(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 May 2015

:: National ::

PM’s visit to 18 countries in one year ‘unprecedented’: CPI(M)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to 18 countries in a short span of one year is “unprecedented”, the CPI(M) said.
“It needs to be noted that Prime Minister Modi visited 18 countries during the last one year. This is unprecedented for any Prime Minister during such a short span of time,” party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said here after the first meeting of its newly-elected Polit Bureau.
He said Mr. Modi was “obviously making up for the time he had lost for being denied visas. His meetings with NRIs is an extension of his being in election mode“.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s attacks on the Opposition on foreign soil, Mr. Yechury said: “When we go on foreign visits as an Opposition, we ensure that we maintain the dignity of India. He appears to be in continuation of the election mode. What he says about the Opposition on foreign soil, such comments are not expected.”
The two-day Polit Bureau meeting took note of Mr. Modi’s visit to China saying it has always supported the improvement of India-China relations that “will result in mutual beneficial consequences for both the countries“.
It said the visit was part of “the continuation of this process of strengthening bilateral relations with China and people to people contacts.”
However, it would carry out a detailed analysis of the texts of the agreements arrived at between the two countries.
The two sides signed a record 24 agreements covering railways, mining, outer space, earthquake science and engineering, tourism, sister-cities and establishment of consulates in Chengdu and Chennai.
As many as 26 business agreements worth over $22 billion were also signed between Indian firms — including Adani group, Bharti Airtel and Welspun — and their Chinese counterparts during the visit.

Over 11,000 women to be recruited in central security forces

Over 11,000 women will soon be recruited in central security forces for combat duties such as border guarding and law and order assignments.
The government has already set in motion its plan to hire 8,533 women constables in paramilitary forces such as CRPF, BSF, CISF and ITBP.
Also, sanctions have been granted by the Union Home Ministry for raising 2,772 women personnel in the Sashastra Seema Bal by 2017.
“The recruitments are being done to take the representation of women in central forces to at least 5 per cent of the total strength in the coming days. At present, women constitute about 2.15 per cent of the total strength of these forces,” a senior officer said.
A special sanction has also been accorded to the CRPF to raise two exclusive women battalions within its establishment to bolster the strength of the existing three such units.
“The CRPF has tasked its women units with rendering extensive law and order duties apart from their recent and small-scale induction in anti-Naxal operations theatre in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. They are also being increasingly deployed for static guard duties and escorting pilgrims of Mansarovar and Amarnath yatras,” the officer said.
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will hold a three-tier examination for these posts with the stages being physical tests, written efficiency and medical tests.
Candidates, who have passed Class X and are between 18-23 years of age, are eligible to apply for these posts.
The expected salary for those hired would be around Rs 20,200 apart from other benefits that the government extends to the Central Armed Police Forces.

Mongolia gets $1-bn credit gift (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

Pope canonises two saints from 19th century Palestine

Pope Francis canonised two nuns from what was 19th century Palestine in hopes of encouraging Christians across West Asia who are facing a wave of persecution from Islamic extremists.
Sisters Mariam Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas were among four nuns who were made saints at a Mass in a sun-soaked St. Peter’s Square. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and an estimated 2,000 pilgrims from the region, some waving Palestinian flags, were on hand for the canonisation of the first saints from the Holy Land since the early years of Christianity.
Church officials are holding up Bawardy and Ghattas as a sign of hope and encouragement for Christians across the Mideast at a time when violent persecution and discrimination have driven many Christians from the region of Christ’s birth.
They were canonised alongside two other nuns, Saints Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve from France and Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception from Italy.
“Inspired by their example of mercy, charity and reconciliation, may the Christians of these lands look with hope to the future, following the path of solidarity and fraternal coexistence,” Pope Francis said of the women at the end of the Mass.
Bawardy was a mystic born in 1843 in the village of Ibilin in what is now the Galilee region of northern Israel. She is said to have received the “stigmata” bleeding wounds like those that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross and died at the age of 33 in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where she founded a Carmelite order monastery that still exists.
Ghattas, born in Jerusalem in 1847, opened girls’ schools, fought female illiteracy, and co-founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Rosary. The order today boasts dozens of centres all over the Middle East, from Egypt to Syria, that operate kindergartens, homes for the elderly, medical clinics and guest houses.
In his homily, Pope Francis praised Bawardy as having been “a means of encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world,” while Ghattas “shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of living lives of service to one another”.
“Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians,” he said.
The canonisation was celebrated in the Holy Land as well as by Palestinians in Rome. Bassam Abbas, a Palestinian-born doctor who has lived in Italy for 35 years, travelled from Civitavecchia, northwest of Rome, for the event with his wife and three children. They are Muslim, but their children go to a Catholic school.
“We are proud of this event,” Mr. Abbas said outside St. Peter’s Square as he waved a giant Palestinian flag. “We want peace for Palestine, peace which transcends religion.”
In addition to the Palestinian delegation on hand for the Mass, Israel sent a delegation headed by its ambassador to the Holy See, while France, Italy and Jordan also sent official delegations.
In the birthplace of Christianity, Christians make up less than 2 percent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Although they have not experienced the violent persecution that has decimated Christian communities elsewhere in the region, the population has gradually shrunk over the decades as Christians have fled conflict or sought better opportunities abroad.
Pope Francis has raised the plight of Christians across the Middle East as a cause for concern, denouncing how the Islamic State group has violently driven thousands of religious minorities from their homes in Syria and Iraq.

