Latest Current Affairs – April 24 2018
1. Finland to end basic income scheme after 2-year trial
The government of Finland has decided not to extend a trial scheme under which a basic income was provided to its citizens since January 2017. Under the programme, 2,000 unemployed people were paid a monthly amount of €560 as basic income. The government said it will look towards introducing alternative welfare schemes, including a universal credit system.
2. UAE to give ₹330cr to rebuild Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque
The UAE will give $50.4 million (over ₹330 crore) to help rebuild Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque which was destroyed by Islamic State militants last year. The mosque, famous for its leaning minaret, will be restored and reconstructed in partnership with UNESCO. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the creation of a “caliphate” from the mosque in 2014.
3. Migrants sent record $466 billion home in 2017: World Bank
The world’s 266 million migrant workers from middle and low-income countries sent home a record $466 billion last year, according to the World Bank. Ten countries including India and Pakistan had received more than half of the remittances last year. The US and Saudi Arabia saw the largest outflows at $67 billion and $38 billion respectively, based on 2016 data.
4. New-found ‘hot Jupiter’ absorbs 99% of incoming light
UK-based astronomers have identified a planet that absorbs 97-99% of incoming light. Its property was discovered from the shadow it casts against its host star, 466 light-years away from Earth. The planet, WASP-104b, dubbed as ‘hot Jupiter’ for its similarities to the gas giant, was first discovered in 2014 by the Wide Angle Search for Planets project.
5. PM Modi to launch Rashtriya Gramin Swaraj Abhiyan from MP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Rashtriya Gramin Swaraj Abhiyan from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla. The scheme is reportedly aimed at training, building infrastructure, and setting up initiatives for e-governance under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project. He will also reveal the roadmap for the overall development of tribals over the next five years.
6. Rizvi’s silver opens India’s account at ISSF World Cup
Shahzar Rizvi on Tuesday clinched India’s first medal at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Changwon, winning a silver in the 10m air pistol event. Russia’s Artem Chernousov clinched the gold medal with a final score of 240 while the bronze went to Bulgaria’s Samuil Donkov who shot a total score of 217.1.
7. GI tag for Telangana’s Adilabad dokra, Warangal Dhurries
The iconic Adilabad Dokra, an ancient bell metal craft, and Warangal Dhurries, a popular cotton rug, have been accorded with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry of India. Native to the Woj community of Adilabad, the Dhokra craftsmen have mastered in creating metal crafts which do not have a replica in shape or size as all of the crafts are uniquely designed and made.
The 100-odd families, currently, involved in the creation of a hereditary crafts make brass objects by an ancient casting technique called cire perdue, a technique wherein a duplicate metal sculpture is cast from an original sculpture.
8. Abu Zeid: Jailed Egyptian Photographer wins 2018 UNESCO Press Freedom Prize
The United Nations’ cultural agency ignored warnings from Egypt and awarded the World Press Freedom Prize Monday to an imprisoned Egyptian photographer. An independent jury panel for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization gave the honor to Mahmoud Abu Zeid, a photojournalist known as Shawkan.
He has been jailed since August 2013, when he was arrested in Cairo in while covering a demonstration at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square.
The $25,000 World Press Freedom Prize was established in 1997 to honor Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian newspaper editor who was gunned down outside El Espectador’s offices in Bogota in 1986.
9. Recommendations of Rajesh Bindal committee on Inter-country removal and retention of children
The Committee headed by Justice Rajesh Bindal, Judge, High Court of Punjab & Haryana, Chandigarh, submitted its report today on legal issues related to intercountry removal & retention of children and recommends on addressing the problems of parents and children involved in such issues. The Ministry of Women and Child Development had appointed the Committee.
The Committee has recommended that the Government may establish an ‘Inter-Country Parental Child Removal Disputes Resolution Authority’. The authority has been envisaged to provide a one window solution in cases of intercountry removal and retention of Children. Justice Bindal Committee has recommended that the Authority may be chaired by a retired High Court Judge, with Members from Legal and Social sector background along with representatives from key Ministries.
10. Government planning to gift obsolete weaponry to friendly countries
In a bid to boost defence cooperation, the government has asked the armed forces to compile a list of obsolete military equipment that can be “refurbished at minimal cost” and gifted to “friendly” countries. So far, India has only gifted used Mi25 helicopters to Afghanistan, although it has provided indigenous smaller equipment such as patrol boats to some countries in the neighbourhood.
The recipient country, however, has to pay for packing, crating, handling and transportation, as well as refurbishment, if applicable. The Indian proposal envisages the transfer to be a gift.
11. Government of India and World Bank Signs Agreement to Improve Rural Road Network in Madhya Pradesh
The Government of India, the Government of Madhya Pradesh and the World Bank today signed a $210 million loan agreement for the Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project. The Project is expected to improve the durability, resilience and safety of the gravel surfaced rural roads and enhance the capacity of the state to manage its rural roads network.
