Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013)

NATIONAL

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India, Bhutan sign currency swap agreement India and Bhutan have inked a currency swap agreement for up to $100 million to promote economic co-operation b/w the two nations. The pact was signed by the Reserve Bank of India and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB). It enables RMAB to make withdrawals of US dollar, euro or Indian rupee in multiple tranches up to a maximum of $100 million or its equivalent. Why this agreement? The agreement is in line with RBI announcement in May 2012 to offer swap facilities aggregating $2 billion, both in foreign currency and Indian rupee, to SAARC member nations Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This pact will provide emergency funding for SAARC member countries to meet any balance of payments and liquidity crisis till longer term arrangements are made or if there is need for short-term liquidity due to market upheaval. The arrangement would be for a 3 year period and would help bring financial stability in the region. SAARC Literature Awards The SAARC Literature Festival which was celebrated in Agra honored 5 writers with SAARC Literature Awards. These writers are: 1. Abhay K, India 2. Farheen Chaudhary Pakistan 3. Abdul Khaliq Rashid, Afghanistan 4. Suman Pokhrel, Nepal 5. Daya Dissanayake, Sri Lanka SAARC Literature Award is given annually to eminent writers from the South Asian region for their contribution to promotion of literature through their writings and literary initiatives. President appoints Ashwani Kumar and S.C. Jamir as new Governors of Nagaland and Odisha respectively President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday appointed former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar and senior Congress leader S.C. Jamir as Governors of Nagaland and Odisha respectively. Indias First All Women Post Office Union Minister of Communications & IT Sh. Kapil Sibal inaugurated Indias First All Women Employees Post Office at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. All the counters of this Post Office will be staffed by Women employees only. The working hours: 9.30 a.m. 5.30 p.m. This office is a Project Arrow Office What is Project Arrow ? Introduced in 2008 by department of Posts Objective: To transform the existing India Post infrastructure across the country by upgrading key postal operations such as mail delivery, remittance and banking services.

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Under the project, the exterior and interior of the post offices have undergone a transformation. Service delivery has been upgraded through information technology enabled procedures.

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Delhi court frames Irom Sharmila under attempt to suicide A Delhi Court has framed the charges of attempting to suicide against social activist Irom Sharmila. Who is Irom Sharmila? Irom Sharmila who is also known by his sobriquet Iron Lady of Manipur, is a social activist who is protesting against the Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958, demanding its repeal. She hails from Manipur, India and blames this Act for violence in Manipur and other parts of northeast India. In protest of this Act, she has been on fast for about 12 years.

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Operation Lal Dora India planned Operation Lal Dora in 1983 to prevent coup in Mauritius India, during the regime of Indira Gandhi in 1983, had planned top secret military interventionOperation Lal Dora to help the then Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth fight off a challenge from his radical rival Paul Berenger which New Delhi feared might take the form of an attempted coup. With this operation India wanted to ensure an Indian-origin Prime Minister remained in power there. As per Operation Lal Dora, Indian Navy and Army were to land troops to the island nation to thwart any possible coup. The plan also included the deployment of major naval assets including as many as six destroyers with Alouette helicopters and MK 42C Sea Kings for slithering operations. However, Mrs. Gandhi put on hold the military part of the operation due to differences between the the Navy and the Army over who would lead the intervention. Instead, she chose to task the Research and Intelligence Wings then chief, Nowsher F. Suntook, with supervising a largely intelligence-led operation to reunite the Indian community whose fracturing along ideological and communal lines had allowed Mr. Berenger to mount a political challenge. Indias overall intervention became successful and Anerood Jugnauth stayed as PM for more than a decade. Though eventually aborted, Operation Lal Dora has a special significance today because of the Indian strategic communitys focus on promoting the Indian Navys role in the wider neighborhood, especially the Indian Ocean. Indias other military interventions in the India Ocean: Operation Flowers are Blooming: Indias first military intervention in the Indian Ocean, first with INS Vindhyagiri helping to abort a coup in the Seychelles in 1986 Operation Cactus: In 1988 when commandos and naval ships were rushed to the Maldives after Sri Lankan Tamil militants sought to remove the then President, Abdul Gayoom. Jagat Singh Negi Elected As the Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly of Himachal Jagat Singh Negi, the Congress legislator from Kinnaur was elected as the Deputy speaker of Legislative Assembly of Himachal on 12 March 2013.

