Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 30 June 2017
::National::
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat reached Sikkim
- Army Chief General Bipin Rawat reached Sikkim to review the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops along the border even as Chinese authorities alluded to India’s defeat in the 1962 war while asking New Delhi to withdraw forces.
- Army said that during his two-day visit, General Rawat would review the situation at the tri-junction between India, Bhutan and China, where military units of India and China are believed to be in a standoff.
- The Army Chief visited areas under the 17 Mountain Division tasked with guarding the China-India border in the Sikkim sector.
- Following the tensions, Chinese authorities have closed the Nathu La pass to Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims, forcing them to return.
- China served notice on India to withdraw its forces, which had allegedly “trespassed” into its territory, as a precondition for a “meaningful dialogue” with New Delhi. It also alluded to India’s defeat in the 1962 war, as part of escalating “mind games.”
- In remarks at the monthly defence ministry briefing in Beijing, PLA spokesman Wu Qian cited the 1962 war, in response to remarks by Army Chief Bipin Rawat.
- When asked about the China-Bhutan boundary dispute in the Doklam (referred to as Donglang in China) area, as a factor in the stand-off, Col.Wu denied that PLA soldiers were operating in Bhutan.
Islamic State’s “state of falsehood” has come to an end says Iraq
- The Islamic State’s “state of falsehood” has come to an end, Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi said, after his troops captured the wrecked historic mosque of Mosul from where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself “Caliph” three years ago.
- “The return of the al-Nuri Mosque and the al-Hadba minaret to the fold of the nation marks the end of the Daesh state of falsehood,” Mr. Abadi said in a statement, referring to the ultra-hardline Sunni group by an Arabic acronym.
- He said Iraqi forces would continue to hunt the Islamic State’s fighters “to kill them and detain them, down to the last one.”
- The insurgents blew up the medieval mosque and its famed leaning minaret a week ago as the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces advanced towards it. Their black flag had been flying from al-Hadba (The Hunchback) minaret since June 2014.
- Authorities expect the long battle for Mosul to end in the coming days as the remaining IS fighters are bottled up in just a handful of neighbourhoods of the Old City.
GSAT-17 in space as the newest Indian communication satellite
- A 39-minute dusk launch at the South American space port of Kourou placed GSAT-17 in space as the newest Indian communication satellite. The launch took place at 2.45 a.m. IST
- The 3,477-kg spacecraft, the heaviest built by the Indian Space Research Organisation, will soon join the ring of 17 working national communication satellites that are already in orbit.
- It will add to the services they provide for broadcasting, telecommunications, VSAT services, meteorology, search and rescue, among others, ISRO said.
- Said to have over 40 transponders in different bands, “GSAT-17 is designed to provide continuity of services of operational satellites in C, extended C and S bands,” it said.
- The satellite and its foreign launch were approved in May 2015 with an outlay of Rs. 1,013 crore. It went to orbit on the Ariane-5 ECA rocket VA-238, operated by European launch services agency Arianespace.
- When it sends the 5,700-kg GSAT-11 this year-end again on an Ariane booster, ISRO hopes it will be its last foreign launch, says Mr. Kiran Kumar.
- A railway station in Rajasthan and eye-catching locations in Qatar and Egypt are among the early pictures beamed down by the week-old Cartosat-2 series spacecraft.
- The satellite, known as Cartosat-2E, is the third Indian remote sensing (IRS) or earth observation satellite that can send 60-cm resolution pictures from an orbit 500 km above the earth.
- Cartosat-2E is the sixth and last of the second generation cartography themed series, which started in 2007 with Cartosat-2 and includes Cartosat-2A, 2B, 2C and 2D.
- The last three are said to be exclusive to defence and security agencies. Cartosat-2E offers images of the same 60-cm resolution as 2C and 2D; the same feature is now available for the genuine use of civil agencies, mostly government agencies. That is — it can capture objects that are 60-cm wide or long.
Paris to become Europe’s technology capital
- Paris took a step closer to fulfilling its ambition of becoming Europe’s technology capital when President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated Station F, the world’s largest start-up incubator on the banks of the Seine.
- The 34,000 sq. m. facility, which entirely fills an old railway depot is being bankrolled by billionaire Xavier Niel, who revolutionised the French internet and mobile market with his low-cost Free service and is now on a crusade to put French technology on the map.
- The cavernous concrete and glass hub, which aims to house up to 1,000 start-ups, will be a “very visible place that creates a strong image for Paris,” Mr. Niel said.
- Station F is situated in the fast-changing 13th district — an airy neighbourhood of modern high-rises, shops and cinemas that is home to the national library.
- The space has been designed to create the feel of an American college campus, with entrepreneurs paying 195 euros ($221) a month for a spot in the hub, which is divided into three areas: create, share and chill.
- The incubator is the biggest of around 40 that have sprung up in the French capital, which is competing with London and Berlin for the title of Europe’s technology leader.
- Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft have already come onboard Station F, to mentor the start-ups. The entrepreneurs will also partner on-site with top French universities and venture capital funds.
- Currently, London has the lead in luring international talent. The French are hoping the pendulum will swing across the Channel when Britain leaves the EU.