19-26 feb 2013 current affair

7/29/2019 19-26 Feb 2013 current affair

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Current Affairs19th to 26th February 2013

Alternative Learning Systems

Alternative

LearningSystems

Address: B-19, ALS House, Commercial Complex,

Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi-110009

Phone: +91-11-27651110, 27651700

Website: www.jojomathewsals.comFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jojomathewsals

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Current Afairs

19th to 26th

February 2013

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National, Bilateral, International, Science and Tech Issues

Rafael Correa

Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado is the currentPresident of the Republic of Ecuador and theformer of President protem the Union of SouthAmerican Nations.

He took office in January 2007.

He is credited for having brought Ecuador into theBolivarian Alliance for the Americas .

Correas rule is also acknowledged forthe significant reduction in poverty andunemployment levels.

Delhi Dialogue V

The India-ASEAN Delhi Dialogue is an annualinternational conference of political and economicleaders, officials, academics and opinion-makersof ASEAN countries with their Indian counterpartsto discuss how to intensify and broaden political,strategic, economic and civil society interactionbetween the two regions.

In this spirit, the India-ASEAN Delhi Dialogue V,titled India-ASEAN: Vision for Partnership andProsperity was held on 19-20 February 2013 inNew Delhi.

This Dialogue was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, inpartnership with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and supported by the SAEA Group Research,Singapore and Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta.

This year conference was divided into five sessions in which the participants would speakand deliberate on issues such as India-ASEAN Security Cooperation: Towards Peace and

Stability, Non-Traditional Security Challenges: Food Security, Water Management andPandemics, Future of Global Energy Market: Role of New and Renewable Energy inSustainable Development, Cooperation between CLMV Countries and North-East India:Opportunities and Challenges, and Expanding Networks through Connectivity: Land, Seaand Air.

Through these sessions, the Dialogue would highlight Indias increasing engagement withASEAN countries and explore the agenda for consolidation of their relationship in the comingyears.

The Dialogue will also attempt to assess and incorporate issues and perspectives whichemerged from the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit 2012 to help identify areas ofgreater engagement between India and ASEAN countries.


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Current Afairs

19th to 26th

February 2013

3Website:www.jojomathewsals.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jojomathewsals Blogs: www.halfmantr.com/jojomathews


Second India-Afghanistan-United States Trilateral Dialogue

India on 19th

February hosted the second meetingof India-Afghanistan-US trilateral dialogue inNew Delhi.

India has strategic partnerships with bothAfghanistan and the US, and jointly they sharea vision of a secure, peaceful, democratic andprosperous Afghanistan.

The second trilateral dialogue provided a platformfor in-depth consultations on issues ranging frompolitical and security spheres to trade, commerceand investment, and other areas of mutual interest.

The three sides agreed to continue this trilateral process as a vehicle for achieving the sharedgoal of peace, security and development of Afghanistan.

India allowed to go ahead with Kishenganga

The Court of Arbitration at The Hague has allowedIndia to go ahead with the construction of the Rs.3600 crore Kishenganga hydro-electric project inNorth Kashmir.

However, the court restrained India from adoptingthe drawdown flushing technique for clearingsedimentation in the run-of-the river project

designed for generation of 330 MW power. India may have to adopt a different technique for

flushing.

Pakistan had objected to the drawdown flushing apprehending that it will affect flows at itsdownstream Neelam project.

This was the second water dispute on which Pakistan dragged India to an international arenacharging New Delhi with violation of the IWT.

Earlier a neutral expert was appointed by the World Bank to adjudicate on the Baglihar dam,also located in Jammu and Kashmir.

C-154 Indian Coast Guards C-154, an interceptor boat

(IB) with new generation Arneson Surface Drive(ASD), has been commissioned.

ASD, a surface-piercing propeller drive, can turnthe boat while in high speed.

The 28-metre-long boat, with 75 tonnesdisplacement, can achieve a maximum speed of 35knots.

Besides latest navigation and communicationequipment, it has medium-range armament.

It can perform high-speed interception, close-coast patrol, low-intensity maritime operations,search-and-rescue and surveillance.


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February 2013



It was built by M/s Bharati Shipyard Ltd. at a cost of Rs. 18 crore.

The vessel is also capable of operating in shallow water.

