CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS –DECEMBER 2011.

 

1. Name of the nuclear capable strategic ballistic missile successfully test fired by India on December 1, 2011 from the test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast?

Agni-I.

Agni -1 is the indigenously developed surface-to-surface, single-stage missile of India, powered by solid propellants.

2. Man of the match winners of 3 ODI Cricket series played between Bangladesh and Pakistan held in Bangladesh in December-2011:

 First ODI played between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Mirpur on December 1, 2011:

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi. (Pakistan). He scored unbeaten 23 runs and took 5 wickets conceding 23 runs.

Result: Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 5 wickets.

Second ODI played between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Mirpur on December 3, 2011:

Man of the Match: Nasir Hossain. (Bangladesh). He scored 100 runs.

Result: Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 76 runs.

Third ODI played between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Mirpur on December 3, 2011:

Man of the Match: Umar Akmal. (Pakistan). He scored 57 runs.

Result: Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 58 runs.

3. Who won the Player of the series award in the 3 ODI Cricket series played between Bangladesh and Pakistan held in Bangladesh in December-2011?

Umar Akmal. (Pakistan).

4. Renowned Indian cartoonist, immortalised by his depiction of Goan life and his humorous take on the world around him, who passed away on December 11, 2011?

Mario Miranda.

Miranda had been a regular with The Times of India and other newspapers in Mumbai, including The Economic Times, though he got his popularity with his works published in The Illustrated Weekly of India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002.

5. Which country tops in the recipients of officially recorded remittances, estimated for 2011 according to a newly updated World Bank brief on global migration and remittances?

India.

The top recipients of officially recorded remittances, estimated for 2011, are India ($58 billion), China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion), and the Philippines ($23 billion).

6. Man of the match winners of 2 Test Cricket series played between Bangladesh and Pakistan held in Bangladesh in December-2011:

First Test Cricket match played between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Chittagong from December 9, 2011:

      Man of the Match: Younus Khan (Pakistan). He scored unbeaten 200 runs.

      Result: Pakistan beat Bangladesh by an innings and 184 runs.

Second Test Cricket match played between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Mirpur from December 17, 2011:

Man of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh). He scored 144 runs in first innings and took 7 wickets in that match.

      Result: Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets.

Series Status: Pakistan won the test series 2-0.

7.     European Union recently imposed sanction on an Asian country over its controversial nuclear Programme. Which is that country?

Iran.

European Union has agreed to impose fresh sanctions on 180 Iranian officials and firms over Tehran's controversial nuclear Programme.

8. India’s nominee who has been re-elected to serve on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) for a three year term, beginning Jan 20, 2012?

Dilip Lahiri.

9. Who won the Player of the series award in the 2 Test Cricket series played between Bangladesh and Pakistan held in Bangladesh in December-2011?

Younus Khan. (Pakistan).

10. The US doctor convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of pop superstar Michael Jackson, who has been sentenced to four years in county jail?

Conrad Murray.

11. Man of the match winners of 2 Test Cricket series played between Australia and New Zealand held in Australia in December-2011:

 First Test Cricket match played between Australia and New Zealand at Brisbane from December 1, 2011:

      Man of the Match: James Pattinson. (Australia). He took 6 wickets.

Result: Australia beat New Zealand by 9 wickets.

Second Test Cricket match played between Australia and New Zealand at Hobart from December 9, 2011:

Man of the Match: David Warner. (Australia). He scored unbeaten 123 runs in second innings.

Result: New Zealand beat Australia by 7 runs.

Series Status: 2 Test series level 1-1

12. Who have been named as the official ambassadors to the 2012 London Olympic Games and Paralympics teams?

            Prince William, Kate Middleton (his wife), and Prince Harry.

13. Who won the Player of the series award in the 2 Test Cricket series played between Australia and New Zealand held in Australia in December-2011?

James Pattinson. (Australia).

14. Who has been named as the official ambassador of 2014 World Cup Football which is to be held in Brazil?

Ronaldo. (Former Brazil striker).

15. Which film won the Silver Peacock/Rajatha Mayooram for the Special Jury Mention in the International Film Festival of India 2011 held in Goa?

“Adaminte Makan Abu”

The director of the film, Salim Ahmed, bagged the Special Jury Award which carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a Silver Peacock medal and a certificate.

