Cafezika

August 2011

2011-12-17T11:49:00.000+05:30

Rajya Sabha adopts a resolution with more than two-thirds majority to impeach a High Court Judge Justice Soumitra Sen.

The IAAF World Championships: (Daegu, South Korea)
Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot won the 5000m and 10,000m.
Jamaica's Yohan Blake won the 100m final. Defending champion Usain Bolt sensationally false started.
Carmelita Jeter of the United States won gold in the women's 100m.

Badminton World Championship, 2011 (London)
China’s Lin Dan beat top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia to win the men’s singles title for the fourth time.
The women’s singles title was won by Wang Yihan of China, who beat Cheng Shao Chieh of Taipei in the finals.

Deven Sharma, President of Standard & Poor’s had to resign after the controversy following the rating agency’s downgrade of US government debt on August 5, 2011.

On August 25, 2011, Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple Inc.

July 2011

2011-12-17T10:22:00.001+05:30

Deepika Kumari, Laishram B. Devi and Checkrovolu Swuro got the silver medal in the World Archery Championship in the recurve event.

Armenia won the World Chess team championship, held at Ningbo, China. China won the silver medal and Ukraine got the bronze.

Harbhajan Singh has become the third Indian and 11th man in the history of Test cricket to reach 400 Test wickets mark. C.S. Baugh of the West Indies was his 400th victim.

Cadel Evans has become the first Australian to win the Tour-de-France. He is the oldest winner since 1923

In the Women’s Football World Cup Japan beat favourites USA.

Uruguay won the Copa America title. They defeated Paraguay in the finals.

South Sudan formally declared its independence on July 9, 2011. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir and the President of Sudan Omar Hassan al-Bashir were at the ceremony to mark the birth of the new nation.

The agreement for Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Bimal Gurung. The new Hill Council will have more powers to run the three hill sub-divisions of Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling

The Supreme Court directed the government to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by former SC judges B.P. Jeevan Reddy and M.B. Shah, and disclose the names of such bank account holders against whom show-cause notices have been issued.

July 21, 2011 was when the space shuttle Atlantis touched down safely in its final landing at the Kennedy Space Centre. NASA had 5 space shuttles: Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour. They were the world’s first reusable space vehicles.

Oscar Pistorius has become the first ‘disabled’ athlete to qualify for an able-bodied event i.e. the 2012 Olympics in London.

Justice Rabinder Singh: A British-born Sikh lawyer, he has been appointed a judge of the High Court in London. He has become the first Sikh and the first male from an ethnic minority ever to be elevated to the exalted position.

Mani Kaul who was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in India passed away. Among the films made by him were: “Uski Roti”, “Ashadh ka ek din”, “Duvidha” and “Naukar ki Kameez”. He had won the national award for the Best Documentary, “Siddheshwari”, based on the life of thumri singer of Banaras, Siddheshwari Devi.

June 2011

2011-12-17T06:12:00.001+05:30

WHO claims that the “New Delhi superbug” - The New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) - remains a global concern because it renders anti-microbials ineffective. The Union Health Ministry had rubbished claims in Lancet, a British Medical Journal, when it had published a report in 2010 that this gene originated in India. It described the Lancet’s conclusions as “unfair” maintaining that Indian hospitals are perfectly safe for treatment. Some people argue that this is an attack on India by vested interests that are unable to reconcile themselves to the fact that India is becoming a hot destination for Medical Tourism.

The Big Blue i.e. IBM turned a 100 (in terms of operations) on June 16, 2011. IBM has over 6000 patents, easily the highest for any company.

The National Rural Health Mission has adopted the Rashtriya Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram, a scheme to provide all required health-care facilities to pregnant women and infants free of cost, for the entire country.

‘TigerText’, a software that enables control over messaging, makes its rounds around cyberspace.

The Supreme Court appointed a special committee to examine the secret chambers of the Sri Padmanabha Swami Temple in Kerala. The chambers are said to store the treasures of the erstwhile rulers of Travancore.

