Daily Current Affairs Updates - 19th October 2013

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International Affairs

• Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to discuss with Barack Obama his recent efforts to improve ties with India when he meets the US President at the White House next week.
• An Italian appeals court on Saturday began a hearing to determine the duration of a parliament ban for scandal-tainted former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi as part of a tax fraud ruling.
• US President Barack Obama says the way business is done in Washington must change.In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama is telling Americans their frustration with politics is understandable. He's referring to the fiscal crisis that shut down the government and brought the US close to default.

National Affairs

• Four Indians led by ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar have made to Fortune magazine's global list of top-50 women business leaders, while PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi has been ranked second in a similar list for the US.
• Controversial independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, who was sworn in as the minister recently, was on Saturday given charge of food and civil supplies department.
• With the burden of non-communicable diseases increasing day by day, cardiologists say one in every 1,000 people above the age of 60 years are in need of a pacemaker in India.
• An Indian climate change activist who works with local communities and governments for environmental change has been awarded the Commonwealth youth award.Priti Rajagopalan, 23, received a 5,000-pound grant towards her work at a ceremony held at the Commonwealth secretariat headquarters in London, the Commonwealth said on October 19.
• Five Gujarat-based brands have featured among India's most attractive brand list. Amul, Arvind Mills, Ajantha Clocks, Nirma and Balaji have been featured in the list of India's Top 200 most attractive brands, according to the latest report from Trust Research Advisory.

Deaths

• Eminent music director K Raghavan, who infused Malayalam cinema music with a local flavour through his popular numbers, died in a hospital on Saturday.

Science and Technology

• Scientists have for the first time developed a blood test to determine if a person is suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), or another serious condition such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
• Homegrown cellular phone handset maker Micromax has said that its chief executive officer Deepak Mehrotra has quit the firm. "Deepak Mehrotra has stepped down from the position of CEO Micromax, on account of personal reasons.
• India's Mars Orbiter Mission, scheduled for launch on October 28, has been delayed and the fresh date will be announced later, said the space agency chief.
• It's a wake-up call for an estimated 150 million people who don't get enough sleep.The brain's method of waste removal — the glymphatic system — is highly active during sleep, clearing away toxins responsible for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders, according to a study.
• Marmoset monkeys know how to carry on polite conversations, just like humans do, a new study has found.The monkeys know when it is their turn to speak and engage one another for up to 30 minutes at a time in vocal turn-taking, researchers found. Marmoset monkeys are one of the smallest monkeys in the world, with most of them growing only up to 8 inches long.

Sports

• Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's blistering unbeaten 139 went in vain as Australia came from behind to pull off a sensational four-wicket victory over India in the third cricket one-dayer to take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series on Friday.
• Rising star Shiva Thapa and comeback-man Thokchom Nanao Singh entered the pre-quarters but it was curtains for the experienced Vijender Singh, who bowed out after an intense second-round contest on a day of mixed fortunes for India at the World Boxing Championships on Saturday.

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