US Again Raises Ford Foundation Issue with India

After the US state department protested against the Indian government's action of putting global NGO, Ford Foundation, on its watch list, the issue was raised during the just concluded foreign office consultations.

The US side, led by under secretary for political affairs Wendy Sherman, is believed to have quizzed the Indian delegation on two key issues — why was the Indian government going after one of the biggest US NGOs, and that India should do more to support former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed.

India has denied any suggestion of a witch hunt against Ford Foundation or any of the big NGOs that are currently under the scanner. Sources said Ford Foundation, as an NGO donor, is not allowed to make donations for political causes to 'companies', which is a violation of FCRA regulations. They also point to other discrepancies of the organization which may have been shared with the US side.

On Nasheed, India ploughed its standard line that it would not "interfere" in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries, but would continue to deal with the government of the day in Maldives. Nasheed enjoys a great deal of popularity in the West, but India has always regarded him with a pinch of salt.

India-US strategic dialogues tend to be a long laundry list of ambitious projects. But with two back-to-back summits, India and US have another job — to fulfil the list of projects.

Sherman, who is in Delhi for preparatory talks with her counterpart, foreign secretary S Jaishankar, said on Friday that the forthcoming dialogue will focus on "completed projects".

Assistant secretary of state Nisha Biswal said US secretary of state John Kerry had asked the Pakistani authorities to make sure they tried to re-arrest LeT chief Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi after he was set free by a Lahore court.

The rebadged India-US dialogue, which will now include the foreign and commerce ministers on the Indian side and secretary of state and commerce secretary on the US side, is likely to be held around September this year. "We will focus on completed projects, business agreements done, regional activities ...," she said indicating that counter-terrorism cooperation will be taking a greater space in the India-US relationship. 

40% of India Still Banks on Monsoon for Agriculture

In the 21st century, why does the forecast of a deficient monsoon send the same ripple of fear through India as it would 5,000 years ago? The short answer is that for almost 40% of the population, agriculture has not changed — it is still dependent on the "rain god", or the South-West monsoon as it is known today.

Here are the facts: about 46% of India's net sown area (land on which cultivation is done at least once a year) is irrigated. The balance 54% is unirrigated and hence dependent on water that rains down from the clouds, mostly in the four monsoon months.

Back in 1997, a government committee calculated that the Ultimate Irrigation Potential ( UIP) for India was about 140 million hectares (Mha). That's the possible extent of irrigation facilities that can be created. How much of this is actually utilized currently? In 2011-12, the net irrigated area was just 65 Mha, as per latest data available with agriculture ministry. 

Here are the facts: about 46% of India's net sown area (land on which cultivation is done at least once a year) is irrigated. The balance 54% is unirrigated and hence dependent on water that rains down from the clouds, mostly in the four monsoon months.

Back in 1997, a government committee calculated that the Ultimate Irrigation Potential ( UIP) for India was about 140 million hectares (Mha). That's the possible extent of irrigation facilities that can be created. How much of this is actually utilized currently? In 2011-12, the net irrigated area was just 65 Mha, as per latest data available with agriculture ministry.

Clearly, the single most important input needed by farmers — water — has not been provided for a very large number of farmers leaving them vulnerable to the erratic monsoon. That's why the ancient fear still lurks in these modern times. 

Scientists Discover Key Driver of Human Aging: May Lead to Slowing or Reversing Aging Process

A study tying the aging process to the deterioration of tightly packaged bundles of cellular DNA could lead to methods of preventing and treating age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

In the study, scientists at the Salk Institute and the Chinese Academy of Science found that the genetic mutations underlying Werner syndrome, a disorder that leads to premature aging and death, resulted in the deterioration of bundles of DNA known as heterochromatin.

The discovery, made possible through a combination of cutting-edge stem cell and gene-editing technologies, could lead to ways of countering age-related physiological declines by preventing or reversing damage to heterochromatin.

"Our findings show that the gene mutation that causes Werner syndrome results in the disorganization of heterochromatin, and that this disruption of normal DNA packaging is a key driver of aging," says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a senior author on the paper. "This has implications beyond Werner syndrome, as it identifies a central mechanism of aging--heterochromatin disorganization--which has been shown to be reversible."

Werner syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes people to age more rapidly than normal. It affects around one in every 200,000 people in the United States. People with the disorder suffer age-related diseases early in life, including cataracts, type 2 diabetes, hardening of the arteries, osteoporosis and cancer, and most die in their late 40s or early 50s.

The disease is caused by a mutation to the Werner syndrome RecQ helicase-like gene, known as the WRN gene for short, which generates the WRN protein. Previous studies showed that the normal form of the protein is an enzyme that maintains the structure and integrity of a person's DNA. When the protein is mutated in Werner syndrome it disrupts the replication and repair of DNA and the expression of genes, which was thought to cause premature aging. However, it was unclear exactly how the mutated WRN protein disrupted these critical cellular processes.

Nepal Earthquake Death Tolls Increased to 5006

Nepal Earthquake Death Tolls Increased to 5006. Its really sad for world and specially Nepal, because after severe Earthquake of death tolls are increasing rapidly. As days are passing many and land is being cleared, number of dead, injured and buried people is increasing rapidly. Its seems this could be one of the biggest Natural Disaster ever felt. Approx 71 Earthquake are felt in Nepal, even in India too. Indian Government has taken many several steps to save and help Nepal.

Nepal Earthquake Death Tolls Increasing Rapidly

According to Economic times, The number of people killed in Nepal by the Himalayan country’s worst earthquake in eight decades has risen to 5,006, a home ministry official said on Wednesday. That number represented a jump of 300 from earlier on Wednesday. Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters on Tuesday the toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake could reach 10,000.

According to Znews, Nepal’s Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk districts, among the worst hit, have reported 1,039 and 1,176 deaths respectively. The situation is almost equally worrisome in Nuwakot (478), Dhading (303), Gorkha (256), Rasuwa (250), Kavre (248), Bhaktpur (243), Lalitpur (159), Dolakha (50).

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