Sports Current Affairs 2011

Current Affairs [March 2011]
ICC WC 2011 off to spectacular start

• The ICC cricket world cup is on in full swing. The fourteen teams have all played their group stages and 8 teams qualified to the knockout stages. The teams that played in quarterfinals were West Indies, India, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Among these only four teams made it to the Semis where Pakistan and India played each other at Mohali and Srilanka and New Zealand played against each other in Colombo. The semi final match between India and Pakistan created unprecedented hype as the two teams have not faced off against each other since Mumbai 26/11 attacks. There was a never before seen rush to get the tickets for the match and people were selling their tickets in black market at astronomical amounts. India and Sri Lanka went on to win their semi finals respectively and face each other in the final on April 02 , 2011.

Levon Aronian wins Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Championship

• Levon Aronian has won the 20th and final edition of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Championship held at Monaco. He had earlier also won in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The Armenian grandmaster tied his last round game against Sergey Karjakin and still maintained a one point lead over runner up Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Indian chess grandmaster and World Champion Vishwanath Anand came in at third position. With the 2011 edition the 20 year run of one the Worlds favourite chess events comes to an end and Aronian having won three of the last four editions does come across as a significant achievement.

Saina clinches Swiss Open Grand Prix

• India’s badminton ace Saina Nehwal won her first title of 2011 with a 21-13, 21-14 victory over South Korean Sung Ji Hyun in the Wilson Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton at Basil on 20/3/2011. It was her second win against the Korean in as many meetings whom she earlier defeated in the Indonesia Open Super Series as well. She reached the quarters of the All England Championship also held earlier this month where she lost to Eriko Hirose of Japan. Riding on her Swiss Open triumph Saina has regained her number three ranking with 69721.2637 points. At first place and second place are Shixian Wang (83506.4) and Yihan Wang (73988.9106) of China respectively.

Djokovic beats Nadal to win Indian Wells title

• Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open title at Calirfonia on 20/3/2011. The Serbian remains undefeated this year whose victories include Australian and Dubai open, has struck a purple patch notching up an impressive 18-0 record in 2011. He now jumps to number two in the ATP rankings pushing Roger Federer to the third place while Rafael Nadal is still at number one with a 14-3 record. Djokovic said “It definitely says good things. I am playing with a lot of confidence. I’m feeling the ball well on the court. I’m very dedicated. I have a big will to win each match. I want to keep on going and keep on playing good tennis.”

Sebastian Vettel wins Australian GP

• Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel drove a flawless race to win the season opening Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne on 27/3/2011. Starting from pole position Sebastian drove superbly to open more than a two second gap over runner up Lewis Hamilton of Mclaren following the first lap. At third place was Renaults Vitaly Petrov who made his first ever podium finish. Fernando Alonso came in fourth with Australian Mark Webber finishing fifth at the race. They used three stops strategies which was one more than the podium finishers. It was not a good start to the year for Mercedes with both their drivers Michael Shumacher and Nicco Roseberg being forced to retire.

Read More

International Current Affairs 2011

Current Affairs [March 2011]
Earthquake and Tsunami strike Japan

• A powerful earthquake of 8.9 magnitude struck Japan on its north eastern coast on 11/3/2011. The earthquake resulted in a massive tsunami that caused wide scale destruction and loss of thousands of lives. Cars, ships and buildings were all swept away by the rampaging waters of the Tsunami which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. The port city of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture was one of the worst affected. Ten metre waves struck the city deluging everything that was part of it-farmlands, cars, buildings, houses etc. Fires broke out in the city following the deluge. A cluster of two to three hundred bodies were found in one part of this city alone. This is the most powerful natural disaster to have struck Japan in its recorded history and is considered 8000 times more powerful than what struck Christchurch in New Zealand earlier this year.
  As of March 30th 2011 according to official estimates the death toll now stands at 11,257 while another 16,344 people are still missing. Many of the survivors who have been displaced have lost all their property to the Tsunami. More than 173,200 people are living in the 2000 evacuation centres in the 17 prefectures mostly in the northern side of the country. Among the worst affected prefectures which are Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate 146,628 displaced people have been housed in close to 1,245 evacuation centres.

Nuclear Crisis

• The massive earthquake that struck the north east coast of Japan has resulted in a catastrophic situation at the Fukushima Nuclear power plant. When the earthquake struck they switched off the reactor and where about to use the onsite diesel back up power. The tsunami then struck and the back up power also failed. Hence after losing electric power, that system could not be used. Instead the operators are dumping seawater into the vessel and letting it cool the fuel by boiling. But as it boils, pressure rises too high to pump in more water, so they have to vent the vessel to the atmosphere, and feed in more water, a procedure known as “feed and bleed.” Thousands of people residing in areas close to the plant were evacuated. Over the following days there have been many instance of radiation exposure traced in the vicinity. Radioactive water found in and outside reactor buildings is delaying work to restore cooling functions of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Libyan Uprising

