13th July 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Israel today passed a law requiring NGOs that receive over half of their funding from foreign governments or bodies, including the EU, to provide details of their donations. 
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the law aims to prevent foreign countries from interfering in Israel's internal affairs without the public knowing.
• 82 year old Japanese emperor Akihito has announced that he is going to​ step down in the coming years. 
• Note : The ceremonial head of state, Akihito has been emperor for 27 years and his heir is 56-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito. 
• The first direct bus service between Pokhara (Nepal) and New Delhi (India) was launched today to connect South Asia’s two important cities. 
• The bus service was flagged off by Nepal Home Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet and India’s ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae from Pokhara (Nepal’s famous tourist spot).

MOUs & Agreements

• Bangladesh and India today signed an agreement for the construction of a 1,320 megawatt (MW) coal fired power plant near Sundarbans. 
• The agreement was signed between Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). 
• Note : BHEL was selected under an open international tender for constructing the super thermal plant at Bangladesh’s southwestern Rampal near the Sundarbans.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay to promote innovation by start-ups in the financial sector. 
• Note : The SINE is IIT Bombay’s technology business incubator to promote innovation by startups in the financial sector.
  

National Affairs

• The Arunachal Pradesh government today decided to set up 21 Women Police Stations across the state and create 400 new posts to run these police stations. 
• This comes three years after the first all-women police station was established in the state in 2013. 
• Indian Navy has commissioned INS Karna, an independent base of Marine Commandos (MARCOS) at Bheemunipatanam Naval Base, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 
• It was commissioned by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba at the commissioning ceremony held at Bheemunipatanam Naval Base. 
• Important Note : Captain Varun Singh will be the Commanding Officer of INS Karna.

Business & Economy

• The Cabinet today agreed to a proposal for transfer of shares by communications equipment manufacturer Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), to Special National Investment Fund to meet SEBI’s minimum public shareholding requirement. 
• The government, with 90% stake in the company, had approved a proposal in 2014 to offer assistance of ₹4156.79 crore for the company's revival.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved disinvestment of 15% paid-up equity in National Buildings Construction Corporation India, of the government's 90% holding. 
• The disinvestment will be through Offer For Sale route and is expected to raise ₹1,706 crore. 
• Note : The government has set a ₹56,500 crore PSU disinvestment target for 2016-17.

New Appointments

• Theresa May, the new Conservative Party leader, today became Britain’s second female prime minister.
• Vijay Ghadge, the former chief operating officer of ecommerce logistics company Go-Javas, has joined Vulcan Express, the captive logistics unit of Snapdeal, as its COO.
• K V R Murthy has been appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Jute Corporation of India Limited.
• Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla today resigned and President Pranab Mukherjee assigned the ministry's independent charge to MoS Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. 
• Following the resignation of MoS for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises GM Siddeshwara, Babul Supriyo was given the portfolio and was relieved as the MoS of Urban Development Ministry, and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry.

Awards & Honors

• Dubai-based​ airline Emirates has been named the 'World's Best Airline' by consumer aviation website Skytrax.
• The Philippines' Palawan province has been voted the World's Best Island in a survey by Travel + Leisure magazine for the second time after winning in 2013.
•  Three beaches from the Philippines have made it to the top ten list this year - Palawan, Boracay, and Cebu. 
• Santorini in Greece and Ischia in Italy were also included on the list.

Books & Authors

• Shahrukh and Salman Khan will relaunch tennis player Sania Mirza’s autobiography ’Ace Against Odds’, which was released last week. 
• Shahrukh will launch the book on July 13 in Hyderabad, while Salman will launch it in Mumbai on July 17. 

Deaths

• Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano (83), the undisputed head of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra Mafia, has died in a prison hospital. 
• Dubbed 'The Tractor' for 'mowing down enemy clans', Provenzano had evaded authorities for 43 years. 
• He was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment for several murders including the 1992 killings of two anti-Mafia judges.
• William H McNeill (98), the prize-winning scholar who wove the stories of civilizations worldwide into the landmark “The Rise of the West” and helped pioneer the history of disease and epidemics in “Plagues and People,” has passed away.

Sports

• The first FIFA World Cup match was played on this day (13th July) in the year 1930, in Uruguay. 
• India played its first ever One Day International in a 55-overs-a-side match against England on this day (13th July) in the year 1974. 
• The US Tennis Association today announced that the total prize money for the 2016 US Open will be around $46.3 million, the biggest prize in the history of the game. 
• The men's and women's singles champions will each earn a record $3.5 million, up from $3.3 million in 2015. 
• The tournament will run from August 29 to September 11.

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