Current Affairs Updates - 1st November 2013

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International Affairs

• A tunnel designed to smuggle drugs from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego was equipped with lighting, ventilation and an electric rail system,  one of the most sophisticated secret passages discovered along the US-Mexico border.
• Israel has reportedly carried out an air strike on a Syrian military installation to stop a shipment to Hezbollah, as inspectors said Syria's entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal.
• The largest orange diamond to come to auction will go on sale next week in Switzerland, with the rare gem expected to fetch a record $17-20 million (14-16 million euros).

National Affairs

• The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the appointment of UK Sinha as Sebi chairman, saying it was done by the government fairly and in accordance with the procedure of the law.
• The British royal couple, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, will visit Pune on November 10 as part of their nine-day visit to the country starting November 6. In the city, they will visit Kirkee cemetery run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Serum Institute of India and the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC). 
• The Pune bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered a stay on blasting on the Mithi riverbed till an environment impact assessment (EIA) report is prepared.
• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit Odisha on November 2 to assess the damages caused by cyclone Phailin and the subsequent floods in the state.

Deaths

• Radha S Burnier, president of the Theosophical Society, died at her home in Adyar due to age-related ailments on Thursday night. She was 90.

Science and Technology

• A newly discovered species of humpback dolphin has been seen swimming off the northern Australia coast, an international team of scientists reported this week.
• Alarmed by the revelation of the secretive internet surveillance programmes of the National Security Agency, six American technology giants - Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, AOL and Facebook - have supported a legislation to clip the NSA wings.
• In a real-life Jurassic park move, one of the world's largest dinosaurs has been digitally reconstructed by scientists, allowing it to take its first steps in over 94 million years.
• Activist group Anonymous hacked a Singapore newspaper website Friday and threatened wider cyber attacks over Internet freedom, with government agencies reportedly on alert after the group said it would "wage war" with the city-state.
• New research has found that the middle depths of the Pacific Ocean have warmed 15 times faster in the last 60 years than they did during apparent natural warming cycles in the previous 10,000 years.

Appointments

• The troubled Financial Technologies- promoted stock exchange MCX-SX said it has appointed former Union Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai as its chairman.

Business and Economy

• The Samvat 2069 ended on a cheerful note with benchmark BSE Sensex on Friday settling at a new all-time closing high of 21,196.81 on buying in realty, banks, metal and auto shares, amid renewed optimism on the economic front.
• India in the coming years will have great potential in the global arms market, as its manufacturers can offer weapons "in a very cost effective and in a shorter time frame", says Avinash Chander, scientific adviser to the defense minister.
• A majority of shareholders opposed Oracle's executive compensation, including chief executive Larry Ellison's pay, in a non-binding vote on Thursday following complaints that the world's third-richest man is paid too much as his company struggles against smaller rivals.
• The RBI move to open a special window to attract NRI dollar deposits into India, combined with the strengthening of the US dollar against Indian rupee, has led to increased NRI remittances into the country during the past few months, which is now nearing a record high level.

Sports

• The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), in a release on Thursday, revealed its grand plans on how it would celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium, which will be held from November 14-18.
• Anirban Lahiri has his eyes trained on the 50th Indian Open, starting November 7 at the Delhi Golf Club - a course where he has enjoyed huge success.

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