Indonesia’s Sinabung and Merapi Volcanoes Erupt

● Two volcanoes erupted on Monday in Indonesia, prompting warnings for flights and evacuation preparations.

● Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province unleashed volcanic ash as high as 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), the highest of its eruptions in recent days. The 2,600-meter high mountain has sporadically erupted since September 2013 after being dormant for three years.

● Mt. Merapi, which is country’s most active volcano is in Yogyakarta province, killed more than 300 people and caused the evacuation of 20,000 villagers when it burst back to life in late 2010

● Indonesia has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines known as the “Ring of Fire” between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant begins fuel rod removal

● Workers begun removing fuel rods from a storage pond at the Unit 4 reactor building, because removal of fuel rods from the storage pond is a key step in the decommissioning process

● Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said the Unit 4 reactor was offline when the plant was hit by the disasters, but the building was damaged by hydrogen explosions and fire. Fuel rods in the pool, however, have since been properly cooled and are safe enough to remove.

● Nuclear plant decommissioning entails the removal and disposal of radioactive components and materials such as the reactor and associated piping and the cleanup of radioactive or hazardous contamination that may remain in the buildings and on the site. It also includes placing used fuel into robust and shielded dry storage containers.

Impasse in Warsaw climate talks as developing nations stay united

● The ongoing Warsaw round of climate negotiations has reached an impasse ,with developing nations raising concerns over efforts to deal with climate change in the run-up to the new global regime, which will come into force in 2020, while industrialised countries are pushing for emission reduction plans beyond 2020.

● Several industrialised countries including Japan and Australia have, however, gone back on their commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases for the pre-2020 period.

● Funding for developing countries to tackle climate change is virtually not available.

Vietnam appreciates India’s role in South China Sea

London to get own web domain suffix in 2014

● The Internet Corporation for Assigning Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced that London will become one of the first cities to have its own web domain – .london – from the summer of 2014.

● Experts say the move will be the biggest change to the online world since.com was launched nearly 30 years ago.

● London mayor by adopting the .london suffix will enable organizations to more closely associate themselves London’s global brand

Foreign donations to Political Parties a matter of public interest: Allahabad HC

Summary of Editorial (THE HINDU)

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