Current Affairs Updates - 14th October 2013

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International Affairs

• The secretive leader of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Mohammad Omar, pledged on Monday that his followers will keep fighting if the government in Kabul signs a crucial security deal with the United States.
• With an accountability court under the National Accountability Bureau reopening five references of corruption against former President Asif Ali Zardari, he is now required to make an appearance in court on October 29.
• Jamat ud Dawa (JuD) chief and the man India wants for the November 26, 2008 terror attacks, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed on Monday scoffed at the idea that U.S. and India can get together and stop the funding of groups like JuD.
• The failed U.S. navy Seals raid along the coastal town of Barawe in Somalia was part of a broader US-Somali military and intelligence engagement to fight insurgents in the conflict-prone east African state, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said in a rare interview.

National Affairs

• Indian National League (INL) on Monday announced its support to the ruling AIADMK in the December 4, by-election to Yercaud Assembly constituency. INL would also campaign for the AIADMK candidate, INL president Syed J. Inayathullah said in a statement in Chennai.
• As the process to create the separate Telangana has been moved to the government level from the Congress party with the setting up of GoM, the Committee headed by Defense Minister and Congress’s trouble-shooter A.K. Antony, set up by the party leadership to hear the grievances of the Seemandhra leaders, seems to have been silently wound up.
• The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats have sought the Law Ministry’s opinion on disqualification of Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad and two others as MPs, following their conviction in corruption cases, what with the Supreme Court declaring ultra vires Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act (RP Act), 1951.

Awards and Honors

• Americans Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller won the Nobel prize for economics on Monday for developing new methods to study trends in asset markets.

Deaths

• The former Union Minister, Mohan Dharia, passed away at a hospital here on Monday morning. He was 88. He was accorded a state funeral. He was a fierce advocate of farmer rights. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2005.

Science AND Technology

• Microsoft is updating its Windows software for cellphones to accommodate larger devices and make it easier for motorists to reduce distractions while driving.

Economy

• In what could make the almost difficult the task of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates, headline inflation unexpectedly touched a seven-month of 6.46 in September riding on the back of a whopping 323 per cent increase in price of onion followed by all round hike in price of other fruit and vegetable items.
• In a bid to attract dollars into the country and arrest the fall of the rupee, the Reserve Bank of India recently facilitated a swap deal on Foreign Currency Non Resident (FCNR) dollar deposits. According to the deal, banks that bring in FCNR deposits for a tenure of over 3 years will be able to avail of a forward rate at a premium of 3.5% as against the current market rate of 7%. As a result, banks have started to heavily market FCNR deposits to Non Resident Indians (NRIs).
• The new job generation in Bangalore, the IT capital of the nation, during the second quarter of FY 2013-14 surged by 12.3 per cent as against the previous quarter, industry body ASSOCHAM has said in a joint study.
• ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), today said it bought an additional 12 per cent stake in a Brazilian oilfield for $529 million after blocking a Chinese entry.

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