Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 16 August 2021
Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 16 August 2021
::NATIONAL::
Four new districts will be formed in Chhattisgarh
- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel on Sunday announced four new districts in the state and 18 new tehsils as well.
- The Chief Minister while addressing a public gathering here on the occasion of 75th Independence Day announced the formation of four new districts - MohlaManpur, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Shakti, Manendragarh in Chhattisgarh taking the total number of districts to 32.
- BhupeshBaghel hoisted the National Flag at Police Parade Ground in Raipur and extended his wishes on 75 years of India's Independence.
- "This festival of freedom reminds us of all those nameless warriors, martyrs and brave soldiers. Because of which we are breathing in a free atmosphere today. Remembering them fills my heart with respect and pride for them," tweeted the Chief Minister.
::INTERNATIONAL::
Indonesia president says need to balance health and economy in pandemic
- Indonesian President JokoWidodo said during his annual state of the nation speech the country must "strike a balance" between health and economic interests amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
- "The pandemic has indeed significantly slowed down our economic growth, but it must not hinder the process of structural reforms of our economy," the president said in the speech to parliament.
- Struggling with a surge in infections driven by the Delta variant, Indonesia has become Asia's epicentre for Covid-19, with hospitals overwhelmed at times and the daily death toll recently the highest globally with total fatalities topping 100,000.
::ECONOMY::
Facebook may have to sell Giphy on Britain's competition concerns
- Britain might require Facebook to sell GIF website Giphy after the country's competition regulator said on Thursday its investigation found the deal between the two companies would harm competition in the display advertising market.
- Facebook, the world's largest social media company, bought Giphy, a website for making and sharing animated images, or GIFs, in May last year to integrate it with its photo-sharing app, Instagram. The deal was pegged at $400 million by Axios.
- The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began a probe into the deal in January at a time when the social media network was under global regulatory scrutiny over antitrust concerns. In April the CMA referred the deal to an in-depth investigation.
- "Giphy's takeover could see Facebook withdrawing GIFs from competing platforms or requiring more user data in order to access them. It also removes a potential challenger to Facebook," said Stuart McIntosh, chair of the independent investigation for the CMA.
::SCIENCE AND TECH::
2 new species of dinosaurs, as big as the blue whale, found in China
- Scientists have discovered two new species of dinosaurs in northwest China, a region where dinosaur fossils had never been found before, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
- The study said the fossils from three different dinosaurs about 130 to 120 million years ago were found in China's Turpan-Hami Basin about 2 to 5km apart. The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Museum of Brazil published their findings in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature family of journals.
- Scientists named the species Silutitansinensis or "silu” and Hamititanxinjiangensis named for where the fossil specimen was found in Xinjiang.
- They have said that “silu” means the “Silk Road” in Chinese Mandarin pinyin, “in memory the great trade routes which connected the East and West”. “Hami” refers to the Hami city where the specimen was found.
::SPORTS::
'Needs to be more selective when playing shots': Rathour on Rohit
- India vice-captain Rohit Sharma missed out on a Test century at Lord's getting out for 83 in the first innings. He was cleaned up by England pacer James Anderson. He managed to get off to a start in the 2nd innings, settling himself down and scoring 21 runs. But he was undone by Mark Wood as he attempted a hook shot and gave away an easy catch to Moeen Ali.
- “We will be having a talk of what happened and what they were thinking while playing that shot. As far as Rohit is concerned, he has made it clear that pull shot fetches him runs so he is going to play those shots and we will back him playing those shots,"