Current Affairs Update - 5th September 2017

Current Affairs GK Update - 5th September 2017

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Blue Whale Challenge can't be downloaded in TN: Police to HC

• Tamil Nadu Police have informed the Madras High Court that the Blue Whale Challenge cannot be downloaded in the state since all links to the game were blocked. This comes after the Centre asked internet companies to ensure that all links were removed. Reportedly, blocking the links may not help since the game is available on most communication mediums.

Google homepage is simple as founders didn’t know HTML

• World's largest search engine Google's homepage looks simple and minimal because its founders had limited knowledge of HTML. Google Co-founder Sergey Brin was once quoted saying, "We didn't have a webmaster and I don't do HTML." Google still maintains the minimalistic look nineteen years after its incorporation on September 4, 1998.

Ambassador

Kenneth I. Juster(Deputy director of the National Economic Council) named U.S ambassador to India

• Kenneth I. Juster, until recently deputy director of the National Economic Council at the White House, has been nominated as the next U.S ambassador to India, on Friday. The appointment will take effect once the U.S Senate confirms him. The post is vacant since January 20.

Banking/Economic Affairs

Five banks of the Brics Bank Cooperation Mechanism have agreed to establish credit lines in the national currencies and cooperate on credit ratings. The summit was held at 9th BRICS Summit in China’s Xiamen city.

• The agreement was signed ahead of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in China’s Xiamen city on Sunday in which leaders of the five countries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to take part.
• “Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of India, China Development Bank and Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) have signed an agreement to establish credit lines in the national currencies, as well as a memorandum of cooperation on credit ratings,” Russian news agency TASS reported.

National Affairs

Gurgaon to get 1,000 new e-rickshaws at 5 Metro stations in collaboration with Smart-E company.

• To aid safe last-mile connectivity in Gurgaon, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in collaboration with Smart-E company will launch 1,000 e-rickshaws at five metro stations across the city on Monday.
• Union minister of road transport Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the service at the HUDA City Centre metro station at 5pm. The service will also cover the IFFCO Chowk, MG Road, Sikandarpur and Guru Dronacharya metro stations.

Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has bagged the National Award for ‘Excellence’ in Energy Management at a conference hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

• The event held here focused on recognising companies that are engaged in energy efficiency initiatives and displaying commitment towards energy conservation.
• SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, in a statement said, “GHIAL is committed to exploring energy efficient solutions. As a part of our Passenger is Prime initiative, we have deployed eco-friendly vehicles such as electricity powered buggys, ground handler vehicles, trolley movers, and have even commissioned e-cars.”

Jammu and Kashmir Government to introduce electric buses for two cities of Srinagar and Jammu under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

• The Jammu and Kashmir Government is looking to revamp the public transport in the state through the introduction of electric buses for two cities of Srinagar and Jammu under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. This is done with an aim to curb pollution in these two cities which were recently declared ‘smart cities’. In this regard, a meeting was also held recently in Srinagar among officials of the state government and experts from AMRUT.
• According to experts, introduction of ‘electric buses’ would help in making the environment healthy and also in providing a trustworthy public transport. If all goes according to the plan, these electric buses will be seen running on the roads of both the cities of Srinagar and Jammu from mid-September. The local residents have warmly welcomed this initiative taken by the government as this may help in benefitting the tourism sector and will increase employment opportunities in the state.

Chipmaker AMD 'Ryzen Pro' processors for commercial desktop workstations launched in India

• At the global launch of Ryzen Pro yesterday, leading PC makers HP, Dell and Lenovo introduced new high-end workstations using Ryzen Pro to meet the demand of today's toughest computing-tasks.
• HP's Elitedesk 705 G3, Dell's Optiplex 5055 and Lenovo's ThinkCentre M715/Thinkpad A 275 and A475 are slated for global launch later this month.
• "This is an important year for AMD. The new Ryzen Pro processors are for commercial usage. It is powerful, secure and reliable. It has an incredible level of performance," AMD senior vice president Jim Anderson said.
• The Ryzen Pro desktop processor is an 8 core and 16 thread CPU and much faster than the rival Intel's 'Core i7' which is of 4 core and 8 thread, he added.

International Affairs

Europe unveils world's most powerful X-ray laser, Free Electron Laser (XFEL).

• The world’s most powerful X-ray laser has begun operating at a facility where scientists will attempt to recreate the conditions deep inside the sun and produce film-like sequences of viruses and cells.
• The machine, called the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), acts as a high-speed camera that can capture images of individual atoms in a few millionths of a billionth of a second. Unlike a conventional camera, though, everything imaged by the X-ray laser is obliterated – its beam is 100 times more intense than if all the sunlight hitting the Earth’s surface were focused onto a single thumbnail.

North Korean leader 'is begging for war,' Nikki Haley tells U.N. Security Council

• South Korea's defense minister on Monday said it was worth reviewing the redeployment of American tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula to guard against the North, a step that analysts warn would sharply increase the risk of an accidental conflict.
• But in New York, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "begging for war."
• And even as concern over Korea deepened following North Korea's huge nuclear test Sunday, South Korea's defense ministry said Monday that Pyongyang might be preparing to launch another missile into the Pacific Ocean, perhaps an intercontinental ballistic missile theoretically capable of reaching the mainland United States.

Science & Technologies

NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson returns to Earth after spending a record breaking 288 days in outer space, is also the oldest female astronaut in the history of space exploration, was the first female International Space Station commander, and holds the record for number of spacewalks by a woman.

• A record-shattering NASA astronaut is set to return to Earth on Saturday, finishing a 288-day mission that put her over the top as the American who has spent the most cumulative amount of time in space.
• Peggy Whitson, 57, is also the oldest female astronaut in the history of space exploration, was the first female International Space Station commander, and holds the record for number of spacewalks by a woman.
• Whitson wrapped up a record-breaking flight that catapulted her to first place for US space endurance. Whitson's 665 days off the planet — 288 days on this mission alone — exceeds that of any other American and any other woman worldwide.

Mysterious signals detected in a distant galaxy by astronomers working for Stephen Hawking’s project to find alien life have sparked a debate over whether they could be from UFOs.

• The £77m Breakthrough Listen project (BL) recently picked up 15 fast radio bursts (FRBs) from an unknown source, leading to speculation they came from neutron stars, black holes or extraterrestrial technology across the universe.
• Scientists have previously observed 24 similar signals since the initiative to discover alien civilisations was set up by Professor Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner in January 2016. 
• One source of repeated radio bursts, known as “FRB121102”, was identified in a dwarf galaxy around three billion light years away from Earth in 2012. 
• BL director Andrew Siemion told The Guardian: “Whether or not fast radio bursts turn out to be signatures of extraterrestrial technology, Breakthrough Listen is helping to push the frontiers of a new and rapidly growing area of our understanding of the universe around us.”

Schemes / Programme

President Ramnath Kovind on Monday laid the foundation stone of the second phase of link-4 pipeline canal of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation (SAUNI) Scheme in Rajkot district of Gujarat.

• President Ramnath Kovind on Monday laid the foundation stone of the second phase of link-4 pipeline canal of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation (SAUNI) Scheme in Rajkot district of Gujarat. After becoming the President in July this year, Kovind visited Gujarat for the first time. 
• Union Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launched a scheme for senior citizens named Rashtriya Vayoahri Yojana. Under the scheme, the state government will provide physical aids and assisted living devices for senior citizens belonging to the BPL category. 
• This sponsored scheme, Rashtriya Vayoahri Yojana was launched on April 1 this year.
• Under the scheme, the assisted living devices were distributed free of cost to the senior citizen. With the help of the scheme, the senior citizen will able to live with minimal dependence on care givers or others members of the family and overcome the age related problem.
• The Union Minister said, “This ambitious scheme, first of its kind in the country, is expected to benefit 5,20,000 senior citizens over a period of three years.” The minister also appreciates the effort of the state government in helping senior citizens to live an independent and dignified life when he speaking on the occasion.
• Under the scheme, the following aids and assisted living devices like walking sticks, elbow crutches, walkers, tripod/quad pods, wheelchair, artificial dentures, and spectacles are provided free of cost. According to the census figure of 2011, the population of senior citizens in India is 10.38 crore.

