Latest Current Affairs December 08 & 09 2018
1. Allahabad University likely to be renamed as Prayagraj University
The Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University has reportedly submitted a proposal to rename the university as Prayagraj State University. The proposal is currently pending for approval with the Uttar Pradesh government, following which it will be sent to the office of Governor for clearance. In October, the Uttar Pradesh government had officially renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj.
2. India to retain top spot in remittances with $80bn: World Bank
The World Bank has said India will retain its position as the world’s top recipient of remittances this year with $80 billion. India is followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines and Egypt, according to World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief. A foreign remittance is money transferred from a foreign worker to their family or other individuals in their home countries.
3. Salman, Anurag Kashyap win at Asian Academy Creative Awards
Salman Khan won the Best Entertainment Host for ‘Bigg Boss’, and Anurag Kashyap won the Best Direction [Fiction] for season one of ‘Sacred Games’ at the inaugural Asian Academy Creative Awards in Singapore. Other winners from India included Discovery Communications India, which got Best Comedy Programme for ‘Queens Of Comedy’ and Cartoon Network India’s ‘Lamput’ won Best 2D Animated Programme.
4. Trump picks General Mark Milley as next top military advisor
US President Donald Trump on Saturday nominated four-star Army General Mark Milley to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump said Milley, who currently serves as Chief of Staff of the Army, would replace Marine General Joseph Dunford at a “date to be determined”. Milley would have to be confirmed to the post by the Senate.
5. India’s Prathamesh Maulingkar named Mr Supranational 2018
Mr India Prathamesh Maulingkar was named Mr Supranational 2018 on Saturday during the third edition of the pageant that took place in Poland. Prathamesh defeated 39 other finalists to clinch the main title and was sashed by Gabriel Correa Mr Supranational 2017. Mr Poland was declared as the first runner up and Mr Brazil as the second runner up.
6. Kerala gets its 4th international airport in Kannur
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Minister for Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Kannur International Airport, the state’s fourth international airport. Spread across 2,000 acres and costing over ₹1,800 crore, the airport can handle around 2,000 passengers at a time and will serve more than 15 lakh international passengers annually.
7. India’s first underwater museum to open off Puducherry coast
INS Cuddalore, a Pondicherry-class vessel that was decommissioned in March, will be turned into India’s first underwater museum off the Puducherry coast, as per reports. The vessel will be deployed on the seabed at a depth of 26 metres, seven kilometres off the coast. The 60-metre-long vessel will be a destination for scuba diving and snorkelling, reports said.
8. Mexico’s Vanessa Ponce crowned Miss World 2018
Mexico’s Vanessa Ponce de Leon was crowned Miss World 2018 by the outgoing pageant winner, India’s Manushi Chhillar, in China’s Sanya on Saturday. Thailand’s Nicolene Limsnukan was named the first runner-up. Tamil Nadu’s 20-year-old student Anukreethy Vas, who represented India at the pageant, managed to reach the Top 30, but couldn’t make it to the Top 12 winner’s list.
9. More than half the world will be online by year end: UN
The UN agency for information and communication technologies, ITU, has said that 51.2% of the world’s population or 3.9 billion people will be using the Internet by the end of 2018. Developing nations went from 7.7% Internet use in 2005 to 45.3% in 2018. ITU added that 96% of the world’s population is within the reach of a cellular network.
10. Govt’s LPG scheme reduced household air pollution: ICMR
A report released by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stated that household air pollution in India has reduced because of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The PMUY scheme aims to provide every household Liquid Petroleum Gas, replacing polluting cooking fuel. The report attributed residential burning of solid fuels for cooking as the main reason for household air pollution.
11. China launches mission to land on face of Moon not seen from Earth
China launched the first-ever spacecraft that will attempt landing on far side of the Moon, which always shows the same face to Earth as it’s close enough to be locked by the planet’s gravitational field. Earth-based mission controllers will not be able to communicate directly with the Chang’e 4 spacecraft and will use another Chinese satellite orbiting Moon.
12. Trump nominates William Barr as US Attorney General
US President Donald Trump nominated William Barr to be the new Attorney General. Barr was previously the US Attorney General from 1991 to 1993 under late President George HW Bush and will replace the current acting Attorney General, Matt Whitaker. Barr’s appointment is pending confirmation by the Senate.
