The Competition Master

Iran warns US carrier against Gulf return

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Iran's army chief says the Islamic republic will take action if the US aircraft carrier that recently left the Persian Gulf returned. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The carrier USS John C Stennis, one of the US navy's biggest vessels, left the area because of 10 days of Iranian naval exercises in which they fired a number a new missiles. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The US Defence Department said the passage was "routine". 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The United States keeps at least one aircraft carrier in or near the Gulf at all times, on rotations of weeks or months. It maintains the base of its Fifth Fleet in the Gulf state of Bahrain. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Tensions have risen in recent days after Iran, which insists its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes, test-fired a series of missiles near the key Gulf oil supply route of the Strait of Hormuz. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The display of military muscle was designed to show Iran's ability to close the strait, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil flows, if it chooses. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The US and its allies have imposed their sanctions to punish Iran for maintaining a nuclear program they believe masks military objectives. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> French president Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed a freezing of assets of Iran's central bank and an embargo on exports of Iranian oil, a move also being considered by the European Union. 
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Iran warns US carrier against Gulf return

Iran's army chief says the Islamic republic will take action if the US aircraft carrier that recently left the Persian Gulf returned....

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World-first hybrid sharks found off Australia

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5453" style="display: block;"> <ul><li> <div style="text-align: justify;">Marine biologists say they have discovered the world's first hybrid sharks off Australia's east coast, a potential sign the predators are adapting to cope with climate change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> They say the mating of the Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, is an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;">The larger common black-tip shark swims in the colder waters of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, while the smaller Australian black-tip likes warmer seas.</li>
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World-first hybrid sharks found off Australia

Marine biologists say they have discovered the world's first hybrid sharks off Australia...

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S Arabia, Libya agree to restore diplomatic ties

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Saudi Arabia and Libya have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors now that longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi is no longer in power. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Saudi media said Monday that ties between Riyadh and Tripoli would be restored and that the Saudi Embassy in Libya would be reopened. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The kingdom recalled its ambassador to Libya during the civil war that began in February. Gaddafi was captured and killed in October. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Saudi officials have long accused Gaddafi's regime of trying to assassinate Saudi King Abdullah when he was crown prince in 2004. 
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S Arabia, Libya agree to restore diplomatic ties

Saudi Arabia and Libya have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors now that longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddaf...

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Hungarians protest against govt's new Basic Law

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Monday against the government and its new Basic Law in a show of anxiety over what they see as the ruling Fidesz party's moves to weaken democratic institutions and cement its powers.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Centre-right Fidesz, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, won a two-thirds majority in elections in 2010 and has rewritten a large body of law since, drawing accusations at home and abroad that it has undermined democratic checks and balances.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Basic Law, which replaced the previous constitution as of January 1, recasts rules governing many walks of life in what Fidesz calls a completion of a democratization process that started in 1989 when communism collapsed.</li>
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Hungarians protest against govt's new Basic Law

Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Monday against the government and its new Basic Law in a show of anxiety over wh...

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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood plans to put treaty with Israel to a referendum

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>MB says 'will not recognize Israel under any circumstances'; move to cancel peace treaty could represent strategic chance too great for MB as it seeks international legitimacy.</li>
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<li> The Muslim Brotherhood, the overwhelming victor in the first round of elections for the Egyptian Parliament, has announced it will not recognize Israel and intends to bring the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to a referendum. 
 
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<li> "We will not recognize Israel under any circumstances; we are talking about an occupation entity and a criminal enemy," said Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, the deputy head of the Brotherhood. 
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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood plans to put treaty with Israel to a referendum

MB says 'will not recognize Israel under any circumstances'; move to cancel peace treaty could represent strategic chance too grea...

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France calls for embargo on Iranian oil

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> France has urged its European partners to follow the US lead and impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank assets, as tension with Tehran escalates. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time to toughen sanctions – along the lines President Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed in late November. "France ... wants sanctions toughened and the president (Sarkozy) has made two concrete proposals on that front – the first being the freezing of Iranian central bank assets, a tough measure, and the second an embargo on Iranian oil exports, 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> If enforced strictly, the sanctions could make it nearly impossible for most refiners to buy crude from Iran, the world's fourth biggest producer. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The United Nations Security Council has already imposed four rounds of global sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear activities. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Talks between Iran and six world powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – are in stalemate. 
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France calls for embargo on Iranian oil

France has urged its European partners to follow the US lead and impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank...

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President inaugurates new SHAR Mission Control Centre

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li> <div style="text-align: justify;">President Pratibha Patil visited the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota here on Monday and dedicated the new Mission Control Centre to the nation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> She also witnessed a simulation of the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at the Mission Control Centre and various exhibits of the advances in space science and technology.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The new centre has been developed with state-of-the-art facilities to meet the requirements for the launch of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III and future missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Ms. Patil presented ISRO awards for 2008-09, including the Lifetime Achievement Award to the former ISRO chairman, K. Kasturirangan. 
 
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<li>The  First Launch Pad, where the integration of the soon-to-be-launched of PSLV-C19 was in progress.</li>
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President inaugurates new SHAR Mission Control Centre

President Pratibha Patil visited the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota here on Monday and dedicated the new Mission C...

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Nathpa Jhakri sets a new record

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> With 6,975 million units of gross electricity generation achieved during the three quarters of financial year 2011-12, the country's largest 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station is heading for establishing new benchmarks in the hydro power sector.   
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The generation during the period has not only surpassed the MoU target by 740 million units but also last year's generation of 6,402 MU achieved during the same period. “The power station has generated 7,140 million units of electricity during the full financial year 2010-11 which was an all-time record 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The power station is owned and operated by the public sector SJVN Limited.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Commissioned in 2003-04, the country's largest hydro power station had established a milestone of 50,000 million units on October 20, 2011.  The Plant Availability Factor (PAF) during the three quarters period also peaked at 104.6 per cent against the normative average of 82 per cent 
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Nathpa Jhakri sets a new record

With 6,975 million units of gross electricity generation achieved during the three quarters of financial year 2011-12, the country's ...

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Einstein was offered post of Travancore varsity Vice-Chancellor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Decades before India made a name for itself in the field of education, the tiny princely State of Travancore aimed high in higher education and even made an unsuccessful bid to enlist the services of great physicist Albert Einstein as Vice-Chancellor of its fledgling university for a monthly pay of Rs. 6,000. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Nobel prize winning scientist, considered the founder of modern physics and one who developed the theory of general relativity, politely declined the invitation saying he wanted to join Princeton University in the United States. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Set up in 1937, Travancore University was renamed University of Kerala later, and is planning year-long celebrations to mark its Platinum Jubilee this year. 
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Einstein was offered post of Travancore varsity Vice-Chancellor

Decades before India made a name for itself in the field of education, the tiny princely State of Travancore aimed high in higher educati...

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Award for Dhoni

Award for Dhoni

M.S. Dhoni has become the first cricketer to be chosen for the AIPS Fair Play 2011 award for his exemplary action in recalling Ian Bell du...

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