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October 2nd week 2015 Current Affairs
Category : International Current Affairs
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1) Myanmar gets first-ever poll app.

  • Team Pop Stack, a group of young coders, recently launched Myanmar’s first ever election app - MVoter 2015.
  • Now they are targeting millions of hyper-active Facebook users in Myanmar, where mobile telephones and the Internet have spread rapidly since the end of military rule in 2011, and social media have a critical role in the election.
  • The country of 51 million people has more than 18 million SIM cards for mobile phones. Team Pop Stack says the app, although meant for everyone, is aimed at Myanmar’s youth
About Myanmar:
 
  1. Capital: Naypyidaw
  2. Currency: Burmese kyat
  3. President: Thein Sein
2) China to build four submarines in Pakistan as part of defence deal.
 
  • China will build four of the eight submarines in the port city of Karachi under a defence deal signed with Pakistan.
  • The construction of the submarines would simultaneously begin in Pakistan and China. China would also transfer the technology to Pakistan for submarine construction.
  • The implementation of the agreement would augment the existing submarine related capacity.
  • It is speculated that the deal was for Yuan-class Type-041 diesel-electric submarines equipped with AIP systems. Pakistan had earlier explored the options of buying submarines from France and Germany, but those deals did not materialise. A training centre would be set up in Karachi for this purpose.
About China:
  1. Capital: Beijing
  2. Currency: Renminbi
  3. President: Xi Jinping 
3) India, Ecuador ink Protocol to establish Ecuador Joint Economic and Trade Committee.
 
  1. India and Ecuador has signed a Protocol for the establishment of the India-Ecuador Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations.
  2. It was signed by Mentor Villagomez, Ecuadorian Ambassador to India and Rita Teotia, Commerce Secretary during the meeting between delegations of both countries.
  3. India-Ecuador Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) JETCO aims to further improve, deepen and strengthen the existing trade relationship between India and Ecuador.
About Equador:
  1. Capital: Quito
  2. Currency: United States Dollar
  3. President: Rafael Correa

 

4) UNSC adopts resolution to allow EU countries to use force to tackle Refugee Crisis.

  • United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution authorizing the European Union (EU) and individual countries to use force to tackle the worst refugee crisis.
  • The EU-proposed resolution was supported by majority vote of fourteen council members of total 15 including all 5 permanent members. Venezuela remained abstain from voting.
Key Points:
  1. The resolution allows European naval forces to board ships for inspecting, seizing and destroying vessels smuggling migrants and refugees on the high seas. It was adopted under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which authorizes use of force.
  2. The resolution is valid for period of one year. The resolution will help to take military action against human-trafficking gangs and does not authorize action in Libyan territorial waters or on its coast.
  3. The resolution was adopted by UNSC after EU countries had launched second phase of Operation Sophia giving it greater legitimacy (but does not give mandate for this operation).
  4. The naval operation was launched against human smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean Sea.
Background:
  1. European countries are witnessing greatest illegal refugee and migrant crisis since World War II and it is considered as one of the worst humanitarian crisis.
  2. The crisis had erupted after an unprecedented number of people from North African (Libya, Eritrea, Sudan etc) and Middle Eastern (Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan etc) countries started relocating to European Countries for seeking refuge for better life conditions.
  3. In year 2015 alone, around 3,092 people have died while illegally crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.
5) President inaugurates Mahatma Gandhi street in Jordanian capital Amman.
 
  • President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a street in the capital city of Jordan named after Mahatma Gandhi. A part of the Saddzagloul Street has been named the Mahatma Gandhi Street which after two intersections retains its old name which honours the Egyptian movement leader.
  • Mayor of Amman Aqel bel Tagi, that the street was specially chosen to be named after the Indian leader because “it connects the history of struggle for peaceâ€Ã? in India and this part of the world.
  • The City Council also presented Mukherjee with the golden key of Amman commemorating his historic visit. The President also planted an olive tree in Jordan’s Peace Park.
About Jordan:
  1. Capital: Amman
  2. Currency: Jordanian dinar
  3. King: Abdullah II of Jordan
  4. Continent: Asia

 

6) ICC calls for Bashir’s arrest.

  • The India-Africa summit to be held in Delhi in October 26-29 to be a grand affair, with a record 52 of 54 African countries confirming their acceptance.
  • International Criminal Court (ICC) has called for India to arrest one of the guests expected to attend, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the ICC.
  • President Omar al-Bashir has been indicted by the ICC for war crimes and genocide during the Darfur conflict of 2003 in which 300,000 people were killed.
About Sudan:
  1. Capital: Khartoum
  2. Currency: Sudanese pound
  3. President: Omar al-Bashir
7) China operationalises Zam Hydropower Station on Brahmaputra in Tibet.
 
  • China has operationalised the Zam Hydropower Station built on Brahmaputra River which has raised concerns in India over the likelihood of disrupting water supplies of River.
  • The dam is considered to be the world’s highest-altitude hydropower station and largest of its kind. Annually it will produce produces 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
  • The power station is located in the Gyaca County of Tibet and is considered as the largest in this region.
About China:
  1. Capital: Beijing
  2. Currency: Renminbi
  3. President: Xi Jinping 
8) Australian art gallery to return 2000 year old Buddha idol to India.
 
  • Canberra based art gallery in Australia has agreed to return a 2,000-year-old Indian-origin sculpture of Gautama Buddha back to India.
  • The Sitting Buddha sculpture which was displayed in this gallery has its roots traceable to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.
  • The sculpture is made of sandstone is an image and depicts very unique art of the ancient Mathura region.
  • Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) played important role in negotiating the legality of returning this statue.
  • Earlier, Germany had returned 10th century Durga idol in Mahishasuramardini avatar to India which had gone missing from a temple at Pulwama in Kashmir in 1990s.
About Australia:
  1. Capital: Canberra
  2. Currency: Australian Dollar
  3. Prime minister: Malcolm Turnbull
9) India gives $5 million grant to Palestine.
 
  • India has given a grant of five million US Dollars to Palestine as Budgetary assistance. It was given Indian President Pranab Mukherjee to his is Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
  • Indian President visited Palestine as part of his three Western Asian countries Jordan, Palestine and Israel. India has announced 5 projects worth 17.79 million US dollars in Palestine.
  • These projects are $12 million Technology Park at Ramallah, and $1 million India-Palestine Centre for Excellence in Gaza, $4.5 million Palestine Institute for Diplomacy.
About Palestine
  1. Capital: Ramallah
  2. President: Mahmoud Abbas
  3. Prime minister: Rami Hamdallah
  4. Currencies: Jordanian dinar, Israeli new shekel
10) Bangladesh to set up textile park in Gujarat.
 
  • Bangladesh will set up Textile Park in Gujarat. In the beginning, the park will have spinning units with cumulative capacity of 1 lakh spindles. Bangladesh has sought around 100 acres of land from the state government for the project.
  • Representatives of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bangladesh Cotton Association and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association visited Gujarat.
  • Globally, Bangladesh is among the top garment manufacturing and exporting countries.
About Bangladesh:
  1. President: Abdul Hamid
  2. Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
  3. Currency: Bangladeshi taka
11) India plans big project along Bangladesh border.
 
  • The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared a massive infrastructure project for the Bangladesh border.
  • Project worth Rs. 4,400 crore was cleared by the CCS headed by PM Narendra Modi, but no announcement was made by the government.
Highlights:
  1. The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared a massive infrastructure project for the Bangladesh border.
  2. Projects worth Rs. 4,400 crore were cleared by the CCS headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but no announcement was made by the government.
  3. Cross-border migration has been high on the agenda of the NDA government and it was one of the major poll issues before it came to power. The Border Security Force intercepted 1,731 Bangladeshi nationals trying to cross over to India.
  4. The CCS has cleared around 200 km of fencing along the border. Sanction has also been given to construct a 400 km road in the border areas.
About Bangladesh
  1. Capital: Dhaka
  2. Founded: March 26, 1971
  3. Currency: Bangladeshi taka
  4. President: Abdul Hamid
  5. Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina