3rd July 2013 Current Affairs

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International Affairs

• ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) on Wednesday said its USD 5 billion bid to buy a stake in Kazakhastan's biggest oilfield has been blocked by the central Asian nation.
• Calling the relations with the US as a "defining partnership", President Pranab Mukherjee, in his greetings to President Barack Obama on the eve of their Independence Day, today expressed India's commitment to work closely with Washington.
• African swine fever has spread to virtually all the regions in the European part of Russia and some of them face a tangible threat of a shutdown of all the hog raising enterprises, Nikolai Vlassov, a deputy director of the federal sanitary watchdog agency Rospotrebnadzor told a news conference.
• EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for "restraint" and political dialogue in Egypt on Wednesday while offering condolences for those killed as fresh violence rocked the capital.
• Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit China next week on his first foreign tour since assuming office, the foreign ministry said today.
• Stating that the present system to deal with the issues involving trans-boundary water resources is inadequate, an India-Bangladesh round-table held here has called for restructuring of the Joint Rivers Commission, and an integrated approach to solve unresolved issues.

National Affairs

• Indian woman entrepreneur Vandana Gandhi, founder and CEO of British Orchard Nursery won the Emirates Women's Award 2013 (EWA) in the 'Overall Winner in Business Category'. 
• Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today left for a two-day visit to Mauritius to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) economic and business conference.
• The Income Tax department has issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde on his Rs 8 crore poll spending remark. Munde had last week remarked that he spent Rs 8 crore on his last Lok Sabha campaign.
• The Centre today asked all Naxal- affected states to intensify operations against ultras especially along inter-state borders as Maoists are carrying out 'spectacular attacks' to boost morale of the cadres.
• The government has launched a Rs. 132,000 crore welfare scheme on Wednesday to give cheap food to nearly 70 per cent of the population, a scheme that's been planned as a centre-piece of the ruling Congress party's plan to win a third term in office in elections due by May 2014.
• The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) new guidelines for treatment of HIV has brought hopes of leading a healthy and longer life for the 2.49 lakh people living with HIV in Karnataka, as it mandates starting treatment while the immune system is still strong.
• The 30,000-tonnes per annum magnesite project in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district is likely to be commissioned by December, 2015.
• President Pranab Mukherjee will attend the 45th convocation of IIT-Kanpur on July 5, officials said today.

Business and Economy

• Defence minister A K Antony has shot down commerce ministry's proposal to raise FDI in defence from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, saying it will be a "retrograde" step and "stymie" the growth of the domestic industry while increasing dependence on foreign manufacturers.
• Leo Puri was on Wednesday appointed as managing director of UTI Mutual Fund.Puri, in his career spanning over 30 years, has worked as director and senior adviser with McKinsey & Company and also as managing director with private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
• Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal on Wednesday met finance minister P Chidambaram in Delhi as a controversy raged over the airline's Rs 2,058 crore stake sale deal with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.
• Extending losses for the second session in a row, the BSE benchmark Sensex today lost a hefty 286 points led by a fall in realty and metal sector stocks on selling by funds, after rupee tanked below the 60 mark against the US dollar amid a weak trend overseas.

New Appointments

• Shriniwas Patil, former Nationalist Congress Party MP and a close associate of party chief Sharad Pawar, has been appointed the new governor of Sikkim.

Sports

• Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi has said that the national team needs to adopt and play in the same positive manner as the Indian team is doing currently.
• Upul Tharanga scored a career-best unbeaten 174 as Sri Lanka produced a clinical display to thrash India by 161 runs in the third match of the ODI tri-series.
• Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said on Wednesday he was "disgusted" by England's decision to uphold his life ban for spot-fixing, and claimed he was being victimised.
• Rahul Dravid's father, Sharad Dravid, today passed away here at 4.15 pm at his Indiranagar residence, according to a release issued by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
• Rohan Bopanna and partner Jie Zheng became the first pair to enter the Wimbledon mixed doubles quarterfinals on Wednesday.The Asians defeated unseeded Swedish-Hungarian duo Johan Brunstrom and Katalin Marosi 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 29 minutes.