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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 August 2014

Great expectations from Modi’s Japan trip

India has “great expectations” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five-day visit to Japan, his first bilateral trip outside the subcontinent
Underlining the importance of the East Asian region, Mr. Modi’s visit to Japan will be followed by a Vietnam trip by President Pranab Mukherjee in September.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj just concluded a visit to Vietnam.
Top business leaders, including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla, will travel separately to Japan in visits timed to coincide with high-level business interactions Mr. Modi will initiate with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe.

The report, ‘An Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham,’ was commissioned by the Rotherham Borough Council.
Presented by its lead author Alexis Jay on August 26, the report puts the numbers of child victims of predatory gangs of sexual offenders at 1400, “on a conservative estimate,” over the period of the inquiry’s brief, from 1997 to 2013.
It paints a picture of a dysfunctional local administration in which the channels of communication between the police, child protection coordinators, and elected Councillors had broken down, resulting in a collective failure to take action on what at least three previous inquiries, in 2002, 2003, and 2006 had established.

The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) led by Kuldeep Bishnoi announced that it was ending its three-year partnership with the BJP.
Amid indications that Mr. Bishnoi is likely to cobble together a political front comprising smaller parties, he announced an alliance with the Haryana Jan Chetna Party led by former Minister Venod Sharma for the coming Assembly elections.
This leaves the BJP without an ally in Haryana. However, BJP has already indicated that with seven of the 10 Lok Sabha seats under its belt, it was going to make a bid for the Assembly on its own.

German luxury carmaker BMW, launched the updated version of its sports utility vehicle X3.
The new X3 is available only in diesel option, and is being locally produced at the company’s Chennai plant.

The eighth edition of the World University squash championship will be hosted by Squash Rackets Federation of India at the ISA courts, Chennai from September 1 to 7, in association with the Association of Indian Universities.

Wearing of helmets for women riding pillion has now been made mandatory in the Capital, with exemption granted only to Sikh women.
The law has come into effect with the government making amendments to rule 115 of the Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993.
Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung had earlier given the go-ahead to the proposal.
According to the Delhi Transport Department, 576 two-wheeler riders lost their lives in accidents in the city in 2012 and head injuries were the main cause of death. “The main risk factor for motorised two-wheeler users is non-use of helmets.