1) Current AffairsMichel Aoun:
- Lebanon`s Parliament on 31st October elected former general Michel Aoun President, ending a vacuum and political stalemate of more than two years. Aoun, failed to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary to win a first round of voting, and a second round was repeated twice after the number of votes exceeded the 127 MPs present in the session.
- But the former army chief`s victory had been all but assured after two longstanding political rivals offered him their support. Aoun`s election ends a vacancy for the post since May 2014, when his predecessor Michel Sleiman`s mandate ended.
- The country`s deeply divided political powers were repeatedly unable to reach consensus on a candidate for President, a post reserved in Lebanon for a Maronite Christian and elected by Parliament.
2) Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki:
- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 1st November sacked the commander of the peacekeeping force in South Sudan, Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki (Kenya) following a damning report showing that the blue helmets failed to protect civilians during a recent outbreak of violence in Juba. The report from a UN special investigation found that a lack of leadership in the UN mission culminated in a "chaotic and ineffective response" during the heavy fighting in the capital from July 8 to 11.
- Peacekeepers abandoned their posts and failed to respond to pleas for help from aid workers under attack in a nearby hotel, according to a summary of the report. The UN mission known as UNMISS has 16,000 troops deployed in South Sudan, which has been at war since December 2013.
3) Bindeshwar Pathak:
- Ministry of Railways has appointed Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International as a Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railway. Minister of Railway Suresh Prabhu felicitated Dr Pathak at a function in New Delhi on 2nd November. The initiative will help push the cleanliness drive of the Railway.He added that cleanliness is the key to the solution of lot of diseases. Mr Prabhu said, the government is installing bio-toilet at various trains to keep the tracks and trains clean. He also said, the Railways has also introduced vaccum-bio- toilet which will be installed in trains.
4) Kamala Harris:
- Kamala Harris, California`s Attorney General, is on the cusp of becoming the first Indian-American Senator in the US Congress. The latest polls have placed ahead of her rival, days before the 8th of November general elections. Harris has already got the backing of US President Barack Obama to be the state`s next Senator, brightening her chances to become the first from the Indian community ever to be a member of the Upper House.
- She heads into the US Senate election with a considerable lead over fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez.
- Harris, born in Oakland, California, is the daughter of an Indian mother who emigrated from Chennai in 1960 and a Jamaican American father.
5) Kirpal Singh Badungar:
- Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Prof Kirpal Singh Badungar, is unanimously elected as new president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
- This is second time that he has been chosen to head the apex Sikh body. Baldev Singh Kiampuri is elected as senior vice president while Baba Buta Singh is elected as Junior Vice President. Amarjit Singh Chawla would be the new General Secretary.