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Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh announced Negis name for the post of Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly. Jagat Singh Negi was therefore elected unanimously as the Deputy Speaker. 8. President of India Released Commemorative Postal Stamp at XXXIII Convocation of PGIMER The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 15 March 2013 released a commemorative postal stamp at XXXIII Convocation of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) at Chandigarh. The President attended the 33rd Convocation of PGIMER. The President announced that for the future of India, progress in health sector was crucial. The stamp was released as the part of Golden Jubilee Celebrations of PGIMER. It is important to note that PGIMER includes doctors, students, faculty members as well as officials of UT Administration, Punjab and Haryana. 9. India 132nd on the gender inequality index; India even behind Pakistan As per the United Nations Development Programs Human Development Report 2013: India stood at 132nd position out of 187 countries on the gender inequality index performing worse than Pakistan (123). All nations in South Asia, except Afghanistan, performed better than India, with Sri Lanka (75) topping them all. Nepal ranked 102nd and Bangladesh 111th. Gender Inequality Index: It measures the loss in a countrys progress and human development because of gender inequality in three sectors: reproductive health, women empowerment and labor market participation. Key factors which put India on such a low position are: Skewed sex ratio, with only 914 females every 1000 males due to female feticide, . Only 29% of Indian women above the age of 15 in 2011 were a part of the countrys labor force, compared to 80.7% men. In Parliament, only 10.9% of lawmakers are women, while in Pakistan 21.1% are women. Performance of other countries: United States (42nd) on the list, 57.5% women and 70.1% men are a part of the labor force. China ranked 35th. Education and health status of women in India: Only 26.6% women above 25 years received a secondary education in 2010, compared to 50.4% of men. Maternal Mortality Ratio: In India, 200 women died every 100,000 childbirths. Comparing with other countries: U.S. : Secondary education to 94.7% women which is a little higher than for men (94.3%). China: 54.8% of women received secondary education compared to 70.4% for men. Overall, India has made significant economic progress, improvements are slow on the human development front. On the human development index, India ranks 136th out of

Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) 187 countries mentioned in the study. In India huge income disparities, gender inequality and the caste divide remain major issues. 12. Green Cess Vehicle owners will have to pay 5% green cess if their vehicle is older than 10 years. The fund collected from this would be used in building better roads by PWD. Vizag airport bags award The best airport award in the Rest of India category for Visakhapatnam Airport as part of the National Tourism Awards 2011-12 will inspire and motivate officials and staff of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to work harder in improving the existing amenities at the airport. Securing costal perimeter The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Eastern Region has sought additional berthing space at major and non-major ports along the east coast to reach out to people in distress in quick time. ICG has nine shore stations five in Tamil Nadu Puducherry (Chennai, Mandapam, Tuticorin, Puducherry and Karaikal) and four in Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Nizamapatnam and Krishnapatnam) from where it is safeguarding the 2,207 km of eastern coastline spanning from Chinna Muttam to Andhra Pradesh Orissa border. ICG, has sought more space in Chennai, Ennore, Krishnapatnam, Karaikal and Tuticorin ports. The idea is to provide timely help to people by placing our vessels at equal-distance, protect coast line, react to situation of oil spill at sea and help fishermen in distress. ICG is occupying about 146 m of the eastern side of Madhusudan Jetty in Chennai and has sought 180 m of berthing space on the western side to place more patrolling vessels. It has stationed four fast patrol vessels and three offshore patrol vessels in Chennai. Three more offshore patrol vessels are likely to arrive soon. In Ennore, ICG has been offered 50 m and a request for additional 200 m is being made. UNDP-HDI report India has been ranked 136 among 187 countries evaluated for human development index (HDI) - a measure for assessing progress in life expectancy, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living or gross national income per capita. The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for 2013, released on Thursday, puts Indias HDI value for the last year at 0.554, placing it in the medium human development category, which it shares with Equatorial Guinea. On the positive side, Indias HDI value went up from 0.345 to 0.554 between 1980 and 2012, an increase of 61 per cent or an average annual increase of 1.5 per cent.

