Zinginfomedia.com April 2017 Current Affairs INTERNATIONAL Former Iranian President disqualified from President Elections Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been disqualified from running in next month’s Presidential elections. His name was left out of the final list of approved candidates, that was announced on 20 April, 2017. The decision was taken by the Guardian Council, a group of influential jurists and clerics that was charged with the responsibility of screening the candidates for the upcoming elections, which were scheduled to be held on 19 May, 2017. China to host BRICS Film Festival in June The 2017 BRICS Film Festival will be held in Chengdu, South West China’s Sichuan Province from June 23 to 27. There will be 30 films from BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Screened during the festival, including an anthology by five directors from the aforementioned countries. The feature film consisting of five 18 minute shorts on the same theme is a joint work by walter Salles from Brazil, Aleksey Fedorchenko from Russia, Madhur Bhandarkar from India, Jahmil X.T. Qubeka from South Africa and Jia Zhangke from China. Philippine President Duterte wins Time 100 Reader Poll Zinginfomedia.com Rodrigo Duterte, the President of Philippines has won this year’s Time Magazine’s Readers Readers Poll of the 100 most influential people in the world. Duterte received 5% to total, Yes Votes. He maintained the lead, right from the beginning of the poll. Time 100 Readers Poll closed on April 16, 2017. Time 100 Readers Poll is an online server conducted by Time Magazine, under which the readers are asked to vote for probable contenders of the list. North Korea starts celebrating birthday of countries Founder North Korean leader Kim Jong un started a massive parade in the capital city on 15 April 2017. The country celebrating the birthday of Jong’s late grandfather North Korea Founder Kim II Sung. North Korea put on a huge military spectacle on the founder’s birthday, parading its series of new and technologically advanced missiles in front of Kim Jong Un and in a defiant show of force in front of the world. Two billion people drinking contaminated water WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a report, Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLASS) 2017, that states that nearly two billion people currently use contaminated water. This contaminated water is also a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma. As per the report, countries have increased their budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene. US drops ‘MOAB’ on ISIS caves in Afghanistan Zinginfomedia.com The United States on 13 April 2017 dropped its largest non- nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat on an Islamic state tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan. The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 air craft, operated by the Air Force special operations command. A GBU 43/B Massive ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nick named Mother of all Bombs was dropped on a tunnel complex of ISIS – Khorasan, a regional affiliate of the terror group in Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nanagarh province. Achim Steiner as New Administrator of United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres appointed Achim Steiner as new administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 12 April, 2017. Steiner, A German with extensive experience at world organization. He will succeeded Helen clark, a former New Zealand Prime Minister. Clark has steered the United Nations Development programme (UNDP) since 2009 Steiner has served at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). First rail freight service to China departs UK The Government of China recently launched a rail freight service between China and London. The train is loaded with whisky soft drinks, vitamins and baby products. The train with 30 containers filled with UK produced goods, set off on the 7500 – mile journey from Stanford –le-Hope in Essex. The train will reach its destination in 18 days. It is the first direct rail link between China and Great Britain. Lenin Moreno elected President of Ecuador Zinginfomedia.com Ecuador elected Lenin Moreno as the country’s new President, according to the CNE (National Electoral Council) electoral agency. Renowned Moreno and his Vice President Jorge Glas won with 5,057,149 votes or 51.16 percent over former banker Guillermo Lasso and his Vice President Andres Paez, of the right wing CREO – SUMA alliance, who secured 4,827,753 votes and 48.84 percent. Japan officially recognises Bitcoin as Currency Japan officially recognized bitcoin and digital currencies as legal money with effect from 1 April 2017. The recognition comes after implementation of a new law amending Banking act in Japan for legalizing these currencies. The step will facilitate integration of digital currency into legal banking system through regulatory scrutiny. Bitcoin is a crypto currency