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International News

$300m stake in Twitter bought by Saudi prince
• Saudi prince and billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal who is an investor in world's top companies, also bought a $300 million stake in the fast-growing microblogging site Twitter. By this move the Prince has gained another foothold in the media industry of the world.
  Alwaleed is a nephew of the Saudi king and he has a personal net whose worth was estimated by Forbes magazine in March this year and is just some points below $20 billion. Not only this Alwaleed also owns a 7 per cent stake in News Corp and he further plans to start a cable news channel in his homeland.
  The stake in the Twitter was bought jointly by Alwaleed and his Kingdom . He also owns a Co investment firm and that the stake was bought after months of negotiations with the sites company. Following the stake buying the shares in the Prince Kingdom jumped to 5.7 percent in stock and trade market in Saudi Arabia.

Microsoft goes a sort of social type
• The renowned tech company Microsoft has also brought itself in the scene of social media and all this was done in a low key affair. Microsoft also owns a small stake in the Facebook.
  the site that has been introduced is made just for students who wants to share interesting discoveries over the internet and the site looks like a composition of both Facebook and Google +.
  Though only certain universities have access to this site, the site is a blend of functions like web browsing, search functions and networking and it also includes an interesting feature named "video party".

Hotline launched by the US for detained immigrants
• In order to help the detained immigrants a telephone hotline was launched by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement department. This hotline will allow the detained immigrants detained in their country to help them know their rights and to allow them to report cases if they are being treated unfair by other peoples.
  The phone number can be used by detained immigrants. The move was launched as the US officials feels that the immigrants they may be US citizens or they may be victims of crime.
  To ensure that such people who are in custody are properly notified about their rights. The US department guarantees that the phone line is made available 24 hours a day and will be having many interpreters in several languages so as to employee effective communication between the immigrants and the concerned authorities.

US blames Pak for NATO air strike being carried by them
• As another blow to the already weakened relationship between the US and the Pakistan was announced when the US blamed the Pakistani officials for the NATO strike carried out by them. Be it the aggressive approach towards Pakistan or their tactical need in Afghanistan, all the hopes were laid down to rest when the Pentagon said that the respect all rules engagement and international law of conflict hinting to the NATO strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
  Further the Washington even named the incident an act of war. An official said that-“the Pakistani soil misbehaved that led the NATO to strike back. And such response is continued then they will again shot back.
  Pentagon spokesman captain John Kirby further said that they have delivered the report regarding the same to Pakistan’s general Kayani in Islamabad by a US officer in charge. The officer is going to explain every detail of the findings to the general.

Hearing for the suspected WikiLeaks leaker concludes
• The hearing for the WikiLeaks leaker was concluded in a US court. The leaker was a US Army intelligence analyst. He was accused of leaking secret classified files to the WikiLeaks website which gave enemies complete access to government secrets. However the defence lawyer of the accused said that his client has done no crime.
  The lawyers from both the sides made several arguments at the hearing in order to decide whether Bradley Manning who is a Private First Class person should be court-martialed for the charges held against at him. The charges include aiding the enemy and wrongfully causing intelligence reports to be published on the Internet that caused furore and a mess for the government.
  The prosecution held 22 criminal charges against the accused further saying that the massive release of documents by the accused had caused harm to national security.

National

Anna to fast from December 27 as Lokpal bill cleared without CBI.
• In a move to stop Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption finally the Union Cabinet cleared the Lokpal bill but without CBI. However the support by the cross party for the legislation was seen with doubt as the Cabinet vetoed the autonomy suggestion to the CBI.
  A senior minister said that-“the CBI will look into only those cases that are going to be referred by the anti graft body”. Further the government officials said that the Cabinet cannot agree to the suggestion of the division of the prosecuting and the investigating sections of the CBI.
  Shanti Bhushan, a prominent team member of Anna Hazare’s team said that- “ The Lokpal bill without CBI is not of any use and does not have any meaning”. He further said that if CBI is still under the control of the government it will still shield the corrupted government officials”.
  Kiran Bedi also raised her voice stating that is such a bill is made then it’s better that it is not passed or else it will destroy even the remaining CBI power.
  Following the reports Anna Hazare has said that he will go on for the 3 day fast in Mumbai from December 27 onwards.

Pro-TN activists delyed Guruvayur Express for the Mullaperiyar protest
• Regarding the Mullaperiyar issue the activists from the Manitha Urimai Paathukappu Maiyam which is a human rights protection centre tried to obstruct and even delayed the Guruvayur Express that was passing through Trichy at 1.20pm. The protest was made against the double dealings of the parties like Congress, BJP and the CPM. Also the protesters also demanded the arrest of Kerela Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as they consider that he violated the SC’S verdict for the issue.
  The activists staged a rail roko by plastering the walls around Tiruchirappalli Junction. However the police didn’t provided any sort of permission to allow any such agitation. It was only after some time that the authorities came to know that they were misled by fake notice.
  The activists consist mostly of lawyers and in order to show the support for the protest over the dam the Trading Malayali community shut downed their shutters. But to prevent things from getting worse the protesters were not allowed inside the railway premises and 8 of the protesters were arrested and later released at 5 pm by the police.

New Year Eve shadowed by the Terror alert
• While people were busy celebrating and welcoming the New Year but the Delhi Police remained on its toes to guard the city following the terror alert that were made for the arrest of some terrorists and Pakistani spies. The alert was also made by the Intelligence service and asked the police department to remain cautious.
  the Delhi Police said that more focus would be given on the security of the five star hotels in the Delhi area that hold major New Year party for people thus seeing major rush of party goers. Apart from the hotel security the police said that they will do thorough checking of people New Year eve barricades were placed at prominent places to check the movement of suspicious peoples.

