Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.

Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.

Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!

AWARDS AND HONORS

Tenth Asian Film Awards : Complete List of Winners

• The Assassin, a movie about a highly-trained female assassin swept the Asian Film Awards in Macau.
• Bagging prizes for best film, best actress and best director at the glittering ceremony.
• The movie took home more than half of the night’s prizes.
• Eight out of 15 trophies — at one of Asia’s leading film awards held in the glamorous casino town in southern China.

Quick Link – Asian Film Awards

Tikka Shatrujit Singh given France’s top honour

Tikka Shatrujit Singh, the royal scion of Kapurthala’s Ahluwalia dynasty, has been conferred with the prestigious Knight of the Legion of Honour for his “extraordinary work in the exchanging the French lifestyle and Indian culture with each other.”

• French ambassador to India Francois Richier bestowed the honour on the 54-year-old Singh in a ceremony here late Thursday evening.
• Singh, known as the “guru of luxury,” is the Advisor to the Chairman of multinational group Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH).
• The great-grandson and heir of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala who was a celebrated Francophile, Singh got his understanding of French culture in legacy.
• A banker for almost 10 years after completing his education from Doon School and Delhi University, Singh joined LVMH as the Chief Representative in Asia in 1995.
• Pioneering the entry of LVMH perfumes and cosmetics and the LVMH fashion group into India, Singh has also organised many events including “Paris – Delhi – Bombay” in 2011 where he hosted fifty famous Indian and French artists at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
• Singh is also known for his endeavours to preserve the tangible and intangible heritage of Kapurthala, which is a blend of Indo-French architectural styles.

Quick Link – France’s top honour

APPOINTMENTS

Times Internet appoints Gautam Sinha as CEO

Times of India Group’s digital wing, Times Internet, has appointed former COO Gautam Sinha as the CEO. Also, former CEO Satyan Gajwani is promoted as the Managing Director. The new appointments will come into effect in April. Times Internet (TIL) is a digital product company and the digital arm of The Times of India Group.

• Sinha started his career in 1986 as a defense scientist working on Dr Kalam’s IGMDP program for DRDO.
• In 1991, he moved to the US, and after higher studies, worked for Neural Applications Corporation as a senior software engineer, building enterprise technologies using self-learning neural networks.
• As a technologist and business leader, Gautam has more than 28 years of experience in technology companies.
• He has been with Times Internet for over 8 years, and has served as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer, earlier.
• Gautam has a B.S. in Computer Science from BIT, Mesra, and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Iowa, Iowa City.
• Earlier this month, Times Internet acquired Willow TV International, a cricket broadcaster in the US.
• The acquisition came at a time when Cricbuzz, a division of Times Internet, had become the exclusive licensee for digital video clip rights, for US and Canada, for all ICC events between 2016 and 2019.

Quick Link – Gautam Sinha as CEO

BANKING AND FINANCE

5600 wilful defaulters owe banks Rs 60K Crore

According to the data from credit information bureau CIBIL, more than 5,600 borrowers, who owe banks close to Rs 60,000 crore, have been declared wilful defaulters by lenders as on December 31. These instances of wilful default are those where banks have filed suits.

• The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) is owed Rs 12,091 crore, followed by another state-run lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) which has receivables of Rs 9,445 crore lent to 698 borrowers.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank has the highest amount of loans stuck with wilful defaulters among private sector banks at Rs 5,442 crore.
• Wilful defaults for private sector banks stood at Rs 10,250 crore and at Rs 463 crore for foreign banks.
• According to RBI guidelines, a borrower is termed a wilful defaulter if he has defaulted in meeting the repayment obligations to the lender even when it has the capacity to repay, or has not utilised the money from the lender for the specific purposes for which finance was availed and has diverted the funds for other purposes.