• Having received inspiration from the revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia the next country to vehemently protest against government autocracy is the North African country of Libya. The public are fighting to bring down Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year rule and are demanding new leadership and democratic elections. What actually began as a series of peaceful demonstrations took ugly turns when Gaddafi’s army tried to crush protests by using force eventually turning into an all out civil war in the days to come. In a matter of days the uprising had spread to other parts of Libya and Gaddafi was having trouble retaining control over many parts of the country. Gaddafi a harder nut to crack than Mubarak has continued to be on the offensive and refuses to give up power in spite of all the diplomatic pressure, much to the chagrin of his own country men. On 19/3/2011 a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to the uprising in Libya. The military operations began, with US and British forces firing over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles, the French Air Force and British Royal Air Force[ undertaking sorties across Libya and a naval blockade by the Royal Navy. Air strikes against Libyan Army tanks and vehicles by French jets have since been confirmed. The situation is far from peaceful and remains to be seen what would be the outcome of the situation in the days to come.

Elizabeth Taylor passes away

• One of Hollywood’s greatest icons Dame Elizabeth Taylor breathed her last on 23/3/2011 due to congestive heart failure. The 79 year old actress has been in the public eye for six decades having won three academy awards and has acted in over 50 films. The Cleopatra star's stunning looks, including her famed violet eyes, earned her fans around the globe and her stormy personal life that included eight marriages received as much press interest as some of her best works. She won two Oscars for her performances in “Butterfield 8”(1960) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) and a third Oscar for her humanitarian work in 1993. The actress has also battled many health ailments undergoing as much as 20 surgeries during the course of her life. In her later years she was a spokeswoman for several causes, most notably AIDS research.

Read More

Current Affairs Quiz February 2011

1. Who appointed as PM’s Advisor on skill development ?

- S Ramadorai, former chief of IT giant firm TCS, has been appointed as an Advisor to Prime Minister on Skill Development Read More
2. Who has been elected as President of Karnataka State Cricket Association(KSCA)?
- Anil Kumble
3. who won Australian Open woman’s Single 2011 ?

- Kim Clijsters won her second straight Grand Slam title and the fourth of her career, struggling early before beating Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Australian Open final. The result ended the outstanding run of Li, who became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
4. who won Australian Open mens Single 2011 ?

-Novak Djokovic claimed his second title at the Australian Open in dominating style on when he hammered Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
5. 72-year-old woman who’s on a mission to eradicate illiteracy ?
-Paravati Mohanty Read more
6. Who has been appointed as the new PM of Jordan?
- Marouf Bakhit King Abdullah has dismissed his cabinet and appointed a new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit. Read more
7. which south Korean steel company gets approval in Orissa ?
- POSCO

The south Korean firm Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) got the conditional clearence from the Environmental Ministry to start $12 billion steel mill project in Orissa. It is considered as the single biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) in India.

8. which department has been given the responsibility to deliver UID cards in india ?
- Department of Posts

More than 1 billion Indians will get their unique identification numbers from the ubiquitous post office. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), responsible for creating and distributing first of its kind unique identification numbers to Indian residents, signed an agreement with department of posts to this effect on 4 February.

9. Who has elected as new President for Myanmar ?

-General Thein Sein

Thein Sein, a military general-turned-civilian leader, was on 4 February elected Myanmar’s first President under its 2008 Constitution, which came into force earlier this week. His election was officially portrayed as a key step along the final lap of the military government’s roadmap towards democracy. Read more

10. Who is elected as the new PM of Nepal ?

- Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), Jhalanath Khanal become the 34th Prime Minister. read more
11. Eighth Aero India International Seminar was held in ?
- Bangalore

The eighth Aero India 2011 – International Seminar conducted was held at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Convention Centre here from February 7 to 9, as a prelude to the ‘Aero India 2011 Exposition’.
The seminar, organized by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in association with the Aeronautical Society of India

12. Where was held 17th Commonwealth Law Conference ?
- Hyderabad

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the 17th Commonwealth Law Conference at Hyderabad on 5 February.
The theme of this conference “Emerging Economies – Rule of Law: Challenges and Opportunities” is specially relevant today when a new global architecture is taking place and there is restlessness in the air in many developing countries. The ability of emerging economies to be a partner in shaping the new international order in the 21st century will be determined to a large extent by the choices they make with respect to their systems of governance as well as the legal and institutional structures they devise for enforcing the rule of law.

13. Recently govt. decided to Ban on use of plastics for packaging of which products ?

- The Environment Ministry issued a notification banning the use of plastics for packaging gutka and other tobacco products. Read more
14. Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka who passes away on 9th February 2011 ?
- M.P. Prakash

M.P. Prakash (71), former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, passed away in a private hospital here on 9 February 2011.
He was battling cancer for over a year.
A respected political leader who was part of the Janata Parivar since its formation in 1977, Mr. Prakash crossed over to the Congress in April 2008 after falling out with the Janata Dal (Secular) leadership over the transfer of power to the BJP at the end of the first 20-month term of the coalition government.
He served as Deputy Chief Minister in the first coalition government in the State headed by N. Dharam Singh between August 2005 and January 2006.

