General Knowledge and Current Affairs Pack 20160802 21:00

1. The New Zealand government on Tuesday agreed to pay more than half a million dollars to a man who spent 12 years in jail after he was convicted of killing five members of his own family but was later found not guilty at a retrial.
2. The Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) has launched the work on constructing a 65-MW solar power plant at Block-1.An NLC press note said the new plant was part of a larger plan to establish 4,000 MW so...
3. The Night Manager" director Susanne Bier says she will keep making films in spy genre as she finds such stories fascinating.
4. The odds straight men face in finding a date on Tinder or other online relationship sites are even longer than we thought.
5. The Odisha government has decided to recruit members of transgender community as warders in jails of the State.“We have directed the Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission to start the process of rec...
6. The Office of the National Security Adviser of Afghanistan has said Russia is considering a request by the government of Afghanistan to equip the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). ...
7. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) accelerated to 54.2 last month from 53.3 one month earlier, as operating conditions strengthened across the sector, buoyed by inventory building ahead of the high sales season, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.
8. The Opposition BJP in the Bihar Assembly on Monday supported demand for reservation of 80 per cent of seats to Bihar natives in govt. jobs and admission in the State-run professional colleges, while h...
9. The Opposition came together on Monday to attack the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over issues ranging from a house collapse in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar to the alleged incomplete desilting of the C...
10. The Opposition leaders in the Parliament slammed the union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his apparent jibe at actor Aamir Khan over intolerance debate.]]
11. The outbreak of terror attacks in Northern Europe has also translated into growing hostility toward migration, writes Tim Lister.
12. The outflow from the Krishnagiri reservoir stood at 1059 cusecs, the same as the inflow into the reservoir. Two days after a flood warning was issued for the low-lying areas falling within the watersh...
13. The outstanding balance of 7.02% Government Stock 2016 is repayable at par on August 16, 2016. No interest will accrue there on from the said dates. In the
14. The Pandora Effect: Why curiosity usually beats common sense
15. The panel, set up by the Modi government to review the cancellation of 29 allotments under UPA 1, has found that 26 cancellations out of the 29 cases were "unjustified".
16. The past few weeks have been full of several unfortunate violent events: the massacre in Orlando, the killing of black men by police officers, the sniper attack in Dallas, the Bastille Day attack in France, the violent coup attempt in Turkey and the shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
17. The Patna Pirates have won the fourth edition of STAR Sports-ProKabaddi League by defeating Jaipur Pink Panthers.
18. The United Nations in South Sudan today condemned unequivocally reports of widespread sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, of women and young girls, by soldiers and unidentified armed men, stressing that such acts constitute grave violations of international human rights law and may be regarded as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
19. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has recorded a nearly five-fold increase in the number to whom it has provided assistance in hard-to-reach areas across war-torn Yemen, through an innovative, locally driven voucher initiative.
20. The United States has expanded its airstrikes against ISIS into Libya, bombing targets in the coastal city of Sirte, U.S. officials said Monday.
21. The universe is 13.8 billion years old, while our planet formed just 4.5 billion years ago. Some scientists think this time gap means that life on other planets could be billions of years older than ours. However, new theoretical work suggests that present-day life is actually premature from a cosmic perspective.
22. The Untold Story of Magic Leap, the World’s Most Secretive Startup
23. The upcoming two-day national convention of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) to be held this month is expected to focus on the Housing for All 2022 scheme of the NDA government.The m...
24. The uproar by opposition, aided by Shiv Sena, over separate statehood for Vidarbha rocked both the houses on Monday, despite Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarifying that the government has no such...
25. The uptrend in Havells India is gaining momentum. The stock surged to record its 52-week high at ₹405.75 and closed 3.7 per cent higher on Monday. This surge has helped the stock to break above a key...
26. The U.S. conducted airstrikes against Islamic State’s stronghold in Libya for the first time Monday, coming to the aid of the United Nations-backed Libyan government in its burgeoning battle against the extremist group.
27. The US Federal Reserve should be cautious on interest rate increases due to lingering risks to the US economy, one of its most influential policymakers yesterday said, appearing to signal that the chance of a hike by the end of the year was fading.
28. The U.S. government has been providing assistance to Indian authorities since July 28 in the search for the An-32 aircraft which went missing over the Bay of Bengal.The Indian Air Force aircraft went...
