Daily Current Affairs : 7th December 2013

1. International Civil Aviation Day was observed on 7 December 2013 to highlight the importance of civil aviation for social and economic development around the world. The International Civil Aviation Day is aimed at promoting the safety and efficiency of air transportation and to create awareness about the role of International Civil Aviation Organization in air transport. International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO) is a UN body responsible for developing international standards for aviation safety. International Civil Aviation Day is annually observed on December. The date marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation at Chicago on same date in 1944.

2. UN designates 31st October as World Cities Day. A United Nations General Assembly committee adopted a resolution on human settlement on Friday, designating Oct 31 as the World Cities Day. The General Assembly "decides to designate Oct 31 of every year, beginning in 2014, as World Cities Day," Xinhua cited from the resolution adopted by the UNGA Economic and Financial Committee.

3. RBI hits the jackpot with dollar deposit scheme. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s out-of-the-box move to woo dollar deposits by protecting banks from currency risks has been a big hit. Banks have managed to mobilise $34 billion in foreign currency deposits since the special swap scheme was flagged off in September.

4. The Union Cabinet has finally cleared the bill to create Telangana state. Sticking to the original resolution of the Congress Working Committee, the new state will have only the 10 districts of Telangana region. Rayalseema districts of Kurnool and Anantapur will continue to be part of the residue state. It has also decided to finalize the capital of the residuary state within 45 days, thus formally setting in motion the process for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

5. UN General Assembly elected Jordan to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member on 6 December 2013 to replace Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was elected in October 2013 to the Security Council as a non permanent member but it has rejected its seat in protest at the UN council's failure to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues.

6. The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference was concluded on 6 December 2013 at Bali, Indonesia. The Ministerial Conference has agreed on the revised draft of Bali Package. The Ministerial Conference was held in Bali, Indonesia from 3 to 6 December 2013 and attended by 159 WTO Member countries representatives.

7. India contributes USD 1 million to UN Women. This contribution constitutes the fourth installment of India's multi-year pledge to provide five million dollars as core predictable funding to UN Women's resources, and takes India's existing contribution to USD 4 million to UN Women, so far. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke K Mukerji handed over a cheque for the amount on Friday to Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women. 

8. Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu on 4 December 2013 was re-appointed as the OPCW Director General at the 18th Session of the Conference of State Parties. This will be his second term in the office. The Director-General called 2013 a truly historical year in his statement during the opening of the conference as the year has witnessed an unprecedented challenge for the OPCW in the form of eliminating Syria’s  chemical weapons in the midst of an active war.

9. The much-awaited draw for 2014 FIFA World Cup was completed for next year`s finals in the Brazilian resort of Costa do Sauipe. Brazil will play Croatia in the opening match of the 2014 World Cup on June 12 in Sao Paulo. Brazil, who hosted the tournament last in 1950 would want to make the home fans proud this time with a sixth World Cup title. Mexico and Cameroon are the other two teams in their group.

10. The 2014 World Cup champions will receive $35 million in prize money, world football’s governing body FIFA announced in Salvador on Thursday. The value represents a 17 per cent increase in the prize money handed to Spain for winning the 2010 tournament in South Africa. FIFA will award the second placed side $25 million while the third will receive $22 million.

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