12 July 2016 Current Affairs
China has no historic rights over South China Sea: Hague Tribunal
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Hague, the Netherlands has rejected China’s claims to economic rights across large swathes of South China Sea. Ruling in this regard was given by a five-member tribunal appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague in a case brought by the Philippines. The ruling came from an arbitration tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which both China and Philippines have signed. India supports freedom of navigation and flight and unimpeded commerce based on the principals of international law in South China Sea.
Bangladesh, India sign agreement for joint coal fired power plant
Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement for the construction of a 1,320 megawatt (MW) coal fired power plant near Sundarbans. The biggest project under bilateral cooperation that would mark the transition from electricity export to generation level. The agreement was signed between Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). BHEL was selected under an open international tender for constructing the super thermal plant at Bangladesh’s southwestern Rampal near the Sundarbans.
Emirates named world’s best airline in 2016 Skytrax awards
Emirates is the world’s best airline for the year 2016, according to a survey of millions of airline passengers conducted by Skytrax. The international airline, based in Dubai, won the top honors at Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremony at the Farnborough International Airshow in England.
Nirma bags LafargeHolcim cement assets in India for ?9,400 crore
LafargeHolcim has entered into an agreement with Nirma Limited to sell its 11 million tonne cement capacity in India at an enterprise value of about $1.4 billion (about ?9,400 crore). The deal is subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India. Lafarge India operates three cement plants and two grinding stations largely catering to the eastern India. The company also markets aggregates and is one of India’s leading ready-mix concrete manufacturers. Headquartered in Gujarat, diversified conglomerate Nirma has business interest across industrial and consumer products ranging from soaps, detergents, salt, soda ash, caustic soda, cement, packaging and other household products.
India’s Olympic Silver Medalist Joe Antic passed away
Hockey Olympian Joe Antic has passed away in Mumbai. He was 90 years old. He represented the country in the Rome Games where Pakistan won the final between the arch-foes 1-0. The hockey player was also a part of the hockey squad that finished runner-up, again to Pakistan, in the Asian Games at Jakarta. Joseph Anthony Antic was an Indian field hockey player. He was born on 13 March 1931 in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He won a silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He had retired from Western Railway in the mid-1980s. After his playing days, he took up coaching. He was one of the coaches in the Indian team’s World Cup camp in 1973.