Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2018

Notes:
Manu S. Pillai has authored the book ” The Ivory Throne : Chronicles of the House of Travancore” , a critically acclaimed 700-page history of Kerala focused on the last woman Maharajah of Travancore. It won him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017. Pillai’s retelling of this sprawling saga focuses on the remarkable life and work of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last – and forgotten – queen of the House of Travancore. The Ivory Throne conjures up a dramatic world of political intrigues and factions, black magic and conspiracies, crafty ceremonies and splendorous temple treasures, all harnessed in a tragic contest for power and authority in the age of empire.

Notes:
The Assumption Island is a small island in the Outer Islands of Seychelles north of Madagascar, with a distance of 1,135 km southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. It is in news recently because the deal for an Indian military base in the Island was declared as ‘dead’ by Seychelles President Danny Faure. He said that Seychelles would develop military facilities at the island on its own. Mr. Faure made it clear that he would have no further discussions on the subject with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited India on June 25 and 26, 2018. The plans for an Indian military base in Seychelles stirred up public protests by activists who believe that the islands must stay away from the brewing India-China regional conflict. The decision by the Seychelles President to drop the deal in the face of protests over a perceived loss of sovereignty is a blow to the Indian government’s “SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region) programme, announced by Mr. Modi during a visit to Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries in March 2015.

Notes:
The 840MW Hasdeo Thermal Power Station (HTPS) is a coal-fired power station at Korba in Chhattisgarh. The power station is owned and operated by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company, a publicly owned generation utility formed in 2009 following the restructuring of the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board.

Notes:
Perumal Murugan, the noted Tamil poet and author, has authored the novel ‘Kazhimugam’, which deals with effect of modern gadgets on life of middle class. He is known for his controversial novel ‘Madhurobhagan (translated as ‘One Part Woman’)’, which narrates the story of a childless couple ‘Ponna and Kali’ and the impact of childlessness on them. The book raises several issues about gender, patriarchy and masculinity – all of which converge in a worldview mandated by narrow social conventions that describe a childless marriage as incomplete. The controversy erupted in 2014 after local caste-based and religious Hindu groups objected to the fictional portrayal of traditions at the Ardhanareeswarar Temple in Tiruchengode. Then, on July 2016, the Madras High Court dismissed the case under citing Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, ruled that there was no binding force or obligation that forced the author to apologize and withdraw the books.

Notes:
The World Music Day (WMD) is observed on June 21 every year across the world to sheds light on the importance of music. The day is also known as ‘Fete de la Musique’ after a music festival that began in France in 1982. Several singers enthrall listeners by playing their instruments in public or recreational areas. On this day, the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music outside in their neighborhoods or in public spaces and parks. Free concerts are also organized, where musicians play for fun and not for payment.

Notes:
B Sujatha Devi (72), the well-known poetess, environmental activist and travel writer, has passed away in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on June 23, 2018. Sujatha Devi had served as English professor in various government colleges in the state, including the Maharaja’s college in Kochi. She had won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award for the best travelogue for her work ‘Kaadinte Thaalam Thedi’. She wrote poems under the pseudonym Devi. Her poems have been collected under the title ‘Mrnmayi’. Daughter of freedom fighter Bodheswaran and Prof. Karthyayini Amma, she had played a leading role in the anti-Silent Valley Project struggle in the late 1970s and was active subsequently too in several environmental battles in the State and elsewhere.

Notes:
In Archery, Deepika Kumari clinched a gold medal in the women’s recurve event at stage three of World Cup in Salt Lake City of US on June 25, 2018. She defeated Michelle Kroppen of Germany 7-3. With the win, the four-time World Cup final silver medalist has automatically qualified for the Archery World Cup Final to be held in Samsun of Turkey later this year. Beside her, Abhishek Verma secured an individual silver and a mixed team bronze medal in compound events. In the medal standings, India finished fourth behind US, Colombia and Chinese Taipei with a gold, silver and bronze each in the penultimate stage of the World Cup. India’s Asian Games-bound archery squad will now head to Berlin to take part in fourth stage of World Cup from 16th to 22nd of next month.

Notes:
On 25th June 2018, the anti-doping sports conference titled Clean Sport=Fair Outcome?’ was held at Oslo in Norway to address the issue of doping menace. The conference is a joint initiative of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), Anti-Doping Norway and FairSport to propose a substantial agenda for action, enabling it to have an impact on the ongoing anti-doping reforms and policy framework. The conference will not only address various governance issues in sports but also celebrate role models by announcing the winner of the 2018 Ethics in Sports Award.The Anti-Doping in Sports conference is a continuation of WFEB’s conference series on Ethics in Sports’. Earlier editions were held at the FIFA headquarters (2014, 2016) and at the stadium of Germany’s soccer club, Union Berlin (2015).

Notes:
The naval forces of India and Bangladesh will conduct the joint patrol exercise “Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)” in the Bay of Bengal from June 27. The first edition of 3-day naval exercise will be inaugurated by Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the naval staff (CNS) of India, who is visiting Bangladesh from June 24. The purpose of the Lanba’s visit is to consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation. In the CORPAT exercise, four maritime patrol aircraft, two from the Bangladesh Navy and two from the Indian navy, and four frigates, two from the Bangladesh Navy (BNS Abu Bakar and BNS Dhaleswari) and two from the Indian navy (INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt) will participate.

Notes:
The 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 championship will be held in the West Indies from November 9 to 24. This is the first standalone ICC women’s event in the shortest format of the game. India will begin their campaign against New Zealand on the opening day. The 10-team tournament, featuring three-time champions Australia and reigning winners England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and defending champions the West Indies, plus two qualifiers, will be played across three venues in the Caribbean. The finalists of the World T20 Qualifier in the Netherlands from July 7 to 14 will add to the line-up of the November tournament. The teams participating in the Qualifying event are Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.