports and shipping minister Babar Khan Ghauri told a meeting of senate's standing committee on ports and shipping.

Current Affairs [November 2012]

Chapter 3 International News

China claims historical rights Beijings claims to nearly all the South China Sea are embossed in its latest passports, based on what it calls long established historical facts and what Chinese analysts say is Western imperial precedent. Beijing has grown increasingly assertive in recent years in claiming islands and waters even without effective control of them- in some cases hundreds of kilometres from the Chinas mainland and close to rival claimants coasts. The latest front on the simmering dispute is Chinas new passport, which shows the map of the country including almost all of the strategically significant sea, the site of key shipping routes and possibly significant petroleum reserves.

UK press needs new watchdog: Leveson A judge called on legislation to underpin a new regulator for Britains outrageous newspapers in a dramatic move that threatens to Divide Prime Minister David Camerons coalition government. Lord justice Brian Leveson, who led an eight month inquiry following the phone hacking scandal that closed down Rupert Murdochs News of the World, also criticised politicians for getting too close to the press. His eagerly awaited report called for legislation for a new independent self regulatory body underpinned by law, saying that misbehaviour by the British press has undermined its own arguments that it works in the public interest.

Genuine Indian students kept out by UK agency Officials at the UK Border Agency (UKBA) sat over more than 150,000 complaints of non-European students breeching their conditions of study, Britains chief inspector of immigration John Vine said, prompting a senior MP to accuse the agency of putting off genuine Indian students. Vine criticised the UKBA in a report for failing to act on tip-offs provided by colleges and universities who, under a student sponsorship system, are meant to notify the agency whenever nonEU students do not enrol, stop attending courses or breach visa rules. Vine said the agency had no targets in place for responding to such tip-offs. As a result, notifications were not being acted upon. At one point a backlog of 153,000, such reports had built up, said Vine, whose tem examined work at three UKBA offices in Sheffield, Beijing and Delhi. However by may this year, all outstanding tip-offs had been acted upon.

Pakistani journalist escapes bomb attack Pakistani journalist and celebrity TV anchor Hamid Mir escaped an assassination attempt, when the police defused a bomb planted under his car in Islamabad. The device in a metal box was found under the front passenger seat of Mirs car. It was a powerful bomb. Had it gone off, the car would have been blown into pieces, interior minister Rehman Malik said. Mir who host Capital Talk, an evening show on Geo TV, and writes a column for Jang, was criticised by the Taliban last month in the wake of the shooting of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai. The interior minister said that he would offer a reward of Rs 5 crore for anyone who provided any information on the accused.

Current Affairs [October 2012]

Chapter 4 International News

Pakistan reaches out to old Afghan enemies Pakistan has increased efforts to reach out to some of its biggest enemies in Afghanistan, a significant policy shift that could prove crucial to US-backed efforts to strike a peace deal in the neighbouring country. The target of the diplomatic push has mainly been non Pashtun political leaders who have been at odds with Pakistan for years because of the country's historical support for the Afghan Taliban, a Pashtun movement. Many of the leaders fought against Taliban when the fundamentalist Islamic group seized control of Afghanistan in 1990s with Pakistan's help and have accused Islamabad of maintaining support for the insurgents following the US led invasion in 2001- allegations denied by the government. Many experts agree that Pakistan continues to see the Taliban as an ally, albeit a shaky one, in countering the influence of archenemy India in Afghanistan.

Statue of Liberty reopens, The statue of Liberty has reopened for the public viewing after a year-long 30 million-dollar interior makeover. The mostly federally funded renovation to the 126 year old statue of Liberty includes fire safety and ventilations improvement, better bathrooms, a third elevator and remodelled staircase with 39 extra steps to make it easier to climb from pedestal to crown. And for the first time ever, there is wheelchair access to the top of the pedestal. With the structural improvements, 26,000 more visitors will be able to visit the crown every year, the New York Post reports. "All that makes me confident I can bring my grandparents," Jean-Pascal Mill, 38, a tourist from Lyon, France, who visited the Liberty Island said.

