Daily important current affairs of 15 November 2018

This post contains important current affairs (National, International, Business and Sports) of 15 November 2018.

• Vodafone Group appointed Sanjiv Ahuja as a non-executive director with immediate effect. Sanjiv Ahuja is the Chairman of Tillman Global Holdings, which was founded by him in 2013. He was Chief Operating Officer and President of Telcordia Technologies. He held various roles in Orange Telecommunications namely Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive and Chairman. He was CEO and Chairman of wireless broadband companies LightSquared and Augere. He also founded and chaired Eaton Towers, a telecom infrastructure company, in Africa. 
• Twitter India launched a new initiative titled #PowerOf18, aimed at encouraging the youth to contribute in public debates and participate in civic engagement for the 2019 general elections. The #PowerOf18 will serve as a resource for young Indians to find more information about the elections, support social causes they are passionate about and join the public conversation.
• Ashish Chowdhary is Chief Customer Operations Officer at Nokia Networks. He will leave Nokia Networks at the end of 2018. He will take charge as Apple's India operation head in January 2019. He has 25 years of international experience in the enterprise and telecom sectors.
• Online matrimony service provider Bharat Matrimony Monday said it has roped in cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador.

• The government will release a Rs 75 coin to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose hoisting the Tricolour for the first time at Port Blair. The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification regarding the release of the Rs 75 coin along with its specifications. On December 30, 1943, Bose raised the Indian National Army (INA) to fight against the British, had hoisted the Tricolour for the first time at Cellular Jail, Port Blair. 
• Odisha government is to provide free smartphones to all the 6 lakh women self-help groups under its Mission Shakti programme. Around 70 lakh women associated with various SHGs will benefit due to the move. In the inaugural ceremony, the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that women in Odisha have come a long way and the next ceiling to be broken is the digital one. The chief minister also urged the bankers to meet the credit requirement of Mission Shakti groups in a dignified and professional manner. The SHGs have a total saving of Rs 5,000 crore.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the partnership between Department of Biotechnology and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for the India-UK Cancer Research Initiative has been signed in New Delhi. The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative is a collaborative 5-year bilateral research initiative that will focus on affordable approaches to cancer. Both countries will invest £5m each in this 5-year pilot and seek further investment from other potential funding partners.
• Late Dr. Martha Farrell has been honoured with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 6th Indian Social Work Congress in New Delhi. Dr. Farrell was recognized for her lifelong work towards gender equality, women's empowerment and prevention of sexual harassment at workplace. She was among 14 people killed in a terrorist attack on a guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 13, 2015. Suheil Tandon, Martha's son along with the team of Martha Farrell Foundation received the award.
• Satya Pal Singh, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, launched two new initiatives, namely, the Leadership for Academicians Programme (LEAP) and the Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT) for higher education faculty. LEAP is a three weeks flagship leadership development training programme for the second level academic functionaries in higher education institutions and ARPIT is a unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty.
• The restoration of an aristocratic house from a state of partial ruin in Ladakh undertaken by the LAMO center has won the 2018 UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for conservation in the category of Award of Distinction. The LAMO (Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation) Center in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region was chosen for its systematic restoration project that used salvaged and local building materials, and indigenous construction techniques while adroitly introducing modern amenities to assure its ongoing use. Apart from this, the 2018 Award of Excellence has been won by the renewal of the early 20th-century Shijo-cho Ofune-hoko Float Machiya of Kyoto, Japan.

• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously agreed to lift sanctions against Eritrea after nine years. An arms embargo, asset freeze, and travel ban were imposed in 2009 amid claims that Eritrea supported al-Shabab militants in Somalia. Eritrea agreed on a peace deal with Ethiopia following two decades of animosity, while the leader of Eritrea and the UN-backed government in Somalia recently signed a joint cooperation agreement.
• World Kindness Day was celebrated all over the world. In 1998, World Kindness Day was introduced by the World Kindness Movement, which is a coalition of various kindness NGOs. World Kindness Day is observed annually on November 13. The World Kindness Movement was formed at a conference in Tokyo, Japan, in 1997. Over 28 countries are members of this movement. 
• The International Energy Agency in its latest report 'World Energy Outlook' stated that India will overtake the U.S. to become the world's second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide from the power sector before 2030. Carbon dioxide emissions from India's power sector are expected to rise nearly 80% by 2040 as power use almost triples, driven in part by air conditioning. China will remain the biggest emitter.
• India has voted against a United Nations General Assembly draft resolution on the use of death penalty. India said that it goes against the statutory law of the country where an execution is carried out in the 'rarest of rare' cases. The draft resolution, taken up in the 3rd Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) of the General Assembly, was approved on 13 November 2018.
• According to a report by Which? Travel, Iceland is the safest country to visit. Iceland topped the charts with the lowest risk of a natural disaster as well as crime rates. It was followed by UAE, Singapore, Spain and Australia in the top 5. South Africa came last owing to a high risk of crime, health and terrorism. Turkey was ranked the second most dangerous preceded by Thailand, India, and Mexico.
• Union Agriculture Minister launched NCDCs new scheme to promote young entrepreneurs in cooperatives. The main objective is to provide cheaper loans to startups in the cooperative sector. This scheme will be implemented by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) by linking it to Rs 1000 crore 'Cooperative Start-up and Innovation Fund (CSIF) created by it. More incentives will be provided for cooperatives of North Eastern region, Aspirational Districts and cooperatives with women or SC or ST or PwD members.

• Asian Games gold medalist Hima Das appointed as UNICEF India's Youth Ambassador. She won a silver medal in the 400 meters sprint and also a gold in the 4X400 meters relay at the Asian Games in Jakarta this year will work towards supporting various initiatives by UNICEF.
• Barcelona star Lionel Messi was named FIFA World Player of the Year, adding one more title to his abundant collection of soccer's great honours. Messi lifted the prestigious award at FIFA's gala ceremony in Zurich, outdistancing the last two winners, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. The late England player and manager Bobby Robson received FIFA's fair play award, while the presidential award for contributions to football and society went to Jordan's Queen Rania.

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