Current Affairs For July 2011

Current Affairs For July 2011

National

Introduction of LokPal bill in Lok Sabha


• The much awaited Lok Pal bill will be introduced in Lok Sabha. The green signal was given by the government to Speaker Meira Kumar to allow the two day period needed to present the bill.The Minister of State Personnel Mr. V Narayaswamy gave the notice to Meira Kumar regarding the matter of Lok Pal bill. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal said that all the parties were in favour of introducing the bill at the earliest. The copies of the bill have been distributed to all the parties. The bill has been finalised by the government after a number of meetings during the last month.
• The government has kept out Prime Minister and other higher judiciary from the ambit of the bill. This decision has been strongly opposed by the all the activists of the bill. The BJP has demanded that the bill should include the Prime Minister into the bill. Regarding the matter the government has said that the prime minister will be questioned if necessary but only when he has stopped working and this can be done only in a limited amount of time i.e. 7yrs at most. Anna Hazare has again threatened to go on hunger strike again if the government does not introduced a lok pal bill that handles every aspect of corruption and if the government fails to do so then he will go on strike on Aug 16.
NDA blamed for Kalmadi’s appointment


• The government has blamed NDA for the appointment of Kalmadi as the main organizer of the CWG 2010event. Sports minister Mr Ajay Maken said in the lok sabha that the NDA government begun the process in 2003, that led to the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi as the chairman of the CWG committee. The statement has been made taking in view the leaked report which balmed the Prime minister’s office for overlooking the objections made against kalmadi’s appointment. Suresh Kalmadi is in jail now facing charges of corruption on large scale against him.
17 people die as lightning strikes parts of Orissa


• Around 17 people have died during the lighting in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. The people who died included 6 women. The lighting struck parts of Orissa with the coastal region accounting around 4 casualties. Most of the deaths occurred on Monday Aug 2, and other deaths were reported from places like Angul, Balasore,Deogarh, Sundergarh etc.
• The state government has announced a compensation of Rs50,000 each from the Chief minister’s relief fund. The money will be given to the family of those people who died because of lighting strike.
Congress flayed by BJP over Gurgaon Land deal

• The BJP asked the government about its action reaction the gurgaon land deal. The BJP asked whether the government will take it’s stand in the similar way like that of the Bhatta-Parsaul in the Uttar Pradesh. BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that the government unlawfully took the land from the poor farmers, due to which farmers are now suffering. The collective loand of the farmers was taken unlawfully and then it was given to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable trust , quoted Arun Jaitely.
• The Punjab and Haryana High court scolded the government for flouting the rules of land acquisition. The Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust was set up by Sonia Gandhi in 2002 in order to address the concerns that Rajiv Gandhi had in his heart. Jaitely refrained from disclosing the names of the people involved in the scam. He said that he will not take any names, but the government should only answer and tell the names of all those people who benefitted from the deal. Meanwhile Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has been continuously holding meetings against illegal land acquisition, he even flagged some rallies against the same matter. Regarding the matter the Congress has said that now the matter rests between the Haryana government and the High Court.
Famous artist M.F Hussain passes away

• India’s famous artist M.F.Hussain passed away in London on July 03. M.F. Hussain took Indian art to the global stage but not without controversies. The eccentric painter who lived barefoot died at the Brompton and Harfield NHS foundation in London after months of prolonged illness. Born in Maharashtra Hussain began his career as a painter by painting film posters. He was popularly known as Picasso of India and was once a member of Rajya Sabha. He has been awarded the nation’s 2nd highest Padma Vibhushan.
• The Picasso of India courted controversy after he showed hindu deities in nude in his paintings, and from then he was being considered as an anti-Hindu. After getting death threats in India he imposed exile on himself from the year 2006. Later in the year 2010 he accepted the citizenship of Qatar that was offered to him. The painter courted another biggest controversy by portraying “mother India” as a naked woman. His paintings have often courted controversies and wrath of people as his work often depicted gods and goddesses in nude form. He was a great fan of Madhuri Dixit such that he made a film with her called Gaja Gamini.

Sports News

London Olympics 2012 began its countdown.


• With one to go ESPN star sports began its golden march to kick the London Olympics 2012 countdown. The countdown ceremony was broadcasts across 22 countries. Olympics being revered as the biggest sports event has made athletes to share the same anticipation like that of the rest of the world and have set their eyes on the event going to be held just after 365 days.
• Also ESPN sports channel will broadcast the complete Olympic events for the 1st time in the history to all of its sports fans across the globe. The London Olympics will be the most sought after event with maximum viewer interest. The channel will cover 302 events in all the 26 categories of sports and will showcase almost 10,000 players and athletes from more than 200 countries.
Moto GP champion to stay out of Japanese Grand prix


• MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner have ruled out the possibility to participate in the Japanese Grand Prix to be held this year. Both the racers have ride earlier for Japanese manufacturers. The reason for withdrawal is the fear of radiation that currently exists in Japan due to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The Motegi circuit is situated near the Fukushima nuclear power plant whose reactors were destroyed by an earthquake and Tsunami during March this year and led to massive leakage of radiation.
• The race was originally to be held in April 24 but was later postponed to Oct 2, though no reason was given by the International Motorcycling Federation. Stoner firmly said during the Germany Grand Prix that he will not go for the Japanese GP. Further he said that his response would the same if anything similar would have happened elsewhere and that he is sure about the fact that other riders will be having the same opinion. Stoner became the world champion of the MotoGP in the year 2007.
Former Yankees pitcher found dead