After the CNG price, petrol prices to rise up. 
• The sole supplier of gas in the National Capital Region, the Indraprastha Gas Lrd(IGL), rose the prices of the automotive fuel by Rs 1.75 per kg. This step was made to pass on the status of the rupee’s fall against the dollars. Also this step was made to as the production from the Relience Industries Ltd’s dropped in the Andhra coast.
  This rise in the price of the CNG (Compressed natural gas) is 5th revision for the Delhi and its NCR region. Other states of country like that of Mumbai that also have CNG services are also going to be affected due to the depreciation of the rupee’s against dollar.
  Following the CNG price hike it is said that the petrol’s price are also going to shoot up by Rs 1 per litre.

Man held with arms and live cartridges in DTC bus. 
• Just before the New Year’s Eve, a man was held for carrying a major consignment of arms and ammunitions in DTC bus near Subhash Nagar Metro Station. The arms and the ammunitions were placed in a gunny bag to prevent any sort of suspicion by the locals travelling in the bus. Upon checking by the police the man named Ravinder was arrested. The police recovered 18 pistols and live cartridges from the gunny bag.
  The police official said that that had received a tip off regarding the consignment. A team was formed under the supersvision of ACP of Tilak Nagar, and they stopped the bus and checked the suspicious man that was carrying the gunny bag. Upon recovering live cartridges and arms the man was immediately arrested. A case has been registered under the Arms Act.
  The police said that they stopped the bus around 10.45am and they surrounded the bus and closed all the entry and exit gates of the bus. The accused who was sitting at the back seat with his gunny bag lloked suspicious and he was thoroughly checked. The arms and the cartridges were covered by vegetables and once they were removed the team and the passengers were shocked to see the ammunitions that were more than dozens in numbers.

Campaign against Hooch menace by Mamata
• The Chief Minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee led a campaign in Kolkata to create mass awareness for the Hooch menace that reports the illegally distilled liquor possession and selling of the liquor. The campaign was held to bring light on the scene of illegal selling of distilled liquor that caused death of 172 people. All the victims consumed spurious liquor in South 24-Parganas.
  The campaigned carried massive placards that read "Say no to poison liquor". Some placards also had slogans and one liners as "Allow us to live a healthy life", “Life is precious”. The campaign included- Human Rights activists, students and politicians that marched from College Square to Esplanade. Apart from the chief minister, some of her ministerial colleagues like Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee and Firhad Hakim also took part in the campaign against the Hooch incident.
  Addressing the masses, the chief minister said that she will continue her campaign against illicit liquor that will be followed by raids and arrests of culprits until she is successful to curb the menace. By this campaign she is going to generate social awareness against drinking of illicit poison liquor.

The Election Commission will keep tab on social media content and the expenses
• The Election Commission of India has said that it will keep a watch on all the ongoing malicious poll content and expenditure on that are done and incurred Facebook following complaints from Punjab province that the political leaders from various parties are their election mission by making use of the many social networking sites.
  The Chief of the election commissioner SY Quraishi told a news paper that-"he and his team members have no problems with social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook as long as the content posted on these site is neither malicious nor violates any code of conduct in any way.” He further said that if the political leaders are asking for votes online and wants to reach the young generation for votes then he does not have any problem with it as the sites are just forms of another media. He said that all we are concerned about are the expenses that will be involved while monitoring candidates who use social networking sites and other forms of media. Though there is no policy for monitoring this so far but the commission will find out a remedy to solve the problem.

Court tells the social websites to take off offensive content.
• Just as the controversy created by IT minister Kapil Sibal for urging social networking websites to censor or remove off the offensive content from their pages in another fresh move a trial court has directed several social websites that includes Facebook, Google, Orkut and Youtube, to censor contents like "anti-religious contents" or "anti-social content " that promotes hatred or communal disharmony in the society.
  The trail courts administrative civil judge Mukesh Kumar has clearly directed all the social networking sites to remove all the objectionable content that is present in the form of photos or videos or text which can posses power to hurt religious sentiments. The order came after a civil suit was filed by Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi who even submitted some printouts showing malicious contents as a proof.

Sports Current Affairs

Clarke says that it is must for the Oz pacers to bounce India out from Sydney ground.
• Australian cricket team captain Michael Clarke has asked the teams bowlers to bounce the Indian out from the second Test that will starts from Tuesday. The match is going to be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
  Clarke in an interview said that-"he loves’ the aggression of his teams fast bowlers. He said that he simply loved the way they his teams’ bowlers served it up to the Indian batsmen during the last match that led to their strong victory in Melbourne. Also if conditions remain in our favour then we will bounce the Indians again during the second Test that is to be held in Sydney.”
  Clarke said that he wants his bowlers to be as ruthless as possible. And they should continue with the same strength and aggression that they previously showed in during win by122-run.

Indian stars bears the fire after MCG debacle
• The Indian media lashed their anger out at the country's batting line-up for letting the team down in the opening Test that was held at against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
  The Indian team failed to cope with the Australia’s pace attack when they failed to chase a 292-run target. The Oz players attack was so strong that the Indian team could only manage to gain 169 runs despite having batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag who have major batting experience.

Bhupathi and Bopanna team targets Olympic medal
• The team of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati reunited after a long gap of 9 yrs and this was just an act of choice not a mere chance. The team now bids to target the Olympic medal at the 2012 London’s Olympic but they split up within months of their team formation.
  Now Mahesh Bhupathi will pair up with fresh player Rohan Bopanna . They will play together for the first time after the Davis Cup. After their team formation the duo toiled in the Bombay Gymkhana for about two-and-half hours to begin their journey to the 2012 Olympics. The London Olympics are just 216 days away to begin.

International News

50bps cut on reserve ratio by china
• China’s bank –People’s Bank of China (PBOC) decreased the reserve ratio for banks by 50bps. This move was taken to support China’s economy as economical growths are getting down in other parts of the world.
  Before the announcements on the cuts were made reserve ratio was recorded 21.5%. This is the first such blow on the major monetary loosening by the PBOC since Dec 2008. Not only this the PBOC had earlier raised the RRR 6 times this year and even raised lending limits more than 5 times since the year 2010.The last RRR increase was recorded on June 20th this year.