Quick Link – Wilful defaulters owe banks

RBI revises rules for resolution of stressed MSME loans

The Reserve Bank of India revised rules pertaining to revival of advances to small businesses and asked lenders to form district-level committees to resolve stressed loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

• The rules have been revised for “revival and rehabilitation of MSMEs having loan limits up to Rs 25 crore”.
• The notification follows a May 2015 government decision to provide a simple and fast mechanism to address stress in accounts of MSMEs and also help in the promotion of such businesses.
• A board-approved policy to operationalise the revised framework will have to be put in place by banks before June 30, the regulator said.
• These will be district-level committees which will resolve the stress in MSMEs under their jurisdictions, it said, adding in case of a MSME banking with multiple lenders, the lead bank’s panel’s should deal with the issue.
• The committees shall comprise regional head of the bank as chairperson, and MSME loans in-charge as the convener and member. The bank should also appoint an external expert nominated by the bank and a representative of the state government.
• The bank boards should form a policy on the composition of the committee and terms of appointment, among other things.

Quick Link – MSME loans

RBI eases norms for power utility debt holding

The Reserve Bank has provided some relief to banks holding bonds of debt-ridden State Electricity Boards (SEBs) that were issued to them as part of the cleaning up exercises of these power utilities.

• Banks have been allowed to keep Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme bonds under the held-to-maturity (HTM) category.
• This will ease pressure on bond yields and debt market, sources said.
• HTM refers a part of debt holdings of the banks which are not subjected to daily price movement and can be held by banks till maturity.
• Earlier in the day Power Minister Piyush Goyal retweeted that the central bank has allowed lenders to hold the bonds under the HTM category.
• Under the UDAY scheme, state governments which own the power discoms, can take over 75 per cent of their debt as of September 30 and pay back lenders by selling bonds.
• For the remaining 25 per cent, discoms will issue bonds.
• The rescue plan, called Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna or UDAY, provides “a permanent resolution of past as well as potential future issues of the sector” and empowers the utilities to break even in next 2-3 years.

Quick Link – UDAY

Hitachi to setup ATM making firm in India

• The new company has been set up with a capital of Rs 100 crore and is set a target to produce 1,500 units of ATMs per month at the end of calendar year 2016.
• The new entity is expected to commence production in June 2016.
• Hitachi has deployed over 5,000 units of ATM in India by 2015 and at present, there are about two lakh ATMs and CDs (Cash Dispensing ATMs) operating in the country.
• Hitachi Terminal Solutions India will allow Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions to promptly accommodate the needs of the market, strengthen cost competitiveness, shorten the production lead time from order entry to shipment and expand the business of cash recycling ATMs.
• Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions had entered Indian market on a full-scale basis in 2010 through sales of the cash recycling ATMs.

Quick Link – Hitachi to setup ATM making

Aadhaar enabled e-KYC can save Rs 10,000 cr over next 5 yrs : Survey

Aadhaar enabled e-KYC (Know Your Customer) process could save over Rs 10,000 crore for banks and telecom operators over the next five years, says a survey.

• According to a recent study by MicroSave, a development consulting firm, using Aadhaar enabled e-KYC process for customer acquisition, could be highly beneficial for banks and telecom operators in India.
• The study further said that apart from substantial cost savings for banks and financial institutions, Aadhaar enabled e-KYC is significantly more efficient compared to current paper-based KYC.
• Customer enrolment processes followed by banks also take longer time and it can be two to four weeks before an account is activated. Whereas Aadhaar e-KYC enabled bank accounts can be activated and ready to transact in a few minutes.
• Given that e-KYC provides near instant verification of customers’ identity and their address, substantial cost reduction can be achieved through elimination of paper based verification, movement and storage being replaced by digital processes.

Quick Link – e-KYC

IOB becomes first bank to sell Indian gold coins

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has become the first bank to commence the sale of Indian Gold Coin (IGC) in the domestic market.

• It has tied up with MMTC for the sale of IGC of 24 carat purity.
• The IGC has the national emblem, the Ashok Chakra, engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other.
• The coin carries advanced anti-counterfeit features and comes in tamper-proof packaging.
• The current denominations available are 5, 10 and 20 gm. IGC is the first ever national gold offering by the Centre and was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 5.
• IGC in Delhi was launched in the presence of Alok Pande, Director in the Department of Financial Services, Finance Ministry, and Anand Trivedi, Director (PMS), MMTC, besides other senior officials.
• This gold coin is minted by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd and hallmarked by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Quick Link – IOB is first sell Indian gold coins

INDIAN AFFAIRS

India signed $35 million loan agreement with WB for MP project

The Government of India has signed a loan agreement with the World Bank for Madhya Pradesh citizen access to responsive services project.

