19th June 2019 Current Affairs
For the first time, India to host COP-14 of UNCCD in September 2019
- To address the issues of land degradation and desertification, for the first time, India will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in September 2019.
- It will be held between September 2 and 13, 2019 at the India Expo Center and Mart, New Delhi.
- India will take over the COP presidency from China for the next two years till 2021 until the next COP.
- Last Conference was held from 6-16 September 2017 in Ordos in the People’s Republic of China.
- Ahead of COP-14 Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Prakash Javadekar launched a flagship project.
- It is a part of a larger international initiative ‘Bonn Challenge’.
Note:
About UNCCD
UNCCD: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Date drafted: 17 June 1994
Effective: 26 December 1996
Second Edition of World Food India to be held in New Delhi from 1-4 November, 2019
- On June 17, 2019, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal announced that World Food India (WFI) 2019, a biennial event, will be held at Vigyan Bhawan and Rajpath Lawns in New Delhi from 1-4 November 2019.
- It will be the biggest gathering of all global and domestic stakeholders in the Food Processing Sector.
- This will be the second edition of WFI, first was held in 2017.
Note:
About MOFPI:
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 1988
3rd edition of Namaste Thailand Festival 2019 concludes in New Delhi
- A two-day event of Namaste Thailand Film Festival 2019 concluded its third edition at Select Citywalk in New Delhi.
- It was organized by Royal Thai Embassy with an aim to strengthen bilateral ties and increase cultural exchange between India and Thailand.
- The festival was inaugurated by the Ambassador of Thailand to India, H.E Chutintorn Gongsakdi.
Note:
About Thailand
Capital: Bangkok
Currency: Thai baht
Prime minister: Prayut Chan-o-cha
India will overtake China as world’s most populous country: UN report
- Around 2027, India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country.
- The new population projections indicate that nine countries — India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the US — will account for more than half of the projected growth in global population between now and 2050, with India registering the most increase, and the US, the least.
Note:
About China
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi
President: Xi Jinping
BIFAN 2019 to be held in Bucheon, South Korea
- 2019 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) will be held in Bucheon City, South Korea from June 27 to July 7, 2019.
- This is the 23rd edition of the film festival.
- This film festival is known as a Mecca of the film culture.
Note:
About South Korea
Currency: South Korean won Trending
Capital: Seoul
President: Moon Jae-in
Nihal Sarin wins blitz event at 2019 Asian Continental Chess Championship held in Xingtai, China
- India’s 14-year old Grand Master Nihal Sarin won the blitz event in the Asian Continental Chess Championship at Xingtai, China.
- Sarin scored eight points from nine rounds and finished a point ahead of the field.
- He had recently crossed 2600 Elo points on the FIDE rating list and became the third youngest to achieve the feat.
Note:
About China
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi
President: Xi Jinping
India beats South Africa to win FIH Series Finals 2019
- On June 16, 2019, In the FIH (Federation Internationale de Hockey) Men’s Series Finals hockey tournament 2019, India thrashed South Africa with 5-1 in a summit clash at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
- The goals were scored in the 2nd, 11th, 25th, 36th and 50th minutes.
- Dragflickers Varun Kumar (2nd and 49th minutes) and Harmanpreet Singh (11th and 25th) scored a brace each, while Vivek Sagar Prasad (35th) was the other goal scorer for India.
- South Africa’s lone goal was scored by Richard Pautz in the 53rd minute.
Note:
About FIH
FIH: International Hockey Federation
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
President: Narinder Batra
Founded: 7 January 1924
CEO: Thierry Weil (Apr 2018–Till Date)
Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar to be honoured with ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will honour Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar with ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’.
- This was decided by the Executive Council of JNU.
- They will be awarded on the third convocation ceremony of the university, which will be held in August 2019.
- They will be the first recipient of this award.
Note:
About JNU
Vice-Chancellor: Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar
Founded: 22 April 1969
Hero MotoCorp appoints Yerry Mina as its new brand ambassador
- On June 17, 2019, India’s leading two wheeler company, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, appointed Colombian professional footballer, Yerry Fernando Mina González(24) as its new brand ambassador.
- The 24-year-old Mina – one of the promising young footballers – has consistently delivered a series of impressive performances for the Colombian National Football Team (during FIFA World Cup Russia 2018) and his clubs.
- Commenting on the announcement Rajat Bhargava, Head of Strategy, Performance Transformation & Global Business, Hero MotoCorp said “Being a youth brand, Hero resonates with the youngsters of today, who are fearless, passionate and self-reliant.
Note:
About Hero MotoCorp
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founder: Brijmohan Lall Munjal
Founded: 19 January 1984
Lt Gen Faiz Hameed appointed Pakistan’s new ISI chief
- The Pakistan military has appointed Lt. General Faiz Hameed as its new DG, ISI.
- Hameed will replace its current head Lt. General Asim Munir, who was appointed to the post following the retirement of his predecessor Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar.
- Hameed, who was the head of the intelligence agency’s internal security wing.
- The ISI has been accused of attempts to control the press and to influence last year’s elections, besides a crackdown against human rights groups including the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement.
Note:
About ISI
ISI: Inter-Services Intelligence
Headquarters: Islamabad, Pakistan
Founder: Robert Cawthome
Founded: 1 January 1948
Sustainable Gastronomy Day 2019 observed on June 18
- Sustainable Gastronomy Day was observed on June 18, 2019, across the world.
- It highlights the need to focus the attention on the role that sustainable gastronomy can play.
- The day also reaffirms that all cultures and civilizations are contributors and crucial enablers of sustainable development.
