1. Mysuru emerges as the cleanest city in India
(i) As per the recently released results of a survey conducted to assess the positive impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission, Mysore has emerged as the cleanest city in India followed by Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli.
(ii) The survey, which was conducted in 73 cities with 10 lakh and above population, revealed that cities in south and east India have effectively implemented the Swachh Bharat Mission as compared to cities in north and west India. Dhanbad was found to be the dirtiest of all cities.
(iii) The 10 dirtiest cities include three cities from Uttar Pradesh – Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The study was conducted by Quality Council of India, involving 25 teams, 100 trained surveyors for document verification, field observation and obtaining feedback from citizens.
2. US- ASEAN Summit kick-starts in California
(i) The US President Barack Obama recently kicked-off the summit meeting with leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations, in California.
(ii) The objective of this summit is to address the problems concerning maritime security in the South China Sea, where China is increasing its stronghold.
(iii) President Obama said that few regions present more opportunities in the 21st century than the Asia Pacific, and restated his country’s aim to strengthen ties in the economic and security spheres.
(iv) Obama and leaders of the 10 member nations of the regional bloc are likely to discuss the growth of trade ties through the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, significance of freedom of navigation on the seas and territorial disputes, etc.
3. India signs MoU with Sweden for technical cooperation in Railways
(i) The Indian government signed an MoU for technical cooperation with the government of Sweden in the railways sector.
(ii) The collaboration aims to enhance efficiency and sustainability in order to achieve substantial results as regards bilateral trade, investment, research and technology transfer.
(iii) The provisions of the MoU enable exchange of information, technical expertise, innovation, technology, sustainable solutions and research. Both India and Sweden will work to standardise policy development, regulations and organisation, among others for their respective railways.
4. Israel’s ex-PM Ehud Olmert sentenced to 18 months imprisonment
(i) Ex-Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert began his 18-month sentence in a corruption case. He was convicted in March 2014 of taking bribes to promote a contentious real estate in Jerusalem when he was Mayor of the city and the trade minister. He became the first Israeli PM to be imprisoned.
(ii) Olmert, 70, was forced to resign in 2009 in the middle of the last serious round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. He has, however, rejected all the allegation levelled against him.
(iii) Israel’s robust judicial system also sent ex-president Moshe Katsav to prison in 2011. He is now serving a seven-year prison term for rape.
5. Deadly yellow fever outbreak kills 51 in Angola
(i) A deadly outbreak of yellow fever in Angola has killed 51 people and infected 241 others.
(ii) This is the first epidemic of the disease to affect the south African country in the last 30 years. More than 450,000 people have been vaccinated in the capital city of Luanda.
(iii) There is no symptom-specific treatment for the viral haemorrhagic disease which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Angola lies in the yellow fever belt of Africa and poor sanitation has been cited as the main reason for the outbreak.
6. Australia seizes liquid meth worth $900 million
(i) Recently, the Australian police seized 1.26 billion Australian dollars’ ($900 million) worth of methylamphetamine drug, which was found hidden in shipments of silicon bra inserts and art supplies. This is the country’s largest bust of the illicit drug in its liquid form.
(ii) In this regard, four Hong Kong passport holders were arrested in Sydney over the import from China of 720 litres of the drug, commonly called ice in Australia.
(iii) The nation’s Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the operation used information gathered through new cooperation between the Australian Federal Police and China’s National Narcotics Control Commission.
7. PNB declares Mallya’s United Breweries Ltd. as a wilful defaulter
(i) Recently, Punjab National Bank declared United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd., wherein Vijay Mallya holds a majority stake, as a “wilful defaulter”.
(ii) As per the company’s statement, “The company is in consultation with its legal counsels to challenge the decision by taking appropriate legal action that may be required in this regard.”
(iii) Previously, State Bank of India had declared Mallya as a wilful defaulter after discussions to get UB Group chairman to repay debts of Rs.8,700 crore to a 17-bank consortium failed.
(iv) Mallya had pledged his shares in United Breweries, United Spirits and United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd to banks against which loans were extended to Kingfisher Airlines.
8. Justice Waghela sworn in as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court
(i) Justice Dheerendra Hiralal Waghela was recently sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao. The swearing in ceremony was held at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan.
(ii) Previously Justice Waghela served as the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and he succeeds Justice Mohit Shah, who retired on September 8, 2015.
(iii) In the meantime, Justice Vijaya Tahilramani had served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.
9. Snapdeal raises $ 200 million
(i) Indian e-commerce platform Snapdeal raised $200 million led by the Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Snapdeal aims to increase investments in logistics and infrastructure in the domestic e-commerce sector.
(ii) The fundraising has come at a time when there’s increasing concern about incremental funding among Indian start-ups.
(iii) Presently, Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal are the top players in India’s e-commerce market, which is estimated to be worth $220 billion by value of goods sold by 2025.
10. Indian women’s football team bags gold at12th SAG
(i) Recently, the Indian women’s football team defeated Nepal 4-0 in the finals held in Shillong to claim the gold at the 12th South Asian Games (SAG). Kamala Devi scored two goals of the total four; Bala Devi and Ashalata Devi were other goal scorers.
(ii) The 12th South Asian Games witnessed a participation of 2,500 athletes from South Asian nations like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.
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