Current Affairs of 13 December 1. Ruhi Singh won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014Ruhi Singh of India was in news because she won Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 at Beirut, Lebanon .She is the first person to win this pageant from India and she won the pageant among the 145 other countries. She was Femina Miss India East first runner- up in 2011. Rebecca Boggiano from Australia finished as first runner-up and Sofia Alkhadra from Palestine was the second runner-up. Miss Universal Peace & Humanity 2014 Pageant promotes, inspires, and empowers all women to develop and utilize their strengths and inner qualities to positively impact all people throughout the world. 2. Black money: Rs. 4,500 cr lying in bank accounts abroad, says SIT Income Tax authorities have traced about Rs. 4,500 crore in undisclosed money in bank accounts overseas, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the matter said in its second report to the Supreme Court. The report, released on Friday, said investigations are pending in 33 cases involving an amount of Rs. 14,957.95 crore, and that the Enforcement Directorate is in the process of attaching assets worth over Rs. 3,800 crore. Of the 628 persons having bank accounts abroad, 339 have some money in their accounts, while the rest do not. And of them, 201 are non-residents or not traceable. In its recommendations, the SIT has proposed mandatory quoting of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) in sales involving payment of Rs. 1 lakh or more, to curb the creation of fake or bogus bills. “The purchaser would also be under an obligation to ensure that the invoices he gets have the PAN number of the seller,” the report pointed out. 3. ICICI Bank launched India’s first transparent credit card in association with American Express ICCI Bank launched India’s first credit card with a unique transparent design and a distinctive look. The credit card named ICICI Bank Coral American Express Credit Card. The card is a part of Gemstone Collection of ICCI Bank in association with American Express. The new credit card will have the entire feature of plastic credit cards but without the opacity. The plastic cards are generally opaque in nature having details like card holder’s name, photograph, signature and bar code, among others. The card provides features with an extended period for repaying of retail purchases for the first two bill cycles by paying the minimum amount due. Other offers of the card include complimentary movie tickets, access to certain lounges at Mumbai and Delhi airports, minimum 15 per cent discount on bills at leading restaurants across the country and no surcharge on fuel transactions at HPCL outlets, among others. 4. Asha Bhosle awarded DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award 2014 Playback singer Asha Bhosle was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) held in Dubai. She received the award for her decades of dedication to Indian Film Industry. Along with her, another Egyptian actor Nour El- Sherif was also received the DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on over 100 films, in a career spanning nearly five decades. The DIFF Lifetime Achievement Award is dedicated to honour the worlds greatest film actors, writers, directors and producers. Previous winners of the awards includes Martin Sheen, Omar Sharif, Faten Hamamah, Adel Imam, Jameel Rateb, Sabah, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Daoud Abdel Sayed, Youssef Chahine, Rachid Bouchareb, Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai among others. 5. Maharashtra government declared Dahi Handi as adventurous sport The Maharashtra Government declared Dahi Handi as adventurous sport to make it a safe sport. Dahi Handi involves making a human pyramid and breaking an earthen pot filled with buttermilk tied at a height on the occasion of Krishan Janmashtami. It is a traditional sport in Maharashtra. The state government took decision to make Dahi Handi as a safe activity and will formulate new rules and safety guidelines prescribed by the state commission. It will also ensure proper training for the participants and the use of all safety instruments. In August 2014, Bombay High Court had banned the participation of children below 18 years of age in Dahi Handi citing fatal accidents at the events. However, Supreme Court had reduced the age limit to 12 years and had asked the organizers to use proper safety measure at events. 6. Australia beat India by 48 runs in first Test thriller India virtually snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, slumping to an agonising 48-run loss in the pulsating first cricket Test against Australia despite captain Virat Kohli’s gallant second successive hundred in the match in Adelaide on Saturday. Chasing a competitive target of 364, India were cruising along comfortably at 242/2 before the hosts staged a dramatic comeback to grab eight wickets for 73 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The Indians folded for 315 in 87.1 overs with Kohli (141) and Murali Vijay (99) being the only ones to notch up noteworthy knocks even as seven batsmen departed without touching the double digit mark. Kohli became only the second player in Test history to score a century in both innings on his debut as captain but the stupendous feat was completely overshadowed by the shockingly inept performance by his other batting colleagues, who seemed bent on committing harakiri. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon was the pick of the Australian bowler as he exploited the rough on the track to good effect to finish with figures for 7/152 for an overall haul of 12 wickets in the match. Lyon was adjudged Man of the Match for his superlative effort. The result will come as a huge disappointment for the Indians, who virtually lost the match in the very last session when eight wickets fell in quick succession. 7. Oil India signs contract for two oil blocks in Myanmar Oil India Ltd, the second largest state explorer, has signed contract for two offshore oil and gas blocks it had bagged in Myanmar. OIL along with its consortium partners signed Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) for two offshore blocks M4 and YEB at Nay Pyi Taw, the company said in a statement on Saturday. OIL-led consortium won these blocks under Myanmar offshore bidding round 2013 which was launched on April 11, last year. A total of 30 blocks (11 shallow water and 19 deepsea) were put on offer in this bidding round. OIL and partners bid for three offshore blocks M-4, M-8 and YEB and won two of them. OIL is the operator with 60 per cent interest in both the blocks. Other consortium partners are Mercator Petroleum Ltd (25 per cent), Oilmax Energy Pvt Ltd (10 per cent), and Oil Star Management Services Co Ltd (a local company of Myanmar with 5 per cent stake). Block M-4 with an area of 4008 square miles in water depth of less than 600 feet is located in Moattama Basin, while other block YEB with an area of 8223 sq miles in water depth of less than 600 feet is located in Thanintharyi Basin. 8. PM pays tributes to martyrs of 2001 Parliament attack On the anniversary of the attack on Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today saluted those who were martyred protecting the temple of democracy. “We salute the martyrs who lost their lives protecting the Temple of our Democracy on this day in 2001. Their sacrifices are etched in our memory,” he tweeted. On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed terrorists had stormed Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire, killing nine persons. The five terrorists were also shot dead. 9. Hinduja group acquires UKs iconic Old War Office building he Hinduja Group, in partnership with a Spanish industrial company, has acquired UKs iconic Old War Office building that was once occupied by Britains war- time Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The heritage building was acquired by the Hinduja Group, headed by S P Hinduja, chairman, and G P Hinduja, co-chairman, in partnership with Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarrollos (OHLD). The landmark building at 57 Whitehall in central London will now be restored and re-developed into a five star hotel and residential apartments, and will also feature a series of private function rooms as well as a spa and fitness facility. Previously inaccessible to the public, a commitment has also been made to grant new access to the building with an outdoor public space also part of the re- development plans. Britains Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Hinduja Group, in partnership with OHLD, whos main shareholder is Grupo Villar Mir, has been successful in the acquisition of the Old War Office. The 580,000 square-feet property was sold on a 250-year lease arrangement to the companies for an undisclosed sum following a competitive marketing process, it said on Friday.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 02:23:22 +0000
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