Today's Event – 12TH November 2021

• 1439 – Plymouth becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament.

• 1892 – Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on record, participating in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.

• 1893 – Abdur Rahman Khan accepts the Durand Line as the border between Afghanistan and the British Raj.

• 1905 – Norway holds a referendum resulting in popular approval of the Storting's decision to authorise the government to make the offer of the throne of the newly independent country

• 1912 – King George I of Greece makes a triumphal entry into Thessaloniki after its liberation from 482 years of Ottoman rule.

• 1912 – The frozen bodies of Robert Scott and his men are found on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica

• 1918 – Austria becomes a republic.

• 1920 – Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes sign the Treaty of Rapallo.

• 1927 – Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Joseph Stalin in undisputed control of the Soviet Union.

• 1928 – SS Vestris sinks approximately 200 miles (320 km) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, killing at least 110 passengers, mostly women and children who die after the vessel is abandoned.

• 1933 – Nazi Germany uses a referendum to ratify its withdrawal from the League of Nations

• 1948 – In Tokyo, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East sentences seven Japanese military and government officials, including General Hideki Tojo, to death for their roles in World War II.

• 1954 – Ellis Island ceases operations.

• 1956 – Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations.

• 1956 – In the midst of the Suez Crisis, Palestinian refugees are shot dead in Rafah by Israeli soldiers following the invasion of the Gaza Strip.

• 1958 – A team of rock climbers led by Warren Harding completes the first ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.

• 1961 – Terry Jo Duperrault is the sole survivor of a series of brutal murders aboard the ketch Bluebelle

• 1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident.

• 1970 – The 1970 Bhola cyclone makes landfall on the coast of East Pakistan, becoming the deadliest tropical cyclone in history.

• 1975 – The Comoros joins the United Nations.

• 1977 – France conducts the Oreste nuclear test as 14th in the group of 29, 1975–78 French nuclear tests series.

• 1980 – The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings.

• 1981 – Space Shuttle program: Mission STS-2, utilizing the Space Shuttle Columbia, marks the first time a crewed spacecraft is launched into space twice.

• 1982 – USSR: Yuri Andropov becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding Leonid I. Brezhnev.

• 1990 – Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.

• 1990 – Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.

• 1995 – Erdut Agreement regarding the peaceful resolution to the Croatian War of Independence is reached.

• 1999 – The 7.2 Mw  Düzce earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 845 people are killed and almost 5,000 are injured.

• 2001 – In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 en route to the Dominican Republic, crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground.

• 2001 – War in Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, ahead of advancing Afghan Northern Alliance troops.

• 2003 – Iraq War: In Nasiriyah, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.

• 2003 – Shanghai Transrapid sets a new world speed record of 501 kilometres per hour (311 mph) for commercial railway systems, which remains the fastest for unmodified commercial rail vehicles.

• 2011 – Silvio Berlusconi tenders his resignation as Prime Minister of Italy, effective November 16, due in large part to the European sovereign debt crisis.

• 2011 – A blast in Iran's Shahid Modarres missile base leads to the death of 17 of the Revolutionary Guards members, including Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a key figure in Iran's missile program.

• 2014 – The Philae lander, deployed from the European Space Agency's Rosetta probe, reaches the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

• 2015 – Two suicide bombers detonate explosives in Bourj el-Barajneh, Beirut, killing 43 people and injuring over 200 others.

• 2017 – The 7.3 Mw  Kermanshah earthquake shakes the northern Iran–Iraq border with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). At least 410 people are killed and over 7,000 are injured.

National Events- 

•  The Enforcement Directorate has taken physical possession of Empress Mall in Nagpur (constructed on commercially diverted land of 2,70,374 square feet) worth Rs 483 core in the name of KSL & Industries Ltd under money laundering charges linked to the case of bank fraud by Tayal Group of companies.

•  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch two customer centric initiatives—the RBI Retail Direct Scheme and the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme—on  Friday via video conferencing.

•  Congress students’ wing the National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Thursday launched the ‘Shiksha Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign to oppose the anti-student policies of Modi Government. AICC Communications Secretary, Dr. Vineet Punia and NSUI National President, Neeraj Kundan launched the national campaign at AICC headquarters.

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday urged Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories to be proactive in overseeing the implementation of the Central Government’s programmes and in mobilising people for nation-building initiatives. 

• India on Thursday slammed Pakistan for playing spoilsport by refusing to attend a conclave here on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The conclave of the National Security Advisors (NSA) issued a Delhi Declaration urging that Afghan soil should not be used for spreading international terrorism and radicalisation.

International Events- 

• India has highlighted the need to focus on the emissions related to two and three wheelers alongside other vehicles as part of a zero emissions target at the COP26 summit in Glasgow. 

