December 2009

791. Fugitive former Thailand Prime minister who was appointed as economic advisor to the Cambodian government, in a move that adds to tensions between the countries?
Thaksin Shinawatra
792. Name the U.S. Army psychiatrist who has killed 13 people and wounded 30 others in a bloody rampage at the Fort Hood military base in Texas?
Major Nidal Malik Hasan
793. Eminent public health expert of Kerala who passed away recently at the age of 71?
Dr. C.R. Soman
794. Renowned scientist and former Director of UGC who has been selected for the prestigious Kalinga Prize 2009.?
Professor Yash Pal. The award is given by UNESCO for popularisation of science.
795. Which country won gold medal in men’s kabbadi, in the third Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam?
India
796. Who is appointed as the new captain of Kolkatta Knight Rider’s Team for IPL-3?
Saurav Ganguly
Coach: David Whatmore
Wasim Akram selected as mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
797. A never-seen-before Charlie Chaplin film was recently found in a nitrate film tin by a man who bought it on eBay for £3.20. Name of that previously unseen Charlie Chaplin movie which could be worth up to £40,000?
‘Charlie Chaplin in Zepped’
798. Which team claims the 2009 AFC Champions League title with a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad at the National Stadium in Tokyo?
Pohang Steelers of South Korea. The title was Pohang’s third continental triumph (following Asian Club Championship wins in 1997 and 1998) and means they become the most successful team in Asian football history.
799. Coach of triple Olympic and World Championship gold medalist Usain Bolt and president of the Racers Track Club, who has resigned after 22 years as head of the Jamaican national track and field team?
Glen Mills
800. Who won the Man of the Match award in the second ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan held in Abudabi?
Brendan McCullum. He scored 131 runs (His second ODI century) and New Zealand beat Pakistan by 64 runs.
801. Name of the online reservation system of Kerala Road Transport Corporation inaugurated by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan recently?
Sarathy
802. Who won the Man of the series award of recently concluded ODI series between India and Australia?
Shane Watson. Australia won the seven match series by 4-2. The last match abandoned due to rain.
Man of the Match of Sixth ODI: – Doug Bollinger. Australia won that match in Guwahati
803. Which country won the Asia Cup hockey championship-2009 for women held in Bangkok?
China.
China inflicted a 5-3 defeat on India to regain the trophy. China had won the trophy last in 1989 at Hong Kong.
804. Which country won the Fed Cup women’s tennis title with a comfortable 4-0 win over the United States in Reggio Calabria.?
Italy
805. India’s National Academy of Letters, Sahitya Akademi, recently signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with a digital technology leader to institute the ‘Tagore Literature Awards ‘ named after the legendary Shri Rabindranath Tagore. Name that electronics giant?
Samsung. The award will recognize the best of literary contributions by writers in 8 Indian languages – Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Telugu and Bodo
806. Who is re-elected unopposed as the president of Asian Athletic Association (AAA) in Guangzhou, China, to serve his third consecutive term at the office?
Suresh Kalmadi, Indian Olympic Association chief. He was elected for another four-year term (2009-13)
807. Who won the Charlottesville Challenger ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger tournament?
Kevin Kim (U.S.A). He beat Somdev Devvarman in the final.
808. Who is the new Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala?
T.R. Chidambaram
809. Who won the Swiss Indoors Tennis title beating Roger Federer in the final?
Novak Djokovic. He beat Roger Federer in his own backyard to win the Swiss Indoors final 6-4 4-6 6-2 in Basle.
810. Which state won the South Zone inter-state badminton championship held in Andra Pradesh?
Andra Pradesh
Guru Sai Dutt (Andra Pradesh) beat Ram C. Vijay (Kerala) in the boys’ final
Sikki Reddy, Girl’s Champion
811. Who was chosen for the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award 2008-2009 by BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India)?
Mohinder Amarnath
812. 124 people have been killed by floods and mudslides in El Salvador after the Central American nation was battered by a Hurricane. Name of that storm?
Hurricane Ida
813. Who won the Man of the Match award in the first ODI between South Africa and Zimbabwe held at the Willowmoore Park, Benoni, South Africa, 8th of November 2009?
Tatenda Taibu. He remains unbeaten on 103 runs. South Africa won the match by 45 runs
814. On the first day of the new Maharashtra assembly, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) legislators roughed up a member of Samajwadi Party for taking the oath of office in Hindi. Name of that SP member?
