1. J & K records historic polling percentage: EC Jammu and Kashmir Saturday saw 76 per cent turnout in the fifth and final phase of polling, and recorded an overall polling percentage of 65 per cent, which was “historic” and “unprecedented”, the Election Commission said in New Delhi. The turnout in Jharkhand was 66.03 per cent, the poll panel said. For Jammu and Kashmir, it was the highest polling percentage in the last 25 years and historic and unprecedented, Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi told the media here. “The polling percentage for the fifth phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election held Saturday was 76 per cent, while for all the five phases combined, it was 65 per cent,” he said. In Jharkhand, the turnout for the fifth and final phase was 71.25 per cent, while the overall percentage was 66.03 per cent. The official said the polling percentage can go up by a few notches in both the States after final figures arrive. 2. Richard Verma sworn in as US Ambassador to India Richard Rahul Verma, who quietly played a key role in the Congressional passage of the civil nuclear deal and a strong advocate of deepening Indo-US ties, has been sworn in as the US Ambassador to New Delhi, becoming the first ever Indian-American to hold the post. 46-year-old was sworn in by Secretary of State John Kerry at the State department here. Verma is scheduled to arrive in India ahead of Kerry’s visit to Delhi next month. US President Barack Obama will arrive in late January to attend the Republic Day Parade on January 26 as the Chief Guest. He was confirmed by the Senate by a voice vote last week. Verma, who quietly played an important role in the Congressional passage of civil nuclear deal with India, had advocated for strong Indo-US ties when in the administration and recently started ‘India 2020’ project at the Centre for American Progress — a top American-think tank. He will replace Nancy Powell, who resigned in March after a damaging row over the treatment of diplomat Devyani Khobragade over visa fraud charges. 3. Etihad to launch A-380 service with three-room suite The Etihad Airlines is all set to launch its first Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft service, with several unique features including the ultra-luxurious Residence by Etihad™, the only three-room suite in the sky. The airlines unveiled the aircraft, which exquisite interiors, before a group of 150-odd journalists from across the globe at a gala function in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. The A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft will continue test operations before starting commercial flights. The A380 will start its operations daily to London Heathrow from December 27 and the 787 to Düsseldorf from February 1, 2015. The airline plans to extend the service to Mumbai as well in the near future. The Residence by Etihad™ features a living room, separate ensuite shower room, and bedroom, and as another first in the industry, a dedicated Butler. 4. DRDO successfully tested an indigenous 1000 kg glide bomb Indias Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested an indigenously built 1000 kg glide bomb. The bomb had successfully hit a target 100 km away in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast. The bomb was dropped by an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft in the ocean. It glided for nearly 100 km before hitting the target with great precision. The bomb was guided by an on-board navigation system. The flight of the glide bomb was monitored by radars and electro-optic systems stationed at Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha’s Balasore district, about 230 km from Bhubaneswar. 5. Michael Garcia resigned as Chief ethics investigator of FIFA Ethics Committee Michael Garcia resigned as Independent Chief Ethic investigator of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Ethics Committee. He resigned from the post in protest over the handling of his 430-page report on awarding the bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively. FIFA had earlier awarded bid to Russia and Qatar despite allegations of corruption. Garcia resigned a day after FIFAs appeal panel rejected his challenge that FIFA Judge Hans-Joachim Eckert had submitted a wrong summary of his report and cleared Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts. 6. Pakistan became Associate Member Sate of CERN Pakistan became Associate Member Sate of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer and the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Ansar Parvez, signed a document in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The decision to grant associate membership to Pakistan was taken in lieu of Pakistan’s contribution to building the CMS and ATLAS experiments since it signed a Co-operation Agreement with CERN in 1994. Pakistan is also involved in accelerator developments, making it an important partner for CERN. Pakistan had applied for the CERN associate membership in February 2013. 7. Vasan Srinivasan inducted into the Australian Multicultural Council Indian-origin Vasan Srinivasan was inducted into an Australian national body Australian Multicultural Council (AMC). He will be serving the council till 16 December 2017. Srinivasan is currently the Chairman of Confederation of Indian Australian Associations. 8. United Bank celebrates 65th foundation day United Bank of India has recently celebrated its 65th Foundation Day by remembering the founder members of the bank. On the occasion, the Kolkata-based lender has also come out with a special campaign for sanction of housing and mortgage loans, it said in a release. 9. Atletico de Kolkata Beat Kerala Blasters In a closely-contested battle, Atletico de Kolkata faced repeated attacks from Kerala Blasters but managed to hold on and a late goal helped them take the title. Highlights from the match at DY Patil stadium here. It is all over, heartbreak for Kerala who played outstandingly well but credit to Kolkata for managing to blunt the attacks and score the late winner. 10. Forex reserves jump $2.17 billion India’s foreign exchange reserves soared by $2.172 billion in the week ended December 12 to $316.83 billion. In the previous week, the reserves had dipped by $1.650 billion. The growth in reserves was mainly on the back of a jump in foreign currency assets (FCAs) by $2.405 billion. Besides FCAs, the reserves consist of India’s reserve position in the IMF (down $253.5 million in the reporting week), special drawing rights (up $19.9 million), and gold (unchanged). In the financial year so far, forex reserves have increased by $12.61 billion.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 03:42:31 +0000
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