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INTERNATIONAL

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New Pope: Jorge Mario Bergoglio takes Francis as name Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected as new pope of the Catholic Church. 266th pope Native of Argentina. Became first pontiff from outside Europe in more than a millennium since Syrian-born Pope Gregory III, who died in 741. Thus, he is the first non-European pope since the\ 8th century. He has chosen the name Pope Francis. He is now both the leader of the Catholic Church and sovereign ruler of the Vatican City State. Prisoner X Australia acknowledged for the first time that the dual Australian-Israeli citizen who died in a maximum-security Israeli prison had been working for Israel. Australia has raised the possibility of a diplomatic fuss if the mans Australian passport was used for espionage. Who is Prisoner X? Prisoner X, Mr. X and Mister X were proxy names for Ben Zygier while he was imprisoned in Israel in strict secrecy for unspecified crimes at Ayalon Prison. Ben Zygier was an Australian-Israeli citizen. The Israeli government has accepted that a prisoner held under a fictitious name died in their custody and has affirmed the prisoners identity as Ben Zygier. The name Prisoner X has previously been used for other unidentified prisoners and is the name of an X-Men book by Ann Nocenti. Timeline of Prisoner X scandal December 10, 2010: A man is found hanged in cell at Ayalon prison, in Ramla, Israel Story was reported about the details of the death in Israeli news website Ynet, but is soon then taken down. Rumours continued to circulate that Prisoner X, as he became known, was a Mossad agent. February 12, 2013: Australias ABC News names Prisoner X as Ben Zygier who was reportedly born in Melbourne to a prominent Jewish family and who later moved to Israel in 2000 February 13, 2013: Israeli justice ministry affirms the existence of Prisoner X February 14, 2013: Australia admits it was told of Mr Zygiers detention in February 2010 March 2013: Australia contends that the Prisoner X worked for Israel Princess Lilian of Sweden passes away Princess Lilian (97) of Sweden passed away. She had been suffering from Alzheimers disease. Her romance with husband Prince Bertil became one of Swedens best-known love stories. New Zealand Declared Worst-Ever Drought in 30 Years in North Island

