{Current Affairs} Daily News Notes: 4th, 5th Dec, 2013

· About 1.2 crore voters including over 4 lakh first timers, are eligible to exercise their franchise in Delhi Assembly election. For the first time, the None of the Above, NOTA option is available to voters in the EVMs who do not find any of candidates suitable. The NOTA option will be printed in pink on EVMs.
· The Karnataka legislative Assembly passed the Essential Services Maintenance Bill (ESMB) today. The bill has a provision to issue unbailable warrant against agitating government servants responsible for extending essential services to public. The entire opposition asked the government to withdraw the bill as it gives sweeping power to the police and can be misused by them. The Law Minister however argued that ESMA will be used only during rarest of rare occasions and the decision will be taken at the highest level.
· The latest 'red list' of endangered bird species released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) includes 15 Indian bird species, three of which are found mainly in Gujarat. These include the Great Indian Bustard, the Indian Vulture and Siberian cranes. All three are in the 'critically endangered' (CR) category. Several migratory birds that come to Thol and Nalsarovar have also been listed in the 'vulnerable' and 'nearly threatened' bird species. Officials said the IUCN red list is the list on the basis of which several countries and states form their strategies for conservation of birds. The decline in the population of these species is because of the growing human interference in areas where bird nesting and colonies exist, said the officials. While the extensive use of diclofenac by farmers for treatment of their cattle, had led to the fall in the number of Indian vultures, the destruction of deciduous forests has lead to the decline in the number of Forest Owlets. The presence of chemicals in the carcass of animals on which scavenging birds feed has affected their population adversely.
· India’s Department of Post (DoP) has launched two new parcel services namely ‘Express Parcel’ and ‘Business Parcel’. Express Parcel is an air mail service for retail and bulk customers under which parcel will be shipped through airlines. This service will be initially available between 20 identified cities—Agra, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Patna, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Pune, Parwanoo, Shillong, Surat and Thiruvananthapuram. Business Parcel is a contractual service, designed to suit requirement of business customers for an economical and reliable distribution solution. This service will have nationwide coverage.
· President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Nagaland’s famous Hornbill Festival. Hornbill (name of a bird) Festival, considered one of the biggest events in the state, puts on display the rich culture of Naga tribes which includes shows of music and dance. Hornbill Festival is a festival celebrated in Nagaland every year in the first week of December. Nagaland is also observing the golden jubilee (50 years) of its formation as a state.
· The Prime Minister has emphasised the need for measures to bridge the rural-urban divide in telecommunications. Addressing India Telecom 2013 conference in New Delhi today, Dr Manmohan Singh said, one of the key objectives of the National Telecom Policy 2012 is to increase rural tele-density to 70% by the year 2017 and 100% by the year 2020 from current of about 40%. The Policy also recognizes telecom and broadband connectivity as a basic necessity and aims to provide reliable and affordable broadband access to rural and remote areas in the country. Also, govt. has raised the Foreign Direct Investment limit in the telecommunications sector from 74% to 100%. Dr Singh said, India needs to develop a strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics and telecommunications.
· Sushma Singh will be the next Chief Information Commissioner. Ms Singh, the seniormost Information Commissioner, will succeed Deepak Sandhu who will complete her term on the 18th of this month. The decision to appoint the former IAS officer was taken unanimously by a panel comprising Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj and Law Minister Kapil Sibal. Ms Singh will the second woman to become Chief Information Commissioner after Ms Sandhu.
· The Bharatiya Janata Party said on Tuesday that it would “unequivocally oppose” the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill when it came up for discussion in Parliament on the grounds that it would be a “threat to India’s communal harmony.”
· The Japanese External Trade Organisation (Jetro), an official promotion body for trade and investment, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to set up a Japanese Industrial Zone at Supa-Parner Industrial Estate, about 80 km from Pune. It said establishing Japanese auto component units in Pune region would reduce imports by international auto majors, including Japanese auto firms such as Suzuki Motors, Honda Motor Company, Toyota and source the same from the proposed industrial zone. He said Jetro expects automobile sales to remain strong going ahead in this Asia’s third largest economy and the Japanese companies would play a huge role by improving supplies to the automobile market. Jetro’s first industrial project in India came up in Neemrana, Rajasthan, in 2006.
· Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh arrived in Dhaka this morning on her first visit to Bangladesh. She is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Opposition leader Khaleda Zia and Jatiya Party Chairman General HM Ershad during her two-day visit. Meanwhile, there is no letup in the arson and violence as the 131-hour opposition enforced transport blockade in Bangladesh entered the fifth day today with a series of train derailments across the country. At least 4 passengers were killed as three trains derailed today due to removing of fishplates by miscreants. So far 46 people have been killed in the nationwide transport blockade enforced by BNP-led 18 party Opposition since the 25th of November when elections for the 10th Parliament were announced. The Opposition is demanding that a non-partisan caretaker govt be installed, and the poll schedule be withdrawn till an agreement is reached.
· Kathmandu-based Indian diplomat Abhay Kumar has penned an anthem (The Earth Anthem) for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in a bid to foster regional consciousness and bring member states closer. Originally composed in Hindi, the anthem will also be made available in the languages of the other seven SAARC countries. Abhay Kumar said the huge popularity of Bollywood films in South Asia made him compose the anthem in Hindi. SAARC Anthem by Kumar will be translated in Hindi, English, Nepali, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Sinhala, Dzongkha and Dhivehi, languages spoken in the South Asian region. Anthems have been in use for quite some time now and there are several prominent regional organisations that have their own anthems. The European Union has adopted the “Ode To Joy” fifth movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as its anthem, while the African Union has adopted a song titled “Let’s All Unite and Celebrate Together”. The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) adopted “Asean Waya”, in English as its anthem in 2008. According to Asean, the anthem is an expression of Asean unity and strengthens the sense of the grouping’s identity and belonging among the region’s people.
· According to a survey by corruption watchdog Transparency International, India is positioned at 94th place on corruption index which ranked 177 countries. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia are viewed as the world’s most corrupt countries while Denmark and New Zealand have scored the best. Bhutan ranked 31st, Sri Lanka 91, Nepal 116, Pakistan 127 and Bangladesh 136. Among BRICS group, India is behind China (80th), South Africa and Brazil (both 72nd). It is, however, better than Russia (127th).Worldwide, almost 70% of nations are thought to have a "serious problem" with public servants on the take, and none of the 177 countries surveyed this year got a perfect score, said the Berlin-based non-profit group. Transparency International's annual list is the most widely used indicator of sleaze in political parties, police, justice systems and civil services, a scourge which undermines development and the fight against poverty. Among countries that have slipped the most on the group's 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index are war-torn Syria as well as Libya and Mali, which have also faced major military conflict in recent years.
· China’s yuan currency overtook the euro in October, becoming the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organisation SWIFT said on Tuesday. The yuan, also known as the renminbi, now ranks behind the U.S. dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08 per cent (China: 8.66%). The top five countries using the yuan for trade finance in October were China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany and Australia, SWIFT said in a statement.
· A satellite which will provide TV services to countries such as India & China has been successfully launched by private US company SpaceX
· International Volunteer Day is being celebrated today. The day is celebrated to recognize volunteerism and pay special tribute to the contribution of youth volunteers in global peace and sustainable human development. Hundreds of social service organizations and NGOs are working across the country in sectors like education and health to help people in need.