Abu Asim Azmi. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly suspended four Maharashtra Navnirman Sena members for four years on charges of assaulting Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi. The suspended MLA’s are Shishir Shinde, Ram Kadam, Ramesh Wanzale and Vasant Gite
815. First Muslim lady who will serve as minister in the Maharashtra government?
Fauzia Khan
Read More

Current Affairs

November 2009

750. Who becomes the first Indian to make a fifty while batting at No.9 against Australia?
Praveenkumar. He became the first batsman from India to post a fifty on Indian soil while batting at No.9 position
751. The Income Tax department recently conducted nationwide raids at 70 addresses linked to former Jharkhand Chief Minister who has possessing assets worth Rs 2000 crores. Name of that former Jharkhand CM who is now a MP?
Madhu Koda
752. Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan of Kerala laid foundation for States first Border Security Force (BSF) unit in which place?
Kainur village in Thrissur district.
753. A modern space science complex of international standards is to be set up by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in South India. Where is it?
Ponmudi hills in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala
754. Who has been inducted as SP of the prestigious National Investigation Agency (NIA)?
T.K. Rajmohan
755. Who won the Man of the Match award in the third One Day International Cricket between India and Australia held in Delhi?
Yuvraj Singh. India beat Aussies by 6 wickets
756. Who has claimed the top slot as the highest tax payer in the country for the current fiscal?
Lalit Modi, the Indian Premier League chief.
757. China’s keystone space scientist, widely acclaimed as the country’s “father of space technology” and “king of rocketry”, died of illness recently at the age of 98?
Tsien Hsue-shen.
He has also gone by the name of Qian Xuesen
758. The massive fire at which depot of Indian Oil Corporation destroys Rs 1000 crore, ruins several lives?
Jaipur’s Indian Oil Corporation depot
759. Which documentaries have been recently nominated for the prestigious 5th CMS VATAVARAN, environment and wildlife film festival, held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi?
‘My Purple Sunbird’ directed by Sunil Raj
‘Kaanam – Life Story of a Midland Hill’ by Babu Kambrath
760. Indian who was elected as member of the Italian Democratic Party National assembly?
Sibi Kumaramangalam
761. Who is appointed as the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh?
Justice Kurian Joseph. He is the senior most judge of the Kerala High Court
762. Who has been appointed first Goodwill Ambassador of the ‘Smile Train,’ an international charity that provides free cleft lip and palate surgery to children in need?
Aishwarya Rai Bachan
763. The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan has dropped the name of Karnataka High Court Justice from the list of those recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court. Name of that justice?
Justice PD Dinakaran
764. Name of the typhoon, the fourth in a month, which has hit Manila in the Philippines bringing with it heavy rain, flooding and a tropical storm?
Typhoon Mirinae.
Typhoon Ketsana was the first to hit this region at the end of September. About 420 people died in that storm and tens of thousands of people are still living in shelters after their homes washed away. This was followed up by Typhoon Parma that killed over 430 people and destroyed 55,000 houses. Typhoon Lupit was the third typhoon to hit the area last week.
765. Who emerged as the winner of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in the male category?
Deriba Merga of Ethiopia.
Marry Kitney succeeded in winning the title in women category. Around 30,000 people participated in the Airtel Delhi half Marathon 2009.
766. Name the Jammu Kashmir ‘braveheart’ who killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist has been appointed as the Special Police Officer (SPO) in the Jammu Kashmir police force recently ?
Rukhsana Kausar.
Rukhsana, who hails from Kalsi village in upper Shahdhara area of Rajouri district, 180 km north of Jammu, had grappled with LeT terrorists who entered her home, grabbed an AK-47 from one and shot him dead. The terrorist killed was Abu Osama, LeT commander.
767. Kerala High Court Judge who resigned from his post on 2nd November 2009 citing personal reasons?
Justice V Giri.
He was the first permanent judge of Kerala High court who resigned from his post. Justice K P Dandapani is the only judge of the Kerala High Court to have resigned before him. But he was not permanent at that time.
768. Which public sector company has won “SCOPE AWARD” for Excellence and Outstanding contribution to Public Sector Management – Special Institutional (Turnaround) Category 2007-08?
Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd, Ranchi
769. Who won the Man of the Match award in the fourth One Day international Cricket match between India and Australia held in Mohali?
Shane Watson. He scored 49 runs and took 3 wickets.
Australia won the match by 24 runs.
770. American company which is a major lender to hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, filed for bankruptcy recently, as the global financial crisis left it unable to fund itself and the recession clobbered its loans?
CIT Group Inc
Bankruptcy is also a blow for the U.S. government, which invested $2.33 billion in CIT in December through the Troubled Asset Relief Program and will likely lose most of it.
