General Studies & Current Affairs for Bank, SSC, CLAT, Civil Services and other Competitive Exams

24 November 2014 National: Country observes Guru Teg Bhadur’s Martyrdom Day today Martyrdom Day of 9th Sikh guru, Guru ...

GK & Current Affair Updates: November 24 - 2014









24 November 2014


National:

Country observes Guru Teg Bhadur’s Martyrdom Day today
Martyrdom Day of 9th Sikh guru, Guru Teg Bahadur is being observed. It was on this day in 1675 he sacrificed his life in Chandni Chowk, Delhi on the orders of the Mughal Emperor of the day. Guru Teg Bahadur who is known as “Hind Di Chadder “sacrificed his life for the unity of the society of that period and to stop religious tyranny by the rulers of the day. In Punjab, main religious congregations are being organized at Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district where Guru’s head was cremated and in the Gurudwaras which are related to the memory of 9th Guru. A special journey known as “Rin Uttar Yatra’ to pay gratitude to great guru has started from Anandpur Sahib which will conclude at Gurudwara Sis Ganj Delhi.

Canada province offers uranium
Brad Wall, Premier of the Saskatchewan province in Canada, who was on an official visit to India from November 16-23, said the province is discussing sale of uranium to India as well as partnering in agriculture and clean coal technologies. On energy cooperation, Premier Wall said that like India, Saskatchewan province too depends on coal for about 50 per cent of its needs and to minimise carbon emissions, a clean coal technology has been developed resulting in significant carbon capture and storage. India and China are globally the largest users of coal and shifting to clean coal will contribute to their carbon reduction measures.

IIT-Madras joins CERN experiment
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, which is part of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, is famous for its role in the discovery of the Higgs Boson a.k.a the god particle. It is expected to start collecting data once again around March 2015. But this time, it will include another member from our environs — IIT-Madras. IIT-Madras has been accepted as a full member of the collaboration and is looking forward to make best use of the opportunity. Now, PhD students from the physics department will get to work in the collider; undergraduate students can do short summer projects at CMS; members of physics, computer science and electrical engineering departments at IIT-M can work on data analysis, grid computing and high-end detector building related to the experiment.


International:


1971 war crimes: B’desh Tribunal sentences Mobarak Hussain to death
In Bangladesh, the International crimes Tribunal today sentenced Mohammed Mobarak Hossain to death for crimes against humanity in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Mobarak Hossain was a Jamaat-e-Islami member and functioned as a Razakar Commander in Brahmanbaria in eastern Bangladesh during the Liberation War. 64-year old Mobarak was arrested in 2012, and lodged in the Kashimpur jail during the trails. War crimes trials have been going on in Bangladesh since the Hasina government established the International Crimes Tribunals in 2010, almost 40 years after the Liberation War. The Ganojagran Mancha initiated the Shahbagh movement in 2013 demanding maximum punishment for war criminals. The Liberation War left over 3 million people dead and over 2 lakh women raped.

Kenyan military claims to have killed over 100 al-Shabab militants
The Kenyan military has claimed to have killed over 100 al-Shabab militants linked to a deadly attack on a bus. Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto said the armed forces had carried out two operations in Somalia, destroying equipment and a camp from which the bus attack was planned. Mr Ruto gave details of the military operation after attending service at a church in Nyahururu. However, al-Shabab refuted this, and said that its fighters were safe. In attack, militants had killed 28 passengers from a bus in northern Kenya.

Hitler’s watercolour fetches €130,000
Adolf Hitler’s 1941 watercolour painting, titled ‘Standesamt und Altes Rathaus Muenchen (Civil Registry Office and Old Town Hall of Munich)’, has fetched €130,000 at an auction in Nuremberg, Germany. The painting was bought by an individual from the Middle East. The painting is one of around 2,000 pieces that Hitler painted between 1905 and 1920, when he was a struggling young artist. Around 10% of the proceeds will be donated to a charity for disabled children. Five other Hitler paintings have fetched between €5,000-80,000.

Sci. & Tech:

Cache of human skulls discovered
As many as 21 human skulls were discovered from one place along Konark Marine Drive, about 70 km from Bhubaneswar. Practice of black magic is being suspected. In the morning, locals found human skulls, some with traces of vermilion, and animal body parts under a bridge over Kushabhadra River. They also recovered black cotton and flowers from the spot. The discovery has spread panic among villagers. A police team is deployed at the spot.

Sports:

World Chess Championship: Carlsen retains title against Anand
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen defeated challenger Viswanathan Anand in the penultimate game of their 12-game match to retain the World chess title in Sochi, Russia. In the 11th game, Anand resigned on the 45th move to give Carlsen a 6.5-4.5 victory. Carlsen won the second, sixth and 11th games while Anand could emerge victorious in only the third game.

Switzerland win their 1st ever Davis Cup Tennis title
Switzerland have won their first ever Davis Cup Tennis title. In the best of five Tie, at Lille, they beat Hosts France by securing an unbeatable three - one lead. Roger Federer won the first revers singles by defeating Richard Gasquet in straight sets. The second reverse singles was canceled. Switzerland is the fourteenth nation to win the Davis Cup. The victory is one of the greatest sporting achievements for Switzerland.

World Women’s Boxing: Sarjubala, Saweety win Silver medals
Women Boxers Sarjubala Devi and Saweety today won Silver medals in the World Women's Boxing Championships in Korea. In the final of the 48kg division, Sarjubala lost to Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, 0-3. In the 81kg final, Saweety lost to China's Xiaoli Yang, 0-3.

Australia beat S Africa, get top ODI ranking
Australia beat South Africa by two wickets in Sydney to win the one day international series 4-1 and return to the top of the world ODI rankings. In the International Cricket Council's new rankings table, Australia are only 0.2 ranking points ahead of India, with South Africa third.

Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix & Formula One title

Lewis Hamilton has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well as the Formula 1 racing championship title of the year. Felipe Massa came second in the race. It is Hamilton’s eleventh win of the season, and he takes the crown by 67 points from Nico Rosberg. Hamilton jumped into the lead in the very beginning of the race and never looked behind. He was followed by his Mercedes team mate Nico Roseberg in the initial laps but Roseberg’s engine broke down in the middle of the race. The World number one, Lewis Hamilton has now become the first British double world champion since Jackie Stewart in 1971.