The Punjab Mail, which runs from Ferozepur to Mumbai, has entered its 100th year of service. She was earlier known as the Pride of Punjab and was introduced by the British in 1912 between Peshawar and Mumbai.

Ban Ki-moon has been re-elected as the UN Secretary-General for a second five-year term.

Christine Lagarde has been elected as the Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF). In her earlier avatar she was the Finance Minister of France.

Tahawwur Rana, a Chicago-based Pakistani native, was acquitted by a US jury of conspiracy to provide material support to the terrorists who attacked Mumbai in November 2008. He was, however, found guilty of helping to plan an attack on the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Gina Rinehart is an Australian businesswoman who owns a mining firm Hancock Prospecting. Citigroup estimated that she could become the world’s richest person by overtaking Carlos Slim, the Mexican magnate who is worth $73 billion.

JCT Football Club, Phagwara has decided not to field any team in any tournaments from now on. This brings to an end 40 years of association with the Beautiful Game.

Haryana defeated Karnataka 2-1 to annex the Senior National Hockey championship title.

May 2011

2011-12-16T17:44:00.003+05:30

Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding has been awarded to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She has been chosen for her “enormous efforts for sustainable and equitable development.”

58th National Film Awards
Best Feature Film:
Adaminte Makan Abu (Malayalam). Directed by Salim Ahamed.

Indira Gandhi Award for the Best Debut Film of a Director:
Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi), Directed by Rajesh Pinjani.

Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment:
Dabangg (Hindi). Directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap.

India successfully conducted the ballistic flight test of indigenously developed Astra, Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.

Sushma and Vikas Kaushik from Haryana became the world’s youngest couple, and India’s first, to climb Mount Everest.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has built India’s fastest supercomputer with a peak performance of 220 teraflops (220 trillion floating-point operations per second). The supercomputer named “SAGA-220” (Supercomputer for Aerospace with GPU Architecture-220 teraflops) is for use by space scientists for solving complex aerospace problems.

India launched its advanced GSAT-8 satellite on board Arianespace rocket from Kourou in French Guiana.

The Raghav Bahl promoted Network18 group through the 50:50 Viacom-IBN18 joint venture company, Viacom18 announced that it is getting into film production and distribution.

Vivek Lall joins Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) home land security and aerospace venture.

McCann Erickson won the advertising business for all General Motors brands in India. This is the first time that General Motors India has moved all its brands-Beat, Cruz, Optra, Spark and Captiva-to a single agency.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons targeted Reliance Industries for the fall in production at KG-D6 gas fields by not allowing the Mukesh Ambani-firm to recoup all the investment it has made.

Nivea cream turns 100 this year. In 1911, Oscar Troplowitz, head of pharmaceutical firm Beiersdorf, pioneered the use of the oil-in-water emulsifier "Eucerit" that was an instant hit because it did not go rancid. He then added extract of orange, bergamot, lavender , rose, lilac and a touch of lily and christened his new invention "Nivea" , a name taken from the Latin word "niveus" , meaning snowwhite .

Phanindra Sama, Charan Padmaraju and Sudhakar Pasupunuri are the founders of redbus.in

Dabur has roped in Zlata Creative Design, a brand consultancy from Australia.

Reserve Bank of India - Some Facts

2011-12-13T10:00:00.004+05:30

The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935. This was in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The Central Office of the Reserve Bank was initially established in Calcutta but was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937.
The RBI was originally privately owned and was nationalised in 1949. Now the Reserve Bank is fully owned by the Government of India.

A few of the 'Directors of the Central Board' of the RBI
Shri Azim Premji
Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla
Ms. Ela Bhatt
Dr. Anil Kakodkar

The RBI has six training establishments
College of Agricultural Banking, Bankers Training College and Reserve Bank of India Staff College are part of the Reserve Bank
National Institute for Bank Management, Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research (IGIDR), Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) are autonomous.

Subsidiaries:
Fully owned: National Housing Bank(NHB), Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India(DICGC), Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited(BRBNMPL)
Majority stake: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

The Reserve Bank of India has recently divested its stake in State Bank of India to the Government of India.