Unemployment rate drops to 8.6% leading the U.S economy to add 120,000 new jobs
• In the U.S the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% which lead to the addition of 120000 new jobs all over the country. This percentage was the lowest to be recorded in the last two years as announced by the Department of Labor.
  In October this year the rate was 9%. As the U.S employers added 120000 new jobs this proved to be a significant improvement by the gain of 80000 jobs as compared to last month record.
  Although this is still not a good news because if compared with the past 3 months the economy has added only an average of 114000 net jobs every month which is hardly enough to go by the population growth.
  At present America still have 14 million jobless people, the economy needs to bulk up the job addition by 250,000jobs a month to bring down the unemployment rate substantially.

Ex-Taliban to attend Afghan talks despite US disapproval
• Ex-members of Taliban are going to attend the Bonn conference to be held in Germany for the topic about the future of Afghanistan after the year 2014.
  The Afghan governments list of invitation to the meeting is being viewed as a crucial step to hammer out the country’s future but regarding the invitation to the former members of Taliban the U.S officials have backed out of the meeting.
  The organizations former ambassador to Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef along with other members of the delegation has already reached France to discuss in advance about the agenda of the meeting.
  Regarding the meeting the US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said that there is no place for the involvement of former Taliban members to attend the meeting in order to decide the future of the troubled country.

British PM weighs in on euro-zone changes
• German drive for swift change for the European Union's treaty. This treaty is a sign of the difficulty that the leaders will face while transforming Europe to save the euro. In the meeting both the countries France and Germany are going to decide to reach to a solution of reaching a consensus that states that all euro zone economies are required to be bounded more closely if they want the euro to survive as a single currency. This means that changing the European treaty to give Brussels powers in order to punish spendthrift euro states.

National

Parliament adjourned yet again
• After few minutes proceeding, the opposition and some other parties began their protest against the FDI in retail and firmly demanded that the center takes backs its decision. This chaos and shouting of slogans against the government continued for the next 7 days of the winter session of parliament.
  Apart from demanding rolling back of FDI’s decision other concerns were also being taken into account like demand for separate state of Telangana etc.
  Partis like shiv sena and CPI-M stormed a lot leading the speaker Meera Kumar to adjourn the house session. Similar kinds of scenes were seen in Rajya Sabha with the only difference that the protest began much earlier even before the chairman came.
  All the protesting parties have said that they are protesting against the FDI decision because this will affect the livelihood of the common man which includes farmers and traders.

Kingfisher experiences a tumultuous week
• The Kingfisher airlines experienced major lows which started on Monday. News are rife that Kingfisher’s flight will continue to be cancelled till Dec 15. This is being done as the airline is experiencing major financial problems.
  Following the next day it was reported that the loss had doubled and reached to Rs 469 crore. Following the news of loss the chairman of the airlines Vijay Mallya began his work to control damage. He held up a press conference in Mumbai and reassured its investor about the proper functioning of the airlines as soon as possible.
  Further Mallya said that following the crunch this was not possible to allow flights and that he wasn’t looking for any sort of bailout from the government side and that he has cancelled only those flights that were making losses.

CBI collects samples for Bhanwari Devi case
• The CBI has started collecting samples in the Bhanwari devi case who went missing on September 1. The CBI suspects that Bhanwari devi had been killed in a limekiln and that they are collecting samples from the factory. The CBI has also recovered the vehical that was used in the crime and has been sent for scientific examination.
  One of the officials said that they have collected samples from the limekiln s around Jodhpur as they suspect that they might contain biological samples of the deceased.
  From the seized jeep the crime branch has collected hair strands, a jewelery item that belongs to bhanwari devi, pair of shoes and small and torn pieces of clothes. The crime branch during its investigation has also recorded statement of workers at the limekiln.
  As part of the forensic process the crime branch has also began to collect biological samples of the victims family.

Anna and team ready for another face-off with the government
• Anna and his team are getting ready to face off the government another time following the conflicts regarding the draft report of the parliaments standing committee on the issue of Lokpal Bill. The conflicts aroused after the draft proposed by the standing committee does not included some key points that Anna and his team had demanded earlier.
  Anna in an interview to the media personnel said that the government has once again betrayed the common man and he will again fast for a day long on Dec 11 against the government’s proposed bill and if demands are not met then this fast can continue . Team Anna slammed the report as inadequate and just a joke as the report excluded the lower bureaucracy and citizens’ from the charter.

India to host new world Buddhist body
• In a bid to provide a platform to the Buddhist communities all over he world the first Global Buddhist Congregation has decided to set up a Buddhist world body in India. This was another creater of row between India and Chinese ties.
  The decision to make an organization will help to serve as a single and common platform for Buddhists all over the world was the main highlight of the meeting. And this decision was made after 4 day meeting of heads and Buddhists federation and sanghas as well as institutions from 46 countries.
  The meeting highlighted the point that they need to develop a common platform that will help the Buddhist community to raise their voice untidily and to united response from all of the Buddhist tradition.

Kanimozhi leaves jail and welcomed by people at home
• There were slogans of welcome as soon as she arrived at her house.
  A lot people had gathered to welcome her so much so that every one wanted to escort her to her house on 6th floor and they all went into the lift along with the lady which lead to overloading of the lift so that some MP’s had to come out in order to allow the lift to move.
  Dressed in a pink salwar-kameez kanimozhi spent her first night at her house after spending days in the tihar jail. She was arrested by the CBI on May 20th after her involvement in the telecom scam.
  She even filed many bail petitions earlier but all in vain and finally she was granted bail from the jail. Though she returned to her house but her real homecoming is waiting in her hometown Chennai where her politician father M. Karunanidhi is waiting for the returned of her beloved daughter.

