Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 11 August 2015

:: International ::

In what signals a long-overdue respect for the country's transgender community, activist Monica Shahi has made history as Nepal's first citizen to carry a passport bearing a third gender.
Nepal moved towards recognizing a third gender when the Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that individuals should have their gender legally recognized based on "self-feeling" and that they should not have to limit themselves to "female" or "male."
Since then, activists have fought successfully to have a third category added to citizenship documents, public bathrooms, and even the federal census.
For Shahi, this means her passport is marked "O" for "other" rather than the traditional "F" for "female" or "M" for "male."
Only a limited number of countries recognize more than "male" and "female" on travel documents, which could pose challenges for people like Shahi as they travel.
The United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism argued that "measures that involve increased travel document security, such as stricter procedures for issuing, changing and verifying identity documents, risk unduly penalizing transgender persons whose personal appearance and data are subject to change."

There will be no end to world population growth in this century, says the UN, adding that the world's population will increase from 7.3 billion people to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion at the century's end.
Asia, with a current population of 4.4 billion, is likely to remain the most populous continent, with its population expected to peak around the middle of the century at 5.3 billion and then to decline to around 4.9 billion people by the end of the century.
Developing countries with young populations but lower fertility like India face the prospect of substantial population ageing before the end of the century.
The world population growth will not stop in this century unless there are unprecedented fertility declines in those parts of sub-Saharan Africa that are still experiencing rapid population growth.
According to models of demographic change derived from historical experience, it is estimated the global population will be between 9.5 and 13.3 billion people in 2100.
The primary driver of global population growth is a projected increase in the population of Africa.
The continent's current population of 1.2 billion people is expected to rise to between 3.4 billion and 5.6 billion people by the end of this century.

Sania Mirza is all set to become the first woman tennis player to be conferred India's highest sports award Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Times Now reported on Tuesday.
Sania is only the second tennis player to get the coveted award after Leander Paes in 1996-97.
Earlier this month, the Sports Ministry had recommended the Wimbledon doubles champion for the award but had also made it clear that the final decision rests with only the Awards Committee.
Sania won her career's first ever women's doubles Grand Slam title with Swiss partner Martina Hingis in July. She also became world number one before winning the Grass Court major.
Sania, who has won three mixed doubles Grand Slams in her career, was reportedly competing with squash player Deepika Pallikal and discus thrower Vikas Gowda for the prestigious award.
Sania also won the gold medal and the bronze medal in the mixed and women's doubles categories in the 2014 Asian Games.
Sania had received the Arjuna award in 2004 while two years later she was awarded India's fourth highest civilian honour -- Padma Shri.
Sania has also won the mixed doubles titles at Australia Open (2009), French Open (2012) and US Open (2014) and is currently the world's No. 1 ranked doubles player.

The Indian men's hockey team's winning streak in its ongoing tour of Europe came to an end on Monday, with hosts Spain beating the visitors 4-1 in the first game of the three-match series.\The score was tied 1-1 at half time, but in the second half the home side gave a sparkling performance by scoring three more goals.
Meanwhile, Veteran player Gurbaj Singh was suspended for nine months by Hockey India after being charged with creating disharmony within the team. Coach Jude Felix had levelled the charges against Gurbaj in his report following the conclusion of last month's Hockey World League Semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium.