CURRENT AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 06 ENGLISH

1. Indo-Lanka Joint Naval Exercise SLINEX 2019

The annual Joint Indo-Lanka maritime fleet exercise - SLINEX 2019 is scheduled to be held from 07 September 2019.

• Sri Lankan Navy is sending two ships to India to participate in the exercise with the Indian Navy.
• The offshore patrol vessels, SLNS Sindurala and Suranimala left Trincomalee on are scheduled to arrive at the port of Visakhapatnam.
• The week-long exercise will be attended by 323 Sri Lankan navy personnel including the commanding flag officer of the naval fleet.

2. INS Tarkash at Lagos, Nigeria

As part of Indian Navy's Overseas Deployment to Africa, Europe and Russia, Indian Naval Ship Tarkash made a port call at Lagos, Nigeria for a three-day visit.

• The port call has been scheduled to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Nigeria.
• INS Tarkash, commanded by Captain Sathish Vasudev, is one of the most potent frontline frigates of the Indian Navy equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors.
• The ship is part of the Indian Navy's Western Fleet and under the Operational Command of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, based at Mumbai.
• Tarkash will also undertake a Passage Exercise at sea with NNS Unity on 08 Sep 19, which will enhance interoperability between both navies.

3. Country's first 'Fun Zone' for children at Visakhapatnam railway station

With an aim to cut down the monotony of prolonged waiting periods on railway stations and to make it an enjoyable experience, particularly for children, a fun zone has been set up by the Railways at the Visakhapatnam railway station.

• The gaming zone has various sets of interesting games to enthral children as well as adults.
• According to the South Coast Railway Zone, the Fun Zone is the first of its kind in the country.
• The games ranging from video shooting to other indoor games aim to keep children engaged during long waiting hours at platforms.
• The Fun Zone will have all the high-tech gaming activities at par with game parlours.

4. Mini Conclave of First Investor Summit-2019 held in Leh

After the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, the Mini Conclave of First Jammu and Kashmir Investor Summit-2019 is held in Leh.

• Despite the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are going to be the Union Territories from 1st November onwards.
• The First-ever Global Investors Summit is to be held in Jammu & Kashmir from 12 to 14 October this year.

5. Gujarat Govt, Delaware State of America sign MoU for sister-state

Gujarat Government and the Delaware State of America signed MoU -Memorandum of Understanding for sister state.

• MoU was signed in Gandhinagar when a delegation of Delaware State of America called on Gujarat Chief Minister Delaware’s Vijay Rupani.
• MoU was signed by Gujarat Chief Minister and Delaware’s Secretary of state.
• This is the first sister-state MoU signed by Gujarat with any state of America.

6. India among top 10 nations in gold reserves

India has pipped the Netherlands to move into the list of top ten countries in terms of total gold reserves.

• According to the World Gold Council, India has gold reserves totalling 618.2 tonnes, which is marginally higher than the Netherlands’ reserves of 612.5 tonnes.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) occupies the third position after the U.S. and Germany.
• Indian ranked 9th in individual country ranking, excluding IMF, and ranked 10th including IMF.

Points to remember

• World Gold Council Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• CEO: David Tait

7. President Kovind confers National Awards to teachers

On the occasion of Teachers' Day, President Ram Nath Kovind conferred National Awards to teachers for the year 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• On the 61st year of the National Teachers' Award, the President felicitated around 46 teachers from across the country.
• The awards are given to honour those teachers who have not only contributed to improving the quality of education but also enriched the lives of their students.
• The prestigious award carries a silver medal and cash reward of Rs 50,000.

8. Prof Muhammad Yunus conferred 'Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis ' award by Vatican

Nobel Laureate from Bangladesh Professor Muhammad Yunus was conferred the 'Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis ' award by the Vatican.

• He was awarded for his contribution towards establishing peace and harmony.
• The award is a recognition for distinguished work by an individual for promoting peace and dialogue among people.
• The Lamp of Peace award was first given to the Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa in  1981.
• Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev and Angela Merkel are a few other prominent persons who received this award earlier.

9. Steve Smith becomes 2nd Australian to score 500 in Ashes series

Steve Smith has become the second Australian after Allan Border to score 500 and more runs in the consecutive Ashes series in England.

• Smith reached this milestone after he added 122 runs in the ongoing fourth Ashes Test.
• In 2015 Ashes which took place in England, Smith scored 508 runs while this time in his third match he crossed the 500 run mark.
• The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia at least once every two years.

10. Novelist Kiran Nagarkar passes away

Novelist Kiran Nagarkar passed away at the age of 77 after a brief illness.

• Nagarkar published his first novel, 'Saat Sakkam Trechalis', in Marathi in 1974 at the age of 32.
• He won the 2001 Sahitya Akademi Award for his epic novel 'Cuckold' (1997).