XXX Olympic Summer Games in 2012 - London

2011-12-13T09:21:00.002+05:30

London Olympics: The Games open on 27 July 2012 and close on 12 August 2012

London will become the first city to host the Olympic Games for a third time. It hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948 earlier.

Women’s boxing will feature for the first time in Olympic Games in London.

Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid were the other cities that were shortlisted to host the XXX Olympiad. London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005.

Wenlock is the mascot for the London Olympics Games.

Business Houses: TATA - II

2011-12-13T09:13:00.005+05:30

Important Milestones Contd....

1932: Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons, is established, opening up the aviation sector in India. Air India was nationalised in 1953

1952: Jawaharlal Nehru requests the group to manufacture cosmetics in India, leading to the setting up of Lakme. The company was sold to Hindustan Lever (now Unilever) in 1997

1968: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's first software services company, is established as a division of Tata Sons

January 10, 2008: Tata Motors unveils Tata Nano, the People’s Car, at the 9th Auto Expo in Delhi.

2011: The Tata Nano begins international journey in Sri Lanka and Nepal

Business Houses - TATA

2011-12-13T09:10:00.002+05:30

Important Milestones:

1868: Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata starts a private trading firm, laying the foundation of the Tata group.

1874: The Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Company is set up, marking the group's entry into textiles and its first large-scale industrial venture.

1902: The Indian Hotels Company is incorporated to set up the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, India's first luxury hotel, which opened in 1903

1907: The Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel) is established to set up India's first iron and steel plant in Jamshedpur. The plant started production in 1912.

1911: The Indian Institute of Science is established in Bangalore to serve as a centre for advanced learning

India - Some (Interesting) Facts - III

2011-12-13T09:05:00.000+05:30

1. India supposedly has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

2. The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century.

3. The Indian Army constructed The Baily Bridge between the Dras and Suru rivers in Ladakh. This is the highest bridge in the world.

4. The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination.

5. The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.

India - Some (Interesting) Facts - II

2011-12-13T09:04:00.000+05:30

1. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the Sun. According to his calculation, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days.

2. The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana. He also explained the concept of what is widely known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He is supposed to have discovered this in the 6th century.

3. The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.

4. 'Mokshapat' a game akin to Snakes & Ladders was created in the 13^th century by the poet saint Gyandev. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices.

5. The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. It was built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

India - Some (Interesting) Facts - I

2011-12-13T08:51:00.003+05:30

1. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies, which originated in India. And so did Chess.

2. Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century.

3. The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India.

4. Ayurveda is said to be the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

5. Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery.

World Heritage Sites in India - Natural

2011-12-10T09:33:00.000+05:30

The World Heritage List of the UNESCO includes 936 properties across the world forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 725 cultural site, 183 natural site and 28 mixed sites.

India has both Cultural and Natural sites. The Natural sites are:

Kaziranga National Park
Keoladeo National Park
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Sundarbans National Park
Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks

World Heritage Sites in India - Cultural (II)

2011-12-10T09:31:00.000+05:30

The World Heritage List of the UNESCO includes 936 properties across the world forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 725 cultural site, 183 natural site and 28 mixed sites.

India has both Cultural and Natural sites. The Cultural sites are:

Group of Monuments at Pattadakal
Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi
Mountain Railways of India
Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)
Red Fort Complex
The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

World Heritage Sites in India - Cultural (I)

2011-12-10T07:51:00.001+05:30

The World Heritage List of the UNESCO includes 936 properties across the world forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 725 cultural site, 183 natural site and 28 mixed sites.