M.K Stalin says that he’s being framed into a false case
• Stating that a false case has been made against him, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and M. Karunanidhi's son MK Stalin stated that he will abide by the law and since he’s innocent he will get justice and will face the interrogation and the false case registered against him boldly.
  The Tamil Nadu State Police has already registered a case against Stalin. The case also includes five other peoples that includes Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi in case of forcing a businessman to sell his property to them.
  Talking to the media people Stalin said that the case had been filed by his arch rivals Tamil Nadu Chief Minster J. Jayalalitha in order to divert attention from the disproportionate asset cases that are filed in Bangalore.
  In his statement to the reporters Stalin said that this was an attempt to malign his image and to divert the attention from the Bangalore cases against Jayalalitha. They were unable to stop the investigation against themselves so they have filed a false case against me”.
He further said that -"This is just a stupid attempt to divert the attention from the Bangalore cases. False cases have been framed against me and my son and all this I had expected this much earlier but it has come so late so I m not bothered by these things at all. My faith lies in justices being served to me.

Sports Current Affairs

Delhi’s half marathon full of all African show
• The 7th half marathon of Delhi was full of an all African show with all the top honors being taken away by the African community. Around 30,000 people came to take part in the worlds most honored and prestigious half marathon braving the Delhi’s winter chills.
  The marathon saw the rise of athletes from the Dark Continent that won many awards both in the men and women’s category. In the men’s category the top 3 honors were given to the players Lelisa Dessia of Ethiopia, Geoffrey Kipsang and Mike Kigen.
  While the winners from the women category were Lucy Kabuu of Kenya who was followed by Sharon Cherop and Aselefech Mergia.

NBA commissioner David Stern refuses to set deadline to cancel the entire 2011-12 season.
• The NBA commissioner David Stern gave a blow by delivering an ultimatum the NBA players’ union further saying that he won’t cancel the 2011-12 season.
  The players union met in New York to discuss a strategy for the session in which the commissioner firmly said that he won’t be setting any date for the cancelation of the 2011-12 seasons. Stern said that- “he won’t say when he would call off the season since they haven’t reached the season yet.”
  The NBA has cancelled many games during the month of November and even more games cancellations are expected to get cancelled. Stern even said that it will take up around 30 more days to make the league functioning.Stern even hinted by saying that if no progress is being made even the Christmas games could be in danger but after the meeting Stern just announced the cancellation of two weeks of finals in November.

Indian athletes threaten to boycott Olympics
• Indian athletes have threatened to boycott next summer Olympics after a sponsorship deal was made with Dow chemical company. This firm had connections with the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster in which around 15000 people died after inhaling poisonous gas that leaked from the Union Carbide Factory.
  The company has a tainted reputation in India following the disaster and the athletes have said that until and unless the sponsorship deal is not rejected within nine days they will boycott the summer Olympics that is to be held in London.
  The withdrawal of athletes from the world’s second largest economy will give a blow to both the Games and the International standing.

Clarke’s Australians to face Acid test on home soil
• Michael Clarke’s group has played just a single match after the team was condemned as the worst team of Australia test lineup. The sign of how Clarke’s team has fallen was proved when they failed to won a test match since 1985. Now to the relief of millions of armchairs selectors – the comeback win to level the series in South Africa has proved fruit full to allow the team to face the next Acid test on their home soil only.
  Clarke scored two win, followed by two losses and two draws and now he is going to his first home as a skipper.

International News

Unemployement rates down in U.S
• New employees added by the U.S were less than what was expected but the latest data on job employement showed that unemployement rates in the U.S went down which gave U.S President Barack Obama a new boost to fight against un-employement. In Octobar itself payrolls for non-farm organisations were up by 8000, making a jump on the payrolls amount in September.Analysts have said that though the employement rate will evolve rapidly, but the pace at which the growth will depend is still slow to keep pace with the country’s population.

Libyan dictator Gaddafi captured and killed
• Libyan rebels captured toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi in his home town Sirte after taking control over his home town and consequently killed him in bid to take revenge for all the haunting massacre he performed. Though the initial reports claimed that Col Gaddafi was wounded when he was caught but later reports confirmed that he was killed by bullet shots forged into his head. A video showed that Gaddafi before being killed was severely wounded, beaten and mocked by the rebels and that after he died his body was taken on for display to the nearby locals. Even his son Mo’tassim were killed in crossfire when he was trying to escape and that the bodies of both Col Gaddafi and Mo’tassim were buried on an unknown desert location in order to prevent their graves from converting into a shrine by any remaining follower of the dictator. After the news of Gaddafi’s assassination broke out wild celebrations were performed in the city that is being secured by the NTC forces.

Industrial growth improving
• The industrial production of India expanded but less than what was expected in the August month giving more evidences of Asia’s third largest economy’s industrial development slowdown.Industry expert say that the reason for slowdown is the soaring interest rates and high inflation ratio in the country.The growth lagged by 4.1 percent as compare to the growth in the August month but there was only slight improvement in the growth that was calculated in the month of July.

Delivery of arms to Taiwan by U.S moving at snail’s pace
• Reports say that the transfer of U.S arms to Taiwan is moving at a very slow pace in contrary to what was expected. The chief for the U.S –China ties that slowdown is affecting several major weapons system transfer.The 2011 annual report showed that only 4 out of 60 Hawk helicopters for e.g. were placed in mid October even though the U.S administration informed the makers of the planned sale meant for Taiwan.The lag between the transfer of important and sophisticated weapons to Taiwan may lead to rise of question about the lack of urgency either on the U.S side or Taiwan’s side or for both.

