Saudi Aramco becomes most valuable listed company in history

1.Universal Health Coverage Day: 12 December

Universal Health Coverage Day is celebrated annually on December 12 and is promoted by the World Health Organization.This day reminds of the quality health care that people need and deserve without facing financial hardship.

December 12 is the anniversary of the first unanimous United Nations resolution calling for all nations to provide for their citizens affordable, quality health care.

The theme of Universal Health Coverage Day 2019 is “Keep the Promise”.

2.US, Mexico, Canada sign USMCA trade deal

The representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada inked a revamped version of their regional trade pact after months of negotiations.The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will now go to the countries’ legislatures for final approval.

The accord is meant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a deal in place since 1994.

The US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the modified agreement was definitely better than what was initially proposed by the administration.

3.3 Day “International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems” for BIMSTEC countries begins in New Delhi

The three day ‘International Seminar on Climate Smart Farming Systems’ for BIMSTEC countries began in New Delhi.Participants from all the Seven BIMSTEC Countries viz. Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and BIMSTEC Secretariat is attending the Seminar.

The seminar is being organized as a Government of India initiative as announced earlier by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the 4th BIMSTEC Summit at Kathmandu on 30-31st August, 2019.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and SouthEast Asia.

The BIMSTEC member states ‘Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand , Nepal and Bhutan are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.

4.Saudi Aramco becomes most valuable listed company in history

Saudi Aramco has secured its position as the most valuable listed company in history after investor appetite for the world’s biggest fossil fuel producer pushed its market value to $1.9tn (£1.4tn) on its first day of trade.Shares in the Saudi state-backed oil company defied Aramco’s critics by climbing nearly $200bn above the $1.7tn valuation set before its market debut on Riyadh’s stock exchange.

The world’s biggest contributor to the climate crisis had been valued at more than Apple and Facebook – previously the world’s most valuable and fifth-most valuable companies respectively – combined.

It is also twice the size of Amazon and Google’s parent company, and bigger than the next five listed oil companies put together.

5.Parliament passes “The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019”

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 has been passed by the Parliament, with the Rajya Sabha approving it.125 members supported the legislation while 105 opposed it.

The House also negated the amendments moved by Opposition parties while approving the Bill.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 9 December.

311 members had voted in its favour and 80 members opposing it.

The bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants of six communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship.

The communities are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

6.Justice Nanavati-Mehta Commission gives clean chit to then Gujarat govt in 2002 riots

Justice Nanavati-Mehta Commission has given a clean chit to the Gujarat government in 2002 riots.The commission tabled its final report in the state assembly.

The report said that the riots were not organised.

Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja tabled the report in the House, five years after it was submitted to the then state government.

The first part of the report of the commission, formed to inquire into the cause of the Godhra train burning incident and subsequent communal riots, was tabled in the Assembly on 25th September 2009.

7.Odisha to set up 45 new fast track courts

To expedite the trial of cases relating to women and children, 45 new fast track courts will be set up in Odisha.State Law Minister Pratap Jena said 21 courts would be dedicated for cases of rape and sexual harassment of women.

The remaining 24 fast track courts will specifically deal with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases.

The State government’s action comes after Centre’s decision to formulate a scheme for setting up 1,023 fast track special courts for expeditious trial and disposal of rape cases.

8.Andhra cabinet approves Disha Act providing for harsher punishments for crimes against women

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved the enactment of the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act also known as the Disha Act that provides for harsher punishments, including death sentence to those guilty of heinous crimes against women.As announced earlier in the assembly by Chief Minister, in the presence of adequate conclusive evidence in cases of crime against women such as rape, acid attacks among others the judgment must be pronounced within 21 days and trial must be completed in 14 days.

The cabinet also approved the Andhra Pradesh Special Court for Specified Offences against Women and Children Act 2019, which allows the establishment of special courts in each district to address crimes against women and children.

The bill allows taking actions under Indian Penal Code section 354 (E) against those who upload posts on social media that degrades women’s reputation.

For the same, first time offenders would be punished with two years imprisonment, second-time offenders with four years of imprisonment.

9.National Tribal Dance Festival to be held in Raipur from Dec 27-29

A three-day National Tribal Dance Festival will be held in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur from December 27 to 29.In the event international folk artists from 23 states and six other countries are expected to take part and portray their respective tribal folk culture.

Nearly 1,400 artists belonging to 151 art troupes from 23 states and guest artists from six countries including Sri Lanka, Belarus, Uganda and Bangladesh will participate in the three-day programme.

10.Salman Khan appointed as Pepsi’s new brand ambassador

Food and beverage giant PepsiCo has roped in Bollywood actor Salman Khan as the new face of its flagship Pepsi brand of carbonated beverage in India.The actor has been the face of rival Coca-Cola’s popular ThumsUp brand for years and was recently seen promoting Parle Agro-backed soft drink Appy Fizz.

Khan had previously endorsed PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew drink.

PepsiCo will also associate itself with Khan’s next big release Dabangg 3 that is scheduled to release later this month.