Events of National & International Importance -
3-million-year-old canyon discovered under the Brahmaputra in Tibet
1.
A huge 3-million-year-old canyon, thousands of feet deep in places, has
been discovered buried under a major river in Tibet.
2.
The canyon buried along the Yarlung Tsangpo (called the Brahmaputra in
India) in south Tibet was discovered by a team of researchers from
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the China Earthquake
Administration.
3.
The geologists say that the ancient canyon — thousands of feet deep in
places — effectively rules out a popular model used to explain how the massive
and picturesque gorges of the Himalayas became so steep, so fast.
Obama’s
Republic Day visit great chance for bolstering ties: US officials
1.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed visit to India in
January 2015 is a great opportunity to strengthen and expand bilateral strategic
partnership.
2.
“First time a U.S. President is to attend Republic Day
(celebrations), which commemorates the adoption of India’s constitution.
3.
“Japanese Prime Minister was last year’s honoree. Mr. Obama
is the first U.S. President to be honored in this way, and the first to visit
India twice during his time in office.
18th
SAARC Summit begins in Kathmandu
1.
The 18th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation
(SAARC) Summit began in Kathmandu, Nepal.
2.
On the opening day toady Joint Secretaries level programming
committee is now discussing the calendar of SAARC activities for 2015, and
opening of a SAARC Disaster and Environment Management Centre.
3.
Besides, the committee meeting is also considering a proposal
for merging the present 11 regional SAARC Centres to make five such Centres.
4.
This is the first time Kathmandu is hosting the summit in 12
years. The theme this year is, 'Deeper
Integration for peace and prosperity'.
5.
Established in 1985, SAARC was joined by seven South Asian
countries to promote welfare economics and collective self-reliance, and to
accelerate the region's socio-cultural development.
6.
The first summit was held in Dhaka on 8 December 1985, when
the organization was established by the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Iran
nuclear talks: Negotiations between Iran, 6 major world powers deadlocked
1.
Negotiations in Vienna between Iran and six major world
powers to arrive at a comprehensive long lasting deal over Teheran’s nuclear
program have been deadlocked.
2.
With November 24 deadline approaching fast, efforts are
underway to resolve the standoff between the two sides.
3.
Iranian foreign minister Zarief said the western nations
should not make excessive demands.
4.
Negotiators from U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and
Germany want Iran to scale down the nature and scope of its nuclear program to
slow down its technical ability to produce nuclear weapons.
5.
Iran says its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes
and it won’t forego its right to enrich uranium. It wants complete lifting of
economic sanctions.
India clinches 3rd SAFF Women's Championship in Islamabad
1. India
clinched the third South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship
in Islamabad.
2. Ngangom
Bala Devi was the star of the show yet again.
3. She
scored 4 goals to take her overall tally to 16, the highest scored in a single
edition of the championship. Kamala and Prameshwori Devi were the other goal
scorers.
Agartala to be first LED-illuminated city in northeastern
India
1. Tripura
government has approved a proposal to change the existing 30,000 street lights
in Agartala to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights.
2. The
proposal was put forward by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an
undertaking of the Union Ministry of Power.
3.
EESL
will install LED lights in a phased manner by next year, with zero capital
investment by the state.
4. According to EESL’s assessment, Agartala
Municipal Corporation (AMC) can save at least Rs 2 crore on its electricity
bill after the installation.
5. Increasing
consumption of electricity has become a serious national concern. India aims to
reduce 20 to 25 per cent of emissions per unit of GDP (excluding the
agriculture sector) from the 2005 level, by 2020.
Economic Development
Govt. to relook at tax treaties to
unearth black money
1.
Faced with the daunting task of getting back black money
stashed abroad, government said it was having a relook at some of the bilateral
tax treaties signed with foreign countries.
2.
Mr. Jaitley said he had sent a delegation recently to
Switzerland and they have come back with some positive movement.
3.
“The world today is uniting to unearth these unauthorised
transactions. Conventionally they were against crime money and not tax evaded
money.
Science & Technology
Akash missiles tested again
1. Two Akash
Surface-to-Air supersonic missiles were fired in quick succession by Indian Air
Force personnel.
2. To destroy
one fast moving Banshee unmanned aerial vehicles and a simulated electronic
target at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, in Odisha.
3. The
current series of tests, which culminated on Friday, were conducted for
acceptance of new production lot of the missiles.
4. In all,
nine missiles were tested since November 17 as part of the training exercise
for IAF personnel.
Biodiversity & Climate Change
Winter
2014 set to be 'coldest of the century'; climate change may be held responsible
1.
A climate change researcher
with the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the US says that as the
Arctic warms (and it is warming extraordinarily quickly).
2.
The jet stream that regulates
weather over the northern hemisphere will weaken and narrow.
3.
"When you have a strong
jet stream, it's like a thick rope. You can give one end a tug and not much
happens.
4.
It’s more like a string. A
shake (or a typhoon) will send waves all along its length, causing the Arctic
monster to move south more often.
5.
However, it has not been
officially ascertained yet that the recent chill is related to the polar vortex
that left most parts of US and Europe frozen last winter.
6.
The polar vortex is currently
far north over Hudson Bay in north-eastern Canada.
Editorial -
Weekly (16 - 22 Nov,2014) current affair magazine is scheduled for tommorow
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