771. Who won the WTA championship-2009 held in Doha?
Serena Williams. She defeated her sister and defending champion Venus 6-2 7-6(4) in the WTA Championships final in Doha.
772. Who is the winner of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2009 Race?
Sebastian Vettel
773. Who is the Chairman of the International Jury of 33rd International Film Festival held at Cairo?
Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
774. Which Indian film won the Silver Award at the just concluded 33rd Cairo International Film Festival?
“Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai” (Tamil Film) directed by Krishnan Seshadri Gomatam
775. The legendary French anthropologist and philosopher who passed away recently in his Paris home at the age of 100?
Claude Levi-Strauss. One of his more influential fields of study involved the observation of tribes in Brazil and North America.
776. Who has been conferred the Fellow Membership of the Kolkata-based National Institute of Personnel Management?
Dr George Sleeba, Chairman and Managing Director of FACT, Kerala
777. Who was re-elected president of the United Arab Emirates for a second five-year term?
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan
778. Who won the Man of the Series Award in the ODI Cricket Series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe?
Abdur Razzak (Bangladesh). Bangladesh won the 5 match series 4-1
779. Which country’s central bank bought 200 metric tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund last month, in the first major move by a major central bank to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves?
India.
Reserve Bank of India bought 200 metric tons of gold to manage its foreign-exchange reserves.
780. Which team was banned by BCCI from this year’s Ranji Trophy cricket Season for skipping a match against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar citing security reasons?
Services.
The Services cricket team is a domestic cricket team in the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy, the main domestic competition in India.
781. Which country made the fifth lowest total in one-day cricket by making only 44 runs to their account?
Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh bowlers demolished Zimbabwe for 44 runs in the fourth ODI match, the fifth lowest total in one-dayers. Nazmul Hossain, who started the slide with his 2 wickets for 10 runs and took a brilliant catch, was adjudged the man of the match
782. Who has won the World Junior girls chess championship at Puerto Madryn in Argentina on November 3, 2009?
Soumya Swaminathan. She is from Pune, India.
783. Who won the Man of the Match award in the first ODI of the Cool & Cool Cup at Abu Dhabi between New Zealand and Pakistan?
Shahid Afridi. He won this award for his 70runs and 2 wickets for 46.Pakistan won the match by a whooping margin of 138 runs.
784. The tropical Storm which slammed Vietnam’s central coast on November-2, 2009, unleashing heavy rains and winds and forcing more than 80,000 people to evacuate?
Mirinae. The death toll from Tropical Storm Mirinae in central Vietnam has risen to 109.
785. Which African country establishes satellite medical link with India recently?
Sierra Leone. Officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa has launched a satellite link-up known as telemedicine so that doctors in this country can seek advice from their colleagues in India.
786. A British-German scientist’s team recently has identified the old ancestor of the world’s most infamous predator, Tyrannosaurus rex which is a dinosaur. Name of that 165-million-year-old dinosaur lived during the middle Jurassic Period?
Proceratosaurus, the two-legged meat-eater would have measured about 3m long and weighed up to 60kg.
787. Which state won Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Award-07 for the best contribution in tree planting activities and Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Award-08 for increasing forest & tree cover in the State?
Kerala
789. Twelve-year-old boy who made a World record in inter-school cricket by smacking a mammoth 439 in the prestigious Harris Shield tournament at the MB Union Cricket Club grounds, Cross Maidan?
Sarfaraz Khan..
Harris Shield is the tournament in which Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli piled up a world record 664 runs for the third wicket in February 1988, helping their school, Shardashram Vidyamandir, to score 748 for 2 in 122 overs against St Xavier’s School at Azad Maidan.
790. Who won the Man of the Match award in the fifth ODI cricket match between India and Australia held on 5th November, 2009 at Uppal, Hyderabad?
Sachin Tendulkar. He scored 175 runs and that was his 45 th ODI century. Australia won the match by 3 runs.
Read More

General Knowledge in India

October 2009

612. In which place of Kerala, one of the worst boat tragedies in its history occurred, after Kerala Tourism Development Corporation’s new double-decker boat ‘Jalakanyaka’ carrying 74 tourists capsized that claimed 45 lives on September 30,2009?
Periyar Reservoir at Thekkady
613. Name the place where a powerful Pacific Ocean earthquake spawned towering tsunami waves which hit on September 29 that killing more than 113 people and leaving dozens of workers missing?
Samoa Islands in the central South Pacific
614. Name of the Tropical Storm that hits Philippines on September 26, 2009 killing 246 people and causing massive flooding in the region?
