Daily GK Updates - 16th August, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Santosh Sharma as Hindustan Copper CMD: Santosh Sharma has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) for a period of five years. Currently, He is Director (operations) in the same company.

2. Government demands remove ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ links from search engines and applications: The Union govt. has directed internet majors Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft, and Yahoo to immediately remove links of the dangerous online game ‘Blue Whale Challenge’. There are instances of children committing suicide in India while playing this online game. Now, the internet majors to ensure that any such link of this deadly game should be removed immediately from a social media platform. The Blue Whale Challenge is a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50 days and the final task leads to suicide. The player is asked to share photos after finishing the different levels of the game.

3. Launch of the first  online course on  Infusion Therapy in India: A global authority in infusion therapy ‘Infusion Nurses Society (INS)’ has launched India's first online course on Infusion Therapy for nurses. The Infusion Nurses Society aims to train over 3000 nurses in the vital medical procedure. The course will enable members to access the various infusion therapy modules and presentations through its website. Infusion therapy deals with all aspects of fluid and medication infusion, via an intravenous or subcutaneous application.

4. ‘SheMeansBusiness’- FB Programme launched by Odisha: Odisha CM 'Naveen Patnaik' has launched Facebook's program 'She Means Business' for women entrepreneurs in the state. The ‘SheMeansBusiness program’ has been launched in 16 countries across the world including India. The program was launched in partnership with Odisha’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) department and Project Mission Shakti. Around 25000 women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Group (SHG) members will get training on digital marketing skills by the end of 2018.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The world's most liveable city – Melbourne: Melbourne (Australia) has once again been named the world's most liveable city by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), receiving a perfect score for healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Vienna once again came second and Vancouver third. It was a record seventh time in a row from 2011 to 2017 in the top spot for Melbourne. The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Liveability Index ranks 140 cities each year on those topics, as well as stability, culture, and environment.

2. Italy to host of  G-7 interior ministers summit on security : Italy will host a summit of Group of Seven Interior Ministers centred on security issues in the fall. Italy currently holds the rotating helm of the G-7 industrialized nations. These countries are the seven major advanced economies as reported by the International Monetary Fund. The 43rd G7 summit was held in Taormina, Italy on May 2017. The group consists of seven major advanced economies including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also represented within the G7. The G7 countries represent more than 64% of the net global wealth.

3. Nepal and China have signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power and energy sectors: The pacts were signed to undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country. The agreements signed will cover economic and technological cooperation, oil and gas resources exploration, and promotion of investment.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. Indian export grows 3.9% in July2017: According to the Official data, country's exports grew 3.9% in July this year to 22.5 billion dollars. Exports rose due to an increase in shipments of petroleum, chemicals, and marine products. The country's trade deficit widened to 11.4 billion dollars during the month under review, from 7.8 billion dollars in July last year. Gold import spurted 95% (2.1 billion dollars) and oil imports increased 15% in July.

SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY:

1.  Zika vaccine innovation: Scientists have developed the world's first plant-based Zika vaccine, which may be more effective, safer and cheaper than other vaccines against the mosquito-borne virus.Presently, there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics available to fight Zika. The vaccine works against a part of a Zika viral protein, called DIII, which plays a key role for the virus to infect people. All Flaviviruses have the envelope protein on the outside part of the virus. The domain III has a unique stretch of DNA for the Zika virus, and we exploited this to generate a robust and protective immune response that is unique for Zika

OBITUARIES:

1. Stephen Wooldridge, Australian Olympic cycling champion, dies aged 39 : Born in Sydney, Wooldridge won gold in the 4,000m team pursuit at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and claimed four world titles in the same discipline. He was inducted into the NSW Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.  He won gold for Australia in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was also a four-time world champion in the discipline and the 2002 Commonwealth Games champion. In 2005, Wooldridge was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport as a gold medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens He was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions in 2015. The cause of death has not been released by authorities till now.