Current Affairs 9th February 2016

Important Points : 

• Which noted Urdu poet has passed away - Nida Fazli
• Which New Zealand cricketer has retired from One-Day Internationals - Brendon Barrie McCullum
• Name the Former Nepal Prime Minister who has passed away - Sushil Koirala
• Who has won the gold in squash individual at the South Asian Games - Joshna Chinappa
• Which storm has lashed parts of Britain - Storm Imogen
• Who has won Chappell-Hadlee Trophy - New Zealand cricket team
• Who has been appointed as President of South Asian Wrestling Federation - Brij Bhushan Singh
• UNESCO Medals conferred for contributions to development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies
• Who has won India Handloom tag - Chettinad cotton saree
• Who has been appointed as Executive Vice Chairman of TERI - Rajendra K Pachauri 
• Where did the new species of Hydroid Polyps emitting green fluorescence discovered - Red Sea
• Prime Minister Shram Awards 2014 announced

Details : 

Which noted Urdu poet has passed away - Nida Fazli

On 8th February 2016, Noted Urdu Poet and well known Bollywood lyricist Nida Fazli passed away at the age of 78. 

Some his most famous shers are : kho jaaye to sona hai, Mil jaaye to mitti hai and Duniya jise kehte hain jaadu kaa khilona hai. Some of his popular film songs are Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein (Aap To Aise Na The), Hosh waalon ko khabar (Sarfarosh) and Aa bhi jaa (Sur).

Some of the awards received by him are :

• He has 24 books to his credit in Urdu, Hindi and Gujarati - some of which are assigned as school textbooks in Maharashtra. 
• He was honoured with National Harmony Award for writing on communal harmony.
• He received the Mir Taqi Mir award for his autobiographical novel 'Deewaron Ke Beech'.
• Hindi Urdu Sangam Award 
• Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems, Khoya Hua Sa Kuchh in 1998
• Khusro Award
• Best Poetry Award from Maharashtra Urdu Academy

His works include 

• Mor Naach (collected works) in 1978
• Aankh aur Khwab ke Darmiyan
• Lafzon ke Phool (collection of sher-o-shayari)
• Mulaqaten (character-sketches)
• Safar Mein Dhuup to Hogi

Which New Zealand cricketer has retired from One-Day Internationals - Brendon Barrie McCullum

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 8th February 2016, New Zealand cricketer Brendon Barrie McCullum retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs).

About Brendon Barrie McCullum

• In the year 2001, he made his debut in ODIs against Australia at Sydney.
• In the year 2003, he made his test debut against South Africa.
• He has scored 6083 runs and played 260 ODIs.
• In 2015 ICC Cricket World cup final which was won by Australia, he was the captain for the New Zealand side.
• For the year 2014-15, he was conferred with the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal.
• In 2010, he was honoured as ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year.
• In 2015, he won ICC Spirit of Cricket Award.

Name the Former Nepal Prime Minister who has passed away - Sushil Koirala

On 9th February 2016, Nepal’s former Prime Minister Sushil Koirala passed away in Kathmandu, Nepal due to chronic respiratory problem at the age of 76.

About Sushil Koirala

• In the year 1954, inspired by the social-democratic ideals of the Nepali Congress, he entered politics.
• Following the royal takeover of 1960, he was in political exile in India for 16 years.
• In 1996, he was appointed General Secretary of the Central Working Committee of Nepali Congress and Vice President in 1998.
• He was elected as the party president of 12th general convention of the Nepali Congress on 22nd September 2010.

Who has won the gold in squash individual at the South Asian Games - Joshna Chinappa

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 8th February 2016, Joshna Chinappa won the gold in women's individual squash after defeating Maria Toorpaki Wazir of Pakistan at the South Asian Games.

About Joshna Chinappa

• In December 2015, Joshna Chinappa reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 13.
• In the year 2003, she became the first Indian to win the British Squash Championship title in the under 19 category.
• She the youngest Indian women's national champion and the first beneficiary of Mittal Champions Trust.

Which storm has lashed parts of Britain - Storm Imogen

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 8th February 2016, Storm Imogen shattered parts of southern Britain with heavy rain and winds up to 96 miles per hour (mph). 

The worst affected areas includes The Needles off the Isle of Wight (96 mph), Carmarthenshire (84 mph), Isles of Scilly (81mph) and Pembrey Sands (84 mph).

The storm also destroyed the Rail services. 

Do You Know : 

Storm Imogen is the 9th named storm to hit the UK this season. In Britain, the 2016 storms are being names by Met Office and Met Eireann. 

Who has won Chappell-Hadlee Trophy - New Zealand cricket team

Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 8th February 2016, New Zealand won the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Trophy of cricket against Australia. 

Report of the series 

1st Match : New Zealand won by 159 runs and Martin Guptill (New Zealand) was the Player of the Match. 

2nd Match : Australia won by 4 wickets and Mitchell Marsh (Australia) was declared the Player of the Match.  

3rd Match : New Zealand won by 55 runs and Inderbir Singh Sodhi (New Zealand) was declared the Player of the Match.

Who has been appointed as President of South Asian Wrestling Federation - Brij Bhushan Singh

Among the important appointments, On 8th February 2016, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was appointed as the President of the South Asian Wrestling Federation during the General Body Meeting.

Apart from this, Tabiur Rehman from Bangladesh was also appointed as the Secretary General.

The House has unanimously authorised Singh to appoint a treasurer from Afghanistan, one executive member from each South Asia Foundation (SAF) countries and one joint secretary from India.

Raj Mohammed Ansari of Nepal, Chawdhury Mohd. Ajgar of Pakistan and U.H. Neville Pdmashri from Sri Lanka were elected vice presidents.

UNESCO Medals conferred for contributions to development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 5th February 2016, Eight scientists on 5 February 2016 received the UNESCO Medals for their contributions to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnologies at Paris.

The winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics, Professor Isamu Akasaki was among the eight.

Unesco Medals

The list of 2016 UNESCO Medal winners:

Who has won India Handloom tag - Chettinad cotton saree

Among the important National Current Affairs, In First week of February 2016, The Chettinad cotton saree for its unique designs and identity won the India Handloom tag.

About Chettinad saree

• Also known as kandaangi, the Chettinad cotton saree is unique in the dramatic and spontaneous use of colour and pattern with contrasting hues, bold checks and stripes.
• Before the advent of blouses and underskirts, records and old photographs show the use of saree by previous generations, which is worn rather differently from the regular sari.

Who has been appointed as Executive Vice Chairman of TERI - Rajendra K Pachauri 

Among the important appointments, On 8th February 2016, Former Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Rajendra Kumar Pachauri was appointed as the Executive Vice-Chairman of the organisation with the immediate effect.

Besides, Ajay Mathur, former chief of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, was appointed as the Director General of TERI.

About The Energy and Resources Institute

• Established in 1974, The Energy and Resources Institute was formerly known as Tata Energy Research Institute.
• It conducts research work in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment.
• International Centre for Climate Governance (ICCG) ranked it as the topmost global think-tank in 2013.

Where did the new species of Hydroid Polyps emitting green fluorescence discovered - Red Sea

Among the important Discoveries, On 3rd February 2016, An international team of scientists (biologists) discovered a new species of hydroid polyps emitting green fluorescence in the Red Sea. These polyps were found to be emitting light in the night in association with the gastropod Nassarius margaritifer.

These are also called hydrozoas found during the investigations of the biodiversity of coral reefs of the archipelago Farasan.

The team included researchers from the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Russian Academy of Sciences. The results of the study are published in PLOS ONE.

Do You Know : 

Fluorescence is a glow of some proteins or pigments fading instantly after the end of the light illumination.

Green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) are widespread among the corals Anthozoa and hydroid jellyfishes, and also were found in some lancelets (Cephalochordata) and combjellies (Ctenophora).

For the first time, the scientist Osama Shimomura isolated the famous GFPs from the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria that was later widely used in experimental biology as a glowing marker for study of protein work in cells.

The discovery led to awarding of Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Shimomura in 2008 along with Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien.

Prime Minister Shram Awards 2014 announced

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 9th February 2016, the Prime Minister Shram Awards for the year 2014 were announced by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment.

There were twenty six nominations for Shram Shree or Shram Devi Awards, Nineteen nominations for Shram Vir or Shram Veerangana and nine nominations for the Shram Bhushan Award.

In 1985, Shram awards were set up by the Union Government to recognize the outstanding contributions of workers in both public and private sectors.

About SHRAM RATNA

This award is the highest award (one in number) among the Shram Awards carries a Sanad and a cash award of 2 lakh rupees. 

About SHRAM BHUSHAN

It carries a cash award of one lakh rupees and a Sanad. Shram Shree/Devi Awards comprise of a cash prize of 40000 rupees and a Sanad.

Shram Veer/Veerangana awards carry a cash prize of 60000 rupees and a Sanad.