•  President Joe Biden, whose son Beau was an Iraq war veteran, is using his first Veterans Day in office to announce an effort to better understand, treat and identify medical conditions suffered by troops deployed to toxic environments.

•  Leaders of China’s ruling Communist Party on Thursday set the stage for President Xi Jinping to extend his rule next year, praising his role in the country’s rise as an economic and strategic power and approving a political history that gives him status alongside the most important party figures.

•  Senior US and South Korean diplomats discussed how to restart stalled talks with North Korea on Thursday, days after the North conducted artillery firing drills in its latest weapons tests.

• Pakistan’s Punjab province Government on Thursday removed the name of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi from the terrorism list, succumbing to pressure from the radical Islamist party which was involved in deadly clashes with the police.

Job alerts-

• IBPS SO 2021 Jobs for Specialists Officers and other posts. Last date 23/11/2021

• J&K Bank Jobs for Clerk, Probationary Officers and other posts. Last date 17/11/2021

• NLC India Limited Jobs for Industrial Trainee (Finance) and other posts. Last date 26/11/2021

Sports-

•  Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan spent two nights in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital here, battling severe chest infection but insisted on playing in the T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia, eventually top-scoring for the team in a lost cause.

•  Karolina Pliskova overcame a slow start before beating Garbiñe Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in her opening match at the WTA Finals.

•  It was a “perfect and happy ending” for Nisha Dahiya as she emerged national champion in the women’s 65kg category a day after her dramatic “murder story” turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.   The title clash ended in just 30 seconds with Nisha, the U23 world championship bronze medallist, pinning her rival Jaspreet Kaur from Punjab. 

•  Pakistan batters Mohammad Rizwan and Shoaib Malik are suffering from “mild flu” and they could be doubtful starters for the T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia on Thursday.

• Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday named a 14-member South Africa ‘A’ squad for the upcoming three-match four-day contests against India ‘A’ in Bloemfontein.

Technology-

• Online platforms logged sales worth USD 9.2 billion during this year's festive sale, up about 23 per cent over last year, according to consulting firm RedSeer. 

•  ByteDance's Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, said on Friday it had received a request from Tencent to allow short videos, based on Tencent's copyrighted films

•  Tesla Inc top boss Elon Musk sold another block of company shares worth about $700 million

•  Apple has filed a new patent for a new glass that will only let owners of an iPhone to view content on the display.

• To attract more content creators, Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram is now paying bonuses of up to $10,000 to those who post videos on Reels.

Economy – 

• The states will forego around Rs 44,000 crore of tax revenue after they reduced VAT on petrol and diesel in the reminder of the fiscal but higher central tax devolution of Rs 60,000 crore will offset the losses, according to a report. 

•  The auction for the 5G spectrum is likely to take place around April-May next year, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

•  Digital payments and financial services firm Paytm has fixed an offer price of Rs 2,150 apiece for its initial share-sale. The shares of Paytm are expected to list on bourses on November 18, according to the final prospectus filed by the company with the Registrar of Companies on Friday.

• The 30-share index was trading 400.87 points or 0.67 per cent higher at 60,320.56 in initial deals. Similarly, the Nifty rose 120.10 points or 0.67 per cent to 17,993.70. 

• The Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday launched the e-governance for Civil Aviation (e-GCA) online platform through which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will provide 298 services including pilot licensing and medical examination. The online platform will provide services to various DGCA stakeholders such as Pilots, Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, Air Operators, Airport Operators, Flying Training Organisations, Maintenance and Design organizations, among others.

Local –

•  Norovirus cases reported in Kerala

•  MSRTC in Maharashtra operates 36 buses as strike continues

•  Haveri in Karnataka becomes a green zone due to zero active cases

•  Telangana reports to high court Covid deaths panel has been formed

• Kolkata cops to use disposable straws in breathalyzers

GK – 

What is the rank of India in the inaugural Global Drug Policy Index 2021?

[A] 10
[B] 18
[C] 25
[D] 30

What is the name of the famous meteor shower that occurs every November?

[A] Leonids Meteor Shower
[B] Perseid meteor shower
[C] Orionids Meteor Shower
[D] Tempel Meteor Shower

What is the name of the world’s first plasmid DNA vaccine to treat Covid-19?

[A] ZyCoV-D
[B] Moderna
[C] Sputnik V
[D] Covaxin

As per the recent amendments made in Minerals Concession Rules, 2021, what percent of mineral produced from captive mines can be sold?

[A] 25
[B] 50
[C] 75
[D] 100

Which state was formed on November 9 as the 27th state of India?

[A] Jharkhand
[B] Uttarakhand
[C] Chhattisgarh
[D] Telangana