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Terrorist
attack in Punjab, 6 killed, one terrorist eliminated
India
> Terrorism
An
intense gunbattle struck Punjab's Gurdaspur district when terrorists
attacked a police station killing six persons and injuring eight
others. Among the six people were three civilians,two home guards
personnel and an SP. India tightened security on its border with
Pakistan after the attack. The terrorists also attacked a
complex where the families of police personnel reside. Condemning the
terror attack, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said
all measures will be taken to maintain law and order and ensure
safety of people in the state.
Gujarat
becomes first state to mandate voting
India
> Gujarat
Gujarat
has officially made voting compulsory in local body elections under
the controversial Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment), Act
2009 (2014). The compulsory voting notification comes along with an
ordinance for the addition of a clause the act for declaring the
elected representatives disqualified if they do not vote. Any citizen
who fails to vote during the elections if caught will be penalized —
the punishment could be monetary fine or non-eligibility for certain
civic incentives — which will be specified once the rules are
framed.
Supreme
Court rejects petition, orders to hang Yakub Memon tomorrow
India
> Terrorism
The
Supreme Court rejected 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub
Memon's petition against the death warrant and cleared way for his
execution to be held tomorrow. Memon had sent a mercy plea to
President Pranab Mukherjee which is awaited. The decision was taken
by a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Prafulla C Pant and
Amitava Roy.
Former
Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam passed away
India
> APJ
Abdul Kalam
The
Missile Man of India, APJ Abdul Kalam collapsed during a lecture at
the Indian Institute of Management-Shillong (IIM-S). He was declared
dead at the hospital probably due to cardiac arrest. Kalam served as
president for five years from 2002, enjoying the support of both the
ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. His active involvement in the
country's military missile development efforts and space programmes
earned him appreciation from across the world.
Others
Greece
passes second batch of reforms to unlock bailout deal
Economy
> Greece
Legislation
has been passed by Greece's parliament on a second batch of reforms
which will help unlock a huge international bailout. The bill was
passed with the support of 230 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament.
These reforms had to pass if Athens was to move forward in bailout
negotiations with its creditors. The vote shows deep divisions within
Syriza and an indication of early elections only after six months
after coming to power.
WTO
members seal trillion-dollar IT trade deal
Economy
> WTO
A
first tariff-cutting agreement in 18 years has been signed between
the members of World Trade Organization to cut tariffs on $1 trillion
of information technology products from video games to medical
equipment. Following this, more than 200 products will be added to
the list of goods covered by zero-tariff and duty-free trade
maintained by WTO. The deal is expected to jump-start the economy as
more number of companies are expected to benefit from it.
Reliance
Industries, Tata Motors featured in Fortune Global 500 list
Corporate>Fortune
Global 500 list>24 July 2015
The
list of world's 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune features 7
Indian firms including Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, State
Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum Oil and
Natural Gas. This year's Fortune Global 500 employ 65 million people
worldwide and are represented by 36 countries. Companies are ranked
by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or
before March 31, 2015.
Websites
inciting religious intolerance to be blocked: Government
India
> Terrorism
In
a bid to keep increasing abuse of internet by terror groups in check,
the government has ordered blocking of at least 40 webpages with
inflammatory content relating to a minority community, including
posts on social media and popular video-sharing platforms. Following
the order, the internet service providers have blocked most of such
posts. However, the ones posted through a 'secure internet protocol'
cannot be blocked totally.
Nepal
may remove 'secularism' from new constitution
World
> Nepal
After
remaining a secular nation for eight years, Nepal is contemplating
the idea of removing the word “secular” from its new
constitution. The idea was brought up during a discussion among top
leaders of the major political parties. During the public opinion
collection last week, majority of the people preferred the word
'hindu' or 'religious freedom' instead of using the term
'secularism'.
Jewellery
firm Rajesh Exports buys Valcambi for $400 million in cash
Corporate
> Valcambi
Bengaluru-based
jewellery firm Rajesh exports has acquired Valcambi, the world's
largest precious metal refiner. It is for the first time that an
Indian company is taking over an international gold and silver
refinery in an all-cash deal of $400 million. Rajesh Exports borrowed
from Credit Suisse and dip into internal cash reserves to fund the
transaction. Valcambi refines about 30% of the gold purchased by
India, the world’s largest gold buyer and has a total refining
capacity of 2000 tonne. The acquisition will help Rajesh exporters
obtain global footprint.
Google
breaks up its social networking site Google plus
Science
and Technology > Google
Plus
Google
recently announced its decision to split the features of its social
networking site Google Plus into independent services, allowing users
to access them without signing in to the networking site. Google Plus
is parting ways with YouTube following this announcement. Google Plus
was created to take down rivals Facebook and Twitter and later faced
disapproval from its users. The changes also mark a symbolic end of
Google Plus as a social network.
Channel
Tunnel from France to UK intercepts 3,500 migrants
World
> Migration
The
Channel Tunnel also known as Chunnel, saw 3,500 migrants trying to
cross it amidst a number of dangers. Some of the migrants were
injured and a corpse was found as Eurotunnel personnel and French
authorities intervened. Both the countries are putting in efforts
like installing barriers and adding lighting, which would allow
drivers to see when migrants try to jump onto their trucks at night,
for the safety of the migrants.
Sanjiv
Chaturvedi, Anshu Gupta win Ramon Magsaysay Award
Awards
> Ramon
Magsaysay
The
official website of Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) has
announced names of five recipients of Asia's premier prize, the Ramon
Magsaysay Award. The individuals are from India, Laos, Myanmar, and
the Philippines. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, a former chief vigilance officer
at the AIIMS is being awarded for Emergent Leadership and his efforts
to keep corruption in check and Anshu Gupta, founding director of the
non-government organization Goonj for his humanitarian work.
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