1) Spain passes law awarding citizenship to descendants of expelled Jew.
- Spain’s lower house of parliament has approved a law that eases the path to citizenship for descendants of Jews who were forced to flee the country five centuries ago during the Inquisition.
- The measure aims to correct what Spain’s conservative government calls the “historic mistake” of sending Jews into exile in 1492, forcing them to convert to Catholicism or burning them at the stake.
- This law says much about who we were in the past and who we are today and what we want to be in the future: an open, diverse and tolerant Spain, the justice minister, Rafael Catala.
About Spain:
- Capital: Madrid
- Currency: Euro
- Monarch: Felipe VI
- Prime Minister: Mariano Rajoy
- 2) Magna Carta: leaders celebrate 800th anniversary of the Great Charter.
- United Kingdom (UK) celebrated 800 years of signing of Magna Carta.
- The celebrations to observe signing of 8 century year old historic document which had laid foundation for modern democratic society was led by Queen Elizabeth II.
- UK Prime Minister David Cameron also joined the queen to mark the celebrations.
About Magna Carta:
- The document had written promises between King John and his subjects mentioning that the king will govern England and deal with its people according to the customs of feudal law.
- Carta is a Latin word which in English means Great Charter. It is the most important document of England signed at Runnymede alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey.
- Originally known as “the Charter of Runnymede”, it became known as Magna Carta two years later, when it was reissued by John’s son, Henry III.
3) RTA of UAE included four Indian languages into its driving tests.
- Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of United Arab Emirates (UAE) decided to include four Indian languages to offer knowledge tests and lectures to aspirants who appear for driving test in the country.
- The four Indian languages included along with three other languages are Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali. The other three are Chinese, Russian and Persian.
- At present, RTA of UAE conducts tests in three languages – English, Urdu and Arabic.
4) U.N. envoy hails 19th amendment.
- The 19th Constitutional Amendment, envisaging the dilution of powers of the Executive Presidency and other constitutional reforms in Sri Lanka, has come in for appreciation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
- The Sri Lankan government to “consult broadly” with all political parties, civil society, and victims and their families to ensure full national support and ownership of the processes.
5) Russia to get 40 new ICBMs this year.
- Russia’s military this year alone will receive over 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of piercing any missile defences for a blunt reminder of the nation’s nuclear might amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.
- Over 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of penetrating any, even the most technologically advanced missile defence systems, will join the nuclear forces in the current year.
6) Sri Lanka Notifies Gazette Notification on 20th Amendment.
- The Gazette notification on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution which includes the new elections system has been published marking another significant occasion in Sri Lanka’s history.
- The introduction of a new elections system with the approval of the 20th Amendment.
- According to the 20th Amendment the number of seats in Parliament will increase from 225 to 237.
7) The Hindu Centre, EU holding essay contest on climate change.
- The European Union, in collaboration with the Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, has launched an essay competition, #MyClimateMyFuture, on the challenges posed by climate change.
- The EU is organising a photo contest also on the subject. Climate diplomacy must for global action against climate change.
Topics for the Essay:
- Entries may be submitted before August 16 on one of the following topics: “Climate change in India: challenges and solutions”; “Making India’s growth sustainable”; “Clean development in India: the way forward for towns and cities”.
8) Japan`s Parliament passed a Bill to lower voting age from 20 to 18.
- Parliament of Japan (Diet) passed a bill to lower the voting age from 20 to 18. The bill that seeks revision of the public office election law was passed by the House of Councilors (upper house) after being approved in the House of Representatives (lower house).
- The legislation will come into effect during the 2016 Upper House Election and will add about 2.4 million new potential voters to Japan’s current voting population of 104 million.
- Japan lowered the age of voting from 25 to 20 and gave voting rights to women in 1945 after the World War II.
9) Australia to sign free trade agreement with China.
- AUSSIES will see the cost of cheap electronics and white-goods fall even lower, driving households into a spending frenzy.
- The historic trade deal will mean Australian beef and wine can be more readily exported into China.
10) India, Tanzania ink agreements for cooperation in various fields.
- India inked six MoUs with Tanzania in various fields including Agriculture, Tourism and Hydrography to expand engagement in different sectors.
- The agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.
- The MoUs signed include a loan agreement between Exim Bank and Tanzanian Government on a line of credit for 268.35 million dollars for extension of Lake Victoria pipeline project.
Signed agreements:
- MoU on cooperation in Agricultural Statistics, Computer Applications and Bio-informatics: for capacity building in Staff of Tanzania’s EASTC and other African Countries in Agricultural Statistics, Computer Applications and Bio-informatics.
- Signatory parties are EASTC and Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- Signatory parties are Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS), PSU under the Ministry of Water Resources of Union Government and Government of Tanzania.
11) France announced ban on earphones for Drivers and Cyclists.