Opposition rejects Prachanda's proposals Any hope that the festive mood in Nepal could help end the ongoing political crisis seems unlikely for the time being with the opposition parties rejecting a fresh move by the ruling Maoists. After a 'Dashain' hiatus of nearly 10 days, talks have resumed among the ruling parties and those in opposition, but there is no sign yet of resolving the impasse soon. Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists Leninist) rejected two proposals forwarded by Unified Communists Party of Nepal (Maoists) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. The Maoists chief had discussed the proposals in separate talks with NC president Shushil Koirala, CPN (UML) chairman Jhalanath Khanal and former prime minister and CPN (UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal. Prachanda expressed his party's willingness to support a new government headed by NC if the latter agree on reviving the dissolved constituent assembly to promulgate the new constution.

Wen Jiabao's family denies NYT report on wealth Lawyers hired by Premier Wen Jiabao's family have issued an unprecedented rebuttal to the New York Times story denying that his close relatives including his mother have amassed assets worth more than $2.7 billion in the last decade. The lawyers have denied that the "hidden riches" as described by the US newspaper does not exist and that his mother who according to the report had accrued millionsonly received her salary and pension. They have added that they reserved the right to hold the newspaper responsible legally. The denial issued is being considered unusual as it's possible for the first time that a top Chinese politician has issued a denial against a foreign newspaper's report. Earlier this year when a similar story was done by Bloomberg on senior leader Xi Jinping, he had not responded.

Hurricane pauses US presidential campaign President Barack Obama planned to travel to Florida for a campaign stop as Hurricane Sandy, bearing down on the eastern United States, forced White House candidates to review their schedules. Republican nominee Mitt Romney has cancelled appearances in Virginia to head for Ohio before the Hurricane's arrival, while Obama moved up his initial plans to go to Florida to go back in Washington in time for the storm's landfall. The president has also cancelled two campaign events in Virginia and Colorado to monitor developments related to Sandy. Vice president Joe Biden, meanwhile cancelled a visit to the battleground state of Virginia to allow law enforcements and emergency workers there to prepare for the advancing storm.

Democrats set to retain senate, Republicans to keep House Richard Mourdock has known both instant celebrity and instant notoriety. He shot to

fame by beating Richard Lougar, long time Indiana senator in the primaries, in May. He hit infamy earlier this month describing pregnancy from rape as "something God intended", endangering Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's race. Also jeopardising the Republican Party's efforts, to wrest control of the US senate from Democrats. Indiana was a safe seat returning Lugar to the senate for 32 years. It's not any longer. Another Republican candidate for the senate Todd Akin was there ahead of Mourdock on rape with this: a woman's body shuts down during rape to prevent pregnancy. And that put another senate race in danger for Republicans. US voter will elect on November 6 a president, one third of the 100-member senate (like Rajya Sabha), and all 435 members of the House of Representatives.

Chinese Uighurs joins jihadis in Syria Chinese Muslims separatists from the northwest region of Xinjiang are battling Syrian government forces alongside al-Qaeda and other extremist groups, an official Chinese newspaper reported. Radicals among the China's ethnic Turkic Uighur minority have been travelling to Syria since May to join the fighting on trips organised by groups opposed to Beijing's rule over Xinjiang the Global Times reported. Citing unidentified Chinese anti-terrorism authorities, it said the groups were funding their activities through drug and gun trafficking, kidnapping and robbery, and providing training for "separatists, criminals and terrorists" who had fled Xinjiang. After receiving orders from al Qaeda, terrorists from China came to Syria to meet with jihadists already on the ground before forming groups on the front lines," the report quoted an unidentified official as saying.

BBC inquiry begins as sex abuse scandal grows An inquiry into the BBC's culture and practices got under way with the corporation reeling from allegations of child sex abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile, one of its biggest stars. The probe begins a year to the day since death of Savile, the eccentric presenter now considered one of the most prolific sex offenders in British history, with some 300 alleged victims coming forward in recent weeks. It also starts the day after 1970s glam rocker Gary Glitter, a convicted paedophile, was questioned on suspicion of sexual offences, the first arrest in the widening police probe into the activities of Savile and others around him. Janet Smith, a former Court of Appeal Judge, inquiry will also examine whether BBC's child protection and whistle blowing policies are fir for purpose.

