1.
Ebola fighters named
Time's 2014 'Person of the Year'
i. The countless doctors,
nurses and caregivers at the forefront of battling one of the worst ever
outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, were collectively named as Time magazine's 2014 'Person of
the Year'.
ii. The 'Ebola fighters' have
been awarded for their "tireless acts of courage and mercy" and for
"risking, persisting, sacrificing and saving".
iii. Time's editors unveiled the winner
of the annual honor selecting the Ebola fighters from an initial list of 50 world
leaders on Wednesday, business heads and record-breaking artists
that was narrowed down to a shortlist of eight this week.
iv. "Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and 'us' means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day.
v. "The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time's 2014 Person of the Year," Editor Nancy Gibbs said explaining the publication's reasoning behind the choice.
vi. Time had conducted a separate online poll in which it gave a chance to its readers to select who they think should win the title of Person of the Year.
iv. "Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and 'us' means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day.
v. "The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time's 2014 Person of the Year," Editor Nancy Gibbs said explaining the publication's reasoning behind the choice.
vi. Time had conducted a separate online poll in which it gave a chance to its readers to select who they think should win the title of Person of the Year.
Note: The readers' poll was
won by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had secured more than 16 percent of the almost five
million votes cast.
2.
Kailash Satyarthi, Malala Yousafzai receive
Nobel Peace Prize
i. India’s
Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 today, sharing it
with Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel laureate, for their
work on promoting child rights in the troubled sub-continent, where millions
are deprived of their childhood and education.
ii. “Satyarthi
and Yousafzai are precisely the people whom Alfred Nobel in his will calls
‘champions of peace’,” Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjorn
Jagland said in his speech before awarding them the prize.
iii. “A
young girl and a somewhat older man, one from Pakistan and one from India, one
Muslim, the other Hindu; both symbols of what the world needs: more unity.
Fraternity between the nations!,” he added.
iv. Satyarthi,
60, who gave up his job as
an electrical engineer to run an NGO for rescuing children from forced labour
and trafficking, and 17-year-old Malala, who survived a near-fatal Taliban
attack two years ago with determination advocating education for girls, were
named by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for the prestigious award on October 10.
v. They
received the Nobel medal which is 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold and weighs
around 175 grams.
vi. They
will share $1.1 million prize money.
3. Russia
agrees with India to construct 12 nuclear reactors
i. Russia's state-owned Rosatom said it would
supply 12 nuclear energy reactors for India over 20 years, under an agreement
aimed at boosting nuclear energy cooperation signed by the two countries during
a summit in New Delhi on Thursday.
ii. A 1,000-megawatt reactor is operating at
the Russian-built Kudankulam power station in India's Tamil Nadu district, with
a second due to come on stream in 2015.
iii. Russian President
Vladimir Putin had been pushing for Rosatom to increase the number of reactors
it could supply to as many as 25.
iv. Indian officials say that a
total of six reactors will be built at Kudankulam, with a further six to follow
at a site that has not yet been determined.
4.
Global economy to grow over 3% in 2015,
2016:UN
i. The
global economy will grow by more than 3 percent in 2015 and 2016 however the
growth will be uneven in some regions, predicts the United Nations.
ii. The
UN's annual economic report yesterday said that growth edged up in 2014 at an
estimated 2.6 percent. The UN is forecasting 3.1 percent economic growth in
2015 and 3.3 percent growth in 2016.
iii. The
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report says business investment
will be a major driver in the United States, growth in the world's least
developed economies will exceed the global average, and strong household
consumption will keep East Asia the world's fastest growing region.
iv. Among
developed economies, the report says the United States will see 2.8 percent
growth in 2015 and 3.1 percent in 2016.
5.
India likely to improve economic growth to
6.3% in 2016: UN
i. A
United Nations report has said that India's economic growth is expected to
improve to 6.3 per cent in the next two years, with the country leading the
economic recovery in the South Asian region.
ii. The
UN World Economic Situation and Prospects, WESP, 2015 report, released today
says India is likely to make progress in implementing economic policy reforms
and help in providing support to business and consumer confidence. This
economic growth is despite the continuing financial crisis and the emergence of
new challenges, including geopolitical conflicts such as in Ukraine, and the
Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
iii. The
report also says that India is estimated to record a 5.4 percent economic
growth this year and its GDP will improve to 5.9 per cent next year and to 6.3
per cent in 2016.
6. Bhutan
became 181st member of MIGA, agency of World Bank
i. Bhutan on 8
December 2014 became the 181st member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency (MIGA).
ii. MIGA is the political risk insurance and credit enhancement
arm of the World Bank Group.
iii. Bhutan has fulfilled all of its membership
requirements to become the member of MIGA.
Benefits of becoming a member
Benefits of becoming a member
i. The
move will allow the private sector and corporations of a country to explore
external commercial borrowing (ECB).
ii. Once a member of MIGA, the private sector and
corporations in the country will have the option of directly applying to MIGA
for issuance of guarantee to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
iii. MIGA’s guarantee can
help investors obtain access to ECB with improved financial terms and
conditions.
7. Pioneer
of home video game console Ralph Henry Baer died
i. The pioneer of home video
game console Ralph Henry Baer died on 6 December 2014 in Manchester following a
brief illness. He was 92.
ii. He was famously known as the Father of Video Games due to
his contributions to video game industry.
8. Randhir Singh appointed as honorary member of IOC
i. Randhir Singh was appointed as an honorary member of
the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was appointed as the honorary
member during the IOC session in Monaco held from 8 December 2014 to 9 December
2014.
ii. He was named for the
honorary membership of the IOC after he served IOC as a full member from India
from 2001 to 2014.
iii. Randhir Singh is the second
Indian to become an honorary member of the IOC after Ashwini Kumar. Ashwini
Kumar was also given the membership after serving as full IOC member from India.
9.
Pakistan beat Netherlands 4-2 in
quarter-final of Champions Trophy Hockey
i. Pakistan
becomes the first team to enter the semi finals of ongoing Hockey Champions
Trophy tournament at Bhubaneswar. They beat The Netherlands 4-2 in the quarter
finals.
ii. The
quarter final match between Argentina and Australia is underway. Later in the
evening, India will fight for a semi final spot as they take on Belgium in the
quarterfinals.
iii. The
match will begin at 7.30 pm. All India Radio will broadcast the live commentary
of the match. In other quarter final fixtures, England will face Germany in the
evening.
10. Adelaide
Test, Day 3: India in comfortable position; Kohli hits ton
i. On
third day of the Adelaide Cricket Test, India gets into a comfortable position
against Australia. At the stumps India were 369 for the loss of five wickets in
the first innings and now trail Australia by 148 runs.
ii. Skipper
Virat Kohli struck a superb century that cruised India from early hiccups.
Kohli paved the way for his 7th Test Century before he succumbed to Mitchell
Johnson's bouncer at 115 runs.
iii. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with half centuries. For Australia Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon picked 2 wickets each. Earlier, in the morning hosts had declared their first innings at 517 for 7.
iii. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with half centuries. For Australia Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon picked 2 wickets each. Earlier, in the morning hosts had declared their first innings at 517 for 7.
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