11th December 2013 Current Affairs Updates

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International Affairs

• Uruguay poised to pass ground-breaking bill that will make it the 1st nation to legalize production, sale of marijuana, under state control.
• A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday night granted a last minute reprieve to senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, staying his execution shortly before he was to be hanged for genocide during the country's 1971 liberation war.
• Today is International Mountain Day; Established by UN General Assembly in 2003 encouraging sustainable development in mountains.
• Britain would work with whatever government that was formed in India after the next year elections, UK Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills Dr Vince Cable today said.
• Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency meet in Vienna to discuss fulfillment of agreements signed by them.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged all "responsible countries" to act to ensure a Syrian peace conference achieves positive results, in remarks during a visit to Iran on Wednesday.
• Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote in parliament's lower chamber on Wednesday after urging lawmakers to back his government or risk chaos
• With Hamid Karzai stonewalling every US effort to conclude a bilateral security agreement, the Obama Administration is pinning its hopes on India to persuade the Afghan President to sign the deal and end the current political imbroglio on the issue.
• US Secretary of State John Kerry has held wide-ranging talks with visiting Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh on key issues, including the regional situation with respect to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Nearly 230 million children under the age of five around the world have never had their birth registered, which often means they will be barred from education, health care and social security, the UN children's agency said.  
• A Pakistani court has stopped the screening of foreign films, serials and television shows, especially Indian content, on the country’s TV channels, triggering panic and outrage among exhibitors and viewers.

National Affairs

• Anna Hazare unveiled wax statue of anti- apartheid icon Nelson Mandela at Ralegan Siddhi.
• The Union Road Transport and Highways (RTH) ministry has approved road construction of 6,418 km under Special Accelerated Road Development Project-North East for implementation of Phase A and the Arunachal Pradesh package of roads and highways.  
• Maharashtra Government introduced the much-awaited anti-black magic bill in the Assembly on Wednesday for discussion and passage, amidst protest from Opposition and reservations expressed by some groups over the proposed law. 
• Chidambaram inaugurated 2-day Delhi Economics Conclave 'The Agenda for Next Five Years', organized by Finance Ministry in Delhi.
• The Supreme Court set aside the decision of the Delhi high court, which had in 2009 decriminalised sexual relation between persons belonging to same sex.
• The sixth Karate-Do Gojukai World Championship began at the NSCI’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel indoor stadium mumbai today. It will be held from December 11 to 15.Around 1,000 competitors from 32 countries will take part in this.
• Government has so far this year asked social networking sites to block 1,208 web addresses, or uniform resource locater (URLs), Parliament was informed today.
• Jammu and Kashmir will launch a state-wide campaign to sensitise masses about the need for conservation and preservation of water resources and its usage.
• 53-member trade delegation from Lahore to visit Agra to explore possibilities of trade in various items between the 2 countries.
• The birth anniversary of Subramanyam Bharti, poet of Tamil nationalism and Indian freedom observed today.
• President Pranab Mukherjee celebrates his 78th birthday today.
• Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand's 43rd birthday today
• Today is the birth anniversary of Acharya Rajneesh, also known as Osho.
• Death Anniversary of Sitar player Pt. Ravi Shankar observed today
• IICC celebrates 135th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Mohammad Ali Johar
• 1st 2-day international conference organized by NACO, UNDP on HIV Sensitive Social Protection to begin in Delhi

Science and Technology

• The MiG-21 FL fighter jet, which had heralded the "supersonic era" in IAF and had changed the course of the 1971 Indo-Pak war due to its accuracy, flew into the annals of history today.
• The First Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was completed successfully by ISRO today morning.
• Internet search giant Google today announced launch of the Great Online Shopping Festival (GSOF), a mega festival bringing leading e-commerce players in India on a common platform targeting about 20 million Indians who shop thorough the Internet.

Awards and Honors

• Pope Francis named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2013

Business and Economy

• Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday said that formation of stable government after general elections cannot be taken for granted. He has also emphasised that Parliament should pass key bills to boost economy. 
• To curb the growing menace of insider trading activities in the stock market, Sebi panel on Wednesday proposed tougher law. Under proposed law, public servants in possession of price-sensitive information will come under purview.

Appointments

• Retired Justice D P Buch was sworn in as Lokayukta of the state by Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. 
• AIADMK MLA R B Udhayakumar was sworn in as minister in the Jayalalithaa-led cabinet at Chennai.
• The Mizoram Congress Legislature Party (CLP) formally elected Lal Thanhawla as its leader paving the way for his becoming the state chief minister for the fifth time.

Deaths

• The scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar (60), died of cardiac arrest.

Sports

• IOC President Thomas Bach has said the Indian Olympic Association remains suspended for the time being but Indian athletes are free to compete in Sochi Winter Olympics as individual competitors under the international body's flag.
• The Sports Ministry welcomed the International Olympic Committee’s decision to revoke India’s suspension if the IOA holds its polls next year, saying that its own efforts have had a role to play in the world body’s new stand.
• An Australian schoolboy  James Gallaugher has got his name written in record books after running 200m in 21.73secs - a record for his age group - it was also about 0.08sec quicker than what Usain Bolt ran as a 14-year old.
• 6th Tata Open Indian international challenge badminton tournament began in Mumbai
• 57th National Shooting Championship Competition in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun events began at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges, Delhi

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