Latest Current Affairs – December 05 & 06 2018
1. Top 10 fastest-growing cities from 2019 to 2035 are Indian: Study
All the top 10 fastest growing cities in the world from 2019 to 2035 are in India, according to a study by Oxford Economics. Diamond hub Surat topped the list with a projected annual average growth rate of 9.17% through 2035. Further, 17 of the 20 fastest-growing cities will be Indian, with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai among the strongest performers.
2. India fourth highest emitter of carbon dioxide: Study
Accounting for 7% of global emissions in 2017, India is the fourth highest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, a study by Global Carbon Project said. In 2017, the top four emmiters were China (27%), the US (15%), the European Union (10%) and India (7%), the study said. India showed 4% growth in global emission from 2016 to 2017.
3. Deepika beats Priyanka, named Sexiest Asian Woman by UK magazine
Actress Deepika Padukone beat Priyanka Chopra to be named the Sexiest Asian Woman in 2018 by UK newspaper ‘Eastern Eye’. While Priyanka came second on the list titled ’50 Sexiest Asian Women’, television actress Nia Sharma secured the third spot. Other actresses who have featured on the list include Mahira Khan, Alia Bhatt and Sonam Kapoor.
4. Gujarat doctor performs heart surgery from 32 km away using robots
Gujarat-based cardiologist Tejas Patel conducted a heart surgery on a middle-aged woman from 32 km away in the world’s first in-human telerobotic coronary intervention. Sitting at Akshardham temple, Patel operated the patient located in Ahmedabad’s Apex Heart Institute in a 15-minute procedure. He used high-speed internet and robots to clean the patient’s arteries and insert a stent.
5. IndiGo becomes first Indian airline to have 200 aircraft
IndiGo became India’s first airline to have 200 aircraft in its fleet. With nearly 43% share in the domestic air travel market, the Gurugram-based low-cost carrier is the country’s largest airline. The airline, founded by billionaires Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, started operations in August 2006 with a Delhi-Imphal flight.
6. Luxembourg to become first country to make public transport free
Luxembourg is set to become the first country in the world to make all public transport free, implementing the move in 2020. The move is aimed at addressing environmental issues and the problem of traffic congestion. Earlier this year, Luxembourg introduced free transport for all people under the age of 20.
7. Google to shut down Allo messaging app 2.5 yrs after launch
Technology major Google has confirmed that it will shut down its messaging app Allo in March 2019 after 2.5 years of debut. Google also turned down reports that it is shutting down Hangouts for its users. In October, Google had announced that it will shut down its social media platform Google+ over the next 10 months.
8. PM to inaugurate India’s longest railroad bridge on Dec 25
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Bogibeel Bridge, India’s longest railroad bridge, falling in the eastern part of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on December 25, an official said. Connecting the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra river, the bridge is nearly five kilometres long. This project was first cleared by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda in 1997.
9. Panama 1st Latin American nation to join Belt and Road Initiative
Panama has become the first Latin American country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Panamanian counterpart, Juan Carlos Varela signed more than a dozen deals earlier this week during the former’s visit to Panama. China established diplomatic relations with Panama last year.
10. Indian-origin woman named S Africa’s 1st female chief prosecutor
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Indian-origin Shamila Batohi as the country’s first female chief prosecutor. Batohi is a former state prosecutor from KwaZulu-Natal and has served as a senior adviser to the prosecutor in the International Criminal Court since 2009. Batohi “has shown herself to be a fit and proper person”, President Ramaphosa said.
11. Salman highest-earning celeb in India, SRK out of top 10: Forbes
Salman Khan has been named the highest-earning celebrity in India for the third time in a row by Forbes, with earnings of ₹253.25 crore. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan, who came second in 2017’s list, fell out of the top ten. Shah Rukh, who had ₹170.50 crore earnings in 2017, featured on the 13th spot this year with ₹56 crore earnings.
Actress Deepika Padukone has become the first woman to enter the top five in Forbes’ list of highest-earning celebrities in India, since the inception of the list in 2012. Deepika, who featured on the fourth spot, had earnings of ₹112.8 crore.
12. India and UAE sign ₹3,500 crore currency swap agreement
India and UAE signed a ₹3,500-crore currency swap agreement during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s Abu Dhabi visit. The agreement is expected to reduce the dependency on hard currencies like US dollar and reduce transmission costs arising from exchange rate risks, the Indian embassy said. The two nations also signed an agreement to undertake development projects in Africa.
13. Kohli India’s top-paid sportsperson of 2018 at 228 crore: Forbes
Team India captain Virat Kohli has featured as the highest-earning sportsperson in the 2018 Forbes India Celebrity 100 list with ₹228.09-crore earnings. Kohli was also the top-paid sportsperson in 2016 and 2017 with ₹134.44 crore and ₹100.72 crore earnings respectively. Former captain MS Dhoni follows Kohli as the second highest-paid sportsperson in the 2018 list with ₹101.77-crore earnings.
