Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
Peter Thomson, the outgoing president of the General Assembly, has been appointed as the first special envoy for the oceans by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Thomson played a leading role at the first-ever UN conference on oceans in June 2017. The 193 UN member states issued an urgent call for action to reverse the decline in the health and productivity of the world’s oceans.

Notes:
Thomas Bach, the President of International Olympic Committee (IOC), has officially announced that Paris will host 2024 and Los Angeles will host 2028 Summer Olympics. Both cities wanted to host the 2024 event, before Los Angeles agreed to wait an extra four years after the IOC made guarantees on funding. Los Angeles will also receive up to $2 billion from the IOC, which is up to $300 million more than it would have gotten for 2024.

Notes:
The 5th edition of the ‘Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business Summit 2017’ will be held at Hotel Crown Plaza in Kochi, Kerala on September 22. The summit will be an initiative to explore the immense potential of coastal shipping and waterways as well as an effort to build a shared commitment and decipher the role that each stakeholder will have to play in integrating the coastal and waterways transport infrastructure. On this occasion, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will present the India Seatrade Award for Excellence in Coastal Shipping & Inland Water Transportation.

Notes:
The International Day of Democracy is observed every year on September 15 to provide an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. The 2017 theme “Democracy and Conflict prevention” focuses on the critical need to strengthen democratic institutions to promote peace and stability.

Notes:
India’s first Centre for Animal Law has been established at the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad. Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, has inaugurated the centre on September 15. 2017. The Humane Society International (HSI) India will work with NALSAR to steer and coordinate the activities of the centre. The centre will create curriculum on animal welfare laws, including developing topics for research. It will also conduct workshops on animal laws and animal welfare issues with judicial magistrates, animal welfare advocates, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders in the government.

Notes:
Harry Dean Stanton (91), the veteran American actor, musician, and singer, has passed away in Los Angeles, United States on September 15, 2017. He was known for his roles in films like The Godfather II, Alien and Cool Hand Luke. The Kentucky-born star had a career which spanned more than six decades, appearing in dozens of films, including 1984’s Paris, Texas. More recently, he appeared in the hit HBO show Big Love, and this year’s revival of the cult classic Twin Peaks: The Return, a continuation of David Lynch’s 1990–92 television series.

Notes:
The book ‘Unstoppable: My Life So Far’ has been authored by tennis star Maria Sharapova. The book talks about Sharapova’s rise from nowhere to tennis stardom and the unending fight to stay on top. The book tells how a seventeen-year-old Maria Sharapova became an overnight sensation by defeating the two-time defending champion Serena Williams to win the prestigious Wimbledon.

Notes:
Lewis Hamilton, a British racing driver who races in Formula One for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team, has won the 2017 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix tournament at Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore.

Notes:
The Jharkhand Government has launched the Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana at Ulihatu in Khunti district of Jharkhand. Ulihatu is the birthplace of Jharkhand’s tribal icon Birsa Munda. The purpose of the scheme is to develop villages of freedom fighters in the state. Under this scheme, villages of many tribal freedom fighters will be developed and their habitats will be provided basic amenities. Birsa Munda was a freedom fighter, religious leader, and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe from Chhotanagpur area. He is known for leading Munda rebellion towards end of 19th century against British Raj.

Notes:
Dr Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Public Grievances and Pensions, will inaugurate the first Pension Adalat in New Delhi on September 20, 2017. The Pension Adalats is being convened with the objective of bringing the aggrieved pensioner, the concerned department, the bank on a common table so that such cases can be settled within the framework of extant rules. Dr Singh will also award the pensioners for their outstanding contribution towards Anubhav- a platform for retiring employees for sharing their experience of working with government. The workshop on Pre-Retirement Counseling (PRC) of 300 retiring central government employees is also scheduled to be held. The objective of this workshop is to create awareness about the post-retirement entitlements as well as an advance planning for life after retirement.