Current affairs : November 20, 2016 for all competitive exams
November 20: Universal Children's Day
United Nations Universal
Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each
year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide,
and improving
children's welfare.
- November 20th is an important date as it is the date
in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights
of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly
adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Since 1990, Universal Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children's rights.
India, Cyprus ink new tax pact
to replace 2 decade-old treaty
India and Cyprus has signed
a new double tax avoidance pact under which capital gains tax will
be levied on sale of shares on investments made after April 1, 2017,
bringing the island nation at par with Mauritius in terms of tax
treatment.
- The latest pact would replace the existing Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), which was in place since June 13, 1994.
J&K govt. to
pay salary in cash
The Jammu and Kashmir
government on Saturday came up with a unique idea of releasing employees’
salary in hard cash this month to minimise rush outside the banks and the ATMs.
- Ms. Mufti has directed that Rs 10,000, out of the salary for the month of November, will be paid in cash. The move will mitigate the inconvenience of the employees to some extent.
Ami
Bera re-elected to US Congress for third consecutive term
Ami Bera has been
re-elected to the US House of Representatives for a third consecutive term in a
close election with his win taking the total number of Indian-Americans elected
to the Congress to a record five.
- This is the first time that the House would have four
Indian-American members.
- Bera, 51, would be joined by three first-time Indian-American lawmakers in the US House of Representatives -- Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, Pramila Jayapal from Washington State and Ro Khanna from California.
Pakistan bans two militant outfits
Pakistan has banned two
militant groups linked with the Taliban and al-Qaeda for their involvement in
several terror attacks across the country.
- Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi Al-Alami (LeJ) were
banned after recent deadly attacks in Balochistan and Sindh provinces
World’s first Bollywood theme
park opens in Dubai
Bollywood Parks, Dubai has
opened with fanfare, fireworks, dance, music and simulator 4D shows based on
hit Hindi-language movies.
- Visitors were greeted by performers dancing to thumping Bollywood music across the park with some atop a mock-up of a suburban Mumbai railway train and others outside the Rajmahal theatre, which will stage live musicals.
World’s first heart transplant
doctor passes away
Renowned heart surgeon
Denton Cooley, who performed the world`s first artificial heart transplant in the
United States, has passed away at the age of 96 in Houston, Texas.
- Cooley, who was the founder of Texas Heart
Institute, pioneered many techniques still used in cardiovascular surgery.
Ashwin 1st bowler ever to take
50 wickets in consecutive years
Ravichandran Ashwin, with
his 5-wicket haul against England in the Visakhapatnam Test, became
- the first bowler ever to complete 50 wickets in two consecutive calendar years. The off-spinner took 62 wickets in 9 Tests in 2015 and has so far claimed 52 wickets in 9 Tests in 2016. Notably, Ashwin was the top wicket-taker in Tests last year.
Andy
Murray reaches ATP Final
World number one Andy Murray
survived his second marathon of the week to beat Milos Raonic 5-7 7-6(5) 7-6(9)
in a nerve-jangling semi-final thriller at the ATP World Tour Finals.
- Outplayed at times by the big-serving 25-year-old
Canadian who had a match point at the death, Britain’s Murray scrapped and
clawed his way to a career-record 23rd consecutive win in three hours and
38 minutes of spellbinding combat.
- which set a new record for the longest three-set clash in the tournament’s history.
