1.
Homosexuality is a criminal offence: Supreme Court
i. In a blow to gay rights activists, the Supreme Court today upheld the constitutional validity of the penal provision making gay sex an offence punishable with upto life imprisonment.
ii. A bench of justices G.S Singhvi and S.J Mukhopadhaya set aside the Delhi High Court’s verdict which had in 2009 decriminalised gay sex among consenting adults in private.
iii. As soon as the verdict was pronounced, gay activists in the court looked visibly upset.
iv. The bench allowed the appeals filed by various social and religious organisations challenging the high court verdict on the ground that gay sex is against the cultural and religious values of the country.
Homosexuality against Indian culture
i. The bench said Parliament is authorised to delete section 377 of IPC but till the time this penal provision is there, the court cannot legalise this kind of sexual relationship.
ii. After pronouncement of the judgement, gay rights activists said they will seek review of the apex court’s verdict.
iii. The court passed the order on a batch of petitions of anti-gay right activists and social and religious organisations against the high court’s verdict decriminalising gay sex.
Challenging gay rights
i. Senior BJP leader B.P Singhal, who died in October last year, had challenged the high court verdict in the apex court, saying such acts are illegal, immoral and against the ethos of the Indian culture.
ii. Religious organisations like All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Utkal Christian Council and Apostolic Churches Alliance too had challenged the judgement.
The Centre had earlier informed the apex court that there are an estimated 25 lakh gay people and about seven per cent (1.75 lakh) of them are HIV-infected.
2.
Mike Tyson banned from entering Britain
i. Former world heavyweight champion and convicted rapist Mike Tyson has been banned from entering Britain and forced to cancel appearances to promote his new autobiography, his publishers said on Tuesday.
ii, There was a change in the UK immigration law in December 2012 of which we were unaware," said a spokesman for HarperCollins. “For this reason Mike had to change location to Paris to salvage his press obligations for the UK.”
iii. The 47-year-old, who was convicted of raping a teenage beauty queen in 1992, had been due to appear in London this week to promote his book, Undisputed Truth.
iv. British immigration rules ban anyone who has been sentenced to more than four years in prison from entering the country.
v. Tyson served three years of a six-year sentence for the rape. He also has convictions for assault, cocaine possession and driving under the influence of the same drug.
vi. The boxer, who was the youngest man ever to become heavyweight champion when he beat Trevor Berbick in 1986 at the age of 20, has courted controversy throughout his life.
3.
Justice D.P Buch sworn in as Gujarat Lokayukta
i. Justice D.P Buch, a retired judge of the Gujarat High Court, was administered the oath of Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Assembly Speaker Vajubhai Vala.
4.
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji received ET Lifetime Achievement Award 2013
i. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, 68, won the Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 for his role in creating India's third-largest software exporter and also for the impressive scale of his philanthropy.
ii. The 2013 ET Awards for Corporate Excellence were given in Mumbai on 9 December 2013. The ET Awards were decided by a jury headed by Anshu Jain, co-CEO of Deutsche Bank.
About ET Awards
The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence (also referred as ET Awards) are the awards conferred by The Economic Times in the field of business, corporate and government policies, economies in India. - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/wipro-chairman-azim-premji-received-et-lifetime-achievement-award-2013-1386739189-1#sthash.yyijwEHl.dpuf
5.
Mary Barra appointed General Motors CEO
i. General Motors named Mary Barra as its new chief executive on Tuesday, making her the first woman to lead a major car manufacturing company in the United States.
ii. The 51-year-old — who previously served as Senior Vice-President for global product development — will replace current CEO Dan Akerson, Detroit-based General Motors (GM) confirmed in a statement.
iii. Barra has spent 33 years at GM in a variety of manufacturing, engineering, and management positions, beginning as a student intern in 1980. She has served as Senior Vice-President of global product development since 2011 and took on responsibility for GM’s global purchasing and supply chain in 2013.
6.
Uruguay became the First Country to Legalize Marijuana Trade
i. Uruguay on 10 December 2013 became the first country in the world to legalise marijuana for recreational use with the state taking control of the trade. In this regard Uruguay senators gave the approval for government-sponsored bill.
ii. According to the new law-Registered Uruguayans over the age of 18 will be allowed to buy up to 40 grams of the drug a month. Tourists will be excluded.
iii. The government hopes it will help tackle drug cartels, but critics say it will expose more people to drugs. With introducing new law, Uruguay became the first country in the world to have a system regulating legal production, sale and consumption of the drug.
About Marijuana
Marijuana, the most often used illegal drug in many countries, is a product of the hemp plant- Cannabis sativa. Its main psychoactive chemical is delta-9-tetrahydro-cannabinol, or THC. Due to the variety of effects it can produce, marijuana can be categorized as a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogen.
7.
S Africa win toss, elect to bat against India in 3rd & final ODI
i. The third one day cricket between India and South Africa begins at Super Sport Park in Centurion. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat in the inconsequential match as they have already won the three match series 2-0.
8.
The Last King of Mysore Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar Died
i. The last King of the erstwhile Mysore royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar passed away in Bangalore on 10 December 2013 due to heart attack
ii. Maharaja Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar Bahadur also known as Srikanta Wadeyar was the last prince of Mysore Kingdom under Wodeyar dynasty. Wodeyar Dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Mysore between 1399 and 1950.
About Narasimharaja Wodeya
i. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar was born in 1953. He was the only son of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodiyar, the last ruling Maharaja of Mysore and his second wife Maharani Tripura Sundari Ammani Avaru.
ii. Maharaja Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar Bahadur was the last link with the Mysore city's royal past. He played a key role in conducting the ten-day Dasara celebrations each year in Mysore city. Every year the famous Mysore Dasara festival draws lakhs of tourists from across the world.