29. The U.S. military began conducting airstrikes against ISIS in Libya, the Pentagon announced. The strikes were authorized by President Obama at the recommendation of Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
30. The US state of Florida has identified 10 additional cases likely caused by local mosquito bites, bringing the total number of people with locally transmitted Zika to 14, the state's Governor Rick Scott said on Monday.
31. The VCR Is Officially Dead, But We’ll Never Forget It
32. The Visa-PayPal pact sparked a selloff in PayPal shares and underscored that Silicon Valley’s new financial players may eventually ally with firms they once hoped to compete against.
33. The Washington Post's Fact Checkers awarded Hillary Clinton "four Pinocchios" -- their worst score -- after the former Secretary of State attempted to defend her use of a private email server in an interview Sunday.
34. The waterways of Rio are contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria.
35. The webland says 874 acres in Survey No. 233 is Oorakonda mini-reservoir site near Rajam village in Butchaiahpeta mandal but the locals are shocked to see that 25 hectares of land in that area has bee...
36. The West Bengal CM also said that the Center has withheld funds for minority development by citing 'lame excuses'
37. The Wireless Association, an industry trade group also known as CTIA, and other groups are petitioning for the case to be reheard by all of the court's judges.
38. The wireless data transmission via mobile communication is reliable and affordable. However, data volume per user is rising exponentially. Causes are not only the continuously growing number of smartphones, but also trends as car-to-car (C2C) or machine-to-machine (M2M) communication – cars and machines need to communicate in high speed with each other. From 2020 the 5G mobile standard is aiming to transmit data rapidly and energy-efficiently. For that purpose researchers are developing new power amplifiers based on the semiconductor gallium nitride.
39. The workers who continue to be employed by the Group, directly or indirectly, have not been paid their salaries
40. The world around Narsingh
41. The world around Narsingh after NADA clean chit
42. The world can never get enough storytellers
43. The world outside, in a strange way, is a mirror to one's inner self. How do you face the violence of the world?
44. The world will flourish when all cultures in their diversity are respected, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said as he called Hinduism as a religion which is “more inclusive and not exclusive.” Mr.Bhagwat de...
45. The writer said that he hasn't yet penned a book about race as he doesn't "have very many black friends" and has "never been in love with a black woman", which he admitted was an embarrassing confession
46. They had even purchased 75 saplings, which they were not allowed to plant
47. The young athlete was taken aback by the question from the man on the staff of a prominent sports institution. “Do you have any problem in giving your urine sample for testing?” he said. “If you have,...
48. 'They were responsible for themselves from age five!' Billionaire Elon Musk's mother, 68, on how she raised three wildly successful kids, as she shares the secrets behind her 50-YEAR modeling career
49. The  Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner is set to take to the Bonneville Speedway in Utah within weeks to try and break the motorcycle world land speed record. The bike is a 25.5-ft (7.8-m) long) carbon Kevlar monster powered by two methanol-powered turbocharged Triumph Rocket III engines that kick out a combined 1,000 bhp (746 kW) at 9,000 rpm, and will be ridden by Guy Martin (inset).
50. This is not just mine but India's victory
51. This is the GST end game: Either it passes now or it is effectively shelved until the next general elections
52. This week our bladesmiths are given a "twisted" challenge when they are asked to forge a weapon from cable steel. The competition slowly unravels as they handle this difficult steel. After two rounds only two are left to return home and forge an Egyptian Khopesh. Back at the forge their iconic weapons are put through their paces but only one can be crowned Forged In Fire champion.
53. This week’s insurgent counterattack comes at a transitional moment in the ongoing war, with rebel groups in the city fighting both to survive and remain relevant as a national force in the face of regime advances and the growing influence of extremist groups
54. This year's crop of Arthur C. Clarke award hopefuls will grip you and not let go
55. Thousands of Indian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia without pay or provisions
56. ThousandsofIndianworkersstrandedinSaudiArabiawithoutpayorprovisions', 'width
57. Three men are said to be in custody after Aparecida Schunck was found in a house in the Sao Paulo region, having been abducted from her own home ...
58. Three men were arrested on Monday for allegedly trying to kill a Padgha resident using a crude bomb. The police said the main accused wanted to get back at his rival in love, but ended up injuring his...