14. First India Japan Air Exercise SHINYUU Maitri 2018 began
A bilateral air exercise ‘SHINYUU Maitri-18’, between the Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) began on December 3, 2018 at Air Force Station Agra. The exercise will end on December 7, 2018. The theme of the exercise is joint Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft. IAF is participating with An-32 and C-17 aircraft with aircrew & observers.
15. Jon Ridgeon appointed as CEO of International Association of Athletics Federations
Ridgeon will take up the new role in March 2019. He will replace Frenchman Olivier Gers, who resigned from the post in March citing differences with the global governing body’s commercial strategy. He is former British record holder and silver medallist in the 110m hurdles in the 1987 World Championships in Rome. He also represented Great Britain in two Olympic Games – Seoul in 1988 and Atlanta in 1996.
16. India submits official interest to host 2032 Olympics
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has submitted a formal expression of interest to bid for 2032 Olympics. Mumbai and Delhi are the top two options under consideration by Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which has approached the International Olympic Committee.
India is holding on to its dream of hosting the Olympic games for the first time. The bidding process is expected to start in 2022 and a host city will be decided by 2025.
17. State Bank of India ropes in Swapna Barman as brand ambassador for YONO
State Bank of India roped in Asian Games gold medalist Swapna Barman as brand ambassador for its digital app YONO (You only need one). YONO is an integrated digital banking platform offered by State Bank of India (SBI) to enable users to access a variety of financial and other services such as taxi bookings, online shopping, or medical bill payments.
18. World Soil Day is observed on 5 December
World Soil Day is celebrated annually on the 5th of December at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, the regional offices and through national and local events. #StopSoilPollution is the objective of this World Soil Day on 5 December and throughout the year.
19. Bahrain and Maharashtra Government Signs MoU on Fintech
The Economic Development Board (EDB), the investment promotion arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain signed an MoU with the Maharashtra Government to provide a framework for Co-operation between the two authorities to promote FinTech in their respective markets.
20. Indian Navy to conduct Exercise sea vigil as a part of 2-month long Exercise TROPEX
Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba announced conduction of a 2-month long Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (Tropex) in January 2019. It would end in March 2019. The main objective is to check on the coastal defence system
This would test the combat capability of the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Coast Guard, and would strengthen interoperability and joint operations in a complex conflict situation.
21. Delhi Minister Imran Hussain gets PETA Hero to Animals Award
Delhi Minister of Food Supplies, Environment and Forest and Elections Imran Hussain was awarded by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)-India for banning the Chinese Manjha, or the glass-coated kite strings, across Delhi.
The award, named ‘Hero to Animals,’ was also given to three other individuals and companies that have pushed animal rights forward. Other winners of Hero to Animals Award 2018.
22. WHO reported air pollution kills 7 million every year
The 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) is being held in Katowice, Poland from 3rd to 14th December 2018.
In that conference, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the exposure to air pollution causes 7 million deaths worldwide every year and costs an estimated $5.11 trillion in welfare losses globally. It said that the same human activities that are destabilizing the Earth’s climate also contribute directly to poor health.
23. SC introduced Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 in India
The Supreme Court (SC) introduced a witness protection regime in the country noting that one of the main reasons for witnesses turning hostile is that they are not given security by the State. It also announced that the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 will come into effect immediately across all States. This scheme is aimed at enabling a witness to depose fearlessly and truthfully, would be the law of the land till Parliament enacted suitable legislation.
Under the scheme, the witness protection may be as simple as providing a police escort to the witness up to the courtroom or, in more complex cases involving an organized criminal group, taking extraordinary measures such as offering temporary residence in a safe house, giving a new identity, and relocation at an undisclosed place.
24. Phone calls, internet surfing may be allowed in flights from January 2019
On May 1, the Telecom Commission – the highest policy-making body of the Department of Telecom – had cleared a proposal for allowing wider in-flight connectivity that is now available in most of the developed markets.
A separate category of licensees – in-flight service providers – will be created for offering such services, and licence fee for such niche providers will be pegged at Rs 1.
25. Researchers found Microplastics in all sea turtle species
Researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory, London working with the Greenpeace Research Laboratories conducted tests on over 100 sea turtles, spanning 3 oceans and all 7 species. The test revealed microplastics in the guts of every single turtle. Synthetic particles were found, the most common being fibres, which can come from clothing, tyres and cigarette filters, and equipment such as ropes and nets.
Out of the studied 102 turtles, more than 800 synthetic particles were found. As the researchers only tested part of each animal’s gut, the total number of particles is estimated to be about 20 times higher.
It is not known how synthetic particles are ingested by turtles, but the likely sources are polluted seawater and sediments and eating via prey or plants.
