India going all-out to enter NSG

As the clock is ticking towards the crucial plenary session of the Nuclear Supplier's Group in Seoul, India is making an all-out push to find a place in the elite 48-member group.

While on the one hand US has been leading the support for India's membership, China's has led the opposition against India's bid. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, team India has launched a diplomatic blitzkrieg to win over the opposing countries and gain entry to the elite group that is crucial to fulfil its future energy requirements. Prime Minister Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tashkent on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.  This meeting of the two leaders coinciding with the crucial ongoing plenary session of the NSG in Seoul could hold the key to Chinese approval for the consensus at Seoul. Earlier, India's NSG bid got momentum with Prime Minister Modi's recent 5 nation tour where he brought Switzerland and Mexico on board. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj categorically saying that China is not opposed to India's NSG entry, it merely needs to be convinced in its favour. After a visit to Beijing, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has left for Seoul, ahead of NSG Plenary from tomorrow, to shore up India's efforts for membership. China articulates its opposition to India on the basis of India's Non-NPT status. By pushing Pakistan's case upfront, China is preventing a consensus in India's favour.  The Chinese Foreign Ministry has asked the 48-member NSG to stay focussed on whether the criteria should be changed on entry of non-NPT countries into the elite group.  China has been opposed to India's entry into the club on the ground that it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT. In September 2008, the NSG granted India a "clean waiver" from its existing rules, which forbid nuclear trade with a country which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Full membership will enable India to be in the mainstream of Global nuclear trade. It will give India complete access to state of the art technology, help India to greatly enhance nuclear electricity generation capacity well above the present 2% and also enable India to export nuclear energy. India has not signed the NPT or CTBT because both regimes are discriminatory leading to dominance of nuclear powers over non-nuclear nations.  India's imposition of a unilateral moratorium fulfils the objectives of both, and its track record in Non proliferation is well known and widely respected.  Also India's recent membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime strengthens India's case for membership to the NSG. Owing to growing support India's membership led by US, UK and Russia, China now says that the door is open for discussions on India's NSG membership bid and that the door for the admission of the non-NPT country was never closed.  Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday said NSG members had three rounds of unofficial discussions on India and Pakistan's membership in the grouping. In a exclusive conversation with DD news Mexican ambassador to India Melba Pria has said as a nuclear power and a growing economy India has the right to be part of the NSG.  The comments come as NSG meet is underway in South Korean capital Seoul. Mexico had already supported India's bid for NSG during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the country. The NSG is a group of 48-nations which effectively controls the supply of all nuclear material, equipment and technology worldwide.

India set to become a member of SCO

India is set to become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) when the security grouping meets for its summit in Uzbekistan capital Tashkent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Tashkent to attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. During his meeting with Chinese President, he thanked China for supporting India's membership of SCO. Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, is hosting the important Shanghai Cooperation Organization annual meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the two day meeting from June 23. Following his arrival in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Prime Minister said that his talks at the SCO Summit will strengthen India's bilateral ties with the SCO nations.  During his bilateral meeting with Chinese President, Prime Minister thanked China for supporting India's membership to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. India, which had earlier attended the SCO as an observer, will now do so as a full member of the organization. The meeting assumes greater significance for India. Since 2005 Indian has been an observer country at the SCO.  In December 2014 India applied for SCO membership. On May 24 this year the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent adopted the memorandum of obligations for India to gain full membership. The SCO started as the Shanghai Five in April 1996 in Shanghai when China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a Treaty on Deepening Military Trust among them. In June 2001, the group was renamed as the SCO by including Uzbekistan. It aimed to increase trade and investment and also increase cooperation in combating terrorism.  India's investment in Iran's Chabahar port has opened the West Asian Market to Indian trade and commerce.  Now with the SCO membership India can also access via sea and road links a huge market extending to Central Asia and Europe.  The Central Asian countries have rich reserves of various minerals, oil, gas and coal.  The region can play a major role in meeting India's energy as well as strategic needs.

