Daily News Mail - News of 15/03/2015

Statue of Gandhiji unveiled in London's Parliament

• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the long-awaited statue of Mahatma Gandhi on 14 March in Parliament Sauare, London.
• The nine-foot bronze statue of Gandhi was created by Phillip Jackson, a renowned British sculptor, and will stand in the company of Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln, among others.
•  It was Gandhi more than anyone else who “embodies the deep and enduring connections between the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest,” said Mr. Jaitley in his address. Drawing the connections between India and Britain, countries both freed from the shackles of colonialism, Mr. Jaitley paid tribute to Britain which had risen above the colonial past to recognise Gandhi’s contributions, choosing to place him on the same square as Churchill who had once described him as a “seditious, half-naked fakir.”

Statue of Gandhiji in London Pariament

Democracy jailed for 13 years :Nasheed'd party 

• Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison on March 13 on a terrorism charge after what rights groups said was a “flawed” trial, sparking international concern.
• Mr. Nasheed called on his supporters to take to the streets to protest against the sentence after a trial his party said was “blatantly politicised”.
• Mr. Nasheed, the Indian Ocean archipelago’s first democratically elected leader, had been arrested on February 22. He was convicted late on March 13, 2015 under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act for ordering the arrest of a chief judge, Abdullah Mohamed, when he was President in January 2012.
• “The Anti-Terrorism Act, inter alia, classifies an act of terrorism to include kidnapping, holding as hostage or apprehending someone against their will or attempts to kidnap, hold hostage or apprehend someone without their will, for the extra judicial enforced disappearance of the sitting Chief Judge of Criminal Court,” sources told PTI, quoting the court judgement.
• Mr. Nasheed’s lawyers resigned before the end of his brief trial, saying it was biased and aimed at destroying his political career.
• The conviction came amid growing opposition to the government of President Abdulla Yameen and will effectively prevent Mr. Nasheed from running for President at the 2018 elections.
• Mr. Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said the verdict dealt a blow to the young democracy seven years after it embraced multi-party elections following three decades of rule by former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed under police custody

Facebok buys the shopping search engine TheFind

• Facebook says it bought shopping search engine TheFind to help boost its advertising business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the next few weeks.
• TheFind, which was founded in 2006, will shut down and some of its key employees will work at the social media company. TheFind lets users search for items to buy from websites or in local stores. It is based in Mountain View, California.
• In a statement, Facebook said that TheFind will help make its ads more relevant and better for its users.

Import tariff value on gold, silver cut

• The government has slashed import tariff value on gold to $375 per 10 grams and silver to $512 per kg following weak global price trends.
• During the first fortnight of the month, the tariff value on imported gold was fixed at $393 per 10 grams and on silver at $549 per kg.
• The import tariff value is the base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. It is revised on a fortnightly basis taking into account global prices.