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August 2016
India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway
- Trilateral Highway will establish better connectivity between India & Southeast Asia.
Source: 30 Aust 2016, The Hindu
- An ambitious project to develop a 3,200-km highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand
- India has already given Myanmar $500 million in loan, a part of which will be used to fund the projec
For more details refer: The Hindu, 30 May 2013 News
Gilgit, Baluchistan, Sindh:
On 15th August PM mentioned these two places in his speech.
NOTE:
- Provinces bordering Indian border are: Sindh, Punjab, NWF
- Gwadar Port is situated on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the city of Gwadar, located in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The port is located 533 km from Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, and is approximately 120 km from the Iranian border.
Smart Ganga City Scheme Launched in Ten Cities
13-August-2016
- These cities are – Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna, Sahibganj and Barrackpore.
- National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has chosen these cities in the first phase for infrastructure development for sewage treatment.
- This will be on hybrid annuity mode based on PPP model. hybrid annuity mode based on PPP model to be adopted by NMCG for speedy implementation of Namami Gange programme.
- district level monitoring committees will be constituted to monitor the speedy implementation of Namami Gange programme.
- though in the first phase only ten cities have been taken up but gradually more and more cities will be taken up.
- involvement of district administration and municipal body is key to success of this program.
The Ganges passes through the states:
- Uttarakhand,
- Uttar Pradesh,
- Bihar,
- Jharkhand, and
- West Bengal.
The major tributaries of the Ganga are as follows:
Left tributaries – Karnali, Mahakali, Gandak, Koshi (Kosi), Ghaghra, and Damodar
Right tributaries – Yamuna, Son, Mahananda, Chambal
The following is a list of some important cities in India located on the banks of a river:
|
City |
river |
State |
| Badrinath | Alaknanda | Uttarakhand |
| Allahabad | At the confluence of
|
Uttar Pradesh |
| Dibrugarh | Brahmaputra | Assam |
| Guwahati | Brahmaputra | Assam |
| Kota | Chambal | Rajasthan |
| Gwalior | Chambal | Madhya Pradesh |
| Chennai | Cooum, Adyar | Tamil Nadu |
| Mirzapur | Ganga | Uttar Pradesh |
| Bhagalpur | Ganges | Bihar |
| Haridwar | Ganges | Uttarakhand |
| Kanpur | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Patna | Ganges | Bihar |
| Varanasi | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Farrukhabad | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Fatehgarh | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Kannauj | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Kanpur Cantonment | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Shuklaganj | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Chakeri | Ganges | Uttar Pradesh |
| Hajipur | Ganges | Bihar |
| Rajahmundry | Godavari | Andhra Pradesh |
| Nashik | Godavari | Maharashtra |
| Nanded | Godavari | Maharashtra |
| Nizamabad | Godavari | Telangana |
| Kolkata | hugli | West Bengal |
| Srinagar | Jhelum | Jammu & Kashmir |
| Vijayawada | Krishna | Andhra Pradesh |
| Kottayam | Meenachil | Kerala |
| Pune | Mula, Mutha | Maharashtra |
| Hyderabad | Musi | Telangana |
| Jabalpur | Narmada | Madhya Pradesh |
| Bharuch | Narmada | Gujarat |
| Mangalore | Netravati, Gurupura | Karnataka |
| Kolhapur | Panchaganga | Maharashtra |
| Gorakhpur | Rapti | Uttar Pradesh |
| Ahmedabad | Sabarmati | Gujarat |
| Ayodhya | Saryu | Uttar Pradesh |
| Mahad | Savitri | Maharashtra |
| Ujjain | Shipra | Madhya Pradesh |
| Surat | Tapi | Gujarat |
| Madurai | Vaigai | Tamil Nadu |
| Agra | Yamuna | Uttar Pradesh |
| New Delhi | Yamuna | Delhi |
| Mathura | Yamuna | Uttar Pradesh |
sources: pib, Wikipedia
Sri Lanka(Colombo): Office of Missing persons
August 13, 2016
- Sri Lanka’s missing persons bill
- Western countries have welcomed the adoption by Sri Lanka’s Parliament of the bill on the Office on Missing Persons.
- This fulfilled one of the important commitments made by the Sri Lanka government to the UN Human Rights Council through a resolution adopted in October last year.
- EU & USA Welcomed this move.
Turkey(Ankara)-Syria(Damascus)-Iran(Tehran)
- Turkey and Iran have held opposing positions on Syria, with Iran backing the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Turkey advocating his departure.
- Turkey and Iran have pledged greater cooperation on resolving the Syria crisis despite their differences.
- Despite the differences Turkey and Iran will “strengthen cooperation for a lasting peace in Syria,”
NOTE:
Israel-Hamas
10-08-16
- Israel arrests UN employee ‘for aiding Hamas’
- it had arrested and charged a United Nations employee for allegedly aiding Islamist movement Hamas, in the second such case involving a humanitarian worker in a week.
- Hamas, which has run the Gaza Strip since 2007
Afghanistan: Helmand Province (Taliban)
The Afghan security forces are struggling to head off an intensified Taliban offensive in Helmand Province in recent weeks, heavily relying on U.S. air strikes as the insurgents have again tightened the noose around Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital
Chandra Shekhar Azad-Bhabhra in Madhya Pradesh
09-08-2016
- Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister to visit the birth place of revolutionary leader Chandrashekhar Azad at Bhabhra in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district
- where he launched ‘Azadi 70 Saal, Yaad Karo Kurbani‘ campaign to commemorate the sacrifices of freedom fighters on the Quit India day on 9th August 2016.
