Daily GK update - 6th December 2014

China arrests ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang for corruption

i.) China’s anti-corruption campaign has targeted a former state security chief and a one-time

Politburo member, who is now facing arrest after being sacked from the Communist Party of China (CPC).

ii.) Global Times reported that the decision to expel Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau was taken on Friday by the Politburo of the CPC. Zhou is the highest-ranking official probed for corruption since 1949.

iii.) The daily said that the meeting also decided to transfer Zhou’s suspected criminal case to the judicial organs for legal prosecution.The Supreme People's Procuratorate opened an investigation into Zhou's suspected crimes and decided to arrest him.

Somali Prime Minister voted out

i.) Members of parliament voted Somalia's prime minister out of office on Saturday for the second time in a year, a move Western donors warned would threaten the war-torn nation's fragile recovery.

ii.) Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed had been embroiled in a row over a Cabinet reshuffle with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who had overruled the changes.

iii.) The Prime Minister had been in office for just under a year after his predecessor, who also argued about the composition of the cabinet and been accused of poor performance, was voted out.

iv.) “The Prime Minister and his government are out of office,” Speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari said after 153 members of parliament voted against the premier and 80 backed him. “We ask the President to establish a government as soon as possible.”

Ranji Trophy: Karnataka face arch-rivals Tamil Nadu

i.) All eyes will be on Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Stuart Binny, the trio who are looking to make the final cut for the 2015 World Cup, as defending champions Karnakata begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against arch-rivals Tamil Nadu at Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on Sunday.

ii.) Fresh from their Vijay Hazare triumph, Karnataka are the team to beat in the current season and the selection of their players -- Uthappa, Pandey and Binny -- in the 30-member World Cup probables list has made matters interesting for the hosts.

iv.) Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar would be banking on the in-form Uthappa to give them a solid start, especially in the absence of K L Rahul, who is in Australia with the India Test squad.

Top-order batsman Pandey has also been in good nick after scoring 534 runs at an average of 89 in the nine List A games.

Snowden film 'CitizenFour' wins top documentary award

i.) CitizenFour, filmmaker Laura Poitras's documentary about National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, was given the top award for best feature by the International Documentary Association on Friday.

ii.) The IDA award for CitizenFour follows the film's best documentary win at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards this week. It was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in November and is among 15 films advancing in the Oscars best documentary race.

iii.) CitizenFour gives a fly-on-the-wall account of Mr. Snowden's tense days in a Hong Kong hotel and encounters with journalists as newspapers published details of NSA programs that gathered data from the Internet activities and phone records of millions of Americans and dozens of world leaders.

iv.) Ms. Poitras shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for her role in publicising the Snowden documents.

Cable network Showtime's Time of Death was named best limited series, while best short documentary went to HBO Films' Tashi and the Monk, about a Buddhist monk and his 5-year-old charge Tashi.

Chennai, Bengaluru join ‘100 Resilient Cities’ network

i.) Chennai and Bengaluru have joined the ‘100 Resilient Cities’ network, dedicated to helping cities

around the world become more resilient to physical, social and economic challenges, for demonstrating a commitment to building their capacities in tackling 21st century issues.

ii.) The two Indian cities were chosen among 331 applications from cities around the world for 100RC network, pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, New York. Each city was asked to present a clear and compelling description of its major challenges and its approach to decrease vulnerabilities.

iii.) After the review of the applications, a panel of judges including African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka, president and CEO of the Asia Society Josette Sheeran, and former president of Costa Rica Jose Maria Figueres, recommended the set of 35 member cities.

IIT-Delhi opens its MBA doors to non-engineering students

i.) The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, on Friday announced that its new MBA programme

will now be available for students from all streams. Previously, only those with engineering and technology background or those with Masters in Science and Commerce or Economics were considered eligible for the management programmes offered by the Department of Management Studies.

ii.) “We believe that knowledge shouldn’t be restricted to specific disciplines and students from all fields make a good mix at any institution, especially in terms of cross-disciplinary learning. 

iii.) Also the corporate world is getting increasingly competitive, the demand for qualified and multi-talented managers is also rising,” said department head Kanika. T. Bhal, adding that the new MBA programme is more immersive and relevant to all industries.