6th and 7th February 2014 Current Affairs Updates

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International Affairs

• India and Namibia agreed for early conclusion of a preferential trade agreement between New Delhi and Southern African Customs Union (SACU), aimed at reducing tariffs on certain items traded between the two sides.
• The Canadian government proposed sweeping changes to the country's immigration laws, including a provision that would strip citizenship from persons convicted of terrorism or spying.
• The United Nations confirmed that there would be a "humanitarian pause" in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, allowing civilians to leave.
• Members of the European Parliament (EP) said in a resolution on Syria voted that alleviating the suffering of civilians must be a priority in addressing Syria issue.

National Affairs

• PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar are among Fortune magazine's list of 50 most powerful women in business.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the revised cost estimates for widening of NH-232 to two lane with paved shoulder from Tanda to Raebareli and from Raebareli to Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
• The government allowed 26 per cent foreign investment in insurance and allied activities.
• Union minister Veerappa Moily to inaugurated the 2nd Delhi Literature Fest at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts New Delhi.
• The global annual measles mortality reached historic low with vaccination expanding steadily, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on 7th February 2014.
• India's economic growth is likely to accelerate 5.6 percent in 2014-15 from the projected growth of less than five percent in the current fiscal ending March, according to economic think-tank NCAER.

Awards and Honors

• A Brazilian senator has nominated fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
• Eminent Hindi writer Vishwanath Tripathi been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013.

Deaths

• Legendary bhajan singer Juthika Roy, who enthralled the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with her enchanting voice, died at a city hospital following multiple ailments.
• Vasil Bilak, a former communist leader who paved the way for the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia ha died.His age 96.

Sports

• World boxing champion and Olympic bronze medalist M C Mary Kom could soon be donning a new role endorsing country's largest paramilitary force CRPF as its brand ambassador.
• Kumar Sangakkara becomes 4th player to score 400 runs in a Test match.He scored 424 runs.

Mounika Rao