Current Affairs February 05, 2014

Current Affairs

February 05, 2014

National Affairs

1. Binny decides to withdraw support to Delhi Govt

i. Expelled AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny today decided to withdraw support to the Delhi Government, while terming Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of being “more dangerous” than a corrupt person.

ii. “Today I am writing to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung apprising him of my decision to withdraw support to the Kejriwal Government. Kejriwal is more dangerous than a corrupt person. He is telling lies and deceiving not only citizens of Delhi, but also people of the entire country,” he said.

iii. “If the Government brings Anna’s (Hazare) Janlokpal Bill in the assembly for its passage, I will support them,” said Binny.

iv. Binny, who has been shown the door for “indiscipline” by AAP, has put forth a series of demands before the Delhi Government which include fulfilment of promises made by the party before the Assembly polls.

2. Meenakshi Dua becomes the 1st women Executive Director of Air India (Southern Region). She succeeds Capt H Y Samant as such.

3. Bayar’s coffee wins Best Roasters Gold Award 2014 for the implementation of new technology and use of high quality coffee beans in its blends. The award is given by Coffee board of India and India Coffee Trust.

4. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves implementation of National MissionAgricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET) during the 12th Plan period. The mission aims to restructure and strengthen agricultural extension to enable delivery of appropriate technology and improved agronomic practices to farmers. 

5. Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to propose a place for setting up of a National War Memorial narrow down to ‘C’ Hexagon of India Gate.

International Affairs

6. North, South Korea agree to first reunions since 2010

i. North and South Korea agreed to hold a reunion later this month for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War -- the first such event for more than three years.

ii. Officials from both sides meeting in the border truce village of Panmunjom, decided the reunion would be held 20th -25th February at the North's Mount Kumgang resort, the South's Unification Ministry said on Wednesday. 

iii. The agreement marks a small sign of progress between the two rivals who, in recent years, have struggled to cooperate on even the most basic trust-building measures. 

iv. South Korea is due to begin joint military exercises with the United States at the end of February, and North Korea has warned of dire consequences should they go ahead. 

v. Millions of Koreans were separated by the war, and the vast majority have since died without having any communication at all with surviving relatives. 

vi. The reunion programme began in earnest in 2000 following an historic inter-Korean summit. Sporadic events since then have seen around 17,000 relatives briefly reunited.

7. US Congressman Crowley honoured by Indian-Americans 

i. Indian-Americans here have honoured US Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley for his work for the community, particularly his efforts in getting the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs and Hindus. 

ii. Crowley, who serves as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in the US House of Representatives, said it is "high time" that India becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. 

iii. Crowley, the Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, was honoured on January 30 by the Jackson Heights and broader Queens Indian American community for his efforts on behalf of Sikh-Americans and the broader Indian American community. 

iv. Nearly 100 Sikh and Indian-American community members and leaders from New York attended the event last week. 

v. Crowley is the eight-term representative from the 14th Congressional District of New York, which includes sections of Queens and the Bronx, which has a substantial population of Indians. 

8. Libya destructs all its chemical weapons; Organisation for Prohibition of  Chemical  Weapons (OPCW) declares it a chemical weapon free country.

9. BiblioTech, the world's 1st paperless public library, opens in Texas (US).

Appointments

10. Satya Nadella appointed as CEO of Microsoft

i. Satya Nadella was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Internet Giant Microsoft in Washington on 4 January 2014. Satya Nadella succeeds Steve Ballmer and he takes over as the third CEO of the Microsoft firm. 

ii. Bill Gates is the founder and first CEO of Microsoft. Nadella is the first Indian to head the Microsoft in its 38-year history.

About Satya Nadella

i. Nadella was born in Hyderabad, India and joined Microsoft in 1992. Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together.

ii. Nadella holds a bachelor of degree in electrical engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology. Nadella completed masters in computer science from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

iii. Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992 and he served as the Executive Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Group in 2012.

iv. His father BN Yugandhar is a former planning commission member and served as special secretary to former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.

About Microsoft

i. Microsoft founded in April 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Redmond, US.

ii. At present it is the fourth largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization.

iii. Its block buster products include MS-DOS, Windows and Xbox (Video game).

iv. It acquired Nokia in September 2013 in a 7.2 billion dollar deal.

Sports

11. Pietersen’s international career ended by ECB

i. England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s international career on Wednesday came to an abrupt end after he was dumped from the team for the upcoming tour of the West Indies and the subsequent World Twenty20 Championships in Bangladesh.

ii. The 33-year-old swashbuckling batsman, who played 104 Tests and 136 ODIs, is set to end as England’s highest run-scorer in all formats of the game after a career spanning nine years.

iii. The dramatic announcement was made by the ECB after a disastrous Ashes series in Australia which the English team lost 0-5.

iv. Newly-appointed ECB managing director Paul Downton said it was a “tough decision” to drop Pietersen as part of a rebuilding process with the focus on next year’s World Cup.

v. “Therefore we have decided the time is right to look to the future and start to rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”

vi. Pietersen, a player of South African origins, had a controversy-marred run with the national team, and was often criticised for having an “ego”.

vii. Kevin Pietersen’s said:“I feel extremely fortunate to have played at a time of great success for England cricket alongside some of the best cricketers the country has ever produced. I want to thank everyone for their fantastic support and I wish the team the very best of success going forward.

12. Chinappa notches Winnipeg Open title

i. Veteran Indian player Joshna Chinappa lifted her maiden WSA World Tour title with the Winnipeg Winter Club Open trophy after beating Egypt's Heba El Torky in a hard-fought final in Winnipeg, Canada.

ii. The fourth-seeded Indian triumphed 3-2 (11-13 11-8 11-5 3-11 12-10) in a see-saw battle.
iii. The world number 27 Chinappa rallied after losing the opening game which was dominated by Heba. 

iv. The Indian raced to an 8-3 lead in the second game before pocketing it easily. She built on the advantage by claiming the third game as well before Heba roared back in the fourth. 

v. Chinappa's triumph marks the second consecutive year of an Indian winning the trophy with Dipika Pallikal being the one to clinch it before her. 

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