Anil Kumble appointed as Team India head coach

Former captain Anil Kumble was appointed as the Indian cricket team's head coach for one-year tenure on Thursday.

The 45-year-old Kumble pipped former Team Director Ravi Shastri, Australians Tom Moody and Stuart Law and a host of others to clinch the high-profile position following an elaborate selection process headed by a three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). The committee comprising greats Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly had interviewed 10 candidates for the job in Kolkata on Tuesday in a marathon session which lasted close to 10 hours. "BCCI has been very transparent. We fixed a criteria. There was the CAC as well. They have gone through the process, interviewed and recommended few names. After discussions with various stakeholders, we have decided that Anil Kumble will be the head coach of the Indian cricket team for the next one year," BCCI President Anurag Thakur said in a press conference in Dharamsala. "It is not about Indian or foreign, it is about who is best for the job. I think we have used the services of best players who have served Indian cricket. There was no such limitation that we have to have only an Indian coach. We wanted the best for the Indian team," he added. Kumble, the highest wicket-taker for India till date and third in the international list behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, emerged as a front-runner in the last few days even though he has no experience in coaching in the international arena. Kumble's stint as a mentor with IPL teams such as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians as well as his vast experience as an international cricketer might have tilted the scale in his favour. The former leg-spinner played 132 Test matches and 271 ODIs in a career spanning close to two decades. Kumble finished his Test career with 619 scalps and accumulated 337 ODI wickets which put his combined tally at 956 in two formats. The leg-spinner was the only bowler after England's Jim Laker to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings. Thakur said the names of the other support staff will be announced later. Explaining the decision to appoint Kumble despite his lack of experience as an international coach, Thakur said the former spinner's record itself is a testimony to his worthiness for the job. The BCCI chief said nonetheless, Kumble's performance would be up for a review after one year. "He has been a match-winner for India. He has a great record and that speaks for Anil Kumble as far as winning matches for India is concerned. His performance will be reviewed after one year," he said. Thakur said the decision to appoint Kumble was taken after discussion with all the stakeholders. “Kumble is a great cricketer. The CAC looked into all applications, they shortlisted a few names. When the names came to us, we discussed with other stakeholders. We take feedback from all stakeholders. We wanted to be more transparent," he said. BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke said the decision to keep Kumble's tenure at one year for the time being has been taken to ensure professionalism. "This is the first time that we have gone through a process starting with advertisements. It has been a large amount of cricketing process. It has been very elaborate. There were marathon meetings. This is a professional appointment and that is the reason we want to be in a position to review our decision. But I hope that we won't need to do that," he explained. Shirke also dismissed the charge that since Kumble was running a player management firm, his appointment was open to conflict of interest. "Conflict of interest has become a fashionable word to use. That has been addressed prior to taking this decision," he said. Kumble will take charge from the upcoming of tour of West Indies which starts July 9. "We took feedbacks from various sectors since cricket is followed by millions in India. He will take over from the West Indies tour," Thakur said. On why Shastri was not picked given that he has been with the team for a long time, Thakur merely said, "Our Indian coaches are good. The team's performance improved after the appointment of Ravi Shastri as team director." Shirke said there were 11 names in the final list including four foreigners. The BCCI received 57 applications for the post and trimmed it down to 21 before handing over the list to CAC that interviewed the candidates shortlisted by them. Among them were Ravi Shastri, Lalchand Rajput, Pravin Amre, Kumble, Tom Moody, Stuart Law and Andy Moles.

Britan votes to exit EU in historic referendum

Britan votes to exit EU in historic referendum

In a historic development, the UK has voted to leave the European Union after 43 years as the 'Brexit' camp on Friday took a seemingly unassailable lead over the 'Remain' camp in a down-to-wire referendum with far reaching implications for the world.

