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Supermoon : Brightest Moon in 69 years observed

Monday’s supermoon was extra super, it was the closest moon in almost 69 years.
●    And it won’t happen again for another 18 years. 
●    Closest approach occurred at 6:21 a.m. EST when the moon came within 221,523 miles (356,508 kilometers). 
●    That’s from the center of the Earth to the center of the moon. 
●    Full moon occurred at 8:52 a.m. EST.
●    Supermoons appeared 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter in the night sky.
●    A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a New moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. 
●    The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system.
●    The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. 

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CO2 emissions fall thanks to coal slowdown, Researchers say

Worldwide emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide have flattened out in the past three years.
●    The authors of the study cautioned it was unclear whether the slowdown in CO2 emissions, mainly caused by declining coal use in China, was a permanent trend or a temporary blip.
●    "It is far too early to proclaim we have reached a peak," said co-author Glen Peters, a senior researcher at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.
●    The findings were issued at a United Nations talks on climate change underway in Marrakesh, Morocco.
●    The study, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, said global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry were projected to grow by just 0.2 per cent this year.
●    The authors of the study attributed the slowdown mainly to a decrease in Chinese coal consumption since 2012. 
●    Coal is a major source of CO2 emissions.
●    The agreement calls for limiting warming to below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times.


 

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India's nominee to be re-appointed to UN Joint Inspection Unit

A top Indian diplomat will be re-appointed to the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system following his endorsement as the sole candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group. 
●    Ambassador A Gopinathan is to be re-appointed to the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations by the General Assembly.
●    He will serve from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022.
●    Gopinathan was first appointed to the UN body for a term from January 2013 to December 2017. 
●    At that election, he had secured 106 votes out of 183 votes and had defeated Ambassador Zhang Yan of China, India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said in a statement.
●    He is currently serving as Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit.
●    India also won elections to key UN organs during the past few days. 
●    The Investments Committee appointed eight members to serve three-year terms of office, beginning January 2017.

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2 lakh heavy diesel vehicles to go off Delhi roads

Nearly 2 lakh heavy diesel vehicles more than 15 years old will not be allowed to ply in the city from Sunday. 
●    They cannot be parked here either. 
●    The transport department has drawn up a list of 1.91 lakh such vehicles that it has deregistered on the orders of the National Green Tribunal. 
●    Senior government officials said the list had been sent to the traffic police late Friday night, with instructions to impound them immediately. 
●    The list has details of the vehicles, including owner's name, registration number and address. It also specifies the RTO where the vehicle was registered. 
●    The transport department has identified 21 locations where the impounded vehicles will be kept but that might not be enough to park nearly two lakh vehicles. 
●    Traffic officers say they have requested the government to provide additional land space. 
●    As of now, the traffic pits can accommodate only 1,000-1,200 heavy vehicles at a time. 


 

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New Peace Deal signed between Colombia Government and Rebels

A new peace agreement was signed by Colombian government negotiator Humberto de La Calle with rebel representative Ivan Marquez.
●    It's going to end a 52-year-long conflict that has claimed more than 2,20,000 lives and driven almost 8 million people from their homes in the South American country. 
●    The latest deal aims to address some of the concerns of the original accord’s opponents, who said the deal was too lenient on a leftist rebel group that had kidnapped and committed war crimes.
●    President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia inked an initial peace deal on September 26 amid international fanfare after more than four years of negotiations. 
●    But voters rejected it on October 2 by just 55,000 votes, dealing a stunning setback to Mr. Santos who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia’s conflict.
●    Mr. Santos immediately began looking for ways to rescue the deal and the sides extended a ceasefire until December 31 to get the modified deal done. 