Kerry in South Korea to talk security, cyber issues

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in South Korea where he will be discussing security issues amid fresh fears of North Korean belligerence and delivering a speech on cyber policy.
Mr. Kerry arrived in Seoul from Beijing and will see top South Korean officials , less than a week after South Korea’s spy agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about the young ruler, talking back to him and sleeping during a meeting Kim presided over.
That allegation, if true, adds to concerns about the erratic nature of Kim’s rule, particularly after Pyongyang claimed last weekend it had successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine.
Those actions come despite a recent U.S. diplomatic overture to North Korea to discuss resuming de-nuclearization talks that have been stalled for the past three years. The U.S. quietly proposed a meeting with North Korea in January, before the U.S. and South Korea began annual military exercises that North Korea regards as a provocation. The two sides, however, failed to agree on who could meet and where.
In light of the new developments, Kerry plans to reiterate America’s ironclad commitment to the security of South Korea, U.S. officials said.
On Saturday in Beijing, Mr. Kerry expressed hope that the successful conclusion of a nuclear deal with Iran will send a positive message to North Korea to restart negotiations on its own atomic program. Kerry said he believed an Iran agreement could have “a positive influence” on North Korea, because it would show that giving up nuclear weapons improves domestic economies and ends isolation.
International negotiators are rushing to finalize a nuclear deal with Iran by the end of June under which Iran’s program would be curbed to prevent it from developing atomic weapons in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions that have crippled its economy.
Nuclear talks with North Korea, which has already developed atomic weapons despite previous attempts to forestall it, broke down three years ago as it has continued atomic tests and other belligerent behaviour, including ballistic missile launches.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is now believed to have at least 10 such weapons despite some of the toughest international sanctions in existence. It conducted its third nuclear test in February 2013, and U.S. based experts forecast that it could increase its nuclear arsenal to between 20 and 100 weapons by 2020.
In addition to talks on issues related to North Korea, Mr. Kerry in Seoul will be laying the groundwork for a visit to Washington in June of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
After his meetings on Monday, Mr. Kerry is to deliver a speech on cyber security and related issues. Both North Korea and China pose major cyber security challenges. South Korea has faced hacking attacks it has blamed on North Korea, and the United States accuses the North of being behind the massive attack on Sony Pictures last year that resulted in new U.S. sanctions.
Mr.Kerry will use the opportunity to lay out U.S. efforts to combat the threats and to stress the importance of a free and open internet, according to U.S. officials.

Xi says U.S.-China relations are stable (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business and Economy ::

U.S. luxury brands sue Alibaba

A group of luxury goods makers sued Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., contending the Chinese online shopping giant had knowingly made it possible for counterfeiters to sell their products throughout the world.
The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan Federal Court by Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands owned by Paris-based Kering SA seeking damages and an injunction for alleged violations of trademark and racketeering laws.
The lawsuit alleged that Alibaba had conspired to manufacture, offer for sale and traffic in counterfeit products bearing their trademarks without their permission.
A spokesman for Alibaba declined to comment.
Concerns over fake products on Alibaba’s platforms, including online marketplace Taobao, have dogged it for years, although the U.S. Trade Representative removed Taobao from its list of ‘notorious markets’ in 2012 in light of progress made.
The lawsuit cited, for example, an alleged fake Gucci bag offered for $2 to $5 each by a Chinese merchant to buyers seeking at least 2,000 units. The authentic Gucci bag retails for $795, the complaint said.
Alibaba has allowed for counterfeit sales to continue even when it had been expressly informed that merchants were selling fake products, the lawsuit said.

:: Sports ::

Ethiopia’s Geremew and Daska emerge victorious

Kenya’s stranglehold over the TCS World 10K was broken in absorbing fashion as Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew and Mamitu Daska emerged victorious.
The previous five men’s and three women’s winners had all come from Kenya but there was to be no encore.
Geremew finished in a time of 28:16, with compatriot Fikadu Seboka two seconds behind him. The pair ran a cautious race, not wishing to set the pace at any stage but making sure to stay within striking distance of the leader at all times. Edwin Kiptoo was third.
Kogo, the former world record holder and the pre-race favourite, was unable to find the same finishing kick and settled for fourth.
The winners earned $21,000 each in prize money while the top Indian finishers were awarded Rs. 2.5 lakh each.