India has both Cultural and Natural sites. The Cultural sites are:

Agra Fort
Ajanta Caves
Ellora Caves
Taj Mahal
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram
Sun Temple, Konârak
Churches and Convents of Goa
Fatehpur Sikri
Group of Monuments at Hampi
Khajuraho Group of Monuments
Elephanta Caves
Great Living Chola Temples 12

Prime Ministers of India

2011-12-10T07:34:00.002+05:30

Jawaharlal Nehru
15 August 1947-27 May 1964

Gulzari Lal Nanda (Acting)
27 May 1964-9 June 1964

Lal Bahadur Shastri
09 June 1964-11 January 1966

Gulzari Lal Nanda (Acting)
11 January 1966-24 January 1966

Indira Gandhi
24 January1966-24 March 1977

Morarji Desai
24 March 1977-28 July 1979

Charan Singh
28 July 1979-14 January 1980

Indira Gandhi
14 January 1980-31 October 1984

Rajiv Gandhi
31 October 1984-1 December 1989

Vishwanath Pratap Singh
02 December 1989-10 November 1990

Chandra Shekhar
10 November 1990-21 June 1991

P.V. Narasimha Rao
21 June 1991-16 May 1996

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
16 May 1996-01 June 1996

H.D. Deve Gowda
01 June 1996-21 April 1997

I.K. Gujral
21 April 1997-18 March 1998

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
19 March 1998 -13 October 1999

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
13 October 1999 - 22 May 2004

Dr. Manmohan Singh
22 May 2004 – Incumbent

Presidents of India

2011-12-10T07:24:00.003+05:30

Dr Rajendra Prasad
26 January 1950-13 May 1962

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
13 May 1962-13 May 1967

Dr Zakir Hussain
13 May 1967-3 May 1969

Varahagiri Venkatagiri (Acting)
3 May 1969-20 July 1969

Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah (Acting)
20 July 1969-24 August 1969

Varahagiri Venkatagiri
24 August 1969-24 August 1974

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
24 August 1974-11 February 1977

B.D. Jatti (Acting)
11 February 1977-25 July 1977

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
25 July 1977-25 July 1982

Giani Zail Singh
25 July 1982-25 July 1987

R. Venkataraman
25 July 1987-25 July 1992

Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma
25 July 1992-25 July 1997

K.R. Narayanan
25 July 1997-25 July 2002

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
25 July 2002-25 July 2007

Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil
25 July 2007 - Incumbent

Golf Terms - II

2011-11-28T11:22:00.002+05:30

Yardage Chart
A printed card detailing the layout and yardage of each hole on the course.

Yardage Rating
The stroke index of the hole, Index 18 being the easiest on the course, 1 the most difficult.

Wedge
A metal club designed to give loft rather than distance. Used for high shots into the green.

Wood
Clubs used for long range shots. Traditionally made with wooden head they are now mostly made with metal alloy heads.

Tee
A small peg stuck into the ground on which a golf ball is placed. Also area where golfers play first stroke of any given hole.

Iron
A metal headed club that is not a wood.

Golf Terms - I

2011-11-28T08:42:00.001+05:30

Handicap
The number of strokes a player is given to adjust his score to that of standard scratch. It allows golfers of different abilities to compete on equal terms.

Fore
To cry "Fore" is to warn other players that your ball may hit them.

Par
The number of shots a low handicapper should take for a hole or round. The hole par is measured by the number of shots needed to reach the green plus two for the putting. The round par is calculated by adding all the hole par's together.

Hole In One
The ball goes straight into the hole from your tee shot.

Birdie
One under par for the hole.

Formula 1 - Teams & Drivers

2011-11-28T08:19:00.004+05:30

Ferrari: Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa

Force India-Mercedes: Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta

Hispania Racing Team-Cosworth: Vitantonio Liuzzi, Narain Karthikeyan, Daniel Ricciardo

Lotus-Renault: Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen, Karun Chandhok

McLaren-Mercedes: Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes: Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher

Red Bull Racing-Renault: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber

Renault: Vitaly Petrov, Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna

Sauber-Ferrari: Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez, Pedro de la Rosa

STR-Ferrari: Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi

Virgin-Cosworth: Jerome d'Ambrosio, Timo Glock

Williams-Cosworth: Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado

US Open 2011

2011-11-28T07:39:00.002+05:30

Men's Singles:
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal

Women's Singles:
Samantha Stosur beat Serena Williams

Men's Doubles:
Jurgen Melzer & Philipp Petzschner beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg & Marcin Matkowski

Women's Doubles:
Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond beat Vania King & Yaroslava Shvedova

Mixed Doubles:
Melanie Oudin & Jack Sock beat Gisela Dulko & Eduardo Schwank

The Championships, Wimbledon 2011

2011-11-28T07:36:00.002+05:30

Gentlemen's Singles:
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal

Ladies' Singles:
Petra Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova

Gentlemen's Doubles:
Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan beat Robert Lindstedt & Horia Tecau

Ladies' Doubles:
Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik beat Sabine Lisicki & Samantha Stosur

Mixed Doubles:
Jurgen Melzer & Iveta Benesova beat Mahesh Bhupathi & Elena Vesnina

French Open 2011

2011-11-28T07:32:00.003+05:30

Men's Singles:
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer

Women's Singles:
Li Na beat Francesca Schiavone

Men's Doubles:
Max Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor beat Juan Sebastian Cabal & Eduardo Schwank

Women's Doubles:
Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka beat Sania Mirza & Elena Vesnina

Mixed Doubles:
Casey Dellacqua & Scott Lipsky beat Katarina Srebotnik & Nenad Zimonjic

Australian Open - 2010

2011-11-28T07:26:00.006+05:30

Men's Singles:
Roger Federer beat Andy Murray

Women's Singles:
Serena Williams beat Justine Henin

Men's Doubles:
Bob Bryan USA & Mike Bryan USA beat Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic

Women's Doubles:
Cara Black & Liezel Huber beat Venus Williams & Serena Williams

Mixed Doubles:
Cara Black & Leander Paes beat Ekaterina Makarova & Jaroslav Levinsky

Monuments - I

2011-11-25T10:49:00.001+05:30

Agra Fort
Red Fort of Agra is situated near the gardens of Taj Mahal. Some of the buildings inside it are: Moti Masjid - a white marble mosque akin to a perfect pearl; Diwan-E-Am, Diwan-E-Khaas, Musamman Burj - where Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan died in 1666 A.D., Jahangir's Palace, Khaas Mahal and Sheesh Mahal.
The construction of the Agra fort was started around 1565, by Akbar, and subsequently taken over by his grandson Shah Jahan, who added most of the marble creations to the fort.

Bahai Temple, Delhi
The Bahai Temple - the Bahá'í Mashriqu'l-Adhkar - is better known as the "Lotus Temple".
Bahá'ís have endeavoured to their utmost to build houses of worship as beautiful and distinctive as possible. They have been inspired by writings of Baha'u'llah and His son Abdu'l-Bahá.

The Bara Imambara, Lucknow
The Imambara was built by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula in 1784 as a famine relief programme. Its designer was Kifayat-ullah. Some claim that he was a relative of the architect of the Taj Mahal.The building, which consists of three huge halls, has a maze of corridors hidden in between its walls that are about 20 feet thick. This dense, dark maze called the 'Bhul Bhulaiya'

Brhadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
The Brhadisvara Temple, a splendid example of Chola architecture was built by Emperor Rajaraja (985-1012 A.D.).The Brhadisvara temple is a monument dedicated to Siva.

Charminar, Hyderabad
The Charminar is sometimes called the "Arc De Triumph of the East". It is a massive arch built by Mohammed Quli Qutab Shah, in 1591 to commemorate the end of the plague in the city. The Charminar gets its name from the four minarets that rise from each corner of the square structure.

Inventions and Discoveries

2011-11-25T05:46:00.002+05:30

1. John L. Baird – TV

2. Evangelista Torricelli – Barometer

3. Count Von Ferdinand – Zeppelin airship

4. Samuel Colt – Revolver

5. Elias Howe – Sewing Machine

6. Gulielmo Marconi – Wireless Telegraph

7. James Watt – The Steam Engine

8. Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof - Esperanto (Esperanto is a constructed international auxiliary language. Zamenhof said he created this language to foster harmony between people from different countries.)

9. Charles Good year – discovered the art of vulcanizing rubber

10. Ferdinand Magellan – First person to attempt to sail around the world

Nicknames of People - I

2011-11-25T05:45:00.000+05:30

1. The Bard of Avon – William Shakespeare

2. The Blind Poet – John Milton

3. The Light of Asia – Buddha

4. The Iron Chancellor – Prince Otto Von Bismarck

5. Little Corporal – Napoleon

6. The Mad Monk – Rasputin

7. The Sage of Concord – Ralph Waldo Emerson

8. The Lady of the Lamp – Florence Nightingale

9. Father of Biography – Plutarch

10. Father of History – Herodotus

Nicknames of Places - II

2011-11-25T05:40:00.001+05:30

1. The Land of the Thousand Lakes – Finland

2. The mother-in-law of Europe – Denmark

3. The Roof of the World – Tibet

4. Iberian Peninsula – Spain and Portugal

5. Robinson Crusoe’s Island – Juan Fernandez. Tobago

6. The Golden State – California

7. Silver State – Nevada

8. Copper State – Arizona

9. The Queen of the Adriatic – Venice

10. The Barbary States – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya

Nicknames of Places - I

2011-11-25T05:38:00.001+05:30

1. The Emerald Isle – Ireland

2. The Pearl of the Antilles – Cuba

3. The Land of Oat Cakes – Scotland

4. The Land of the Golden Fleece – Australia

5. The land of the Midnight Sun – Lapland, Norway

6. The Land of the Flying Fish – Barbados

7. The Land of the Rising Sun - Japan

8. The Land of the Dykes - Holland

9. The Land of the Tulips - Holland

10. The Land of the White Elephant – Thailand

Governors

2011-11-24T20:54:00.000+05:30

Andhra Pradesh– Shri E.S Lakshmi Narasimhan
Arunachal Pradesh – General (Rtd.) J.J. Singh
Assam – Shri Janaki Ballav Pattanaik
Bihar – Shri Devanand Konwar
Chhattisgarh – Shri Shekhar Dutt
Goa – Shri K. Sankaranarayanan
Gujarat – Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Haryana – Shri Jagannath Pahadia
Himachal Pradesh – Smt. Urmila Singh
Jammu and Kashmir – Shri N. N. Vohra
Jharkhand – Dr. Syed Ahmed
Karnataka – Shri H.R. Bhardwaj
Kerala – Shri M.O.H. Farook
Madhya Pradesh – Shri Ram Naresh Yadav
Maharashtra – Shri Kateekal Sankaranarayanan
Manipur – Shri Gurbachan Jagat
Meghalaya – Shri Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary
Mizoram – Shri Vakkom Purushothaman
Nagaland – Shri. Nikhil Kumar
Orissa – Shri Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare
Punjab – Shri Shivraj Patil
Rajasthan – Shri Shivraj Patil
Sikkim – Shri Balmiki Prasad Singh
Tamil Nadu – Dr. K. Rosaiah
Tripura – Shri Dnyandeo Yashwantrao Patil
Uttar Pradesh – Shri B.L. Joshi
Uttarakhand – Smt. Margaret Alva
West Bengal – Shri M.K. Narayanan

Council of Ministers - III

2011-11-24T20:41:00.000+05:30

Portfolio	Name of Minister
Minister of Shipping	Shri G.K. Vasan
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Water Resources	Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal
Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment	Shri Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers	Shri M. K. Alagiri
Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises	Shri Praful Manoharbhai Patel
Minister of Coal	Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal
Minister of Law and Justice Minister of Minority Affairs	Shri Salman Khurshid
Minister of Tribal Affairs Minister of Panchayati Raj	Shri V. Kishore Chandra Deo
Minister of Steel	Shri Beni Prasad Verma
Minister of Railways	Shri Dinesh Trivedi
Minister of Rural Development Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation	Shri Jairam Ramesh