and an electronic payment system. Myanmar becomes SASEC’s 7th Member Myanmar become the seventh member of the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) partnership, opening up new markets and supply chain links for trade and business between South Asia and Southeast Asia. SASEC countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka coordinate the planning of projects and activities to increase economic growth by building transport connectivity, facilitating faster and more efficient trade and promoting cross border power trade. Zinginfomedia.com INDIA & WORLD India ranks 136 in World Press Freedom Index 2017 In the list of 180 counties mapped, India stands at 136, down from last year’s 133, colour coded again in red to show the situation as difficult. India has slipped three notches in the World Press Freedom Index 2017, a report released by global media watchdog Reporters without Borders. In this index including 72 countries Russia, India, China are in the situation as difficult. Norway ranked 1st in the Index, Sweden 2nd, Finland 3rd position in the list. While North Korea ranked 180, at the bottom of the Index. Bill Gates praises PM Modi for Swachh Bharat Mission Microsoft Co-founder and the World’s richest person, Bill Gates has Praised PM Narendra Modi for the Swachh Bharat Mission. Bill Gated specially mentioned the mission’s aim of building 75 million toilets across India, and at present 30% of India’s villages are now open defecation free. Clean India started with 42% of Indians but today it achieved more than 60% successfully. Indo-French Naval Exercise “Varuna” Commences The Indian Navy has began a joint maritime exercise with the French Navy at the Mediterranean Sea to further deepen combat coordination between the two Navies. Guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Trishul and fleet tanker INS Aditya are taking part in the ‘Varuna’ exercise which will continue till April 30. The ‘Varuna’ series of exercises began in 2000 and have grown into an institutionalized form of interaction between the two navies. Zinginfomedia.com India becomes World’s fifth largest military spender As per figures revealed by Stockholm International peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has become World’s fifth largest military spender in the year 2016. India’s military expenditure for 2016 was $ 55.9 billion, which marks 8.5% growth over 2015 figure. United States of America with $ 611 billion. China with $ 215 billion, and Russia with $ 69.2 billion. India replaces Japan as No. ‘2’ LPG Importer Import of LPG, which is mostly used as cooking fuel in India, during 2016-17 was 11 million tonnes. This marks a growth of 23% as compared to previous year. During the same period. Japan imported 10.6 million tonnes LPG, marking a 3.2% reduction as compared to previous year. In context of this news, it is to be noted that Japan is deliberately cutting back on usage of LPG as cooking fuel and is moving to cheaper alternatives such as Natural Gas. China has retained its position as world’s top LPG importer. Time releases list of 100 Most Influential People of 2017 Time Magazine on 20 April 2017 released the annual list of 100 most influential people of 2017. This years list included the names of Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs and celebrities for the power of their inventions, the scale of their ambitions, the genius of their solutions to problems that could not be solved before. This year only two Indians to feature on the list Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder vijay Shekhar Sharma. Gandhi Stamps sold at 500,0000 pounds at an auction in UK Zinginfomedia.com A set of four rare stamps, featuring the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi has fetched 5 lakh pounds at an auction which is so far, the highest price ever paid for Indian Stamps. The auction was held in United Kingdom, the purchaser is a private australian stamp collector. As per authoritative issue records, only 13 of these 1948 Gandhi 10 – rupee purple Brown and Lake ‘Service’ stamps are in circulation. China renames six places in Arunachal Pradesh on its official map China has announced its official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh and has strong protests with India over the Dalai Lama’s visit to the frontier state. It was aimed at declare China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh. The official names of six place using at the Roman alphabet one Wo Gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidengarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bumo La, and Namka Pub Ri. Australia Abolishes Work Visa Policy 457 Used Largely By Indian Australian Govt will replace its popular 457 Visa that brings temporary foreign workers to the country with a new version that will recruit only the “best and the brightest in the nation interest” The move to abolish the Visa, used by over 95,000 temporary workers, a majority of them Indians, aims at tackling the growing unemployment in the country.