Human Library event in Mysuru

NATIONAL NEWS

Human Library event in Mysuru

• Human Library, a concept which seeks to replace books with humans, will be held in the City of Palaces Mysuru.
• The first event of Human Library aims to break past long-standing prejudices and stereotypes by creating a safe framework for conservation by using a library analogy of lending people rather than books.

Anand Kumar of Super 30 to be the central figure in Indian Republic Day celebrations in the US

• Super 30 founder and renowned mathematician, Anand Kumar has been invited to a function organised on the eve of Indian Republic Day celebrations in New York, the non-resident Indians organising the event.
• The Federation of Indian Association (FIA) is organising the function in the US in January with grandeur as it also coincides with the Golden Jubilee celebration of the association.
• FIA is oldest organisation of the non-resident Indians in the US completing its 50th year in 2020.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Abu Dhabi selected as world’s leading sports tourism destination

• Abu Dhabi has been selected as the world’s leading Sports tourism Destination at the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) being held in Muscat.
• This is the seventh time in a row that Abu Dhabi has been selected for this coveted award.
• The award is the latest in several prestigious accolades gained by Abu Dhabi this year, including being selected as the West Asia’s Leading Business Tourism Destination at the West Asia edition of WTA and Best City Break at the UK’s Selling Travel Agents’ Choice Awards.

India, Australia for collaboration to counter terror threat

• India and Australia emphasized the need for enhanced collaboration to counter the threat of terrorism and violent extremism through increased information sharing. 
• They also exchanged views on achieving their shared objective of peace, prosperity and progress in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The two sides discussed bilateral defence engagements, areas to enhance cooperation in the field of defence industry and defence technology.
• They also held a discussion on the prevailing regional security concerns. The issues came up for discussion during the third India-Australia Secretary-level 22 Dialogue in New Delhi today.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCE

NSE Launches Interest Rate Options on 10-year Government Bonds

• Leading stock exchange NSE launched interest rate options on 10-year government bonds, with the first day of the launch witnessing the turnover of 5,926 contracts.
• Interest rate options are financial derivative contracts whose values are based on an underlying interest rate.
• The move is aimed at providing an efficient tool for managing interest rate risk and exposure through hedging.
• These interest rate options are based on 10-year government bonds maturing in 2029 with coupon rate of 7.26 per cent and 6.45 per cent.
•  Presently, interest rate futures are available on seven government bonds for residual maturity ranging from 4 years to 15 years.
• An average daily turnover of around Rs 1,480 crore has been observed in the current financial year on NSE, the exchange said. Rival bourse BSE launched trading in interest rate options based on government securities in August this year.

BANKING

Exim Bank provides USD 500 mn credit to Bangladesh for defence procurement

• India has provided USD 500 million (Rs 3,561 crore) line of credit to Bangladesh for defence-related procurement in the neighbouring country.
• Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) entered into an agreement on April 11 with Bangladesh's Armed Forces Division for making available to the latter a Government of India-supported line of credit (LoC) of USD 500 million.

DEFENCE

UAE, US joint military exercise 'Iron Union 12'commences

• 'Iron Union 12', a joint military exercise between the ground forces of the UAE and the United States, commenced in the presence of Major General Saleh Mohamed Saleh Al Amiri, UAE Commander of Land Forces and Lieutenant General Terry Ferrell, Commander of US Army Central, USARCENT.
• Spanning a few weeks, 'Iron Union 12' will see the two sides take part in joint military cooperation to enhance combat and tactical capabilities.
• The Emirates News Agency reported that the joint military exercises of the UAE Armed Forces with fraternal and friendly countries takes place in a manner consistent with latest developments, and reflects the UAE Armed Forces' determination to stand firmly against all threats and challenges facing the region.

AWARD

South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi Crowned Miss Universe 2019

• South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe 2019, giving the country its second title in in three years in a pageant that also saw strong showings from contestants from Puerto Rico and Mexico.

APPOINTMENT

NSE appoints Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as chairman

• Leading stock exchange NSE has appointed Public Interest Director Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as its new chairman.
• The appointment comes following the approval of the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
• The position was vacant since Ashok Chawla resigned as the chairman of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in January.
• Chaturvedi has been appointed as the chairman of the governing board of the NSE with the approval of Sebi.

IMPORTANT DAY

Human Rights Day 2019

• International Human Rights Day is being celebrated, 10th December 2019.
• It commemorates the UN General Assembly’s adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948.
• The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Stand up for Human Rights”.

SPORTS

Russia banned for four years to include 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Cup

• Russia has been handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
• It means the Russia flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar.