Daily Current Affairs : 27th-28th October 2013

1. Today is 146th birth Anniversary of social worker, author, teacher, Sister Nivedita. Her original name was Margaret Elizabeth Noble. She was a Scots-Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda. she took active interest in promoting Indian history, culture and science. She actively encouraged Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose, the epoch-making Indian scientist and seminal philosopher of science who is credited to have discovered the wireless radio, to pursue original scientific research and helped him financially as well in getting due recognition when he was faced by an indifferent attitude of the British Government.

2. Today is International Animation Day, proclaimed in 2002 by  ASIFA as the main global event to celebrate art of animation.

3. 5^th South Asian Conference on Sanitation begins in Nepal to promote hygienic practices and enhance the quality of life in South Asian countries. Conference has been inaugurated by Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav.

4. A radio documentary about domestic violence and other related issues in the Australian Indian community has won a prestigious United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA) media award. The documentary was awarded this year in the category of "increasing understanding and awareness of women’s' rights and issues". 

5. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Founded in 1944, it is the oldest and the most renowned school in Russia for preparing specialists in international relations and diplomacy. 

6. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan received the third Hridaynath Mangeshkar award for his contribution to the film industry. The prestigious Hridaynath Mangeshkar award was supposed to be presented by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar to Bachchan, but due to health issues she could not make it and filmmaker Subhash Ghai did the honours. 

7. Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen has been awarded the Mother Teresa International Award by NGO “The Harmony Foundation” for her efforts towards achieving social justice.

8. Mexican drama 'La Jaula De Oro' (The Golden Cage) won the best film award by a debutante director on the closing day of 15th Mumbai Film Festival that also recognised Singapore's 'Ilo Ilo' and Indian films 'Fandry', 'Katiyabaaz' and 'Qissa'. Directed by Diego Quemada-Diaz, 'The Golden Cage' was honoured with the Golden Gateway of India award and a cash prize by the jury headed by director Bruce Beresford. The best actor prize was given to French actor Vincent Macaigne for his role in French film.

9. GAIL India and Paradip Port Trust on 26 October 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding for setting up an offshore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Paradip Port, Odisha. The MoU envisages setting up of the project with a capacity of 4 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMPTA) in Phase-I with a storage capacity of 170000 cubic metres. This will entail a total investment of 3108 crore rupees.

10. SC directs Sahara Group to hand over title deeds of its properties worth Rs 20,000 crores to SEBI within three weeks.

11. A team of astronomers discovered the most distant galaxy in the universe which is estimated to be 30 billion light years away from the Earth. The results of the latest findings were published in the most prestigious international journal the Nature.

12. Vijay Soni, a noted painter and theatre personality died on 27 October 2013 in New Delhi. The 76 year old Vijay Soni was battling with Parkinson disease for past 12 years. He is survived by his wife Aanita Soni, two daughters and three grandsons.

13. Anjali Gopalan on 25 October 2013 was awarded with French highest civilian award Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur. She was awarded for her work on transgenders and HIV positive patients.

14. Sebastian Vettel wins 3rd Indian Grand Prix, becomes youngest to win four straight world drivers' championships. With this victory, Vettel became the quadruple champion and joined the group of legends like Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alain Prost. He is only the third to do it in a row after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.

15.  Serena Williams beats Li Na for WTA title. Serena Williams ended her best season in suitable style, coming from behind to beat Li Na 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday for her second straight WTA Championships title. Williams' titles this year included the French and U.S. Opens for a total of 17 Grand Slam crowns. 

16. Indian Oil Corporation on 27 October 2013 defeated Air India 5-3 to win the 48th Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament at the MHA stadium, Mumbai. Sunil was given the man of the tournament award and received a cheque for 5000 rupees from newly appointed chief national coach Terry Walsh at the end of the tournament.

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