Daily Current affairs - July 23rd and 24th, 2017 for all competitive exams
India will host the fifth
Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) in November 2017. One of the
largest cyber security conferences in the world, GCSS will be held in New
Delhi.
- Union Minister for electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar
Prasad stated that prime minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the
conference whose theme will be based on Cyber4All: An
Inclusive, Sustainable, Developmental, Safe and Secure Cyberspace.
- It is the first time ever that the Global Conference
on Cyber Space is taking place outside Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations.
Bengaluru Declaration calls
for SC/ST quota in judiciary
Bengaluru Declaration
adopted by the State government sponsored Dr. B.R. Ambedkar International
Conference 2017, on Sunday recommended a slew of affirmative action measures in
private sector, judiciary, educational institutions, government contracts and
promotions for Dalits.
- The declaration significantly concentrates not just
on SC/STs, but has also proposed several measures for the larger AHINDA
(Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and dalits) community,
the political constituency of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. It called for
reservation of seats in legislature for OBCs and setting up of a farmers’
income commission.
- The eight-page declaration has 40 recommendations
under six broad categories — safeguarding the people, strengthening
democratic institutions, deepening social justice, enhancing human
development, ensuring responsive governance, and promoting social security.
Meghalaya CM launches ‘Mission
Football’ in Shillong
Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr.
Mukul Sangma launched ‘Mission Football’ at a grand ceremony at
JN Sports Complex, Shillong recently.
- Mission Football is an initiative to help develop
skills of football enthusiasts and develop young footballers for the
country.
- It is a dedicated program for talent identification
and nurturing of talents to develop national and international players.
India, Bangladesh sign pact to
connect both countries by waterways
India and
Bangladesh have signed a pact to connect both the countries by waterways.
The waterways will facilitate movement of passengers and goods between India’s
northeast and West Bengal with Bangladesh.
- Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways
and Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya stated in Agartala that infrastructure for
the services would be set up along the major rivers in Bangladesh, West
Bengal and the Brahmaputra in Assam.
Kiren Rijiju inaugurates
RIWATCH Museum in Arunachal Pradesh
Union Minister of
State for Home Kiren Rijiju has inaugurated the Research Institution
of World Ancient, Traditional, Culture &
Heritage (RIWATCH) Museum at Roing in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Later, on the sideline of his visit to Roing,
Rijiju also inaugurated the 235-meter long Chimari Bridge, which
would serve as a life line between the National Highway 52 of
Roing-Tezu.
Iran, Iraq sign pact on military cooperation
Iran and Iraq signed an
agreement on Sunday to step up military cooperation and the fight against
“terrorism and extremism”
- Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan and his
Iraqi counterpart Erfan al-Hiyali signed a memorandum of understanding
which also covered border security, logistics and training.
- Iran-Iraq ties have improved since Saddam Hussein
was toppled in 2003 and an Iraqi government led by Shia Muslims came to
power. Iran is mostly a Shia nation.
Philippines extends martial
law in south
The Philippine Congress on
Saturday overwhelmingly approved the President’s appeal for martial law in the
south to be extended to the end of the year to help troops quell a two-month
siege by Islamic State-linked militants and stamp out similar extremist plots
in the volatile region.
- The military chief of staff, Gen. Eduardo Ano,
warned during the session that aside from the uprising in Marawi,
extremist groups have plotted similar insurrections in other southern
cities and that martial law has helped troops stop attacks, including
bombings, elsewhere.
‘World’s oldest emoji
discovered’ on pottery
Archaeologists have
discovered what may be the world’s oldest emoji — a smiley face painted on an
3,700-year-old piece of pottery.
- During an excavation at an ancient city whose
remains are in modern-day Turkey near the Syrian border, archaeologists
found the ancient pitcher with three visible paint strokes on it — two
dots for eyes and a curve for a smile.
- The pitcher, which dates to about 1,700 BC, was
found in a burial site beneath a house in Karkemish.
World’s largest supercarrier
USS Gerald R Ford commissioned in USA
US
Navy commissioned world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R
Ford into the fleet. The commissioning ceremony was held at Naval Station
Norfolk, Virginia in presence of US President Donald Trump.
- USS Gerald R. Ford is the first
ship in this new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S.
Navy.
- The ship is named after the 38th
President of the United States Gerald Ford and has been built by Newport
News Ship Building Company. The massive 1,106-foot-long carrier is powered
by two new generation nuclear reactors.
Spanish scientists develop
‘anti-Zika drug’
Researchers from a
southeastern Spanish university announced the discovery of a molecule that
could be used as a potential drug to fight the effects of a Zika virus
infection.
- San Antonio Catholic University of Murcia said that
scientists belonging to its Bioinformatics and High-Performance Computing
research group had found that a compound previously used as an antibiotic
countered the symptoms of the mosquito-borne disease.
MPC members to get Rs. 1.5
lakh per meet, must disclose assets
The government appointees on
the powerful Monetary Policy Committee will be paid Rs. 1.5 lakh per meeting
along with air travel and other reimbursements, but will need to observe a
“silent period” seven days before and after the rate decision for “utmost
confidentiality”.
- The silent period and confidentiality requirements
will also apply to the three RBI members, including the Governor, on the
panel that has been deciding on policy rates since October last year.
India ranks 132 in Commitment
to Reducing Inequality Index
India has ranked
132nd out of 152 countries on the inaugural “Commitment to Reducing
Inequality Index” released by international NGO Oxfam in association with
Developmental Finance International.
- Sweden led the index while Nigeria remained the
worst performer. Among India’s neighboring countries, China’s rank is 87;
Pakistan fared worse than India at 146 while Bangladesh ranked at 148.
- The top 5 countries in the list are- Sweden,
Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Germany
Every third child bride in the
world is Indian: report
With over 10 crore Indians,
including 8.5 crore girls, being married off before they turn 18, every third
child bride in the world is an Indian, a report has found.
- The report, titled ‘Eliminating
Child Marriage in India’, was
released by ActionAid India on Friday and analyses data on child marriages
based on the 2011 Census.
- The report also found that 75% of all child
marriages took place in rural areas as on 2011. The number was even higher
for the period between 2007 and 2011, at 82%.
- Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest percentage
of child marriages in India, at 16.6%.
- In fact, U.P., Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal,
Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh accounted for 70% of all
child marriages in India as of 2011.
Navy Chief Sunil Lanba begins
tour of Mozambique and Tanzania
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil
Lanba had begun an eight-day-long two-nation
tour of Mozambique and Tanzania with an aim of exploring new
avenues of bilateral defence cooperation. Admiral Lanba, who also heads
the powerful Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), will visit first Mozambique.
- Later on his tour, Admiral Lanba will begin his
five-day-long visit to Tanzania on July 26. He is scheduled to meet
President of Tanzania John Magufuli, Defence Minister Hussein Mwinyi and
other higher delegations. India and Mozambique have a Joint Defence
Working Group (JDWG) for defence and security cooperation.
Raveesh Kumar to be next
ministry of external affairs spokesperson
Raveesh Kumar, a
1995-batch IFS officer who is currently posted in Frankfurt, Germany as Consul
General of India, is understood to be the next spokesperson of the
ministry of external affairs.
- Kumar will replace Gopal Baglay, who was
appointed the joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.
- The IFS officer started his career at the Indian
Mission in Jakarta. It was followed by a stint in Thimphu and London.
Sikh judge promoted to U.K.
Court of Appeal
A British Sikh has become
the first Indian-origin judge to be promoted to one of the senior-most posts in
the U.K. judicial system.
- Sir Rabinder Singh is one of the seven judges to occupy
the seven-member U.K. Court of Appeal after new judicial appointments were
unveiled by the government this week.
UK govt appoints Brenda
Marjorie Hale as first female President of SC
The UK government
appointed Brenda Marjorie Hale as the first female President of the
Supreme Court, the senior-most judge of the country. Hale, 72, will take
charge as the head of Britain’s top judging panel in September following the
retirement of current President, Lord Neuberger.
- She has served as Neuberger’s deputy since 2013.
Three new justices have also been appointed to the Supreme Court – Lady
Justice Black, Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Lord Justice Brigg – who will
take up the role when Lady Hale is sworn in officially as President on 2nd
October.
Russian envoy Kislyak ends
term
The Russian ambassador to
the United States, Sergei Kislyak, a prominent figure in the controversy over
Russia’s possible involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has ended
his assignment in Washington.
- Mr. Kislyak’s successor has not been announced.
ICC Women's World Cup final :
India lose to England by 9 runs
Indian eves lost to
England by a narrow margin of nine runs in the ICC Women's World Cup
final at Lord's in London. Chasing a target of 229, Indian middle-order
collapsed like a pack of cards, being bowled out for 219 in 48.4
overs.
- Opener Poonam Raut was top scored with 86, while
Harmanpreet Kaur contributed 51. Earlier, Natalie Sciver's 51 and Sarah
Taylor's 45 laid the foundation for England's decent total of 228 for 7.
For England, it was their fourth Women's World Cup.
World Para Athletics: Silver
for Sharad, bronze for Bhati
India’s Sharad Kumar and
Varun Bhati won silver and bronze respectively in the High Jump event at the
World Para Athletics Championship.
- Sharad and Bhati participated in the T-42 category
of Men’s High Jump event.
- India now has five medals with a gold, two silver and two bronze medals. India is currently 29th in the medal standings.
