Chokri Belaid

Chokri Belaïd was a Tunisian lawyer and politician who was an opposition leader with the left-secular Democratic Patriots' Movement. Belaid was a vocal critic of the Ben Ali regime prior to the 2011 Tunisian revolution and of the current Islamist-led Tunisian government. On 6 February 2013, he was fatally shot outside his house in El Menzah, close to the Tunisian capital, Tunis. As a result of his assassination, Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali announced his plan to dissolve the existing national government and to form a temporary "national unity" government.

Mustafa A.G. Abushagur

Mustafa A.G. Abushagur is a Libyan politician, professor of electrical engineering, university president and entrepreneur. He became the first elected Prime Minister of modern Libya on September 12, 2012

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

• A convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
• The first person ever convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• Founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and was a key player in the Ituri conflict (1999–2007). 
• Rebels under his command have been accused of massive human rights violations, including ethnic massacres, murder, torture, rape, mutilation, and forcibly conscripting child soldiers
• On 17 March 2006, Lubanga became the first person arrested under a warrant issued by the ICC.
• His trial, for the war crime of "conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years and using them to participate actively in hostilities" began on 26 January 2009, and he was found guilty on 14 March 2012.He faced a maximum sentence of 30 years. On 10 July 2012, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Lubanga to a total period of 14 years of imprisonment, also ordering that the time from Lubanga's surrender to the ICC in 2006 until the sentencing day should be deducted from the 14 year term, which means he will spend 8 more years in jail

Ethiopian Premier Meles Zenawi dead

•  Ethiopia’s Prime Minister since 1995 till his death, in August 2012
• Mr. Meles is credited with resurrecting the ruined economy he inherited in 1991. In the last seven years, the economy has grown by an average 11 per cent annually due to investments in agriculture and infrastructure.
• He also forged closer trade ties with India, Turkey and China and supported U.S. military operations in strife-torn Somalia.

Gore Vidal

Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was an American writer known for his essays, novels, screenplays and Broadway plays. He was also known for his patrician manner, Transatlantic accent and witty aphorisms.He has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde

Kulandei Francis’ visionary zeal fetches him the Magsaysay

Mr. Francis, Director of the Krishnagiri-based NGO Integrated Village Development Programme (IVD).
Founded 22 years ago, the IVDP was responsible for the formation of more than 7,000 self-help groups in the three districts. So far, the value of transactions through the SHGs was over Rs.2,500 crore and nearly Rs.250 crore lay with the accounts of the SHG members.

Shouryya Ray

• A 16-year-old Indian-origin ‘genius' from Germany has managed to work out puzzles that had baffled the maths wizards for more than 350 years.
• Shouryya Ray, of Dresden, has solved two fundamental particle dynamics theories, which physicists have previously been able to calculate only by using powerful computers.

James Murdoch quits News International

• The News of the World phone-hacking scandal on Wednesday claimed its biggest scalp yet when James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s heir apparent, dramatically resigned as executive chairman of News International, publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, amid fresh allegations that he attempted to cover-up the scandal.
• Last year, its chief executive Rebekah Brooks was forced to resign over her role in hushing up the affair. She was arrested and is on bail. 
• Officially, the line was that Mr Murdoch (39), who joined News International five years ago, had quit to concentrate on his role as deputy chief operating officer of its parent company, the New York-based News Corporation, and play a bigger role in the company’s television business which includes Star TV and the Sky network.

Kamal Bawa gets first Gunnerus award for sustainability

• The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) will bestow the Gunnerus Sustainability Award — the world's first major international award for work on sustainability — on India-born Dr. Kamal Bawa, Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. 
• He will receive the Gunnerus Gold Medal and the award of 1 million Norwegian Kronor (about $190,000).
• Dr. Bawa is most noted for, among other works, his pioneering research on population biology in rainforest areas. His wide span of work includes groundbreaking biological discoveries made in Central America and in the Western Ghats and the Himalayas in India. 
• He is specially noted for the establishment, and as president, of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. Until recently, he also held the Ruffolo Giorgio Fellowship in Sustainability Science and Bullard Fellowship at the Harvard University.

• The Gunnerus award is the first major international prize for outstanding scientific work that promotes sustainable development globally, and will be awarded every two years starting in 2012, a press release said. The award is named after DKNVS’ founder, Bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1718-1773), and is the result of a collaboration between DKNVS, Sparebank1 SMN and the society Technoport. DKNVS has been responsible for the international launch, and the selection of the winner

Science communicator R.D. Sharma passes away

• A former media consultant at India office of International Rice Research Institute,Sharma was known for his insightful writings on different aspects of science for the benefit of the lay public.
• Among other things, he was the winner of the Indian National Science Academy’s Indira Gandhi Prize for Popularisation of Science and has scripted, anchored, directed and produced more than 500 television programmes.

Barack Obama names Amartya Sen for US Humanities medal

Sen,  who retains his Indian citizenship, is the first Indian to be honored with the medal that is typically awarded to US nationals through its 16-year history.

Army Chief loses age war

• The Supreme Court on Friday refused to intervene in his plea, pointing out that the Army Chief, who accepted the government's decision in determining his date of birth as May 10, 1950 on three occasions, could not go back on his commitment. His writ petition was disposed of as withdrawn.
• The Bench recorded Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati's statement that the government had not questioned the Army Chief's integrity or bona fides. It was resisting the petition as a matter of principle and doing so would not mean lack of faith in his ability to lead the Army
• After this he will have to retire on May 31, 2012.

A.K. Damodaran (1921-2012) - A principled diplomat with formidable intellect

• Diplomats who fought for the country's freedom and after retirement turned into formidable scholars are rare. 
• A.K. Damodaran, was one of them, and in all his endeavours his lifelong attachment to Nehruvian principles left an indelible stamp.
• Imprisoned during the Quit India movement after having been on the colonial police's radar for his fiery speeches, Mr. Damodaran spent a decade in the immediate post-Nehru era finessing India's policy towards its two great neighbours — China and Russia — with his being among the decisive hands on the rudder when the Treaty of 1971 was crafted

Mazhar Imam, modernist Urdu poet, laid to rest

Eminent Urdu poet and critic Mazhar Imam was laid to rest here on January 31. Ailing for some time, he died of a heart attack on Monday. He was 83. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

Vijay K. Nambiar

• Vijay Nambiar is a veteran Indian diplomat and the Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff) under UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon since 1 January 2007. He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General and is a member of the Secretary-General's Senior Management Team
•  Vijay Nambiar has been appointed as special adviser on Myanmar

Padma Awards Announced

The President of India has approved the conferment of Padma Awards-2012.

Padma Vibhushan

1.Shri K G Subramanyan-Art-Painting & Sculpture-West Bengal
2.Late Shri Mario De Miranda-Art-Cartoonist-Goa*
3.Late (Dr.)Bhupen Hazarika-Art- Vocal Music-Assam*
4.Dr. Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti-Medicine - Orthopedics-Maharashtra
5.Shri T V Rajeswar-Civil Service-Delhi

Padma Bhushan

Smt. Shabana Azmi
Art - Cinema
Maharashtra

Shri Khaled Choudhury
Art - Theatre
West Bengal

Shri Jatin Das
Art - Painting
Delhi

Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta
Art - Instrumental Music - Sarod
West Bengal

Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol alias Dharmendra
Art - Cinema
Maharashtra

Dr. Trippunithwra Viswanathan Gopalkrishnan
Art - Classical vocal and instrumental music
Tamil Nadu

Ms. Mira Nair
Art - Cinema
Delhi

Shri M.S. Gopalakrishnan
Art - Instrumental Music-Violin
Tamil Nadu

Shri Anish Kapoor
Art - Sculpture
UK*

Shri Satya Narayan Goenka
Social Work
Maharashtra

Dr. (Judge) Patibandla Chandrasekhar Rao
Public Affairs
Germany*

Shri George Yong-Boon Yeo
Public Affairs
Singapore*

Prof. Shashikumar Chitre
Science and Engineering
Maharashtra

Dr. M S Raghunathan
Science and Engineering
Maharashtra

Shri Subbiah Murugappa Vellayan
Trade and Industry
Tamil Nadu

Shri Balasubramanian Muthuraman
Trade and Industry
Maharashtra

Dr. Suresh H. Advani
Medicine - Oncology
Maharashtra

Dr. Noshir H Wadia
Medicine-Neurology
Maharashtra

Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty
Medicine-Cardiology
Karnataka

