Today's GK

A special Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced a top leader to 90 years in prison for masterminding atrocities during the 1971 war. Ghulam Azam, 90, the wartime head of the Jamaat-e-Islami and now its spiritual leader, was found guilty of all five charges by the controversial International Crimes Tribunal.

Supreme Court refuses to entertain PIL challenging appointment of CAG. The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a PIL challenging appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir asked the petitioners, including
former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami  and former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral (retd) R H Tahiliani, to approach the high court which is “equally equipped to deal with the matter”.

The 163-year old telegram service in the country – the indication of good and bad news for generations of Indians – comes to an end.

Sri Lanka has banned a film about the island nation’s ethnic conflict and civil war because it insults the government and its military, a government spokesman said on Monday. The film, “Flying Fish,” was banned in Sri Lanka because the film’s creators used images of the Sri Lankan military uniform without permission from the Ministry of Defense

The RBI has imposed fines totalling Rs 49.5 crore on 22 private and public sector banks including SBI, PNB and Yes Bank for violating KYC/anti- money laundering norms.

Japan may nationalise any unclaimed remote islands in its waters in a bid to bolster its territorial claims.

Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has won the Commonwealth Chess Championship title.

US sprinter Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s former 100 meter world record holder Asafa Powell have failed drug tests.

State-run ONGC Videsh has emerged as the Indian company having the most international exposure, replacing Tata Steel, according to a survey.
 

Periodic jumps generated in the Earth’s core change the length of a day every 5.9 years on our planet, a new study has found.

In a rare gesture, the British government has decided to commemorate V.K. Krishna Menon’s long and eventful association with London by putting up an English Heritage blue plaque at the house where he lived when he first moved to the city.

Four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, seen as the cornerstone of Britain’s Constitution, will be brought together in 2015 for the first time in history to mark the document’s 800th anniversary. Two of the copies belong to the British Library, one is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and one by Salisbury Cathedral.

Delhi Police on 15 July 2013 issued an order instructing its investigation officers to make no arrests on the basis of provisions available under Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, without prior approval from a person of Deputy Commissioner of Police Rank.

President Pranab Mukherjee on 16 July 2013 launched a Kisaan Portal for sending SMS through mobile phones to the farmers across the country. The SMS initiative is an instant and non-intruding medium communication enabling the farmers to take informed decision relating to different aspects of farming and weather forecasts. The Kisaan Portal directly aimed at spreading information, advisories and services through SMS to more than 12 crore farmers across the country. Farmers will need to register for this service by calling Kisaan Call Centre on the toll free number 1800-180-1551 or through the web portal

Lawmakers of US on 12 July 2013 proposed a Bill in the US Congress for establishing a national park on the Moon. The new Bill seeks creation of the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites as National Historical Park on the Moon. The bill has been named as the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act, the Bill (House Resolution 2617) and was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in addition to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

American golfer Phil Mickelson on 14 July 2013 won the Scottish Open title in a sudden-death play-off against South Africa’s Branden Grace at Castle Stuart in Inverness in Northern Scotland.

The 43-year-old Mickelson finished on 17-under-par while Sweden’s Henrik Stenson tied with Denmark’s J.B. Hansen for third place on 15-under-par, and Scotland’s Martin Laird finish fifth tied with Northern Irishman Gareth Maybin and England’s John Parry, all on 14 under.