Current Affairs Guide 2013: Political News

It has often been said and rightly so that if you are well-informed about the things and events taking place around you then you have a better chance of creating a favourable impression before people. Making this great first impression becomes all the more important if you are planning on giving an examination or have to sit before an interview panel.  

So, to make you better equipped, Shiksha.com has brought for you a new series which covers important happenings in the world of Politics, Business, Sports and Entertainment for the year 2013. The events listed are both from India and the rest of the world and have been listed under monthly headers for quick reference.

January

International

• President Obama elected for his second term in office.
• Taliban warns against an impending war in Afghanistan if any foreign troops stay in the country after 2014.
• Beijing inaugurates four subway lines with a combined length of 70 kms, making the Beijing subway the largest in the world.
• France’s President Francois Hollande sends French forces to Mali to help the Malian army as it battles advancing Islamist fighters, opening a new and unexpectedly direct front in the confrontation between the West and al-Qaeda-allied guerrillas who were pushing south towards the capital Bamako.
• Islamists take hundreds of Algerian and foreign workers hostage at a gas site in Algeria's remote south-eastern desert. On the 19th of January, Algerian Special Forces storm the gas complex. Thirty-seven foreign hostages die in the siege and rescue operation.
• President Obama strikes up a controversy when he appoints Charles Hagel as his Defence Secretary and John Brennan as CIA director.
• Halima Yacob, of India origin, becomes Singapore parliament’s first woman speaker.
• In Pakistan the Supreme Court issues orders to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.
• The world’s first ever treaty on mercury usage is signed in Geneva with 140 countries agreeing to limit the use of mercury.
• The Tang Prize- Asia’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize is launched by one of Taiwan’s richest men, Samuel Yin by donating $102 million.
• British citizenship test got tougher.
• John Kerry, former presidential candidate confirmed to be U.S. Secretary of State.
• Israel became the first country to boycott a UN review of its human rights practices.

India

• Task force formed to review the safety of women in India.
• M. Karunanidhi appoints M.K. Stalin as his political successor.
• India’s Mars mission is declared to be launched in October 2013.
• Pak troops cross the LOC and kills two Indian jawans.
• Rahul Gandhi is appointed as Congress Vice-President.
• Nitin Gadkari, BJP’s President is forced to step down due to income tax raids on his firms. Rajnath Singh is appointed as the new BJP President.
• David Coleman Headley, mastermind of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks is sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US Court
• 108 people receive the Padma awards. Padma Vibhushan is given to phycist Yash Pal and space scientist Roddam.
• India successfully test-fires the K-15 missile along with the under-water missile launch facility.
• India and Bangladesh sign extradition treaty and agreement to make visa regime liberal.
• Cabinet approves Lokpal and Lokayukta bill amendments.