News : 16 July 2013

1. Blue plaque for Krishna Menon’s London home.


2. U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden has applied for “temporary asylum” in Russia


3. US whistleblower Edward Snowden has very sensitive “blueprints” detailing how the National Security Agency (NSA) operates that would allow someone who read them to evade or even duplicate NSA surveillance,Glenn Greenwald, a journalist with The Guardian said.


4. India has overtaken the U.S. as the top buyer of Nigerian crude oil.

GK July 2013

1. India has ranked 66th out of 142 in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013, an index that is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as a knowledge partner.


2. India has overtaken the U.S. as the top buyer of Nigerian crude oil.

News : 7 July 2013

1. A solar-powered aircraft completed the final leg of a history-making cross-country flight gliding to a smooth stop at New York’s JFK airport.


2. Israel’s Cabinet has approved a plan that would gradually end a contentious system that has granted automatic draft exemptions to Jewish ultra-Orthodox seminary students.The new system, which needs Parliamentary approval, would reduce the number of exemptions and require ultra-Orthodox men to register for military service. It would go into effect in three years.


3. India in discussion with Afghanistan on equipment supplies.But rejected plea for supply of lethal weapons to Afghanistan.

Israel

1. Israel’s Cabinet has approved a plan that would gradually end a contentious system that has granted automatic draft exemptions to Jewish ultra-Orthodox seminary students.The new system, which needs Parliamentary approval, would reduce the number of exemptions and require ultra-Orthodox men to register for military service. It would go into effect in three years.
2. Israel seeks to export cybertech :  In the last few years, the number of Israeli cyberdefence companies has ballooned from a few dozen to more than 200, accounting for five to 10 per cent of the global cyber-security industry.International giants IBM and Lockheed Martin announced new cyberresearch projects in Israel, and Deutsche Telekom and EMC have also established research centres in the country.Seeking to learn from that Israeli prowess, Symantec, a leading computer security company, hosted a “hackathon” at the expo.

Afghanistan

President : Hamid Karzai 

1. Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced at a ceremony on Tuesday that his country’s armed forces are taking over the lead for security nationwide from the U.S.-led NATO coalition.The handover of responsibility is a significant milestone in the nearly 12-year war and marks a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role. It also opens the way for their full withdrawal in 18 months


2. India in discussion with Afghanistan on equipment supplies.But rejected plea for supply of lethal weapons to Afghanistan [July 2013]

Committees

1. Walmart lobbying activities in India : Justice Mukul Mudgal 

News : 1 July 2013

1. The U.S. National Security Agency snooped on the Indian embassy and considered it a “target” along with 37 other embassies and missions here, according to the latest revelations by The Guardian.The Guardian exposé on the spying methods used against embassies said a key method was code-named ‘Dropmire,’ which, according to a 2007 document, is “implanted on the Cryptofax.”It is unclear whether the Indian embassy uses such a device.


2. Delhi Metro on Monday took over operations of Airport Express Line even as Reliance Infra, which ran the line, blamed DMRC’s “persistent” failure to cure defects in the civil structure for termination of the concession agreement and claimed termination payment from it.


3. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the first of seven satellites that will provide the country with an independent navigation satellite capability.

News : 2 July 2013

1. India says ‘no’ to Snowden’s plea.


2. In case of issuance of cheque from joint accounts, only the person who signs the cheque can be prosecuted in a cheque bouncing case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Supreme Court held.


3. Suresh kalmadi lost his bid for the fourth consecutive term as president of the Asian Atheletics Association to Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad of Qatar by 2 votes.

News : 3 July 2013

1. Ed Husic became Australia’s first ever Muslim Minister in Australia, he was flooded with online racial abuse for taking oath of office on the Koran.


2. The Egyptian army has invited opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei, the top Sunni sheikh and the Coptic pope for “consultations” on a future roadmap to end the crisis


3.  Several Southeast Asian countries have begun scaling down the subsidies they are providing to key sectors of their economies.Last month, the Thai government confirmed that it will soon decrease the rice price subsidy it gives to farmers. In Indonesia, the parliament approved a revised budget that lowered the fuel subsidy. Meanwhile, in the Philippines' Transportation and Communications chief advised Metro Manila train commuters to prepare for a fare hike since the government will reduce the subsidy for the mass transit service.


4. India has ranked 66th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013, an index that is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as a knowledge partner.The study ranked 142 economies across the world on their innovation capacity and efficiency.India ranked 1st in the Central and South Asia region followed by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, and 11th overall in innovation efficiency ratio. (Innovation efficiency reflects the innovation output per unit of innovation input in the economy).India ranked poor in areas such as political stability (rank 123), ease of starting business (rank 128) knowledge absorption (rank 122) among others.


5. India’s ONGC has lost the giant Kashagan oilfield to the Chinese after Kazakhstan blocked its USD 5 billion deal to buy US energy major ConocoPhillips’ stake in the Caspian Sea oilfield.ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had in November last year struck a deal to buy ConocoPhillips’ 8.4 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s biggest oilfield, Kashagan for USD 5 billion.“Based on the communication received through ConocoPhillips, the Government of Kazakhstan has announced that in accordance with the Republic of Kazakhstan Law (ROK) on Subsurface and Subsurface Use, ROK has exercised its priority right and pre-empted the bid by OVL to acquire the 8.4 per cent stake of ConocoPhillips,” OVL said in a statement.

USA

1. National Security Agency(NSA)  of America communication snooping : Boundless Informant collects information from computer and telecom services.Order of spying : Iran,Pakistan,Jordan,Egypt,India.


2. The U.S. National Security Agency snooped on the Indian embassy and considered it a “target” along with 37 other embassies and missions here, according to the latest revelations by The Guardian.The Guardian exposé on the spying methods used against embassies said a key method was code-named ‘Dropmire,’ which, according to a 2007 document, is “implanted on the Cryptofax.”It is unclear whether the Indian embassy uses such a device.

US - Russia relations

• Russia’s decision to grant asylum to the whistle-blower has strained its relationship with the U.S.


• U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision cancel a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin early Sep 2013.It is for the first time since the end of the Cold War that a summit meeting between the Russian and U.S. leaders gets cancelled.

Idioms-July

SLUG IT OUT

• If two people slug it out, they fight or argue violently until one of them wins.


• जीत होने तक लड़ना