Current Affairs [September 2012]

Chapter 5 International News

As many as 58 persons were killed in the wake of nationwide attacks in Iraq, which also included a car bomb in front of the French Consulate. The local wing of Al-Qaida has been behind such attacks in Iraq before, especially after the US troops left.

An Afghan police official was reported to have killed 4 NATO international service members in Kabul. This took the death toll of international service members to 51, and all of these have been slain by Afghan soldiers or imposters in their uniforms. As many as 12 attacks of similar kind were reported in the month of August itself.

Muslim protestors set afire temples and homes in Bangladesh, after reports that a Buddhist man insulted the Islam religion. At least 4 Buddhist temples were torched, and another 15 homes, each belonging to Buddhist families, were demolished and set afire. Police had to deploy special teams to control the situation. The man behind the alleged insult was given police protection and taken to a safe location.

More than a 1000 people congregated at Ground Zero in New York, in commemoration of the anniversary of the unforgettable September 11 attacks on NY City's Twin Towers and The Pentagon, outside Washington. President Obama, and First Lady observed a moment of silence, and also conducted a military honor guard.

Tens of thousands of people lashed out at the government in antiausterity demonstrations in Greece. Demonstrators were fired at with teargas after hooded youths threw petrol bombs at the police. These demonstrations were the biggest in terms of the number of protestors. Demonstrators said they were being strangled to a life of misery with ever increasing taxes and wage cuts.

Anti - Islam film in the US led to seething protests that turned violent and led to several casualties in several countries. On September 21st, protests against the film went bad and led to the loss of 20 lives. Mobsters

torched 6 cinema halls and Pakistan summoned the US envoy and strongly pushed for the US government to intervene and help in removing the video from YouTube.

A massive 300 killings took place across the country of Syria, and this count did not account for the unidentified bodies, including which the count would have been much more. These killings marked the gravest day of the 18 month revolt that has paralyzed the nation. Ever since the country entered a state of internal war against President Bashar al-Assad's rule in March 2012, Syria has witnessed several blood stained days as this.

On September 12, Somalia's newly made President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and the foreign minister from Kenya, both escaped a suicide bomb attack. The events took place in a Mogadishu hotel, where the two were to hold a news conference. The two political heavyweights, however, escaped without any injuries.

After the demise of Meles Zenwai in August, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPDRF) declared acting Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegn as the new man in charge. EPDRF is the ruling party in Ethopia.

Current Affairs [August 2012]

Chapter 6 International News

Tour core tiger areas but dont build: SC Tourists can hope to see tigers in natural habitat once again as the Supreme Court Wednesday softened stand, saying it wasnt averse to regulated tourism in the core areas of reserves. Its the raised construction inside core areas and not tourists who harm tigers. Is it necessary that 100 vehicles go inside at a time? It (tourism) needs a proper regulation, a bench of Justice AK Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar said. However the courts ban- ordered on July 24 and extended on August 29- on tourist activities will remain in place till September 27, when the case comes up next. The court is hearing a petition on tiger conversation. On attorney general GE Vahanvatis assurance, the court gave the

government four weeks to draw comprehensive guidelines to take care of both tourism and tiger conservation.

China set to take over reins of Pakistans Gwadar port China appears all set to take over the reins of Pakistans strategic Gwadar port in Balochistan, with the Singapore Port Authority (SPA) and its partners intending to pull out of a 40yr old management and development contract. The SPA and its partners, the National Logistics cell and AKD Group, have been allowed to quit the project to transfer 584acres at the mouth of the port that are currently in possession of Pakistan Navy. We have not been able to meet the contractual obligations and resolve land issues. As a result, they (SPA and its partners) have gone under duress and we issued them no objection certificate to give up their contract, ports and shipping minister Babar Khan Ghauri told a meeting of senates standing committee on ports and shipping.