52 per cent of the Britons in Thursday's vote favoured leaving the 28-member EU, while 48 per cent supported staying in the bloc. The final national result is to be officially declared by the UK Electoral Commission's chief counting officer.  London and Scotland voted strongly to stay in the EU but the remain vote has been undermined by poor results in the north of England. Voters in Wales and the English shires have backed Brexit in large numbers. The vote - which saw an extremely high turnout of around 72 per cent with over 30 million people voting- reverses the public verdict back in 1975, when the UK voted to remain a member of then European Economic Community, which later became the EU. The UK will be the first country to leave the bloc. The argument has swiftly moved to the future and what happens next after the Brexit vote. While the result of a referendum is not legally binding on the UK government, Cameron has repeatedly promised that the will of the people will be accepted. In the immediate aftermath, Britain will remain a member of the EU and nothing will change instantly.

Rare blue galaxy may shed new light on Big Bang

Astronomers have discovered a faint blue galaxy about 30 million light-years from Earth that could shed new light on conditions at the birth of the universe.

The galaxy nicknamed Leoncino, or "little lion," located in the constellation Leo Minor, contains the lowest level of heavy chemical elements, or "metals" ever observed in a gravitationally bound system of stars. "Finding the most metal-poor galaxy ever is exciting since it could help contribute to a quantitative test of the Big Bang," said John J Salzer, a professor at Indiana University in the US.  "There are relatively few ways to explore conditions at the birth of the universe, but low-metal galaxies are among the most promising," Salzer said.  This is because the current accepted model of the start of the universe makes clear predictions about the amount of helium and hydrogen present during the Big Bang, and the ratio of these atoms in metal-poor galaxies provides a direct test of the model.  In astronomy, any element other than hydrogen or helium is referred to as a metal.  The elemental make-up of metal-poor galaxies is very close to that of the early universe.  "Low metal abundance is essentially a sign that very little stellar activity has taken place compared to most galaxies," said lead author Alec S Hirschauer, a graduate student at Indiana University.  Leoncino is considered a member of the "local universe," a region of space within about 1 billion light years from Earth and estimated to contain several million galaxies, of which only a small portion have been catalogued.  A galaxy previously recognised to possess the lowest metal abundance was identified in 2005; however, Leoncino has an estimated 29 per cent lower metal abundance. The abundance of elements in a galaxy is estimated based upon spectroscopic observations, which capture the light waves emitted by these systems.  Regions of space that form stars, for example, emit light that contains specific types of bright lines, each indicating the atoms from various gases: hydrogen, helium, oxygen, nitrogen and more.  In the light of the star-forming region in Leoncino, scientists detected lines from these elements, after which they used the laws of atomic physics to calculate the abundance of specific elements.  Aside from low levels of heavier elements, Leoncino is unique in several other ways.  A so-called "dwarf galaxy," it is only about 1,000 light years in diameter and composed of several million stars.  The Milky Way, by comparison, contains an estimated 200 billion to 400 billion stars. Leoncino is also blue in colour, due to the presence of recently formed hot stars, but surprisingly dim, with the lowest luminosity level ever observed in a system of its type.

India successfully test fires indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile

India has successfully test fired indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by army from test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

Inducted into India's armed forces in 2003, Prithvi II, is the first missile to be developed by DRDO under the prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Notably, Prithvi is India's first indigenously-built ballistic missile. Prithvi-II has been designed to operate with both liquid and solid fuels and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads. The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on February 16, 2016, preceded by a trial on 14th of November 2014.

Mercury's rare 'transit' across the sun today: Here's how you can see it

The celestial event will be visible from all parts of India for varying durations depending on the location, starting around 4:40 pm.

Stargazers will have a rare opportunity on Monday to witness Mercury fly directly across the face of the sun, a sight that unfolds once every 10 years or so, as Earth and its smaller neighboring planet come into perfect alignment.

In Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the event will begin at 4:41 pm.

In Delhi, the event can be seen for a duration of about 2 hours 20 minutes, in Kolkata about 1 hour 26 minutes, in Mumbai about 2 hours 24 minutes, and in Chennai about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Dwarka in Gujarat will experience the longest transit (2 hour 43 minutes).

