Current Affairs - 4 October 2014

Defused grenade found on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s standby Air India aircraft

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  NEW DELHI: Indian security establishment has gone in a tizzy with the discovery of a defused grenade inside an Air India aircraft kept standby in Delhi for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent trip to the US.
  
  The Boeing-746 was kept on standby at IGI Airport, which means it was fully ready to fly out for the PM in case the Jumbo Jet being used by him developed a snag. According to sources, the aircraft was released for commercial operation when Modi landed here on Thursday night.
  
  
  
  
  

33 killed as bomb blast rumour sparks stampede during Dussehra celebrations in Patna

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  PATNA: At least 33 people, most of them women and children, were killed and 26 injured in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan during Vijaya Dashmi celebrations on Friday. Panic stricken people ran amok in confusion after an electric pole snapped with a loud bang, leading many to believe a bomb had gone off.
  
  In the melee and the darkness that followed due to power cut, which was soon after the effigies of Ravan, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad were burnt, heart-rending scenes of dead and injured being rushed to hospital were witnessed, perhaps even by Bihar chief minister Jitan Manjhi who was the chief guest at the function.

PM Modi, Sonia to join the Haryana poll fight today

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  CHANDIGARH: Election campaign in Haryana will shift to next gear on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi starting their rallies in the khapland for the October 15 polls.
  
  On the first day of his campaigning on Saturday, Modi will address a rally at Karnal while Sonia will speak at rallies in Meham (Rohtak) and Sirsa. She will be reaching Meham in a private helicopter before moving to Sirsa, near Rajasthan border.
  
  Modi will return to the state on Monday to address three rallies at Hisar, Kurukshetra and Faridabad. The party has planned 10 rallies for Modi to cover all the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. "The schedule for rest of the rallies would be released later," said BJP state spokesperson Veer Kumar Yadav.

Something is cooking between betrayer BJP and NCP, Uddhav Thackeray says

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  KOLHAPUR: His party's bitter divorce from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the state assembly elections has not fazed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. In an interview with TOI, Thackeray (54) poured scorn on BJP and expressed confidence that Sena will get a majority in the elections. Accusing BJP of betrayal, he said 'something is cooking between it and NCP' since they broke their respective alliances within hours of each other. Excerpts from the interview:
  
  BJP leader Nitin Gadkari indicated his party may ally with Sena after the polls. Are you ready for such an alliance? 
  
  I don't believe in ifs and buts. I am sure Shiv Sena will get a majority in the elections. I don't think we will need anybody's help to form the next government. It was BJP that decided to break our 25-year-old alliance. Now, their leaders say they can consider a post-poll tie-up. Then why did you break this partnership? Is it because you have a new partner? There are reports that BJP and NCP have been growing closer since the Lok Sabha polls. We opposed the plan to have NCP in the maha yuti at that time. Now let us see what happens.

Hundreds at US’s iconic Harvard University receive email shooting threats: Report

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  CAMBRIDGE: Hundreds of students and staff at Harvard University received emails on Friday from a sender who threatened to come to the Ivy League school "tomorrow" and shoot them, according to campus police. 
  
  The Harvard University police department said it could not verify that the threat was authentic but said it would step up security around the university's campus, centred in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, over the weekend. 
  
  Boston-area residents have been on an elevated state of alert since a pair of homemade bombs was set off at the city's marathon in April 2013, killing three people and injuring 260. 
  
  University police said they had alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement.

Hong Kong police arrest ‘triads’ over protest clashes

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  HONG KONG: Hong Kong police have arrested eight suspected members of triad criminal gangs over clashes at ongoing pro-democracy protests, after attacks by groups including Beijing supporters left demonstrators injured and bloodied. 
  
  The announcement, early on Saturday by police that they had arrested 19 men, including several thought to have ties to the city's notorious organised crime gangs, came after student protesters called off talks with the government, citing police failure to stop the attacks. 
  
  Hong Kong's main student union said it was walking away from negotiations after police appeared to ignore what it claimed was orchestrated violence carried out by paid thugs sent by authorities to stir up trouble, with the aim of discrediting the protesters. 
  
  "There is no other option but to call off talks," said the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS), one of several groups driving a campaign for free elections that has brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese city for a week.

Video released by Islamic State shows beheading of British hostage Alan Henning

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  LONDON: British taxi driver Alan Henning, who skipped Christmas with his family to raise funds to purchase ambulances and medical equipment and join an aid convoy to Syria, has been beheaded by Islamic State militants.
  
  Henning (47) from Eccles, Greater Manchester had been held captive in Syria for nine months by IS militants.
  
  Despite repeated requests from his wife who said that Henning "was working with Muslims to help the most vulnerable within Syria" IS on Friday night released a video showing Henning's beheading, making him the fourth western hostage and the second Briton to have been killed.
  
  The others who were beheaded on video were US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and Scottish aid worker David Haines.

Current Affairs Quiz 4 October 2014

• 1. With 11 Gold Medals, India finished at ____ in final Tally at Asian Games-2014.
  A. 5th Position
  B. 6th Position
  C. 7th Position
  D. 8th Position
• 2. Which cricketer were selected as Bradman Honouree 2014?
  A. Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh
  B. Virendra Sehwag and Mark Waugh 
  C. Ricky Ponting and Herschelle Gibbs
  D. AB De Villiers and Dhoni
• 3. World Heart Day was observed across the world on __________ with a theme Heart Choices NOT Hard Choices.
  A. 29 June
  B 29 July
  C. 29 August
  D. 29 September
• 4. __________ was sworn in as president of Afghanistan.
  A. Abdul Abdullah
  B. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai
  C. Hamid Karzai
  D. Muazzem Ali
• 5. Third Global Citizen Festival was held at the Central Park in ________.
  A. New York
  B. Washington DC 
  C. Chicago
  D. Seattle
• 6. World Tourism Day observed across the world on ___________ with the theme of Tourism and Community Development.
  A. 21 September
  B. 27 September
  C. 1 October
  D. 3 October
• 7. Justice HL Dattu sworn-in as the _________Chief Justice of India on 28 September 2014.
  A. 38th
  B. 42nd
  C. 47th
  D. 52nd
• 8. To whom did the President Pranab Mukherjee recently authorised to act as chief of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) until the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner ?
  A. CJI Justice Dattu 
  B. Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv
  C. Home Secretary Anil Goswami
  D. Ex CVC Pradeep Kumar 
• 9. The India-US Combined Military Training Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2014 concluded at Ranikhet in __________ from 17 September to 30 September 2014.
  A. Uttarakhand
  B. Rajasthan
  C. Tamilnadu
  D. Jammu and Kashmir
• 10. Former International ______ umpire Mohammad Ghouse died on 29 September 2014 following a brief illness.
  A. football
  B. cricket
  C. tennis
  D. chess
• Answer :
  
  1)D, 2)A, 3)D, 4)B, 5)A, 6)B, 7)B, 8)B, 9)A, 10)B