• The loan has been sanctioned by the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm International Development Association (IDA).
• The project size is 50 million dollars, of which 35 million dollar will be financed by the World Bank and the remaining amount will be funded out of State Budget.
• The objective of the project is to improve access and quality of public services in the state through implementation of the Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act, 2010.
•  The duration of the project is 5 years.
• Madhya Pradesh is situated in the central region of India and that’s why it is called the Heartland State.
• It has the largest reserves of diamond and copper in India as Madhya Pradesh is rich in mineral resources.
• The total land area of Madhya Pradesh is 308,252 sq. km. Madhya Pradesh holds 2^nd rank in area wise.
• Madhya Pradesh came into being on 1 November 1956. It was reorganised on 1 November 2000 to create a new Chhattisgarh state.

Quick Link – WB for MP project

Government cuts PPF interest rate from 8.7% to 8.1%

The government has slashed interest rates payable on small savings including Public Provident Fund and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) in a bid to align them closer to market rates.

• The interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will be cut to 8.1 per cent for the period April 1 to June 30, from 8.7 per cent, at present.
• Similarly, the interest rate on KVP will be cut to 7.8 per cent from 8.7 per cent.
• While the interest rate on post office savings has been retained at 4 per cent, the same for term deposits of one to five years has been cut.
• The popular five-year National Savings Certificates will earn an interest rate of 8.1 per cent from April 1 as against 8.5 per cent, at present.
• A five-year Monthly Income Account will fetch 7.8 per cent as opposed to 8.4 per cent now.
• Girl-child saving scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Account will see interest rate of 8.6 per cent as against 9.2 per cent.
• Senior citizen savings scheme of five-year would earn 8.6 per cent interest compared with 9.3 per cent.
• Post Office term deposits of one, two and three years command an interest rate of 8.4 per cent but from April 1, a 1-year Time Deposit will get 7.1 per cent, 2-year Time Deposit will earn 7.2 per cent and 3-Year Time Deposit will attract interest of 7.4 per cent.
• Five-year Time Deposit will fetch 7.9 per cent interest in the first quarter as against 8.5 per cent, while the same on five-year recurring deposit has been

Quick Link – PPF from 8.7% – 8.1%

Andhra Pradesh gets India’s first state-wide broadband project

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched the first phase of Fiber Grid project to provide broadband connectivity at cheap rate.

• Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with Cisco as part of the inauguration of India’s first statewide broadband project ‘AP FiberNet‘ in Visakhapatnam.
• Naidu said that digital transformation was the most transformative means to ignite sustainable growth and improve society.
• His government’s aim was to provide Internet connection to all households in the state as part of Digital India campaign.
• Under the project, Internet connections would be provided at cheap rate in districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram by April. It will cover the rest of the state by end of July this year.
• Under the project, 15Mbps broadband connection will be provided at Rs. 149 per month to households and 100Mbps connection for offices at Rs. 999 per month. Electrical poles will be used to lay overhead fibre net cable instead of underground cable to save on the cost.
• Executive chairman of Cisco John T Chambers said Cisco will set up an Internet of Everything (IoE) Innovation Centre in Visakhapatnam to foster regional innovation and will enable partners and startups to build solutions around IoE and engage in rapid prototyping.

Quick Link – India’s first state-wide broadband project

Ford Foundation free from Government’s watch list

The Indian government has quietly taken US non-profit Ford Foundation off its watch list. The move comes only days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the US to meet with President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this month.

