Latest Current Affairs – November 12 & 13 2018
1. Lionel Messi wins sixth La Liga Player of the Year award
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was declared the Spanish football league’s best player of the 2017-18 campaign by Marca at an awards ceremony in Barcelona. Messi also won the Pichichi Trophy at the ceremony, an award given to the top scorer in La Liga each year. Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper Jan Oblak was named the goalkeeper of the year.
2. Ibrahimovic beats Rooney to become MLS Newcomer of the Year
Former Manchester United forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic beat his former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney to win the MLS Newcomer of the Year award. MLS side LA Galaxy’s Ibrahimovic received an average of 36.36% of the votes, whereas DC United’s English forward Wayne Rooney received 32.25% votes. Ibrahimovic scored a total of 22 goals for his side in his debut season.
3. Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, passes away at 95
American comic-book writer and Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee passed away at the age of 95. Born as Stanley Martin Lieber in Manhattan, he is credited with co-creating several fictional characters including Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, Iron Man, and Thor. Lee was also known for making cameo appearances in Marvel Cinematic Universe films including The Avengers.
4. PM Modi inaugurates projects worth over ₹2,400cr in Varanasi
PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation for projects worth over ₹2,400 crore in his constituency, Varanasi. These included two important roads, having a total length of 34 kilometres and built at a cost of ₹1,571 crore. He inaugurated two sewage infrastructure projects worth ₹425 crore and laid the foundation for another project worth ₹72 crore in Ramnagar.
5. Amnesty Int’l strips Myanmar’s Suu Kyi of human rights award
Human rights group Amnesty International has stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honour over the Myanmar leader’s “indifference” to the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against Rohingya Muslims. The group said that Aung San Suu Kyi was no longer a symbol of hope. She had received the Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2009, while under house arrest.
6. PM Modi inaugurates 1st inland waterway terminal at Varanasi
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first of the four multi-modal ‘Inland Waterways Terminal’ at Varanasi being built on Ganga. He also received a container consignment at the terminal, the first to be sent on an inland waterways vessel post Independence. The project will allow commercial navigation of vessels with 1,500-2,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) capacity on the River Ganga.
7. Ashok Kumar Gupta appointed as the chairman of Competition Commission of India
It was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). Gupta would replace acting chairperson Sudhir Mital.
Gupta, a former IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, would receive a consolidated salary of Rs 4,50,000 per month, without house and car, as per the communication.
The appointment would be till October 25, 2022 — the date when he attains the age of 65 years — or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.
8. Thirty third ASEAN Summit begins in Singapore
The 33rd edition of the ASEAN Summit begun in Singapore. Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong is the Chairman of the Summit, which will continue till 15th November along with other related summits like East Asia Summit (EAS), Regional Comprehensive Economic Summit, (RCEP) and ASEAN plus summits.
Fintech Conference which is a part of Fintech festival will also take place alongside.
9. Swati Chaturvedi won the 2018 London Press Freedom award
Swati Chaturvedi has won the 2018 London Press Freedom Award for Courage. She is a freelance journalist who has been the target of online trolling and harassment for her investigative reports. Ms.Chaturvedi won the award for her work in exposing the “IT cell” within the Bharatiya Janata Party for keeping an army of angry trolls.
The award ceremony displayed the importance of press freedom and safety of journalists, especially in the wake of the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul last month.
10. SIMBEX begins the drills
SIMBEX, the 25th edition of the India-Singapore bilateral naval exercise has begun at the tri-services command on November 10, 2018. The exercise is being held in Port Blair, Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It will conclude on November 21.
India and Singapore have vastly expanded their military cooperation in recent years under India’s Act East policy. In 2017, the two countries signed a naval agreement which has a provision for mutual logistical support and gives India access to the Changi naval base. The trilateral exercise between the countries is with an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) country, likely Thailand, and eventually, plan to scale it up to a multilateral format.
11. Goa bans importing of fish officially for 6 months
Goa has banned importing/bringing fish from outside. The announcement was made on November 10. The ban included import from Karnataka. The announcement has kicked off a controversy with fishermen from the State questioning the rationale behind the decision.
The ban has come for a second time this year, the first being in August for 15 days. Later, the government set up border check-posts to inspect whether the marine products complied with FDA regulations. The stringent measures have affected Karnataka fishermen and traders are facing a difficult situation.
12. Third ‘Quadrilateral’ meeting to be held in Singapore on November 14th
Officials from 4 countries (Quad) – Australia, India, Japan and the United States will hold the third “Quadrilateral” or Quad meeting in Singapore on November 14th.
The meeting will be held on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this meeting, and is expected to focus on infrastructure projects, maritime security cooperation and discuss regional challenges including development.
13. Bangalore ranked Indias Most Congested City: NBER
Bangalore tops the index for the most congested city, and Mumbai in the second position, while Pune follows in the seventh place, according to a recent research published under the US-based organization, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
A team of researchers conducted research at the University of California, Berkeley and three other U.S. universities, the research studies the current status of mobility in urban India, using Google maps. In another index of traffic speed, Kolkata has been found to be the slowest city.
14. India and Morocco signed Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
The main aim of the MOU is to strengthen bilateral cooperation, provide a broad legal framework for prevention, investigation and prosecution of crimes. It will also help in tracing, restraint and confiscation of funds meant to finance terrorist acts.
15. S. S. Deswal appointed as DG of ITBP
The ACC approved the appointment of S. S. Deswal, IPS as Director General, Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). He took charge from R K Pachnanda, the outgoing DG of ITBP, who superannuated recently.
