Brazil may ban corporate donations to political parties

to combat the problem of money power in elections.

The country is in the process of moving towards biometric authentication of the voter at the time
he or she presses the button on the electronic voting machine.

Brazil had no limit on the amount of donations a politician or party may receive or spend, but the
judge said the country was discussing introducing a ceiling.

So democracy should be strengthened, and people should fund democracy

Political advertisements on radio and TV are banned in Brazil and newspaper advertising is highly
restricted.

Parties get limited free airtime in proportion to the votes they received in the previous election.

In addition, for three months before the election, the media is banned from airing news that favours
any party.
Sun exposure poses cancer risk even in the dark

The source of the “dark damage” was found to be melanin, the pigment in skin cells that normally
acts as a shield against ultra-violet (UV) radiation.

UV light produces a cascade of chemical reactions that reacts with melanin causing one of its
electrons to be “excited”. The melanin then deposits its extra energy in the surrounding tissue.

If a strand of DNA happens to be nearby, it can absorb the energy causing the double helix strand
to bend and scramble the letters of the genetic code into mutations.

The more mutations skin cells accumulate over time, the higher the likelihood that one of them will
turn out to be cancerous.
Severe cyclones in Australia

Australian region cyclone season  November to end of April

Indian region cyclone season  October to end of December (major cyclones and depressions do
occur outside this period)
Recent cyclones near Australia

Tropical Cyclone Bakung

Tropical Cyclone Kate

Category 4 Severe Tropical Cyclone Lam [13 – 20 February]

Category 5 Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia [16 – 21 February]
Cyclones with different intensities
Cyclone
Wind Speed
Likely damages
CATEGORY 1
90 - 125 km/h.

Negligible house damage.
(tropical cyclone)
CATEGORY 2
125 - 164 km/h
(tropical cyclone)
CATEGORY 3
165 - 224 km/h
(severe tropical cyclone)
CATEGORY 4
225 - 279 km/h

Damage to some crops, trees

Minor house damage.

Significant damage to signs, trees

Heavy damage to some crops.

Risk of power failure.

Some roof and structural damage.

Power failures likely.

Significant roofing loss and structural
(severe tropical cyclone)
CATEGORY 5
damage.
more than 280 km/h

Dangerous airborne debris.

Widespread power failures.

Extremely dangerous with widespread
(severe tropical cyclone)
destruction.
Major cyclones in North Indian Ocean Region
Name
Time
Highest Wind speed
Note
Phailin
October
215 km/h (130 mph)

second-strongest tropical cyclone ever to
4, 2013
make landfall in India, behind only the
1999 Odisha cyclone
1999 Odisha cyclone
1999
260 km/h (160 mph)
or Paradip cyclone
1991 Bangladesh
1991

Fatalities 45 total

Extensive property damage

Fatalities ~10,000 direct

Severe property damage
240 km/h (150 mph)

Fatalities 138,866 total
cyclone
Major Cyclones in the recent past
Characteristic
Date
Location
Costliest tropical cyclone
August 2005
Hurricane Katrina in western Atlantic and the Gulf of
Fatalities 1,833
Mexico
Damage $108 billion
Most intense
November 2013
Typhoon Haiyan in northwest Pacific Basin
(minute maximum sustained
surface winds)
Recent cyclones that had an impact on India
Name
Type
Time
Wind speed
Hudhud
Very severe cyclonic storm
October 7 – 14
185 km/h (115 mph)
Nilofar
Very severe cyclonic storm
October 25 – 31
205 km/h (125 mph)
Attrition

The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and
resignation.

This type of reduction in staff is one way a company can decrease labor costs: the company simply
waits for its employees to leave and freezes hiring.
China protests PM’s Arunachal visit

February 21, 2015

China expressed its displeasure to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

China expressed that such visits into disputed territory is not conducive to properly resolving and
controlling disputes bilaterally.
China’s state media mocks “Countering Violent Extremism”

China’s state media has slammed the United States for assuming a leadership role of countering
global terrorism

Countering Violent Extremism--high profile conference at the White House hosted by Obama
administration

China attacked the U.S. for having a long history of cohabiting with extremist individuals and groups

United States has assumed anti-terror leadership since Sept. 11 attack in 2001, but U.S. seemed to
have a secret identity as a terrorist breeder

The Chinese argue that the fight against global terrorism must be U.N.run, premised on “global
cooperation, based on the United Nations Charter”.

Al-Qaeda (its very roots were sown by U.S. during USSR’s intervention in Afghanistan) is the one
particularly “exemplary” to show that the U.S. foreign policy is based on realpolitik and the shortterm pursuit of narrow interests

U.S. has effectively played the role of a terrorist breeder, when the war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya
and Syria turned the region into a burning battleground with no peace, security and stability in sight

China accused U.S. intelligence agencies of ingratiating with extremists beyond the Islamic world

ingratiate  verb (ingratiate oneself) bring oneself into favour with someone by flattering or trying
to please them
Greece’s financial rescue package

Germany,
Greece’s
biggest
creditor, had
demanded
“significant improvements”
in
reform
commitments by the new Leftist government in Athens before it would accept a six-month extension
of euro zone funding.

With the 240 billion euro EU-IMF bailout programme due to expire in about a week, Greece is
looking for more options
For Detailed analysis of Greek Sovern Debt Issue visit
http://mrunal.org/2012/06/economy-greece-exit-eurozone.html