15 November 2017 Current Affairs
Aditi, first Indian to qualify for LPGA Tour Championships
Aditi Ashok has qualified for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship on the LPGA, becoming the first from the country to play in the prestigious meet. The 19-year-old prodigy from Bengaluru is one of the eight rookies to make it to the Tour Championships in what is one of the strongest fields in women’s golf.
15th Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team Conference held in India
The 15th Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Conference was held in New Delhi. It is first ever conference to be held in India and South Asia. It was organised by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the aegis of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
Founding ceremony of International Solar Alliance held in Germany
A Curtain Raiser Event for the Founding Ceremony of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in Bonn, Germany. Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was present at the event from the Indian side.
China launches world’s first fully electric cargo ship
China has launched world’s first fully electric cargo ship in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. This 2000-metric-ton ship is the first in the world to use lithium battery. The ship was manufactured by the Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Ltd. The ship is presently running in the inland section of the Pearl River.
India, US, Japan, Australia hold first quad talks on Indo-Pacific Cooperation
India, the United States, Japan and Australia held their first official-level talks in Manila, Philippines with a focus on keeping the India-Pacific region “free and open”. After the meeting, India, Australia and Japan issued separate statements listing the Indo-Pacific as the major area of the deliberations and resolved to expand cooperation to uphold a rules-based order and respect for international law in the strategically important region.
Anand Kumar of Super 30 is Awarded Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award for 2017
Anand Kumar of Super 30 programme awarded to Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award for this year. He was awarded this honor from our President Ram Nath Kovind felicitated the teacher who guided taught and mentored many underprivileged students from Bihar to crack the prestigious IIT JEE examination.
Saudi Arabia recognizes Yoga as Sport
The Saudi Arabian government approved the practice of yoga as a sports activity, claimed a social media post of Nouf Marwaai, founder of the Arab Yoga Foundation in the Saudi kingdom. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recognized the practice of Yoga as an approved sport, which can be practiced freely there.
Virtual Nation Asgardia launched its first Satellite Asgardia-1 into Space
The Space Kingdom of Asgardia has launched its first satellite. This so-called ‘virtual nation’ is the pet project of Russian scientist and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli. In 2016, he proposed a new nation which would be based in space in order to be outside of the control of nations on Earth. The Asgardia-1 satellite, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, and contains half a terabyte of data. It was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia aboard a Cygnus spacecraft on an Orbital ATK Antares rocket.
Vijay Prasad Dimri appointed President of 36th Intl Geological Congress
Scientist Vijay Prasad Dimri has been appointed as the president of the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC), a global platform for the advancement of earth science, to be held in 2020. He has replaced Shailesh Nayak. India, along with its co-host neighboring countries Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, and Pakistan won the bid to host the 36th IGC in the National Capital Region from March 2 -8, 2020.
Slovenia’s President wins second term in runoff election
Slovenia’s President Borut Pahor wins Second Term in Runoff Election. He received nearly 53 percent of votes. His rival, Marjan Sarec, the former actor and mayor of a small town north received a little more than 47 percent of the vote.
India’s global rank up to 14th for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
India is ranked 14th in this year’s Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018 out of 56 nations and the European Union by environmental organisation Germanwatch, an improvement from its 20th position last year, for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by opting to transform its electricity sector towards green technology. The top three rankings are unoccupied as the report says no country is on a Paris-compatible path yet that aims to keep the average global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celcius. Sweden ranks fourth in this year’s CCPI, following the empty top three.
Indonesian beauty queen crowned Miss International 2017
Indonesia’s Kevin Lilliana was crowned Miss International 2017 at an event held at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. Lilliana also won the award for being the best dressed contestant.
Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and K. Raghvendra Rao win NTR Award
Veteran actors Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and film director K. Raghvendra Rao have bagged the NTR National Film Awards for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Andhra Pradesh government announced the Nandi state film award winners and also the winners of the NTR, B. N. Reddy, Nagi Reddy-Chakrapani (all national) and Raghupathi Venkaiah film awards. Directors S.S. Rajamouli, Trivikram Srinivas and Boyapati Srinivas won the BN Reddy Award.