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New Delhi: Dr.V.Jayachandran Nair is an outstanding grass taxonomist of India. He worked in the Botanical Survey of India in various capacities from 1961 to 1998 and retired as Deputy Director & Head of Office in its Southern Regional Centre at Coimbatore. He was deputed to work as Indian Botanical Liaison Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK for two years (September 1992 - September 1994) where in addition to liaison and scientific works assigned, he was part of the High Commissioner's programme in developing Indi- British Friendship Woodlands. After his retirement he worked as Emeritus Scientist of BSI and now continuing as coordinator of research on “Bamboos and Grasses” under All India Coordinated Project on Capacity Building in Taxonomy in India (AICOPTAX), a grant-in-aid Scheme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

New Delhi: Dr.Ramakrishna has done outstanding work on taxonomy and conservation of land and fresh water Indian molluscs. His significant contribution include 146 research papers, a handbook each on Freshwater Molluscs and Indian Land Snails, a checklist of Indian Land Molluscs and books on Freshwater and Land Molluscs of Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. There are very few specialists in Malacology in India and he is easily the best.

As the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference concludes in New York, there is no expectation that the world will rapidly eliminate these mass-destruction weapons. But the focus has sharply turned on West Asia because the Western powers, led by the United States, are keen that Iran freezes its nuclear activities. Yet inevitably, attention has also got riveted on Israel, the region's sole nuclear weapons power. In the limelight too is the issue of nuclear material falling into the hands of extremist groups like al-Qaeda.

The similarities between the Maoists and the Taliban are obvious. Both have adopted violence as a creed. Both are remorseless about the deaths of innocents. Both aim to overthrow the existing social order. Neither believes in democracy. Instead, they hope to establish a totalitarian regime - a one-party communist dictatorship by the Maoists and an Islamic theocracy by the Taliban. There will be no room for dissent in either of the two systems - one motivated by Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought and the other by the Shariat.

New York: Representatives from 182 governments have gathered in Bonn, Germany, for a fresh round of United Nations talks on climate change, aiming to pick up on issues left unresolved after December's gathering in Copenhagen.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs has released a Report on “The Granting of Treaty Benefits with respect to the Income of Collective Investment Vehicles” which contains proposed changes to the Commentary on the OECD Model Tax Convention dealing with the question of the extent to which either collective investment vehicles (CIVs) or their investors are entitled to treaty benefits on income received by the CIVs. These changes are expected to be included in the 2010 Update to the Model Tax Convention (the draft contents of which were released on 21 May 2010) and the Report would then be included in volume II of the loose-leaf and electronic versions of the Model.

New York: More than one decade after the International Criminal Court (ICC) was set up, a new 'age of accountability' is replacing the 'old era of impunity,' UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has underlined.

New York: New nature reserves such as lakes and wetlands will be added to a United Nations network that was created in an attempt to halt the loss of biodiversity and promote sustainable development, during a meeting that began at the headquarters of the UN agency tasked with preserving the world's heritage.

New York: Describing tobacco as 'ugly and deadly,' UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged women around the world to refrain from the substance even as they were increasingly targeted by advertisers who used gimmicks to associate smoking with beauty and gender liberation.

New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his shock at the deadly raid on boats loaded with relief supplies headed for Gaza, calling on Israel to fully explain its actions.