Current Affairs February 19, 2014

Current Affairs February 19, 2014

International Affairs

1. Thailand court prevents government from using force as protests rage against PM Yingluck Shinawatra.

2. Pakistan's capital has been declared as "extremely dangerous" by the interior ministry due to the presence of sleeper cells of banned terror groups like the al-Qaida.

3. More than 850,000 people in Somalia are in desperate need of food and "in crisis and emergency conditions," the director of UN humanitarian operations said today.

4. Cina can prevent nearly 13 million tobacco-related deaths by 2050 by fully implementing a set of neglected anti-smoking policies it had already agreed to researchers.

5. The US Navy plans to deploy its first laser on a ship later this year, and it intends to test an electromagnetic rail gun prototype aboard a vessel within two years.

6. China surpasses India as the world’s largest consumer of gold as per a report released by World Gold Council.  Chinese consumers lapped up 1066 tonnes of gold as against 975 tonnes purchased by India in 2013.

7. Italy recalls its India-envoy in a huff over the protracted legal delay in the Italian marines case.   The decision was prompted by the Supreme Court decision to defer the hearing on the case. The two marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 off the coast of Kerala, are being tried in India.

8. Snowden elected Rector of University of Glasgow

i. Edward Snowden, former National Security Agency contractor, was elected as the new Rector of the University of Glasgow on 18 February 2014.

ii. He will replace Charles Kennedy. He will serve the post for next three years. Snowden was nominated by a group of students at the University.

iii. He defeated the former champion cyclist Graeme Obree, the author Alan Bissett and the Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, who also stood for the post.

iv. The Rector is meant to represent student issues to university officials but it has previously served as political designation.

National Affairs

9. Country’s first Minority Cyber Village in Rajasthan

i. Minister for Minority Affairs K Rehman Khan today inaugurated country’s first Minority Cyber Village in Chandoli in Alwar district of Rajasthan. He said that Mewat region is still backward in education and government is making all efforts for upliftment of minorities. 

ii. He said that Government is considering to open special schools on pattern of Kendriya Vidyalayas for minority community. MOS Minority Affairs Ninong Iring and MOS Defence Jitendraa Singh also addressed the function.

iii. Aim of this ambitious Cyber village project is to provide computer education to the people of 15 to59 age group.Ministry of Minority Affairs has targeted villages with substantial population of minorities for yhis project. 

Note: Chandoli with over 80 percent of minority population is the first village selected for pilot project. Under this project experts will provide training of commuter skills to the people of chandoli

10. Indians have topped the list of Dubai's most active real estate buyers as they view the city in the same league as London, according to a survey.

11. President Pranab Mukherjee will tommorow embark on a two-day visit of West Bengal to attend various public functions.

12. Ten-day festival Taj Mahotsav began in Agra

i. Taj Mahotsav, the ten day annual festival began in Agra, Uttar Pradesh on 18 February 2014.

ii. The festival will be celebrated from 18 to 27 February 2014 at the Shilp Gram, the Eastern gate of Taj Mahal. The theme of the festival for this year is Paigham-e Mohahabbat or the message of love.

About Taj Mahostav

Taj Mahotsav was started in 1992 and since then its glory has reached to greater heights. The festival is organized by the Uttar Pradesh Department of Tourism to increase the Indian Tourism.

13. Kiran Kumar Reddy resigns as CM, quits Congress

i. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy submitted his resignation to the Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Wednesday morning.

ii. Mr. Reddy had earlier announced his decision to quit from the post and the party in protest against the Central Government decision to “divide the Telugus for the sake of votes and seats".

iii. Strongly condemning the manner in which the Bill was passed, he said the Telugu people of all regions, including Telangana region, would face losses and difficulties because of the state bifurcation.

iv. "The emotions and feelings of Telugu people are badly hurt. The future has been pushed into darkness. So protesting against the way UPA's decision of bifurcation, i'm resigning from CM's post, MLA and also party.
v. My family is loyal to the high command since a long time. The congress has introduced the Telangana bill like thieves. They should answer the public. It is nothing but violation of the Constitution and law. I condemn the behavior of all political parties in this issue," he said.

13a. The Supreme Court today agreed to hear Centre’s plea seeking interim order for implementation of 4.5 per cent sub-quota for backward classes belonging to minorities in central educational institutions.