Punjab militancy being revived by ISI
• As suggested by the U.S reports , the Inter- Services Intelligence of Pakistan is continuing its activities to create instability in India. ISI is a spy agency which has close links with the Islamic terrorist organisation, is now focusing on Khalistani extremist groups to train them and to send them to create terrorism in the Punjab province. In the month of October the terrorist group Lashkar- e – Taiba which is being backed by the ISI agency joined hands with the Khalistani extremist groups Babbar Khalsa to make terror strikes in the Indian state Punjab and in its capital city New Delhi. Their previous attempt of attack was foiled by the security personnel when they caught a huge cache of explosive from a car in Ambala city.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke up in a news conference
• Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai spoke during a news conference in Kabul about the so called reality check imposed on him as said by U.S secretary of state Hillary Clinton during her visit to Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that as said he will be cooperating with neighbouring country Pakistan on both the topics related to war and economic development. He further said that he considers its neighbouring country Pakistan as his twin brother and that he will be by Pakistan’s side whenever the former needs any sort of assistance.

7.2 Richter scale earthquake hits Turkey
• An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Turkey killing a number of people on 23 October. As per the reports approximately 93 people died in the Van province and around 45 died in the Erics district. As the rescue operation is going on it is said that the death toll will rise a more bodies will be evacuated from the debris. The earthquake depth was 20 kilometres with its epicentre 16 kilometre away from the Van city’s north east region. Not only this after the massive earthquake the eastern part of Turkey was struck by a series of powerful jolts with their centre in the north of Van that made things more worse than ever. After 7.2 , the Turkish region experienced two more jolts measured 6 and 5.6 on the Richter scale. Scientists say that turkey is prone to earthquakes as it lies in the major geological fault lines.

Vietnam and Indian signed a total of 6 agreements
• Vietnam and India have signed a total of six agreements that included joint oil exploration in South China Sea. The agreement was signed during the Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to India. The agreement included the following things: Friendship pact Oil exploration in South China Sea The Extradition Treaty between the two countries Cooperation in sports and tourism Not only this both the countries also signed a Security Dialogue between their home ministries. And both the countries have decided to increase their trade target by 8 million dollars by the year 2015. The present trade target is around 2.8 million U.S dollars. And both the countries discussed the situation regarding the Oil exploration on the South China Sea.

National

Doordarshan senior correspondent honoured
• Emani Krishna Rao, Doordarshan Kendra Hyderabad Senior news correspondent honoured by the coveted “Japan prize 2011” at the Tokyo city . The senior news correspondent Mr Rao won the prize in the proposal category and for the entry regarding the right to education and environment protection. Further he won 3000$ as a citation amount and an offer to make a programme on the theme proposed by Mr. Rao. This is the 6th major international ward for Mr. Krishna Rao, who had earlier won prestigious awards like DD national awards four times.

Violent attack on lawyer Prashant bhushan
• Senior lawyer and prominent team member of Anna Hazare was attacked and beaten up by three youths. He was attacked while he was working in his Supreme Court chamber. After the attack he said that the attack on him was carried out by right wing outfit of Sri Ram Sene. Following the attacks the police nabbed one of the attackers. As said by the reports three youths stormed into his chambers and one of them identified as Inder Verma attacked him. After hearing the screams the attackers were overpowered by other lawyers and other in the room. Upon questioning it was found that attacks on him were made following his recent comments on Kashmir. Verma was arrested by the police and the other two accused Vishnu Gupta and Tejender Pal are absconding. A visibly shaken bhushan said that the attackers were from the right wing outfit led by Sri Ram Sene. And that he has loged a complaint against him and the attackers.

A new doomsday on the calendar
• Another radio preacher has predicted that the world’s doomsday is on May 21. And then he said that he stands by his earlier prediction that the Judgement day is on Oct 21. Initially he predicted that there will be hourly earthquakes and that the God’s judgement on the month of May will continue by torments for those who will survive the God’s wrath. He used codes extract from the Holy book Bible and set the world’s end day. When nothing happened on May 21 the preacher on his blog said that on May 21 , instead of ending the earth , god just shook us with fear that more dangerous is about to come. And that god will no longer continue to save souls on earth.

Malayalam Novelist George Varghese Kakkanadan passed away in Kollam
• Famous Malayalam novelist George Varghese Kakkanadan passed away in Kollam. He was one the pioneers of modern Malayalam literature who breathed his last on 19 October. He wrote a number of famous short stories and modernised the Malayalam novel. He was born on April 23, 1935 at Thiruvalla and started his career as a school teacher and later resigned to join the Indian Railways. Kakkanadan was rebel, whose rebellious personality reflected in most of his works. Every part of his writing depicted his rebellious nature against the social codes etc.

