Important Current Affairs 24th May 2016

Terrorists Attack Police in Srinagar

• Terrorists recently attacked a police team in Srinagar’s Zadibal.
• One constable and Assistant Sub-Inspector died in the attack.
• Terrorists have escaped the police, reports said.

Two Road Projects in North-East India

• Japanese government is keen on funding road projects in the northeast India that link India to Bangladesh and Myanmar
• Japan expressed interest in funding for slope protection of the Siliguri-Darjeeling stretch (NH-55)
• Improvement of NH-40 which connects Shillong to Dawki in Meghalaya included in the project

Vladimir Putin To Visit Greece This Week

• In a first official trip to an EU member state in this year, the Russian President is said to visit Greece this week
• He is said to meet the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President Prokopis Pavlopoulos
• Putin will join celebrations for the 1000th anniversary of Russian presence at ancient monastic community of Mount Athos in Northern Greece

Isil Suicide Attack in Syria killed 140

• Isil has claimed responsibility for bomb blasts in Jableh and Tartous towns of Syria
• Petrol pump, hospital and other civilian spaces attacked, killing minimum 140 people
• The coastal strip of Syria which was attacked is the heartland of Alawite minority and President Bashar al-Assad

Action on older diesel vehicles in Kerala

• National Green Tribunal ordered all diesel vehicles older than 10 years to be taken off in 6 major cities in Kerala
• No new permits shall be issued to vehicles with more than 2000cc engine capacity
• Public Transport system feared to be affected adversely by this move

Chabahar Port Agreement Signed

• India and Iran signed the Chabahar port agreement, later joined by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani for a trilateral transit agreement
• The two sides signed a total of 12 of agreement on  economy, trade, port development, culture, science and academic cooperation.

Toxic Chemical in Bread, burgers & pizza

• CSE has found in its test that the bread available in India could be laced with toxic chemicals that can lead to thyroid disorders and cancers.
• The organization said that 38 samples from outlets in Delhi have been tested positive for Potassium Bromate and Potassium Iodate.
• Study has shown that higher levels of two chemicals were found in sandwich bread, pav, bun and white bread.

Maldives President refugee in UK

• Britain has granted refugee status to Mohammed Nasheed, the former president of Maldives who was jailed in 2015.
• Nasheed was jailed for 13 years on terrorism charges after illegally ordering arrest of a judge in a trial.
• In 2009, Nasheed led the world’s first underwater cabin meeting to grab attention over rising sea levels.

US to End to Its Arms Embargo On Vietnam

• On his first visit to Hanoi, Obama announced lifting of arms ban on Vietnam
• The move underlines the shared concerns of the two countries regarding China’s growing military clout
• The revoking of ban is seen as a strategic rebalance towards Asia as part of larger foreign policy of the US

Lucknow, Warangal among 13 smart cities

• The cities are Lucknow, Warangal, Dharamsala, Chandigarh, Raipur, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Port Blair, Imphal, Ranchi, Agartala & Faridabad.
• Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naidu announced that 7 more capital cities will enter the smart city competition.
• They are Patna, Shimla, Naya Raipur, Itanagar, Amaravati, Bengaluru & Thiruvananthapuram.