Russia Started Building Turkey's First Nuclear Power Plant
The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) was awarded a construction license for Akkuyu NPP, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, which is being built in Mersin province, in southern Turkey. JSC Akkuyu Nuclear is the Russian-owned company which is responsible for the project. The USD20 billion project to build the four-unit, 4800 MWe plant is part of Erdogan's '2023 Vision' marking 100 years since the founding of modern Turkey and is intended to reduce the country's dependence on energy imports. The plant is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.
Azerbaijan Signed Two Agreements with India
India and Azerbaijan have inked two documents for visa waiver for diplomatic, official and service passports holders and cooperation between diplomatic training institutes. The agreements were signed during the ongoing visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to that country. Ms. Swaraj is there to be part of 18th NAM Ministerial Conference in Baku.
Hubble Precisely Measures Distance to Ancient Star Cluster
Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have for the first time precisely measured the distance to one of the oldest objects in the universe, a 13.4 billion-year-old cluster of stars born shortly after the Big Bang. The refined distance yardstick provides an independent estimate for the age of the universe. It will also help astronomers improve models of stellar evolution. Star clusters are the key ingredient in stellar models because the stars in each grouping are at the same distance, have the same age, and have the same chemical composition.
Weightlifter Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu delivered India its second gold medal of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast City, Australia by dominating the women's 53 kg event. Defending champion, Loa Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea, claimed the silver with a total lift of 182 (80 in the snatch and 102 in clean & jerk) and bronze went to Canada's Rachel Leblanc-Bazinet who finished with a combined effort of 181 kg (81 in the snatch and 100 in clean & jerk).
The trial commenced in May 2013 and the prosecution had produced 28 witnesses for examination. After the Magistrate convicted Mr. Khan under Sections 9 (Prohibition of hunting) and 51 (Penalties) of the Wildlife Protection Act, his counsel moved an application seeking his release on bail in the court of the Additional Sessions Judge. Mr. Khan will spend time in the Central Jail until the Sessions Court gives him bail or suspends his sentence to enable him to file an appeal. He had earlier spent 18 days in the same jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007 in connection with other cases of poaching related to the 1998 incident. The co-accused in the case faced charges under Section 149 (Common object in unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code. The villagers at Kankani had alleged that Mr. Khan had shot the blackbucks when other actors were sitting in the Gypsy.
India Asks Hong Kong to Arrest Modi
India has asked Hong Kong to arrest fugitive Nirav Modi, Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry General V.K. Singh (retd.) informed the Rajya Sabha. The Ministry of External Affairs has sought the provisional arrest of Shri Nirav Deepak Modi by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PRC of China, for which a request has been submitted on 23 March, 2018.
India's Next Ambassador to Serbia
Subrata Bhattacharjee has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia. He is an IFS officer of 1989 batch. He is currently Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs.