Daily GK Updates - 4th June, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India tests Quick Reaction missile for 1st time: India successfully test fired Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile from Chandipur in Odisha. The missile’s strike range is 20 to 30 kms and is capable of hitting multiple targets. It is developed jointly by DRDO and Bharat Electronics.

2. All states agree to GST rollout from July 1: GST Council has cleared the pending rules, including transition provisions and returns. All the states have agreed to July 1 roll out of the Goods and Services Tax.

3. K K Paul launches Vidya-Veerta mission: Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul has launched Vidya-Veerta Abhiyan by presenting VC’s of universities with portraits of Param Vir Chakra recipients. It will be displayed at institutions to send out a message that not only soldiers but every citizen is responsible for country’s safety.

4. Mann appointed as Ambassador to Slovenia: Param Jit Mann has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Slovenia. He is presently Ambassador of India to the Slovak Republic.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Muslim children forced to drop ‘religious’ names in China: Muslim children in China’s Xinjiang region are being forced to change their names which have been deemed “overly religious” by authorities. As many as 15 names have been banned, including Islam, Quran, Mecca, Jihad, Imam.

2. UN General Assembly elects five non-Permanent UNSC Members: The UN General Assembly elected Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Poland and Peru as the non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2018. The General Assembly also voted to approve the Netherlands taking over from Italy in 2017 after the countries agreed to split a two-year term between them.

3. NASA to launch Sounding Rocket: NASA will launch a sounding rocket which will release blue-green and red artificial clouds. The rocket will eject vapour canisters between 10 to 20 km from the rocket’s main payload. The vapor tracers will allow scientists on the ground to view the movement of the particles in the ionosphere.

4. ‘Fireball’ hits computers globally: Chinese malware named ‘Fireball’ has infected over 250 million computers worldwide. It is designed to hijack browsers to changedefault search engine and track their web traffic on behalf of a digital marketing firm called Rafotech. It has the ability to spy on victims, perform efficient malware dropping and execute any malicious code.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Sai Praneeth wins Thailand Grand Prix Gold Title: Indian shuttler ‘B Sai Praneeth’ (24-year) has clinched the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton title by defeating Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 in Bangkok, Thailand. This is Praneeth's second consecutive title win following the Singapore Open victory.

2. Sudha Singh claims gold medal: Rio Olympian Sudha Singh claimed a gold medal in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at 21st Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships.

3. Real Madrid first to retain 2017 UEFA Champions League title: Real Madrid defeated Juventus 4-1 in finals to win 2017 UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid became the first team to retain the UEFA Champions League.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

4. Shashi Shekhar Vempati named CEO of Prasar Bharati: Shashi Shekhar Vempati has been named chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati. He will replace Rajeev Singh, who has been serving as interim CEO since February 2017.