Employment News 5 October 2013

Employment News 5 October 2013

London as title of best city in the world

City of Light, one of the most visited cities in the world, has been knocked off its perch as “best city in the world” by London and Sydney in a new index released this week.

According to the latest edition of the Anholt-GfK City Brands Index which measures a city’s brand image, power and appeal, London’s stock has gone up in the world as it took the top spot in the biennial ranking.

London also took the top spot as the city where individual cultures are appreciated and where foreigners can "easily fit in."

Possible reasons could include the fact that the city continues to bask in the afterglow of a successful Summer Olympic Games and has maintained a presence in the international spotlight with a string of historic milestones that include the Queen’s Coronation ceremony and the highly anticipated birth of a new royal with the arrival of Prince George.

More than 5,140 interviews were conducted in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, South Korea, the US and the UK for the index.

Top 10 “best cities” for 2013:

1. London

2. Sydney

3. Paris

4. New York

5. Rome

6. Washington D.C.

7. Los Angeles

8. Toronto

9. Vienna

10.Melbourne

EC announces poll schedule for five states 

Assembly elections will be held in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh from 11th November, the Election Commission announced on Friday.

While Chhattisgarh will have a two-phase polling on 11th November and 19th November, the remaining states will have a single-phase poll. 

Delhi and Mizoram will go to polls on 4th December, Madhya Pradesh on 25th November and Rajasthan on 1st December. 

For the first time, voters will have an option of 'none of the above' (NOTA) in these polls where they can decide not to vote any of the candidates in the fray. 

Ecuador allows drilling in UNESCO reserve

Ecuador’s National Assembly on Thursday gave the go-ahead to drill in the Yasuni National Park, after failing to secure international compensation for leaving it untouched.

President Rafael Correa asked the assembly in mid-August to allow the move, after a call went unanswered for developed countries to pay Ecuador for not drilling in the nature reserve.

The Yasuni park in the east of the country has been declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve for its exceptional biodiversity, and is home to several indigenous tribes.

But in the six years since Ecuador launched the ITT-Initiative, named after the three oilfields of Ishpingo, Tiputini and Tambococha under the park, pledges have only reached 13.3 million dollars, or 0.37 per cent of the target, prompting Correa to abandon the project.

The deposits are expected to yield profits of 18.3 billion dollars, with extraction to start in five years.

Two of the tribes in the park, the Tagaeri and Taromenane, have had no known contact with industrialized society, and have asked — through other tribes — to be left in isolation.

Rafiq Kathwari Selected For ‘ Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award 2013 ‘

Rafiq Kathwari, an Indian-American poet on 29 September selected for ‘ 2013 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award ‘ for the collection of his debut poems.

Rafiq Kathwari is the first non-Irish person to win the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. Rafiq Kathwari’s collection of 20 unpublished poems In Another Country was selected for the coveted award amidst 112 contestants from across the world.

India seeks Belgium's support to enter arms control regimes

President Mukherjee, in his opening remarks at the talks with Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupa, said India attaches great importance to its relations with Belgium and hoped that the two countries strengthen economic ties.

Expressing hope that Belgium will continue its constructive approach and will support India's efforts to become a full member of the four arms control regimes, namely, NSG, Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group, the President said "a clear public stance by Belgium on this issue would be in line with our excellent cooperation." 

NSG has 47 members, MTCR has 34 countries as its members, Wassenaar Arrangement, an order which is for the promotion of regional security, international security and stability by offering transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms, dual-use goods and technologies, has 41 members. 

President Mukherjee, the first Indian Head of the State to visit Belgium, also thanked the country for its support of India's candidature to a permanent seat in an expanded United Nations Security Council. 

Dwelling on the economic relations between the two countries, Mukherjee said that the last few years have seen a difficult economic environment in Europe and elsewhere. 

ICICI Bank opens skill training academy in Jaipur

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, ICICI Bank today opened skill training academy to provide vocational training to youth from economically weaker section of the society.

The vocational training course will provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the beneficiaries, ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar said here.

The courses offered will include selling skills, office administration and web design for graduates; and electrical & home appliance repair, refrigeration & air-conditioning repair, and diesel generator & pump repair for Class X passouts, she said, adding, the courses will be of about 12 weeks duration.

The launch marks the next step in our strategy to promote inclusive growth in India, will train 5,000 youth at nine training centres across the country in the first year of operation,” she said, adding, the academy aims to train 15,000 youth across the country by 2016.