SAARC young Parliamentarians conference in Islamabad
August 8, 2016
- India to attend SAARC young Parliamentarians conference in Islamabad
- A three-member Parliamentary delegation would be travelling to Islamabad to attend the first SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference (YPC) on `Peace and Harmony for Development’ scheduled to be held from August 16 to 18 in Islamabad.
Thailand: Military-backed constitution
08-08-2016
- Thai referendum: Military-backed constitution ‘approved’
- Thai voters have approved a new junta-backed Constitution that would pave the way for an election next year and give the military, which seized power in a coup two years ago, the final say on future elected governments.
- Thai voters cast ballots for the first time since the military toppled the government, choosing whether to approve or reject a junta-backed Constitution.
- Voters also supported a second measure on the ballot, which proposes that the appointed senate should be involved in selecting a prime minister.
Quetta, in south-west Pakistan
- A suicide bomb attack has killed 70 people at a hospital in Quetta, in south-west Pakistan.
- the blast, which happened at the entrance to the emergency department where the body of a prominent lawyer shot dead earlier on Monday was being brought.
- The casualties included lawyers and journalists accompanying the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi. Gunfire followed the explosion.
- A spokesman for Jamaatul Ahara, a faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said that his faction “accepts responsibility” for the attack in the southwestern city of Quetta and vowed more attacks “until the imposition of an Islamic system in Pakistan”.
- Kasi, who was president of the Balochistan Bar Association, had been shot by two unknown assailants while on his way from his home to the main court complex in Quetta.
IIT Bhilai campus
07-08-2016
- HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today jointly inaugurated he IIT Bhilai campus.
- The inauguration ceremony was held at Sejbahar-based Government Engineering College premises in Raipur.
- Speaking at the inauguration ceremony Javadekar said, the aim of the government is to provide education to all.
Kokrajhar: Assam (Dispur)
08-08-2016
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh makes statement on Kokrajhar attack in Lok Sabha; says investigations are on to identify militants and their group who were responsible for killing of innocent people in Kokrajhar.
- In Assam, the situation at Kokrajhar is under control now as additional security forces have been deployed following the terror attack on Friday that killed 14 civilians.
The Olympic Opening Ceremony 2016 kicked off in Rio with a stunning celebration of Brazilian culture.
Remember: Earth/Rio Summit of 1992: o/p was UNFCCC, CBD & Agenda 21 …Very important refer Mrunal Sir’s articles on it.
Egypt: Sinai Province
05-08-2016
The leader of an Islamic State affiliated group in Egypt’s restive Sinai province and 45 other militants have been killed in an army operation.
Egypt’s North Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants in the last few years, particularly since the January 2011 revolution that toppled the ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
The attacks targeting police and military personnel increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following massive protests against his rule.
Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.
Bridge collapses on Mumbai-Goa highway; dozens missing
Nearly two dozen people missing after a bridge collapses on Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad in Maharashtra due to flooding in Savitri river; three NDRF teams rushed to the spot for rescue and relief operation
South Africa: Cennergi Wind Energy: Tata Power
- Tata Power’s 50:50 joint venture with Exxaro Resources in South Africa, Cennergi (Pty)
- Tata Power, Cennergi start 95-MW wind project
Arunachal Pradesh(Itanagar): Pasighat
Advanced Landing Ground at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh
- Area-wise, Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state of the NE region of India.
- It forms a complex hill system of Shivalik and Himalayan origin and is criss-crossed by numerous rivers and streams.
- The state shares international boundary with neighboring countries; 1030 kms with China, 160 kms with Bhutan and 440 kms with Myanmar.
- The McMohan line defines the international boundary between India and China.
- Arunachal Pradesh is not a linguistic state. It is an ethnic state inhabited by colourful tribal people of diverse culture and lifestyle. All of them have their own unique culture and traditions. They also have customary laws and a time tested dispute resolution mechanism. The disputes in tribal societies are resolved by a system of administration of justice founded on customs and customary laws of each tribe by the Village Council.
Sri Lanka-Dambulla temple(UNESCO site)
- UNESCO denies report on‘delisting’ of Dambulla temple
- HERITAGE SITE:Buddha statues and some mural paintings at one of the caves that form part of the famous Golden Temple in Dambulla, Sri Lanka
Syria(Damascus): Manbij
- Setback for the Islamic State
- loss of Manbij, a northern Syrian town close to the border with Turkey, to Kurdish Arab forces is a body blow to the Islamic State. Since 2014, when it captured the town, the IS had used Manbij as a critical supply link for goods and fighters to be smuggled in and out across the Turkish border.
China: One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative
September 2016
Vatican City
- World Heritage Site
- The official residence of the pope of the Roman Catholic church is Vatican City.
- It is the smallest fully independent nation-state in the world & lies entirely within the confines of Rome, Italy, on the west, or right of the Tiber River.
Saint Mother Teresa:
- was an Albanian-Indian
- Roman Catholic nun and missionary.
- She was born in Skopje (modern Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire.
- Saint Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity
- Saint Teresa was the recipient of numerous honours, including Bharat Ratna, the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.
Sources:
- The Hindu
- DD news
- pib
- Wikipedia
- Britannica kids
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