20 March 2016 Current Affairs
EU, Turkey Agreement Comes into Effect
The agreement between the European Union (EU) and Turkey to tackle the migrant crisis has formally come into effect on 20 March 2016. Under this agreement, migrants arriving in Greece will be sent back to Turkey if their asylum claim is rejected.
China to build rail link to Nepal
“China on March 21 agreed to Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli’s request to build a strategic railway link between the two countries through Tibet to reduce land-locked Nepal’s total dependence on India.KP Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal arrived to Beijing on March 20 for seven day visit. He has signed 10 agreements during his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. This included a landmark transit treaty to end the near-total dependence on India for essential supplies.”
Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton 2016 Winners
“* Men’s Singles :- Ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy (World no 13) has won the prestigious 2016 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in the men’s single category. In the final match played on 20 March at Basel, Switzerland, he defeated Marc Zwiebler (World no 7) of Germany. It was his second Grand Prix Gold title after the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold won in 2014.
* Women’s Singles :- He Bingjiao from China won the title by defeating Wang Yihan from China
* Men’s Doubles :- Denmark pair of Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen won the title by defeating Chinese Taipei pair of Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-hsin
* Women’s Doubles :- Japanese pair of Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito won the title by defeating Japanese pair of Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao “
Nico Rosberg Won 2016 Australian Grand Prix
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany on 20 March won the 2016 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of 2015 Australian Grand Prix, secured the second place in the race.
Gurmeet Singh Won Gold at Asian Racewalking Championships
Gurmeet Singh on 20 March 2016 became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the Asian 20 Kilometer (km) Race Walk Championships.His feat was the first time in 34 years that an Indian won a gold in either an Asian Championships or Asian Games in this event. Hakam Singh and Chand Ram won a Gold medal each in 20-km road walk in 1978 and 1982 Asian Games respectively. Since then, no Indian won a Gold medal at the continental level in this event. Gurmeet Singh took 1 hour 20 minutes and 29 seconds to complete the race while his close competitor Isamu Fujisawa of Japan took 1:20:49 with close fight in the last 5-km. Georgiy Sheiko of Kazakhstan won the bronze medal in 1:21:52.
World’s Largest Aircraft Airlander 10 Unveiled
“The world’s largest aircraft has been unveiled on 22 March for the first time since being fully assembled in the UK. The 302ft (92m) long Airlander 10 – part plane, part airship – was floated in a First World War hangar in Bedfordshire. It was first developed for the US government as a long-endurance surveillance aircraft but it fell foul of defence cutbacks.The Airlander 10, which uses helium to become airborne, can travel at a speed of 92mph (148km/h). It is 143ft (44m) wide and 85ft (26m) high. British firm Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) launched a campaign to return the Airlander 10 to the skies in May 2015.”