15. The fourteenth National Conference on e-Governance was held at ?
- Aurangabad
The fourteenth National Conference on e-Governance is to begin on February 10th at Aurangabad. Governor of Maharahstra Shri K. Sankaranarayanan, has inaugurating the two-day annual event.
16. The Regional Aviation Security Conference was held at ?
- India is set to host the Regional Aviation Security Conference at New Delhi from 14-18 February, 2011 under the aegis of International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) to review the compliance of Security Declaration made in 37th Assembly of ICAO and also to have the risk overview of the recent developments in aviation security. The Conference is being organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.
17. When will be started Health insurance policy portability ?
- 1st July 2011

In a big relief to dissatisfied health insurance policy holders, sectoral regulator IRDA has allowed them portability — shifting policies from one insurer to another on same terms – from 1st July.The portability facility will allow policy holders to switch over to another insurance company with the same conditions.
The new facility will also help those policy holders who stick to one insurer throughout life for fear of losing the cover for Pre Existing Diseases (PED). Read more

18. which mobile company has maximum active customers ?

-Bharti Airtel

The Trai report said Bharti Airtel had about 92% active customers, while Idea Cellular had a little over 90% followed by Vodafone Essar at 76%, compared to 47-50 % for Tata (GSM and CDMA) and 66-68 % for Reliance Communications .

19. Who inaugurates World Philatelic Exhibition ‘INDIPEX 2011′ ?
- President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on 12-02-2011 inaugurated the World Philatelic Exhibition ‘INDIPEX 2011′ in the national capital.
20. 53rd annual Grammy Awards was held at ?
- The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

List of 53rd annual Grammy Awards

Album of the Year
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Record of the Year
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
Best New Artist
Esperanza Spalding
Song of the Year
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Train – “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No. 1, Jeff Beck and Oumou Sangare – “Imagine”
Best Dance Recording
Rihanna – “Only Girl (In the World)”
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
Best Hard Rock Performance
Them Crooked Vultures – “New Fang”
Best Rock Song
Neil Young – “Angry World”
Best Alternative Music Album
The Black Keys – Brothers
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Sade – “Soldier of Love”
Best Contemporary R&B Album
Usher – Raymond v. Raymond
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Best Rap Song
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Best Rap Album
Eminem – Recovery
Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
Zac Brown Band and Alan Jackson – “As She’s Walking Away”
Best Country Song
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”
Best Country Album
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Best Americana Album
Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
Best Traditional Blues Album
Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith – Joined at the Hip

21. Who launches ‘CARINGS’ & what is it?

-Mrs. Krishna Tirath

Minister of State for Women and Child Development Mrs. Krishna Tirath, launched a Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System CARINGS in New Delhi February 14. It is a web based management information system that offers a child centric approach for the child, parents and agencies.

22. winners’ list for 2011 BAFTA Awards.
- BAFTA Awards 2011

Best Film: The King’s Speech
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Outstanding British Film: The King’s Speech
Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Best Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech
Outstanding British Contribution: The Harry Potter franchise
Best Original Music: Alexandre Desplat, The King’s Speech
Best Short Film: Until The River Runs Red, Paul Wright, Paul Kondeatis
Best Short Animation: The Eagleman Stag, Michael Please
Best Sound: Inception, Lee Smith
Best Editing: The Social Network, Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
Best Make-up and Hair: Alice In Wonderland, Vali O’Reilly, Paul Gooch
Best Film Not In The English Language: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Best Costume Design: Alice In Wonderland, Coleen Attwood
Best Production Design: Inception, Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
Best Special Visual Effects: Inception, Chris Courbold, Paul Franklin
Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Orange Wednesday’s Rising Star: Tom Hardy
Best Screenplay: The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin
Best Cinematography: True Grit

23. Who inaugurate International Conference on Community Mental Health?
- The Hon’ble Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad will inaugurate international conference cum workshop on Asia Pacific Community Mental Health on 17 February, 2011
24. which country has joined BRIC ?
- South Africa

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 19 February welcomed South Africa in the BRIC forum of fastest growing economies Brazil,Russia, India and China.
“South Africa has joined this meeting. We welcome South Africa. Now BRIC is no longer BRIC but it is BRICS. One ‘S’ has been added to it,”

25. The National Conference on Storage of Food Grains was held on ?
- February19, 2011 in New Delhi. Read more
26. who is the man of the match in world cup 2011 opening match held at Mirpur ?
- Virender Sehwag unleashed a stunning display of strokeplay to smash a blistering 175 as India launched their cricket World Cup campaign with an emphatic 87-runs victory over Bangladesh in their opening World Cup group-B match at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur on 19 February.
27. The next BRICS summit is scheduled to be held in ?
- China in April.
28. Overseas Employers Conference was held in which city?
- Hyderabad

A two-day “Overseas Employers’ Conference” were held at Hyderabad February 21, to understand the concerns of the Foreign Employers in the Middle East and South-East Asia employing Indian workers. The conference was provide a forum for the overseas employers to interact with the Government of India and the State Government representatives and put forward their point of view and raise issues related to recruitment of Indian workers for overseas employment.

Current affairs 2011 for bank exams | Current Affairs March 2011 quiz | objective questions | gk questions | current affairs for civil services | General knowledge|

Read More