12th November, 2024 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
Justice Sanjiv Khanna Sworn in as 51st Chief Justice of India

• Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India, succeeding Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, whose tenure ended on November 10, 2024. Justice Khanna’s appointment follows the recommendation of Justice Chandrachud and is officially notified by the Centre on October 24. He will serve a six-month term until May 13, 2025, bringing a legacy of landmark judgments into his new role.
• Justice Khanna served as senior standing counsel for the Income Tax Department and as the standing counsel for the NCT of Delhi before his judicial elevation.
• He granted interim bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for campaigning in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections related to the excise policy scam cases.

RPF rescued 57,564 children in last 5 years from trafficking under ‘Operation Nanhe Farishte’

• The safety of women and children remains a top priority for the government, especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable children found on railway premises as well as ensuring safe travel for single women, nationwide. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is undertaking the responsibility to make sure that its premises are not used by human traffickers.
• The RPF under the Ferozepur Division of the Northern Railways in Punjab, which is handling 262 railway stations in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K is proactively following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in preventing child trafficking on trains under Mission – Nanhe Farishtey and Operation – Aahat as well as in protecting single lady travellers under Operation- Meri Saheli.

World-renowned Mridangam scholar Varadarao Kamalakara Rao passes away at 88

• World-renowned Mridangam scholar Varadarao Kamalakara Rao breathed his last in Rajahmundry this morning. He was 88.  He received the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award years ago. Kamalakara Rao became a Mridanga Vidwan at an early age. A disciple of Palgat Mani Ayer, he received the President Medal from the Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan during his college days. He extended mridangam support to several eminent musicians including violinist DvaramVenkataswamy Naidu, G. N. Bala Subramaniam, Semma Gudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar and Mandolin Srinivas. His rhythms have been heard in all the prestigious Sangeet Sabhas of the country as well as outside. His mridanga music also resonated in the United Nations Hall in New York.
• Kamalakara Rao, received innumerable honours, awards and rewards and entertained listeners with his mridanga vinyasa in many radio national music programmes and Doordarshan’s special programmes.

INTERNATIONAL
Liberal Democratic Party’s Shigeru Ishiba re-elected as Japan’s PM

• In Japan, the Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Shigeru Ishiba was re-elected as the country’s Prime Minister today after securing the most votes in both houses of the Japanese Diet.
• The Japanese Parliament, known as the Diet, convened an extraordinary session this afternoon to elect the Prime Minister. Following the loss of its long-held majority in last month’s general election, the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito faced a runoff vote between Prime Minister Ishiba and the leader of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda.
•  In the runoff voting in the House of Representatives, 67-year-old Ishiba received 221 votes, outperforming Noda to become the country’s 103rd Prime Minister despite falling short of the 233 majority threshold. Ishiba will later be formally inaugurated at a ceremony at the Imperial Palace and hold a press conference in the evening.

US President-elect Donald Trump terms Tom Homan as ‘border czar’

• U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said that Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be in charge of the country’s borders in his new administration. Mr Trump termed Tom Homan as the new “border Czar” in a post on Truth Social, late last night. This marks a continuation of his administration’s hardline stance on immigration and border security.
• The president-elect said that there is nobody better at policing and controlling our borders than Homan. Mr Homan served as the public face of the first Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to step up immigration enforcement before retiring in 2018.

Australian govt appoints country’s first anti-slavery commissioner

• In Australia, the government has appointed the country’s first anti-slavery commissioner. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus today announced that Chris Evans, a former senator and human rights official, will serve as the inaugural Australian anti-slavery commissioner for a five-year term commencing in December. Dreyfus said in a statement that modern slavery deprives victims of their dignity, fundamental rights, and freedoms.
• The new commissioner role will strengthen the work undertaken across government, business, and society in Australia to prevent and respond to modern slavery, he added. Walk Free’s 2023 Global Slavery Index estimated that there were 41,000 people living in modern slavery in Australia in 2021. A report released by the anti-slavery commissioner of the state of New South Wales in September estimated that there were 16,400 people in modern slavery in the state.

Ramgoolam Set to become New PM of Mauritius

• Mauritius’ opposition appears poised for victory in the recent legislative elections, as Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth conceded defeat on 11th November. Opposition leader Dr. Navin Ramgoolam is expected to assume the role of prime minister for the third time, leading his Alliance of Change coalition.
• Mauritius held its 12th parliamentary elections since independence on November 10, 2024.
• Voters were presented with candidates from 68 parties and five major political alliances vying for 62 parliamentary seats.
• The opposition, led by Dr. Navin Ramgoolam and his Alliance of Change coalition, appeared set for a significant victory.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
UN Climate Change Conference, COP29 begins at Baku in Azerbaijan

• The annual U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29) kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, today. Dubbed the ‘Finance COP,’ the two-week-long event will focus heavily on securing a new climate finance target for countries most vulnerable to climate impacts. For India and the Global South, access to finance, technology, and energy resources remains critical to meeting climate targets and protecting communities on the frontlines of climate change. India has so far played a key role in shaping global climate finance frameworks to address the urgent funding needed for both mitigation and adaptation efforts.
• At Baku, India will seek a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance, which is far ahead of the outdated 100 billion dollar annual target set in 2009. India’s Economic Survey 2023-24 indicates that India will need approximately 2.5 trillion dollars by 2030 to fulfil its commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Defence Space Agency inaugurates first-ever space exercise ‘Antariksha Abhyas-2024’

• Defence Space Agency inaugurated a first-ever space exercise Antariksha Abhyas-2024 in New Delhi. The three-day exercise is aimed at providing an enhanced understanding of space-based assets and services.
• The exercise intends to gain an understanding of operational dependency on space segments between stakeholders and identify vulnerabilities in the conduct of operations in the event of denial or disruptions of space-based services.
• The exercise will have participants from the Defence Space Agency and its allied units along with personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Specialist branches under Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, representatives from the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Defence Research and Development Organisation are also expected to take part in this exercise.