Ketsana
615. Name the top American official at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan who has been ordered out of the country after he disagreed with superiors over how to deal with widespread fraud charges from the presidential election in Afghanistan?
Peter Galbraith
616. Former Haryana chief minister (from March to November 1967), who was also a former cabinet minister in 1980-84 and held various portfolios including agriculture, rural development as well as food and supplies died recently ?
Rao Birender Singh
617. Former 100 meter world champion who has announced his retirement recently from international competition.
Kim Collins
618. Eminent singer who has been selected for the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the year 2007 which carries a Cash Prize of Rs. 10 lakh, a Swaran Kamal and a Shawl?
Shri Manna Dey
619. Which company has agreed to arrange 2.2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year that NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) Ltd will use to fuel its southern India plant at Kayamkulam, Kerala which is currently running on naphtha?
Petronet LNG
620. A rare 507 carat white diamond, considered being among the top 20 largest high quality rough diamonds ever found worldwide was discovered recently from which place?
The Cullinan Mine near Pretoria in South Africa. The diamond is discovered by the Mining group Petra Diamond, London-listed Company.
621. Which country celebrated 60years of Communist rule with a spectacular military and civilian parade through the centre of its capital city?
China
622. In which place of India, geologists recently have found a cluster of dinosaur eggs, said to be about 65 million years old?
A village in Ariyalur District of Tamil Nadu.
623. Nick name of the oldest known fossil skeleton of a human ancestor—a female Ardipithecus ramidus specimen which has been found recently?
“Ardi”
Picture courtesy J. H. Matternes via Science/AAAS
624. Turkish journalist who threw a shoe at IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Istanbul ahead of key meetings on the economic crisis, as rallies set to bring thousands into the streets got underway?
Selcuk Ozbek
625. Legendary Film director who was arrested in Switzerland for the rape of then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer on a 31-year-old international arrest warrant as he arrived to attend the Zurich Film Festival?
Roman Polanski
626. Who became the third batsman to reach 12,000 one-day international (ODI) runs?
Ricky Ponting
Other two are Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.
627. Who won Pan Pacific Open tennis title-2009?
Maria Sharapova
She won the Toray Pan Pacific Open title when Jelena Jankovic retired because of an arm injury in the first set.
628. Marking the International Day of Non-Violence, which organization has recently released a stamp of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 140th birth anniversary?
The United Nations
629. Which country will host the 2016 Olympics?
Brazil.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Brazil will also host the World Cup Football-2014
630. The last surviving leader of the ill-fated 1943 Warsaw ghetto revolt against the Nazis, died at the age of 90?

Photo by Kubik- Marek Edelman
During the World War II, he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of Mordechaj Anielewicz. He also took part in the city-wide 1944 Warsaw Uprising.
631 Expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh is leading a non-BJP, non-Congress group of MPs in Parliament, which seeks to play the role of a “critical opposition”. Name that group of Independent MPs who have come together due to ‘commonality of issues’.
The Lok Morcha
632. The doyen of Indian rationalist movement, a vocal atheist, skeptic and caustic critic of Sathya Sai Baba, died on October 4th 2009 at the Abhirami Hospital in Coimbatore?
Basava Premanand
633. Who has won Formula One’s Japanese Grand Prix 2009 title?
Sebastian Vettel
634. Who has won the European Golden Shoe for the second time after scoring 32 goals for Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league this season?
Diego Forlan
635. Who won Nobel Prize for physics in 2009?
The Nobel Prize in physics will be awarded to Americans.
1. Charles K. Kao,
2. Willard S. Boyle and
3. George E. Smith.
Kao was honored for discovering how to transmit light signals long distance through hair-thin glass fibers.
Boyle and Smith received the prize for opening the door to digital cameras by inventing a sensor that turns light into electrical signals
636. Who was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Greece after his party PASOK won recent Parliamentary Elections?
George Papandreou. His party, i.e. the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) has won 160 out of 300 seats
637. Which country won the Champions Trophy Cricket title-2009 held in South Africa?
Australia. They beat New Zealand in the final by 6 wickets
Man of the Match in the Final: Shane Watson (For his match-winning innings of unbeaten 105 of 129 balls)
Man of the Series: Ricky Ponting
638. List the name of scientists who are selected for 2009 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Science and Technology which is given to scientists below 45 years of age, for their outstanding scientific contributions made primarily in India during the last 5 years proceeding the year of the Prize?