Sports Current Affairs 2011

National

Anna Hazare Arrested Congress messed it up
• The storm about the arrest of Anna Hazare and his team (virtually the whole nation) has just put Congress in a bit of mess then even they would have imagined at first. Anna and his followers not just maintained that their outlooks be taken on in the panel when drafting the Lokpal Bill, but exacted that only and only their version of the Bill be agreed too and, as a matter of fact, discussed in Parliament by the government. Interestingly, government cannot agree to these kinds of dictates from anybody in a parliamentary democratic system. Rather than letting off such a great deal of steam on their appeals that the government forwards their edition of the Bill in Parliament, Team Anna can simply have got any one of the 545 members of the Lok Sabha to bring in the asked for Jan Lokpal Bill. Definitely, the extremely disconcerted Opposition political parties can leap forward even at this time and forward the Team Anna edition of the Bill in the house.
Anna leaves hospital and heads to village
• Social activist Anna Hazare head to his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra subsequent to his release from Medanta Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon after development in his state, a supporter alleged. Hazare was taken to the Hospital in uptown Gurgaon Sunday after he finished his 288-hour fast embarked upon since August 16. “He will go to Pune and will consequently head to his village”, revealed a member of the TEAM ANNA. Hazare was released Wednesday once his fundamental factors were seen to be steady. As per Yatin Mehta, a part of the doctor’s team observing Anna at the hospital, the revolutionary was in ‘excellent state’ and ‘healthy’. Previously in the day, Anna had consumed soft solid foodstuffs such as rice, dal and idli. ‘Following the success of his 12-day fast, Hazare’s physical condition exhibited lot of development. His blood pressure is 141/90, which is standard,’ Mehta understood.
Sheila Dikshit defers CAG report discussion
• Sheila Dikshit, Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday alleged that the government cannot remark on the CAG details pending parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) presents its proposals. On the succeeding day of the assembly’s yearly monsoon session, which observed tumult by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs over the CAG and V.K. Shunglu Committee details on the CWG, the CM stated: ‘I have told about it on numerous occasions that we cannot talk about the CAG report as it is in possession of the PAC, which is a legitimate fraction of parliament. We are subjected to get going against anybody when the PAC directs so.’ Initiating a mocking assault on the BJP, Dikshit further said that the chief opposition party in the parliament has been fooling people by initiating a scuttlebutt as it is in front of a lot of annoyance because of repeated routs in the last three assembly and two Lok Sabha elections in the capital
Rajya Sabha suspended over Gujarat Lokayukta row
• The Rajya Sabha was suspended for a short time Tuesday subsequent to raucous scenes over Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley posing the subject of selection of Lokayukta in Gujarat by the governor ‘with no meeting with the state government’. Quickly subsequent to Jaitley lifted the subject; Chairman Hamid Ansari took attention to meetings and regulations of the house on discussing subjects about people running in high offices. Jaitley said that there were examples when even reminder to Governor had been conferred in Parliament. BJP members stood up from their chairs to back Jaitley, which translated to raucous scenes during the sessions due to which the house was suspended for ten minutes.
Cities to continue living with menacing security arrangements
• Security in Indian cities is miserable. And the expectations are worse than thought as the condition will simply get worse in time coming up. This threatening note of concern was clouted here today by Mr. G. K. Pillai, ex-Union Home Secretary, at the FICCI convention on S&T for Homeland Security-2011: ‘Safe and Secure City’. Mr. Pillai alleged that with the nation going through a high growth rate of 8 per cent, hopes of the citizens are increasing and loads of them are swarming into cities, raising the already augmenting crime rate due to the lack of work prospects. In the capital, for example, 82 per cent of crime is committed by first timers, that also by adolescents between the age of 16 and 26 years old. Novel kinds of criminal actions are growing for example cyber crimes, hacking, burglaries, snatchings, while rape, murder and car thefts are the ones most in trend. Mr. Pillai warned against radicalization of adolescence as this would develop them into anti-social activists and destroy their lives. He cautioned against ghettoisation of cities as well that originates of the practice of not giving homes on lease to someone of a certain community/religion/caste by some other community/religion/caste community.

Sports News

Speed lovers soon to see Greater Noida as their pit-stop
• The highly anticipated homologation of the Budh International Circuit (BIC), setting for the first ever Indian Grand Prix, is all but done. Plus, the FIA team, headed by technical director Charlie Whiting, has also given his nod to all aspects of the 5.14m long track. As per a report declared by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) President, Vicky Chandhok on behalf of the supporters JPSI, Whiting, through the first of the two days of inspection, was mighty delighted in the fashion in which the circuit’s making has been developing. "Mr. Charlie Whiting, the Formula One Race Director came to see the Budh International Race circuit some time back for a premeditated custom check," Chandhok stated in the statement. "He told us that the development was more than all right and was beyond of what he expected from us from the last visit he paid. He further put across assurance that the introductory Indian Grand Prix will be a titanic triumph," he added. On the other hand the statement read that as a general exercise for all fresh circuits, the physical issuance of Grade-I recognition to the circuit, will be sanctioned seven days ahead of the chief event to be held on October 30.
New Sports bill turned down by the Government
• A contentious offer that required controlling India’s and World’s most powerful cricket board BCCI and added national sports organizations was rejected by the government in late August, reports from the local media emerged. The proposal that is designed to regulate these sports bodies under federal intelligibility and responsibility laws were put forward by Ajay Maken, Sports Minister. However, the much needed bill was rejected by the cabinet and it asked Ajay Maken to return with a new and improvised version, one of the news networks of the county reported. The bill aimed to keep back no less than 25 percent of federation positions for previous players and puts a ceiling on the age of all administrators i.e.70. A further significant prerequisite of the bill was to get the associations under the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI), a milestone regulation that lets members of the public to ask for information of the functioning of public bodies. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has usually been out of the government’s purview and, unlike added national sports federations, does not rely on the finances given by the state. Sports bodies in India have been the focal point of numerous controversies in recent years. The popular Indian Premier League, after previous year’s controversial exit of its Founding Chairman Lalit Modi, has been the center of numerous probing over charges of pecuniary indiscretions.

International News

Zardari nods to cooperate with China
• Pakistan will cooperate with China to overcome terrorism and secessionism, cited Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani President. Zardari repeated Pakistan’s pledge to get rid of extremism and he promised China of his nation’s full cooperation in overcoming terrorism and secessionism, reported Associated Press of Pakistan. The Pakistani president landed in China in late August to be present at the first China-Eurasia Expo to be hosted by Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, in the first week of September. He alleged Pakistan denounces terrorism in all its types and appearances and will not relax on any attempt to get rid of it. Zardari also talked about his daughters were on board with him on the trip, which is a testimony of the relationships between the two nations existing since generations. He further talked about the upcoming trip of Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to China later on this week to be present at the International Political Conference and assumed it demonstrates Pakistan and China were making efforts to fortify relations and ultimately deep-rooting their international polity.
United States downgraded to AA+
• The United States parted company with its respected AAA credit rating for the first time in seven decades after being downgraded by Standard & Poor's. The country's credit rating was cut to AA+ following S&P alleged the conciliation made by Congress and President Obama in early August to slash expenditure and enhance the liability upper limit "doesn’t meet the level, in our view, would be essential to even out the government's standard-term debt dynamics." The agency was frank in its evaluation. Its statement read: "We downgraded the 70-year long AAA rating of the United States since we think that the protracted storm over increasing the constitutional liability upper limit and the associated monetary policy debate point out that additional upcoming development surrounding the increase in public expenditure, particularly on privileges, or coming to an agreement on generating income is less probable than we formerly understood and will stay put to a arguable and intermittent procedure," the ratings firm believed.