Agreements (MoU)

Nepal has signed a USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out the country's development strategy for the next five years

• The package involving 26 individual UN agencies, spans interventions aimed at assisting in four broad areas: inclusive economic growth; social development; resilience, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction; and governance, rule of law and human rights, according to a statement issued by the United Nations. 
• The National Planning Commission, apex advisory body of the Government of Nepal, and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Nepal signed the the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) yesterday. 

Awards & Honours

Unesco announces winners of 2017 International Literacy Prizes - 1.Centre for the Study of Learning & Performance (CSLP)- Canada, 2.We Love Reading- Jordan, 3.AdulTICoProgram- Colombia, 4.The Citizens Foundation-Pakistan, 5.FunDza -South Africa. Director of UNESCO - Irina Bokova. Headquarter - Paris, France.

• Competitions that took place in the field of Global literacy, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) announced its winners.  2017 International Literacy Prizes were conducted to identify the excellence and revolution in the field of literacy.
• 2017 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes will be awarded to laureates from Canada, Colombia, Jordan, Pakistan and South Africa on the eve of International Literacy Day, celebrated on 8 September. The organization has focused on literacy in the digital world. The five winners are going to receive a medal, a certificate and $20,000 each.

Sports: Awards & Honours

MS Dhoni creates world record, becomes first wicketkeeper with 100 ODI stumpings

• MS Dhoni reaches another milestone as the 36-year old became first wicketkeeper to have 100 stumpings to his name. Dhoni surpasses former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who had 99 stumpings.

25 years Hyderabad girl Tejasvi Duduka pockets U.S. Open women’s singles title in Dallas.  

• From the corridors of her corporate office, Accenture, in the city, to Dallas to be crowned the U.S. Open Grand Slam carrom women’s singles champion in a span of just one year of competing in major events, it has been a memorable journey for Tejasvi Duduka.
• This 25-year-old, who has been playing carrom since childhood as her father Vasudeva was the champion in the inter-department meet in BDL, started competing at the State level since last year.
• Once she won the Telangana State women’s singles title in Nizamabad recently, she got the call from the organisers, the U.S. Carrom Association, to go to Dallas for the Grand Slam.

Lewis Hamilton wins Italian Grand Prix to take lead in F1 title race

• The reception for Lewis Hamilton from fervent Ferrari fans was everything that might have been expected both before and after his comfortable victory at the Italian Grand Prix. He was booed but it was good-natured, with a pantomime air and he took it with equally good humour – as well he might. Playing the villain was something that he said he could take pleasure in and understandably so after such a successful weekend.

Obituary 

John Ashbery, Pulitzer-Prize winning poet, dies at 90

• John Ashbery, an enigmatic giant of modern poetry whose energy, daring and boundless command of language raised American verse to brilliant and baffling heights, died early on Sunday at age 90.
• Ashbery, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and often mentioned as a Nobel candidate, died at his home in Hudson, New York. His husband, David Kermani, said his death was from natural causes.

Noted Marathi poet, activist Shirish Pai passes away

• Noted poet Shirish Pai, credited with introducing ‘Haiku’ to the Marathi-speaking world, passed away here on Saturday after a brief illness, family sources said. She was 88.
• Born in 1929, Ms. Pai was the daughter of noted writer-journalist ‘Acharya’ Pralhad Keshav Atre. She started writing ‘Haiku’ in 1975. She studied Japanese ‘Haiku’, its origin and nature and published five Marathi ‘Haiku’ books.
• Ms. Pai also translated some Japanese ‘Haiku’ from English to Marathi. She also worked as a journalist in the Maratha newspaper and participated in the ‘Samyukta Maharashtra’ (United Maharashtra) movement.