Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam

15 January, 2014

India, Pakistan troops exchange sweets at LoC on Milad

• For the first time since a fresh spell of the border skirmishes began in October 2012, lower- and middle- ranking officers of the Indian and Pakistani Armies held flag meetings and exchanged greetings, and sweets at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.

• Defence sources said ahead of a possible meeting between the Directors General of the Military Operations of the two countries “in near future”, officers of the ranks company commanders held a flag meeting somewhere along the LoC in Kargil sector.

• In Kashmir, a similar meeting was held near Kaman Post at Aman Setu, a steel bridge that connects Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the Valley in Uri sector. Cross-LoC trade and travel operates between two parts of the once unified State of Jammu and Kashmir through Aman Setu in Kashmir and Chakan-Da-Bagh, in Poonch sector, Jammu.

• Major violations of the November 2003 ceasefire occurred along the LoC, as well as at the International Border in Jammu province, when Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers in Mendhar area on January 8, 2013, and the alleged beheading of Lance Naik Hemraj strained the relations between the two countries. A number of soldiers and civilians suffered fatal casualties while dozens of civilians sustained injuries in exchange of gunfire and mortar shelling. However, the situation improved towards the end of 2013 and no major incident of the ceasefire violation has been reported in more than two months.

CBI to have specialised unit

• Taking note of the growing menace of corruption in sports, the Central Bureau of Investigation will soon set-up a specialised unit to handle cases related to sports fraud, fixing and illegal betting.
• Making the announcement at the FIFA-Interpol national workshop CBI Director Ranjit Sinha highlighted lack of a legal framework as the main hurdle in probing cases related to sports fraud.
• He said this unit will act as repository of intelligence and data related to corruption in sports.
• When questioned how the unit plans to work when there is no legal framework for probing corruption in sports, he said a law to tackle corruption in sports is in the final stages of drafting by the Sports Ministry.

Justice Swatanter Kumar moves Delhi HC in sexual assault case

• Former Supreme Court judge and National Green Tribunal chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar moved the Delhi High Court in connection with the alleged sexual assault case, seeking damages and restraining media from publicising the issue.

• Following the development, Justice G S Sistani ordered the hearing of Kumar’s plea itself after a battery of senior lawyers mentioned the matter.

• The former judge had last week sent legal notices to The Indian Express, Times Now and CNN-IBN for publishing the contents of his former intern’s affidavit, which she had sent to the Chief Justice of India on November 30, 2013.

• Kumar was a serving judge of the SC when the alleged incidents took place. In his legal notice, Kumar claimed the woman was appointed intern for one month but quit after three or four days. He claimed another intern, who knew the complainant and spoke to her after she left the internship, “contacted” his office after the media reported the sexual harassment complaint and said she had indicated she left due to an illness in her family.

U-19 World Cup Cricket : Captain of Indian team

• Vijay Zol of Maharashtra was selected as the Captain of India to lead the Under-19 Cricket World Cup by the All-India Junior Selection Committee.
• The U-19 Cricket World Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February 2014.
• Vijay Zol also led India to victory in the U-19 Asia Cricket Cup against Pakistan in January 2014.
• India has won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup three times in 2000, 2008 and 2012 till now.
• In 2012 India won the U-19 World Cup under the leadership of Unmukt Chand.

Australian Open 2014

• Novak Djokovic moved into the third round of the Australian Open after a routine victory over Leonardo Mayer.
• The Serbian was in irresistible form early on and appeared keen to seal a quick success in the scorching Melbourne heat by winning the opening eight games of the match.
• While world No 98 Mayer did at least improve thereafter, he never threatened an upset and failed to earn a single break point as Djokovic completed a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 win in 107 minutes.
• Djokovic, who is bidding to become the second man after Roy Emerson to win four straight titles here, came storming out of the blocks.
• The second seed, under the watchful gaze of new coach Boris Becker, broke at the first opportunity and it quickly became apparent there would be few alarms.

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