Port Blair in the east will see it for only 54 minutes.

In Shimla and Chandigarh the event can be seen for over 2 hours.

It will be difficult to see the Mercury at transit over the face of the Sun without some form of aid such as binoculars or telescopes.

The Earth Sciences ministry suggested that a proper solar filter will be required to avoid viewing the sun with the naked eye such as aluminized mylar, black polymer or welding glass of shade number 14

Mercury is too small to see without high-powered binoculars or a telescope, and looking directly at the sun, even with sunglasses, could cause permanent eye damage.

Fortunately NASA and astronomy organizations are providing virtual ringside seats for the show by live-streaming images of the transit in its entirety and providing expert commentary.

The tiny planet, slightly larger than Earth's moon, will start off as a small black dot on the edge of the sun at 7:12 a.m. Eastern (1112 GMT). Traveling 30 miles (48 km) a second, Mercury will take 7.5 hours to cross the face of the sun, which is about 864,300 miles (1.39 million km) in diameter, or about 109 times larger than Earth.

"Unlike sunspots, which have irregular shapes and grayish borders, Mercury's silhouette will be black and precisely round," Sky and Telescope said in a press release.

The event will come into view in the western United States after dawn, with the transit already in progress. The show will end at sunset in parts of Europe, Africa and most of Asia.

Microsoft removes store-blocking from Windows 10 Pro

Businesses running the professional version of Windows 10 can no longer block access to the Windows Store.

Following an update the function is now available only on the more expensive Windows 10 Enterprise version, as well as the Education edition.

Many firms try to prevent staff from downloading additional software as it can cause problems with existing programs and affect productivity.

Microsoft said it had made the change "by design".

"Windows 10 Enterprise is our offering that provides IT pros with the most granular control over company devices," the tech giant said in a statement.

"Windows 10 Pro offers a subset of those capabilities and is recommended for small and mid-size businesses looking for some management controls, but not the full suite necessary for IT pros at larger enterprises."

Educate staff

John Harrison, owner of Harrison IT services, said the change could cause problems for small businesses.

"Users like to change settings or try to install software by themselves. If they don't know what they're doing or don't have the appropriate experience, they can cause all kinds of issues," he said.

"You are going to have to educate staff, tell them not to use the Windows Store unless it really is relevant to the business. How do you manage that policy?"

In September 2015 there were 669,000 apps on the Windows Store, according toMicrosoft's own figures.

Microsoft says there are 300 million devices using Windows 10 one year after its launch.

On 29 July, a free upgrade offer for Windows users with earlier versions of the operating system will come to an end.

India's new 'enclave' citizens in historic first vote

Thousands of people living in enclaves along the Bangladesh border have voted for the first time in India after remaining virtually stateless for six decades.

They became citizens of India last year after Bangladesh and India exchanged more than 160 enclaves located in each other's territory. The enclaves, created in the 18th Century, endured through British colonial rule, the independence of India and the creation of Bangladesh.

On Thursday, the new citizens got their first taste of democracy when they voted in the West Bengal state assembly elections.

Photojournalist Ronny Sen captured the historic occasion.

The 103-year-old first-time voter

Asgar Ali (centre) is 103 years old and voted for the first time in Moshaldanga in Cooch Behar district. Three generations of his family, including his son and grandson, accompanied him to the polling booth. His grandson Jaynal Abedin was keen to mark the occasion with a selfie.

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'Freedom after 200 years'

Abdul Mannan, 61, is a resident of Poaturkuthi, the largest enclave with 1,800 voters. He said three generations of his family lived and died there without an official identity for nearly two centuries. "Today, after nearly 200 years, we got freedom. We have an identity. We had nothing earlier," he said.

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'Finally included'

Maksedul Hoque, 29, said he would often feel left out when his friends from mainland India would talk about politics and elections. "It's something I grew up watching but was never a part of, and that made me feel excluded," he told the BBC. Now after voting, he says he feels more empowered and included. He wants the candidate he voted for to build new roads, hospitals, schools and create jobs for young people.