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Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) The New Zealand Government in the third week of March 2013 declared the worst-ever drought in 30 years in the entire North Island of the country. The worst-hit section of the society is the farmers. Losses from agriculture will put pressure on the economy, which in turn would cut off 1 percent of the economic growth of New Zealand. Farmers of New Zealand, who are said to be a crucial factor of the economy of the country, estimated that drought had cost them earnings of 1 billion New Zealand Dollars already. The capital of NZ, Wellington is left with just 18 days of water. Drought will hit parts of the South Island soon. However, it was forecasted that first rainfall in the duration of two months would come by 1617 March 2013. The drought conditions in New Zealand were apparent through the satellite images from space. Drought hinting towards climate change According to a few scientists, dry climatic conditions hint towards an overall climate change. Climate scientists from Victoria University of Wellington forecasted that more summers and drought conditions like these were on their way in New Zealand because of global warming. The scientists explained that dry subtropical weather, which leads to the formation of deserts in countries like Australia and Africa, was inching closer towards the poles of the world. There were increasing risks of drought in the country, leading to stretching of water resources.
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Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi Sworn-In As the Prime Minister of Nepal Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal on 14 March 2013. Khil Raj Regmi will be the head of interim government which will have its elections from 21 June 2013. He took over the office from Baburam Bhattarai. Khil Raj Regmi, 63, took oath of the office and secrecy from the President Ram Baran Yadav. In the meanwhile, Madhav Ghimire was chosen as the Home Minister as well as the External Affairs Minister. Hari Prasad Neupane was chosen as the Law Minister as well as Labour Minister. Regmi will head the 11-member electoral government. It is for the first time in the political history of Nepal that any sitting Chief Justice was named as Head of the Government. Xi Jinping Took Over As the New President of China The new leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping on 14 March 2013 was appointed as the President of China. It is important to note that Xi Jinping, 59, was also chosen as the General Secretary of CPC in November 2012. He overtook the office from Hu Jintao. On 14 March 2013, Xi Jinping was approved by National Peoples Congress (NPC), the Parliament of China, in the comprehensive election process at Great Hall of the People. Out of 2963 delegates of NPC, there were 2956 delegates present. Out of the present delegates, 2952 voted for Xi Jinping. Only one vote was cast against him, while three representatives did not vote. Politburo member Li Yuanchao (63) was also chosen as the Vice President of Xi Jinping on the same day with 2839 votes in favour of him. Li Keqiang, 57, was appointed as the Prime Minister of China. He replaced Wen Jiabao. UAE Inaugurated Worlds Largest Solar Power Plant named Shams 1

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Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 17 March 2013 officially opened the worlds largest concentrated solar power plant. The solar power plant opened is the 600-million dollar project which is aimed at providing electricity to 20000 homes. The solar power station which is named Shams 1 was inaugurated in Madinat Zayed by the President of UAE and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The solar power plant was constructed over a three-year period by an international conglomerate, with UAEs Masdar having 60 percent stake, Frances Total having a 20 percent interest and Spains Abengoa which has a 20 percent stake. The plant covers 2.5 sq. kilometers (0.96 sq. miles) and has 768 panels with the capacity to produce 100 MW of clean energy. UAE is now producing 68 per cent of the total renewable energy produced by the members of Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. Use of Solar Power Project With this new solar project, Masdar will be producing 10 per cent of worlds renewable energy The construction of Shams 1, a joint venture between Masdar, a company based in Abu Dhabi and international operatives such as Total and Abengoa, started in the third quarter of 2010 and will produce 100 Megawatt of electricity. The solar park features long lines of parabolic mirrors spread over an area equivalent to 285 football pitches in the desert of the Western Region, some 120 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi. 8. Accord to empower differently abled To address concerns over their ageing populations and the challenges faced by the differently abled, India and Mauritius will collaborate in empowerment of senior citizens and persons with disabilities. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed here on Tuesday between the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reforms Institutions of Mauritius. The two countries will exchange resource persons in areas of mutual interest and strengthen capacity-building of personnel and non-governmental organisations. A separate MoU on cooperation in health and medicine was signed on the occasion of President Pranab Mukherjees visit to Mauritius. Apart from clinical pharmacy practice and rational drug use, information and best practices will be shared on traditional health systems, health tourism, surgical interventions and treating lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, which has become a cause of concern in both countries. Joint research and exchange of research outcomes are part of this agreement. A third MoU was signed for expansion of bilateral cooperation in tourism, encouraging cooperation between stakeholders, including hotels and tour operators, investment in the tourism and hospitality sectors and promoting safe, honourable and sustainable tourism. Falkland Islanders say yes to Britain

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Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) Britain and Argentina were on Tuesday embroiled in a renewed war of words after the residents of the disputed Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly in favour of it staying as a British overseas territory. Argentina immediately rejected the outcome saying it did not recognize the referendum even as Prime Minister David Cameron described it as the clearest possible expression of the wishes of the islanders, and urged Argentina to respect their view. 10. 266th pope elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, elected new pope of Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday.

