IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS
OF APRIL 17th, 2019
IMPORTANT
CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 17th, 2019
1.
(17th April) is World Hemophilia Day.
a. This day aims
at raising awareness about haemophilia and other inherited bleeding
disorders.
b. Haemophilia - a rare blood disease in which blood continues to flow after a cut or other injury because one of
the substances which causes it to clot does not work correctly.
c. Theme
of World Hemophilia Day 2019 : “Reaching Out: The First Step to Care”
2.
India and Pakistan today held a technical meeting to
discuss the modalities for the Kartarpur corridor.
a. The two sides
discussed the installation of a border fence and road design.
b. India has
postponed the second round of official talks, seeking Pakistan's response after
it appointed Khalistani separatist Gopal Singh Chawla to the Kartarpur panel.
3.
US President Donald Trump vetoed a bill
passed by Congress to end the US' involvement in Yemen's civil
war.
a. It's only the
second time Trump has used his presidential veto since he assumed office in
2017.
4.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised
alarm over a 300 percent increase in the case
of Measles globally in the 1st quarter of 2019
compared with last year.
a. The UN body
said provisional data has indicated a a clear trend, with all regions of the
world seeing outbreaks.
b. So far this
year, 170 countries have reported 112,163 measles cases to WHO.
5.
In Bangladesh, the historic Mujibnagar day is
being observed today.
a. The day marks
the oath taking ceremony of Bangladesh's 1st government in
1971 at Baidyanathtala in Meherpur.
6.
The Ministry of External Affairs has set up an Indo-Pacific
division in the foreign office.
a. The
Indo-pacific division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the
Indo-Pacific policy articulated by PM Narendra Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue
in 2018.
b. Head of
Indo-Pacific Wing : Vikram Doraiswami.
7.
Seychelles President Danny Faure delivered a
speech from deep below the ocean’s surface.
a. During this
speech, he made a global plea for stronger protection of the
Oceans which are beating blue heart of our planet.
8.
India has convened a meeting of 25 developing member nations of
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on May 13-14 in New Delhi.
a. The meeting
is expected to come out with a declaration on critical issues including ‘special
and differential treatment’ for developing nations and impasse over the
appointment of members to the appellate body of dispute settlement.
b. The other
issues that could figure in the meeting include fishery subsidies and public
stockholding in agriculture, they said.
9.
Mahavir Jayanti, the birth anniversary of 24th and last Jain
Tirthankar Lord Mahavir is being celebrated across the country
today.
a. It is one of
the most sacred days for Jain people.
b. The followers
of Lord Mahavir celebrate this festival by chanting prayers, offering Prasad
and participating in chariot processions.
10.In the wake of the
Pulwama terror attack, the government has granted emergency powers to
the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force to
procure weapons and military hardware in order to enhance their
operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan.
a. The threshold
granted to the forces for each proposal is around ₹300 crore.
11.Nearly 50 lakh
men in India lost their jobs between 2016-2018, a report titled 'State
of Working India' by Azim Premji University has claimed, highlighting the
"beginning of the decline" coincided with "demonetisation"
exercise.
a. The report
also said that these unemployed people were mostly youths.
12.Chinese video-sharing
application TikTok has been removed from Google
Play Store and Apple App Store in India, after the
government's direction.
a. This comes
after Supreme Court rejected TikTok's owner's plea to stay a
Madras High Court order for a ban on the video-sharing app.
b. The high
court had observed that the app hosts inappropriate content and is
"encouraging pornography".
13.NASA's planet-hunting
telescope TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
has found its 1st Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a star about
53 light-years from Earth, which is also its smallest-yet identified
exoplanet.
a. The planet,
named HD 21749c, takes about eight days to orbit its star,
scientists revealed.
b. TESS has also
found a sub-Neptune exoplanet HD 21749b, which takes 36 days to
complete an orbit around its star.
14.The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has put into circulation 50 rupees denomination
banknotes signed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
a. The design of
these notes is similar in all respects to 50 banknotes in Mahatma
Gandhi new series.
15.The UN owes $38
million (over ₹264 crore) to India for
peacekeeping operations as of March 2019, the highest it owes to any
country, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a report while
expressing concern over the body's financial situation.
a. Note : India has
suffered the highest number of fatalities among countries that have sent forces
to UN peacekeeping missions since 1948.
16.Pakistan has reached
an "agreement in principle" with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) over a bailout program which will be worth $6-$8 billion.
a. Pakistan
would receive funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank immediately
following the IMF bailout.
b. This will be
Pakistan's 13th IMF bailout since the late 1980s.
17.US President Donald Trump
has announced that he will award golfer Tiger Woods with
the Presidential Medal of Freedom (America's highest
civilian honour).
a. This comes
after Woods won his 5th Masters title and
15th major title on Sunday, his first major win in 11 years.
18.3 teams from
India have won awards at the NASA’s annual Human
Exploration Rover Challenge which invites high school and college
students to build and test roving vehicles for future missions to the Moon,
Mars and beyond.
a. Team from
KIET Group of Institutions (Ghaziabad) : AIAA Neil Armstrong
Best Design Award
b. Team from
Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering (Mumbai) : Frank Joe
Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award
c. Team from
Lovely Professional University (Phagwara) : STEM Engagement
Award
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