Graft scandal hushed up A top official of Communist Party of China (CPC) fled to the US with millions of yuan, it has emerged after the net users posted the information of his escape on Chinese Social networking sites. State media subsequently was forced to confirm the news only now though Wang Guoqiang, the CPC chief of Fengcheng city in Liaoning province of northeast China, is learnt to have fled the country in April. Its the latest corruption scandal to hit the CPC as it gears up for the leadership change later this year. It also comes as senior party leaders are repeatedly calling for clean governance and is being seen as a case where authorities had reportedly tried to cover it but failed. Wang has reportedly taken more than 200 million yuan or $31.5 million with him.

350 Indian students in UK face deportation Around 350 Indians are among the 3,000 international students who face deportation from Britain after the government suddenly cracked down on a London university accusing it for approving visas for bogus students. London Metropolitan Universitys power to approve visas for non-European students, was revoked by the governments immigration department, which said a quarter of 101 students sampled in a random check were bogus. But critics say that the government was punishing genuine fee paying foreign

students, who bring 12.5billion pounds every year, with an ill-conceived and potentially ruinous move aimed at bringing down immigration. Immigration minister Damien Green said the university was guilty on three counts: some students had overstayed their visas, others didnt have a decent standard of English and more than half werent attending classes.

Republicans welcome NRIs into fold The Republican Party announced a new political reality in the US: IndianAmericans are no longer a Democratic Party monopoly. It had Ishwar Singh, a Sikh American of Indian Origin; lead the prayer opening the third day of its national convention. A Rabbi did the honours the previous day. And it had Yash Wadhwa, small businessmen of Indian origin from Wisconsin, talk about the power of American dream, always a powerful rallying cry. At 3 million, the Indian Americans are the third largest Asian American Community, training the Chinese and the Filipinos. But they are the most prosperous minority community. I came here with just $2 in my pocket, said Wadhwa. One of the many small business owners invited to the convention, he was the only Asian American.

Pakistani atlas shows Kashmir as Indian A new school atlas published by the government of Pakistans Punjab Province has shown Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan as region as Indian territories. The education authorities rushed to recall the atlas from all the elementary and high school libraries of Punjab Province which has a population of 90 million. The government of chief minister Sahahbaz Sharif has had to face criticism from academicians over the development. It is a grave mistake that speaks of the inefficiency of our chief ministers team, publisher Khalid Pervez said. Over 15,000 copies of the atlas had been delivered to school libraries so far.

Karzai to replace security chiefs Afghan president Hamid Karzai is trying to shore up his shaken security team as his administration struggles to build an army and police force in the face of a resurgent Taliban as the US and other foreign forces begin to draw. Karzais latest reshuffle of top officials if it goes through appeared to be an attempt to stack the cabinet and electoral commission with his allies in a bid to retain power behind the scenes after his final five year term ends and the international troops withdraw in 2014.

With the elections coming, with the transition.... it is a time for him to restrengthen his team, said Maritime van Bijlert, an expert at the Afghan Analysts Network. An Afghan official close to the president said the head of the countrys election commission, the attorney general and the finance minister were expected to be among the top positions to be part of the shake up.

The first human to step on the moon none other than Mr. Neil Amstrong passed away at the age of 82. Amstrongs historic step on the moon along with the Appollo 11 onto the space is famously quoted in history as this is one small step for human but a giant leap for mankind With some complications following a cardiovascular procedure resulted in his untimely death. Planarian flatworm is known to regenerate parts of its own body. This may offer great hope for many weakening eye diseases as per a team of researchers from the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) who are on the forefront of a major breakthrough while studying this worm. These scientists have magnificently deciphered the genome of the worms eye which could set a way to study eye development and eye related sicknesses. Peter Reddien and his team of scientists at the MIT conducted more than two thousand planarian eyes and discovered six hundred active genes and a detailed study was conducted amongst 200 of them.

The effects of junk foods may be huge as per a study that was conducted on babies, infants consuming junk foods. These kids may have reduced IQ levels when compared to those kids who are fed with healthy diets. Lisa Smithers hailing from University of Adelaide Public Health also managed the study and analysed the basic relation between the dietary behaviours of various kids ranging from six months upto two years and their IQ levels at eight years of age. The study was conducted on more than seven thousand children. Their dietary patterns including traditional and modern home-made food, ready-toeat baby foods, breastfeeding and junk foods were analysed. The core aim of the study was to see what impact diet would have on the IQ when important and other nutrients are fed to the brain during early years upto two. And it was finally concluded that children who were breast fed at six months and consumed a healthy and balanced diet regularly including foods such as cheese, fruits, vegetables, pulses at fifteen and twenty four months had IQ levels that are two points higher when they turn eight.

If you are coffee lover, you have a reason to worry now! A study conducted by the experts in Britain have found out that a daily cup of latte can add upto ten punds of annual weight to your body and thats close to 4.5 kilos! With the

rapid increase in the high-street coffee shops, the obesity epidemic in Britain in highly on the rise as reported by the Daily Express. A small cup of latte with full-fat milk is loaded with one hundred and fifty three calories while a cup of black coffee containing semi-skimmed milk contains barely thirty five calories. This dietary research was conducted in over two thousand British adults. It is said that the people who are sensible for their well-being fail to recognize how much fat and sugar they are drinking.

Japanese journalist Mika Yamamato was gunned down when she was reporting the coverage in Syria where there were conflicts between Syrian forces and rebels in the alleppo region. She was forty five.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenavi passed away due to some unspecified illness. He was just fifty seven years old.

Some thirty thousand unauthorized Indian workforces may get a reprieve for the next two years from deportation as per the Deferred Action Policy set by the Obama administration.

Frequent fliers will have something to cheer about now. Sir Rishard branson owned British airlines Virgin Atlantic, in a move to attract more customers and increase its seating capacity, is offering a unique promotion. A free space trip for the most frequent flyers of the Virgin atlantic.

A famous lavatory company based in Japan has invented the world's first 'waste-powered' automobile that can chart a course for over 180 miles onto a tank that is complete with animal waste. The company has revealed the motorbike claimed it as the first such vehicle in the world that is powered with waste. The three-wheeler is installed with lavatory in the place of a normal seat and large paper roll on the back.

A study conducted by Virgin media business concluded that smart phones will replace land lines in the next five years. The study states that office land lines will be a matter of old school. More than 65% of the Chief Information Officers (CIOs) claimed that the dominance of smart phones on their tables will allow the land lines to lose their significance.

The next iPhone that is likely to be launched in the next few weeks of so will have a micro-chip installed inside that when waved next to the scanners can carry out minor transactions. After portable music players, cameras, and games you may very well replace your wallet too with this new feature!

Current Affairs [July 2012]

Chapter 7 International News

Stephen R Covey, the author of popular self-help book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People', passed away in Idaho. He was 79 years old and due to some complications that originated from a bicycle accident in April.

Nelson Mandela often referred to as Madiba turned 94 and celebrated his birthday on 18th July. Former US President Bill Clinton paid him a surprise visit at his home on village Qunu.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar opposition leader received a congressional gold medal which is a highest US award when she visits the country this year. Shes also set to receive the Atlantic Councils Global citizen award.

Fukushima nuclear crisis, a man-made disaster The Fukushima nuclear power plant which had a meltdown during March 2011 was mainly due to human error and not the natural disaster was what was being claimed earlier. An investigation report that was tabulated in the parliament in July. The report also mentioned that the disaster could have been foreseen and prevented accordingly. The report blames cultural conventions and the reluctance to question the authority which has led to this mishap. The six reactor Fukushima nuclear power plant in Daiichi was very badly damaged following the earthquake and Tsunami which knocked out the cooling systems and this led to meltdowns and release of dangerous radioactive materials. Several tens of thousands or residents were asked to evacuate from the exclusion zone around the plant while various workers battled to get the reactors under control until it was declared a safe zone in 2011

The Beijing municipal government declared the heaviest rain in 61 years killed 37 while thousands were evacuated in China.

On a lighter note, Obama was declared the world's most popular president leaving behind all the famous heads of governments of the world and this of course is more on a virtual world... called Twitter!

Colorado shooter was getting psychiatric care In the investigation it was found that the Colorado shooter who was a graduate student was being treated by a psychiatrist at the university where he studied. The defense motion disclosed this revelation in the court. The defense motion asked to indentify the source of leaks to some media outlets claiming that James Holmes sent a package to the psychiatrist. The package contained a notebook with descriptions of an attack that was similar to the shooting that he carried out. The defense motion has appealed that the package which contains the communications of Holmes and Dr Lynne Fenton should be shielded from public view as it may hamper the further investigation. The package was seized by investigation authorities after they discovered it in the mailroom at the University of Colorado, Denver.

Romney blames US Prez Obama for info leaks about Osama raidRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney moved his attacks on US President Barack Obama's ways of handling US economy to a new charge that stated that the president has sought political gain by leaking crucial details of the Osama raid that killed the dreaded terrorist. During his address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Romney decided to make the accusations against the current president. From his speech excerpts that were released recently, Romney rapped Obama for the info leaks calling the leak "contemptible", and saying such action by none other than our own President betrayed the national interest and compromised US troops. Regarding the leaks he has demanded a fullfledged investigation. From the experts it is said that the former governor of Massachusetts is going to use his topic to outline his view about Obama and that the US president has relinquished American leadership all around the world.

Current Affairs [June 2012]

Chapter 8 International News

lakh target for sterilisation by the Health Department With the aim to control the population growth in the state, the medical health and family welfare department has set its target to sterilize at least one lakh people including both male and female within 2 weeks of July month. All the chief medical officers have been directed by the health of all the districts to work harder in order to meet the set target. As per the reports almost 3.14 lakh people were sterilized in the last financial year though the set target was 6.66 lakh. Now with the aim to sterilize around 1 lahk people the health department aims to reduce the total fertility rate by 2.9 by the end of this year from the present level of 3.1. As per the officials of the health department the target of 1 lakh was decide after factoring in the number of eligible couples in the state. There is a predefined formula to set the target. This year also the department has decided to sterilize around 6.8 lakh males and females in the state. However in the first quarter of this year the department has successfully managed to sterilize around 30,000 cases. Now they have the target to sterilize 1 lakh people in just 2 weeks. Thus to complete this task the health officials have sort the help of all the districts collectors.

Abu Jundal to be interrogated by the NIA Three security agencies two from Mumbai and the National Investigating Agency (NIA) have filed a petition seeking custody of 26/11 key handler Abu Jundal in order to interrogate him in his connection with the 26/11 and several other terror strikes in the country. though the Mumbai Police and Mumbai crime branch have separately appealed to the metropolitan magistrate seeking Jundal's custody on the ground that they need to interrogate him along with Ajmal Kasab, who is the lone surviving 26/11 gunman, whereas the NIA sought the custody of the Lashkar terrorist in connection with an FIR lodged against him on June 8, 2012 regarding a terror strike in the capital. The magistrate has decided to hear the applications filed by the two security agencies and will decide regarding the application of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) seeking custodial interrogation of Jundal for Mumbai serial blasts since 2006.

Facebooks feel good factor As per a new research, what most of the people like about the social networking sites are themselves. Brittany Gentile said even though we know what social networking means most of the people are self focused and just concerned about them. Brittany is a University of Georgia doctoral candidate and she researched at the effects of social networks on selfesteem and narcissism. There are more than 526 million people who log on to Facebook every day and they simply help themselves in boosting their self-esteem in the process as reported by the journal Computers in Human Behaviour reports.

Gentile, along with Keith Campbell, psychology professor at Georgia San Diego State University professor Jean Twenge, asked 151 college students, aged 18 to 22 years, who also completed Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), as a part of the study, to either edit their social networking page on MySpace or Facebook or to use Google Maps.