Biological Sciences:
1. Dr Amitabh Joshi, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Banglore and
2. Dr Bhaskar Saha, National Centre for Cell Science, Pune.
Chemical Sciences:
3. Dr Charusita chakravarty, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi and 4.Dr Narayanaswamy Jayaraman, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean & Planetary Sciences:
5. Dr S K Satheesh, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Engineering Sciences:
6. Dr Giridhar Madras, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and
7.Dr Jayant Ramaswamy Haritsa, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Mathematical Sciences:
8. Dr Venapally Suresh, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Medical Sciences:
9. Dr Santosh Gajanan Honavar, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad
Physical Sciences:
10. Dr Rajesh Gopakumar, Harish-Chandra research Institute, Allahabad and
11. Dr Abhishek Dhar, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore
Shri Prithviraj Chavan also gave away CSIR Young Scientist Award 2009
639. One of the main orchestrators of the Rwandan 1994 genocide who has been arrested in Kampala, the Ugandan capita?
Idelphonse Nizeyimana
Known as the Butcher of Butare, Nizeyimana is accused of being one of the “top four” men who directed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. He is believed to have ordered the execution of Rosalie Gicanda, the Queen of Rwanda and the head of the Tutsi tribe.
640. Who has been appointed as the Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Infrastructure, Innovation and Information?
Sam Pitroda. He is now the Chairman National Knowledge Commission.
641. Who won Nobel Prize for Chemistry-2009?
1. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (USA)
2. Thomas Steitz (USA)
3. Ada Yonath (Israel)
Ada is the first woman to receive it since 1964
Award is given for creating detailed blueprints of ribosomes, the protein-making machinery within cells, research that’s being used to develop new antibiotics.
642. Who won Man Booker Prize Award-2009?
Hilary Mantel. This British novelist won the award for her gripping 16th century tale titled “Wolf Hall”
643. Name the French Tourism Company which bought Mahatma Gandhi’s house in South Africa for an amount of $377,029 outbidding other bidders including Indians?
Voyageurs du Monde. The company plans to turn the property into a Gandhi museum in line with its philosophy of investing in heritage properties worldwide and Gandhiji lived in the house from 1908 to 1910.
644. Which animal has been declared as ‘National Aquatic Animal’ by Government of India?
‘Dolphin
GANGA DOLPHIN, locally known as ‘Sauns’ has been declared as ‘National Aquatic Animal’. In India, they live more in Ganga River.
645. The former head of Interpol and South Africa’s national police chief who went on trial accused of corruption.
Photo:AFP
Jackie Selebi
Mr Selebi is accused of taking money and gifts from a notorious alleged gangster, Glenn Agliotti,
646. Who won National Snooker Championship title-2009?
Pankaj Adwani. He defeated Saurabh Kothari in final.
Pankaj Adwani also won the National Billiards Title-2009 defeating Geet Sethi in a nerve-wracking final.
647. National women’s billiards title-2009 is won by?
Meenal Thakur. She defeated her younger sister Anuja Chandra in the final.
648. Who won Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine -2009?
1. Elizabeth H. Blackburn (U.S.A)
2. Carol W. Greider (U.S.A)
3. Jack W. Szostak (U.S.A)
They got this award for discovering how chromosomes protect themselves as cells divide, work that has inspired experimental cancer therapies and may offer insights into aging.
649. Which team won the Irani Trophy Cricket title for 2009-10?
Rest of India. They won the title on the basis of their first innings lead against Renji Trophy Champions Mumbai as a wet outfield ruled out any play on the last day of the match
650. Who has been selected for the 24th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for the year 2008?
Balraj Puri.He is a leading political commentator and eminent journalist.
651. Which country tops the list of the countries with the highest quality of life according to the annual Human Development Index, unveiled by the U. N. Development Program?
Norway. According to this index, Norway is the best country in the world in which to live.
Niger comes in last position and India ranks 134th out of 182 countries in the world.
652. Who won Nobel Prize-in literature of this year?
The award is given to Germany’s Herta Mueller, a Romanian-born writer honored for work that “with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.”
653. Which state won IBN 7 Diamond state award for “India’s best big state” for their overall performance and significant contribution to the development of the state?
Kerala.
“India’s best small state award” is won by Goa.
The award is given by IBN 7 network in partnership with Outlook magazine.
654. Winner of The Wisden Cricketer magazine’s World Test Player of the Year 2009 award?
Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh all rounder
655. The tropical storm that hits Japan on October 8 killing two people and shuttering factories, closing schools and stranding commuters and travelers at airports and train stations?
Typhoon Melor
656. According to the QS/Times Higher Education rankings, which university retained the top position among the top 100 varsities of the world?
Harvard University (U.S.A).
None of the Indian universities figure among the top 100 varsities of the world
Second spot-Cambridge University (Britain)
657. Which team won the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy of 2009?
India Red
India Red, under the captaincy of S Badrinath defeated Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India Blues by 7 wickets in the final.
