Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 April 2015

:: National ::

Fresh tremors jolt various States, toll 62

• Fresh tremors were felt in the northern and eastern parts of India, including in Delhi, sparking panic even as the death toll in the country rose to 62.

• The tremors triggered by a strong 6.7 magnitude aftershock epicentred in Nepal were experienced in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi for over 30 seconds beginning 12-42 p.m. There were reports of people scurrying for safety in several cities and towns.

• The government announced a compensation of Rs.6 lakh to the kin of those killed in the country due to the quake as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the rescue and relief operations both at home and in Nepal at a review meeting and directed that they be speeded up through close coordination among agencies.

• At a joint news conference, top officials, who included Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Home Secretary L. C. Goyal, said the death toll in India stood at 62 and the number of injured was 259. On Saturday, 51 deaths were reported.

• Giving the break-up, Mr. Goyal said Bihar accounted for 46 deaths while the other deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh(13), West Bengal(2) and Rajasthan(one). A minor girl in Rajasthan was among those killed in fresh tremors on Sunday when a hut collapsed at Roniza village in Bharatpur district.

• As many as eight aftershocks have been felt in Bihar in the past 24 hours since a high-intensity earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked Nepal and adjoining countries claiming over 2,000 lives, a MeT official said in Patna.

• Out of 38 aftershocks emanating from the epicentre of the earthquake in Nepal since Saturday, eight have been felt in Bihar, measuring between 5.5 and 6.9 on the Richter scale, Patna MeT Director A.K. Sen said.

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:: International :

Toll hits 2,400 as rain stalls rescue

• Rain and fresh tremors compounded Nepal’s agony, hampering the search for survivors of Saturday’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake that has killed over 2,400 people, including five Indians, and left more than 6,000 injured. With no electricity, capital Kathmandu looked a ghost town with rain pounding the city, forcing the closure of the airport where chaotic scenes were witnessed with stranded foreign tourists desperate to go home.

• Earlier in the day, fresh powerful aftershocks triggered panic among the stricken people and caused avalanches on Mt. Everest which had on Saturday taken a toll of 22 lives.

• A strong 6.7-magnitude aftershock followed by another measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale, sent people scrambling for open spaces.

• Earlier, with the clock ticking away, rescuers frantically cleared mounds of flattened homes and buildings in search of survivors.

• According to the Kathmandu-based National Emergency Operation Centre, 1,053 people were killed in Kathmandu Valley alone. Mass cremations were held here as the death toll continued to climb throughout the day. Forty of the 75 districts in Nepal have been affected, some of them severely, especially in the central and eastern hilly regions.

• The government declared an emergency in the affected areas and announced a relief package of 500 million Nepal rupees.

• The country has appealed to India and China and other governments for help in relief and rehabilitation. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who cut short his visit to Indonesia, arrived in the capital.

• Hospitals are near breaking point with the heavy influx of the injured. Some families lost more than one member in the calamity.

• Local media reported that 200 foreign tourists had gone missing in the quake-triggered avalanche in the Himalayas.

• Ekantipur.com, a news website, reported that 22 bodies were brought to the capital. Sixty-one tourists have been rescued.

• Thirty-two of them have been brought to Kathmandu and 29 are being treated in a hospital in Lukla.

Ukraine marks 29 years since Chernobyl

• Ukrainians marked 29 years since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, laying wreaths and candles near the plant where work to lay a new seal over the reactor site has been delayed.

• The explosion of reactor number four on April 26, 1986, spewed poisonous radiation over large parts of Europe, particularly Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

• At the site of the plant itself, around 100 km from Kiev, Ukraine’ President Poroshenko laid a wreath at a monument to the victims.

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:: Sports ::

Super Kings embarrass Kings XI

• After failing three times against Kings XI Punjab in the last season, including the eliminator that scuttled its chances of a fourth straight final, it was payback time for Chennai Super Kings as it thrashed last year’s runner-up by 97 runs to record its fifth win this season.

• With this, the two-time champion climbs to the top of the table alongside Rajasthan Royals with 10 points from six matches, though the latter has played one game more. It was a listless performance from Kings XI, especially in the field.

Two golds for India

• India won a gold and a bronze in the recently-held Asian Indoor rowing championship in Pattaya (Thailand).

• Dushyant Singh and Succha Singh Tomar bagged the gold in the 2000m men’s light weight pairs category.

• In the 2000m men’s open-pair event, Om Prakash and Rajesh Verma settled for a bronze with a timing of 6:22.50. This is the first time the Indians were competing in an indoor event.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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