Current affairs - November 26 2013

Current Affairs

 November 26 2013

International Affairs

1. Thailand's embattled premier on Monday invoked a special security law in the tense capital Bangkok and nearby areas after protesters stormed key ministries in a bid to topple the government.

2. A federal jury ordered two media companies to pay $1.2 million to a freelance photojournalist Daniel Morel for their unauthorized use of photographs he posted to Twitter.

3. EU will likely ease sanctions in place against Iran in December, said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

4. Geneva II Syria peace conference set for 22 January 2014: Ban Ki Moon

          i. Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General on 25 November 2013 announced the Geneva-II peace conference is to be held on 22 January 2014.

          ii. The international conference is aimed at a democratic political transition in Syria, which will bring the Government and the opposition to a negotiating table for the first time, since the conflict that started in March 2011.

          iii. The decision was taken at a meeting of the UN special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov and Gennady Gatilov along with the US under Secretary for political Affairs, Wendy Sherman in Geneva on 25 November 2013.

          iv. The Geneva-II conference was termed as the mission of hope by Ban Ki Moon in which, the fighting has killed more than 100000 and driven almost nine million from their homes, left countless missing and detained and terrible violations of human rights.

          v. The goal of Geneva II would be to achieve a political solution to the conflict through a comprehensive agreement between the Government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqué, adopted after the first international meeting on the issue on 30 June 2012.

5. US national security advisor Susan Rice told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that a delay in signing a troubled security deal risked the US pulling troops out of the country completely next year.

6. The World Health Organisation has apologised and blamed an "editing error" for claiming in a September report that half of the new HIV cases in Greece were acquired deliberately by people trying to claim government benefits.

7. Iran and world powers reach interim deal on nuclear program

          i. An interim agreement has been reached between six world powers and Iran that calls on Tehran to limit its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief from international trade and financial sanctions.

          ii. The goal for these negotiations is to reach a mutually-agreed long-term comprehensive solution that would ensure Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful.

          iii. The Geneva deal releases just over $4bn in Iranian oil sales revenue from frozen accounts, and suspends restrictions on the country’s trade in gold, petrochemicals, car and plane parts.

In return, Iran undertakes to restrict its nuclear activities. Over the next six months it has agreed to:

          i. stop enriching uranium above 5%, reactor-grade, and dilute its stock of 20%-enriched

          ii. not to increase its stockpile of low-enrichment uranium.

          iii. freeze its enrichment capacity by not installing any more centrifuges, leaving more than half of its existing 16,000 centrifuges inoperable.

          iv. accept more intrusive nuclear inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, including daily visits to some facilities.

National Affairs

8. Nov 26 is Constitution Day

          i. Constitution Day was observed across India on 26 November 2013 to honour the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, which came into force on 26 January 1950.
          ii. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution.

          iii. The Constitution of India is a supreme law of India, which lays down the framework that defines the political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of Government institution.

9. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is among Time magazine's shortlisted candidates for its 'Person of the Year' title and has emerged as an early favourite among the readers in an online poll.

10. A special CBI court on Monday convicted dentist Rajesh Tawlar and his wife Nupur Talwar for killing their daughter Aarushi and servant Hemraj in the year 2008 (The case aroused public interest as a whodunit story. It received heavy media coverage in India, and was also covered by the foreign media).

11. The Aam Aadmi Party has filed a case of criminal defamation against the news portal MediaSarkar over the sting operation which allegedly shows some party leaders agreeing to help push property deals and resolve financial disputes in return for cash donations to the party.

12. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Home Minister RR Patil paid tributes to martyrs at a Police Memorial in Mumbai on the fifth anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks.

13. A British man paralyzed during the deadly Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 is suing the owners of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, alleging that they did not properly secure the building despite warnings that an attack was imminent.

14. Border Security Force is all set to raise a 10-metre high embankment along International Border in Jammu frontier to secure people living in border belts from Pakistan firing.

15. Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily today ruled out reversal of the decision to double natural gas prices from April 1 next year and said that the notification on this will be issued shortly.

16. India and Malaysia Signed MoU to boost co-operation in Public Administration

          i. India and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 25 November 2013 to strengthen co-operation in public administration and governance as part of the efforts to enhance their strategic partnership.

          ii. The MoU covers eight areas of co-operation including human resource management, e-governance, public delivery system, accountability and transparency, skills and capacity building and quality results.

          iii. The MoU envisages cooperation via tours, workshops and conferences, sharing of public administration and governance information and expertise, common project implementation mechanisms and exchange of publications, state.

17. Narendra Modi in Time magazine’s Person of the Year shortlist

          i. BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is among Time magazine’s shortlisted candidates for its ‘Person of the Year’ title and has emerged as an early favourite among the readers in an online poll.

          ii. Time has shortlisted 42 global leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities for its ‘Person of the Year 2013’ and will announce the winner next month.

          iii. Other candidates in fray are Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Barack Obama, Pakistani teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and even the new heir to the British throne Prince George.

          iv. Modi is the only Indian in the shortlist.

