Current Affairs for IAS Exams

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 01 June 2016

Sixteen men, including two Army officers, were killed in a massive fire at the Army’s Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) in Pulgaon town of Maharashtra’s Wardha district.
CAD is the most crucial ammunition depot of the Army and among the largest in the world.
Mr. Parrikar did not rule out sabotage. “But according to the Army officers and the experts, the possibility of sabotage seems less,” he said.
Residents of villages such as Agargaon, Pipary and Nagjhari, situated within 5 km of the depot, moved to safer locations. Some houses were damaged when the ammunition exploded but no one was injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the retirement age of 65 years for doctors of central services, in an aim to strengthen the healthcare sector in the country.
It said the move would enable the government to retain experienced doctors for a longer period, and to provide better services in its public health facilities, particularly to the poorest, who are entirely dependent on public facilities.
The decision comes after Prime Minister Modi’s announcement at his Saharanpur rally recently that the retirement age of government doctors would be raised to 65 years.

About $13 million in bitcoins will be auctioned in Sydney in June after Australian police confiscated the digital currency as proceeds of crime.
Ernst & Young was running the process, which is only the second such bitcoin auction in the world after the U.S. Marshals Service sold 1,44,000 bitcoins over a two-year period that had been confiscated from Ross Ulbricht.
Based on current bitcoin price of $533.80, the cryptocurrency is valued at almost $13.1 million.
The Victoria State government has confirmed that is had seized about 24,500 bitcoins in late 2013 from a Melbourne drug dealer.
Richard Pollard, 32, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court in October to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking on the Silk Road website
Like the U.S. auction, the Australian bitcoins will be mostly sold in lots of 2,000. One lot will contain 2,518.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that allows people to purchase goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties.

The Dalai Lama said in an interview that Europe has accepted “too many” refugees, and that they should eventually return to help rebuild their home countries.
“A human being who is a bit more fortunate has the duty to help them. On the other hand, there are too many now,” he said.
He added that “from a moral point of view too, I think that the refugees should only be admitted temporarily”.