16. The Columbian film directed by Alejandro Landes which has bagged the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at the 42nd International Film Festival of India 2011?

'Porfirio'.

17. Who won the Silver Peacock Award for the Best Director at the 42nd International Film Festival of India 2011?

Asghar Farhadi.

He won this award for his film ‘Nader and Simin-A Seperation'.

18. Bollywood actor-director who died of a heart attack in London at the age of 88 on 3 December 2011?

Devanand.
            The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contribution to Indian cinema. His career spanned more than 65 years with acting in 114 Hindi films of which 110 have him play the main lead actor.

19. The 1982 World Cup Captain of the Brazilian Football team who has died at the age of 57 on 4 December 2011 following an intestinal infection?

Socrates.

He represented Brazil in two World Cups, captained the team in the 1982 edition. He won 60 international caps and scored 22 goals for his country. He also appeared in the 1979 and 1983 Copa America tournaments, and was named South American Footballer of the Year in 1983, being selected to Pele's FIFA 100 list in 2004.

20. Which country won the Davis Cup Tennis Title-2011?

Spain.

Spain has won the Davis Cup for a fifth time after Rafael Nadal beat Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro to secure a 3-1 lead.

21. Which country won the Champions Challenge Hockey Tournament defeating India (4-3) in the final?

Belgium.

22. Labour minister of Brazil who has resigned on December 4, 2011 over mounting corruption allegations?

Carlos Lupi.

He is the seventh minister to resign since President Dilma Rousseff took office in January. Six had departed earlier amid scandals over alleged corruption.

23. Who won Chevron World Challenge golf tournament held in California on December 4, 2011?

Tiger Woods.

This is his first tournament triumph since his failure in 2009.

24. Man of the match winners of 4 ODI Cricket matches played between India and West Indies held in India in December-2011:

Second ODI played between India and West Indies at Visakhapatnam on December 2, 2011:

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli. (India). He scored 117 runs.

Result: India beat West Indies by 5 wickets.

Third ODI played between India and West Indies at Motera on December 5, 2011:

Man of the Match: Ravi Rampaul. (West Indies). He took 4 wickets.

Result: West Indies beat India by 16 runs.

Fourth ODI played between India and West Indies at Indore on December 8, 2011:

Man of the Match: Virender Sehwag. (India). He scored 219 runs from 149 balls which include 27 fours and 7 sixes. India scored 418 runs in 50 overs.

Result: India beat West Indies by 153 runs.

Fifth ODI played between India and West Indies at Chennai on December 11, 2011:

Man of the Match: Manoj Tiwary. (India). He scored 117 runs.

Result: India beat West Indies by 34 runs.

Series Status: India wins the 5 ODI series 4-1.

25. Who is the new prime minister of Kuwait?

      Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.         

 

26. The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) on 7th December 2011, approved a special package of Rs.8750 crore for a state in the eastern region of India from the Backward Area Grant Fund. Which is that state?

West Bengal.

27. Who won the Player of the series award of 5 ODI Cricket series played between India and West Indies held in India in December-2011?

Rohit Sharma (India).

28. Noted media person and founder chairman of Asianet, who has been chosen for Swadeshabhimani-Kesari award instituted by the Kerala government?

K.Sasikumar.

      The award carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh and plaque.

      

29. Who won the Man of the match award in the first test played between India and Australia held in Melbourne from December-26-30?

James Pattinson.(Australia). He took 6 wickets and scored unbeaten 37 runs in second innings.

Result: Australia beat India by 122 runs.

30. Former Israeli president who has entered Maasiyahu Prison to begin serving his seven-year sentence for committing rape?

Moshe Katsav.

On 30 December 2010, Katsav was convicted of two counts of rape, obstruction of justice and other charges. On 22 March 2011, in a landmark ruling, Katsav was sentenced to seven years in prison.

31. Which cricketer scored the highest-ever ODI Cricket score of 219?

Virender Sehwag.

On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark. His score remains the highest individual score in ODI cricket - 219 off 149 balls.

He is the only player in world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket

32. India's Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) who has been elected chairman of the panel of external auditors of the United Nations?

Vinod Rai.

33. First BPO (Business process outsourcing) Park of Kerala is situated at?

Cherthala. (Alappuzha District)

34. Which country won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) title-2011 with a 4-0 win over Afghanistan in the final in New Delhi?

India.

35. Which country won the Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament-2011beating Spain (1-0) in the final?

Australia.

Australia became the first team to win the Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament four-straight times.

36. Human rights activist who is elected as the interim President of Tunisia by the Constituent Assembly on 12 December 2011?

Moncef Marzouki.

On 14 December, one day after his accession to office, he appointed Hamadi Jebali of the moderate Islamist Ennahda Movement as Prime Minister.

37. Which country became the first country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding treaty to reduce emissions causing climate change?

Canada.

38. Which tennis players are named as the 2011 ITF World Champions?

Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)

Bob and Mike Bryan (USA) are named Men’s Doubles World Champions for the eighth occasion, while Kveta Peschke (CZE) and Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) become Women’s Doubles World Champions for the first time. 

39. Which player is named as France's best soccer player in 2011?

Karim Benzema.

40. The former French president who has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to a two year suspended prison sentence after a long-running criminal trial which concluded on 15 December 2011?

Jacques Chirac.

He served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 (making him the only person to hold the position of Prime Minister twice under the Fifth Republic), and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.

41.  Columbian film which won the Suvarna Chakoram (Golden Crow Pheasant) at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala held in December,2011?

"The Colours of the Mountains"

The film is directed by Carlos Cesar Arbelaez. The Golden Crow Pheasant, the award carrying cash prize of Rs 15 lakhs, citation and memento.

42. English American author, essayist, journalist and atheist intellectual, nicknamed "Hitch" who died on 15 December 2011?

            Christopher Hitchens.

He was a columnist and literary critic for The Atlantic, Free Inquiry, The Nation, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, World Affairs, and became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008. He wrote at length on atheism and the nature of religion in his 2007 book “God Is Not Great”. His memoir, “Hitch-22”, was published in June 2010.

43. Man of the match winners of 2 Test Cricket series played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in South Africa in December-2011:

First Test Cricket match played between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Centurion from December 15, 2011:

Man of the Match: Vernon Philander (South Africa). He took 10 wickets in that test match.

      Result: South Africa beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 81 runs.

Second Test Cricket match played between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Durban from December 26, 2011:

Man of the Match: Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka). He took 9 wickets and scored 30 runs in first innings.

Result: Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 208 runs.

44. Teenager from India who has been officially declared as the world's smallest woman by the Limca Book of Records and Guinness Book of Records?

Jyoti Amge.

She is a resident of Nagpur. As of December 16, 2011 she has been officially declared the World's smallest woman by Guinness Book of Records with a height of 62.8 cm. Her restricted height is due to a growth anomaly called achondroplasia.

45. Career diplomat who has been named by US President Barack Obama as the next U.S. ambassador to India?

Nancy J Powell.

Powell served as Ambassador to Nepal (2007-2009), Ambassador to Pakistan (2002-2004), Ambassador to Ghana (2001-2002), and Ambassador to Uganda (1997-1999).

46. Name of the severe Tropical Storm formed on December 13, 2011 and swept across the central and southern Philippines killing hundreds of people?

Washi.

Washi, which means Aquila in Japanese, made landfall over Mindanao, a major island in the Philippines, on December 16.

47. The Czech Republic's first president after the Velvet Revolution against communist rule who has died on 18 December 2011?

Vaclav Havel.

He was the ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003). He wrote more than 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally. At the time of his death he was Chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. He was the founder of the VIZE 97 Foundation and the principal organizer of the Forum 2000 annual global conference. Havel received much recognition, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Gandhi Peace Prize (2003), the Philadelphia Liberty Medal (1994), the Order of Canada, the freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award, and the Ambassador of Conscience Award.

48. Which club won Fifa Club World Cup -2011 defeating Brazilian side Santos 4-0 in the final held in Japan?

Barcelona.

49. Who claimed the World Super series Badminton Men’s Finals title-2011, defeating Chen Long in final?

Lin Dan.(China)

50. Who won the World Super series Badminton Women’s Finals title-2011, defeating Saina Nehwal of India, in final?

Wang Yihan. (China)

51. The supreme leader of North Korea (DPRK) from 1994 to 2011, also known as the "Dear Leader", who has died on 17-11-2011?

            Kim Jong-il.

