Blog

Clat Possible > Blog > Current Affairs Capsule > Current Affairs Capsule – 13 December 2019

Current Affairs Capsule – 13 December 2019

December 13, 2019
Posted by: Team CP
Category: Current Affairs Capsule

No Comments

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added 1,840 new species to its catalogue of plants and animals that risk extinction. With this, the Red List of Threatened Species now contains more than 30,000 species under threat of disappearing. The IUCN released its updated list in COP25 held in Madrid, Spain. Founded on 5th October 1948, the IUCN is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
International Mountain Day is observed every year across the globe on 11th December to raise awareness about indigenous peoples and minorities, who live in mountain environments and the relevance of their cultural heritage, traditions and customs. The theme for 2019 is ‘Mountains Matter for Youth’. The United Nations declared the year 2002 as the “UN International Year of Mountains”. The first international day was celebrated for the first time in the following year i.e. 2003.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia for four years from international sporting events including the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, over its longstanding doping scandal. Russia can appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has started a pilot project for using FASTag for parking purposes at the Hyderabad airport to ensure the benefits of FASTag beyond tolling. Conceptualised as “FASTag 2.0”, it covers parking payments, fuel payments, etc. The pilot project has been launched in two phases, the first being a controlled pilot testing, wherein only ICICI tags would be used. The second phase of pilot shall cover all other Issuer Bank tags.
The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland is held annually at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama from 1st December to 10th December to encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote the cultural heritage of Nagaland. The first festival was held in 2000. Also known as the ‘Festival of Festivals’, it aims to protect and revive the rich culture of Nagaland.
The ‘Diwali – Power of One’ Award 2019 has been presented to four prominent diplomats in recognition and celebration of their work, especially at the United Nations, for a secure and peaceful world. The four diplomats are Kairat Abdrakhmanov of Kazakhstan, Nicholas Emiliou of Cyprus, Frantisek Ruzicka of Slovakia and Volodymyr Yelchenko of Ukraine. The awards, also known as ‘Oscars of Diplomacy’, were established by the Diwali Foundation USA Inc., in 2017.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published a new report on the Arms Industry Database on 9th December, 2019. As per the report, the arms’ sales rose by nearly 5% worldwide in 2018 in a market dominated by the United States. The turnover of the 100 biggest arms manufacturers came to $420 billion. US manufacturers alone accounted for 59% of the market. Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6% of the market
South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi was crowned as Miss Universe 2019 at an event held in Atlanta, United States. Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray of Philippines presented the crown to the 26-year-old Zozibini. India was represented by Vartika Singh in the beauty pageant, who failed to enter the top 10 of the Miss Universe 2019 competition. After Lara Dutta had won the crown in 2000, no Indian contestant has been able to win the Miss Universe title in all these 19 years. This year was the 68th edition of the Miss Universe pageant.