Latest Current Affairs – May 05 & 06 2018
1. Filmmaker Arjun Hingorani passes away
Filmmaker Arjun Hingorani, who directed Dharmendra’s debut film ‘Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere’ in 1960, has passed away at the age of 92. The director has films like ‘Kahani Kismat Ki’, Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere’, Katilon Ke Katil’ and others to his credit.
2. New Zealand removes prostitution from skills list for immigrants
New Zealand has removed prostitution from its list of employment skills for would-be immigrants. The removal of the listing was to “avoid further confusion” that people could get a visa as skilled prostitutes, Immigration New Zealand said. According to the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, only the country’s citizens and residents are allowed to “legally work in the sex industry”.
3. Israel withdraws from race for UN Security Council seat
Israel has announced its withdrawal from the bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2019-2020 term. Israel was competing with Germany and Belgium for one of the two seats allocated to the Western European and Others Group. The UNSC has five permanent and 10 non-permanent members who are elected for a two-year term.
4. NASA launches $993-mn spacecraft to dig deep inside Mars
NASA has successfully launched a $993-million spacecraft called InSight which is designed to study quakes on Mars and explore the red planet’s deep interior. InSight will travel around 300 million miles and take six months to get to Mars. The 360-kg InSight aims to be the first NASA spacecraft to land on Mars since the Curiosity rover in 2012.
5. Japan’s child population hits new record low
The population of children in Japan fell for the 37th consecutive year, government data has revealed. The number of children aged 14 or under fell to 1.5 crore as of April 1 this year, the lowest ever since comparative data became available in 1950. Further, the ratio of children to Japan’s overall population dropped to a record low of 12.3%.
6. US state surpasses UK to become world’s 5th largest economy
US state California’s economy has surpassed that of the UK to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data released on Friday. With a GDP of $2.7 trillion, California is now only behind the US, China, Japan and Germany. The UK and India are next on the list, followed by France, Brazil and Italy respectively.
7. World Laughter Day – First Sunday of May
World Laughter Day takes place on the first Sunday of May of every year. The first celebration was on May 10, 1998, in Mumbai, India, and was arranged by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive manifestation for world peace and is intended to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter.
8. NITI Aayog ink SoI with IBM to develop Precision Agriculture using Artificial Intelligence
NITI Aayog and IBM signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes.
9. First organised census of Indus Dolphins begins in Punjab
The Punjab Government, together with the WWF, started the census of the Indus Dolphin found in the Indus River. This is the world’s extinct mammal species. Its aim is to preserve this species. The dolphin found in the Indus River is found only in the area of 185 km between India and Pakistan. This dolphin is found in the Beas river of India between Talwada and Harike Port.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), since 1944, the population of dolphins found in this area has decreased by 50 percent.
10. APSTAR-6C: China launches communication satellite
A Chinese-built communications satellite owned by Hong Kong-based operator launched aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang space base in southwest China. The Apstar 6C communications craft lifted off from Xichang, a launch site in a mountainous region in Sichuan province. Apstar has another Chinese-built satellite, Apstar 6D, under construction for launch on a Long March 3B rocket in 2019.
11. Namami Gange Programme: NMCG approves used of GIS technology
National Mission for Clean Ganga has brought on board Survey of India, the oldest scientific department in the country set up in 1767, to facilitate the Ganga rejuvenation task by using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The project includes use of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) technology which ensures accurate data collection, an important aspect for river basin management planning. The technology will also enable people to send their feedback up to the national level thereby providing an interactive and transparent platform.
12. Ministry of Railways announces Awards for beautification of Station premises
In order to promote cleanliness with creativity, the Ministry of Railways had invited nominations across all Zonal Railways for stations where beautification has been done with participation of local artists.
- Balharshah and Chandrapur stations (Nagpur Division) of Central Railway have been awarded first prize for depicting the best art & refurbishing itself as the most beautiful station across Indian Railways.
- Madhubani Railway station under Samastipur Division of East Central Railway in Bihar has been declared the second best along with Madurai Railway Station (Southern Railway).
- Kota Station (West Central Railway), Gandhidham Station (Western Railway) & Secunderabad Station (South Central Railway)were adjudged as the Third Prize winning Stations.
