Daily Current Affairs: 18 November 2013

Daily Current Affairs: 18 November 2013

1) Indian Army test-fired advanced version of BrahMos missile: Advanced version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system was successfully test-fired by the Indian Army at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan at 1055 hours on Monday. The block III variant of BrahMos with deep penetration capability was test launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher.

2) Volkswagen, Samsung top EU list of world’s top R&D investors: German carmaker Volkswagen is the world’s top private-sector investor in research and development (R&D), followed by South Korean electronics giant Samsung, according to EU data released on Monday. Volkswagen topped the list with 9.5 billion euros ($ 12.8 billion) of R&D investments in 2012, while Samsung stood at 8.3 billion euros.

3) Scott Furssedonn-Wood is new British Deputy High Commissioner: Scott Furssedonn-Wood has taken over as the new British Deputy High Commissioner in Eastern India. He succeeds Sanjay Wadhwani.

4) Apex court seeks DoT’s reply on how to block porn sites: Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) seeking its response as to how to block Web sites with pornographic content in the country, particularly those featuring child pornography. A Bench headed by Justice B.S. Chauhan asked the Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, of which DoT is a part, to file its response within three weeks.

5) Mercedes opened first overseas engine plant in Beijing: German auto firm Daimler AG on Monday opened a joint-venture to produce engines for Mercedes-Benz cars in Beijing, its first overseas engine plant for the brand.

6) Russian inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle hospitalised: Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the eponymous submachine gun used worldwide, has been hospitalised for a heart complaint a week after celebrations for his 94th birthday.

7) Boeing 737 crashed in Russia, all 50 on board killed: Russian passenger airliner crashed Sunday night while trying to land at the airport in the city of Kazan, killing all 50 people aboard, officials said. The Boeing 737 belonging to Tatarstan Airlines crashed about 7:20pm local time (2050 IST), an hour after taking off from Moscow. There were no immediate indications of the cause.

8) New volcano discovered under Antarctic ice: In a surprising discovery, scientists have stumbled upon a smouldering volcano, hiding a kilometre beneath the ice sheet in West Antarctica, which may be building up steam for a massive eruption.

9) Anand draws seventh game; Carlsen remains two points ahead: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand could not break through the defenses of challenger Magnus Carlsen and had to be content with a draw in the seventh game of the World Chess Championship. With just five games to go in the 12—game match, Carlsen retains his two point lead with the scoreline now reading 4.5—2.5 in favour of the Norwegian.

10) Rafael Nadal heads ATP rankings: Rafael Nadal maintained first place in the men’s tennis rankings issued by the ATP on Monday. The Spaniard ensured he would end the year as world number one with victory over Stanislas Wawrinka at the ATP World Tour Finals in London on November 6.

11) Interim hike of 19% in Govt ad rates for print media: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has granted an interim hike of 19 per cent in the existing rates of government ads in print media. This will be effective from October 15, and the decision was taken in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and Election Commission of India.

12) SBT counters for senior citizens: State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has introduced dedicated counters to facilitate easier banking for senior citizens.

13) KVB opened 1st ultra small branch: Karur Vysya bank has launched its first ultra small branch at Balarajapuram village in Karur district.

14) Sachin chapter soon in Maharashtra school text books: School students in Maharashtra would get to learn about the ‘God’ of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, as part of their curriculum activities from next academic year. “The government is considering adding Tendulkar in school syllabus so that children are inspired by his life and achievements,” school education minister Rajendra Darda said.

15) Parliament winter session from Dec 5-20: Winter Session of Parliament will be held from December 5-20. An official announcement said the President has summoned the two Houses of Parliament to meet on December 5.

16) Waheeda Rehman to receive first Centenary film award at IFFI: Waheeda Rehman, the veteran actress of Bollywood will be conferred with the inaugural Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2013 at the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on 20 November 2013.The award has been instituted by the Government of India to mark the 100 years of Indian Cinema. It includes a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees and a citation.

17) Bolt and Fraser-Pryce were crowned World Athletes of 2013: The Jamaican sprinters, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned the male and female World Athletes of the Year, 2013 on 16 November 2013. They were selected as the world athletes of the year by the sport's governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco.

18) Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation from Gurgaon, Haryana: Rapid Metro-India's First Private Metro service started operation from Gurgaon, Haryana on 14 November 2013. Rapid Metro is India's first fully privately financed Metro system connecting NH-8 to Delhi Metro via Cyber City, Gurgaon.

19) Sebastian Vettel won the United States Grand Prix for record 8th successive victory: Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull’s team on 17 November 2013 won United States Grand Prix. France's Romain Grosjean in Lotus was second with Red Bull's Mark Webber took the third place.

20) Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-Winning Author, Died at 94: British Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing was died on 17 November 2013 at London. She was 94 years old.