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Egypt gets massive loans from IMF to revive economy

Egypt is getting a massive cash from the International Monetary Fund.
●    12 billion dollar loan has been approved – to support Cairo’s economic reform programme.
●    Egypt has been finding it tough to attract dollars and revive its economy since the uprising back in 2011.
●    The IMF loan is also seen as a positive move in terms of pulling back private investors who have turned their backs on Egypt.
●    Egypt agreed the loan in August, but had to secure bilateral financing to seal the deal.
●    The final approval also comes after the central bank abandoned its currency peg of 8.8 pounds to the US dollar – a dramatic move welcomed by the IMF and World Bank.
●    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
●    Formed in 1944, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. 

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Narinder Batra elected FIH President

Narinder Batra calls himself the ‘outsider’. 
●    Unlike his rival candidates, who had decades of experience of working in the inner circles of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Batra had been there only for the last two years. 
●    He is also only the third Indian to be the head of a global sporting body at present, Shashank Manohar (cricket) and N. Ramachandran (squash) being the other two.
●    Batra, also the president of Hockey India — a position he will now have to vacate — received 68 votes to easily surpass the minimum of 60 required for victory.
●    Ireland’s David Balbirnie claimed 29 votes, while 13 nations voted for Australia’s Ken Read. 
●    Batra succeeds Spaniard Leandro Negre, who had been at the helm of the FIH for eight years, and will take office immediately.

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Chinese ship opens new trade route via Pak Port

Pakistan’s top civil and military leaders traveled to the country’s southwest on Sunday to open a new international trade route by seeing off a Chinese ship that’s exporting goods to West Asia and Africa from the newly-built Gwadar port.
●    The first convoy of Chinese trucks carrying goods for sale abroad has arrived in Pakistan amid tight security using a road linking Gwadar to China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, the government said in a statement.
●    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that Pakistan will provide best possible security to foreign investors to enable them to use the Chinese-funded port for international trade.
●    Amid security concerns for foreign workers, the Pakistani army has created a special force to guard the new trade routes and the port, which is located in insurgency-hit Balochistan province where an overnight blast at a shrine killed nearly 50 people.
●    The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group and Pakistani officials said it was aimed at harming the Chinese-funded projects in the southwest and elsewhere in the country.

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GoM recommends ban and fine on celebrities endorsing products in misleading ads

A high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) has approved imposing a heavy fine and ban on celebrities who endorse products making unrealistic and dodgy claims. 
●    The GoM headed by Union Finance Minister was tasked to look into the issue of Celebrity endorsement and recommendations of Standing Committee of the Parliament on the recently introduced The Consumer Protection Bill, 2015. 
●    GoM recommendations First time offender celebrities should be fined Rs 10 lakh and banned for one year. 
●    Second and subsequent offenders should be fined Rs 50 lakh and banned for up to 3 year. 
●    The Union Government had introduced The Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 in Parliament to replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to deal with consumer protection and safety. 
●    The bill proposes tough measures for the protection of consumer rights and providing strict punishment to violators. 
●    After its introduction it was referred to a Standing Committee, which gave a report suggesting measures like making celebrities accountable for the brands they endorse. 


 

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India International Trade Fair-2016 

The annual flagship  event  of  India  Trade  Promotion  Organisation (ITPO), the 36th India International Trade Fair (November14-27, 2016) will be inaugurated by the  President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on November 14, 2016 at Hamsadhwani Theatre, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The Commerce & Industry Minister,  Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman will preside over the inaugural  function.
●    This year, as many as 7000 participants are taking part in the fair. The ‘Partner Country’ is the ‘South Korea’ and the ‘Focus Country’ is ‘Belarus’.  
●    The ‘Partner States’ are ‘Madhya Pradesh’ and ‘Jharkhand’ while, ‘Haryana’ is participating   as the ‘Focus State’.  
●    Over 150 companies from 27   countries are   taking   part in the   fair. These include:   Australia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Netherlands, Oman, Sri Lanka, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Tibet, Turkey, Thailand, UAE and UK.
●    The domestic participation profile covers all the States and Union Territories, Central Government Ministries/Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Board, Financial Institutions, Corporate and   non-government organisations etc. 
●    CAPART pavilion of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of   India   is participating with around 800 rural artisans and craft persons, while 100 artisans are participating through National Minorities Development & Finance & Corporation.

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