658. One of the greatest writers of Gothic fiction who has given funeral 160 years after his mysterious death?
Edgar Allan Poe He has been honoured with a second funeral service on October 10, 2009.
659. Boyzone singer, who has been found dead at the age of 33 while on holiday with his partner Andrew in Mallorca.
Stephen Gately
660. Indian sound engineer who was recently inducted into the Motion pictures Academy, the members of which can cast their votes for the list of Oscar nominees?
Rasool Pookutty
661. Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints on 11th of October-2009. Name the five saints.
1. Jozef De Veuster, better known as Father Damien was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and he won recognition for his ministry to people with leprosy
2. Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski, a Polish bishop who kept championing Catholicism after Russia shut down Polish churches in retaliation for the Polish uprising against Russia in Warsaw in 1861.
3. Jeanne Jugan, a French nun who set up an order that runs homes for destitute around the world.
4. Francisco Coll y Guitart, a Spaniard who founded an order of Dominicans in the 19th century.
5. Rafael Arnaiz Baron, a Spaniard, who wrote extensively about spirituality before his death at age 27.
662. Countries which have signed a historic peace agreement recently ending a century of hostility – hostility that stemmed from the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces?
Turkey and Armenia
663. A former TV crime show host and state legislator accused of commissioning killings to boost ratings turned him in to authorities and was jailed on homicide and drug trafficking charges?
Wallace Souza
664. Who has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize?
Barack Obama, US President.
665. Canada’s first space tourist and also the world’s first Space Clown who returned from International Space station on October 11, 2009?
Guy Laliberte
666. Who is the new President of International Academy of Astronautics?
G Madhavan Nair. (Former ISRO Chairman)
667. Who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences?
Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson for their work in economic governance.
Ostrom was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences since it was founded in 1968.
668. The Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal?
Sujata Koirala
669. Name of the previously unreleased song by Michael Jackson which was unveiled to the world almost four months after the star’s death?
“This Is It”
670. Sweden striker who announced his retirement from International Football recently?
Henrik Larsson. Larsson retired in 2002 but returned to international action two years later.
671. Who are the co-winners of the 2009 Right Livelihood Award, known as “Alternative Nobel”, for their work in campaigning against nuclear weapons, protecting the rain forests of Congo and raising awareness about climate change?
1. Alyn Ware of New Zealand
2. Rene Ngongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
3. David Suzuki of Canada
4. Catherine Hamlin of Australia who won the award for treating women in Ethiopia suffering from obstetric fistula.
672. Who has received the 2009 Golden Foot award?
Ronaldinho, Brazilian Striker
673. New Zealand all-rounder who retired from Test cricket to prolong his career in the shorter formats of the game?
Jacob Oram
674. Who is the new director of National Cricket Academy of India?
Sandeep Patel
675. Indian footballer who was a part of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics squad that finished fourth, which is India’s best finish in Olympic football, died recently?
Keshto Pal
676. India has signed a civil nuclear pact with which country that encourages and support scientific technical and commercial co-operation for mutual benefit in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy?
Argentina. Argentina has become the seventh country, following US, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Mongolia, with which India has signed a civil nuclear agreement.
677. Argentina qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa following a 1-0 away victory over arch rival Uruguay in Montevideo. Who scored that goal for Argentina?
Mario Bolatti.He scored the goal in the 84th minute.
678. Who is appointed as the new member of the Supreme Court Collegium after retirement of the second senior most apex court judge Justice B N Agarwal?
Justice R V Raveendran.
Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, has Justices H S Kapadia, Tarun Chatterjee and Altamas Kabir as the members.
679. India recently signed the Military Technical Cooperation Agreement with which country?
Russia.
India and Russia signed two defence deals at the conclusion of the Sixth Meeting of the India – Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC). The first agreement would be on extending the military technical cooperation for ten years from 2011 to 2020 and the second relates to after-sales product support for defence equipment of Russian origin.
680. Countries which are qualified for World Cup-Football 2010 as the 20th and 21st nations for the 32-team World Cup, scheduled for next June in South Africa?
Switzerland and Slovakia.
This is Slovakia’s first World Cup. They achieved the landmark by beating Poland 1-0
681. Who has been appointed as the captain of the Australia Twenty20 team?
Michael Clark
Vice Captain: Cameron White
682. Indian-American billionaire who has been featured in Forbes annual list of America’s 200 Best Small Companies among “eight self-made stars who have built tidy empires in an array of industries”?
