Important Current Affairs 29th May 2016

Indian Author Wins Asian Book Award

1. Aditi Krishnakumar has won the Scholastic Asian Book Award for her manuscript Codex: The Lost Treasure of the Indus.
2. Codex is a mystery story featuring the protagonist Codex,a linguist & mathematician who solves a puzzle in 3 languages to solve a 4000 yr old mystery.
3. The Scholastic Asian Book Award is the joint initiative of the National Book Development Council of Singapore & Scholastic Asia.

Real Madrid Win Champions League

1. Real Madrid earned Europe’s biggest club trophy Champions League for a record 11th time by defeating Atletico Madrid.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning penalty in a 5-3 shootout victory against Atletico Madrid.
3. Atletico earlier lost in their two previous finals appearances.
4. The UEFA Champions League is an annual continental club football competition & contested by top-division European clubs.

Wanda Opens Theme Park to take on Disney

1. China’s Wanda Group has opened an entertainment complex that it’s positioning as competition for Disney.
2. Wanda executives unveiled their $3 billion “Wanda City” in the southeastern provincial capital of Nanchang.
3. Wanda’s massive site includes theme park,an indoor shopping mall & the world’s largest ocean park.
4. Disney is planning to open its own theme park in Shanghai next month.

Karnataka Takes Uber-Ola Off the Road

1. Karnataka has directed taxi aggregators such as Uber & Ola to stop their operations with immediate effect.
2. The govt stated that they have not secured licenses to offer such services to commuters.
3. The ban comes days after drivers affiliated to these taxi aggregators protested against transport authorities.
4. Uber & Ola who have a national presence are the two large cab aggregators in the country.

Lakshadweep Signs Power for All Document

1. Lakshadweep became first Union Territory (UT) to sign 24×7 Power for All document.
2. Representative of Government of India & the Administration of Lakshadweep signed the document.
3. The document chalks out a plan to increase solar capacity of the region from 2.15 MW to 8.45 MW.
4. At present, 10 inhabited islands of Lakshadweep are being fed by diesel mostly.

Portal to Promote Net Energy Buildings

1. Ministry of Power & the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched web portal designed to promote Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in India.
2. The portal provides complete information about Net Zero Energy Buildings.
3. Buildings generate as much energy as they use as well as how to achieve near-zero energy status through the use of efficient lighting & equipment.

China to Launch First Quantum Satellite

1. China will launch its first experimental quantum communication satellite in July, whose communications cannot be intercepted.
2. It will be the first quantum communication satellite in the world.
3. Quantum communication boasts ultra-high security as a quantum photon can neither be separated nor duplicated.
4. It is hence impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through it.

Discus Thrower Punia Qualifies for Rio

1. Indian discus thrower Seema Punia has qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.
2. She qualified for the Rio Olympics with a 62.62 m effort at the Pat Young’s Throwers Classic 2016 at Salinas (California) in the United States.
3. She outthrew the Olympic mark of 61.00 significantly.
4. She is the 19th Indian track and field athlete to have qualified for Rio Olympics.

Speed Trial Talgo Train Conducted

1. The Indian Railways conducted the speed trial of Spanish-built Talgo train between Bareilly & Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.
2. The trial run will be conducted in a series of phases to test the riding, safety & stability.
3. Talgo is a Madrid-based Spanish leading manufacturer of semi & high-speed passenger trains.
4. The Talgo train coaches are lightweight and designed in a way that it can run on curves.

Leaders to Mark Verdun Battle Centenary

1. French President Francois Hollande & German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to mark the 100th anniversary of the battle of Verdun,
2. The Verdun battle was the longest battle during World War One.
3. Hundreds of thousands of French & German soldiers died during 10 months of fighting in north-eastern France.
4. But today Verdun is seen as a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation.