INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS - OCTOBER 1

The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year from 1991.

The day is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly and to appreciate the contributions that they make to society.

The day’s theme for 2013 is ‘The Future we want: What older persons are saying’.

The day serves as a moment to pause and reflect upon the opportunities and challenges of ageing populations in the 21st century and promote the development of a society for all ages.

"By 2050, the number of older persons will be twice the number of children in developed countries, and the number of children in developing countries is expected to double" - International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 annually.

2013 PETER J. GOMES HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl and education rights campaigner presented with the 2013 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award (Harvard Humanitarian of the year) by Harvard University on 27 September 2013.

16 years old Malala received the award by Dr Allen Counter, Director of the Harvard Foundation for her contribution in promoting the education among girls.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban militant in October 2012 after she campaigned for girls' right to education.

NAVAL AND MARITIME EXPO 2013 [NAMEXPO 2013]

India's first ever Naval and Maritime Exposition and Conference, NAMEXPO 2013 was held from 23 to 27 September 2013 at Cochin, Kerala.

NAMEXPO 2013 was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Indian Navy, Kerala Government, and Union Ministries of MSME, Shipping and Earth Sciences.

The primary objective of this expo is to make the leading experts related to the sector of maritime aware of the latest trends and techniques which will help in the expansion and recent as well as future development of this sector.

The Countries which were participated in the expo are Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, Singapore, US, UK, UAE, Vietnam.

The five-day NAMEXPO witnessed participation from 50 domestic and international exhibitors, 2000 business visitors, 15 official delegations besides 6500 general visitors.

Indian Naval and Coast Guard officers and personnel and Naval officers from more than 25 countries also visited the Exposition and interacted with exhibitors and participants.

NAMEXPO 2013 concluded on 27 September 2013 at Cochin, Kerala with a demonstration and visits to Naval ships, INS Satpura, INS Kabra and INS Sudarshini. All these ships are indigenously made in Indian shipyards

MISS PHILIPPINES MEGAN YOUNG - MISS WORLD 2013

Miss Philippines, Megan Young, was crowned Miss World on 28 Sep 2013, amid tight security on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, where the contest's final round was moved following protests by Muslim hardliner groups.

"I promise to be the best Miss World ever," Young, 23, said after winning the 63rd annual event, as a large number of Filipino fans who traveled with her celebrated by jumping and waving the country's flag.

Despite threats from the Islamic Defenders Front to disrupt the contest, police said no rallies were staged Saturday. The group has demonstrated for weeks, calling for the government to cancel the pageant because members say it shows too much skin and goes against Islamic teachings.

The 127 contestants vying for the crown were introduced Saturday wearing evening gowns shimmering in sequins, many of them with plunging necklines and slits up the leg. Four candidates dropped out earlier, mainly due to illnesses, said Syafril Nasution, one of the local organizers.

Young, who took the crown from Wenxia Yu of China, the 2012 winner, was born in the United States. When she was 10 she moved to the Philippines, where she has appeared in films and as a television host.

Miss France, Marine Lorphelin, 20, took second place, while Miss Ghana, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, 22, came in third.

Miss World organizers had earlier agreed to cut bikinis from the swimsuit competition, replacing them with more conservative sarongs. But pressure continued to mount, and more mainstream groups joined in and called for the show to be banned.

Miss Gibraltar Maroua Kharbouch won Miss World 2013 Peoples Champion and entered directly into the top 6.

India's contender Navneet Kaur Dhillon failed to make it in the top 20 list. However, she won "Miss Multimedia Award 2013" and finished ninth among the top 10 finalists of "Beauty with a Purpose award".

MISS WORLD 2013: CHALLENGE WINNERS

Miss Nepal - Beauty with a Purpose

Miss India – Multimedia

Miss Gibraltar - The Peoples' Champion

Miss Brazil - Beach Fashion

Miss Netherlands - Sports and Fitness

Miss Indonesia - Talent Competition

Miss Philippines - Top Model

Miss World

Formation – 1951

HQ – London

President – Julia Morley

It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's wife, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant. Traditionally, Miss World lives in London during her reign.

The following is a list of winners from 2000 to 2013.

Year	Country/Territory	Miss World	National title	Location
2013	Philippines	Megan Young	Miss World Philippines	Nusa Dua, Indonesia
2012	China	Yu Wenxia	Miss China	Ordos City, China
2011	Venezuela	Ivian Sarcos	Miss Mundo Venezuela	London, United Kingdom
2010	United States	Alexandria Mills	Miss World United States	Sanya, China
2009	Gibraltar	Kaiane Aldorino	Miss Gibraltar	Johannesburg, South Africa
2008	Russia	Ksenia Sukhinova	Miss Russia	Johannesburg, South Africa
2007	China	Zhang Zilin	Miss China	Sanya, China
2006	Czech Republic	Taťána Kuchařová	Miss České Republiky	Warsaw, Poland
2005	Iceland	Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir	Ungfrú Ísland	Sanya, China
2004	Peru	María Julia Mantilla	Miss World Perú	Sanya, China
2003	Ireland	Rosanna Davison	Miss Ireland	Sanya, China
2002	Turkey	Azra Akın	Miss Turkey	London, United Kingdom
2001	Nigeria	Agbani Darego	Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria	Sun City, South Africa
2000	India	Priyanka Chopra	Miss India World	London, United Kingdom

UNICEF Released Report on IMR

According to report released on 12 September 2013 by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) the global Infant Mortality rate (IMR) decreased from 61 deaths in 1990 to 37 deaths in 2011.Annual infant deaths declined from 8.4 million in 1990 to 5 million in 2011.

Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1000 live births.

The main causes for high infant mortality rate in India are low awareness of health and reproductive rights, maternal anemia and the burden of malnutrition.

According to the report India’s infant mortality rate shown a minor decline in 2012 compared to 2011. Infant Mortality rate decreased from 44 deaths for every 1000 live births in 2011 to 42 deaths for every 1000 live in 2012.

According to latest report released by Register General of India data the following are the highlights of the report.

• Kerala is good performing state in India with IMR of 12.
• Assam stood at worst in India with IMR 55.The performance of West Bengal is also not good.
• The IMR of West Bengal is stood at 32.
• States like Uttar Pradesh and Odisha improved well .IMR declined from 57 in 2011 to 53 in 2012 in both states.
• Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu showed a one-point decline.
• Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir improved their IMR by two points.
• Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Karnataka improved their IMR by three points.
• Main causes for High IMR in India.