28 September 2016 - Current Affairs

Indian women’s kabaddi team wins gold in Asian Beach Games

• India bagged their first gold medal at the 5th Asian Beach Games with the women’s beach kabaddi in Danang, Vietnam.
• Indian beat Thailand 41-31 in a hard-fought summit clash at Bien Dong Park.
• The medal table headed by hosts Vietnam (25 gold, 22 silver and 27 bronze)
• India has so far won six medals ( 1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze) in the Games.

 

World Rabies Day is being observed today

• World Rabies Day takes place each year on 28th September (since-2007) to raise awareness about the impact of rabies on humans and animals.
• The day also marks the anniversary of French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur’s death, who developed the first rabies vaccine.
• The theme for World Rabies Day-2016 is “Rabies: Educate, Vaccinate, Eliminate”.

What is rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain in humans and other mammals.
This occurs usually through biting a human or another animal.

Former Israeli PM & President Shimon Peres passes away

• Former Israeli Prime Minister (PM) and President Shimon Peres (93-year) passed away due to massive stroke.
• He was the ninth President of Israel from 2007 to 2014.
• Peres served twice as the Prime Minister and he was also the member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years.
• He won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for the peace talks that he participated in as Israeli Foreign Minister, producing the Oslo Accords.

Bangla poet Syed Shamsul Haq passes away

• Eminent Bangla poet, playwriter and essayist Syed Shamsul Haq (81-year) has passed away in Dhaka.
• Haq was the recipient of the Independence Award, Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Award and the National Poetry Honour.
• He wrote innumerable patriotic songs of immense beauty which inspired the Liberation War fighters of 1971.

Pakistan’s parliament passed Hindu Marriage Bill

• Pakistan’s parliament (lower house) has passed the Hindu Marriage Bill (first ever national law) to enable the Hindu community (minority) to register their marriages.
• The bill sets the minimum age for marriage for Hindus at 18 year.
• The bill will now have to get approval in the country’s Senate (upper house).
• Earlier, The Hindu marriages in Pakistan since the country’s creation ( from 1947) has led to rampant discrimination against nearly two million Hindu population.

UGC brings out syllabus for NET examination for yoga subject

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has brought out the syllabus for Natioanl Eligibility Test (NET) examination for the subject of yoga.
• H R Nagendra (PM Modi’s Yoga guru) committee has recommended that the NET exam, the qualification criterion for university teachers should be held in the subject of yoga.
• The syllabus for yoga includes Foundations of Yoga, Basic Yoga Texts, Yoga Vasishtha, Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Hatha Yoga Texts, allied sciences, Yoga and Health.

India up 16 places to 39th on global competitiveness index

• India has moved up 16 positions to rank 39th on a Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2016-17, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
• Switzerland has retained its top position as the world’s most competitive economy for seventh year in a row.
• Due to improved monetary and fiscal policies, as well as lower oil prices, the Indian economy has stabilised and now boasts the highest growth among G20 countries.
• The study assesses 140 countries on the basis of factors driving their productivity and prosperity.

World’s first baby born using new “three-person“ fertility technique

• The world’s first baby has been born using a new “three person” fertility technique (New Scientist reveals).
• US doctors took the unprecedented step to ensure the baby boy would be free of a genetic condition that his Jordanian mother carries in her genes.
• The baby boy has the usual DNA from his mum and dad, plus a tiny bit of genetic code from a donor.
• Experts say the move heralds a new era in medicine and could help other families with rare genetic conditions.

Indian shuttler Rituparna Das wins Polish Open

• Indian shuttler Rituparna Das has clinched the Polish Open after defeating fellow Indian Rasika Raje in the women’s singles final of the International challenge badminton event.
• Women’s doubles pair of Sanjana Santosh and Arathi Sara Sunil also clinched the title after defeating top seeds Natalya Voytsekh and Yelyzaveta Zharka 19-21 21-19 21-14 in the final.