Daily Current Affairs 15 January 2018

Daily Current Affairs 15 January 2018: Your guide for daily General Knowledge Preparation

Dear Readers,

This post contains important current affairs of 15 January 2018. It includes all Major National, International, Business and Sports related current affairs of 15 January 2018. A brief explanation of every current affair is provided to further enhance your general knowledge. Once you have gone through these current affairs we would recommend to you to try 15 January 2018 Current affairs test.

National News

1.Maximum no. of illegal mining cases recorded by Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has recorded 1.39 lakh cases of illegal mining which are highest in the country between 2013-17, as per the data revealed by the Union Environment Ministry in Rajya Sabha.
India recorded 4.16 lakh cases during this period in which Maharashtra accounted for 33.5%.

2.Israeli PM Netanyahu is having six-day visit to India.

India and Israel have agreed to enhance co-operation in the areas of agriculture, science and technology and security.
Benjamin Netanyahu is the second Israeli PM after Ariel Sharon to visit India.

3.Crisis going on in the Supreme Court has been sorted out: Attorney General.

Attorney General KK Venugopal said that the crisis has been sorted out and there are no differences now between Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and other 4 senior-most SC judges who took the conference on Friday.
This comes after the four judges attended the court and took up their routine work.

4.Maharashtra govt formalized a partnership with Johnson & Johnson.

Maharashtra’s mine workers who face increased risk of TB will be part of this awareness programme on the illness.
This collaboration would also look at infection prevention, diabetes, obesity and menstrual hygiene and support healthcare professionals and nurses in the State to develop skills in these areas.

International News

1.India contributed USD 50,000 to UN Youth Envoy’s Office.

USD 50,000 has been contributed by India to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ Office of Envoy on Youth to help with its mission of involving young people in the world body’s goals.
This contribution is voluntary and is in addition to the regular payments India makes. UN was founded in 1945 and has headquarters at New York.

2.Taliban has claimed responsibility for Benazir Bhutto’s murder.

In a book written by a senior Talibani leader, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto.
According to the author, two suicide bombers were assigned to carry out the attack on Bhutto. She was killed in a gun and bomb attack in 2007 while addressing an election rally

3.New bill introduced aims to ban govt agencies from using Huawei and ZTE phones.

US state Texas representative Mike Conaway has introduced a bill called ‘Defending US Government Communications Act’ aiming to ban govt agencies from using Huawei and ZTE phones.
According to him, technology coming from Chinese companies poses a threat to national security. Huawei overtook Apple as 2nd largest phone maker.

4.Sri Lanka re-imposed ban on alcohol sale to women.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reimposed a 62-year old ban that kept women from legally buying alcohol in the country.
Government said that the law is ‘discriminated against women’.

Business News
1.SoftBank plans 18 billion dollars IPO of mobile phone unit.

Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group is reportedly planning an Initial Public Offering(IPO) of its mobile phone unit SoftBank Corp this year.
The IPO, potentially the biggest by a Japanese company in nearly two decades, could raise around 18 billion dollars.

2.India ranked 30th on Global Manufacturing Index by WEF.

The World Economic Forum, established in 1971, has ranked India at 30th position on a global manufacturing index.
Among BRICS nations, China ranked 5th, Russia ranked 35th, Brazil 41st and South Africa at 45th place.

3.80% of all Bitcoin mined as of 13 January.

Out of total 21 million Bitcoin, 16.8 million Bitcoin i.e. 80% of Bitcoin have been mined.
All the 21 million Bitcoin, which are awarded to miners who validate Bitcoin transactions, will have been mined in 2140. The Bitcoin reward decreases by half every four years and currently is 12.5 Bitcoin for every block(set of transactions) validated.

4.Xiaomi pics Morgan Stanley, others banks as sponsors for IPO.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has reportedly selected Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs among international banks for its planned Initial Public Offering(IPO).
Xiaomi, which was valued at 45 billion dollars in 2014, could be the biggest IPO since Alibaba’s 25 billion dollars debut.

Sports News
1.India beat Nepal to enter Blind Cricket World Cup semis.

Defending champions India defeated Nepal by eight wickets to enter the semi-finals of the Blind Cricket World Cup.
India will face Bangladesh in the semi-finals on January 17 at the Ajman Oval.

2.Kohli equals Bradman’s record of most 150+ scores as captain.

Virat Kohli equaled cricket legend Don Bradman’s record of most 150+ scores by a captain in Test cricket by registering his eighth such score against South Africa.
Kohli slammed four 150+ scores in 2016, equaling record of most 150+ scores by captain in a year before adding three in 2017. Kohli’s highest score in Test Cricket is 243.

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