• The Home Ministry has already issued orders to take the Foundation off the so-called ‘prior permission’ list.
• What this means is that banks will no longer have to seek permission from the Finance Ministry before processing foreign fund flows from the US-based Foundation to any Indian bank account.
• Based on a report by the Gujarat government last year, the Ministry had put Ford Foundation on the watch list, citing “national security”.
• According to the Gujarat government report, the non-profit funded the “anti-India” activities of Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust run by activist Teesta Setalvad who has been fighting the government on behalf of minority community victims of the 2002 communal riots in that state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state at the time.
• Ford Foundation in 2015 complied with the government’s condition to register itself under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) which allows it to receive foreign funding.

Quick Link – Ford Foundation

Modi will inaugurate Krishi Unnati Mela

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tomorrow (19 March) inaugurate three-day ‘Krishi Unnati Mela’ providing information on new farm schemes and technologies that will help farmers double their incomes within the next few years.

• The mela, or fair, is being held at the Pusa campus in the national capital.
• Modi will give away ‘Krishi Karman Awards’ to states and progressive farmers who have made outstanding contribution in the field of agriculture. He will also visit the theme pavilion and address farmers.
• To reach out to farmers at the block level across the country, the whole event would be telecast live at block panchayat level for the first time.
• The national fair, from March 19-21, will have separate workshops on key schemes like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana, e-agriculture marketing, integrated farming system, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojan, soil health and livestock issues.
• There will be live demonstration of agriculture and horticultural crops, animal husbandry, innovative technologies and farm mechanisation in big plots.
• Both public and private companies will display their farm inputs and technologies in over 500 stalls.

Quick Link – Krishi Unnati Mela

FENI is now Goa’s Heritage Spirit

Goa government classified the country liquor, Feni as Heritage Spirit of Goa.  Feni is the form of spirit produced exclusively in the coastal state.

• Feni is the first liquor product in the country to obtain such status and got its Geographical Indication (GI) certification in 2000.
• It used in various cultural traditions, cuisines and is well known for its medicinal value also. Hence, the Government opined not categorise it as country liquor as it is presently defined under the Goa Excise Duty Act, 1964 and proposed to bring an amendment to the Act.

Feni is a brew made from coconut or cashew fruits and is synonymous with the Goan ethos and identity.

• Feni (sometimes spelled fenny or fenim) is a spirit produced exclusively in Goa, India.
• There are two types of feni; cashew feni and coconut feni, depending on the original ingredient.
• Feni is classified as a “country liquor”, and is therefore not allowed to be sold outside the state of Goa.

Quick Link – Feni

SC allows photos of governor, CM, ministers in ads

The Supreme Court allowed the publication of the photos of governor, chief minister and the ministers of the department concerned in government advertisements.

• The apex court bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi allowed the publication of photos of governor, chief minister and ministers of departments concerned while modifying their earlier order by which the court had permitted photos of president, prime minister and Chief Justice of India only in the government ads.
• The centre and the states of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka had moved the court seeking the review of its earlier order, contending that it was contrary to the federal structure of the country.
• Before in the verdict Calling it an “antithesis to democracy” to let political functionaries develop “personality cult” at the cost of public money, the Supreme Court ruled that photographs of only the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India can be published in newspapers and other media, including the Internet.

Quick Link – SC allows ads

ISRO signs MoU with Indian Railways

Aiming at effective use of space technology in remote sensing and graphic information system (GIS) based applications, Railways is set to join hands with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). An MoU will be signed between Railways and ISRO, under Department of Space, tomorrow for developing applications in the field of remote sensing and GIS.

• The MoU will enable use of space technology tools in providing passenger information for all trains, indicating next station/stoppage, real-time train-tracking, survey of new rail route alignments particularly in hilly and difficult terrains.
• It will also aid in conducting track vulnerability studies, mapping of assets, audio-visual warning to road users at unmanned level crossing gates and introduction of web-enabled rail user-centric services.
• Currently, Railways is using space technology for providing connectivity to Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and unreserved ticketing system at remote and non-rail head locations.

Quick Link – ISRO with IR

Surat, Beas cleanest railway stations in India: survey

Railway stations at Surat (Gujarat) and Beas (Punjab) have been adjudged the cleanest stations in a survey conducted by the Indian Railways across 407 stations.

