Daily Current Affairs Updates: 26 October 2013

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 26 October 2013

National

1) Jairam Ramesh made convener of AICC ‘special group’ for Lok Sabha polls: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was today named as the Convener of a ‘Special Group’ of the AICC set up to facilitate and coordinate actions for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

2) 29 dead as rains batter Andhra Pradesh: Heavy rain over the past week has left a trail of destruction in Andhra Pradesh. At least 29 people have lost their lives, with 3,230 villages in 16 districts affected and 7,000 houses damaged, even as the State Government has launched an intense relief and rescue operations.

Economy/BAnking

1) World Bank approved $250-m aid for Uttarakhand: World Bank has approved $250-million assistance for Uttarakhand, which was hit hard by rains and landslides in June that killed 580 people, to help the State undertake rehabilitation work and strengthen its capacity for disaster management.

2) GAIL, Paradip Port sign MoU for setting up LNG terminal: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between GAIL (India) Ltd and Paradip Port Trust was signed here today (Saturday), paving the way for the construction of an LNG terminal complete with floating storage and regasification facilities at Paradip port.

3) India's forex reserves up by $1.88 billion to $281.12 billion:  India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves gained $1.88 billion to touch $281.12 billion for the week ended Oct 18, official data showed.

4)  Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has assigned Corporation Bank No. 1 rank under the ‘National Awards for Excellence in MSE (micro and small enterprises) Lending’ for 2012-13.

5) Himachal Pradesh became Second State after Haryana to introduce NVQF: Himachal Pradesh on 26 October 2013 became the second state after Haryana to introduce Union National Vocational Qualitative Framework (NVQF) Scheme. The scheme has been implemented by the All India Technical Education Council and the National Skill Development Council. As per the scheme, 70 skill development councils will be established and each council will be given specific trades.

International

1) Musharraf’s custody extended till Oct 30 in Lal Masjid case: Pakistani court has extended the custody of former President General Pervez Musharraf till October 30 in the Lal Masjid case and ruled that the next hearing would be held at his Chak Shahzad farmhouse, which has been turned into a sub-jail.

2) Earthquake of 7.3 magnitude had yesterday struck off Japan’s east coast, the US Geological Survey said, triggering small tsunamis but causing no apparent damage.

3) Mount Etna volcano erupted: Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has erupted, sending up a towering plume of ash visible in much of eastern Sicily. Etna's eruptions aren't infrequent, although the last major one occurred in 1992.

Sports

1) Pune Warriors out of IPL as BCCI terminates contract: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has terminated the contract of Pune Warriors India with the Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL) for failing to furnish a bank guarantee worthRs 170 crore for the next season. Sahara Adventure Sports is the team’s franchise owner.

2) Fifth ODI between India and Australia called off:  Fifth one-day International between India and Australia was officially called off today without a single ball being bowled due to persistent rain at Cuttack where the match was scheduled to be held.

3) Vettel takes 3rd straight Indian GP pole position: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel put himself on pole position for a fourth successive Formula One title after lapping the Indian Grand Prix circuit faster than any driver ever before on Saturday.

4) South Africa thrash Pakistan to level series: South Africa kept their seven-year unbeaten away record intact with an innings and 92-run win over Pakistan in the second and final Test in Dubai on Saturday, squaring the two-match series 1-1.

Science & Technology

1) Chinese researchers develop bird flu vaccine: Chinese researchers announced on Saturday to have developed a vaccine for H7N9 bird flu virus, after the flu strain left over 130 people infected, of which 45 died.

2) YouTube getting ready for paid music service: Google’s video-sharing arm YouTube is preparing to launch a paid music service this year competing against other streaming outlets, with the added feature of video, media reports have said.