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'Excited to vote'

Bashanti Shil, 90, came to the polling booth with her grandson Sudama Shil, who is 30. She said she was "very excited" to vote and hoped that participating in elections would bring prosperity and happiness to her family members and everyone in the enclave of Moshaldanga.

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A part of the process

Mizanur Rahman, 37, and his wife Arjina Aktar, 20, excitedly show off their new voting ID cards. Mr Rahman said he wasn't allowed to vote in Bangladesh but saw political campaigns and always wanted to be a part of the process. He said he wanted politicians to fulfil promises to bring growth and prosperity to the region. He added that he hoped for free movement of people between the Indian and Bangladeshi enclaves.

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Voting for development

Rokeya Bibi (right), 20, went to the polling booth with her mother-in-law Majia Bibi. "I want schools and colleges in this area so that my children don't have to travel far," Rokeya Bibi said.

Kumar Rajesh Chandra appointed as Chief of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security

Senior IPS officer Kumar Rajesh Chandra was appointed as Chief of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the aviation security wing of the Government. His appointment was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has been appointed in place of IPS officer G S Malhi, who had completed his tenure as BCAS chief in November 2012. Since then crucial post was lying vacant. Kumar Rajesh Chandra is IPS officer of a 1985 batch of Bihar cadre. Prior to this appointment, Chandra was working as Additional Director General (Modernisation) of Bihar Police. 
About Bureau of Civil Aviation Security 
BCAS is a nodal independent agency of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation for civil aviation security. It was established as in January 1978 as a department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) based on the recommendation of Pande Committee. Later in April 1987, BCAS became an independent agency of the Ministry of Civil Aviation as a result of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka) in 1985 by the Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa. BCAS’s main function is to lay down standards and measures in respect of security of civil flights at domestic and international airports in India.

ICICI Bank signs MoU with BRICS’s New Development Bank

India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has inked a MoU with the BRICS Grouping-promoted New Development Bank (NDB) for a partnership in bond issuances, co-financing, treasury management and human resources. With this ICICI Bank becomes first financial institution in the country to tie up with the BRICS Grouping-promoted NDB. The MoU was signed by BDB’s first President and ICICI Bank veteran KV Kamath and ICICI Bank Chief Chanda Kochhar in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Key facts 
The MoU will help NDB in exploring rupee-denominated bonds in the domestic and international markets. It will make both the lenders collaborate to fund development projects in India. They will also leverage a mutually beneficial partnership in other areas such as treasury risk management, human resource development and account and cash management services. The MoU will help NDB to leverage the deep market access and insight of ICICI Bank in the India’s financial markets. 
About New Development Bank
NDB is a multilateral development bank promoted by BRICS nations viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It is outcome of 6th BRICS Summit being held in Fortaleza, Brazil. It is headquartered in Shanghai, China. It will have a regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa. NDB began its operations in July 2015 with an initial capital of 100 billion dollars. The goal of the bank is to fund infrastructure projects in emerging economies for sustainable development. In the NDB, each participant country has been assigned one vote, and none of the countries have veto power.

Sadiq Khan sworn in, promises a ‘better’ London

Mr. Khan hailed his victory as the triumph of "hope over fear and unity over division".

Newly elected London Mayor’s opening words at his swearing-in ceremony – “Good Morning, I’m Sadiq Khan, and I’m the Mayor of London” – were drowned in claps and whistles by the audience at the Southwark Cathedral in London.

The 44-year old human rights lawyer of Pakistani descent is not only the first Muslim head of London, but set a record by winning 1.1 million votes. His lead over his closest rival was bigger than that achieved by both his predecessors Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone. With a 45 per cent election turnout, he finished with a margin of 13.6 percentage points over Zac Goldsmith of the Conservative Party.