• The preliminary report of the survey which was released by rail minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday was based on feedback of around 1.34 lakh passengers.
• The survey was conducted through interviews by survey teams across each of the 407 stations that fall under 16 zones.
• Every passenger was asked to rate the cleanliness of stations objectively on 40 different cleanliness parameters.
• Of the 407, 75 were so-called A1 stations (based on their traffic) and the rest A.
• The survey results for A1 category are: Surat (1); Rajkot (2), Bilaspur Junction (3), Solapur (4), Mumbai Central (5), Chandigarh (6), Bhubaneswar (7), Vadodara (8), Madurai (9) and New Jalpaiguri (10).
• For A category railway stations, the rankings are: Beas (1), Gandhidham in Ahmedabad (2), Vasco-da-Gama (3), Jamnagar (4), Kumbakonam (5), Nasik Road (6), Salem Jn (7), Ankleshwar (8), Kathgodam (9), Kovilpatti (10).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi’s railway station ranked poorly in terms of cleanliness as it stood at 65, among the 75 A-1 railway stations (those earning revenue more than Rs. 50 crore) surveyed.

Quick Link – Cleanest railway stations

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

World Sleep Day – Facts You Need to Know

The World Sleep Day is observed on Friday of the second full week of March. In 2016, the day falls on March 18. It is an annual event organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) since 2008.

• It is aimed to celebrate the benefits of good and healthy sleep and to draw society attention to the burden of sleep problems and their medicine, education and social aspects; to promote sleep disorders prevention and management.
• The World Sleep Day is being celebrated the world over under the supervision of the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM).
• The association has gone back to its old theme ‘Good sleep is a reachable dream’ this year.
• Duration- The length of sleep should be sufficient for the sleeper to be rested and alert the following day.
• Continuity- Sleep cycles should be seamless without interruption.
• Depth- Sleep should be deep enough or sufficiently sound to be restorative and refreshing.

Quick Link – World Sleep day

Brazil President appoints Lula as Chief of Staff

Brazilians have protested in several cities against President Dilma Rousseff after she named her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chief of Staff.

• In the capital Brasilia, riot police fired pepper spray at protesters outside the presidential palace.
• Lula is currently being investigated in a major corruption scandal.
• Brazil’s leader, who is herself facing impeachment proceedings, defended the appointment. She said Lula was a “skillful political negotiator” and experienced leader who would help kick off economic recovery.
• Lula was briefly detained and questioned earlier this month over allegations of money laundering connected to Operation Car Wash, a massive investigation into corruption at the state oil giant, Petrobras.
• He denies the allegations, saying they are aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2018.

Quick Link – Lula as Chief

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cisco to invest $100 million to support digitisation

Global IT company Cisco  announced a $100 million investment plan for India to support the next phase of digitisation in the country.

• The planned series of strategic investments include $40 million to fund early-stage and growth-stage companies in the country and train 250,000 students by 2020.
• The investment forms part of Cisco’s global ‘Country Digitisation Acceleration’ or CDA programme, under which the company will collaborate closely with state governments on strategic initiatives including the addition of six new innovation labs, three centres of expertise, funded university collaborations and skills investments.

“Digitisation goes beyond connectivity. With our increased investments in education and innovation, we are harnessing the power of technology to launch a generation of problem solvers who will innovate like technologists, think like entrepreneurs and act as social change agents”

Quick Link – CDA

Freecharge allows payments via chat in 5 seconds

Mobile wallet and digital payments player FreeCharge has announced the launch of its ‘Çhat and Pay‘ feature. The company said this feature enables social payments between users and merchants.

• The chat-based payments interface will let merchants accept payments using the FreeCharge app in under a minute of registration,merchants will also be able to upgrade their payment limit of Rs. 1,00,000 with necessary KYC verification.
• FreeCharge is looking to bring on board neighbourhood small shopkeepers, Taxi services and merchants from the unorganised sector using the service, which brings a buyer – seller chat interface for merchants.
• To accept payments, merchants must register their bank account number, geo-location and choose a custom identifier, called a paytag to allow customers to identify their service area through their FreeCharge app.
• Merchants can start accepting digital payments in less than a minute after registering on the FreeCharge app, and the chat-based payment feature has a five second transaction time, the company said.

