2nd December 2013 Current Affairs Updates

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International Affairs

• International Day for the Abolition of Slavery observed.
• Israel is to join a United Nations rights body with which it has been feuding for years, as a member of its European bloc.
• 40,000 teachers, union members and activists protested on 1st anniversary of President EnriquePenaNieto's inauguration.
• New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell on his 3rd official visit to India to promote trade and investment opportunities.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the international community's "rush to accommodate" Iran on Monday, describing an easing of sanctions against the country as dangerous "political theatre."
• Pakisthan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led government is at the "conclusive stage" of revival of proposed talks with the Pakistan Taliban.
• Taiwan said on Monday its military planes have made about 30 flights into a part of China's newly declared air defense zone which overlaps a similar Taiwanese zone.
• China hoped that the development of India and Japan relations would be conducive to regional peace and stability as Japanese Emperor Akihito began a high-profile visit to India.
• Africa could lose 20 percent of its elephant population in a decade if current poaching levels are not slowed : A Study reveals
• Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra rejected as unconstitutional the demand for her resignation by the opposition whose supporters clashed with the security forces to press for her ouster.

National Affairs

• The National Pollution Control Day is celebrated in India in order to give the honor and memorialize the thousands of human beings who had lost their existence because of the Bhopal gas calamity.
• The 10-day Tripitaka chanting ceremony to begin at BodhGaya.
• The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a plea of the father of the December 16 gang rape victim that the juvenility of an accused needs to be ascertained by a criminal court and not by the Juvenile Justice Board.
• SoniaGandhi visits RaeBareli to inaugurate reverse osmosis plant, and lay foundation of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna.
• For the convenience of the staff deployed for election duty, Delhi Metro services will start from 4 am on the day of Assembly elections in the national capital on December 4.
• A CBI team has reached in Datia to begin investigation into the Ratangarh temple stampede in October which claimed 115 lives.
• During the second round of talks between the two nations on Bhutan's 11th Five Year Plan which were held in New Delhi,  India and Bhutan have discussed the modalities of India-assisted projects in Bhutan, including the phase-wise financial requirements for the schemes.
• Congress President Sonia Gandhi gifted a number of schemes to the people of her Lok Sabha constituency Raebareli that included road projects, new bank branches, FM radio station and a railway line, among others.
• Lauding "exceptional performance" of women representatives despite challenges of proxyism, Vice President Hamid Ansari said they will occupy more than 50 per cent seats in all the three tiers of governance after 10 to 15 years.
• The PMO has refused to disclose information on action taken on suggestions made by the Shunglu panel, which probed alleged irregularities in 2010 Commonwealth Games-related projects in New Delhi.
• Foreign Min Salman Khurshid presents a  bust of Mahatma Gandhi to Japan's Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko at Rajghat.

Business and Economy

• Despite getting lukewarm response from the earlier two auctions, the government on Monday said it is confident of meeting the revenue target of Rs 40,000 crore from spectrum sale this fiscal.
• The Income Tax (IT) Department told the Delhi High Court that the offer of Finnish mobile maker Nokia to pay a minimum deposit of Rs 2,250 crore to it, out of the company's total tax liability of nearly Rs 6,500 crore, is not acceptable.
• The Reserve Bank on Monday said state run oil refiners have returned to the foreign exchange market to meet all their dollar requirements as volatility in currency rates has eased over the past few weeks.
• Low-cost carrier SpiceJet alloted 1.5 crore equity shares to its promoter Kalanithi Maran after an equal number of warrants worth Rs 54.27 crore were converted.
• Decline in gold imports and turnaround in exports helped narrow India's current account gap sharply to USD 5.2 billion, or 1.2 percent of GDP, in the July-September quarter of this fiscal.
• Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), which expects to raise Rs 7,083 crore through the follow-on public offer—to hit the market on Tuesday.

Appointments

• Senior IAS officer Vandana Kumari Jena appointed as Land Resources Department Secretary

Science and Technology

• China has expressed interest in space cooperation with India after it launched its 1st mission to land an unmanned spacecraft on Moon.
• Scientists from Australia and the US have joined hands to initiate a preservation process of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, using human fertility techniques of freezing coral sperm in a bank.

Read more Daily Current Affairs updates from here 

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