Warmly acknowledging the introduction made by Doreen Lawrence, the mother of the British teenager Stephen Lawrence who was killed in a racist attack in London in 1993, Mr. Khan promised to “lead the most transparent, engaged and representative council London has ever seen”.

He harked back to his humble beginnings – “So you better know this but I grew up in a council estate,” – and said he achieved what he never dreamt of because of the opportunities and “helping hand” the city offered him and his family. Promising a “better” London, he pledged to give all Londoners the opportunities that he was offered.

Smear campaign

Mr. Khan led an energetic campaign that was turned increasingly toxic by the personal attacks and slander levelled against him by his opponent, the billionaire Mr. Goldsmith, including the smear that he shared platforms with extremists in the past.

Mr. Goldsmith’s campaign, which started with a focus on green and sustainable solutions to city issues, rapidly descended into racism and divisiveness. His piece in the Daily Mail four days before the elections made the schism between him and his opponent unbreachable. He warned that with a Labour victory “we will have handed control of the Met, and with it control over national counter-terrorism policy, to a party whose candidate and current leadership have, whether intentionally or not, repeatedly legitimised those with extremist views.”

There was mounting criticism even within the Conservative Party to Mr. Goldsmith’s campaign. Andrew Boff, a former Conservative member of the London Assembly, told Newsnight that Mr. Goldsmith’s tactic of painting religious conservatives as “extremists” had alienated the party from the city’s ethnic minority voters.

Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn’s absence at Mr. Khan’s swearing-in has led to speculation of an increasingly frosty relationship between the two.

Mr. Khan, a practising Muslim, is a liberal who received death threats from extremists for his support for the legalisation of gay marriage in 2013.

NASA offers $5,000 to lie in bed for 90 days

You may think this ad will popup in some banner or advertisement inside suspicious websites, but NASA will happily pay you $5,000 to lie in bed for 90 days. It may sound too easy of a way to make money, but this experiment is happening for scientific purposes. Test subjects lie with their legs elevated, and the extended lack of muscle use is similar to what astronauts experience in space. Subjects are not allowed to do any physical activity, but they can watch TV, read or use computers. So, it might be your chance to get paid while you draw some sketches, learn Thai or write some short stories

People with serious health conditions are not eligible for this experiment , and any signups have to pass a psychological screening. Sexual activity is not permitted during the study, and there can be short-term and long-term side effects. Participants lose between 1 and 2 percent of their bone mass for each month they participate in the study, and that mass may never be regained.

Jharkhand Government launches Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows

Jharkhand Government has launched Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development enshrined in the Constitution. It was launched by Chief Minister Raghubar Das on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar. Key facts The scheme (Yojana) aims at building 11000 units (houses) for widows in 2016-17 financial year with the budgetary allocation of 80 crore rupees. Under it, beneficiaries would get an amount of 75000 rupees to build a house in hilly terrains districts and 70000 rupees in plains area. The amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments directly in their bank accounts. Under it widows will also get pension.

Swiss declare Science Day in Kalam's honour

GENEVA: Switzerland has declared May 26 as the Science Day in honour of visiting President APJ Abdul Kalam. 

This was announced by the Swiss government, following his arrival on Wednesday night on a four-day state visit, considering his vast expertise in science and technology. 

Switzerland considers the President as the father of India's missile programme. 

Kalam is the first Indian head of state visiting Switzerland after a gap of more than 30 years. Former President V V Giri's was the last high profile visit to the country. 

President A P J Abdul Kalam was in France for 45 minutes. Kalam first visited the CERN's facilities situated in Switzerland and then crossed the border post to see the laboratory in France, where Indian scientists are doing research in Large Hadron Collider (LHC). 

He spent nearly 45 minutes interacting with them and senior scientists of CERN there before proceeding for witnessing the signing of an agreement between the Department of Atomic Energy and the CERN. 

CERN officials said they had informed the French authorities in advance about the high-profile visit.

CERN, the world's largest physics laboratory, is jointly owned by France and Switzerland.