Daily Current Affairs : 8th & 9th December 2013

1. International Anti-Corruption Day is observed across the world on 9 December 2013 to raise awareness about the menace of Corruption and what people can do to fight it. The theme for the year 2013 is: Act against Corruption Today. The day is observed on December 9 each year to raise awareness about the corruption. The UN General Assembly by resolution of 58/4 of 31 October 2003 designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day. This decision aimed to raise people’s awareness of corruption and of the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it.

2. Miss Venezuela Alyz Henrich on 7 December 2013 was crowned with the pageant of Miss Earth 2013 at the Versailles Palace, Philippines. She was crowned with the pageant of Miss World by Tereza Fajksova, the Miss Earth 2012 from Czech Republic. This was the 13th edition of the annual Miss Earth. With this winning, Alyz Henrich has joined the roster of beauty queens and will be an ambassador for environmental preservation.  

Other winners are:

1. Miss Earth Fire: Miss Korea Catharina Choi

2. Miss Earth Water: Miss Thailand Punika Kulsoontornrut

3. Miss Earth Air: Miss Austria Katia Wagner

India's participant for the pageant was Sobhita Dhulipala, who failed to make it in the list of top 16. arlier, she won the Miss Photogenic and the Miss Eco Beauty Title contests.

3. Congress retains power in Mizoram. After facing a debacle in four states, Congress on Monday received cheer in Mizoram where it stormed back to power for a second consecutive term capturing 22 of the 40 seats, while leading in four. The four-time Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla won from both Serchhip and Hrangturzo seats he had contested.

4. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with winning over 28 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections on 8 December 2013 met the eligibility criteria of Election Commssion to become a State Party. The Aam Aadmi Party registered as a political party by the Election Commission in March 2013.

5. Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi resigned from her post on 8 December 2013 after Congress party faced a defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls. She sent her resignation to the Lt Governor. Sheila Dikshit was defeated in her constituency in New Delhi from Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party by over 5000 votes. She has been the Chief Minister of Delhi three times. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 28 seats has emerged as the second largest party in New Delhi in its debut elections after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

6. Ali Osman Taha, the Vice President of Sudan resigned to pave way for the new Government. Taha has been the first Vice President of Sudan, the second highest political party. He was the main negotiator of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, which led to the end of Sudanese Civil War. Taha has been replaced by Lieutenant General Bakri Hassan Saleh. The second Vice President selected is Hasbo Mohamed Abdulrahman and the parliament head is Alfateh Ezziddin.

7. Star India will replace Sahara as the title sponsor of the Indian cricket team, according to Gautam Roy, member, Board of Control for Cricket in India. The title sponsor takes effect from January 1. Sahara filed litigation against BCCI. So we did not consider them,” he told newspersons in an informal interaction.

8. PepsiCo India has roped in former Nokia senior executive D. Shivakumar to head the India region. He has been appointed as the Chairman and CEO of India region with immediate effect. He will be responsible for deploying the Rs 33,000 crore investment in India that PepsiCo announced last month. Meanwhile, Gautham Mukkavilli, current General Manager for PepsiCo India Beverages, has been named the senior Vice-President , Business Transformation – AMEA at PepsiCo.

9. Qatar has launched a free telephone number service meant for its citizens travelling to 82 countries. The first stage of the service covers 82 countries while the second will include a further 16 nations, the Information Systems and Technology Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

10. South Africa beat India by 134 runs to clinch ODI series. South Africa clinched the three-match ODI series against India by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead after registering a 134-run win in the second one-dayer in Durban on Sunday. Brief scores: South Africa: 280 for 6 in 49 overs (Quinton de Kock 106, Hashim Amla 100; Mohammed Shami 3/48);India: 146 all out in 35.1 overs (Suresh Raina 36; Lonwabo Tsotsobe 4/25, Dale Steyn 3/17). 

11. Insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has decided to stop selling as many as 34 policies, including Jeevan Anand, Jeevan Madhur and Jeevan Saral, to comply with new regulatory guidelines. These policies are withdrawn in December as they are not in conformity with the provisions of new regulations on non-linked insurance products, linked insurance products and health insurance products, a senior LIC official said. 

12. Former India captain Kapil Dev on Saturday inaugurated a new nine-hole golf course in Pune at the Blue Ridge township in Hinjewadi. The course, developed by Paranjape Schemes (Construction) Limited, is built on one lakh square-feet area. Some of the main features of the course include 250-yard golf academy area with practice facilities and target greens, bunkers at 100, 150 and 200 yards; 2000 metres of cart path to connect each hole. Three lakes are also a part of this Golf Course. 

13. Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis and ex-Australia wicketkepeer Adam Gilchrist will be inducted into the ICC's Hall of Fame next week. Waqar and Gilchrist become the 70th and 71st male members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. They will become the first two inductees of 2013-14, while two more names will be announced later this month.

14. Kerala emerged as the champion state in the 29th Junior National Athletics Championships which concluded on 7 December 2013. The championship was held at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Kerala ended the competition with a 585 score, way ahead of the second placed Tamil Nadu. Haryana was placed third. Significantly Kerala has been the champion for 19th time in the 29 year old history of the event.

15. Australia crush England to take 2-0 lead. Australia finished off England in 11 overs on Monday to win the second Test by 218 runs and take a 2-0 series lead into Perth, where they’re aiming to regain the Ashes with a third straight win.

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