27th OCTOBER 2014

The coastal districts in Gujarat are taking steps to face Cyclone Nilofar, which has developed in the Arabian Sea and is expected to make landfall over the north-western region of the State in two days. The India Meteorological Department will give clear guidelines to the State on the progress of the cyclone on Monday.

The former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has been designated to chair a global research platform panel on sustainable development —‘Future Earth Engagement Committee’— instituted by an alliance of organisations including the UNEP, the UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider — a modern-day adaptation of Hamlet — won the People’s Choice Award in the Mondo Genre (world genre) at the ninth edition of the Rome Film Festival.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will arrive in India on Monday for a two-day visit, and the bilateral agenda will be seen as another strong assertion of India’s interests in the South China Sea. China will be closely watching the visit. India and Vietnam will sign three agreements, one an MoU on prospecting by OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd.) in two more fields in the South China Sea. Discussions will be held on supplying naval vessels to Vietnam. Both issues had seen statements of concern from Beijing in the past. However, officials confirmed that the current blocks under discussion to be signed during this visit, part of a batch of five offered by Vietnam in November, are in Vietnamese territorial waters, and not disputed.

Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki on Sunday administered the oath of office and secrecy to Manohar Lal Khattar who became the 10th Chief Minister of Haryana at a ceremony witnessed by an unprecedented crowd and a galaxy of dignitaries. Nine Ministers, including six of Cabinet rank, were also sworn in.

The State government has finally decided to include Gulbarga in the list of cities to be recommended to the Union government to be declared as smart cities under various categories. Urban Development Minister Vinaykumar Sorake said here on Sunday that the name of Gulbarga would be on the top of the list of the cities to be recommended as a smart city.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) India Mission Chief has said that among emerging markets and BRICS countries, India stands out for accomplishing the sharpest turnaround in its macro economy since the U.S. Federal Reserve started reversing its zero-interest rates monetary policy. As a result, of all these economies, India is best prepared to deal with the Fed’s monetary policy actions. Earlier this month, the IMF raised its 2014 India growth forecast to 5.6 per cent as against its 5.4 per cent April projection while cutting its world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection to 3.3 per cent. If the new government follows through with structural reforms India can see a growth of 7 per cent to 8 per cent, IMF India Mission Chief Paul A. Cashin told

SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon spacecraft has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean carrying a heavy load of NASA cargo and scientific samples from the International Space Station that experts hope could yield significant results. Dragon also carried crew supplies, hardware and computer resources.

Botswana President Ian Khama saw off the biggest challenge posed by the opposition since independence, winning a second term in power on Sunday. His Botswana Democratic Party garnered at least 34 of the 57 parliamentary seats, below its previous 41 seats.

Sania Mirza and Cara Black reeled off 12 straight games to stun defending champions Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai by the record score of 6-1, 6-0 in the WTA Finals doubles final on Sunday. In singles, world No. 1 Serena Williams beat Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 to triumph for the third time in a row. Serena Williams won 11 of the last 12 games in the match to join Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf as the only players to have won five titles in the season-ending championships. 

Yugichi Sugita’ won the KPIT-MSLTA ATP Challenger men’s singles final defeating Adrian Menendez-Maceiras 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-4 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Tennis Complex after an intense contest stretching two hours, 55 minutes.

Roger Federer outclassed David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 in the Swiss Indoors final on Sunday to claim his third title in the last four events, and the sixth in his home event. Federer spent just 51 minutes in delighting his hometown crowd, setting up two match-points with a fifth ace and coming up with an effortless drop shot winner to clinch the 82nd title of his career.

P. Mukundhan won the men’s 50 metre freestyle event and also set a new meet record with a time of 00:24.22 in the senior State aquatic championships held on Sunday. T. Sethu Manickavel and A.V. Jayaveena claimed the overall honours.