Daily GK Update: 10th December, 2016

Human Rights Day: 10 December

i. The Human Rights Day is observed across the world on 10 December every year. 

ii. The day aims at promoting and raising awareness of the two Covenants of Human Rights Day.

iii. Human Rights Day was established in 1948, and ever since that auspicious day it has stood as the first major stride forward in ensuring that the rights of every human across the globe are protected. 

India, Vietnam ink nuclear cooperation pact, three other agreements

i. India and Vietnam have signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is asserting that it will further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

ii. The two countries also signed three other agreements — to enhance aviation links, to jointly work in the area of energy efficiency and promotion of parliamentary cooperation.

Kerala launches mobile apps to fight corruption

i. The Kerala government has launched two mobile applications which can be used to upload information regarding graft.

ii. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the applications - 'ArisingKerala' and 'Whistle Now - at a function here on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day. 

iii. Using the apps, people can upload videos and audios related to corruption around them.

Onir’s documentary on Down Syndrome wins international award

i. Indian filmmaker Onir's documentary, 'Raising The Bar' has won the 'Award of Recognition' at the 'Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards'. 

ii. The documentary is about six Indian and Australian youth with Down Syndrome. "I have always celebrated human rights and diversity. 

21st International Film Festival of Kerala begins

i. The 21st International Film Festival of Kerala began in Thiruvananthapuram on 09 December 2016.

ii. It opened with Navid Mahmoudi's directorial debut 'Raftan,' which narrates the story of a couple attempting to migrate from Iran to Europe. 

iii. The eight-day festival, hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the Kerala Cultural Affairs Department, is set to showcase 184 films from 62 countries.

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent to step down

i. Muhtar Kent has announced that he will step down as the CEO of Coca-Cola in May 2017 and will be succeeded by company President and COO James Quincey. 

ii. Kent, who has been CEO since 2008, will continue as Chairman.

Japan launches Kounotori 6 cargo spaceship to ISS

i. Japan has successfully launched a rocket carrying the unmanned cargo spaceship Kounotori 6 to deliver supplies for astronauts living in the International Space Station (ISS).

ii. The H-2B rocket carrying the spaceship lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. 

iii. The spaceship, sixth of its kind, carries some 5.9 tonnes of supplies, including food, drinking water and other necessities, as well as some batteries and ultrasmall satellites.

Peter Gilchrist wins the Long Up title of 2016 IBSF World Billiards

i. Peter Gilchrist of Singapore defeated Sourav Kothari to win the 2016 IBSF World Billiards Long Up title on 8 December 2016. 

ii. The event was held in Bengaluru, India. 

iii. Peter defeated Sourav by 883 points with a score of 1500-617.

Channel DigiShala Launched to Educate Rural India about Cashless Transaction

i. Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ravi Shankar Prasad, launched a TV channel named ‘DigiShala’ on December 9, 2016 to promote cashless transaction in rural areas. 

ii. Apart from the channel, the government also initiated ‘Digi Dhan Abhiyan’ to achieve the objective of educating, enabling and informing citizens about the cashless economy. “DigiShala” is a free-to-air channel which is telecasted nationally on DD free-DTH service having a viewership of two crore across the country.

L&T bags contract to convert Sardar Patel Stadium to world’s biggest cricket stadium

i. Larsen & Turbo (L&T) has bagged a contract from the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) to make Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium of Gujarat the world’s biggest cricket stadium in terms of seating capacity.

ii. Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium is situated in Motera, Ahmadabad in Gujarat. 

iii. After the renovation, it will take over the Melbourne Cricket Ground of Australia in terms of seating capacity. Melbourne Cricket Ground has a seating capacity of 100,024 people while the renovated Sardar Patel Stadium will have 1,10,000 seats as against 54,000 seats