Crimea Voted to become a part of the Russian Federation

Authorities in Crimea voted to accelerate secession from Ukraine and unanimously backed a law that declared the territory to be part of the Russian Federation on 6 March 2014.
The cabinet had decided to take the decision by referendum in 10 days. MPs of Crimea had voted by 78 votes to nil for the territory to leave Ukraine.
A referendum on more autonomy for the region due on 30 March 2014 was brought forward to 16 March 2014. Now the residents had the option to unify the Black Sea peninsula with Russia.

After the law was initiated, the Crimean government asserted that all Ukrainian troops on the territory of Crimea should either leave or be treated as occupiers. Crimea is planning to introduce the rouble and readopt Russian state symbols.
Russia has welcomed the decision of the Crimean Government and Russian Parliament DUMA had begun work on a bill that would make it easier for Russia to join new territories.
While on the other hand, the Ukrainian government had started the procedures to dismiss Crimea's assembly and to block the referendum. They are claiming the move as completely illegal and anti-constitutional.
The move was highly criticized by member of European Commission and USA. They opined that the proposed referendum on the future of Crimea would violate the constitution and international law.
About Crimea
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine and is governed by the Constitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.
The capital is the city of Simferopol, located in the center of the peninsula. Crimea's area is 26,200 square kilometers.

No Indian university in top 100 global list, Harvard voted best

None of the IITs have made it to the top 100 of a global list released by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings on Thursday. 

CHENNAI: None of India's 700 universities and 35,539 colleges has made it to the top 100 list of the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings released on Thursday.

This means that academics don't think too highly of the capabilities and work of our higher educational institutions.

The ranking, drawn on the findings of an invitation-only academic opinion survey, is based on the subjective judgment of around 60,000 senior, published academics considered as "the people best placed to know the most about excellence in our universities".

Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the US lead the list followed by the UK's University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. Agency reports said that Punjab University, the alma mater of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, found a place in the unranked section of 226 - 300. It is followed by the IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee between ranks 351 and 400.

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is ranked highest among Indian institutions, at just below 200, from its 130th place last year. IIT-Bombay figures among the 210-220 group, and IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kanpur are ranked below 250.

The US has the most representation with more than 45 institutions figuring in the top 100 followed by the UK with 10 institutions, Germany with six and Japan and Australia with five. India is the only BRIC country that is not represented in the top 100 list. China has two of its institutions on the list while Brazil and Russia have one each.

Though based on perception experts said the reputation ranking cannot be taken lightly. In his article 'Credit check' on the website, Times Higher Education Rankings editor Phil Baty said that reputation is the currency of global higher education today, and is accepted by scholars, students, donors and industry.

"In today's academy, reputation is the currency: research has shown that institutional standing is the top consideration for academics when moving jobs, is vital for the formation of international collaborations, and is essential in persuading philanthropists to give and industrial partners to invest," Baty said.

According to data put together by the Institute of International Education on international student mobility in 2012, the number of foreign students registered in Indian higher education institutions in 2012 is 27,000, much lower than in other Asian countries like China (3.28 lakh) or Japan (1.37 lakh).

"Personal experience has shown that IITs are incredibly highly valued in institutions like MIT or Caltech. When we host international delegations in the realm of technology, we find that IITs are as good as any other institution," said R Nagarajan, dean, international and alumni relations, IIT-Madras. But he maintained the stand that it was unfair to compare IITs which are technical institutions with universities that also ran other courses.

VIT University chancellor G Viswanathan said that the visibility of Indian institutions outside the country is poor. "If we want to be known outside the country, we must have partners around the world and get international accreditation. Senior institutions like the IITs are only taking the initiative to get international students or faculty," he said.