September 23

‘Liar’s Dice’ to represent India at Oscars

Hindi film ‘Liar’s Dice’, a road drama about a tribal woman’s journey to find her missing husband, has been selected as India’s official entry to the upcoming 87th Academy awards in the best foreign film category, which will take place on February 22. The film was directed by Geetu Mohandas and leading roles were played by Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. India has never won an Oscar in the best foreign film category. Till now Indian films made to the final five nominees are Lagaan, Mother India, and Salaam Bombay.

New Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) chief

Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar appointed as new Chief for Pakistan's ISI. He will replace Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam who is scheduled to retire in October 2014. This post is the second most powerful military post after the Army Chief.

Prime Minister of Fiji

Coup Leader Voreqe Bainimarama Sworn in as PM of Fini. It was the first general election in Fiji after 2006 military coup by Bainimarama.Fiji First Party led by Bainimarama earned 59.2 percent of the votes.

India's Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) passes crucial test

The Indian Space Research Organisation said on Twitter that the four-second test firing of its Mangalyaan orbiter’s main liquid engine had worked. The engine has been dormant since December when the satellite left the Earth’s gravitational orbit, so ISRO needed to be sure it was still functional.On Wednesday (24th September), the engine will need to fire for 24 minutes in order to slow the satellite down enough to orbit Mars successfully. If India succeeds, it will become the first country in the world to insert a spacecraft around Mars in the first attempt.

Mangalyaan's Mission is to study Martian surface and its mineral composition and it will also search for methane on Mars' atmosphere.



Source indilens.com

India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meet

The third India-Bangladesh JCC meet was held in New Delhi. The JCC meet was co-chaired by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali. Bangladesh said it wants to become India's "number one" friend and invited Indian companies to set up special economic zones and invest in sectors like automobile, power and manufacturing.