Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Oct 02, 2016

ANSWER: JeM

Explanation:
China on 1st Oct 2016 placed an extension on the technical hold on India’s move to get Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar designated a terrorist by the United Nations before the exposure of the hold.

• China technical hold was set to lapse on Oct 3, and had the Sino state not raised objections, resolution designating Azhar as a terrorist could have been passed automatically
• Chinese technical hold is set to be extended for another six months
• Technical hold on India’s listing application has been submitted to 1267 committee in March 2016 has been extended as per an official announcement by China
• On March 31 this year, China a veto wielding permanent member of the UNSC has blocked India’s move to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad leader and Pathankot mastermind, terrorist Masood Azhar
• China was the only member in the 15 nation UN organisation to put India’s application on hold; the 14 other nations in the council supported New Delhi’s bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list subjecting him to an assets freeze and travel ban
• Geng, a Chinese spokesperson sad that "China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 committee should stick to the main principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council.”
• The hold has been extended in the middle of Indo-Pak tension over the Uri terror attack
• China’s technical hold coupled with the move to block India’s entry into the NSG has created tension in Sino-India ties as well.
• China’s move to extend the technical hold comes ahead of the expected meeting between PM Narendra Modi and China’s president XI Jingping in Goa during the BRICS summit from Oct 15-16
• China has blocked India’s demand for action under the anti-terrorism resolution against Pakistan held by the council for releasing LeT commander Zaki-ur-Lakhvi- the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks
• India is not alone to get Azhar listed as a terrorist; UK and France co-sponsored the resolution seeking the listing of Azhar
• India has criticised the UN Sanctions Committee for the failure to designate terrorists
• Terror groups are proscribed entities under the sanctions regime, but individuals heading them are not listed
• India finds it incomprehensible as to why JeM was listed for terror activities since 2001 and designation of the group’s main leader has been placed on technical hold

ANSWER: Pakistan

Explanation:
Pakistan officially postponed the SAARC summit in November after Sri Lanka added to the criticism by pulling out of the summit becoming the fifth nation to do so

• Previously, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka had also pulled out of the SAARC Summit
• Only Nepal and Maldives did not object
• China called for restraint, asking the countries to leave aside tensions
• Meanwhile close ally Russia is currently exercising with Pakistan in the first ever counter terrorism operations for the two countries
• Russia called for de-escalation of tensions between the two nations
• China has refused to criticise Pakistan on terror groups though some of these train Uighur militants in Xinjiang
• It has also failed to allow UN Security Council's 1267 committee to ban Jaish e Mohammed's Masood Azhar, a big sore point with India.
• India had submitted a detailed dossier on Azhar and moved the UNSC 1267 committee following the January 2 attack on an Indian airforce station in Pathankot.
• In March, India's submission was considered by the counter-terrorism executive directorate for technical aspects of the evidence provided. The technical team then with the support of the US, the UK and France had sent it to all the members.
• India had said the sanctions committee was taking a "selective approach" in tackling terrorism.

ANSWER: Google

Explanation:
Google will set up its first India data centre in Mumbai by 2017.

• It aims to take on global competitors such as Amazon and Microsoft who have a presence in the nation
• The search engine also plans for local customers to host their applications on their internet via this data centre
• Google controls majority market share in India in search, email and smartphones through its Android operating system
• It has significant offerings in enterprise applications such as mail and other services, but lags behind in cloud business
• Amazon currently has three data centres in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi with over 750,000 customers including Ola, TATA Motors and NDTV on its cloud
• Microsoft in 2015, set up three data centres in India offering Azure cloud to local clients
• Google, which already hosts applications of its Indian customers such as Wipro, Ashok Leyland, Smartshift by Mahindra & Mahindra, Dainik Bhaskar Group and INshorts.com on its global cloud platform, expects a India presence to service local customers faster.
• Google calls it data centre Cloud Region.
• The Google Cloud Platform has taken infrastructure, machine learning and networking services use to power Google services and make them available to businesses and developers with high performance app and data analysis at a low cost
• India’s startup community continues to grow and cloud platform provides a base for deploying and testing apps

ANSWER: Pakistan

Explanation:
Pakistan has banned the broadcast of Indian TV channels in the nation for showing what it calls “illegal content”
Pak theatres have also been taking down Bollywood films.