- France announced a ban on wearing earphones while driving a vehicle and riding a cycle.
- The ban will come into effect from 1 July 2015.
- The ban was announced with an aim to reduce deaths due to accidents.
- Those found using earphones while driving a vehicle or riding a cycle will be fined 135 Euro (214 US dollar) and lose three license points.
12) US bans Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs)/ Trans fats by 2018.
- No comments United States (US) has announced to curb and eliminate majority of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) commonly called trans-fats from the country’s food supply by 2018.
- This decision of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) comes after intensive lobbying by health advocates and scientists that artificial oils raise the risk of heart diseases by clogging arteries.
- In this regard, US FDA has revoked the status of PHOs as a food additive from current status of safe food product.
About:
- Background in United States the popularity of Trans fats had soared in the 1940s. Since then it had emerged as a key ingredient in major food products as it was cheap to produce with a long shelf life.
- In 2006, the FDA had mandatorily insisted all food manufacturing firms to include trans fat content information on labels of each product. In November 2013, FDA had recognised trans fats as a threat to public health.
- WHO also consider Trans fats as toxic for consumption at certain levels.
13) Exercise Ajeya Warrior - 2015: Joint exercise between the armies of India and UK.
- The term Exercise Ajeya Warrior was in news on as few soldiers of the Indian Army sustained injuries that were in UK to participate in the military exercise.
- The soldiers belong to the Kumaon Regiment. Exercise Ajeya Warrior is a joint exercise between the armies of India and UK.
- Its aim is to build and promote positive military relations between Indian and UK Army and to enhance their ability to undertake joint tactical level operations in Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism Environment under the United Nations Charter.
- It is held biannually in both the countries, alternatively.
- In 2015, the 16 day exercise began at Westdown Camp in Salisbury Plains Training Area, UK.
14) Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen won Denmark’s Parliamentary Elections.
- Blue Opposition Bloc led by Lars Loekke Rasmussen of right-wing Venstre party won the parliamentary elections of Denmark. Blue opposition bloc, also called Centre-Right coalition, won 90 seats in the 179-member parliament.
- Red Bloc or Centre-Left ruling coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Social Democratic Party won 85 seats. Thorning-Schmidt, the first woman Prime Minister of Denmark, conceding defeat quit as the head of Social Democrat Party.
About Denmark:
- Capital: Copenhagen
- Currency: Danish Krone
- Official Language: Danish
- Queen: Margrethe II
15) `Peepli Live` scriptwriter Mahmood Farooqui arrested for rape.
- The writer of 2010 Bollywood blockbuster Peepli Live has been arrested for allegedly raping a U.S. national in the Capital.
- Mahmood Farooqui was sent to a six-day judicial custody after a case of rape was registered against him.
- The alleged sexual assault happened in March.
16) Calcified foetus `discovered in body of elderly Chilean woman after 50 years inside her body`.
- A calcified foetus has been discovered inside the body of an elderly Chilean woman - and doctors think it has been there for 50 years.
- X-rays showed a 2 kilo (4.4lb) foetus, thought to have died during pregnancy, inside the woman`s abdomen and outside her uterus.
About:
- The phenomenon, known as `lithopedion`, occurs when the foetus dies during pregnancy and then calcifies outside the womb.
17) Afghan Parliament attacked by Thaliban.
- The Taliban launched an attack on the Afghan Parliament, with a suicide car bomber striking at the entrance and gunmen battling police as lawmakers were meeting inside to confirm the appointment of defence minister.
- All the six gunmen who attacked Parliament were killed and the gunfire had stopped.
- Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the attack began with a car bomb explosion near the entrance.
- Gunmen then attempted to storm the compound but were pushed back by security forces. They took refuge in a nearby building under construction and police surrounded the structure.
18) China opens Nathu La border post as 2nd route for Kailash-Mansarovar yatra.
- China opened the second land crossing in Tibet via Nathu La to allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra, in the latest confidence-building measure between the two neighbours.
- The opening of the second route through the Himalayan pass of Nathu La in Sikkim, 4,000 metres above sea level, was officially announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China and will allow more Indians to undertake the pilgrimage.
- The new route is in addition to the existing Lipulekh Pass, the only route that was badly damaged in the floods in Uttarakhand in 2013.
- A total of 44 pilgrims crossed over from the Indian side of the border in Sikkim as the first batch of the annual Yatra through this border route and were warmly welcomed by Chinese officials in Tibet.
19)Indian nurses in U.K. may face expulsion.
- Changes to British immigration rules will force thousands of non-European Union foreign nurses recruited by the National Health Service (NHS) to leave the country in the next two years, threatening to throw the healthcare system into disarray and imposing high financial costs on the NHS.
- Of those who will be forced to leave, a significant number are likely to be from India.