Bharat Desai
683. The Country which decided to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s telescope and the U.N.-designated International Year of Astronomy recently?
Vatican
684. The first African country to win the under-20 World Cup Football after beating four-time champions Brazil 4-3 in a penalty shoot out in the final held in Cairo ?
Ghana
685. Veteran Journalist, publisher social activist and a pioneer in bringing out evening dailies in Malayalam died at a private hospital in Kozhikode in Kerala?
Theruvath Raman
686. Who has been named as the AIFF (All India Football Federation) Player of the Year-2009?
Subrata Paul. Paul has thus become the first goalkeeper to win this award which started in 1992.
687. Who is elected as the new president of the All India Football Federation?
Prafool Patel
General Secretary of AIFF: Alberto Colaco
688. Who is the new world champion in Formula One?
Jenson Button
689. Russian gymnast, who won a bronze medal at world championships in London, died y in a car crash recently?
Yury Ryazanov
690. Who becomes the youngest ever recipient of the Order of Jamaica, one of the country’s highest honours, at a ceremony in the capital Kingston?
Usain Bolt
691. Who was re-elected as President of Indonesia securing nearly 61 per cent of the vote, ahead of his nearest rival and ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri?
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
692. Who is the Vice President of Indonesia?
Boediono
693. A man who worked for years as a nurse’s aide in Maryland and Pennsylvania who has been crowned as a king in Uganda recently?
Charles Wesley Mumbere
694. Which trains collided in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura city killing 23 people on October 23, 2009?
Goa Express and Mewar Express,
695. Who was confirmed as the next Lucasian Professor of Mathematics on 19 October 2009, to succeed Stephen Hawking on 1 November 2009?
Michael Boris Green. He is a British physicist and one of the pioneers of string theory.
696. Which country has begun operating an earthquake monitoring station at the foot of Mount Everest in a bid to learn more about the world’s highest peak?
China
697. Recipients of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-Madanjeet Singh Prize-2009 for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence?
Franois Houtart of Belgium and Abdul Sattar Edhi of Pakistan
Franois Houtart won this award for his life-long commitment to world peace, human rights and the promotion of tolerance. Abdul Sattar won this award for his life-long efforts to ameliorate the conditions of the most disadvantaged groups in Pakistan and South Asia. The prize money comprises of $100,000 which is to be shared equally between them.
698. The broadcaster which has bagged the broadcast rights for cricket to be played in India over the next four years starting April 2010?
Nimbus Communications Ltd. They own the Neo Sports and Neo Cricket channels. Nimbus will pay the BCCI well over Rs 2,000 core for airing all the matches organized by the board in India from 2010 to 2014.
699. American scientist who had worked for the White House and NASA was arrested by the United States authorities recently, charged with attempted spying for Israel?
Stewart David Nozette.
700. Who is the Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir?
Raja Farooq Haider Khan
701. Indian American philanthropist brothers who won the Northern Virginia Community Foundation’s community leader award for 2009?
Sudhakar V. Shenoy and Suresh V. Shenoy
702. Who bagged the PSPB Sports Person of the Year award for 2008-09?
Saina Nehwal
World billiards champion Pankaj Advani and cricketer Virender Sehwag shared the Sports Person of the Year award for 2007-08.
703. The Director of National Institute for Ocean Technology (NIOT)?
Dr. M.A.Atmanand
704. Who was named New Zealand cricketer of the year-2009?
Daniel Vettori. He was also honoured with all-rounder and most successful first class bowler award.
705. Which party emerged victorious in all assembly elections held in the three states of Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh?
Indian National Congress
706. Who has denied having written a foreword attributed to him in the autobiography by Congo Republic President Denis Sassou-Nguesso?
Nelson Mandela
707. Which team clinches Champions League T20 Cricket title-2009?
New South Wales Blues. They beat Trinidad and Tobago in the final by 41 runs
708. Which state won the National Interstate Athletic championship-2009?
Kerala
709. Coach of New Zealand Cricket Team who has resigned from his position following a review of the performance of the side after their return from the Champions Trophy?
Andy Moles
710. The only Indian film which is included in the competition section of the 54th Valladolid International Film Festival which began on October 23?
Rithu (Malayalam Film) which is directed by National Award winner Syamaprasad,
Valladolid, one of Europe’s oldest film festivals.
711. The only Indian Film Director who is included in the judges’ panel of 11th International Film Festival at Mumbai which starts from October-29?
Shaji N Karun.
712. New name of Orissa?
Orissa will soon be known as Odisha and the name Oriya language too will be changed from Oriya to Odia.
