EU grants Serbia candidate status

Serbia took a "milestone" leap towards EU membership when Europe's leaders granted Belgrade candidate status Thursday, opening a new chapter in the troubled history of the Western Balkans. 

"European Council grants Serbia EU candidate status," EU president Herman Van Rompuy said on microblogging site Twitter as the bloc's 27 leaders ushered in Belgrade in recognition of its efforts to defuse tension with breakaway Kosovo.

Chinese architect bags Pritzker Prize

For the first time, Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered as the Nobel prize in architecture, has been awarded to Wang Shu (48) a Chinese, for “producing an architecture that is timeless, deeply rooted in its context and yet universal.”

The jury observed that the award “represents a significant step in acknowledging the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals.”

Equally important is the fact that, after a long time, the prize has moved away from “architecture of the spectacular” to architecture that “is a matter of everyday life.”

Torpedo, Akash missile to be handed over to Navy and IAF on Saturday

The indigenously developed advanced light-weight torpedo and the Akash missile system will be handed over to the Navy and the Indian Air Force respectively at a function in Hyderabad on March 3. Defence Minister A.K. Antony will be present at the event.

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad, is the production agency for both the torpedo and the missile. The Navy has christened it Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL).

The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, which comes under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has designed and developed the TAL. The Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, developed Akash, a surface-to-air missile.

Torpedoes are underwater missiles which are fired from ships, submarines or helicopters against ships and submarines.

Pakistan keen on recalibrating ties with India

Without diluting its stated position on Kashmir, Pakistan on Thursday articulated a desire to recalibrate its relationship with India that has hinged on hostility till date. Arguing that three wars with and perennial hostility towards India had not achieved any results on outstanding issues, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar made out a case for giving trade and peace a chance.

India, China move to maritime cooperation

India and China have decided to open a new chapter in bilateral cooperation by agreeing to undertake joint operations against pirates and sharing technological knowhow on seabed research.

The maritime cooperation proposals were made by visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and welcomed by his counterpart S.M. Krishna during an extensive round of talks here on Thursday.

The dialogue on the proposalswill be taken forward at a multi-ministerial meeting as is the case with the other confidence building measure for the land border — the Mechanism on Coordination and Consultation on Border Affairs, which will hold its first meeting in Beijing in mid-March.