News in Short

• Four years after India and Iran signed an agreement to construct a rail line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan, the Iranian government has decided to proceed with the construction on its own, citing delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the project.
• The development comes as China finalises a massive 25-year, $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran, which could cloud India’s plans.
• The railway project was meant to be part of India’s commitment to the trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan to build an alternate trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

• Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras have shown that the active compound from the common household spice turmeric — curcumin — can enhance cancer cell death.
• TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is an agent with the ability to programme cell death (apoptosis) and has triggered many preclinical studies the world over.
• The IIT-M research team chose curcumin as it is known to inhibit carcinogenesis and induce apoptosis in various cancer cells.
• The researchers isolated leukaemia cells from cancer patients and found that non-toxic concentrations of curcumin can significantly increase the efficiency of TRAIL-induced cell death.

• The United Arab Emirates plans to make history Wednesday with the scheduled launch of the “Hope” mission, which will make it the first Arab nation to send a probe to Mars.
• A rocket carrying the unmanned spacecraft is due to take off from Japan’s remote Tanegashima Space Center although poor weather could delay lift-off until later in a launch window that runs until August 13.
• The Emirati project is one of three racing to Mars, including Tianwen-1 from China and Mars 2020 from the United States, taking advantage of the period when the Earth and Mars are nearest.

• The Mont Blanc glacier in the French Alps is melting rapidly amid the climate crisis and unearthing the secrets of the past as it disappears.
• Last week, Indian newspapers were the latest items to be uncovered, believed to have come from a 1966 plane crash. The headlines told of Indira Gandhi becoming India‘s first and, so far, only female prime minister that year.
• The editions of the National Herald and The Economic Times are thought to have been on board an Air India Boeing 707, travelling from Mumbai to London, that crashed on the mountain on 24 January, 1966.

• Naya Rivera, a singer, and actor who played a cheerleader on the hit TV musical comedy Glee, was found dead in a Southern California lake. She was 33.
• Rivera's body was discovered six days after she disappeared on Lake Piru, where her son, Josey, was found July 8 alone on a boat.
• Naya Rivera began acting at the age of 4 with appearances in popular shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, and The Bernie Mac Show. Her claim to fame however was her role of a teen in Glee.