11 December 2017 Current Affairs
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11 December: International Mountain Day
International Mountain Day was observed across the world on 11 December 2017 with the theme ‘Mountains under pressure: climate, hunger and migration’. The day provides an occasion to highlight how climate, hunger and migration are affecting highlands and to ensure that sustainable mountain development is integrated into the 2030 Agenda and in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. This year’s theme is also linked to the Mountain Partnership Global Meeting, which is scheduled to be held from 11 to 13 December 2017 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome, Italy.
India beat Germany, win Bronze at Hockey World League Final
India defeated Germany 2-1 in the Hockey World League Final to grab the bronze medal at the event, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. SV Sunil and Harmanpreet Singh scored for the world number six Indian side. The world’s fifth-ranked side Germany was without any substitutes as seven of their players were unavailable for the match either due to injury or high fever. For India’s success, Odisha government presented each player a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.
Pradeep Singh Kharola takes over as Air India CMD
Senior IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India. Kharola assumed charge from Rajiv Bansal. He was the managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited since February 2015.
Russia-India-China Foreign Ministers meet begins in Delhi
Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, and China (RIC) are holding a trilateral meeting in New Delhi. The meeting is expected to review global and regional issues of mutual interest as well as discuss trilateral exchanges and activities. The External Affairs Minister will have separate bilateral meetings with her Russian and Chinese counterparts. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi have arrived in New Delhi.
Pioneer of DNA Fingerprinting Lalji Singh passes away
Lalji Singh, a pioneer of DNA fingerprinting technology in India and former Vice-Chancellor of Benares Hindu University, BHU (2011 to 2014), passed away at the age of 70. Lalji Singh and his team developed the indigenous probe that was first applied to settle paternity disputes in the late 1980s at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad.
US, South Korea, Japan started missile-tracking drill
The US, South Korea and Japan started joint exercises on 11 December to track missiles from North Korea. The two-day exercise – the sixth since June 2016 – kicked off in waters near the Korean peninsula and Japan. The exercise is being held as North Korea fired a powerful missile in November which could target the entire US mainland. Since then, the US and North Korea had enough angry exchange of words.
China starts World’s Biggest Floating Solar Project
A unit of China Three Gorges Corp. is building a 1 billion yuan ($151 million) floating solar power plant, the world’s biggest, in the nation’s eastern province of Anhui. China Three Gorges New Energy Co. started building the 150-megawatt project in July and part of the plant was connected to the grid. The project features panels fixed to floats on the surface of a lake that formed after a coal mine collapsed, according to the unit. The entire facility is expected to come online by May 2018.
ASEAN India Connectivity Summit begins in Delhi
The ASEAN India Connectivity Summit (AICS) began in New Delhi on 11 December 2017. The theme of the two-day Summit is “Powering Digital and Physical Linkages for Asia in the 21st Century”. The summit would be attended by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari along with ministers of state for External Affairs, Gen VK Singh and MJ Akbar and Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge), Manoj Sinha.
Rahul Gandhi elected Indian National Congress President
The Indian National Congress announced that Rahul Gandhi has been elected as its new President, taking over from his mother Sonia Gandhi. Rahul was declared the party President after no other candidate filed a nomination to contest the presidential elections. The Congress had earlier announced that 89 nominations were filed proposing Rahul Gandhi’s candidacy for the presidential elections.