Quick Link – FreeCharge app

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Magicbricks acquires Bengaluru-based Properji

Realty portal Magicbricks.com has acquired property analysis platform Properji.com for an undisclosed amount and plans to come up with reports for more than 10,000 projects in six metros that would help prospective buyers in taking right decision.

• Properji.com, which started its operation in 2013, has presence in Bengaluru. The start-up provides detailed research to buyers and has prepared reports for about 100 projects.
• Magicbricks.com has acquired Invact Technologies, which runs Properji.com.
• Magicbricks.com is a leading realty portal and is owned by Magicbricks Realty Services Ltd which is a subsidiary of Times Internet Ltd. The portal has over 80,000 projects and over 1.2 million listings.
• The acquisition would help Magicbricks to strengthen its consumer proposition by offering in-depth information and analysis of projects that help consumers to choose the project that best suits their needs.
• As for Magicbricks, it is a realty portal and is owned by Magicbricks Realty Services Ltd which is a subsidiary of Times Internet Ltd.
• Currently, the portal has over 80,000 projects and over 1.2 Mn listings.
• Magicbricks with IIM Bangalore launched the Housing Sentiment Index.
•  In this collaboration of two leaders from Academia and Industry- the co-branded “MB-IIMB Housing Sentiment Index”, is all set to capture the

Quick Link – Properji

SPORTS

TCS named official tech partner for London Marathon

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s leading IT services provider, announced a three year partnership with the Virgin Money London Marathon to enhance the digital experience delivered to marathon participants.

• Under the terms of the partnership, TCS will become the race’s Official Technology Partner for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 events.
• First established in 1981, and part of the World Marathon Majors, the Virgin Money London Marathon is considered one of the world’s foremost marathons.
• A record total of 247,069 people entered the ballot for the 2016 race.
• This year’s race is also set to see a major milestone, with the London Marathon’s one millionth finisher crossing the finish line on The Mall, said the company in a release.
• TCS already partners with seven of the world’s leading races, including title sponsorships of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, TCS New York City marathon, and TCS World 10k Bengaluru.

Quick Link – TCS for London Marathon

OBITUARY

Former Mossad Director Meir Dagan passes away

Meir Dagan, the former longtime chief of Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, has died of cancer at the age of 71.

• Dagan joined the Israeli army in 1963 as a paratrooper and commanded a company in the Sinai desert during the war in 1967.
• In 1970, under command of then-army leader Ariel Sharon, Dagan formed the Sayeret Rimon, a unit of soldiers disguised as Arab locals that worked in the Gaza Strip to locate Palestinian fighters.
• Dagan directed the Mossad from 2002 to 2011.
• Under his leadership, the spy agency reportedly carried out covert attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists and unleashed cyber-attacks, including the Stuxnet virus that delayed the Iranian nuclear programme.
• After he stepped down, Dagan was a fierce opponent of a military strike in Iran. He openly criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the recently implemented nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
• Born in 1945 in Ukraine to Holocaust survivors, Dagan reached the rank of general in the Israeli army.

Quick Link – Meir Dagan passes away

Famous magician Paul Daniels passed away

World famous magician Paul Daniels has passed away at the age of 77 due to brain tumour. 

• Britain’s most famous magician, Daniels rose to international fame through his long-running BBC programme The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran from 1979 to 1994.
• He famously married his long-time assistant, Debbie McGee, in 1988.
• Born Newton Edwards Daniels in Middlesbrough in 1938, Daniels later said he became interested in magic as a young child – but only turned professional in 1969 with a summer season in Newquay.
• In his later years, Daniels and his wife toured the country with magic and comedy shows, entertaining old fans and new generations alike with his skills.

One of the most popular magicians of the 20th century, with success that was unrivalled in the magic and entertainment worlds, he spent his final days at home with his family. Ms McGee, who married Daniels in 1988, said the main qualities which attracted her to her husband were his humour and his ‘unselfish’ way of celebrating other talent.

Quick Link – Paul Daniels passed away

Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