LATEST CURRENT AFFAIRS – MARCH 03 & 04 2018

1. Merkel gets fourth term as Chancellor as part of coalition

Germany’s Angela Merkel has secured her fourth term as the Chancellor after the Social Democratic party voted in favour of a grand coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. Efforts to form a coalition failed last year after the Free Democratic and Green party pulled out of negotiations. The Parliament will formally elect Merkel as the Chancellor on March 14.

2. Krishna Kumari elected Pak’s first Hindu Dalit woman Senator

Krishna Kumari has become Pakistan’s first Hindu Dalit woman Senator after she was elected to the Upper House. The 39-year-old had contested from a seat reserved for women from the Sindh province representing the Pakistan Peoples Party. Kumari is a human rights activist and was previously held along with her family in bonded labour.

3. Uzbekistan frees world’s longest-jailed journo after 19 yrs

Uzbekistan has released a journalist who was jailed for 19 years, the world’s longest-known prison term served by a journalist. Yusuf Ruzimuradov was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1999 after being convicted of sedition for running a banned newspaper. His sentence was extended for allegedly violating prison rules.

4. First man to run a mile in under 4 minutes dies at 88

Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, has died at the age of 88. His time of three minutes 59.4 seconds, set at Iffley Road sports ground in Oxford on 6 May 1954, stood as a record for just 46 days but his place in athletics history was assured.

Bannister also won gold over the same distance at the 1954 Commonwealth Games and later became a leading neurologist. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011.

5. India, Vietnam sign three agreements

6. Indian economy grew at 7.2% in third quarter: Government

The Indian economy grew at five quarter high of 7.2 per cent in the October-December period reflecting overall recovery due to good show by agriculture, manufacturing, construction and certain services.

• The gross valued added for manufacturing in the quarter under review grew at 8.9 per cent higher than 6.9 per cent in the previous quarter.
• Similarly, the farm sector GVA grew at 4.1 per cent compared to 2.7 per cent in the previous quarter.
• The construction sector recorded a growth of 6.8 per cent, higher than 2.8 per cent in previous quarter.
• The services segment including financial services grew at rate of 6.7 per cent up from 6.4 per cent in previous quarter.

7. BJP wins Tripura for 1st time, displaces CPI(M) after 25 yrs

The BJP has defeated the CPI(M) in Tripura to form the state government for the first-ever time after winning 35 seats. The CPI(M), which ruled the state for 25 years, reportedly won 16 seats in the 60-member Assembly with 43% vote share. BJP-ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) won 8 seats after fielding candidates in 9 constituencies.

8. Govt approves ₹2,900cr Nirbhaya Fund to create 8 safe cities

The central government has approved ₹2,919 crore under Nirbhaya Fund to create eight ‘safe cities’ with a special focus on women safety. The cities will have patrolled public spaces and quicker response systems to curb crimes against women. The cities listed by the Centre are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Lucknow.

9. All-female marathon held in Saudi Arabia for the first time

For the first time in the nation’s history, Saudi Arabia’s women participated in an all-female marathon. The three-km-long marathon, held in the eastern province of al-Ahsa, reportedly saw participation from 1,500 women across several categories. Earlier in January, Saudi Arabia allowed its women, for the first time, to spectate at a football match.

10. Russia, China to create joint data centre for lunar projects

Russia and China have agreed to set up a joint data centre for lunar and deep space projects, Russian space agency Roscosmos said. The Russian agency and China National Space Administration will look into possibilities of providing assistance to each other’s lunar programmes. Last year, the two agencies had agreed on a bilateral cooperation programme, including research on the moon.

11. India, Russia, Bangladesh sign pact for Rooppur atomic plant

According to Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom, India, Bangladesh and Russia have signed an agreement to allow Indian firms in construction and installation works in the “non-critical” category for the Rooppur nuclear power plant project in northwest Bangladesh.

The Memorandum of Understanding, signed in Moscow, sets a framework for interaction of Russian contractor, and Indian and Bangladeshi experts in the implementation of works related to the project. The Rooppur project is the first initiative under an Indo-Russian deal to undertake atomic energy projects in third countries.

12. Indian Navy sailboat INSV Tarini arrives in Cape Town, South Africa

An all-women crew leading the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini has docked at a port in Cape Town in South Africa, during the last phase of its maiden voyage to circumnavigate the globe. The expedition is being covered in five legs, with stop-overs at Fremantle in Australia, Lyttleton in New Zealand, Port Stanley in Falklands, and Cape Town in South Africa.

13. ICG C-162: Bharati Defence delivers interceptor boat to Coast Guard

Bharati Defence and Infrastructure Ltd. (BDIL), Mangaluru, has delivered an interceptor boat, C-162, to the Indian Coast Guard. Sixth in a series of 15 high speed interceptor boats being procured by the ICG, C-162 was launched on January 31 at BDIL and within 28 days, the vessel completed harbour and sea trials successfully achieving speeds more than the contractual limit of 35 knots, said a release from BDIL.

14. Navjot Kaur clinches gold in the Asian Wrestling

Ace wrestler Navjot Kaur scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold in the Senior Asian Championships as she clinched the yellow metal in the 65kg freestyle category in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Navjot outclassed Japan’s Miya Imai 9-1 in a one-sided final bout of the women’s 65kg freestyle category to bag the gold. This was also India’s first gold in the ongoing championships.

15. 19-year-old Afghan becomes youngest captain in international cricket

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan achieved a massive feat when he became the youngest top-ranked player as per ICC Rankings. Rashid joined Jasprit Bumrah as the top-ranked player in ODI rankings at the conclusion of the series against South Africa. At 7,683 days, Saqlain had topped the charts in 1998 with Rashid going better by nearly two years at 7,092 days. Now he has become the youngest captain in international cricket.

16. Indian shooter sets world record at his 1st-ever World Cup

Meerut-based 23-year-old shooter Shahzar Rizvi, who was appearing in his maiden ISSF World Cup, clinched the 10m air pistol gold medal with a world record score. Shooter Jitu Rai grabbed bronze in the same event. Mehuli Ghosh added another medal to India’s tally as she shot world junior record score to win bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle event.

17. Advani-led India beat Pakistan to win Snooker Team World Cup

The Indian duo of Pankaj Advani and Manan Chandra staged a remarkable recovery to defeat Pakistan in the final of the inaugural IBSF Snooker Team World Cup. After being 0-2 down in the best-of-five final played last last night, India found themselves in a deeper hole at 0-30 down in the third frame.

18. NASA finds water on Saturn-mass planet outside Solar System

Using NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, astronomers have found evidence of water in the atmosphere of a Saturn-mass exoplanet some 700 light-years away. The planet, WASP-39b, has three times as much water as Saturn does, which suggests it developed far away from its host star, where it was bombarded by a lot of icy material, said NASA.