12th May 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (12th May) is International Nurses Day.
• This day is celebrated around the world to mark the contributions nurses make to society.
• Theme of 2016 : Nurses: A Force for Change: Improving health systems’ resilience
• Kenya has vowed to close the world’s biggest refugee camp in Dadaab, home to 3,30,000 mostly Somali refugees, within a year. 
• This comes after Kenya's Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said al-Shabaab fighters used the camp as a base for smuggling weapons.
• SAARC nations today agreed to set up a uniform toll-free child helpline at a three-day meeting of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children. 
• India offered support to the nations in upgrading their child helplines to monitor violence against children. 
  

National Affairs

• According to a World Health Organisation report, Delhi is no longer the world's most polluted city and is ranked 11th in the most polluted cities list. 

• However, four Indian cities – Gwalior, Allahabad, Patna, and Raipur are among the top 10 most polluted cities. 
• Note : The highest PM2.5 levels were recorded in Iran's Zabol (217), followed by India's Gwalior (176).
• The Uttar Pradesh government today gave approval to the development of a 200-km 'Bicycle Highway' from Agra to the lion safari in Etawah. 
• The 'Bicycle Highway' will cover historical and tourism centres and will not run along the Agra-Etawah main road. 
• This reportedly is a part of the government's attempts to promote eco-tourism around the Taj Mahal.
• The Centre has lifted President's Rule from Uttarakhand after the Supreme Court earlier declared that Congress party's Harish Rawat had proved his majority in Tuesday's floor test. 
• The Rajya Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, which had already been passed by the Lok Sabha last week. 
• The Code seeks to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution in a time bound manner. 
• The bill also proposes setting up of an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board, and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund.
• In a major social and political move, Jharkhand government has decided to implement caste based reservation policy in contractual jobs in government and it’s undertaking.
• The Director General Naval Projects (DGNP), Visakhapatnam, an organisation which undertakes creation and augmentation of infrastructure for the Eastern Naval Command, is celebrating its Golden jubilee today.
• Established in June 1967, DGNP has built the Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam and undertaken a large number of marine infrastructure works and other technical works of various shore establishments.
• Headed by : Vice-Admiral D.M. Deshpande

Deaths

• West Indies' cricket commentator Tony Cozier (75) passed away.
• In 2011, the London-based Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) awarded Cozier life membership for his services to the game.

Business & Economy

• Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday Kotak, with a net worth of $7.1 billion, is the only Indian in Forbes' 'Money Masters: The Most Powerful People In The Financial World' list of 40. 
• The 57-year-old is ranked 33rd in the list topped by Blackstone Group's CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who has a net worth of $10.2 billion.
• Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm today launched its digital wallet service 'JioMoney Digital Wallet'. 
• The wallet app is available on both the Android and iOS platforms. 
• It will let users make bill payments, shop online and send and receive money. 
• Note : The Reserve Bank of India in 2015 granted license to the Reliance Industries to set up a payments bank.

Awards & Honors

• Indian American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan was among 56 “State Teachers of the Year” honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.

New Appointments

• Justice Tinlianthang Vaiphei of the Guwahati High Court will be the new acting Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court.
• Justice Navin Sinha, Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court has been moved as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
• Former BCCI President Shashank Manohar, who resigned recently, was today elected unopposed as the ICC's first independent Chairman for two years. 
• Mumbai-based real estate company Kanakia Group has appointed Real Madrid manager and former France football team captain Zinedine Zidane as their brand ambassador for their upcoming project, Kanakia Paris. 
• Note : The project, which aims to recreate a Parisian lifestyle experience to the public, will be constructed in the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai.
• Music composer AR Rahman today accepted the Indian Olympic Association's offer to become the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics. 
• Important Note : Rahman is India's fourth Goodwill Ambassador after actor Salman Khan, Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. 

Sports

• Spanish football giants Real Madrid were named 2016's most valuable football team for a fourth consecutive year by Forbes. 
• Former Australian captain Michael Clarke is set to feature in Hong Kong’s Twenty20 Blitz, an Indian Premier League-styled T20 league. 

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