Science and Technology

18. China is scheduled to launch Chang'e-3 lunar probe in early December, the country's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence said Tuesday.

19. NATO on Tuesday launched its largest-ever cyber exercises to practise warding off massive, simultaneous attacks on member states and their partners.

Business and Economy

21. The Reserve Bank today directed banks to charge customers for transaction SMS alerts on the basis of usage, instead of imposing a fixed fee.

22. RBI widens infrastructure sector lending sub-category

          i. Reserve Bank today widened the definition of infrastructure lending including hotels with project costing more thanRs. 200 crore as well as convention centres with project worth Rs. 300 crore.

          ii. “The government has further updated the harmonized master list…the new sub-sectors have been added in the list. Hotels with project cost of more than Rs. 200 croreeach in any place in India and of any star rating. Convention centres with project cost of more than Rs. 300 crore each,” RBI said in a notification.

          iii. RBI said that the new sub-sectors will get classified as ‘infrastructure’ for the purpose of lending by banks and select All India Term-Lending and Refinancing Institutions from the date of this circular.

          iv. Various sub-sectors under the categories such as Transport, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Communication, Social and Commercial Infrastructure come under infrastructure lending.

23. YES Bank signs multi-year deal with Hockey India League

          i. YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector bank, today signed a multi-year deal with the Hockey India League (HIL) commencing with the 2014 season.

          ii. YES BANK to mobilise sports innovation and infuse positive energy into hockey.”

          iii. Rana Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK, said, “We are extremely pleased to associate with HIL.

          iv. S ix franchise teams will feature in the second season of the HIL to be held from January 25 to February 23.

          v. The League will be an opportunity for 144 leading players to showcase their skills in 34 matches at six different venues.

24. New India launches combination product for lower income groups

          i. Largest general insurer New India Assurance today said it has come up with a combination product for lower income groups that will have life, medical and accident covers among others.

          ii. “We are launching a product for the lower income population, like domestic helps, with an annual premium of Rs 800.

          iii. This plan will offer life cover of Rs 1 lakh to the family in case of death, critical illness and other hospitalisation costs under Rs 20,000-30,000.

          iv. The plan also offers accident cover,” New India Assurance Company chairman and managing director G Srinivasan told an industry summit organised by the IMC here.

          v. India is the 10th largest life insurance market globally and 19th in the general insurance space.

Sports

25. World chess champion Magnus Carlsen got the winner's cheque for Rs 9.9 crore from Tamil Nadu Chief minister Jayalalithaa in Chennai on Monday.

26. C’wealth Weightlifting Ch’ships: Lathore bags Gold and Silver

          i. India’s Deepak Lathore won a Gold and two Silver medals in the Boys’ 50 kilogramme category of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships today.

          ii. On the opening day of the event at Penang, Malaysia, Lathore took the Gold in Snatch with a lift of 83 kg. In Clean and Jerk, he lifted 102 kg to claim the Silver. With a total lift of 185 kg, he won another Silver in the event.

QUIZ:

1. On 25 Nov 2013, this airport has announced a uniform set of charges for both international and domestic passengers and airlines to make more use of the capacity of the airport. Sector regulator Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has approved the new rates last week, which will come into effect from January 1, 2014, in the first year. This is the first time in India that any airport has kept uniform charges for both international and domestic passengers. Can you name the airport?

[A] Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati

[B] Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata

[C] Raja Bhoj Airport, Bhopal

[D] Bengaluru International Airport, Bangalore

2. A powerful burst of hot ash and gravel has erupted from a rumbling volcano in western Indonesia on 25 November 2013. Authorities raised the alert status to the highest level after a series of eruptions from the volcano.  Can you name the volcano which erupted on Monday?

[A] Mount Geureudong

[B] Mount Sibualbuali

[C] Mount Tandikat

[D] Mount Sinabung

3. Time has shortlisted 42 global leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities for its 'Person of the Year 2013' and will announce the winner next month. Which Indian is among Time magazine's shortlisted candidates for its 'Person of the Year' title?

[A] Rahul Gandhi

[B] Sachin Tendulkar

[C] Narendra Modi

[D] Sonia Gandhi

4. International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women is observed on 25 November 2013 across the world to raise awareness about violence against women. What was the theme for this day for year 2013?

[A] Grace the Women

[B] Unite to End Violence against Women

[C] Women Empowerment

[D] Enabling Power in Women

5. Who was sworn in as the 22nd Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh by Governor Ram Naresh Yadav at Raj Bhavan, Bhopal on 24 November 2013?

[A] Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar

[B] Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde

[C] Justice Shivraj V Patil

[D] Justice Sachin Kumar

Answers:

1. [A] Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati

2. [D] Mount Sinabung

3. [C] Narendra Modi

4. [B] Unite to End Violence against Women

5. [A] Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar