Current Affairs Update - 5-6 Oct, 2014

• ·         The World Bank has trimmed its growth forecast for developing East Asian economies this year to 6.9 per cent and urged governments to improve conditions for investment and exports.
• ·         Monday’s forecast said Asian growth should pick up next year, with the exception of China, as a recovery in developed markets increases demand for exports.
• ·         The latest growth outlook is down from the bank’s 7.1 per cent forecast for the region that includes China, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. But the region still has the world’s fastest growth.
• ·         The bank said the region has the potential to grow faster than other developing regions if governments implement an “ambitious domestic reform agenda” including removing barriers to investment and improving export competitiveness.

• ·         Eid-ul-Azha or the festival of sacrifice was celebrated across the nation on Monday as Muslims offered special prayers in Eidgahs and mosques and sacrificed animals.
• ·         It is also known as Eid-ul-Zuha and Bakr Eid and is one of the important festivals in the Muslim calendar.
• ·         Eid-ul-Azha commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah.
• ·         The sacrifice of animals such as sheep, goat or camel is done after prayers and the meat is distributed among family members, neighbours and the poor.
• ·         President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday greeted the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha and urged people to imbibe the spirit of love and service.

• ·         A Supreme Court-appointed high powered committee has recommended that names and pictures of political parties and their office bearers like presidents not be mentioned in government advertisements.
• ·         Holding that there had been “misuse and abuse” of public money on such advertisements, the three-member committee headed by eminent academician Professor N R Madhava Menon has framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of such advertisements paid out of tax payers’ money.
• ·         The report, submitted to the apex court, has emphasised that only pictures and names of the President, the Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Ministers be published to “keep politics away from such ads“.
• ·         Sources said the Committee has also endorsed the suggestions of the Election Commission that there must be “severe” restrictions on such advertisements six months prior to elections.
• ·         It recommended that a deadline should be fixed for prohibiting their publication and the poll panel should be authorised for the purpose.

• ·         The site of the country's largest e commerce company Flipkart crashed within hours of launching its much touted Big Billion Day sale event on Monday.
• ·         Flipkart had announced earlier that it would launch its biggest sale ever in its short history, which would offer discounts up to 50 per cent on a wide range of products. But the demand from customers seems to have been so huge, that its site could not withstand the sudden surge. A few of the customers told Business Line that they were unable to place orders on the website.
• ·         As per an earlier press statement, Flipkart said customers could pick up multiple items at up to 30 per cent off on smartphones, laptops starting Rs. 15,000 and fashion and perfumes at 50 per cent off. In addition to these offers and discounts, the e-commerce company said it will have lucky draws throughout the day.
• ·         Flipkart did not respond to queries regarding the site crash.

• ·         Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TS Genco) have entered into a memorandum of understanding to work together and establish thermal power generation capacity of about 6,000 MW in the new State.
• ·         The memorandum was signed between the Chairman and Managing Director of TS Genco D. Prabhakar Rao, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Chairman and Managing Director, B. Prasad Rao, on Saturday in the presence of State Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
• ·         BHEL will facilitate setting up of 6,000 mw of thermal power plant capacity as an EPC contractor. As one of the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India and a top power plant equipment maker, BHEL’s range of services extend from project feasibility through design, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning to after sales service.
• ·         At present, TS Genco has an installed power generating capacity of about 4,364 mw both thermal and hydel. It has the technical capability and expertise in the area of installing, owning, operating and maintaining the power plants.
• ·         BHEL has earlier executed thermal power projects in Telangana in Bhupalapally, Singareni Colleries and Kothagudem and their performance is above the national average of the plant load factor.

• ·         In view of the international restrictions on Russia over Ukraine, Canada has decided to sign a contract with Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the launch of its satellite, industry sources said here on Saturday.
• ·         At the inauguration of the International Astronautical Congress in Toronto on Monday, Canada announced that Antrix would be given the contract for the July 2015 launch of its M3M (Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Micro-Satellite) communications satellite.
• ·         Confirming the development, the Canadian Space Agency’s website said the M3M, built for the Department of National Defence, was to be launched with a Soyuz rocket in July this year.

• ·         The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari conferred Sir Ross Masood Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Leadership, Education, Community and Public Service-2014 to Shri Saiyid Hamid, the Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard and former Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) at a function here today.
• ·         The Vice President presented a Citation for Award and an award cheque to Shri Hamid. Addressing after conferring the award, Shri Ansari said that the Aligarh Muslim University Alumini Associations have been functional worldwide and he himself launched the UAE chapter of AMU Alumini Association.
• ·         The award has been established by Aligarh Muslim University Association Inc. New York (AAANY) with the objective of making a very modest contribution by recognizing truly outstanding individuals during their lifetimes, who are selflessly dedicated their lives as leaders and educators, and in the service of the community and public at large.

• ·         India along with Japan, the US, China and Canada will start work on the world’s biggest telescope on Hawaii Island that will enable to identify an object as small as coin from a distance of 500 kms.
• ·         The 30-meter telescope will be established near the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano with a cost of $1.4 billion.
• ·         The construction is expected to be completed by March 2022. Japan is expected to cover about a quarter of the construction costs.
• ·         To mark the start of construction, 100 astronomers and officials from the five countries are scheduled to attend a ceremony on October 7 at a location 4,012 meters high on Mount Mauna Kea.
• ·         The telescope will be larger than Japan’s Subaru Telescope, one of the world’s biggest, which was also built on the summit of Mauna Kea and started observation in 1999.
• ·         The Subaru Telescope’s single main mirror measures 8.2 meters in diameter, while the new telescope will be composed of 492 hexagonal mirrors, each measuring 72 cm across.
• ·         The telescope’s light-condensing capabilities will be 13 times greater than the Subaru telescope’s, enabling the identification of an object as small as a coin from a distance equivalent to 500 kms.

• ·         Pakistan recorded the highest number of polio cases in 14 years. This was revealed by the data of polio cases released by the National Institute of Health of Pakistan on 3 October 2014.
• ·         The data revealed that polio cases in 2014 reached 202 which was the highest in 14 years. The previous highest was recorded in 2000 when it reached 199 polio cases.
• ·         One of the prime reasons for the increase in the polio cases in 2014 was cited as the rise on attacks on immunisation teams.

• ·         The Nobel Assembly on 6 October 2014 decided to award the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser. The award was given for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
• ·         The Nobel Laureates of 2014 have discovered a positioning system, an inner GPS in the brain that makes it possible to orient ourselves in space, demonstrating a cellular basis for higher cognitive function.
• ·         The Nobel Assembly on 6 October 2014 decided to award the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser. The award was given for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
• ·         John O’Keefe: He was born in 1939 in New York City, USA. He holds both American and British citizenships.
• ·         May-Britt Moser: She was born in Norway in 1963 and is a Norwegian citizen. Currently, she is the Director of the Centre for Neural Computation in Trondheim.
• ·         Edvard I. Moser: He was born in 1962 in Norway and has Norwegian citizenship. Currently, he is the director of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim.
• ·         Edvard Moser and May-Britt Moser are a married couple.

• ·         The US on 3 October 2014 announced to lift 40 years long ban on arms sales to Vietnam to boost sea defence in the South China Sea.
• ·         The decision to lift the ban partially was taken after the meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh in Washington. Minh who is also the foreign minister of Vietnam was on a visit to the US.
• ·         The ban on arm sales was lifted partially and applied only to supply of lethal and non-lethal weapons for maritime security purposes. A prohibition on sales of other kinds of lethal weapons like tanks would stay in place. The ban was put in place after the end of Vietnam War in 1975.
• ·         The decision was taken after Vietnam showed positive improvements in the area of human rights record and a full lift of ban may take place if Vietnam would make additional progress in this area.

• ·         In response to criticism from many quarters about a prejudiced, even racist, cartoon on India's Mars mission, the New York Times has issued an apology to its readers and has clarified that it, in no way, was trying to 'impugn India'
• ·         The clarification was issued early on Monday morning on the New York Times' Facebook page and read as follows:
• ·         A large number of readers have complained about a recent editorial cartoon in The International New York Times, about India's foray into space exploration. The intent of the cartoonist, Heng Kim Song, was to highlight how space exploration is no longer the exclusive domain of rich, Western countries. Mr. Heng, who is based in Singapore, uses images and text - often in a provocative way - to make observations about international affairs. We apologize to readers who were offended by the choice of images in this cartoon. Mr. Heng was in no way trying to impugn India, its government or its citizens. We appreciate that readers have shared their feedback, which we welcome. — Andrew Rosenthal, Editorial Page Editor

• ·         World No. 1 Novak Djokovic crushed Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-2 Sunday to win the China Open and maintain a remarkable 100 per cent record in the Beijing tournament.
• ·         Meanwhile, French Open champion Maria Sharapova was forced to battle hard to overcome Petra Kvitova 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the women’s final — a victory which moves her into second place in the rankings.
• ·         Serb Djokovic was 5-0 ahead in the second set, one game from serving up an incredible “double bagel” as he tore through his Czech opponent with a brilliant serving display.
• ·         As he was staring at an embarrassing defeat, a stunned Berdych laughed as he pretended to hand his racket to a ball-girl, suggesting that she may be able to take on his opponent.
• ·         But the World No. 6 rallied briefly to take Djokovic’s serve and then take the scores to a more respectable 5-2, before the reigning champion sealed his fifth title in Beijing, an event he has won the five times he has entered.

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