• Hideki Irabu former Yankees pitcher was found dead in his home. The 42 year old was an excellent pitcher said former league manager Bobby Valentine. The quircky right hander had a fabulous arm in flame throwing the ball. Los Angeles police officials have declared Irabu’s death as suicide, disclosing no further information. To confirm the full information the investigating team is waiting for the autopsy report.
• Hideki was referred as the Japanese version of Ryan. Hideki arrived in the united states in the year 1997 and he was a hard throwing bowler with smashing speed of 98-mph. Though he was made an excellent debut with the Yankees but later on became an object of disappointment during the next three seasons. And then he was given a tag called as a fat toad after he failed to perform well during an exhibition game.
Dubai to bid for Olympics 2024 instead of 2020


• The UAE national Olympics committee has decided to bid for 2024 Olympics instead of 2020. The committee said that the infrastructure for the 2020 Olympics is 75% ready but it would be feasible if we bid for 2024 instead for 2020 so that we provide best of infrastructure to Olympics events and the players and athletes.
• Dubai’s crowned Prince Shaikh Hamdan said that “ Hosting the Olympics would be a matter of pride for the entire middle eastern region and we want to fully satisfy everyone and ourselves that we are completely ready to host the games and for this we are going to bid for 2024 Olympics instead of 2020. He further added that our first and foremost aim is to give a world class Dubai experience and a long lasting peace and satisfaction to the youth and to all the sports class events.
Manchester United the most valued team in the world


• The Manchester United has been named as the world’s most valued team. The Red Devils have been estimated for a total amount of 1.165 billion pounds overshadowing American Franchises like the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. The assessment has been made based keeping in mind the total income they get and the various sponsorship deals they make throughout the year.
• This has come as the good news for the Glazer family who bought the Club for 790 million pounds in the year 2005, how they are still in debt but this does not deter them from being happy for making their club the most valued in the world.
Squash to be considered for the 2020 Olympics


• On hearing the news that squash is going to be considered for the 2020 Olympics World Squash Federation president N.Ramachandran was far more delighted. He said that after this decision he is more confident that the game will be included in the 2020 Olympics.
• He said that he truly believes that squash will prove to be a great sport for the Olympics. This game fulfils all the criteria to be included in the Olympics and that with its inclusion in the Olympics squash will attain a new level in the world of sports. He further added that squash has a number of high profile world champions and that with its inclusion in the Olympics it will provide massive participation from all over the world in the Olympics.

International News

Death toll rises in Syria

• Death toll rises in Syria on the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in the city of Hama. The military tanks pounded the city creating scenes like that of 1982 massacre. Human rights activists said that the assaults killed at least 24 civilians, included 10 in Hama. All this happened when the troops with the help of tanks tried to control the people. This violent attack led to the death of total 134 people throughout Syria in just 3 days. 90 of the people died only in Hama.
• The government said that they have also lost more than 500 soldiers and security officials in the violent revolt. The condition of Hama prompted many Syrians to show and demonstrate solidarity from the start of Ramadan. Syria has been facing international wrath for its harsh measures.
War will continue even if NATO stops bombings-Gaddafi


• Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has said that the war will go on even if the NATO team stops bombing. This has left no room for diplomacy from the Gaddafi’s camp in order to stop the five month long conflict. Do not even think that after all the sacrifices we have made or our sons, brothers have made by sacrificing their lives we will stop fighting. Nothing sort of it will happen said the Libyan leader.
• The rebels and the western forces have continued pressure on the leader even as the holy month of Ramadan began. The NATO has continued its bombings forcing the loyalist of the leader to give up. Also the rebels have seized up half of the country but they continue to loose the ground against the trained Gaddafi forces. Regardless of the fact that whether the NATO stops bombing or not the Gaddafi government will continue its fight till Libya is liberated said the Libyan leader.
Hina Rabbani khar appointed as Pak’s new Foreign Minister


• Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed as Pakistan’s new foreign minister. Khar ,34, is the youngest minister to accept the post. This came as a big surprise for the people. Khar was elected twice to the national assembly during Musharrafs’ reign in 2002 and during Benazir’s stint in the year 2008. She never went public to win campaign. Since she belongs to a political family it is said that for any years the seat was with held by her father Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and she gives her winning credit to her political father.
• Rabbabi offers hope to a number of women in Pakistan not in terms of their lifestyle but in terms of their way to choose their lives. We have in the past few years the evolvement of women in Pakistan. The list includes the likes of Fatima Jinnah to Benazir Bhutto, Asma Jahangir, Sherry Rehman and now Hina Rabbani Khar. Now women are rejecting the roles that many men try to cast them in. Since her appointment as the foreign minister of Pakistan Khar has been continuously criticised because to is too young to handle foreign affairs of Pakistan and that she holds a degree in hospitality management and she even has a degree in economics. But with a country with young population Khar seems to be making place for herself.
George Best’s ex wife blames phone hacking scandal for his death


• Ex wife of late footballer George Best claimed that the phone hacking scandal lead to Best’s death. During the investigation police found out that Best,59 died from multiple organ failure in 2005 and that his phone was hacked by Glenn Mulcaire who is a private investigator. Alex Best a fomer model and former wife of Best reportedly has said that the phone hacking lead to increased pressure on her former footballer husband which resulted in his death.
• HShe said that Best was an alcoholic and that when a person is subjected to tremendous pressure then they ultimately turn to alcohol for some relief. But Best had so many problems related with alcohol such that with the increasing pressure and alcoholic problem finally lead to his death.
China to launch safety campaign after the severe train crash


• After facing public wrath and outrage China’s rail minister ordered a two month safety campaign and has apologized for the accident which killed around 39 people in the country’s Zhejiang province. This is the deadliest rail accident in the province of China after the year 2008. Beijing sacked three of its rail officials even before the investigation began.
• China’s rail minister has said that the safety campaign will extend till September and that the campaign will focus mainly on the operation involving high speed trains. China’s government is trying hard to calm down the people after the accident by taking various measures as possible.