Daily Current Affairs and GK | 16 November 2023

Topic: International News

1. In the Biden-Xi Jinping summit, the U.S. and China agreed to resume military talks.

• U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to resume high-level military communication.
• Both leaders met in person for the first time in a year in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.
• Both leaders had agreed to establish a direct line of communication with one another.
• Both sides also announced several other agreements including steps to tackle the flow of fentanyl (Potent synthetic opioid drug) into the US.
• Both leaders also discussed the conflict in Israel and Gaza and also agreed to establish an intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence.
• China and the USA also agreed to establish ways to discuss ship drivers and other incidents.
• U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will meet with his Chinese counterpart after the Biden-Xi Jinping summit.

Topic: Important Days

2. World Philosophy Day: 16 November

• World Philosophy Day is observed every year on the third Thursday of November.
• It is an international day proclaimed by UNESCO. It was first celebrated on 21 November 2002.
• The main objective of the day is to raise awareness about the importance of philosophical analysis, research, and the study of major contemporary issues.
• Philosophy is an inspiring discipline as well as an everyday practice that can transform society.
• On this occasion, UNESCO’s partners encouraged to organize various types of activities- philosophical dialogues, debates, conferences, workshops, cultural events and presentations.
• Philosophy is the study of the nature of existence, knowledge, truth, and ethics.

Topic: Sports

3. Virat Kohli scored his 50th century, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of 49 tons.

• Virat Kohli scored his 50th century in the ODIs New Zealand at the Wankhede stadium at the ICC World Cup.
• Virat Kohli scored a century in 106 balls and reached the milestone. He scored 50 centuries in just 279 innings.
• Sachin Tendulkar scored 49 hundred in 452 innings.
• Virat Kohli also became the first batter to score 700 runs in a single World Cup edition.
• Virat is only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara in terms of most runs scored in ODIs.
• India entered into the finals of the ICC World Cup 2023 after defeating New Zealand by 70 runs at the Wankhede Stadium.

Topic: Space and IT

4. NASA and ISRO have collaborated to launch the NISAR Mission.

• NISAR Mission will advance our understanding of the earth’s dynamics, natural processes and climate change impacts.
• According to reports, the NISAR mission will run for three years.
• It will survey land and ice-covered regions of the earth every 12 days.
• The primary aim is to start the mission in a 90-day satellite commissioning period.
• NISAR is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory. It has been jointly developed by ISRO and NASA. It aims to map the entire globe in 12 days.
• It also aims to provide constant data for analyzing changes in Earth's ecosystems.

Topic: Personality in News

5. N. Sankaraiah died at the age of 101 years.

• N. Sankaraiah was one of the founding members of CPI (M).
• Sankaraiah was among the 32 national council members of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
• They left the party over ideological differences. This led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1964.
• V.S. Achuthanandan, former Chief Minister of Kerala, is another surviving member.
• Madurai Kamaraj University had decided to confer an honorary doctorate on Sankaraiah.
• However, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi refused to give his assent to the decision of the university.
• In 2021, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin conferred the Thagaisal Thamizhar Award on the Sankaraiah.
• Sankaraiah had also actively taken part in the Quit India movement during the Independence struggle.
• He was the 2nd accused in the Madurai Conspiracy case in 1946.
• He was also the editor of Theekathir, the official mouthpiece of the State CPI (M).

Topic: Important Days

6. National Press Day: 16 November

• National Press Day is observed annually on 16 November to commemorate the setting up of the Press Council of India (PCI) in 1966.
• It is observed as a day to recognize the importance of the free and responsible press in a democratic society.
• The theme for National Press Day 2023 is “Media in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”.
• Press Council of India was formed on 4 July 1966 on the recommendations of the First Press Commission.
• The Press Council of India is a statutory and quasi-judicial body. It was re-established in the year 1979 under the Press Council Act, 1978.
• Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai is the current chairperson of the Press Council of India.

Topic: Indian Economy

7. India’s exports increased by 6.21% to 35.57 billion dollars in October 2023.

• India’s exports stood at 31.6 billion dollars a year ago.
• India’s imports increased to 65.03 billion dollars in October 2023, as against 57.91 billion dollars recorded in October 2022.
• Merchandise exports from April to October 2023 stood at around 245 billion.
• From April to October of 2023, the expected value of services exported was above 192 billion US dollars.
• According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, 22 of the 30 key sectors exhibited positive growth in October 2023.
• These sectors include Iron Ore, Ceramic Products and Glassware, Processed Items, Cotton Yarn, and Handloom Products among others.