Prof. (Dr.) Shantaram Balwant Mujumdar
Literature and Education
Maharashtra

Prof. Vidya Dehejia
Literature and Education
USA*

Prof. Arvind Panagariya
Literature and Education
USA*

Dr. Jose Pereira
Literature and Education
USA*

Dr. Homi K. Bhabha
Literature and Education
UK *

Shri N Vittal
Civil Service
Kerala

Shri Mata Prasad
Civil Service
Uttar Pradesh

Shri Ronen Sen
Civil Service
West Bengal

Padma Shri

Shri Vanraj Bhatia
Art - Music
Maharashtra

Shri Zia Fariduddin Dagar
Art - Music - vocal
Maharashtra

Smt. Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi
Art - Music- Khongjom Parba
Manipur

Shri Ramachandra Subraya Hegde Chittani
Art - Yakshagana dance drama
Karnataka

Shri Moti Lal Kemmu
Art - Playwright
Jammu and Kashmir

Shri Shahid Parvez Khan
Art - Instrumental Music-Sitar
Maharashtra

Shri Mohan Lal Kumhar
Art - Terracotta
Rajasthan

Shri Sakar Khan Manganiar
Art - Rajasthani Folk Music
Rajasthan

Smt. Joy Michael
Art - Theatre
Delhi

Dr. Minati Mishra
Art - Indian Classical Dance-Odissi.
Orissa

Shri Natesan Muthuswamy
Art - Theatre.
Tamil Nadu

Smt. R. Nagarathnamma
Art - Theatre
Karnataka

Shri Kalamandalm Sivan Nambootiri
Art - Indian Classical Dance- Kutiyattam
Kerala

Smt. Yamunabai Waikar
Art - Indian Folk Music-Lavani.
Maharashtra

Shri Satish Alekar
Art - Playwright
Maharashtra

Pandit Gopal Prasad Dubey
Art - Chhau dance and choreography
Jharkhand

Shri Ramakant Gundecha #
Art - Indian Classical Music- Vocal
Madhya Pradesh
Shri Umakant Gundecha #
Art - Indian Classical Music- Vocal
Madhya Pradesh

