Daily Current Affairs Updates: 27 January 2015

1) Steve Smith won Allan Border Medal 2015: Steve Smith on 27 January 2015 capped a remarkable season by sweeping the main awards at the annual Allan Border Medal ceremony, including Australian player of the year. The prolific batsman, who was promoted to national captain in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke, also took out the one-day and Test player awards. The 25-year-old Smith became the youngest winner since a 23-year-old Clarke in 2005. Glenn Maxwell was rewarded for his efforts with bat and ball to win Twenty20 player of the year. Sean Abbott, whose bouncer killed the Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, receives Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award.

2) Dubai International is now the busiest international airport: Dubai has emerged the busiest international airport in the world. Dubai overtook London Heathrow last year, thanks to a growth of 9.3 lakh flyers to and from the India subcontinent — which was second only to the increase of 11.9 lakh flyers the Emirate saw in passengers to and from Europe. Dubai International (DXB) handled over 7 crore international flyers in 2014. India played an important role in Dubai emerging as the busiest international airport.

3) Winter snow storm hit the northeastern states of the United States: A blizzard swept across the northeastern United States on 27 January 2015, dropping more than a foot of snow across Massachusetts and Connecticut even as its impact on New York City fell short of dire predictions. Winter snow storm was named ‘Juno’.

4) Tomas Berdych stuns Rafael Nadal in Australian Open quarterfinals: Czech Tomas Berdych ended a demoralizing run of outs to dump a struggling Rafael Nadal out of the Australian Open in a straight sets triumph to reach the semifinals on 27 January 2015. It ended a record-equalling 17-match winning run Nadal had over Berdych, who claimed his second consecutive semifinal appearance in Melbourne after losing to Stan Wawrinka last year.

5) Sunil Narine pulled out of West Indies World Cup squad: Sunil Narine on 27 January 2015 pulled out of the West Indies World Cup squad, saying he needed more time to work on his bowling action. The 26-year-old has undergone "intense remedial work" after being suspended from last year's Champions League Twenty20 for an illegal action, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said in a statement.

6) Max India to be split into 3 units: The board of Max India, the flagship of serial entrepreneur Analjit Singh, has approved splitting the company into three verticals that would be listed to unlock the value of these businesses. The demerger is expected to be completed in six to nine months. The leadership would remain unchanged upon the demerger. After the split, Max India will be renamed Max Financial Services and will solely focus on the group's flagship life insurance activity, through 72.1 per cent stake in Max Life, making it the first Indian listed company solely focused on life insurance.

7) RBI signed MoU with Banco Central do Brasil on info exchange: The Reserve Bank of India has signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and exchange of information with Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). With this RBI has signed 23 such MoUs, one letter for supervisory cooperation and one statement of cooperation with overseas regulators or supervisors, the central bank said in a statement.

8) Maharashtra government to set up memorial for RK Laxman: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on 27 January 2015 announced a memorial for eminent cartoonist RK Laxman who died in Pune on 26 Jan 2015. The last rites were performed at Vaikunth crematorium at 1pm. A 21-gun salute and a guard of honour were presented by the Maharashtra police.

9) Church of England consecrated first woman bishop: The Church of England consecrated its first woman bishop on 26 January 2015, more than two decades after the Church allowed women to become priests. The Reverend Libby Lane, 48 and a mother-of-two was consecrated as Bishop of Stockport in a ceremony at York Minster, a Gothic cathedral in northern England. The new Bishop called it a "profound and remarkable moment".