CURRENT AFFAIRS 6TH DECEMBER 2017.... COMPRESSED

CURRENT AFFAIRS TODAY:-

1. Lebanon’s Saad Hariri withdraws resignation:

A month after announcing that he was quitting as the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad al-Hariri officially withdrew his resignation.
Hariri had announced his resignation in a televised broadcast from Saudi Arabia, citing Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s meddling in regional affairs as the main reason.
He had already suspended his resignation two weeks ago after returning to Lebanon.

2. RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6%:

The Reserve Bank of India left the key repo rate unchanged at 6%.

In the financial year 2017-2018, five bi-monthly policies have been announced so far.

The central bank had reduced the benchmark lending rate by 0.25% points to 6% in August, bringing it to a 6-year low, however, kept it unchanged in October and now in December.

The central bank has raised inflation forecast to 4.3-4.7 per cent in third and fourth quarters of current fiscal and kept the economic growth forecast unchanged at 6.7 per cent.

USEFUL INFO

Repo Rate- 6%

Reverse Repo Rate- 5.75%

Marginal Standing Facility Rate and Bank Rate- 6.25%

Cash Reserve Ratio- 4%

Statutory Liquidity Ratio- 19.5%

3. One97 Communications appoints SoftBanks Kabir Misra as director:

One 97 Communications, the entity that runs financial services platform Paytm, has appointed SoftBanks Kabir Misra as a director on its board.

As per the filing to the Corporate Affairs Ministry, Misra was appointed as an additional director in a resolution passed at the companys board meeting on November 7.

4. Citi Bank hires Zoher Karu to head its Asia Pacific analytics:

Citi Bank has appointed Zoher Karu as head of Asia Pacific Data and Analytics, which helps understand consumer behavior in the region, a key factor to sell banking products.

The move reflects the bank’s growing focus on retail banking.

Zoher, who will report to Anand Selva, Head of Asia Pacific Consumer Banking, will have oversight of Citi’s data and analytics capabilities as well as customer insights across the banking business in Asia Pacific.

His role will cover 17 out of Citi’s 19 consumer banking markets worldwide.

USEFUL INFO

Citi Bank Headquarters-  USA

Citi Bank CEO-  Barbara J. Desoer

5. Saudi Crown Prince wins poll for TIME Person of the Year:

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has won a readers’ poll for TIME’s ‘Person of the Year 2017’ award, scoring 24% of the votes.

Last year, Indian PM Narendra Modi won the poll while US President Donald Trump won the title.

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tops 2017 list of Most Followed Indians on Twitter:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be the most followed Indian on Twitter, increasing his follower base from 24.6 million in 2016 to 37.5 million this year.

As per trends in 2017, PM Modi saw his follower base increasing by 52 per cent to 37.5 million (as of December 4).

The Indian cricket captain made the cut in the list of 10 most followed Indians, ending the year with 20.8 million followers, as against 12.9 million last year.

Cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar, who ranked eighth in the list, saw a growth of 56 per cent in his follower base on Twitter this year.

7. Google brings ‘Two-wheeler’ mode to Maps in India:

Google has launched the ‘Two-wheeler’ mode on Maps in India, a feature which will show the fastest route and directions to two-wheeler riders to reach their entered destination.

The feature will be available alongside the ‘Drive’, ‘Train or Bus’, and ‘Walk’ options.

The ‘Two-wheeler’ mode is currently available on Android smartphones.

USEFUL INFO

Google Headquarters-  California, United States

Google CEO INDIA--  Sundar Pichai

8.  Scientist making CO2-absorbing plants wins $3 million prize:

American biologist Joanne Chory has been awarded the 2018 Breakthrough Prize, which includes a $3 million cash award, for “deciphering how plants optimise their growth to transform sunlight into chemical energy”.

9.  India wins first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship:

India has won the first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship.

In the title clash played in Guwahati, India defeated Nepal, 3-0.

10.  Russia banned from 2018 Winter Olympics:

Russia has been banned from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in an historic decision by the International Olympic Committee

Although some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag

The IOC also handed a lifetime ban to the country’s deputy Prime Minister, Vitaly Mutko, preventing him from having any involvement in the Olympic Games. 

USEFUL INFO

2018 Winter Olympics Venue-  Pyeongchang, South Korea

2018 Winter Olympics Venue-  Beijing, China

11.  Last Romanian monarch passes away:

Romania’s former king, Michael I, passed away Switzerland, he was 96.

12.  Yuvraj Singh Launches UNICEF-ICC's Adolescent Campaign

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh will be promoting a UNICEF sports initiative for youngsters in South Asia, which will also have the ICC's backing. Yuvraj launched the "Power of Sports to Shape the Future of Adolescents" campaign in South Asia. Yuvraj was joined by under-19 players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who will compete in the ICC under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in January 2018.

13.  Tenth Jaipur International Film Festival

The 10th Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) is all set to present International Cinema to film buffs. The Festival has become a great favourite of both the cinegoers and the filmmakers. The second and the last list of films selected for the Festival was released that includes a total of 48 films from 13 countries.

14.  Akash Missile Successfully Launched

The Surface to Air Missile AKASH with indigenous radio frequency seeker against target Banshee has been successfully launched from the Launch Complex-III at ITR Chandipur, Odisha. 

15.  International Solar Alliance is Now a Legal Entity

In terms of its Framework Agreement, with ratification by Guinea as the 15th country in November 2017, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) now become a treaty-based international intergovernmental organization. The International Solar Alliance is India's global initiative. It aims at increasing solar energy deployment in member countries. The ISA was jointly launched by the PM Narendra Modi and the president of France in November 2015 in Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN climate conference. Till date, 46 countries have signed and 19 countries have ratified the framework agreement of the ISA. The ISA interim secretariat has been operational as a de-facto organization since January 2016.

16. Syrian Boy Wins Children's Peace Prize

Sixteen-year-old Mohamad Al Jounde from Syria was awarded the International Children's Peace Prize for his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children.

17.  Uttar Pradesh Shamli District Included in NCR

Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district was included in the National Capital Region (NCR), taking the total number of districts in the NCR to 23.