Daily Current Affairs, 08th December 2018

1) CM Fadnavis Launches SMART Project

•The state government launched an ambitious project State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) in 10,000 villages with an objective to achieve sustainable farming within the next three years. The project SMART will be assisted by the World Bank.

•Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis launched the project, which was followed by the signing of 50 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) between big corporates and farmers producer groups. The project will cover almost one-fourth of Maharashtra.

2) “The Republican Ethic” and “Loktantra ke Swar” Books Released

•The Vice President of India Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu released Compilation of Selected speeches of the President, Ram Nath Kovind titled, “The Republican Ethic” in English and “Loktantra ke Swar” in Hindi at a function in Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

•Both the books- The Republican Ethic & Loktantra ke Swar are a collection of President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind’s selected speeches made by him in the first year of assuming the office. The event has been organized by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

3) UN Launches New Framework To Combat Terrorism

•UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has launched a new framework, the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, to combat the scourge of international terrorism and coordinate efforts across the peace and security, humanitarian, human rights and sustainable development sectors.

•The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact Task Force will replace the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, which was established in 2005 to strengthen UN system-wide coordination and coherence of counter-terrorism efforts.

4) Second Largest Ebola Outbreak Spreads In Congo

•The second-largest Ebola outbreak in history has spread to a major city in eastern Congo. Butembo, with more than one million residents, is now reporting cases of the deadly hemorrhagic fever.

•The outbreak declared in August is now second only to the devastating West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,300 people a few years ago. The Ebola virus spreads via bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead.

5) Indian Coast Guard Conducts Exercise ‘Clean Sea-2018’ At Sea Off Port Blair

•The Indian Coast Guard has conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise titled ‘Clean Sea – 2018’ at sea off Port Blair. Coast Guard ships Viswasth, Vijith, Rajveer, Rajshri, 4 interceptor boats, and its air assets Dornier and Chetak helicopters participated in the exercise.

•The preparedness of all agencies during the exercise was conducted under observation of Inspector General Maneesh V Pathak, Commander Coast Guard Region, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

6) FAO Council Approves India’s Proposals

•Food and Agriculture organisation, FAO Council has approved India’s proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh stated that the 160th session of the FAO Council, in Rome approved the proposal.

•The FAO Council has also approved India’s membership to the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Program for 2020 and 2021.

7) Trump Names Heather Nauert As US Ambassador To United Nation

•US President Donald Trump nominated State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauertas the US Ambassador to the United Nations. The former Fox News presenter’s appointment to the UN role will have to be approved by the US Senate.

•Nauert will replace Nikki Haley, who will be leaving the post by the end of 2018. She became the State Department’s spokeswoman in April 2017 and was named as the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs in early 2018.

8) Chang’e-4: China Launches 1st Mission to Land on the Far Side of the Moon

•China launched the first-ever spacecraft, Chang’e 4, that will attempt landing on the far side of the Moon, which always shows the same face to Earth as it’s close enough to be locked by the planet’s gravitational field.

•The Chang’e-4 mission will see a static lander and rover touch down in Von Kármán crater, located on the side of the Moon which never faces Earth. The payload blasted off atop a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

9) Gender Wage Gap Highest In India, Women Are Paid 34% Less Than Men: ILO

•According to the Global Wage Report 2018-19 published by International Labour Organization (ILO), Women are paid the most unequally in India, compared to men, when it comes to hourly wages for labor.

•On average, women are paid 34% less than men. This gap in wages, known as the gender wage gap, is the highest among 73 countries. Overall, real wages grew just 1.8% globally (136 countries) in 2017. In real terms (adjusted for price inflation), global wage growth declined to 1.8% in 2017, from 2.4% in 2016.