Norman Schwarzkopf, the U.S. General who led Operation Desert Storm Died

Norman Schwarzkopf – the retired US General and a person who led the U.S. Forces for a Victory in the first Gulf War in Operation Desert Strom in 1991 died at Florida on 27 December 2012. He led an international coalition of U.N. authorized forces from 34 different nations into Kuwait to drive out the forces of Iraq from the country, when the forces of Iraq invaded Kuwait during the regime of President Saddam Hussein. 

The retired general died at the age of 78 due to the complications of pneumonia. Norman Schwarzkopf last served the U.S. Army as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command on their assignment in Tampa - the headquarter that is responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from Africa to Pakistan and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Shihab Ghanem became the First Arab to receive India’s Tagore Peace Prize

Emirati poet and translator Shihab Ghanem became the first Emirati and Arab to win the Tagore Peace Prize. The award is given to one person every two years. He said he was led to poetry by his father, brother and uncle, who have each published their own verses.  He had written 31 Arabic poems and 36 English poems and had published 45 books mainly in Arabic verse.

Tagore Peace Prize is instituted by the Indian government to commemorate the birth anniversary of India’s poet, philosopher and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Ghanem will officially receive the Tagore award in a ceremony to be held in Kolkata, India on May 6, 2013.

Awards and Honours won by Shihab  Ghanem:

• Rashid Award for Scientific Excellence in 1989

• 1st prize for poetry in the UAE in 1984

• Book prize from the Ruler of Sharjah for poetry translation in 2003 and 2007. 

Ghanem said “Work for your first life as if you will live forever, and for your hereafter as if you will die tomorrow,”

India and Russia signed pacts on Economic Ties for 2 billion dollar Investment Fund

During the twelfth straight annual summit, the leaders of both the nations  signed a pact for strengthening their economic ties with a Kremlin-backed 2 billion dollar investment fund and finalized 10 agreements including two military contracts of 20000 crore rupees, which was under process for past some time. Both the parties also agreed to talk about a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement involving Kazakhstan and Belarus

Putin arrives in New Delhi for bilateral talks with Indian officials

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in India to hold talks with the country’s officials, aimed at enhancing defense and trade ties with India.

Heading a delegation of several senior ministers and military officials, Putin arrived in New Delhi on Monday.

He held a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier in the day. The two leaders are expected to sign arms dealsand also discuss specific steps to further develop the Russian-Indian strategic partnership in trade, economic, energy, and cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Obama appoints Indian-American Smita Singh to key post in President's Global Development Council

The Obama administration has appointed yet another Indian-American to a key administrative  post, naming Smita Singh as member of the president's Global Development Council. Along with Singh, Obama also announced names of eight other members of the Council including its Chair Mohamed El-Erian. The Global Development Council was established in February through an executive order of the  Presiden

Olivia Culpo, Miss USA, crowned Miss Universe 2012

USA Olivia Culpo was crowned Miss Universe 2012 at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles.Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third.

Olivia Culpo beat out 88 other beauty queens Wednesday night to take the title from Leila Lopes of Angola in Las Vegas.

India's Shilpa Singh made it to the top 16 spot but failed to progress further.

US president Barack Obama named TIME's 'Person of the Year'

President Barack Obama has been named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2012.

The short list for the honor included Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head for advocating for girls' education, as well as Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Italian physicist Fabiola Giannati.

Time's "Person of the Year" is the person or thing that has most influenced the culture and the news during the past year for good or for ill. In 2010, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg received the honor.

Other previous winners have included Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Bono and President George W. Bush.

India and Ukraine sign 5 pacts

India and Ukraine today signed five agreements to enhance cooperation including in areas of defence, Nuclear energy, Science and Technology and also to remove barriers for trade. The two countries also agreed to raise the bilateral cooperation to a Comprehensive partnership level. The pacts were signed at the end of delegation level talks between visiting Ukraine President Victor Yanukovich and Prime Minister Manmohnan Singh at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. 

Bilateral trade between the India and Ukraine had doubled in the last five years to nearly 2.9 billion dollars.

The 2nd Meeting on India-China Border Affairs held in New Delhi

The 2nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held in New Delhi on 29-30 November, 2012. The discussions took place in a cordial, constructive and cooperative atmosphere. The two delegations reviewed developments in the India-China border areas since the 1st meeting of the Mechanism and acknowledged with satisfaction that peace and tranquillity continued to be maintained due to the efforts of both sides.

India- Maldives joint military training exercises held at Belgaum

The fourth joint military training exercises between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) – EKUVERIN 2012 – was held in Belgaum from 12 to 25 November 2012.

India, China joint economic strategy held at New Delhi

The Second India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 26 November 2012. In this meeting China and India discussed several topics including
greater cooperation at the global level

• Strengthening communication on macroeconomic policies
• Deepening and expanding trade and investment
• Promoting bilateral cooperation in the financial and infrastructure sectors. 

The bilateral trade between these two countries enhanced from $74 billion to $100 billion.

Manmohan Singh attends 10th ASEAN-India summit in Cambodia

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the 10th ASEAN-India summit in Phnom Penh on Monday with the aim of strengthening India's relations with countries in the South East Asian region.

Singh arrived in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Sunday for a three-day visit to attend the 10th ASEAN-India Summit and the seventh East Asia Summit (EAS).

