(Current Affairs) Person in News | December: 2014

Person in News

Ashraf Ghani as Afghanistan new President

  • Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s new President, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S-led invasion toppled the Taliban.
  • He became President of Afghanistan in a peaceful transition after a six-month election season that ended with marathon negotiations that gave the newly created position of chief executive to his challenger Abdullah Abdullah.
  • Afghanistan has now experienced its first-ever peaceful power transition in its history as outgoing President Hamid Karzai transfers power to the new President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
  • Mr. Karzai had been Afghanistan’s only leader since 2001.

Panneerselvam will be the CM of Tamil Nadu

  • O. Panneerselvam will be the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He will assume the office for the second time under similar circumstances.
  • In September, 2001, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa had to step down as her appointment as Chief Minister was quashed by the Supreme Court.
  • Mr. Panneerselvam, the AIADMK treasurer, met Governor K. Rosaiah at the Raj Bhavan and submitted a letter and resolution passed by the party legislators stating that he had been unanimously elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party.
  • He will be the 28th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 1920.

Abdullah al-Thinni swore in as Libya’s new Prime Minister

  • Libya’s new parliament swore in Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and his cabinet during a meeting in the eastern port town of Tobruk.
  • The ceremony followed weeks of political maneuvering in the fractious assembly, as clashes continued between rival militias near the capital Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
  • In Benghazi, the largest city in eastern Libya, radical Islamist militias have succeeded in pushing rival forces loyal to retired general Khalifa Haftar out of most areas.
  • The Tobruk-based parliament, the House of Representatives, has swung behind the anti-Islamist forces, declaring the main Islamist militias to be terrorist organizations.

Govind Mishra gets Saraswati Samman 2013

  • Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra was conferred the ‘Saraswati Samman’ for his novel “Dhool Paudhon Par” published in 2008 at a function in New Delhi.
  • Govind Mishra is the second Hindi author who was conferred this honour after it was given to Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991. Born on August 1, 1939, in Atarra (Banda, Uttar Pradesh), Mishra completed his BA and MA (English) at the University of Allahabad.
  • Giving away the award, constituted by the K K Birla Foundation, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that it has been recognised as the highest literary award in India.

Edward Snowden selected for ‘alternative Nobel’

  • Edward Snowden has been selected among the winners of the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “alternative Nobel,” for his disclosures of top secret surveillance programs.
  • The award foundation said the former National Security Agency contractor splits the honorary portion of the prize with Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger.
  • The 1.5 million kronor ($210,000) cash award is shared by Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jahangir, Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission and U.S. environmentalist Bill McKibben.
  • Award foundation director Ole von Uexkull said all winners were invited to the December 1 award ceremony in Stockholm, though he added it’s unclear whether Mr. Snowden, who remains exiled in Russia, can attend.

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