Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 May 2014

SAARC leaders invited for Modi’s swearing-in

Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi has invited the heads of the governments of all South Asian states to attend his swearing-in in a gesture, which diplomats and experts said was without precedent. Though foreign envoys stationed in New Delhi have attended past swearings-in, Ministry of External Affairs sources said, no world leader has been invited to attend what has traditionally been seen as a domestic event.
The move startled regional diplomats-but also caused surprise in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which was not consulted on the decision, Bharatiya Janata Party sources said.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, the Ministry of External Affairs said, despatched formal invitations afternoon to the Presidents or Prime Ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s President, has accepted the invitation but there was no immediate word on which other leaders would attend.
Mr. Modi’s surprise outreach was intended to allay regional fears that his rise to power would herald a new hawkishness in Indian foreign policy. The Prime Minister-elect had ruffled feathers in Bangladesh by threatening to expel migrants from India’s north-east, while Sri Lanka was concerned over the influence ethnic nationalists in Tamil Nadu might have over his foreign policy.

Mountaineer Chhanda Gayen, the second civilian woman from West Bengal to scale Mount Everest, has gone missing after she was caught in an avalanche on the Kanchenjunga peak.
The West Bengal government has swung into action to rescue the missing woman.
Ms. Gayen in May 2013 became the second civilian woman from West Bengal to scale Everest. Kunga Bhutia from Darjeeling was the first to do so.

Vietnam’s National Assembly released a public statement urging China to withdraw an oil rig from waters claimed by Hanoi.
China’s deployment of the oil rig within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone is a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty rights.
The relationship with Beijing, particularly regarding competing territorial claims, is also off-limits for state-run media.
Statements from the National Assembly usually stick to economic matters, with recent comments urging the government to stabilize the economy and contain inflation.
Thousands of Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Vietnam.

Hundreds of government, business and academic leaders gathered in the Philippines to discuss East Asia’s economic prospects amid tensions in the South China Sea and political instability in some countries in the region.
The 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia was being held for the first time in Manila, allowing the Philippines to showcase its recent economic turnaround.
The meetings would discuss how to address rising inequality amid the region’s robust growth.
The income gap in the Philippines is larger than in other regional economies, such as Indonesia and Thailand, with the top 10 per cent of the population earning about 20 times as much as the poorest 10 per cent.
Another “notable danger for the region” is political instability both within and between countries.
The meeting was being held amid increasing tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea between Vietnam, the Philippines and China, as well as concerns over the impact of anti-Chinese protests and martial law in Thailand.

Anandiben Patel will be sworn in as Gujarat's first woman chief minister in a ceremony attended by her predecessor Narendra Modi who will be the country's next prime minister.
After Mr Modi resigned as chief minister, a position he had held for 13 years, his party's legislators elected Ms Patel to be their leader. Mr Modi's close aide Amit Shah, who does not share the warmest vibes with Ms Patel, was among those who endorsed her name for the chief minister's post.
In Gujarat, Mr Shah and Ms Patel have often been described as Mr Modi's "left and right arms." Like Mr Shah, Anandiben Patel, 72, is said to enjoy Mr Modi's complete trust. During his long election campaign, while Amit Shah helped Mr Modi script his massive victory, Ms Patel, the revenue minister, held fort in Gujarat as the head of a group of ministers set up to run the state government.

Globally, about 5.5 million babies — nearly three million neonates and about 2.6 million stillbirths — die every year. In other words, every day, about 8,000 neonates are dying and the number of stillbirths is about 7,000. Stillbirths happen at about 28 weeks of gestation and also during labour. Babies who die during labour — just five minutes before birth — account for nearly half of all stillbirths.
Half of all the newborn deaths across the world occur in five countries. With 7,79,000 deaths, India accounts for the highest number of newborn mortality in the world. The other four countries are Nigeria (2,76,000), Pakistan (2,02,400), China (1,57,000), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (1,18,000). According to the journal, “preterm babies are less likely to be counted, even in rich countries, especially where they are not expected to survive.”
But about three million deaths — 54 per cent of maternal deaths, 33 per cent of stillbirths, and 71 per cent of newborn deaths — can be easily prevented if “achievable interventions are scaled up to nearly universal coverage” at all stages — before conception, as well as before, during and after pregnancy.
Preterm birth is the biggest risk factor in both 0-6 days and 7-27 days periods. While in the case of the early neonatal period (0-6 days), the intrapartum conditions that occur during childbirth or delivery play a significant role, infections become the predominating factor in the later neonatal period.