Current Affairs - April 21, 2017 Current Affairs

China launched its first unmanned cargo spacecraft on a mission to dock with the country's space station, marking further progress in the ambitious Chinese space program. It was powered by a Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket, Tianzhou-1 roared into the air from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern Hainan Province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Google launches the Areo app that aggregates food delivery and home services start-ups in India. It's currently operational in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Google has partnered with companies such as Box8, Freshmenu and Faasos for food delivery and UrbanClap and Zimmber for home services.

Chief Justice J S Khehar set an example for other judges by implementing on Thursday the Centre's decision to curb VIP culture by banning use of red beacon atop official cars irrespective of the Constitutional post.

India and South Korea has recently signed an agreement to firm up bilateral cooperation in defence shipbuilding. The agreement will form the basis of defence cooperation between the two countries in shipbuilding. Under the MoU, the two sides will nominate one shipyard each for this purpose.India has already picked Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) while Korea will make the nomination soon.

Not For Sale is published by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), nearly 30% of World Heritage Sites are plagued by poaching, illegal logging and fishing.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed every year on April 20 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to raise awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of each of the six official languages of the world body. April 20 was chosen as the date for the Chinese language to pay tribute to Cang Jie, a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma were the only two Indians to make it to an annual list of '100 most influential people in the world' this year released by the Time magazine

Dr Bhakti Yadav, the first woman doctor from Indore, was conferred the award in recognition of her service to the poor. She is the first female MBBS doctor from Indore and her inspiring spirit to serve patients till her last breath is laudable.

The Parliament of Thailand on 20 April 2017 agreed to transfer control of royal agencies from the government to the new King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Members of the military-appointed legislature said that the decision was taken in a confidential session.

The 2017 Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize has been awarded to Giuseppina Nicolini, Mayor of Lampedusa (Italy) and to the nongovernmental organization 'SOS Mediterranee (France)' for their work to save the lives of refugees and migrants and welcome them with dignity. SOS Mediterranee is a civic, European organization for the rescue of people in distress in the Mediterranean. The prize includes a cheque of USD 150,000, a gold medal and a peace diploma.

Chandigarh, The Punjab government has decided to set up book banks in different schools so that needy students do not have to buy books at the start of every academic year and also to prevent "wastage of paper".

Malaysia Airlines is first to sign up to a new service that will track its airplanes anywhere in the world using orbiting satellites. The company's planes will be tracked minute-by-minute using the new system, which boasts complete worldwide coverage,even over "ocean, polar, and remote regions".

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a review of the Yash Bharti awards conferred on personalities from various fields during the previous Samajwadi Party regime. The tradition of giving away the honour which includes a cash award of Rs 11 lakh and Rs 50,000 in monthly lifetime pension.

The cricket icon Kapil Dev will be honoured with the 75th Master Dinanath Mangeshkar award on April 24, 2017 for his outstanding contribution to Indian Cricket. Beside this, Actor Aamir Khan will be honoured with the Vishesh Puraskar for Best Film "Dangal". Apart from this, legendary actress Vyjayanthimala Bali will be honoured with Master Dinanath Vishesh Puraskar for her achievements in Hindi cinema.

Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been disqualified from running in next month's presidential election. The decision was taken by the Guardian Council, a clerical body charged with vetting candidates for the May 19 election.

The first-ever World Ocean Festival (WOF) will be held in New York City, United States from June 4, 2017, which will be organized by the Global Brian Foundation (GBF). As part of the festival, activists and enthusiasts will take to the streets and waterways of New York City to raise their voices to reverse the declining health of our oceans.

The All India Radio (AIR) Aizawl has been honoured with the prestigious Lelte Award at an impressive 26th Award Ceremony held at Chanmari YMA Hall in Aizawl. The award is given in recognition of the role played by AIR Aizawl for the overall progress & development of Mizoram and for promotion of Mizo language & literature and for its contribution in the field of healthcare & education and in promotion of brotherhood. The Lelte Special Award was received by D R Lalropuia, Director (E) & Head of Office.

The 2017 BRICS Film Festival will be held in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province from June 23 to 27. During the festival, 30 films from BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South AfricA) will be screened, including an anthology by five directors from the aforementioned countries, "Where has the time gone". The feature film consisting of five 18-minute shorts on the same theme is a joint work by Walter Salles from Brazil, Aleksey Fedorchenko from Russia, Madhur Bhandarkar from India, Jahmil X. T. Qubeka from South Africa, and Jia Zhangke from China.

A set of four rare stamps featuring with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi has been sold for a record £500,000 at an auction in the UK. The Indian stamps were particularly rare owing to the fact they were in a set of four.