- It is study of relationship between food and culture. It is an art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, cooking styles of particular regions, and science of good eating.
NASA to shut down Spitzer Space Telescope after 16 yrs. in 2020
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration‘s (NASA) Spitzer Space Telescope will be shut down on January 30, 2020, after 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light.
- This was announced by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
- It captures infrared light, which is often emitted by “warm” objects that are not quite hot enough to radiate visible light.
- Spitzer has lifted the veil on hidden objects in nearly every corner of the universe, from a new ring around Saturn to observations of some of the most distant galaxies known.
Note:
About NASA
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Founded: 29 July 1958, United States
Armies of India and Myanmar carried out a coordinated operation ‘Operation Sunrise 2’
- The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas named ‘Operation Sunrise 2’.
- They targeted the militant groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam to bust terror camps.
- It was conducted along the Indo-Myanmar border, during which a number of camps of north-east-based militant groups were busted
Note:
About Myanmar
Capital: Naypyitaw
Currency: Burmese kyat
President: Win Myint
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy passed away
- Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy died after he fainted in court following a hearing.
- Morsy, who was the first democratically elected President in Egypt’s modern history, had been in jail since 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
- Morsy was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012 and a life sentence for espionage in a case related to the Gulf state of Qatar.
Note:
About Egypt
President: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Trending
Capital: Cairo
Currency: Egyptian pound
Lucknow builds its first road from plastic waste
- In an environment-friendly initiative, Lucknow constructed its first plastic waste road.
- The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has started using plastic waste to construct roads as a pilot project.
- This environment-friendly road is being constructed as a trial from Gomti Nagar Police Station to Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow.
In Bihar, 160 children lost their lives due to Encephalitis and heat-wave
- In Bihar, 160 children have lost their lives due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and heat wave.
- The total toll due to AES and heat wave has been pegged at 104 and 56 respectively.
- As many as 32 deaths due to heat-waves have been reported from Aurangabad, seven from Nawada and 17 from Gaya in the state so far.
- The total toll due to AES has been pegged at 104 including 18 deaths at Kejriwal Hospital in Muzaffarpur.
Note:
About Encephalitis
The toxic substance in lychee causes Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), locally known as Chamki Bukhar, which is a form of brain fever that happens due to the inflammation of the brain.
Try out the quiz ?
1. India will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) of UNCCD. This conference to be held in which city?
For the first time, India to host COP-14 of UNCCD in September 2019. It will be held between September 2 and 13, 2019 at the India Expo Center and Mart, New Delhi.
2. Second Edition of World Food India to be held in New Delhi. Who is the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries?
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal announced that World Food India (WFI) 2019, a biennial event, will be held at Vigyan Bhawan and Rajpath Lawns in New Delhi from 1-4 November 2019.
3. 3rd edition of Namaste Thailand Festival 2019 to be held in which city?
A two-day event of Namaste Thailand Film Festival 2019 concluded its third edition at Select Citywalk in New Delhi.
4. According to UN report, in which year India will overtake China and will become the world’s most populous country?
India will overtake China as world’s most populous country: UN report Around 2027, India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country.
5. Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) - 2019 will be held in Bucheon City. In which country Bucheon City is situated?
BIFAN 2019 to be held in Bucheon, South Korea. 2019 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) will be held in Bucheon City, South Korea from June 27 to July 7, 2019.
6. Who has won the blitz event in the Asian Continental Chess Championship at Xingtai, China?
India’s 14-year old Grand Master Nihal Sarin won the blitz event in the Asian Continental Chess Championship at Xingtai, China.
7. India has beaten South Africa to win FIH Series Finals 2019 at the Kalinga Stadium. Kalinga Stadium is situated in which state?
In the FIH (Federation Internationale de Hockey) Men’s Series Finals hockey tournament 2019, India thrashed South Africa with 5-1 in a summit clash at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
8. Which University will honour Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar with “Distinguished Alumni Award”?
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will honour Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar with ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’.
9. Young footballer Yerry Fernando Mina González will be the new brand ambassador of which of the two wheeler company?
India’s leading two wheeler company, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, appointed Colombian professional footballer, Yerry Fernando Mina González(24) as its new brand ambassador. The 24-year-old Mina - one of the promising young footballers - has consistently delivered a series of impressive performances for the Colombian National Football Team (during FIFA World Cup Russia 2018) and his clubs.
10. Sustainable Gastronomy Day is observed in which day?
Sustainable Gastronomy Day was observed on June 18, 2019, across the world. It highlights the need to focus the attention on the role that sustainable gastronomy can play.
11. After how many years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light, NASA will shut down Spitzer Space Telescope in January 30, 2020?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration‘s (NASA) Spitzer Space Telescope will be shut down on January 30, 2020, after 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light.
12. What is "Operation Sunrise 2"?
The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas named ‘Operation Sunrise 2’.
13. Which Development Authority has constructed its first road from plastic waste?
In an environment-friendly initiative, Lucknow constructed its first plastic waste road. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has started using plastic waste to construct roads as a pilot project.
14. Who is Lt. General Faiz Hameed?
Lt Gen Faiz Hameed appointed Pakistan’s new ISI chief. The Pakistan military has appointed Lt. General Faiz Hameed as its new DG, ISI.
15. Former president Mohamed Morsy has passed away. He was the president of which country?
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy died after he fainted in court following a hearing.
16. In which state record 160 children lost their lives due to Encephalitis and heat-wave?
In Bihar, 160 children lost their lives due to Encephalitis and heat-wave. In Bihar, 160 children have lost their lives due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and heat wave.
