Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 04 November 2015

:: National ::

For the second day running, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met President Pranab Mukherjee to express her party's “grave concern” at the “growing atmosphere of fear, intolerance and intimidation being deliberately created by sections of the ruling establishment.”
This war of words comes days before the results of the Bihar Assembly elections in which the Congress — part of the Janata Dal-United-Rashtriya Janata Dal grand coalition — hopes the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will face a defeat.
It also comes weeks ahead of Parliament's winter session which the Congress plans, along with other Opposition parties, to focus on the sustained campaign by Hindutva forces owing allegiance to the BJP to communalise the polity.

At a time when there is a growing demand to revoke the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, from several States, the Ministry of Home Afairs (MHA) is finding itself in the soup after the Meghalaya High Court asked the Centre to consider enforcing AFSPA in the militancy-hit Garo Hills region in the State.
The order, issued in a bid to check the threat posed by militants, also said, “The Chief Justice and judges of the High Court are also get-ting veiled threats that they would have to face the consequence after their retirement.”
“We have no option but to direct the Central government to the use of AFSPA, 1958, in the Garo Hills area and deployment of armed and para-military forces to control the situation in the aid of civil and police authorities, till life be-comes normal and the incidents of rampant kidnap-ping and killing stopped,” the order stated.

U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday told his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan that the American military would continue to operate in the South China Sea.
With tensions still simmer-ing following a U.S. naval vessel’s cruise near China-claimed islets last week, the pair met for about 40 minutes on the sidelines of a regional defence meeting.
The ship had sailed within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the land formations China claims in the disputed Spratly Islands.

A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday sent a key BNP lead-er to jail on several charges of violence and sabotage during the main opposition party's violent campaign against the government earlier this year.
Alamgir was earlier arrested in January when his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) launched a violent nationwide anti-government campaign coinciding with the first anniversary of the 2014 general elections which it had boycotted.
Jagriti Prokashony publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was killed in his office on October 31, while an attack at the office of Suddhaswar publishing house left publisher Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul seriously injured along with writer Randipam Basu and blogger Tarek Rahim the same day.
The United Nations has called upon Bangladesh authorities to “fully investigate” the killing of a publisher.

An international agency has been proposed to help represent the small tea growers' sector, which currently contributes about 70 per cent of the world tea crop. Efforts are also on to find ways to directly market small tea growers' produce.
The 11-member Indian delegation was led by Santosh Kumar Sarengi, chairman, Tea Board India. It also included a member represent-ing the interests of India's small tea growers. The need for an international body for small tea growers was brought to the fore by quite a few tea-growing countries including India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Indonesia.
These countries have among them a small tea holders' group with representatives of the respective governments and the industry. The contribution from this segment of the tea indus-try is highest in Sri Lanka and Kenya.

Cotton production for the 2015-2016 (October to September) season is estimated to be 365 lakh bales, which is about 15 lakh bales less than the previous season.
Area of the crop has come down in States such as Karnataka and Maharashtra and production is expected to be lower in some States.
Accord-ing to the provisional estimate, the opening stock for the current season is estimated to be 52 lakh bales and imports to be 12 lakh bales. Consumption by textile mills is expected to be 312 lakh bales (non-SSI and SSI sectors). During the previous season (October 2014 to September 2015), consumption by the mills was 305 lakh bales. Ex-ports this year are likely to be higher at 68 lakh bales. It was 57.72 lakh bales last season.
However, there are indications in yarn import by China. Export of yarn and fabric is expected to pick up in the coming months. Prices of yarn is also stable in the recent weeks.

London Games bronze medallist Yogesh-war Dutt pipped double Olympic medallist and World champion, Sushil Kumar, to become the highest-paid marquee player at Rs. 39.7 lakh in the Pro Wrestling League auction.
The league, with a total cash prize of Rs. 3 crore and a Rs. 20 crore budget for the players, will be staged in six cities — Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Gurgaon and Noida from December 10 to 27.
In all, over 150 Indian and international wrestlers went under the hammer in the auction conducted by Bob Hayton.