Current Affairs - 13th and 14th May 2014
New head of UN peacekeeping force
Major General Kristin Lund of Norway has become the first ever woman to command UN peacekeeping force. She will be the force commander in Cyprus. The UNFICYP, or UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus was established in 1964 to maintain the ceasefire between Greek and Turkish Cypriot.
New army chief of India
Lt. Gen Dalbeer Singh Suhaag will take over as the new army chief of India after current chief Bikram Singh retires on 31st July.
National women’s football championship
The 2014 championship has been won by Manipur by defeating Odisha in the final. Manipur has till now won 17 trophies out of the 20 editions of this tournament.
International Nurses day 2014
This day is observed on 12 May each year and this year the theme was Nurses: A Force for Change – A vital resource for health. The day is observed each year since 1965 to honor the birth anniversary of mother of nursing Florence Nightingale. In India Florence Nightingale award has been given to nurses each year on this day since 1973.
First women additional director of CBI
Archana Ramasundaram has become the first women to be promoted to additional director CBI. She was also the first women joint director of CBI.
E-Fan tested by Airbus
Airbus has developed world’s first airplane to run on electricity named “E-Fan”. If successful this can bring the cost of commercial air travel down by more than one third.
India signs Marrakesh treaty
India, EU, France and Greece have signed the Marrakesh treaty which aims to facilitate access to published works for persons 'Who Are Blind', 'Visually Impaired' or otherwise 'Print Disabled’. The treaty has to be signed by all the WIPO members. as of now 64 out of 187 nations have become the signatory of the treaty. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations headquartered in Geneva (Switzerland). It was created in 1967 to encourage creative activity by promoting the protection of intellectual property throughout the world.
New voting record in general elections of India
This time the voting percentage in Indian general elections has been the highest till now, 66.38% breaking the record of 1984 general election at 64.01%.
Cheapest world economy
As per a new report by Germany’s Deutsche Bank India has been ranked as the cheapest world economy out of the major ones in terms of prices of products comparable across countries.
Referendum in Ukraine
A referendum for independence was held in two pro Russian areas of Ukraine namely Donetsk and Luhansk. According to the results announced on 12 May, at least 89% of the voters in Donetsk region cast ballots in favour of independence in the referendum.
Asian business awards
The international business of the year award in this award function was won the Caparo group founded by Lord Swaraj Paul. Lord Paul set up Caparo, which is today the largest family-owned business in Britain.