Council of Ministers - II

2011-11-24T20:39:00.000+05:30

Portfolio	Name of Minister
Minister of New and Renewable Energy	Dr. Farooq Abdullah
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas	Shri Jaipal Sudini Reddy
Minister of Urban Development	Shri Kamal Nath
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Minister of Civil Aviation	Shri Vayalar Ravi
Minister of Information and Broadcasting	Smt. Ambika Soni
Minister of Labour and Employment	Shri Mallikarjun Kharge
Minister of Human Resource Development Minister of Communications and Information Technology	Shri Kapil Sibal
Minister of Commerce Industry and Minister of Textiles	Shri Anand Sharma
Minister of Road Transport and Highways	Shri C. P. Joshi
Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister of Culture	Kumari Selja
Minister of Tourism	Shri Subodh Kant Sahai

Council of Ministers - I

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Portfolio	Name of Minister
Prime Minister Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Ministry of Planning Department of Atomic Energy Department of Space	Dr. Manmohan Singh
Minister of Finance	Shri Pranab Mukherjee
Minister of Agriculture Minister of Food Processing Industries	Shri Sharad Chandra Govindrao Pawar
Minister of Defence	Shri A.K. Antony
Minister of Home Affairs	Shri Palaniappan Chidambaram
Minister of External Affairs	Shri S.M. Krishna
Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises	Shri Virbhadra Singh
Minister of Science and Technology Minister of Earth Sciences	Shri Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh
Minister of Health and Family Welfare	Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad
Minister of Power	Shri Sushil Kumar Sambhajirao Shinde
Minister of Corporate Affairs	Shri M. Veerappa Moily

Jasmine Revolution:

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Tunisia
Goal: To overthrow the corrupt and unpopular regime of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Tunisia: Home of the ancient city of Carthage, Tunisia has long been an important player in the Mediterranean. French colonial rule ended in 1956, and Tunisia was led for three decades by Habib Bourguiba.

Self immolation by a young unemployed man (Mohamed Bouazizi) on 17 December (Officials in his town prevented him from selling vegetables on the streets of Sidi Bouzid without permission.) sparked the events that led to the overthrow of the President.

Egypt
Goal: To overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and bring about free democratic elections.

Yemen:
Sizeable protests continue on and off against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, 33 years.

Libya:
Gaddafi received army training in the UK before returning to Libya to overthrow King Idris in a bloodless coup on 1 September 1969.

The rebels' National Transitional Council - was recognised as the country's interim government. The Libyan prime minister: Mahmoud Jibril

Bahrain:
The Ruling dynasty is al-Khalifa.

ASEAN

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The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”. Here is a list of its members and some details about them:

Brunei Darussalam
Head of State : His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah
Capital : Bandar Seri Begawan
Language(s) : Malay, English
Currency : B$ (Brunei Dollar)

Cambodia
Head of State : His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni
Head of Government : Prime Minister Hun Sen
Capital : Phnom Penh
Language : Khmer
Currency : Riel

Indonesia
Head of State : President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Capital : Jakarta
Language : Indonesian
Currency : Rupiah

Lao PDR
Head of State : President Choummaly Sayasone
Head of Government : Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong
Capital : Vientiane
Language : Lao
Currency : Kip

Malaysia
Head of Government : The Honourable Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Capital : Kuala Lumpur
Language(s) : Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil
Currency : Ringgit

Myanmar
Head of State : President Thein Sein
Capital : Nay Pyi Taw
Language : Myanmar
Currency : Kyat

Philippines
Head of State : President Benigno S. Aquino III
Capital : Manila
Language(s) : Filipino, English, Spanish
Currency : Peso

Singapore
Head of State : President Tony Tan Keng Yam
Head of Government : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Capital : Singapore
Language(s) : English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Currency : S$ (Singapore Dollar)

Thailand
Head of State : His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Head of Government : Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
Capital : Bangkok
Language : Thai
Currency : Baht

Viet Nam
Head of State : President Nguyen Minh Triet
Head of Government : Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
Capital : Ha Noi
Language : Vietnamese
Currency : Dong

UN - II

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Org: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
HQ: New York, USA

Org: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
HQ: Paris, France
.
Org: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
HQ: Nairobi, Kenya

Org: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
HQ: Bonn, Germany

Org: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the (UNHCR)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: University for Peace (UPEACE)
HQ: San Jose, Costa Rica

Org: World Health Organization (WHO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland