Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 01 December 2016

:: National ::

Indian Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is visiting Bangladesh to bolster defence cooperation initiatives ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in December, say diplomatic sources.
Another key focus during Ms. Hasina’s visit would be to present awards and financial assistance to families of the Indian soldiers who were killed during the Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.
Mr. Parrikar and his entourage were greeted by Bangladesh Defence Forces’ Principal Staff Officer Lt-Gen. Mohammed Mahfuzur Rahman and top government officials.
An Inter-Service Public relation (ISPR) press release said Mr. Parikkar would meet Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Ms. Hasina, who is also the Defence Minister. Besides, he and his team will meet the PM’s Security Adviser Major General Tarique Ahmed Sidique (retd) to discuss matters relating to bilateral issues.

Portuguese pottery and Belgian beer also named intangible cultural treasures
Cuba’s sensual rumba dance and Belgium’s thriving beer culture brought new effervescence to UNESCO’s coveted list of “intangible” heritage.
UNESCO noted that Belgium produces some 1,500 types of beer, while in Cuba because the rumba sprang from poor communities the dance is an enduring “expression of resistance and self-esteem”.
The list of “intangible” cultural treasures was created 10 years ago, mainly to increase awareness about them, while UNESCO also sometimes offers financial or technical support to countries struggling to protect them.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said international and intra-regional trade costs of India remained higher compared with the trade costs of best-performing economies in Asia and the Pacific, although a declining trend has been observed since 2009.
Asia-Pacific trade flows were wavering amid sluggish global economic and trade growth, downward movement of world commodity prices and an uncertain policy environment, the report said. Sluggish growth in trade is expected to continue through to the end of 2016.