ECONOMY

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CTT (Commodity Transaction Tax) In Budget 2013-14, Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed 0.01% tax on the trade of nonagricultural commodities futures, the new tax is called Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT). As per Budget speech, there is no distinction b/w derivative trading in the securities market and derivative trading in the commodities market, only the underlying asset is different. What is CTT? Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) Proposed in Finance Bill, 2013 for enhancing financial resources. A tax which shall be levied on non-agricultural commodities futures contracts at the same rate as on equity futures that is at 0.01% of the price of the trade. CTT would tax trading of non-farm commodities like gold, silver and non-ferrous metals such as copper and energy products like crude oil and natural gas in India. Here both partiesbuyer & seller of contractwill be taxed depending on the amount of contract size. Similar to the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) levied on the purchase and sale of equities in the stock market. So far, commodity transactions have been exempted from any levy. Agricultural commodities have been left out of CTT. What are the Advantages of levying CTT? It will open up new resources for the augmentation of government finances. CTT would generate revenues of around Rs.45 billion to government. It is also aimed at bringing transparency in the commodity exchange market. What could be the disadvantages of CTT? CTT has been opposed by the experts and the PMEAC had also suggested against levying such a tax. CTT will increase the transaction cost because traders already pay brokerage, deposit margin, brokerage, stamp duty and transaction charges. RBI to start fresh IESH The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the 31st Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) with January-March 2013 as the current reference period. What is IESH?

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Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) are subjective assessments of around 5,000 households across 16 cities proposed to be covered in the Survey round and are based on households individual consumption baskets. The survey seeks qualitative responses from households on price changes (general prices as well as prices of specific product groups) in the next three months as well as in the next one year and quantitative responses on current, threemonth ahead and one-year ahead inflation rates. The results will aid RBI as one of the important inputs for the formulation of the monetary policy. 3. Tata Steel acquires 51 % in Canadian mine Tata Steel, through its subsidiary Tata Steel Minerals Canada (TMSC), has acquired majority stake in Canadian company Labrador Iron Mines (LIM) for Canadian $30 million (Rs.163 crore). This will enable Tata Steel to seamlessly transport raw material from its existing mines in Canada through rail and a port facility to the U.K. where it has major operations. This is possibly the first acquisition by the Tata Group after Cyrus Mistry took over as Chairman.
PERSONS

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Bobby Ghosh became First non-American Editor of Time International Bobby Ghosh, the eminent Indian Journalist was appointed as the editor of Time International on 16 March 2013. He is the first non-American World Editor in the history of the Times. His appointment to the post was confirmed by the editor in Chief, Martha Nelson and Managing Editor Rick Stengel in a joint email. Bobby Ghosh Bobby Ghosh joined TIME in 1998 after serving India as a journalist for 10 years He served two years on the staff of the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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Cruise missile Nirbhay goes awry, terminated midway Cruise missile Nirbhay missed the target test-firing as it had to be terminated midway after deviating from the flight course. However, as per DRDO, the missile "successfully" achieved the basic mission objectives and performed some of the maneuvers satisfactorily before being terminated midway. Nirbhay: Indias first indigenously developed sub-sonic cruise missile All-weather low-cost medium-range cruise missile with stealth and high accuracy. Surface-to-surface Range of 1,500 km. It will carry a ring laser gyroscope for high-accuracy navigation and a radio altimeter for the height determination. Capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land, sea and air and shall be inducted into Indian Navy, Army, and Air Force. Capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Capable of flying at different altitudes ranging from 500 m to 4 km above the ground. Good loitering capability, control and guidance with high degree of accuracy for maximum

Weekly Current Affairs (11th March -17th March, 2013) impact. Nirbhay will supplement the Brahmos cruise missile by carrying warheads beyond the 300-km range. 2. Fire Ice (Methane hydrate / Methane clathrate) Japan unfolds the mystery of Fire ice Japan has successfully developed new technology for extracting methane gas from a previously untapped off-shore fossil fuel resource that has been dubbed fire ice. Japan has invested several hundred million pounds in developing technology to tap methane hydrate reserves off its coast.