National

Introduction of LokPal bill in Lok Sabha
• The much awaited Lok Pal bill will be introduced in Lok Sabha. The green signal was given by the government to Speaker Meira Kumar to allow the two day period needed to present the bill.The Minister of State Personnel Mr. V Narayaswamy gave the notice to Meira Kumar regarding the matter of Lok Pal bill. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal said that all the parties were in favour of introducing the bill at the earliest. The copies of the bill have been distributed to all the parties. The bill has been finalised by the government after a number of meetings during the last month.
• The government has kept out Prime Minister and other higher judiciary from the ambit of the bill. This decision has been strongly opposed by the all the activists of the bill. The BJP has demanded that the bill should include the Prime Minister into the bill. Regarding the matter the government has said that the prime minister will be questioned if necessary but only when he has stopped working and this can be done only in a limited amount of time i.e. 7yrs at most. Anna Hazare has again threatened to go on hunger strike again if the government does not introduced a lok pal bill that handles every aspect of corruption and if the government fails to do so then he will go on strike on Aug 16.
NDA blamed for Kalmadi’s appointment
• The government has blamed NDA for the appointment of Kalmadi as the main organizer of the CWG 2010event. Sports minister Mr Ajay Maken said in the lok sabha that the NDA government begun the process in 2003, that led to the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi as the chairman of the CWG committee. The statement has been made taking in view the leaked report which balmed the Prime minister’s office for overlooking the objections made against kalmadi’s appointment. Suresh Kalmadi is in jail now facing charges of corruption on large scale against him.
17 people die as lightning strikes parts of Orissa
• Around 17 people have died during the lighting in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. The people who died included 6 women. The lighting struck parts of Orissa with the coastal region accounting around 4 casualties. Most of the deaths occurred on Monday Aug 2, and other deaths were reported from places like Angul, Balasore,Deogarh, Sundergarh etc.
• The state government has announced a compensation of Rs50,000 each from the Chief minister’s relief fund. The money will be given to the family of those people who died because of lighting strike.
Congress flayed by BJP over Gurgaon Land deal
• The BJP asked the government about its action reaction the gurgaon land deal. The BJP asked whether the government will take it’s stand in the similar way like that of the Bhatta-Parsaul in the Uttar Pradesh. BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that the government unlawfully took the land from the poor farmers, due to which farmers are now suffering. The collective loand of the farmers was taken unlawfully and then it was given to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable trust , quoted Arun Jaitely.
• The Punjab and Haryana High court scolded the government for flouting the rules of land acquisition. The Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust was set up by Sonia Gandhi in 2002 in order to address the concerns that Rajiv Gandhi had in his heart. Jaitely refrained from disclosing the names of the people involved in the scam. He said that he will not take any names, but the government should only answer and tell the names of all those people who benefitted from the deal. Meanwhile Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has been continuously holding meetings against illegal land acquisition, he even flagged some rallies against the same matter. Regarding the matter the Congress has said that now the matter rests between the Haryana government and the High Court.
Famous artist M.F Hussain passes away
• India’s famous artist M.F.Hussain passed away in London on July 03. M.F. Hussain took Indian art to the global stage but not without controversies. The eccentric painter who lived barefoot died at the Brompton and Harfield NHS foundation in London after months of prolonged illness. Born in Maharashtra Hussain began his career as a painter by painting film posters. He was popularly known as Picasso of India and was once a member of Rajya Sabha. He has been awarded the nation’s 2nd highest Padma Vibhushan.
• The Picasso of India courted controversy after he showed hindu deities in nude in his paintings, and from then he was being considered as an anti-Hindu. After getting death threats in India he imposed exile on himself from the year 2006. Later in the year 2010 he accepted the citizenship of Qatar that was offered to him. The painter courted another biggest controversy by portraying “mother India” as a naked woman. His paintings have often courted controversies and wrath of people as his work often depicted gods and goddesses in nude form. He was a great fan of Madhuri Dixit such that he made a film with her called Gaja Gamini.

