Important Current Affairs 10th December 2019

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

• The LoC is for the purpose of financing defence-related procurement in Bangladesh

• “Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under the agreement, goods and services including consultancy services of the value of at least 75 per cent of the contract price shall be supplied by the seller from India,” it said.

• The remaining 25 per cent of goods and services may be procured by the seller for the purpose of the eligible contract from outside India, including Bangladesh.

• But, based on the nature of the procurement, the eligible goods and services up to the contract price to be supplied by seller from India may be further reduced from 75 per cent to 65 per cent and further reduction may be considered on a case-to-case basis.

• The agreement under the LoC is effective from November 7.

• The terminal utilisation period of the loan is 10 years from the date of signing of the agreement.

Arnab Goswami elected president of News Broadcasters Federation’s governing board

• The News Broadcasters Federation has elected journalist Arnab Goswami as the president of its governing board.

• The broadcaster’s body comprises of 78 news channels in 14 languages from 25 states.

• The members unanimously elected Goswami, who is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Republic TV, to be president of the governing board.

• The self-regulation mechanism of the body will be led by a chairperson, four eminent personalities and four editors.

Russia banned from global sports for 4 years over doping, to miss Olympics

• World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has handed a four-year suspension to Russian Athletics Federation from all major sporting events, which includes the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and World Championships.

• Russia’s anti-doping agency can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days.

• The ruling means Russian athletes will still be allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics as neutrals, but only if they can demonstrate that they were not part of what WADA believes was a state-sponsored system of doping.

• The Russian flag and national anthem have also been banned in global events.

• Earlier this year, WADA investigators and International Olympic Committee (IOC) had stated the Russian authorities tampered with a Moscow laboratory database to hide several potential doping cases.

Andreescu wins Canada’s athlete of the year award

• US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has become the first tennis player to win Canada”s athlete of the year award.

• The title is awarded each year to Canada”s top athlete, and Andreescu, 19, put together a strong case throughout her 2019 season, during which she won her first WTA title at the BNP Paribas Open — a Premier Mandatory tournament — and her second at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, a Premier 5 event that Andreescu grew up attending.

• The youngster later became the first from her country to win a Grand Slam singles title in the US Open,

Flamengo striker Barbosa wins Brazil’s Golden Ball

• Rio de Janeiro, Inter Milan loanee Gabriel Barbosa has won the Golden Ball for the best player in Brazil”s 2019 Serie A championship.

• He was one of seven Flamengo players named in the Serie A team of the year, joining goalkeeper Diego Alves, right-back Rafinha, midfielders Gerson, Willian Arao and Giorgian de Arrascaeta and forward Bruno Henrique.

• Others selected in Brazilian football”s ideal XI were Palmeiras defender Gustavo Gomes, Santos center-back Lucas Verissimo, Santos left-back Jorge and Palmeiras playmaker Dudu.

• Flamengo”s Portuguese head coach Jorge Jesus was named manager of the year and Corinthians forward Millene Fernandes was voted the outstanding women”s player.

• The best young footballer award went to 22-year-old Goias forward Michael Delgado.

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.

• Abu Dhabi shined as a premium destination once again for sports tourism in 2019 after hosting some of the world’s top sporting events, such as the FIFA Club World Cup 2017 and 2018, the first edition of the UAE Tour, the AFC Asian Cup 2019, the Special Olympics World Games 2019, the UFC 242 showdown and the Brazil vs South Korea international friendly match.

• The UAE capital also continues to play host to annual acclaimed sports events including the Formula 1 Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi.

• Abu Dhabi has been making strides within sports tourism by developing sports facilities and events across the capital. Earlier this year, Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi had announced a five-year partnership with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) to host annual premier fixtures in the capital as part of Abu Dhabi Showdown Week.

• The emirate has also recently won the rights to host the FINA Short Course World Championship in 2020.

• World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

Paul Volcker, former Fed Chairman who curbed inflation, dies at 92

• Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman who helped tame inflation in the 1980s and carried out Wall Street reforms amid the global financial crisis, died at the age of 92.

• Volcker died due to complications from prostate cancer, said his daughter, Janice Zima.

• He was also an adviser to ex-Presidents Richard Nixon and Barack Obama.