59. Three-month special drive in Agency
60. Throughout his 14-month presidential campaign, Donald Trump has repeatedly said things that could have caused lasting damage to any ordinary candidate. But strategists say his feud with the Muslim parents of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan could challenge the notion of Trump as a Teflon candidate.
61. Thus far in the current calendar year 2016, Bajaj Finance zoom over 80% against 8% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.
62. Tiger’s sister to assist director for his next
63. Tight security for Adi Amavasai
64. “Till the Chhattisgarh govt. stops all construction works being carried out ‘illegally’”
65. “Time is not far away when people will have to carry oxygen cylinder”, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) today said, pulling up authorities in Himachal Pradesh for not planting a single tree after cl...
66. Time-lapse into India’s longest train journey
67. Timely completion of the project and timely delivery of the apartment or plot to the allottee by the promoter is the essence of the Agreement to be signed between the promoter and allottee under the Real Estate (Development & Regulation) Act, 2016.
68. Tim Kaine: a white mayor in a divided city with a painful racial past
69. Tipu is raw material for much nationalist myth-making, but what kind of man was he really?
70. Tiruvannamalai Heritage Foundation launched
71. To add to our joy, the men’s mile relay team is now the second best team in the world, just behind the USA.
72. To attract the beneficiaries of 7th Pay Commission, SBI has launched cheaper home loan schemes for defence and other government employees with instalLment tenure extending up to 75 years of
73. Today, Aleppo is at the heart of Syria's civil war, but before the war, many would travel to the city for its amazing history and architecture.
74. Today's Pick: Havells India (English) by Lavanya Prabhakaran
75. Today's Pick (Tamil): Havells India
76. To enable doctors and staff nurses in the State-run hospitals to handle high-risk pregnancies, obstetric and neonatal emergencies better, the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare (SIHFW) has c...
77. To garner support for GST, govt reaches out to CPI(M)
78. TOI Edit: Nitish’s amendments to prohibition laws will produce maximum government, minimum governance
79. TOI Survey: Organ donation in India
80. Tokyo has elected its first female governor, the Arabic-speaking environmentalist and North Korea hawk Yuriko Koike.
81. Tokyo Voters Elect City's First Woman Governor
82. Too near our doorsteps: guns and the war on drugs
83. Top BJP leaders review situation in Kashmir
84. Top-level rejig at Mondelez India
85. To resolve cases related to bad loans, besides revitalising and turning around over-leveraged borrowers, ICICI Bank has inked an MoU with Apollo India Credit Opportunity Management LLC and AION Capit...
86. Tough measures to fix Egypt's economy
87. Tough measures to fix Egypt's economy" Tough measures to fix Egypt's economy
88. Track and Field: His dad was a two-time, 1,500-meter Olympian. Now Matthew Centrowitz is, too.
89. Tracking a firm trend overseas, silver prices were higher by Rs 482 at Rs 47,962 per kg at the futures trade today as speculators widened their bets.At the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver for delive...
90. Train With the Men of Russia’s Fighter Pilot Academy
91. Transatlantic Coordinator travels to Seattle and Vancouver
92. Transfixed players have fallen off a cliff in California, wandered across the border in Canada and broken a limb in Australia, all while hunting Pokemon. Authorities at Auschwitz and the Hiroshima memorial have asked players to stay away; the police in Portugal, the Chinese army,
93. Transport Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said efforts were afoot to bring all public services being offered by his department online with senior officials currently working on a detailed proposal.D...
94. Travelers Championship opens with dedication to this year’s charity cause: ALS
95. Travel tips for planning a stress-free vacation
96. Trial Begins for Chinese Activist at Center of Government Crackdown
97. Triumph's Rocket Streamliner to attempt to break 376mph land speed record
98. Troubled Japanese Space Agency Seeks Fresh Start
99. Trump's criticism of Khizr Khan and Ghazala Khan, who took the stage at last week's Democratic convention, sparked a growing wave of concern and dismay from Republican lawmakers responding to the latest Trump outburst to blindside his party colleagues.
100. Trump campaign seeks Capitol Hill help for support in US Muslim soldier controversy
101. Trump Continues Feud With Muslim Soldier's Family