16 December 2013

Ø  Former world champion Viswanathan Anand bowed out of the London Chess Classic, losing the quarterfinals against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia 0.5-1.5. Anand ran out of steam in the second game with white pieces

Ø  India and Canada are aiming for closer partnerships in civil nuclear energy and hydrocarbons with the dissipation of distrust that kept them estranged for 40 years after India had conducted a nuclear test in 1974. India will take the first cargo of oil sourced from Canada. Indian refiners are interested in importing Alberta blended bitumen from its Saint John terminal. The idea of developing shale oil and gas, mainly by the U.S. and Canada, has galvanised the geopolitics of the energy market. Both Prime Ministers had set the bilateral trade target at $15 billion by the end of 2015 fiscal. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has already announced investment of $200 million. This is a small amount but precursor to more funds lining up to invest in India such as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

• Union Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola died at a hospital in Gurgaon