Shri Anup Jalota
Art-Indian Classical Music- Vocal
Maharashtra

Shri Soman Nair Priyadarsan
Art - Cinema- Direction
Kerala

Shri Sunil Janah
Art-Photography
Assam


Ms. Laila Tyebji
Art-Handicrafts
Delhi

Shri Vijay Sharma
Art-Painting
Himachal Pradesh

Smt. Shamshad Begum
Social Work
Chattisgarh

Smt. Reeta Devi
Social Work
Delhi

Dr. P.K. Gopal
Social Work
Tamil Nadu

Smt. Phoolbasan Bai Yadav
Social Work
Chattisgarh

Dr. G. Muniratnam
Social Work
Andhra Pradesh

Shri Niranjan Pranshankar Pandya
Social Work
Maharashtra

Dr. Uma Tuli
Social Work
Delhi

Shri Sat Paul Varma
Social Work
Jammu and Kashmir

Smt.Binny Yanga
Social Work
Arunachal Pradesh

Shri Yezdi Hirji Malegam
Public Affairs
Maharashtra


Shri Pravin H. Parekh
Pubic Affairs
Delhi

Dr. V. Adimurthy
Science and Engineering
Kerala

Dr. Krishna Lal Chadha
Science and Engineering - Agriculture
Delhi

Prof. Virander Singh Chauhan
Science and Engineering
Delhi

Prof. Rameshwar Nath Koul Bamezai
Science and Engineering
Jammu and Kashmir

Dr. Vijaypal Singh
Science and Engineering - Agricultural Research
Uttar Pradesh

Dr. Lokesh Kumar Singhal
Science and Engineering
Punjab

Dr. Yagnaswami Sundara Rajan
Science and Engineering
Karnataka

Prof. Jagadish Shukla
Science and Engineering
USA*

Ms. Priya Paul
Trade and Industry
Delhi

Shri Shoji Shiba
Trade and Industry
Japan*

Shri Gopinath Pillai
Trade and Industry
Singapore*

Shri Arun Hastimal Firodia
Trade and Industry
Maharashtra

Dr. Swati A. Piramal
Trade and Industry
Maharashtra

Prof. Mahdi Hasan
Medicine-Anatomy
Uttar Pradesh

Dr. Viswanathan Mohan
Medicine - Diabetology
Tamil Nadu

Dr. J. Hareendran Nair
Medicine - Ayurveda
Kerala

Dr. Vallalarpuram Sennimalai Natarajan
Medicine - Geriatrics
Tamil Nadu

Dr. Jitendra Kumar Singh
Medicine - Oncology
Bihar

Dr. Shrinivas S. Vaishya
Medicine-Healthcare
Daman and Diu

Dr. Nitya Anand
Medicine - Drugs Research
Uttar Pradesh

Late Dr. Jugal Kishore
Medicine - Homoeopathy
Delhi *

Dr. Mukesh Batra
Medicine-Homeopathy
Maharashtra

Dr. Eberhard Fischer
Literature and Education
Switzerland*

Shri Kedar Gurung
Literature and Education
Sikkim

Shri Surjit Singh Patar
Literature and Education - Poetry
Punjab

Shri Vijay Dutt Shridhar
Literature and Education - Journalism
Madhya Pradesh

Shri Irwin Allan Sealy
Literature and Education
Uttarakhand

Ms. Geeta Dharmarajan
Literature and Education
Delhi

Prof. Sachchidanand Sahai
Literature and Education
Haryana

Smt. Pepita Seth
Literature and Education
Kerala

Dr. Ralte L. Thanmawia
Literature and Education
Mizoram

Shri Ajeet Bajaj
Sports - Skiing
Delhi

Smt. Jhulan Goswami
Sports - Women's Cricket
West Bengal

Shri Zafar Iqbal
Sports-Hockey
Uttar Pradesh

Shri Devendra Jhajrija
Sports - Athletics- Paralympics
Rajasthan

Shri Limba Ram
Sports - Archery
Rajasthan

Shri Syed Mohammed Arif
Sports - Badminton
Andhra Pradesh

Prof. Ravi Chaturvedi
Sports- Commentary
Delhi

Shri Prabhakar Vaidya
Sports-Physical Education
Maharashtra

Shri T. Venkatapathi Reddiar
Others-Horticulture
Puducherry

Dr. K. (Kota) Ullas Karanth
Others-Wildlife Conservation and Environment Protection
Karnataka

Shri K Paddayya
Others-Archaeology
Maharashtra

Shri Swapan Guha
Others-Ceramics
Rajasthan

Navdeep Singh gets Ashok Chakra posthumously

• Lieutenant Navdeep Singh laid down his life fighting terrorists during an anti-infiltration operation along LOC in Gurez Sector of north Kashmir. He was awarded the Ashok Chakra on the Republic Day.

The story of Lieutenant Navdeep Singh:

On receiving information about the infiltration of a group of terrorists at about 0030 hours on 20 August 2011, Lieutenant Navdeep Singh gauged the likely route of the terrorists and laid an ambush at the appropriate spot. When the terrorists were spotted, the ambush was sprung by the officer himself. An exchange of intense fire ensued.

Leading from the front, the officer eliminated three terrorists at close range. On seeing another terrorist approaching their position, with utter disregard to his personal safety, the officer swiftly changed his firing position. While doing so, he got hit by a bullet on his head. He nevertheless managed to eliminate the fourth terrorist. Further, displaying utmost bravery and comradeship, he pulled an injured fellow-soldier to safety and kept firing till he became unconscious due to excessive blood loss.

Homai Vyarawalla

Homai Vyarawalla (9 December 1913 – 15 January 2012), commonly known by her pseudonym "Dalda 13," was India's first woman photojournalist. First active in the late 1930s, she retired in the early 1970s. In 2011, she was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of the Republic of India

German Schulz is elected EU Parliament chief

 

• A German socialist known for his fiery rhetoric has been elected president of the European Parliament, promising to increase the role of the 27-nation legislature.
• Martin Schulz replaces Poland’s Jerzy Buzek, who did not seek re-election. He handily defeated two British legislators Nirj Deva and Diana Wallis in the first round of balloting on Tuesday. 
• Mr. Schulz gained international prominence in 2003 when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called him an ideal choice for a Nazi concentration camp guard. Berlusconi was forced to apologize later. 
• The long-time socialist leader in the legislature, Mr. Schulz plans to use his new position to seek more European integration and more political power to help tackle the financial crisis.

Kerala girl is world champion in table tennis

• Mariya Rony, a 14-year-old table tennis player, formed part of the victorious Asian team in the ITTF Global Cadet Challenge in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Conducted as a continental event for the under-15 age group by the International Table Tennis Federation, Mariya had company in Liu Gaoyang (China), Lee Seui (South Korea), and Doo Hai Kem (Hong Kong) as the Asian side triumphed over North America in the team final.
• Mariya's selection to the Asian team was facilitated on the basis of her superb show in the 17th Asian junior table tennis championship in New Delhi last year.
• Only one player from a country is selected to represent the continent in the ITTF Global Cadet Challenge.