NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Jharkhand to ban polythene bags soon:
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das his government would soon impose a ban on use of polythene bags in the State. In the next Cabinet meeting, the State government will take a decision to impose ban on use of polythene bags.
Mr. Das was addressing the function soon after his government signed an MoU worth over ₹63 crore with Jamshedpur Utility Services Company (Jusco), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Steel, for the two projects as well as for renovation and maintenance for the Birsanagar Bagunhatu Water Project under his Assembly constituency East Jamshedpur.
Panipat to have sex ratio monitoring system:
The Haryana government has set up an online system for Panipat to monitor the sex ratio in the district as part of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme.
The system, called the sex ratio monitoring dashboard, will have the data of child sex ratio collected from all villages by the Health and Women and Child Welfare Departments every month.
Telangana, U.P., may get cargo airports:
The Centre is considering a proposal each from Telangana and Uttar Pradesh for setting up a ‘dedicated cargo airport’. Telangana wants a dedicated cargo airport to be built in northern Hyderabad.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) had appointed a consultant to study and suggest name(s) of airport(s) or site (s) in the country that can be ‘developed’ or ‘converted’ as ‘dedicated cargo airport(s)’ – which may also be termed as ‘merchant airport(s)’.
Mittal plans solar farm in Karnataka:
The world’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal may set up a solar farm on land allotted to it for the proposed 6 MT Karnataka project in view of excess global steel capacity and delays in securing raw materials. It had entered into a pact with Karnataka government for setting up a 6 million tonne steel plant with a captive 750 MW power plant at an investment of ₹6.5 billion.
Digital archive for Rashtrapati Bhavan:
The architectural history and the heritage of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the 340-room official residence of the President of India, has been documented in a series of books, which will soon be available in an online series. Concise web-based modules are set to bring to life the architectural and cultural grandeur of the iconic building, designed and constructed by legendary British architect Edwin Lutyens.
A multi-volume documentation project of the Rashtrapati Bhavan was commissioned three years ago by the President’s Secretariat in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
Sahapedia, an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India, which began the project in 2014, compiled 11 volumes of well-researched books written by top experts in various fields.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Normani Kordei named American cancer society global ambassador:
Fifth Harmony star Normani Kordei has been named a global ambassador for the American Cancer Society. The singer has partnered with charity bosses to raise awareness about breast cancer screenings and HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines.
APPOINTMENTS
Democrats choose Thomas Perez as chair:
Ex-Labor Secretary Perez was backed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) elected former Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.
Mr Perez has the uphill task of reviving the fortunes of the party ahead of the midterm elections in 2018 and the presidential contest in 2020.
BANKING & BUSINESS
Microsoft opens a cyber security centre in Mexico:
To support government efforts against cyber crime while also helping companies and citizens to be more secure, Microsoft has announced the launch of a cyber security centre in Mexico. The Cyber Security Engagement Centre will serve Mexico and other Latin American countries.
By opening this Cyber Security Center, we are offering our clients protection from attacks and security risks, as well as ways to detect them and find solutions, said by Jorge Silva, General Manager of Microsoft Mexico.
Economic think tank NCAER lowers GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent for FY17:
After RBI and IMF, economic thinktank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has lowered the country’s growth forecast to 6.9 per cent for the current fiscal on account of demonetisation. A few days before demonetisation was announced, NCAER had projected a growth rate of 7.6 per cent for 2016-17.
Oxford Dictionaries add ‘clicktivism’ and ‘haterade’ as new words for angry times:
Clicktivism’ (a word for armchair activists on social media), ‘otherize’ (viewing a group of people as intrinsically different from oneself) and ‘haterade’ (excessive criticism) are among the new additions to oxforddictionaries.com.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Oscars 2017 LIVE: Winners’ list so far:
The 2017 Oscars have arrived. The 89th Academy Awards will honor the best movies of the past year and all the people who had a hand in them — from directors, producers, and actors to sound editors, costume designers, and more. It is held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The list of the winners:
Best Animated Feature – ‘Zootopia’ by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer
Best Animated Short – ‘Piper’ by Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Best Foreign Language Film – ‘The Salesman’ by Asghar Farhadi
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Viola Davis for ‘Fences’
Best Documentary Feature – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow for ‘O J: Made In America’.
Best Song, Best score, Best cinematography, Best production design – La La Land
First robot table tennis tutor sets Guinness record:
The world’s first robot table tennis tutor in Japan has set a new Guinness World Record for its uncanny ability of being able to play the game better than most humans. FORPHEUS (Future Omron Robotics Technology for Exploring Possibility of Harmonised automation with Sinic Theoretics) has officially been given the Guinness title for its unique technological intelligence and educational capabilities.
FORPHEUS also features an array of cameras that are situated above the ping pong table that monitors the position of the ball at an impressive rate of 80 times per second.
SPORTS
Saina to join BWF Commission:
Saina Nehwal, who was appointed a member of the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission last year, will represent the panel in the BWF. She would join the BWF Athletes’ Commission as an IOC AC representative.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brace wins League Cup for Manchester United:
Manchester United won their fifth League Cup title after defeating Southampton 3-2 in the final at the Wembley Stadium. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jesse Lingard gave United a 2-0 lead before Manolo Gabbiadini’s brace made it 2-2. Ibrahimovic scored the winner in the 87th minute of the match with a header, netting his 26th goal of the season.
Hyderabad girl sets Guinness record for playing marathon carom:
Husna Sameera, a sixteen-year-old girl from Hyderabad who created a Guinness record along with 22-year-old Allada Pavan for the “longest carrom playing marathon”, was felicitated for her achievement at the Press Club of Hyderabad. They played carrom for 34 hours 45 minutes and 56 seconds at a stretch, breaking the previous record of 32 hours and 45 minutes set in 2005.
Kalinga Lancers beat Dabang Mumbai to clinch maiden Hockey India League title:
Last year’s finalists Kalinga Lancers made amends to lift their maiden Hockey India League title, defeating Dabang Mumbai 4-1 in the final.
Dabang Mumbai, who were leaders at the end of the league stage, could not find their best as Kalinga Lancers emerged victorious to claim the purse of Rs 2.5 crore. The runners-up received Rs 1.25 crore.
Kalinga Lancers skipper Moritz Fuerste and Turner also finished as the league’s joint highest scorers with 12 goals each in as many matches.
OBITUARY
‘Apollo 13’, ‘Titanic’ star Bill Paxton dies at 61:
Hollywood actor Bill Paxton, best known for his roles in such blockbusters as Apollo 13 and Titanic, has died at the age of 61. The versatile Texas born actor was a familiar face on U.S. movie screens, with a string of memorable credits to his name.
Neil Fingleton, Game of Thrones star and UK’s tallest man, dies aged 36:
Game of Thrones star Neil Fingleton has died at the age of 36. Once named as Britain’s tallest man, the 7ft 7in star played Mag the Mighty in the fantasy series and also took on roles in X-Men: First Class and Jupiter Ascending.