14. Meira Kumar accepts Rajagopal’s resignation

i. Expelled Congress MP L Rajagopal, who had created a storm by splashing pepper spray in Lok Sabha, is no longer a member of the House with Speaker Meira Kumar accepting his resignation on Wednesday.

ii. “I have accepted his resignation with effect from February 19,” the Speaker informed the Lok Sabha.

iii. Unprecedented pandemonium had broken out in the House last week when Mr. Rajagopal, who is opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh, brought in a canister and sprayed pepper.

iv. All political parties had demanded action against him and the government had said it would not oppose any decision taken by the Speaker.

v. The resignation of the industrialist-politician came after the Speaker asked the Committee of Privileges of Lok Sabha, which has punitive powers, to go into the incident which she termed as a “blot” on democracy.

vi. The 50-year-old Vijayawada MP had on Tuesday sent his resignation to the Speaker hours after the controversial Telangana bill was passed by the Lok Sabha.

vii. Mr. Rajagopal said” I submit my resignation from Lok Sabha. I am quitting politics too. I’m hurt as Telugu-speaking people are divided now. It is a sad day. I lost interest in politics,”

15. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw appointed Chairperson of IIM-B board of governors

i. Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) has appointed Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw as the Chairperson of its board of governors.

ii. At the meeting of the board of governors on February 11, the Chairperson, Mukesh D. Ambani, expressed his decision to step down, IIM-B said in a release.

iii. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon Ltd, has been a member of the IIM-B board for the past several years. She is the first woman chairperson of any IIM board”, it said.

iv. She takes over from Mukesh D. Ambani, who has been the Chairman of the board for the last eight years. The Ministry of HRD has notified this change, it added.

16. The government has issued 57.62 crore Aadhaar cards till January 31, and there is no denial of enrolment to people who don't have document-based proof of identity.

17. Amid demands for getting the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill passed, government today said it was even ready to extend the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha if the House agreed.

Science and Technology

18. Google India will host a two-day Hackathon and workshop in Bangalore on February 21-22 focused on designing and creating Android applications in Indian languages.

19. India's internet population rose to 238.71 million last year helped by growing number of users especially in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Parliament was informed today.

Business and Economy

20. Auto companies, including the country's biggest car makers, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) and Hyundai Motor India, on Wednesday cut prices after excise duty on automobiles was reduced in the Interim Budget.

21. Lok Sabha passed the Interim Budget for the financial year 2014-15 without much discussion.Finance Minister P Chidambaram introduced the Appropriation Bill and the Finance Bill amid din in the House by a voice vote.

22. Bharti Airtel India's biggest mobile service company, has become the first in the country to cross 200 million subscribers.

Sports

23. Tina Maze wins Olympic giant slalom

i. Tina Maze skied through rain and snow to win Olympic gold, and then swam through slush to celebrate.

ii. In tough conditions on the slopes above Sochi, Maze won her second gold medal of the 2014 Games by leading the giant slalom from start to finish.

iii. Wearing bib No. 1, the Slovene skied cautiously and cleanly through the gates to finish 0.07 seconds ahead of Anna Fenninger of Austria.

iv. Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany was third, trailing 0.27 behind Maze’s two-run time of 2 minutes, 36.87 seconds.

24. Bubba Watson won Northern Trust Open

i. Bubba Watson won the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, USA on 16 February 2014. This is his   first title since 2012 Masters where he won the 6.7 million US dollar and fifth US PGA Tour title.

ii. Watson played the final 39 holes without a bogey and shot a 7-under 64 to win the Northern Trust Open.

iii. His 15-under total of 269 gave him a two-stroke victory over eight-time US PGA Tour winner Dustin Johnson. Johnson closed with a five-under par 66 at Riviera Country Club for 271.

About Northern Trust Open

i. In 1889, Northern Trust’s partnership with the tournament established The Rivera Country Club. The annual site of the Northern Trust Open was opened for play in 1927.
ii. In 2013 John Merrick won the tournament and was the first winner from Los Angeles.

25. India's campaign in the Sochi Winter Olympic Games came to a disappointing end with Himanshu Thakur finishing 72nd in the men's giant slalom event.

26. In the recent performance in the just-concluded two-Test series against New Zealand, India batsman Virat Kohli rose to his career-best ninth position in the latest ICC Test rankings.

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