20 July 2013 Current Affairs
Former Union Minister Khurshed Alam Khan Died
On 20 July Khurshed Alam Khan, a former Union minister and father of external affairs minister Salman Khurshid died in NewDelhi.He served as the member of Rajya Sabha from 1974-1984.Alam Khan served as the Minister if State in the Governments led by former Prime Ministers of India, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. As an Union Minister, he had held portfolios of education, textiles, tourism, transport besides external affairs.He served as Governor of Goa and Karnataka in 1989 and 1991 respectively.
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting Held in Moscow
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting was held on July 19-20 in Moscow,Russia.In the meeting delegates discussed traditional G20 agenda including the G20 Framework agreement for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, the financial regulation reforms, and market transparency. The final communique contains the usual sentence urging convergence stressing this time how convergence can contribute to financial stability:At the end of the meeting Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors approved the Joint Communique.
Rana Kapoor is new Assocham President
On 20 July Rana Kapoor, Yes Bank Managing Director and CEO, took over as the President of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) at the end of the 92nd annual general meeting of the chamber in New Delhi.He succeeds Rajkumar Dhoot, who is the managing director of Videocon Group.
Pioneer American Women Journalist Helen Thomas Died
On 20 July Legendary American journalist Helen Thomas, a pioneer for women in journalism who reported on ten US presidents from Dwight D Eisenhower to Barack Obama,died in Washington.In 1975-76, Thomas served as the first woman president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA).She was a columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House.She retired on June 7, 2010, following controversial comments she made about Israel, Israeli Jews and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
China Launched Three Experimental Satellites In To Space
On 20 July China successfully launched three satellites to carry out scientific experiments into space.A Long March-4C carrier rocket carrying three satellites ,blasts off from the launch pad in the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Taiyuan, capital of north China’s Shanxi Province.The three satellites for scientific experiments, namely the ” Chuangxin-3 “, “Shiyan-7 ” and “Shijian-15 “.The three satellites will be used mainly for conducting scientific experiments on space maintenance technologies.
‘Che’ Manuscripts Added To UNESCO Heritage Program
On 20 July the writings of Cuban Revolution leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara have been added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.The documents include original manuscripts from “Che’s” youthful “Motorcycle Diaries” days, to his diary from the mountains of Bolivia where he was executed by that nation’s military in 1967.They are now recognized as world heritage and will be protected and cared for with the help of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.