Daily Current Affairs - July 7th

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International Affairs

• IAF chief NAK Browne is on a four-day visit to South Korea to discuss the entire gamut of defence ties and enhance military cooperation between the two sides.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned that the standoff in Egypt between supporters and foes of deposed president Mohamed Morsi threatened to degenerate into a civil war.
• More than 100 breakaway Muslim militants launched attacks against army troops in the southern Philippines, sparking clashes that killed five soldiers and at least seven insurgents in an apparent attempt to spoil peace talks between the government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group.
• Bahrain says twin attacks have left a policeman dead and three injured in the latest sign of targeted strikes by anti-government factions in the restive Gulf nation.
• The Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood called on Sunday for the United States and Europe to deliver the rebels promised military support after the opposition's National Coalition voted in a new president and ended a months-long leadership vacuum.
• Egyptian protesters are planning to meet in the streets again Sunday, where, for weeks, arguments have turned to clashes.Rocks have flown, knives have flashed and gunfire has cracked through the air, leaving bodies on the ground.More than 30 people have died and 1,400 suffered injuries since Wednesday's coup.

National Affairs

• Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi condemned the terror attack on Mahabodhi temple in in Bihar's Bodh Gaya district.
• Finance Minister P Chidambaram will tomorrow leave for a four-day visit to the United States during which he will meet US Treasury Secretary and industrialists and seek investments into India.
• The nine blasts at the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town were not of "very high intensity" and therefore no damage was caused to the sanctum sanctorum, Bihar Police chief Abhayanand said.
• Assam's flood situation remained critical today with 11 districts reeling under the water of the swollen Brahmaputra and its tributaries affecting over one lakh people.
• An alert has been sounded across Gujarat in the wake of the serial blasts that rocked Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya district today, Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Amitabh Pathak.
• Indian racing driver Raj Bharath rounded off his race weekend with a podium finish in race one while engine issues in race two didn't allow him to finish better than sixth at round three of Formula Masters China.
• Security has been beefed up in Bangalore, country's IT hub, in the wake of the serial blasts in Buddhist pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya and Maha Bodhi Temple complex early today that left two monks injured.
• Preparations are afoot for the upcoming "big-bang" Mars Orbiter Mission in October-November, an ambitious venture that would shed light on the possible existence of life on the planet besides boosting space agency ISRO's brand equity.

Business and Economy

• The International Monetary Fund may this week trim its global growth forecast because of the situation in emerging countries, IMF chief Christine Lagarde told a conference on Sunday."We had a growth forecast of about 3.3 per cent," Lagarde said, referring to the fund's forecast for 2013.
• Tata Motors' owned Jaguar Land Rover production line in the UK may grind to a halt within weeks after delivery workers from DHL voted for strike, demanding a large pay rise and similar terms and conditions on par with the JLR staff.
• The government on Sunday said market regulator Sebi has given its consent to Tamil Nadu government's proposal to buy Centre's 5 per cent stake in Neyveli Lignite Corp (NLC) provided the acquisition is done by a qualified state entity.
• Notwithstanding a 9 per cent dip in volume, private equity (PE) investments jumped a hefty 42 per cent to $5.4 billion across 197 deals during the first half of 2013 aided by the $1.2-billion Bharti Airtel deal, according to an EY India (formerly Ernst & Young) report.
• Gold imports are estimated to fall by around 24 per cent to about 38 tonnes in June, following restrictions on imports and jeweller associations banning sale of coins and bars, an industry body said.

Sports

• Newly-crowned Asian champion Vikas Gowda finished a creditable fourth in the ninth leg of the prestigious IAAF Diamond League athletics series in Paris.
• Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok achieved his best FIA GT Series result when his team, Seyffarth Racing, finished fourth in Round 3 of the racing series.
• Ex-India Under-19 left-arm spinner and a member of World Cup winning squad last year, Harmeet Singh, was questioned by BCCI's Anti Corruption and Security Unit.
• Sebastian Vettel wins German Grand Prix 2013.
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 32.

Rose M