Current Affairs 17th July 2014

Current Affairs 17th July 2014

Updated : 17-Jul-2014

Current Affairs 17th July 2014 - Important Points
Current Affairs 17th July 2014 - Details
Syria's Bashar al-Assad sworn in as President for third term
On 16th July 2014, Bashar al-Assad was sworn in as Syria's President in Damascus for third term. He has been elected for seven year term. He was re-elected after a presidential election that was held in June 2014.

Bashar al-Assad won 88.7 percent of the votes in the first multi-candidate election that was conducted only in the areas of Syria which were under government control.
After his swearing-in, Assad vowed to fight terrorism until security was restored to all of the country. However, he also promised to offer national reconciliation to opponents.

Rahul Dravid elected as member of Laureus World Sports Academy
On 16th July 2014, Legendary Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has been elected the newest member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which is important news among sports current affairs. Thus he became 47th member of the academy.
He said, "It is a great privilege to be invited to join the Academy and I look forward to supporting the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. I am truly honoured to be recognised alongside some of the greatest sportsmen and women we have ever seen. Sport has given me so much, and it is wonderful to now have the opportunity to make a difference in other people's lives."
10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs found in Chhattisgarh
Prehistoric rock paintings that depict aliens and UFOs were found in Caves of Charama village in Kanker district of Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. As per the preliminary dating, the pictures are at least 10000 years old.

The cave was found by archaeologists led by J R Bhagat. The caves are located about 130km from Raipur between village Chandeli and Gotitola.
The paintings on the cave have been done in hard natural colours and hence these paintings have lasted for so long.
The findings suggest that humans in prehistoric times might have seen or imagined beings from other planets which still generated curiosity among people. To further do research on the found paintings, Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture is planning to seek help from ISRO and NASA.
India, Brazil strengthen relations, signed 3 MoU
In a move to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries of Brazil and India, their premiers Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed three agreements at the former's official residence-the Itamaraty Palace.
The move was taken in the 6th BRICS Summit that took place in Fortaleza from 15th July to 16th July. The three agreements that were signed were:
- MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Environment,
- Agreement on Space,
- MoU on Cooperation in the Establishment of a consultation mechanism on mobility and consular issues.
Next BRICS Summit to be held in Russia
On 16th July 2014, on the sidelines of 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil it was announced that 7th BRICS Summit will be held in Russian city of Ufa in 2015.
Ufa is the capital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, and the industrial, economic, scientific and cultural centre of the republic.
Brazil, India, China and South Africa conveyed their appreciation to Russia for its offer to host the Seventh BRICS Summit in 2015 in the city of Ufa and extend their full support to that end.

Russia, India, China and South Africa also extend their warm appreciation to the Government and people of Brazil for hosting the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza.
B Ashok took charge as IOC chief
Among the Important Appointments, On 16th July 2014 B Ashok took charge as Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the India's largest oil firm.
His appointment was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi before leaving for the 6th BRICS Summit.
Ashok, 57, is the first insider to head IndianOil since March 2005 after M S Ramachandran retired on February 28 that year. Since then, the post was held by Sarthak Behuria, who moved from Bharat Petroleum, and R S Butola from ONGC Videsh.
A mechanical engineer from Madras University, Ashok was an executive director (marketing) in the company. He has done stints in the lubricants and services division, general sales, Malaysia office as well as head of Karnataka and Kerala state offices.