            Kim Jong-il was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, and the supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth-largest standing army in the world.

DPRK-Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

52. Who won the 7th Crocodile Challenge Cup squash tournament held  in Hong Kong on Dec 18,2011?

Dipika Pallikal. (India).

She beat Joey Chan in the final. This is her third WISPA (Women's Professional Squash tour) title in 2011.

53. Which country won the four-nation Women’s Hockey tournament held in Parana, Argentina?

Argentina.

Argentina beat South Africa 2-0 in the final.

54. Which country won the bronze medal in the four-nation Women’s Hockey tournament held in Parana, Argentina?

India.

India won the bronze medal by beating Ireland (4-1).

55. Who has been named the African Footballer of the Year-2011 by the Confederation of African Football?

Yaya Toure.

The Manchester City Midfielder ‘Toure’ is only the second player from Ivory Cost to win the award since its inception in 1992, following in the footsteps of the Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

56. Chinese writer who has been sentenced to 9 years in prison on 23 December 2011 for ‘inciting subversion of state power’?

Chen Wei.

Mr.Chen published several essays online calling for freedom of speech and reform of China’s one party system.

57. Noted Malayalam playwright and the author of controversial book ‘Christhuvinte Aaram Thirumurivu’ who died on December 22, 2011?

P.M.Antony.

He is the recipient of Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award.

58. Who became the Highest –run getter in the Renji Trophy surpassing the record of Amol Muzumdar?

Wasim Jaffer.

He (Captain of Mumbai) went past Muzumdar’s tournament tally of 8237 runs in the match against Punjab.

59. Who became the youngest player to make 300 English Premiere League appearances in the history of EPL?

Wayne Rooney.

60. Renowned Malayalam writer and literary critic who has been selected for the prestigious Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award-2011?

M.K.Sanu.

He won the award for the book “Basheer-Ekantha Veedhyile Avadhoothan”, a biography of noted Malayalam writer ‘Vaikkom Muhammad Basheer’.

61. Noted nuclear scientist who played a key role in India’s first atomic test in 1974 and pioneered experiments in cold fusion, died on December 21, 2011?

Dr.P.K.Iyengar.

He was the former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and played a key role in India’s Civil Nuclear agreement with U.S.A by forming a pressure group of top nuclear scientists.

62. Two time Olympian and goal keeper of the 1951 Asian Games football gold medal winning team, died on December 20, 2011?

K.V.Varadaraj.

Varadaraj, who was one of the best goal keepers India has produced, played in the 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was the first ever Indian goal keeper to play in the Olympics as India had made its debut in Football in the London Olympics. He didn’t concede a single goal in the inaugural Asian games held in New Delhi and India won gold medal in football in that Asian games.

63. Who has been named the All Indian Football Federation ‘Player of the Year-2011’?

Sunil Chetri.

64. Who became the first Bangladesh player to score a hundred and take five wickets in an innings during a Test?

Shakib Al Hasan.

He achieved this feat in the test match against Pakistan held in December 2011. He scored 144 runs  and took 6 wickets  conceding  82 runs.

65. The first Indian Professional who has been elected to the board of the U.S. Head quartered Wireless Innovation Forum, a non profit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to driving technology innovation in commercial, civil and defence communications worldwide?

R. Muralidharan.

He is the joint CTO at Tata Power Company’s strategic electronics division.

66. National anthem of which country completed 100 years on December 27, 2011?

India.

India's national anthem "Jana Gana Mana" was first sung on 27th December 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. "Jana Gana Mana" was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950.

67. Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Janata Dal (Secular) leader who died on 26 December 2011 in Bangalore due to kidney failure?

Sarekoppa Bangarappa

He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Karnataka between 1967 and 1996, before contesting a series of six elections for the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 2009, of which he lost two. He founded both the Karnataka Vikas Party and the Karnataka Congress Party during a 44 year career in which supporters called him Solilllada Saradara (a leader who cannot be defeated). As well as these two parties, Bangarappa was at various times a member of the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), and his critics described him as a party-hopper because of this. He was appointed Opposition Leader in 1984 and Agriculture Minister in 1989. He was appointed as Chief Minister of the state in 1990 as successor to Veerendra Patil, who had been displaced on the orders of Rajiv Gandhi, allegedly on health grounds.

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