What is Fire Ice? It is another name of Methane hydrate, which consist of methane trapped in ice, present under the continental shelves around the world. It is said to be next big energy resource. Earlier, it was believed to only exist in the outer space of the solar system but now experts are saying it could be the new shale gas. Methane hydrate is also called Methane clathrate, hydromethane, methane ice, fire ice, natural gas hydrate, or gas hydrate. How does it form? Methane hydrate is formed within marine sediments where methane is generated by chemical reactions or by microbes breaking down organic matter. The gas moves up to the sea bed where the temperature is much low. It causes the gas to cool, due to this cooling methane molecules form weak chemical bond with surrounding water molecules, producing solid mehane hydrate. This substance has long been regarded by oil and gas companies as a problem, because it can block marine drilling rigs. Thus, Methane hydrate is a solid clathrate compound (more specifically, a clathrate hydrate) in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water, forming a solid similar to ice. How did scientists separate methane from Fire ice? Engineers used depressurisation to turn methane hydrate to methane gas. 3. Backbone of planning The first Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1A, was launched on March 17, 1988. Various user groups gathered under the Indian Society of Remote Sensing are reminiscing about and celebrating the landmark event at a symposium here. Today the Indian Space Research Organisation has 10 of its remote-sensing satellites orbiting the Earth and sending down imagery by the minute. Remote sensing has become the backbone of planning in ministries and to monitor and manage natural resources. The event is sponsored by the Indian Society of Geomatics, the Indian Meteorological Society, the Indian National Cartographers Association, the Astronautical Society of India and the Space Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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SPORTS

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Laureus World Sports Awards 2013: Jessica Ennis named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Laureus World Sports Awards 2013 were organised in Rio de Janeiro on 11 March 2013. Prestigious awards were claimed by sports stars- Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray and Sebastian Coe. Jessica Ennis who won heptathlon gold in London 2012 Olympics was awarded the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award at the Theatro Municipal. Andy Murray won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award. Andy Murray had won Olympic gold in the singles as well as silver in mixed doubles before winning grand slam title at the US Open in 2012. Sebastian Coe, the Chairman of the London 2012 organising committee acclaimed Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award. Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter won the World Sportsman of the Year award for third time. Feliz Sanchez, the Dominican athlete won the World Comeback of the Year Award. Daniel Dias, the multiple Paralympic champion swimmer of Brazil was awarded with the title of World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. This was the second time he won the award. Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian skydiver was named as the World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award. Michael Phelps, the American swimmer won the Laureus Academy Exceptional Achievement Award. The Laureus World Team of the Year title was acclaimed by the European Ryder Cup Team which featured 7 UK golfers. The list of the awardees is as follows: Laureus World Sportsman of the Year- Usain Bolt Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year- Jessica Ennis Laureus World Team of the Year- European Ryder Cup Team Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year- Andy Murray Laureus World Comeback of the Year- Feliz Sanchez Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year- Felix Baumgartner Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability- Daniel Dias About the Laureus World Sports Awards Laureus World Sports Awards are the global sports awards which honour the sportsmen and sportswomen for all kinds of sports every year. The Laureus Media Selection Panel gives away the awards in six different categories: Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Laureus World Team of the Year, Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year, Laureus World Comeback of the Year and Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year. The Laureus Specialist Panel gives the award in the categories: Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. This award is overseen by Executive Committee of the International Paralympic Committee.

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Laureus is basically the Latin word for laurel, which means universal symbol for victory in sport. The winner of the Laureus World Sports Awards receives Laureus statuette, which is 30 cms high as well as 2.5 kg in weight. Every Laureus statuette consists of 670g of solid silver as well as 650g of gold finish base.

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