Daily Current Affairs: 11 January 2014

1) Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon passed away:  Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died on Saturday at a hospital near Tel Aviv after being in a comatose state for the past eight years following a stroke. He was 85 years old. While serving as defence minister in 1982, he masterminded Israel's invasion of Lebanon. During the invasion, Lebanese Christian militiamen allied to Israel massacred hundreds of Palestinians in two Beirut refugee camps - Sabra and Shatila - under Israeli control. He was nevertheless elected prime minister 18 years later, pledging to achieve "security and true peace", and served until his second stroke.

2) Top journalist Ashutosh joins Aam Aadmi Party:  Television journalist Ashutosh on Saturday joined the Aam Aadmi (AAP) Party. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and party leader Sanjay Singh at a press conference. Ashutosh had resigned as the Managing Editor of IBN7 on Thursday fuelling speculation that he would join the party.

3) Chaos marks 1st day of Kejriwal govt’s ‘janata durbar’- The first day of the Arvind Kejriwal government’s ‘janata durbar’ (public hearing) on the streets across the Delhi Secretariat was a scene of utter chaos on Saturday, with uncontrollable crowds thronging the venue. The Chief Minister had to disappear on the advice of the Delhi Police, leaving his Cabinet colleagues to handle the swelling crowd. Later Kejriwal emerged on the rooftop and addressed the jostling crowd, promising them another ‘janata durbar’ in four or five days. “It will be better organised and better managed,” he declared.

4) 3 people injured in Malaysia plane crash: Two people were seriously injured and a third suffered minor injuries after a small private plane crashed in Malaysia.

5) Rohan Bopanna returns to India’s Davis Cup squad: Rohan Bopanna on Saturday returned to the country’s Davis Cup squad after a two-year gap as AITA named a six-member team for the Asia/Oceania Group I contest against Chinese Taipei, starting January 31 in Indore. Since Leander Paes has opted out of the national duty in 2014 due to family reasons and Mahesh Bhupathi has been ignored once again, Bopanna is the sole doubles specialist in the team.

6) Tributes paid to Lal Bahadur Shastri on death anniversary: The nation on Saturday paid glowing tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 48th death anniversary. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Assembly Speaker MS Dhir were the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at his memorial Vijay Ghat. Devotional songs were also played at the venue.

7) Another former SC judge faces sexual harassment charge: Another former judge of the Supreme Court has been accused of sexual harassment by a law intern who has sought action against him by the Apex Court. Late on Friday, television channels named a retired judge of the Supreme Court who is currently heading a tribunal as the subject of the complaint according to which he sexually harassed her in May, 2011 in his office when he was a sitting judge of the Apex Court.

8) Devyani barred from entering US: Expelled Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, in effect, has been barred entry into the United States, with the State Department saying that her name would be placed in visa and immigration lookout systems to prevent routine issuance of visa.

9) Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary celebrations to end on Sunday: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda in New Delhi on Sunday.

10) Delhi govt launches helpline number 9223166166 for complaints over unscheduled power cuts: In a bid to address power cuts and load shedding problems in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has announced a helpline number where people can register their complaints regarding unscheduled power trip and other electricity related woes through SMS.

11) John Isner wins Auckland title in Open buildup: John Isner fired 23 aces in a match which had no service breaks to beat Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) in the final of the ATP's Heineken Open in Auckland, his last tune up for next week's Australian Open.

12) Bopanna-Qureshi end runners-up at Sydney International: Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi had to be content with a runners-up finish at the ATP Sydney International after losing the fiercely fought final, in which there was no break of serve, against Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, on Saturday.

13) Punjab defeat J&K to enter Ranji semis: Jammu and Kashmir’s dream run in the Ranji Trophy came to an end after Punjab defeated the side by 100 runs to enter the semifinals of the premier domestic event on the fourth day of their match in Vadodara on Saturday.

14) Ussain Bolt, Fraser-Pryce win Jamaica’s sportsperson of year award: Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, and sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, were named Jamaica's Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year on Friday.

15) MS Dhoni launches 'Bike Festival of India':  India cricket captain and motorsport enthusiast Mahendra Singh Dhoni has launched the first edition of Southeast Asia's largest bike extravaganza, the Bike Festival of India (BFI), along with other partners in Mumbai on Saturday.

16) Give a missed call to know your bank balance: Syndicate Bank has introduced such a facility for its customers. After giving a missed call to a dedicated number, the customer will get his/her balance amount in the account as an SMS and the customer will not be charged for the facility.

17) Gorakhpur railway station entered Limca Book of Records as world’s longest platform: Gorakhpur railway station’s platform number one of Uttar Pradesh has entered into the Limca Book of Records as longest rail platform in the world. The certificate given by the Limca Book of Records was unveiled on 10 January 2014 by KK Atal, the General Manager North Eastern Railways (NER). The platform’s length is 1355.40 meters and was inaugurated in 6 October 2013.

18) Nirbheek, India's first gun for women, launched: India’s first gun for women, Nirbheek was launched on 9 January 2014. It is a tribute to the gang rape victim of December 2012, Nirbhaya. Gun has been manufactured by the Indian Ordnance Factory, Kanpur.