It has two main engines of 1,630 kW each and has a complement of one officer and 12 men.

Narendra Kohli gets Vyas Samman

Eminent Hindi litterateur Narendra Kohli hasbeen selected for the prestigious Vyas Sammanfor 2012 for his historical novel Na Bhooto NaBhavishyati based on Swami Vivekananda andthe era he belonged to.

Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati , published in 2004,gives an account of the incredible impression that

Vivekananda cast on the history of the countryand its culture.

Mr. Kohli, 73, is credited with re-inventing theancient form of epic writing in modern prose.

He has published 76 books including short story collections, novels and plays.

Vyas Samman

Instituted by the K. K. Birla Foundation in 1991, the award is given annually for an outstandingliterary work in Hindi published during the past ten years.

The award carries a cash purse of Rs 2.5 lakh.

African leaders sign peace deal

Regional African leaders have signed a UN-brokered accord which aims to bring peace tothe troubled eastern region of the DemocraticRepublic of Congo.

The deal was signed in the presence of UNSecretary General Ban Ki-moon in the Ethiopiancapital, Addis Ababa.

The agreement, signed by leaders andrepresentatives of 11 countries of the Great Lakes

region, may lead to the establishment of a specialUN intervention brigade in eastern DR Congo, along with political efforts to bring peace.

Leaders from Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo,Congo Republic and South Sudan attended the signing.

Nicos Anastasiades and Cyprus

Nicos Anastasiades a 66-year old lawyer and amember of the Cypruss parliament since 1981 haswon the presidential elections of Cyprus with 57.5percent votes.

Anastasiades has been the leader of centre-rightDISY party since 1997.


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Republic of Cyprus is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and is a member state of the

European Union.

Cyprus challenges and opportunities

Cyprus is virtually a bankrupt country and is totally ruined by the economic recession inEurope.

In July 2012, Cyprus had also asked European Union for bailout.

The immediate task of the new President would be to formalize an all important deal with 16countries which use Euro as the currency as well as with International Monetary Fund.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peaceis a private, nonprofit organization dedicatedto advancing cooperation between nations andpromoting active international engagement by theUnited States founded in 1910.

The Carnegie Endowment is pioneering the firstglobal think tank, with flourishing offices nowin Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Beirut, andBrussels.

These five locations include the centers of worldgovernance and the places whose political evolution and international policies will mostdetermine the near-term possibilities for international peace and economic advance.

PSLV-C20 rocket launch successful

In a multiple launch mission, Polar Satellite LaunchVehicle PSLV-C20 put India-French satelliteSARAL and six others into their precise orbitsafter its successful launch from the Sriharikotaspaceport.

This was the 22nd consecutive successful PSLVmission by the Indian Space Research organisation

(ISRO). The satellites apart from SARAL to go into orbit

one after the other were SAPPHIRE, NEOSSAT,AAUSAT, BRITE, UniBRITE and STRand, all from abroad.

While two payloads were from French space agency CNES, a third payload, a solid stateC-band transponder, was from the ISRO.

All the three payloads were integrated into a satellite at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore.

SARAL is a unique satellite that will cater to the research community and it has practicalapplications as well.

It will help in oceanographic studies.

It will study the ocean currents and sea surface heights.

While ARGOS-2 will collect the data, the Altikameter will measure the height of the sea surface.ARGOS provides scientists with a tool to increase their understanding of environment andhelps industry comply with environmental protection regulations.


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SARAL will help researchers to study the development of climate.

It has practical applications in continental ice studies, coastal erosion, protection of biodiversity,

study of marine animals migration and so on.

SARALs mission life is five years. The 148-kg SAPPHIRE and the 82-kg NEOSSAT are bothfrom Canada.

SAPPHIRE will look at space debris and other satellites in orbit. NEOSSAT Near-EarthObject Surveillance Satellite has a telescope for detecting and tracking asteroids, satellitesand space debris.

BRITE and UniBRITE, both weighing 14 kg, are from Austria. The 3-kg AAUSAT has been builtby the students of Aalborg University, Denmark to receive automatic identification systemsignals from ships in the Arctic region.

STRand, weighing 6.5 kg, from the U.K., will evaluate the performance of mobile phoneelectronics in space environment.

19-26 feb 2013 current affair

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