India's Dialogue Partnership with the ASEAN countries is one of the cornerstones of its Look East Policy.

India sees this partnership as a step to further economic growth and prosperity, peace and stability in the region.

After his meeting with ASEAN leaders, Singh also held bilateral talks with his Thailand counterpart, Yingluck Shinawatra.

ASEAN-India trade in 2011-12 reached USD 79.3 billion, crossing the target of USD 70 billion by 2012 set in 2009.

Both have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)in Goods, which was signed in 2009 and which became fully operational in August 2011.

Negotiations are underway on the FTA on Services and Investments

India, Afghanistan signed four cooperation pacts

India and Afghanistan on 12 November 2012 signed four agreements to cooperate in areas of social welfare, fertilizer, coal mining and youth affairs.

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai was in India on a four day visit from 9 November 2012 to12 November 2012. 

The Four Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) signed are

• The first MoU was signed by External Affair Minister Salman Khurshid and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul under which India will provide grants to Afghanistan to implement small development projects through local bodies, community organisations, charitable trusts and educational institutions.

• The second MoU relates to fertilizer sector and was signed by Salman Khurshid and Afghanistan Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani.

• The third MoU aims at cooperation in youth affairs which was signed by India's external affairs minister and Aghanistan Minister of Information and Culture Sayed Makhdoom Raheenis.

• The fourth MoU was on the development of coal resources and was signed by India's Coal Minister Prakash Jaiswal and Afghanistan Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani.

Both the countries also decided to intensify the cooperation with a special focus on deepening their economic engagement in areas ranging from agriculture and small businesses to mining and infrastructure.

Nepal Elected as ECOSOC Member

The 67th session of UN General Assembly on Thursday picked Nepal for the member of an Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a three-year term beginning 1 January 2013.

Along with Nepal, Albania, Benin, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Haiti, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Netherlands, San Marino, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and the United States have also been nominated in the ECOSOC.

Earlier, Nepal was elected as member of the ECOSOC during the years 1980-1982 and 2001-2003.

Nepal also served as its vice-president for the years 1982 and 2003.

United Nations declared November 10 as 'Malala Day'

The United Nations has declared November 10 as 'Malala Day' in honour of Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in October for campaigning for girls' education.

South Africa issued New Nelson Mandela bank Notes

They are the first South African notes to bear the image of a black person - they replace notes with wild animals and rural and industrial scenes.

President Jacob Zuma says the banknotes were a "humble gesture" to express South Africa's "deep gratitude".

Mr Mandela, 94, is one of the world's best loved figures after spending 27 years in prison for fighting apartheid.

Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus was the first to use the new banknotes when she spent 160 rand, about $18 (£12) on some nuts, beetroot, a watermelon and a cucumber at her local shop in the capital, Pretoria.

Mr Mandela's face is on one side of all the new banknotes, while the "Big Five" animals - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant - remain on the reverse.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for his campaign against white minority rule and was elected president the following year before stepping down after a single term.

Known affectionately by his clan name "Madiba", he has now retired from public life.

President Barack Obama Re-elected President of United States of America

President Barack Obama won re-election on 6 November 2012 overthrowing a severe challenge from Republican Mitt Romney resisting concerns over his handling of economy and anxiety over the future.

The President Barack Obama had secured over 270 votes in the Electoral College which was needed to win the race.

He was re-elected for a second term in the White House securing another four years in which he will try to fulfil the promise that greeted his election in 2008.

World Space Radio Re launched and Brought BacK on Airtel Digital TV

Bharti Airtel on 29 October 2012 announced the comeback of Worldspace Radio – iMusicSpace on Airtel Digital TV, the DTH Service of Bharti Airtel.

The service was launched on the DTH platform in association with Saregama and Timbre Media who will jointly provide the content for the application. The satellite functioning radio station in India had exited in 2009.

Now the, DTH customers can listen to an extensive collection of latest and retro Hindi songs, popular ghazals and their favourite regional music channels on the new avatar of Worldspace radio. The Airtel digital TV customers can access the application via the iTV button on their remote.

World's First Teletext Service BBC Ceefax Closes Down

BBC Ceefax, the world's first teletext service, ceased transmission on Tuesday after delivering 38 years of up-to-the-minute news and sports updates to the British public. Olympic champion Mary Peters brought the curtain down on the service when she turned off the last analogue TV signal in Northern Ireland at 23.30 local time (2230GMT) as part of the country's switch to digital broadcasts.

Former prime minister John Major said Ceefax would be "much missed". "At moments of high pressure - with little time for detailed examination of the news - Ceefax headlines offered an instant window on the world," he said. "From breaking global news to domestic sports news, Ceefax was speedy, accurate and indispensable," he added. "It can be proud of its record."

The Plain English Campaign honoured the service with a lifetime achievement award for its "clarity" and use of "everyday words". Ceefax was launched on 23 September 1974 and promised BBC viewers the latest news headlines, sports scores, weather forecast and TV listings in the pre-internet era. Its aim was to give viewers real-time access to the information coming into the BBC newsroom.

UCI agrees to strip Lance Armstrong Titles

The International Cycling Union (UCI) Agrees to Strip Lance Armstrong Titles and imposed a life ban on Lance Armstrong, who has been accused of consistently using performance enhancing substances.

Earlier this month, the cyclist was banned for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after it found "overwhelming" proof that he had successfully evaded drug testers throughout most of his career.