1. Chinese President to visit Taiwan for the first time in 66 years
(i) On November 7, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore for the first time in 66 years following the two sides’ split in 1949 post the Chinese civil war.
(ii) The first stage of the meeting was open to the media, followed by a private discussion. Media reports earlier confirmed that while no agreement or joint statement would be issued, the two leaders across Taiwan Strait would exchange views over key issues.
(iii) Holding on to its one ‘China policy’, the nation claims sovereignty over Taiwan and views the island as a breakaway province which will one day be reunited with the mainland.
2. Iran appoints its first woman ambassador since 1979
(i) Iran recently appointed its first woman ambassador since its 1979 Islamic revolution. Iran declared foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Af-kham as the head of its embassy in Malaysia.
(ii) Iranian Foreign Minister congratulated Af-kham, who was also the first woman in the country to serve as foreign ministry spokeswoman.
(iii) He stated that she had carried out her duties for two years with “dignity, bravery and particular insight”.
3. Belgian court directs global social networking site Facebook to stop tracking activities of non users
(i) A recent court order in Belgium directed global social networking site Facebook to stop tracking the activities of non-users of the site. The order also stated that on failing to obey, Facebook would have to pay a fine of up to 250,000 euros per day.
(ii) In response, the company said that it will appeal against the decision and that the order relates to a cookie which FB has been using for five years now.
(iii) The cookie is installed when an internet user visits a Facebook page even if they are no members so as to assess user activity and their preferences, among other things.
4. UNESCO rejects membership of Kosovo
(i) The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO rejected the membership bid of Kosovo in early November 2015.
(ii) The decision came after the voting results-of a total of 142 votes, 92 voted in favour, 50 voted against and 22 abstained over the southeastern European nation’s UNESCO membership.
(iii) For Kosovo to be a member it needed 2/3rd majority of the members’ votes, i.e. 95 votes.
5. India re-elected to the UN Commission on International Trade Law
(i) Recently, India was re-elected to the UN Commission on International Trade Law for another six years’ term, i.e. 2016-2022.
(ii) With this, India became the only country to have been re-elected to the commission. “India will continue to play a constructive role in the UNCITRAL, which is recognised as the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law,” an official statement stated.
(iii) Some of the other member nations that have been elected for a six-year term starting June 27, 2016, are Australia, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Philippines, Spain, Turkey, the US and Venezuela.
6. Union cabinet announces UDAY rescue plan for power distribution companies (Discoms)
(i) Recently, Power Minister Piyush Goyal announced the rescue plan named Ujwal Discoms Assurance Yojna or UDAY provides “a permanent resolution of past as well as potential future issues of the sector” and empowers the utilities to break-even in next 2-3 years.
(ii) State governments owning the discoms can take over 75 percent of their debt as of September 30, 2015 and pay back lenders by selling bonds.
(iii) For the remaining 25 percent, discoms will issue bonds. The Centre will make the rules flexible in order to permit states participating in the scheme to borrow more.
7. Union Govt. signs a loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB)
(i) Recently, the Centre signed a $273 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) in order to improve roads in rural areas of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
(ii) The loan will facilitate construction of over six thousand kilometers of all-weather rural roads in the states, thereby benefiting over 4200 rural habitations.
(iii) This is the third and last tranche of the $800 million funding facility under the Rural Connectivity Investment Programme.
8. Committee of Eminent Persons(CEP) headed by Professor Ashok Misra releases its recommendation
(i) The Committee of Eminent Persons (CEP) headed by Professor Ashok Misra recently submitted a report suggesting reforms to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Some of the recommendations made are:
(ii) A National Testing Service has been mandated to conduct an Aptitude Test to test scientific aptitude and innovative thinking ability.The aptitude test should be offered 2 or more times and would be in online mode.
(iii) Based on this performance, around four lakh candidates shall be selected for taking the JEE, which will be similar to the current JEE (Advanced) and prepared to test their knowledge in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
9. Fortune India names Arundhati Bhattacharya as the most powerful woman in Indian business sector
(i) As per Fortune India’s recent report, State Bank of India’s (SBI) Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya was named the Most Powerful Woman in the Indian business sector.
(ii) The magazine stated, “In her short career as first woman heading one of the oldest commercial banks in the region, Bhattacharya was instrumental in pushing several reforms, including revision of terms for infrastructure loan.”
(iii) ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank’s Shikha Sharma ranked second and third respectively on the list.
10. Ministry of HRD launches e-Pathshala, Saaransh, Shaala Siddhi portals
(i) On November 7, 2015, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development launched e-Pathshala, Saaransh, Shaala Siddhi portals, among other initiatives, during edNEXT, a national conference on ‘ICT in School Education’ in New Delhi.
(ii) Saaransh is a tool which enables schools to identify areas of improvement in students, teachers and the curriculum to facilitate and implement change.
(iii) The platform is currently available for students in standards 9th-12th and provides a comprehensive overview of standard 10th performance since 2007 and standard 12th performance since 2009 till the current academic session. Results of CBSE are available on this portal/app.
11. Pt. Shivakumar Sharma receives Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement
(i) Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao recently presented the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement to Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
(ii) Other musicians like Murad Ali Khan (Sarangi) and Satyajit Talwalkar (Tabla) were bestowed with the Kala Kiran Award.
(iii) Special Jury Award was given to Shehnai players Sanjeev and Ashwani Shankar.
12. The book, What happened to Netaji released in London
(i) The book titled What happened to Netaji authored by former journalist Anuj Dhar and was recently released in London.
(ii) The book elaborates on three prominent theories of Subash Chandra Bose’s death before focusing on what has come to be known as the Faizabad angle to the mystery of the freedom fighter’s death.
(iii) The book provides insights into the role of several past and present leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to Pranab Mukherjee, in the controversies surrounding Bose’s disappearance.
13. N Srinivasan removed from the post of ICC Chairman
(i) N Srinivasan was recently removed from chairmam post of the International CricketCouncil (ICC). Current BCCI President Shashank Manohar will fill in the latter’s post.
(ii) Srinivasan was elected as the chairman of the ICC for a two-year term in June 2014; the remainder of his tenure will be completed by Manohar, who shall also head the world body’s Executive Committee till June 2016.
(iii) Srinivasan was highly criticised by the Lodha committee for his inaction as regards the IPL scandal. Now he only holds the post of the president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.
14. Sameer Verma wins the Bahrain International Challenge Title
(i) India’s Sameer Verma recently won the Bahrain International Challenge, defeating Singapore’s Zi Liang Derek Wong 21-14, 21-10.
(ii) This is Verma’s second consecutive title. Verma, the 11 seed, thrashed top seed and World No. 42 Tien Minh Nguyen in the quarterfinals.
(iii) Later, he defeated his compatriot Rahul Yadav 21-13, 21-17 in the semifinals.
15. Heena Sidhu bags a gold in women’s 10m air pistol
(i) Recently, India’s Heena Sidhu won the gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the 13th Asian Shooting Championship in Kuwait.
(ii) Sidhu shot an impressive 198.2 in the finals to defeat Mongolian Gundegma Otreyad, who scored 198. Jangmi Kim of Korea won the bronze with a score of 176.2.
(iii) In the finals of the 10m air pistol junior women’s event, Shri Nivetha won a gold medal with a score of 195.8.
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