713. Who won the Kremlin Cup Women’s tennis title-2009?
Francesca Schiavone of Italy. She beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus in the final.
714. Who won the Kremlin Cup Men’s tennis title-2009?
Mikhail Youzhny(Russia). He beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in the final.
715. Who won the Moto Grant Pix World Championship-2009?
Valentino Rossi (Italy)
716. Which country won the seven-match hockey Test series against Canada in Canada?
India. India won the series 6-0.
717. Fifteenth ASEAN summit which ends With Pledge to Build Flexible Community held in?
15th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during October 23-25 in two well-known adjoining beach resorts of Cha-am and Hua Hin in Thailand.
Association of Southeast Nations has 10 members – Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – which met with dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea for an East Asia Summit.
718. Former Cuban President Fidel Castro’s younger sister who has just revealed that she was for years a spy for the CIA.?
Juanita Castro.
The revelations come in a new memoir, “Fidel and Raúl, My Brothers: The Secret History”
719. Who won Stockholm Open Tennis title -2009?
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. He captured his first title of 2009 with a straight set victory over Belgium’s Olivier Rochus.
720. Mongolian Prime Minister who tenders resignation citing health reasons?
Bayar Sanjaa
723. Which country has stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens amid rising tensions between the two governments?
Libya
724. Who has been appointed the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra for the third time?
Chhagan Bhujbal
725. 21-year-old women’s 100-meter sprint champion who has been banned from competition for life after testing positive for banned drugs at the China National Games?
Wang Jing
726. Who has been appointed as chairman and managing director (MD) of Punjab National Bank?
K R Kamath
727. Which footballer has won the award for the best player of Spanish league 2008-2009?
Lionel Messi
728. A Taliban car bomb killed 89 Pakistanis and wounded hundreds more at a bazaar in Pakistan took place hours after the US Secretary of State touched down for a diplomatic visit in Islamabad. Venue of that car bomb attack?
Meena Bazaar, in Peshawar
729. The former England umpire, who has died at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer?
David Shepherd
730. Name of the controversial book written by Andre Agassi in which he admits that he used the drug crystal meth or ice in the middle of his highly lucrative tennis career?
“Open”
731. Man of the Match of first ODI between India and Australia held in Baroda?
Michael Hussey
732. Man of the Match of second ODI between India and Australia held in Nagpur?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
734. Who will be the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India?
Subir Gokarn
735. Name of the last work of Michael Jackson ,a documentary which released recently ?
“This is it”
736. Who has been elected as the first Asian American woman president of the 75-year-old American College of Chest Physicians?
Dr Kalpalatha K Guntupalli
737. Which country takes the lead in this year’s ranking of the world’s most prosperous countries announced by the UK-based economic think-tank the Legatum Institute on 27 October?
Finland.
The top three includes two other small liberal democracies, Switzerland and Sweden.
Zimbabwe is in the last spot.
738. Toronto-based folk singer who died after coyotes pounced on her during a solo hike in Cape Breton national park in Canada?
Taylor Mitchell
Coyote is a member of the dog family found in low deserts and valleys.
739. Name of NASA’s first rocket since 1981, which has launched successfully on 28th of October 2009?
Ares 1-X
740. United Nations torture investigator who was barred from Zimbabwe and sent back to South Africa after a night in Harare airport?
Manfred Nowak
741. India’s second-largest public sector lender which plans to buy a majority stake in Dana Bank, bank in Kazakhstan, for an estimated $24 million, which would be its first overseas acquisition?
Punjab National Bank
742. Name of the world’s largest and most expensive cruise ship which has set sail recently for Miami from the Finnish shipyard where it was built?
“Oasis of the Seas”
743. The Malayalam Superstar who is elected as the goodwill ambassador of Kerala athletics?
Mohan Lal
Superstar Mammootty had been hailed as the brand ambassador of volleyball in Kerala.
744. Eminent scientist who took over as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)?
K Radhakrishnan
745. Who is the new Director of Vikram Sarabahi Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram?
P.S. Veeraraghavan, a rocket technologist.
746. Due to security reasons, India has recently issued an order to ban all pre-paid mobile phones in a state. Which is that state?
Jammu and Kashmir.
747. A collection of letters from British poet sold at auction for $459,110.67, exceeding the highest pre-sale estimates by more than $160,000 and selling for more than any other letters or manuscript by a British Romantic poet. Name of that Poet?
Lord George Byron
748. Haiti — Prime Minister who was removed from office by the Haitian Senate?
Michele Pierre-Louis
749. An Indian-American who has been appointed as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service in the US Department of Commerce?
Suresh Kumar
Read More