National:

Schools to be chosen for PISA 15 After Indias dismal performance in PISA 2009, the government is planning to choose its participating schools carefully for PISA 2015. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), introduced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), tests the learning levels of 15-year-olds. While the test is carried out every three years, India did not participate in PISA 2012. India, which made its debut in PISA 2009 with schools from Tamil Nadu and Himachal, was ranked among the bottom countries. China, which also debuted in 2009, emerged as a star performer, having selected students from schools in Shanghai province which are considered among the best. UNICEF focus on treatment of HIV{+} pregnant mothers to curb AIDS United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has noted in its latest report that while new HIV infections in children are down, reaching the goal of an AIDS-free generation requires that more HIV positive pregnant women receive anti-retroviral treatment to decrease the risk of infection for their babies. In India over 14,000 children got infected in 2011, with a 13 per cent decline from 2009. The number of estimated deaths among children (0-14 years old) due to AIDS was 10,213 in 2011. The total number of people living with HIV in the country has seen a decline from approximately 2.3 million to 2.1 million. The drop has been much higher among men (16 per cent) than among women (2.6 per cent). Law Day award winners Chief Justice of Nepal Khil Raj Regmi and Justice V. S. Sirpurkar, Chairman of the Competition Appellate Tribunal, are among the winners of the prestigious International Jurists Awards and National Law Day Awards. The National Law Day Award-2012 was presented to J. Venkatesan. The other winners of awards are Ashok Aggarwal, Advocate-General of Punjab (Civil Law), Gourab Banerji, Addl Solicitor-General of India (Jurisprudence), Vijay Aggarwal (Criminal law), Anand Bhushan Kanade, Senior Advocate (Constitutional law), Janak Raj Jai (Legal writing), Irshad Wali, IPS (Law & order), C.D. Singh (Advocacy) and M. Antony Selvaraj (Legal aid). Shell Helen Keller Awards for seven men and women Seven men and women and six organisations were honoured with the Twelfth NCPEDP-Shell Helen Keller Awards 2012 for their contributions towards improving the lives of disabled persons or serving as role models and a source of inspiration for everyone. The International Day of People with Disability is celebrated on December 3. Among the winners in the category for Role Model Disabled Personswere- Abdul Sajeed Ali was awarded for his efforts to ensure that the Andhra Pradesh government provided employment for the disabled under the 100-days' job guarantee scheme. Ketan Kothari is credited with ushering in systemic changes to help visually-impaired people have access to the printed word. Radhika Chand, a person with Down Syndrome is an artist and school teacher. Sangeeta Gala, who is hearing-impaired, is an associate director to film maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The awards, instituted in 1999, were presented by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

International:
USS Enterprise carrier taken out of active service The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired from active service, temporarily reducing the number of carriers in the US fleet to 10 until 2015. The USS Enterprise ended its notable 51-year. The Enterprise was the largest ship in the world at the time it was built, earning the nickname "Big E." It didn't have to carry conventional fuel tanks for propulsion, allowing it to carry twice as much aircraft fuel and ordnance than conventional carriers at the time. Every other aircraft carrier in the US fleet is now nuclear powered, although they only have two nuclear reactors each compared to the Enterprise's eight. The Enterprise was the only carrier of its class ever built.

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Pan Nieto set to assume power in Mexico The incoming President was set take the reins of power, inheriting a country full of economic promise but beset by a brutal drug war.Outgoing President Felipe Calderon handed power to Mr. Pena Nieto in a symbolic ceremony just after midnight, hours before the new leader takes the formal oath of office before congress and delivers a speech at the national palace. Mr. Pena Nietos inauguration marks the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after a 12-year absence from the presidency. Mr. Pena Nieto has promised to reduce poverty and wants to push through structural reforms to boost Latin Americas second biggest economy. Australia introduces plain packaging for cigarettes A law forcing tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in plain packets came into effect in Australia today in an effort to strip any glamour from smoking and prevent young people from taking up the habit. The new law, the first of its kind anywhere the world, came into force despite a vigorous legal challenge by big tobacco, which argued that the legislation infringed its intellectual property rights by banning trademarks. All cigarettes will now have to be sold in identical, olive-brown packets bearing the same typeface and largely covered with graphic health warnings.

Technology:
Astronomers report startling find on planet formation Astronomers are reporting a find that challenges traditional theories as to how rocky planets such as Earth are formed. Besides Earth, our solar system has three other rocky planets: Mercury, Venus and Mars. They have a solid surface and core of heavy metals, and differ from planets that are large spinning bodies of gas, like Jupiter or Saturn. The new findings suggest rocky planets may be even more common in the universe than previously thought. The astronomers used a cutting-edge telescope called ALMA, on a mountaintop 5,000 meters high in the remote desert of northern Chile. They peered out into space at a brown dwarf named ISO-Oph 102. A brown dwarf is an object that is like a star but too small to shine as brightly. Traditional theory holds that rocky planets form through the random collision of microscopic particles in the disc of material that surrounds a star. The particles, like fine soot, stick together and grow.

Business & Economy:

Reliance Life tops customer complaint list for FY'12: Govt Reliance Life topped the chart of private life insurance companies against which customers have filed largest number of complaints in 2011-12. According to the data provided by Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena in the Lok Sabha, as many as 50,807 complaints were reported against Reliance Life in 201112, followed by HDFC Standard Life (35,218) and Bajaj Allianz (22,390). However, all these companies attended to almost all of the complaints in the same year. Moodys downgrades eurozone rescue funds Credit ratings agency Moodys cut its rating for the eurozone rescue funds ESM and EFSF to Aa1 from Aaa following its downgrade of France in November 2012. It said the downgrade of the ESM and the EFSF, which were created to stabilize the Euro zone by providing financial assistance to Euro area member states in difficulty, was prompted by the high correlation in credit risk among the rescue funds and their largest financial supporters.

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Sport:
Dipika Pallikal is first Indian to break into top 10 Squash ace Dipika Pallikal became the first Indian to break into the top 10 of the world rankings. Pallikal jumped three places to be ranked 10th by Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) with 5175. 75 points. She was also the first Indian women to break into the top 20 in the WSA rankings. Three WISPA tour titles in 2011 saw her attain a career best ranking of 13. Pallikal is coached by six-time world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald of Australia. India's Joshana Chinappa also jumped a place to 31 in the yearend rankings. Dipika has won the German Open, Dutch Open, French Open, Australian Open, Scottish Open on the European Junior Squash Circuit. She was conferred with the Arjuna Award 2012.

Barry Anderson named tournament director of HIL Barry Anderson has been appointed as the Tournament Director of the inaugural six-team franchise-based Hockey Indian League to be held across different cities of the country from January 17, 2013. Hockey India secretary general and HIL chairman Narinder Batra said the appointment of Anderson is a major step towards ensuring that the league is technically well conducted.

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