Current Affairs - February 13, 2018 Current Affairs

The Gevora Hotel in Dubai, developed by the Al Attar Group now become the "world's tallest hotel". It stands 356 meters and 53 centimeters tall. It is one meter taller than the previous holder of the title, the JW Marriott Marquis, in the same city. The title has been confirmed by Guinness Book of World Records.

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched the first tests of the world's first autonomous pods. Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched these autonomous pods in collaboration with Next Future Transportation. Autonomous pods commute in dedicated lanes and are designed to travel short and medium distances. The pods can commute at an average speed of 20 kilometres per hour. It operates on a rechargeable battery that supports three hours of operation. Each pod measures 2.87 metres in length, 2.24 metres in width and 2.82 metres in height. It weighs about 1,500 kilograms. Each pod can carry 10 riders at a time.

The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari has released India's first-ever Highway Capacity Manual (Indo-HCM) in New Delhi on February 12, 2018. The manual has been developed by CSIR - CRRI on the basis of an extensive, country-wide study of the traffic characteristics on different categories of roads like single lane, two-lane, multi-lane urban roads, inter-urban highways and expressways and the associated intersections on these roads. The manual lays down guidelines for when and how to expand or manage different types of roads and their intersections and the level of services to be put in place. It is designed to be a useful tool for guiding road engineers and policy makers in the country. It has been developed based on the unique nature and diversity of traffic on Indian roads.

Kishan Gangolli of Karnataka won the National 'A' Chess Championship for Blind for the 5th consecutive time, at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The 13th edition of the National 'A' Chess Championship was organised by the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB). In the 13th round, Kishan Gangolli finished in a draw against Odisha's Prachurya Kumar Pradhan. Kishan Gangolli won the National 'A' Chess Championship for Blind. After the 13 rounds, Kishan Gangolli (Rating 1996) secured 10.5 points. Ashvin Makwana (Rating 1744) scored 9.5 points. Soundarya Kumar Pradhan (Rating 1753) secured 9 points.

Vikas Sathaye, an Indian-born engineer, along with three other people won the scientific and engineering award, at the Oscars 2018 Scientific and Technical Awards in Beverly Hills, United States. The four-member team that included Vikas Sathaye was awarded for the concept, design, engineering and implementation of the Shotover K1 Camera system. Other members of the team are Brad Hurndell, John Coyle and Shane Buckham. It is a 6 axis stabilised aerial camera mount. The camera mount can be attached to the base of a helicopter. It eliminates vibration to provide a steady footage. The mount can move the camera head in required direction by the operator who is inside the helicopter. A joystick is used to control the camera movement.

The International Conference on Unani Medicine was held in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Minister of State (IC) for Ministry of Development of Northern Pics. It was organized by Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under Ministry of AYUSH is organizing as part of the celebration of Unani Day. The Various national level eminent personalities and stakeholders from academia, industry, regulators, and researchers in the field of Unani Medicine participant.

China plans to select 5,000 movie theaters to screen propaganda films and will boost their box offices with group sales, discounted tickets and another financial backing. China, the world's second-biggest film market, saw movie ticket sales rise 13.5 percent last year to over $8.6 billion. Chinese-made movies accounted for 54 percent of ticket sales, with baldly nationalistic action thriller "Wolf Warrior 2" topping the box office.

The Railway Sports Promotion Board has lifted the 8th edition of Senior National Women's Hockey Championship 2018, thrashing Madhya Pradesh 4-0 in the final to finish the tournament without losing a game on February 11. Vandana scored two goals while Priyanka Wankhede and Anupa Barla one each. In the bronze medal match, Haryana beat home team Jharkhand 2-0.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced that "Dada-Dadi Park" for senior citizens will soon be set up in all cities of Jharkhand.

Swayam Prakash Pani (41), a 2000-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has taken charge as the new Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Range on February 12, 2018. With this, he became the youngest officer to hold the post. Pani has served in key positions, including deputy IG, south Kashmir range, senior superintendent of police, Kulgam and Kathua. He has also held position in the served in the Intelligence Bureau and National Investigation Agency (NIA). He replaced Munir Ahmad Khan, who has been given the charge of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) security and home guards.

The Institute Of Directors organized it's 12th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in Bengaluru, Karnataka. In the conference, the Prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2017 were presented. The leadership award for philanthropy and social change was presented to Mr. Vineet Nayar, Founder Chairman, Sampark Foundation.

India is to host the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) Summit on 11th March 2018, in Delhi. French President Emanuel Macron will participate in the First International Solar Alliance Summit. Leaders of African countries, Presidents of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, leaders of South American co untries and Pacific Islands are expected to attend the summit. The International Solar Alliance is a treaty based inter-governmental alliance. It comprises of 121 solar energy abundant nations located between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

As per a report published in Water Resources Research, Phosphorus levels in freshwater bodies across the world are escalating and this could pose a serious threat to the ecosystem. The report outlined that globally, on account of human activities, about 1.5 teragrams of phosphorus (one teragram is equal to one billion kilograms) was dumped into the freshwater systems every year. Breaking it down by country, China contributed the most with 30%, followed by India (8%), the USA (7%) and Spain and Brazil (6% each). The researchers also assessed the phosphorus-related water pollution levels in 20 river basins across the world. In the assessment, Huang He river basin of China was found to be having highest phosphorus-related water pollution. Ganges basin (in India) ranked fourth in this list.