Topic: India and its neighbours

8. Bangladesh will hold its 12^th parliamentary elections on January 7, 2024.

• Chief Election Commissioner, Kazi Habibul Awal has announced the poll schedule.
• The Election Commission has a constitutional obligation to complete the next general election by January 29, 2024.
• January 29, 2024 is the day of completion of the tenure of the current government.
• Bangladesh parliament known as Jatiya Sangsad is the supreme legislative body of Bangladesh.
• The current parliament of Bangladesh has 350 seats. This includes 50 seats reserved exclusively for women.
• The 11th parliamentary election was held on December 30, 2018.

Topic: International News

9. Many countries designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

• Numerous countries including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Paraguay, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and international entities have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.
• The United States and the European Union have already designated Hamas a terrorist organization.
• Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Al Shifa Hospital.
• Al-Shifa is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. Israel and the US claimed that Hamas has a command base in the hospital.
• Hamas:
  • HAMAS stands for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement.
  • It emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising.
  • It was founded by Palestinian imam and activist Ahmed Yassin.
  • It is committed to armed resistance against Israel and the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel’s place.
  • Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip.
  • Hamas has vowed Israel's destruction and has fought several wars with Israel since taking power in Gaza in 2007.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. Salman Rushdie received the first-ever 'Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award’.

• Renowned writer Salman Rushdie was honoured with the first-ever 'Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award'.
• He was presented the award at a surprise ceremony organized by the Upper East Side Vaclav Havel Center.
• This ceremony was hosted by veteran CBS journalist Lesley Stahl at the Havel Center, previously known as the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation.
• This centre was established in 2012 to advocate human rights and free expression.
• This was Rushdie's first public appearance since he was stabbed during a literary festival in New York in August 2022.
• In October, he received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for 2023.

Topic: Personality in News

11. Shital Mahajan became the first woman to skydive from 21,500 ft near Mt Everest.

• Mahajan jumped off a helicopter from a height of 21,500 ft in front of Mt Everest, the world's highest peak.
• Mahajan landed at Kalapatthar Peak at an altitude 17,444ft.
• Shital Mahajan is an Indian skydiver.
• She is the recipient of the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri in 2001.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

12. The third edition of the Sea Guardian-3 is being carried out in the Northern Arabian Sea.

• China and Pakistan are conducting the exercise from November 11 to 17. Sea Guardian-3 is the China, Pakistan bilateral naval exercise.
• The two sides will also organize their maiden joint maritime patrol.
• The exercise comes days after Russia and Myanmar held their first naval exercise in the Andaman Sea.
• For Sea Guardian-3, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has deployed a Type-093 Song class diesel-electric submarine.
• India recently announced its decision to become a full-member of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). Pakistan is also a member of CMF.
• Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a Bahrain-based US-led multilateral grouping.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

13. India and the USA signed MoU on “Enhancing Innovation Ecosystems through an Innovation Handshake”.

• Under the framework of India – U.S. Commercial Dialogue, India and the USA signed a MoU on “Enhancing Innovation Ecosystems through an Innovation Handshake” on the 14th of November in San Francisco.
• The MoU was signed at the kick-off industry roundtable titled, “Decoding the “Innovation Handshake”: U.S. – India Entrepreneurship Partnership”.
• The main objective of the MoU is to connect both sides of dynamic startup ecosystems. It will facilitate the sharing of information and best practices for startup fundraising.
• It will also promote innovation in critical and emerging technologies (CET) as identified under the India -U.S. initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
• This MoU shows the commitment of both countries to strengthening the startup ecosystem in deep tech sectors and promoting cooperation in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET).
• This MoU has set the platform for two future Innovation Handshake events scheduled to take place in India and the United States in early 2024.
• The Commercial Dialogue (CD) is a cooperative undertaking at the Ministerial level between India and the U.S.

Topic: Sports

14. KL Rahul hits the fastest century by an Indian in the ODI World Cup.

• KL Rahul hits the fastest century in 62 balls in a match against the Netherlands.
• He broke the record held by Rohit who scored the century in 63 balls.
• He also became the second Indian wicketkeeper-batter after Rahul Dravid to score a World Cup century.
• India became the first team to have five of its batters score fifty runs or more in an innings in the ODI World Cup.
• Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain to score 500 or more runs in a single World Cup edition.