• Pakistan’s electronic media regulator PEMRA said that after Oct 15, if television channels and distribution networks fail to follow these directions, strict action will be taken according to law
• Pakistan government has also done this after India’s oldest association of Film makers banned Pakistani artistes from working in India until ties between the two countries have been restored to normalcy. Comedian Raju Srivastava also cancelled his show in Pakistan
• Meanwhile concerts of Atif Aslam and Shatquat Amanat Ali have been cancelled in India

ANSWER: Syed Shamsul Haq

Explanation:
One of Bangladesh’s best known writers, Syed Shamsul Haq has passed away in Dhaka, the capital city of this nation on 27th sept 2016 at the age of 81

• He was known for his immense collection of novels, poems, plays and essays. He was also a critic of religious fundamentalism
• Notable works by him include Boishakhey Rochito Ponktimala, Ekoda Ek Rajjey, Birotihin Utsab, Protidhwonigon and Opor Purush and patriotic songs of immense beauty which inspired the 1971 Liberation War fighters.
• He was also awarded with various awards including Bangla Academy Literary Award (1966), Ekushey Padak (1984) and Swadhinata Padak (2000), the highest civilian award of Bangladesh.
• The poet is survived by his wide, son and daughter
• He died of lung cancer
• PM Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid condoled his death
• The PM termed the poet the conscience of the nation. She said the country had lost a writer who devoted to the truth. “He viewed Bangali, Bangladesh and Bangabandhu as inseparable entities and through his powerful writings he showed the nation the dream of a secular country,” she said.
• Considered to be a pioneer of modern Bangla literature, Shamsul has written deeply emotive poems such as Ekoda Ek Rajjey (1961), Boishakhey Rochito Ponktimala (1969), Birotihin Utsab (1969, Protidhwonigon (1976) and Opor Purush (1978).
• Besides poems, he also wrote more than 50 novels including Stobdhotar Onubad ( 1987), Nishiddho Loban (1990), Khelaram Kheley Ja (1991) and Ayna Bibir Pala.
• His plays Payer Awaj Paqa Jay and Nuruldiner Sara Jibon set a standard for modern Bangla theatre.
• He also translated world classics like Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Tempest, Troilus and Cresida, and Ibsen’s Pyr Gynt.

ANSWER: World Wildlife Fund

Explanation:
According to the report released on Sept 29, body parts of 1755 rare animals was seized in the nation in the past 16 years, of which 540 were tigers.
Illegal tiger trade was discussed at the world’s largest wildlife trade meeting in South Africa and a report called “Reduced to Skin and Bones” found that demand for tiger products across Asia continues to fuel illegal trade.

• The study also found that only 3,900 tigers remain in the whole of Asia, which is the main geographical area where big cats are found
• India accounted for 30 percent of the tiger trade seizures in TRC or Tiger Range Countries
• Wildlife trade market is demand driven and the government needs to look at conduit of trade and trends and employ legal and combative force to fend off the tiger trade
• Role of tiger breeding farms in tiger poaching is vital as from 2000 to 2015, most of the tigers or their body parts were sourced from hostage breeding farms
• Illegal networks are becoming intense and existing tiger range countries need to shut down the farms or wild tigers will be reduced to skin and bones

ANSWER: Matthew

Explanation:
Haiti has begun evacuating residents from outlying islands in preparation of Hurricane Matthew.

• This is the fiercest storm to cross the Carribean for years
• With winds at 240 mph, it will make landfall as a major storm on Kingston, capital city of Jamaica and its only oil refinery
• Simultaneously. the storm is forecast to lash southern Haiti, dumping up to 101 cm of rain there and up to 64 cm in Jamaica, possibly triggering life-threatening landslides and floods, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
• By early Tuesday, Matthew is due in eastern Cuba, with a path that could take it over the colonial city of Santiago de Cuba and the US naval base in Guantanamo.
• The ferocity of the storm, the strongest in the Carribean since Hurricane Felix in 2007, has led to concerns of economic devastation in the poor countries in its path.