Employment News Paper 15 July 2013

Employment News Paper 15 July 2013

Tata Steel Europe reports record 1.2 bn loss

Tata Steel Europe, Britain's largest steel producer, reported the losses for the year until March 31 as part of its latest results filed at Companies House in the UK.

As per the company's filing, revenues fell 14 per cent to 8.7 billion pounds due to a "deterioration to market conditions in the second half".

Tata Steel Europe has net borrowings of 3.4 billion pounds dating back to the 6.7 billion deal and the company spent 352 million pounds in interest charges last year to service the huge loans.

Most of Tata Steel's manufacturing facilities are in Europe, which is a high-cost area and where demand for steel products is much lower than in developing parts of the world.

In May, Tata Steel revealed a 1 billion pounds write-down in the value of its European arm, underlining the chronic difficulties faced by the company.

IISc, IIT-B make jet engines quieter

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore and IIT Bombay have helped Rolls-Royce develop low-noise technology for aircraft engines which are fitted in longhaul planes such as Boeing 747s and Dreamliners.

An 11-member team led by U Ramamurthy of the department of materials engineering began research in 2006 in collaboration with the UK company and recently delivered the technology. 

This technology, developed using shape memory alloys, brings down engine noise during landing and take-off. Noise levels of aircraft have triggered protests in many cities and residents near airports have forced adoption of rules such as ban on nighttime landings.

The objective was to discover high-temperature shape memory alloy compositions with a new technique which could be adapted for engines.

When the plane takes off or lands, the silencers become operational. This reduces engine noise," Ramamurthy said. The vanes were capable of operating at temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius and higher.

Typhoon Soulik

Taiwan closed schools and deployed soldiers Friday to help with evacuations as an approaching typhoon threatened to bring strong winds and heavy rains to the island.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said at noon Soulik was at sea about 400 kilometers (252 miles) southeast of Yilan county in northeastern Taiwan.

The typhoon has winds of 173 kph .

Slight rain was falling in Taipei at midday.

The weather bureau forecast heavy rains by afternoon for northern Taiwan and torrential rains for the south of the island later Friday.

China was also making preparations in advance of the arrival of Typhoon Soulik, the first of the year to hit the region.

National park on Moon

US lawmakers are pushing a plan to establish a new national park

A new bill introduced into the US Congress would create the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on the Moon.

Called the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act, the bill (House Resolution 2617) was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the House Committee on Natural Resources, SPACE.com reported.

In the bill, "Apollo lunar landing sites" refer to all areas of the Moon where astronauts and instruments connected to the Apollo program between 1969 and 1972 touched the lunar surface, 

The bill also spotlights the artifacts on the surface of the Moon associated with the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, "which had an instrumentality crash land on the lunar surface April 14, 1970.

Chris Froome wins stage 15 of Tour de France

Ventoux is one of the most famed climbs in the Tour’s 110-year history. Britain’s Tom Simpson collapsed and died on it during the 1967 Tour.

British rider Chris Froome showed why he remains the overwhelming Tour de France favourite by winning Sunday’s grueling 15th stage up to Mont Ventoux to extend his lead over main rival Alberto Contador.

Eminent gastroenterologist Rangabashyam dead

Eminent surgical gastroenterologist, surgeon and teacher, N. Rangabashyam, died peacefully in his sleep in his home in Chennai, early on Sunday.

He was 79, and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Dr. Rangabashyam was a pioneer in the field of surgical gastroenterology and proctology in India, and was respected by many in his profession as a senior colleague, an excellent teacher, a guide and even an inspiration for many young students of medicine.

With over three decades of experience in teaching at the undergraduate and post graduate levels, he has contributed chapters to the Oxford Textbook of Surgery and in the Recent Advances in Surgery series. He is credited with playing a key role in bringing the FRCS Edinburgh Examination to be conducted in India since 1995. 

He took a proactive role in conducting awareness camps for the public, and regular continuing medical education programmes for doctors.

Another student of his, R. Surendran, former director of Stanley Hospital's Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplant, says Dr. Rangabashyam was a visionary. “When he started the surgical gastroenterology department, people said there was no need for a separate specialty. Even when he held an honorary position, he would stay in the hospital for long hours, guiding students,” Mr. Surendran said.

England beat Australia by 14 runs to win first Ashes Test

James Anderson took five wickets for the second time in the match as England just held their nerve to win the first Ashes Test against Australia by 14 runs at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

Egypt freezes assets of 14 top Islamists: Judicial sources

Egypt's public prosecutor on Sunday ordered the freezing of assets belonging to 14 top Islamists as part of an investigation into deadly violence, judicial sources said.

The order by Hisham Barakat affects nine Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including the group's general guide Mohamed Badie, and five Islamists from other groups including ex-militant faction Gamaa Islamiya, the sources said.

The investigation relates to four incidents since the military's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, including clashes in Cairo last Monday in which 53 people died.