Sports News

London Olympics 2012 began its countdown.
• With one to go ESPN star sports began its golden march to kick the London Olympics 2012 countdown. The countdown ceremony was broadcasts across 22 countries. Olympics being revered as the biggest sports event has made athletes to share the same anticipation like that of the rest of the world and have set their eyes on the event going to be held just after 365 days.
• Also ESPN sports channel will broadcast the complete Olympic events for the 1st time in the history to all of its sports fans across the globe. The London Olympics will be the most sought after event with maximum viewer interest. The channel will cover 302 events in all the 26 categories of sports and will showcase almost 10,000 players and athletes from more than 200 countries.
Moto GP champion to stay out of Japanese Grand prix
• MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner have ruled out the possibility to participate in the Japanese Grand Prix to be held this year. Both the racers have ride earlier for Japanese manufacturers. The reason for withdrawal is the fear of radiation that currently exists in Japan due to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The Motegi circuit is situated near the Fukushima nuclear power plant whose reactors were destroyed by an earthquake and Tsunami during March this year and led to massive leakage of radiation.
• The race was originally to be held in April 24 but was later postponed to Oct 2, though no reason was given by the International Motorcycling Federation. Stoner firmly said during the Germany Grand Prix that he will not go for the Japanese GP. Further he said that his response would the same if anything similar would have happened elsewhere and that he is sure about the fact that other riders will be having the same opinion. Stoner became the world champion of the MotoGP in the year 2007.
Former Yankees pitcher found dead
• Hideki Irabu former Yankees pitcher was found dead in his home. The 42 year old was an excellent pitcher said former league manager Bobby Valentine. The quircky right hander had a fabulous arm in flame throwing the ball. Los Angeles police officials have declared Irabu’s death as suicide, disclosing no further information. To confirm the full information the investigating team is waiting for the autopsy report.
• Hideki was referred as the Japanese version of Ryan. Hideki arrived in the united states in the year 1997 and he was a hard throwing bowler with smashing speed of 98-mph. Though he was made an excellent debut with the Yankees but later on became an object of disappointment during the next three seasons. And then he was given a tag called as a fat toad after he failed to perform well during an exhibition game.
Dubai to bid for Olympics 2024 instead of 2020
• The UAE national Olympics committee has decided to bid for 2024 Olympics instead of 2020. The committee said that the infrastructure for the 2020 Olympics is 75% ready but it would be feasible if we bid for 2024 instead for 2020 so that we provide best of infrastructure to Olympics events and the players and athletes.
• Dubai’s crowned Prince Shaikh Hamdan said that “ Hosting the Olympics would be a matter of pride for the entire middle eastern region and we want to fully satisfy everyone and ourselves that we are completely ready to host the games and for this we are going to bid for 2024 Olympics instead of 2020. He further added that our first and foremost aim is to give a world class Dubai experience and a long lasting peace and satisfaction to the youth and to all the sports class events.
Manchester United the most valued team in the world
• The Manchester United has been named as the world’s most valued team. The Red Devils have been estimated for a total amount of 1.165 billion pounds overshadowing American Franchises like the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. The assessment has been made based keeping in mind the total income they get and the various sponsorship deals they make throughout the year.
• This has come as the good news for the Glazer family who bought the Club for 790 million pounds in the year 2005, how they are still in debt but this does not deter them from being happy for making their club the most valued in the world.
Squash to be considered for the 2020 Olympics 
• On hearing the news that squash is going to be considered for the 2020 Olympics World Squash Federation president N.Ramachandran was far more delighted. He said that after this decision he is more confident that the game will be included in the 2020 Olympics.
• He said that he truly believes that squash will prove to be a great sport for the Olympics. This game fulfils all the criteria to be included in the Olympics and that with its inclusion in the Olympics squash will attain a new level in the world of sports. He further added that squash has a number of high profile world champions and that with its inclusion in the Olympics it will provide massive participation from all over the world in the Olympics.

International News

• Death toll rises in Syria on the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in the city of Hama. The military tanks pounded the city creating scenes like that of 1982 massacre. Human rights activists said that the assaults killed at least 24 civilians, included 10 in Hama. All this happened when the troops with the help of tanks tried to control the people. This violent attack led to the death of total 134 people throughout Syria in just 3 days. 90 of the people died only in Hama.
• The government said that they have also lost more than 500 soldiers and security officials in the violent revolt. The condition of Hama prompted many Syrians to show and demonstrate solidarity from the start of Ramadan. Syria has been facing international wrath for its harsh measures.
War will continue even if NATO stops bombings-Gaddafi
• Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has said that the war will go on even if the NATO team stops bombing. This has left no room for diplomacy from the Gaddafi’s camp in order to stop the five month long conflict. Do not even think that after all the sacrifices we have made or our sons, brothers have made by sacrificing their lives we will stop fighting. Nothing sort of it will happen said the Libyan leader.
• The rebels and the western forces have continued pressure on the leader even as the holy month of Ramadan began. The NATO has continued its bombings forcing the loyalist of the leader to give up. Also the rebels have seized up half of the country but they continue to loose the ground against the trained Gaddafi forces. Regardless of the fact that whether the NATO stops bombing or not the Gaddafi government will continue its fight till Libya is liberated said the Libyan leader.
Hina Rabbani khar appointed as Pak’s new Foreign Minister
• Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed as Pakistan’s new foreign minister. Khar ,34, is the youngest minister to accept the post. This came as a big surprise for the people. Khar was elected twice to the national assembly during Musharrafs’ reign in 2002 and during Benazir’s stint in the year 2008. She never went public to win campaign. Since she belongs to a political family it is said that for any years the seat was with held by her father Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and she gives her winning credit to her political father.
• Rabbabi offers hope to a number of women in Pakistan not in terms of their lifestyle but in terms of their way to choose their lives. We have in the past few years the evolvement of women in Pakistan. The list includes the likes of Fatima Jinnah to Benazir Bhutto, Asma Jahangir, Sherry Rehman and now Hina Rabbani Khar. Now women are rejecting the roles that many men try to cast them in. Since her appointment as the foreign minister of Pakistan Khar has been continuously criticised because to is too young to handle foreign affairs of Pakistan and that she holds a degree in hospitality management and she even has a degree in economics. But with a country with young population Khar seems to be making place for herself.
George Best’s ex wife blames phone hacking scandal for his death 
• Ex wife of late footballer George Best claimed that the phone hacking scandal lead to Best’s death. During the investigation police found out that Best,59 died from multiple organ failure in 2005 and that his phone was hacked by Glenn Mulcaire who is a private investigator. Alex Best a fomer model and former wife of Best reportedly has said that the phone hacking lead to increased pressure on her former footballer husband which resulted in his death.
• HShe said that Best was an alcoholic and that when a person is subjected to tremendous pressure then they ultimately turn to alcohol for some relief. But Best had so many problems related with alcohol such that with the increasing pressure and alcoholic problem finally lead to his death.
China to launch safety campaign after the severe train crash 
• After facing public wrath and outrage China’s rail minister ordered a two month safety campaign and has apologized for the accident which killed around 39 people in the country’s Zhejiang province. This is the deadliest rail accident in the province of China after the year 2008. Beijing sacked three of its rail officials even before the investigation began.
• China’s rail minister has said that the safety campaign will extend till July and that the campaign will focus mainly on the operation involving high speed trains. China’s government is trying hard to calm down the people after the accident by taking various measures as possible.