TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS 2016

1. Google Acquires startup “Synergyse” of Varun Malhotra

• The Google has acquired business technology startup Synergyse founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur Varun Malhotra. With this acquisition, Synergyse will be joining the Google Apps team and help it to accelerate its mission and build Google Apps. 

• Synergyse was launched in 2013 with an aim to teach users how to use Google Applications.

2. United Nations launches Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Zika Virus Response

• The United Nations has launched UN Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak. 

• The fund was launched by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, United States.

3. 2015 Crony-Capitalism Index: India Ranks Ninth 

• India is Ranked Ninth in 2015 Crony-Capitalism Index with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

• The index was based on new study by The Economist which had used data from a list of the World’s Billionaires and their worth published by Forbes.

4. First Muslim Mayor of London is Sadikh Khan 

• Sadiq Khan of the British Labour party has been elected the New Mayor of London. Sadiq Khan became London’s First Muslim Mayor. 

• Sadikh Khan is the son of bus driver, immigrants from Pakistan who settled in London in the 1960s. 

5. Delhi No Longer the World's Most Polluted City: WHO 

• World Health Organization has said that India is home to four of the five cities in the world with the worst air pollution. The dirtiest air was recorded at Zabol in Iran, which suffers from months of dust storms in the summer. 

• The next four are all Indian cities - Gwalior, Allahabad, Patna and Raipur. From the No. 1 position in 2014, India's capital New Delhi is the ninth worst city, measured by the amount of particulate matter under 2.5 micro grams found in every cubic meter of air. 

6. Obama Honors Indian-American Elementary Teacher

• An Indian-American woman elementary teacher from Texas has been honored by US President Barack Obama at the White House for her excellent work in the field of education. 

• Revathi Balakrishnan, a gifted teacher at Patsy Sommer Elementary School, was also named 2016 'Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year'. O

• riginally from Chennai, Balakrishnan was a systems analyst with Liberty Mutual, managing databases and programming for about 12 years before becoming a teacher.

7. Kenya to Close World's Biggest Refugee Camp in Dadaab

• The Kenyan government has decided to close World's biggest refugee camp in Dadaab. An estimated 3,28,000 refugees mostly from Somalia are staying in Dadaab camp. 

• The UN has urged Kenya to reconsider its decision to close Dadaab camp. US Secretary of State John Kerry said, he was concerned by the decision to close the camps.

8. Dilma Rousseff to Face Trial after Impeachment in Brazil

• Brazil President Dilma Rousseff to face trial after the Senate votes to impeach and suspend her;Rousseff accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit;Rousseff says victim of a great injustice.

5. SAARC Countries to Set up a Uniform Toll Free Helpline for Children Across the Region 

• Member countries to cooperate on ICT initiatives to trace missing children, on the lines of Track child and Khoya paya. 

• The three day historic meeting of South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) ended in New Delhi today with a stepped up commitment to promote child rights and safety and security of children in the SAARC region. 

6. CASA-1000 Power Project Launched in Tajikistan

• Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan launched the construction of an electricity power grid today to link the four nations to a jointly operated power supply and promote regional stability, security and prosperity. 

• Officials say the so-called CASA-1000 project comprises the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of a 750-kilometer high voltage direct current transmission system between Tajikistan and Pakistan via Afghanistan. 

7. An Islamist Leader has been Hanged in Bangladesh 

• Motiur Rahman Nizami had been convicted of genocide, rape and torture. Nizami had led Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami. 

• He is the fourth leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party to have been executed since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up a war crimes tribunal to look into abuses during the independence war. 

• Nizami was the fifth and highest-ranked opposition leader to be executed since December 2013 for war crimes. 

8. Google Acquires Startup “Synergyse” of Varun Malhotra

• The Google has acquired business technology startup Synergyse founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur Varun Malhotra. 

• With this acquisition, Synergyse will be joining the Google Apps team and help it to accelerate its mission and build Google Apps. Synergyse was launched in 2013 with an aim to teach users how to use Google Applications.

9. United Nations Launches Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Zika Virus Response

• The United Nations has launched UN Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak. 

• The fund was launched by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, United States.

10. India Ranks Ninth in 2015 Crony-Capitalism Index 

• India is Ranked ninth in 2015 Crony-Capitalism Index with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

• The index was based on new study by The Economist which had used data from a list of the world’s billionaires and their worth published by Forbes.