Railway travel becomes costlier from October 7

Railway travel becomes costlier from October due to public transporter having decided to hike passenger fares and freight tariff by around 2%

With this hike - the second in 2013 - passengers travelling in AC-I from New Delhi to Mumbai will need to pay an additional fare of
Rs. 65, while the fares in the AC-2 and AC-3 classes will cost Rs. 40 and Rs. 30 more.

For the period of February1 to July 31 this year, the public transporter incurred an additional burden of Rs. 12,000 crore on fuel costs.

After today's hike, the Railways anticipate to mop up around Rs. 1150 crore - generating Rs. 400 crore from passenger fares and Rs. 750 crore from freight tariff.

Meanwhile, the Union cabinet has accepted the proposal of the Ministry of Railways for payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days' wages for the financial year 2012-13 for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees.

Australian Open Prize Money Increases By £1.7m

Tennis Australia has on 2 October announced ,the prize money for next year’s Australian Open will be increased by 3million Australian dollars (£1.7million).

The increase takes the total prize fund for the year’s first grand slam to 33million (£19.1million) making it the third richest of the major tournaments after Wimbledon and the US Open.

3,300-year-old City Unearthed In Iraq

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient city, that thrived between 3,300 and 2,900 years ago, hidden beneath a mound in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.Located in a valley on the northern bank of the lower Zab River, the remains of the city, called Idu, are now part of a mound created by human occupation called a tell, which rises about 32 feet above the surrounding plain.

The earliest remains date back to Neolithic times, when farming first appeared in the Middle East, and a modern-day village called Satu Qala now lies on top of the tell.

The city thrived between 3,300 and 2,900 years ago.At the start of this period, the city was under the control of the Assyrian Empire and was used to administer the surrounding territory.

China Honours Indian journalist Ravi Shankar with ‘Friendship Award’

Ravi Shankar, a senior Indian journalist working with a leading state-run English newspaper, was presented with ‘Friendship Award’, China’s highest honour for foreign experts for their contribution to the country’s economic and social development.Shankar, Executive Editor of China Daily’s overseas editions, was one of 50 foreign experts from 20 countries .

S.Varadarajan took over as the CMD of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

S. Varadarajan took over charge as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). S.Varadarajan has succeeded R.K. Singh.

Prior to his appointment as the CMD, Varadarajan was serving as the Director (finance) of the company.

Varadarajan is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India.

CCEA Approved Jet Airways' Proposed Sale of 24 Percent Equity to Etihad Airways

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 3 October 2013 cleared Jet Airways proposed sale of 24 per cent equity to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, paving the way for the biggest ever foreign investment in the Indian aviation sector.

The proposal was of Etihad to subscribe 27263372 Jet  Airways shares of 10 Rupees each, amounting to 24 percent of post-issue paid-up equity share capital for 2057.66 crore Rupees.

The decision was taken at a CCEA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. The approval will result in foreign investment amounting to over 2057 crore Rupees in the country. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has recommended the proposal.

Jet-Etihad deal was already approved by SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India) on 1 October 2013.

India unveils 1st indigenously developed vaccine for treating Encephalitis

In an important medical leap, India today unveiled its first indigenously developed vaccine for treating Japanese Encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral disease that affects the brain.

The manufacturer of the vaccine named JENVAC claims that the highly purified inactivated vaccine can be administered during epidemics without the fear of adverse effects. It is available in both single dose and five dose presentations.

The vaccine has been developed under the Public Private Partnership mode. 

Launching the vaccine in New Delhi, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said its development is a remarkable milestone in the emergence of India as an innovative and self-sufficient technology hub.

He said it will enable the country to fight with the deadly virus which causes hundreds of deaths every year.

Japanese Encephalitis, which is prevalent in 171 districts of 19 States, affects mostly children below 15 years.

About 25 per cent of the affected children die and among survivors, 30 to 40 per cent suffer from physical and mental impairment.

The indigenous production will now improve the efficacy, availability and affordability of the vaccine which is presently being imported from China.

Scientists found the volcano responsible for a huge eruption that occurred in the 13th Century

13th century eruption traced to Indonesia

an international team points the finger at the Samalas Volcano on Lombok Island, Indonesia. Little remains of the original mountain structure — just a huge crater lake.

The team has tied sulphur and dust traces in the polar ice to a swathe of data gathered in the Lombok region itself, including radiocarbon dates, the type and spread of ejected rock and ash, tree rings, and even local chronicles that recall the fall of the Lombok Kingdom sometime in the 13th century.

The evidence is very strong and compelling,” Clive Oppenheimer, from Cambridge University, told the BBC. Co-worker Franck Lavigne, from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University, France, added: “We conducted something similar to a criminal investigation.

The 1257 eruption has been variously linked with volcanoes in Mexico, Ecuador and New Zealand.