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