Current Affairs 29th May 2017

Current Affairs 29th May 2017 - Important Points

• Construction begins on world's largest telescope in - Chile
• Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, passed away on - 26th May 2017
•  Who has been appointed as Jamia Chancellor ?- Najma Heptulla, Manipur Governor
• Delhi Metro's Heritage Line inaugurated on - 28th May 2017
• Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis died on - 29th May 2017
• Cyclonic Storm MORA to strike - East-Central Bay of Bengal
• Global Icon Priyanka to be honoured with - Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award

Current Affairs 29th May 2017 - Details

Construction begins on world's largest telescope in - Chile

Construction began on the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) on 26th May 2017. After completion of this , it will be the world's largest optical telescope. The telescope will going to be located in Chile's Atacama Desert. Director General of ESO, Tim de Zeeuw, and President of the Republic of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria marked the attendance in the ceremony of inauguration of the construction of the telescope. The ELT, conceived by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is estimated to be around five times larger than the top observing instruments in use today. Located on a 3 kilometer meter-high mountain in the mid of the Atacama desert, it is expected to start operating in 2024.

Important Highlights

• ELT's main mirror will measure some 39 meters.
• It is designed to be an adaptive telescope with the ability to correct atmospheric turbulence.
• Oxford University scientists are playing a very crucial role in the project.
• Telescope's adaptive optics will provide extremely sharp images.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, passed away on - 26th May 2017

Zbigniew Brzezinski who was the National Security Adviser of former US President Jimmy Carter, passed away in Virginia on 26th May 2017. At the time of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1970s he served as a National Security Adviser to Carter.

More about Zbigniew Brzezinski

• Born on 28th March 1928, Zbigniew Brzezinski was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist.
• Brzezinski served as a counselor to former US President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968.
• He served as President Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser between 1977 to 1981.
• He was one of the few foreign policy experts to warn against the Iraq invasion in 2003.
• President Carter presented Brzezinski with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981.

 Who has been appointed as Jamia Chancellor ?- Najma Heptulla, Manipur Governor

Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur was appointed as the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia on 29th May 2017. Jamia’s Vice Chancellor, Talat Ahmad stated that the University will greatly benefit from Heptulla’s rich experience in both political and public life. He further added that it will be their privilege to work with her and learn from her distinguished career in the Parliament as well as internationally. The 77-year-old Heptulla will be succeeding Lt. Gen (Retd) MA Zaki, who completes his five-year term in May month.

More about Najma Heptulla

• Born on 13th April 1940, she is the grand-niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
• Her political career started with the Indian National Congress where she headed several divisions.
• She became the part of Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004.
• She is a five-time member of the Rajya Sabha and also served as the Deputy Chairman of the House for sixteen years.
• She was also one of the 13 vice-presidents of BJP in 2010.
• She took oath as the Union Minister of Minority Affairs under the Narendra Modi government on 26th May 2014 and was replaced by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in July 2016.

Delhi Metro's Heritage Line inaugurated on - 28th May 2017

Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu flagged off the first train of the Delhi Metro's Heritage Line on 28th May 2017 for public. With this, the residents of the densely-populated area of Old Delhi or Shahjahanabad will now have direct access to commercial centers such as Connaught Place, Janpath, offices in Central Secretariat and Faridabad satellite town.

Interesting Highlights

• The newly-launched Heritage line of the Delhi metro 
• The area between Delhi Gate and Kashmere Gate is the Heritage Region and is like a blessing for people commuting daily to Old Delhi.
• This line is beneficial for vendors who buy things from Old Delhi wholesale markets, as they can connect to the metro network through the violet line making easy transportation of goods as well as reduced cost of transportation.
• The Heritage Line is an extension of Delhi Metro Violet Line that runs between Faridabad and ITO presently and it has four stations- Kashmere Gate, Dilli Gate, Jama Masjid and Lal Quila.

Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis died on - 29th May 2017

Former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis passed away on 29th May 2017. He was 98 at the time of death. Mitsotakis was an early proponent of sternness cuts that Greece eventually had to adopt during the economic crisis of 2010.

More about Constantine Mitsotakis

• He served as the Greece Prime Minister between 1990 and 1993.
• He had been serving as Parliament Member (MP) of Greece since 1946, except for 10 years break during and immediately after Greece's 1967-1974 military rule in the country.
• He was the Head of the conservative New Democracy party of the country from 1984 to 1993.
• Mitsotakis championed a tight budget and privatisation policies that sparked major union strikes and protests on the domestic front.
• Professionally a lawyer by training, Mitsotakis was also active in the resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II on his native island of Crete in Greece.

Cyclonic Storm MORA to strike - East-Central Bay of Bengal

As predicted by India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclonic storm MORA is about to strike East-Central Bay of Bengal on 29th may 2017. MORA was observed moving Northward with a speed of 11 kmph over East-Central Bay of Bengal near Latitude 17.3ºN and Longitude 91.3ºE say about 660 km South-Southeast of Kolkata and 550 km South-Southwest of Chittagong. 

Key Facts

• The cyclonic storm is expected to be further dense into a intense storm during next 12 hours and is very likely to move North-Northeastwards and cross Bangladesh coast between longitude 91.0ºE and 92.0ºE near Chittagong.
• Due to this, rain and thundershower may occur at many districts of coastal Odisha and some areas in the interior region.
• Fishermen are warned not to venture into sea along & off Andaman Islands till 31st May 2017. Fishermen at off West Bengal Coast shall not venture into sea on 29th and 30th May 2017.

Global Icon Priyanka to be honoured with - Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award

International icon Priyanka Chopra will be receiving the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award on 1st June 2017 in Mumbai. She would be given the award under the newly introduced category- 'Internationally Acclaimed Actress' for her great work on the International platform. He added that she is representing India at a global level and that has made every Indian proud of her work and that is what compelled them to introduce this new category in the awards.

Key Highlights

• Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award was awarded in 2000.
• It acknowledges 22 different industry crafts right from make-up artists to spot boys.
• Non-monetary foundation and Academy for films and acting organizes this award.
• This year, the event will be held at Bhaidas Hall, Vile Parle West in Mumbai.
• Several Bollywood celebrities including Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Nitesh Tiwari and Kapil Sharma will be attending the event.
• The board of trustees for Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards are Johny Lever, Pahlaj Nihalani, Mithun Chakraborty and TP Agrawal.

Do you know?

Veteran actor Jeetendra was honoured with Phalke Ratna award in the last award held in 2014.